Deadline: 10-Sep-21
The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) is a joint initiative of l’Agence Française de Développement, Conservation International, the European Union, the Global Environment Facility, the Government of Japan and the World Bank designed to help safeguard the world’s biodiversity hotspots.
The CEPF Secretariat intends to conduct an evaluation of the regional implementation team (RIT) of the Madagascar and Indian Ocean Islands Biodiversity Hotspot to inform reinvestment. The RIT provides strategic leadership for the program, which is implemented in four countries: Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius and Seychelles.
Objectives
- The evaluation will inform decision-making by the CEPF donors regarding selection of a RIT for the next phase of investment by evaluating the performance of the incumbent RIT and reviewing the institutional landscape for potential competitors.
- The evaluation will enable the design of RIT proposals that incorporate lessons learned regarding the programmatic and management approaches adopted by the incumbent RIT.
- The evaluation will inform the preparation of a new ecosystem profile for the hotspot, by documenting challenges and opportunities encountered by the RIT while implementing a grants program to engage and strengthen civil society in conserving globally important biodiversity in the social, political and institutional context of the hotspot.
- Decide on the award of all grant applications of US$20,000 or less (US$50,000 or less in select approved regions).
- The evaluation will be conducted between 1 October 2021, and 15 December 2021. Draft deliverables will be prepared no later than 30 November 2021, and submitted to the CEPF Secretariat for review. Final deliverables, incorporating comments from the CEPF Secretariat, will be completed by 15 December 2021.
- The evaluation will look closely at the components and functions of the Madagascar and Indian Ocean Islands RIT, as set out in the terms of reference, and evaluate the performance of the RIT against the following criteria:
- Relevance Were the activities undertaken relevant to the ecosystem profile, RIT terms of reference, the geography of the hotspot, the capacity of civil society there, and the global monitoring framework of CEPF
- Efficiency How efficiently was the budget allocated to the RIT converted into results
- Effectiveness What were the strengths and weakness of the RIT structure and capacities regarding effective delivery of results
- In addition to directly evaluating the performance of the RIT, lessons learned from the CEPF grants portfolio regarding the RIT role will be compiled and reviewed in the context of the following themes:
- Coverage To what extent does the portfolio of grants awarded to date cover the strategic directions and investment priorities set out in the investment strategy for the hotspot
- Impact To what extent have the targets set in the hotspot ecosystem profile for impacts on biodiversity conservation, human wellbeing, civil society capacity and enabling conditions been met
- Accessibility Does the grant portfolio involve an appropriate balance of international and local grantees, considering the relative strengths of different organizations regarding delivery of the investment strategy and considering the priority given by CEPF to building the capacity of local civil society
- Adaptive management In what ways has the development of the grant portfolio been constrained by risks (political/institutional/security/health) or taken advantage of unanticipated opportunities
For more information, visit https://www.cepf.net/grants/open-calls-for-proposals-2021/evaluation-lessons-learned-rit-madagascar-indian-ocean-islands