Midterm Review IMKA, UNDP Country Office at United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

Description of the assignment

Midterm Review (MTR) of the full-sized UNDP-supported GEF-financed project titled Integrated Sound Management of Mercury in Kenya’s ASGM (IMKA)  (PIMS5877) 

MTR PURPOSE

• The MTR will assess progress towards the achievement of the project objectives and outcomes as specified in the Project Document and assess early signs of project success or failure with the goal of identifying the necessary changes to be made in order to set the project on-track to achieve its intended results. The MTR will also review the project’s strategy and its risks to sustainability.
• MTRs are primarily a monitoring tool to identify challenges and outline corrective actions to ensure that a project is on track to achieve maximum results by its completion. The primary output/deliverable of a MTR process is the MTR report. The MTR report will be submitted to GEF as a mandatory requirement for all GEF-financed full-sized projects (FSP).
• The MTR report must be completed and submitted to GEF secretariate with the 2nd Project Implementation Report (PIR) in 2021.

MTR APPROACH & METHODOLOGY

• The MTR must provide evidence-based information that is credible, reliable and useful.
• The MTR team will review all relevant sources of information including documents prepared during the preparation phase (i.e. PIF, UNDP Initiation Plan, UNDP Social and Environmental Screening Procedure (SESP), the Project Document, project reports including Annual Project Review/PIRs, project budget revisions, national strategic and legal documents, and any other materials that the team considers useful for this evidence-based review). The MTR team will review the baseline GEF focal area Tracking Tool/Core Indicators submitted to the GEF at CEO endorsement, and the midterm GEF focal area Tracking Tool/Core Indicators that must be completed before the MTR field mission begins. 
• The MTR team is expected to follow a collaborative and participatory approach  ensuring close engagement with the Project Team, government counterparts (the GEF Operational Focal Point), the UNDP Country Office(s), the Nature, Climate and Energy (NCE) Regional Technical Advisers, direct beneficiaries, and other key stakeholders.
• Engagement of stakeholders is vital to a successful MTR.  Stakeholder involvement should include interviews with stakeholders who have project responsibilities, including but not limited to (Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Ministry of Petroleum and Mining, Ministry of  Health, Ministry of Water and Sanitation, Kakamega County Government, Vihiga County Government, Migori County Government, Narok County Government, National Environment Management Authority, Centre for Environment Justice and Development, Impact Facility); senior officials and task team/ component leaders, key experts and consultants in the subject area, Project Board, project stakeholders, academia, local government and CSOs, etc. Additionally, the MTR team is expected to conduct field mission(s) to western Kenya Gold Belt, including the following project sites in Kakamega, Vihiga, Migori and Narok.
• Following the World Health Organization (WHO) declaration of COVID-19 a global pandemic and the national controls on the spread of the disease, the MTR will potentially be carried out both virtually and field visits as possible. Travel to Kenya is possible but with strict adherence to Covid-19 Travel Guide for Kenya, that is reviewed based on the prevailing infection threats.
• If it is not possible to travel to or within the country for the MTR, then the MTR team should develop a methodology and approach that takes this into account. This may require the use of remote interview methods through telephone or online (skype, zoom etc.), extended desk reviews, data analysis, surveys, and evaluation questionnaires. These approaches and methodologies should be detailed in the Inception Report and agreed with UNDP. If all or part of the MTR is to be carried out virtually then consideration should be taken for stakeholder availability, ability, and willingness to be interviewed remotely and the constraints this may place on MTR. These limitations must be reflected in the final MTR report. 
• The specific design and methodology for the MTR should emerge from consultations between the MTR team and the above-mentioned parties regarding what is appropriate and feasible for meeting the MTR purpose and objectives and answering the evaluation questions, given limitations of budget, time and data. The MTR team must, however, use gender-responsive methodologies and tools and ensure that gender equality and women’s empowerment, as well as other cross-cutting issues and SDGs are incorporated into the MTR report.
• The final methodological approach including interview schedule, field visits and data to be used in the MTR should be clearly outlined in the Inception Report and be fully discussed and agreed between UNDP, stakeholders and the MTR team. 
• The final MTR report should describe the full MTR approach taken and the rationale for the approach making explicit the underlying assumptions, challenges, strengths and weaknesses about the methods and approach of the review.