Tenders Are Invited For Baseline Assessment For The Climate Resilient Eastern African Transboundary Water Management For Environmental Sustainability (Creates) Programme

Tenders are invited for Baseline Assessment for the Climate Resilient Eastern African Transboundary Water Management for Environmental Sustainability (CREATES) Programme. Closing Date: 22 Sep 2026 Type: Consultancy Overall Objective To conduct a comprehensive baseline assessment and Results Framework validation for the CREATES Programme to establish credible baseline values, validate programme indicators and measurement approaches, and provide an evidence base for effective programme implementation, monitoring, learning, evaluation and adaptive management. Specific Objectives The consultancy shall specifically**:** Establish baseline values for all indicators in the CREATES Results Framework using appropriate qualitative and quantitative methods. Validate the programme Results Framework, including indicator definitions, measurement methodologies, data sources, assumptions, and means of verification, and recommend improvements where necessary. Establish basin-level baseline values for the programmes impact indicator on Achievement of SDG Target 6.5 on Transboundary Water Management, including assessment of the four contributing scoring dimensions. Assess the feasibility of achieving the targeted basin level 10% improvement contribution to the SDG 6.5 impact indicator and recommend strategic areas of focus to maximise programme results. Validate existing programme data from stakeholders workshops and ground truthing and assess its quality, reliability, and suitability for establishing programme baselines. Generate evidence-based recommendations to strengthen programme monitoring, data management, adaptive management, learning, evaluation and results measurement throughout the programme implementation period. Background Project Reference: P04608 About IUCN IUCN is a membership Union uniquely composed of both government and civil society organisations. It provides public, private and non-governmental organisations with the knowledge and tools that enable human progress, economic development and nature conservation to take place together. Created in 1948, IUCN is now the worlds largest and most diverse environmental network, harnessing the knowledge, resources and reach of more than 1,400 Member organisations and around 15,000 experts. It is a leading provider of conservation data, assessments and analysis. Its broad membership enables IUCN to fill the role of incubator and trusted repository of best practices, tools and international standards. IUCN provides a neutral space in which diverse stakeholders including governments, NGOs, scientists, businesses, local communities, indigenous peoples organisations and others can work together to forge and implement solutions to environmental challenges and achieve sustainable development. Working with many partners and supporters, IUCN implements a large and diverse portfolio of conservation projects worldwide. Combining the latest science with the traditional knowledge of local communities, these projects work to reverse habitat loss, restore ecosystems and improve peoples well-being. www.iucn.org https://twitter.com/IUCN/ About the Project The Climate Resilient Eastern African Transboundary Water Management for Environmental Sustainability (CREATES) Programme is a five-year regional initiative (2026-2030) funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark with a budget of DKK 300 million as Denmarks contribution to the European Unions Team Europe Initiative (TEI) on Transboundary Water Management (TWM) in Africa. The programme seeks to improve the effectiveness of transboundary water management in Eastern Africa to enhance water security, climate resilience, regional cooperation, and sustainable development in selected transboundary river basins. CREATES is implemented jointly by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and UNEP-DHI Centre for Water and Environment through two complementary projects that collectively contribute to a common programme objective. The programme focuses on two transboundary river basins: the Mara Basin, shared between Kenya and Tanzania, and the Sio-Malaba-Malakisi (SMM) Basin, shared between Kenya and Uganda. These basins were selected due to their ecological significance, socio-economic importance, existing transboundary cooperation mechanisms, and the urgent need to strengthen climate-resilient and sustainable water resources management. The programme responds to persistent challenges affecting transboundary water management in Eastern Africa, including inadequate hydrological and environmental data, limited decision-support systems, weak institutional and governance capacities, insufficient cross-border coordination, inadequate financing for transboundary water investments, and low adoption of climate-resilient Nature-based Solutions (NbS). Through strengthening institutional capacity, improving access to decision-support tools and knowledge, enhancing governance arrangements, promoting collaborative water resources management, and supporting investments in climate-resilient water infrastructure and NbS, CREATES aims to contribute to improved water security and resilience across the target basins. The Programme seeks to achieve the following four immediate outcomes: Outcome A1: Water agencies, River Basin Organisations (RBOs), and regional bodies conduct effective climate-resilient transboundary water resources management through improved technical capacity and decision-support tools. Outcome A2: Water agencies, RBOs and regional bodies implement and share improved climate-resilient Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) practices. Outcome B1: Governance arrangements for transboundary water management are strengthened, enabling institutions to effectively deliver on their mandates, operationalise policy and regulatory frameworks, mobilise resources, and support policy dialogue and conflict prevention. Outcome B2: Climate-resilient water infrastructure combined with Nature-based Solutions contributes to inclusive and sustainable water management and economic development within targeted river basins and communities. Description of the Assignment Purpose The purpose of the baseline assessment is to establish a comprehensive and credible evidence base to inform the implementation, monitoring, adaptive management, learning, and evaluation of the Climate Resilient Eastern African Transboundary Water Management for Environmental Sustainability (CREATES) Programme over its implementation period. Specifically, the baseline assessment will establish baseline values for all indicators contained in the CREATES Results Framework, validate the programmes indicator definitions, measurement methodologies, data sources, assumptions, and targets, and assess the availability, quality, and reliability of existing data to support results-based management. The assessment will also establish basin-level baseline values for the programmes impact indicator on Achievement of SDG Target 6.5 on Transboundary Water Management using the programme-specific SDG 6.5 transboundary assessment methodology. The assessment will calculate the impact indicator as the average of the transboundary-related scores under SDG 6.5.1 and the SDG 6.5.2 scores. For each target basin, the assessment shall determine the transboundary-related score based on the four transboundary dimensions of the SDG 6.5.1 survey, namely: Arrangements for transboundary cooperation, Organisational framework, Data and information sharing, and Financing for transboundary cooperation. In addition, the consultancy will assess the feasibility of achieving the programmes targeted 10% improvement in the impact indicator by analysing the performance of each scoring dimension, identifying key drivers, gaps, and constraints, and recommending strategic areas of focus to maximise programme impact and contribute to improved transboundary water management. The baseline assessment will further validate existing programme data and evidence, generate robust quantitative and qualitative baseline information across the programmes intervention areas, and provide recommendations to strengthen the Results Framework, indicator measurement, data collection methodologies, and monitoring systems. The findings will serve as the reference point against which programme progress, performance, outcomes, and impact will be measured throughout the life of the CREATES Programme, while also informing evidence-based decision-making, adaptive management, continuous learning, and programme improvement. Scope of the Assignment The consultancy shall undertake a comprehensive baseline assessment and Results Framework validation for the CREATES Programme covering all programme outcomes, outputs, and indicators across the programme implementation areas in the Mara and Sio-Malaba-Malakisi (SMM) transboundary river basins. The assignment shall adopt a regional perspective and encompass relevant stakeholders at regional, national, basin, sub-national, and community levels, as appropriate. The scope of the consultancy shall include the following activities, but not be limited to: Review of Programme Documentation Undertake a comprehensive review of all relevant programme documentation to develop a thorough understanding of the programme design, implementation approach, results framework, theory of change, monitoring framework, and existing evidence. Baseline Assessment The consultancy shall establish baseline values for all indicators contained in the CREATES Results Framework using robust qualitative and quantitative methods. The assessment shall generate reliable baseline information against which programme progress and results will be measured throughout the implementation period. Where baseline information already exists, the consultant shall validate its quality, relevance, completeness, and applic Tender Link : https://reliefweb.int/job/4228864/baseline-assessment-climate-resilient-eastern-african-transboundary-water-management-environmental-sustainability-creates-programme