Terms of Reference: Mid-term Review (MTR) of Scaling-up Nature-based
Solutions for Climate Change Resilience in Tanzania (RESOLVE-NbS project)
1. Introduction
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), founded in 1948, is the world’s
oldest and largest environmental organisation. Conserving biodiversity is central to the
mission of IUCN. The goal of the organisation is to demonstrate how biodiversity is
fundamental to addressing some of the world’s greatest challenges such as climate change,
sustainable development and food security. IUCN works toward its mission by developing
hundreds of conservation projects all over the world from the local level to those involving
several countries, all aimed at the sustainable management of biodiversity and natural
resources.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with funding from the Norwegian
Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), is implementing Scaling-up Nature-based
Solutions for Climate Change Resilience in Tanzania (Resolve-NbS) in the Morogoro and
Iringa regions.
The project is being implemented from 2025 to 2027 and aims to benefit more than 30,000
people. It places strong emphasis on community-driven climate adaptation, gender-
responsive approaches and sustainable business models that support investment in Nature-
based Solutions (NbS). The overall goal of the project is that women and men in local
communities increasingly use effective NbS to address the effects of climate change on food
systems and natural ecosystems. The project aims to achieve the following outcomes:
i) Improved integration of NbS in climate resilient planning, financing and
implementation.
ii) Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are increasingly resourced at local level.
iii) Increased experience with and knowledge about effective NbS for climate resilience in
selected landscapes.
The project’s immediate outcomes (expected short-term changes) are:
i) Local adoption of NbS for biodiversity systems and climate change adaptation and
mitigation,
ii) Improved policy implementation and capacity of biodiversity management
iii) Improved livelihoods for vulnerable farming households through enhanced market-
driven services.
RESOLVE-NbS project expects to demonstrate how effective NbS can be scaled-up in
production landscapes and priority ecosystem. It links policy, knowledge, financing and
practical actions to support climate change adaptation and mitigation, biodiversity
conservation and livelihoods improvement. It is designed to strengthen institutions, accelerate
adoption of NbS and enhance the livelihoods of communities in the selected landscapes.
2. Rationale and Purpose
This Mid-Term Review is a formative and learning oriented exercise intended to generate
practical evidence and recommendations to strengthen project implementation and results
during the remaining implementation period. The MTR will focus primarily on effectiveness
and efficiency, examining what is working, what is not working, why, and how implementation
and resource use can be improved.
1
This formative exercise, intended to generate practical and actionable insights that will help
the project team, partners, and stakeholders improve project delivery and outcomes during
the remaining implementation period.
The MTR is NOT intended to provide a comprehensive assessment of OECD-DAC
evaluation criteria or to replicate final evaluation. Rather, it will provide focused analysis of
implementation progress, emerging results, bottlenecks, adaptations and priorities for the
remainder of the period.
Audience, key stakeholders and use of the MTR report
The primary intended users of this Mid-Term Review are:
• RESOLVE–NbS implementation team
• IUCN Tanzania management
• Relevant IUCN Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning functions
• RESOLVE-NbS implementing partners
• Regional technical staff, and
• NORAD.
3. Objectives of the Mid-Term Review
The overall objective of the mid-term review is to assess the Resolve NbS project’s
effectiveness and efficiency to date, identify key implementation bottlenecks and
opportunities, and provide practical recommendations to strengthen delivery and results
during the remaining implementation period.
The review will specifically:
i) Assess progress against the approved results framework and implementation plans,
including the extent to which activities and outputs are contributing to intended
outcomes, and identify factors enabling or constraining progress.
ii) Examine the use of financial and human resources, implementation arrangements,
partnerships and coordination mechanisms, and determine whether resources and
management processes are supporting timely and effective delivery.
iii) Identify significant implementation challenges, contextual factors and capacity gaps,
assess how effectively the project has adapted, and determine what changes are
needed to improve implementation during the remaining period.
iv) Identify emerging results and approaches that merit further consolidation and scaling.
4. Scope of the Mid-term Review
The scope of the mid-term review will cover all activities undertaken in the framework of the
Resolve NbS Project from 1st January 2025 to 30 September 2026.
The geographical scope will cover the project intervention areas in Morogoro and Iringa,
including the relevant project sites in Morogoro DC, Ifakara TC, Mlimba, Kilolo and Iringa
DC, with the final sites/sample to be confirmed during inception based on the evaluation
questions, evidence needs and available resources.
The review will focus on:
• progress towards outputs and outcomes;
• implementation effectiveness;
• efficiency of resource use and management arrangements;
• key bottlenecks and contextual factors;
• adaptive management and learning; and
• priorities for the remaining implementation period, including sustainability and scaling
of emerging results.
2
The review will not constitute a comprehensive final evaluation, nor will it seek to establish [...]
Procurement details
Reference: IUCN-26-10-RESOLVE NBS Mid Term Review-1006
Procedure: SOP1 - Open Procedure
Procurement type: Consulting
IUCN office (lead): ESARO Tanzania
Requisitioning unit: ESARO Tanzania Programme (TZ)
Project: P05003 RESOLVE-NbS
Country of performance: Tanzania, United Republic of
Expected contract duration: 3 months
Estimated contract value: 25,000-199,999 CHF
Currency of proposals: USD - United States dollar
Language of documents: English
Deadline for questions: 15 October 2026 20:59 UTC
Deadline for technical and financial proposals: 30 October 2026 20:59 UTC
Expected contract award date: 10 November 2026 20:59 UTC
Documents
- Terms of Reference: RESOLVE NbS_Mid Term Review - TORS - final draft_30_Sept.pdf
- Conditions for Participating: Conditions for Participating ENG-SPA-FRA v23-09-26.pdf
- Standard contract: Standard Agreement.docx
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is a membership union of government and civil society organisations working on nature conservation and sustainable development. IUCN procures consulting services, goods and works for its projects worldwide through the IUCN Procurement Portal. For all contracts above CHF 25,000 IUCN selects contractors through a formal competitive tendering process under its Standard Operating Procedure 1 (Open Procedure). Interested bidders must register on the portal, review the Terms of Reference, the Conditions for Participating and the standard contract, and submit their technical and financial proposals through the portal before the stated deadline. Questions must be raised through the portal's Q&A function before the deadline for questions.
