Depaul International invites tenders for a Learning Partner to support our development of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)-based approaches in the delivery of homelessness services in the UK, Ireland and USA, and evaluate the effectiveness of a pilot on client outcomes.

Timescale: 3rd March 2025 – 31st December 2027

Background Information

The Depaul Group

Depaul International oversees a group of leading homelessness charities, working across the world with a mission to end homelessness, supporting the most marginalised and improving the lives of those affected by homelessness. Set up in 1989, Depaul charities include: United Kingdom, Ireland, Slovakia, Ukraine, United States of America, France and Croatia. The vast majority of homelessness services include one-to-one support by a caseworker. Support staff are commonly the largest cost alongside housing, and the effectiveness of services depends significantly on the quality of the one-to-one support offered to clients. This rests on the skills of the caseworkers, and the resources and training offered to upskill and improve 
their methodologies. Traditional approaches to one-to-one support commonly adopted a ‘risk assessment and support goals’ approach, however over the last two decades, increasing focus on a ‘person-centred’ approach introduced two concepts which have improved support work methodologies – a ‘strengths-based’ approach and a ‘trauma-informed’ approach. Depaul thinks that the next advance in support work methodology could lie in the integration of principles and practices advanced by Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).

Depaul International has received funding to run a research and development project to pilot ACT-based approaches in the design and delivery of homelessness services, and to test effectiveness. The project will be a collaboration between Depaul International, Depaul UK, Depaul Ireland and Depaul USA, and we are looking for a Learning Partner to work with us throughout the project.

REQUIREMENTS

The specific tasks expected from the Learning Partner include the following:

• Support the development of effective approach to testing and reviewing existing tools during Phase One, ensuring learnings inform subsequent phases of the project
• Offer advice and guidance to support the identification of implementing services (not all of Depaul UK/Ireland/USA’s services will participate in the project)
• Ensure the developed ACT model to be implemented is robust and will enable a meaningful contribution to the existing evidence on ACT
• Develop evaluation methodology and tools for the project, in line with the Depaul Group’s existing and ongoing work to develop an outcomes framework for our work with people experiencing homelessness. Please note we are keen to explore a quasi-experimental design that compares services that introduce ACT and those that don't. We are also interested in exploring a Cost-Benefit Analysis
• Complete an evaluation of ACT’s efficacy in improving outcomes for people experiencing homelessness accessing services delivered by Depaul UK, Ireland and USA
• Complete an evaluation of the impact of embedding an ACT approach on staff involved in project delivery
• Identify opportunities for clients and service delivery staff to be involved in the evaluation process
• Travel to project countries and services as required – as a minimum, we expect that all three phases of the project will each require a visit to the UK, Ireland and the USA (evaluation methodology depending).
• Collaborate with other relevant stakeholders as necessary, including a consultant leading on another related Depaul project (developing our outcome measurement framework)

The outputs expected from the Learning Partner include the following:

Phase One

• Detailed plan outlining evaluation methodology and tools to be used throughout project, and refined evaluation questions for the project
• Interim report, to summarise learnings captured during testing, learning and development phase , focusing on implementation
• Learning event for staff and clients involved to understand role in evaluation

Phase Two

• Interim report focused on effectiveness of the training in equipping practitioners to implement ACT in their services
• Facilitated workshop(s) to inform any final improvements needed before Phase Three

Phase Three

• Full, publishable evaluation report including effectiveness, implementation and value for money 
• Presentation(s) on findings – to internal and external audiences
• Final copy of evaluation toolkit and training plan

Please note:

All the completed work will be the property of Depaul International.
All knowledge around the project must be transferred to Depaul International for ongoing project development.
The project will commence on the acceptance of the contract and should be completed by the end of December 2027.

Closing Date for Tender Submissions: Monday January 27th, 2025

Contact Details

Email: info@depaulinternational.org

Address: Depaul International,
8-10 Grosvenor Gardens
London
SW1W 0DH

Salary Scale: Up to £180,000 for full duration of project.