Mid-term evaluation of the UN-REDD Programme – Tanzania Quick-Start Initiative

Deforestation and forest degradation contribute up to eighteen per cent of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions globally. Negotiations are underway within the auspices of The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) with a view to reducing emissions from these sources (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in developing countries; and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks - or REDD+). To facilitate REDD+, efforts are urgently needed to adapt forest management systems, and establish financing systems and associated monitoring and verification systems attuned to country needs. These systems need to address concerns relating to the cost-effectiveness of REDD+ approaches, leakage, additionality and the rights and responsibilities of local communities, amongst other issues.

FAO, UNDP and UNEP are well positioned to provide the critical assurances necessary to establish a REDD+ regime. As neutral bodies, the agencies can work as “honest brokers” to support country-led development programmes and to facilitate the informed participation of national stakeholders, including forest-dependent local communities. They can use their convening power to bring together organizations, experts and scientists to develop REDD+ regimes. The application of FAO, UNDP and UNEP rights-based and participatory approaches help ensure the rights of indigenous and forest-dwelling people are protected as well as the active involvement of local communities and relevant institutions in the design and implementation of REDD+ plans and methodologies.

In January 2011, the Government of Tanzania released a Draft National REDD+ Strategy. The UNREDD Quick-Start Initiative aims to strengthen Tanzania’s readiness for REDD+ as a component of the Government’s evolving REDD+ Strategy, and is integrated with other REDD+ readiness activities in the country. The Initiative is also an integral part of the ONE-UN Programme in Tanzania. It has contributed to the Joint Programme on Environment, which has the objective of ‘Increasing Funding for Environment Management from International Environment Funding Mechanisms with a focus on Climate Change and natural resource management’ and from July 2011, it will be an integral part of the United Nations Development Assistance Plan (UNDAP) 2011-15for Tanzania

Outcome 1: National governance framework and institutional capacities strengthened for REDD

Outcome 2: Increased capacity for capturing REDD elements within National Monitoring, Assessment, Reporting and Verification Systems

Outcome 3: Improved capacity to manage REDD and provide other forest ecosystem services at district and local levels

Outcome 4: Broad based stakeholder support for REDD in Tanzania

Justification and Timing of the evaluation

With regards to REDD+, Tanzania is a very dynamic place. Since completion of the UNREDD-Tanzania Project Document, the Government of Tanzania, with financial support through the Norwegian-Tanzanian Partnership on Climate Change, has established a National REDD Task Force (NRTF). The NRTF has developed and released, in January 2011, a Draft National REDD+ Strategy which is now being further developed. This process also included support to the REDD Secretariat located at the University of Dar es Salaam and to a number of in-depth studies, including one on modalities for handling future REDD+ funding streams.

The Norwegian-Tanzanian Partnership on Climate Change initiated a number of other activities in the REDD space in Tanzania, including

• nine REDD+ pilot projects, which are mainly being implemented through NGOs,
• the Climate Change Impacts, Adaptation and Mitigation (CCIAM) research programme,
• support to development of methodologies for MRV, including support to the Forest Carbon Tracking Program and LiDAR as well as the establishment of a National Carbon Monitoring Centre (NCMC).

Several more activities are either in progress or planned.

In addition, several NGOs (and academic institutions e.g. SUA) are implementing REDD+ related projects, including the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI), the World Wild Life Fund (WWF), and Care. Numerous projects contribute to the development of an MARV-system in Tanzania, most notably the NAFORMA project, which the UN-REDD MARV-component will be based on to a large extent.

In another important development, the Government of Tanzania submitted an R-PP to the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF), which is close to being finalized.

In such a dynamic and active environment, coordination is a key requirement for successful programme implementation. While Tanzania’s UN-REDD Country Programme is well linked in with all other initiatives and coordination is working well in day-to-day operations, there is a need to review and possibly refocus efforts in the future. This has to happen at two different levels:

a) Current UN-REDD Programme Tanzania Quick-Start Initiative

Tanzania’s UN-REDD Country Programme was originally designed for a 2-year period, from 10/2009 until 9/2011; however, implementation commenced only in 7/2010 with the arrival of key programme staff. Therefore, a no-cost extension until June 2012 which brings the full implementation period back to the original 2 years has been approved by the Programme Coordination and Management Group (PCMG).

An evaluation in QIII/2011 will provide opportunity to take stock of achievements and lessons so far and, if needed, refocus a number of activities planned under this Programme.

Programme partners have agreed that even at the end of the current and extended programme phase, in June 2012, there will still be a need for the UN-REDD Programme to provide support for the Government of Tanzania. The current support under the Tanzania-Norway Partnership will come to an end in 2014, and a coordinated planning between UN-REDD and Norway of future needs for support in REDD+ would be useful.

The proposed evaluation is expected to provide guidance on what areas future support should focus on, and how it should be coordinated with other REDD+ support to the country.

The first objective of the evaluation is to provide Tanzania’s UN-REDD Country Programme with guidance for further programme implementation of the current phase (until June 2012) by assessing the extent to which programme outcomes have been achieved and the contribution by Tanzania’s UN-REDD Country Programme so far towards getting Tanzania ‘ready for REDD+’.

A second objective is to develop a vision and guidance for the longer term engagement of the UN-REDD Programme in Tanzania, its inclusion in the United Nations Development Assistance Plan (UNDAP) and its collaboration with other partners in the area of REDD+.

Thirdly, the evaluation should assess the appropriateness and effectiveness of current implementation, management and partnership arrangements to suggest improvements where possible. This will include addressing e.g. the issues emerging from the Harmonised Approach to Cash Transfer (HACT) micro-assessment report as well as any actions taken in response to the findings, as well as the effectiveness of coordination arrangements among key Government partners.

The evaluation should cover the period from the signing of the Project Document in the last quarter of 2009 until the time of the evaluation. It will examine the full range of activities under the Programme.

Evaluation criteria and questions

The evaluation will examine the following:

Relevance / Appropriateness

• To what extend has Tanzania’s UN-REDD Country Programme so far contributed towards getting the country ‘ready for REDD+’?
• How relevant are UN-REDD’s capacity-building efforts for REDD+ for MNRT and other Government institutions at HQ and other levels?
• How relevant are UN-REDD activities in the context of all other activities on REDD+ in the country?
• Does the National REDD Task Force coordinate UN-REDD activities with all other REDD activities in the country?
• Is there a need or opportunity to refocus any of the planned activities to make Tanzania’s UN-REDD Country Programme more relevant and appropriate?
• Which areas should the UN-REDD Programme target to remain relevant in the longer term and beyond the current programme period?
• How relevant and appropriate are the objectives of Tanzania’s UN-REDD Country Programme as part of the UNDAP?
• Are UN-REDD activities culturally acceptable and feasible?
• Are objectives and activities of Tanzania’s UN-REDD Country Programme still in line with the Global UN-REDD Programme and emerging trends of REDD+ at the international level?

Effectiveness

• To what extent have programme activities so far yielded expected outputs and outcomes?
• Have programme activities improved the understanding of REDD+ at MNRT and other target organizations?
• Can the effectiveness of the programme be improved?

Efficiency/Value for Money

• Are the institutional, partnership and coordination arrangements supportive to attainment of the intended objectives?
• Are the management and administrative arrangements necessary and adequate to fully deliver the Programme?
• Are there suggestions for more efficient programme implementation, for the current programme phase as well as for a longer term engagement of UN-REDD in Tanzania?
• How should the UN-REDD Programme coordinate its efforts with other REDD related programmes, and which are the comparative advantages that the UN-REDD Programme should nurture when planning its future focus?

• How sustainable is the progress made and achievements of Tanzania’s UN-REDD Country Programme?
• What are the major factors which influence sustainability of the Programme?
• Do implementation arrangements support ownership of the programme and programme outcomes by government and stakeholders?
• Do programme coordination mechanisms support sustainability of the programme?

• What results (outputs and outcomes) has Tanzania’s UN-REDD Country Programme achieved since its commencement?
• Has the programme made a difference to REDD+ in Tanzania?
• To what extent has Tanzania’s UN-REDD Country Programme contributed towards getting Tanzania ‘ready for REDD+’?

The evaluation should further aim to:

• Consider possible improvements to programme design as well as implementation, in particular with a view beyond the current programme phase;
• Assess the degree to which gender, capacity development, and other cross-cutting issues were effectively mainstreamed and how improvements can be obtained in possible efforts after the current phase;
• Assess implementation of the UN-REDD Programme in relation to core aid effectiveness principles such as national ownership and leadership;
• Extract the lessons learned and best practices and elaborate specific recommendations to the participating partners and project stakeholders.
• The evaluation should also make recommendations for the establishment of a baseline that facilitates evaluation of a possible second phase of the UN-REDD Programme in Tanzania.

The evaluation will use the following methods for data collection:

Document Review

• Documents that constitute formal agreement among project partners and/or record progress; such as the Project Document, inception report, meeting minutes, project work plans, periodic reports, as well as reports prepared by contractors to document their commissioned work; 
• Documentation from other REDD+ projects and processes in Tanzania;
• Other working documents produced during the course of implementation, such as terms of reference, training materials, mission reports, consultancy reports, speeches, presentations, news articles etc. (as applicable).

Key Informant Interviews

• The evaluation will include interviews with key stakeholders:
• Senior management at MNRT, VPO and other relevant Government organisations;
• Members of the National REDD Task Force;
• Staff at MNRT working on REDD;
• Management and staff of other REDD initiatives and related initiatives in Tanzania, including the Royal Norwegian Embassy and other Development Partners, NGOs managing REDD pilot projects, CCI, NAFORMA;
• UN staff and management involved in the UN-REDD Programme in Tanzania including key project personnel;
• Representatives of sub-contracted parties of major components;

Telephone and e-mail interviews

Relevant UN staff in Nairobi, Pretoria, Geneva, New York and Rome will be contacted via telephone and/or e-mail. The evaluators may also wish to use this tool for other data collection purposes.

In conducting data analysis and presenting the findings, the evaluation should use a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. The evaluators will apply internationally recognized standards for evaluations.

Outputs and Deliverables:

Inception report – within two days of the start of the assignment. The document will highlight the consultants’ interpretation or understanding of the TOR; detailed approach and methodology for the evaluation, a work plan and time schedule, and draft data collection protocols. The report should also include an outline of the evaluation report. 

Preliminary findings report – a presentation of findings to key stakeholders orally and in writing will be made prior to completing the in-country mission. The purpose of this session is to provide opportunity for initial validation and elaboration of the evaluator’s observations and analysis. 

Draft evaluation report – within two weeks of leaving the project site, the evaluators will submit a draft evaluation report to UNDP.

Final evaluation report – within two weeks of receiving comments from stakeholders, the Evaluation Team will submit a final document.  

As a minimum, the Evaluation Report (draft or final) shall include the following components:

1. Title and opening pages
2. Table of contents
3. List of acronyms and abbreviations
4. Executive Summary
5. Introduction / Background
6. Project outline and management
7. Objectives and scope of the evaluation
8. Evaluation Methodology and guiding principles if any
9. Data Analysis
10. Findings
11. Lessons Learned
12. Recommendations
13. Relevant Annexes, e.g.

• List of people interviewed
• List of acronyms
• Evaluation work plan and TOR
• Key reference documents

Evaluation Principles and Ethics

The evaluation will be conducted in accordance with the principles laid out in UNDP Evaluation Policy and the principles outlined in the UNEG ‘Ethical Guidelines for Evaluation”

Implementation Arrangements

The Team Leader will report to the UNDP Deputy Country Director (Programme). The UNDP Energy & Environment Team will support the development of the evaluation work plan in consultation with key project partners. The member institutions of the PCMG will serve as the reference group for the evaluation and ensure the monitoring of satisfactory completion of evaluation deliverables. MNRT will provide office space and access to office services such as local transport, internet and printing. Evaluators should provide their own computer and communications equipment.

In consultation with the Evaluation Team Leader and as requested, UN-REDD personnel will make available all relevant documentation and provide contact information to key project partners and stakeholders, and facilitate contact where needed. The team will also assist in organizing any briefing de-briefing meetings including coordination of stakeholders input in the evaluation draft report

Time Frame for the Evaluation Process

The Evaluation is expected to start in July 2011 and have an estimated total duration of 25 working days. The final work plan will be agreed jointly by the Evaluation Team and UNDP upon submission of a draft work plan for discussion.

Indicative Work Requirement:

• Orientation to the assignment, initial document review, and preparation/discussion of the Evaluation Plan (2 days)
• Detailed document review, interviews with key project personnel, stakeholder consultations, preparation of surveys etc. (12 days)
• Analysis and preparation of draft evaluation findings (5 days)
• Debriefing (2 days)
• Preparation of Final Evaluation Report, including addressing comments from stakeholders on the first draft (4 days)

Total: 25 working days

A team of two independent experts, one international and one national, will be contracted to undertake the evaluation. The Team Leader will lead, organize, and supervise the work of the evaluation team, ensuring a division of labor that is commensurate with the skills profiles of the individual team members.

He or she will have overall responsibility for the production of deliverables, in particular the evaluation report, and is ultimately accountable for its quality. The Team Leader is also responsible for ensuring adequate consultations with all stakeholders and for reporting to UNDP on progress.

Specifically, the team members will have the following profiles:

International Evaluation Team Leader:

• An effective evaluation manager with demonstrated experience in conducting international development evaluations;
• Demonstrated strong knowledge of Monitoring and Evaluation methods for development projects; knowledge of UNDP’s results-based management orientation and practices;
• Broad knowledge of REDD+ and its role in climate change discussions and approaches, with 5-10 years’ experience in the implementation of forestry and /or climate change projects and programmes in developing countries;
• Demonstrated experience with implementation and/or evaluation of capacity-building efforts in developing countries, ideally in the area of forestry and/or climate change mitigation/adaptation;
• Prior experience from Sub-Saharan Africa preferred.

National Expert, forestry and REDD+:

• Demonstrated experience and strong knowledge in REDD+ and related areas in Tanzania, such as general forest management, MARV, Participatory Forest Management (PFM), Payment for Environmental Services (PES);
• Experience in the evaluation of development assistance programmes and projects, preferably in the climate change area;
• Broad knowledge of climate change mitigation and/or adaptation in Tanzania;
• Broad knowledge of political and economic development in Tanzania and how REDD+ fits in with that;
• Excellent organizational skills;
• Fluent written and spoken English and Kiswahili.

• At least a Masters’s Degree in a Social Science or other relevant area;
• Min. 10 year’s work experience;
• Familiarity with project implementation in complex multi donor-funded projects;
• Fluency in the English language and excellent oral and written communication skills.

The consultants must not have had any involvement in the design or implementation of this programme and have no present affiliation with the UN organisations funding the programme UNDP, or any of the programmes key project stakeholders that would jeopardize their  objectivity in relation to the assignment.

Consultants will be contracted by UNDP and remunerated according to UNDPs standard rates for consultants and in line with the level of their experience and expertise. The contract will be output-based and payment issued only upon delivery of satisfactory outputs.