CONSULTANT SERVICES REQUEST FOR A NETWORK GOVERNANCE REVIEW

Reference #FR-PA-DG 2026 22

1. INSTRUCTION TO BIDDERS

By forwarding a submission, the bidder accepts the general terms and conditions governing the Consultant Services Request, as the sole basis for this procedure in full and without restriction. The bidder accepts Action Against Hunger’s General Terms and Conditions by default.

If the bidder wishes to point out restrictions to Action Against Hunger’s Terms and Conditions, such reservations should be clearly explained in a letter included in the offer.

Failure to provide a submission containing all of the required information and documentation by the specified deadline will result in the rejection of the submission.

1. PREAMBLE

Established in France in 1979, Action Against Hunger is a non-governmental, non-political, non-religious, non-profit organisation, committed to the work of ending world hunger, by combating malnutrition, food insecurity, adverse water and sanitation conditions, and other crises threatening the lives of men, women, and children around the globe.

Action Against Hunger’s work is enacted in emergency, humanitarian and development contexts, as sole actors, and/or in partnership with peer NGOs, local communities, or Governmental entities.

1. PURPOSE OF THE REQUEST FOR CONSULTANT SERVICES

The Action Against Hunger Network is currently developing its next
4-year International Strategic Plan (ISP 4) for the time period 2027 to 2030. The International Chairpersons Committee (ICC) has decided to initiate a Network Governance Review in conjunction with and supported by the International Executive Committee (IEC), in order to make the network ‘fit for the future’, in alignment with the ISP 4, and to enable the achievement of ambitious strategic goals.

The successful bidder will be notified by email, followed by signature of a framework agreement and a non-disclosure agreement (NDA).

1. SCHEDULE OF REQUEST FOR CONSULTANT SERVICES

Publication Date 18 May 2026 09h00 CET

Deadline for Requests for Clarification 1 June 202617h00 CET

Deadline for Submission **8 June 2026** 17h00 CET

Consultant Shortlist 15-26 June 2026

Consultant Interview Period29 June - 2 July 2026

Consultant Selection 6 July 2026 17h00 CET

Consultant Start Date 13 July 2026 9h00 CET

\*All times are in Central European Time (CET)

1. REQUESTS FOR CLARIFICATION

If Action Against Hunger, either on its own initiative or in response to a request from a prospective bidder, provides additional information on the Request for Consultant Services dossier, such information will be communicated simultaneously in writing to all bidders.

Bidders may submit questions by email to **achatssiege@actioncontrelafaim.org,** up to and including 1 June 2026, but no later than 17h00 CET, specifying the Request for Consultant Services Title: **Network Governance Review**, and Reference Number: **FR-PA-DG 2026 22**

Any prospective consultant, or consultant team, seeking to arrange individual meetings with Action Against Hunger during the submission period may be excluded from the submission process.

1. ELIGIBILITY FOR REQUEST FOR CONSULTANT SERVICES

Participation in submissions for the Request for Consultant Services is open to consultants with experience beyond the INGO, Humanitarian, and/or Development sector.

To comply with Action Against Hunger’s donor’ rules, participants must clearly indicate their company’s country of operations, and in anticipation of being shortlisted provide the required legal business documentation.

1. INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMISSIONS FOR REQUEST FOR CONSULTANT SERVICES

F.1 Submission Format

Each respective bid should be packaged within a single folder or zip file, and submitted via email to achatssiege@actioncontrelafaim.org, with e.weemsmcguire@actionagaisthunger.org.uk on copy.

The email submission must include the Request for Consultant Services Title: **Network Governance Review,** Reference Number: **FR-PA-DG 2026 22**, and the consultant, or consultant team’s, name on the subject of the email.

All submissions must be received no later than 8 June 2026, 17h00 PM CET (Central European Time).

F.2 Submission Content

The prospective consultant, or consultant team, must provide sufficient information to demonstrate compliance with the request for submission. Submissions will be scored against the following requested criteria:

1. Methodology and Workplan
- Clarity and robustness of methodology
- Multi-stakeholder approach (ICC, IEC, IMGs, and other Key Network Stakeholders, etc.)
- Analytical framework quality
- Tools and methods (survey, interviews, benchmarking)
- Feasibility and realism
2. Team Composition and Relevant Experience
- Experience in governance of international networks
- Experience beyond NGOs (corporate/federated/global models)
- Experience in similar assignments (complex, multi-actor)
- Team composition (seniority & complementarity)
- References
3. Proposed Timeline
- Realism of timeline
- Alignment with methodology
4. Financial Proposal
- Consistency between price and level of effort
- Realistic number of days
- Seniority aligned with budget
5. GENERAL

Submissions for request for Consultant Services shall be deemed as an acknowledgement by the prospective consultant, or consultant team, that all obligations stipulated by this Request for Consultant Services will be met and, unless otherwise specified, the prospective consultant, or consultant team, has read, understood and agreed to all the instructions within this request.

Action Against Hunger is under no obligation to award a contract to any consultant, or consultant team, as a result of this request.

All correspondence and documents related to the request for Consultant Services exchanged by the bidder and Action Against Hunger must be written in English, and financial proposals must be presented in Euros, including VAT and ANY OTHER TAXES (if applicable).

1. REQUEST FOR CONSULTANT SERVICES OPENING, EVALUATION, AND SELECTION CRITERIA

The opening and examination of submissions is for checking whether the submissions are complete and generally in order.

The subsequent evaluation of submissions will be conducted by an

Evaluation Committee comprising representatives from Action Against Hunger’s International Executive Committee (IEC), representatives from Action Against Hunger’s International Chairperson Committee (ICC), an ACF Network Director of Procurement, and the Action Against Hunger International Chairperson.

The consultant contract will be awarded to the service-driven and administratively compliant submission that is also economically advantageous.

Submissions will be evaluated and selected based on the criteria listed below:

1. Bids should be submitted by email, as stated under section F.1
1. Submitting a hard copy shall result in automatic rejection
2. The bidder should have valid registration documents which should be included with the submission pack - failure to submit shall result in automatic rejection
3. Proposed Methodology and Workplan
4. Team Composition and Relevant Experience
5. Proposed Timeline
6. Cost Competitiveness

**\#Evaluation Criterion**

**\*Mandatory Administrative Elements**

**1 Proposed Methodology and Work Plan**

*Clarity and robustness of methodology*

*Multi-stakeholder approach (ICC, IEC, Members, etc.)*

*Analytical framework quality*

*Tools and methods (survey, interviews, benchmarking)*

*Feasibility and realism*

**2 Team Composition and Relevant Experience**

*Experience in governance of international networks*

*Experience beyond NGOs (corporate / federated/global models)*

*Experience in similar assignments (complex, multi-actor)*

*Team composition (seniority & complementarity)*

*References*

**3 Proposed Timeline**

*Realism of timeline*

*Alignment with methodology*

**4 Cost Competitiveness**

*Consistency between price and level of effort*

*Realistic number of days*

*Seniority aligned with budget*

1. COST

The prospective consultant, or consultant team, shall bear all costs related to the preparation and/or submission to the Request for Consultant Services, regardless of whether its submission was selected or not. Action Against Hunger shall in no case be responsible or liable for those costs, regardless of the conduct or outcome of the selection process.

1. CANCELLATION OF REQUEST FOR CONSULTANT SERVICES

In the event of the Request for Consultant Services procedure's cancellation, bidders will be notified by Action Against Hunger.

Cancellation may occur where:

1. The request for services procedure has been unsuccessful, namely where no qualitatively or financially worthwhile submission has been received, or there has been no response at all;
2. The parameters of the project have been fundamentally altered;
3. Exceptional circumstances or force majeure render normal performance of the project impossible;
4. All compliant submissions exceed the financial resources available;
5. There have been irregularities in the procedure, in particular where these have prevented fair competition.

Under no circumstances will Action Against Hunger be liable for damages, whatever

their nature (in particular damages for loss of profits) or relation with the cancellation of a request for services, even if Action Against Hunger has been warned of the possibility of damages.

The publication of a request for services notice does not commit Action Against Hunger to implement the announced programme or project.

1. SPECIFICATIONS
2. DELIVERABLES

In accordance with the Action Against Hunger (ACF) Network Governance Review Terms of Reference, the following consultant deliverables are required within a timeline beginning 13 July 2026 and ending end of October 2026:

1. **BASELINE DELIVERABLES**

- Inception Report (methodology, tools, timeline, interview plan), to be delivered with the Baseline Perception Survey
- Baseline Perception Survey Report (30–40 pages, PDF + executive summary) **Interviews with Network Stakeholders**: 25 hours minimum
- Baseline Presentation/Discussion with the ICC/IEC: 2 hours minimum

1. **MID-POINT DELIVERABLES**

- Governance Diagnostic Report

**Interviews with Network Stakeholders**: 16 hours minimum, or by qualitative survey
- Governance Landscape Benchmarking and Best Practices: Focus on options/pathways relevant for ACF (10–20 pages)

Suggestion: ACF provides an INGO landscape benchmark report, amongst a list of documents to be provided, while the prospective consultant, or consultant team marries this information with additional benchmarking reflecting the non-INGO landscape
- Governance Options & Recommendations, with legal, fiscal, and economic impacts with scenario analysis per HQ
1. Risk & Mitigation Matrix
2. Proposed Amendments to the International Cooperation Protocol (PowerPoint + narrative report)
- Mid-Point Presentation/Discussion with the ICC/IEC: 4 hours minimum

1. **FINAL DELIVERABLES**

- Final Governance Reform Report (comprehensive, with executive summary)
- Final Presentation/Discussion with the ICC/IEC, in November 2026: 3 hours minimum

All deliverables must be provided in PDF and editable formats (Word, PowerPoint, or equivalent)