Lost Peatlands Connections (LPC) Project Evaluation 2026 Tender

Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council

About this tender

1. INTRODUCTION The Countryside & Wildlife Team (C&W Team) of Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council (the Council) are administrating a landscape-scale partnership project: Lost Peatlands Connections. The project intends to restore habitats in the upland landscape and four valleys of Neath Port Talbot and Rhondda Cynon Taff whilst engaging and encouraging local communities and school children to get outside in their landscape to get healthier, carry out practical conversation management and learn about their local heritage.2. BACKGROUND INFORMATIONThe Lost Peatlands Connections (LPC) project is a landscape-scale partnership led by Neath Port Talbot Council, working with Natural Resources Wales, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council, Coed Lleol, Vattenfall, the Woodland Trust, and the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales. The project aims to restore upland habitats, strengthen community connections to nature and heritage, and deliver inclusive engagement opportunities across the South Wales Valleys.Funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF), LPC must demonstrate its impact against project aims and NLHF investment principles. The Council seeks to appoint an independent consultant to deliver a comprehensive evaluation of the project, ensuring accountability, learning, and legacy.The evaluation will measure:• Environmental outcomes (habitat restoration, biodiversity, climate resilience).• Community engagement (education, volunteering, wellbeing).• Cultural heritage impact (skills, storytelling, digital engagement).• Organisational sustainability (partnership effectiveness, governance, legacy planning).Evaluation must follow NLHF guidance:https://www.heritagefund.org.uk/funding/good-practice-guidance/evaluation-guidance2.1 LOCATIONThe evaluation will be primarily desk-based, using monitoring data and documentation provided by the Lost Peatlands Connections (LPC) team.Stakeholder engagement will be required during the mid-term and final evaluation phases, including interviews with project partners, volunteers, and community representatives.Meetings and presentations will be conducted virtually or at Neath Port Talbot Council offices, with occasional site visits if deemed necessary for context.2.2 PROJECT TIMESCALE The evaluation is scheduled to run from December 2026 to July 2029, covering the full three-year delivery phase of the project.Indicative milestones:Contract Award & Inception Meeting: Q4 December 26Preliminary Evaluation Report: March 2027o Review pr…

Key requirements

• ✓Deliver an independent evaluation following NLHF evaluation guidance
• ✓Assess environmental outcomes, community engagement, cultural heritage impact and organisational sustainability
• ✓Desk-based review of LPC monitoring data plus stakeholder engagement at mid-term and final phases

Relevant sectors

About this sector

Biodiversity funding backs habitat restoration, species protection, protected areas and nature-positive business. It comes from environment agencies, multilateral nature funds and conservation philanthropy, often through competitive calls with defined regions. Applicants are usually asked for baseline surveys, local partners and indicators that show ecological change.