Website UNDP_India UNDP India
Application Deadline 08-Apr-22 (Midnight New York, USA)
UNDP has worked in India since 1951 in almost all areas of human development, from democratic governance to poverty eradication, to sustainable energy and environmental management. UNDP’s programmes are aligned with national priorities and are reviewed and adjusted annually.
UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.
UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.
Post Level : National Consultant
Languages Required :English
Duration of Initial Contract : 40 days (across April to July 2022)
Background
Youth in the age group of 15-29 years comprise 27.5% of the population. India’s population will continue to grow beyond 2025 and the trend is likely to persist well into the future. The National Youth Policy 2014 recognised the need for creating a productive workforce that can make sustainable contribution to India’s economic growth, develop a strong and healthy generation equipped to take on future challenges, support youth at risk and create equitable opportunities for all disadvantaged & marginalized youth, facilitate participation and civic engagement and instil social values and promote community service to build national ownership. The Policy clearly articulated, the role of volunteer schemes run by the Government of India such as Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS), National Service Scheme (NSS), National Cadet Corps (NCC), Bharat Nirman Volunteers (BNVs) among others.
National Service Scheme (NSS) with more than 3.6 million student youth volunteers and Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) with 8.43 million non-student youth volunteers through 1,25,000 youth clubs are two flagship volunteer based programmes of the Government of India.
The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) in India is implementing the project on “Strengthening Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) and National Service Scheme (NSS)” in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India, and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The project was initiated in September 2014 and provides a catalytic support to the two flagship Youth Volunteer Schemes run by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in the country i.e. Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) and National Service Scheme (NSS). It seeks to strengthen the volunteering infrastructure at the cutting-edge level and facilitate greater participation of youth in development programmes. The project recognises the importance of youth engagement in the socio-economic development arena and seeks to support implementation of various government schemes and action plans developed on the key strategic areas of the National Youth Policy 2014.
The Project has two distinct phases. In Phase-I (2014-2018), the national youth volunteer infrastructure of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MoYAS) was strengthened in the 29 districts which has been further upscaled to 58 districts in Phase-II (2018-2022).The project focuses on volunteering within a larger framework of goals for young people – creating a productive workforce, developing a strong and healthy generation, instilling social values, promoting community service and facilitating civic engagement. The project seeks to increase participation of youth in developmental activities through youth clubs affiliated with NYKS. It further seeks to create opportunities for enhanced civic engagement and economic activities through youth clubs in the project districts resulting into enhanced access and participation of youth to various schemes and services.
The expected outcomes of the project includes
(i) greater participation of youth in volunteering and civic engagement;
(ii) integration of youth volunteers in development schemes of the Government of India;
(iii) enhanced employability for youth through life skilling and social entrepreneurship; and
(iv) promoting gender equality and social inclusion through volunteering.
The outputs of the project are:
The project has adopted a multi-pronged strategy for promoting volunteering in the country including:
Background
Youth in the age group of 15-29 years comprise 27.5% of the population. India’s population will continue to grow beyond 2025 and the trend is likely to persist well into the future. The National Youth Policy 2014 recognised the need for creating a productive workforce that can make sustainable contribution to India’s economic growth, develop a strong and healthy generation equipped to take on future challenges, support youth at risk and create equitable opportunities for all disadvantaged & marginalized youth, facilitate participation and civic engagement and instil social values and promote community service to build national ownership. The Policy clearly articulated, the role of volunteer schemes run by the Government of India such as Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS), National Service Scheme (NSS), National Cadet Corps (NCC), Bharat Nirman Volunteers (BNVs) among others.
National Service Scheme (NSS) with more than 3.6 million student youth volunteers and Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) with 8.43 million non-student youth volunteers through 1,25,000 youth clubs are two flagship volunteer based programmes of the Government of India.
The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) in India is implementing the project on “Strengthening Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) and National Service Scheme (NSS)” in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India, and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The project was initiated in September 2014 and provides a catalytic support to the two flagship Youth Volunteer Schemes run by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in the country i.e. Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) and National Service Scheme (NSS). It seeks to strengthen the volunteering infrastructure at the cutting-edge level and facilitate greater participation of youth in development programmes. The project recognises the importance of youth engagement in the socio-economic development arena and seeks to support implementation of various government schemes and action plans developed on the key strategic areas of the National Youth Policy 2014.
The Project has two distinct phases. In Phase-I (2014-2018), the national youth volunteer infrastructure of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MoYAS) was strengthened in the 29 districts which has been further upscaled to 58 districts in Phase-II (2018-2022).The project focuses on volunteering within a larger framework of goals for young people – creating a productive workforce, developing a strong and healthy generation, instilling social values, promoting community service and facilitating civic engagement. The project seeks to increase participation of youth in developmental activities through youth clubs affiliated with NYKS. It further seeks to create opportunities for enhanced civic engagement and economic activities through youth clubs in the project districts resulting into enhanced access and participation of youth to various schemes and services.
The expected outcomes of the project includes (i) greater participation of youth in volunteering and civic engagement; (ii) integration of youth volunteers in development schemes of the Government of India; (iii) enhanced employability for youth through life skilling and social entrepreneurship; and (iv) promoting gender equality and social inclusion through volunteering.
The outputs of the project are:
Strengthening of Volunteer Infrastructure in 58 districts across 27 States leading to formation of new youth clubs, activation of dormant youth clubs, ;
Youth Clubs strengthened and Youth Resource Centres established in select districts to serve as one stop shop for youth in rural areas leading to enhanced capacity of youths; and
Contribution of Youth Volunteering recognized and skills for employability are built.
The project has adopted a multi-pronged strategy for promoting volunteering in the country including:
Engagement at the Central Government level for building an ecosystem for the reimagined volunteering journey that facilitates and enables youth development through active volunteering in the country.
Engagement at the state and district levels for greater participation of youth as volunteers
Making volunteerism more aspirational for young people leading to mainstreaming youth volunteers in the development agenda of the country
Establishing collaborative partnerships amongst government, private sector, and civil society for promoting volunteerism among youth.
The Terminal Evaluation (TE ) will be conducted according to the guidelines, rules, and procedures established by UNDP as reflected in the UNDP Evaluation Guidance (http://web.undp.org/evaluation/guideline/)
In this regard, the UN Volunteers in India is looking for a Consultant to carry out a comprehensive terminal evaluation of the project “Strengthening NYKS and NSS”. The evaluation will assess the achievement of project results against what was planned and draw lessons that can both improve the sustainability of benefits from this project, and aid in the overall enhancement for strengthening of Volunteer Infrastructure in the country. The evaluation will promote accountability and transparency and assesses the extent of project accomplishments. The evaluation will seek to be independent, credible, and useful, and will adhere to the highest possible professional standards in evaluation. The evaluation will be conducted in a consultative manner and will engage the participation of all key stakeholders. The evaluation will consider the Quarterly Progress Reports, Annual Progress Reports and, also the Mid-term Evaluation conducted for this project. It will also consider the gender equality and women empowerment bemainstreamed throughout all aspects of the evaluation
The Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports and Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) and National Service Scheme (NSS) will be the major partners in the evaluation contributing both through data from 58 project districts and validation of the evaluation results. The Project Steering Committee chaired by the Secretary (Youth Affairs), Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports will guide this evaluation along with the Joint Secretary who is the National Project Director of “Strengthening NYKS and NSS”. The Evaluation will use the United Nations Evaluation Groups (UNEG) Standards criteria viz; relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability, coherence and impact of results.
Duties and Responsibilities
Purpose
The purpose of the evaluation is to assess the project’s success in terms of its impact on the ground. The evaluation will critically examine the progress made in implementing various activities and measure achievements made and results obtained under the project. In addition, the evaluation aims at critically reviewing and identifying what has worked well in the project, what challenges have been faced, what lessons can be learned to improve future programming.
The evaluation will focus on six key evaluation criteria: relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, impact, sustainability, and coherence. The evaluation should provide credible, useful, evidence-based information which will help the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, UNDP and UNV in designing and implementing youth leadership and volunteering interventions in future.
Objectives
The objectives of the evaluation are:
Scope of Work and Timelines
This evaluation covers the project implementation in 58 districts
The scope of the work for the consultant will include but not be limited to:
1. Inception Phase
Scope of work of Consultant
• Desk review of existing documents, including project document, mid-term evaluation, project progress reports, strategies developed by the project, reports and documents developed by the project and write-ups on the project initiatives
• Drafting of the inception report, including evaluation methodology, timeline, evaluation matrix, and data collection tools
• Development of data collection tools (i.e. KII checklists and short questionnaires)
Presentation of the inception report to UNV/UNDP
No. of Days – 05 Days
Timing – Within 2 weeks of signing contract
2. Data Collection Phase
Scope of work of Consultant
No. of Days – 20 Days
Timing Within 10 weeks of signing the contract
3. Reporting Phase
Scope of work of Consultant
No. of Days – 15 Days
Timing Within 16 weeks of signing the contract
Duties & Responsibilities of the Consultant
The Consultant will be responsible for carrying out the following tasks:
1. Prepare Inception report which will include
2. Carry out desk review of reference material, documents, reports and any other data and information provided by the UNDP and UNV.
3. Carry out data collection activities as guided by the evaluation plan. S/he will conduct agreed-upon interviews with stakeholders. At the end of the data collection activities, a meeting will be organized by the Consultant to present preliminary findings and obtain feedback from the key stakeholders such as UNDP, UNV,
4. Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, NYKS, NSS.
Carry out systematic disaggregation of data including by sex, disability, geographical location etc.
5. Undertake field visits in keeping with allowable conditions in the COVID context and collect feedback/inputs from the target group and key stakeholders for the evaluation of the project.
6. Prepare a comprehensive Evaluation Report and presentation capturing impact of the project and suggesting measures for improvement.
7. Capture good practices with potential of replication and scaling-up.
8. Benchmark cross cutting issues such as gender and differently abled youth.
9. Share draft Report for factual correction and feedback to key stakeholders.
10. Finalize the Evaluation Report based on the feedback/inputs received from UNV, UNDP and Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports.
Competencies
Corporate Competencies:
Functional Competencies:
Skills:
Required Skills and Experience
1. Qualification and Experience
Master’s degree or equivalent in Development Studies, Economy, Statistics, Social Science, or other relevant fields
Experience
Evaluation criteria and key guiding questions
The evaluation questions define the information that must be generated as a result of the evaluation process. The answers will provide key basis to the intended users of the evaluation in making informed decisions, taking actions or adding knowledge. Some of the tentative questions can be as follows:
Relevance
Effectiveness
Efficiency
Sustainability
Coherence
To what extent do other interventions (including policies) support or undermine the intervention, and vice versa? It includes internal coherence and external coherence.
Impact
Evaluation of Cross-Cutting Issues:
Leave no one behind and gender aspects will be considered well in evaluation questions as well the evaluation process. Gender analysis, including gender disaggregated data need to be incorporated in the evaluation. The evaluation will also aim to answer the following questions
Way forward
Methodology
It is strongly suggested that the evaluation should use a mixed method approach – collecting and analyzing both qualitative and quantitative data using multiple sources in order to draw valid and evidence-based findings and conclusions and practical recommendations.
The Consultant is expected to employ a combination of both qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods and instruments. This could involve review of all relevant documents, mid-term evaluation report, key informant interviews, data collection, data review & analysis, field visits and on-site validation of key tangible outputs and interventions. The method for field level data collection will be dependent upon the COVID-19 pandemic situation. The current situation of the COVID-19 crisis in the country needs to be considered when proposing data collection tools. The consultant is expected to present alternative means of data collection as viable options.
The consultant is expected to propose and determine a sound evaluation design and methodology (including detailed methodology to answer each evaluation question including the cross cutting issues) and submit it to UNV in the inception report following a review of all key relevant documents and meetings with UNV/UNDP. Final decisions about the specific design and methods for the evaluation will be made through consultation among the UNV, UNDP, the evaluator and key stakeholders about what is appropriate and feasible to meet the evaluation purpose and objectives as well as answer the evaluation questions. The evaluator is expected to follow a participatory and consultative approach ensuring close engagement with stakeholders
Methods to be used by the evaluation team to collect and analyze the required data shall include but not limited to:
Desk Review: This should include a review of inter alia
Project document Annual Work Plans
Expected Deliverables
The Consultant will be responsible for ensuring the following deliverables to UNV/UNDP as per the agreed work plan:
Inception Report: The consultant will commence the evaluation process with a desk review and preliminary analysis of the available information provided by UNV andUNDP. Based on the ToR, initial meetings with the UNV and UNDP and the desk review, the consultant should develop an inception report elaborating evaluation methodologies, including how each evaluation question will be answered along with proposed methods, proposed sources of data, and data collection and analysis procedures. The inception report will include the evaluation matrix. UNV and UNDP will review the inception report and provide useful comments for improvement. This report will serve as an initial point of agreement and understanding between the consultant and UNV and UNDP
Draft Evaluation Report: The evaluation report will contain the same sections as the final report and shall follow the structure outlined in UNDP Evaluation Guideline (Evaluation Report Template and Quality Standards of the Evaluation Implementation of UNDP Evaluation Guidelines). The draft report will be reviewed by the UNV and UNDP. The draft report will ensure that each evaluation question is answered with in-depth analysis of information and back up the arguments with credible quantitative and/or qualitative evidences.
Presentation/Debriefing: A meeting will be organized with key stakeholders including UNV and UNDP to present findings, conclusions and recommendations.
Final Evaluation Report: The final report will incorporate comments and feedbacks from the stakeholders including the feedback provided during the Presentation/Debriefing meeting. Other relevant documents (i.e. data collection tools, questionnaires, datasets, if any) need to be submitted as well.
Evaluation Brief: A concise summary of the evaluation report will include findings, conclusions and recommendations using plain language targeting wider audience. This concise summary will be not more than 5-6 pages.
Evaluation ethics
This evaluation will be conducted in accordance with the principles outlined in the UNEG ‘Ethical Guidelines for Evaluation’. The consultant must safeguard the rights and confidentiality of information providers, interviewees and stakeholders through measures to ensure compliance with legal and other relevant codes governing collection of data and reporting on data. The consultant must also ensure security of collected information before and after the evaluation and protocols to ensure anonymity and confidentiality of sources of information where that is expected. The information knowledge and data gathered in the evaluation process must also be solely used for the evaluation and not for other uses with the express authorization of UNDP and partners.
Management arrangements
The Consultant will have overall responsibility for producing the Project Evaluation Report and for quality and timely submission of the report to the Country Coordinator, UNV. Direct supervision will be provided by the Country Coordinator, UNV with technical and coordination support by the Project Manager of the project Strengthening NYKS and NSS who will be responsible for the day to day implementation of the evaluation. The Project Steering Committee chaired by the Secretary (Youth Affairs) or his/ her designate will provide oversight and guidance for the proper conduct of the evaluation.
The consultant will work closely with the Project Management Unit set up at NYKS HQ and the UNV-District Youth Officers (DYOs) stationed at 58 districts under the project. A minimum of 5 district level visits will be organized by the UNV office. All necessary approvals and logistical arrangements will be provided by the UNV Team.
Price Proposal and Schedule of Paymen
This consultancy assignment is home based with field visits. The duration of the consultancy assignment is for 40 days acoss the months between March to June 2022. The total amount of the contract will be based on an agreed per day remuneration/ consultancy fee.
The total amount quoted shall be all-inclusive and include all costs components required to perform the deliverables identified in the TOR, including professional fee, and any other applicable cost to be incurred by the consultant in completing the assignment. The contract price will be fixed output-based price regardless of extension of the herein specified duration.
The payment for travel cost for field visits including tickets, loding and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the UNV and Individual consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed. The travel cost for undertaking field visits wil be reimbursed separately and should not be included in the financial proposal.
Payments will be done upon completion of the deliverables/outputs and as per below percentages:
Deliverables/Output
Upon satisfactory submission of the Inception Report including a methodology note and evaluation matrix (based on meetings with the UNV and UNDP, the desk review and preliminary analysis of the available information provided by UNV)
Payment Schedule – 20%
Upon completion of the data collection, satisfactory presentation and submission of draft Evaluation Report including addressing all evaluation questions, findings and recommendations
Payment Schedule – 40%
Upon satisfactory submission of Final Evaluation Report (including evaluation brief, data collection tools, questionnaires, datasets (if any)
Payment Schedule – 40%
Impact of COVID-19 on the assignment
The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic on 11 March 2020 as the new virus rapidly spread to all regions of the world. While these extraordinary circumstances present a critical limitation for the conduct of the evaluation, the UNDP/UNV will continue to monitor the situation as it evolves and reserves the right to adjust the evaluation plan as appropriate and in line with UNDPs principles of ‘do no harm’ and ‘duty of care’ for its staff and consultants. In line with UNDP’s financial regulations, when determined by the UNDP and the Consultant that a deliverable or service cannot be satisfactorily accomplished, that deliverable or service cannot be paid. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation and its ramifications, the UNDP/UNV may consider making a partial payment if the Consultant invested time towards the deliverable but was not able to complete it due to circumstances beyond her/his control.
Application submission process and criteria for selection
a) Technical Proposal
b) Financial proposal
Financial proposal should include per day remuneration/consultancy fee.
Evaluation Method and Criteria
Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology:
Cumulative analysis
The award of the contract shall be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as a) responsive/compliant/acceptable; and b) having received the highest score out of set of weighted technical criteria (70%). and financial criteria (30%). Financial score shall be computed as a ratio of the proposal being evaluated and the lowest priced proposal received by UNDP for the assignment.
Technical Criteria for Evaluation for National Consultant (Maximum 70 points)
Application submission process and criteria for selection
Criteria a) Technical
Weight 70% – 5%
Max. Point 70 – 5
At least 15 years of experience in strategic planning, project management and M&E related work
Weight 70% – 25%
Max. Point 70 – 25
Professional experiences in conducting evaluations or assessment of large-scale policies and programs funded by government, UN and/or donors
Weight 70% – 30%
Max. Point 70 -30
Good knowledge of UN and/or UNDP’s mandate and development context in the country
Weight 70% – 10%
Max. Point 70 -10
Financial
Total – 100%
Max. Point 100 points
Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points (70% of the total technical points) would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.
Financial Evaluation (Total 30 marks)
Technically qualified consultants will be requested to submit their lump sum rate i.e. consultants who score more than 70% i.e. 49 marks with respect to the above-mentioned evaluation criteria. Consultant should not specify their consultancy fee on their CV or with the submission. The CV will not be evaluated further in case the consultant submits the same.
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