Call for Proposals: Latin America Regional Partner Support Consultant

Issued: 16 October, Proposals due: 30 October 2023.

Please submit proposals to [email protected] by 30 October 2023. Please limit proposals to no more than five pages.

Download the RFP

Organisational background

Luminate is a global foundation working to ensure everyone – especially those who are underrepresented – has the information, rights, and power to influence the decisions that shape society.

The foundation is focused on enabling people to fully participate in civic and political life, to safely challenge power, and to access accurate, trustworthy information. Luminate works globally with a regional focus on Africa, Asia, and Latin America. It was established by philanthropists Pierre and Pam Omidyar and has worked for over a decade on issues related to governance and citizen engagement.

Specifically focusing on the Latin America’s priorities, we:

Fund initiatives that support members of underrepresented groups (women, young people, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and people of colour) to become civic and political leaders. We also support narratives that call out injustice and promote inclusion and empowerment.
We collaborate with organizations that advocate for the protection and justice of human rights defenders, activists, and journalists, enabling civil society to operate effectively and navigate threats.
We support digital media outlets committed to holding power to account by amplifying the voices of underrepresented groups.
We support initiatives that seek to protect freedom of expression while holding digital media platforms to account for what is published via their platforms and channels.
For further information, please visit Luminate’s website.

Besides providing organizations with financial support, we seek to establish strong relationships with our partners. We form trust-based relationships with those who share our aspirations for impact, we learn about their goals and obstacles, and we offer them partner support.

In 2020, Luminate Launched Potencia, an organizational strengthening program for Latin America designed to equip our partners with the knowledge and resources needed to achieve impact and sustainability over time. During its first 3 editions, Potencia has provided partners with a menu of options to choose from, including tailored one-on-one consulting, peer learning networks, workshops, and resources across four key areas: Financial Resilience, Governance, People and Culture Diversity, and Programmatic Impact.

Short project description

Luminate's Latin America team is currently in need of a Regional Partner Support Consultant, whether it be a consulting firm or an individual professional with a team. We are actively seeking proposals in response to this Request for Proposal (RFP) to discover an innovative solution for assessing and delivering support to our partners in Latin America.

The consultant's role will encompass a thorough understanding of Luminate's partner organizations, including their strengths and specific needs. It will be responsible for co- designing and maintaining a program that addresses these identified needs, in partnership with Luminate’s team. This program should offer resources, content, and access to experts to contribute to our partners’ institutional strengthening. Furthermore, the consultant should create opportunities for increased collaboration among our partners, leveraging their collective knowledge and regional impact. This effort extends to around 40 organizations within our portfolio across our 4 priority countries (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico).

Project scope

Partner needs assessment – this includes but is not limited to organisational and governance strengthening, financial resilience, diversity and inclusion, digital and physical security, etc.
Help identify and prioritise the appropriate interventions and recommend resource allocation.
Develop and execute a 24-month Partner Support program based on the needs identified.
Identify, list, and build relationships with innovative in-region consultants (at least 40 consultants) to add to our database and work with during Potencia’s 2024-2025 edition. It’s important that the consultants are representative of Luminate’s portfolio population, i.e. variety of countries, underrepresented groups (women, young people, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and people of colour).
Facilitate ecosystem and network programs (e.g., regional gatherings, including virtual and in-person interactions to facilitate peer-to-peer learning and collective impact). We expect the consultant to provide support to the Latin America team as they continue to curate regional convenings and other community meetings.
Coordinate in-person and online events for our partners per country, region or topic addressed.
Support the Luminate team in creating presentations, articles and other comms content about Potencia’s learning and achievements.

All work will be guided by the LatAm team (Director, Funding Leads, Partner Support).

Evaluation criteria

The selected consultant shall demonstrate:

Experience in conducting organisational needs assessments (diagnostics) and providing organisational development support to CSOs in the region.
Ability to catalyse and support networks, for example:
• Ability to build systems to offer unique advantages in advancing long-term social change, and
• Coordinate resources, action and create the infrastructure for widespread engagement.
Expertise in learning and evaluation, such as:
• Collecting, reporting, and analysing learning and programme evaluation metrics, including but not limited to an assessment of partner support programmes.
Demonstrate proficiency working English, Spanish and Portuguese. In previous experiences, we’ve identified the great value of having Portuguese native speakers and Spanish native speakers as team members.
Provide an outline of experience that is directly relevant to Luminate’s mission in Latin America, specifically in Luminate’s priority countries (including experience working globally across numerous offices, cultures, and time zones and the ability to navigate supporting a growing and increasingly complex portfolio).
Demonstrate a track record of providing support to civil society organisations with varying degrees of institutional consolidation, ideally from direct experience tackling operational challenges.
Demonstrate project management experience, including conducting outreach to stakeholders at all levels, designing and delivering high-quality output on time, and with a commitment to excellence.
Experience in one or several of the following fields: philanthropy; social entrepreneurship; consulting; organisational design; organisational development; human- design; diversity, equity and inclusion, etc.
Demonstrated experience navigating the inherent power asymmetries between funders and grantees.
Experience facilitating innovative, engaging in-person and virtual meetings.

Submission guidelines

We invite qualified individuals or firms with prior experience on projects such as this to submit proposals in response to this Request for Proposal.

Please submit proposals to [email protected] by 30 October 2023. Please limit proposals to no more than five pages.
This proposal must provide an overview of the proposed solution and resumes of all key personnel performing the work and a proposed schedule and milestones, as applicable. Resumes will not count towards the maximum 5-page submission.
Luminate’s primary language is English, but proposals can be submitted in Portuguese or Spanish (with an English executive summary) if needed.
A cost proposal must be provided. This cost proposal should indicate the overall fixed price for the engagement as well as hourly rates and an estimated total number of hours, should Luminate decide to award a contract on an hourly rate basis. Please note that although the proposal should account for a 24-month project duration, we expect the budget to be itemized annually.
Proposals must be signed by a representative that is authorised to commit bidder’s company.
Responses should include references and an overview of examples of work.
If you have a standard set of terms and conditions, please submit them with your proposal. All terms and conditions will be subject to negotiation. Terms and conditions submitted will not count towards the maximum 5-page submission.
Proposals must remain valid for 60 days, but please note that we aim to make an award as efficient as possible with the aim to start work in December 2023.

Expected RFP and project timelines

The Request for Proposals timeline is as follows:

Request for Proposal Issuance: October 16, 2024.
Submission Deadline: October 30, 2024.
Selection of Consultant: November 10, 2024.
Start of Negotiation: November 13, 2024.

We anticipate that the project will run from 1 December 2023 until 31 December 2025.

Evaluation factors

Responsiveness to the requirements outlined in this Request for Proposals.
Relevant past performance/ experience.
Budget alignment.

Luminate firmly believes that embracing diversity and fostering inclusion enhance our effectiveness, and we are committed to engaging consultants and organizations from a wide- ranging and inclusive pool of applicants.

Our evaluation process will impartially consider all candidates, irrespective of factors such as race, national origin, age, gender, religion, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristics safeguarded by law.