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Background

The Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), an International Organization, recognized vide Gazette Notification F. No. D-II/451/16(3)/2021 by the Government of India,  is a multi-stakeholder global partnership of national governments, UN agencies and programmes, multilateral development banks and financing mechanisms, the private sector, and academic and knowledge institutions that aims to promote the resilience of new and existing infrastructure systems to climate and disaster risks in support of sustainable development. The vision, mission, goal, and objectives of CDRI are explicitly linked to the post-2015 development agendas. CDRI promotes its Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (DRI) mandate through knowledge exchange and bolstering technical capacities among member countries and partners through the following key Strategic Priorities:  

• Advocacy and Partnerships  
• Research, Knowledge Management, and Capacity Building 
• Program Support and Technical Assistance 

Strategic Work Plan 2023-26 (SWP)

Following the completion of the CDRI’s Work Plan 2020-2022, CDRI conducted a thorough multi-stakeholder review to gather lessons from the implementation of the previous work plan and to shape a vision in response to emerging issues related to infrastructure resilience. The SWP 2023-2026 was approved in March 2023.

CDRI’s Strategic Work Plan 2023-26 describes the broad contours of its priority actions and planned initiatives in the coming years. Initiatives Include work across Transport, Telecom, Power, Health, and Urban Development, whilst ensuring technical standards and capacity development. In the next two years, the Coalition will continue to leverage the expertise of its Member Countries and partners to develop context-specific, innovative solutions for resilient infrastructure towards the achievement of national priorities and global commitments of its members.

Within the Strategic Work Plan for 2023 – 2026, CDRI has set out three strategic outcomes: 

• Strategic Outcome 1: A strong Coalition that has the membership, resources, and global leadership to drive global, national, regional, and local DRI action. 
• Strategic Outcome 2: Global DRI research, Coalition-led peer engagement, and CDRI-curated and generated knowledge promote risk-informed policy and practice. 
• Strategic Outcome 3: Enhanced capacities of government, private enterprises, and communities to implement post-disaster recovery and DRI action at scale.

Additionally, the SWP also provides a framework for the Coalition members and partners to collaborate, cooperate, and advocate for meeting global goals and targets related to DRI. It also illustrates how the Coalition's interventions align to produce results or outcomes that support the achievement of the intended impact.

The Strategic Outcomes (SOs) embedded in the SWP are interdependent and mutually reinforcing. Each SO includes a set of intermediate outcomes envisioned as building blocks for achieving the higher-order strategic outcome or result. 

Mid-Term Evaluation

Purpose of the Mid-Term Evaluation

The Mid-Term Evaluation, conducted by an external agency at the halfway point of the strategic work plan (SWP), will support CDRI in assessing the extent of its implementation and progress, identifying challenges, and offering recommendations for course corrections moving forward. The evaluation aims to assess the progress made towards achieving the targets set in the SWP thus far, while identifying obstacles and barriers. It will also provide recommendations for CDRI's activities and future planning for the next two years.

The goal of the mid-term evaluation is to give CDRI and its stakeholders a comprehensive assessment of the performance of its initiatives up to this point and develop actionable recommendations for the next stages of program implementation. The evaluation will focus on examining the three strategic outcomes, measuring progress against the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development OECD/DAC (Development Assistance Committee) criteria outlined in the evaluation's Terms of Reference: relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, coherence, impact, and sustainability.

The findings from this evaluation will also serve as a key input for the End-term Evaluation of the SWP, which is planned for 2026-27.

Stakeholders Involved

The study will involve participation of the key stakeholders of CDRI, including:

• Member countries (national governments)
• Member institutions (United Nations (UN) agencies, Multilateral development banks)
• Private sector, Academic and knowledge institutions:  Private sector, and academic institutions that aim to promote the resilience of new and existing infrastructure systems to climate and disaster risks in support of sustainable development.

Objectives of the Assignment 

CDRI aims to onboard an agency that, at this mid-point in the SWP implementation, will support CDRI in mid-term evaluation, which will be formative and focused on learning. The insights gained will enable CDRI to confirm, revise, and adjust the course of action as needed. The evaluation will particularly focus on learning from the implementation of the plan so far, with a special emphasis on its Charter, Theory of Change, and the goals outlined within it. The findings will guide the SWP implementation during the remaining period and inform the preparation of future strategies. The evaluation will aim to:

• Assess the progress made towards the achievement of the strategic work plan’s objectives and targets/ milestones.
• Evaluate the effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, coherence, sustainability, and impact of the programs and initiatives implemented thus far.
• Identify challenges and bottlenecks in the implementation and suggest possible actions or mid-course corrections, as suitable.
• Provide actionable recommendations for the second half of the plan, enhancing performance to ensure fulfilment of SWP objectives.
• Evaluate the relevance of the strategic objectives, intermediate outcomes, and the alignment of activities in the wake of evolving climate change scenarios. 

Scope of Work

• Progress towards achieving strategic goals and targets per SWP 2023-26 and Results Framework 2023-26.
• Resource utilization (human and financial).
• Execution of activities: Quality and timeliness.
• Engagement with Coalition members and stakeholders.
• Existing Knowledge Management and MEL systems/ mechanisms.
• Sustainability and potential of the SWP for long-term impact.

The agency will ensure that the evaluation covers all the critical aspects (illustrative list below) while working under the guidance of the designated point of contact at the CDRI Secretariat. The key components or activities to be evaluated, including but not limited to, are: 

The Mid-term evaluation criteria may be developed from the following guiding principles:

• Relevance: How well do the objectives and activities of the work plan address the needs and priorities enshrined in CDRI’s Charter?
• Coherence: How well do the interventions listed under the SWP fit?
• Effectiveness: To what extent have the objectives and targets been achieved during the first half of the SWP?
• Efficiency: How well have the resources (human, financial) been used to achieve the intended outcomes?
• Impact: What are the measurable outcomes and impacts of the programmes and initiatives thus far? What is the anticipated long-term impact?
• Sustainability: To what extent are the results of the SWP likely to contribute to the larger resilience goals set under the Sendai Framework and SDGs?

Mid-term Evaluation: Illustrative Methodology

• Desk review of critical documents (e.g., SWP,  Results Framework, Annual Work Plans, Annual Reports, Financial Documents, Monitoring Data, etc.).
• In-depth Stakeholder interviews (including with Coalition members).
• Quantitative Surveys.
• Focus group discussions.

The evaluation is expected to utilize a mixed-methods approach such as: 

The above is indicative, and the agency should propose a suitable methodology (including the proposed sample size, data collection procedures, data quality assurance mechanisms, statistical analysis, etc.)  tailored to the context of CDRI and its strategic work plan.

Deliverables

The following deliverables are to be submitted as part of the assignment. 

• Inception Report: A detailed report outlining the evaluation approach, methodology, and timeline, including the evaluation framework and tools.
• Field Work and Data Collection: Documents detailing the shortlist of stakeholders, calendar of conversations/ survey/ KII/ FGD completion status, and details of data collection, gaps, possible solutions to fill the gaps, and final status update. 
• Initial Reflections: A brief report/PPT on initial findings midway through the evaluation process to inform ongoing work and adjustments.
• Draft & Final Evaluation Report: A comprehensive report that includes: 
  • Executive summary.
  • Detailed findings and analysis against evaluation criteria.
  • Conclusions and recommendations for future implementation of the strategic work plan.
  • Actionable suggestions for improving effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability.
• Presentation of Findings: A presentation summarizing key findings and recommendations to the relevant stakeholders of CDRI.

Timeline and duration of delivery 

The evaluation will encompass the first two years of the four-year Strategic Work Plan 2023-26 (including the Annual Work Plans) and assess the feasibility of the implementation strategies for the remaining two years in achieving the targets set under the SWP.

The assignment is expected to last until September 2025, with specific milestones and deadlines to be agreed upon at the outset of the engagement, in line with those listed below, to ensure the timely completion of the evaluation.

• Start Date: The evaluation process is expected to commence from the 1^st week of June 2025.
• Completion Date: The final evaluation report should be delivered by the end of September 2025.
• The evaluation process should adhere to the following milestones: 
  • Inception report: June 2025.
  • Fieldwork and data collection: July-Aug 2025
  • Initial reflections: Aug 2025
  • Draft report: Sep 2025
  • Final report submission, along with transcripts of meetings/ FGDs/ KIIs/ surveys, etc., and presentation to CDRI: Sep 2025

Reporting

The agency will work in close coordination with the designated person at the CDRI Secretariat and report to the Director - Operations at CDRI. Regular updates on progress, challenges, and findings are expected from the agency. 

1. A) Qualifications and Expertise of the Agency

• Experience in conducting mid-term evaluations or similar evaluations of strategic work plans or development programs of international organizations or coalition of countries.
• Proven expertise in international development, monitoring and evaluation, and relevant thematic areas aligned with the strategic work plan, preferably disaster-resilient infrastructure, disaster management, disaster risk, infrastructure resilience programs, etc.
• Having a multidisciplinary team with diverse skill sets, including strong expertise in qualitative and quantitative research methods, evaluation frameworks such as Results-Based Management (RBM), Theory of Change (ToC), or Logical Framework Analysis (LogFrame), statistical analysis, thematic areas (as above,) and report writing.
• Having a team with strong communication and facilitation skills, with experience in engaging stakeholders from diverse backgrounds.
• Familiarity with international development projects funded by agencies such as UNDP, World Bank, USAID, or EU.
• Ability to mobilize quickly, including logistics management and access to necessary resources for fieldwork.
• Ability to produce high-quality reports with actionable recommendations, clearly articulated findings, and alignment with the objectives of the mid-term evaluation.
• Flexibility to tailor evaluation approaches to the project’s needs, including addressing unforeseen challenges.

Please view the rest of the information in the attached document.