Consultant - Participatory Evaluation, Reflection, and Learning System for Community-Based Adaptation in Southern Africa

Background

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, approximately 40% of the global population is now “highly vulnerable” to the harsh realities of climate change. Southern Africa’s ecosystems, communities, and infrastructure face significant risks due to climate change, and the region has already experienced widespread losses and damages. People have always lived with a degree of climate-related risk, but those risks are changing and increasing, and the increasing uncertainty is heavily impacting the livelihoods of people in Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. 

A number of projects have promoted community-based adaptation (CBA) across southern Africa to try and reduce local vulnerability to the impacts of climate change. However, these approaches have been institutionalized in a limited way, and the potential of CBA has been limited by a lack of resources for implementation. CBA SCALE+ works with local authorities, communities, and policy-makers across the three countries to address these gaps. 

The project is implemented by a consortium led by CARE Germany, along with the International Institute for Sustainable Development, International Union for Conservation of Nature, Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network, and regional partners: Associação dos Jovens e Amigos de Govuro, Associação para promoção de desenvolvimento da Mulher, Peace Parks Foundation, Alliance for Nutrition and Reconstruction, Nutri Aid Trust, Cooperazione e Sviluppo, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, and Southern Alliance for Indigenous Resources. Financial support for the project is provided by the International Climate Initiative.

CBA SCALE+ seeks to  

• engage communities, local governmental institutions, and civil society in adaptation planning processes and—critically—work toward the implementation of inclusive, gender-responsive, and nature-based CBA actions; 
  
• introduce a variety of solutions via project partners, demonstrating effective approaches to facilitating CBA and ensuring these are nature-based, gender-responsive, and inclusive;  
  
• produce robust evidence on what works and what doesn’t to inform adaptation within and beyond southern Africa; 
  work with decision-makers at the national and international level to foster an enabling policy and financing environment for CBA, engaging with institutions and policies to embed CBA in local development processes; 
  
• work in 100 communities and support 500,000 people to manage climate risks; 
  
• initiate adaptation actions that will act as a stimulus for scaling up, so more communities will benefit.
  

The expected outcome of the CBA SCALE+  project is that inclusive, gender-responsive and nature-based CBA to climate change in the targeted communities in Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe acts as a stimulus for scaling up locally, nationally, and internationally, toward the ultimate impact that people of all genders and social groups in southern Africa will be resilient to the impacts of climate change.

The Participatory Evaluation, Reflection, and Learning System
 

To capture the learning from the project, a participatory evaluation, reflection, and learning (PERL) system will be put in place. The PERL system will be grounded in participatory processes that engage different target groups at different levels. It will focus on evaluating outcomes—including unintended outcomes, both positive and negative—from the perspective of the different groups targeted by the project. It also includes an exploration of processes and practices to determine what works and what does not, taking into account the equity of benefits across gender and social groups.

It is important to note that the PERL system is distinct from, but complementary to, the accountability-focused monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system, which focuses on monitoring the activities and outputs of the project, as well as evaluating the outcomes against the indicators and targets in the logical framework. This is the subject of a separate M&E strategy. However, aspects of the learning generated by the PERL system will also feed into the accountability-focused M&E.

The PERL component is guided by a unified methodology that will be adapted to the different country contexts. In engaging community members, local organizations, and local government authorities, the process will build on the participatory climate vulnerability analyses that will form the foundation for the community adaptation action plans developed by targeted communities: indeed, some aspects of the PERL system will build directly on the outcomes of the analysis and planning phases with communities. The methodology will also address engagement of government decision-makers and the broader adaptation community, recognizing the importance of these actors in scaling up CBA. A system will be established to compile and analyze the data at the country level and at the project level. The annual reflection and learning retreats for the project team will also form part of the PERL system.

The learning generated through the PERL system will be used in the following ways:

·        To inform adaptive management of the project, adjusting strategies for increased effectiveness and equity in outcomes (Work Package [WP] 0).

·        To inspire action and improve CBA practice at the community level (WP1).

·        To influence policy processes to improve the enabling environment for implementing CBA actions (WP2).

·        To enhance the base of evidence and knowledge regarding inclusive, gender-responsive and nature-based CBA (WP3). This will include providing data to answer the project’s research questions.

A proposed approach has already been developed and will be shared with the selected consultant for further development and refinement.

Assignment

The consultant(s) will support the project team in designing and operationalizing the PERL system. Specifically, the assignment involves:

·        Elaborating on the design of the PERL system, building on the initial thinking developed by the project team (presented in Annex 1).

·        Developing and refining guidance and tools that the project team will use to operationalize the system.

·        Providing training to different members of the project team on the different aspects of the system that fall within their respective responsibilities.

·        Providing technical assistance in the operationalization of the system.

The assignment will be completed between June 2025 and December 2027: more details on the timing of the inputs can be found below.

Activities and Deliverables

Below is an overview the anticipated activities and deliverables: 

• Design of PERL System (June–July 2025) 
• Guidance and Tools (August–September 2025) 
• Training (September 2025–Early 2027):
  Developing and delivering training sessions for different work package teams, including a refresher session. 
• Technical Assistance (Over the courses of the project) 

Timelines for activities and deliverables are outlined in detail in the Terms of Reference (ToR)- here

Profile

The assignment is for an individual consultant or a team of consultants. The following key qualifications are expected in the team:

·        Significant experience (at least 5 years) working on participatory monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL).

·        Solid understanding of climate change adaptation.

·        Experience developing practical guidance and tools for MEL.

·        Ability to understand, analyze, and translate the requirements and needs of a consortium of different organizations into solutions.

·        Strong facilitation skills.

·        Experience providing practical training on MEL tools and approaches.

·        Ability to clearly explain technical concepts in a way that is understandable to non-technical users.

·        Experience living and/or working in southern Africa.

·        Fluent in written and spoken English; fluency in Portuguese is a significant asset.

Evaluation Criteria

Expressions of interest will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

• Quality of the submitted expression of interest with regard to methodological approaches and experience – weighting 70%
• Total price and transparency of costs – weighting 30%
  

Invitation to Express Interest

If you are passionate about participatory MEL and have the expertise to support the implementation of an innovative learning system for climate change adaptation, we invite you to express your interest in this consultancy.

This call is open to individual consultants or a team of consultants. In the case of a team, one individual must be designated as the team lead, responsible for coordination and serving as the primary contact for IISD.

The expression of interest must contain the following documents in English:

• A description of your skills and competences of no more than two pages, addressing the qualification profile.
• References supporting the qualifications. More than one qualification may be supported by a single reference.
• A description of your methodological approach of no more than four pages that
  • sets out your understanding of the tasks,
  • provides an overview of your proposed methodology for carrying out the assignment
  • lists the role and contribution of each consultant.
•   A draft work plan with a budget indicating the main costs of the assignment (including fees), the scope of the work to be carried out, and the number of working days planned.
•  A CV for each consultant.

The documents should be submitted through Bamboo HR. The deadline to apply is May 16, 2025.

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