Consultancy for Monitoring Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Baseline

TOR - ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

Activity: Monitoring Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Baseline

1.        Summary Description

The Safe Food for Growth (SAFEGRO) technical assistance (TA) project will support the Government of Vietnam to ensure better access to safe and competitive agri-food products, with an aim to improve the well-being of female and male consumers as well as other beneficiaries (including poor farmers) in Vietnam. The SAFEGRO technical team will provide leading Canadian and international expertise to develop an internationally recognized risk-based food safety management system adapted to Vietnam, including the technical advice from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), the CEA (Alinea and the University of Guelph (UoG]) and other leading food safety organizations. The project started in 2021 and will last five years.

The design of the project, with three clearly linked and complementary components, will ensure activities are built on a solid food safety risk analysis framework of ‘practice informs policy’ with robust risk assessments to inform risk management and guide more effective risk communication. The project goal or ultimate outcome is “improved well-being of female and male consumers and agri-food sector actors including poor farmers in Vietnam”. The three project intermediate outcomes appropriately reflect the logical interdependent “Components” of a modernized national risk-based food safety management system. The project will support a technical and regulatory “Enabling Environment” for safe food to be “Supplied” through vibrant agri-food value chains. This will drive market “Demand” for safer food through improved performance of national and sub-national governments enforcing domestic food safety while meeting international standards. The most sustainable SAFEGRO results will be widely disseminated, scaled, and shared regionally so that Vietnam will be recognized for its food safety leadership.

Three intermediate outcomes reflect the project components including:

1. Component 1 – Enabling Environment: Improved performance of national and sub-national governments in food safety regulation enforcement along the value chain in Vietnam to meet international standards.
2. Component 2 – Supply & Value Chains: Increased competitiveness of poor farmers and other actors, particularly women in Vietnam, supplying safe agri-food products to domestic and international markets.
3. Component 3 – Demand & Consumers: Increased consumer demand for safe and affordable agri-food in Vietnam.

A robust baseline data collection is necessary at the outset of the project to support measuring its contribution to and impacts on the well-being of consumers and agri-food sector actors, and food safety in Vietnam in coming years. SAFEGRO will conduct baselines for its outcome indicators and selected output in coming months. SAFEGRO is looking for a service provider (consultant or consultant firm) for this assignment to establish baselines for essential indicators.

Outcome indicators are:

Ultimate outcome:

1. Rating from the Food Safety Performance Index

Intermediate outcomes:

1. Level of risk of food contaminants (pathogens, physical, chemical) being present along critical control points for select value chains (type, m/f ownership, geolocation)
2. Number/ proportion of food safety violations traced back to non-compliance, non-conformity by agri-food actors in SAFEGRO's target geographic areas
3. Number/ proportion of food safety incidents traced back to certified (HACCP/VietGAP 2.0) agri-food actor 'facilities' (m/f ownership, geolocation, type) supported by SAFEGRO over total food safety violations
4. Income/sales of certified (SAFEGRO certification) producer coops/groups
5. Score along the food safety culture index/progression model across SAFEGRO's geographic programming areas
6. Proportion (%) of consumers that select safe and environmentally sensitive food items in SAFEGRO-supported markets

Immediate outcomes:

1. Average value along the Interagency Collaborative Activities (5 point) Scale (IACAS)
2. Level of Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes (KSAs) of MToT cohort (m/f, position level) of sampling programs including protocols, sampling standards and testing equipment operations / calibration with an understanding of ES implications and mitigation (LABS).
3. Quality score (rubric) of Annual National Report on status of food safety in Vietnam published on the basis of transparent and reliable food safety monitoring and reporting platform data
4. Proportion of SAFEGRO-trained GoV national and subnational government personnel (m/f, position level) with new knowledge on risk assessment
5. Proportion of SAFEGRO agri-food actors (by gender, type, size) with new knowledge, skills, and attitudes on food safety
6. Proportion of applicable government and private sector actors (m/f) with new knowledge, skills, and attitudes on traceability systems (food safety) along select value chains
7. Proportion of SAFEGRO value chain actors (m/f-owned/operated, size, type) with new knowledge, skills and attitudes of agri-food innovative solutions, climate smart and gender sensitive agriculture approaches, technologies, and practices
8. Proportion of consumers (m/f) that recall key food safety messages generated by organizations/groups supported by SAFEGRO in targeted provinces

2. Objective of baseline

The purpose of the baseline is to collect data, evidence of the current situation of food safety as well as women empowerment situations in Vietnam following project outcomes and outputs. This will allow the project to have a basis against which to measure progress over time. It will also allow the project to have evidence-based validation and revision, as needed during project implementation. This is a MEL baseline aligned with the requirements of Global Affairs Canada MEL guidelines. This will serve for before/mid-term/after comparisons to highlight changes/ impacts of project. Thus, outcome and outputs indicators (also including indicators measuring gender empowerment) are the main targets for data collection (in both qualitative and quantitative angles). The baseline data will be used to populate MEL Project Management Framework (PMF). The service provider will also provide the project with a methodology for collecting comparative indicator data in subsequent years to measure progress against the baselines.

3.        Methodology

Methodology will be developed in consultation between SAFEGRO and the service provider. The consultant will provide all of the documentation and reference supporting the methodology, sources of data, statistical analysis and calculations used to support the determination of specific indicators.

4.        Activities, Deliverables and Time frame

5.        Qualification request for service provider

Minimum required qualifications, experience and competencies are as follows:

• Relevant Masters/PhD degree in topics relevant to food safety, value chain, agri-food, agriculture, nutrition, livelihoods, economic rights, market system, gender equality and social inclusion.
• Having experience, expertise in conducting assessments, baseline study in above mentioned areas for development projects.
• Ability to work with large data sets, and experience in qualitative and quantitative methods and analytics essential.
• Ability to perform a range of data analysis, proficient user of Excel or SPSS for data analysis.
• Strong MEL experience in analyzing and evaluating relevant development projects.
• Conceptual and critical thinking as well as analytical skills.
• Ability to arrange and manage logistical issues related to the implementation of the assignment.
• Ability to produce high quality outputs in a timely manner while understanding and anticipating the evolving client needs.
• Gender-balanced team.
• Sound communication and presentation skills with local and international people.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and quality report writing skills in Vietnamese and English.
• Experience in feminist evaluation approaches will be an asset.

6.        Due diligence process

The hired consultants must certify that he/she must follow the code of conduct, and HR regulation of the CEA.

How to apply

Please send your application (letter of interest and CV with details on qualifications and experiences) with at least 3 referees by email to: [email protected]; and copy to: [email protected], or send a hard copy to project office address at P. 301-302, Building B3, 298 Kim Ma, Ha Noi, and include the job title in your email subject line.

Deadline: 17h00 on 1/8/2022

Please note that only short-listed applicants will be contacted for an interview.