1. Project Background and Objectives
RCC East and Southern Africa (formerly RCC Kampala) put in a proposal to ACCF on a project on capacity building for women climate change negotiators in Eastern and Southern Africa. The proposal outlined how the RCC, using its institutional linkage with UNFCCC, would fulfill the objective of enhancing women leaders’ understanding of UNFCCC’s processes; assisting national delegations in the development of gender sensitive national position papers for the negotiations; and post negotiation national contextualization of decisions using gender transformative and rights-based approaches. It targeted government and non-government women leaders, and to some extent (up to 30%) their male counterparts, (e.g. UNFCCC thematic leads and those responsible for coordinating in-country climate responses) to influence gender integration in the nineteen countries covered by RCC East and Southern Africa, all which are AfDB member countries. The regional scope of the project meant that women leaders across the region would have the opportunity to network, share experiences and best practices.
The project had two major components: Supporting women participation and promoting Gender Transformative, Rights Based Approaches to effective gender integration and strengthening the evidence base for under representation and its implications and solutions.
Specific Objectives of the project
i) Supporting mechanisms for climate finance adapted and accessible directly to women and women’s groups
ii) Supporting increased participation, leadership, and influence of women and diverse women groups in community-level, national and international climate change negotiations
iii) Supporting women and youth empowerment through small–scale or pilot adaptation initiatives to build resilience of vulnerable communities in climate resilient activities
iv) Supporting mainstreaming of gender equality considerations adapted and accessible to women in sub-national, sectoral-level, and national policies and programs, including Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)
2. Purpose, Scope, and Objectives
2.1 Evaluation Mandate
In accordance with AfDB/Africa Climate Change Fund (ACCF) evaluation policies and procedures, ACCF financed projects are required to undergo a project completion evaluation at the end of the project. This Terms of Reference (TOR) sets out the expectations for the preparation of the PCR for this ACCF funded project.
2.2. The Purpose of the Assignment
RCC East and Southern Africa having successfully completed the implementation of the project, intends to recruit an individual consultant to develop a Project Completion Report (PCR). The overall objective for undertaking this assignment is to assess the project results against what were expected to be achieved and to draw lessons that can both improve the sustainability of benefits from this project and help in the overall enhancement of ACCF programming in the future.
The PCR serves as a basis of comparison between the expected state of the project at the time of appraisal and its actual state at the time of the completion. It is a vital document that records how the project was implemented to allow the post-evaluation team to draw lessons to be learned by AfDB/ACCF and its beneficiary(ies) to improve the design and performance of future projects.
In this respect, RCC East and Southern Africa intends to recruit an Individual Consultant to produce a Project Completion Report (PCR) according to AfDB/ACCF standards, guidelines, and procedures. The Consultant’s report should be based on the AFDB/ACCF standard template of PCR.
2.3 Scope and Objectives of the Project Completion Evaluation
The evaluation will cover the entire project duration, from 12th November 2021 to 30th November 2024 and will address the following specific issues:
a) Project design
The evaluation will assess the extent to which the overall project design remains valid, and will review the project’s concept, strategy, and approach within the context of effective capacity development and sustainability. Specifically, the evaluation will assess the:
i. review the project Logical Framework using the ACCF Check list to assess its adequacy, indicators and baseline developed during the inception phase, represented the best project strategy for monitoring and measuring the project results during implementation and evaluation.
ii. reconstruct/revise the Logical Framework if necessary and in consultation with the project implementers.
iii. extent to which the underlying assumptions remain valid;
iv. approach used in design and whether the selected intervention strategy addressed the root causes and principal threats in the project area;
v. plans and potential for replicating or scaling up the site-based experiences.
b) Project implementation:
The evaluation will assess the extent to which project management and implementation has been effective, efficient and responsive. Specifically, it will assess the:
i. overall institutional arrangements for the execution, implementation, management, monitoring and review of the project. This covers a number of issues, including: the appropriateness of joint implementation and coordination; whether there has been adequate periodic oversight of activities; the effectiveness of government counterparts; and the effectiveness of relationships between key stakeholders.
ii. use of logical framework as a management tool during implementation.
iii. indicators of adaptive management.
iv. quality and relevance of project reporting.
v. mechanisms for information dissemination (advocacy and awareness raising) in project implementation and the extent of stakeholder participation in management.
vi. analyze the project financing, specifically how the project has materialized/leveraged co-financing for various components (this is preferably presented in a matrix form).
vii. review the effectiveness and the methodology of the overall project structure, how effectively the project addressed responsibilities towards capacity building and challenges, its main achievements and overall impact as well as the remaining gaps.
viii. extent to which project design, implementation and monitoring have taken the following cross cutting issues into consideration: Human Rights, Gender Equality and Equity, Institutional strengthening and Innovation or added value to national development.
c) Results:
The Evaluation will examine the relevance, efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of operational activities and results achieved by the project to-date, by showing how the component(s) processes and outcomes have contributed (or have the potential to contribute) to the achievement of project and AfDB/ACCF climate change goals. The Evaluation will assess:
i. the extent to which the project achieved the global environmental objectives.
ii. the effectiveness with which the project addressed the root causes and imminent threats identified by the project.
iii. quantitatively and qualitatively, the achievements and impact in terms of outputs and its contribution to outcomes as defined in the project document.
iv. to what extent the project has made impacts on promoting local participatory decision-making and local governance.
v. to what extent the project has or will contribute to the strengthened enabling climate change adaptation and mitigation.
vi. the sustainability of project results (by describing the key factors that will require attention to improving prospects for sustainability of project outcomes).
vii. any impact of COVID-19.
d) Governance and capacity-building:
The project completion evaluation will look at how the project contributed to improved governance local and national levels and examine how governance issues have impacted on the achievement of project goals and outputs. The evaluation will also assess how and to what extent the project has built management, planning and operational capacity among the project’s stakeholders, particularly at the community levels. This should include an overview of capacity-building techniques employed by the project as well as of the monitoring mechanisms involved.
e) Challenges, Best Practices/Worst Practices, Lessons learned:
The terminal evaluation will also highlight challenges, lessons learned and best and worst practices in addressing issues relating to relevance, performance, and success in terms of:
i. Country/community ownership.
ii. Stakeholder participation.
iii. Adaptive management processes.
iv. Efforts to secure sustainability; and
v. The role of M&E in project implementation.