PIF Technical Design

While Concept stage ensures a project idea is viable (e.g. supported by government, OFP, WWF offices, is GEF-able), at PIF stage the idea must be elaborated into a technically sound project framework. For a GEF project, technical design rests on building out the following elements:

• The environmental problem
• The project objective
• The root causes to the environmental problem, and the key barriers that have prevented that problem from being solved
• The business-as-usual scenario (or what would happen without the GEF project funding). This provides the foundation of the project, and is known as the project baseline.
• Gaps in those baseline initiatives.
• The project strategy (or what would happen with the GEF project funding), which consists of:
  • The Indicative project overview table: The components, outcomes, and outputs of the project. 
  • And the Theory of Change, or how the project interventions will ultimately achieve the project objective and subsequent global environmental benefits.

At PIF stage, the Project Development Team must define a clear project objective; outline the environmental problem, barriers and baseline within the project scope; develop a broad set of strategies; and provide a high-level budget on these strategies. At ProDoc stage, this information will be validated and expanded upon (e.g., going to the activity level for achieving project strategies) in such detail that anyone picking up the document will understand how to execute the project. The matrix below captures how each piece of the project framework will work together to create a strategic project framework, and is used to justify GEF funding. It is recommended that teams fill this out, using the guidance provided below.

Technical design workshop

The Project Development Team is encouraged to convene a technical design workshop early in the planning process to inform and design the project framework. The workshop should include the lead executing agency (if known), relevant technical ministries, and key partners so the project design is jointly developed and owned. For additional guidance on the planning workshop, see templates. Sample agendas are provided under examples, and may include the following agenda items:

• Introduction to WWF and GEF concepts
• The WWF GEF Agency encourages Teams to utilize the planning methodology associated with WWF’s Project and Programme Management Standards (PPMS). One aspect of this planning method is the Development of a Conceptual Model and Results Chains (Theory of Change diagram) with a PPMS knowledgeable facilitator (http://www.ccnetglobal.com/)
• Discussions/break-out groups/presentations to develop project design

Please note that the design process is iterative, and the project design will be constantly adjusted based on conversations with key stakeholders and partners. 

Technical Design of a project versus a program

The information designed and presented depends on whether the team is developing a stand-alone project (PIF), a programmatic approach (PFD), or a child project (Child Project Annex).

Stand-alone project. Information designed and presented for the project

Programmatic development. Information designed and presented at the programmatic level, development is led by the lead Agency but developed jointly with other involved agencies

Child Project development. Information designed and presented at the child-project level, and should align with the corresponding program

The Environmental Problem is a brief description of two things:

• The specific environmental issue that the project aims to address
• The Global Environmental Benefits that will be impacted if the problem is not solved

One Example of a GEF environmental problem includes:

• Tropical forests and savannahs host the majority of terrestrial biodiversity, represent important carbon sinks, and provide numerous ecosystem services. However, these ecosystems are being increasingly deforested for commercial agriculture. Demand for a few key commodities is a root cause of this deforestation, with an estimated 70% of tropical deforestation alone coming from commercial agriculture for palm, soy, and beef (plus timber and pulp)

Barriers are the underlying causes that are contributing to the environmental problem. The project strategies should then work to remove or address these barriers to generate global environmental benefits.

It is important to identify the key barriers at PIF stage, and have a general understanding of how they map to the project strategy. Since it is not possible to address all barriers through the GEF project, the Project Development Team should focus on the barriers specific to, and are feasible to be addressed through, the project strategy.

In sum, the guiding questions for identifying barriers include:

• What barriers are contributing to the environmental problem?
• Why hasn’t the environmental problem been solved already?
• Of the numerous barriers, which can be addressed through the GEF project (in the time period and with the resources being requested)?

Some common categories of barriers include:

• Limited capacity
  • Weak institutional capacity to prepare feasibility studies for water management
• Limited knowledge, information, or awareness
  • Limited supply chain transparency makes it difficult to track what products are linked to deforestation, this limits companies from making informed decisions
• Lack of resources (financial or other)
  • Lack of national funds to protected area management means only short-term management plans are developed 
  • Standards  for commodities such as beef have seen limited uptake, partly due to the costs of certification
• Weak or conflicting policies/legislation/etc
  • Lack of legislation for enforcing mangrove restoration measures
• Lack of coordination or conflicting plans
  • Water basin management strategy is not linked to other sectors, such as land-use and agriculture
  • Lack of cooperation and discussion on transboundary rivers at national and bilateral levels (e.g. no shared classification used)

How to determine barriers

• Conceptual Model. The WWF methodology for project planning (called the Project and Programme Management Standards or PPMS) is a useful process for determining project barriers. During the planning workshop, the facilitator will help teams to develop a conceptual model, which is a diagram that illustrates the environmental problem the project wishes to address and shows the relationships among key factors that are related to the conservation issue at hand. Barriers and other contributing factors should be identified during the workshop, under the guidance of a PPMS facilitator and can be incorporated into the matrix below.

•  Matrix. The matrix below is a tool to map barriers and the corresponding project strategy. During the workshop, technical participants may break out into groups to develop key barriers based on this matrix.

• Additional/Supporting method. In some cases, assessments or reports that identify key barriers to the project may already exist. The information may provide an important reference point, but should be validated with workshop participants to ensure it is first (1) relevant to the project, (2) aligns with existing knowledge and then, (3) strategies are developed to address that barrier. At ProDoc stage, a deeper analysis of these barriers will need to be undertaken.

The baseline is a description of the ongoing and planned activities/initiatives taking place during the project period without GEF funding (e.g., the business-as-usual scenario). For GEF, a baseline demonstrates the foundation of work that the project plans to build upon or leverage. Through the GEF project, the baseline efforts are leveraged/transformed to yield global environmental benefits. (see: Incremental Cost Reasoning below).

How to develop the baseline

WWF Project and Programme Management Standards (PPMS). The WWF methodology for project planning is a useful process for understanding the baseline. During a planning workshop, the Conceptual Model and Results Chains exercises determine baseline activities. While the Conceptual Model is being developed, consider what activities and initiatives are already being done, and how they feed into the current situation. With Results Chains, consider what baseline activities and initiatives are contributing to the GEF proposed strategies. How can these existing initiatives and activities be leveraged by the project to maximize impact and yield global environmental benefits? 

Matrix . Another method is to use a matrix to organize input and ideas from partners. The matrix can be filled out by participants on current and ongoing projects, gaps, and key strategies needed to fill those gaps. Emerging themes and priorities identified during this exercise can be used to inform the project components and outcomes, with the assistance of a facilitator and the project manager. This ensures buy-in from the start, and participants have the opportunity to see their baseline activities/initiatives reflected in the project design. See examples, below.

Developing and articulating the project objective and strategies (components, outcomes, outputs) for achieving that objective is the key justification for GEF funds. It explains what the project is planning to achieve, and how. Below are definitions and examples of a project objective and components, outcomes, and outputs.  

                   How to develop the project objective and strategies (components, outcomes, outputs)

The Theory of Change is a description and/or diagram that demonstrates how project strategies will address the environmental problem and barriers described above, to bring about the desired impact (e.g. project objective).

To determine the theory of change map out, either narratively or using a diagram, a series of if-then statements (e.g. if we do this intervention, then this will result) to show how key strategies will lead to the project objective. The theory of change should stay within the project scope.

A good Theory of Change meets several key principles:

• The Theory of Change should be results-oriented, rather than a sequence of activities (e.g., how will your project interventions work versus what activities are planned). As such, a GEFable Theory of Change is typically at the Outcome-level (see Indicative Project Overview Table). At a minimum, it should capture how all components are connected.
• While the Theory of Change for a GEF project should stay within the project scope (e.g. what GEF is funding), it is also important to recognize the long-term goals of the project.
• If the project is part of a larger program, (1) a broader, program-level Theory of Change should show how each Child Project contributes to the overall program objective, or (2) the project-level Theory of Change describes key links to the program, to demonstrate overall impact and cohesion.

How to develop a theory of change

Diagrams are a popular way to visually demonstrate a project’s Theory of Change (see examples attached.). Diagrams, as well as narratives, should meet the principles described above.

PPMS/Diagrams. It is recommended that teams develop a diagram showing how project components and outcomes will work together to achieve the project objective.

PPMS: A Results Chain diagram is recommended per Component to illustrate the logic behind how the project interventions will lead to the project desired results. Developing an overarching diagram (see example below) is recommended to help tie the component level diagrams together.

Narrative description. To develop a narrative Theory of Change, the Project Development Team may use the following steps:

1. Define the project/program objective.
2. Draft a series of if-then statements that demonstrate how project interventions will achieve the project/program objective, ensuring that all project components/strategies from the Indicative Project Overview table are captured. It may be helpful to use the Results Chain diagrams to inform this statement.

Examples

Narrative. If consumers demand sustainable products, and investors require companies in their portfolio to meet certain environmental requirements, then companies will respond to these external pressures and commit to sustainable sourcing policies. If companies purchase sustainable commodities and will not purchase unsustainable commodities, then producers will shift their practices to respond to this.

For GEF Projects, the intervention strategy should be neatly organized into the Indicative Project Description Summary, a pre-fabricated table in the PIF/PFD/Child Project Annex. The Indicative Project Description Summary table describes the objective, components, outcomes, and outputs that the project or program aims to achieve. It also lists the indicative GEF financing and co-financing associated with each component. The Indicative Project Description Summary table is the main information that WWF GEF Agency and the GEF Secretariat uses to understand and evaluate the project proposal, and is built upon in the ProDoc. As such, it is the critical element of a PIF, and requires time, focus, and usually many interactions.

*Please note Child Project Annexes do not go into the Output level at this stage.

This section is where the GEF Agency may indicate if it expects to play an execution role, and if so, to describe the strategy here. 

The objective of this section is to cover the ongoing initiatives and projects that are relevant to the project, noting which projects and initiatives may have potential to contribute staff, expertise, lessons learned, etc. to the project. The section should be a maximum of 1 page.