Evaluation Tender
Introduction to the Power Up! Project
Power Up! is a three-year project funded by Comic Relief and delivered by Women for Refugee Women (London) and Refugee Women Connect (Liverpool). The project is aimed at developing the capacity of asylum-seeking and refugee women in the UK to advocate on gender-based violence and the need for a fairer asylum process, building a movement of women with lived experience that can connect with decision makers in order to effect change. The ambition of the project can be broken down into three core elements:

Empowerment: Increasing confidence and agency through activities that include rights and entitlements workshops and building skills in advocacy, research and campaigning;

Influence: Supporting advocates to raise awareness and influence positive narrative change through research and awareness raising in the media and online;

Change: Connecting asylum-seeking and refugee women with those in positions of power to effect positive change in the asylum system.

The main activities of the funded project include:
- Sisters Not Strangers Coalition – UK-based network of organisations and groups supporting asylum-seeking and refugee women. Together we campaign against hostile asylum policies. See more at https://www.sistersnotstrangers.com/.
- Refugee Women Connect Advocacy Group – Expert by Experience group based in the North West involved in advocacy and influencing, peer research and training for other lived experience advocates.
- London Forum – a group of asylum-seeking and refugee women promoting advocacy and wellbeing, based in London.
As the second year of the project comes to an end in August, we are looking for an experienced evaluator to speak with members of the three above-mentioned groups, as well as with staff and volunteers from both organisations, in order to measure our success and feed into our Year 2 report.
Aims of the evaluation
- To assess the effectiveness of the Power Up funded work over the specified period against the outputs and outcomes set out in the project proposal to Comic Relief.
- To consider outcomes and outputs using Comic Relief’s power framework, assessing changes in; agency of individuals, power of movement, narrative power and institutional power1
- To assess successes and challenges, making recommendations about how these should shape the final year of the funded project.

Key deliverables (outputs) and budget:
1. To submit a written evaluation report by 15th September 2021, ready to feed into our Year 3 grant reporting.
2. To make recommendations, based on findings, for the design of the final year project delivery, including a participatory evaluation led by the women themselves.
3. To present findings and recommendations of the interim evaluation to asylum-seeking and refugee women who have contributed to it, in a format accessible to them.
4. The proposed budget is £2,000.

Timescale
Tender deadline Thursday 15th July
Shortlisting Friday 16th July

1 In what ways did Comic Relief’s POWER UP contribute towards shifts in girls and women’s power? https://assets.ctfassets.net/zsfivwzfgl3t/37b92Qfj8fniplVyHRjfyd/26b378fdc558c6fea0076dbdd7b213c5/Power_Up_Outcome_Harvesting_Report_2021.pdf

Interviews Tuesday 20th July
Interim evaluation report for the period September 2019-August 2021 to be submitted by Wednesday 15th September 2021.

Person Specification
We are looking for someone with the following experience:
Essential:
- Extensive experience of monitoring and evaluation
- Understanding of the UK’s asylum system and the impact of hostile environment policies
- Experience of working collaboratively with women who have experienced multiple intersecting vulnerabilities
Desirable:
- Lived experience of seeking asylum or of migration
- An understanding of campaigns and movement-building
- An understanding of power frameworks and outcome harvesting

Recruitment
Please submit a CV, a cover letter explaining how you meet the person specification, and an outline of how you would approach the brief (including key milestones and perceived challenges) to [email protected].
Interviews will take place on 20th July 2021 for immediate start.