1 Arts Fundraising and Philanthropy Evaluation Team CCI Exchange, University of Leeds. Invitation to Tender: Evaluation of Arts Fundraising and Philanthropy Consortium and Governance Processes You are invited by the Cultural and Creative Industries Exchange at The University of Leeds, to tender for the above referenced contract. Our requirements are contained in this document. The deadline for submission is midnight, Sunday 7th September 2014. Interviews for shortlisted applicants are anticipated to take place in London (venue tbc) in mid-September. You must submit an electronic copy of your tender submission to Anni Raw a.e.raw@leeds.ac.uk. Tenders received after the deadline for submission will not be considered. Please read the following requirements and general information before submitting a tender, failure to provide all information required will result in rejection of the tender. If you require clarification with respect to the contents of this document or process, please email AFP Evaluation Project Manager Anni Raw, a.e.raw@leeds.ac.uk. Questions or requests for clarification must be submitted prior to the deadline for submission. 2 Arts Fundraising and Philanthropy Evaluation Team CCI Exchange, University of Leeds. Evaluation of Arts Fundraising and Philanthropy Consortium and Governance Processes Background The Arts Fundraising and Philanthropy Programme is the result of an Arts Council England commissioned grant, and is an England-wide initiative, offering people across the arts and cultural sector training, traineeships, coaching, and digital skills development to encourage innovative and effective practice in arts fundraising, and encourage a more entrepreneurial approach to income generation. The AFP Programme has been developed and is led by the Arts Fundraising and Philanthropy Consortium. Consortium partners include the DARE Partnership of Opera North and the University of Leeds, Cause4, and the Arts Marketing Association. Over three years (2013-16) the AFP Consortium, working in partnership with ACE National Portfolio Organisations (NPOs) and the wider arts sector, is delivering a collaborative programme that aims to both improve the perceptions of the arts as a charitable cause, and professionalise fundraising within the sector. Working with trustee boards, CEOs, senior managers and emerging talent the programme seeks to inspire, coach and resource entrepreneurial leaders within the sector, and ensure the training and development of a professional arts fundraising workforce. The Programme’s aims and objectives are: • To develop an enterprising culture in which income generation is placed at the heart of an arts organisation’s business model and ethos • To ensure more income is generated for the arts from private giving and businesses • To develop the skills of individuals and organisations seeking to fundraise from the private sector and individual donors • To achieve a demonstrable change in the professionalism of the arts fundraising sector by building on, and sharing, existing good practice across the third sector • To build a peer-to-peer leadership community which positions arts fundraising as a desirable career and which retains and develops talent • To maximise learning through knowledge-exchange, resources and thought leadership. The main evaluation of AFP is being conducted by University of Leeds, however the evaluation of the governance strand has been identified as a separate task, and is being put out to tender through this brief. More information on the AFP programme can be found on the Arts Fundraising and Philanthropy website, here: http://artsfundraising.org.uk/aboutthe-programme/ . 3 Arts Fundraising and Philanthropy Evaluation Team CCI Exchange, University of Leeds. Aim of this brief The evaluation of the governance strand of the Arts Fundraising and Philanthropy programme seeks to investigate AFP governance activity and structures, in order to generate informed recommendations for the ongoing development of the AFP Consortium and governance structures (Consortium Board and the AFP Learning and Teaching Steering Group). The evaluation findings and recommendations will also have clear messages for future consortia of this nature, and for the governance of similar national projects. To achieve this, the brief is using the following questions: ‘How effective is the AFP Consortium partnership, and what is the impact of the AFP governance structures and processes on the AFP programme?’ Requirements: Methodology and design This brief requires a formative evaluation approach, through which findings are fed back periodically, to inform development. Adopting a case study methodology, the brief requires the successful bidder to deliver the evaluation using the following approach: 1. Conduct an analysis of the AFP Consortium set-up process, and ensuing governance structures - including terms of reference and early stage partner expectations - to determine whether the proposed model could be considered fit for purpose; 2. Explore the developing progress of the Consortium partnership, and AFP governance performance, from a range of partner perspectives; 3. Conduct an analysis of contingent factors including communications, relationship management, responsiveness to programme needs, to assess the functional effectiveness of the Consortium and programme governance; 4. Make a grounded assessment of the overall impact of the AFP programme’s governance on AFP programme delivery, and on its accountability (through its evaluation and reporting procedures); 5. Make recommendations, based on the evaluation activity outlined in the brief, which a) inform the ongoing business of the AFP Consortium and the programme’s governance structures; b) offer messages for the set-up of future consortia of this nature, and governance structures for national projects of this style and scale. Requirements: Methods Conduct an analysis of partnership structures and documentation to create a background landscape of the expected ways of working and expected outcomes for the programme partnerships; use comparable examples to contextualise analysis; 4 Arts Fundraising and Philanthropy Evaluation Team CCI Exchange, University of Leeds. Conduct telephone interviews with key individuals from each of the Consortium organisations, and with the members of the AFP Board and Learning and Teaching Steering Group. These interviews will seek to address four key areas: Perceived strengths of the AFP partnerships Perceived weaknesses of the AFP partnerships Effectiveness of partnership communications and relationships Any impact of the AFP governance structures and processes on the programme itself. We do not require, within this brief, an evaluation of the progress of direct programme development or delivery, since this task is undertaken within the main AFP evaluation. However, discussions with the main AFP evaluation team will form part of the work under this brief, and AFP evaluation documentation will be available as required, through which further perspective on the programme can be gained. Requirements: Deliverables 1. Final Report submitted for circulation to AFP Learning and Teaching Steering Group meeting, 15 December 2014 (submission date one week prior to the meeting). Report will address all areas (1, 2, 3, 4 and 5a and b) of evaluation design outlined above, with clear emphasis on assessments and recommendations in areas 4, and 5a) and b). Data sources a) Partnership documentation for analysis: The following documentation will be made available on successful appointment to this tender: AFP Business Plan AFP Partnership Agreements AFP grant application Consortium organisational structure chart Terms of reference, minutes and dates of Management Board Terms of reference, minutes and dates of Learning and Teaching Steering Group Contracts for delivery of services Policy documentation AFP Evaluation reporting. b) Key individuals from the AFP governance structures for interview: A list of not more than 20 key individuals for consultation will be supplied, together with contact details. 5 Arts Fundraising and Philanthropy Evaluation Team CCI Exchange, University of Leeds. Conditions of tender The AFP Evaluation Team at CCI Exchange is inviting tenders from suitably experienced individuals or organisations. Your responses should be supported by clear evidence of previous successful experience of delivering the proposed processes, in order to meet our requirements for this brief. Tenders should not exceed 3 sides of A4 plus brief CVs (including referees) and should address all of the following criteria. Evaluation Criteria 1. Please provide details to demonstrate the skills and capacity of you/your team to deliver the contract requirements. We would expect: o Minimum 3 years relevant experience delivering similar evaluation projects, including in-depth qualitative research and working with case study data to draw out key issues, learning points and areas for further exploration; o Excellent knowledge of governance structures and practice, preferably including good practice within the cultural and creative industries sector; o Strong experience of effective, grounded analysis, drawing out informed recommendations, and reporting to a high professional standard; o Excellent communication skills and protocols to ensure the AFP evaluation team remains informed of progress throughout the project. 2. Please provide a clear response to the outlined requirements of each aspect of the contract; 3. Please provide a clear, detailed and realistic delivery plan which will allow the contract to be delivered within time and to budget; 4. Please provide details of any potential risks you have identified to delivering this contract to time and budget and your proposals for mitigating them; 5. Please provide a detailed budget of charges estimating the number of days and travel and subsistence costs associated with your proposal. The total fixed price should be inclusive of VAT and inclusive of expenses and all costs to be incurred. 6. Please indicate your availability for interview in fortnight commencing 15th September 2014. 6 Arts Fundraising and Philanthropy Evaluation Team CCI Exchange, University of Leeds. The indicative timetable for the procurement is as follows: Key Actions Dates Issue of Invitation to Tender w/c 4th August 2014 Tender Return Deadline 7th September 2014 Evaluation of tenders w/c 8th September 2014 Interviews and award of contract w/c 15th September 2014 Initial briefing meeting w/c 22nd September 2014 CCI Exchange reserves the right to amend this timetable where required. Contract Term We would expect delivery of the full contract to last no longer than 4 months, running from mid-September 2014 to 1st January 2015 Contract Value There is a maximum budget of £5,000 including VAT and expenses available for this work. 7 Arts Fundraising and Philanthropy Evaluation Team CCI Exchange, University of Leeds. General Information 1.1 Cultural and Creative Industries Exchange (CCI Exchange) reserves the right to change the timing or any other aspect of the procurement process or to cancel the procurement process at any stage or not to proceed with the procurement for any reason whatsoever without prior notice. Under no circumstances will CCI Exchange or any of its partners be liable for any costs or expenses incurred by bidders in this procurement. 1.2 CCI Exchange reserves the right not to disclose information that it feels would put them at a commercial or unacceptable contractual disadvantage. 1.3 Tenders, all documents and all correspondence relating to the tender must be written in English. 1.4 Budget information shall be deemed, unless otherwise expressly agreed between the parties, to be firm and fixed and will not be subject to any variation. All charges must be quoted in pounds sterling and inclusive of VAT. 1.5 CCI Exchange reserves the right to discuss and agree with the contractor a maximum sum for all expenses. 1.6 This is a phased contract of work. Successful bidders will be awarded the full contract dependent upon the satisfactory completion and delivery of milestones for each previous phase of work. 1.7 Where a consortium or partnership are bidding jointly for this contract, they will need to have in place an agreement outlining the individual roles and responsibilities of each in relation to the delivery of the contract. A copy of this agreement should be submitted with your tender. A lead bidder should be clearly identified who will be the contractor and ultimately be accountable for its overall delivery. 1.8 You are required to detail within the tender submission if and how you intend to sub-contract any element of the work. 1.9 You must declare any known or potential conflicts of interest. 1.10 You must submit an electronic copy of your tender submission to Anni Raw a.e.raw@leeds.ac.uk no later than midnight, Sunday 7th September 2014. Tenders received after the deadline for submission will not be considered.