Emergency Evaluation Assistance

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Mission's Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Officer is on extended personal leave status and is not expected to return until the start of FY 2012. To address this situation, the Mission Director has requested that the Program Cycle Services Center (PCSC) provide assistance in developing and implementing a detailed evaluation schedule pursuant to the existing rolling evaluation plan. The first evaluation, FANTA 2, has been rescheduled to begin in May due to the absence of the M&E Officer. The PCSC is requested to assist in creating a detailed calendar for the development and review of Statements of Work (SOWs) and draft evaluation reports for each of the evaluations in the Mission's existing plan. The M&E Officer has provided an annotation estimating the number of weeks each scheduled evaluation will take from the time a contract is signed until receipt of a draft report. The attached summary of the projects for which roughly 15 evaluations are to be completed this FY includes information on the projects' objectives, timeframes, and geographic focus. The projects include FANTA 2, which aims to strengthen maternal and child health and nutrition programming in Uganda; NUWSS, which focuses on improving access to safe water and sanitation in developing countries; SPEAR, which targets children and faith-based leaders in Uganda's HIV&AIDS response; EMIS, which aims to improve the timeliness, accuracy, and reliability of education data in Uganda; HIP, which works to increase access to sanitation options in Uganda; ABT Associates, which implements indoor residual spraying to reduce malaria in Uganda; and WILD, which promotes conservation through community use of plant resources in Uganda. The Mission's Deputy Director has agreed to chair reviews of all evaluation draft reports and post-evaluation decision meetings, while the PRO Office Director will chair reviews of all SOWs for evaluations. This has serious implications for these two senior staff members. The PCSC is requested to forward a detailed draft FY calendar, including dates for the reviews of all SOWs and evaluation draft reports, as well as post-evaluation decision meetings that should occur during the FY. Additionally, the PCSC is requested to forward the name and a CV or other experience summary for the officer who will be coming to the Mission.