The contract objective is the implementation of the (results-oriented monitoring — ROM) review of projects and programmes financed by the European Union. The review is part of an integrated set of systems and approaches for monitoring, reporting and external review and evaluation of projects and programmes.

The tender which is the subject of the present notice is organised in 6 service contract lots described as follows:

lot 1: review of implementation of projects and programmes financed by the European Union for the Neighbourhood region;

lot 2: review of implementation of projects and programmes financed by the European Union for the sub-Saharan African region including intra-ACP and pan-African programmes;

lot 3: review of implementation of projects and programmes financed by the European Union for the Asian and Pacific regions including OCTs;

lot 4: review of implementation of projects and programmes financed by the European Union for the Latin American and Caribbean regions, including Cuba and OCTs;

lot 5: review of implementation of centrally managed projects and programmes financed by the European Union under the thematic programmes (CMTPs);

lot 6: quality assurance relating to the reviews of implementation of projects and programmes financed by the European Union.

The revised (ROM) review, to be carried out by independent consultants, will be part of an overall system based on an improved and harmonised internal system of monitoring and reporting by EU Delegations and European Commission HQ services on the implementation of EU-funded projects and programmes. The objective of the reviews is to support the management of EU-funded projects and programmes and to strengthen internal and external accountability for their performance and results. Appropriate duration of field missions and adequate use of sectoral expertise represent a strong asset of the revised system.

The revised review system, centrally managed by the Commission's headquarters services, also aims to provide a better insight into the performance of EU Delegations' and HQ services' portfolios.

The revised review is to proceed as follows:

The review approach will be different for budget support programmes and other projects and programmes:

• a (ROM) review organised at an average of 2 times during the lifetime of a budget support programme,

• for other projects and programmes, a (ROM) review is foreseen for a number of selected projects and programmes as specified hereafter.

For these other projects and programmes the following reviews are foreseen:

• an initial (ROM) review is to be carried out around the end of year 1 of implementation of the following projects and programmes:

— projects and programmes of an amount of 500 000 EUR (EU contribution) or more (or 200 000 EUR for thematic and regional projects and programmes) identified and signalled by EU Delegations or HQ services for having implementation problems,

— other projects and programmes, selected by EU Delegations or HQ services for submission to a (ROM) review, be it for specific projects and programmes below the aforementioned amounts which have implementation problems or selected for other duly justified reasons,

• a follow-up (ROM) review is foreseen around the end of year 2 of implementation for the projects and programmes which have demonstrated the most risky performance during the initial (ROM) review,

• a final (ROM) review is foreseen at end of implementation for a group of selected projects and programmes in order to identify possible needs for improving internal monitoring and reporting, in particular with a view to strengthening the reporting on the results of projects and programmes. The selection of projects and programmes for the final (ROM) review is to take place by random sampling of projects and programmes (around 385 projects and programmes each year are to be covered across all ROM lots). The random sampling and hence the project and programme selection will be carried out once a year by the European Commission headquarters for all projects and programmes.

The European Commission will sign 1 service contract per lot for a total of 6 lots: 4 geographical lots, each for 1 or 2 specific regions, for projects and programmes managed by devolved EU Delegations or centrally managed by geographical directorates; 1 lot for thematic projects and programmes which are carried out under the direct supervision of the Commission's HQ services ('centrally managed' thematic programmes) and 1 lot for the setting up and implementation of a quality assurance (QA) system, to be performed by external QA experts in addition to the normal internal quality assurance to be ensured by each contractor.

Working languages: English and French, as well as Portuguese and Spanish, depending on the lot. Please see description of lots in 'Information about lots' of this notice.