ToR: Final Evaluation of WWF-Norway’s Programme "Mangrove Management for Climate Risk Resilience and Improved Livelihoods"

The Norad-funded programme “Mangrove Management for Climate Risk Resilience and Improved Livelihoods” is implemented by WWF-Norway in South-West Indian Ocean (SWIO) countries (Tanzania and Mozambique), under the regional coordination of WWF-Madagascar. The programme seeks to strengthen community management of important mangrove areas and strengthen resilience to climate change in coastal communities and ecosystems of Mozambique and Tanzania.

The Mangrove management programme works to achieve three interconnected outcomes:

• Local and national institutions in Mozambique and Tanzania commit to and adopt policies and legislation that recognize the rights of local communities to manage, use and benefit from mangroves.

• Sustainable management of mangroves supports effective ecosystem-based climate change adaptation solutions for coastal communities in both countries.

• Sustainable community-led enterprises are established and enabling conditions are in place to support communities managing mangroves beyond the project period.

The implementation period is between 2022-25 with the programme ending on 31 December 2025. As per WWF-Norway and WWF Network Standards, as well as the Grant Agreement between Norad and WWF-Norway, a final evaluation of the programme is required.

The main purpose of the final evaluation is to provide WWF and stakeholders with an external assessment of the achievements of the programme against its outcomes and impact targets, as well as identifying lessons learned. The scope of the evaluation is the entire implementation period of the programme, January 2022 until December 2025, and all programme countries (Tanzania, Mozambique and Madagascar) will be subjects of the evaluation.

The specific objectives of the final evaluation are to:

1. Assess programme performance against all six OECD DAC criteria (Relevance, Coherence, Effectiveness, Efficiency, Impact, and Sustainability) and provide actionable recommendations for future programme design and programme activities to be continued. Each criterion is understood to cover the following:

• Effectiveness: This criterion is fundamental in determining whether the program achieved its intended objectives. It provides a measure of the programme’s success by examining if it delivered the expected outcomes and made progress toward the primary goals. In a final evaluation, effectiveness offers a clear picture of the program’s accomplishments.
  
• Impact: Impact is crucial because it assesses the broader, often long-term, effects of the program on the target groups and beyond. This criterion helps identify unintended consequences (both positive and negative) and broader changes that the programme may have catalysed. Understanding impact is essential to gauge the programme's lasting influence on development challenges. 
  
• Sustainability: As the programme concludes, sustainability becomes especially important. It examines whether the programme’s benefits are likely to endure over time, even without continued support. A final evaluation that emphasizes sustainability can reveal the programme’s potential for lasting change and its likelihood of building self-reliant systems or capacities within the target groups or sector.
  
• Relevance: This criterion examines the extent to which the objectives and approach of the programme respond to the needs of beneficiaries and ecosystems within programme countries, as well as policies and priorities, and to which extent they would continue to do so should the context change.
  
• Coherence: Coherence captures the compatibility of the programme with other ongoing initiatives in the programme countries, and the extent to which it supports or undermines those initiatives. As the programme comes to an end, it is crucial to assess synergies and linkages with initiatives undertaken by the same key stakeholders.

• Efficiency: It focuses on how well the resources have been allocated and used throughout the programme lifecycle. The analysis under this criterion should reveal the extent to which the programme has or is likely to deliver results in an economic and timely way. It should also include reflection on how the programme was managed from the efficiency standpoint.

2. Evaluate cross-cutting issues such as gender equality, human rights, and anti-corruption, examining how these have been integrated into programme design and implementation and their influence on outcomes, with disaggregated data where feasible.

3. Assess the impact of the adaptive management workshop held in the first half of 2024 for the implementation of the programme and identify lessons learned for such adaptive management processes.

4. Evaluate the added value and related costs of the programme management approach, including WWF-Norway's role, WWF-Madagascar's regional coordination function, and collaboration with country offices in Mozambique and Tanzania, identifying how comparative advantages contributed to results and how coordination could be strengthened.

5. Identify key lessons learned and recommend strategies for future programming, including capacity strengthening of local and national institutions and coastal communities, development of sustainable community-led enterprises, and scaling of community-based mangrove management models.

The key users and target audience for this final evaluation report are the WWF-Norway programme advisors and managers, the partner WWF offices who have lead implementation, programme stakeholders and Norad. The final report will be included as a basis for analysis in WWF Norway’s Mangroves grant portfolio final results report, and it will feed into future work undertaken by WWF-Norway and partner WWF offices.

The methodology should be developed by the consultant in the inception phase to address the specific objectives in the final evaluation as mentioned above, as well as a limited set of specific questions relevant for each of the programme countries, with reference to the OECD DAC Methodology should be mixed-methods and may include, but is not limited to, review of relevant documents as listed above, and other documents and reports reviewed and produced by the programmes, as well as site visits and interviews and discussions with key stakeholders, WWF staff, concerned Norad staff and others. The methodology should specifically describe the approach to ground-truthing the findings from literature review and interviews, and include an evaluation matrix that triangulates across multiple sources and disaggregates data.

Travelling to three programme countries (Tanzania, Mozambique and Madagascar) is required during the evaluation process, but should be planned conscious of the amount of travel and carbon emissions. During the evaluation site visits, discussions and surveys for programme partners and focus group discussions can be used to inform the final evaluation. Participation of stakeholders in the evaluation should be maintained throughout, reflecting opinions, expectations, and vision about the contribution of the programme portfolio towards the achievement of its outcomes.

Information to be reviewed during the evaluation includes annual progress reports, half-year and yearly technical reports from each programme country, and other programme documentation as required.

The consultant shall provide WWF-Norway with the following, according to the approximate timeline presented below:

a. A brief inception report, max 10 pages, highlighting the key questions, methodology with evaluation matrix, timeline, and stakeholder engagement plan. Any refinements to the ToR and contracting will be agreed at the inception phase – to be submitted by mid-December

b. Draft evaluation report (main text excluding summary and annexes not to exceed 50 pages), in line with template to be provided by WWF-Norway, to be submitted by mid-February

c. Final evaluation report (including an executive summary with main findings and recommendations, that can be easily shared with stakeholders and partners) as per the report template/layout provided by WWF-Norway, to be submitted by 15th March 2026

d. PowerPoint presentation summarising the methodology and approach taken, the evaluation findings, conclusion, recommendations and lessons learned.

e. Presentation of the findings, possibly physically in Oslo to WWF-Norway and Norad, as well as digitally with each of the programme partners about their specific programmes and the overall portfolio as well, in the weeks following the submission of the final report

WWF Norway reserves the right to review and comment on the inception report and draft evaluation report to ensure quality and validity of scope and findings before moving on to the next stage of the evaluation.

Qualifications & Experience of the evaluation team to include:

• Degree in social sciences, environmental sciences, or similar field of studies

• Minimum 10 years of experience in relevant field, with particular experience in working with mangroves restoration, climate resilience programmes, coastal management

• At least 5 years’ experience with evaluation of ODA programmes. Experience with evaluations of environmental and/or climate adaptation portfolios in particular is an asset

• Proficient in programme design, monitoring and evaluation

• Knowledge of, and experience in, evaluating programmes funded by Norad and requirements under Norwegian development assistance would be an advantage

• Demonstrable competence in facilitation, moderation and participatory methodologies, especially mixed-methods evaluation expertise

• Excellent communication skills in English. Knowledge of Portuguese/Swahili would be an asset.

• Good knowledge of at least some of the geographical areas (East Africa/South West Indian Ocean)

• Microsoft Office literate (Microsoft: Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Publisher, Teams and Zoom)

The process will be conducted semi-independently by the consultant and aim to actively involve and engage WWF staff and stakeholders in the process. The consultant will be contracted by WWF-Norway who will work with WWF country office partners who shall arrange necessary site visits for the consultant and meetings in the programme countries according to the ToR and the plan developed by the evaluators. While the WWF country offices will aid and be points of contacts during travel, the WWF-Norway coordinator has the overall management responsibility of this procurement and evaluation process. The budget proposal should include any related travel costs, and will be regulated in the agreement.

WWF-Norway, as well as consultants working for us, shall observe the highest standards of ethics during procurement and execution of contracts. Ethical procurement respects international standards against criminal conduct (like bribery, corruption, fraud) and human rights abuse (including modern slavery), and the principle of Do No Harm. WWF-Norway would like to ensure that the consultants we recruit are compliant with relevant standards, e.g. Åpenhetsloven and ILO and will request evidence of this compliance as part of the submission.  In the event that the supplier does not have any memberships or certifications, a copy of their Ethical Policy, Corporate Social Responsibility Policy, or similar environmental and social policies, should accompany the submission.

The final evaluation will be carried out between December 2025 to March 2026, with the majority of country visits and data collection in December and January, with a deadline for the final report latest 15th March 2026. WWF-Norway estimates the total duration will be 44 working days, based on the following breakdown, including those responsible for the activity

• 5 working days for literature review (reading relevant documentation) and planning the final evaluation in detail – producing and presenting a brief inception report to WWF-Norway. Responsibility of the consultant.

• 2 working days for further literature review. Responsibility of the consultant.

• 28 working days (field trips included) to undertake interviews, site visit; review evidence, etc. (8 working days per country for Mozambique and Tanzania, 4 working days for Madagascar) plus 4 days travel, 4 days other interviews, preps etc. - including WWF-Norway, Norad, etc.). WWF-Norway and partners responsible for the logistics and planning, consultant responsible for conducting the field work.

• 6 working days at home base for analysis and preparing the draft final evaluation report and presentation. Responsibility of the consultant.

• 3 working days editing and concluding the final evaluation report after receiving comments from WWF. Responsibility of the consultant.

Interested candidates should send their application clearly indicating how they meet the above ‘Requirements of the evaluators’, including application letter, proposed methodology, budget, availability timewise to undertake the work and relevant resumes, to tender@wwf.no by 16.00 hrs Oslo time on 24 November 2025. 

Interested candidates can email questions for clarification to Inger Karoline Vanvik Hovstein (ihovstein@wwf.no), and a written response will be provided.