Description
Recruitment of a consulting firm to undertake an evaluation aiming at providing a comprehensive and critical assessment of Africa Climate Change Multi-donor Trustfund's strategy, operational procedures, implementation progress, and results delivery. It should evaluate ACCF’s value proposition in the gender transformative climate change financing landscape in Africa and make clear recommendations to address shortcomings and improve performance for the rest of the 5-year period (2022-2027).
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Background
The ACCF remains a unique financial instrument supporting the efforts of African coun... tries to access international climate finance and to build their resilience and transition to low carbon development pathway. The ACCF is a multi-donor trust fund that improves access to climate finance through capacity building, direct project implementation, and the strengthening of enabling environments, including policy development for climate action. Established in April 2014, with an initial contribution from the Government of Germany, the ACCF was converted into a multi-donor trust fund in 2017, with contributions from the Governments of Flanders (Belgium) and Italy. Between 2020 and 2023, Global Affairs Canada, the Global Center on Adaptation and the Governments of Quebec, Ireland, Austria and the United States Department of State (USDS) joined the ACCF. The current value of the trust fund is US$ 43.5 million.
In 2022, the ACCF Multi-Donor Arrangement establishing the Fund in partnership with the donors and the African Development Bank was extended for a further five years, to May 2027. This extension also led to a revision of the scope of the ACCF. This evaluation will inform the second extension of the ACCF Multi-Donor Agreement (MDA) for the period 2027–2032.
The ACCF Multi-Donor Arrangement provides that, upon request by the donors, the Bank shall conduct an external evaluation of ACCF activities. The evaluation shall focus on the results achieved, as well as the efficiency and effectiveness of implementation, and the quality of the ACCF’s financial management and project administration by the Bank.
Programme Description
The ACCF is designed to award small grants ranging from $250,000 to $1 million, targeting eligible beneficiaries, including African governments, NGOs, research institutions, regional organizations, African Funds, Private Sector . The Fund’s overarching goal remains multifaceted: to enhance access to international climate finance, support the revision of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), prepare Long-Term Strategies (LTSs), and implement climate change adaptation projects—while promoting gender equality and addressing power imbalances in transitioning towards climate-resilient, low-carbon development.
The ACCF solicits projects through competitive Calls for Proposals (CFP) and the Demand-Driven Window (DDW). Since its inception, the Fund’s Governing Committees (i.e., technical review and oversight committees) have approved 33 projects for a total of US$ 20.28 million from its three calls for proposals and DDW. As of December 31, 2025, the Fund had completed sixteen (16) projects and cancelled two (2), with 15 projects ongoing.
Objectives of the Review
The assessment aims to provide a comprehensive and critical review of the ACCF’s strategy, operational procedures, implementation progress, and delivery of results. It will evaluate the ACCF’s value proposition within the gender-transformative climate finance landscape in Africa and provide clear recommendations to address identified gaps and enhance performance during the remainder of the current five-year period (2022–2027). The assessment will be informed by an analysis of what has worked, what has not worked, and the underlying reasons for these outcomes. It will also identify preliminary options for scaling up the ACCF beyond 2027. |
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Before the detailed review is undertaken, the consultants will conduct a rapid evaluability assessme... nt to determine whether any constraints related to data availability (including disaggregated data), access to stakeholders, time or resources could limit the scope of the review. Based on this assessment, the team will refine the evaluation scope and propose a set of review questions aligned with the OECD-DAC criteria and adapted to ACCF’s specific objectives.
Relevance in the gender transformative climate change funding landscape in Africa.
• Assess relevance as established in the instrument, strategy, and procedures. This should answer the question: Is the intervention doing the right things? In particular: (i) Is the programme aligned with the needs and priorities of the beneficiaries (e.g., national governments, NGOs, implementing partners)? (ii) Are ACCF’s objectives still valid considering evolving policy and market dynamics?
(iii) Are the outputs and outcomes critical, balanced, and appropriate to achieving ACCF’s stated goals? (iv) Is the Theory of Change/Logical Framework logic robust, and likely to deliver the intended results?
• Assess relevance in line with partner countries' NDCs and other climate/development commitments.
• Assess the extent to which lessons learned are applied in the strategy and operations.
• Elaborate on potential challenges to be addressed and opportunities to explore.
Assess ACCF’s additionality compared to other financing mechanisms within/outside the Bank
• Coherence with Bank’s policies, strategies, and priorities for the energy sector and
synergies with similar initiatives.
• Assess fit with Africa's overall market development and project financing architecture.
• Assess alignment with Bank's broader strategies and priorities, notably the Climate Change and Green Growth Strategy (CCGG), and the Bank’s Ten-Year Strategy (TYS), to ensure coherence and maximize synergies.
• Assess coherence with other donor-funded gender transformative climate change initiatives in Africa, particularly in terms of overlap, duplication, and/or complementarity. The review should also identify potential synergies with related initiatives to inform future coordination and partnerships.
• Assess coherence with the partner countries' NDCs and long-term development strategies, as well as alignment with the African Union Commission’s Continental Gender transformative climate change Action Plan (CCEAP).
• Analyse how relevant the ACCF programme and thematic areas are in addressing inclusive growth.
Effectiveness of programme and projects in achieving the expected results.
• Assess progress and results to date, drawing on both quantitative indicators and qualitative feedback. This assessment should incorporate perspectives from beneficiaries and target groups, such as country officials, MSMEs, and implementing partners, to determine the extent to which ACCF interventions have responded to their needs and expectations.
• Assess the results/impact management, including systems and capacities, data availability, and the quality of reporting.
• Assess the program’s delivery on promoting social inclusion, addressing climate change, and advancing gender equality outcomes.
• Evaluate ACCF’s portfolio distribution for equitable coverage across countries at different income
levels and assess the effectiveness of its geographic targeting.
• Include an assessment of ACCF’s current toolbox and its ability to provide both standardized and
tailored solutions to support project scaling-up.
• Assess how the current activities are contributing to addressing climate change, social inclusion and gender equality and provide recommendations to strengthen the capacity of projects and project partners to contribute to gender equality and women’s empowerment.
Efficiency: Assess efficient use of resources and implementation performance.
Sustainability: Assess the likelihood that the benefits of ACCF activities. |
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The main outputs from the review will be:
i. Inception Report outlines the key topics for the re... view, methodology, report structure, timeline, and an assessment of the evaluability of ACCF, including the availability and quality of data (particularly disaggregated data), access to stakeholders, and other operational conditions that may affect the scope of the review. It should provide a clear analytical framework and a detailed list of research questions, structured against the OECD DAC Evaluation Criteria, to assess ACCF’s performance. The inception report should also contain a concise diagnostic of ACCF’s current status, covering portfolio composition, budget execution, disbursement levels, ongoing activities, and any operational or institutional issues relevant to the review scope.
ii. A detailed Findings Report (with an executive summary not exceeding 10 pages) covering the various dimensions of the evaluation, including key findings and recommendations, and action plans.
iii. A debriefing note and summary slide deck (PowerPoint) with key outcomes and recommendations, for presentation to Bank Management and OC Members.
The review will provide actionable recommendations to address identified gaps and enhance the effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability of ACCF operations. This will include suggestions for improving programme strategies, enhancing technical assistance programmes, optimizing organization and support services, and benchmarking against global best practices. It should also identify recommendations for further scaling up of ACCF. |
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| D. Duration and Timetable for the Assignment | |
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The review assignment will be undertaken over three (3) months (commencing in August 2026).
Th... e assignment, reporting, and deliverables timeline is presented in the table below:
Action/Indicative timing
Literature review/analysis + Inception report/note (Week 1)
Presentation of the inception report + validation (Week 2)
Videoconferences with key Bank personnel (Week 3)
Videoconferences with the OC members (Week 4)
Videoconferences with ACCF beneficiaries (Week 5)
Debriefing with Bank Management and ACCF Secretariat (Week 6)
Draft Report (Week 7)
Bank Management + Oversight Committee Responses (Week 9)
Final Report (Week 10) |
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| E. Bank Contribution and Institutional Arrangement | |
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Remuneration
The remuneration for this assignment will be in line with the successful qualificat... ions and years of experience and in line with the Bank Group's compensation guidelines.
Confidentiality
Any information provided by Bank, or by any other source concerning any Bank project or activity or the bidding and appointment of the Consulting firm will be considered confidential and proprietary in nature and should not (except as required by law) be disclosed by the Consultant to any third party.
Procurement Method
The Procurement method for this assignment shall be a Quality-Based Selection (QBS), in accordance with the Bank’s procurement policy. Following the preliminary phase of assessing expressions of interest, the Bank will issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) to the shortlisted (around 6 firms) of candidates.
Evaluation shall be primarily based on the technical proposals. Consequently, financial proposals will be submitted separately. Within a minimum of 3 weeks of the proposal submission date, the Bank shall notify the successful Consulting Firm (with the top ranked proposal) to negotiate a Contract. The aim is to reach agreement on all points and initial a draft contract by the conclusion of negotiations. If negotiations fail, the Bank shall invite the entity that received the second highest technical score to Contract negotiations.
For the present first phase, interested eligible Consulting firms or associations of Consulting Firms shall express their interest by providing information on their qualifications and experience demonstrating their ability to deliver the required services (documentation, references for similar assignments, experience in comparable work, availability of qualified staff, etc.). |
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The services shall be performed remotely. |
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| G. Essential Specialized Skills/Knowledge/Competencies | |
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The consulting firm shall have:
Legal and Institutional Standing
• Legally registered entity... with a minimum of ten years of institutional experience delivering complex, multi-country programme evaluations for multilateral or bilateral donors, Development Finance Institutions, or Multilateral Development Banks.
• Minimum three completed evaluations of comparable scope available as verifiable references, and previous experience working with the Bank and with African countries is desirable.
• Institutional quality assurance systems in place for peer review of all major deliverables.
Technical Capacity
• Proven institutional capacity in mixed-methods evaluation design, Results Measurement Frameworks, Theory of Change, and Logical Framework analysis.
• Demonstrated understanding of the nexus between gender equality and climate change, including experience evaluating programmes that integrate climate mitigation and adaptation with gender equality objectives.
• Embedded institutional competency in Gender Transformative Approaches and Rights-Based Approaches — going beyond gender mainstreaming to assess structural and norm-level change, including the effectiveness of Gender Power Analyses and Gender Action Plans..
• Experience using validated gender measurement tools to assess shifts in decision-making power, resource control, and women's and youth agency; familiarity with tools like for ACCF—Gender Transformative Measuring Tool is a significant advantage.
• Familiarity with OECD-DAC evaluation criteria and prior experience evaluating Bank-funded or climate finance portfolios are a significant advantage.
Operational and Geographic Experience
• Proven ability to mobilize and manage multidisciplinary, multi-country evaluation teams, conducting field-based data collection, stakeholder consultations, and validation workshops across African project countries.
• Substantive operational experience in Africa’s development contexts.
Language
• Institutional fluency in English is mandatory; capacity to operate in French is a strong advantage - (at least) one bilingual staff available to support this assignment.
The evaluation team shall comprise five (5) specialists bringing complementary expertise across monitoring and evaluation, gender-transformative programming, greenhouse gas accounting, and climate change adaptation. |
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Rita Effah
Senior Climate Finance Officer, PECG1, ACCF Coordinator |
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Consultancy Input Days
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