MELS_SOW_RFI_Version.pdf

USAID/Peru Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning for Sustainability Activity

DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS/STATEMENT OF WORK

C.1. TITLE OF ACTIVITY

USAID/Peru Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning for Sustainability (MELS)

C.2 PURPOSE

The purpose of the USAID/Peru Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning for Sustainability (MELS) contract is to provide USAID/Peru, including its bilateral and South America Regional portfolios, as well as USAID/Brazil and USAID/Paraguay, with technical and advisory services in planning, designing, conducting, disseminating, and learning from monitoring and evaluation of the Mission’s portfolios, in order to improve the achievement and sustainability of USAID's development outcomes. Additionally, this award will provide services to strengthen the monitoring, evaluation, and learning capabilities of USAID/Peru staff, targeted local partners and Government of Peru (GOP) stakeholders.

C.3 BACKGROUND

In recent years, USAID revamped its Development Policy with a greater focus on sustainability, ownership and knowledge transfer, where learning from monitoring and evaluation is key. The new USAID operational guidance for the Program Cycle (ADS 201) applies the principles of: (1) Apply analytic rigor to support evidence‐based decision‐making; (2) Manage adaptively through continuous learning; (3) Promote sustainability through local ownership; and (4) Utilize a range of approaches to achieve results.

USAID/Peru has been applying these principles in its development work, including in its monitoring and evaluation efforts. During 2013‐2018, the Mission carried out performance evaluations, assessments, and ethnographic studies; successfully improved the M&E capacities of local implementing partners and host government counterparts; and developed a series of tools and learning instruments to improving the M&E capacity among Peruvian development organizations.

USAID has been a development partner for Peru for more than 50 years. Over decades, USAID cooperation has evolved and transformed to respond to the evolution of Peruvian institutions. The last Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) for Peru 2012‐2019 works in three Development Objectives (DOs): Development Objective 1 (DO1): “Increase licit alternatives in target areas;” DO2:

“Improved management and quality of public services (investments) in target areas;” and DO3:

Improved management of natural resources and Andean glaciers.” [See https://www.usaid.gov/peru/our‐work] While the focus of the development objectives will continue, lessons learned from the first five years of the strategy and changes in the development context have called for adjustments in the current CDCS results framework, and adjustments in its Performance

Management Plan.

As USAID’s cooperation with Peru is being transformed towards more mature cooperation, focused on partnerships, it is fundamental that USAID’s Peru M&E efforts are aimed to learn, adapt, and transfer knowledge to ensure the sustainability of results achieved to date. Monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) is becoming more important to contribute to advance to USAID/Peru’s development objectives and contribute to the Peruvian Government agenda. First, the Government of Peru (GOP) has embarked on a modernization of the public sector, with a focus on evidence‐based policies and a results‐oriented administration. Second, Peru’s desire for accession to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) within the next 5‐8 years is generating pressure within the GOP to undertake complex reforms. One of the OECD recommendations is to improve monitoring and evaluation function in the government, as well as accountability. As a result, USAID/Peru will make every effort to not only strengthen its monitoring and evaluation functions, but to also ensure that the local capacity is built to carry on these functions and make them sustainable.

USAID/Peru also manages the South America Regional (SAR) portfolio, which currently implements the

Amazon Regional Environment Program (AREP). AREP is aimed to reduce the negative impacts on Amazon forest and water resources from large scale infrastructure projects, extractive activities, and climate change. AREP will be implemented in Peru, Brazil, Guyana, Suriname, Ecuador, and Colombia. AREP activities are currently in design process.

The USAID Mission in Peru also provides support services to USAID/Brazil and USAID/Paraguay (also called client Missions). Through this contract, USAID/Peru will provide support to client Missions in their evaluation, assessment and learning needs.

C.4 SCOPE

The requirements are as follows:

1. Design, implement, and disseminate evaluations, assessments, and special studies;

2. Provide technical assistance and training in monitoring and evaluation to USAID/Peru and its implementing partners;

3. Strengthen Government of Peru's monitoring and evaluation capacity; and

4. Increase collaboration, knowledge management, and learning capacity of USAID to improve sustainability of outcomes.

The MELS activity will provide USAID/Peru with project/activity evaluation, performance monitoring, learning, and performance management support services in alignment with the USAID Automated Directives System (ADS) and Evaluation Policy. It is anticipated that this contract will assist USAID/Peru and its partners to generate empirical data on project/activity implementation as well as foster learning and knowledge management to improve evidence‐based project design and development programming in support of the Peru’s Country Development and Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) and SAR Program.

The Contractor will provide support services at all stages of USAID’s program cycle. Specific services to be provided under this contract include implementation of evaluations and assessments; monitoring and evaluation and learning (MEL) technical capacity building for implementing partners (IPs), select local organizations, and Mission staff on MEL best practices, data collection, data analysis and data quality assurance practices; support to USAID/Peru to analyze geo‐referenced data and produce maps with geographic information system (GIS) tools; support to IPs and Mission staff for the ongoing use of the upcoming Agency’s Development Information System (DIS), for active performance management, and support the Peru Mission in its collaborating, learning and adapting efforts.

The MELS will also provide evaluation, assessment, and learning services to USAID/Brazil and USAID/Paraguay.

C.5 DEFINITIONS

To ensure consistency in the use of key concepts, the terms and classifications described below will be used by USAID in this contract (see also ADS 200.6):

Activity: An activity carries out an intervention, a set of interventions, typically through a contract, grant, or agreement with another U.S. Government agency or with the partner country government. An activity also may be an intervention undertaken directly by Mission staff that contributes to a project, such as policy dialogue. In most cases, multiple activities are needed to ensure the synergistic contributions necessary to achieve the project's desired results.

Assessment: A forward‐looking process that may be designed to examine country or sector context to inform strategic planning or project design, or an informal review of a strategy project or activity. It is distinct from evaluation. (ADS 201)

Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA): CLA involves strategic collaboration, continuous learning, and adaptive management. CLA approaches to development include collaborating intentionally with stakeholders to share knowledge and reduce duplication of effort, learning systematically by drawing on evidence from a variety of sources and taking time to reflect on implementation, and applying learning by adapting intentionally.

Context monitoring: The systematic collection of information about conditions and external factors relevant to the implementation and performance of an OU’s strategy, projects, and activities. Context monitoring includes the monitoring of local conditions that may directly affect implementation and performance (such as non‐USAID programming operating within the same sector as USAID programming) or external factors that may indirectly affect implementation and performance (such as macro‐economic, social, or political conditions). (ADS 201)

Evaluability assessment: Brief preliminary study undertaken to determine whether an evaluation would be useful and feasible.

Evaluation: Evaluation is the systematic collection and analysis of information about the characteristics and outcomes of strategies, projects, and activities as a basis for judgments to improve effectiveness, and timed to inform decisions about current and future programming. Evaluation is distinct from assessment or an informal review of projects. There are three types of evaluations in USAID:

● Impact evaluation: Measure the change in a development outcome that is attributable to a defined intervention; impact evaluations are based on models of cause and effect and require a credible and rigorously defined counterfactual to control for factors other than the intervention that might account for the observed change. Impact evaluations in which comparisons are made between beneficiaries that are randomly assigned to either a treatment or a control group provide the strongest evidence of a relationship between the intervention under study and the outcome measured.

● Performance evaluation: Encompass a broad range of evaluation methods. They often incorporate before‐after comparisons, but generally lack a rigorously defined counterfactual. Performance evaluations may address descriptive, normative, and/or cause‐and‐effect questions: what a particular project or program has achieved (at any point during or after implementation); how it is being implemented; how it is perceived and valued; whether expected results are occurring; and other questions that are pertinent to design, management, and operational decision‐making.

● Whole‐of‐project performance evaluation: Whole‐of‐project performance evaluations (WOPE) examine an entire project, including all its constituent activities and progress toward the achievement of the Project Purpose.

Performance monitoring is the ongoing and systematic collection of performance indicator data and other quantitative or qualitative information to reveal whether implementation is on track and whether expected results are being achieved. Performance monitoring includes monitoring of outputs and project and strategic outcomes.

Performance indicators measure expected outputs and outcomes of strategies, projects, or activities based on a mission’s Results Framework or a project or activity logic model. In general, outputs are directly attributable to the program activities, while project outcomes represent results to which a given program contributes but for which it is not solely responsible.

Performance management is the systematic process of planning, collecting, analyzing, and using performance monitoring data and evaluations to track progress, influence decision‐making, and improve results. Performance management is one aspect of the larger process of continuous learning and adaptive management.

Evaluation synthesis: A systematic and objective assessment that aggregates findings and recommendations from a series of evaluations.

Performance management: (Managing for Results) is the systematic process of monitoring the achievements of program activities; collecting and analyzing performance information to track progress toward planned results; using performance information and evaluations to influence decision‐making and resource allocation; and communicating results to advance organizational learning and communicate results to stakeholders (USAID Evaluation Policy).

Project: A set of complementary activities, over an established timeline and budget, intended to achieve a discrete development result, often aligned with an Intermediate result (IR) in the CDCS results

Framework. Taken together, a Mission's suite of project designs provides the operational plans for achieving the objectives in its CDCS or other applicable strategic plan.

Rapid assessment: Systematic, semi‐structured evaluation approach, typically used when looking at specific process or issue.

C.6 STATEMENT OF WORK

The MELS Activity will provide USAID/Peru with flexible, demand‐driven services. These services will include technical, analytical, advisory, training, facilitation, outreach and related support services. These are necessary for performance measurement, planning, monitoring, evaluation, capacity building, reporting, activity mapping, and knowledge management and dissemination activities including a variety and innovative communication products or by‐products. These services will assist the Mission in complying with evaluation, monitoring, and project design requirements under USAID Evaluation policy (2016) [ https://www.usaid.gov/evaluation/policy ]and USAID’s ADS 201 [https://www.usaid.gov/ads/policy/200/201]. Specific services will also be provided to client missions (i.e., USAID/Paraguay and USAID/Brazil), subject to availability of funding and client missions request.

Services to be provided include MEL technical support to the Mission for performance management at the Goal, DO, IR, Project, and Activity levels; designing and conducting evaluations, assessments, special studies and analysis, strategic planning, program monitoring (to include baseline studies and other data collection needs); activities that support learning, knowledge transfer and adaptation of projects and strengthening Mission knowledge management; and building USAID/Peru and select implementing partners’ MEL capacity.

It is critical that the Contractor have flexible and adaptable systems. Should new MEL priorities arise during the course of this contract, the Contractor must be responsive and adhere to an adjustment of tasks within the overall MELS Contract Statement of Work (SOW).

The Contractor must have demonstrable capacity to provide the level of expertise specified by the Mission to complete discrete MEL tasks within the development sectors of democracy and governance, natural resources management, water security, public management, integrated rural development, and gender, indigenous peoples, and social inclusion. For a period of five years, the Contractor will be held responsible for carrying out the components of this Activity as outlined below.

The MELS contract will operate independently of other new stand‐alone M&E support and assistance mechanisms managed by USAID/Peru Development Objective Teams/Technical Offices, or client Missions. Information sharing between MELS and other Technical Office/Client Mission M&E support contracts is encouraged. However, the MELS Contractor is solely responsible for providing the deliverables described in this SOW. Technical Offices/ Development Objective teams, client Missions may elect to use the services provided by the MELS contract, based on the needs identified in their respective monitoring, evaluation and learning plans, and budgets.

The Contractor will provide technical and advisory services across the four components as shown in the table below:

Component User of services

1. Evaluations, assessments and other studies USAID/Peru bilateral and SAR portfolio USAID/Brazil USAID/Paraguay

2. Technical assistance and training in M&E USAID/Peru USAID/Peru implementing partners

3. Strengthening GOP’s M&E capacity Government of Peru stakeholders

4. Collaboration, Learning and knowledge management for sustainability

USAID/Peru USAID/Brazil USAID/Paraguay

Component 1: Evaluations, assessments and other studies [this is the most definitive piece of the

SOW]

a. Overview

The purpose of this component is to: (1) timely design, conduct and disseminate high quality external evaluations – including impact, performance or whole‐of‐project evaluations‐ of the Peru bilateral, South America Regional, and client Missions’ portfolios, and (2) design, conduct and disseminate analyses, surveys, assessments and other data collection efforts, in support of any phase of the Program Cycle for the Peru, South America Regional or client Missions’ portfolios.

The Contractor will provide high‐quality, timely, and useful evaluations of USAID/Peru, USAID/SAR, USAID/Brazil and USAID/Paraguay’s projects and activities, in accordance with their respective learning agendas. The results, findings, and recommendations from these evaluations will allow the Missions to actively manage their projects and activities—as well as plan for the future—using evidence as a basis for decision‐making. Assessments and studies will also be requested as needed to respond to the Missions’ learning agendas.

Towards this end, the Contractor is required throughout the performance period of this contract to provide services for performance, impact (quasi‐experimental), whole‐of project, synthesis, and multi‐ country evaluations, including the design and implementation of quantitative and qualitative baseline studies, surveys, statistical analysis and other studies as required by the evaluation design. In addition, the Contractor is required to provide services for assessments and other studies (e.g., systematic reviews, case studies, ethnographic studies, systematizations) that can respond to the Missions' learning agendas.

b. General approach

The Contractor will implement activities under this component taking into account USAID principles and requirements, including those within USAID’s Evaluation Policy and ADS 201. The Contractor will also use the USAID Evaluation Toolkit and all other available USAID best practices, tools, materials, toolkits, templates, technical notes, etc. available in https://usaidlearninglab.org/ or as provided by the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR).

Prior to carrying out each scheduled evaluation, the COR, in cooperation with other Peru or client Mission staff and with the Contractor’s support, will prepare a concept note on the planned evaluation, which will outline the key questions, evaluation use, audience, geographic, customer, and/or programmatic scope and planned schedule. The Contractor will use its expertise to perform an evaluability assessment for each planned evaluation before going forward. If feasible, the Contractor will propose the evaluation design that best meets USAID Evaluation Policy standards and principles, the Mission needs, resources, and complexity of the program. The COR will approve the Evaluation design/SOW before the Contractor initiates the implementation of the task. A representative from client missions must also approve before any evaluation work or data collection begins in client mission countries for regional program evaluations The COR will share evaluation designs with country‐level stakeholders and implementing partners, as applicable, before approval. Design and implementation of assessments and other studies will follow the same process.

c. General requirements

In addition to designing and conducting evaluations, assessments and other studies, services will include, , the following:

(i) Conduct evaluability assessments;

(ii) Conduct background research and analytic expertise to assist USAID/Peru to plan evaluation studies;

(iii) Facilitate team planning meetings for research and evaluation designs for proposed studies;

(iv) Design and implement baseline data collection activities, per USAID instruction;

(v) Conduct national or regional level population surveys;

(vi) Prepare action plans with stakeholders to implement evaluation recommendations;

(vii) Based on evaluation results, draft, edit, and prepare evaluation synthesis for publications related to evaluation, including newsletters and technical journals, and other technical printed or electronic publications;

(viii) Conduct data analysis and produce reports on evaluation findings that are clear and accessible to multiple audiences, including audiences for regional evaluations (e.g., Suriname, Guyana, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, , Washington, D.C., Barbados), as applicable;

(ix) Organize and implement workshops, meetings, conferences, and seminars to present and disseminate evaluation findings to USAID, stakeholders and other public;

(x) Contribute knowledge to USAID staff and stakeholders about the effectiveness and impact of USAID investments through dissemination of information and lessons from evaluations and assessments;

(xi) Translate evaluation and assessment reports into Spanish or English. In the case of reports for the SAR program, translations will also include to/from Dutch and Portuguese from/to English.

In the case of reports for USAID/Brazil, translations will include to/from Portuguese from/to English.

d. Planned evaluations and assessments

USAID/Peru has included the list of planned evaluations and assessments to be completed under this contract in attachment 1. This list includes evaluations of activities and projects approved under the current extended Peru CDCS, and the SAR program, activities being implemented, and activities currently in the planning/solicitation stage. This contract will also be required to carry out performance evaluations for upcoming activities in the areas of sustainable rural development, environment, and democracy and governance, as directed by USAID. Please see https://www.usaid.gov/business‐ forecast/ for general information on future activities. In addition, the contractor should be capable of providing evaluation and/or assessment services to USAID/Brazil and USAID/Paraguay, as required by these Missions. Planned evaluations, assessments and special studies may be modified in the future.

USAID will confirm evaluations and assessments to be conducted through the Contractor’s annual work plan.

Impact evaluations

USAID/Peru expects to complete one impact evaluation in the area of Alternative Development (AD).

The Contractor will advise on the appropriateness of whether to conduct the impact evaluation and compare the advantages of impact evaluations for different interventions. The Contractor will coordinate impact evaluation planning, design, and implementation with USAID staff and AD implementing partners (IPs) —especially the Government of Peru counter‐narcotics agency‐ DEVIDA.

Tasks for impact evaluations will include but are not limited to the design of the evaluation approach, including the design of the counterfactual, collection of baseline data, reconstruction of baseline information (in the event a baseline was not collected for an activity), mid‐term and final data collection, analysis and dissemination of results.

Performance evaluations

Performance evaluations will typically be planned at the mid‐term or at the end of activities, to inform either the ongoing implementation of the activity or the design of new projects/activities, respectively.

In the case of mid‐term performance evaluations, the Contractor will provide actionable short‐term recommendations to make decisions on the management, performance and progress towards sustainability of on‐going project/activity and long‐term recommendations that can help design similar projects or activities in the future. For performance evaluations that take place towards the end of an activity, recommendations should mainly focus on informing decisions such as designing future interventions, strategy and/or making a strategic decision.

Tasks for performance evaluations will include the design of the evaluation approach, baseline reconstruction (if needed), data collection, analysis and dissemination of results. The Contractor is expected to provide services to design and implement up to 10 interim and four final performance evaluations for the Peru portfolio and at least one performance evaluation for its SAR portfolio, and up to four for client Missions)

Whole‐of‐Project Evaluation (WOPE)

The Contractor is expected to provide services to design, implement and disseminate at least two WOPE [https://usaidlearninglab.org/library/whole‐project‐evaluation‐0 ] evaluations: Alternative Development and Amazonia Verde.

Assessments and other studies

The Contractor will be required to conduct geographic specific, sector and cross‐cutting assessments to identify lessons learned and opportunities for informing and supporting design or implementation efforts, enhancing sector performance, learning and enhancing sustainability. Assessments can include research using secondary data, such as already completed Mission evaluations or studies, national census data, surveys, and other data surveys. Selected themes may include gender analyses;

sustainability analyses, capacity building analysis, cost‐benefit analyses; youth engagements in Mission interventions; inclusiveness of disability in Mission development practice; environmental analyses, sector assessments, indigenous ethnographic studies, etc.

It is expected that the Contractor will perform at least a biannual gender assessment, and an annual environmental impact assessment ((see https://www.usaid.gov/our_work/environment/compliance) for specific target areas in Peru.

e. Definite evaluations and assessments

From the list of planned evaluations and assessments listed in Annex 1, the following are the minimum evaluations and assessments that will be ordered.

1) Interim performance evaluation of the Peru Cacao Alliance II activity completed in year 1 (or 2).

2) Whole of Project Evaluation of the Alternative development project completed in year 5.

3) Whole of Project Evaluation of the Amazonia Verde project completed in year 4 (or 5).

4) Interim performance evaluation of the Natural Infrastructure for Water Security activity completed in year 2.

5) Environmental impact assessment of Alternative Development portfolio completed in year 1.

6) Gender assessment of Alternative development portfolio completed in year 2.

7) USAID/Peru Mission Gender assessment completed in year 4.

8) Interim performance evaluation of the Promotion of Best Social and Environmental Practices in the Amazon activity completed in year 3.

The Contractor must:

Establish a variety of mechanisms to recruit qualified experts and firms, organizations, or institutions with expertise in USAID’s programmatic areas in Peru and in SAR and client missions countries as appropriate, including public‐private partnerships, rural integrated development, agriculture, environment, governance, indigenous populations, vulnerable populations, conflict prevention/mitigation, anti‐corruption, rule of law and priority policies such as gender equality and female empowerment and indigenous peoples. When appropriate, sourcing should prioritize national expertise and may require a specific gender expertise for the evaluation team, depending on the focus of the evaluation;

Share all raw data sets resulting from evaluations, studies and assessments conducted under this award with USAID in machine readable format according to the guidelines available in ADS 579; and

Regularly consult with the MELS COR to share challenges faced and ways to mitigate them, as well as report progress and results of evaluations performed under this Contract.

f. Expected results

Timely and quality evaluations and assessments used by USAID to make decisions.

Component 2: Technical assistance and training in M&E [this is a less definitive part of the requirement]

a. Overview The purpose of this component is to: (1) provide technical assistance and training to USAID/Peru staff to strengthen its monitoring capabilities; and (2) provide technical assistance and training to USAID/Peru's implementing partners, especially to local partners, to strengthen their performance monitoring, evaluation and learning capacities. The Contractor will provide USAID/Peru and implementing partners staff training, guidance, support, and build capacity for all monitoring activities to improve the Mission’s capacity for monitoring to expand the effectiveness of the PMP and Project‐ and Activity‐Level ME&L Plans particularly those managed by local organizations and government institutions. Should there be an urgent need for additional support for monitoring tasks, the Contractor will provide services in certain phases of the monitoring process (i.e. baseline analysis, data verification). For each of these tasks, the Contractor must work closely with the Regional Program Office (RPO) and DO Teams, augmenting their MEL capacity but not replacing them in their overall leadership of MEL processes. In performing these tasks, the Contractor must support the Mission’s efforts to promote cross‐DO integration and organizational learning.

Effective systems for managing monitoring information are necessary to translate data into knowledge.

Organizing data collection efforts and analyzing monitoring data will satisfy USAID’s desire to: (1) identify projects with implementation challenges, improve and adapt projects and activities during implementation, and (2) inform new activity designs.

Services to be provided by the Contractor will include technical assistance to help USAID develop, update, and track the Mission’s performance management plan (PMP), project monitoring, evaluation and learning plans (PMELPs); activity monitoring, evaluation and learning plan (AMELPs); and technical assistance to organize and manage effectively performance information. Contractor services will also include training and technical assistance to USAID local implementing partners on monitoring, evaluation and learning, and technical assistance to local USAID partners to finalize their AMELPs. The Contractor tasks undertaken for the implementing partners will not replace the ME&L requirements that the implementing partners shall carry out in fulfillment of their agreements with USAID.

b. Background

USAID has recently updated its ADS 201, which gives a heightened importance to monitoring and evaluation for learning. Peru has recently approved four Projects and one additional Project is in the design process. As per ADS guidance, the addition of new Projects calls for an update or development of a new Mission Performance Management Plan (PMP) for its CDCS. New implementing mechanisms are in the process of being procured or have just started implementation. These implementation changes will entail the development, review, and update of MEL plans at all levels. These will include working with all partners under each DO, review their Activity MEL plans (AMELPs) and adjust them to the needs of the PMELPs. Other USAID/Peru performance monitoring functions consist of reviewing project MEL plans for approval. USAID/Peru leads and takes all the decisions related to the above mentioned functions, but sometimes requires assistance on the review and subsequent tracking of M&E tasks.

USAID is working or plans to work with several local NGOs that have no previous or little experience working directly with USAID. USAID currently implements activities and may enter into agreements with host government counterparts, and has launched calls for applications directed to local for profit or nonprofit organizations to implement activities in the areas of governance, conflict management, alternative development, and conservation of natural resources. USAID estimates that 8 to 10 such entities could benefit from targeted MEL training and technical assistance.

c. General requirements:

1. Facilitate the update or development and implementation of USAID/Peru Performance Management Plan (PMP), and the Projects Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Plans (PMELP).

The Contractor will assist USAID staff to review and update the Mission's PMP and MEL plan for each Project (PMELP). Working with USAID, the Contractor will:

(i) Plan and facilitate brainstorming sessions for USAID teams and its partners to reach consensus on indicators, Performance Information Reference Sheets (PIRS), targets and data collection methods;

(ii) Assist in choosing appropriate indicators and data collection methods; including indicators that enable performance monitoring and evaluation of key questions over the course of project and mechanism implementation, and learning and adapting throughout the Program Cycle.

(iii) Assist USAID in performing data quality assessments and/or data verification assessments for the proposed Project Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Plan (PMELP) indicators;

(iv) Support USAID in the drafting or updating of the PMELPs;

(v) Plan and facilitate workshops for USAID and its partners to update their activity monitoring and evaluation plans to respond to the PMELPs;

(vi) Context Monitoring data collection and analysis : monitor information about context indicators (by country, department/region, province/district/local) for the Mission PMP and

PMELPs, and provide analysis on its evolution and implications for the Missions’ programming;

(vii) Support in the identification, definition and data collection of cross‐cutting indicators, including but not limited to gender, local capacity building, sustainability, leverage, science and technology, etc.; indicators relevant to multiple Projects or activities; collect monitoring data for Project or DO‐level indicators;

(viii) Assist in the tracking and/or evaluating the progress of USAID/Peru toward achieving DOs and IRs as measured by indicators in the Mission’s PMP, and recommend revisions of the Results Frameworks and/or the PMP as appropriate.

(ix) Provide Geographic Information System (GIS) support to USAID/Peru in terms of: (1) training for select Mission staff to use GIS, (2) conducting spatial analysis using data from USAID and other sources, (3) producing different map products for use in programming, and (4) maintain and update Geo databases for use by USAID and its partners.

(x) Provide targeted trainings, as required, to USAID staff to facilitate the development, implementation and use of their MEL plans, tools and performance tasks;

(xi) Provide other MEL related support, as required by USAID.

2. Technical Assistance on monitoring and evaluation provided to partners

Working in coordination with USAID, the Contractor will:

(i) Provide technical assistance to IPs in the development or improvement of their USAID Activity Monitoring Evaluation and Learning Plans (AMELPs).

(ii) Develop and implement a monitoring, evaluation, and learning capacity building plan for current and new USAID local partners. USAID/Peru plans to work with 8 to 10 local partners.

The training plan will consider local partners MEL needs, include the appropriate methods for delivering the training, follow‐on actions, and actions to ensure the existence of practical training in MEL beyond the end of the Contract that could be accessible on‐line, or could be delivered by USAID/Peru staff in the future.

The Contractor will use as a basis the M&E postgraduate course training materials already developed by the USAID/Peru Evaluations Project [http://www.posgradoupch.pe/programa/diplomado‐en‐monitoreo‐y‐evaluacion‐de‐planes‐ programas‐y‐proyectos‐de‐desarrollo, and other already available M&E capacity building tools and materials developed by the USAID/Peru Evaluations Project, USAID/W, the USAID Monitoring toolkit, Evaluation toolkit and Collaborating, Learning and Adapting Toolkit, or USAID partners.

Some examples of sources for material content are available here;

https://usaidlearninglab.org/cla‐tool‐kit‐landing

(iii) Deliver training, as required, in MEL for USAID partners. The Contractor will propose a combination of short‐term vehicles such as workshops, distance learning, online trainings, mentoring, coaching, etc. Training content will also include topics such as learning from site visits, using performance information for accountability, outreach, learning and decision‐making; use of USAID management information systems (e.g., DIS).

USAID/Peru expects to have, at least, a two‐day training in Lima and one in a Peru targeted region every year. Training will be tailored to specific groups (e.g. IPs M&E staff, technical staff), may be open to other stakeholders (e.g., GOP partners, other stakeholders) and may include both classroom and experiential learning, such as participating in a site visit or DQA for another activity, participating on an evaluation team, helping to facilitate training for others, etc. The Contractor will be responsible for logistical arrangements for all trainings.

3. Strengthen the USAID/Peru Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Team:

To support the USAID/Peru MEL Team, the Contractor will be required to:

(i) Plan and facilitate an annual two‐day workshop to: review updates in USAID guidelines related to evaluation and performance management and learning, review and distill lessons from monitoring/evaluation activities and activities implemented under this Contract, help develop a draft workplan for USAID’s MEL Team that will serve as input for the Contractor’s annual work plan.

(ii) Support the collection of information that will lead to a better understanding of challenges and opportunities in the MEL arena across USAID DOs, as well as cross‐cutting program areas such as gender equality and female empowerment, indigenous peoples, and the employment of science and technology in development projects and M&E efforts;

(iii) Support the MEL Team to use creative and innovative, low‐cost performance monitoring techniques—most notably crowd‐sourcing—to supplement USAID’s own monitoring efforts;

(iv) Provide support for Data Quality Assessments led by the USAID/Peru MEL Team members.

(v) Develop protocols for quality data collection on various development sectors in diverse environmental, cultural, and political settings;

(vi) Assist in the development of electronic‐based tools (spreadsheets, dashboards, etc.) to facilitate performance monitoring and evaluation tracking;

(vii) Support the systematization, analysis and dissemination of MEL best practices; and

(viii) Establish standard templates and data transfer procedures and define methods of storing and verifying data that cannot be stored in DIS.

d. Expected results

USAID/Peru PMP in compliance with ADS 201 by the end of year 1, and updated every year.

USAID/Peru PMELPs updated annually

USAID/Peru AMELPs approved and used by implementing partners (IPs)

IPs use AMELP information to make decisions and accountability

M&E training course available for local IPs

e. Deliverables

1) A Capacity building plan for USAID IPs delivered in month three after award.

2) An annual Lima workshop in M&E for IPs

3) An annual regional workshop in M&E for IPs

4) An on‐line M&E course for partners developed, validated and available for local partners completed in year two.

5) Templates and guides to develop AMELPs, progress reports and final reports available for

USAID partners

6) An electronic‐based monitoring system in USAID/Peru to maintain USAID/Peru PMP, PMELPs and AMELPs accessible to USAID/Peru.

Component 3. Strengthening Government of Peru’s M&E capacity [this is a less definitive part of the requirement]

a. Overview

The purpose of this component is to: (1) sustainably enhance the M&E capacities of targeted Government of Peru (GOP) implementing partners and major stakeholders, so that they are able to design, conduct and use M&E information for improving the implementation of public programs; and (2) support the GOP lead institutions in M&E (i.e., the National Center for Strategic Planning‐CEPLAN, the Ministry of Economy and Finance‐MEF) develop policies and tools to promote the use of M&E, and continue strengthening public sector organizations M&E capacities, as defined by competencies, skills, and organizational structure, so that they are able to monitor, design and conduct evaluations, and use information for learning and accountability, after the Contract ends.

b. Background

The GOP has embarked on a reform to modernize the State (Peruvian Law 27658) to achieve a public sector that serves constituents in an efficient and effective way. One of the key functions that need to be strengthened is the monitoring and evaluation function, in order to improve the effectiveness of the programs as well as for accountability purposes. The OECD review of Peru's governance systems also recommended improving the M&E systems. While M&E is recognized by national level authorities as a necessary tool for strategic planning and public management, it is not used for learning and accountability, nor understood by most of the public sector, and there is little guidance on it. During 2013‐2017, USAID/Peru worked with host government counterparts in improving their capacities for M&E. The Evaluations Project developed a series of tools, which were initially implemented in the key counterpart institutions (National Commission for a Life without Drugs‐DEVIDA, Ministry of Environment‐MINAM, Regional Government of San Martin‐GORESAM, Regional Government of Ucayali‐ GOREU), and developed a toolkit to implement a M&E unit within governmental institutions [http://www.evalperu.org/biblioteca]. The Evaluations Project also strengthened the Peru Monitoring and Evaluation Network‐ PERUME, a network composed by M&E professionals from the public sector that promotes M&E in the GOP to make informed decisions, in the use of these tools. While the tools were transferred to GOP partners, including targeted regional governments and the GOP National School for Public Administration‐ENAP/National Civil Service‐SERVIR, they may require additional updating and improving based on the needs of GOP targeted organizations, including partners and GOP M&E lead organizations. The Contractor will continue working with targeted GOP organizations in the improvement of M&E functions, using as a basis lessons learned from the Evaluations Project.

c. Requirements

The contractor will develop a plan with its approach to meet the objectives of this component, as well as measures of verification. The plan will include criteria to select the target organization(s), outline the areas to be strengthened and describe the methodology to do so. The plan will also propose the expected verifiable improvements that could be achieved in the targeted organizations. Prior to developing the plan, it is expected that the Contractor will engage USAID, PERUME, CEPLAN, SERVIR, ENAP, MEF for the design and implementation of the plan. The plan will also consider strengthening M&E capacities of targeted GOP partners such as SERFOR, MINAM or DEVIDA. The Contractor will obtain USAID’s approval prior to implementation of the plan.

Activities in this component will include at a minimum:

(i) Identify key GOP M&E stakeholders and other donors supporting M&E efforts to the GOP;

(ii) Assess GOP capacity to promote M&E;

(iii) Assess M&E capacities of key ministries or GOP stakeholders;

(iv) Assess M&E Capacity Building tools developed by the Evaluations Project and propose improvements and/or additional tools as needed to meet GOP requirements;

(v) Work with the Mission to strengthen GOP M&E systems for learning and accountability;

(vi) Provide technical assistance and training to targeted GOP institutions to strengthen their M&E capacities;

(vii) Provide technical assistance to targeted GOP capacity building institutions to improve their capacity building tools in M&E;

(viii) Support GOP to convene an annual one‐day discussion on M&E in the public sector in Peru.

d. Expected results:

Targeted GOP institutions implement improved policies to improve the use of M&E.

Targeted GOP institutions implement tools to improve the M&E function in public sector.

e. Deliverables:

1) A capacity building plan for GOP institutions co‐designed with GOP M&E leading institutions within six months of award.

2) New deliverables to be determined, such as a set of M&E training for public sector staff, etc.

Component 4: Collaboration, learning and knowledge management for sustainability [this is a less definitive part of the requirement]

a. Overview

USAID has been a development partner for Peru for more than 50 years. During these decades, USAID cooperation has made significant contributions to Peru's development. As USAID's cooperation is evolving and transforming, the Mission aims to transfer knowledge, tools, methodologies, and best practices that have developed during these years to other GOP institutions. The Mission needs to develop a strategy/plan/framework to use evidence to improve the sustainability of the results achieved. USAID/Peru must also organize its information system so that: relevant, reliable data reaches the appropriate decision‐makers in a timely and user‐friendly format; mission learning is documented and disseminated; and tacit knowledge and information beyond implementing partner reports and evaluations are captured and considered during decision‐making. The purpose of this component is to strengthen USAID/Peru capacity to become a more effective development organization by providing services to support Mission learning, adaptive management and knowledge transfer efforts to ensure the sustainability of results. Specifically, the contract will support the development and implementation of organizational and technical learning agendas, which incorporate both performance monitoring and evaluation activities; develop effective processes for managing M&E information and translate data into knowledge, and share the information. Most knowledge management, learning and adapting will be focused to further understand and ensure sustainability of results.

Activities will be focused on the requirements of the Peru Mission, however discrete activities, such as facilitating learning workshops, will be provided to USAID/Brazil and USAID/Paraguay, subject to availability of funds.

b. General requirements

The Contractor will develop and implement a learning plan to support USAID/Peru use of evidence to improve sustainability of its results. The learning plan may consider the following services, including, but not limited to:

(i) Support development of learning agenda/questions; convene and facilitate sessions for USAID staff and partners to exchange lessons learned/discuss topics of interest; peer learning; capture, package, share knowledge generated from M&E, events and other learning opportunities;

learning reviews; scenario planning; status of assumptions, identify game‐changers;

(ii) Support collaboration with implementing partners and other stakeholders to discuss findings from monitoring data, evaluations, and/or assessments; and identify how USAID/Peru must accordingly adapt program implementation to improve sustainability of outcomes;

(iii) Establish or facilitate processes for collaboration/coordination with internal/external partners;

stakeholder analysis; develop stakeholder engagement plans; strengthen stakeholder networks and broaden relationships with the private sector;

(iv) Support, and periodically organize, learning events (e.g., regional partners portfolio reviews, joint portfolio reviews with the GOP, themed evaluation summits) and platforms as requested to broaden USAID/Peru’s collaboration networks; including learning events at the regional level aiming to achieve a greater technical synergy amongst USAID/Peru’s activities and contribute to achieving our objectives;

(v) Organize learning summits and other learning and knowledge sharing events that bring together implementing partners, GOP officials, other donors, academics, private sector actors, and other relevant stakeholders to catalyze networks and facilitate collaboration. The Contractor will organize one two‐day event for approximately 100‐150 people each year;

(vi) Identify relevant local knowledge sources and making this knowledge available in a useful form;

(vii) Compile, document, systematize and organize development experience and lessons learned from USAID assistance in Peru;

(viii) Work with USAID/Peru to track and document the Mission’s role as influencer in policy dialogue and prioritization of development efforts with the GOP and other donors;

(ix) Identify key messages and assist in the dissemination of evaluation findings, good practices, and lessons learned from studies tasked by USAID/Peru to promote good development practices and advance in knowledge transfer, in close consultation with relevant Development Objective Teams/Technical Offices, implementing partners, and Development Outreach and Communication (DOC) team;

(x) Compile findings and recommendations on key priority areas such as gender equality and female empowerment, indigenous peoples, environment, alternative development, governance, anti‐ corruption, conflict prevention/mitigation, etc., identify common trends/issues; present recommendations on how to improve project design, implementation, and M&E in future programming from USAID, other donors or GOP;

(xi) Support USAID/Peru to prepare Infographics, social media, and other cutting‐edge communications innovations designed to reach a broad range of audiences.

(xii) Assess and recommend improvements to the Mission’s use of technology for knowledge management. Each recommendation must include an estimate of the cost, staff time, and ongoing expertise needed to implement it.

For each of these tasks, the Contractor must work closely with the Regional Program Office, including the Communications team, and DO Teams, augmenting their M&E capacity but not substituting their overall leadership of ME&L processes. In performing these tasks, the Contractor must be knowledgeable of the USAID Collaboration, Learning and Adapting (CLA) approaches [see https://usaidlearninglab.org/cla‐toolkit ] to support the Mission’s efforts to promote cross‐DO integration and organizational learning. In addition to USAID staff, the Contractor will work with at least 20 prime implementing partners.

The Contractor must also avoid duplicating and work to complement the efforts of existing USAID/Peru contractors currently conducting M&E activities (e.g., ongoing evaluation and assessment contractors, future knowledge management contractors,…