Needs analysis and donor mapping related to media operating in exile in the Latin America and East Africa regions

About Thomson Reuters Foundation

The Thomson Reuters Foundation (TRF) works to promote free, fair and informed societies by strengthening information integrity and protecting civic space, particularly in contexts where independent media and civil society actors face significant constraints. We are an independent charity registered in the UK and the US, with an entity registered in Europe. We have an established track record delivering media and legal programming for exiled media across Europe. Given the growing needs globally, we are exploring how we can replicate and contextualise this support to exiled media in the Latin America and East Africa regions.

Please note: ‘exiled media’ is not a catch-all term and we mean it to include hybrid media, those that are transient, internally displaced, and/or in high-risk environments at risk of exile, serving audiences in restricted information environments.

Scope of Work

We are seeking an experienced consultant to provide research, needs analysis and strategic insight into the global funding landscape for independent media and journalists in exile, or operating in restricted, repressive, or rapidly changing environments.

The two key deliverables and outputs of this assignment are:

1. Needs and partnership landscape analysis for exiled media in the Latin America and East Africa regions

The needs assessment will identify the priority needs, challenges, capacity gaps and opportunities facing target stakeholders, including media organisations, journalists, and support ecosystems. This will include analysis of:

• Constraints on media freedom and civic space in source countries, including censorship, access to in-country audience, and legal, regulatory, and political barriers;
• Operational and organisational legal barriers in exile, including legal entity registration and compliance in new jurisdictions;
• Capacity gaps across editorial, organisational, and technical domains;
• Needs related to financial sustainability, audience engagement, and digital transformation;
• Challenges related to misinformation, disinformation, and trust erosion;
• Access to support ecosystems, such as resources, tools, and services provided by CSOs working in the media in exile space;
• Operational risks (including safety and security) that would need to be considered for TRF programming in these regions.

The assessment will include a detailed scoping of key implementing partners operating in the space, such as civil society organisations, networks, and support intermediaries. The analysis should examine:

• The roles and comparative advantages of different actors;
• The types of interventions and support currently being provided;
• Areas of overlap, duplication, or fragmentation;
• Gaps in funding or programming;
• Opportunities for collaboration, coordination, and strategic alignment.

2. Donor and opportunity mapping for the Latin America and East Africa regions

This assessment will include a detailed mapping of funding opportunities from a diverse portfolio of donors, including governments, bilateral and multilateral agencies, philanthropic foundations, trusts, private philanthropists, corporate foundations, intermediary funders, pooled funds, and other relevant financing mechanisms.

This should include an assessment of:

• donor objectives;
• strategic priorities;
• geographic and thematic areas of interest;
• eligibility criteria;
• typical grant sizes;
• funding modalities;
• application cycles;
• decision-making processes;
• partnership requirements;
• potential alignment with TRF’s mission and programme areas;
• recent grants awarded;
• key decision-makers;
• likelihood of success;
• recommended engagement strategy / next steps.

The assessment will also:

• Identify commercial contract opportunities from funders, institutional clients, and partners where TRF could provide media, journalism, legal, capacity-building, research, advisory, convening, or technical assistance services to support the target stakeholders, including independent media, exiled media, journalists, and civil society.
• Identify emerging and non-traditional funding sources, including technology philanthropies, digital rights funders, AI governance funders, democracy and information integrity funds, family offices, donor collaboratives, and rapid-response funds supporting independent media and civil society.
• Provide analysis of blended finance models and thematic funding pools and coalitions, including donor objectives, fund management and relevance for TRF.
• Provide analysis of the current implementer marketplace to assess who TRF could partner with to deliver programming, including competitor analysis of skill gaps and geographic footprint.

Regional Focus

Latin America (LATAM)

• Primary source countries: Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala (at a minor scale: Honduras, Ecuador and Haiti)
• Primary host countries: Costa Rica, USA, Spain, Colombia, Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Guatemala

East Africa

• Primary source countries: Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan
• Primary host countries: Kenya and Uganda (primary regional hubs); Europe and North America for longer-term resettlement

Gender-lens and Intersectional Approach

A gender-sensitive perspective that includes an intersectional analysis of marginalised and minoritised groups will be integrated across all components of the assessment.

The analysis will examine how gender shapes access, participation, and outcomes in relation to media in exile in LATAM and East Africa This assignment should analyse disproportionate barriers for women and minority genders specifically in the media in exile context. This will include consideration of:

• The experiences of women journalists and media managers, including barriers to participation and leadership
• Gender-specific risks, including online harassment, transnational repression, safety concerns, and legal vulnerabilities;
• The representation and influence of women in media organisations and ecosystem networks in exile;
• Access to funding, resources, and opportunities for women-led organisations in exile;
• The extent to which existing programmes and funding mechanisms for media in exile are gender-responsive;
• Intersectionality across various characteristics and lived experiences, including (but not limited to) LGBTQ+ identity, indigenous communities, disability, refugee status, displacement.

Required Qualifications

Essential:

• Experience in conducting needs assessments;
• Experience in conducting ecosystem mapping;
• Experience in conducting research related to media development, civic space, or information integrity;
• Experience of working with media in exile.

Desirable:

• Spanish or Arabic language skills;
• Experience of working with media in exile in the above-mentioned geographies is a significant advantage;
• Experience of integrating gender analysis into research and programme design.

Timeline and Level of Effort

This assignment is expected to start in the month of August 2026.

The current assumption of the workload entailed in the consultancy is approximately 12-16 days, to be refined during inception depending on scope, geography and stakeholder access.

Application Process

Interested applicants should submit a CV, a short technical proposal outlining their approach, and a financial proposal (in line with the expected number of consultancy days outlined above). Proposals will be assessed on technical merit, relevance of expertise, feasibility of methodology, understanding of the relevant geographies, ability to deliver an evidence-led and targeted approach, and cost-effectiveness.

• Deadline to apply: 10th August 2026
• Email applications to [email protected]

If you feel that you fulfil some but not all the regional / thematic areas of this Terms of Reference, please don’t hesitate to still apply and outline the specific areas where you could contribute.