Evaluation on DA Project-Blockchains for facilitating trade and enhancing competitiveness

Result of ServiceEvaluations strive to demonstrate the difference that is being made by the work of UN entities, and their impact on member States and their populations. This evaluation will aim to determine how the work undertaken in the project contributed to achieving its intended results, the pathway to these results, and the elements that contributed most significantly to the achievement of these results. In addition, it will also consider how the project brought about any unintended results that may have occurred Work LocationRemotely Expected duration6 months Duties and Responsibilities1. Background and Objective Trade costs are a major issue in international trade. They determine competitiveness, which is fundamental to participating in international trade activities. With various developments around international trade rules resulting from successive trade agreement negotiations at the global, regional, and bilateral levels, tariffs for international trade have fallen to historically low levels, leaving non-tariff measures such as logistics and customs procedures as the main stumbling blocks to international trade. The rise of the COVID-19 pandemic in a deeply interconnected global economy, led to several disruptions across global supply chains, trade, and travel across borders. Blockchain technology presents an opportunity to further enhance efforts at trade digitalization and support in mitigating the socioeconomic impacts of such crisis. Blockchain enables automated, secure and efficient information sharing to ensure the efficient implementation of Mutual Recognition Arrangements/Agreements. It enables participants to digitally connect, share information and collaborate across the shipping supply chain ecosystem. Governments, and regional and international organizations can play a key role in building up the necessary ecosystem for engaging all stakeholders, addressing actual or perceived risks, and ensuring that blockchain can effectively support sustainable and inclusive development. The cost of moving goods across continents could be significantly reduced, creating new opportunities, to relocate manufacturing or source materials and goods internationally. According to the World Economic Forum, the benefits of blockchain would extend beyond shipping. By improving communications and border administration, blockchain could generate an additional $1 trillion in global trade. Running from January 2022 to December 2025, this project brought together the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UNESCWA), the UN regional commissions for Africa (ECA), Europe (ECE), Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), and UNCTAD.. Thereby, it ensured both global reach and regional presence, international cooperation, and exchange of knowledge and good practices from all over the world. The project is aimed to strengthen national innovation and technological capacities related to the use of blockchain technology in customs and trade operations in five selected developing countries, and to boost trade and enhance competitiveness in support of sustainable development. Specifically, the project aimed to contribute to increasing national awareness on the importance of blockchain in trade facilitation through tailored capacity building activities on how to effectively adopt and deploy blockchain technology. The five beneficiary countries were Lebanon, Uzbekistan, Kenya, Peru, and Mongolia. 2. Duties and Responsibilities Purpose of the Evaluation Evaluations strive to demonstrate the difference that is being made by the work of UN entities, and their impact on member States and their populations. This evaluation will aim to determine how the work undertaken in the project contributed to achieving its intended results, the pathway to these results, and the elements that contributed most significantly to the achievement of these results. In addition, it will also consider how the project brought about any unintended results that may have occurred. The evaluation will serve three main purposes: ● It will inform and facilitate organizational learning by identifying evidence-based findings, lessons to be learned, and recommendations for action that enhance the next generation of work. ● It will provide a basis for evidence-informed decision-making, strategic planning, and risk management. ● It is a means to demonstrate accountability to the organizations’ Executives and member States for performance, relative to the entities’ mandates and strategic objectives. ● It will inform and facilitate organizational learning by identifying evidence-based findings, lessons to be learned, and recommendations for action that enhance the next generation of work. The evaluation will be conducted in line with ESCWA’s Evaluation Policy (2025), the UNEG Norms and Standards for Evaluation, and the Development Account Evaluation Guidelines. The evaluation will strive to employ development best practices with regard to promoting gender equality and a human rights-based approach, including the rights of persons with disabilities. The primary audiences for the evaluation are ESCWA, ECA, ECE, ECLAC, ESCAP and UNCTAD. The evaluation will be led and coordinated by ESCWA’s Strategic Planning, Accountability, Results and Knowledge team, in coordination with the Evaluation Advisory Group. Scope of the Evaluation The evaluation will be forward-looking and will objectively and systematically assess the performance of the project in terms of its relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, and sustainability. Furthermore, the evaluation will assess the extent to which gender, human rights, disability inclusion, environmental concerns, and other cross-cutting issues were incorporated or mainstreamed into the project. The evaluation will cover the period from January 2022 to December 2025. Evaluation Criteria The following key evaluation questions per criteria will guide the evaluation. The evaluator is expected to refine evaluation questions where necessary and to include the refinement in the Inception Report. Relevance • How were the strategic needs and priorities of member States identified during project design? • How were the intended results aligned with member State priorities, the SDGs, national and regional development agendas, and the needs of other key stakeholders? • How were activities designed and sequenced based on the log frame to ensure relevance and a clear contribution to the intended results? Effectiveness • What evidence is available to demonstrate the achievement of results, and which project activities most directly contributed? • To what extent can the identified results be attributed to the project, and what other factors or stakeholders contributed? • How were key partnerships integrated in the delivery of the project to maximize the achievement of results? Efficiency • To what extent were activities delivered in an efficient manner, including adjustments made during implementation, the choice of modality and expertise, and the leveraging of partnerships to utilize additional strategic expertise? Impact • What, if any, higher-level effects did the project contribute to (such as changes in norms, systems, or practices), and how transformative were these effects? • To what extent has the project generated results that are “scalable” or “replicable”? Sustainability • To what extent are the results likely to be sustained or replicated in similar contexts, and what evidence exists that stakeholders can maintain the benefits over time? Gender, Human Rights, Disability Inclusion, and Environmental Issues • To what extent were issues of gender, human rights, disability inclusion, and the environment incorporated into the design, planning, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation practices of the project, as well as the results achieved? • To what extent did the project address the rights, needs and interests of different stakeholders, including women, men, youth, persons with disabilities and other marginalized groups? Evaluation Methodology The evaluator is expected to identify the main results achieved through the project, as established by both the project team and key stakeholders, and develop a Theory of Change (ToC) for these results. The causal links postulated in the ToC should then be used to theorise a plausible causal mechanism, which should be tested using all available evidence, to evaluate the influence of the work on results achieved through the project. The evaluator is expected to ensure a mixed method (qualitative and quantitative), inclusive and participatory approach, with adequate triangulation across methods, to arrive at credible, reliable, and unbiased findings. The evaluator will also ensure that all aspects of the evaluation are gender and human rights sensitive (including a special focus on the rights with person with disabilities). In addition, the evaluator must ensure that they always comply with the UNEG Ethical Guidelines for Evaluation during the conduct of the evaluation. The above methodology is indicative. The evaluator is expected to build upon it and present a robust evaluation methodology within the inception report, including addressing and refining the evaluation questions. Management and Governance Arrangements ESCWA will oversee management of the evaluation through an evaluation officer/s, who will act as the evaluation manager/s. This role will include recruiting the evaluator; serving as the main port-of-call for the evaluator and for internal and external stakeholders; recording the feedback on the evaluation reports and effectively integrating it into the evaluation exercise; monitoring the budget and the correct implementation of the work-plan; ensuring quality assurance; etc. An Evaluation Advisory Group will be established, comprised of a representative from the evaluation unit of each of the partner entities to undertake the following: review of the TORs; coordinate access from their respective entities to relevant project documentation as well as substantive colleagues and key stakeholders involved in project implementation; coordinate the review and provision of feedback on the inception report and the evaluation report, and the development of the management response, and; follow up on the recommendations addressed to the parties of the evaluation. Quality Assurance Mechanism The evaluator will employ a quality assurance mechanism of her/his preference (either an internal or an external system can be used), which will provide quality checks throughout the evaluation process. This quality assurance mechanism will be indicated in the Inception Report and in the Final Evaluation Report. In addition, ESCWA will review the evaluation report prior to finalization to ensure that it aligns with the UNEG Quality Checklist for Evaluation Reports , particularly with reference to the quality of recommendations. Evaluation Ethics The evaluation shall act independently, free from conflicts of interest, and in accordance with the principles outlined in the UNEG Ethical Guidelines for Evaluation; and all rights and confidentiality of information providers will be prioritized and safeguarded as per UNEG Ethical Guidelines for Evaluation. Qualifications/special skillsA Master's degree in management, evaluation, or related area is required. All candidates must submit a copy of the required educational degree. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed. A minimum of seven years’ experience undertaking programme/project evaluations is required. Experience in at least five evaluations with international (development) organizations is required. Experience in Regional Commissions and United Nations projects, especially Development Account projects is highly desirable Experience conducting evaluation of joint projects, across multiple regions, is highly desirable. Proven competency in quantitative and qualitative research methods, particularly self-administered surveys, document analysis, and informal and semi-structured interviews is required Excellent oral and written communication skills and the ability to effectively convey complex information in a clear and concise manner to both governmental and UN audiences. LanguagesEnglish and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat; and Arabic is a working language of ESCWA. For this position, fluency in English is required. Fluency in Arabic is desirable. Note: “Fluency” equals a rating of ‘fluent’ in all four areas (speak, read, write, and understand) and “Knowledge of” equals a rating of ‘confident’ in two of the four areas. Additional InformationNot available. No FeeTHE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.