Request for proposals – Learning Coordination on Comic Relief’s new funding initiative ‘Levelling the Field 2.0’ 171 views2 applications

Comic Relief is commissioning a consultant/team to act as Learning Coordinator(s) on our new funding programme, Levelling the Field 2.0. Organisations/partnerships in Malawi, Rwanda and Zambia are being funded for up to three years to tackle inequalities affecting women and girls through sport for change approaches. The Learning Coordinator(s) will work with this cohort to facilitate, surface and share learning that can improve practice and inform programming.

Over a period of 41 months, the appointed Learning Coordinator(s) will work directly with this cohort of 8-10 funded partners (and their implementation partners), delivering participatory collective learning activities and developing engaging learning products. We are open to a range of approaches and the learning programme should be refined in consultation with the cohort itself. The learning questions cannot be fully defined at this stage as the grants have not yet been made. However, we have identified some potential learning focuses:

• How can partnerships be mobilised to have the greatest impact, bringing together actors in the women and girls sector and the sport for change sector?
• What are the particular strengths of sport for change approaches in engaging women and girls, promoting safe access to support and reducing harmful gender stereotypes?
• Which social issues affecting women and girls are sport for change methodologies most effective in addressing? For example, are sport for change approaches more effective in promoting sexual and reproductive health than in the economic empowerment of women and girls?
• How can the work being funded feed into wider systems, inform referral pathways and bring about longer-term, more sustainable change?
• How can vulnerable women and girls be safeguarded, in the context of sport for change approaches and the Covid-19 pandemic?
• How can co-production ensure that women and girls are involved in aspects of programme design, delivery and adaptation? What does good/bad practice look like and what are the benefits of a more participatory approach?

The budget for this work over 41 months (Feb21 to Jun24) is £70,000 (GBP) including taxes and expenses. We are particularly interested in proposals from consultants/teams that reflect the organisations being funded, as follows:

• We are only considering proposals from individuals/teams that are based in Malawi, Rwanda and Zambia or neighbouring countries. If you are tendering as a team, the lead consultant (this is the individual leading on the majority of the deliverables and managing the contract and budget) should be based in the Eastern/Southern Africa region, although other members of the team may be based elsewhere.
• We will prioritise proposals from individuals/teams that are representative of the groups that our funded partners are working with: Women and girls. In the funding call itself, we advised prospective applicants that ‘we particularly welcome applications from women-led organisations.’ We are keen that this learning contract also reflects this.

For more details, please refer to the terms of reference, which can be accessed:

• Via LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6752239199690211328/

• Via this link: https://comicrelief.box.com/s/qxzi5w13urs4p0efb8oxkj4u4oo94z9t