Evaluation of Abilis Foundation’s Grant Application Process
This evaluation seeks to assess the openness and accessibility of the Abilis grant-making mechanism to ensure that all target groups have equal opportunities to access grant funding from Abilis Foundation. The evaluation will focus on Abilis programmes in Ethiopia, Tanzania, Nepal, and Tajikistan.
1. Background
Abilis Foundation supports grassroots-level organisations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) through financial grants. Abilis Global Programme focuses on building the working capacities of persons with disabilities and their organisations. This work concentrates on raising awareness on rights of persons with disabilities and the UNCRPD (United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities), improving the status and rights of women and girls with disabilities and supporting the employment and livelihood development of persons with disabilities in an environmentally sustainable and climate resilient way. Abilis operates in ten selected countries.
Abilis grants are facilitated by local staff, who are mostly persons with disabilities themselves. In five countries Abilis has its own country office (Myanmar, Nepal, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam) and in five countries (Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, Tajikistan, Ukraine) Abilis works through a partner organisation of persons with disabilities. The grants provided vary from small, under 5000 euros grants to bigger grants of 30 000 – 40 000 euros. The main target group is grassroots level organisations of persons with disabilities focusing on specific thematic activities named in the country programme.
Abilis’ key values are openness, equality, reliability and participation and mutual solidarity of persons with disabilities. With this evaluation, Abilis wants to assess how well it is truly reaching all impairment groups with its funding in four selected countries.
The evaluation will focus on four countries across Asia and Africa: Ethiopia, Tanzania, Nepal, and Tajikistan. This geographical focus is significant as it represents the two regions where Abilis operates using different models of engagement.
Partner Organisations: In Ethiopia and Tajikistan, Abilis works through local partner organisations that act as intermediaries in facilitating the grant-making process. Both are well-established organisations of persons with disabilities.
Country Offices: In Nepal and Tanzania, Abilis has established country offices that directly manage the grant-making activities.
Being aware of/understanding these operational differences is crucial to evaluating how the grant-making process may be perceived and accessed by organisations of persons with disabilities in each country. The evaluation shall assess how these operational models influence the accessibility, inclusion, and effectiveness of Abilis' outreach and support to disability groups in these countries.
2. Objectives
The main aim of this evaluation is to understand how well Abilis is reaching all target groups of organisations of persons with disabilities that want to apply for funds, including those who have not yet interacted with Abilis.
Specific objectives:
Assess if Abilis funding is open to all target groups
Assess the transparency and accessibility of the Abilis application process.
Identify barriers that prevent organisations of persons with disabilities from applying for grants and suggest strategies to overcome these barriers.
Gather feedback from organisations of persons with disabilities and other stakeholders on the application process.
The evaluation will mainly focus on the current programme period, but where relevant also the previous period.
3. Research Questions
The following, guiding questions shall be addressed. The evaluators can suggest questions if relevant.
How effective is Abilis in reaching different impairment groups and persons with disabilities from different backgrounds (intersectionality)?
Is Abilis able to reach all country programme target groups in the selected four countries?
How do organisations of persons with disabilities learn about grant opportunities, and through which channels do they receive information about Abilis and Application Materials?
What are the barriers preventing organisations of persons with disabilities from applying for Abilis grants, and how can these be addressed?
Are the resources and capacities at the country office/country partner sufficient to ensure an open application process?
Does the application process differ between the selected countries?
Does the application process differ between PO and CO operational mode?
What are the bottlenecks or delays in the application and review process (CO/PO staff and other stakeholders)?
Is applying from Abilis different from applying for grants from other donors? If yes, how?
Are all applications reaching Abilis HQ? If not, how many applications in average do not reach Abilis HQ and what are the reasons for it?
Do all applicants receive information about the funding decision whether positive or negative? If not, why not?
4. Methodology
The evaluation team is expected to use its professional skills and experience in defining the most relevant approach and methodology for the evaluation. However, the proposed methodology for the evaluation is suggested to include:
· Accessible methods of communication, research and reporting
· Online surveys targeting both current and potential organisations of persons with disabilities, to gather data on their awareness and experience with Abilis grant application process
· Interviews and focus groups with various stakeholders, including unengaged organisations of persons with disabilities, current and past grant applicants, grantees, disability umbrella organisations and federations, Abilis staff (present and former), and external experts.
· Use e.g. snowball sampling techniques to identify and include organisations of persons with disabilities that have not interacted with Abilis, reaching out through local networks.
· Maximise the use of digital tools/communication channels and limiting travels to reduce costs and engage stakeholders remotely whenever possible and sensible.
5. Main Documents to be Reviewed
Abilis Foundation’s strategy
Programme Handbook
Abilis manuals and guidelines for project planning and proposal writing.
Country programme 4-year plans and annual plans for the 4 selected countries
Application forms and submitted applications.
Feedback from past grantees on the grant management system (Salesforce).
Relevant communications (e.g. emails, website content, social media posts, 2023 regional meeting reports) related to the grant process.
Relevant lists from Salesforce
6. Evaluation process and timeline
The start date of the evaluation is flexible but, if possible, the evaluation should be started in December 2024. Exact deadlines to be agreed upon during the kick-off meeting. Preliminary timeline for the evaluation:
Activities | Date |
Contracting and document review | December 2024 |
Evaluation plan submission and evaluation kick-off | January 2025 (Evaluation plan submitted 1 week before evaluation kick-off) |
Desk work (period xx days) | January 2025 |
Field Trip total xx days
(to include de-brief session during each field visit) | February – March 2025 Ethiopia Nepal Tanzania Tajikistan |
Initial presentation of Findings? | March - April 2025 |
Report writing xx days | March-April 2025 |
Draft Report | 5.5.2025 |
Deadline for Comments | 16.5.2025 |
Final Report and Presentation of Findings | 31.5.2025? |
7. Reporting requirements
The consultant(s) are required to submit the following deliverables throughout the duration of the evaluation. All reports must be submitted in English and should be accessible, clear, concise, and actionable. Digital reports with minimal design should be in both Word and accessible PDF formats. All raw data collected should be shared with Abilis.
Initial presentation of findings
Draft report (detailed findings, analysis, and recommendations, addressing all research questions)
Final report (refined report incorporating all feedback, incl. conclusions and action-oriented recommendations)
Presentation of findings (upon final report submission/at an agreed date; concise presentation summarizing key findings and recommendations to Abilis HQ and Abilis POs+COs).
8. Profile of Consultants / Expertise required
The evaluation requires a team of consultants with the following expertise:
Strong experience in conducting evaluations
Experience in grant-making processes.
Knowledge of issues related to disability, inclusion, transparency, and anti-corruption in non-profit organisations.
Strong analytical skills in both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies.
Familiarity with the countries of focus: Ethiopia, Tanzania, Nepal, and Tajikistan. Evaluation team to utilise local evaluators from the selected countries if possible.
Language skills relevant to the countries of focus would be an asset.
Experience working with grassroots organisations and marginalised communities.
Experience and understanding of the development context
Understanding on accessibility (physical, information etc.) and disability.
Personal experience of disability is an asset.
9. Budget
Provide a detailed budget outline, including:
Consultant fees (/fixed contracts/daily rates and total costs).
Costs for data collection (surveys, focus groups, travel).
Administrative expenses (coordination, translation, transcription, and communication).
At the conclusion of the evaluation, the consultant(s) are required to submit a detailed financial report that includes a breakdown of all expenses incurred during the evaluation. The report must be accompanied by supporting documents, such as receipts, invoices, and any other relevant proof of expenditure.
10. Contact details and tenders
Evaluator/s are expected to send in their tender with
- plan on how the evaluation will be conducted
- budget
- evaluation team with CVs of team members
- 2 references showing relevant experience
Tenders to be submitted by 24.11.2024 to Abilis’ Executive Director Riina Paasio (riina.paasio@abilis.fi)
Contact persons:
· Content related questions
Rea Konttinen, Programme Manager
tel. +358 40 940 1481, email: rea.konttinen@abilis.fi
· Admin related questions
Riina Paasio, Executive Director
tel. +358 45 7750 0069, email: riina.paasio@abilis.fi
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