Monitoring and evaluation of an SMS project: Wales Resilient Ecological Network

Tender description

The North Wales Wildlife Trust wishes to appoint an independent, professional external evaluator to assess how the Wales Resilient Ecological Network (WaREN II) SMS Project is performing against its forecast objectives and outputs; and to learn any lessons for future application. Overall, the successful evaluating organisation will be required to support the project in gathering evidence so that the evaluating organisation can produce an evaluation report at the end of the project. The following are proposed: • Evaluate the effectiveness of achieving key objectives, outcomes and indicative targets. • Evaluate the effectiveness of delivering environmental and socio-economic benefits. • Evaluate the effectiveness of the collaborative approach of the project and its sustainability. • Evaluate the success of an invasive species campaign across Wales by identifying monitoring and evaluation tools to capture bassline data and follow-up evaluation following the campaign • Undertake periodic reviews and produce a final report (available in Welsh and English). The evaluator will be required to: • Assess the project’s delivery of aims, objectives, outcomes and indicators, and develop a methodology for the collation of quantitative and qualitative data that is achievable within the budget and the timeframe available (Apr 2021 - Mar 2023). • Brief project and the Project Board on the delivery of evaluation using the proposed methodology. • Assist in the gathering of data by a range of methods as appropriate such as face-to-face meetings and interviews and/or running workshops, focus groups and similar with stakeholders. • Ensure that project staff are made aware at timely and regular intervals of the actions to be undertaken to gather the data required and provide advice on methodologies. • Link the project outcomes with the Welsh Government’s emerging key challenges, emerging national priority areas for action and goals of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. For further information, see the additional material. This project has received funding through the Welsh Government Rural Communities - Rural Development Programme 2014-2020 – Sustainable Management Scheme which is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the Welsh Government.