Blue Action – Concept Note Template

Concept Note Template

Version – February 2023
Project summary (1 page max.)
Project title
Grantee (name and address)
Subgrantees
Contact person: Name and email
Country(ies) of implementation
Project duration (in total number of months)
Total costs (EUR)
Blue Action funding In Euro (percentage of total project volume)
Match funding In Euro (percentage of total project volume)
# of MPAs targeted
New MPA km²
More effectively managed MPA
km²
# of direct beneficiaries (from
Table of Beneficiaries)
# of individuals targeted by
sustainable livelihoods measures

Project summary

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 Blue Action – Concept Note Template

Table of Contents
1 CONTEXT ...................................................................................................................3

2 PROBLEM DESCRIPTION ........................................................................................3

3 OBJECTIVE AND STRATEGY ..................................................................................3

4 MPA CONTRIBUTIONS .............................................................................................3

5 LOCAL COMMUNITIES AND SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOOD CONTRIBUTIONS. . .4

5.1 Local communities..........................................................................................................4
5.2 Sustainable livelihoods contributions...........................................................................5

6 GENDER MAINSTREAMING.....................................................................................5

7 SUSTAINABILITY OF LONG-TERM IMPACT...........................................................5

8 PROJECT LOGFRAME..............................................................................................5

9 PLANNED ACTIVITIES...............................................................................................9

10 PARTNERS AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT ......................................................9

11 BUDGET/COSTS.....................................................................................................9

12 ANYTHING ELSE YOU WISH TO SHARE WITH THE EVALUATORS?............10

ANNEX 1: APPLICANT INFORMATION........................................................................11

ANNEX 2: LETTERS OF ENDORSEMENT....................................................................12

ANNEX 3: FINANCIAL & ORGANISATIONAL DUE DILIGENCE QUESTIONNAIRE..13

ANNEX 4: DIRECT BENEFICIARIES.............................................................................15

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 Blue Action – Concept Note Template

General instructions

- Please try to avoid repetition of ideas throughout the proposal. Consider the most
appropriate section to present them.
- Please respect size limits

1 Context (1 page max)

a. What is the context or background that gives rise to the project?

2 Problem description (2 pages max)

a. Describe the scope of the problem and its urgency.
b. What are the relevant past initiatives in the region and what challenges remain?

3 Objective and strategy (4 pages max)

a. What is the objective of the project?
b. Please present your Theory of Change.
c. What is your strategy to achieve the objective?
d. Why is the chosen approach the best to address the problem? What evidence or lessons
learned from previous projects support this?
e. What opportunities do you want to seize through the project?
f. What assumptions is your strategy based on?

4 MPA contributions (2-3 pages, excluding Maps and Table)

a. Please list and describe your proposed intervention sites (i.e. new MPA sites and existing
MPAs that will benefit from enhanced management), including information about their
specific ecological value and how the project will benefit key species and habitats. If you
are proposing to work on multiple sites, please explain if and how they are connected.
b. In which manner has the government expressed its support for the MPA objectives and
what specific commitments have already been made?
c. With regard to government commitment, what risks and potential roadblocks remain to
achieve the desired MPA objectives?
d. Please complete the following table to indicate how many km 2 of MPAs will be newly
established or benefit from enhanced management and their IUCN category.

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 Blue Action – Concept Note Template

Area New Better managed

MPAs IUCN categories

I Strict Nature Reserve / Wilderness Area km² km²

II National Park

III Natural Monument or Feature

IV Habitat/Species management Area

V Protected Seascape/Landscape
VI Protected area with sustainable use of
natural resources
Buffer zone

e. Please provide maps of your intervention sites and – to the extent possible – include
protected area and buffer zone delineations for the areas described in the table above.

5 Local communities and sustainable livelihood contributions

5.1 Local communities (2 pages max)

a. Please provide a short description of the socio-economic context (e.g. economic

activities, income levels, population growth, etc.)
b. Please describe the natural resource users utilizing the project area, for example
disaggregating the fishery by gear and other user groups (traders, gatherers, etc.) as
appropriate.
c. In the table below, please indicate the number of communities/villages at risk of being
negatively affected by the project.

Estimated potential degree Number of

Population size
of affectedness communities/villages
High
Medium
Low
Total

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 Blue Action – Concept Note Template

d. Please describe very briefly any potential positive and negative effects of proposed
project activities on people’s livelihoods, considering in particular any project-related
restrictions in land/marine and natural resource use.
e. Please indicate if the project has identified any groups that are vulnerable and will be
affected by the project and briefly describe these groups.

5.2 Sustainable livelihoods contributions (2 pages max)

a. What are the specific needs or challenges that have been identified with regard to
sources of livelihood and income among the communities dependent on marine and
coastal resources in the area(s) of intervention?
b. What is the nature of your involvement with the targeted communities thus far?
c. How will villages and individuals be selected for livelihood support? Please explain how
people potentially negatively affected by the project (e.g. due to access restrictions),
including vulnerable groups, will be included in the planning and implementation of
livelihood activities.
d. Please describe the nature and scope of the interventions designed to contribute to
improving sustainable livelihoods, including estimated number of targeted individuals.
e. Please comment on the feasibility of the proposed livelihood interventions. For example,
are these livelihood trials or is there already a track record of these interventions in the
project area or similar areas?

6 Gender mainstreaming (1 page max)

a) Please briefly describe the prevailing gender norms and gender roles in economic
activities and decision-making in the region(s) of implementation.
b) Please describe what steps your project will take to address and make significant
contributions to gender equality, for example through promotion of women in leadership
positions, economic empowerment, capacity building and/or other activities.

7 Sustainability of long-term impact (1 page max)

a. Please briefly explain if there is an existing financial management plan for the MPA(s)
and how the project will contribute to it. If such a plan does not exist, the project is
expected to produce an analysis of financial needs for long-term management of the
MPA(s) and a strategy for how to address the gaps (i.e. financial management plan
including modelling of costs and available funding for the next years, plus potential
additional sources and strategies). Please elaborate.
b. How will the project support the capacity development of local partners and communities
(including building financial literacy and social resilience)?

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8 Project Logframe
General instructions
The logframe serves as the project’s accountability mechanism and forms the basis for M&E
within Blue Action’s grants. A project’s logframe should be a reflection of its Theory of Change. It
describes what the project needs to do to achieve its Goal (i.e. the longer-term impact that the
project aims to contribute to). In the table, the next level in the hierarchy are the Outcomes of
the project (i.e. the changes it aims to achieve in its lifetime), followed by the Outputs, which are
the tangible products or services that the project produces as a result of its Activities. The key
assumptions and risks are external factors that might influence the success of the project and its
objectives. In other words: (assuming the assumptions hold true) if the activities are carried out,
then the outputs will be produced. If the outputs are produced, then the outcomes should be
realised. And if the outcomes are realised, they should contribute to the ultimate goal of the
project.
Indicators
The objectively verifiable indicators define the information that needs to be collected to indicate
whether or not, and to what extent, the Goal, Outcomes and Outputs of the project have been
achieved. The means of verification are the methods that will be used to collect the indicators
(e.g. surveys, interviews, etc.).
The structure of the project logframe must be aligned with the Blue Action Fund Programme
Results Matrix (please refer to the Grant Procedures Manual). All projects are required to
report on all indicators at goal level as listed below. Please insert your own indicators at the
outcome and output level, but make sure to also include at least some indicators from the
Blue Action Fund Programme Results Matrix to clearly demonstrate how the project will
contribute to Blue Action Fund’s stated goals. Blue Action Fund will only fund projects that
clearly contribute to its Programme Results Matrix.
Please ensure your indicators align with the following recommendations:
1. To the extent possible, “SMART” indicators should be used:
 Specific: should be a single factual statement, precisely formulated and one-
dimensional.
 Measurable: should have baseline and target indicators; change should be expressed
through absolute numbers or percentages; the effort-to-control indicator should
correspond to its relevance and the total project volume.
 Achievable: the changes captured by the indicator can be achieved and require
reasonable resources.
 Relevant: should measure the central dimension of the project objective/result.
 Time-bound: a specific point in time for achieving the target should be indicated
(usually end of project duration).
2. It is critical to keep your units of measurement in the baseline and target consistent. For
example, if your aim is to increase an area, both the baseline and target indicators
should be listed in km2 (or ha or another unit of area). For a quantitative indicator, there
should always be a value in the baseline and target. For a qualitative indicator, the
baseline and target should describe the state/condition of the same elements before and
after your intervention, one to one. Please also ensure that the wording of the indicators
matches the wording of the baseline and target values as closely as possible. For
example, for the indicator:

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“New or revised MPA management plans that incorporate climate change mitigation and
adaption”
- The baseline might state:
o Plan X exists but has not been revised since XXXX
o Plan Y is in place until XXX but does not incorporate climate
o There is no Plan in existence for Z
- The target might say:
o Plan X is revised
o Plan Y is updated to incorporate climate change
o New Plan for Z is developed
3. The language of your indicators, their baselines and their targets should be as short and
simple as possible to avoid scope for confusion about what is being measured. The more
written, the more room for confusion. Any superfluous wording should be removed. If
deemed necessary to provide technical context, please do so in the Means of Verification
or by way of a footnote.
For example, a baseline stating “No sustainable financing mechanisms exist for the MPA
or the associated estuaries. The management of these systems is currently entirely
dependent on government grants which are insufficient for effective management.”
should instead simply be stated as “0 finance mechanisms developed.”
4. Please note that if your quantitative baseline is not yet available and will only be
determined during the project’s inception phase, listing your target as a percent increase
does not make much sense and can be highly misleading. In such instances, please try
to include also an absolute target, e.g. “Number of women in positions of leadership in
LMMMA management councils is increased by x%, but at least x women” (or similar).
5. Depending on your indicator, it can make sense to have interim deadlines or targets. For
example, if a financial mechanism is supposed to be identified and implementation
started, it makes sense to have one milestone for the identification of the mechanism and
another for the start of its implementation to avoid an unrealistic situation where
everything is expected to be reached at the last minute. “Financial mechanism is
identified by XXXX and its implementation under way by the end of the project.” or “By
year XXXX, X amount of financing has been distributed by way of microgrants”.
6. If your indicator contains several components or elements to it, e.g. the biomass of
several different species, please use sub-indicators “1.a, 1.b, 1.c” for ease of reading and
ensure every element in the baseline has a corresponding element in the target.
If your output is supposed to increase the number of something already existing, e.g. the
number of individuals trained in beekeeping, but that the baseline is not 0 because this
type of interventions has already been ongoing in the area before project start, the
language of the indicator should reflect this. To avoid confusion, it is recommended to
set the baseline at 0 and indicate the target as “additional individuals” to reflect only the
absolute change produced by the project.
7. Assumptions are typically formulated as “positive risks” (e.g. “Government of
Madagascar does not worsen fishery regulations”). Please do not include assumptions
that should be achieved by the project (e.g. “project staff is in place”).
If not available during proposal preparation, all baseline indicators should be obtained at
latest by the end of the project’s inception phase (i.e. first six months of the project).

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 Blue Action – Concept Note Template

Indicator Base value (at project start) Target value (End of project) Means of verification Assumptions / Risks
Goal (Impact / Overall Objective): Networks of globally significant marine protected areas and their sustainable use zones are conserved.
G.1: At the end of the project, x tons of relevant umbrella The biomass of umbrella E.g. Field surveys conducted
the biomass1 of one or more species in the project areas species in the project areas is by consortium during inception
relevant umbrella/ indicator (umbrella/indicator species will maintained or increased. and last year of project
species is maintained or be determined by grantee in
increasing in the project areas. collaboration with a competent
scientific advisor)
G.2: At the end of the project, Average household income in Average household income in E.g. Socioeconomic household
improved livelihood conditions affected project villages affected project villages surveys conducted by
of affected households in increased consortium during inception
project areas. and last year of project
G.3: At the end of the project, --- On average, majority of E.g. Knowledge, Attitude and
substantially more households households in project areas Practice surveys conducted by
affected in project areas have a have a positive attitude towards consortium during inception
positive attitude towards protection of marine and last year of project.
protection of marine biodiversity biodiversity.
Outcome:
O.1:
O.2:
Output 1:
1.1:
1.2:
1.3:
Output 2:
2.1:
2.2:
2.3:
Output 3:
3.1:
3.2:
3.3:
3.4:
3.5:
1
Or abundance or other relevant ecological index

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9 Planned activities
Based on the logframe, please outline below the proposed activities to achieve each output.
-Output 1 “Name”
o Indicator 1.1 “Name”
 Activity 1.1.1:
 Activity 1.1.2:
 Activity 1.1.3:
o Indicator 1.2 “Name”
 Activity 1.2.1:
 Activity 1.2.2:
 Activity 1.2.3:
-Output 2 “Name”
o Indicator 2.1 “Name”
 Activity 2.1.1:
 Activity 2.1.2:
 Activity 2.1.3:
o Indicator 2.2 “Name”
 Activity 2.2.1:
 Activity 2.2.2:
 Activity 2.2.3:
-Etc.

10 Partners and project management (2 pages max)

a. For each partner organisation in the consortium2 please describe its respective area of
expertise, role and expected contributions to the project.
b. Please describe how efficient management of the project will be ensured.

11 Budget/Costs
Draft Total Budget
Please refer carefully to the Grant Procedures Manual for definitions and guidelines
regarding cost category groups and categories such as “Costs outside the target region”,
“Contingency” or “Capital expenditures”. Please provide the following information about your
project’s total budget:

2
This refers to the lead grantee and both to subgrantees as well as any pre-identified subcontractors, as defined in
the Grant Procedures Manual.

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 Blue Action – Concept Note Template

Costs Total € Blue Action € Match €

Cost category group 1 “Field implementation”

Output X
Output X
Output X
Cost category group 2 “Project management
and field staff”
Project staff (field and admin)
Staff travel costs
Other operating costs
Cost category group 3 “Costs outside the (≤ 20% of Total (≤ 10% of Blue
target region” project budget) Action grant)
Contingency (4-5% of Blue -
Action grant)
Total

What approximate funding amount do you plan to spend on the capital expenditures
category (please refer to Grant Procedures Manual for cost category definition)? What are
some of the measures you intend to fund in this category?

Draft budget allocation among different partners

Partner Total € Blue Action € Match €

Lead organisation
Sub-grantee
Sub-grantee
Total

Key sources of match funding

Source Project / Objective Funding in € Status

Secured
Applied
Invited to apply
Total

12 Anything else you wish to share with the evaluators?

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Annex 1: Applicant Information

Please fill in the following tables for the lead organisation as well as for each subgrantee (if
applicable).

Applicant information
Name of the organisation
Legal Address and country
Total number of staff in the Total staff number (% staff in non-ODA countries; % staff in ODA countries; % of
organisation administrative staff).
Do you have offices in the
proposed implementation
Include distance to project sites.
sites? How many staff
work there?
Start of operations in the
proposed country
Staff number in the
proposed country
(national/international)
Will the organisation hire
new staff for the project
and if so for what
positions?
Annual budget in EUR for Total budget and % of budget implemented in the project region for each of the last
each of the last three three years.
years3
Briefly describe who is responsible for financial management. Is the country office
Financial management
externally audited? How frequently are such audits carried out?
Briefly describe who is responsible for management of ESMS and previous
ESMS management4
experiences.
Is the organisation legally
authorised to receive
charitable funds?
Contact person Name and email
Website Address

Key experiences
Indicate name, duration, donor, country, budget (in million EUR) and activities
Project 1 relevant for the proposed project. Please indicate the share of the total project
funding that the organisation had and the role in the project.
Project 2
Project 3
Project 4

3
Question to be filled out by subgrantees only, as for the main applicant this topic is dealt with in more depth in the
due diligence section.
4
Question to be filled out by subgrantees only, as for the main applicant this topic is dealt with in more depth in the
due diligence section.

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Annex 2: Letters of Endorsement

Please enclose the signed letters of endorsement provided by the appropriate
authorities/authorized bodies of the country or region presenting the agreed cooperation. If these
are not yet available, please indicate from whom you expect they can eventually be obtained.

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Annex 3: Financial & Organisational Due Diligence

Questionnaire
Please answer the following questions with respect to the lead partner/grantee
Question Answer
Financial situation and financial statements of applicant
Do you prepare annual financial statements?
Are annual financial statements prepared in English?
Are the financial statements audited annually by an
independent auditor licensed in your jurisdiction?
Are audit reports available in English?
Who is your auditor?
Have you changed auditors in the last five years? If
so, please state the reasons.
Please list the total revenues and expenditures for
each of the last 3 financial years.
Have you reported a loss in the last 3 financial years?
Are your financial statements prepared on a “going
concern”5 basis?
Please provide (or provide a link to) audited financial
statements covering your last 3 financial years.
Has the auditor qualified its opinion6 on your financial
statement in any of the most recent 3 years? If so,
please provide a copy of the qualified opinion. We
may have further questions.
Financial management of grants
Do you use grants management software? If so,
which software?
Which internal bookkeeping software are you using?
Will your software/internal bookkeeping system
support automated reporting against the Blue Action
Fund budget by category? If not, will you be able to
manually extract information from your system to
report against the template?
Will your software/internal bookkeeping system allow
to track time of staff dedicated to the Blue Action
project?
How will you track and report on spending by sub-
grantees?
Blue Action will require evidence of expenditures by
sub-grantees for purposes of its audit procedures in
respect of the grant. How will you capture such
evidence?
How do you assure appropriate authorization of
financial expenditures? Do you adhere to a “four-
eyes” policy or a similar mechanism? Please
describe.
In connection with the grant, we require that lists of
purchased goods, works and associated services or
consultancy services be prepared with the following
information:
5
Under both US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP) and the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS),
presentation of financial statements on a “going concern” basis implies that the business/organisation both intends and is able to
keep operating its activities at least for the next year and requires the organization to conclude that it will not need to liquidate or to
materially curtail the scale of its operations in that period.
6
A qualified opinion is a statement issued in an auditor's report that accompanies a company's audited financial statements. It is an
auditor's opinion that suggests the financial information provided by a company was limited in scope or there was a material issue
with regard to the applicable accounting principles (e.g. GAAP, IFRS, HGB) —but one that is not pervasive.

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Question Answer
Item (designation of the goods, works and associated
services), date, contractor/vendor, relevant reference
number(s), total costs and amount financed with BAF
funds.
Will you be able to provide such a list?
Miscellaneous
We will require annual submission of a charitable
donation certification e.g. proof that you are registered
as a charitable organisation and are exempt from tax.
Is your organisation legally authorised to receive
charitable funds and will you be able to provide such
a certification?
We will require financial records relating to the grant
to be retained for 7 years following grant completion.
Please describe your customary record retention
procedures. Will you be able to comply with our 7-
year requirement?
What is your policy in relation to conflicts of interest
and how do you avoid them?
What is your policy in relation to money laundering &
corruption and how do you avoid them?
Have you reviewed Blue Action Fund’s procurement
policy? Will you be able to comply with it?
Environmental and Social Risk Management7
Have you reviewed the Blue Action Fund ESMS
Manual, including procedures? Will you be able to
comply with it?
Can you confirm that you have reviewed the updated
[April 2021] Blue Action Fund Exclusion List, and that
your proposed project does not include any of these
excluded activities?
Has the country office of your organisation been
involved in, or accused of, any human rights
infringements in the last five years? If so, please state
the status of any inquiries.
Does your organisation have experience with
application of international safeguard standards (e.g.
World Bank Environmental & Social Standards, etc.)?
Please describe.
What is your experience with conducting
environmental and social assessments (e.g. ESA,
ESIA, SIA) and developing environmental and social
safeguard tools (e.g. grievance mechanisms,
stakeholder engagement plans, FPIC protocols,
access restriction process frameworks)?
Do you have environmental and social (E&S)
safeguard experts in your organisation? How will they
support the project?
Will you work with external or internal staff to do
further E&S assessments (if needed)? For external
staff, have you identified suitable expertise for ESAs
and safeguard tool development?

7
Blue Action Fund has developed an Environmental & Social Management System and requires its grantees to put in
place necessary Environmental & Social Safeguards in their projects. With the topic of adequate safeguarding in
conservation projects continuing to evolve, Blue Action is keen to learn about applicant NGOs’ experience with it.

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Place and date

By__________________________
Signature of authorized Grantee Signatory

Name of Signatory:
Function of Signatory:

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Annex 4: Direct beneficiaries

General instructions

Targeted individuals are individuals that directly participate in project interventions e.g,
fishermen receiving training on how to reduce post-harvest losses or employees of MPA
management authorities benefitting from new equipment. The table below provides definitions of
some of the different types of targeted individuals that should be counted. These categories and
definitions are intended to aid you in your aggregation process. They are neither strict nor all-
encompassing and you are welcome to modify them as applicable to your project. At Concept
Note stage, it is ok for these figures to be merely estimates.

Please note that some individuals are likely to be participants in more than one category in the
table, however they should not be double counted. The same person receiving multiple
types/instances of benefit/intervention only counts as one individual (example, one person
receiving 2 separate trainings, e.g. new fishing gear, and small financial support would only
count as one individual). You should therefore find a transparent way to avoid this double
counting when providing your overall totals at the bottom of the table. Please note that Blue
Action is ultimately interested in the total figures, not the totals for each category. Please note
that the calculation of targeted individuals reached at the end of the project must be verifiable
and therefore be properly documented.

These individuals should be disaggregated into males and females.

Direct beneficiaries are calculated by including all the members of the households of your
targeted individuals, i.e.:
“Targeted individuals x average number of individuals per household = direct beneficiaries”
If current information on the average size of households in your country is available, you should
multiply the total number of targeted individuals by that figure. Otherwise, if no current figures
are available, please use an average household size of five people.

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Direct beneficiaries
People supported to adopt
sustainable livelihood
options
People supported to adopt
diversified livelihood options
(incl. aquaculture,
agriculture, tourism, etc.)
People benefitting from
trainings and knowledge
exchange
People benefitting from
awareness raising
People receiving salaries
and other financial
compensation from the
project
People receiving non-
monetary compensation
from the project
People actively benefitting
from project investments.
8
Replace letters with actual values
9
Excluding any double counting
10
‘Avg HH size” = average number of individuals per household. If the average household size for your country is available, please
multiply the total number of targeted individuals by this average number. Otherwise, use an average household size of five
individuals (i.e., multiply total targeted individuals by 5).
Blue Action – Concept Note Template
Estimated number
Means of of targeted
Details / Activities individuals
verification
Male Female
Beneficiaries of sustainably managed fisheries, Stakeholder
mangroves, etc. (incl. fishers and their supply chains, engagement
such as traders or shipbuilders in the project area). plan
E.g.: People benefitting from investments to reduce post-
harvest losses, fishermen improving their ongoing
fisheries activities through better practices, better
organizational skills, data collection, etc.)
Micro-grants, support for business plans, start-up Project
trainings, etc. documentation
E.g.: beneficiaries starting to work (or add to their income
through activities) in sustainable agriculture or tourism.
Trainings on co-management, options for MPA List of
management, climate risk assessment, regional participants
exchanges. This can also include staff from MPA
authorities, NGOs and other relevant organisations.
Only people benefiting from clear and dedicated efforts List of
should be counted, for instance from a dedicated training. participants
General awareness raising activities for the public should
NOT be counted (e.g., people watching a film or exposed
to articles, etc. are not considered direct beneficiaries).
Staff on the ground, including implementing staff from the Project
NGOs (in the target countries only) who work on the documentation
project, employees of MPA management authorities, and
other stakeholders receiving financial compensation
through the project, e.g., community members for
participation in restoration activities.
People receiving equipment, supplies, services, Project
infrastructures. documentation
Users of information systems. Project
E.g.: households using respective smartphone apps. documentation
Total number (a)8 (b)
Male / Female percent ratio % %
Total targeted individuals9 a+b=c
Total direct beneficiaries (c) x avg HH size 10
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