C0151: Solidarity Fund Scoping Contract (Learning, Development, Evaluation, and Monitoring Framework)

A Solidarity Fund feasibility and design contract to support the procurement of two subsequent contracts and develop a monitoring framework. The three key outputs are: 1. An impact evaluation approach for the Solidarity Fund 2. A learning and support contract scope for the Solidarity Fund 3. To develop a monitoring framework for The Solidarity Fund that can provide publishable data about the programme for key stakeholders. The National Lottery Community Fund (the ‘Fund’) is seeking to procure a suitable contractor (an individual organisation or a consortium with a lead supplier) to scope two separate contracts to support the organisations and grantholders we fund through our Solidarity Fund programme and develop a monitoring framework. The Solidary Fund is a £250m multi-year fund for charitable organisations tackling the root causes of inequality. The Fund’s Solidarity Fund will offer grants of between £1m and £5m, to be spent over 5 to 10 years to support this aim. The Fund has committed to awarding approximately 12 grants each year from 2025 to 2030 and anticipate the portfolio to grow to approximately 60 projects by March 2030. Grants range from 5 to 10 year duration so delivery may continue up to 2040. From 2026/2027 the Fund also plan to introduce development grants which will be lower value and shorter in length for some applications. The Solidarity Fund will support community organisations in England that are already working towards making big and lasting changes to the root causes of poverty, disadvantage and discrimination. (Systems Change). The programme aims to change the way organisations or sectors work together (Solidarity), and bring people together to deal with the root causes of these problems, by supporting people to work on this across different issues and communities (Build Power/Organise). Organisations must be led by, and accountable to, people with lived experience of the issues they are tackling (Lived Experience) and create, share and use learning from people that experience inequality (Learning). This may be to help people have a say, and be heard or to support people to take action and make things better by: influencing decision making and changes to systems, helping people that are trying to reduce inequality, understand what has worked elsewhere, or change public understanding of inequality by sharing people’s experiences. Further information is available in the tender documents.