Consultancy: Development of a Monitoring and Evaluation Framework

Terms of Reference

Consultancy: Development of a Monitoring and Evaluation Framework

Background

Mental Health Europe (MHE) is a European network organisation working to promote mental health and human rights across Europe through advocacy, knowledge development, and collaboration with members and partners.

MHE operates through several strategic and operational frameworks, including:

• The MHE Strategy 2026–2030
• The Membership Strategy 2026–2030
• EU-funded projects and operating grant
• Additional project-specific monitoring and reporting requirements.

Each of these frameworks includes objectives and some of them specific indicators, which are spread across different projects and strategies, and use different monitoring approaches.

To strengthen organisational learning, accountability and impact tracking, MHE seeks to develop a simple, practical Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) framework that allows us to:

• Track progress across its strategies and projects
• Collect data in a consistent and efficient way
• Assess organisational outcomes and impact
• Produce annual evaluation reports
• Conduct mid-term and final strategic reviews

The framework should remain light, practical and easy to implement, given the size of the organisation and the type of activities. The development of the framework will be carried out in a participatory process involving the MHE Secretariat and relevant governance bodies of MHE.

Objectives of the consultancy

The objective of this consultancy is to design a practical Monitoring and Evaluation framework for Mental Health Europe that:

1. Aligns indicators across the MHE Strategy, Membership Strategy and project frameworks
2. Identifies a core set of organisational indicators that capture outcomes and impact
3. Defines simple data collection and monitoring processes
4. Enables the production of annual evaluation reports aligned with our contractual requirements under EC operating grant
5. Supports mid-term and final strategic reviews

The framework should prioritise clarity, feasibility and organisational learning, rather than complex evaluation systems.

Scope of work

The consultant will:

• Review existing frameworks

Analyse existing monitoring structures, including:

• MHE Strategy 2026–2030
• Membership Strategy 2026–2030
• Indicators for the CERV Operating Grant 2026–2028
• Existing project indicators and reporting practices
• Internal monitoring tools currently used by the Secretariat

The objective of the review is to identify overlaps, gaps and opportunities for simplification.

• Develop an organisational M&E framework

Based on the review, the consultant will develop an M&E framework that includes:

• Indicator consolidation and a simplified framework

Mapping multiple project indicators into a smaller set of organisational indicators, for example across areas such as policy influence, stakeholder engagement, knowledge and evidence, communications and narrative change, membership engagement, organisational sustainability and governance.

The framework should include strategic outcomes, key organisational success indicators and ensure alignment with project indicators.

• Data collection methods

Identification of practical and straightforward data sources such as:

• Event participation data
• Stakeholder engagement tracking
• Policy references
• Media and communications analytics
• Membership and stakeholder surveys
• Internal organisational data

• Monitoring tools

Very simple tools to support monitoring, such as:

• Indicator tracking table
• Data collection templates
• Annual monitoring dashboard

• Develop an evaluation cycle

The consultant will propose a monitoring and evaluation cycle including:

• Annual internal monitoring
• Annual evaluation report
• Mid-term strategy review
• Final strategy evaluation

This should include:

• Suggested timeline
• Roles and responsibilities (Secretariat, Board, members where relevant)
• Data collection responsibilities
• Learning and reflection processes

4) Facilitate participatory development

The framework should be developed through consultation with the MHE team and Board. The consultant will:

• Facilitate one workshop with the Secretariat
• Facilitate one consultation with the Board and relevant governance bodies
• Integrate feedback into the final framework

The participatory approach will ensure the framework is practical, easy to use, owned by the organisation and aligned with internal processes.

Deliverables

The consultancy should deliver:

• Inception note

Short document outlining the proposed methodology, work plan and any initial observations.

• Draft M&E Framework

This will include organisational success indicators, indicator definitions, data sources and collection methods, monitoring tools and evaluation cycle.

• Monitoring tools

Simple templates, for example: indicator tracking table, data collection templates, annual monitoring dashboard

• Final M&E framework

Revised framework incorporating feedback from the Secretariat and Board.

Required expertise

The consultant should have:

• Proven experience in monitoring and evaluation for civil society organisations
• Experience developing lightweight M&E systems
• Knowledge of EU policy or advocacy organisations
• Experience facilitating participatory organisational processes
• Strong analytical and facilitation skills

Experience working with human rights or advocacy organisations will be considered an asset.

Submit your proposal

To submit your proposal, please send an email to: j.mellese@mentalhealtheurope.org