Request for Proposals: Impact evaluation of technical assistance and capacity building services to advance policy and systems change for increased access to clean, green, and affordable housing
Deadline for submission: COB, Friday, November 17th, 2023
Overview of the opportunity
ChangeLab Solution (ChangeLab) seeks a qualified consultant to evaluate our “Improving Clean, Green, Affordable Housing by Building the Capacity of Cross-Sector, Interdisciplinary Stakeholders to Advance Systems-Change” project (Clean, Green, Affordable Housing project). Through this evaluation, we aim to assess and better understand the impacts of our efforts under this project to advance housing justice and health equity using local laws and policies in the communities we work with.
This project is ongoing, and activities conclude in the summer of 2025. We are intending for this evaluation to commence in January 2024, and the final deliverables should be completed all within an eight-month timeframe. The budget for the evaluation should be no more than $50,000. If interested, please send a proposal to Rachael Bennett at rbennett@changelabsolutions.org by COB Friday, November 17th, 2023. Proposal details and requirements are outlined below in the section “How to Apply”.
Overview of the Clean, Green, Affordable Housing project
Since 2019, ChangeLab has been focused on building the capacity and aligning the efforts of cross-sector, interdisciplinary stakeholders at the local level to advance systems and policy change to improve access to stable, safe, and affordable housing. We’ve been supporting practitioners and advocates in small to medium-sized cities as these jurisdictions tend to have fewer resources and less technical expertise to address complex legal and policy issues, but experience many of the same challenges and conditions that present obstacles to improving health and health equity as larger cities.
We have primarily focused on building the capacity of local changemakers to advance and accelerate equitable, healthy housing solutions by:
- Providing technical assistance and peer learning opportunities to local communities, such as through the Housing Solutions Collaborative;
- Developing and disseminating practical tools and resources, and sharing community stories;
- Expanding our work and body of knowledge around housing to include new legal frameworks and intersections with other fields and disciplines such as children’s mental health; and
- Building partnerships with local communities and other partners and advocates across the housing field to inform our housing justice work.
Evaluation goals and consultant qualifications
ChangeLab seeks an experienced policy and advocacy evaluator to examine the impact of the Clean, Green, Affordable Housing project to advance healthy, stable, and affordable housing through local policies and legal strategies. The ideal evaluator will be able to serve as a thought partner as well as lead the development and implementation of an evaluation to identify our community-level impact and provide insights about our work under this project.
Evaluation goals
The goals of this evaluation are to:
- Identify and describe the impact and outcomes of our capacity building, technical assistance, field building activities and resources under the Clean, Green, Affordable Housing project.
- Help ChangeLab understand to what extent and how our work has contributed to legal and policy changes that advance housing justice and health equity, especially for populations facing the greatest marginalization in the housing system
- Gather and synthesize feedback from stakeholders and policymakers and how well our capacity building and technical assistance increased their knowledge, capacity, and effectiveness to advance local housing strategies
- Understand which aspects of our approach are most effective
- Identify opportunities for increasing the efficacy of our efforts to create healthier communities for all through equitable laws and policies in the housing sector.
Consultant qualifications
We seek an experienced evaluation consultant with these qualifications:
- Experience with policy, systems, and advocacy evaluation, with an emphasis on evaluating community-level interventions
- Experience evaluating local government interventions in different communities across the U.S.
- Knowledge of a wide variety of evaluation methods to capture policy and advocacy capacity building, knowledge generation (i.e., policy research and analysis), and partnership development outcomes
- Orientation towards evaluation as a tool for learning and strategy development
- Skill using qualitative evaluation methods in a respectful, culturally competent way
- Strong communication, facilitation, and project management skills
- Ability to work with a fast-paced team
- Strong virtual collaboration and communication skills.
Project deliverables and tasks
Project deliverables and tasks will vary depending on the consultant hired and our evaluation plan. The final scope of the evaluation will be based on mutually agreed upon tasks and a set of deliverables. Deliverables and tasks may include:
- Project management, meeting facilitation, and documentation of regular meetings
- Development of an evaluation plan in consultation with ChangeLab Solutions staff
- Consultation on evaluation measures, tracking systems, and methods for data collection
- Support for developing a project logic model and refine a theory of change for our housing work
- Design and implement necessary data collections methods to measure the reach and impact of our technical assistance, capacity building services, and resources
- Developing a final report and presentation that synthesizes the findings, learnings, and recommendations for ChangeLab
- Provide insights into our efforts to effect systemic change in communities and actionable recommendations to enhance these efforts
Evaluation timeline and major milestones:
The below timeline is tentative and subject to change. We are aiming to kick off the evaluation starting in January 2024 and conclude the evaluation by September 2024 (approximately 8 months).
Timeline:
- September 2023: Release RFP
- November 17th, 2023: Deadline for submission
- November to December 2023: Selection of consultant and execution of contract
- January 2024: Evaluation kick off
- January to August 2024: Develop evaluation plan, conduct data collection and analysis of data, develop findings and learnings, etc.
- September 2024: Conclusion of evaluation and final deliverables
How to Apply
Interested consultants should prepare a proposal of no more than 5 pages (excluding annexes) that include:
- Discussion of how you would approach working with us
- Description of evaluation methods, approaches, activities, and deliverables
- Description of your experience and qualifications for conducting an evaluation focused on changes in policies, laws, and systems that support the advancement of health and health equity
- High level workplan for completion of tasks and deliverables
Annex:
- Proposed budget, including your rate sheet and estimates for deliverables listed in your workplan
- Contact information for three references
- Brief bios of the proposed evaluation team member(s)
- Qualifications or work samples from similar projects
Please send proposals to Rachael Barrett, Administrative Assistant, at rbennett@changelabsolutions.org by COB November 17th, 2023. In your proposal email, please include in the subject line: “Response to RFP for Clean, Green, Affordable Housing project”. If you have questions about the RFP, please email Tina Yuen, managing director, at tyuen@changelabsolutions.org.
About ChangeLab Solutions
ChangeLab Solutions is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that uses the tools of law and policy to advance health equity. We partner with communities across the nation to improve health and opportunity by changing harmful laws, policies, and systems. Our interdisciplinary team works with community organizations, governments, and local institutions to design and implement equitable and practical policy solutions to complex health challenges.
Mission and vision: Our mission is healthier communities for all through equitable laws and policies. We envision healthy, equitable communities where every person is economically secure and can attain their full health potential because laws and policies are equity-focused, inclusive, and just; systems and institutions, including government, facilitate meaningful participation and work to eliminate unjust disparities; and investments prioritize people and places most affected by injustices and inequities.
Theory of Change: ChangeLab’s Theory of Change begins with an understanding that laws and policies are powerful determinants of health that express values, influence distribution of resources and power, and have the potential to promote widespread, long-term change. Our values are based on Justice, Learning, Collaboration, Community, and Integrity. ChangeLab demystifies laws and policies through multidisciplinary partnerships, capacity building, practice policy and legal tools, and elevating solutions and successes. ChangeLab works with governments, community partners, advocates, anchor institutions, philanthropies, academic and researchers, and think tanks. Our goal is to reduce the drivers of health inequity, which are structural discrimination, income inequality, disparities in opportunity, disparities in political power, and governance that limits meaningful participation.
You can review ChangeLab’s Strategic Framework here.