The sustainability of agricultural production, rural livelihoods and the integrity of ecosystems in Timor-Leste are seriously affected by land degradation. The long-term goal of the project is to ensure that the agricultural, forest and other terrestrial land uses of Timor-Leste (TL) are sustainable, productive systems that maintain ecosystem productivity and ecological functions while contributing directly to the environmental, economic and social well-being of the country. The objective of the project is to build capacities for sustainable land management (SLM) in appropriate government and civil society institutions and user groups and mainstream SLM into government planning and strategy development. The project has four outcomes, namely, (a) SLM is mainstreamed into national policies, plans and legislation, (b) Human resources and institutional capacities needed for SLM are developed, (c) Capacities for knowledge management in SLM are developed and (d) National Action Programme (NAP) is completed. The project is to be implemented over a period of three years and is directly executed by UNDP. The project receives guidance and oversight from a Steering Committee and currently has a total budget of US$ 506,000 funded by the GEF and UNDP Timor-Leste. The project team came on board in August 2007 and the Inception Phase was completed in January 2008. The Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) policy at the project level in UNDP/GEF has four objectives: i) to monitor and evaluate results and impacts; ii) to provide a basis for decision making on necessary amendments and improvements; iii) to promote accountability for resource use; and iii) to document, provide feedback on, and disseminate lessons learned. A mix of tools is used to ensure effective project M&E. Objectives: The Project Implementation Unit is now seeking a Mid-Term Evaluation to review the project’s progress thus far and to provide guidance to the following stages of implementation. The project document clearly states that a Mid-Term Review is to take place so as to make any necessary adjustments for improved achievement of the projects’ objectives. This mid-term evaluation should identify potential project design problems, assess progress towards the achievement of objectives, identify and document lessons learned (including lessons that might improve design and implementation of other UNDP/GEF projects), and to make recommendations regarding specific actions that might be taken to improve the project. It is expected to serve as a means of validating or filling the gaps in the initial assessment of relevance, effectiveness and efficiency obtained from monitoring. The mid-term evaluation provides the opportunity to assess early signs of project success or failure and prompt necessary adjustments. In addition to the above, this evaluation should include interviews and analysis of feedback with the key stakeholders of the project, namely with: - Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries and Secretaries of State for Agriculture and Livestock;
- Research Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries;
- Advisor to the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, previous National Director of Forestry;
- National Director of Forestry and UNCCD Focal point;
- National Director for International Environmental Affairs, GEF Operational Focal Point, and relevant team members of the State Secretariat for Environment;
- Participants of the ToT activities and representatives of the institutions (NGOs, private sector);
- Members of National Parliament;
- MAF staff who attended Mainstreaming training activities;
- Partners selected for implementation of Training of Farmers on SLM practices;
- National consultants involved in previous activities;
- Other development partners and implementing agencies working in the same field;
- UNDP SLM Project staff;
- UNDP Environment Programme staff;
- UNDP Management.
The evaluation should also include review of project documents reports and other key documents or relevant reports and documents produced by Government such as: - Project Document
- SLM Mainstreaming guidelines
- Report on SLM mainstreaming in Sectoral Policies
- SLM Trainers’ Manual
- Report on Institutional Mandates Strengthening for SLM
- Draft NAP
- The annual action plans of all relevant Directorates under the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries
- 2009 National budget document
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Scope of the evaluation: The evaluation should address how the project will positively impact on reducing poverty and promoting environmental sustainability. It should also bare in mind the identified national priorities of the Government and how the project is supporting in addressing these. This review should provide insights on the successes and weaknesses of the project thus far, and provide recommendations as to how to proceed and tackle issues in the next stages of the project. More specifically, this evaluation should consider the effectiveness of the project and the outputs it has produced, as well as the timeliness of implementation. Furthermore, a review of the management and decision-making processes should also be carried out. To establish the effectiveness and timeliness of the project, the activities and indicators in the project document will have to be reviewed. Where necessary, adjustments to the M&E framework should be proposed for review by the PSC. B. Outputs: The consultant will be required to produce a report with the following components as key outputs: - Findings and conclusions: Context of project, Adequacy of project design, Stakeholder involvement and ownership, evaluation of outputs thus far;
- Recommendations: for future implementation; identified barriers and how to address these; adjustment of M&E framework.
- Lessons learned: design of project; engagement of stakeholders; management of project; strategy for implementation.
Methodology: It is expected that the consultant will carry out this evaluation through a combination of desk review of documents, interviews and focus group discussions with key counterparts and stakeholders. The international consultant will be working independently, with the support of the Project Implementation Unit and the UNDP Timor-Leste Poverty Reduction and Environment Unit Programme Officers. |
- Demonstrated excellent written and oral communication skills;
- Strong negotiating and managerial skills to be able to work both independently and as a member of a team;
- Excellent networking with a demonstrated ability to build and maintain professional relationships;
- Cross-cultural management experience and sensitivity;
- High level planning, organisational and time management skills, including flexibility, attention to detail and the ability to work under pressure to meet changing deadlines
- Well developed interpersonal skills , including the ability to liaise effectively at senior levels
- Analytical and problem solving skills of a high order, including the ability to formulate recommendations and policy advice desirable
- Demonstrated capacity to work both independently and in a team environment
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