Consultant to facilitate RFSL’s International Theory of Change workshop

Our organization

Founded in 1950, RFSL, the Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex Rights is one of the oldest non-profit, membership-based LGBTQI organizations in the world. RFSL’s vision is a society where diversity and respect for diversity is the norm. The Federation has over 7000 members and 36 chapters around Sweden.

RFSL’s global solidarity work dates back to 1979 when the organization joined ILGA. Our international work is deeply rooted in RFSL’s decades-long experience of advancing LGBTQI rights nationally and centers the expertise and self-determination of our partners internationally. We collaborate with LGBTQI organizations in Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, Southern Africa and Eastern Africa and globally and support our partners’ work on national, regional and international levels. The Head Office, where the International Unit is situated, consists of 45 employees, of which 12 in the international team.

Who we are: The International Unit

RFSL supports global LGBTQI movements in three main ways: partnership and re-granting to LGBTQI organizations; advocacy on regional and global scales; and capacity strengthening for activists, initiatives and organizations. These pillars are complementary tools to access more and better funding for LGBTQI organizations (Re-granting and Partnership pillar); ensure that the voices of LGBTQI activists, initiatives and groups are heard and amplified in global spaces (Global Advocacy pillar) and provide training opportunities for the further advancement of LGBTQI rights and lived realities (Capacity-strengthening pillar). RFSL’s strong focus on historically under-resourced, under-represented and excluded communities often translates into prioritizing LBT womxn and persons, and trans and intersex organizing.

What we are doing: The International Strategy Process

RFSL’s current international strategy is coming to an end by the end of 2022, and the International Unit has currently entered into a process of elaborating a new 5-year strategy. With this process, RFSL aims to operationalize the values and basic principles as elaborated by the organization’s highest decision-making body – the Congress. These basic values include feminism, anti-racism/anti-colonialism, accessibility and age-related anti-discrimination, intersectionality and norm-criticism. The Theory of Change workshop, for which we are seeking a consultant, is one part of the strategy process. The process is led internally by the Senior Strategic Development Advisor and includes internal meetings with the team; coordination with the RFSL Board, other intermediary organizations and institutions as well as an external reference group of RFSL partners organizations.

What we hope you will help us do: The Theory of Change workshop

The workshop will be conducted for the International Unit – 12 highly-experienced professionals stemming from LGBTQI movements from around the world – where the vantage point for change will be the Basic Principles of RFSL. For the purpose of this workshop, anti-racism/anti-colonialism and intersectional change will be prioritized. The facilitator will lead the International Team in discussions about what intentional value-driven change looks like from the vantage point of these basic principles. Some questions – to provide some examples of our thinking – could sound as follows: What does intersectional change mean for the work of the International Unit? What do we mean by anti-racist/decolonial advocacy? How does feminist grant-making look like? How can accessible transformation be achieved?

The facilitator should guide RFSL’s International Unit in our discussions in producing a change pathway/change diagram at the end of a 3-day workshop. We envision 1,5 days of preparation – with desk reviews of RFSL’s current strategy (10 pages); Basic Principles (2 pages); Direction of Anti-racism Work 2021- 2023 (4 pages); Joint Rules for Accessibility (5 pages); meetings with Senior Strategic Development Advisor and International Director; and setting the agenda – as well as a closing report. Additional LoE can be discussed upon necessity.

Who you are

We are looking for an experienced Theory of change facilitator who has a proven track record of anti-racist/decolonial work within international solidarity and development cooperation works. To be successful in this consultancy you have a proven track record of:

• Working with anti-racism and de-colonizing development cooperation;
• Facilitating change processes, preferably through the Theory of Change framework;
• Guiding experienced, diverse teams within the non-profit sector in elaborating change;
• Understanding the challenges of national, regional or global LGBTQI organizing and human rights for LGBTQI communities;
• Being deeply committed to intersectionality as a fundamental lens for change;
• Working with or in international development cooperation.

What we have done so far

The International Unit has had several workshops on minority stress and racism in Sweden in different constellations of the team and has identified intersectional change and anti-racist/de-colonial strategy process as a priority. We have also held a series of internal meetings in the fall of 2022 to lay the groundwork for the Theory of Change workshop.

Timeline

Due to time constraints, we hope that the workshop will take place November 14-16, 2022 in Stockholm. A hybrid format can be discussed, although it is not desirable.
What we hope to achieve with the workshop
An inclusive process where all International Unit members can contribute and feel ownership of the process;
A change diagram to be the basis of RFSL’s 5-year international strategy with anti-racism and intersectional change as intentional vantage points

We invite consultants to submit proposals including a CV, personal letter, suggested outline of the workshop and budget as soon as possible but latest by October 27 to Sati Sargsyan, Senior Strategic Development Advisor at sati.sargsyan@rfsl.se. For any questions, please, do not hesitate to reach out to Sati at the provided email address.