Consultant(s)

TERMS OF REFERENCE

For consultant(s) to carry out the final project review

I. GENERAL BACKGROUND

The Asia Foundation (TAF) is a nonprofit international development organization committed to improving lives across a dynamic and developing Asia. The Asia Foundation has maintained an office in Hanoi since 2000 and is recognized in Vietnam for its analytical strength, innovative programming and for its ability to collaborate with and build alliances between partners in government, the private sector and civil society.  For further information about TAF, please visit our website at: www.asiafoundation.org

The Asia Foundation is looking for a qualified team of consultants/individual consultant (the Consultant) to conduct the final review of the project “Promoting Internationally Recognized Labor Rights - Effective Membership Associations for Freedom of Association in Vietnam”, funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL), for the period 2018-2021. The project’s goal is to promote adherence to internationally recognized labor rights through promotion of effective membership associations for freedom of association. Three specific objectives supporting the accomplishment of this goal include:

1. Increase knowledge and understanding of labor rights and trade union rights among white-collar workers and their supporting organizations.
2. Strengthen capacity of professional and technical occupation associations to effectively work with and represent their members, particularly in policy advocacy.
3. Broaden social and policy dialogues on the protection of labor rights for workers in professional and technical occupations, including women and other vulnerable groups such as people with disabilities.

A set of comprehensive and mutually reinforcing interventions have been designed to achieve the above objectives, namely: Extend labor-related education program for selected professional and technical occupation associations and their members; Promote good practices and pilot models in labor rights and trade union rights among participating associations; Capacity building for participating associations to better engage in policy development and overseeing the implementation of labor rights provisions; Support policy discussions on specific issues faced by members of the participating association to contribute to improved labor legal reforms towards protection of labor rights for workers in professional and technical occupations.

The project is being implemented in partnership with the Institute for Workers and Trade Union (IWTU), under the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor (VGCL). The project targets more than 20 professional and technical associations in close consultation with IWTU and relevant stakeholders that have more membership and working in sectors that have majority of members who come from women and disabilities.

II. OBJECTIVE OF THE FINAL EVALUATION

The objectives of this final evaluation are to:

• Assess the relevance of the project’s outputs and outcomes on the goal and objectives of the project as well as to The Asia Foundation’s and DRL’s overall policy goal and objectives;
• Assess the impact of the project on improving capacity of the target associations in representing and protecting rights of their members, particularly measuring the extent to which the project succeeded in reaching the proposed objectives and its sustainability;
• Document lessons learned from the implementation of the project;
• Propose practical and specific recommendations at both strategy and operational levels on how to improve the labor rights of workers for future programming.

The following are key questions to be answered by the Evaluation:

Relevance:

• To what extent has the project addressed the needs and priorities of the project’s target beneficiaries?
• How does the project fit within The Asia Foundation’s program priorities and DRL’s policy priorities?

Effectiveness:

• To what extent was the project’s design the most effective mean of achieving the objectives and to what extent have the objectives been reached, taking into account the relative importance of each objective?
• What major factors have contributed to the achievement or non-achievement of the objectives?
• Was the cooperation between The Asia Foundation and the local partners effective?

Impact:

• Has the project improved the capacity of the participating associations to effectively represent and protect labor rights of their members?
• Has the project provided an increased number of professional and technical workers with legal knowledge and information on labor and trade union rights?
• Has the project increased engagement and collaboration among CSOs, labor unions and government’s relevant agencies in providing support to workers?
• Are there any unexpected negative or positive effects of the project?

Sustainability:

• Do the relevant partners, particularly IWTU, have improved understanding and capacity in providing policy inputs and advice in the process of legal labor reforms and in the context of implementing the revised Labor Code and the country’s plan to ratify the ILO convention 87 on freedom of association.
• Has the project developed a successful platform for sustained collaboration between and among the labor-focused organizations/groups and the professional and technical occupational associations?

Lessons learnt and Recommendations:

• What are the challenges encountered during the course of the project?
• What are the areas for improvements of the project?
• What are practical and specific recommendations at the strategy and operational levels on how to improve the labor rights of professional and technical occupational workers for future programming?

III. METHODOLOGY

Detail methodologies will be developed by the Consultant and agreed upon by the Foundation and the implementing partners for the approved proposal mentioned in the scope of work for this final review. The following are suggested approaches and tools:

1. Desk review and data collection

• Desk review of secondary data sources, including the relevant project documents and reports which will be provided by The Asia Foundation’s program staff.
• Data collection: In-depth interviews/meetings with The Asia Foundation’s program staff, local implementing partners (IWTU and VGCL); Key informant interviews or/and focus group discussions with selected participating associations and their members. The sites and methods of conducting interviews or/and focus group discussions with be discussed and jointly decided upon by the Foundation, IWTU and the Consultant, depending on the situation of Covid-19 pandemic in the country.

2. Report writing: The Consultant will analyze the collected data to develop an evaluation report.

IV. SCOPE OF WORK

1.    Duties and responsibilities:

The Consultant in collaboration with The Asia Foundation’s staff will be responsible for carrying out the following tasks under this assignment:

• Revise the submitted proposal, which includes the evaluation methodology and workplan, report outline, detailed budget based on the discussion and agreements with The Asia Foundation’s program staff;
• Conduct a review of secondary information and data collection from available sources. The Consultant, in collaboration with The Asia Foundation’s local partners who could help in the arrangement of the meetings, will conduct collection of the primary data/information from the relevant key informants/stakeholders using the agreed methodologies as laid down in the Consultant’s proposal for this evaluation;
• Draft of the final evaluation report based on the analysis of the collected data/information and findings;
• Make all necessary revisions in the draft report, incorporating all comments from The Asia Foundation and other project partners (if any);
• Finalize the final report (in English) and submit to The Asia Foundation;
• Provide debriefing(s) on the evaluation results upon the request of The Asia Foundation.

3.    Deliverables:

The final deliverables for this evaluation will include:

• The revised proposal for the evaluation for review and approval by The Asia Foundation;
• The draft evaluation report for review by The Asia Foundation and other partners;
• The final evaluation report which will take into account the entire evaluation process and findings. The report will be prepared in English and submitted to The Asia Foundation in an electronic format. The report should include the following sections:
  • An executive summary providing analysis of the key findings and recommendations.
  • Table of contents.
  • Introduction presenting the purpose of the evaluation, the evaluation questions and methodology used.
  • Evaluation findings, analysis, and conclusions with associated data presented. The report should be structured around the main objectives.
  • Identification of successful programmatic approaches and lessons learnt
  • Recommendations on future programming development.
  • Appendices, which include detailed research instruments, list of interviewers, etc.
• Databases of the evaluation data.

V.  TENTATIVE TIMEFRAME

The final evaluation mission is expected to be conducted from middle of July 2021 and to be completed by end of September 2021. The total time allocated for the assignment is up to 30 days. The assignment will be home-based with necessary travels for meetings and interviews within Hanoi and nearby provinces (to be discussed with The Asia Foundation and its local partners).

VI. SCHEDULE OF PAYMENT

Payment will be realized based on the actual days worked. The consultancy fee is negotiable and based on The Asia Foundation’s policies and the qualifications of the Consultant(s). Payments will be made in installments based upon satisfactory completion of the agreed deliverables.

VII. QUALIFICATION OF THE CONSULTANT/TEAM OF CONSULTANTS

The consultant(s) should have the following qualifications to effectively carry out the proposed tasks:

• Post-graduate degree in social sciences, development studies or other related fields.
• At least 10-12 years of proven experience working in development sector and conducting evaluations of large projects/programs and delivering high quality reports and analytical papers.
• Knowledgeable and experience in labor issues would be a must.
• Understanding of or/and experience working in areas of CSOs development would be an advantage.
• Excellent analytical and writing skills in English and Vietnamese.
• Ability to be flexible with time and work schedule.

VIII. APPLICATION PROCESS

Interested consultant(s) or organization should submit the application package in English:

• A technical proposal detailing the proposed methodologies, time frame, proposed team, a short cost justification – including a daily rate for your last three consultancies;
• The latest CVs for all consultants involved (if the team of consultants is applying, please indicate the roles to be played in the team for conduct of this consultancy);

Note that The Asia Foundation may ask for examples of previous work after reviewing the application materials.

Please submit via email to:

Ms. Tran Giang Linh, Program Officer The Asia Foundation Email: linh.tran@asiafoundation.org

Closing time for applications is 5.00 PM (Hanoi time, GMT+7) on July 10, 2021.

Please note that only shortlisted candidates/organizations will be contacted for interview.

Location: Hanoi

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