Consultancy for Evaluation of WWF GEF Project in Zambia

Overview

World Wildlife Fund, Inc. (WWF) policies and procedures for all GEF financed full-sized projects require a midterm evaluation (MTR). The following terms of reference (TOR) sets out the expectations for the MTR for the project: Sustainable Luangwa: Securing Luangwa’s water resources for shared Socioeconomic and Environmental Benefits through Integrated Catchment Management hereafter referred to as the “Project.” The technical consultant selected to conduct this evaluation will hereafter be referred to as “evaluator.”

The project seeks to reduce forest and land degradation of the Luangwa Upper Sub-Catchment for enhanced protection of water resources, biodiversity and associated community livelihoods. The overall vision of the project is to reduce the key threats to the Luangwa upper sub-catchment for the purpose of preserving the ecological condition of the free-flowing Luangwa River, and the biodiversity and ecosystem services values of the upper sub-catchment. 

The Project was organized into the following components:

• Component 1 – To reduce forest and land degradation of the Luangwa Upper Sub-Catchment for enhanced protection of water resources, biodiversity and associated community livelihoods. Component 1 will lead to improved participatory management of the key protected area within the headwaters, Mafinga Hills National Forest Reserve (MHNFR) and the surrounding areas, which is the source of the Luangwa river and its tributaries. It will also support the development and designation of a Water Resource Protection Area (WRPA) that will provide a model for improved protection and community-based management of the upper sub-catchment.
• Component 2 – Community management of the upper Luangwa Sub-Catchment (Mafinga District). Component 2 will establish sustainable community environmental management and climate resilient livelihoods through prioritized interventions focused on the headwaters to reduce land and forest degradation that contribute towards the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services.
• Component 3 – Knowledge management and monitoring and evaluation (M&E). Component 3 will ensure that the increased knowledge of sustainable catchment management from lessons learned and best practices supports replication of the approach in other headwater areas at local and national levels, as well as being disseminated at Zambezi River Basin level and globally. M&E will be carried out to inform project decision-making and adaptive management.

Scope and Objectives

WWF-US is seeking an independent consultant to undertake a Midterm Review of the Project. The scope of the MTR will cover the WWF GEF financed components.

The objectives of this evaluation are to:

• Assess progress towards project goal, outputs and outcomes;
• Examine the extent, magnitude, sustainability and potential for project impacts to date;
• Identify any project design problems and challenges
• Draw lessons learned that can improve the project effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability of project benefits.

Based on this assessment, it is expected that the evaluator will provide feasible recommendations that could be applied for the remaining duration of the project.

Consultancy Details

• Location of Consultant: Flexible, but must do site visits in Zambia
• Reporting To: Amelia Kissick, Technical Director for Consultancy
• Preferred Timeframe of Consultancy: April – June 2025
• Period To Be Evaluated: November 22, 2021 to time of evaluation
• Maximum Budget Available: $32,000
• Potential Site Visits: Mafinga district in Muchinga Province. 1) Mulekatembo and Muleya villages including beneficiary farmer fields and demo plots, 2) Mweniwisi Community Forest Management Group (CFMG), 3) Kampumbu gauge station

Project Data

• Project/Program Title: Sustainable Luangwa: Securing Luangwa’s water resources for shared Socioeconomic and Environmental Benefits through Integrated Catchment Management
• GEF Project ID: 10412
• Implementing Agency: WWF-GEF
• Executing Agency: Ministry of Green Economy and Environment
• Executing Partner: WWF Zambia (Subgrantees; WARMA, COMACO, WECSZ)
• Countries: Global
• Focal Area: Biodiversity, Land Degradation
• GEF Operational Program: GEF 7
• Total GEF Approved Budget: $2,889,155
• Total Co-financing Committed: $21,849,200

Relevant Dates

• CEO Endorsement/Approval: November 22, 2021
• Agency Approval Date: April 26, 2022
• Implementation Start: May 9, 2022
• Midterm Evaluation Completion Date: 12/19/2023
• Review period: November 22, 2021 to time of evaluation

Responsibilities

Evaluation Approach

The evaluation will adhere to the relevant guidance, rules and procedures established by WWF[1] and align with guidance from the GEF Terminal Evaluation[2] and Ethical Guidelines.[3] The evaluation must provide evidence‐based information that is independent, participatory, transparent, and ethical. The evaluator must be unbiased and free of any conflicts of interest with the project. The evaluator is expected to reflect all stakeholder views and follow a participatory and consultative approach. There should be close engagement with government stakeholders at all levels, WWF Zambia Country Office, the GEF operational focal point for Zambia y, the project management unit (PMU), partners and key stakeholders whose contact information will be provided.

The Evaluation process will include the following, with deliverables marked by “*”:

1. Desk review consisting of, but not limited to:

• Project Document and CEO Endorsement Letter;
• Relevant safeguards documents, including Environmental and Social Safeguards (ESS) Screening Tool, Categorization Memo, Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) and Process Framework (PF), Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP) and Gender action Plan (GAP);
• Mafinga Hills National Forest Reserve METT tool;
• Annual Work Plans (AWP) and Budgets;
• Project Progress Reports (PPR) including Results Framework and AWP Tracking reports;
• GEF Agency reports, including Project Implementation Reports (PIRs) and Supervision Mission Reports (PrISM);
• Relevant financial documents, including financial progress reports, co-financing monitoring tables and co-financing letters;
• Meeting minutes for the Project National Steering Committee (NSC) and relevant virtual meetings with the WWF- GEF Agency and support team; and
• Other relevant documents provided by the Executing Agency and partners.

1. Inception report that outlines evaluation methodology;*
2. Field visits with PMU and project partners, as necessary and feasible;
3. Interviews, discussions and consultations at local levels, national and international levels, including implementing (Sub-grantee) partners; Wildlife and Environmental Conservation Society of Zambia (WECSZ), Community Markets for Conservation (COMACO), Water Resources Management Authority ( WARMA)), GEF Operational Focal Points (OFP), National Steering Committee (NSC) members, Project Technical Committee (PTC) members, and beneficiaries, government coordinating structures at both provincial (PDCC) and district (DDCC),levels, primarily conducted either physically virtually;
4. Post-field visit debrief and presentation* of initial findings to project management team and other partners as feasible;
5. Draft report* not to exceed 40 pages (excluding annexes) shared with GEF AMU and PMU for review and feedback. A sample outline will be provided; and
6. Final MTR report* that has incorporated feedback and comments.

Expected Content of Report

The Midterm Evaluation report will include:

• Information on the evaluation process, including when the evaluation took place, sites visited, participants, key questions, summary of methodology and rating rubric, and feedback log showing how comments on draft were incorporated;
• Assessment of Relevance (project design , theory of change);
• Assessment of project Effectiveness and rating of project objective and outcomes (individual and overall);
• Assessment and rating of risks to the Sustainability of project outcomes;
• Assessment and rating of Monitoring and Evaluation design and implementation;
• Assessment of knowledge management approach, including activities and products;
• Assessment of replication and catalytic effects of the project;
• Assessment of Relevance of the project (e.g. with Government, WWF and GEF priorities) and Coherence;
• Assessment of stakeholder engagement and gender-responsive measures;
• Assessment of any environmental and social impacts and safeguards used for the project. A review of risk category classification and mitigation measures;
• Assessment of Efficiency, financial management and summary of co-financing delivered;
• Assessment and ratings of Implementation and Execution;
• Summary table of key findings by core criteria[4] and GEF ratings, including justification and/or indicators for their determination;
• Key lessons tied to identified strengths or issues;
• Recommendations that include: practical and short-term corrective actions by evaluation criteria to address issues and findings; and best practices towards achieving project outcomes, and knowledge sharing / replication for other projects of similar scope.

[1] For additional information on evaluation methods adopted by WWF, see the WWF Evaluation Guidelines , published on our WWF Program Standards public website.

[2] For additional information on the GEF Terminal Evaluation Guidelines, see the GEF Terminal Evaluation Guidelines , published on the GEF Independent Evaluation Office website.

[3] Please see the GEF Ethical Guidelines as published on GEF website.

[4] See annex A

Qualifications

Required Qualifications and Experience

• Have 10+ years relevant professional experience (e.g. leading evaluations, designing monitoring and evaluation plans, etc);
• Previous experience with diverse evaluation methodologies (e.g. social surveys, outcome harvesting, etc);
• Excellent written and oral communication in English.

Preferred Qualifications and Experience

• Masters Degree in relevant field, such as Monitoring and Evaluation,, International Development, in Forestry, Agriculture, Ecology, Wildlife Biology, Environmental and Natural Resources Management;
• Recent experience conducting evaluations (for GEF financed projects is an advantage);
• Technical knowledge in the targeted GEF Operational Focal Area(s) – Biodiversity, Land Degradation, plus Natural Resource Management, Forestry, Wildlife Biology, multilateral environmental agreements etc.
• Knowledge of GEF Monitoring and Evaluation Policy;
• Experience with WWF Project and Program Management Standards or Conservation Standards;
• Experience with social assessments, participatory techniques, and gender mainstreaming;
• Knowledge and experience in implementing or reviewing application of social and environmental safeguards policies in GEF (or similar) projects;
• Basic understanding of any of the local languages namely; Bemba, Fungwe, Nyika, Lambya and Tumbuka will be an added advantage. Translation services as an alternative;
• National and regional experience an asset.

Proposal Process

Interested consultants are invited to submit a technical and financial proposal with their curriculum vitae, a relevant writing sample and three professional references. Only complete proposals will be accepted. The financial proposal should include fee and reimbursable expenses, if applicable. The total budget shall not exceed USD $32,000. Individual, team or consulting firm proposals are welcome. Women and members of social minorities are encouraged to apply.

Interested consultants are requested to send their proposals to [email protected] by February 7th, 2025. All questions about the requirements or process should be submitted to this e-mail address by January 31, 2025. Responses to frequent and submitted questions will be available until the proposal deadline to all interested consultants in the final annex of this live document: https://docs.google.com/document/d/19bNjJBTSVdjOHuF9V8DRnB7Jri-5zeNs/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=101431196757707270045&rtpof=true&sd=true

The technical proposal and qualifications/experience of the individual or team will account for 90% of the weighted score of the proposal. The technical score will be based on how the proposal reflects an understanding of the work and adherence to the TOR and quality of the proposal (readability, depth/breadth and suitability of the methodology), as well as the degree to which the candidate meets desired and required qualifications/experience mentioned in the terms of reference above. The financial elements of the proposal will account for 10% of the weighted score of the application.

Once all proposals have been scored by the review committee, a shortlist of proposals will be determined, and the candidates notified. Shortlisted candidates will have their references contacted, proposal reviewed by project stakeholders and will participate in an interview. Shortlisted candidates who are not selected will be provided with information on relative strengths and weaknesses of their proposal, but specific scores and the identity of other candidates will not be shared.

The selection process will be in compliance with WWF and GEF requirements. Any questions or concerns about non-compliance or irregularities in the process can be raised through WWF’s mechanism for reporting concerns available here: https://wwfus.ethicspoint.com. 

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