Invitation to tender for
an independent evaluation of
Rape Crisis Scotland’s National Advocacy Project
Introduction
Rape Crisis Scotland (RCS) is the national office for the rape crisis movement in Scotland. Our aims are to:
- challenge any prejudicial attitudes towards survivors of sexual violence;
- work with local rape crisis centres to ensure survivors are offered consistent, high quality support;
- provide a National Helpline to offer support to survivors of sexual violence across Scotland;
- assist in the development of new rape crisis provision around Scotland and provide a central information and resource service on sexual violence.
Background and context
Rape Crisis Scotland (RCS) has secured funding from Scottish Government for a national project to provide support and advocacy to survivors who have engaged or are considering engaging with the criminal justice system following a sexual crime.
The national project has been developed taking into account the learnings from the pilot Support to Report scheme, based within the Rape Crisis Centre, Glasgow. The evaluation of this pilot can be found here:
The project will be delivered in partnership with the 14 local rape crisis centres across Scotland, each of whom will employ a full-time or full-time equivalent Support & Advocacy Worker. The project is funded until March 2018 and this includes funding to commission an external evaluation to assess the impact of the project.
RCS will act as the coordinating partner, holding overall responsibility for financial management and delivery against the project outcomes.
The first four months of the project (October 2015 –January 2015) represents lead in time to enable the new Support and Advocacy Workers to be recruited and trained. The implementation period for the project will be just over 25 months and will run from February 2016 to March 2018.
Focus of the Evaluation
RCS is contracting an external evaluator to assess the impact of the project across all 14 geographical regions of delivery. The aim is to assess how and why the outcomes were achieved and the quality of the service provided.
The evaluation will incorporate the views of the survivors using the project, the Support & Advocacy workers, the Centre Managers, the police, Crown office and any other identified key stakeholders.
The focus of the evaluation will be to a) analyse and assess impact on survivors of the project b) analyse and assess how far the set outcomes of the project have been met
At the inception of the evaluation, the evaluators will work with RCS staff to develop an evaluation framework to be used by local centres which is capable of delivering the required data to enable the aims and objectives of the project to be effectively evaluated.
Our objectives and activities
Each partner will be responsible for the delivery in their area of a support and advocacy service for survivors of sexual violence.
There will be a national advocacy workers’ meeting every 3 months during the life of the
project - involving all 14 rape crisis centres – to share progress and learning. Part of this meeting will incorporate discussions with representatives from Police Scotland, COPFS and the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre, to share experiences / any issues arising and to ensure that workers are kept up to date with legal and policy or practice developments within key justice agencies.
The work of the project will be guided by a national advisory group, comprised of representatives from RCS, Police Scotland, COPFS and local rape crisis centres.
The objectives of the project are:
- an improvement in the support available to victims of rape and serious sexual crime;
- an improvement in the experience of the criminal justice process for victims of rape and serious sexual crime; and
- the development of a better understanding of motivations to proceed or not to proceed within the criminal justice process and what difference advocacy support makes to this decision
The main purpose of the evaluation is to:
1. Assess the impact of the Project, and the extent to which the project objectives
have been met
2. Identify the lessons learnt from the work, in particular, the delivery of the model
by partner organisations.
3. Identify best practice for wider dissemination
- Identify the extent to which the project has influenced policy and practice within
key justice agencies
Project Management
We are looking for individuals or agencies that:
- Have sound and proven experience and expertise in social research and evaluation methodologies
- Have an awareness of issues that face survivors of sexual offences, and an awareness of current practice and policy
- Have proven expertise in writing in an accessible format.
- Have an understanding of presentation methods and reporting formats to maximise the engagement of decision-makers
- Have experience of evaluating programmes involving multiple organisations
Reporting
Rape Crisis Scotland will expect the successful consultant to produce an evaluation report at the end of project that will provide details of the methodology, the findings and lessons learned, along with recommendations for the future development of the project. Rape Crisis Scotland will have ownership and the copyright for the report. The final contents of the report relating to confidentiality issues will need the approval of Rape Crisis Scotland.
The consultant will also be expected to produce 2 interim reports, after the first six months of the service being provided, and after the first year of the service commencing, outlining findings to date, to act as a progress report on the project.
Evaluation tender requirements
Tenders will need to include:
- A framework for the work including what are considered to be the key milestones and accompanying time line;
- An exploration of the types of appropriate methodologies that could be employed in identifying impact of the programme at a national level over the duration of the project;
- A budget for the work to include any overheads/management costs and including figures for expenses and VAT where appropriate;
- Key personnel involved in undertaking the work – their experience and past work.
- A list of (similar) projects evaluated by the evaluation team/organisation
- The name and contact details of two independent referees.
Timescale for the work
Proposed timescale for the evaluation is as follows: over the course of the project, to be advised on particulars
Deadline for tenders: 5pm 2nd December 2015
Interview short-listed tenders: Week of the 14th December 2015
Tender offered: 18th December 2015
Kick-off meeting: Week of 4th January 2016
Initial consultation on evaluation framework: Week of the 18th January 2016
Interim reports: October 2016 & February 2017
Final report completed: October 2017
Addendum to the report: February 2018 to include additional data and any key issues arising in the period
Cost
A maximum of £39,950 (including expenses and VAT) is available for the evaluation of this project. This includes the costs of producing the report.
Closing date
The closing date for tenders is 5pm on the 2nd December 2015.
Contact details
To submit bids, or to discuss this tender in more detail, please contact:
Sandy BrindleyEmail:
Rape Crisis ScotlandPhone: 0141 331 4182
46 Bath Street
Glasgow G2 1HG