Mid Term Review (MTR) for Governance and Economic Management Support

South Sudan is still working towards building coherent core institutional structures. The Governance  and  Economic Management Support (GEMS)  project  is a multi-year  project  implemented  by UNDP and funded  by the Government of Norway for the period August 2019 to December 2022, and is designed to support the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity (R-TGoNU) in implementing Chapter IV of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS Chapter IV of the R-ARCSS aims at: a) strengthening capacity of key national institutions to ensure effective and accountable implementation of the R-ARCSS ; and b) bolstering key economic governance and accountability function s. The work of GEMS is primarily completed through the placement of Special Skill Experts (SSEs) into key Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) . The SSEs mentor MDA staff, known as Change Agents (CA) who are senior civil servants already recruited/appointed (or to be recruited/appointed) by the respective MDAs. These CAs are meant to be trainable  and occupy positions central to  institutional  mandate  and delivery of the provisions  of R- ARCSS.

A complex set of issues have intervened, between signing of the agreement between UNDP and the Government of Norway and the present. On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. This declaration resulted on a quick and sudden global chain of events that did not spare South Sudan. The COVID-19 pandemic represents “a crisis on top of crises” for South Su dan. COVID-19 negatively impacted the multiple transitions that are ongoing in South Sudan, from war to peace to stability, humanitarian to development, and from pre-transition to transition phase. In addition, the consequence of climate change, flooding, a deteriorating exchange rate, and a lack of political will and commitment have all contributed to serious delays in implementation of the R-ARCSS . 2 of the 3 years 4 months long project period have already expired, and the project results are minimal. In the meantime, other actors, including the World Bank have entered the arena for institutional development in South Sudan . This evolving situation and the limited time remaining indicates the need for recalibration of the GEMS project in order to obtain the greatest impact in the short time remaining.

Purpose of the MTR

The purpose of the MTR is to assess: a.) whether the project as originally formulated can achieve the intended results in the time remaining b.) whether a strategic capacity injection focusing on Chapter IV of R-ARCSS (resource, economic and financial management/reforms) is advisable given the current time   constraint.

The MTR team will assess the following categories of project progress.

Project Design:

• Review the problem addressed by the project and the underlying assumptions. Review the effectiveness of assumptions or changes to the context to achieving the project results as outlined in the Project Document.
• Review the relevance of the project strategy and assess whether it provides the most effective route towards expected/intended results. Were Lessons from other relevant projects properly incorporated into the project design?
• Review how the project addresses country priorities. Review country ownership. Was the project concept in Line with the national sector development priorities and plans of the country (or of participating countries in the case of multi-country projects)?
• Review decision-making processes: were perspectives of those who would be affected by project decisions, those who could affect the outcomes, and those who could contribute information or other resources to the process, taken into account during project design processes?
• Were relevant gender issues (e.g., the impact of the project on gender equality in the programme country, involvement of women’s groups, engaging women in project activities) raised in the Project Document?
• If there are major areas of concern, recommend areas for improvement.
• Undertake a critical analysis of the project’s Logframe indicators and targets, assess how “SMART” the midterm and end-of-project targets are (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound), and suggest specific amendments/revisions to the targets and indicators as necessary.
• Are the project’s objectives and activities or components clear, practical, and feasible within its time frame?
• Examine if progress so far has Led to or could in the future catalyse beneficial development effects that should be included in the project results framework and monitored on an annual basis.

Progress  Towards Results

• Review the Logframe indicators against progress made towards the end-of-project targets; populate the Progress Towards Results Matrix, make recommendations from the areas marked as “not on target to be achieved” .
• Identify remaining barriers to achieving the project objective in the remainder of the project.
• By reviewing the aspects of the project that have already been successful, identrfy ways in which the project can further expand these bene fits.

Project Implementation and Adaptive Management

• Management Arrangements
• Review overall effectiveness of project management as outlined in the Project Document. Have changes been made and are they effective? Are responsibilities and reporting Lines clear? Is decision-making transparent and undertaken in a timely manner? Recommend areas for improvement.
• Review the quality of execution of the Executing Agency/Implementing Partner(s) and recommend areas for improvement.

Work Planning 

• Review any delays in project start-up and implementation, identify the causes and examine if they have

been resolved.

• Are work-planning processes results-based? If not, suggest ways to re-orientate work planning to focus on results?

• To what extent was the described procedures/approach in project document followed? Finance and co-finance

• Consider the financial management of the project, with specific reference to the cost-effectiveness of interventions.
• Review the changes to fund allocations because of budget revisions and assess the appropriateness and relevance of such revisions.
• Does the project have the appropriate financial controls, including reporting and planning, that allow management to make informed decisions regarding the budget and allow for timely flow of funds?

Gender equality

• To what extent have gender equality and the empowerment of women been addressed in the design, implementation, and monitoring of the project?

• Is the gender marker data assigned to this project representative of reality?
• How does the project mainstream gender in terms of gender equality in terms of Inclusion, participation, discrimination, numbers,  among other s.

• To what extent has the project promoted positive changes in gender equality and the empowerment of women? Were there any unintended effects?

• What is the gender balance of project staff? What steps have been taken to ensure gender balance in project staff?
• Review the extent to which relevant gender issues were raised in the project design .

Risk factors

• To what extent has the project activities been affected by the COV ID- 79 pandemic and other risk factors identified?

Conclusions & Recommendations

The fvTTR consultant/team will include a section in the fvTTR report for evidence-based conclusions, in Light of the findings.

Deliverables

The MTR team shall prepare and submit:

• MTR Inception Reports: MTR team clarifies objectives and methods of the MTR no later than 5 days after the commencement of the MTR.
• Presentation: MTR team presents initial findings to UNDP and stakeholders after 25 days.
• Draft MTR Report: MTR team submits the draft full reports with annexes within 25 days of commencement.
• Final Report: MTR team submits the revised report with annexed and completed Audit Trail detailing how all received comments have (and have not) been addressed in the final MTR reports. To be sent to the Commissioning Unit within 5 days of receiving UNDP comments on draft.

• The project manager and Project Quality Assurance team will – will convene an assessment reference group comprising of technical experts from partners and UNDP to enhance the quality of the MTR. This reference group will review the inception report and the draft assessment report to provide detailed comments related to the quality of methodology, evidence collected, analysis and articulation of findings and approve the final report. The reference group will also advise on the conformity of processes to UNDP and UNEG standards.

  The consultant will take responsibility, with assistance from the project team, for setting up meetings and conducting the review, subject to advanced approval of the methodology submitted in the inception report. The consultant will report directly to the designated assessment manager and focal point and work closely with the project team. The consultant will work full time, based in UNDP South Sudan (remotely for international consult) and will be required to travel to the project locations as part of the assessment. Office space and limited administrative and logistical support will be provided.  The consultant will use her/his own laptop and cell phone. 

  UNDP will develop a management response to the assessment within 4 weeks of report finalization.

Technical competencies

• At least 10 years’ professional experience in the fields of governance and/or economic institutional capacity building, gender mainstreaming and human rights promotion. (20 points
• At least 7 years (and recent – latest should have been conducted within the past 2 years) in conducting studies/ reviews/evaluations/assessments in governance and/or economic management capacity building (15 points);
• At least five years in planning, implementing, and monitoring governance and/or economic management projects, or capacity building projects in governance or economic management. (15 points)
• Excellent writing skills with a strong background in report drafting (to provide sample or similar reports (10 points).
• Demonstrated ability and willingness to work with people of different cultural, ethnic and religious background, different gender, and diverse political views (10 points).

1. Minimum Advanced/ Masters’ degree in International Development, Public Administration, Socio-Economic Development or other related fields. (20 points)
2. Qualification in monitoring and evaluation (certificate/ diploma) (10 points)