Achiziții de bunuri și contractări de servicii

Background

People in Need (PIN) is a Czech non-governmental organization that provides relief aid and development assistance while working to defend human rights and democratic freedom. It is one of the largest relief and development organizations in post-communist Europe and has administered projects in 37 countries over the past 20 years. People in Need has been working in the Republic of Moldova since 2003 and has an office in Chisinau, implementing projects in the field of sustainable livelihoods and environment, economic development, civil society, and youth development and education.

Since February 2021, People in Need Moldova has been running the project “Going Organic through Innovation” due to be completed by February 2022. The project is co-funded by the Small Grants Programme of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and has a total budget of 100.000,00 USD.

The project focuses on promoting sustainable management of agricultural land in order to increase farmers’ resilience to climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions promoting techniques of integrated agriculture. The project is implemented together with the Organic Farmer’s Cooperative “Ecoferm” - the first cooperative of organic farmers in Moldova - recently established through PIN initiative, and Moldova Organic Value Chain Alliance – MOVCA, the only association of ecologically certified farmers in the country. The project is implemented in 6 village communities where Ecoferm members are active and are able to play a key role in the implementation process and ensuring the long-term sustainability: Cuhurestii de Sus (Floresti), Ghindesti (Floresti), Oliscani (Soldanesti), Vascauti (Floresti), Rublenita (Soroca) and Logofteni (Falesti).

The main objectives and expected results of the project are:

Overall Objective: to contribute to sustainable rural development in Moldova through effective ecological management of agricultural lands.

Specific objective: to pilot practices of integrated agriculture for improved soil management, and promote results among relevant authorities, science-institutions, and farmers at the local level.

Output 1: promoting good soil practices with the support of the cooperative of organic farmers ECOFERM

Output 2: increasing the capacity of Ecoferm cooperative.

Objective and Scope of the Evaluation

Objective (s):

• Evaluate the project’s final results towards its objective and expected outcomes.
• The evaluator will also determine the unachieved results, as well as the unexpected results in case these are identified.

Scope: Evaluation of project components implemented by PIN and partners to contribute to sustainable rural development in the targeted districts thorough piloting practices of integrated agriculture for improved soil management.

Geographical area: Chisinau; Cuhurestii de Sus (Floresti); Ghindesti (Floresti); Oliscani (Soldanesti); Vascauti (Floresti); Rublenita (Soroca); Logofteni (Falesti).

Period under review: February 2021 – January 2022.

Key evaluation questions

Relevance

• Is the approach of piloting practices of integrated agriculture for improved soil management and promoting results among relevant stakeholders relevant to the Moldovan context?
• Does such an approach represent a useful instrument to contribute to the sustainable rural development in the target districts?

Effectiveness

• Has the project promoted good soil practices in the target districts?
• Have the local householders been informed and trained about best agricultural practices adapted to climate changes?
• Have the capacity and knowledge of the EcoFerm Cooperative members increased thanks to capacity building programme provided by the Project?
• Has the Cooperative EcoFerm refined the business plan based on the real needs and opportunities?
• Has the Cooperative EcoFerm increased the amount of compost produced thanks to the Project intervention?

Efficiency

• Were the resources and inputs (of PIN and project partners including financial and nonfinancial) converted to outputs in a timely and cost-effective manner?
• Was the management, coordination and monitoring of the project efficient and appropriate?
• To what extent the Cooperative EcoFerm participated in implementing the Project activities in the target districts and involved the local householders?
• How was the partnership between PIN, the Cooperative EcoFerm, and the Association MOVCA in terms of coordination and communication?

Sustainability

• What is the likelihood that the results of the project will be maintained after its completion?
• How likely the piloted good soil practices will be scaled up or replicated in other districts?
• Does the Cooperative EcoFerm have the capacity to continue its activity independently without the project support in the future?

Impact

• What changes (positive and negative, intended and unintended) have been generated by the project?

NOTE: PIN will require specific and data-supported answers to each of the agreed evaluation questions or strong justification for why the data could not be obtained. Justification of data unavailability must be communicated by the evaluator without any delay as soon as it becomes apparent and approved by PIN. Failure to do so can result in decreasing the consultant’s remuneration.

Methodology

Document review

• Project documents
• Needs Assessment of the project
• Baseline and end-line of the project
• 2021 Interim report to donor.

Field research

• Interviews with relevant stakeholders and project partners and beneficiaries, among which Project Team, EcoFerm, MOVCA, beneficiaries of the “Compost Programme” in each target village
• Field visits in the six target districts.

Specific Tasks

• Development of the methodology
• Study the relevant project documents
• Meetings with project staff and relevant stakeholders
• Preparation of evaluation documents: inception report, draft report, main findings for PIN, and final report.

Expected Deliverables

• Inception report including: evaluation matrix, methodology, tools, and work plan (Deadline: December 17, 2021)
• Presentation of major findings for PIN (Deadline: January 14, 2022)
• Draft report (25 pages max) plus annexes
• Final report (Deadline: January 26, 2022).

Note: The final report is expected to be presented either in Romanian or English.

Evaluation Report

The evaluator will use the following template for the evaluation report:

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Summary of the evaluation, with particular emphasis on the main findings, conclusions, lessons learned and recommendations.

INTRODUCTION: Description of the evaluated intervention, its logic, history, organisation and stakeholders. Presentation of the evaluation’s purpose and questions.

METHODOLOGY: Description of the sampling strategy and methods used for data collection; description of the limitations.

FINDINGS: Factual evidence relevant to the questions asked by the evaluation and interpretations of such evidence (answered evaluation questions).

CONCLUSIONS: Assessments of intervention results and performance against given evaluation criteria and standards of performance.

LESSONS LEARNED: General conclusions with a potential for wider application and use.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Specific and actionable proposals regarding improvements of the project or management addressed to the client of the evaluation or other intended users.

ANNEXES.

Note: The evaluation report should not exceed 25 pages (excluding annexes).

Duration

The duration of the contract for the evaluator will be for the period of December 13^th 2021 to January 28^th 2022.

The evaluator will respect the following timeframe:

Preparatory phase: 5 working days

• Desk review
• Evaluation Design (methodology and instruments)

Field research: 15 working days

• Meetings with PIN team and partners
• Data Collection
• Presentation of preliminary findings (no later than 14 of January)

Data analysis and draft report:

The draft report should be provided for feedback no later than 21 of January.

4 working days to incorporate feedback from country team.

Final report should be shared with PIN country team no later than 28 of January.

Logistics

The transportation costs for the Evaluator’s field trips will be included into the financial offer.

Qualification requirements

Proven experience within the following areas:

1. Experience in collecting data and working with complex monitoring and evaluation tools
2. Conducting and managing external project and programme evaluations
3. Experience in agriculture-related topics
4. Knowledge of climate change adaptation and mitigation measures
5. Good analytical skills presenting on data using graphs, diagrams, and other visual tools
6. Previous work experience with local and foreign NGOs and donors
7. Strong communication skills both oral and written
8. Fluency in Romanian and English.

Application process

Applications for evaluation should be submitted by email to concurs.moldova@peopleinneed.net by 5 pm (Republic of Moldova) on Thursday, December 9, 2021, the latest, with the ref.: “External Evaluator for the project Going Organic through Innovation”.

NOTE: All the documents for the application should be presented in Romanian or English.

The candidate should send the following documents:

• Curriculum Vitae or resume
• A short Cover Letter in English
• Detailed description of financial offer with activities and estimation of prices (i.e. daily rate, transports cost, etc.)
• A sample of a prior Evaluation Report
• Two reference contacts from previous assignments.

Selection criteria of the Offer will be as follows:

• The best offer price (40%)
• Proven relevant experience (60%).

Payment modalities