Request for proposals for Developing a Community/Citizen Engagement Manual for Nature Based Solutions Development and Management in Addis Ababa SCOPE OF WORK AND OUTPUTS/DELIVERABLES Background Addis Ababa faces declining tree canopy, fragmented green spaces, and rising climate risks. The Urban Forestry Strategy identifies community participation as essential for sustainable implementation. Green infrastructure plays a critical role in reducing urban heat, improving air quality, supporting biodiversity, stabilizing soils, and enhancing livability. Yet the citys tree canopy remains at an estimated 18% and is unevenly distributed across subcities; green assets are fragmented and face strong landuse pressure from rapid urbanization. During the Urban Forestry Strategy development process, stakeholder mapping and consultations highlighted that community participation is currently limited, often ad hoc, and insufficiently institutionalized. At the same time, Addis Ababa has strong mobilization platforms such as the Green Legacy Initiative and emerging proposals for multistakeholder coordination structures, schoolbased urban tree management groups, and community friends of river buffer initiatives. This RFP seeks a consultant to consolidate these entry points into a coherent participation system aligned with government mandates and implementation capacities. Objectives The overall objective of this consultancy assignment is to develop a practical, inclusive, and governmentready Community/Citizen Participation Manual that strengthens citizen engagement and stewardship for NBS development and management in Addis Ababa, in direct support of implementing the Urban Forestry Strategy by: Assess existing participation mechanisms and institutional arrangements for green development and management at city, subcity, woreda, kebele, and neighborhood levels; identify gaps, opportunities, and practical entry points. Designing a multilevel participation framework that clarifies roles, responsibilities, incentives, and accountability among residents, communitybased organizations, privatesector actors, and government institutions. Defining scalable stewardship models (e.g., tree adoption, block/neighborhood greening committees, school greening clubs, friends of river buffer groups, community food forests, and livefence promotion). Developing a communication and behaviorchange approach (public awareness, outreach, grievance and feedback channels) tailored to Addis Ababas context. Developing a phased, costed implementation roadmap, for a community/citizen participation manual including capacity building, enabling policy instruments, and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) indicators aligned with the Urban Forestry Strategy. Scope The consultant will undertake the tasks below, working closely with WRI and designated Addis Ababa City Administration counterparts. Inception and Work Planning: Review the Urban Forestry Strategy and all related materials provided by WRI and the City Administration (data, stakeholder lists, and consultation outputs). Prepare an inception report that sets out the proposed methodology, stakeholder engagement plan, qualityassurance measures, and a detailed work plan and schedule. Participation Diagnostic and Stakeholder Mapping: Map key institutions and stakeholders involved in green development and managementincluding community groups and associations, youth and womens groups, resident associations, religious institutions, schools and universities, private sector, media, NGOs, subcity and woreda offices, and relevant bureaus. Assess current citizen engagement in tree planting, maintenance, park stewardship, riverbuffer protection, and neighborhood greening; identify barriers such as tenure and incentives, awareness, capacity, safety, and overlapping mandates. Map participation pathways and decision points within government processes (planning, permitting, ESIA, budgeting, operations and maintenance, and enforcement), and document lessons from existing mobilization efforts (e.g., Green Legacy Initiative and school/community campaigns) with recommendations for strengthening and institutionalizing them. Design of the Participation/Engagement Framework: Develop a participation framework that clarifies engagement levels (inform, consult, involve, collaborate, empower), governance tiers (city, subcity, woreda, kebele, neighborhood), and roles across planning, implementation, maintenance, and monitoring of green infrastructure. Define governance and coordination arrangements linked to the Urban Forestry Strategys multistakeholder platform and relevant government committees. Integrate inclusion measures for women, youth, people with disabilities, lowincome communities, and residents of informal settlements adjacent to green assets, with safeguards to prevent elite capture. Establish accountability and feedback mechanisms (grievance redress, community scorecards, reporting lines, and transparency measures) and outline incentives, recognition, and communitycontracting options to support longterm stewardship. The framework should also specify how community members and the private sector can contribute to developing new green assets and maintaining existing ones, including cofinancing and stewardship agreements where feasible. Tools, Toolkit, and CapacityBuilding Plan: Develop a practical toolkit with templates and simple guidance (e.g., community action plans, volunteer agreements, stewardship MOUs, safety guidance, treeadoption forms, and monitoring checklists). Prepare a capacitybuilding plan for frontline government staff and community structures, including training modules, a trainingoftrainers (ToT) approach, and learningbydoing activities. Recommend simple digital or lighttech solutions (e.g., mobile reporting forms, QRcoded trees, GISlinked community reporting) that are consistent with government capacity and datagovernance requirements. Implementation Roadmap and M&E Framework: Prepare a phased implementation roadmap (short term: 012 months; medium term: 13 years; long term: 35 years) linked to the Urban Forestry Strategys actions and timelines. Develop a costed plan that identifies resource needs (staffing, training, communications, community grants, monitoring) and potential financing channelsincluding public budgets, corporate social responsibility (CSR), donor programs, and mechanisms for privatesector and community contributions to financing new green infrastructure and supporting ongoing maintenance. Develop an M&E framework with indicators aligned to the Urban Forestry Strategy (outputs, outcomes, equity metrics, participation rates, and maintenance performance) and clear responsibilities for data collection and reporting. Validation and Finalization: Facilitate at least two validation workshops (one technical/governmentfocused and one community/civilsocietyfocused), as well as additional targeted consultations as needed. Incorporate feedback and submit the final Participation Strategy/Manual, implementation roadmap, and toolkit. Deliverables Deliverables must be submitted in English (and key publicfacing products in Amharic, if requested) in editable formats (MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and as PDF. Each deliverable is subject to review and approval by WRI and designated City Administration counterparts. Deliverable Description Indicative timing D1. Inception Report Methodology, stakeholder engagement plan, detailed work plan and timeline, and QA/QC plan. Week 1 D2. Participation/Engagement Diagnostic & Stakeholder Mapping Report Findings, maps, stakeholder database, and consultation summary. Weeks 23 D3. Draft Participation/Engagement Strategy/Manual (v1) Framework, models, inclusion plan, accountability mechanisms, and policy/institutional alignment. Weeks 46 D4. Toolkit & Capacity Building Package Templates, SOPs for engagement, training modules and ToT plan. Weeks 57 D5. Costed Implementation Roadmap + M&E Framework Phased plan, budget estimates, financing options, indicators, data plan. Weeks 68 D6. Final Participation/Engagement Strategy/Manual Package Incorporated feedback, final manual/strategy, and slide deck for decisionmakers. Tender Link : https://www.wri.org/about/procurement-opportunities
