Call for proposal for external evaluation of “Comprehensive protection for human rights defenders in Colombia 2022–2025″

The Swedish Fellowship of Reconciliation (SweFOR) is looking for a consulting team to conduct an external and independent evaluation of its project “Comprehensive protection for human rights defenders in Colombia 2022-2025”, funded through Sweden’s Strategy for Development Cooperation with Colombia 2021-2025, represented by the Swedish Embassy in Colombia.

Background

The Swedish Fellowship of Reconciliation (SweFOR) is a Swedish ecumenical organisation founded in 1919. SweFOR seeks to promote a culture of peace and non-violence in the world, promoting peaceful conflict management and respect for human rights and international humanitarian law. We work to protect human rights defenders, cooperate with peace-building organisations, and advocate and provide training in non-violence and conflict resolution in Sweden.

SweFOR has been supporting human rights defenders at risk since the 1990s. In Latin America, we operate in Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico within the framework of the programme “Civil society strengthened by peace, justice and non-violence”, of which the project in Colombia is part, co-financed by SMC Faith in Development. This evaluation focuses on the work in Colombia.

We have been working in Colombia since 2004, with offices in Bogotá, Quibdó, and Villavicencio. The overall objective of the project is: “The organisations and defenders accompanied and trained have made concrete progress in their collective processes of defending land, territory and the environment, in opposition to the militarisation of civilian life, gender violence and impunity, for the right to peace”.

To achieve this objective, work is being done to promote greater security, legitimacy and increased scope for action for human rights defenders who fight for peace, justice and a sustainable society free from violence. This is carried out through a preventive physical presence to reduce threats and create space for action (physical accompaniment),  political advocacy towards actors with moral and legal duties to take greater responsibility for the safety of human rights defenders and their inclusion in decision-making processes (political accompaniment), strategic communication to raise the legitimacy of human rights defenders (high profile) and strengthening the capacities of defenders in their risk management and development of strategies for their own protection. In collaboration with other national, regional and international civil society actors, we engage in political advocacy to increase the protection and space for action of human rights defenders in the countries where we work.

The last external evaluation of the project was conducted in 2017. Since then, substantial changes have impacted, often for the worse, the conditions for human rights advocacy work, both in the Colombian context and globally. Likewise, shifts in cooperation policies have affected work with civil society.

Internally, SweFOR has increased the number of organisations it supports in Colombia in recent years, adopted a new country strategy and opened a new office in Villavicencio. Given the changes in development cooperation funding, it is currently in the process of strengthening its adaptability and capacity to maintain its work despite less stable funding, as well as strengthening exchange and learning between programme components. Among other things, this means reviewing the distribution of responsibilities between the headquarters in Stockholm and the programme office in Colombia.

Purpose and objectives of the evaluation:

The purpose is to contribute to SweFOR’s strategic reflection on its comprehensive support model in Colombia, based on an analysis of the context, the lessons learned and the results achieved between 2022 and 2025, as well as the relationship between the resources used and the results achieved, with a view to strengthening its relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability and adaptability in a changing and challenging environment for human rights defenders in the face of a possible continuation of the project.

The specific objectives are:

• Analyse the relevance and adaptability of the project in relation to the needs, risks and opportunities of the Colombian context for defenders fighting for peace, justice and a sustainable society without violence, with special attention to the territorial dynamics where SweFOR works.
• Assess the effects and impacts generated — expected and unexpected, positive and negative — on the organisations accompanied, indirectly accompanied, institutional actors, and the environment where the accompaniment is implemented.
• Explore the efficiency and adequacy of SweFOR’s operational and institutional strategy, including its territorial presence, internal structure, and the working model between headquarters, programme, and field offices.
• Examine the sustainability of the project and its appropriation by the organisations accompanied, in the event of possible scenarios of reduction or closure of the accompaniment.
• Provide strategic recommendations that strengthen SweFOR’s support model, its future prospects and its contribution to the protection and legitimacy of human rights defenders in Colombia, as well as informed dialogue with the organisations supported based on their needs regarding strategic priorities and the possible development of the support model.

Final use:

The report will be used by SweFOR and should take a constructive approach and consider a differential analysis. We hope that the process will create opportunities for reflection and collective learning and facilitate the strategic development of SweFOR’s support model. The consultancy is expected to be planned and conducted with a participatory approach, including ongoing dialogue and mutual learning between SweFOR and the organisations receiving support.

Scope and methodology of the evaluation:

The evaluation will focus on the scope of the current contract period 2022-2025.

The starting points for the evaluation are:

• SweFOR’s application to the Swedish Embassy in Colombia for the 2022-2025 project
• Annual reports
• Memorandum of decision on the opening of SweFOR’s office in Villavicencio
• The Country strategy

In addition, Swedish public policies and priorities for supporting civil society organisations, as well as trends in cooperation with Colombia, should be taken into account.

The methodology should be developed by the evaluator or evaluation team, in line with the evaluation objectives and the Swedish cooperation results model. Within this framework, an approach focused on describing and analysing changes in behaviour, practices and relationships among key actors is recommended, using Outcome Mapping as a methodological tool to identify and analyse these changes and the project’s contribution to them.

It should involve at least the organisations being accompanied and, if possible, individuals or organisations indirectly accompanied, and subjects of moral and legal duties identified in the project, as well as staff from SweFOR and the Swedish Embassy in Colombia, including visits to implementation regions. It is also expected that different methods and data triangulation will be used to verify the conclusions of the process. Travel should be planned in consultation with SweFOR. SweFOR will support the process with contacts for interviews, organisation of collective spaces and logistical support as needed. Interviewees will be treated confidentially and their names should not be included in the report unless otherwise agreed.

Questions:

The evaluation should consider at least the following questions in order to fulfil the specific purpose and objectives:

Relevance and context:

• How does the project respond to the current needs for protection of human rights defenders in the face of contextual, territorial and structural challenges in Colombia?
• To what extent does the project provide added value and complementarity to other existing protection mechanisms and actors at the national and international levels?
• How has SweFOR been able to adapt to a changing context (political, social, security, cooperation) in terms of protection needs?

Effects and impacts:

• What specific changes have occurred in the organisations supported and their environment, and how have the project activities contributed to these changes?
• To what extent has the support model (taking into account the four areas of work) demonstrated added value
• With what types of organisations or in what contexts has SweFOR shown the greatest potential for impact?
• What impacts has the opening of the office in Villavicencio had?

Efficiency, internal functioning and use of resources:

• How does SweFOR’s organisational structure (including regional offices and headquarters) contribute to or limit the achievement of project objectives, considering the use of available resources?
• What aspects have worked well and which ones require improvement, including opportunities to strengthen the cost-efficiency of the project?
• What lessons have been learned about the distribution of functions, internal coordination and decision-making in terms of operational efficiency?

Sustainability and ownership:

• How are risks assessed in terms of vulnerability and possible coping measures in the event of SweFOR’s withdrawal from the country and/or closure of an office?
• Ownership and participation, from a differential approach, with regard to the protection approach within the organisations supported?

Recommendations:

• What strategic, structural and methodological adjustments could strengthen SweFOR’s accompaniment model
• How could complementarity and coordination with other actors in the protection ecosystem in Colombia be improved?
• What have been the good practices and lessons learned?

Duration:

The working time required for the consultancy shall not exceed 40 days, spread between March and mid-April 2026.

Outcomes:

1. Methodological plan and detailed schedule: this will be developed in consultation with SweFOR based on the evaluation team’s initial proposal and initial reading. It will be finalised before the evaluation process begins.
2. A draft report: this will be sent to SweFOR according to the schedule drawn up. If possible, the preliminary results should be presented and discussed with SweFOR at a validation workshop.
3. The final report: this will be sent to SweFOR by 15 April 2026 at the latest. The report must be written in Spanish and not exceed 30 pages. It should contain an executive summary, a brief description of the intervention, a section on findings and analysis, as well as conclusions, recommendations and lessons learned, in line with the purpose and specific objectives of the evaluation. Information on the methodology applied, sources of information and actors involved should be included in the annexes.

Qualifications:

The candidate or consulting team must have the following skills and experience:

• Proven experience and ability in implementing evaluations of development cooperation interventions focused on human rights protection and/or peacebuilding methods in conflict contexts
• Proven experience working in countries in conflict or with high levels of human rights violations
• Proven experience working with civil society organisations and social movements in conflict contexts focused on issues such as human rights, peacebuilding and/or territorial defence, preferably from Colombian civil society
• Proven experience and ability in facilitating participatory monitoring and evaluation processes, with knowledge and application of the Scope Mapping methodology
• Proven knowledge and experience in the application of methodologies with a differential, intersectional and rights-based approach
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in Spanish

Meritorious: knowledge of SweFOR and/or preventive protection through international accompaniment, as well as of the regions of intervention (Chocó, Llanos Orientales, Montes de Maria and Piamonte Caucano)

Selection process:

A technical and financial proposal must be sent no later than 16 January 2026 to teresia.carlgren@swefor.org.

The technical proposal must include:

• A letter of interest of no more than one page, indicating the relevant experience of the candidate or team and why they would be best suited for the task
• A brief methodological outline and timeline
• Curriculum vitae(s) of each member of the applicant evaluation team (maximum 2 pages per person) with at least two reference contacts
• If the proposal is submitted by a consulting team, the structure of the team, including roles and responsibilities, must be defined.

The financial proposal must include:

• The fee for each candidate
• The amount of time required to complete the assignment
• Costs of materials, travel, accommodation and other costs related to the assignment.
• Attention should be paid to the nature of SweFOR as a non-profit, non-governmental organisation when drafting the budget.

The proposal will be evaluated taking into account the qualifications of the evaluation team, the quality of the methodological proposal, and the value of the offer. Eligible candidates will be contacted as soon as possible.

Contact:

Questions may be directed to Teresia Carlgren, programme director, teresia.carlgren@swefor.org