Description

About Trust for Public Land
In a world where isolation and division are on the rise, time in nature can spark hope, build common ground, and bring people together. That’s why Trust for Public Land connects everyone to the benefits and joys of the outdoors. When we build shared and inclusive parks and activate them with locally relevant programming, we create a future defined by connection—to the land and to each other—and a feeling of deep communal belonging.

Since 1972, TPL has protected more than 4 million acres of public land, created more than 5,504 parks, trails, schoolyards, and iconic outdoor places, raised $111 billion in public funding for parks and public lands, and connected nearly 9.7 million people to the outdoors.

Background Information
TPL’s On Common Ground program scales proven, high-impact park programming strategies that activate America’s parks and park professionals to deliver consistent and effective social infrastructure outcomes that can mitigate the impacts of toxic polarization and social isolation.

Our publication of the Common Ground Framework is a first-of-its-kind field guide that established a comprehensive evidence base for park practitioners and advocates across the country to leverage in the development of park and open space programs. In 2023, we evaluated the Framework and its activation in nine communities around the country. This served as an important beta test, as well as an early baseline for measuring the success of future efforts. You can read about these pilot programs on our website.

Since that initial beta test, we have supported 14 new projects with small grants, peer coaching, and technical assistance. Our technical assistance work varies based on the needs of each grantee, including activities like evaluation and storytelling support, troubleshooting programmatic challenges, creating logic models, and/or connecting organizations to new tools and resources. These grantees have implemented park stewardship programs, recreation activities, and participatory design processes. 

Purpose of the Evaluation
Trust for Public Land seeks an evaluation partner to help us better understand how park-based community engagement practices can strengthen social connection and bridge divides across communities. Through this evaluation, we hope to identify the community engagement strategies, program conditions, and technical assistance supports that contributed most strongly to successful project outcomes.

The findings from this evaluation will help TPL:

     Strengthen future iterations of the On Common Ground program;

     Better understand the impact of our technical assistance and coaching model;

     Identify scalable practices that can be shared with the parks and recreation field; and

     Contribute to the growing evidence base around parks as social infrastructure.

Existing Data Sources

TPL has already begun collecting data from On Common Ground grantees (9 Beta testers and 14 current grantees) as they complete their projects. Existing data sources include:

     Pre/post participant surveys using The Community Compass

     Grantee exit interviews conducted by TPL staff

     Grant applications

     Coaching notes or technical assistance records

     Additional project artifacts, where available.

We anticipate that the selected evaluator will review existing materials and recommend whether additional data collection methods are needed to answer the evaluation questions.

Scope of Work

Key Questions
Community Outcomes

     What impacts did grantees’ programs have on participants and the broader community?

     What changes in social connection, civic engagement, or community cohesion were observed through these projects?

     What organizational, programmatic, or policy changes have grantees implemented or explored following their participation in On Common Ground?

     What longer-term community impacts, if any, have grantees observed following project completion?

Community Engagement Practices

     What community engagement practices were most impactful for participants?

     Which practices were most accessible, feasible, or sustainable for practitioners to implement?

     What common conditions or approaches contributed to successful participant engagement across projects?

Technical Assistance Effectiveness

     What elements of TPL’s technical assistance, peer coaching, or grantmaking support were most valuable to grantees?

     What additional supports or resources would have strengthened grantees’ ability to implement their projects?

     How would grantees like to engage with TPL or similar support networks in the future?

Scalability and Field Impact

     Which project models, engagement strategies, or implementation practices show the greatest potential for replication or scaling in other communities?

     What lessons from the On Common Ground program could inform broader park and community engagement practices across the field?

Deliverables
The evaluation questions and approach outlined in this RFP are intended to provide directional guidance. TPL expects to collaboratively refine the evaluation approach, priorities, and data collection strategy with the selected evaluator during the project onboarding and planning phase.

We anticipate that deliverables will include:

     Task 1

o   A finalized evaluation plan and project timeline

o   Review and synthesis of existing program data and documentation

o   Recommendations for any additional data collection activities[CS1] 

o   Interim analysis of quantitative and qualitative data

o   Interim findings discussions with TPL staff

     Task 2 (optional)

o   Additional data collection, not to exceed 10 interviews and 3 focus groups

o   Final analysis of quantitative and qualitative data

     Task 3

o   A draft final report for review and feedback

o   A final report summarizing findings, key learnings, and recommendations for future program development and field-building efforts.

Anticipated Timeline
TPL anticipates beginning the project onboarding and evaluation planning process in Fall 2026. Because some grantee projects will conclude earlier than others, the evaluator will have opportunities to begin reviewing data and conducting portions of the analysis before all projects conclude in May 2027.

The selected evaluator and TPL staff will collaboratively establish a detailed work plan and project milestones during the onboarding phase.

The final report will be completed by July 15, 2027.

Budget
The total budget for this project is $50,000.

Proposal Guidelines
Submission Materials
All proposals should be submitted by August 21, 2026 at 5pm CST to [email protected]

Please include:

     Contact information.

     A project narrative describing your proposed approach and methodology, a short biography of the primary evaluator and key team members, and a high-level work plan.

     A line-item budget not exceeding $50,000.

     One to three examples of previous work related to the scope outlined in this RFP.

Selection Process
Trust for Public Land’s active goal is to be an inclusive and equitable place to build community. As the organization actively works to eliminate racial and other disparities, we welcome candidates with diverse backgrounds and/or multicultural skillsets. We are open to the possibility that a great candidate for this opportunity may not precisely meet all the above criteria; if you believe you are the right person for this job and can persuasively make that case, we encourage you to apply.  

Each proposal will be reviewed by at least 2 TPL team members. We may follow up with applicants for a brief call to ask clarifying questions about your approach. We will invite a select group to participate in a 1 hour virtual interview with our team. We will communicate with all applicants about the status of their submission as decisions are made.

Questions?
Contact Kate Gannon at [email protected]