We are looking for a consultant to help conduct an end of grant call evaluation, to evaluate a portfolio of projects under Cohort 1 of the Digital Action Lab. The evaluation will collate the overall results achieved, assess contribution of the various project to the objectives of the Digital Action Lab and provide recommendations to improve the Lab.

Location: Global/Remote

Duration: 15 – 20 workdays between 1 May to 15 June 2025   

About Us

CIVICUS is a growing global alliance of more than 15,000 members in 175 countries. We work together to expand civic and democratic space. We strive to promote excluded voices, particularly from the global south.

Our Strategic Plan is built on the assumption that we are stronger when we work together. Expanding civic and democratic space requires a collective effort where our members and allies design and test sustainable solutions and deliver impact at scale.

To make this happen, CIVICUS works on five core objectives:

1. Generate timely knowledge and analyses on civil society actions in relation to civic and democratic space
2. Coordinate targeted advocacy to defend and expand civic and democratic space
3. Contribute to stronger emergency and sustained support ecosystems for activists and organisations at risk
4. Strengthen public discourse on civic space and reinforce civil society narratives
5. Build counter power with the most affected groups and their movement

About the Digital Democracy Initiative (DDI) and Digital Action Lab (DAL)

The Digital Democracy Initiative (DDI) is a programme that emerged from Denmark’s Tech for Democracy initiative in response to the shrinking democratic and civic space. The initiative is funded by Denmark & the European Union. Its objective is “to promote and protect local inclusive democratic space in the digital era”. The initiative is implemented by a Consortium of Partners comprising Access Now, CIVICUS, Digital Defenders Partnership, Global Focus, European Partnership for Democracy, Fundo de Mujeres del Sur, Witness, and IWGIA. The Digital Democracy Initiative – Project 1: Enabling and Amplifying Action for Civic Space and Inclusive Democracy Project is a constituent Project within the Digital Democracy Initiative Programme.

The Project is a continuation of work to iterate a digital strategy for the CIVICUS alliance that supports diverse civil society actors in the global south to engage in digital civic activism that expands civic and democratic freedoms, safely and securely, and on their own terms.  It is also a response to the 2022-2027 CIVICUS Strategic Plan, which sets forth our institutional objectives to contribute to sustained support ecosystems for smaller, less formal groups and movements in the global south, and to build counter-power with civil society groups who are dually affected by structural discrimination and restricted civic space.

The Project has a specific focus on supporting and connecting local civil society that works to expand civic and democratic freedoms, especially underrepresented or marginalised actors, including women, youth, and informal civil society.  The Project defines “local civil society” as composed of diverse civil society actors (individuals, organisations, human rights defenders) established and operating in their own country, led by and primarily accountable to the local constituents they serve or represent. The Project focuses on local civil society actors in global south countries where civic freedoms are restricted according to the CIVICUS Monitor (especially places with ‘Obstructed’ or ‘Repressed’ rankings).

The Project prioritizes investment in infrastructure and supports ecosystems for locally-led action on democracy and civic space. CIVICUS will utilise its strong relationships with global south civil society working globally to build local infrastructure and provide local leadership for this initiative. By taking this approach, the Project prioritises local knowledge and decision-making and centres local actors as responders to capacity needs and leaders in determining funding priorities and recipients.

A key component of the Digital Democracy Initiative (DDI) is the Digital Action Lab (DAL).

The Lab’s mission is to empower civic leaders and activists to leverage digital tools for democratic processes and inclusive participation. The lab aims to support civil society partners in countries with more restricted civic space, that are actively working on inclusive democracy and civic space, including historically excluded groups like rural communities, indigenous peoples, women, youth, and the LGBT+ community. These partners collaborate with CIVICUS to shape and test different digital support and interventions, with the specific aim of strengthening their organising, advocacy and campaign capacities and outcomes.

The DAL places a strong emphasis on enhancing collaborative action in the participant’s local contexts and inform wider DDI and CIVICUS work on building counterpower. The participants will be supported to act as bridges between the DAL and the communities they represent, ensuring the activities are relevant to and outcomes shared with a broader audience. The DAL is organized along cohorts with each cohort comprising of approximately of 7-10 local organisations each receiving subgrants and accompaniment to develop a pilot project in the Lab. The first cohort of the Digital Action Lab comprised of 8 local civil society organizations with a total grant portfolio of $160,000.

Scope and Goal

The purpose of the assignment is to evaluate the portfolio of projects under Cohort 1 of the Digital Action Lab to collate overall results achieved and the contribution of the various projects to the objectives of the Digital Action Lab and DDI.

The specific objectives of the evaluation are as follows:

• Assess the extent to which the specific projects under Cohort 1 achieved their respective objectives, as set out in their project documents. This will include identifying factors which contributed to the achievement or non-achievement of results as well as validating evidence and data of achievement reported by sub-grantees.
• Assess the extent to which the various projects contributed to the objectives of the Digital Action Lab as well as the Digital Democracy Initiative.
• Conduct a brief outcome mapping to identify changes and results made which were not planned for during the project design stage.
• Assess the effectiveness of project implementation strategies used by sub-grantees.
• Using the Digital Action Lab as a case, assess the extent to which assumptions underpinning the Digital Democracy Initiative are valid or otherwise.
• Draw out lessons and recommendations with the aim to improve the implementation of the Digital Action Lab.
• Develop Case Studies reflecting any significant change made by the projects under the Digital Action Lab.

Deliverables

The key deliverables for this consultancy will include the following:

• Conduct a desk review of DAL and DDI project documents (project design, results framework, baseline report) and literature in the digital democracy landscape.
• Design a methodology and evaluation assessment framework to be used in objectively evaluating the performance of each project.
• Submit an Inception Report and hold an inception meeting to present initial insights, methodology and tools.
• Conduct a document review and analysis of relevant documents as basis for addressing the evaluation objectives. Key documents include but not limited to the Call for Proposal document, sub-grantees project briefs, quarterly and final reports (Narrative and Financial), learning papers, case studies, among others.
• Conduct interviews with DAL participants and project beneficiaries to validate findings and also fill in potential gaps from the document review as well as map outcomes achieved that were not anticipated at project design.
• Submit a draft evaluation report for review and input.
• Produce an evaluation report which should respond to all the specific objectives of this evaluation including case studies. Consultants will facilitate a session with the DDI Project Team to gather further input for finalisation of the report.
• Prepare a presentation on the findings of the evaluation for dissemination which includes a summary of the evaluation methodology used, main findings, and any recommendations for the final evaluation.

Desired knowledge and Experience of the consultant

• Technical knowledge, skills and expertise in evaluation concepts and approaches particularly outcome mapping and qualitative approaches.
• Prior experience in conducting evaluations of this nature ideally within digital and democratic spaces, and at their intersection as well as grant funded project evaluations
• Experience with developmental evaluation approaches and behavioural spillover is advantageous, e.g. Outcomes Harvesting.
• Programme and/or evaluation experience in the international development, civil society ideally with field experience in the Global South.
• Knowledge of civil society resourcing and locally led development initiatives and frameworks to enhance local leadership in the sector such as Paris Declaration (2005), the Busan Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation (2011), the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2015), the Grand Bargain (2016), the Grand Bargain 2.0 (2021), the OECD-DAC Recommendation on Enabling Civil Society in Development Co-operation and Humanitarian Assistance (2021), and the Locally Led Adaptation Principles (2021).
• Strong background in developing evaluation tools (including online surveys and focus group/interview guides).
• Strong analytical skills to support both qualitative and quantitative research.
• Excellent writing skills and ability to be concise and clear – providing actionable analysis and recommendations in English, with other UN languages an advantage.
• Ability to communicate and meaningfully engage with diverse stakeholders through inclusive and participatory MEL approaches.

• Working with Microsoft SharePoint and Teams (all work will be required to use Teams and SharePoint and if needed CIVICUS’s Miro account). All interviews, data, graphic files should be created and stored through our approved IT systems. Consultants will need to enable 2FA/MFA to improve security of these accounts. CIVICUS’s IT will support consultants if needed to enable these security mechanisms and install needed software on their computers.

Timeline

We anticipate that the assignment will be conducted between 15 – 20 workdays starting from 1^st April with all deliverables expected to be completed by 15^th June 2025

Application Process

Applications should include the following (no longer than 12 pages) in ONE merged PDF document:

• Motivation, technical approach, workplan for this consultancy
• Example of similar evaluation conducted for an International Civil Society project with preference for the Digital Democracy space.
• Capabilities and experience, including CVs and two contactable references
• Financial quotation, including your proposed daily remuneration rate in US$, number of workdays envisioned for this consultancy and any additional costs.

Interested consultants should submit a proposal for the anticipated contract by email to digitaldemocracy@civicus.org with the subject line: Proposal for Digital Action Lab Evaluation. Applications should be received not later than 18^th April2025.

Please read the application process carefully and follow all steps exactly. Only applicants submitting the application in the required format and components will be considered.

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