The African Development Bank hereby invites consulting firms to indicate their interest in the following Assignment : Supporting readiness of African countries to access the Green Climate Fund: Training of trainers on GCF project development

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK

Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire

Climate Finance Division

Climate Change and Green Growth Department

E-mail: l.brown@afdb.org  Telephone: +225 2026 4258

 

1. The African Development Bank hereby invites consulting firms to indicate their interest in the following Assignment : Supporting readiness of African countries to access the Green Climate Fund: Training of trainers on GCF project development.
2. The services to be provided under the Assignment, which is funded by the Korea-Africa Fund for Economic Cooperation (KOAFEC) are described in the below terms of reference.
3. The Climate Finance Division of the Climate Change and Green Growth Department invites Consulting Firms to indicate their interest in providing the above-described services. Interested eligible Consulting Firms or associations of Consulting Firms shall provide information on their qualifications and experience demonstrating their ability to provide the services.
4. The eligibility criteria, the establishment of a short list and the selection procedures shall be in conformity with the Bank’s rules and procedures for the Selection of Corporate Consultants. Please note that interest expressed by a consulting firm does not imply any obligation on the part of the Bank to include it in the shortlist.
5. The estimated duration of the assignment is 10 months.
6. Interested consulting firms may obtain further information at the below address during the Bank’s working hours.
7. Expressions of interest should be submitted by email to the address below with the subject line “EOI for Training of Trainers on GCF Project Development” no later than midnight GMT on 17 February 2019.

Applications to be submitted to:

Ms. Louise Helen Brown Senior Climate Change Officer Climate Change and Green Growth Department African Development Bank Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire E-mail: l.brown@afdb.orgTel: +225 2026 4258

 

TERMS OF REFERENCE

Supporting readiness of African countries to access the Green Climate Fund:

Training of trainers on GCF project development.

 

1. Background

1.1. The Green Climate Fund

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) was formally established in 2011 with the aim to make a significant and ambitious contribution to combat climate change. The 21st Conference of Parties (COP21) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) resulted in a global agreement between 195 Parties – the Paris Agreement – which sets a clear signal of the need to make all financial flows consistent with a pathway towards low-emissions and climate-resilient development. All countries have committed to ambitious actions to reduce emissions and build resilience to climate change in the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), but the achievement of many of these actions will depend on financial support. The GCF, which has received funding commitments of over USD10 billion to date, and is expected to become the main vehicle to achieve the global climate finance commitment to mobilize USD100 billion per year by 2020, will be critical in mobilizing climate finance at scale and enabling developing countries to realize their ambitious climate commitments. To date, the GCF has committed USD3.7 billion to 76 projects, which will impact 217 million beneficiaries and reduce or avoid greenhouse gas emissions by 1.3 billion tonnes CO2 equivalent.

The GCF’s access modalities, whereby any eligible institution system can apply for accreditation to access the Fund, allow for a great diversity of institutions to partner with the GCF in delivering interventions that promote climate change adaptation and mitigation in developing countries. The GCF encourages direct access of developing country institutions to the Fund, an approach that has the dual benefit of broadening the GCF’s network of partner institutions in its beneficiary countries, while incentivizing and promoting developing country institutions to achieve and maintain international best practice fiduciary standards, environmental and social safeguards and project management approaches. However, of the 76 projects for USD3.7 billion approved to date, 75% of the projects, and 88% of the financing is through international accredited entities. Furthermore, the GCF aims to commit 50% of its resources to adaptation. For the majority of African countries, which are highly vulnerable to climate change, adaptation is a major priority. To date, 29% of approved projects are for adaptation and 28% cross cutting, with the majority (43%) mitigation. The direct access accredited entities (DAEs) however tend to have a stronger focus on adaptation, with 50% of DAE projects for adaptation and only 25% mitigation.

1.2. The African Development Bank

The African Development Bank (AfDB, or the Bank) has established itself as a key development partner in supporting its regional member countries (RMCs) to transition towards climate resilient, low carbon development and growth through technical assistance and project financing. The Bank’s 10-year strategy focuses on the twin objectives of enabling inclusive growth and a transition to green growth in Africa. In 2015, the Bank identified five key priority areas in which it will focus its investments: light up and power Africa, feed Africa, industrialise Africa, integrate Africa, and improve the quality of life for the people of Africa (referred to as the “high fives”). These five priority areas are both vulnerable to climate change impacts, and present important opportunities for investing in development solutions that are low-emissions, green and climate resilient. The Bank has been scaling up its mobilization of climate finance, with USD 2.35 billion in 2017, representing 28% of its total operations approved in 2017, of which USD 1.56 billion for mitigation and USD 783 million for adaptation. The Bank has made the ambitious commitment in its Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP) to scale up its climate financing to reach 40% of new approvals through its main lending windows by 2020. In addition to its own resources, the Bank also mobilises climate finance as an implementing agency for various international climate funds, including the Climate Investment Funds (CIFs), the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and more recently the GCF.

The Bank has been actively engaging with the GCF since its inception. As an accredited entity of the GCF since 2016, the Bank may access finance in the form of grants, loans, equity and guarantees to advance climate resilient and low-carbon development in its regional member countries (RMCs). As an international accredited entity, the Bank has undertaken, as part of its commitment to the goals of the GCF, to provide capacity building support to national institutions to enable them to get direct access to the GCF.

1.3. Readiness to access the GCF

The majority of African countries aspire to have a national institution accredited to the GCF, and many have already initiated the process with institutions that have already submitted applications. However, the rigorous accreditation process and extensive requirements remains a challenge for the majority of institutions, and even once accredited, the process of developing a successful project is proving challenging for many DAEs. One of the major challenges to achieving its target is the limited capacity of developing countries to absorb climate finance at scale, including limited institutional capacity to meet the rigorous accreditation requirements to access GCF funding, as well as limited capacities to develop and implement high quality bankable projects. Only 12% of the total financing approved by the GCF to date is through DAEs, despite the fact that they comprise more than half of the total 59 accredited entities. Of the 32 national and regional DAEs, fewer than half have a project approved.

In order to address this challenge, several institutions have established funding programmes to support preparatory or “readiness” activities aimed at strengthening institutional capacities of developing country entities to access the GCF and develop and implement impactful projects. The largest and most important of these is the GCF’s readiness and preparatory support programme, which supports activities to strengthen strategic planning, coordination and stakeholder engagement on climate finance at country level, as well as activities to strengthen the capacities of national institutions to meet the accreditation requirements and develop projects. To date, the readiness programme has committed over USD 71 million to countries for readiness activities, out of USD 190 million funding allocated to the programme, and has a pipeline of over 215 readiness proposals totalling USD 154 million. Several other institutions provide support for similar activities, and the GCF Secretariat set up an informal readiness coordination mechanism in 2014  to ensure complementarity and coordination between various institutions and programmes that are supporting climate finance readiness activities, of which the Bank is a member. A recent evaluation of the GCF readiness programme revealed a number of areas in which readiness support could be strengthened, including a need to strengthen available capacity of technical experts at national levels to deliver readiness activities (and the possibility of establishing a verified roster of technical experts), and to facilitate local translation of readiness proposals into English to reduce the burden and transaction costs for non-Anglophone countries, to provide guidance and assessment criteria in multiple languages, and to strengthen emphasis on peer-to-peer learning. These findings are largely aligned with the feedback from DAEs, as described below.

The Bank provides readiness support to African countries to access the GCF primarily through the Africa Climate Change Fund (ACCF), which provides grants directly to African government and non-government institutions for a range of climate finance activities, and supports regional trainings, workshops and events. One of the major challenges encountered in this work has been the shortage of qualified consultants, especially regional and local consultants, with expertise in GCF accreditation and project development. The Bank also provides technical assistance to African countries for strengthening access to climate finance in line with their NDCs through the NDC Hub, a platform which is hosts. In addition, the Korea-Africa Fund for Economic Cooperation (KOAFEC) provides support for a variety of capacity building activities executed by Bank departments.

The ACCF has supported the African direct access entities to the GCF in the establishment of a community of practice through which they periodically convene with the aim to share experiences and lessons, support each other with accreditation and project development, identify technical and financial support needs, and provide feedback to the Fund. This community of practice has identified several key areas in which support is needed to promote direct access in Africa. These include:

• The need for an online platform for experience sharing, which would facilitate communication and sharing of material among DAEs, while also providing a space for public exchange ;
• The need for informational and training material in French and Portuguese, as well as English, on GCF project development ;
• The training of a pool of local experts that can be called on to support DAEs with project development, with a focus on the elements of the project development process that are most challenging for the majority of DAEs (including articulating a climate rationale, environmental and social safeguards and gender assessments, economic and financial modelling, monitoring and evaluation) ;
• The establishment of a roster of certified experts to support national institutions with the accreditation and project development process.

1.4. The project

The “training of trainers to support readiness of African countries to access the GCF” project is supported through a grant from the Korea-Africa Fund for Economic Cooperation (KOAFEC) and implemented by the Bank’s Climate Finance Division (PECG1), in the Climate and Green Growth Department (PECG). It aims to build on previous and ongoing work by the GCF, the Bank and other partners and to address some of the gaps and challenges described above through a training of trainers programme on GCF project development for African entities. The project will target staff of DAEs and local and regional consultants or NGOs that are providing support to African DAEs on GCF project development, with the aim of building a pool of expertise within Africa that African DAEs, the GCF, the Bank, and other readiness providers can draw on in supporting African institutions to scale up direct access to the GCF.

2. Objective(s) of the Assignment

The assignment aims to address a key gap that currently limits the opportunities for African countries to access the GCF and to respond to the needs identified by the DAE community of practice by developing training materials in several languages and training a pool of African-based experts that will subsequently be well equipped to provide bespoke capacity building support to African institutions, particularly DAEs, on the development of projects for the GCF.

The objectives of the assignment are as follows :

2.1 To develop informational and training materials on GCF project development in English and French and Portuguese, to be shared through an online platform. Building on materials that have already been developed by the GCF and other partners, the project will develop a series of training modules on GCF project development, focusing on the key areas that have proved challenging for the majority of DAEs, and using case studies covering key sectors for African DAEs such as agriculture and food security, land restoration, ecosystems and ecosystem services and livelihoods of people and communities in rural and urban areas. The training materials will be developed in close collaboration with the GCF secretariat who will review and ensure the accuracy of the material. The training materials will be made publicly available through a web platform on which DAEs and other stakeholders can access the material and can interact in open and closed groups.

2.2 Training a pool of certified experts to support African institutions: Using the training modules developed, the project will carry out three training of trainers sessions (targeting Anglophone, Francophone and Lusophone countries). The beneficiaries of the training will include the staff of African DAEs as well as local and regional consultants and/or NGOs that are providing support to African DAEs on project development. After completion of the training and of an examination, the individuals will receive a certification, verified by the GCF secretariat, of completion of the training programme and will constitute part of a pool of experts that can be recruited by DAEs, the GCF, the Bank and other partners to support GCF project development.

3. Scope of Services, Tasks (Components) and Deliverables

3.1 Stock taking of existing training materials and gaps

This will involve the following activities:

• Carry out an inception mission to Korea to meet with the GCF Secretariat with the Bank, to etermine the precise work plan, and to consult with Korean institutions providing project development readiness support.
• Consult, through in-person meetings and phone interviews, with other key readiness providers and DAEs to understand the work that has already been done and the main gaps and training needs.
• Review of existing informational and training materials produced by the GCF Secretariat and other partners related to GCF direct access and project development, and identification of gaps.
• Develop an inception report with a detailed work plan for approval of the Bank

3.2 Development of training materials

This will involve the following activities :

• Develop training materials on the following general modules (may be adjusted based on discussions with GCF Secretariat and DAEs) ;
• Introduction to direct access in the GCF (GCF governance, access modalities, accreditation, country engagement, readiness support, etc) ;
• Understanding the GCF’s result areas and investment criteria ;
• Identifying priority projects in the context of the country work programme and entity work programme ;
• Understanding the GCF’s project cycle (regular project cycle and simplified approval process, SAP) and introduction to the project concept note and project proposal templates ;
• Accessing GCF’s project preparation facility (PPF) ;
• Determining the climate rationale for a proposed intervention: mapping climate impact; risk (probability of occurrence of uncertain impacts); options for mitigation/adaptation ;
• Environmental and social safeguards and gender: identifying ESS risks, conducting gender assessment; developing environment and social management plans and gender action plans; stakeholder consultation and engagement; grievance mechanisms ;
• Applying the GCF’s performance management framework for monitoring and evaluation: developing a logical framework/articulating a theory of change; evaluation methods and measurement – using real project examples ;
• Financial and economic modelling for climate change projects o Project execution, monitoring and reporting ;
• Training techniques o Examination module.

The training materials will draw on guidance documents from the GCF, as well as experience from real projects developed by accredited entities and by various readiness partners. Case studies may include real GCF projects as well as other relevant projects, including examples of successful development projects from Korea’s development experience and from Korean cooperation in Africa, in order to present the key lessons.

The training materials will be developed with a focus on several key sectors that are of particular importance for the majority of African DAEs and present important opportunities for accessing the GCF, notably (may be adjusted based on discussions with GCF Secretariat and DAEs):

• Agriculture and food security
• Land restoration, ecosystems and ecosystem services
• Livelihoods of people and communities in rural and urban areas
• Refining and finalization and translation of all materials into French (and Portuguese) following consultation and review of training modules by key stakeholders (Bank, GCF Secretariat, DAEs)
• Publication of training materials in the public domain through an online learning and exchange platform, which will include the training tools and materials and allow users to exchange experiences, seek guidance from accredited entities and from the GCF, and allow potential trainers to become certified by taking an examination. The online platform will allow for access by different user groups including trainers, accredited entities, and other stakeholders seeking information and training. Given that several online platforms have already been developed, the preference will be to make use of one of the existing platforms rather than to create a new one.

3.3 Deliver at least three Training of Trainer sessions for beneficiaries in Africa

• Identification of trainee trainers, who may include staff of DAEs and local and regional consulting firms or NGOs based in Africa which are supporting DAE project development. The profile of the trainee trainers will be decided in collaboration with the Bank and the GCF, but will include the following considerations: based in Africa; some experience of providing capacity building support on issues related to project development or project management, environmental and social safeguards, etc; some experience on climate change, green growth or finance; availability and willingness to become part of a pool of experts to provide capacity building support to African countries. The trainee trainers will be identified through a call for expressions of interest and nominations by DAEs and will be selected by a team including the GCF, the Bank and the consultants.
• Organize and deliver three training of trainer sessions for three days each for Francophone, Anglophone and Lusophone beneficiaries, covering all of the above modules. The training of trainers will be conducted by the consultants, with input from the GCF Secretariat and the Bank. At least one DAE should be part of the team delivering each one of the trainings. Korean institutions involved in project development readiness support may be invited to share case studies from their experience. It will also include interactive sessions and exercises.

3.4 Certification of trainers

• Develop a system of examination and certification which will test the understanding of the trainee trainers of the content of the training modules and provide a certification on attainment of a minimum score. The examination module may be completed in person at the end of the training session or through the online platform. The certification – which will be reviewed and approved by the GCF – will aim to provide a recognized brand of authenticity of an individual’s competence and knowledge of the GCF project development requirements. The certification will ultimately be publicly available so that anyone can access the training materials, take the test and become certified.
• Provide the list of certified experts to the GCF and other partners to form a pool of experts who can subsequently be available for recruitment on short or long term assignments by readiness funders such as the GCF, the ACCF and others to provide an acceptable quality of readiness support to African institutions.
• Develop report of the trainings including lessons and recommendations

The expected deliverables are the following :

#	Activity	Outputs/deliverables
3.1	Stock taking of existing training	•  Inception   report    including    summary   of
	materials and gaps	discussions held, identification of gaps and needs,
		and detailed work plan
3.2	Development of information and	•  Development of a complete training course on
	training materials	GCF   project   development,   comprising   12
		modules  and  including  content,  case  studies,
		exercises,  and  slide  decks  in  three  languages
		(English, French and Portuguese)
3.3	Deliver three Training of Trainer	•  Successful completion of 3 training of trainers
	sessions  for 45 beneficiaries  in	sessions  of  three  days  each  for  a  total  of  60
	Africa	trainees
3.4	Certification of trainers	•  Certification of 60 trainers
		•  Project completion report including outcomes of
		training and recommendations

4. Team Composition & Qualification Requirements for the Key Experts (and any other requirements which will be used for evaluating the Key Experts)

The team would ideally be a consortium of firms/NGOs/DAEs comprising expertise in project development for climate-related projects, first-hand experience of the GCF’s direct access modalities and project development processes under direct access, and experience and expertise in developing and delivering training. Preference will be given to firms/consortia from the African region. The team of experts should include the following qualifications and expertise :

• Strong academic credentials in fields relevant to climate change finance, climate mitigation and adaptation, and/or key relevant sectors (agriculture, land and ecosystems, sustainable cities etc) ;
• Strong experience of climate change focused project development and execution in key sectors (Agriculture and food security; Land restoration, ecosystems and ecosystem services and Livelihoods of people and communities in rural and urban areas, etc) and detailed understanding of the GCF’s project development requirements and project cycle ;
• First-hand experience of successful development of projects for the GCF and other similar funds (e.g. Adaptation Fund) ideally within the context of a DAE, including experience on all key GCF project requirements including climate risk and vulnerability, environmental and social safeguards, gender, economic and financial modelling, monitoring and evaluation, etc ;
• Understanding of the constraints and challenges facing DAEs in accessing the GCF and in developing projects in line with the GCF’s requirements. Experience in providing readiness support to prospective DAEs would be an advantage ;
• Experience and expertise in developing training modules and conducting training of trainers, ideally on climate-related or project development-related issues. Experience in developing certification approaches is an advantage ;
• Proficiency in English and French. Proficiency in Portuguese would be an advantage.

5. Reporting Requirements and Time Schedule for Deliverables

The work is expected to start within 10 days of contract signature, and to be completed within 10 months. The timeline for the project is as follows :

month

1           2             3             4             5             6             7             8             9             10

Stock taking of existing training materials and gaps

• Inception meetings between the firm, Bank, GCF, and other relevant partners in Songdo, Korea ;
• Consultation with various partners and stock taking of needs and gaps ;
• Inception report.

Development of training materials

• Development of training programme comprising 12 modules on GCF project development ;
• Consultation sessions to refine and improve training materials in Songdo/Seoul, Korea ;
• Printing and translation of training materials ;
• Sharing of materials through an online learning and exchange platform ;
• Collection of lessons learned, peer review, updating and refining training materials through online platform.

Training of trainers sessions

• Identification and selection of trainees ;
• Training of trainers session 1 ;
• Training of trainers session 2 ;
• Training of trainers session 3.

Certification of trainers

• Trainers examination and certification ;
• Final report.

Reports to be submitted include :

• An inception report: 6 weeks after contract signature ;
• Complete set of training modules: month 5 ;
• A brief status report with each payment request ;
• Summary report of three training sessions: month 9 ;
• Final report: month 10.

6. Client’s Input and Counterpart Personnel

The organisation of training workshops, including payment of flight tickets, accommodation and per diem, may be borne by the Bank or may be included in the contract of the consultant. This will be determined at the contract negotiation stage. The Bank will cover the costs of Bank staff travel to inception meetings in Korea as well as to the training sessions.

 

EOI___Supporting_readiness_of_Af