International Expert to evaluate Mission’s Local Governance portfolio
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Background
Over the past years there has been a moderate progress in consolidating governance standards and democratic processes at all government levels. Municipal institutions have become embedded in the overall governance architecture in Kosovo, while the level of performance varies by municipalities in terms of exercising their mandate in accordance with good governance principles i.e. accountability, transparency, gender equality, diversity and inclusiveness.
From 2017 the Mission’s Governance Section (GS) has been engaged in supporting public institutions to perform their functions in an integrated system of good governance. Development of institutional capacities to ensure checks and balances, strengthen the accountability of and relationship between all levels of government, engagement of the public and support to management performance and capacity development of municipal governments were some of the main areas of engagement.
The Mission assisted municipal governments in the improvement of management capacity in the areas of financial management, including budget development process, public consultation on budget, gender responsive budgeting and gender mainstreaming, as well as municipal audit practices. Another area in which the Mission focused its efforts was also the provision of support to the Ministry of Local Government (MLG) for the implementation of the Government of Kosovo’s Local Self-government Strategy 2016-2026 as well as facilitating the dialogue between line Ministries and municipalities with regards to local government reforms.
Mission efforts have been also directed to enhance the policy cycle through ad-hoc activities meant to strengthen laws implementation and ensure a harmonized approach at the local level. A particular reference can be made to the support provided to MLG in the drafting of sub-laws such the “Administrative Instruction for the Transparency in the municipalities” and the “Regulation on the determination of procedures on the allocation for use and exchange of the immovable property of municipality”. Furthermore, the Section supported the MLG to enhance the transparency in municipalities by assessing the municipal performance related to the adoption, implementation, and reporting of municipal integrity plans. The Mission also promoted the establishment of a non-formal inter-governmental mechanism to discuss obstacles in law making process and challenges in assessing the implementation of laws at the municipal level. Particular assistance was also provided to the Association of Kosovo Municipalities (AKM) and municipal legal officers in addressing the main constraints for the proper implementation of laws and policies through technical advice, trainings and workshops.
Finally, the Mission provided support to the local Election Management Bodies in the conduct of the election process in the four northern Kosovo municipalities
With views to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of Mission’s work in the area, the Mission wishes to evaluate its past performance to inform and adjust future programming.
Scope of the evaluation
OSCE Mission in Kosovo is seeking to hire an international expert to evaluate its work in the field of local governance over the last three-year engagement from 2017 to 2019 in the areas of:
a) Municipal finances such as budget development process, public consultation on budget, gender responsive budgeting and implementation of audit report recommendations;
b) Support to MLG on implementation of local self-government strategic objectives and on enhancing the dialogue among all levels of government (forums with mayors, MF and line ministries on budget process, MLG and municipalities on inter-municipal cooperation), municipal transparency (with specific focus also on promoting the implementation of the Law on Access Public Documents in four municipalities north of Ibar);
c) Coordination between Ministries and municipalities in the law- and policy-making process;
d) Support to the local Election Management Bodies in the conduct of the election process in the four northern Kosovo municipalities;
e) Promoting the inter-municipal cooperation (IMC) in the field of service delivery, including social services and support to vulnerable categories of residents.
Additionally, the evaluation will seek to and assess the Section planning and intervention strategy in the first six (6) months of 2020.
The key strategic question the evaluation will seek to answer is that whether and/or how the Mission’s interventions contribute to strengthening of local governance in Kosovo. In particular, in the four areas listed above. The evaluation will seek to assess both organizational and programmatic aspects of Mission’s work.
The evaluation will be conducted according to the following evaluation criteria:
1.) Results
a. Relevance: To which extent the Mission’s local governance activities are relevant to address the needs of the beneficiaries in Kosovo, and to comply with the Mission’s mandate and strategic priorities? To what extent the project results and objective took into consideration the interest of men and women, girls and boys, different communities and vulnerable groups?
b. Effectiveness: To which extent the local governance interventions were effective in achieving the results (outputs and their contribution to outcomes)? What factors account for these results? What was not achieved and why? How were the local governance interventions planned and implemented? To what degree were the results achieved equitably distributed among the targeted stakeholder groups?
c. Efficiency: Were the results of the project achieved at reasonable cost?
d. Impact: Did the interventions bring real change and contribute to a specific UB programme objective/outcome? Were there any unintended results related to rights of communities, youth and women? Were they positive or negative and in which ways did they affect the different stakeholders?
e. Coherence and added value: To which extent the local governance interventions complement other Mission’s interventions? To which extent the Mission provides meaningful contribution to the overall local governance efforts in Kosovo?
f. Sustainability: Will the benefits last beyond the OSCE’s initiative?
2.) Management
a. How effective are the Mission’s internal procedures related to the delivery of the local governance interventions (prioritization, decision-making, donor coordination, policy-setting vs its operationalization)?
b. Are there any early lessons learned in relation to the implementations under pandemic-related restrictive measures?
3.) Lessons learned and recommendations
a. What lessons learned and successful practices can be extracted to inform further Mission’s programming? What unsuccessful practices can be identified to avoid in future and correct the course of Mission’s programming?
b. Which successful and unsuccessful practices can be identified to improve Mission’s internal processes of needs assessment, prioritization, decision-making, external and internal coordination?
Evaluation methodology
The evaluator will be selected based on a proposed methodology for the evaluation. The methodology will be then finalised in details at the beginning of the contract based on feedback by the OSCE Mission in Kosovo. The draft methodology should include as mandatory chapters: Background, strategy and approach, including proposed evaluation questions with matrix consisting of preliminary indicators and means of verification, understanding of the task as per the ToR, key issues and limitations for the evaluation to be conducted, integration of cross-cutting issues in the evaluation, risks, methodological approach for evaluation, timeframe and work plan. The evaluation will ensure that key stakeholders will be consulted. The evaluation will involve the following:
Tasks and Responsibilities
The international consultant will work in co-ordination with the Mission’s Project/Programme Evaluation Officer, under overall supervision of the Reference group, which will be established to this purpose. The international consultant will be expected to perform the following duties:
Key Deliverables:
Necessary Qualifications
Remuneration Package
Remuneration will depend on the qualifications and experience of individual experts as well as the detailed work plan to be agreed upon and will be based on the current OSCE consultancy rates.
How To Apply
In order to apply for this position you must complete the OSCE's online application form, found under https://jobs.osce.org/. Applicants are encouraged to use the online recruitment and only fully completed OSCE applications will be accepted. However, if you have technical difficulties with the system you may use the offline application form found under https://jobs.osce.org/resources/document/offline-application-form and forward the completed form quoting the vacancy number by e-mail to: consultancy.omik@osce.org. In line with your qualifications please indicate preference to one or more field of expertise listed above (while using the online application the field of expertise preference can be indicated in the cover letter part).