Description

WORLD WILDLIFE FUND CANADA: REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL – TERMS OF REFERENCE

Seeking expertise in public sector finance to undertake research, develop a written report and supporting excel reference table documenting Government of British Columbia budget commitments, allocation, and expenditures towards coastal restoration in BC.

I. CONTEXT / BACKGROUND

Canada, along with the global community has agreed to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) provides a roadmap for achieving this commitment. Within the KMGBF, Target 2 commits the global community to:

Ensure that by 2030 at least 30 per cent of areas of degraded terrestrial, inland water, and coastal and marine ecosystems are under effective restoration, in order to enhance biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services, ecological integrity and connectivity.

Recognizing that reaching any of the KMGBF targets will require funds in excess of what is currently committed to biodiversity Target 19 calls for

“Significantly increasing domestic resource mobilization, facilitated by the preparation and implementation of national biodiversity finance plans or similar instruments according to national needs, priorities and circumstances…”

As part of Canada’s collective commitments to the KMGBF Canada has created the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan: Canada’s 2030 Nature Strategy. Canada’s 2030 Nature Strategy does not commit to a National Biodiversity Finance Plan but instead indicates “The federal government may also explore additional opportunities, including: Developing a national resource mobilization plan….” In BC, there is a formal Tripartite Nature Agreement between Canada, British Columbia and First Nations Leadership Council that commits at least $1.1 billion towards biodiversity outcomes in British Columbia between 2023 and 2026. The Tripartite Nature Agreement contains commitments to coastal restoration, but it is difficult to determine within the context of the agreement how much funding is being mobilized to support coastal restoration.

2026 is the final year covered by the majority of initial funding commitments in the Tripartite Nature Agreement and a number of significant funding programs supporting restoration in BC, including the Salish Sea Initiative, the Enhanced Nature Legacy Initiative, and the BC Salmon Habitat Innovation and Restoration Fund are coming to an end.

In a time of fiscal constraint and continued biodiversity decline there is concern funds will be reallocated for use in other areas despite remaining restoration needs on the BC coast. WWF-Canada is seeking an expert in public sector financing to undertake a Coastal Restoration Expenditure Review in southern BC to understand what the past levels of expenditure have been and inform discussion on whether current funding commitments are sufficient to meet restoration needs.

II. OBJECTIVES OF THE ENGAGEMENT

The objective of this project is to complete research and produce a technical report for WWF-Canada’s internal use. As such, all materials produced by the contractor should be appropriate for a technical audience. WWF-Canada then expects to adapt these materials for a variety of other purposes and audiences, including but not limited to government and restoration practitioners.

The goal for WWF is to understand the level provincial investment in coastal restoration and the financial discrepancy between funding currently committed and what is l required to meet stated government restoration objectives.

III. DESCRIPTION OF THE SERVICES REQUIRED / SCOPE OF WORK

The consultant will complete the following activities to develop a written report and excel reference table related to budget commitments, allocation, and expenditures of public, private and civil society investments in coastal restoration in BC:

  • Identify key members of the coastal restoration community in the Salish Sea region that have received public sector funding allocations through program investments between 2000 – 2025.
  • Develop a consultation plan for engaging with these key members of the restoration community, including interviews and use these interviews to identify other funding recipients in this region that might have not been identified in investment announcements or organizations/communities that work on coastal ecosystem restoration.
  • Identify key data sources, including 2020-2024 Public Accounts, 2020-2024 Financial Reports, 2025 Expenditure Review Results, Interviews with Restoration Practitioners, Interviews with BC Government Staff charged with implementing restoration and other relevant documents identified in the process.
  • Provide and secure approval from WWF-Canada of a working definition of ‘coastal restoration expenditures’ in the BC context for the purposed this review.
  • Establish a classification and tagging system to document coastal restoration budget expenditures with relevant policy goals (NBSAP goals, CMS goals).
  • Identify and collect data on coastal restoration expenditures from public, private, donors, and civil society organizations and other data sources.
  • Estimate the coastal restoration component of identified funding commitments.
  • Engage WWF Canada staff to identify 4 examples of coastal restoration delivering known, benefits.
  • Write 4 vignettes outlining the location, activities, partners and benefits of each of these projects.

IV. KEY DELIVERABLES AND EXPECTED TIMEFRAME

The contractor will be responsible for completing the deliverables provided in Table 1 in a manner satisfactory to WWF-Canada. All deliverables will need to be completed on or before June 24, 2026, unless otherwise extended by WWF-Canada in writing.

The contractor will be given reasonable access to all relevant existing project materials, including key coastal restoration practitioners in B.C. The contractor will work closely with WWF-Canada’s designated project staff. WWF-Canada’s designated staff will provide written feedback on each draft within 10 business days of submission of the respective draft to WWF-Canada for review. A couple of check-in meetings between contractor and WWF-Canada will be expected to ensure the research and documentation are meeting the needs of WWF-Canada.

Project Deliverables (contractor to submit for WWF-Canada input)

Report

1 A – Draft report outline

1 B – Draft full report

1 C – Final full report with references

Reference Table

2 A – Draft reference table outline

2 B – Draft reference table

2C – Final reference table

The maximum budget allocated by WWF-Canada for completion of this project is $35,000 (Canadian Dollars thirty-five thousand only) which shall be inclusive of all applicable taxes.

The successful contractor shall be paid the agreed service fee in the following manner:

  • 25% of the total service fee payable upon execution of professional service agreement;
  • 25% of the total service fee payable upon progress meeting with WWF-Canada and reviewal of Deliverable 1B and 2B; and,
  • 50% of the total service fee payable upon the submission of Deliverables 1C and 2C.

The payment terms mentioned above may be revised if agreed by WWF-Canada in writing.

V. REQUIRED QUALIFICATION AND EXPERIENCE

The required qualifications for the contractor include:

  • Experience conducting stakeholder engagement events, including facilitation skills, is an asset.
  • Excellent writing and communication skills in English.
  • Demonstrated capacity to conduct literature reviews.
  • Experience with financial modelling and analysis.
  • Demonstrated experience in Public Sector Finance and/or Biodiversity Finance.
  • Strong technical, analytical, and drafting skills.
  • Comfortable interacting with strangers to conduct public/in person surveys.

VI. SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

Interested parties can submit questions related to the Terms of Reference, if necessary to . Quotations from interested parties should be received on or before Thursday, March 5, 2026 and should be structured to include the following information:

  • Executive Summary
  • Provide a description of yourself/ your firm including, inter alia, the following:

a) Total number of staff/employees who will be working on the project along with their experience and qualifications. Please also explain about your practice in changing team member(s) if needed.

b) Total years of experiences and details of industries with whom you have worked.

  • Please provide a description of relevant work which demonstrates knowledge and experience related to:

a) financial modelling and analysis

b) experience with public sector finance and/or biodiversity finance

c) literature reviews and cross-sector scans

  • Summary of the proposed approach along with timelines to undertake this project and perform all deliverables on or before the project completion date i.e., [please provide the completion date here].
  • Proposed fixed fee structure along with a break down including administrative expenses, out-of-pocket expenses, travel expenses, staff time etc.

Notwithstanding to anything contained in this RFP, WWF-Canada reserves the unrestricted right to cancel this RFP process at any time where WWF-Canada solely determines that it would be in the best interest of WWF-Canada not to award an Agreement. WWF-Canada may also amend this RFP process or issue a new RFP at any time for the same deliverables or similar requirements.

Thank you for your willingness to participate in the RFP process.