Background
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Improving Public Sector efficiency through Monitoring and Evaluation
Monitoring
and Evaluation (M&E) lies high on the reform agenda of Government
of Mauritius with its focus on developing a culture of performance in
the public sector and in its ambition to become a high income nation by
2020. The program of reforms initiated through the setting up of an
M&E unit at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development (MOFED)
will help to develop an M&E strategy and framework, its linkages to
the Programme Based Budget (PBB), the design of monitoring tools and
evaluations including piloting of evaluations and over time the
institutionalisation of M&E.
As part of efforts to strengthen
performance M&E, the conduct of a few pilot evaluations would prove
useful prior to defining a systematic approach to evaluation and a
customised menu of evaluation methodologies suitable for Mauritius. The
following criteria have been considered in selecting the programme for
evaluation:
- Fiscal impact - significant budget (as a % of Ministry Budget);
- Social relevance - Direct impact on beneficiaries, and covers an important part of the population;
- Strategic importance;
- Innovative aspects, to draw lessons for future implementation by benchmarking with good international practices.
Building
on the progress achieved since the introduction of the PBB, UNDP
supports government’s efforts to improve public sector efficiency and
effectiveness of public expenditure through the Planning and Resource
Management for Inclusive Growth project (2013-2016).
Further
details on the background of the Land Drainage and Watershed Management
Programme and the institutional framework are given at Annex 1.
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Duties and Responsibilities
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Objectives of the Assignment
The objectives of the evaluation are to:
- Analyse
the different phases of drain projects, and identify gaps and
weaknesses in the implementation of projects, including the linkage of
special concerns such as environmental issues, amongst others; and
- Build
on from the existing studies and reports on drain system, and recent
implementation of drain works, with a view to ascertaining their
efficiency, and effectiveness for continuation, discontinuation,
refining, and adoption in future work.
The assignment will
cover the Land Drainage and Watershed Management projects undertaken
from 2010 to 2014. For period 2010-2013, expenditure in the Budget was
met under PBB Programmes 404 (Community-Based Infrastructure) and 405
(Land Drainage). As from 2014, the PBB makes provision for a distinct
programme Land Drainage and Watershed Management programme (Programme
405).
Primary intended users and uses
Policy makers:
- To improve financial, technical, institutional and social sustainability of the programme;
- To use evidence based results to decide how to extend and maintain the drainage system in other parts of the island.
Programme managers:
- To identify success factors and enhance its implementation as it is scaled up to other parts of the island;
- Obtain early warnings of operational bottlenecks;
- To
refine the Outcomes, Output, and indicators to make them as specific,
measurable, attainable, realistic and timely (SMART) as possible.
This assignment will be funded by the UNDP.
This assignment will require two Senior Experts:
- One Senior Evaluator with Engineering background;
- One Environment Specialist having experience in flood management and land drainage system.
Scope of Work
The
consultants are expected to conduct an implementation evaluation to
examine activities, outputs, and outcomes, use of resources and causal
links of the Land Drainage and Watershed programme. The consultants will
be required to work with/lead a small local team of public officers
from relevant Ministries, including providing formal and informal
training.
The assessment would be based on the following:
- Are the projects being implemented according to the design and specifications?
- Are
institutional arrangements and operational procedures appropriate (e.g.
decision making on priority areas) to ensure the timely delivery of
quality products and services?
- Are there adequate systems (human
re¬sources, financial, management information, and so forth) in place
to support project operations?
- Identification of operational
bottlenecks and establishment of a project monitoring framework to track
progress in implementation.
Specifically, the evaluation should address, but not limited to, the following issues:
Policy reform:
- How was Policy developed?
- What were the legal or institutional processes leading up to the reform?
- Have sustainability issues been addressed?
Procurement:
- How
was the procurement of the projects under the Land Drainage programme
done? Was it cost-effective and timely? Have the elements of economy,
efficiency, effectiveness been achieved on the procurement process?
Were there any challenges or complaints? How can it be maximized in the
next stage of the programme?
Drainage Management Systems:
- Is it done in a holistic and forward looking manner? Has the drainage system been well designed?
- Has new investment in drains been effective in terms of mitigating risks in flood prone areas?
- Has project management been effective in terms of projects delivered on schedule and to the required standard?
- Whether the drainage system ensures the capture of surface water run- off?
- Have
recommendations from the numerous drainage studies being systematically
evaluated and instituted (or evaluated and decisions to institute not
been undertaken)?
Revised Institutional Arrangements (with the setting up of the Land Drainage Agency):
- Are the new institutional arrangements effective and do they bring together all relevant stakeholders?
- Has
an effective monitoring system been put in place to manage service
standards (incl. norms and guidelines in respect of drains)?
- Does it clearly define responsibility of each delivery unit and hold them accountable?
- Whether
any tracking/monitoring system was put in place to look at the progress
of the projects? If so, what are its relevance, frequency and quality
of monitoring?
- User satisfaction (on inhabitants’ quality of life after drains have been constructed in high risk areas).
Expected Outputs and deliverables
- Inception
Report – The Report outlines the work plan of the assignment,
elaborating on the terms of reference by describing how the evaluation
will be carried out, refining and specifying the expectations;
methodology; roles and responsibilities, and timeframe. The inception
Report should also present an outline of the Final Report;
- Organise
a workshop on mission findings – to disseminate the preliminary
findings; to have consultations with the Stakeholders; and to share
the findings/observations/recommendations of the assignment, and to
propose the way forward;
- Recommend an appropriate Monitoring
& Evaluation (M&E) Framework to be adopted by the Government of
Mauritius (NDU) to further implement and manage drain works in a
structured approach;
- Provide training to relevant officials with
a view to develop capacity locally to operate the proposed M&E
framework (including evaluation planning, methodology and tools); and
- Final
Evaluation Report on the implementation of the programme with specific
and action plan recommendations, including timeframe, and a Performance
Improvement Plan.
The Performance Improvement Plan should look at the following aspects namely:
- Value for Money, efficiency, level of service and performance measures;
- Processes and Tools;
- Controls and management of risks;
- Technical capability of technical personnel.
Follow
up actions should be developed in consultation with local counterparts
to ensure that the recommendations are translated into actions within
reasonable timeframe to achieve the desired outcome in the most economic
manner.
All deliverables are to be submitted in three (3) hard copies and two (2) soft copies on CD-ROM.
Institutional Arrangements
A
briefing session will be held with UNDP, NDU and MoFED at start of the
assignment. A Steering Committee, co-chaired by NDU and MoFED, and
comprising UNDP, NDRRMC, RDA, Local Authorities and other relevant
stakeholders will be set up to guide and oversee the evaluation. The
consultants will be based at the NDU which will provide office space and
other logistical arrangements, where required.
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Competencies
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Functional Competencies
- Strong leadership, communication and interpersonal skills;
- Excellent organizational skills;
- Strong oral and written communication skills - use of simple and clear language;
- Strong research, analytical and writing skills;
- Demonstrated ability to work in a team (strong task management and team leading competencies);
- Ability to work under pressure and in a politically sensitive environment;
- Demonstrated cultural sensitiveness and sound judgment;
Core Competencies
- Demonstrates integrity and ethical standards;
- Creative and innovative;
- Sound analytic capacities;
- Ability
to address complex concepts and to gather written materials in a clear,
concise and meaningful manner with a high level of accuracy and
attention to detail;
- Highly organized, able to effectively develop and manage projects, ensuring that deadlines are met.
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Required Skills and Experience
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Education
- A post graduate degree in Engineering with ability to interpret hydrograph data, and appraise hydraulic designs.
Experiences
- At least 10-year experience of evaluation work and techniques in the public sector;
- Demonstrated
work experience in flood control and management, surface water run-off
capture, and land drainage and watershed management and/or Public
Infrastructure Management;
Language
- Excellent spoken and written English required;
- Spoken French would be an asset.
The Senior Evaluator will act as Team Leader and will lead the evaluation team, also composed of MoFED and NDU officials.
Scope of Price Proposal and Schedule of payments:
Financial
proposals must be “all inclusive” and expressed in a lump-sum for the
total duration of the contract. The term “All inclusive” implies that
all costs (professional fees, travel costs, living allowances,
communications, consumables, etc.) that could possibly be incurred by
the Contractor are already factored into the final amounts submitted in
the proposal.
Payment will be made based upon successful completion of the deliverables as per terms below:
- 20% upon submission of the inception report (expected by end November 2014);
- 30%
upon presentation of preliminary findings through a workshop and
submission of the draft mission report (expected by end December 2014);
- 50% upon submission and approval of the final mission report (expected by end January 2015).
Recommended Presentation of Proposals:
Interested
offerors must submit the following documentations, in accordance with
the scope of work, expected outputs and deliverables mentioned herein:
- Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP.
A detailed technical proposal that includes the following:
- Personal
CV or P11 (as per template provided), indicating all past experience
from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and
telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional
references;
- A brief methodology note on how the contractor will approach and complete the assignment.
- A financial proposal indicating the total cost in USD, lump sum, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided.
Criteria for Selection of the best offer:
- A
Combined Scoring method – where the qualifications and methodology will
be weighted 70%, and the price offer will be weighted 30%;
- The
key criteria for rating the qualification and methodology, together with
their equivalent percentage weight, will be as follows:
All submissions will be assessed against the following criteria:
Technical evaluation
- Education background : 10%;
- Demonstrated
work experience in flood control and management, surface water run-off
capture, land drainage and watershed management and/or Public
Infrastructure Management: 20%;
- Experience and knowledge of evaluation techniques: 30%;
- Research, analytical and writing skills: 10%
- Total technical score: 70%.
Financial evaluation
- Value for money: 30%;
- Total financial score: 30%.
Annex to the TOR:
- Annex 1 to the TOR provides further details about the assignment.
Important note:
- Interested
offeror is strongly advised to view the general terms and conditions of
IC and templates to be included when submitting offer from the CO
website at http://www.mu.undp.org/content/mauritius_and_seychelles/en/home/operations/procurement/ ;
- Interested
offerors above the age of 62: UNDP regulations require, at their own
cost, to undergo a full medical examination including x-rays. Medical
evaluation documentation does not need to be submitted with the other
requested documents listed above, but will be requested should the
candidate be chosen;
- Interested offeror is required to submit
application via UNDP jobsite system, because the application screening
and evaluation will be done through UNDP jobsite system;
- Please
note that UNDP jobsite system allows only one uploading of application
document, so please make sure that you merge all your documents into a
single file. Your on-line applications submission will be acknowledged
where an email address has been provided. If you do not receive an
e-mail acknowledgement within 24 hours of submission, your application
may not have been received. In such cases, please resubmit the
application, if necessary.
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