Terms of Reference
Consultancy to Support the Development of the Pacific Regional Advocacy Strategy / Framework and Implementation Approach
Submission deadline: 5. August 2026
Consultancy start date: End August / Early September 2026
Publication target: 31. March 2027
Location: Flexible (Remote work)
Budget: €10,000, all taxes included
Geographical requirement:Strong preference for a Pacific-led or Pacific-based consultant/team
1. Background and Rationale
Forus is an innovative global network of national NGO platforms and regional coalitions working to strengthen civil society’s collective voice, influence and capacity to drive social change. It brings together 74 National NGO Platforms and 8 Regional Coalitions from Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Pacific, representing more than 24,000 civil society organisations worldwide.
National platforms of CSOs and regional coalitions play a unique and irreplaceable role in coordinating diverse civil society actors, influencing policy for sustainable development, and strengthening civil society’s enabling environment at national, regional, and global levels.
In 2025–2026, Forus developed its new global Strategy (2026–2030) through an inclusive, consultative process with its members. Forus’ new Strategy 2026–2030 is built around three pillars: Connect, Support, and Influence, underpinned by Network Health. The Strategy aims to ensure the network is resilient, interconnected, and influential at all levels. To deliver on this ambition, Forus is supporting members in different regions to translate the global strategy into practical regional advocacy roadmaps.
During the Forus General Assembly in Siem Reap, members discussed the opportunity to develop a more coordinated and Pacific-led regional advocacy approach that reflects the realities, priorities, and aspirations of Pacific civil society organisations, national platforms and our regional network in the region.
Recognising the diversity of Pacific contexts and capacities, members agreed that any regional advocacy process should be:
- member-led
- grounded in national priorities
- aligned with existing regional and global frameworks
- designed to support practical collaboration and collective influence where appropriate.
In the Pacific region, civil society platforms operate across a diverse and geographically dispersed landscape. Members face significant geographic and logistical barriers to regional coordination, varying levels of civic space and enabling environment conditions, shrinking and diversifying funding landscapes, climate change and disaster resilience pressures, and limited resources and capacity at national platform level, and digital and physical security risks for platforms operating in politically sensitive or contested contexts. These realities must shape the design, pace and expectations of the process.
At the same time, the Pacific region presents significant opportunities for collective advocacy and solidarity. Pacific regional frameworks, including the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, regional decision-making spaces, climate and sustainable development processes, and Pacific traditions of solidarity and talanoa-based dialogue can provide entry points for coordinated influence where this is useful and appropriate for members.
This consultancy will support Forus members in the Pacific to develop a practical, member-led Pacific Regional Advocacy Strategy / Framework and Implementation Approach. The process should help members identify shared priorities, points of convergence, advocacy opportunities, potential leverage points, and concrete next steps for regional and inter-regional collaboration.
This process is a member-led process. The consultant or consultant team will not define advocacy priorities on behalf of members. Rather, they will facilitate and accompany a structured process through which members can analyse their context, identify shared priorities, map influence opportunities, and agree on practical advocacy directions.
The available budget is intended to support expertise and service delivery through this consultancy.
2. Purpose of the Consultancy
The purpose of this consultancy is to support Forus members in the Pacific region, through a facilitated member-led process, to develop a practical regional advocacy strategy that translates the Forus Strategy 2026–2030 into clear regional advocacy priorities, influence opportunities and concrete next steps.
The consultancy will facilitate a process through which members:
- Ground the Forus 2026–2030 Strategy in the Pacific regional context, including members’ priorities, narratives, risks, and opportunities;
- Identify where members have leverage for joint advocacy, including mapping key actors, spaces, moments, pressure points and institutional entry points;
- Identify areas of regional convergence, shared priorities and potential collective advocacy opportunities;
- Map identified priorities against the Forus global advocacy framework, the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, and other relevant Pacific regional frameworks and decision-making spaces;
- Develop a practical action plan clarifying possible roles at national, sub-regional, regional and global levels;
- Identify concrete opportunities for inter-regional collaboration within the Forus network;
- Propose light monitoring markers to help members follow progress and adapt the strategy over time.
Application deadline: by the 5h August 2026 (EOB).
For detailed information, please check the complete version of the ToR attached below.