Robert Carr Fund/Call for Expression of Interest: RCF’s Participatory Grant-Making Model Documentation

Call for Expression of Interest: RCF's Participatory Grant-Making Model Documentation

Robert Carr Fund seeks external consultant to document RCF’s participatory grant-making model and produce a report for public dissemination.
September 26, 2022

 

Terms of reference:  Consultant to conduct RCF’s participatory grant-making model documentation

The Robert Carr Fund is the world’s leading international fund focused on funding regional and global networks led by and involving and serving inadequately served populations (ISPs).
As a cooperative effort of donors and civil society, the Robert Carr Fund is structured to maximize participation, empowerment, equity, transparency and accountability in our fundraising and grant making.
The Robert Carr Fund works to mobilize and deliver core and strategic funding for regional and global networks to achieve four outcomes:

  • Protecting and promoting human rights,
  • Improving access to HIV services,
  • Mobilizing and monitoring national and international funding for human rights and health,
  • Building capacity of civil society and community networks.

Our goal:  Improved health, social inclusion and wellbeing for inadequately served populations (ISPs).

1. RCF Participatory Grant-making Background 
Since its inception in 2010, The Robert Carr Fund was conceptualized and created through a global dialogue among civil society networks and donors. The Fund’s governance, grant making, and monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) all emphasize civil society participation and leadership, and openness to a diversity of perspectives, leaders, and grantees.
As a collective of donors and civil society, the Robert Carr Fund accommodates multiple perspectives, priorities and capacities in our fundraising, grant making and grantee support. In all of our work, the Robert Carr Fund is committed to empowerment and equity across gender, geographic region, and all of the diverse populations represented and served by the Fund.
For the most recent grant making rounds the Robert Carr Fund funding cycle is based on the RCF Strategic Plan, developed together with civil society and funding partners during the joint participatory process, where all stakeholders involved provide voice their priorities and provide input.
After grants are made, the Fund regularly convenes grantees to meet, exchange ideas, develop strategies, and build solidarity and collaborations.
The Robert Carr Fund is governed by an International Steering Committee (ISC) and advised by a Program Advisory Panel (PAP).
The ISC,  sets strategic direction for the Fund, makes decisions about funding priorities and the framework for monitoring, evaluation and learning, decides on funding allocations with advice of the PAP, supports fundraising, oversees implementation of RCF activities, including the timing and methods of grant making and grantee reporting, and approves the Fund’s annual work plan and budget, annual reports, financial statements and audits. The ISC consists of five donor representatives and five civil society members, with additional non-voting observers from UNAIDS, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Malaria, and Tuberculosis, Aidsfonds (as the Fund Management Agent), and civil society partners.
The Program Advisory Panel (PAP) reviews grant proposals and makes recommendations for funding to the ISC, and also provides on-going programmatic advice to the Robert Carr Fund about opportunities for funding, grantee capacity building and technical support, and monitoring and evaluation.
The PAP consists of nine members and up to five reserve members. PAP members are selected by the ISC for their experience in grant making, policy work, advocacy and programming related to health, human rights and inadequately served populations.
Together the ISC and PAP support the Robert Carr Fund with diverse perspectives, a collective and transparent decision-making process, and a mandate of accountability to the Fund’s donors and to the goal of improving health, inclusion and wellbeing for ISPs.
The role of the RCF Secretariat is to implement the work of the Robert Carr Fund, including raising and securing donor contributions, administering grant making processes, convening grantees, managing the Fund’s monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL), providing logistic and administrative support to the ISC and the PAP, providing reports to donors and other stakeholders.
24 grantees comprised of 81 networks are currently funded by the RCF.

2. Objectives and target audiences 
The Robert Carr Fund seeks external consultant to document, structure and analyse the RCF participatory grant-making model, reflecting on the model’s value, benefits, and challenges.  The executive summary and the final report will be used for public presentation to its current and potential donors, partners and grantees as well as to the wider international donor community.

The RCF’s participatory grant-making model documentation objectives:

  • Document the model utilized by the RCF to conduct grant-making.
    Gather evidence of RCF’s leadership and legacy in terms of participatory grant-making. approach and providing core and flexible funding.
    Showcase specific stories of change of global and regional networks under the RCF’s support.
  • Provide arguments to promote participatory approaches in grant-making and in providing core and flexible funding among other stakeholders.
  • Provide arguments to promote core and flexible funding as a best practice for funding networks and community led responses.

The report is to cover the following issues:

  • Benefits of the RCF’s participatory grant-making principles and its values, as well as benefits of providing core and flexible funding.
  • How does participatory nature and core and flexible approach of grantmaking affect networks’ and communities’ sustainability and resilience (with specific cases discussed).
  • Description and structure of RCF’s best practices of community involvement and analysis of their efficiency.
  • Lessons learned and tips to the donor community on developing participatory approach to grantmaking and on providing core and flexible funding.

RCF’s participatory grant-making model documentation target audiences:

  • Current and potential donors of RCF.
  • Donor and philanthropy communities in the sphere of HIV and health rights.
  • Governments and international organizations in the global Health and Rights movement.
    The consultant is to conduct desk research of the RCF’s Statuary documentation and Governance principles and undertake in-depth interviews with RCF’s current and previous ISC and PAP members, donor representatives, key partners and grantees (the final list of the KI’s to be provided by the RCF Secretariat) to learn more details about participatory grant-making model and its characteristic features.

3. Deliverables 
The consultant is to provide a short executive summary of the model in the form of presentation slides together with a minimum of 5 quotes from key informants, which could be used for public dissemination.
And finally, the consultant is to submit the detailed final report based on the interview findings and analysis, 15 pages maximum.  The final structure and content of the deliverables to be finalized with the RCF focal point.
The following deliverables are expected within the duration of the consultancy:

  • October – November, 2022:  desk research and interviews conducted
  • November 14, 2022: First draft of the report is presented for discussion with the RCF Secretariat.
  • November – December 2022: Review of report and development of the Executive summary presentation
  • November 28, 2022: Executive summary presentation slides and quotes are submitted
  • December 1, 2022: Presentation of the RCF participatory grant-making model to donors and partners
  • December 16, 2022:  Final report submission

4. Timeline and budget 
The consultancy will take place in the course of October 2022 to December 2022.  Deliverables are to be performed and finalized in accordance with RCF’s work plan and in consultation with the RCF focal point. For further information please see the (indicative) timeline below.
The Call for Expression of Interest for RCF’s participatory grant-making model documentation is published on September 26, 2022.

Deadline for Expressions of Interest submissions is October 3, 2022.  
Shortlisted consultants will be interviewed in the week of 3 to October, 2022. The selected consultant will be informed on October 7, 2022. The consultancy will start on October 10, 2022.
The Expression of Interest for RCF’s participatory grant-making model documentation must include consultant’s recent CV, letter of intent, preliminary consultancy workplan with daily rate indication and a short proposal of consultant’s approach to designing the documentation of the model.

5. Payment schedule 
Payment of services shall be made upon submission of the consultancy deliverables. The consultant shall provide a timesheet and an invoice no later than 10 days after the submission of the consultancy deliverables.

6. Important dates   
September 26, 2022  – ToR announcement is published and disseminated
October 3-7, 2022  –  Potential candidates interviewed and selected
October 10, 2022  – Consultant starts the assignment
November 14, 2022 – The draft report is submitted for discussion.
November 28, 2022 – The executive summary and quotes are submitted.
December 16, 2022 – Final report is submitted.

Deadline for expression of interest: 10am CEST October 3, 2022.

Any questions and expression of interest submissions should be directed to abezverkha@robertcarrfund.org
Submissions beyond the deadline will not be taken into consideration.