Private Sector Development Specialist

**Private Sector Development Specialist**
**Final Evaluation of USAID Linkages for Small and Medium Enterprises (LinkSME)**
USAID Learns Contract
Hanoi, Vietnam

**About Social Impact**

Social Impact (SI) is a global development management consulting firm. We provide monitoring, evaluation, strategic planning, and capacity-building services to advance development effectiveness. We work across all development sectors including democracy and governance, health and education, the environment, and economic growth. Since 1997 we have worked in over 100 countries for clients such as US government agencies, bilateral donors, multilateral development banks, foundations, and nonprofits.

**Project Objective**

SI is implementing the USAID/Vietnam Learns Contract (USAID Learns). The scope of the five-year project is to support USAID/Vietnam staff and partners to implement more efficient, effective, and transparent programs by improving: (1) USAID and Implementing Partner (IP) capacity to achieve expected results; (2) USAID’s understanding and tracking of project performance; and (3) collaboration, learning, and adapting (CLA).

**Background and Purpose**

USAID/Vietnam tasked USAID Learns to conduct a final performance evaluation of the USAID-funded Linkages for Small and Medium Enterprises (LinkSME) activity. LinkSME is a five-year project that aims to strengthen the SME-lead firm Business Linkage Framework and enhance Vietnamese SMEs’ capacity to participate in supply chains. The primary Government of Vietnam (GVN) counterpart for LinkSME is the Office of the Government (OOG) and Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI).

LinkSME works under the theory of change that to achieve systemic changes, operating environment changes need to occur. If linkages and connections between these most-ready domestic SMEs and lead firms are facilitated and the operating environment is improved, then more firms will broadly adopt this approach thereby institutionalizing stronger SME-lead firm business relationships and accelerating domestic SME growth. To achieve its objectives, LinkSME implements four components. Three components focus on technical assistance. The fourth focuses on how LinkSME’s financial and administrative unit supports the technical efforts. The formal names of the three technical components are as follows:

- Component 1: Promoting Institutional Reform, Streamlining Regulations and Administrative Procedures, Cutting Down Compliance Cost to Enhance the Competitiveness of SMEs.
- Component 2: Promoting an E-Government to Improve Government-to-Business Interactions, and Facilitate SMEs’ Investment, Business and International Integration.
- Component 3: Improving SMEs’ Supply Capacity and Strengthening Business Linkages between SMEs and Global Value Chains.

**Purpose of Evaluation**

The purpose of this evaluation is to capture lessons and effective approaches developed over the course of LinkSME implementation to inform the current activity—Improving Private Sector Competitiveness (IPS-C)—and other USAID follow-on activities in the sector more broadly.

**Key audience/users**:

- Primary (1st audience) - **USAID and Implementing Partners** - USAID’s Office of Governance and Economic Growth (OGEG) as well as LinkSME and IPS-C to inform follow-on activity implementation and broader future private sector engagement.
- Secondary (2nd audience) - **GVN counterparts** to strengthen coordination and partnership and generate early commitments to change of direction where evidence suggests.
- Tertiary (3rd audience) - **Business Support Organizations (BSOs) and SMEs** for learning around effective SME support and linkage.

**Position Description**

USAID Learns seeks a national consultant to act as a Private Sector Development Specialist to conduct this evaluation. The Specialist will work under the direction of the Team Leader and cooperate with an Evaluation Coordinator to perform the service.

One staff member from USAID/OGEG may participate in the evaluation as an observer. Technical support and direction will be provided by the USAID Learns Research Team and Social Impact headquarters staff. Logistical coordination and interpretation, as well as scheduling, will be managed by the USAID Learns Research Team in conjunction with USAID/Vietnam and LinkSME.

**Evaluation Questions**

The evaluation shall address the following evaluation questions:

- **Business Enabling Environment Pillar**: To what extent did LinkSME technical assistance on policy and regulatory reforms have a perceived sustainable impact on creating a business enabling environment for strengthening the SME-Lead firm business linkage?
- **Linkages Pillar**: To what extent does LinkSME unlock the potential of Vietnamese SMEs to participate in the supply chain?
- **GVN Coordination**: What aspects of LinkSME’s coordination and implementation approach with OOG and MPI are effective at improving the business enabling environment and capaci