Request for proposals: Independent Evaluation of the Media Freedom Coalition At Thomson Reuters Foundation

The Media Freedom Coalition (MFC) is a partnership of over 50 countries from 6 continents working together to advocate for media freedom and the safety of journalists.

Established in 2019, the MFC now works with civil society, legal experts, international organisations and journalists to advance and protect media freedom.

The MFC is now commissioning an evaluation, this purpose of which is to assess the effectiveness of the Media Freedom Coalition over the past 5 years and, through this, to help the MFC to learn lessons and improve its efforts towards the promotion of media freedom so that it can have greater impact in the years to come.

Please read the full terms of reference here: https://mediafreedomcoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/MFC-evaluation-2024-TOR.pdf

The objectives of the evaluation are to:

• Assess the extent to which the MFC has meaningfully contributed towards its goal
• Assess the sustainability of the MFC’s results to date
• Assess the quality of the MFC’s coordination and collaboration, both among the MFC’s key stakeholders, and between the MFC and other relevant initiatives
• Provide recommendations in the above areas to assist the MFC in maximising the effectiveness of its work

The evaluation is being commissioned by the MFC Secretariat, which is hosted by the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Approach

Teams that bid for this evaluation are welcome to propose a methodology that they believe is most appropriate for this assignment. However we do expect that this would include interviews with the key MFC stakeholders outlined above, as well as other individuals who have interacted with the MFC, who the MFC has aimed to benefit (such as journalists and media workers themselves) or experts in the media freedom field or related fields. Evaluation proposals would be expected to consider how to incorporate a diversity of stakeholders and perspectives, with consideration given to gender, sectoral and geographical diversity. Engagement with all stakeholders, including people the MFC aims to benefit, should align with the principles of respect, participation and inclusion, and feedback on the evaluation process itself should be encouraged and welcomed from stakeholders that the evaluation engages with.

After an evaluation team is selected the MFC Secretariat will be able to assist with connecting the evaluation team with MFC stakeholders based on the team’s sampling strategy.

It will be vital for the evaluation team to incorporate a do-no-harm approach into their evaluation. For example, through interaction with individuals involved in the MFC, the team may collect information that would have the potential to cause harm if shared more widely. This might include details of a “case of concern” in which a journalist is under threat. Proposals should briefly explain how they would apply a do-no-harm approach in practice.

Prospective evaluation teams have the option to propose fieldwork. For example, there are countries in which embassies of MFC countries have been working together to promote media freedom, and these countries may be good locations to explore the MFC’s progress to date. Countries in which embassies of MFC members have worked together on media freedom include Bangladesh, the Philippines, Mexico, Cameroon and Vietnam. There are other countries where embassies of MFC members have been active on a more private basis, which can be discussed in confidence with the successful evaluation team.

The evaluation report may feature case studies, i.e. specific examples of MFC work or interventions alongside associated outcomes and the degree to which the MFC’s work contributed to them, and the corresponding lessons learned.

Potential challenges and limitations include:

• Limited availability of MFC stakeholders, as well as short-notice changes to availability
• Staff turnover – for example, staff positions in embassies can turnover quite frequently and this will affect institutional memory
• Coordination with many diverse stakeholders over many time zones
• Some interviews/communications may need to be conducted in a language other than English
• Discussion of sensitive topics and the need to build trust with stakeholders

Timeline and budget

An approximate timeline for this evaluation, including the procurement process, is below. This timeline is chosen in order to align with funding timetables and availability of key stakeholders.

July-September 2024

Procurement process and selection of evaluation team

October 2024

Inception period (inception report delivered)

November 2024 – January 2025

Data gathering and analysis

February 2025

Validation of findings (including validation sessions and delivery of draft evaluation report)

March 2025

Evaluation finalised and completed (final evaluation report and summary document delivered)

The budget for this evaluation (inclusive of any taxes, VAT etc.) is £50,000 GBP. A payment schedule will be agreed with the successful evaluation team after their selection. The evaluation team will be responsible for all local taxes.

Skills and experience

We welcome applications from evaluation teams which have:

• Experience of comparable evaluation assignments
• Experience of researching/evaluating initiatives involving stakeholders from multiple sectors such as government, civil society, legal profession, UN agencies, etc.
• Knowledge of the systems, structures and processes that determine how governments, civil society, senior lawyers etc. can engage and collaborate with each other
• A good understanding of appropriate data collection methods and their limitations
• Independence from the primary stakeholders of the MFC
• Ability to produce in-depth analysis, leading to detailed findings and recommendations that take account of different stakeholders’ limitations and constraints
• Ability to present findings and insights in a concise and constructive manner

Ability in multiple languages in addition to English may be advantageous.

Knowledge of media freedom, safety of journalists, freedom of expression, media development and/or related fields would be beneficial.

Evaluation teams can be based anywhere in the world.