SGP 8th Operational Phase
Malaysia Country Programme Strategy Development

Background:

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme (SGP) implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) provides civil society and community-based organizations (CSOs/CBOs) in developing countries with grants to enable them to tackle global environmental challenges¹ while addressing local sustainable development needs. SGP Malaysia started financing projects in 2000. Since then, it has succeeded in funding and providing technical support for more than 280 grant projects. 

The Eighth Operational Phase (OP8) of the Small Grants Programme builds on 30 years of successful experience in empowering local civil society organizations (CSOs) and community-based organizations (CBOs) in designing and leading community driven initiatives that have enhanced household wellbeing, increased awareness and resilience regarding environmental threats, and generated global environmental benefits. With economic development pressures intensifying in many parts of the developing world and the associated rising inequalities, local communities, particularly vulnerable and disadvantaged groups are becoming more and more marginalized, unable to cope with threats associated with ecosystem degradation, biodiversity loss and climate change. Lessons learned and experience gained in previous SGP operational phases have demonstrated that integrated, landscape-seascape approaches are effective in mobilizing multiple stakeholder collaboration, linking local CSOs/CBOs with enabling partners and achieving mutually supportive livelihood and environmental outcomes at scale.

This call for proposals aims to solicit civil society organizations to put forward proposals that help SGP undertake a preparatory process to develop its strategy for OP8.  This will involve multi-stakeholder consultations, development of baseline assessment(s) of priority identified landscape(s)/seascape(s), and elaboration of the Malaysia Country Programme Strategy (CPS) for OP8 in close coordination with the SGP National Coordinator (NC), UNDP country office and National Steering Committee (NSC) in Malaysia. The key steps in this preparatory process and the key deliverables expected are described in detail below.

_{1.The GEF’s focal areas include: biodiversity, climate change, sustainable land and forest management, international waters, and chemicals and waste.} 

Key steps in the OP8 Country Programme Strategy elaboration process

Step 1.    OP8 Country Programme strategy consultations and scoping exercise 

To initiate the development of the SGP OP8 Malaysia Country Programme Strategy (OP8 CPS), an assessment and scoping exercise should be undertaken which will take stock of the results and achievements of the SGP Malaysia Country Programme thus far and identify the priority directions for programming in OP8 in line with the SGP OP8 project document, the country’s national priorities, GEF-8 programming directions, and potential for synergy with UNDP CPD, GEF projects and other partner agencies.  

This CPS consultation and scoping process will extend beyond the NSC to involve relevant stakeholders from government, civil society, UNDP country office, sector agencies and other partners. Its purpose is to identify the gaps and opportunities of SGP for programming in OP8 in order to focus the programme to deliver the strategic impact expected in terms of the OP8 directions and initiatives.  

This process will include the following broad elements:

1. ) Communications, outreach and capacity development about OP8 and its strategic initiatives.  Such communications should serve to explain the need to focus SGP on landscape/seascape areas for achievement of greater strategic impact through clustering of projects and achievement of synergies.  
    
2. ) Multi-stakeholder consultations. This consultation process should include the NSC, Technical Advisory Group (TAG) and other relevant partners from government, civil society, UNDP, partner agencies etc. in order to achieve a broad consensus on the Malaysia Country Programme approach in OP8.
    
3. ) Selection of the landscape/seascape area(s) of focus, with consideration given to SGP’s niche, opportunities, challenges, and potential for synergies, etc.  For Malaysia, Country Programme  may select one or more landscapes or seascapes.  
    
4. ) Grant-making outside the selected landscape/seascape area(s). In OP8, up to 30% of grant resources could be allocated outside of the landscape/seascape areas, provided that these funds are utilized strategically.  Criteria for prioritization of projects and typology of projects may be identified in the General Evaluation and Scoping Exercise.  For example, priority may be given by the Country Programme to grants outside the landscape/seascape area(s) that:

-    Promote innovation in relation to SGP OP8 strategic initiatives and directions

-    Provide new opportunities for partnerships and replication

-    Help translate landscape lessons into policy or promote broader adoption

-    CSO-government dialogue platforms that promote civil society engagement with government in the context of multilateral environmental agreements

Key outputs to be produced at this stage would include: (a) a short report documenting the consultation and scoping process with key agreements on the CPS approach recorded, and (b) a draft outline of the CPS already developed to the extent possible with the landscape/seascape approach still to be fully elaborated in Step 2.

Step 2.     Selected Landscape/Seascape Baseline Assessment

The Landscape/Seascape Baseline Assessment process will be guided by the CPS Consultation and Scoping Exercise in Malaysia which lays out the consensus for the priorities and planning for delivering OP8 outcomes in the country.²  The Landscape/Seascape Strategy developed for Malaysia will describe the landscape approach for supporting global environmental activities in line with the selected strategic initiatives in the SGP Malaysia Country Programme Strategy that contribute to sustainable development at the community level.

The objective of the baseline assessment is to assist SGP NC and the NSC to a) elaborate a landscape/seascape-wide baseline, b) develop a landscape/seascape strategy that will guide grant-making with types of projects proposed and sets of indicators for selected SGP strategic initiatives identified. The baseline assessment provides information about the current state of the landscapes/seascapes, through consultations with local communities and stakeholders which can be used as a basis for setting goals and desired outcomes.

The Landscape/Seascape Baseline Assessment will study the key challenges, global environmental issues, and identify the opportunities for community and CSO actions. The baseline assessment process will include community consultations and ensure participation of the range of stakeholders in the landscape, including local authorities, civil society, community organizations, and other relevant partners. The baseline assessment will include the following key elements:

1. ) Baseline analysis. Identification of the landscape/seascape context and background, including threats to the global environment, sustainable development, and key actions and plans underway, and identification of relevant stakeholders within and outside the landscape who need to be involved and play a role. The boundaries of the landscape/seascape should be identified along with an analysis of the baseline activities that the SGP Malaysia Country Programme can build on as well as the gaps that it can intervene to address.
    
2. ) Elaborating SGP OP8 Strategic initiatives within the landscape/seascape context. Based on results of the CPS Consultation and Scoping process, Malaysia will have identified the selective strategic priorities for grantmaking.  Within the Baseline Assessment, the implementation of the priority OP8 strategic initiatives selected by Malaysia will be elaborated within the landscape/seascape context with (a) types of projects developed, (b) indicators and targets and results framework developed.
   
   _{2. For SGP Country Programmes with ongoing and new co-financing programmes which have developed detailed site/community level consultations such as the CBA, ICCA-GSI and the COMDEKS programme, the experience and results of these approaches will be drawn upon.  In cases where the OP8 CPS will be targeting areas where these projects have been/are active, information will be drawn from existing documents and similar baselines assessment reports to the extent possible into the OP8 CPS document so as not to engage communities and local stakeholders in duplicative consultation processes.  If necessary earlier consultation results could be built on, revisited and updated within the baseline assessment process foreseen for OP8 CPS development.}
    
3. ) Modalities for implementation will be proposed, such as possibilities for linking and connecting projects within the landscape for learning and exchange, fostering engagement with local authorities, identifying policy influence and scaling up opportunities, promoting participatory M&E that enables community involvement, and facilitating knowledge management and capture and dissemination of results.

As a key output of the Landscape/Seascape Baseline Assessment process, a report will be produced that will present the baseline analysis, the elaboration of the SGP strategy within the landscape and the modalities for implementation. The report will also present the consultative process followed and the results of community consultations held.  This report will be presented to the NSC and NC and may be prepared in Bahasa Malaysia as appropriate (note it will not be required for review by the SGP Central Programme Management Team (CPMT) at SGP headquarters).

Step 3.    Country Programme Strategy Finalization

Based on the above steps and once the Baseline Assessment process for the selected Landscape/Seascape area(s) of focus has been completed and agreed, the SGP OP8 CPS will be fully elaborated and finalized.  A draft of the complete CPS will be produced for review and comment by the NC and NSC.  It will also be shared for review and approval by the CPMT.  Any final comments from the NSC and CPMT will be taken into account and addressed in the final draft of the CPS which will then be widely shared and posted online for public information.

Scope of the assignment:
The Grantee’s main responsibilities will include undertaking all of the key steps 1 through 3 outlined in II above, based on the needs and specific agreement with the SGP Malaysia Country Programme.  The Grantee will be expected to produce the key deliverables foreseen under the various key steps in a professional and timely manner. The timely completion of all key deliverables will be critical for this project given that it will prepare the CPS which will be needed for further grant-making within the selected landscape/seascape area(s) of focus. It is foreseen that the entire project, if undertaking steps 1 through 3, be completed within a four-month period.

The grantee will design preparatory exercises and help prepare for and facilitate consultations throughout the key steps outlined above, including the preparation of necessary information and background documents as needed.  The grantee will capture and document key points of discussion and agreement from stakeholder consultations at national and landscape/seascape level.  

The grantee will work closely with the SGP NC, NSC members and TAG members if appropriate) in completing steps 1 through 3.

Who may submit proposals:

The project may be undertaken by an appropriate, experienced national or subnational NGO/CSO or academic institution as an on-the-ground capacity building project and financed by a grant. The proposal will clearly present the experience of the applicant and its partner organizations in the issues to be addressed.

Competencies Required for the project:

• Demonstrated capacity for strategic thinking and analysis
• Proven experience in working with community-led initiatives as well as experience in community and stakeholder participatory processes
• Expertise or experience on global environment and sustainable development issues
• Expertise or experience in landscape/seascape management
• Proven capacity to produce high quality qualitative research and ability to absorb, analyze and synthesize large amounts of complex information within tight deadlines
• Strong presentation and facilitation skills
• Excellent writing skills of policy and communication materials for a variety of audiences, including the civil society and policymakers
• Excellent writing, presentation, communication and facilitation skills in English and Bahasa Malaysia

Budget: The maximum amount per grant award for the entire project will be limited to $25,000, with applicants required to provide a detailed budgetary estimate.

Period of services (if applicable): the entire process of engagement with the selected grantee, comprising the 3 key steps described above, is expected to be completed within a four-month time frame with the First Step completed within a month or shorter. Please provide a detailed timeline as part of your proposal.

Relevant Documents: Applications must be submitted using the provided templates.

• Proposal Template
• Budget Template
• Proposal Guidance Notes

For proposal submission and more information, contact:

Therese Tiu, National Coordinator ad interim, GEF Small Grants Programme, Malaysia
Email: theresetiu@undp.org

Completed proposals should be received by the SGP National Coordinator no later than 25 April 2025.