Please note: the deadline for this opportunity has now passed.
Could you help us make the Funders Collaborative Hub as effective as possible for the long term?
We’re looking for around six people to join the Hub’s new Impact and Learning Advisory Group.
This group will guide our work to generate, analyse and act on learning from the Hub, as we refine its delivery model over the next two years. It will also help us take account of wider developments in the funding sector to make sure the Hub stays relevant.
If you want to play a part in strengthening and connecting the grant-making sector, and you have any of the following areas of knowledge and experience, we’d like to hear from you:
- experience as a funder (of any size or type) who has played an active role in initiating or shaping collaborations with other funders
- experience of providing infrastructure or consultancy support to help funders strengthen their practice and increase their impact through effective collaboration
- a wide understanding of how collaboration between funders can impact on the civil society organisations, communities and causes they support
- a strong understanding of learning and evaluation methods and how these can be used to strengthen funder practice
- experience of using a range of evidence to inform the design and delivery of services (including digital and non-digital services).
Why are we doing this?
At ACF, our vision is of diverse, vibrant and effective foundations, working together for social good. The Funders Collaborative Hub plays a key role in delivering our strategy, strengthening connections across and beyond the foundation sector and helping funders to achieve excellent practice.
Setting up the Impact and Learning Advisory Group is part of our plan for the Hub’s transition from a grant-funded project into an integral and sustainable part of ACF’s work. The group will meet quarterly in 2024 and 2025, working with ACF staff to:
- develop a plan for generating actionable learning about the relevance, effectiveness and impact of the Hub
- review the results of these learning activities and explore their possible implications for what the Hub should stop, start, continue or do differently
- provide ideas, advice and feedback to inform the development of potential improvements to the Hub in response to this learning.
We hope that members of the group will find it a valuable experience, with opportunities to gain insights into the practices of diverse funders.
We believe that diversity of people brings diversity of perspective, skills and experience, which in turn can deliver richer creativity, better problem-solving and greater impact. We encourage applications to join the group from people with characteristics that are currently under-represented in the foundation sector. This includes (but is not limited to) ethnicity, disability, socio-economic status, gender, age and sexual orientation.
Advisory group members are generally unpaid volunteers. However, for those who couldn’t participate without remuneration (whether in a personal capacity or on behalf of an organisation that is unable to contribute their time unpaid), ACF can provide up to £200 per quarter, to cover attendance and preparation for meetings.
We hope that members of the group will find it a valuable experience, with opportunities to gain insights into the practices of diverse funders and contribute to developing the effectiveness of the whole grant-making sector.
This new group will build on the work of the Hub’s outgoing Strategy Group, who have supported its development over the last few years. Strategy Group member Elaine Wilson, Head of Learning and Development at Corra Foundation, said:
"I’m passionate about collaborating. I value the variety and different definitions of collaborations, whether a formal partnership with a specific goal that aims to have greater impact or shared opportunities for learning – there is space for all. The Funders Collaborative Hub is an exciting opportunity that enables this to happen, and I am delighted to be part of this work.”
How to apply
To express an interest in joining the group, please email Jim Cooke (jim@acf.org.uk), head of the Funders Collaborative Hub by Thursday 14th March, outlining why you are interested and what relevant knowledge and experience you would bring. We suggest that you write no more than 500 words.
If you’d like to find out more, you are welcome to contact Jim for an informal conversation about our plans for the Hub and the role of the Impact and Learning Advisory Group. Please also get in touch if you feel you may have any barriers to participating in the group, and we will be happy to explore how we might be able to address these.
We aim to appoint members to the group in April and hold its first meeting in May.
About ACF
The Funders Collaborative Hub is hosted by ACF, the leading membership association for foundations and independent grant-makers in the UK.
