Expression of Interest for consultancy Services: Evaluation of the quality of the new deal on energy for Africa

AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK

INDEPENDENT DEVELOPMENT EVALUATION (IDEV)

Evaluation of the Bank Support to the Energy Sector, 1999-2018

Request for Expression of Interest (EOI) for the recruitment of Individual Senior Consultant

1. The Independent Development Evaluation (IDEV) of the African Development Bank (AfDB of “the Bank) hereby invites Individual Senior Energy Sector Evaluation consultants to indicate their interest for the following component assignment in the evaluation: Evaluation of the quality of the New Deal on Energy for Africa – NDEA (“The assignment”) ;
2. The services to be provided under the assignment include :

• Assessing the quality at entry of the NDEA ;
• Undertaking a benchmarking exercise ;
• Designing and synthesizing the ecosystems-country case studies.

Background :

3. The mission of the Independent Development Evaluation (IDEV) of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB, or Bank) is to enhance the development effectiveness of AfDB initiatives in its regional member countries through independent and instrumental evaluations and partnerships for sharing knowledge ;
4. In 2014, IDEV launched the evaluation of the Bank’s Assistance to the Energy Sector for the period 2000-16. While the evaluation was in progress, the Bank experienced many institutional developments. These included: the approval of the New Sectoral Strategy, namely, the “New Deal on Energy for Africa”; the approval and implementation of the Bank’s new Development and Business Delivery Model (DBDM); and the approval of the updated Decentralization Action Plan in line with the DBDM. Altogether, these developments created challenges in responding to the stakeholders’ needs that were not anticipated during the evaluation conception stage. IDEV is undertaking a revamping exercise to better respond to the new reality at the Bank and enhance the utility of the evaluation ;
5. The New Deal on Energy for Africa (NDEA) with its overarching goal of universal access to energy by 2025 (100 per cent access in urban areas, 95 per cent access in rural areas) is an ambitious project aligned with the Bank’s High 5, “Light Up and Power Africa”, one of the five pillars of the Bank’s commitment to Africa’s development ;
6. The overarching goal of the Strategy will be achieved through the following 5 broad targets:

• Increase on-grid generation to 160GW of capacity – while ensuring a rich energy mix ;
• Increase on-grid transmission and add 130 million new grid connections – build more regional and national transmission lines and ramp up connectivity ;
• Increase off-grid generation to add 75 million connections through various solutions including solar home-systems, mini-grids etc. ;
• Increase access to clean cooking energy for around 130 million households ;
• Raising aspiration to solve Africa’s energy challenges by leveraging public and private resources, and working closely with multilateral and bilateral financiers to mobilize $67 – 87 billion annually to 2025.

Evaluation process, deliverables and timeline :

7. The assignment will constitute the following four phases :

• Inception Phase – This will include the full definition of methodology for assessing the quality of entry of the NDEA, conducting the ecosystems-based country case studies and undertaking the benchmarking exercise (evaluation questions, limitations, risks and mitigation measures, data collection and analysis tools/instruments, selection of countries for case study, and selection of initiatives/programs for Benchmark) and detailed work plan. In addition, it will involve inter-alia desk reviews and discussions with key stakeholders. The draft inception report will be presented for discussion and validation ;
• Assessment of the quality at entry of the NDEA – It will include desk review, online consultation with key stakeholders and Field Mission in AfDB’s Headquarters. During this phase, the consultant will review the quality at entry of the NDEA. The review will highlight the following: (i) design process and quality; and (ii) adequacy of the institutional arrangements to deliver on the NDEA (including the technical and financial capacity). This phase will end-up with the drafting of the Review Note on the quality at entry of the NDEA ;
• Benchmarking exercise Phase – This will include mission to other development partners that are leading selected energy sector initiatives and programs aimed at supporting the continent in achieving a sustainable energy future. The potential initiatives to select include: (i) Power Africa (USA); (ii) The Sustainable Energy Funds for Africa (Denmark, Italy, UK and USA) managed by AfDB; (iii) The Energy Africa Campaign (UK); and (iv) The Electricity Initiative (European Commission) and any other major initiatives. At this stage, a Benchmarking Report will be drafted ;
• Ecosystems-based country case studies Phase – It will include the review of ecosystems-based country case studies (5 countries) prepared by local consultants based on the common data collection and analysis protocol designed during the inception phase. A synthesis report of the ecosystems-based country case studies will be drafted at this stage by the consultant.

The deliverables of the consulting team will include the following (In English) :

• Inception report ;
• Review Note on the quality at entry of the NDEA ;
• Benchmarking Report ;
• Comments on the ecosystems-based country case studies (5) ;
• synthesis report of the ecosystems-based country case studies.

8. The consultant is expected to have extensive experience in design, monitoring and evaluation of energy sector policies, strategies, actions plan and programs. He/She must demonstrate experience in working with Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), or other bilateral agencies. The Consultant shall have the following minimum qualifications :

• Hold at least Master’s degree (or its university equivalent) in Business Administration, Economics, Social Sciences, Engineering or any other relev    ant field ;
• Have a minimum of seven (7) years of professional experience in appraisal, managing, monitoring and evaluation of energy and infrastructure sectors of developing countries ;
• Experience in Infrastructure policy, strategy and program quality assessment;
• Prior evaluation experience in multilateral aid organization/financial institutions is an advantage ;
• Excellent report writing skills ;
• Excellent spoken and written proficiency in English, with a working knowledge of French.

Application process :

9. The Independent Evaluation Development invites Individual Consultants to indicate their interest in providing the above-described services. Interested eligible Individual Consultants shall provide information on their qualifications and experience demonstrating their ability to provide the services (documentation, references for similar services, and experience in comparable Assignments). The consultant will be granted the right, if necessary, to constitute his team for specific tasks. In this case, the team should be presented ;
10. More specifically, interested candidates should provide the following in support of the EIO :

• An updated CV, including those other team members (if required) ;
• Details of similar assignments completed recently and in the past 5 years, with links to evaluation reports/or related research articles ;
• References and contacts for previous assignments and clients ;
• Confirmation of their availability during the indicated period.

11. The estimated duration of services is 70 working days (or person-days) and the estimated period is June- September 2019. The consultant is expected to work from his country of residence, with working visits to Abidjan for stakeholders’ interviews ;
12. Interested Individual Consultants may obtain further information at the address below during the Bank’s working hours: from 09:00 to 17:00 hours (GMT) ;
13. Please note that interest expressed by a consultant does not imply any obligation on the part of the Bank to include it in the shortlist ;
14. Expressions of interest must be received by e-mail at the address below no later than 25 April 2019, 17:00 Hours local time and specifically mentioning “Expression of Interest for Consultancy Services: EVALUATION OF THE QUALITY OF THE NEW DEAL ON ENERGY FOR AFRICA – NDEA”.

For the attention of: Mr. Joseph MOUANDA

African Development Bank

Independent Evaluation Development (IDEV)

Avenue Joseph Anoma

01 BP 1387 Abidjan 01- Côte d’Ivoire

Abidjan

Côte d’Ivoire

Tel : +22520263679

E-mail : j.mouanda@afdb.org

Copy: h.ayari@afdb.org