Terms of Reference for Mid-term and Final External Evaluation of the project Inclusive4All: Inclusive education for all children in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Project name: Inclusive4All- Inclusive education for all children in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Donor   Italian Agency for cooperation and development (AICS)

Project location : Bosnia and Herzegovina, Tuzla Canton

Project Duration: May 1st 2018 – September 30th 2021

Introduction

Save the Children believes every child deserves a future. In the North-West Balkans and around the world, we work every day to give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. When crisis strikes and children are most vulnerable, we are always among the first to respond and the last to leave. We ensure children’s unique needs are met, and their voices are heard.  We deliver lasting results for millions of children, including those hardest to reach. We do whatever it takes for children – every day and in times of crisis – transforming their lives and the future we share.

Background and Rationale

Children with disabilities  and their families are one of the most marginalised and excluded groups, often experiencing discrimination and violation of their rights guaranteed under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the medical approach to children with disabilities is still omnipresent, which focuses on the defects of the child rather than their potentials and environmental barriers, as well as the complementary charity approach which focuses on the provision of social welfare as the only means of community support. Children with disabilities often experience discrimination and social exclusion in every aspect of their lives, including negative beliefs, lack of knowledge, and discriminatory behaviour of others.

Although data on the number of children with disabilities is scarce, it is estimated that in Bosnia and Herzegovina, there are over 70,000 children who have some disability. Over 7,500 of them live in Tuzla Canton .

The project: Inclusive4All - Inclusive education for all children in Bosnia and Herzegovina, code: AID 011522, funded by the Italian Agency for cooperation and development (AICS), started on 1st of May 2018. The project aims to enable children with disabilities to develop their potentials and fully enjoy their right to education and social inclusion.

Specifically, the project aims to reach the following three main results:

1.            Children with disabilities and their families have access to several diverse support services in Tuzla Canton;

2.            Tuzla Canton authorities are strengthened and supported in the review and adoption of the local strategy for the inclusion of children with disabilities in the regular education system;

3.            The population and civil society organisations of Tuzla Canton understand and support the bio-psycho-social model of educational and social inclusion of children with disabilities.

By May 2018, the project will be implemented for a period of three years and six months (until September 2021) and in line with the project activities, is due for mid-term evaluation during the second year (May 2019 – September 2020), and for a final evaluation before the end of the third year (October 2020 – September 2021). SC, therefore, looking for individual consultants or Agency to undertake the external independent evaluations of the project.

Objective

The mid-term evaluation will cover 24 months (May 2018 to September 2020). This mid-term project evaluation will focus on this implementation period. The midterm evaluations are forward-looking and will capture effectively lessons learnt and provide information on the nature, extent and where possible, the potential impact and sustainability of the project. The evaluations will assess the project’s design, scope, implementation status and the capacity to achieve the expected outcomes. They will collate and analyse lessons learnt, challenges faced and best practices obtained during the implementation period, which will inform the second phase of implementation (October 2020 - September 2021) of the project. It will also assess whether the project implementation strategy has been optimum and recommend areas for improvement and learning.

Timeframe and methodology

In order to complete the above-specified task, the consultant will be engaged from July the 7th to September the 27th.The consultant will develop and implement the work plan in consultations and with the support of SCINWB designated staff, in line with the proposed timeframe.

Expected deliverables

The following deliverables are expected. The consultant will deliver separately the following:

Inception report: The evaluator will prepare an inception report which details the evaluators understanding of the evaluation and how the evaluation questions will be addressed. This is to ensure that the evaluator and the stakeholders have a shared understanding of the evaluation. The inception report will include the evaluation matrix summarising the evaluation design, methodology, evaluation questions, data sources and collection analysis tool for each data source and the measure by which each question will be evaluated.

Draft Mid-term and Final Project Evaluation Reports: The consultant will prepare draft Evaluation Reports for the project, cognisant of the proposed format of the report and checklist used for the assessment of evaluation reports (see annexes). The document should include: Content; Abbreviations; Glossary; Abstract; Introduction; Purpose and objectives of evaluation; Methodology (procedure, instruments, sample); Findings; Recommendations and Attachments. The report will be submitted to SC for validation. Comments from the SC and stakeholders will be provided within 7 days after receiving the Draft Report. The report will be reviewed to ensure that the evaluation meets the required quality criteria. The report will be produced in English and Bosnian.

Final Mid-term and Final Project Evaluation Reports: The final report (30-50 pages max) will include comments from SC and all stakeholder involved, will be submitted 10 days after receiving all comments. This will be submitted to SC for validation. It will include recommendations, policy options and conclusions. (Recommended structure of the report is in the Annexes).

Qualifications and Specialized Knowledge/Experience Required 

Minimum expertise and skills:

•             At least five years of domestic and / or regional experience in implementing similar tasks, with experience in evaluation of projects in the field of inclusive education;

•             Minimum BSc/BA in social or humanistic sciences;

•             Years of experience in working with international organisations and donors;

•             Extensive experience of programme formulation, monitoring and evaluation;

•             Good qualitative and quantitative analytical skills;

•             Good reporting and presenting skills;

•             Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and BHS.

Formal Expression of Interest for Consultancy

The interested consultant /agency should develop and submit the financial proposal to respond to the above mentioned specific tasks. The proposal should include:

1.            Submission of the Bidders response document with a specified budget breakdown (Annex 1);

2.            Letter of interest with confirmation of the availability for the proposed dates and work dynamics;

3.            Curriculum Vitae (CV) in SCI template (Annex 2);

4.            SC-PR-10 – Request for Quotation form (Annex 3) just for companies/agencies applications;

5.            Conceptual concept of the External Evaluation;

6.            Reference list and example of an Evaluation or Research Paper in English.

Detailed Terms of Reference and necessary forms can be downloaded here.

The interested applicants should submit their proposals on Procurement.NWB@savethechildren.org, no later than the 3th of July 2020, 12:00 h. Only the shortlisted applicants will be contacted.

Particular requirement: no person is performing any task on behalf of Save the Children may, in any way, be involved in or connected with abuse or exploitation of children.

The contracting authority also requires that the personal data of all evaluation participants must be protected and stored in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation - (EU) 2016/679 and the national law on personal data protection in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH Law on Personal Data Protection, Official Gazette of Bosnia and Herzegovina No. 49/06).