Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment

Nongovernmental organizations selected to function as Regional Implementation Teams for the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) beginning in 2007 will provide strategic leadership for the program in each of the biodiversity hotspots approved for investment.

Each Regional Implementation Team (RIT) will consist of one or more civil society organizations active in conservation in the region. For example, a team could be a partnership of civil society groups or could be a lead organization with a formal plan to engage others in overseeing implementation, such as through an inclusive advisory committee.

TERMS OF REFERENCE

The objective of the Regional Implementation Teams will be to convert the plans in the ecosystem profile into cohesive portfolios of grants that exceed in impact the sum of their parts.

The teams will provide local knowledge and insights and will represent CEPF in each hotspot region. They will have primary responsibility for building a broad constituency of civil society groups working across institutional and political boundaries toward achieving the shared conservation goals described in the ecosystem profiles.

The teams will operate in a transparent and open manner, consistent with the CEPF mission and all provisions of the CEPF Operational Manual.

Organizations that are members of the Regional Implementation Team will not be eligible to apply for other CEPF grants within the same hotspot. Applications from formal affiliates of those organizations that have an independent operating board of directors will be accepted, and subject to additional external review.

Major Functions:

• Act as an extension service to assist civil society groups in designing, implementing, and replicating successful conservation activities.
• Review all grant applications and manage external reviews with technical experts and advisory committees.
• Award grants up to $20,000 and decide jointly with the CEPF Secretariat on all other applications.
• Lead the monitoring and evaluation of individual projects using standard tools, site visits, and meetings with grantees, and assist the CEPF Secretariat in portfolio-level monitoring and evaluation.
• Widely communicate CEPF objectives, opportunities to apply for grants, lessons learned, and results.
• Involve the existing regional program of the RIT, CEPF donor and implementing agency representatives, government officials, and other sectors within the hotspot in implementation.
• Ensure effective coordination with the CEPF Secretariat on all aspects of implementation.

Specific Activities:

• Announce the availability of CEPF grants; publicize the contents of the ecosystem profile and information about the application process; and with the CEPF Secretariat establish schedules for the consideration of proposals at predetermined intervals, including decision dates.
• Assist civil society groups in designing proposals that contribute to the achievement of objectives specified in the ecosystem profile and a coherent portfolio of mutually supportive grants.
• Assist grantees as needed to build their institutional capacity in critical aspects of conservation action, with a focus on project design and management, monitoring, and financial management.
• Evaluate letters of inquiry for all sizes of grants using standard tools provided by CEPF.
• Award grants of up to $20,000 that advance the objectives of the ecosystem profile and reinforce larger grant actions; handle contracting of these awards with grantees; provide documentation of these grants to the CEPF Secretariat; and monitor and document grantees' performance.
• Prepare project documentation for external review for grants of more than $250,000.
• Collaborate with the CEPF Secretariat in maintaining accuracy of the CEPF grants management database; collect and report on data for portfolio and global indicators.
• Facilitate information exchange, establishment and/or strengthening of partnerships between CEPF grantees and key stakeholder groups, and replication of successful projects.
• Monitor the performance of grant recipients, including compliance with grant contracts and required reporting, using standard templates and other tools provided by CEPF.
• Conduct project site visits on a regular schedule as agreed with the CEPF Grant
• Director and prepare standard trip reports.
• Submit an annual report on the performance of the Regional Implemental Team against the objectives in the ecosystem profile and logical framework. Support the CEPF Secretariat in preparing annual portfolio-level performance evaluation reports.
• Support a mid-term and a final assessment of the portfolio and global program.
• Advise the CEPF Secretariat regarding adjustments to the ecosystem profile at the mid-point if necessary to respond to major changes in regional context.