- Background
In 2009 the International Council Meeting (ICM) of Amnesty International agreed a new Integrated Strategic Plan (ISP) which prioritised growth. A decision of the ICM called for a growth strategy to be developed. “Growing Amnesty International for Impact” was approved in Dec 2010. The strategy covered the period 2011-2015 and set specific and measurable targets.
The strategy consisted of five goals, three for growth in the Global South and two for growth in the Global North:
Growth in the Global South
Goal 1 Strengthen Amnesty International’s programme of work on and in the BRICS
· Develop a sustainable programme of work, managed by the Secretary General, in India and Brazil
· Develop a new programme of work for Africa leveraging the influence of South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya in the region, involving African sections and structures, and offering new constituency building options across the region
· Strengthen work in, with and for China (including Amnesty International Hong Kong and Amnesty International Taiwan) and the Russian Federation.
Goal 2 Consolidate and grow Amnesty International influence, activism, and participation in the human rights community in sections and structures in the Global South that have either grown significantly in the past years or are strategically placed to further Amnesty International’s national, regional or global human rights agenda.
· Develop and implement a plan to consolidate the growth achieved in 2007-2010
· Building on the achievements to date to increase activism and new and diverse constituencies in a second growth phase
· Establish sustainable fundraising programmes with local resources
· Invest in leadership development
Goal 3 Grow a constituency and options for activism and participation through regional and international initiatives in the Global South where there is no Amnesty International entity.
· Increase resources for Amnesty International’s Arabic language resources
· Increase the number of international members as recognized contributors to Amnesty International’s human rights work and internal democracy
· Establish a programme of formal partnerships (affiliates) with mission-friendly NGOs in strategic countries with no Amnesty International presence
· Continue to explore innovative forms of engagement and participation across national boundaries in countries with no Amnesty International presence
Growth in the Global North
Goal 4 Grow Amnesty International influence, constituencies, activism and financial resources in sections that offer important opportunities for increased impact on the global human rights agenda and greater fundraising potential in the Global North.
· Increase the impact of the sections’ activism and new constituencies working with partners and rights-holders
· Strengthen and resource sustainable fundraising strategies
Goal 5: Strengthen Amnesty International’s influence, constituency, activism and financial resources in large and medium sections with strong performance indicators, who are part of Amnesty International’s top contributors to the international budget.
· Increase the impact of the sections’ activism and new constituencies working with partners and rights-holders
· Strengthen and resource sustainable fundraising strategies
As the name of the Strategy implies, at the heart of the 2011 – 2015 strategy was the expectation that “[g]rowth must be oriented to impact.” The strategy identified a number elements to ensure growth was focused on human rights impact.
Towards the mid-term of that Strategic period, an interim light-touch review of the strategy was undertaken. This was an in-house review primarily focused on analysing existing data and reports, and conducting some selected interviews with relevant stakeholders in the IS and in national offices. The findings of this review provide will be incorporated into this final evaluation.
2. Purpose and Scope of the Evaluation
Amnesty International would like to conduct an independent evaluation to assess our level of achievement, or otherwise against these goals, and to investigate whether our growth, judged through the proxy lens of our mobilisation of our supporters, members and activists, was executed most effectively for human rights impact.
The evaluation will provide an external and independent analysis of AI’s successes, but also missed opportunities and challenges under this strategy. It should enable us to hold ourselves accountable for our work. In 2016 we entered a new strategic period with a new strategic framework, in which growth is integrated with our other human rights goals. Lessons from this evaluation should therefore be framed in terms of gaps or strengths in that new strategy, to ensure that the lessons of the past are reflected in our actions in the future. It should help us frame how we use our mobilisation to deliver both growth and human rights impact under this new, integrated strategic framework. It will build on the mid-term review conducted internally.
The evaluation has been requested by Amnesty International’s International Board, but will also be extremely relevant for Amnesty’s Senior Leadership, the leadership of Amnesty’s Sections and Structures, the Activism Unit and Fundraising Directorate, who are stewards of Amnesty’s new growth strategy, and the Movement Support Programme, who held responsibility for the growth strategy 2011 – 2015.
The evaluation should address the following provisional key questions, with the final evaluation questions to be developed in consultation with the evaluators:
Relevance
· Where these the right goals for our movement’s strategy for this period?
· Were they a key reference point that shaped our work to grow as a movement during that time?
· In particular, did Amnesty sections and structures see this strategy as a key reference point and feel ownership over its targets?
· Did we take the best and most relevant steps to achieve these goals?
· Did we mobilise our supporters, members and activists in the right way, on the right issues, to both grow our movement and deliver human rights impact?
Effectiveness
· Did Amnesty achieve these Goals by the end of the strategic period?
· What were the major external factors that influenced the achievement or non-achievement of the goals of the strategy?
· Did we carry out the intended steps to achieve these goals effectively, and if not why not?
· Is there evidence that our growth, judged through the lens of the mobilisation of our supporters, members and activists, led to human rights impact, or could we mobilise more effectively to deliver impact?
· Did we provide adequate resourcing from the beginning of the strategic period to match the ambitions outlined in the strategy?
Efficiency
· Did the time and resources we invested in trying to achieve these goals represent good value for money given our level of achievement, and in comparison to other global organisations?
· Is the Amnesty structured appropriately to support ambitious growth? What are the organizational obstacles?
Sustainability
· Where we have made gains in this strategic period, to what extent is it likely that these gains can be maintained?
· Would ensuring the engagement of our supporters, members and activists was more consistently correlated with, and contributing to, human rights change increase the sustainability of their engagement?
The final report should include recommendations for building on successful approaches and other lessons learned as well as suggest ways to overcome any shortcomings in current and future work. In order to inform future work the evaluation should therefore address the current strategy and answer:
· What if anything is missing from, or should be elevated within, Amnesty International’s current strategy for Goal 5 within the Strategic Goals?
· How can Amnesty work more effectively internally in our attempts to implement our growth strategies?
· Could our campaigning and our mobilisation be guided more clearly to deliver both growth and impact in this new Strategic period?
3. Methodology
A mix of qualitative and quantitative methodology is expected for this evaluation. Amnesty International collects annual data on core indicators of our growth as a movement, and a range of other internal data sources will be made available. The evaluator will use a range of other methods including establishing a detailed chronology of events, activities and outcomes, as well as focus group discussions, interviews, on-line surveys and written questionnaires to capture the views of different stakeholders. The evaluation will also involve reviewing policy and background documents, and other relevant background materials, including the mid-term evaluation that was undertaken internally of progress towards these goals.
During the evaluation the evaluator is expected to engage with a number of internal stakeholders which will be decided by AI in consultation with the evaluator: It is not foreseen that engagement with external stakeholders will be required for this evaluation, however Amnesty is open to suggestions from the evaluator if this is seen as relevant.
4. Key Deliverables
Key deliverables expected from the evaluator are:
· A detailed evaluation methodology and an evaluation plan
· A brief note on initial evaluation findings for Amnesty International
· Draft evaluation report for comments (in English)
· Final evaluation report of a maximum of 30 pages (in English)
· A stand-alone executive summary of not more than 4 pages. The executive summary should include key findings, major learning points and main actions for improvement.
· Key evaluation findings presented in creative formats for dissemination to key AI teams
5. Tentative Evaluation Timeline
The evaluation is expected to begin in June 2016, and be complete by late August / early September 2016. The evaluation is expected to take about 30 working days within this period. It is expected that the evaluators will travel to Amnesty International’s Secretariat in London for data gathering, but no other travel should be required. The table below indicates tentative timings for the selection process and the key evaluation moments. The exact dates will be finalised in consultation with the selected evaluator.
Activities
Date
Call for proposals from evaluators
May 20, 2016
Proposal submission date
June 3, 2016
Selection of evaluator and contracting
Mid-June 2016
Evaluator starts work
End-June 2016
Draft report submission
August 2016
Comments on the Draft
August 2016
Final report
End-August/early September 2016
Review of report by the International Board
October 2016
6. Budget
Proposed budgets should be based on approximately 30 - 40 working days and should include all evaluation expenses and other relevant costs.
HOW TO APPLY:
AI invites bids from a number of possible evaluators (individuals or organizations).
Tenders should include:
· A brief outline of the proposed evaluation process including the methodology, evaluation plan and management arrangements
· Proposed budget for the evaluation
· A brief CV of the evaluator/s
· Where available, an example of a previous evaluation, preferably those using methodologies relevant for this evaluation.
Please submit tenders to SEU@amnesty.org.
