Request for Proposals (RFP):

Youth and Young Adult Grantmaking Strategy Process Evaluation

Release Date: April 6, 2022

Virtual Bidders Conference: April 14, 2022 (view the recording, review the slides, and read the Q&A document.)

Deadline for Submission: May 4, 2022 by 5:00 PM ET.

 
 

Overview

This Request for Proposals (RFP) seeks a qualified external evaluator to partner in co-creating and executing an evaluation of a Youth and Young Adult Grantmaking initiative (YYA). The purpose of this developmental process evaluation is to improve upon the YYA grantmaking strategy by understanding the model itself and the experiences of each stakeholder group participating in the pilot program. The evaluation should accomplish the following:

  1. Help stakeholders learn in real time to inform strategic direction;

  2. Explicate the initiative's components and underlying theory of change; and

  3. Assess the implementation of the initiative at all stages to determine the degree to which the initiative made progress toward achieving the intended objectives.

This developmental process evaluation is a part of a larger YYA evaluation strategy being conducted by Baltimore’s Promise. We are seeking a creative evaluation partner to work collaboratively with our evaluation team. The chosen evaluation partner will have access to the support and capacity of the YYA evaluation and management team in completing this work; working closely with our Director of Community Impact and Data Analysts, in consultation with our youth grantmakers and YYA management team members, to plan and conduct this evaluation. 

In this partnership we will co-create the evaluation, working together to think through and implement the evaluation rather than just providing approval on finished products put forth by the evaluation partner. In this partnership we value equity not only in our evaluation, but also in how we work with others. The right evaluation partner will prioritize youth voice, have experience in intergenerational collaboration, awareness and experience navigating power imbalances in diverse groups, and be flexible as the program is co-created with youth Grantmakers.

The deadline to submit proposals is May 4, 2022 by 5:00 PM ET. All materials must be submitted online via Formstack. Funding decisions are expected to be announced on or about by May 25, 2022.

Desired Skills and Experience

While few partner profiles and proposals will meet all criteria below, the following qualifications are key areas of consideration in proposal review and selection. We also welcome partnerships or collaborations between individual consultants.

  • Robust experience conducting evaluations related to youth partnerships, philanthropic partnerships, participatory grantmaking, or other related funding or youth development models; 

  • Experience with participatory research and working with youth and engaging with diverse stakeholder groups using participatory methods;

  • Technical knowledge, skills and expertise in evaluation design, concepts, and approaches, and evaluating complexity, in particular strong qualitative and quantitative research and analytical skills;

  • Experience partnering with organizations to design a learning and evaluation framework; 

  • Strong experience with equity-focused, culturally responsive evaluation, participatory processes to engage stakeholders as participants, contributors, and co-learners;

  • Ability to integrate feedback from stakeholders at multiple levels of responsibility and participation;

  • Commitment to and demonstration of diversity, equity, and inclusion in learning and evaluation team;

  • Strong communications and storytelling skills;

  • Willing to be iterative and adaptable to scope, pace, and benchmarks in response to the unexpected; and 

  • Experience facilitating strategic learning sessions.

Submitting A Proposal

Interested evaluators must submit their proposals via Formstack. The proposal should include the following information in no more than 10 pages:

  • A brief description of the organization including capacity, qualifications, and relevant experience delivering the specified services outlined above in the “Scope of Work” section;

  • Description of proposed evaluation strategy, activities, and methodology. Based on your understanding of the initiative and this RFP, please share how you would approach conducting this evaluation.

    • Describe how you would approach evaluating the initiative. The description should demonstrate an understanding of the initiative.

    • Describe your approach to facilitate learning by relevant stakeholders and to inform the initiative’s strategic direction and implementation.

    • Describe your approach to working with young people, youth-adult partnerships, and participatory research.

    • What is your strategy for obtaining and integrating feedback from diverse stakeholders?

    • How would you incorporate an equity lens into your evaluation approach?

  •  Any products you have developed for and/or with young people as your primary audience. 

In addition to the proposal content, you must also submit the following information as separate documents:

  • CVs or resumes of key staff

  • Short biography of key staff

  • Proposed budget. Please structure this budget based on the deliverables outlined above with an estimate of hours required for each deliverable as a part of the description that provides context for your cost proposal.

  • Up to two samples of work demonstrating experience with similar work that includes a final report with recommendations. We prefer examples that include data informed recommendations and/or results of real-time actionable learning. 

  • Two professional references who can speak to the consultant(s) experience doing similar work including name, phone number, email address, scope of services provided, and length of service.

Questions about the RFP

Baltimore’s Promise hosted a Virtual Bidders Conference on April 14, 2022, to review the RFP and address questions from attendees. You can view the recording and review the slides. There is also a Q&A document available to download.

Applicants may also submit written questions about the RFP via email to Dr. Lindsay Johnson, Director of Community Impact, at lindsay(at)baltimorespromise(dot)org. Please use the subject heading “YYA Grantmaking Process Eval RFP”. All questions must be submitted by April 20. 2022 by 5:00 PM ET.

All questions and their responses will be posted on this page on or about April 25, 2022.