Title : Conduct a mid-term review of the implementation of the Consortium for Scaling-up Climate Smart Agriculture in South Asia (C-SUCSeS) project.

Introduction

Consortium for Scaling-up Climate Smart Agriculture in South Asia (C-SUCSeS) project is a four-year joint initiative between the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Agriculture Centre (SAC), the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and SAARC Development Fund. The Programme fosters partnership and cooperation between the SAARC, National Agricultural Research and Extension Systems (NARES), IFPRI, and SAARC governments on the Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) agenda. It is intended to support the role of agricultural research to generate and facilitate delivery of technological solutions to smallholders with a specific priority on sustainable intensification and promoting resilience for smallholder agriculture. These measures will contribute to increasing water management efficiency and promote innovative, pro-poor approaches and technologies with demonstrated scaling-up potential. In addition, they will also help in strengthening the institutional and policy capacities in partners’ countries, enhance policy engagement, and generate and share knowledge.

The project has four following components: 1. Scaling-up of technically viable and gender-sensitive CSA technologies for smallholders in selected farming systems; 2. Policy analysis/advocacy and institutional development; 3 Knowledge management and capacity building; and 4: Project management.

Scope of Work

As part of conducting the mid-term review, the consultant would assess the effectiveness, efficiency, and timeliness of programme implementation; identify issues requiring actions; and draw lessons on programme design, implementation, and management. As the review will be conducted after two years of implementation of the project, it will provide recommendations for more effective implementation of programme activities in the coming years of the project.

The Consultant will work closely with the project team in the IFPRI-SAO (South Asia Regional Office) in New Delhi, SAC in Dhaka, and national focal points (NFPs) of member countries to accomplish the tasks. The responsibilities will include but not be limited to, the following:

1.Assess the overall grant performance since project implementation and measure the outputs against the AWPB (Annual workplan and Budget)

2.Assess the implementation of each component of the project in all member countries and provide country-wise and component-wise recommendations for effective implementation.

3.Identify key issues that needs to be addressed to pave the way for timely and successful completion of activities. This should include status and plans for Knowledge management and Partnerships

4.Provide assessment of issues associated with program design and the challenges, if any, associated with the design and conceptualization. Additionally review reports/policy briefs for the components with document-based outputs and analyze the quality of the technical reports.

5.Assess and highlight the management-related challenges in the project, as a whole, and in each component, in particular. The assessment should take into account IFAD’s targeting policy and mainstreaming areas while assessing the mid-term review

6.Provide recommendations for addressing key challenges in implementation and also for expanding the scope of the project towards further upscaling of CSA technologies in the region and devise an effective sustainability and exit strategy in collaboration with partners.

Deliverables

The assignment will include the following deliverables to be completed By December 2023.

Detailed review report comprising all the components mentioned above.

Required Skills and Qualifications

·Master’s degree in economics, development studies, or related field.

·Demonstrated experience in conducting project reviews from the perspective of technical implementation. Experience in conducting reviews for projects related to the agriculture sector is preferred.

·Demonstrated experience in M&E and familiarity with log frame

·Prior evaluation and supervision mission experience

·Strong writing skills with an ability to articulate and present complex analyses in a cogent manner.

·Basic understanding of climate-smart agriculture technologies and agriculture systems in South Asia

·Prior experience of working in an international organization is desirable

·Familiarity with MS Office, Google+ related apps and virtual meeting platforms such as Zoom.