Strengthening SUNCASA Evidence for GESI-Responsive Urban Nature-based Solutions: End-of-project evaluation

Background

The Scaling Urban Nature-based Solutions for Climate Adaptation in Sub-Saharan Africa (SUNCASA) project aims to enhance climate resilience, gender equality, social inclusion (GESI), and biodiversity protection across three cities: Dire Dawa (Ethiopia), Kigali (Rwanda), and Johannesburg (South Africa). This initiative is led by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) in partnership with the World Resources Institute, together with local partners. The main objective of SUNCASA is to address climate-induced risks (e.g., floods, landslides, and soil erosion) by implementing GESI-responsive nature-based solutions (NbS). This is aimed at strengthening the resilience of urban communities, watersheds, and biodiversity from the impacts of climate change, while reducing barriers to NbS participation among women and the underrepresented groups. This would be achieved through targeted interventions such as afforestation and reforestation programs, agroforestry, urban greening, and establishment of vegetated buffer zones in affected areas. The project was launched in late 2023, and implementation will be completed by late 2026.

Despite growing interest and investment in urban NbS, relatively little evidence exists regarding how gender-responsive approaches to NbS influence project effectiveness, sustainability, governance, and equity outcomes. Gender-responsive approaches to NbS under SUNCASA are actions to protect, sustainably manage, and restore natural or modified ecosystems that address and challenge gender and social inequalities to promote equity, justice, and inclusion. This intersectional approach also considers diverse knowledge systems, including local knowledge, that result in equitable benefits from decision making and participation in NbS.

As the project nears completion, SUNCASA offers a unique opportunity to strengthen the evidence base on how GESI-responsive NbS contribute to larger climate adaptation and biodiversity protection outcomes in urban contexts. To this end, IISD seeks to engage an external monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) consultancy team to conduct a theory-based end-of-project evaluation to assess progress toward achieving selected SUNCASA outcomes.

The evaluation will employ theory-based mixed methods, such as key informant interviews (KIIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs) for different sets of actors from each city. Deliverables of this opportunity will include a final external evaluation report (reporting against select outcomes) and communications products to showcase SUNCASA’s early impact/outcomes. Given the short project timeline of 3 years, this evaluation will focus on assessing evidence that supports the pathways of change hypothesized by SUNCASA and early signs of impact and sustainability from the project rather than looking for long-term impacts or effectiveness.

This RFP outlines the scope, objectives, and deliverables for engaging a MEL consultancy team for evaluation data collection and final deliverables.

Objective of the Assignment

This evaluation will assess the end-of-project progress toward achievement of selected SUNCASA intermediate and immediate outcomes that targeted decision-makers and local implementing partners participating in the project. Using mixed methods, a theory-based final evaluation report (including thematic case studies as part of the final report) will be developed to assess SUNCASA’s achievements in reaching selected outcomes. This assignment also requests an interim 2-pager communications product prepared to illustrate the early results and lessons from SUNCASA based on the evaluation, to support discussions at key events taking place in October/November 2026. Lastly, a shorter report will also be developed to showcase high-level results from the final report. Specifics regarding the assignment deliverables are provided in Section 3 of this RFP.

The 2-pager has a specific objective, audience and timeline intended for distribution at the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP). This deliverable will be developed first based on validated high-level, available results, with the final report and derived version to be completed at the end of the assignment. Therefore, the assignment includes a total of three (3) written deliverables, as outlined in Section 7 of this RFP. Appendix A presents the list of outcomes to be evaluated and proposed evaluation questions. The consultancy team is expected to review and revise the evaluation questions in collaboration with the IISD team prior to finalizing the evaluation.

As the SUNCASA project has existing quantitative and qualitative data sources, the consultancy team can use existing SUNCASA data as secondary data sources. Existing data includes

• NbS monitoring data (quarterly data on hectares restored, trees and buffer zone plants planted, debris removal, etc.);
• household-level perceived socio-economic and adaptive capacity data (final survey results from community stakeholders);
• community- and household-level stories of change (qualitative one-pagers from participating NbS workers and community members impacted by SUNCASA);
• training participation numbers and pre- and post-raining evaluation results;
• additional project monitoring and learning records across implementation sites as relevant

Tasks and Deliverables

The expected tasks and deliverables for each assignment component are outlined below:

Component 1: Inception report and evaluation design

• Review project documentation, existing data sets, MEL framework, and relevant literature.
• Participate in onboarding sessions with IISD and partners.
• Refine evaluation questions, sampling approach, and methodology.
• Develop an inception report detailing the proposed approach.

Deliverable 1: Inception report, including:

• Refined evaluation questions
• Data collection plan
• Detailed workplan and timeline
• Proposed communications/fundraising product (i.e., CBD COP deliverable) and case study ideas

Component 2: Develop data collection and analytical tools and incorporate feedback from inception report

• Revise tools based on IISD feedback.
• Develop and finalize data collection tools (KIIs, FGDs).

Deliverable 2: Final data collection tools

Component 3: Conduct in-country data collection across all three cities (Johannesburg, Kigali, and Dire Dawa). The consultancy team will coordinate with local IISD staff regarding participant time and logistics.

• KIIs
• FGDs

Deliverable 3: Completion of data collection activities, shared cleaned data (anonymized)

Component 4: Analysis and draft reporting. Analyze primary and secondary evidence to:

• Develop one draft final evaluation report
• Develop a two-pager with high-level results (communications piece intended for distribution at the CBD COP). This deliverable is time sensitive and due before the conference begins on October 19.

Deliverable 4: CBD COP two-pager

Deliverable 5: Draft final evaluation report

Component 5: Validation and finalization

• Final report submitted with revisions applied based on feedback
• Final derived shortened version submitted

Deliverable 6: Final evaluation report

Deliverable 7: Final shortened evaluation report

The table below presents the proposed dates for each deliverable as a basis for work planning.

Read the full Terms of Reference here

Strengthening SUNCASA Evidence for GESI-Responsive Urban Nature-based Solutions: End-of-project evaluation

Application deadline: August 10, 2026

Application Process

All applications must be submitted in English.

To be considered for this opportunity, interested qualified consultancy teams must submit the following documents in English, using an easy-to-read font (minimum 10-point size). The documents must be submitted electronically in PDF format.

Proposals should include the following:

• Cover letter outlining the relevant professional experience of proposed consultants, including the availability for the assignment. The Cover Letter should also identify the primary contact person and include their contact details.
• Technical Proposal (maximum 15 pages, excluding CVs) demonstrating understanding of the assignment and proposed approach to undertake the work, including the methodology, work plan, and timeline. The proposed work plan must align with the deliverables and timeline set out in Section 4.
• Detailed CVs of all proposed consultants (submitted as an appendix to the proposal) highlighting relevant professional experience conducting evaluations of a similar scope and complexity.
• Financial Proposal must be presented in USD and include the proposed daily rates for the consultant(s) and any additional costs associated with this assignment. All costs must be clearly itemized, aligned with each deliverable outlined in Section 4, and consistent with the scope of work described in this RFP. A separate Budget Narrative must be included to provide additional detail and justification for each budget line item.
• At least two (2) project profiles highlighting the consultancy team’s past experience conducting evaluations of a similar scope and complexity. For each project profile, include the evaluation scope, project duration, team composition (including number of team members and their respective roles), geographic location(s), brief description of the project, and a description of the actual services provided by the team. Where applicable, indicate the client’s name and the year the assignment was completed.