Terms of Reference for Consultants

A practical guide and AI prompt to help nonprofit managers draft clear, professional terms of reference that attract qualified consultants and improve the chance of a good result.

What This Prompt Does

Give it your rough notes about a piece of work and it returns a first draft of terms of reference for a consultant. Where your notes run out, the draft flags the gap instead of guessing.

The clearer you explain what you want, the more likely you are to get it. A vague task with no defined result is unfair to both sides, so the prompt pushes the draft toward outcomes, essentials and plain language. It also asks for a short proposal, because consultants are not paid for writing proposals and a heavy response burden puts off busy, qualified people.

Leave out the names of individuals and any lists marked confidential. Depending on the nature of the work, the final terms of reference may need their own confidentiality or non-disclosure wording, so sensitive details never have to go through the prompt.
Act as an experienced nonprofit operations manager. Using only the information below, draft terms of reference (ToR) for a consultant, in plain language with no jargon or unexplained acronyms. Information: - Organization: [ORGANIZATION DESCRIPTION: mission, programs, size, region, funding sources] - Background and problem: [WHAT IS DRIVING THIS WORK NOW, AND RECENT HISTORY] - Desired outcomes: [WHAT RESULT YOU WANT] - Deliverables and dates: [KNOWN DELIVERABLES AND DATES] - Budget or level of effort: [INDICATIVE RANGE, OR CAP ON HOURS OR TOTAL COST] - Available documents: [PROPOSAL, THEORY OF CHANGE, MONITORING DATA] - Who supplies what: [WHAT OUR STAFF WILL PROVIDE, AND WHAT THE CONSULTANT DOES] - Ethics and confidentiality: [CONSENT, PROTECTION, NON-DISCLOSURE NEEDS] Rules: 1. Define the task by the outcome wanted. Do not prescribe data collection tools or methods unless I list them above. 2. Use these headings, exactly and in this order: Background; Purpose and Objectives; Scope (in and out); Deliverables; Approach; Timeline; Consultant Qualifications; Budget and Level of Effort; Roles and Support from the Organization; Ethics and Confidentiality; Proposal Requirements and Selection Criteria. 3. Under Deliverables, use a table with the columns Deliverable, Format, Length, Due, Detail. 4. Under Approach, give the key questions and the key characteristics of the work, so the consultant can choose their own method. 5. Keep questions and requirements to the essentials. Mark everything else "desirable". 6. Under Budget and Level of Effort, state the range or cap given, and say that value for money counts in appraising bids. 7. Under Proposal Requirements, ask for a short proposal, CVs, references, a cost breakdown and an ethics approach. State the selection criteria. 8. Never invent details. Write [TO CONFIRM] for anything not supplied. After the draft, list the open questions I still need to answer.
Open it, with the prompt already in:ChatGPTClaudeGemini(opens empty)

How to Use It

  1. Decide first whether you need a consultant at all. Write down your needs and the outcome you want in plain language, and note what you do not yet know.
  2. Gather the budget or range, the project documents (proposal, theory of change, monitoring data) and any timeline limits.
  3. Fill in the placeholders. Take out personal or confidential details before you paste anything.
  4. Run the prompt, then answer the open questions it returns and run it again if needed.
  5. Agree the final terms in writing: the work to be done, payment terms, who owns any reports or materials, and the timeline. An hourly arrangement with a cap suits uncertain scope, and a lump sum suits a well-defined one. Handle any later change or extra deliverable through a signed addendum that stays in line with the original scope, and include an out clause for worst cases.

Check the Output

  • Every deliverable has a format and a due date.
  • The scope says what is out as well as what is in.
  • The approach gives questions and context, and does not dictate tools such as focus groups or surveys, which, in one network's guidance on evaluation terms of reference, reads as micro-managing.
  • Budget or level of effort is stated, and the qualifications named are tied to the subject and context of this work.
  • Ethics and consent wording is there, including protection of vulnerable people, and confidentiality wording is there if the work calls for it.
  • If you advertise the work, the timeline allows at least two weeks to advertise and at least six weeks after closing before the consultant starts (one network's guidance for evaluation consultancies).
  • A colleague unfamiliar with the work has read it, cut the jargon and tested whether the expectations are realistic.

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