Evaluation framework
This mid-term evaluation is formative and explanatory. It targets the processes and mechanisms of project interventions since its inception as well as the level and quality of the implementation of the activities programmed over the period 2018-2021 (until September 30, 2021). It will evaluate the project at the level of regional partner or beneficiary institutions, and at the level of Member States.
The primary objective of this evaluation is not to quantify the project indicators as calculated during the study of the reference situation (baseline)1, but rather to shed light on the quality of the implementation processes and the impacts in terms of anticipated changes, both at the regional level, at the institutional level and at the national level (are we on the path to anticipated changes?) .
Recourse to an external evaluation should make it possible to propose an objective and transparent reflection on the level of performance of the project and the areas in which improvements are required, taking into account of course the internal and external factors that have impacted the project so far.
It will explore the six different expected results (ER) of the project, including the coordination component (ER7), guided by the evaluation questions proposed below (page 7). The evaluation will produce an analysis and recommendations on the strategy of the project to achieve the expected results and in particular its conditions for the sustainability of the action.
Evaluation objectives and users
- Main objective
The general objective of the mid-term evaluation is to enable the key stakeholders of the GCCA + WA project (EU, ACP Secretariat, ECOWAS, CILSS, Expertise France) to make the necessary adjustments in order to achieve its overall objective and its specific objectives.
This translates into the following specific objectives:
Specific objectives
1) Assess the relevance, consistency, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability of the achievements and achievements of the project;
2) Evaluate the quality of the process of carrying out activities in the light of the expected results;
3) Draw the lessons learned for better implementation performance in order to achieve the expected results, particularly in the COVID-19 / post-COVID-19 context, through appropriate digitization of procedures;
4) Formulate recommendations with a view to strengthening the impact and sustainability for the remaining duration of the project and beyond.
- Potential users of the evaluation results
The results of the mid-term evaluation will be mainly used by the key stakeholders of the project (EU, ACP Secretariat, ECOWAS, CILSS, Expertise France) to guide the rest of the project. They will also help inform these actors about the processes of political change and their various implications (time and cost of action, organization, strategies, etc.)
The Project coordination Unit (PCU) will ensure that these results are used to improve the project and its achievements, through adjusted programming.
Methodological approach and evaluation questions
- Data gathering
This external mid-term evaluation is mainly formative and explanatory and must therefore pay attention to the processes and mechanisms of project interventions in order to identify the chances and conditions under which the project will be able to achieve its objectives within the allotted time.
For this, it must be based on a mainly qualitative methodology appropriate to the project context. Sampling methods must therefore demonstrate their relevance to an advocacy or political influence intervention.
Documentary review and semi-structured remote interviews should therefore be favored.
For the documentary review, the PCU will make the project documents and interim activity reports available to the consultant.
For the interviews, a questionnaire will be developed from the evaluation questions proposed below. Semi-structured interviews should include at least the donor (INTPA / EU), the ACP secretariat, ECOWAS (Directorate in charge of Agriculture, Directorate of Environment, RAAF, ECREE), CILSS, PCU, Expertise France sits, WAEMU, all or part of the national climate focal points of the Member States (NDC and UNFCCC).
- Evaluative questions
At the end of the mid-term evaluation, the following key questions should be answered:
Relevance
1) To what extent do the interventions of the GCCA + WA project meet the needs of beneficiaries and to what extent are they aligned with the policies and processes underway in Member States, and regional organizations?
Effectiveness and impact
2) To what extent are the project activities contributing to the achievement of the overall objective of helping West African countries to increase their resilience capacities to cope with the effects of climate change? How and why do the observed changes occur? What are the external factors that could have contributed positively or negatively to progress on these paths of change?
3) What recommendations to strengthen the impact of project actions?
Efficiency
4) What lessons can be drawn from the organizational architecture of the project and the methods of implementing the program and the activities?
5) What lessons have been learned from adapting the project to the impact of the COVID-19 crisis?
6) How could the digitization of ways of doing things be strengthened? What lessons have been learned for “post COVID”?
7) How well can the project achieve its objectives within the allotted timeframe?
- Consistency
8) To what extent does the project succeed in creating and enhancing synergies between the various results and activities implemented?
9) To what extent has the project established links and created synergies with other related actions, including EU instruments and actions, in accordance with the principle of harmonization?
- Sustainability
10) To what extent does the project ensure the establishment of sustainable mechanisms / actions? What specific recommendations to strengthen the sustainability of the project's action for each of the results and in particular the capitalization of pilot projects (component 3)?
11) How to ensure the valuation of the work on carbon measurement within the framework of theses in a context of finalization of these theses beyond the end of 2022?
Particular attention should be paid to the subject of project capitalization and in particular to the capitalization of pilot projects: how the strategic framework and the capitalization plan of pilot projects contribute to producing capitalization products that are relevant and useful to West Africa actors? What recommendations for realistic capitalization taking into account the progress observed in the implementation of the project?
- Cross-cutting issues
12) To what extent does the project contribute to the good reputation and visibility of the actions of ECOWAS, the EU and the ACP in the fight against climate change? 13) How were transversal aspects taken into account in the implementation of the project: gender, environment, throughout the project cycle and how to improve it? 14) What lessons have been learned from the project design phase to mid-term, to improve the relevance and effectiveness of this type of project? What recommendations to be implemented by the PCU to achieve the results (effects and products) of the project?
Roles and responsibilities
Expertise France is the contracting authority for this consultancy. The operational unit in charge of awarding this individual expertise contract is the PCU of the GCCA + WA project, which is based within the Regional Agency for Agriculture and Food, in Lomé (Togo).
The consultant reports contractually to the PCU, which is empowered to administratively validate the deliverables after technical validation from the partners.
The consultant will work closely with the monitoring and evaluation manager of the GCCA + WA project.
The data collection, analysis and reporting of the mid-term evaluation are the responsibility of the consultant.
The PCU will organize the framing and restitution meetings by video-conference, in terms of logistics, while the preparation of the presentation materials falls under the mandate of the consultant. Travel logistics, if any, will be the responsibility of the consultant.
The final approvals of the documents will be notified to the consultant by the monitoring and evaluation manager of the GCCA + WA project.
Profile and expertise sought
The consultant for the external mid-term evaluation of the GCCA + WA project should be an individual consultant. His profile must meet the following minimum requirements:
- Qualifications
Have at least a Master's degree in social sciences, agronomy, environment or other related discipline; Professional experiences
The expected profile of the individual consultant, approximately 10 years of experience demonstrating the following skills and experiences: Proven practice of external evaluation, change analysis and support for learning processes Confirmed experiences of evaluating institutional support projects with a view to strengthening public policies Experience in the evaluation of regional development programs, and experience in the evaluation of climate programs Good knowledge of the network of regional actors in West Africa on climate Good knowledge of issues related to climate change in rural areas in West Africa, particularly in Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) Experience in capitalization processes / sustainability strategy, will be an asset Experience / knowledge of innovative remote working methods / digitalization of ways of doing things will be an asset Proven work experience in French and English.
How to apply:
Application and selection procedures
- Application file
Each candidate must provide:
Proof of registration / registration of a legal person who will sign the contract.
An up-to-date CV in French or English (template in the application form) including two references of similar services / missions or, where applicable, the most relevant, with for each of them a contact indicating the function, the telephone number and the e-mail address.
One document including a technical offer and a financial offer.
- Selection process
In the first instance, each candidate will be scored out of a total of 100 points, according to the following weighting:
CV evaluation against the criteria are mentioned in section 7: 35 points,
Evaluation of the technical offer: 45 points,
Evaluation of the financial offer: 20 points.
Expertise France will then proceed to the selection of the candidate, who will have obtained the best score among the applications which will have a minimum total score greater than or equal to 70 points.
If necessary, Expertise France reserves the right to call the best candidate (s) for an interview, after which a final score out of 20 points will be awarded. The candidate with the highest score will be selected**.**
- Eliminating mentions
Expertise France reserves the right to reject any incomplete file. In addition, any candidate with a professional experience of less than 7 years or no experience in the West African context will be automatically eliminated without evaluation of the file.
- Technical offer details
The technical offer must not exceed 10 word pages (min 11 font) and must demonstrate (i) the candidate's understanding of the stakes of the mission and the context, (ii) the methodological approach proposed by the candidate to implement this mission: the consultant must demonstrate in his proposal, the relevance and the added value of the proposed methodology vis-à-vis the specificity of the expected results of the project but also the evaluation questions and iii) the mission schedule. Regarding the mission schedule, the Consultant should plan in the offer one field mission in Lomé, Togo, for the beginning of the assignment (detailing the number of days allocated for it). The assignment is to be carried home-based / remotely : all other travels or field missions should be justified in the technical offer.*** Financial offer details**The financial offer must consist of a fixed daily fee in euros including all the costs incurred by the consultant. The consultant must foresee in his financial offer:
The costs related to the translation and reproduction of the documents;
Travel expenses to Lomé according to his residence situation for the start of the mission;
All other travel expenses for the assignment upon justification in the technical offer.
Please find the link below for more information and for applications :