Country: Viet Nam
Closing date: 15 Mar 2017
NorCross has supported Vietnam Red Cross (VNRC) with emergency relief and OD/Watsan programs in 21 provinces since 1998 through multilateral and bilateral channels. NorCross is considered as a long time and trusted partner with VNRC. The Community Based Disaster Risk Reduction (CBDRR) initiatives first were supported by NorCross during the period 2010- 2014 in three provinces: Binh Dinh, Phu Yen and Lao Cai. During the 2015-2017 period, VNRC has received NorCross support to continue the implementation of DRR programming in the three remote Northern provinces of Lao Cai, Ha Giang and Nghe An, given their high level of poverty, ethnic minority populations and vulnerability to disasters. The program is funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Vietnam Red Cross (VNRC) society is one active member of the Committee of Floods & Storm Control, Search and Rescue at National and provincial level. It is mandated by the Government to respond to disasters with relief items and recovery interventions, and continues to serve communities with health education and first aid training nationwide. VNRC plays an important role as an auxiliary to the government at all levels in addressing the needs of vulnerable communities.
The main focus on the evaluation will be the effectiveness of the DRR Project and its impact on resilience against disaster risks in 5 project provinces of Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Lao Cai, Ha Giang and Nghe An. The field study will be conducted in 10 representative communes (out of 49 communes), 2 communes per province. This terminal project evaluation is aimed to: 1) Examine the extent to which intended objectives and outcomes of the DRR project were achieved during 2015-2017 in 03 provinces of Ha Giang, Lao Cai and Nghe An, thus delivering accountability to the project donors. 2) Identify lessons learnt (period 2010-2017) and provide recommendations for improving effectiveness and impact of NorCross funded Disaster Risk Reduction projects in the future. 3) Document good practices (period 2010-2017) to inform present and future community-based DRR programming (separate annex) 4) Assess NorCross – Vietnam Red Cross’ coordination/corporation and NorCross added value.
Entitled "Community Based Disaster Risk Reduction", the project, funded by NorCross and implemented by VNRC, aligns itself with the challenges facing Vietnam. It is also in line with the strategic plans of VNRC and NorCross. Helping ethnic minorities in remote mountainous areas is the current priority of both the Vietnamese Government and the VNRC. NorCross was the first National society who supported DRR activities with ethnic minorities in the Northern mountainous areas, starting in Lao Cai in 2012.
The project interventions in Lao Cai, Ha Giang and Nghe An provinces during 2015- 2017 period represent an effort to reduce the negative impacts of natural disasters on lives, property, health and livelihoods in 15 communes in the three provinces. The project is planned to directly benefit about 33,000 people, including community members, village volunteers, teachers, students, parents, Commune Emergency Response teams, village heads, Red Cross staff at national and local levels and local authorities at district and commune level. Special focus is directed towards the inclusion of vulnerable groups including women, children, disabled people, the elderly and those who resides in the most disaster prone areas of a commune, by addressing their pressing needs in disaster risk reduction.
Within the wider overall goal described above, the project focuses on two main outcomes:
"Local Commune Authorities and VNRC chapters in three provinces have increased capacity to support target communities in the face of disaster risks and impacts of climate change". The program provides training of trainers, technical training to 1,200 local partners - in such topics as VCAs, CBDRM, DRR, CCA, WATSAN, health & hygiene, PMER, first aid, rescue, etc. – and selected people will participate in exchange activities outside their project area; people are given equipment for management, communication and training, such as computers, cameras, sound systems, etc.
"Target communities have the knowledge, systems and facilities in place to prepare & respond to disaster risks and ensure their development". VNRC conduct VCAs and establish Disaster Management Plans for 15 communes, as well as contingency plans for high-risk villages; set up Emergency Response Teams and village volunteer networks; set up the early warning systems, communicate DRR messages to 17,000 villagers and 10,000 teachers & students; provide latrines, water facilities, livelihood and re-location support to 5,000 people; provide public mitigation infrastructure to selected villages; provide equipment and facilities for disaster preparedness and response.
The evaluation is expected to assess the DRR/DP project according to the evaluation criteria under point 4 in the period 2015- 2017 in 15 communes of Lao Cai, Ha Giang and Nghe An provinces. In addition VNRC would like the Consultant to also conduct a field assessment in 04 communes in Binh Dinh and Phu Yen province which aims to give a look-back view of the longer term impact of NorCross’ DRR interventions 2010-2014. The project performance is evaluated based on the following five criteria: Relevance and Appropriateness, Effectiveness, Efficiency, Impact and Sustainability.
Duration and timeframe: The duration of the evaluation should not exceed 30 days, including presentational activities. The evaluation will be conducted during May to July 2017. Deadlines for delivering draft final evaluation report is two weeks after end of field visit. The final draft report should be shared with Vietnam Red Cross and NorCross Vietnam before being presented.
Application requirements: NorCross is looking for a team of two consultants, one of which should be locally recruited by the team leader/consultant so that communication with local stakeholders in Vietnamese language can be facilitated. The local consultant must be fluent in English. He/she should have experience in conducting DRR and Disaster Preparedness project evaluations in developing countries, experience in the evaluation and research methods presented in this TOR. An understanding of the Red Cross Movement is highly desirable.
How to apply:
Interested candidates should submit their application material by 15th March 2017
The Expression of Interest should include:
1)Technical proposal not exceeding five pages expressing an understanding and interpretation of the ToR, the proposed methodology, and a time and activity schedule.
2)Financial proposal itemizing estimated costs for services rendered (daily consultancy fees), accommodation and living costs, transport costs, stationery costs, and any other related supplies or services required for the evaluation.
3)Curricula Vitae (CV) for all members of the team applying.
4)Letter summarizing your experience as it pertains to this assignment, and 3 references.
5)A brief description of your firm or institution (for applicants other than individual contractors).
6)At least one example of an evaluation report most similar to that described in this TOR.
Application material is non-returnable, and we thank you in advance for understanding that only short-listed candidates will be contacted for the next step in the application process.
For more information and Terms of Reference, please contact: duy.nguyen@redcross.no or astrid.sletten@redcross.no