BioCarbon Partners
Scope of Work
Setting up and Evaluating a Cash Dividend Pilot to Scale up Wildlife Habitat Conservation __________________________________________________________________________________
Background and Rationale: BCP works hand in hand with local communities to create long term conservation projects that raise environmental awareness in an effort to reduce deforestation and halt biodiversity loss while improving the quality of life for communities within the project areas. Our mission is to “Make Conservation of Wildlife Habitat Valuable to People”. Our social monitoring protocol refers to the company’s policies concerning monitoring and evaluating the impacts that these projects have on communities, particularly on their livelihoods and perceptions towards the projects’ conservation goals. Studies have found that in developing nations cash dividends are often preferred to conservation and development projects because of their directness and immediate results. BCP’s REDD+ model promises to become the most meaningful source of conservation finance to Zambian Chiefdoms, and thus a risk and opportunity exists for cash dividends to drive more rapid household level poverty reduction and conservation behaviour change.
We are piloting a project in which we will pay communities to preserve forests and wildlife, and in the process reduce deforestation related emissions and household poverty. The cash injection aims to reduce the socioeconomic pressure that triggers illegal poaching and land-use change and instead motivate the communities to value wildlife to an extent where income and conservation become mutually inclusive motives for participating in REDD+ activities. The Mweshangombe zone in the Lower Zambezi REDD+ Project (LZRP) has been chosen to run the pilot project. Communities will be given an option to choose how they would want the cash dividend to be availed to them, i.e. either as a cash payment or in-kind. Options for in-kind payments include household supplies such as basic commodities (mealie meal, cooking oil, etc.) and alternative energy accessories such as solar lights. An income assessment survey needs to be carried out prior to the pilot cash injection to assess the baseline before an end of project assessment. Before the project start date, a manual will be developed by the BCP Engagement and Impact Monitoring team to track the monthly cash disbursements/ Once the project starts, cash/in-kind payments will be made at the end of each month, proportional to the population of each household.
We are, therefore, seeking a highly qualified consultant to carry out the pre- and post-project surveys as explained above.
Objectives and Tasks:
The consultant will lead and evaluate the project.
Key duties include:
1. Assisting BCP’s Engagement Team to carry out a census of the pilot zone to determine the number and sizes of households along with community leaders and institutions.
2. Carry out an income and perceptions survey to determine baseline incomes, and perceptions towards conservation, REDD+ and wildlife.
3. Assist BCP and community institutions to carry out a survey to determine if the communities would want to be paid in cash or in-kind goods.
4. Assist BCP’s Impact Monitoring Team to generate a ‘living manual’ to guide how to implement which is updated quarterly based on learning.
5. Conduct a post-project income and perceptions survey after 12 months to assess changes and collect community feedback.
6. Submit a report to BCP that answers the key question:
Are cash dividends higher impact for poverty reduction and wildlife conservation behaviour change compared to conventional group project investment?
Methodology:
The consultant will develop the survey tools for BCP’s approval before implementation. All households in the selected zone will need to be interviewed pre- and post-project. The suggested methodology must clearly specify measures to deal with potential chaos in the distribution due to a migration influx, or ‘ghost’ households.
Qualifications required:
We seek credentialed social science researchers meeting the below minimum requirements:
- A solid background in rural appraisal projects
- Proven statistical skills pertaining to rural social surveys
- Relevant national experience in Zambia or regional experience in Africa
- Demonstrated experience evaluating and analyzing community livelihoods.
- Demonstrated experience evaluating and analyzing women’s rights and gender equality initiatives.
- Exemplary interview skills with a clear understanding of safe and ethical best practices, and capability to flexibly adapt to diverse audiences and cultural contexts
- Familiarity with REDD+ principles and projects
- Fluent in English and a few local languages, to be able to conduct interviews with local communities
- Excellent written skills and a demonstrated ability to produce an interesting, concise, and useroriented report.
Final evaluation report:
Consultant/s will provide a final report with 5-10 pages that analyses the survey findings, including a solid and defendable answer to the question: Are cash dividends higher impact for poverty reduction and wildlife conservation behaviour change compared to conventional group project investment?
Timeline:
The cash dividends are scheduled to start in July 2020, thus the baseline survey needs to be done by end of June 2020.
Request for Proposals Schedule:
Proposals are due to BCP on 31 May 2020. Proposals that do not comply with the above requirements will not be considered. Award decisions will be communicated by June 10, 2020. BCP reserves the right to not offer a contract should none of the proposals submitted meets its expectations.
Intellectual Property: Ownership and copyright of all data, drafts and final products will be the sole and exclusive property of BCP.
Conflict of Interest:
Bidders whose private interests may be incompatible or in conflict with their responsibilities as personnel on this project will not be accepted. BCP staff, board members, their spouses, spousal equivalents, dependent children, parents or siblings are not eligible to bid on this project.
Other:
BCP will not fund the preparation, submission or presentation of proposals in response to this request. BCP does not bind itself to accept the lowest bid submitted in response to this call and does not bind itself to accept any of the proposals received. Proposal requirements: Interested bidders should submit their proposals and budget (Maximum US$7,500 for both pre- and postproject surveys) by the due date. Proposals should clearly indicate the bidder’s background and knowledge of the subject area, how they meet the required skills, their experience, and availability.
Selections will be done based on the strength of the qualifications provided by bidders as indicated in their:
- Proposal (technical and financial)
- CVs of team members
- If available, an example of a previous evaluation report for a similar scope of work.
- Proposals should be a maximum of 2 pages, not including expression of interest/cover letter, CV, and sample evaluation report.
All submissions should be sent to [email protected] with Cash Dividend Pilot in the subject line.