Request for proposals – the Marine Food Security and Livelihood Sub-programme

1. Overview

Oak Foundation is seeking expressions of interest from individuals or teams to carry out a rapid, forward-looking review of the Marine Food Security and Livelihood Sub-programme of the Environment Programme, focused on distant water fleets.

The Marine Food Security and Livelihood Sub-programme supports efforts that protect the food security of coastal and Indigenous communities while ensuring the health of marine ecosystems. This includes enhancing the governance of small-scale fisheries, building resilience to climate change, empowering communities, conserving fish stocks and habitats, and increasing transparency and labour rights in fisheries. We support efforts in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, especially if there is a regional or global impact.

2. Background

Oak Foundation commits its resources to contribute to a safer, fairer, and more sustainable world. Oak Foundation makes grants to not-for-profit organisations across the globe through its ten programmes. Each programme has its own strategy, funding criteria, and geographic scope.

Oak Foundation’s Environment Programme’s current strategy for its Marine, Food Security, and Livelihood subprogramme embraces system-change principles and a people-centred approach. The strategy has been in place for approximately five years and focuses on two complementary areas: small scales fisheries and distant water fleet fisheries. In 2024, an independent review of the small-scale fisheries portfolio was conducted, followed by an internal reflection and review of the overall Marine Food Security and Livelihood Sub-programme in October 2025. These aim to inform the subprogramme’s future directions.

We are now looking for an external expert or a team of external experts (“the consultant”) to support this refinement process and help address remaining key questions identified during the review process. This review will focus on distant water fleets, helping refine our approach to system change and people-centred strategies for a safer, fairer, and more sustainable world.

3. Purpose, scope, and objectives

The purpose of this consultancy is to provide forward-looking recommendations for the Marine, Food Security, and Livelihood Sub-programme, in particular in relation to distant water fleets, while recognising the link with small-scale fisheries. It will focus on the key outstanding questions identified in the previous review and internal reflection processes. The consultancy will inform Oak’s 2026 process to refine the sub-programme‘s strategy, ensuring it remains relevant, effective, and fit-for purpose over the next five years. This will include consideration of emerging trends, opportunities, risks, and other contextual and systemic factors shaping the global food, oceans, and biodiversity conservation agenda.

The findings from this consultancy will inform a broader process to refresh and refine the Environment Programme’s strategy for the 2027–2031 period.

More specifically, the objectives of this review are:

1. To identify emerging trends, opportunities, risks – globally and locally – and other contextual factors that Oak should consider when refining the Marine, Food Security, and Livelihood Sub-programme strategy – particularly the work on distant water fleets –to make sure it remains relevant, adaptable, effective and fit-for-purpose over the next five years (2027-2031).
2. To provide Oak with key insights, foresight and analysis to shape the strategy – in terms of focus, regions, policies, tactics, interventions, and partnerships, to invest in and scale up.
3. To help in the framing and positioning of the refreshed 2027-31 Marine, Food Security, and Livelihood Sub-programme strategy.

4. Preliminary questions

The questions to be addressed in the review will be discussed, refined, and finalised during the inception phase. Below is an initial overview of the questions identified in the previous reviews and internal reflection exercises, which the consultant will address. 

4.1. Broad framing and future outlook

a. Opportunities, emerging leadership, and context
– What’s on the horizon in the next two-to-five years? Which emerging windows at global, regional, and local levels should we anticipate, and how can we position our strategy to take advantage of them?

b. Strategic partnerships and funding ecosystem
– What is the new generation of organisations we should consider partnering with and supporting? Which partnerships should be reviewed for potential transition or conclusion? Which partnerships should be scaled up?
– What opportunities exist for collaboration with food, climate, conservation, and development funders?

c. Strategic vision and positioning within the Environment Programme:
– Which programme-wide approaches and tactics will remain strategic for the subprogramme, in particular considering the current political context and possible future developments? (e.g., movement and ecosystem building; generating broader mobilisation for local campaigns, capacity and leadership development for local leaders, etc.). Which new solutions and approaches should be tested

d. Geographic focus
– How can we strategically balance our investments between global interventions and a focus on specific regions?
– What criteria should we prioritise in selecting specific regions to invest in, and through which form of grant-making?

4.2. Specific questions for the industrial fisheries portfolio:

Transparency in fisheries and ocean governance:

• A core component of the current strategy is to enhance transparency and accountability. What are the limits and future potential opportunities around transparency in this context?

Accountability and enforcement mechanisms:

• What social, legal, institutional frameworks are available to enhance accountability? Where should efforts focus to maximise impact?
• What are the opportunities offered by digital and satellite platforms to enforce legal procedures?
• What strategies can we implement to ensure the effectiveness and the enforcement of Small-Scale Fisheries Preferential Access Areas, as well as other designated protected zones? What opportunities can we harness to scale up Small-Scale Fisheries Preferential Access Areas?

Timeframe and indicative level of effort

This assignment can start in March 2026 and should be finalised in June 2026.
The maximum available budget for this Consultancy is USD 20,000. We expect the consultant to work remotely.

Deliverables

1. A brief inception report that will cover: the scope of the review, including: a final list of agreed review questions; the methodology and data collection plan; a list of key stakeholders who will be consulted (funders, organisations, academics, and fisher movements); a timeframe and delivery schedule; an outline of the structure of the final report. This will be a concise document, and its purpose is to ensure agreement on the scope of the review among all parties involved. This report will need to be approved by Oak before moving on to the next stages of the review.
2. Draft and final report with executive summaries. The final report should not exceed 15 pages plus annexes. The structure will be agreed with Oak.
3. Draft a visually appealing slide deck (maximum 15 slides), including the main findings and recommendations to be used in discussions and presentations. 
4. Two virtual presentations and discussions to present the findings and recommendations to relevant internal audiences within Oak Foundation.

Payment schedule

The payment schedule can be negotiated with the consultant or lead consultant (in the case of a team). Our initial proposal is to organise it into three instalments, upon invoice:

1. 30 per cent upon signature (USD 6,000)
2. 40 per cent upon reception draft report (USD 8,000)
3. 30 per cent upon finalisation of the assignment (6,000)

Management

This consultancy will be manged by Javiera Calisto (Programme Officer EP) and supported by Silvia Guizzardi (Senior Adviser for Impact).

Skills and experience

We are looking for a consultant or a team of consultants who can bring together the following skills and experience:

• Good understanding of the concept of blue justice ocean governance, industrial fisheries and the small-scale fisheries sector – including their significance in food systems and national development, as well as links with the biodiversity, conservation, and climate change agendas.
• Insider knowledge of the current ecosystem of actors engaged on ocean and fisheries issues globally and in key regions.
• Extensive experience with strategic foresight and scenarios analysis, including the ability to identify and interpret current and emerging trends, mind-set shifts and power dynamics.
• Excellent analytical skills, with the ability to translate evidence and knowledge into insights for strategists and grant-makers. 
• Ability to translate findings from the review into strategic options.
• Extensive experience in the review of grant-making or programmatic portfolios.
• Experience and familiarity with philanthropic work and funders collaboratives is an asset.
• Good storyteller. Highly engaging presentation and communication skills.
• Positive and flexible attitude and willingness to work collaboratively with the review commissioners and to make joint decisions along the way.   

Proposals

Interested consultants are invited to submit a brief proposal that includes:  

• A brief description (up to two pages) presenting what the consultant brings to this assignment, the interest, and a brief description of how they intend to conduct this work.
• A brief resume or CV (1-2 pages per team member). For organisations, please include a summary of organisations mission and background too.  
• An indicative budget and suggested timeframe.

The deadline for the submission of proposals via email to adel.ramdani@oakfnd.ch is by 23 January.

The interviews with shortlisted candidates or teams will be conducted the week of 6, 9, and 12 of February.

For more information about this RFP please contact Adel Ramdani (adel.ramdani@oakfnd.ch).