NTUK Procurement - Paths to Inclusion Evaluation Consultant

NTUK invites tenders from suitably qualified consultants, sole traders or organisations to act as the Evaluation Partner for Paths to Inclusion, our National Lottery Heritage Fund-supported programme exploring how National Trails can become more inclusive and welcoming.

We are seeking an experienced evaluation consultant to help us understand the impact and outcomes of the project, working alongside NTUK, our Project Panel and pilot delivery teams to develop an evaluation approach that reflects the different experiences of the communities involved.

Paths to Inclusion aims to inspire and empower more people to connect with the social and economic benefits of National Trails. The project is exploring how NTUK, National Trails, partners and communities can co-design inclusive and accessible information and content that enables more people from underrepresented groups to experience National Trails.

What we are looking for

The successful evaluation partner will work with NTUK and our partners to:

• Co-design an overarching evaluation framework aligned with the project's existing story of change.
• Develop evaluation frameworks for individual pilot projects, balancing consistency across the programme with the need to understand different lived experiences.
• Independently evaluate the pilot projects, capturing participants' views and helping NTUK iteratively improve our approach to co-creation.
• Produce an end-of-project evaluation assessing what the project has learned about improving the preparation and delivery of information for our target audiences.

The core output will be an accessible and engaging evaluation report, providing clear, evidence-based recommendations for NTUK and the wider National Trails network and identifying how successful approaches could be developed and scaled in future.

We are particularly interested in applicants with experience of designing and delivering high-quality evaluation of research projects with a strong focus on equity, diversity and inclusion, especially where this has involved underrepresented communities and/or the heritage or outdoor sectors.

Key information

Budget: £10,000 excluding VAT
Project period: October 2026 – February 2027
Tender deadline: 25 September 2026
Interviews, if required: w/c 28 September
Appointment: w/c 5 October  

To apply, please review the full Invitation to Tender below and submit a document outlining your proposed approach, relevant experience, team and budget breakdown to rob@nationaltrails.uk