Advisory Team for Project Final Evaluation: “Strengthening the Framework for Production and Marketing of Organic Agricultural Products in Northern Vietnam”

TERMS OF REFERENCE

Final evaluation “Strengthening the Framework for Production and
Marketing of Organic Agricultural Products in Northern Vietnam”

1. Introduction

ADDA is a Danish NGO founded in March 1994 in order to meet the need for rural development through agricultural education in Southeast Asia.

ADDA has been working in Vietnam since 1998 assisting the poor and ethnic minorities in the Northern Provinces. The project “Strengthening the Framework for Production and Marketing of Organic Agricultural Products in Northern Vietnam” started from 01/4/2016 and will be finished by the end of June 2019. The project is implemented in two provinces of Hoa Binh and Tuyen Quang. ADDAs lead partner organization is Vietnam Organic Agriculture Association (VOAA). The project aims to support farmer groups in remote and mountainous areas of the two provinces to increase their income by developing organic production and access to the market. The objectives of the project include improved awareness of society on safe food and organic products by building capacity for the partners and advocacy..

ADDA is looking for a national advisory team carrying out the final evaluation of the project with the following information:

2. Objectives of the Evaluation

The objective of the evaluation is to assess the outcomes and impact of the objectives of the project. The study should evaluate the impact of the project among the target groups and beneficiaries and assess the level of community and other stakeholder participation. It will also identify the intended and unintended changes, best practices, lessons learned as well as challenges meet. Finally, the evaluation should come up with conclusions and recommendations for learning and future intervention.

The evaluation should assess the following thematic areas:

2.1. Relevance

• The relevance of the project to the target groups and beneficiaries
• The relevance of the project to achieve the immediate objective “livelihood and food safety has improved for both producers and consumers in Northern Vietnam through the expansion of organic and safe food production amongst the rural poor, especially ethnic minorities”
• The relevance of the project in relation local and national policies

2.2 Efficiency

• The efficiency should be evaluated by making an assessment of whether project resources (budget, assets, and staffs) were used efficiently in relation to the planned activities, outputs and outcome.

2.3 Effectiveness

The effectiveness should be measured by looking at whether the project has achieved the immediate objective as stated in the project documents and project outline.

2.4 Impact

The evaluation should ascertain general changes of the project including:

• Identify a qualitative level of completion of the projects immediate objective
• Identify the main factors affecting the implementation of the project activities
• If the target groups feel empowered by the project
• Local government planning in relation to climate change action
• Outline the intended and unintended outcomes
• Recommend changes, improvement or future programmatic of similar approaches

2.5 Sustainability

Assessthe sustainability of the project in relation to:

• Continuation
• Maintenance and replication of the project outcomes (technical replication of trainings and financial viability)
• Effectiveness of the capacity building of target groups and beneficiaries
  Possibility of scaling up of the project beyond the project areas to other communes, districts or provinces

2.6 Lessons learnt, conclusion and recommendations

On the basis of collected information the evaluation should:

• Capture best practices and lessons learned from this project
• Draw conclusions and make recommendations

3. Evaluation methods

It is expected that a variety of methods are used to collect and analyze data including participatory methods to collect qualitative and quantitative data.

The following list of methods is recommended:

• Farmer Interest Group and household surveys using survey questionnaires
• Focus Group Discussions (FGD)
• Literature review and review of context and national climate change policy trends– project documents such as project proposal, quarterly and annual reports and other documents are available.
• Field observation of the targeted communities
• Interviews with ADDA, PanNature and sub-partners key staff and local authorities
• Key informant interview (KII)

4. Composition of evaluation team

The evaluation team must have the required expertise:

• Excellent command of spoken and written English
• Previous experience in conducting evaluation activities
• Advanced degree in rural development, agriculture, social science or other relevant development field is required preferable at least 5-8 years of experience working in Agriculture Development
• Excellent interviewing, analytical and report writing skills
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills including ability to facilitate and work in a multidisciplinary team
• Extensive experience in working with international donors
• Experience in quantitative and qualitative research methods
• Additional asset: Knowledge and practical experience in working with farmer communities, extensive experience in organizational development for Farmer Interest Groups (FIGs), ecological agriculture, green development, agro-forestry model

5. Deliverables and main duties of the evaluation team

• Develop an evaluating outline including a reporting framework, questionnaires and field survey planning in collaboration with partners
• A comprehensive report in both Vietnamese and English
• A PowerPoint presentation that summarizes findings and recommendations of the report is shared in the final workshop in Hanoi or provinces
• Debriefing with project management

6. Reporting and timeframe

The final evaluation is expected to take place between on 26th April and 20th June 2019. The final draft report will be submitted to ADDA on 06th June 2019. The final report is due on 12th June 2019.

Prior to the start of field data collection, the evaluation team should draw up a brief inception report, setting out the plan for field activities, for discussion and agreement with the Project Management. This inception report will include further details of the costs of the field activities. It is expected that a total of 23 working days will be adequate for the assignment, comprising:

• 5 days of desk study for preparation of the Inception report and field arrangements
• 1 day planning meeting
• 08 days of field investigations and travel between the sites
• 5 days for preparation of the draft report
• 3 days completion of the final report
• 1 day debriefing

7. Submission of proposal

Application form should be sent to the ADDA office via [email protected] before noon 12:00 pm on 01/04/2019. The application should include a detailed expression of interest (technical and financial proposal) with the following components: (1) Understanding of the TOR (2) Curriculum vitae and work experience; (3) Evaluation method and evaluation plan; (4) Estimated detailed evaluation budget including consulting fees, accommodation, meals, and transportation fees.