Civil Society Organisations and Civic Space Landscape Assessment: Europe and Africa

At-a-glance structure

Phase	Purpose	Core outputs
1. Evidence synthesis and landscape mapping	Consolidate existing evidence and map key actors, needs and gaps.	Evidence review; actor map; evidence-gap note; areas of relevance to TRF’s strategy and capabilities; consultation focus note.
2. Targeted consultations	Test priority findings and fill strategic evidence gaps.	Consultation findings; priority needs and opportunities matrix.
3. TRF positioning and donor alignment	Assess TRF’s offer against needs, donor priorities and opportunities.	Programme assessment; donor map; TRF strategic priorities fit; positioning options.
4. Recommendations	Translate findings into clear strategic and programming recommendations.	Final report; strategic recommendations brief; implementation roadmap.

Background and Context

The Thomson Reuters Foundation (TRF) works to promote free, fair and informed societies by strengthening information integrity and protecting civic space. Civil society organisations face shrinking civic space, restrictive legal and regulatory environments, digital threats, financial pressures and shifting donor priorities. 

TRF seeks to commission a landscape assessment focussed on two of its key priority regions (Africa & Europe), to inform its strategic positioning, programme development and potential expansion in the civil society and civic space sector. The assignment should draw primarily on existing evidence and TRF’s internal learning, while using targeted interviews, stakeholder consultations or other appropriate methods where additional insight is needed. The assessment should help TRF understand the landscape, identify priority needs and opportunities, assess relevant funding prospects, and clarify where TRF can add distinctive value through its offering under the Access to Law, Resilience of Independent Media and Responsible Business programmes, Resilience Accelerator and related programming. 

The assessment should use a systems-thinking approach and integrate gender-responsive, youth-inclusive and intersectional analysis throughout. 

Purpose and Objectives

The objective of this assignment is to generate a clear, evidence-based understanding of the civic space landscape across Europe and Africa, including key actors, civil society priorities, ecosystem dynamics, power relations, donor opportunities, funding trends and operational gaps. The assessment will inform TRF’s strategic positioning and support decisions on the expansion, adaptation and strengthening of its operations. It should help TRF identify where its existing and potential offerings can add distinctive value within the broader civic space and civil society ecosystem, and where TRF should not prioritise investment because the strategic fit, feasibility or added value is limited. 

Specific objectives

Macro-level & Systemic Analysis 

1. Develop a comprehensive understanding of the civil society and civic space landscape consolidating existing evidence on systemic trends, structural patterns, institutional dynamics and power relations shaping civil society across Europe and Africa. Assess civic space restrictions, legal issues and regulatory environments.  

2. Assess civil society needs, organisational resilience, donor programming and emerging ecosystem trends. 

3. Assess how TRF’s Access to Law, Resilience of Independent Media and Responsible Business offerings, Resilience Accelerator and related programming align with the landscape, identified needs, donor priorities, TRF’s strategic priorities and potential expansion pathways across Europe and Africa. 

Regional assessment – for each of Africa and Europe: 

1. Map key actors, networks, donors, intermediaries and potential partners to better understand the structure of the ecosystem in agreed priority contexts in the region, existing roles and comparative advantages, areas of overlap, and collaboration pathways for TRF. 

2. Identify priority needs, emerging opportunities, underserved areas and operational gaps within the landscape for civil society organisations, grassroots movements, legal support actors, digital rights defenders and civic innovation initiatives. 

3. For Europe, also map EU priorities and potential pathways to engagement and funding. 

Recommendations: 

1. Develop practical recommendations on where TRF should position itself within the civic space ecosystem, including priority areas for programme adaptation, operational expansion, partnership development and donor engagement, based on a robust understanding of the landscape and a clear assessment of strategic fit, feasibility and comparative advantage for TRF. 

Scope of Work & Methodology

The consultant will undertake an evidence-led assessment, beginning with a review of public, donor, partner and TRF-held information, including relevant TRF strategy, programme learning, partnership experience and internal analyses. Based on this review, the consultant will identify knowledge gaps and propose targeted interviews, stakeholder consultations or other data collection methods where these would add strategic value. All methods, tools and stakeholder lists will be agreed with TRF during inception, alongside a clear analytical framework showing how evidence will be assessed against TRF’s strategy, comparative advantage, feasibility, partnership potential and donor alignment. 

The assessment should explicitly test findings and recommendations against TRF’s strategy, strategic priorities and existing organisational capabilities. The consultant should assess not only where needs and funding opportunities exist, but where TRF is best placed to contribute distinctive value, build on existing assets and partnerships, and avoid duplication with other actors in the civic space ecosystem. 

The assessment should cover: civil society and civic space trends; key actors and networks; donor priorities and funding opportunities; TRF’s current and potential offer; partnership opportunities; and practical recommendations for programme development and positioning. 

Geographic Scope

The assessment should focus on Europe and Africa. The consultant should propose a focused geographic approach during inception, considering evidence availability, strategic relevance to TRF, donor opportunities, civic space needs, and potential to build on existing TRF relationships and programming. 

Deliverables

1. Inception report, including methodology, workplan, data sources, stakeholder categories and proposed consultation approach. 

2. Evidence synthesis and landscape mapping, including key trends, actors, donor priorities and evidence gaps. 

3. Targeted consultation findings, where consultations or other data collection methods are agreed with TRF. 

4. TRF positioning and donor alignment analysis, including opportunities for TRF’s offerings and programming. 

5. Final strategic report with concise recommendations, partnership opportunities and an implementation roadmap. 

Required Experience

Essential: 

• Deep knowledge of civic space, civil society development, legal protections, organisational resilience and/or digital rights. 
• Experience working with civil society organisations operating in restricted or closing civic space contexts. 
• Experience conducting needs assessments, ecosystem mapping, landscape analysis and strategic assessments. 
• Strong experience in evidence synthesis, stakeholder mapping and analysis of civil society or civic space ecosystems. 
• Experience conducting interviews or consultations with civil society, donor, legal, civic space or human rights stakeholders. 
• Knowledge of donor landscapes and funding opportunities in Europe and/or Africa. 
• Ability to produce clear, practical and decision-ready recommendations to inform strategic positioning, programme adaptation and operational expansion. 
• Demonstrated ability to integrate gender-responsive, youth-inclusive and intersectional analysis. 

Desirable: 

• Experience working on civic space, civil society or legal empowerment issues in one or more of the priority geographies in Europe and/or Africa. 

Timeline and Level of Effort

The assignment should be completed by no later than 30 November 2026. The planning assumption is approximately 20 consultancy days, to be refined during inception based on the agreed geographic scope, methodology and consultation requirements. 

Application Process

Interested applicants should submit a CV, a brief technical proposal outlining their proposed approach and methodology, and a financial proposal. Applications will be assessed on relevant expertise, quality and feasibility of methodology, understanding of the civic space ecosystem, ability to deliver practical recommendations, and cost-effectiveness. 

Application deadline 21 September 2026

Annex A: Priority Analytical Pillars

Pillar	Core question
Civic space landscape and operating environment	What are the main civic space trends, restrictions, risks and opportunities affecting civil society actors across priority geographies Europe and Africa? How do power dynamics and institutional hierarchies shape these trends?
Civil society capacity and resilience	What organisational, financial, operational and adaptive capacity challenges do civil society organisations face, and where could TRF support greater resilience?
Legal empowerment and protection	How can legal empowerment, access to justice and legal resilience approaches help protect civic space and strengthen civil society actors?
Digital security and civic technology	What digital security, civic technology and innovation needs are emerging, and where could TRF add distinctive value?
Donor landscape and funding opportunities	Which donors, intermediaries and funding mechanisms are prioritising civic space and civil society support, and how does TRF’s offer align with these opportunities?
Strategic positioning and operational expansion	Based on the landscape, where can TRF establish a distinctive role and inform the expansion, adaptation and strengthening of its operations?

Annex B: Stakeholder Categories

Stakeholder category	Examples
Civil society organisations and networks	Advocacy organisations, grassroots movements, community-based organisations, civil society coalitions and support networks.
Legal empowerment and human rights actors	Public interest legal organisations, legal aid providers, human rights defenders, paralegal networks and legal empowerment service organisations.
Digital rights and civic technology actors	Digital rights organisations, civic technology initiatives, digital security trainers, technology policy organisations and innovation hubs.
Donors and funding intermediaries	Bilateral and multilateral donors, EU institutions, philanthropic foundations, funding intermediaries, rapid response funds and donor collaboratives.
Regional and thematic networks	Regional civil society platforms, civic space coalitions, thematic working groups, coordination platforms and policy advocacy networks.
TRF and partner stakeholders	TRF programme teams, Access to Law stakeholders, Resilience Accelerator partners, existing grantees, alumni and implementation partners.