We are looking to work with an external consultant or organisation to review our work and funding towards our Community-driven enterprise and regeneration priority.
Read the full invitation to tender
The review will run from November 2026 to February 2027 and will help us understand the impact of our funding so far, changes in the wider sector, and where we are best placed to make an impact in the future. We are looking for consultants with strong evaluation and research experience, excellent facilitation skills, and deep knowledge of community asset ownership, community enterprise and community wealth building.
Deadline for submissions: 5:00pm, Monday 26 October 2026.
Background
Our Community driven enterprise and regeneration priority sits within our Creative, Confident Communities strategic aim. We believe local economies work better when local people have a stronger stake in how they operate, and that community-led and owned approaches can contribute to economic equity, nature recovery and social inclusion.
Over the last two and a half years, we have proactively grown this area of our funding and now have 30 grants within the scope of the review. We fund both leading local community organisations and national and regional infrastructure organisations working to build capacity, influence policy and create the conditions for wider systems change.
Social investment is also an important part of our approach, providing additional options including debt, equity and blended finance. We want the review to consider how social investment and grant funding can work together most effectively to contribute to our long-term outcomes.
What the work will involve
The review will help us understand what progress our funding has made so far and provide practical recommendations for our future work. It will explore:
- How the wider context for community-driven enterprise and regeneration has changed since 2020, and the opportunities and challenges facing the sector
- What difference our funding is making for organisations and the wider sector
- Whether focusing on particular activities or issues could help us achieve greater impact
- How different approaches to funding, including grants, social investment and blended finance, can best support change
- How we should work alongside other funders and where Esmée can add most value
- Opportunities to strengthen our commitments to climate and DEI
- How change and impact can best be evidenced and understood at a portfolio level
The work will include desk research, a review of learning from Esmée's grants and social investments, interviews or group discussions with key stakeholders, a validation workshop, and report writing.
Outputs and budget
We estimate the work will take no more than 35 days, with a budget of around £28,000 including VAT.
The main outputs will be:
- A report for Esmée staff and trustees with specific recommendations for our future work (maximum 20 pages)
- A 2 to 4-page executive summary setting out key learning for trustees and the wider sector
- Anonymised notes from interviews and other relevant research
We would ideally like a draft report by 5 February 2027, with the final report completed by 19 February 2027.
Experience we're looking for
We are looking for an organisation, or pair/group of consultants, with:
- Strong experience in evaluation and research
- Deep knowledge of community asset ownership, including land, buildings and energy
- Knowledge of community enterprise and community wealth building
- Experience facilitating conversations involving a range of perspectives
- Confidence working with varied sources of information
- The ability to bring external challenge and perspective to our work
- The ability to communicate findings and recommendations clearly and simply
If you have been involved in any work funded by Esmée, please let us know so that we can consider how any potential conflicts of interest might be managed.
Read the full invitation to tender
Registering your interest
To register your interest, please submit:
- A short note of no more than two A4 pages outlining your relevant experience, links to examples of your work, your reflections on how you would approach the brief, and a budget breakdown with staff day rates
- Short, relevant CVs for the people who would undertake the work, including their day rates and any potential conflicts of interest
- Contact details for the main contact
Please send submissions to communications@esmeefairbairn.org.uk by 5:00pm, Monday 26 October 2026.
