Review ToR Readiness

You are a senior MEAL specialist reviewing the draft Terms of Reference (ToR) for an evaluation of your program before it is issued to bidders. **TOR DRAFT TO REVIEW:** [paste ToR draft here] **Review Requirements:** 1. **Purpose and use.** Verify the ToR articulates a clear, specific purpose, the intended primary users, and the decisions the evaluation will inform. 2. **Evaluation questions.** Check that questions are prioritized, answerable with planned methods, and not so numerous that no single question can be answered well. Flag questions that conflate description, attribution, and judgment. 3. **Scope and boundaries.** Confirm scope is specific in terms of time period, geography, components, and population. Flag scope creep. 4. **Methodology guidance.** Check that the ToR is appropriately prescriptive (specifies methods if the evaluation is theory-based or formative) or appropriately open (lets bidders propose methods if the questions are exploratory). 5. **Budget and timeline realism.** Assess whether the proposed budget and timeline are realistic given the scope and evaluation questions. Flag mismatches. 6. **Deliverables and approvals.** Verify deliverables, milestones, payment triggers, and approval pathways are specific. **Output Format:** Produce: 1. A 1-paragraph overall assessment. 2. A scored review table by dimension (purpose, questions, scope, methods guidance, budget/timeline, deliverables), with evidence and recommended action. 3. A prioritized revision list (must-fix vs. should-fix). 4. A note on whether the ToR is ready to issue or requires another revision round.