Job Expired

CIVSAM PROJECT MID-TERM EVALUATION

CONSULTANT TERMS OF REFERENCE (TORs)

1. TERMS OF REFERENCE

Country: Zambia

Districts: Kapiri-Mposhi, Kabwe, Chisamba and Chibombo

Start date: 10.05.2022

Time dedicated to the desk review and to the writing of the report: to be defined by the consultant.

Under the responsibility of: MERL Manager, Project Manager and M&E Officer – Plan International.

Funding Sources for the Evaluation: CPA SPAD – Sponsorship

2. PRESENTATION OF CIVSAM PROJECT TO BE EVALUATED

Plan International Zambia with partners Afya Mzuri, Generation Alive, SAfAIDS, Restless Development and Childline/Lifeline is implementing the project Strengthening civil society organisations (CSOs) for the promotion of a safe and secure environment for children and young people (CIVSAM project) which will run from 1st July, 2019 to 31st June 2024. The main focus of the project is to strengthen civil society organizations to promote a safe and secure environment for children & young people in Plan Central Program Area. The specific areas which the project focuses on are good governance, meaningful youth participation, sexual reproductive health rights for CAY and other cross-cutting issues such as climate change and gender. The project is scoped on the knowledge that civil society is playing an increasingly important role in governance and development around the world. In most countries, however, knowledge about the state and shape of civil society is limited. Moreover, opportunities for civil society stakeholders to come together to collectively discuss, reflect and act on the strengths, weaknesses, challenges and opportunities also remain limited in many developing countries. CSO responsiveness in terms of coming out in the open to provide checks and balances on some of the pronouncements by the government of the day is clearly demonstrated and can been seen by other external stakeholders. However, their involvement in pushing for policy reforms has had a limited impact due to their inadequate capacity to influence. The CIVSAM framework will build the capacity of CSOs around thematic areas including child protection and participation, adolescent sexual reproductive health and rights (ASRHR) as well as governance.

CIVSAM Project Objectives

The specific objectives for the project include;

1) Children, adolescents and youth have the knowledge and advocacy skills on child rights, and to support and promote child protection among their peers and in communities.

2) Changed attitudes, practices and behaviours towards ASRHR, among gatekeepers in the community (parents, religious leaders, health workers and tradition leaders).

3) Children, adolescents and youth claim their SRH rights and have access to comprehensive sexual reproductive health services.

4) Increased meaningful participation of CAY in decision making processes (i.e., advocating for their rights; initiating, planning, budgeting and formulating policy) at family, community and district levels.

Definitions of Scope for the CIVSAM Evaluation

This evaluation will consider a 2 to 3 years period up to present (determined by period covered since project start)

It will cover 4 districts namely Chibombo, Chisamba, Kabwe and Kapiri- Mposhi. 12 communities across the aforementioned districts will be targeted and these include as follows;

Chikobo
Chibombo
Liteta
Chikonkomene
Chamuka
Muswishi
Mulungushi
Mpima
Makululu
Waya
Kapiri-Central
Chibwelelo

3. GENERAL OBJECTIVE OF THE EVALUATION

Objective:

To make a mid-term assessment of the Generation Change (CIVSAM) programme, as systematically and objectively as possible, of the implementation, challenges, lessons learnt and what has been achieved so far. The aim is to determine whether implementing partners are on a trajectory to ensure to efficiency, effectiveness, that will ultimately result into sustainable outcomes. This mid-term evaluation should provide information that would serve as a roadmap to strengthen and if needed, come up with interventions that will ensure sustainable outcomes in accordance of the results-based framework.

Prnciples underpinning the approach to the evaluation are:

Impartiality and independence of the evaluation process of an external evaluator.
Credibility of the evaluation, through use of appropriately skilled and independent expert and the transparency of the evaluation process, including wide dissemination of findings.
Usefulness of the evaluation findings and recommendations, through timely presentation of relevant, clear and concise information.

4. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES OF THE EVALUATION

Result 1: The project activities are evaluated through the following criteria; relevance, effectiveness, efficiency and ascertain whether the trajectory ensures sustainability.

Result 2: Recommendations for improving each of the criteria are shared.

Result 3: A suggested action plan corresponding to each recommendation is included in the evaluation report. The evaluation report should then provide conclusions and recommendations on the following questions:

Effectiveness: To which degree did the activities meet the objectives and results set out in the project (as outlined in the logical framework)?
Matching needs: Did the project/activities meet relevant needs of the beneficiaries?
Relevance: Was the project designed in a way that is relevant to reach its goals?
Alignment: Is the CIVSAM Project still in line with the initial plan or it has diverted?
Efficiency: Is the project running in an efficient way?
Sustainability: Are the results achieved so far sustainable?
Internal coherence: Were the result indicators and their means of verification adequate? What possible adjustments would the consultant recommend?
Gender Transformative Approach (GTA): To what extent did the project succeed in including a gender perspective?
Impact: Where there any unforeseen positive/negative effects of the activities such as the COVID 19?
Synergies: to which extent were synergies achieved with other activities implemented by other NGOs, as well as with local initiatives?
Which unmet needs did the evaluator identify that would be relevant for Plan International (CIVSAM Project) to look into?
Identify lessons learned and provide recommendations.

5. METHODOLOGY

Approach and Design

Both Qualitative and Quantitative approaches will be followed. In the quantitative approach a descriptive survey design will be used and surveys will describe systematically and accurately the facts and characteristics of sample and thematic area of interest (child protection, child participation, ASRHR as well as Governance. Information will be collected through one-to-one administered questionnaires. In the qualitative approach data will be collected using focus group discussions, Interviews and close observations. This approach will be used to gain a rich, detailed understanding and validate the quantitative information.

Sample size, Method and Procedure

Quantitative Sample

A sample size of 718 households split in 12 wards will be reached through one-to- one mobile aided household surveys (Ref: CIVSAM baseline Report). At each 12th and 4th house, one respondent aged either 10-14 or 15 – 19 or 20-25 years will be interviewed. If at a selected household, no one meets the inclusion criteria, that household will be skipped until the required sample size is obtained.

At each household, the enumerator will introduce him/herself, explain the purpose of the study, seek consent for children (anyone below 18 years) respondents and invite respondents to voluntarily participate. Those who agree will sign an informed consent/assent before data is collected. Ethical and child safeguarding policy will be explained and adhered to.

Qualitative Sample

Data will be collected from right holders, primary duty bearers and secondary duty bearers through focus group discussions and informant interviews (Ref: CIVSAM baseline report). The three groups will be selected because of the different roles they play in exercising, and or promoting a safe and secure environment for children and young people.

Right holders –They include children (10-14), (15 – 19) and young adults (20-25). These will be selected because they are the legal entity or persons with rights and are supposed to exercise the rights in accordance with regulations and laws.

Primary duty bearers – these are forefront officers who work to promote a safe and secure environment for children and young people. These include, police officers, social workers, adolescent health officers etc.

Secondary duty bearers – these are auxiliary officers or persons who support promoting safe and secure environment by creating enabling environments. These include parents, CSOs, policy makers etc.

Data analysis

The main data analysis test for quantitative data will be descriptive statistics and content analysis for qualitative data. Frequency distribution tables and graphs, means (standard deviations) and cross tabulations will be used to describe the pattern and distribution of the variables (indicators) of interest.

Content analysis will be used to quantify and analyse the presence, meanings and relationships of certain words, themes, or concepts from the interviews and focus group discussions.

6. DELIVERABLES

All deliverables are to be submitted to Plan International Zambia.

Deliverables must include:

An inception report, to be submitted one week after the beginning of the evaluation, explaining the methodology, work programme and timetable for the evaluation.
A final report to be submitted at the end of the evaluation with a maximum extension of 30 pages excluding annexes. The final evaluation report will be structured as follows:

Table of contents

Acronyms

Executive summary (2-3 pages)

Overview of the project
Evaluation objectives and intended users
Methodology
Most important findings and conclusions
Main recommendations

I. Introduction (1-2 pages)

Scope and purpose of the evaluation, intended users, team composition and structure of the report
Evaluation questions and criteria
Eventual changes to the initial request (objectives and questions)

II. Methodology (2 pages)

Description of methods used and rationale
Limitations and constraints, potential bias and mitigations measures

III. Context: Analysis of the context (1,2- 1 pages)

IV. Core sections of the report (10-15 pages) by evaluation criteria and questions.

Presentation of the evidence gathered, triangulation and findings

V. conclusions (2-3 pages) final appreciation (clear and defensible basis for value judgments. Provide insights pertinent to the intervention that has been evaluated and to the purpose of evaluation.

VI. Recommendations (2-3 pages) (clear, specific and relevant, implementable, linked with conclusions and reflect consultations with stakeholders, presented per priority level, with timeframe and suggestions of where responsibility for follow up should lie.

Annexes

ToRs
List of groups/people interviewed (anonymized), sites visited
List of documents consulted and secondary data used (please provide the sources)
Data collection tools
Evaluation matrix

7. DURATION AND DATES

4 weeks, from 1st May to 30th May, 2022.

8. PROCEDURES AND LOGISTICS

The consultant shall commit to respect Plan International’s Risk Management Policies including: Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy, Anti-Fraud/Corruption Policy, Whistle Blowing Policy and other policies.

9. EXPECTED QUALIFICATIONS

The consultant should have expertise in carrying out similar work before. The consultant should have good experience on participatory research methods and tools. S/he should have competency in managing and organizing and interpreting quantitative and qualitative data and information. The consultant(s) should have the following academic qualification and experiences:

Team leader should have minimum Master’s Degree in social sciences or any other developmental field with minimum 10 years experiences in undertaking similar type of studies/research/Evaluation.

Team members should have relevant experiences in their respective areas with 5 years experiences including field level data collection and qualitative research in similar type of studies.

Consultant(s) should have comprehensive understanding of the tools development and draw the information from the baseline data and analytical report writing skills.

Ability to be mobile and available for the duration of the survey independently.

Good written and verbal communication skills.

Experience with mobile phone technology as well as using voice recorder.

Language capabilities: Good in English writing and relevant local language – Bemba, Nyanja and Lenje/Soli.

Able to communicate effectively and work in the project areas for the duration of the data collection.

10. APPLICATIONS

Interested applicants should send queries and submit their proposals to:

Plan International Zambia, Email: [email protected]

The consultant shall prepare both the “Technical” and “Financial” Proposal. In the cover letter of proposal, the offeror must have to mention “How did they know about this Request for Proposal”.

Deadline for submission of proposals must be received by Plan Zambia no later than 29th April, 2022.

Detailed response to the TOR
Proposed methodology
Ethics and child safeguarding approaches, including any identified risks and associated mitigation strategies
Proposed timelines
CVs
Example of previous work
Detailed budget, including daily fee rates, expenses, etc.
Police Certificates of Good Conduct – especially where there is primary data collection

Please send your applications to Plan International [email protected] or [email protected] by 29th April, 2022 by 5:00pm. local time and any bids received after this time and date will not be accepted. referencing “CIVSAM Project Mid-Term Evaluation”