External Evaluator

Type: Consultancy

Deadline for Applications: 27 February 2026

Date to assume responsibilities: 30 March, 2026

Culture Resource is seeking a consultant/team of consultants to carry out an evaluation of its 2022-2026 strategic phase. Individual evaluators or teams with demonstrated experience in cultural sector evaluations, ecosystem analysis, and organizational development in the Arab region are welcome to apply. Applicants interested in the position should submit their offer to respond to the responsibilities listed below.

Background

Culture Resource (Al-Mawred Al-Thaqafy), hereinafter Mawred, is a regional, non-profit organization founded in 2003 that seeks to support artistic creativity in the Arab region and to encourage cultural exchange within the region and beyond. It aims to support artists, cultural actors, and cultural institutions through grants, capacity building, publications, dissemination and networking, to promote independent creative works outside the commercial mainstream on a regional and international level, and to improve the environment for cultural work through policy research and action.

Mawred enters its third decade, building on 20 years of learning, collaborations, and persistence to support the Arab region’s artists and cultural actors. Throughout this time, the cultural sector has been navigating, with limited resources, an unstable sociopolitical environment ragged by war, weak economies, and a shrinking civic space, that challenge sustained growth and constrain freedoms across the Arab region. This is not to mention the consequences of climate change and technological transformations on intensifying economic and social exclusion in various Arab countries. In this context, the role of the arts is more vital than ever, creating paths to reflect, question, and reimagine futures rooted in social justice and sustainable living.

The organization has undergone significant programmatic expansion, internal transformation, and adaptation to rapidly shifting political, economic, and social contexts across the Arab region. It has implemented a diverse portfolio of programs from mobility support, artistic grants, institutional strengthening grants, response programs, and cultural ecosystem strengthening initiatives, as well as the launch of strategic thematic initiatives that explored intersections of cultural practices with technology, human rights, education, and the environment. Major internal investments have also been done, developing core administrative systems and strategic processes through participatory methods.

The next phase calls for restating and expanding the ecosystem approach to meet the demands of the Arab region’s cultural actors in the increasingly complex regional and global context. Mawred aims to undergo this year an external evaluation of the past five years governed by the 2022-2026 strategy, which will inform its next five-year strategy of 2027-2031, aimed to be upscaled, innovative, adaptive, long-term, and grounded in the changing lived realities of the cultural ecosystem we serve. The new strategy will also be focused on diversifying audiences and funding sources, widening its access and growing its reach.

Purpose and Scope

The independent external evaluation will focus on the strategic period of 2022-2026 and will aim to assess the organization’s:

• effectiveness, looking not only at programmatic efforts, but also at organizational development from governance to managerial processes, and partnerships. To what extent have the objectives of the current strategy been met, what external and internal factors enabled or hindered reaching them?
• adaptability to the external and internal factors identified. How has the organization responded to regional and global crises, uncertainties, structural changes, and also opportunities?
• relevance, exploring how and the extent to which programs addressed the needs and realities of artists and cultural actors in the region’s continuously changing context.
• work on artistic freedom, assessing to what extent Mawred’s programs and interventions safeguarded artistic expression, and supported freedom of creation and mobility.
• impact on beneficiaries and the cultural ecosystem regionally and globally, and its contribution to cultural policies and knowledge production.
• equity and ethics, analyzing how principles of inclusion, care, solidarity, and responsible data shaped the organization’s work as well as how the organization contributed to advancing these principles in the wider cultural field.
• sustainability, examining the durability of the organization’s approaches, internal systems, funding diversification efforts, and long-term impact.

Lessons learned and strategic opportunities will be identified while providing evidence-based recommendations that will directly inform the development of the next five-year strategy (2027–2031).

The external evaluation will draw on years of learning, including but not limited to Mawred’s 20 years of data, the recurrent focus groups across the grant programs (Production Awards and Wijhat), external evaluation studies of multiple projects (All Around Culture, Stand for Art, Mudawwanat), and the cultural policy research and studies that were supported by the organization. It will also be based on the learning reports (Wijhat, MA in Cultural Management and Policy, Culture 3.0, Ecosystem Strengthening Pilot, and the Lebanon Humanitarian Fund), highlighting insights on approaches of commons, solidarity, and care that advance cultural work when integrated.

This process will be further enriched by the knowledge shared during the 20th anniversary forum, titled “Living Fabric”, which brought together practitioners from across the region to reflect on questions of how to build and sustain ecosystems of support that are responsive yet generative, by giving space to intergenerational dialogue from across the Arab region, and re-visiting the social and political role and responsibility of cultural and creative work across the region amidst extreme violence and rising fascism.

Deliverables and Timeline

• An inception report by 15 April, outlining the evaluation methodology and approach, workplan, data collection plan, and timeline, limitations and risk mitigation plan, and detailed budget. While the final approach will be proposed by the evaluator, it is expected to include a combination of desk and organizational review, key informant interviews and/or focus groups with the Mawred team, board and general assembly members, partners, experts, funders, and beneficiaries, with an impact assessment and mapping on how the organization’s work contributed to broader cultural infrastructures and networks.
• 3 presentations of:

preliminary findings (with a first draft of the report) to the Mawred team by the end of May

preliminary findings to the board and general assembly during the general assembly meeting in early June (location TBD and may require travel).

the final evaluation to the Mawred team, board, and select stakeholders in July.

• A comprehensive evaluation report covering the analysis, findings, and recommendations by the end of July. Two versions will be produced:

a technical report for internal use and governance

a narrative report suitable for external dissemination.

Competencies and Values

Analytical and writing skills:

• expertise in both qualitative and quantitative evaluation research methods, in addition to mapping, organizational assessments, and impact analysis, applying a participatory approach
• strong writing and synthesizing skills
• cost-effectiveness and feasibility in proposing the timeline

Work experience:

• proven experience in conducting multi-country and multi-year evaluations
• deep understanding of the arts and culture sector across the Arab region
• strong time-management and organizational skills, and the capability to set priorities that ensure timely and efficient implementation of the project
• flexibility in adapting to unexpected circumstances, and capability to find solutions for challenges

Communication skills:

• fluency in spoken Arabic and a good understanding of different Arabic accents. The ability to understand French is a plus
• fluency in written Arabic and English
• ability to lead one-on-one and group interviews and discussion sessions

Coherence with Mawred’s values and policies:

• integrity that ensures performing in an impartial and honest manner at all times
• professionalism that ensures that work is carried out with dedication, conscientiously and efficiently
• understanding of ethical principles, including responsible data and confidentiality practices.
• ability to work with people from different cultures and backgrounds

Application Process

Interested candidates should submit the following documents in English or Arabic to jobs@mawred.org with the following title in the “subject” field of the email: External Evaluation Consultancy.

• CV (CVs of all team members in the case of teams)
• motivation letter
• a technical proposal outlining the methodology, workplan, and budget
• references of previous works
• 2 professional references, including their name, position, phone number, and email address.