Request for Proposals: Coalition Building

2023-05-08

Introduction:
The Enchanté Network (TEN) is conducting a national research, consultation, and convening project to explore the intersectoral coalition-building across 2SLGBTQI+ and equity-seeking organizations across Canada.

TEN is seeking the services of a consultant to develop a needs assessment report through surveying and two national focus groups. The report will include findings, a literature review and a jurisdictional scan to map existing academic research and intersectional 2SLGBTQI+ programming in Canada. The consultant will codify these learnings by creating three digital toolkits to be reviewed and approved by TEN leadership.

Background of The Enchanté Network:
The Enchanté Network (TEN) is the largest network of 2SLGBTQI+ organizations in Canada. We connect, support and advocate for more than 200 independent 2SLGBTQI+ organizations. Our network spans every province and territory, and our members include 2 Spirit societies, pride centres, HIV/AIDS organizations, trans collectives, and countless other essential, frontline organizations. 

Background of the Coalition Building Project:
2SLGBTQI+ people in Canada face pervasive health, housing, employment, safety, and migratory disparities. These disparities are further exacerbated for 2SLGBTQI+ people identifying as transgender, intersex, Black, 2Spirit, or living with a disability.

Despite these intersectionalities, 2SLGBTQI+ organizations often prioritize the needs of the most privileged among 2SLGBTQI+communities at the expense of transgender, intersex, Black, 2Spirit, and disabled 2SLGBTQI+ Canadians with the most urgent needs.

The over-representation of white, cisgender, able-bodied leadership in Canada’s 2SLGBTQI+ sector starkly illustrates this. Consequently, horrific outcomes for transgender, intersex, Black, 2Spirit, and disabled 2SLGBTQI+ Canadians continue to be invisible. To ensure that the needs of the most vulnerable 2SLGBTQI+ Canadians are being addressed and to promote sectoral stability, Canada’s 2SLGBTQI+ sector needs to develop knowledge tools and supports to build coalitions within the movement, its organizations, and its practices. 

Similarly, other equity-seeking movements are also grappling with the need to build coalitions and address the needs of the most marginalized among them. However, these movements are siloed in Canada. As such, opportunities for cross-sector impact are being missed. Like 2SLGBTQI+ organizations, other equity-seeking organizations are already filling gaps cross-sectorally. 

Building coalitions amongst the 2SLGBTQI+ movement and its organizations through structured cross-sectoral collaborations with other equity-seeking organizations will increase the impact of intersectional movement-building knowledge in other sectors. 

Scope of Work:
With the support of the successful consultant, The Enchanté Network will create a needs assessment report that will consist of surveying and focus group results, a literature review and a jurisdictional scan to map existing academic research and intersectional 2SLGBTQI+ programming in Canada and codify these learnings by developing three digital toolkits. 

The successful consultant will be responsible for the following:

Research

  • Conduct a jurisdictional scan and literature review to define what intersectional 2SLGBTQI+ programming is, theories, and existing best practices for nonprofit service delivery and advocacy at the intersection of 2SLGBTQI+ with race, ability, gender, class, and age. This research aims to assist 2SLGBTQI+ organizations in using an intersectional approach in their governance, service delivery and advocacy methods. 
  • Conduct a jurisdictional scan and literature review to provide an overview of the state of cross-sectoral relationships between Canada’s 2SLGBTQI+ organizations and other equity-seeking organizations throughout Canada. This review will provide best practices aimed toward 2SLGBTQI+ organizations who are seeking to build coalitions with equity-seeking organizations, in developing, strengthening, and maintaining those relationships and for scaling impact in an intersectional way.  organizations. 

National Virtual Consultations and Surveying

  • Design a national survey that will equip TEN in developing a toolkit for our for 2SLGBTQI+ organizations answering the following questions: 
  1. To understand the reasons why 2SLGBTQI+ organizations want to intersectionalize their services, delivery and advocacy. 
  2. What is the importance of using an intersectional approach within 2SLGBTQI+ organizations? 
  3. The demographic changes within their service users.
  4. To understand skill development needs, barriers and fears 2SLGBTQI+ organizations have when attempting to use an intersectional approach in their work (e.g. do they think it is not relevant for their geographic location? Are they struggling to identify consultants working at this intersection?) 
  • Design and facilitate two national focus groups that will dive deeper into survey responses and better understand what our members would need in an easy to implement and measure toolkit to intersectionalize their organization overtime. 

Coalition-Building Toolkits

  • Design three toolkits for 2SLGBTQI+ organizations and equity-seeking organizations that outline approaches to building sustainable and productive relationships between 2SLGBTQI+ organizations and equity-serving organizations beyond Canada’s 2SLGBTQI+ Sector. These toolkits will be informed by all previous activities in this project.
    • Toolkit #1: How to intersectionalize. This toolkit’s target audience is 2SLGBTQI+ organizations and will be easy for them to implement and measure overtime. 
    • Toolkit #2: A Progressive Organization’s Guide to Coalition Building with Canada’s 2SLGBTQI+ Sector. This toolkits target audience is equity-seeking organizations/partners 
    • Toolkit#3: A Queer Guide to Coalition Building with other Equity-Seeking Organizations. This toolkit’s target audience is 2SLGBTQI+ organizations and aims to provide tools to build intersectoral capacity.

The successful consultant will:

  1. Design and analyze a national survey and focus group questions
  2. Recruit participants for surveying and focus groups with guidance and support from TEN
  3. Complete a literature review and jurisdictional scan to define what intersectional 2SLGBTQI+ programming is, theories, and existing best practices for nonprofit service delivery and advocacy at the intersection of 2SLGBTQI+ with race, ability, gender, class, and age.
  4.  Complete a jurisdictional scan and literature review to provide an overview of the state of cross-sectoral relationships between Canada’s 2SLGBTQI+ organizations and other equity-seeking organizations throughout Canada. 
  5. Design three digital toolkits outlining approaches to build coalitions within 2SLGBTQI+ organizations and equity-seeking organizations. 

Note: Final formatting and design of the report will be completed by TEN.

The Consultant will submit their drafted sections for review and feedback from TEN staff and will submit a second draft incorporating this feedback. The successful consultant will complete the aforementioned tasks with appropriate direction and supervision from TEN’s Executive Director and Manager of Programs. 

TEN will be responsible and assist with the following:

  1. Recruiting participants for surveying and focus groups 
  2. Hosting and moderating all virtual events related to project 
  3. Providing surveying tools
  4. Managing and disseminating honorarium payments to participants

Privacy and Professionalism Expectations: 

  1. The Consultant will not share their reports or findings with any individual or organization other than TEN until the Final Report has been released by TEN
  2. The Consultant is to notify TEN within 24 hours of any issues or problems in relation to any work completed under the contract as they arise
  3. Any work product as the result of this project is the sole property of the Enchanté Network, and the consultant will delete and destroy all project data upon the end of the contract 

 

Timeline:

  • Consultant Proposals due: May 25, 2023 by 5 PM EST
  • Successful Consultant Selected:  June 5, 2023 by 5 PM EST
  • Contract begins: June 12, 2023
  • Draft toolkits due September 30, 2023 with final draft completed by October 30, 2023

Language Requirements:
The language of all deliverables will be English and French, with the exception of the French consultation which will be carried out by an external facilitator contracted by TEN.

The draft and final report must be available in English and may be translated into French by TEN. TEN will be responsible for all translation costs.

Contract Period:
This contract shall extend from the date of contract signature through to March 29, 2024

Place of Work
All work outlined in this contract will be conducted virtually and with virtual consultation spaces for the interviews will be provided by the Enchanté

Network as needed.

Proposal Requirements:
Proposals should be no more than 3 pages in length, not including appendices. 

Proposals should include:

  • Description, background, and experience of the consultant (or their firm if applicable) and any collaborators
  • Proposed Project Timeline
  • Key considerations and description of the approach to the project’s design, implementation, and analysis 
  • Project Budget, which shall not exceed $9,000 CAD 

 

NOTE: 50% of the contract payment will be provided to the successful consultant at the beginning of the contract.

Evaluation Criteria:

50% Relevant Expertise
  • Experience and/or knowledge working with 2SLGBTQI+ communities and/or organizations as well as equity-seeking movements
  • Experience conducting community-based research
  • Ability to capture and interpret responses in both official languages is essential (French and English)
  • Understanding and experience applying principles of anti-oppression, anti-racism, intersectionality, and indigenization, as it aligns with TEN’s values
25% Project Management 
  • Demonstrated ability to work within the timeline of the project
25% Quality of the Proposal
  • Quality and content of written proposal
  • Clarity, brevity, and a demonstrated example of nonprofit audience 
  • Clear communication and understanding of the project timeline and deliverables


Contact Information: Brittany Hudson (they/them), Manager of Programs brittany@enchantenetwork.ca 

Please cc our Executive Director, Tyler Boyce (he/him), on all communications regarding this request for proposals (tyler@enchantenetwork.ca).