Forest governance Review Consultancy Final

Terms of Reference (ToR) for the Mid-Term Review (MTR) of the WWF Forest Governance Programme in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) 

1. BACKGROUND

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is a country in the central Africa region with vast resources. DRC has a surface area of 234.5 million hectares with a forest cover of approximately 62% of the national territory (approx. 145 million Ha) which is habitat to species of fauna and flora of global importance i.e. 11,000 species of plants, 450 mammals, 1,150 birds, 300 reptiles, and 200 amphibians.

The forest sector in DRC remains an important pillar of the Congolese economy. However, because a large portion this sector is informal, it is not accounted for in official records. The formal timber sector is the smallest by volume (0.3 million m3), followed by the informal timber sector (2 million m3) and the fuel wood sector (72 million m3). The current contribution of the formal timber sector to the GDP of the DRC is about 5%, but estimated added value generated by the three timber sectors probably exceeds this figure.

The government manages the forest sector in DRC which currently includes 57 logging concessions currently covering 10,7 million hectares of prime forest concessions over a total of 150,4 million hectares (State of the Congo Basin Forest, 2015). These forest concessions are an important tool for sustainable forest management (SFM) and provide key ecosystem services for forest dwelling communities. The contribution of the formal timber sector to the GDP of the DRC is only about 5% (Debroux et al. 2007) however, it is estimated that 90% of timber exploited in DRC is in the informal timber and fuelwood sector. Illegal logging trade is impacting the sustainable management and governance of these forest concessions, as well as the lives of forest dwelling communities.

The WWF Forest Governance Programme funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) between 2017 and 2020 focuses on supporting local civil society organisations to advocate for better governance in the forest sector and tackle illegal logging in DRC. More specifically, the programme aims at supporting local civil society to a) monitor and ensure implementation the of regulations on forest concessions, especially the payment of financial benefits to local and indigenous communities and, b) monitor timber flows and advocate for law enforcement against illegal timber trade. These activities will ensure that forest companies provide socio-economic development to local and indigenous communities in and adjacent to the forest concessions, as well as reducing illegal trade, thus maintaining ecosystem integrity and services for the benefit of people and nature in DRC. 

2. PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVE

The WWF Forest Governance Programme 2017-2020 funded by Norad requires a mid-term review of the programme in 2018. The purpose of this this review is to assess the progress of the programme towards the set outcomes and goals in the results framework as well as assessing the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability of the programme. The goal of this exercise is ultimately to provide key information and recommendation to WWF and partners to guide the adaptive management and improve the implementation and performance of the programme. 

There are the key aspects that have to be reviewed:

1) Progress
The development and implementation of the programme towards the set outcomes and goals in the results framework. In reviewing the progress, it is necessary to use the latest version of the results framework with the 2017 updates, and assess each indicator at output, outcome and goal level giving an appraisal of the achievement of each indicator (i.e. not started, in progress and done) as well as a comment on relevant indicator explaining lack of progress, relevance or recommendation. 

2) Relevance
The extent to which the aid activity is suited to the priorities and policies of the target group, recipient and donor. In evaluating the relevance of a programme or a project, it is useful to consider the following questions:

• To what extent are the objectives of the programme still valid?
• Are the activities and outputs of the programme consistent with the overall goal and the attainment of its objective?
• Are the activities and outputs of the programme consistent with the intended impacts and effects?

3) Effectiveness
A measure of the extent to which an aid activity attains its objectives. Norad’s predefined standardised reporting information should be included in this section of the review. In evaluating the effectiveness of a programme or a project, it is useful to consider the following questions:

• To what extent are the objectives likely to be achieved?
• What have been the major factors influencing the achievement or non-achievement of the objectives to date?

4) Efficiency
Efficiency measures the outputs -- qualitative and quantitative -- in relation to the inputs. It is an economic term which signifies that the aid uses the least costly resources possible in order to achieve the desired results. This generally requires comparing alternative approaches to achieving the same outputs, to see whether the most efficient process has been adopted. When evaluating the efficiency of a programme or a project, it is useful to consider the following questions:

• To what extent were activities cost-efficient?
• Have objectives been achieved on time so far?
• Was the programme or project implemented in the most efficient way compared to alternatives?

5) Impact
The positive and negative changes produced by a development intervention, directly or indirectly, intended or unintended. This involves the main impacts and effects resulting from the activity on the local social, economic, environmental and other development indicators. The examination should be concerned with both intended and unintended results and must also include the positive and negative impact of external factors, such as changes in terms of trade and financial conditions, and internal factors, such as changes in organisational capacity. When evaluating the impact of a programme or a project, it is useful to consider the following questions:

• What has happened as a result of the programme or project to date?
• What real difference has the activity made to the beneficiaries to date?
• How many people have been affected to date?

6) Sustainability

Sustainability is concerned with measuring whether the benefits of an activity are likely to continue after donor funding has been withdrawn. Projects need to be environmentally as well as financially sustainable. When evaluating the sustainability of a programme or a project, it is useful to consider the following questions:

• To what extent are the benefits of a programme or project likely to continue after donor funding ceased?
• What are the major factors that have influenced the achievement or non-achievement of sustainability of the programme or project?

3. METHODOLOGY AND PROCESS

The methodology will be based on a review of key documentation, discussion with stakeholders and site visit. Review of the documentation includes project proposal, Logical Framework Analysis (LFA), Annual Workplan (AWP), Key Performance Indicators (KPI), semi-annual and annual Technical Progress Reports (TPR), quarterly and annual Financial Reports (FR) and other documents and reports reviewed and produced by the project. The review will also be based on a site visit and interviews and discussions with key stakeholders. Participation of stakeholders in the review should be maintained at all the times, reflecting opinions, expectations and vision about the contribution of the project towards the achievement of its objectives.

4. OUTPUTS AND DELIVERABLES

The consultant shall provide WWF-DRC with the following documents:

• a digital copy in MS word format using Arial font 11 (Not in Acrobat) of a draft final review (main text excluding summary and annexed not to exceed 20 pages) as per the report template provided by WWF-DRC Office by (20/ 09/ 2018),
•  a digital copy in MS word format using Arial font 11 (Not in Acrobat) of a Final review main text excluding summary and annex not to exceed 20 pages) as per the report template provided by WWF-DRC Office before (30/ 09/ 2018).

5. REQUIREMENTS OF THE REVIEWER

The reviewer needs to be a consultant with the following qualifications and experiences:

• Bachelor degree in Natural Resource Management or related field;
• 10 years of proven experience in forest management and rural Development;
• proven experience in Mid-term reviews and evaluation programmes Knowledge on issues related to governance, forestry, and preferably FSC certification and REDD+ initiative in the Congo basin;
• English and French required.
• Computer literate (Microsoft: Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Publisher).

6. IMPLEMENTATION ARRANGEMENTS

The consultant should work towards timely submission of the final review report. The consultant will be contacted by WWF-DRC in consultation with WWF-Norway. The WWF-DRC shall arrange for the consultant all necessary site visits and meetings in the project sites according to the TOR. WWF-DRC shall also arrange logistics for the mission including hotel reservation and transportation during the mission.

7. TIME FRAME/DURATION

The final review should start in August 2018 in order to submit the final review by the (30/ 09/ 2018) to WWF-DRC. This consultancy requires 22 man-days which include :

• 3 working days (home based) for literature review and planning mission
• 4 working days for consultation and meetings with WWF-DRC and partners in Kinshasa;
• 7 working days on the field for DRC forest programme Governance site,
• 3 working days for compiling data and debriefing on the mission in Kinshasa (
• 2 working days (home base) for finalizing draft report
• 3 working days (home based) for finalizing final report after receiving comments from WWF.

8. MODE OF APPLICATION

Related to technical and financial offers, the evaluator must provide, in one document details below:

• A memorandum of understanding of the TOR (1 page maximum)
• A detailed methodological intervention note (maximum 3 pages),
• A detailed schedule of the evaluation mission,
• A detailed CV and cover letter,
• A detailed table of evaluation mission expenditures in USD.

All application should be sent to recruit-wwfdrc@wwfdrc.org

Female applicants are encouraged.

Deadline for application: (25/06/2018)