Integrate UK strategy development

Invitation to tender

Integrate UK is seeking a consultant to support the development of a three to five-year strategy for the organisation.

The information below outlines the context, our thinking and expectations, and the process we anticipate will lead us to establish a relationship with the selected consultant.

About Integrate

Integrate UK is a national charity based in Bristol that aims to provide young people with the skills, opportunities and platforms to take an active role in tackling societal issues they consider important.

You can read more here. The following are some key aspects of Integrate UK and our work:

  • We were founded in 2009 by a group of young activists who wanted to challenge the harmful practices of female genital mutilation, forced marriage and honour-based abuse and violence in their communities.
  • Under the guidance of our young people, we have since extended our remit to address issues relating to gender and racial inequalities and all forms of violence against women and girls (VAWG).
  • We also aim to raise attainment and aspirations, widen career opportunities and provide meaningful work experience to improve prospects. We support our young people to engage in campaigning and pushing for changes to policy and practice.
  • We provide education, training, and advocacy programmes to improve safeguarding and make vulnerable and marginalised young people aware of their rights and how to access support.
  • At the same time, we aim to raise awareness and promote positive social change, and we also support young people, offering mentoring and other support services.
  • We believe that young people are the key to creating a more equal and inclusive society and pride ourselves on being youth-led in our activities.
  • Click here to read our latest impact report.

Having recently joined the Paul Hamlyn Foundation’s Youth Strategic Investment Fund, we now have a fantastic opportunity to build the organisation’s capacity, sustainability and impact.

Why we need a strategy

Until now, we have not had an explicit strategy.

We believe that developing a clear strategy will help us make the best decisions as we develop the organisation.

Change is inevitable, and we feel that a clear strategy, and the process for its creation, will help us minimise the risks and maximise the opportunities of the changes that will come, creating collective alignment around our values and goals and collective commitment to the journey.

The process as we see it now

We anticipate that the process of strategy development will not be fixed from the outset but will evolve as part of a healthy relationship between the consultant and our organisation. However, at this point, here are some of our expectations:

Elements of the process

We expect the process will involve some or all of the following:

  • A review of our vision, mission and goals, including consideration of our place in the landscape of our beneficiaries, service users, partners, funders and others.
  • The development of a renewed theory of change.
  • Consideration of our resourcing needs for the short-to-medium term.
  • A consideration of the governance structures, processes and culture that help to guide and protect our work.

Engagement

It will be important for the consultant to demonstrate an ability to work effectively with the stakeholder groups outlined below, supporting and challenging in equal measure.

Being youth-led is fundamental to us, and engaging young people throughout the process will be important. We believe that will inform our strategy and ensure that our most important stakeholders understand and are empowered to support our strategy.

Trustee engagement in the process is vital, as is staff involvement. We think the process could involve excellent opportunities for staff development.

We also recognise that it may be appropriate to involve other stakeholders, such as parents, schools and funders to some extent.

Outputs

  • The content for a well-articulated strategy document suitable for external use. We will address the design and production of a finished document outside this project’s scope.
  • Vision mission values, including a clear articulation of Integrate’s essential role in improving society.
  • Theory of change.
  • Key measures for performance and impact that will empower the board and enable them to exercise appropriate oversight and support.
  • Recommendations for monitoring and evaluation so the strategy is kept alive and different stakeholders remain appropriately engaged.
  • Recommendations for board development in the context of providing good strategic oversight.
  • An analysis of resources and other requirements for the delivery of the strategy, with pragmatic and achievable first steps to help us start the journey of delivering our strategy.
  • To support a realistic and achievable strategy, clarity on what Integrate does not, or will not, do.

Considerations

The process

  • We think it may be useful to establish a steering group representing a range of key stakeholders.
  • Integrate has an active Youth Board and Junior Trustees. Their engagement throughout the process is an important design consideration.
  • To efficiently and meaningfully engage the board of trustees, we anticipate a small group of board members will be involved throughout and that they will ensure the wider board is involved when appropriate. Certainly, we anticipate the board will be fully involved in key workshops.
  • We need to ensure all staff and young people work according to our Deed of Trust when contributing to strategy.
  • We are keen for the process to be efficient and to continue at pace but also recognise a need to ensure decision-making is inclusive, considered, and transparent. Currently board meetings are scheduled for the weekends of 16-17 March and 29-30 June.

The strategy

Key questions we think will arise during the process may include:

  • How do we balance growth in the size of the organisation with growth in impact?
  • How do we embed practices to ensure Integrate remains youth-led?
  • Balancing our local impact and our national visibility
  • Considering ways to diversify our income and reduce reliance on grant-giving bodies
  • If and how we can increase our impact by sharing the Integrate model with other youth charities.

Budget

Our budget will be in the region of £8,000 to £10,000. We would prefer to retain an unallocated fund to support additional work not anticipated at the outset.

What happens next

We welcome submissions from consultants interested in supporting our strategy development by the evening of 3 March.

If you are interested, please send us a document addressing the following:

  • Evidence in support of your suitability for the role.
  • The process you anticipate taking us through, with your best estimate of likely timescales.
  • Your assessment of risks and opportunities as you see them at this stage.
  • Proposed outputs and deliverables.
  • Cost, including an explanation of how you have priced this.

Please send submissions to mike@blackbirdconsulting.uk. If you have any questions, please email them to the same address.

Our process for selection

  • After considering written submissions, we will invite a maximum of three consultants to an online meeting for further discussion.
  • We will then make our selection and invite the successful consultant to meet and agree on the contract. Once agreed, this will be followed by a kick-off meeting.