Request for Expressions of Interest - Consultancy services to conduct the final evaluation of the Community Development Project Tra Vinh (CDP Tra Vinh)

Background

SNV is a not-for-profit international development organisation driven by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Founded in the Netherlands in 1965, we have built a long-term country presence in over 20 countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Our global team of local and international advisors works with local partners to equip communities, businesses, and organizations with the tools, knowledge, and connections they need to increase their incomes and gain access to markets and basic services - empowering them to break the cycle of poverty and guide their own development. Our work focuses on three sectors - Agrifood, Energy, and Water.

SNV has been working in Viet Nam since 1995, and currently has over 50 national and international staff. SNV Viet Nam’s team works hand-in-hand with communities, government agencies, and businesses in about 20 provinces, including the most remote and poorest areas of the country. We operate from a country head office in Hanoi and a regional office in Vinh Long.

For more information on SNV, please refer to our website: www.snv.org

About the CDP Tra Vinh project

The Community Development Project Tra Vinh (CDP Tra Vinh), sponsored by Tra Vinh Wind Power No.1 Joint Stock Company to improve local livelihoods through the development of inclusive horticulture and aquaculture value chains that promote climate-smart and sustainable production, empower women’s economic development and enhance access to finance of local stakeholders. This will be achieved by developing the peanut, black tiger shrimp, mangrove- shrimp and giant river prawns value chains that offer potential to local communities and households in terms of improved and sustainable income and opportunities to escape poverty. CDP Tra Vinh also builds capacity and confidence for women, local authorities staff, and core members of farmer groups in project areas (especially ethnic Khmers) as decision-makers and leaders at the household level, communities, and farmer groups/businesses.

The project is being implemented in Truong Long Hoa commune (Con Trung, Con Tau hamlets) - Long Toan commune (Long Dien, Bao Sen, Thong Nhat hamlets) belongs to Duyen Hai town and Ngu Lac commune (Ro Say - Duong Lieu - Me Lang - Soc Ot hamlet) belongs to in Duyen Hai district in three years from August 2023 – July 2026.

The project has three main components: 

• Improve sustainable and climate-smart production: Enhancing farmers’ capacity on climate smart and sustainable production, adopting modern knowledge and technologies, meeting standards for clean and safe products to meet the demand of the market. 

• Develop inclusive horticulture and aquaculture value chains: Establishment and strengthening of horticulture and aquaculture value chains to professionalize production and agri-businesses, supporting trade promotion and marketing of products, thereby improving income for actors of the value chains. 
• Enhance gender equality and women's economic empowerment: Raising awareness about gender equality, empowering women's capacity in business and supporting women's economic development along the value chains. 

Objective of the assignment

The main objective of this assignment is to evaluate the project performance, its achievements, challenges and sustainability and generate lessons learned and recommendations for future development. Specific objectives include:

• Objective 1: Assess the project achievements and challenges at impact, outcome and output levels at the project completion against the indicators of the project design and baseline data to measure impact created.
• Objective 2: Draw lessons learnt and good practice from the implementation of the project activities and achievements that will be useful for the next phase of the project;
• Objective 3:  Provide recommendations and concepts for stakeholders, donor and SNV that would contribute to greater sustainability and scalability of the action.

Scope of work / deliverables

The consultants/consultant group will assess project performance on four key areas: The relevance of the project Theory of change and extent to which project goals were achieved; the adoption of climate resilient and sustainable practice; increased productivity and income of farmers and improved the value chain linkage and market access; and promoting gender equality and women’s economic empowerment.

Key Tasks:

• Review the program logic and evaluate progress towards achieving the end of progress outcomes providing an assessment of the effectiveness, efficiency, gender and social inclusion and climate change outcomes of the program
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of capacity-building activities (e.g., training, study tours, equipment/input supply).
  • Analyse the adoption of sustainable farming/harvesting techniques.
  • Assess the value chain linkage and efficiency in enhancing market access and income of farmers.
  • Evaluate the enhanced knowledge on gender equality, increased women's participation in training and improved household economic from the revolving fund.
  • Generate 3 case studies showing project’s impact and success, and collect 5 quotes from project beneficiaries on the project impact.

Evaluation Criteria

The evaluation will adopt the OECD/DAC Criteria for project evaluation:

• • Relevance: How well the project aligned with its initial design and expectations
  • Coherence: How well the intervention aligns with International level (SDG1, SDG 2, SDG 8, SDG 13 and SDG 15), National and local government Programmes (Enhanced capacity to adapt to climate change, New Rural Area, value chain development).
  • Effectiveness: The extent to which project objectives (e.g., improvement of sustainable practices, increase in income or productivity, raised awareness on gender equality and promoting of WEE building) were achieved.
  • Efficiency: How economically resources (funds, expertise, time) were converted into results.
  • Impact: Documented net impact on sustainable and climate resilient practice, increased income or productivity and gender equality and social inclusion.
  • Sustainability: Assess whether local farmers and stakeholders are capable to continue their roles and responsibilities in implementation of project goals and follow up actions once project   support has ended. 
  • Lessons Learned & Further Development

Document key successes, challenges, and strategic recommendations for scaling up or replicating the project design in other regions of Vietnam. 

Methodology

The selected consultant/consultant group will be requested to develop detailed work plan that includes methodology and evaluation tools. The consultant/consultant group is suggested to use a “participatory appraisal approach that include the followings:

• • A desk review of key documents, including project documents, baseline survey and monitoring reports, MEL data, project inception, annual progress and mid-term review reports, publications, financial reports, and others;
  • A collaborative approach for field survey to engage project team, stakeholders and donors in the design, implementation, and in writing the evaluation report
  • A participatory appraisal method including in-depth/key informant interviews, focus group discussions and observations to obtain insights from the farmer groups, women and women’s Unions and other stakeholders.
  • Case Studies: At least 03 stories (tentatively on production, value chain linkage and WEE) showcasing project successful outcomes with story content and pictures illustrating project interventions and results.

Deliverables:

• Inception Report: Detailing methodology, tools, and work plan and evaluation report table of contents.
• Presentation: A presentation of the findings to stakeholders. 
• Draft Evaluation Report: For SNV’s review and feedback, improved project M&E database.
• Final Evaluation Report: Including lessons learned, best practices, and actionable recommendations for further development in English and Vietnamese, improved project M&E database.

Tender Process and Evaluation criteria

This tender process will take place in two stages. Stage one is an Expression of Interest. Those selected from the Expression of Interest stage will move forward to the Full Proposal Stage and receive a second assignment description ahead of being asked to prepare a more detailed proposal submission for the assignment.

Expression of Interest (EOI) Evaluation Criteria:

- Due Diligence: Pass/Fail

- Academic background / qualifications of the expert: max. 40 scores

- Relevant experience related to this assignment (at least 02 similar work samples): max. 40 scores

- Demonstrated experience providing similar consultancy services for international NGOs (INGOs): max. 20 scores.

Total: 100 scores

Only Expressions of Interest (EOIs) with a minimum score of 70 will move forward for Full Proposals.

Due diligence instructions

Due Diligence (DD) checks apply to both individual consultants and consulting firms engaged by SNV for the provision of consultancy services. Conducting these checks supports SNV in managing donor funds responsibly, ethically, and in full compliance with relevant regulations.

To download the form for completion, click https://c.smartrecruiters.com/sr-company-attachments-prod-aws-dc5/58919688e4b0672cc03331a9/6e54f2f4-8d1c-484b-825e-6445dcdb94a3?r=s3-eu-central-1

The consultant teams should have following qualifications:

• Master’s degree either in Agriculture, Economics or Business Administration or related fields;
• An excellent understanding of sustainable practices and value chain development approaches;
• Proven experience in research for development projects and in program evaluations or assessments
• Proven research skills including qualitative and quantitative data collection methods and analysis;
• Ability to deliver the committed outputs on time;
• Excellent analytical skills and report writing skill in English and Vietnamese;
• Good understanding of women’s economic empowerment and approaches to encourage WEE in market systems development projects
• Understanding of shrimp and peanut sub sector is an advantage;

Submission requirements

Interested consultant teams are invited to submit the following documents via the instructions in this site.

• A Letter for Expression of Interest with CVs of the key experts and relevant experience related to the assignment (at least 2 past performance references of similar or relevant assignments).
• A completed Due Diligence document, along with all required supporting documents, click https://c.smartrecruiters.com/sr-company-attachments-prod-aws-dc5/58919688e4b0672cc03331a9/91fabd9e-c928-43c9-ab29-8ce855400a80?r=s3-eu-central-1

Deadline for EOI submission: until May 7th, 2026.

Protection of Information

We request that Expressions of Interest responses be free of any intellectual property that the applicant wishes to protect. Should offerors wish to include proprietary intellectual property that they believe would be helpful for SNV, please note the proprietary nature of such information

Issuance of this EOI does not constitute a commitment, award, or engagement on the part of SNV nor does it commit SNV to any future commitment or engagement. 

Note: SNV reserves the right to change or cancel this requirement in the EOI/or solicitation process at any time.