Myanmar: Livestock and Evaluation Specialist (Consultant)

Background Information - Myanmar Myanmar is one of UNOPS leading offices in Asia, acting as fund manager for three of the largest development programmes in the country, namely the Three Millennium Development Goal Fund (3MDG), the Livelihood and Food Security Trust Fund (LIFT) and the Joint Peace Fund (JPF). In addition, UNOPS Myanmar is Principal Recipient for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in Myanmar and Cambodia, and for the Global Fund¹s Regional Artemisinin-resistance Initiative targeting drug resistant malaria in the Greater Mekong sub-region. UNOPS provides procurement, infrastructure and project management services to a wide range of organizations in the country, including the Government of Myanmar, international development partners, other UN agencies, NGOs and INGOs. UNOPS Myanmar plays a critical role in ensuring that the quality of services provided to its partners meets stringent requirements of speed, efficiency and cost effectiveness.

Background Information - Job-specific1.1 General background

The Livelihoods and Food Security Trust Fund (LIFT) is a multi-donor fund established in 2009 to address food insecurity and income poverty in Myanmar. LIFT has received funding from 14 donors – the United Kingdom, the European Union, Australia, Switzerland, Denmark, the United States, the Netherlands, Sweden, France, Luxembourg, Italy, New Zealand, Ireland and Mitsubishi Corporation. The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) is the Fund Manager to administer the funds and provide monitoring and oversight.

The overall goal of LIFT is to sustainably reduce the number of people living in poverty and hunger in Myanmar. LIFT’s purpose is to improve the incomes and nutrition status of poor people in Myanmar by promoting resilient livelihoods and food security. LIFT’s designated outcomes are improvements in income, resilience, nutrition, and pro-poor policy developments.

LIFT works with implementing partners that include international and national non-government organisations, United Nations agencies, the Government of Myanmar, private sector organisations, academic and research institutions.

LIFT is active in the four main agro-ecological zones of Myanmar: the Ayeyarwady Delta, the coastal region of Rakhine State, the central dry zone (including Mandalay, Magway and the southern Sagaing region), and the upland areas of Chin, Kachin, Kayah, Kayin and Shan States and Tanintharyi Region.

So far, LIFT has reached more than 7.2 million people, or roughly 20 per cent of Myanmar’s population; and is active in almost half the country’s townships. LIFT is funding projects through to June 2019. For more details visit www.lift-fund.org.

1.2 Reviews and evaluations of projects funded by LIFT
Projects funded by LIFT are subject to a mid-term review and a final evaluation which are managed by the LIFT Fund Management Office, in collaboration with the implementing partners (IP). Mid-term reviews (MTR) should make recommendations to improve the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability of the project. LIFT is now looking for a consultant to conduct a MTR for the project “Improving Farmer Livelihoods in the Dry Zone through Improved Livestock Health, Productivity and Marketing”, a project implemented by FAO in Myanmar (please refer to the LIFT website for some additional documentation on the project).
1.3 Background of the project to be reviewed
The project “Improving Farmer Livelihoods in the Dry Zone through Improved Livestock Health, Productivity and Marketing” focuses on strengthening animal health services through Community Animal Health Workers (CAHWs) and improved public services, and extending technologies to smallholders to improve animal health, feeding, breed improvement, and marketing in the target area. The project engages with government on policies in the areas of livestock development relevant to improvement of smallholder productivity and marketing. The project also pilots mechanisms for investment in livestock development through demand-driven sub-projects.

The project started on 1st January 2016 and will end on 31st December 2018. The project is now past the middle term of its implementation period.

Project purpose:

The purpose of the project is to sustainably improve the livelihoods and food security of communities and the poor and vulnerable population (1,323,683) of six townships in the Dry Zone through improving livestock health, productivity, and marketing.The expected outcomes of the project are:

1. Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department (LBVD) and CAHWs provide better services to households
2. Households access to CAHW and LBVD animal health services
3. Households procure inputs from private sector

4. Households adopt technologies
   Project outputs:

5. Private sector improve their services to households and CAHWS

6. Households trial and are aware of technologies

7. LBVD and CAHWs extend technologies to households
   2 Objectives of the Mid-Term Review

The MTR will evaluate the progress of the project to date, particularly in terms of the project’s relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability, as well as review its overall approach and specific methodologies. It will summarize findings, lessons and recommendations that will contribute to project improvement. The specific objectives of the review include:

2.1 Addressing LIFT-level evaluation questions:
Addressing the LIFT-level evaluation questions concerning the following criteria, in relation to the project’s overall approach and its individual components where appropriate:

a. Relevance: The extent to which the project and its components are suited to: (1) the priorities and needs of the target beneficiaries; (2) LIFT’s policies and objectives; and (3) the Myanmar policy and development context.
**
b. Effectiveness: **A measure of the extent to which the project is attaining its expected results and targets, based on the project’s theory of change, measurement framework and/or logical framework.

c. Efficiency: A measure of the extent to which the project has delivered value for money, in terms of costs and major benefits.

d. Sustainability: An assessment of the economic and, where appropriate, social and environmental sustainability of a project. Particular focus on whether the benefits of the project are likely to continue after donor funding has been withdrawn.
**
e. Gender equality**: The extent to which project design and implementation has considered gender-related differences in the roles, responsibilities, and needs of the target beneficiaries and enabled greater gender equality and women’s empowerment.

2.2 Adressing specific technical questions relevant to the project components:
a. To what extent have LBVD and CAHWs provided better animal health services to smallholder livestock farmers?
b. To what extent has the project enhanced the capability of CAHWs in animal health and livestock technology extension
c. To what extent have farmers utilized improved or new livestock management practices and technologies
d. To what extent has the project achieved in terms of livestock sector policies, supporting modalities, and guidelines which support improved smallholder livestock health, productivity, and marketing.

2.3 Identifying lessons and good practices
Distill lessons and good practices, as well as identify barriers to effective implementation, in order to provide meaningful and feasible recommendations for improving the project in its remaining time.
These lessons and good practices should aim to be of value for the implementing partner and LIFT but also may to other similar projects and stakeholders.
Thematic areas to consider for learning that are of particular interest to LIFT and implementing partners and may be relevant to this review are: livestock breeding and gender. Generic lessons should be avoided in favour of rich and context-specific learning.

3 Midterm Review Questions and Issues of Concern
This section provides more detail on additional topics and issues that are particularly important to LIFT and its partners. Early on in the consultancy, the Consultant will work closely with LIFT and the IP to further refine these questions.The Consultant will then develop the appropriate methodology and data collection instruments.

3.1 Address the LIFT-level evaluation questions concerning the project’s overall approach and its components where appropriate:

a. Relevance:

• To what extent have the FAO strategy and project interventions been relevant to the needs of the people it intends to reach?
• Have the target beneficiaries and their needs been accurately identified?

• To what extent has the project appropriately followed and implemented its strategy?
  b. Effectiveness:

• To what extent has FAO been effective in achieving its intended purpose and higher level outcomes, including in helping people to step up, step out and hang in?

• To what extent has FAO contributed to increasing incomes of beneficiary households?

• To what extent has FAO contributed to increasing the resilience of beneficiary households and communities?

• To what extent has FAO contributed improving the nutrition of women, men, and children?

• What have been the positive and negative unintended and unexpected consequences of FAO’s interventions?

• To what extent has the project contributed towards policy dialogue and knowledge sharing of food security and livelihoods isues?
  c. Efficiency:

• To what extent has FAO delivered value for money against its results framework, where material/tangible benefits are measurable?

• To what extent have value for money considerations been taken into account in the selection and design of projects?

• What are the costs of the interventions compared with the monetary benefits from the interventions?

• To what extent has the project been implemented on budget and on time?

• To what extent is the project delivering or posed to deliver value for money, as defined by costs versus major benefits ?
  d. Sustainability:

• To what extent has the project identified and established sustainable, efficient, and effective models for achieving the purpose and programme outcomes after the project support ends?

• To what extent has FAO developed policies in collaboration with LBVD?

• To what extent has FAO established formal and informal organizations and institutional arrangements for the inclusion of farmers in value chains (related to both inputs, advisory services and the processing and sale of livestock)?

• Has the project been able to formulate and implement a strategy for the sustainibility of the technology introduced?

• What have been the positive and negative unintended and unexpected consequences of the project operation?
  e. Gender equality

• To what extent has the project considered gendered differences in the needs, constraints, and opportunities of beneficiaries?

• To what extent have women participated equally in the project?

• To what extent have men and women benefitted equally from the project?

• To what extent have women been empowered as a result of project interventions?
  3.2 Address specific technical questions of each project component, focusing on (some of these questions may overlap with the questions listed above):

• How has the project contributed to hanging in, stepping up, stepping out?

• Has the project facilitated additional private and public investment to improve smallholder livelihoods?

• Has the project contributed significantly to an improvement on data and information in the livestock sector?

• Has the project empowered smallholders?

• Has the project improved smallholder access to improved inputs and services in the following areas like animal health, animal feeds, breeding males, financial services and water.

• Has the project improved smallholder decision-making?

• Has the project improved livestock trading and marketing systems?

• Has the policy development output been effective and cost-effective in its process, content, and impact
  4 Approach and Methodology

The consultancy will include review of documents and consultations with stakeholders in Myanmar. The consultant will provide a debriefing after the field work and an initial analysis. The consultant will be required to submit a final report on the findings. Please refer to Para #7 on the details of each deliverable.
The review of documents will be done partially home based via desk review. Suggested data sources include:

• Project documentation (project proposal, logframe, baseline report, annual and semi-annual reports, FMO’s field visit reports, meeting and workshop reports)
• LIFT Strategy (2014-2018) and other relevant LIFT documents/reports,
• Other documented experiences on the strengthening of animal health services and policy in the areas of livestock development relevant to improvement of smalholder productivity and marketing. He/she will then travel to Myanmar to meet with the LIFT team to agree on approach for data collection and then will meet with the relevant project stakeholders and partners (government, civil society, and the private sector), using Focus Group Discussions (FGD), Key information interviews (KII) and other appropriate methods for data collection.

LIFT will provide facilitators to support the Consultant in the logistics and arrangements for research and consultations, and respond to the Consultant’s questions on the interpretation of interviewees’ responses and on written and spoken information.

To demonstrate objectivity and credibility of the review, the consultant will clearly demarcate between sources of information, comment, opinion, and interpretation.

Duration

The consultant will work for 20 days, partially working from home for the desk review and report writing, and partially in Myanmar for the research work (Yangon, and in field locationsof the project - Pakokkiu, Yesagyo, Myingyan, Natogyi, Taungtha and Mahlaing townships).

This is planned for three weeks in September 2017. Field work will be followed by consultations, debriefing, and writing in preparation for a presentation in Yangon.

Functional Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the LIFT Dry Zone Programme Manager, in close coordination with the Programme Officers, the consultant will be responsible for following tasks and areas of activities:

Suggested Tasks

· Desk review of key documents (as outlined above)

· Review of programmatic experience and evidence of animal health, extension services, feeding, breed improvement, livestock trading, regulations, guidelines, and exising law and policies on livestock)

· Consultations in Yangon with LIFTFMO (Dry Zone team, LIFT policy team and if necessary, LIFT M&E Team)

· Agree on table of contents for the final report

· Drafting and submission of the inception report

· Meetings and consultations including for MTR design with FAO in Yangon

· Meetings with FAO project team in Nyaung-U

· Meetings and consultations with target beneficiaries and Township Veterinary Officers in six townships (Pakokkiu, Yesagyo, Myingyan, Natogyi, Taungtha and Mahlaing)

· Meetings and consultations LBVD Head Office and University of Veterinary Science in Naypyidaw and other key stakeholders

· Data analysis and debriefing workshop in Yangon

• Analysis of key project outcomes compared to work plan and TOC in order to assess overall progress towards achieving project objectives
• Assessment of the appropriateness of the strategies in place for achieving the planned results
• Identification of lessons from the project and provision of recommendations to improve project performance during the remaining period

· Data analysis and draft report writing (up to seven days after the briefing presentation)

· Finalised report (up to seven days after receiving final written feedback from LIFT)

https://jobs.unops.org/pages/ViewVacancy/VADetails.aspx?id=12557