Consultant for BEST project Mid-Term Review (Oxfam)

OBJECTIVES OF CONSULTANCY AND AUDIENCE

The primary aim of the mid-term review is to assess the progress to date, provide lessons learnt and strategic recommendations to inform interventions and practical approaches towards achievement of the project set objectives as well as sustaining of the project impact.

The specific objectives of the MTR are to:

Assess the project progress to date towards targets of specific objectives, results, outputs, and its overall objective (after the 2.5-year period of project implementation);
Identify unexpected or unplanned factors that may prevent the project from achieving its objectives as well as opportunities to promote and speed up the achievement of project’s positive outcomes and impacts;
Provide lessons learnt to date and specific recommendations on how to inform future implementation and improve project delivery/approaches and partnerships, including necessary adjustment and supplementary interventions in the remaining period of the project;
Review and revise project’s M&E system including its indicators and plan for accountability and learning purposes, particularly, the impact indicators should be carefully reviewed against the updated and actual context of the project.

Audience: The primary audience of the MTR is the project implementing organizations. The MTR report will also be shared with the donor, relevant stakeholders, partners, and the project benefiting communities.

KEY STUDY QUESTIONS

The MTR will conduct critical analysis of the following aspects (Below are some suggested questions):

Achievement of project implementation:

Verify the mid-term values of project’s specific objectives and results, including both quantitative and qualitative indicators and assess in the relation to the project set targets.
Describe the current status of relevant actors sharing benefits in the VCBG ecosystem – agri-processing MSMEs, mechanical and biomass service providers - which should include but not limited to profiling the key actors’ role, capacity, power, benefit and their motivation/willingness to participate in the inclusive and sustainable value chain/ecosystem development.
What are the major factors influencing the achievement or under - achievement of outcomes/specific objectives and results? What can we learn from this?
What areas of weakness are there in the project? How should we address them?

Relevance of the project:

How compatible is the project design and strategy with local development policies and priorities?
How the project's intervention logic and approach fit the actual needs and context of the target groups: local context (agri-processing, biomass), beneficiaries' needs (actual needs of VCBG), capacity (to adopt), investment ability (finance), local partners' capacity in coordination among the ecosystem actors?

Efficiency of the project implementation:

Has the implementation mechanisms been adequate to achieve the expected results? What should be adjusted to improve the implementation of the project?
Are results being delivered in an economic and timely way?

Effectiveness of produced outputs and outcomes:

What is the linkage between produced outputs with specific objectives and expected result? What works and what may not work?
What is the level of contribution of projects results towards objectives at different levels?
Whether produced outputs are sufficient to produce expected results? And whether the produced results would contribute to the achievement of expected objectives?

Impact:

What change (positive or negative, direct/indirect, intended/non - intended), if any, has happened as a result of BEST project?

Sustainability:

What should the project do (stop, start, continue doing) to maximize the chances of the project sustainability (positive results, increased capacity in others, etc.)?

Cross-cutting issue:

Are gender equality, human rights, fragility, climate change and environmental issues adequately addressed as per proposed in the project document?

Recommendations:

Based on MTR findings, is any adjustment of interventions/strategies required as compared to the approved project document, any improvements of the project MEL system?
Is there a need to reformulate project targets to fit with development, promotion and actual scaling up of the VCBG ecosystem and the available resources of project?
What further improvement in the design, implementation deliver, and resourcing of the project to increase effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, and impact in the coming phase of implementation?

METHODOLOGIES AND METHODS

The consultant is expected to employ a participatory approach of evaluation using a range of both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection where appropriate. This may include, but are not limited to, field visits to project provinces (Thai Nguyen, Tuyen Quang, Yen Bai, Lao Cai); meetings with project teams, partners and related stakeholders, in addition to a desk review of project documents and reports.

The MTR process should incorporate the perspectives of different stakeholders, including but not limited to, small-scale producers, collectors/middleman, processors, MSMEs, financial institutions, local government institutions, local/national partners. Collected data and findings should be disaggregated by sex, age, ethnicity, disability and key actors in the ecosystem – agri-processing MSMEs, mechanical and biomass service provider.

The consultant(s) is expected to carry out the following work:

Document reviews and design review scope of work:

Brief meeting with project team to get deep understanding on the project;
Analysis/review of existing and relevant documents such as the BEST project documents (Proposal, Log-frame, annual report), baseline reports and other project survey/study reports. This desk review will identify data gaps and inform the scope of the field work;
Agree on workplan with Oxfam including detailed methods (qualitative/quantitative, number of working days, budget and plan etc.);
Design MTR protocol including: sampling strategy, the survey approaches and method, data collection tools, detailed fieldwork plan, analytical framework, and quality control measures;

Conduct primary data collection in the field with support from BEST project team. It is expected to collect both quantitative & qualitative data that might include:

In-depth interviews with relevant stakeholders, including project implementation partners from central to local levels;
MSMEs interview/surveys; using structural questionnaires and analytical frameworks for key actor of the VCBG ecosystem.
Focus Group Discussion;
Stakeholders consultation meeting;

Data analysis and report writing

Analyze data and review field notes;
Write the draft mid-term review report;
Conduct consultation meeting with project teams and key partners on the key findings and to consolidate comments/inputs for report finalization;
Finalize the mid-term review reports (in both English and Vietnamese).

EXPECTED DELIVERABLES AND TIMELINES

A review proposal/design that provide methodology, methods, evaluation schedule and tools: 10 – 18 Jul. 2023

Data collection tools and set of raw data set: 19 Jul – 06 Aug. 2023

First draft report of the review: 07 - 17 Aug. 2023

One face-to-face debriefing representing key findings of MTR for further consultation with project staff and local partners in the VCBG ecosystem: 18 – 23 Aug. 2023

The 2nd version of revised MTR report and PowerPoint presentation: 24 – 30 Aug. 2023

The final MTR report with an executive summary of the MTR report highlighting key findings and recommendations (in English and Vietnamese): 15 Sep. 2023

REQUIREMENTS FOR CONSULTANT

The consultant team will report to Oxfam BEST staff in charge and work closely with the project team (Oxfam and partners). The consultants should:

Possess relevant background in one of the following majors: social sciences, food industry, forestry, aquaculture, environment, natural resource management, economics. Master’s degree in the field is preferred.
Demonstrate a thorough understanding of result-based approach and tools;
Possess proven experience (at least 10 years) in MEL work for NGO’s development projects, preferably including issues of value chain development, rural economic development, social issues in aquaculture and agricultural sectors. A proven track record in designing and managing M&E system for development is an advantage;
Have skills and experiences in conducting M&E/ project evaluation activities, assessments, and be familiar with forestry and aquaculture/clam production sectors in Vietnam. This will include strong skills in both quantitative and qualitative, methods.
Have knowledge on inclusive and sustainable value chain development, social issues in forestry in the Central region and aquaculture production in the Mekong delta region of Vietnam.
Demonstrate commitment to inclusiveness and gender equality with experience in integrating gender and diversity issues into project MEL system.
Be committed to and able to meet the deadline, strong analytical skills, and documentation skills.
Have excellent Vietnamese and writing skills of English.

PROPOSAL SUBMISSION

Proposal should include:

Introduction of the Consultant team’s members profile and related experience;
Technical proposal in achieving all expected objectives within mentioned timeframe (including survey methodology, framework, sampling strategy, data collection tools, detailed workplan for field survey and quality insurance, team structure, etc …);
Financial proposal that specifies number of working days required and consultancy rate;
Sample(s) of a MTR report for similar tasks.

How to Apply: An application, CVS and proposal should be submitted in English by email with subject mentioning “BEST project Midterm Review” to HR.Vietnam@oxfam.org.

The closing date for application: 17.00pm, 28th June 2023.