Final Review of RECOFTC Strategic Plan 2018-2023 and FLOURISH

Recognising the intractable challenges for forests and people, RECOFTC developed its Strategic Plan 2018–2023. The plan was built on the extensive experience of RECOFTC in empowering the local community along with the multistakeholder work in landscapes and communities. RECOFTC sought to focus on four strategic goals: #1 landscape collaboration in a changing climate; #2 governance, institutions, and conflict transformation; #3 private sector engagement and enterprising communities; and #4 social inclusion, gender equity, and public action. On Goal #1, RECOFTC aimed to advocate and advance collaborative landscape management that respected, protected, and exercised the rights of local people to manage forest landscapes. RECOFTC planned to strengthen local institutions, empower local people, and increase their capacity on Goal #2 in addition to advancing good governance to reduce conflict and foster collaboration. On Goal #3, RECOFTC worked on economic value creation through alternative business partnerships and models. Lastly, RECOFTC aimed to enhance the rights and capacities of women and marginalised communities, while promoting transformative changes in awareness, norms, and behaviour through Goal #4. These strategic goals were interlinking pathways within RECOFTC’s Theory of Change designed consistently to align with the vision and mission. They were also expected to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and climate action plans, such as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and  National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPAs).

One of RECOFTC’s projects was FLOURISH. FLOURISH was an innovative forest landscape restoration (FLR) initiative that used market forces combined with community forestry to combat climate change, restore degraded forests and improve the well-being of forest communities. The project aimed to facilitate partnerships between local communities and the private sector that could contribute to restoring forest landscapes and improving local livelihoods in Lao PDR, Thailand and Viet Nam. The pilots established commercial business partnerships between forest communities and companies to plant production forests, make sustainable products and sell to markets, with support from NGOs, local governments, and universities. The project activities ranged from production, harvesting and processing of durable wood and bamboo products.

The Dala Institute performed the Final Review of both (1) RECOFTC Strategic Plan 2018–2023 and (2) FLOURISH 2018–2022. The overall objective of the final review was to assess RECOFTC’s performance, achievement, outcomes, and organisational work in the 2018–2023 strategic phase, including those in the FLOURISH project. It also evaluated how RECOFTC and FLOURISH had responded to the Midterm Review recommendations. The evaluation results informed the organisation in developing a new strategic plan for its next strategic phase in 2023–2028. 

Specific objectives of this review included documenting and assessing the extent to which RECOFTC had grown over the preceding four years, building on partnerships with national, regional and international stakeholders, synergising with their initiatives, and being responsive to changing contexts; the limitations and risks to the successful implementation of RECOFTC's overall programme and projects; and recommending ways for (i) making the programme and projects more relevant; (ii) increasing the effectiveness and resource efficiency of planning, implementing, and monitoring and learning from activities and results; and (iii) making any necessary adjustments in programme design, planning and delivery that would address the limitations and risks to programme and project implementation and help to ensure RECOFTC's long-term viability.