Template 4: Evaluating the Consultant’s Performance
Performance Criteria
Rating Considerations Comments
Considerations When Evaluating the Consultant’s Performance
General Considerations
Strongly
Agree
Agree Disagree
Strongly
Disagree
Don’t
Know
The effectiveness of the original scope of works in
achieving project objectives and outcomes has been
reviewed.
Was the original scope of works adequate, as defined in the original project
brief?
o Could there be any improvements?
o Were there any gaps that made it difficult to meet project objectives?
o Were the desired outcomes and objectives sufficiently defined?
o Were there tasks that could have been scoped differently, or needed
more detail?
o Was sufficient budget allocated to complete tasks?
CoastAdapt provides further information on working with consultants and
designing
project briefs.
The consultant has fully addressed the scope of works as
outlined in the project brief and as articulated in the
accepted proposal.
The scope of works will have been outlined in the tender brief and the
consultant’s proposal as accepted by the client:
o Where the scope and consultant’s proposal included a series of steps
or stages, have all these steps been addressed to the satisfaction of
the client (unless otherwise agreed)?
o If a variation to the original scope was approved, has the additional
work commissioned been completed?
CoastAdapt provides further information on working with consultants and
designing
project briefs.
The consultant has supplied the required
deliverables/reports as outlined in the tender brief and as
articulated in the accepted proposal.
The required deliverables for the project will have been outlined in the tender
brief and the consultant’s proposal as accepted by the client:
o Have the report deliverables addressed the mandatory requirements,
headings, or contents as outlined in the tender brief?
o Is the status of the report clearly identified (draft, final draft or final)?
o Have comments supplied by the client on the draft report been
addressed including, where required, a track change version or
memorandum from the consultant to show how the comments have
been addressed?
The consultant has managed the project effectively and
maintained sufficient communication and engagement
with the client.
The tender brief and consultants proposal will have specified the frequency
and format of communication for the project between the consultant and client
representative. Has this specification been met adequately by the consultant?
Was the management of the project effective in meeting the client’s needs?
Was the client satisfied with the format and frequency of communication? Was
the project successful in terms of timeliness, quality of outputs, ensuring a
single point of contact, responsiveness to client requests, etc.?
The methodology used by the consultant is described in
sufficient detail that it is transparent and repeatable if
needed.
Does the final report/work contain a methodology section?
If so, does it clearly outline the steps/processes/techniques used to conduct the
study in ways that are understandable to the client?
Is there sufficient detail provided that would enable the client to repeat a similar
study if necessary in the future?
General Considerations.. (contd) Strongly
Agree
Agree Disagree Strongly
Disagree
Don’t
Know
All engagement activities have been fully documented
and the consultant has demonstrated how any feedback
received has been incorporated.
Has the consultant provided a list of everyone who was consulted?
Have the approaches used to undertake consultation been recorded e.g.
interview/workshop notes, site meetings, briefing papers etc.
Does the client have copies of all consultation material prepared e.g.
questionnaires, newsletters etc.
Has the consultant documented how any feedback received has been
incorporated?
Is there a plan in place for ongoing communication/consultation?
Was an external peer review undertaken? If so, has the
feedback received been considered and responded to?
Has a suitably experienced person independent to the consultant undertaken a
review of the content? If so, has a copy of the review been provided to the
client? Has the feedback been incorporated?
Does the client feel that his/her internal capacity to
undertake similar projects has been improved?
Has the consultant effectively shared knowledge and tools with the client
organisation and its staff?
Has a formal handover been held with the consultant, so that staff have an
opportunity to ask any questions they may have?
Is there a need for some formal training to be provided to staff?
Has feedback been provided to the consultant on overall
performance?
Has formal feedback been provided to the consultant on performance against
project objectives?
Considerations relevant to Climate Change Studies
Strongly
Agree
Agree Disagree
Strongly
Disagree
Don’t
Know
All data sources used for the study have been fully and
clearly documented i.e. source, year, climate change
scenarios, projections, models etc.
Has the consultant outlined which climate change projections were used for the
study?
o How were data sources chosen? Were they based on national, state or
local policy requirements? Do they depart from these standards and if
so why? Do national, state or local policy requirements specify data
sources? CoastAdapt provides
a summary of relevant state legislation
and planning policy. Information on present-day climate data sources
is also available.
o What climate change timeframes and scenario(s) were used? e.g.
2030, 2100, High or Low Emission RCPs, etc. Coast Adapt provides
information on understanding, accessing and using
climate scenarios.
o What was the source of the projections? e.g. Climate Change in
Australia, NARCLiM, research paper, etc. Information on future sea-
level rise and climate extremes is available on CoastAdapt.
o What climate change parameters were used? e.g. maximum
temperature, evaporation, sea level rise, storminess, etc. Were these
comprehensive and appropriate?
Any uncertainties in data and methodology have been
documented and any assumptions made clear.
Has the consultant identified the uncertainties in data or projections used for
the study? Coast Adapt provides information on using
climate scenarios,
including how to deal with uncertainties.
Has a confidence level or similar been placed on the use of these data? Some
climate variables are better simulated by models than others and have a higher
degree of confidence. For example, there is a higher level of confidence in sea
level rise projections, than changes to cyclone frequency in Australia.
Projections should be accompanied by an estimate of data confidence levels.
Has the consultant highlighted the limits of the modelling approach used?
Coast Adapt provides information on understanding
climate change scenarios
and modelling approaches.
Has the consultant described how any uncertainties in data have been/could be
addressed? Have a variety of different approaches/techniques been used to
deal with identified uncertainties? E.g. risk assessment approaches,
consultation, probabilistic scenarios, sensitivity analysis?
Have all assumptions been documented?
Considerations relevant to Climate Change
Studies…(contd)
Strongly
Agree
Agree Disagree Strongly
Disagree
Don’t
Know
All models, GIS mapping layers or other material agreed
to be handed over in the Contract (subject to contractual
agreements regarding intellectual property) have been
provided and the client is satisfied with their quality.
Have original GIS files, data files, model output files etc. been provided to the
client in a form that is readily accessible using the client’s IT systems/software?
Is the client clear about his/her rights to use information, models or data
provided in the study? Does the client have any intellectual property issues?
Has the client discussed the consultant’s ongoing use of data and material
gathered for the study and whether it can be used for future marketing
opportunities, conference papers etc.?
Were study findings and/or adaptation recommendations:
clearly articulated
quantified
realistic
acceptable to the client organisation and/or
community etc.?
Are climate change risks identified and described in ways that are
straightforward for the client and the community to understand? CoastAdapt
provides information on building community support and
engaging with the
community.
o What are the highest risks to the client and the community?
o
When and how are they likely to experience these risks?
o Have the risk tolerance levels been discussed with the client and used
for identifying trigger points when a particular option or action may be
required? CoastAdapt provides further information on
determining
adaptation options and using a pathway approach to set trigger points.
o Has the consultant identified existing strategies to assess risk and
determined if these are sufficient, or whether further action is required?
Have adaptation options been clearly stated?
o Are options and actions realistic and proportional to the climate
change risks?
o Have the options considered and/or recognised existing management
actions and initiatives?
o Have adaptation option implementation barriers been identified, and
have solutions to overcoming these been suggested?
o Are the identified options likely to be feasible/acceptable to the
organisation/client?
o Have costs/benefits of options been identified (if required)?
o Has any recommendation been made for prioritisation of adaptation
options?
o Have governance arrangements and responsibilities for action
been identified in an implementation plan?
o When is action necessary and have clear triggers for
implementation been set? Coast Adapt provides further information
on adaptation pathways
.
o Is on-going monitoring required, and if so, what should be
measured and when? How would the results from monitoring be
used? Coast Adapt provides further information on
monitoring and
evaluation of climate change adaptation.
Note that studies may be staged and only address one aspect of climate change
adaptation (i.e. identification of climate risks or adaptation options); the points
above may not be relevant to every project.
The consultant has provided recommendations for the
next phase of the project/further follow up work or filling
any data gaps to advance the client organisation’s
response to climate change.
Has the consultant provided recommendations for filling any data gaps that
could not be solved through the course of the current study?
Has the consultant provided recommendations for further studies that could be
undertaken following the existing scope of work?
Can the consultant assist with preparing a scope of works for follow up work in
the future?