Evaluation of the Green Recovery Challenge Fund Round Two

The Green Recovery Challenge Fund was first announced by DEFRA in June 2020, as a new fund of up to £40 million for nature recovery and conservation. In November 2020 an additional £40 million was announced to further support environmental renewal while creating and retaining a range of jobs in England. The Green Recovery Challenge Fund brings forward public investment to help charities and environmental organisations start work on projects across England that will restore nature, tackle climate change and connect people to the natural world. 90 projects were awarded funding in June and July 2021, adding to the 69 projects awarded funding in round one. The 90 round two projects are scheduled to complete by the end of March 2023. Full guidance on round two of the Green Recovery Challenge Fund can be found on the National Lottery Heritage Fund's website. Green Recovery Challenge Fund round 2 | The National Lottery Heritage Fund

Evaluation of round two of the GRCF This brief is for the programme evaluation of the second round of the Green Recovery Challenge Fund. It also includes proposals for analysis and reporting on the Green Recovery Challenge Fund as a whole - an £80 million intervention delivered from late 2020 to March 2023. The evaluation of round two would consider how the lessons that funders and key stakeholders have learned from round one have been applied, consider the impact of the updates that were made to the grant-making processes for the second round of funding and the impact of projects funded in round two. The outline method and research requirements section of this brief covers the five proposed strands of research, with the evaluation focussing more heavily on impact and overall value for money, and taking a lighter touch approach to examining the processes for delivering the second round of GRCF funding.

Aims and Objectives of the Evaluation The objective of this evaluation is to provide insight into the delivery of the GRCF overall, including its outcomes and value for money. This includes providing insight into the impact and delivery of round two projects, learning the lessons from the second cohort of projects. The questions the evaluation will seek to answer include: • What lessons have been learnt from delivering the round two projects and what are their implications for future land and nature projects and investments? This could include: o The opportunities and challenges presented for eNGOs by a successful application to GRCF. o The influence of the external environment on projects (e.g. COVID restrictions or the labour market). • To what extent have the intended short term outcomes of the GRCF been met through the second round of funding and overall across both rounds?

A FULL DESCRIPTION IS WITHIN THE ITT ATTACHED.

Your tender proposals must be sent electronically via e-mail before the tender return deadline of midday, 25 October 2021 to the following contact: Ruth Dench [email protected]