Background Global Fund for Children (GFC) helps bold leaders build organizations with innovative programs that empower children and youth. In small community organizations that assert the rights of children and youth, GFC is often the only external funder that finds, funds and advises grassroots organizations that have never received such support. Our flexible funding approach means that we fund our partners' life-changing programs for children and youth and their organizational development. GFC's actions of scouting, granting, and providing capacity development support to our grassroots partners are guided by our commitment to recognizing the knowledge and experiences of local community organizations and uplifting the agency of children and youth to have an active voice in the spaces that shape their lives. By combining flexible funding with expert assistance, access to networks, and support from our program staff, GFC facilitates transformative local solutions to address the challenges facing marginalized youth worldwide. Since its founding nearly 25 years ago, GFC has invested almost $56 million in more than 1,000 grassroots organizations around the world, strengthening thousands of communities and improving the lives of more than 11 million children and youth. On average, our partners' budgets triple during their relationship with GFC, allowing them to expand and enhance their programs. Our partners also become national leaders in children's rights, influencing government policy to defend and protect hundreds of thousands of children around the world.
GFC promotes children's and young people's rights in four general focus areas—education, freedom from violence and exploitation, gender equality, and youth empowerment—and in four geographic regions—the Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe, and Eurasia. Our partners often work on the intersection of several focus areas. GFC seeks an experienced Research partner to lead the design and support the implementation of a Global Impact Study (GIS) to understand the long-term effect that GFC's trust-based model of flexible funding has on local community organizations and the indirect impact of this model on children, young people, and communities they are part of. GFC appreciates the challenges inherent in directly attributing changes in our partners' complex environments, and we aim to tell a nuanced story of our contribution to change.
Purpose of Study and Key Questions GFC's Five-Year Vision (2022 – 2026) outlines two guiding stars: i. Community-Driven Systems Change and ii. Children and Youth as Leaders and Changemakers. We focus on partners who seek to understand the root causes of issues and collaborate with peers and others to work toward transformative long-term change. They are both working towards changing individual lives and contributing to change on a larger scale. As children and young people are an integral part of their communities and society, we see an urgent need to engage them in intergenerational dialogue and amplify their voices. We try to listen deeply to the youth-led organizations we work with and seek opportunities for young people to influence our work.
The study timeline is to be determined together with the Research team. Ideally:
The Research partner should have the following:
The research team will explore impact through a lens of curiosity and openness, going well beyond traditional approaches to measuring change. The researchers will play a key role in furthering the scope of and co-designing the study. They will also assist in selecting and training the appropriate research consultants in the four regions where the study will take place. They will also explore options for incorporating participatory aspects into the research process, ideally including young people. The following is a draft list of overarching questions that the study should focus on. During the design phase, the research team, together with GFC, will refine the questions based on the interest, priorities, and possibilities that emerge:
Usage and Audiences GFC was founded in 1993. Across much of its long history, GFC's model and approach stayed relatively consistent. A turning point was marked in 2017 when GFC began experimenting with variations on its model, resulting in significant programmatic changes across the subsequent years. The GIS will help GFC understand the longer-term impact of its work with grantee partners and, tangentially, the changes that children, young people, and the communities they are part of experience. The learnings will allow GFC to celebrate the successes of the last six years and identify improvement areas in its programs, strategy, and approach. The GIS will inform future initiatives and GFC's overall approach to working with partners. The study will also be useful for peers in the philanthropic ecosystem in understanding the nuances of funding local community organizations in a trusting and flexible way to achieve lasting social change. The study will also be used as an opportunity to influence funders and the international development spaces at large to examine the possible benefits of investing in local community organizations.
Methodology and Sample Specific methodologies to be applied in the study will be determined together by the research team and GFC. However, GFC expects the research team to suggest an approach and overall research methods in their proposal, which will serve as the kick-off point for the design conversation with the successful candidate. GFC values mixed methods approaches, combining the use of quantitative and qualitative data and applying participatory evaluation techniques where relevant and beneficial. GFC is keen to work with a team composed at least in part of young researchers who consider engaging young people in the study if and when it is relevant. A research plan will be used to demonstrate a clear understanding and realistic plan of work for the study, checking that the research plan agrees with the TOR and the overall GFC vision for the study. The specific sample of partners to participate in the study will depend on the scope of the study co-designed by the research team and GFC. Still, it should include a group of partners from each of the four regions where GFC works – Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Eurasia. In its learning and evaluation approach, GFC values engaging partners in learning processes in a collaborative way and would expect the appropriate research partner to share this view and practice this approach.
Deliverables The study will result in a utilization-focused final report that will likely include briefs on several topics that can be used both independently and as part of the complete final report. The final report will also require a presentation (or separate presentations) to GFC staff, partners who participated in the study, and possibly, external audiences.
How to Apply Interested applicants are asked to submit a CV and a proposal of the suggested approach of no more than 4-5 pages (not including the CV). If applying as a team, please include the CV of the lead researcher . The proposal should outline specifically how the applicant would approach the design of this Global Impact Study. In your proposal, you may want to include a sample methodology, proposed team composition, a couple of sample research questions, an approach for selecting a sample of GFC's partners, recruiting and training local researchers in the different regions, etc.
In addition to the proposal, please provide two client references, ideally for related projects. The references should include contact information and a brief work description. Applicants should have experience in one or more regions where GFC works. Preference will be given to applicants who can prove that their evaluation approach is founded on trusting, engaging, and empowering the participants of the programs they are evaluating.
Applicants are also asked to submit a detailed budget for the work. Please note that the overall budget for the Learning Journey is USD 200,000 – 225,000. This will include the design of the GIS, accompaniment by the research partner throughout the lifespan of the study, finding, hiring, and training local researchers in the various locations where GFC and the research partner identify GFC's partners to participate in the study, travel, costs associated with producing the report and disseminating the materials, possible stipends for participating partners, etc.
The sample of countries where partners are located will be determined together during the design of the study, but here are a few examples of possible countries in the different regions where we work that could be considered for budgeting purposes: Bangladesh, Guatemala, India Mexico, Moldova, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Uganda. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until September 30, 2023.
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