The Freedom Fund (freedomfund.org) is a global fund with the aim of helping end modern slavery, working in the countries and sectors where it is most prevalent. Through our investments and support, we aim to shift power so that frontline organisations and communities can shape and drive the change required to bring modern slavery to an end.
The Survivor Leadership Fund (SLF) is a pioneering initiative by the Freedom Fund that is aimed at shifting power and resources to survivor-led organisations working to end modern slavery. It provides unrestricted grants, allowing these organisations to use the funds as they see fit to enhance their capabilities and improve their impacts. Since its launch in 2021, the SLF has been rolled out in thirteen countries: Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Nepal, Peru, the Philippines, Tanzania, Thailand and Uganda.
The Freedom Fund is seeking applicants to conduct an external evaluation of the SLF to examine its impact and influence, including exploring decision-making processes, assessing programmatic impacts and its sustainability, uncovering distinctive advantages and obstacles, and identifying potential areas for improvement from the grantees’ perspectives. The evaluation will aim to yield key insights to inform the future funding strategies of the SLF so that it can better serve the Freedom Fund’s mission in supporting an anti-slavery movement led by lived experience.
The selected applicant will assess the SLF’s impact against the outcomes that were developed during its latest theory of change framework review, which will serve as the main guideline for the evaluation. The evaluation will be conducted in two phases (further details provided in the Research approach and methodology section). The Freedom Fund anticipates this project will take up to ten months, with planning commencing in April 2024 and the final report and dissemination activities due by January 2025.
Individual researchers, organisations and consortia are invited to submit proposals for this evaluation. The Freedom Fund is particularly interested in working with consultants/teams that can demonstrate (a) having strong research and evaluation experience (b) having strong local links/partnerships in at least six countries where SLF is present, preferably in Brazil, Ethiopia, Indonesia and Nepal (c) a gender-balanced team, if applicable, ideally with at least half of the team members being women and non-binary individuals, and (d) strong commitment/experience of working with communities affected by human rights violations. The lead applicant must be a legally registered entity according to the laws of the country in which it operates and should demonstrate high levels of ethical standards, prioritise safeguarding considerations, and apply trauma-informed approaches in its research methodologies and processes. The applicant needs to have experience working globally, and preferably have established or previous collaborators in the countries of interests. These collaborators can be engaged as subcontractors for this project.
A fee of up to USD 100,000 has been made available for this evaluation. For more details, please download the RFP from our website: https://freedomfund.org/wp-content/uploads/SLFExternalEvaluationRFP_2024_03.pdf
How to apply
Proposals should be submitted via email to Kehinde Ojo with “Proposal for External Evaluation: SLF” SLF as the email subject line at kojo@freedomfund.org no later than 26th March 2024, 10am UK time. Proposals should be submitted in English and in Microsoft Office or PDF format. Proposals should be no more than 5 pages, plus CVs and annexes.
Interested parties should prepare a proposal of no more than 5 pages, plus CVs and annexes. Proposals should contain the following sections:
- Short biography of principal investigator(s) and key team members, outlining relevant subject matter expertise and experience leading similar evaluation projects. CV of the principal investigator should be included in the annex. Past report(s) from similar projects could be included as links or in a separate annex.
- Research approach, addressing the topics listed in the ‘Research approach and methodology’ section of this RFP.
- Team structure, defining the role and time commitment of key project team members.
- High-level work plan for key project phases and deliverables.
- Proposed budget in USD, containing the details listed in the ‘Budget’ section of this RFP, for both phase one and two of the evaluation.
The proposal must be written in English and sent electronically in Microsoft Office or PDF format.