To better support concrete, strategic partnerships between EU institutions and philanthropic actors, WINGS is seeking a consultant to help deepen the knowledge of philanthropy ecosystems, with a particular focus on identifying foundations whose thematic and geographic priorities intersect with EU external action goals, and who demonstrate interest to co-invest or co-design initiatives with public partners.
Research Consultant – Philanthropy and the EU: Mapping pathways for collaboration
WINGS: Elevating philanthropy
WINGS strengthens the global ecosystem for philanthropy by connecting and championing the organisations that make giving better. We work to ensure that philanthropy is well-resourced, supported, and equipped to drive lasting, systemic change. Our global community spans over 230 member organisations in 60+ countries—all committed to building a more just, equitable, and sustainable world. Through shared learning, collective action, and bold advocacy, WINGS helps philanthropy rise to the challenges of our time and contribute meaningfully to the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Background
WINGS, as part of its Framework Partnership Agreement with the European Union (EU), is working to unlock the potential of philanthropy as a complementary actor in advancing the EU’s development objectives, particularly in fragile contexts, innovation ecosystems, and areas requiring long-term catalytic support. Both the EU and the philanthropic sector share a growing interest in advancing collaborative approaches to addressing global development challenges. As recognised in the Global Gateway strategy and the European Consensus on Development, forging effective partnerships across sectors is essential to unlocking resources and delivering sustainable, locally owned solutions and scaling innovation.
Requirements
To better support concrete, strategic partnerships between EU institutions and philanthropic actors, WINGS is seeking a consultant to help deepen the knowledge of philanthropy ecosystems, with a particular focus on identifying foundations whose thematic and geographic priorities intersect with EU external action goals, and who demonstrate interest to co-invest or co-design initiatives with public partners. The outputs will directly inform future components, notably those related to coordination, piloting multistakeholder partnerships, and matchmaking, and strengthen the project’s capacity to deliver lasting partnership infrastructure.
Objectives:
- To develop a robust, up-to-date, and criteria-based mapping of philanthropic actors based outside of Europe with relevance to INTPA geographic and thematic priorities.
- To consolidate and synthesise WINGS’ and/or WINGS members’ existing mapping data to ensure continuity, complementarity, and strategic use.
- To inform the identification of actors for future coordination spaces, matchmaking activities, and pilot initiatives.
Activities and deliverables
- Development of a structured framework for data collection
- Preparation of an Excel-based tool with defined metrics (e.g., experience with MSPs, involvement in SDGs, capital availability, geographic focus, existing partnership mechanisms and engagement with EU mechanisms, supportive regulations that enable partnerships or lack thereof). – Output: Validated data collection framework and initial dataset design.
- Integration of existing data and consolidation of previous outputs
- Consolidate existing mapping products, ensuring standardisation and data interoperability.
- Output: Clean, merged dataset of philanthropic actors, validated and structured.
- Targeted mapping of foundations with relevance to INTPA countries
- Identification of non-European foundations currently active or expressing interest in INTPA partner countries, with particular attention to those supporting social care economies.
- Collaboration with regional and relevant national philanthropy networks to access existing data sources and ensure complementarity.
- Output: A targeted sub-list within the main database, identifying 50+ high-potential partners for future engagement; 1-2 briefing notes and other trend analysis.
Skills and experience
The consultant(s) should have significant professional background (over 5 years) in research and extensive experience conducting similar work for non-profit/philanthropic organisations. They should have experience in developing structured frameworks for and carrying out data collection. An understanding of the EU system and priorities would be helpful.
Examples of relevant past outputs will be requested.
Coordination arrangements
The consultant will report to the Network and Ecosystems Director, with a dotted line to the Head of Grants Management, as well as other designated members of the WINGS team, who will regularly communicate and provide feedback and guidance. The consultant will provide regular progress updates through agreed-upon channels, including email, phone calls and meetings. All activities and deliverables undertaken by the contractor shall be discussed and planned in consultation with WINGS. The consultant should ensure that the required deliverables are completed by the deadlines stipulated by the WINGS team and should work with the highest professional ethical standards and in keeping with WINGS’ values. The consultant agrees to follow WINGS’ data security protocols.
Deliverables and key deadlines
Budget and payments
This work is estimated to require up to 30 work days (defined as 8 billed hours per day) over no longer than a 120 calendar-day period (November 2025 to January 2026). Payments will be made as follows: 50% on signing of contract, 50% after delivery of final report.