The FAO Office of Evaluation (OED) is seeking Expressions of Interest (EOIs) from qualified individuals to join the team for the Mid-term Evaluation of the “Capacity Development for Agricultural Innovation System” (CDAIS) Project.
The CDAIS project was conceived to realize the visions of Agrinatura, FAO and the “Tropical Agriculture Platform” (TAP – A G20 Initiative) on how to support Capacity Development (CD) in Agricultural Innovation Systems (AIS), and improve global coherence of CD approaches for AIS. The aim of the project is to foster more demand driven and effective agricultural research and development investments, and that respond to specific capacity development (CD) needs and demands of local stakeholders in the countries.
The FAO Office of Evaluation (OED) is seeking Expressions of Interest (EOIs) from qualified individuals to join the team for the Mid-term Evaluation of the “Capacity Development for Agricultural Innovation System” (CDAIS) Project.
What is CDAIS project?
The CDAIS project was conceived to realize the visions of Agrinatura, FAO and the “Tropical Agriculture Platform” (TAP – A G20 Initiative) on how to support Capacity Development (CD) in Agricultural Innovation Systems (AIS), and improve global coherence of CD approaches for AIS. The aim of the project is to foster more demand driven and effective agricultural research and development investments, and that respond to specific capacity development (CD) needs and demands of local stakeholders in the countries.
The CDAIS project is a four year initiative funded by the European Commission with the overall objective of promoting agricultural innovation systems that are efficient and sustainable in meeting the demands of farmers, agri-business and consumers. The project’s specific objective is to establish a global partnership on Capacity Development in Agricultural Innovation Systems on a sustainable footing, with needs assessed and approaches validated in eight pilot countries (Angola, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras, Laos and Rwanda).
Purpose and objectives of the evaluation
The Mid-Term Evaluation (MTE) is being conducted for both accountability and learning purposes to the European Commission (the donor), the project team and project partners (participating institutions and national governments). It will serve as an input to improve future project implementation and to inform future decision-making by the project team. The main objectives of the MTE are to:
- Assess relevance, efficiency and effectiveness of project design and implementation arrangements;
- Assess progress and gaps in achieving established outputs and outcomes;
- Identify lessons from project implementation and propose any correction and/or adjustment to the implementation strategy, based on the evaluation findings.
Composition and profile of the evaluation team
The evaluation team should have combined expertise in the following subject matters:
- Agricultural innovation systems expert, with experience facilitating multi-stakeholder processes;
- Capacity development expert, preferably familiar with CD frameworks;
- Experience in development and assessment of complex M&E systems; and
- Familiarity with UN and EU evaluation standards and procedures.
Tasks and responsibilities of the evaluation team:
- Team Leader: The team leader is responsible for coordinating the activities and contributions of the evaluation team, ensuring that the methodology foreseen in the evaluation Terms of Reference (ToRs) is fully implemented, and leading the analysis of findings and the drafting of the evaluation report. The team leader will also have to participate in the field missions to the selected project countries.
- Team member(s): the team members will be responsible of contributing in their areas of expertise, contribute to the development of the data collection tools and participate in the field missions to the selected project countries, and the consolidation of all collected evidence and the analysis of key findings. The team members will also have to deliver articulate and written inputs on the specific areas of assessment, as per their overall evaluation ToRs.
Contract duration
40-55 days (between March and June 2017)
Candidates should meet the following requirements:
Minimum Requirements
- Advanced University degree in relevant disciplines (Development studies, Agriculture, Social Sciences, Food Security, Economics);
- At least 12 years (for the team leader) and 5 years (for the team members) of relevant professional experience in the relevant subject matters for the evaluation (below);
- Demonstrated experience in the conduct of evaluations of large/complex global projects;
- Relevant experience in the project regions (Asia, Africa and Latin America) and the participating countries is an asset.
The working language will be English. Knowledge of Spanish for the team member covering Latin America is mandatory. Knowledge of French and Portuguese will be an asset in case Burkina Faso and Angola are selected for field visits.
Additional Information
FAO seeks gender, geographical and linguistic diversity in its staff and international consultants in order to best serve FAO Members in all regions.
Candidates should have no previous involvement in the formulation, implementation or backstopping of the CDAIS project. All candidates should adhere to FAO values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency.
How to apply
All applications are to be made through FAO’s iRecruitment system. Click here to access iRecruitment, complete your online profile and apply for this Call for Expression of Interest.
In order for your application to be properly evaluated, please ensure that all sections of your iRecruitment account are completed. Incomplete applications will not be evaluated. If you need help, or have queries, please contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Picture credit: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations