Consultancy: Joint Mid-Term Evaluation of the Making Cities Sustainable and Resilient Project

Duration: Total 8 weeks over April 2018 to July 2018

Supervisors / Reporting arrangement: Head of UN-Habitat HQs Evaluation Unit; Project Manager UN-Habitat and Project Manager UNISDR

Missions to Barcelona and Incheon: April 2018 (2 weeks)

Background

Making Cities Sustainable and Resilient is a joint Action (hereafter ‘the project’) between the European Commission DEVCO, UN-Habitat and UNISDR that aims to improve the understanding of, and capacity to, address disaster risks at the local level and build resilience, including in crisis-prone cities, to support national and local disaster risk reduction (DRR) and Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) strategies.

The project contributes directly to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 11 ‘Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable’, specifically targets 11.5 and 11.b, and builds on the achievements of the Hyogo Framework for Action – Building the Resilience of Nations 2005-2015, and paves the way toward the implementation of the Sendai Framework for DRR 2015-2013 at the local level, and the recently adopted New Urban Agenda.

The project is an intervention of 36 months and covers five result areas with the two respective implementing partners (UNISDR and UN-Habitat):

• Result 1 {UNISDR}: Increased commitments to build local-level resilience
• Result 2 {UNISDR}: Local Resilience and investments measured
• Result 3 {UN-HABITAT}: Key issues and challenges identified in linking early interventions in crisis-prone cities to long-term sustainable development inputs
• Result 4 {UNISDR}: Capacity is built in cities and local governments to develop and implement integrated local climate and disaster resilience action plans
• Result 5 {UN-HABITAT}: Crisis-prone cities have enhanced capacity to develop and implement plans to increase their resiliency.

UN-Habitat focuses on building local capacities in crisis-prone cities and supporting humanitarian partners, while UNISDR addresses resilience in locations that are highly exposed and have institutional capacity gaps, such as LDCs.

Justification / Mandate of the Joint Mid-Term Evaluation

This joint mid-term evaluation of the ‘Making Cities Sustainable and Resilient’ project is mandated by the donor, the European Commission (EU DEVCO). UNISDR traditionally undertakes evaluation of EU funded projects through the intervention of internal staff with expertise in evaluating programmes and who are not involved in the implementation of the project and similar for UN-Habitat. It is also in-line with the UN-Habitat Evaluation Policy (2013) and the Revised UN-Habitat Evaluation Framework (2016).

Purpose and Objectives of the Evaluation

The joint mid-term evaluation is to provide the donor and implementing partners with an independent appraisal of the performance of the project ‘Making Cities Sustainable and Resilient’ so far and based on the agreement, log frame, activities and budget. The mid-term will identify key lessons and propose practical recommendations for follow-up during the remaining period of the project and for a possible phase 2 of the project, or components of the project.

The mid-term evaluation report will provide input for final end-of-project evaluation to be conducted at the end of the project in early 2019 as well as the EC DEVCO funded ‘Making Cities Sustainable and Resilient’ Action final report to be submitted at the end of the first phase in Q2/2019.

The overall objective of the joint mid-term evaluation is to make an independent assessment of the performance of the project. The specific objectives for undertaking the mid-term evaluation of the project are:

• Assess implementation progress made in activities towards achieving the planned Results (Annex Project Agreement Document);
• Assess the continued relevance, effectiveness and impact of the project in supporting local governments/ cities in building resilience and engagement of stakeholder groups in implementing actions;
• Recommend strategic, programmatic and management considerations for implementing the remaining part of the project, with particular emphasis on programming approaches for a Phase 2.

Approach of the Evaluation 

The joint mid-term evaluation shall be independent and carried out in line with the evaluation norms and standards of the United Nations system. A variety of methodologies will be applied to collect information during the mid-term evaluation. These include review of documents relevant to the project, interviews (with relevant project staff at UN-Habitat and UNISDR, key informant interviews and consultations with partners and stakeholders, and focus group discussions, surveys and if feasible field visits).

The joint mid-term evaluation will be conducted over the period of eight weeks spread over four months, including the desk review, from April 2018 to July 2018.

Responsibilities

The joint mid-term evaluation will be conducted by one consultant. The evaluator is responsible for meeting professional and ethical standards in planning and conducting the mid-term evaluation, and producing the expected deliverables.

The consultant has overall responsibility for producing the deliverables according to the quality standards of UN-Habitat and UNISDR for evaluation reports.

Among the deliverables expected, there will be:

• Inception Report with Evaluation Work plan;
• Evaluation Reports Drafts;
• Final Evaluation Report.

Full details of the evaluation are provided in the attached Terms of Reference.

Competencies

• Professionalism: Demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject areas. Good research, analytical and problem-solving skills. Conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results. 
• Communication: Excellent and effective written and oral skills. Ability to convince people through constructive argumentation and to present information in a concise and accurate manner. Negotiating skills and ability to enable good communication and understanding between different interest groups, organizations, etc.
• Planning and Organizing: Proven ability to plan, coordinate and monitor own work and that of others. Ability to work under pressure and use time efficiently. Identifies priority activities and assignments, and adjust priorities as required.
• Teamwork: Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals. Solicits input by valuing ideas and expertise of others and is willing to learn from others.

Qualifications

• Education: At least a master’s Degree in urban and Regional Planning, Development Studies, Local Governance, Urban Geography, or other relevant discipline. The candidate should preferably be specialized in the field of capacity building and institutional change management.
• Work experience: Extensive evaluation experience and a minimum of ten years’ professional practical experience in results-based management working with projects/ programmes in the field of risk reduction, disasters, conflict and other urban shocks or stresses in transition countries. 
• Language: Excellent proficiency in spoken and written English is required, working knowledge of French and/or Spanish an advantage.

Remuneration

Payments will be based on deliverables over the consultancy period. There are set remuneration rates for consultancies. The rate is determined by functions performed and experience of the consultant. The fees will be paid as per agreement.

UN-HABITAT does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process. If you have any questions concerning persons or companies claiming to be recruiting on behalf of these offices and requesting the payment of a fee, please contact: recruitment@unon.org