The World Bank Africa Climate Resilience Investment Facility (P169051) REPORT NO.: RES42342 RESTRUCTURING PAPER ON A PROPOSED PROJECT RESTRUCTURING OF AFRICA CLIMATE RESILIENCE INVESTMENT FACILITY APPROVED ON JUNE 28, 2019 TO UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR AFRICA ENVIRONMENT, NATURAL RESOURCES & THE BLUE ECONOMY AFRICA EAST Regional Vice President: Hafez M. H. Ghanem Country Director: Vijay Pillai Global Director: Karin Erika Kemper Practice Manager/Manager: Iain G. Shuker Task Team Leader(s): Hisham Mohammed Salih Osman Mohammed The World Bank Africa Climate Resilience Investment Facility (P169051) ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS AFRI-RES Africa Climate Resilience Investment Facility AUC African Union Commission COVID-19 Coronavirus PIA Project Implementing Agency PIDA Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa UNECA United Nations Economic Commission for Africa WB World Bank The World Bank Africa Climate Resilience Investment Facility (P169051) BASIC DATA Product Information Project ID Financing Instrument P169051 Investment Project Financing Environmental and Social Risk Classification (ESRC) Low Approval Date Current Closing Date 28-Jun-2019 30-Sep-2021 Organizations Borrower Responsible Agency United Nations Economic Commission for Africa United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Financing (in USD Million) FIN_SUMM_PUB_TBL SUMMARY Total Project Cost 0 Total Financing 0 Financing Gap 0 DETAILS -NewFin3 Project Development Objective (PDO) Original PDO The Project Development Objective is to enable an Africa-based center of technical competence and excellence to raise awareness and build the capacity of government actors, planners and private developers in Africa to integrate climate change in project planning and design, with a view to enhance opportunities for attracting funding from both development and climate finance sources. OPS_TABLE_PDO_CURRENTPDO The World Bank Africa Climate Resilience Investment Facility (P169051) Summary Status of Financing (US$, Millions) Net TF Approval Signing Effectiveness Closing Commitment Disbursed Undisbursed TF-B0649 03-Mar-2020 17-Mar-2020 17-Mar-2020 30-Sep-2021 .83 .41 .40 Policy Waiver(s) Does this restructuring trigger the need for any policy waiver(s)? No The World Bank Africa Climate Resilience Investment Facility (P169051) I. PROJECT STATUS AND RATIONALE FOR RESTRUCTURING A. Background 1. The Africa Climate Resilience Investment Facility (AFRI-RES) was established in 2017 as a partnership between the World Bank (WB) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) – that leverages the African Union Commission (AUC) – with a view to strengthen the capacity of African governments, planners and private developers to systematically integrate climate change considerations into the planning and design of long-lived investments through the establishment of a center of technical competence and excellence. 2. The initiative is anchored in five components that are jointly implemented by the WB and UNECA: (i) project- level technical assistance; (ii) outreach, dissemination and training; (iii) guidelines, standards and good practice notes; (iv) climate knowledge and data portal; and (v) overall coordination, management and quality assurance. 3. This recipient executed TFB0649 pertains to the two components that are implemented by UNECA – that is Components 2 and 4. 4. Under Component 2 (Outreach, Dissemination and Training [EUR 470,000 / US$ 528,000 equivalent]), the Project Implementing Agency (PIA) – UNECA – was to conduct trainings, workshops and seminars with key stakeholders in various locations across Africa, with a view to identifying sectoral capacity needs, enhancing decision-making with respect to the risks of climate variability and change, delivering targeted communication and outreach materials, and establishing and consolidating the client base. The associated deliverables included: i. Training and learning package on tools for integration of climate resilience in hydropower development; ii. Training workshop for decision makers and practitioners on the use and application of tools and methods for climate resilient investments; iii. Workshop on climate finance and risk transfer instruments for enhanced resilient investments in key sectors; iv. Workshop on integration of climate resilience into Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) projects and climate resilience strategy for PIDA Phase 2; v. Training workshop for energy planners in African energy institutions; vi. Regional workshop to review and validate climate data and models for Africa; and vii. Leveraging high-level platforms to promote AFRI-RES and paradigm shift for climate resilient investments (e.g. the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, UNECA Annual Conference of Ministers of Finance and Planning, Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development, African Union Summit, and the Africa Climate Resilient Infrastructure Summits). 5. Under Component 4 (Climate knowledge and data portal [EUR 230,000 / US$ 259,605 equivalent]), the Project Implementing Agency (PIA) was to develop and maintain an online repository of relevant knowledge, tools and communication products for climate-resilient investment planning and design in Africa. This would include a library of project-level experiences; sample terms of reference for work at different stages of the The World Bank Africa Climate Resilience Investment Facility (P169051) project cycle; access to key data and tools; guidelines to support climate-resilient infrastructure investment; as well as other learning and knowledge products. 6. To that end, Component 4 covers two main activities: (i) consulting services (e.g. development of conceptual design and detailed workplan for data portal; development and deployment of data portal; and preparation of pilot datasets and population of data portal); and (ii) hosting and maintenance of the AFRI-RES climate and data portal for two years (e.g. operation and maintenance of data portal; regular management and administration of climate data sets; and regular management and administration of information and knowledge products). The portal will be implemented as part of a broader initiative supported by UNECA through other Africa Climate Policy Centre resources, which will ensure its longer-term sustainability and potential for scaling-up. B. Project Status 1. The project became effective at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic (June 2020) and therefore the UNECA team was unable to move forward with many of the activities as planned. The PIA was able to make progress in terms of committing grant funds, devising workarounds for COVID restrictions, and overcoming procurement delays. 2. Component 2: Given that in-person workshops and trainings could not be held due to COVID-19 restrictions on travel and in-person gatherings, the team proposed creating a blended training programme. The procurement process began in February 2021 with the release of an expression of interest to select a suitable service provider to develop and deliver this blended training programme. A total of 28 expressions of interest were received, and these firms were invited to submit full proposals. Seven full proposals were received in time, and after technical and financial evaluations by committees, the firm Industrial Economics, was selected as the winning service provider. The contract was signed in June 2021, and a kick-off meeting took place. Furthermore, in collaboration with the AUC, a senior consultant has been selected to develop and deliver a training programme on the integration of climate resilience in PIDA-2, starting July 5, 2021. 3. Component 4: Progress continues to be made on the development of the climate knowledge and data portal. Discussions are ongoing with the relevant departments within UNECA, including ICT, Knowledge Management and others, as well as potential partners of the proposed partnership framework for data and information sharing for the AFRI-RES portal. The business requirements document has been developed, as well as the proposed design. Additional consultants to support trainings and development of communications and knowledge products are either in the process of being hired or have been hired. C. Rationale for restructuring 1. The team proposes extending the closing date of the project to December 30, 2022 to allow the PIA additional time to implement activities. The project became effective at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic (June 2020), and it immediately ran into problems as many of the planned activities, especially those under Component 2, were meant to be held in-person. The WB and UNECA teams discussed at length how best to take advantage of the opportunity the COVID-19 pandemic provided them and decided to pivot the in-person trainings and workshops toward something more innovative. It was agreed in December 2020 at the first implementation support mission to move forward with a blended training programme that would deliver most of the trainings online along with a certificate of completion, as well as allow for the possibility of holding in- person workshops should the COVID restrictions in place in Ethiopia change to allow for international travel and larger in-person gatherings. The World Bank Africa Climate Resilience Investment Facility (P169051) 2. In addition to overcoming COVID-19 restrictions, the PIA also had to resolve procurement delays for the climate data portal, as well as with contracting firms and individuals to implement both components. 3. The combination of these challenges has made it so that most of the consultants and firms have either come online in the past two months or will come online in September 2021. The PIA will therefore require additional time to implement the agreed-upon activities, which has been estimated to be one year from the original closing date. An additional three months were included as a buffer against any additional delays, taking the proposed new closing date of the project to December 30, 2022. II. DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED CHANGES A. Grant closing date 1. The proposed restructuring would extend the grant closing date by 15 months until December 30, 2022 with the expectation that it would allow the UNECA team time to complete all activities. There would be no changes to results framework, procurement, or risk rating. However, the disbursement estimates will be adjusted to match with the revised Procurement Plan B. Implementation schedule 1. The UNECA team has defined a work program for the proposed 15-month extension to consolidate its key results on the ground, strengthen the inter-institutional mechanisms, maximize the use of grant resources and ensure an optimal project closure. III. SUMMARY OF CHANGES Changed Not Changed Loan Closing Date(s) ✔ Disbursement Estimates ✔ Implementation Schedule ✔ Implementing Agency ✔ Project's Development Objectives ✔ Results Framework ✔ Components and Cost ✔ Cancellations Proposed ✔ Additional Financing Proposed ✔ Reallocation between Disbursement Categories ✔ Disbursements Arrangements ✔ The World Bank Africa Climate Resilience Investment Facility (P169051) Change in Overall Risk Rating ✔ Legal Covenants ✔ Institutional Arrangements ✔ Financial Management ✔ Procurement ✔ Other Change(s) ✔ Economic and Financial Analysis ✔ Technical Analysis ✔ Social Analysis ✔ Environmental Analysis ✔ IV. DETAILED CHANGE(S) OPS_DETAILEDCHANGES_LOANCLOSING_TABLE LOAN CLOSING DATE(S) Original Revised Proposed Proposed Deadline TF Status Closing Closing(s) Closing for Withdrawal Applications TF-B0649 Effective 30-Sep-2021 30-Dec-2022 30-Apr-2023 OPS_DETAILEDCHANGES_DISBURSEMENT_TABLE DISBURSEMENT ESTIMATES Change in Disbursement Estimates Yes Expected Disbursements (In US$) Fiscal Year Annual Cumulative 2019 0.00 0.00 2020 0.00 0.00 2021 0.00 0.00 2022 0.00 0.00 The World Bank Africa Climate Resilience Investment Facility (P169051) Note to Task Teams: End of system generated content, document is editable from here.