|
Call for evaluator to carry out external evaluation for the Project 10113857 – MESA Chios, 10/01/2024
Call for evaluator to carry out external evaluation for the Project 10113857 - MESA
The Network of the Insular Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the European Union (INSULEUR) is seeking an evaluator to carry out three (3) Annual Evaluation reports and final impact assessment of the "Mediterranean Islands for Sustainable Agriculture" (MESA) project financed according to Regulation (EU) 1144/2014 of the European Parliament and the Commission to be carried out from January 2024 until December 2026. The objective of the MESA project is to increase awareness on the sustainable Agri food products and production methods of the three Mediterranean islands and their contribution to the climate, environment and animal welfare. The objective will be achieved via extensive, proven for their efficiency and efficacy, publicity actions and tailored B2B initiatives. Publicity actions provide in depth information to the general public on the intimate connection of the specific products and methods with the society and the environment, focusing on their sustainable Mediterranean character and highlighting key examples of each island especially concerning climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation. The first strand will result to the increase of knowledge of the German public (consumers 25-59 years old and +60 years old) on the sustainability notion of the Union's policies and strategies (farm to fork, Green Deal CAP) as applied in the three islands. The second strand will create a critical eco - system of producers from the three islands that are and will be committed in producing sustainable food products convincing multipliers and trade channels on the competitive advantages of the sustainable products and production methods under promotion, increasing their sales / exports to the German market. An informative return - improvement of the perception of the German audience of products and production methods from three islands as sustainable and a direct economic return, generation of 12-million-euro new exports for a 1,3 million investment during the 36 months project period are the expected results. It is in this context that the evaluator will conduct the annual evaluations and the impact assessment of the MESA project implemented from January 2024 until December 2026.
Interested candidates should send a written proposal with the following elements:
1) Technical Proposal consisting of:
2) A financial proposal that should not exceed EUR 26000 including VAT.
INSULEUR places great emphasis on ensuring that the objectives of the work assignment, as described in the ToRs, are met. Accordingly, in evaluating the proposals for the assignment, attention will focus first and foremost on the technical elements. From those proposals deemed suitable in terms of the criteria in the ToRs, INSULEUR shall select the proposal that offers the best value for money avoiding conflict of interest. Your proposal (and any possible question) should be submitted by e-mail to insuleur.network@gmail.com, no later than 25 January 2024, 5.00 pm (UTC+2). E-mail proposals should not exceed 5MB. Proposals received after this deadline will not be considered.
Evaluation and selection of Proposals The Proposals will be assessed and selected based on the most advantageous economic offer criterion.
Terms of Reference
Annual Evaluation and impact assessment of the 10113857 - MESA Grant Agreement
The Network of the Insular Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the European Union (INSULEUR) is seeking an evaluator to carry out three (3) Annual Evaluations report and the final impact assessment of the "Mediterranean Islands for Sustainable Agriculture" (MESA) project financed according to Regulation (EU) 1144/2014 of the European Parliament and the Commission to be implemented from January 2024 until December 2026.
I. Background
Three Chambers from EU Mediterranean Islands (Chamber of Rethymno (Crete), Camera di Commercio IAA di Cagliari - Oristano (Sardinia) and the Camara Oficial de Comercio Industria y Navegacion de Mallorca (Baleares) along with the Network of the Insular Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the European Union (INSULEUR) as Coordinator joined forces in order to promote Union's sustainable agriculture in Germany, the largest food market in the Union. The objective of the MESA project is to increase awareness on the sustainable agri food products and production methods of the three Mediterranean islands and their contribution to the climate, environment and animal welfare. The objective will be achieved via extensive, proven for their efficiency and efficacy, publicity actions and tailored B2B initiatives. Publicity actions provide in depth information to the general public on the intimate connection of the specific products and methods with the society and the environment, focusing on their sustainable Mediterranean character and highlighting key examples of each island especially concerning climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation. The first strand will result to the increase of knowledge of the German public (consumers 25-59 years old and +60 years old) on the sustainability notion of the Union's policies and strategies (farm to fork, Green Deal CAP) as applied in the three islands. The second strand will create a critical eco - system of producers from the three islands that are and will be committed in producing sustainable food products convincing multipliers and trade channels on the competitive advantages of the sustainable products and production methods under promotion, increasing their sales / exports to the German market. An informative return - improvement of the perception of the German audience of products and production methods from three islands as sustainable and a direct economic return, generation of 12-million-euro new exports for a 1,3 million investment during the 36 months project period are the expected results. The Grant Agreement 10113857 - MESA was signed on 19 December 2023 and the project starts on 1 January 2024.
II. Purpose and use of the evaluation
Evaluation surveys are provisioned for each year measuring outcomes and results of the project in activities level both in quantitative (expected outcomes vs actual outcomes and expected results vs actual results) and qualitative (cost vs outcomes and results, deviation occurred, additional results occurred, problems occurred and ways of handling etc). In the last year the evaluation analysis will include also results measurement in project level and impact assessment. Impact assessment will verify achievement of the objective and its results, informative and economic. The expected informative result will be the increase of knowledge of the German public on the sustainability notion of the Union's policies and strategies (farm to fork, Green Deal CAP) as it is applied in the three islands. The economic result concerns the increase of sales / exports to the German market from the three islands. Project includes activities that will be addressing to a large audience of the identified target groups. In numbers, project audience pool is large both concerning the consumers and the multipliers or trade. This provides the opportunity to apply in annual bases, verification tools of the evolution of project's expected results and project's activities impact. The evaluator will need to map the theory of change in order to track the progress occurred towards the final goal by setting a series of intermediate goals; will prioritize what will measure and the groups in terms of their influence, their opinion weight and in terms their credibility, choose level of evidence that is proportionate to the realistic size of the sample in order to track the extent to which the change has happened (using quantitative methods) and how the change happened (using qualitative methods), select sources and tools and in specific among (i) Surveys/questionnaires, (ii) interviews (iii) Social network analysis. The indicative methodology for measuring the informative results will be based on specialized research conducted by the external evaluator within Y1 in order to verify current state in three levels; recognition, perception and knowledge. Specifically, a survey will be carried out with interviews among market representatives, multipliers and other stakeholders (expected sample size 500 questionnaires for Y1). In parallel a continuous online survey on the website of the project promoted via social media accounts will be a valuable source of data for evaluator.
III. Objectives and scope of the evaluation
The evaluation will assess the effectiveness, efficiency, coherence, relevance, and EU value added of the MESA project. Moreover, the evaluator will monitor the project management and implementation, making recommendations for strengthening its administration and generate recommendations to enhance the relevance and effectiveness and. the impact of the project.
IV. Methodology and data collection methods
The evaluation can include a combination of evaluation approaches and methods to cover objectives and it is expected that the evaluation design will use both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. For example, the evaluation will combine the following methods to collect data from primary and secondary sources: · In-depth desk study of relevant document analysis and online resources generated · Short online surveys and/or interviews and structured online and/or on-site interviews with relevant stakeholders
V. Roles and responsibilities
The evaluation will be managed and coordinated by INSULEUR, which will work closely with the contractor. Partners and the project team will provide the evaluator with available information and relevant documentation and facilitate contact with the persons to be interviewed. The contractor will be responsible for all logistics, including space for work, telecommunications, and printing of documents required to carry out the work. The contractor is in charge of the following activities:
· Developing an inception note/report, including a customized assessment framework; · Conducting the data collection, interviews and analysis; · Preparing and finalizing the annual evaluation reports · Participate in project team meetings / project monitoring meetings
VI. Expected deliverables and schedule
Each annual evaluation report should be delivered not later than 45 days after the end of each project period. The assignment is planned to start on upon signing of the respective contract with the following deliverables:
1. Inception note including the methodology and evaluation matrix (3-4 pages, excluding annexes) by 30 May 2024.
· Background, objectives and key evaluation questions · Methodology including an evaluation matrix (customized framework of how the evaluation exercise intends to cover the dimensions that define the scope of the evaluation).
2. 1st evaluation report - by 15 February 2025
· Executive summary (2 pages) · Background and description of the project · Objective and scope of the evaluation · Evaluation methodology and methods of data collection and analysis · Key findings in the areas identified by the framework · Conclusions and Lessons learnt · Recommendations · Annexes (list of stakeholders consulted, key documents reviewed, interviews and survey results, financial analysis, etc.) 3. 2nd evaluation report - by 15 February 2026 · Executive summary (2 pages) · Background and description of the project · Objective and scope of the evaluation · Evaluation methodology and methods of data collection and analysis · Key findings in the areas identified by the framework · Conclusions and Lessons learnt · Recommendations · Annexes (list of stakeholders consulted, key documents reviewed, interviews and survey results, financial analysis, etc.)
4. Final evaluation report - by 15 February 2027
· Executive summary (2 pages) · Background and description of the project · Objective and scope of the evaluation · Evaluation methodology and methods of data collection and analysis · Key findings in the areas identified by the framework · Conclusions and Lessons learnt · Recommendations · Annexes (list of stakeholders consulted, key documents reviewed, interviews and survey results, financial analysis, etc.) With regards to the above-specified deliverables, particular attention should be given to the following: · Consistency of style, terminology, abbreviations and presentation; · Coherence of the table of contents, list of tables with heading and sub-headings; · Document structure and hierarchy (headings, numbers); · Consistency of bibliography with references in the text; · List of acronyms.
VII. Profile and qualifications required
The call for proposals is addressed to companies or individual consultants who can engage in a contractual agreement as a legal entity. Candidates should present their qualifications / references / credentials / expertise within their proposal.
Call for written proposals Interested candidates should send a written proposal with the following elements: 1) Technical Proposal consisting of:
2) A financial proposal that should not exceed EUR 26000 including VAT. INSULEUR places great emphasis on ensuring that the objectives of the work assignment, as described in the ToRs, are met. Accordingly, in evaluating the proposals for the assignment, attention will focus first and foremost on the technical elements. From those proposals deemed suitable in terms of the criteria in the ToRs, INSULEUR shall select the proposal that offers the best value for money avoiding conflict of interest. Your proposal (and any possible question) should be submitted by e-mail to insuleur.network@gmail.com, no later than 25 January 2024, 5.00 pm (UTC+2). E-mail proposals should not exceed 5MB. Proposals received after this deadline will not be considered.
|
Calendar Next upcoming event  |
