Terminal Evaluation Consultancy for WWF GEF Project

POSITION DETAILS

Location of consultant: Flexible

Reporting to: Amelia Kissick

Preferred timeframe: Within May – August 2024

Potential sites to visit: Lima (for meetings with Profonanpe, SERNANP, PdP, etc.). Machiguenga Communal Reserve (Quillabamba) and Tingo María National Park are a priority. Río Abiseo National Park and Tabaconas Namballe National Sanctuary (San Ignacio, Amazonas) are other potential sites

Maximum budget: $30, 000

PROJECT DATA

Project/Program Title: Securing the Future of Peru’s Natural Protected Areas

GEF Project ID: 9374 (Program 9272)

WWF (Agency) Project ID: G0010

Implementing Agency: WWF-GEF

Executing Agency: SERNANP, PROFONANPE

Executing Partner: Moore Foundation

Countries: Peru

Focal Area(s): Biodiversity, Land Degradation, Sustainable Forest Management

GEF Operational Program: GEF 6

Total GEF Approved Budget: $ 9,007,528

Total Co-financing Approved: $ 54,460,781

RELEVANT DATES

CEO Endorsement/Approval: 10/3/2017

Agency Approval Date: 3/30/2018

Implementation Start Date: 3/30/2018

Midterm Evaluation: September 2021

Execution End Date: September 30, 2024 (activities conclude by July)

Financial Closure Date: December 31, 2024

Period to be evaluated: 10/3/2017 through time of evaluation with emphasis since midterm review

Introduction and Project Overview

World Wildlife Fund, Inc. (WWF) policies and procedures for all GEF financed full and medium-sized projects require a terminal evaluation (TE) upon completion of project implementation. The following terms of reference (TOR) set out the expectations for the TE for the project, “Securing the Future of Peru’s Natural Protected Areas,” hereafter referred to as the “Project”. The technical consultant selected to conduct this evaluation will be referred to as “evaluator” throughout this TOR.

The Project Objective is to promote long-term financial sustainability for the effective management of the National System of Protected Natural Areas of Peru for the protection of globally important biodiversity and ecosystem services in the Peruvian Amazon. This is a child project for the Amazon Sustainable Landscapes Program and contributes directly to the program by supporting an innovative financial model and developing key institutional and technical capacities that will ensure that Peru’s Amazon protected areas have adequate and long-term sustainable financing to consolidate a standard level of management across the PA system and significantly improve their management effectiveness.

The Project was organized into the following components and outcomes:

• COMPONENT 1: Development of a multi-partner, public-private initiative for long-term financial sustainability of the NPAs in the Peruvian Amazon
  • 1.1 Government and donor commitment secured for a long-term financial sustainability initiative for effective management of Peru’s Amazon NPAs
  • 1.2 PdP Initiative for financial sustainability of NPAs in the Amazon operationalized
  • 1.3 PdP integrated in SERNANP and across other sectors for the management and financing of the Amazon NPAs
• COMPONENT: Diversification of sources to increase NPA financing
  • 2.1 NPA values and benefits showcased to increase public and private support for PdP and new financing mechanisms
  • 2.2 Increased options for the sustainable financing of NPAs
• COMPONENT 3. Implementation of PdP Action Plan Measures to consolidate and improve the effective management of Amazon NPAs
  • 3.1 Improvements in effective management levels contribute to the conservation of biodiversity, sustainable forest and natural resources management, and maintenance of ecosystem services in 2 to 4 Amazon NPAs
• COMPONENT 4: Project Coordination and M&E
  • 4.1 Monitoring and evaluation plan finalized with measurement, reflection and reporting on time to aid in results-based decision making and adaptive management.
  • 4.2 Project monitoring and evaluation data and lessons learned are transparent, participatory and shared with relevant stakeholders to contribute to coordination, knowledge management and achieving program results

See the WWF GEF project website for additional details and project documents.

Scope and Objectives of the Evaluation

WWF is seeking an independent consultant to undertake a Terminal Evaluation of the Project. The scope of the TE will cover the GEF financed project and not co-financing.

The objectives of this evaluation are to examine the extent, magnitude and sustainability of any project impacts to date; identify concerns as well as best practices; assess progress towards project outcomes and outputs; and draw lessons learned that can both improve the sustainability of benefits from this project and aid in the enhancement of future related projects. The evaluator is expected to frame the evaluation effort using the seven (7) core criteria of relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, results/impact, sustainability and adaptive capacity. Particular emphasis will be placed on effectiveness, efficiency, results/impact and sustainability. Definitions of each of these criterion, evaluation rating scales, summary evaluation table templates and a sample report outline are provided (See Annexes A – E).

Evaluation approach and method

The evaluation will adhere to the guidance, rules and procedures established by WWF[1] and 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 should provide justification for their findings and provide a balanced view that takes into consideration the national context (e.g. in the project description and influence on findings). 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, inclusive and consultative approach. There should be close engagement with WWF GEF Implementing Agency (IA), government counterparts, the GEF operational focal point in each country, the Executing Agency (EA) / project management unit (PMU), partners and key stakeholders. Contact information will be provided.

The Evaluation process will include the following, with deliverables[4] marked by “*”:

• Desk review including, but not limited to:
  • Project Document and CEO Endorsement Letter;
  • Project governance documents
  • Midterm Review Report;
  • Relevant safeguards documents, including WWF GEF Agency Categorization and Compliance memo, Environmental and Social Management Framework (MGAS, for its name in Spanish), Grievance Redress Mechanism, sub-project safeguards screens and plans, and any other applicable documents;
  • Gender-responsive approaches and documents used in the project;
  • Annual Work Plan and Budget (AWP&B) documents;
  • Project Progress Reports (PPR) including Results Framework and AWP Tracking;
  • Project Closure Report (PCR) (if available);
  • GEF Agency reports, including Project Implementation Reports (PIRs), Back to the Office Reports (BTORs) and Support Mission Reports;
  • METT Tracking Tools
  • Relevant financial documents, including financial progress reports; co-financing monitoring tables and letters, and audits;
  • Meeting minutes (Project Steering Committee (PSC)) and relevant virtual meetings with the WWF- GEF AMU and support team; and
  • Other relevant documents provided by the Executing Agency and partners.
• Kickoff and Inception meetings to gather input from select project stakeholders on evaluation approach, to agree on methodology, and to inform the inception report;
• Inception report (Draft and Final)* that outlines evaluation methodology, including how ratings/findings will be assessed (indicators to be used, key questions), sample questionnaires, stakeholders, workplan, etc. Report should be in English and Spanish;
• Site visits;
• Interviews, discussions and consultations with executing partners, the GEF Operational Focal Point (OFP), Project Steering Committee (PSC) members, beneficiaries, WWF-GEF Agency and extended team; Project Management Unit, representatives from Patrimonio Natural del Peru, and others;
• Debrief and presentation* of initial findings to Executing partners and WWF-GEF extended team for feedback and final data collection (presentation to be given in English and Spanish). Feedback log requested to record responses to comments received;
• Draft report* (60-page suggested limit excluding annexes) shared with WWF-GEF, PMU, PSC and others indicated for review and approval. Draft report shall include both a tracked changes and clean version of the report and should be presented in both English and Spanish. A sample outline will be provided; and
• Final TE report* (60-page suggested limit excluding annexes) that has addressed any inaccuracies, responded to requests for additional means of verification and taken into consideration any feedback. Report should be in both English and Spanish. Final report package shall include a tracked changes and clean version of the report, should annex a feedback log showing actions taken/responses to all reviewer comments and include all data collected from the evaluation.

Expected Content of Evaluation Report

The Terminal Evaluation report should 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 including project design (e.g. review of theory of change and provide refinements as necessary) and Coherence;
• Assessment of Effectiveness, including review of project Results Framework and rating of project objective and outcomes (individual and overall);
• Validation of Core indicator measurements at project end;
• Assessment and ratings for Implementation and Execution;
• Assessment and rating of Risks to the Sustainability of project results;
• Assessment and ratings for Monitoring and Evaluation Design and Implementation;
• Assessment of knowledge management approach, including activities and products;
• Assessment of replication, additionality and catalytic effects of the project;
• Assessment of stakeholder engagement;
• Assessment of gender-responsive measures;
• Assessment of any environmental and social impacts generated by the project’s activities as well as its safeguards stipulations, which includes: (a) a review of the assigned environmental and social risk category classification; and (b) a review of the progress made in implementation of the mitigation measures outlined in the project’s relevant documents and/or otherwise utilized to manage risks;
• Assessment of Efficiency, financial management and summary of co-financing materialized;
• Summary table of key findings by core criteria and GEF ratings, including justification and/or indicators for their determination;
• Key lessons tied to identified strengths, best practices or issues;
  • Conclusions and recommendations that would be useful for project close and sustainability, and for other similar projects in order to improve on identified issues, replicate best practices or achieve better results.

[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.

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

[4] Deliverables submitted to GEF Secretariat will be in English, however, for full stakeholder participation, it is recommended that all deliverables under contract be in Spanish and English. At a minimum, the draft and final reports should be in both languages. Please account for translation services, if necessary, for both interviews and deliverables.

Evaluation (Individual or Team) Qualifications

Required Qualifications and Experience

• Minimum 10 years of relevant professional experience (e.g. leading evaluations);
• Noted experience with evaluation methodologies, including quantitative and qualitative evaluation methods;
• Experience in Peru or familiarity with local context, in particular the National Service of Natural Protected Areas in Peru; and
• Technical knowledge related to the project (e.g. protected area management effectiveness and/or sustainable financing of conservation areas/ Project Finance for Permanence (PFP) approach, and Biodiversity, Land Degradation and Sustainable Forest Management GEF Focal Areas, etc.);
• Excellent written and oral communication in English and Spanish.

Preferred Qualifications and Experience

• Experience with GEF financed projects and knowledge of GEF Monitoring and Evaluation Policies;
• Familiarity with Conservation Standards or WWF Project and Programme Management Standards, including emphasis on theory of change;
• Experience with participatory evaluation, social assessments, and gender mainstreaming; and
• Knowledge and experience implementing or reviewing application of social and environmental safeguards policies in GEF (or similar) projects.

Payment modalities and specifications

Payment, expense reimbursement, and other contractual terms and conditions will be outlined in the consultant agreement made between WWF and the evaluator(s). Payments will be made following submitted and approved deliverables. Twenty-five percent of payment will correspond with completion and approval of the Inception Report. Fifty percent of the payment will correspond with submission and approval of the debrief presentation, Draft Report and related documents. The final twenty-five percent will be delivered with the submission and approval of the Final Report and related documents.