Terms of Reference for IMPACT EVALUATION (Program for Economic Empowerment of Families and Youth) of the Child Protection – ENVISION II (NCE) Project

 

 

Terms of Reference

for

IMPACT EVALUATION

(Program for Economic Empowerment of Families and Youth)

of the

Child Protection – ENVISION II (NCE) Project

 

  

 

 

1.         SUMMARY INFORMATION

 

Project name:	CHILD PROTECTION – ENVISION (ENVISION – Creating ENabling enVIronment for Social InclusiON of children – phase II)
Project location:	Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republic of Montenegro
Project duration:	1/1/2019 – 31/12/2022
Donor:	Save the Children Italy
Duration of assignment:	September 15 – December 25, 2022 (no longer than 30 working days)
Implementing organization:	Save the Children in Northwest Balkans (with partners) Association „Nova Generacija“ Banja Luka Association „Otaharin“ Bijeljina Youth Centre „Vermont“ Brčko Association „Altruist“ Mostar Association “Centar za prava djeteta” Podgorica, Republic of Montenegro Association “Defendologija” Nikšić, Republic of Montenegro Centre for social welfare Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina Centre for social welfare Nikšić, Republic of Montenegro

 

2.         BACKGROUND

 

Save the Children believes every child deserves a future. In Northwest 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.

 

Save the Children in Northwest Balkans (SCiNWB), based in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina conducts its activities in three countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republic of Serbia, and Republic of Montenegro, and supports realization of regional initiatives in Southeast Europe.

 

2.1.                  Context of the Project

 

Street involved and at-risk children present one of the most jeopardized groups in the state of social need that due to the poverty and need for work stay excluded from all relevant social systems. Most street involved children live below the poverty line, often part of a cycle of poverty that is generationally passed on. As a group, street involved children have to a large extent been ‘hidden’ from the public eye as well as the main spheres of political, economic and social life in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Opening of DiC for street involved and at-risk children was in several occasions characterized as the only positive example of support provided to this population. Strengthening existing and replicating quality services for street involved children has become a basis of the Save the Children support, which resulted in established strategic partnerships with governmental institutions and NGOs in Mostar, Banja Luka, Bijeljina and Brčko in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as Podgorica and Nikšić in the Republic of Montenegro.

 

This service consists of several components: from shelter to legal assistance, from psychological counselling to life-skill and vocational training, from medical care to substance abuse programs, from school inclusion and reintegration to access to welfare benefits. Service is being provided within the premises of the DIC (in-services) and through outreach work. Centre’s work is being further developed, with efforts invested in integrating these services in the social protection system.

 

Besides services defined through DiC methodology, additional specialized programs have been developed and piloted during 2016-2018. The Family Strengthening Program (FSP) was developed in 2016, and by the end of 2021, it was piloted in all 7 DiCs (Drop in Centres) in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Montenegro. Additionally, this Program has been integrated and piloted in 3 CSW (Centre for Social Welfare) (Bihać, Banja Luka and Nikšić). In a relatively short period of time, FSP showed significant results in supporting and strengthening families. The FSP program offers a working model with vulnerable families, and children.

 

With an aim of additionally strengthening the capacities of families and young boys and girls, in 2021 FSP was expanded with one more component - Economic Empowerment of Families and Youth (EEFY), through the ENVISION project intervention.

 

After being expanded, this component of the Program was piloted in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro initially by DiCs, primarily involving families and young boys and girls already enrolled within the FSP program. Including youth from DiCs and FSP will enable this Program to play a preventive role in addressing program beneficiaries’ long-term economic disadvantaged position and exclusion of the most vulnerable youth from the labor market.

 

The Program for Economic Empowerment of Families and Youth, as an innovative approach, is designed to create conditions for a long-term and sustainable solution of poverty, through strengthening the capacity of parents and youth, their inclusion in educational, social, and economic flows, and empowering employers and sensitizing the labor market.

 

2.1.1.          Target areas of the Activity

 

Impact evaluation will be conducted in the locations where Save the Children’s partners operate, focusing on concrete work in 4 targeted geographic areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Banja Luka, Bijeljina, Brčko and Mostar) and 2 geographic areas in the Republic of Montenegro (Nikšić and Podgorica).

 

3.          SCOPE OF WORK

 

Save the Children is seeking the Evaluator - consultant or research consulting firm to design and conduct:

 

Impact evaluation of the Program for Economic Empowerment of Families and Youth (EEFY)

 

Evaluation should use methods that generate the highest quality and most credible evidence that corresponds to the questions being asked, taking into consideration time, budget, and other practical considerations.

 

The main purpose of the consultancy is to measure changes that can be attributed to the Save the Children’s Program for Economic Empowerment of Families and Youth and to gather data on impact, effectiveness, and implementation of the specific intervention to make sure that the intervention is on track and is likely to reach its objectives. Also, the evaluation should produce the set of recommendations for future actions.

 

3.1. Purpose of the ENVISION II Project Impact Evaluation of Economic Empowerment of Family and Youth

 

Impact Evaluation of Economic Empowerment of Family and Youth Program of the ENVISION II project will be implemented in order to determine the level of change that can be claimed by the intervention.

 

The impact evaluation should determine the impact of the Economic Empowerment of Family and Youth Program in the ENVISION II project on the readiness and capacities of youth and their families to participate in the labour market.

 

 

                   3.2. Impact Evaluation Questions

 

Key evaluation questions for the Impact Evaluation include following:

 

1.         To what extent have EEFY Program in ENVISION II project interventions affected youth and adults (families) practical competencies for participation in the labour market?

2.         To what extent have EEFY Program in ENVISION II project interventions affected youth attitudes and attitudes of their family members toward participation in the labour market?

3.         To what extent have EEFY Program in ENVISION II project interventions affected business community attitudes towards employability of youth and their parents from vulnerable groups?

 

                  3.3. Methodology

 

Impact Evaluation measures the change in a development outcome that is attributable to a defined intervention. Impact evaluations are based on models of cause and effect and require a credible and rigorously defined counterfactual to control for factors other than the intervention that might account for the observed change.

 

Evaluator will develop methodology which is going to be used for the reporting. Experimental or quasi-experimental methods should be used to answer impact evaluation questions.

 

Targeted beneficiaries of the Activity: 55 direct beneficiaries and 150 indirect beneficiaries (family members).

 

Relevant, numerically expressed sample, is to be defined within the impact evaluation methodology.

 

                 3.4. Timeline of the Impact Evaluation

 

The Impact Evaluation should have one measurement point and one report. The data should be collected within the first implementation year of the Activity (second half of the 2022). Impact study will use the methods to explore questions related to effectiveness of ENVISION EEFY interventions.

 

                   3.5. Requirements Related to Gender

 

Evaluation and study design, methodology, data collection and analyses should capture the situations and experiences of both males and females. The Evaluator should collect appropriate sex-disaggregated data and ensure that an evaluation is gender-sensitive or “engendered”. To engender an evaluation is to view the evaluation process, dynamics, design, and the key elements of each evaluation stage through a “gender lens” to make sure that the evaluation and associated data collection and analysis practices are fully informed by an awareness of how gender shapes and is shaped by both programs and evaluations.

 

By engendering an evaluation, all aspects of that evaluation deeply consider gender needs and issues; the evaluation is responsive to the cultural context in which gendered relationships play out; and inquiry is focused on the data and analysis needed to achieve gender equality and empowerment objectives.

Engendering an evaluation means that all stages of the evaluation reflect:

 

(1) an awareness that the degree and meaning of program participation, program results, and potential sustainability are shaped by gender;

(2) a recognition that explicit attention to gender issues must be integrated into the evaluation if gender equality objectives are to be addressed; and

(3) a commitment to examining the extent to which gender equality was achieved as a result of the strategy, project, of approach that was implemented.

 

 4. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

 

For the impact evaluation, Save the Children will contract an independent third-party consulting firm to collect reliable, accurate, valid, and timely data.

Responsibilities of Consultant / Consulting firm:

·        Consultant/Consulting firm is fully responsible for implementation of this assignment, including methodology design, data collection, data analysis and reporting;

·        Consultant / Consulting firm will liaise with Save the Children staff throughout the process, providing regular updates and seeking their input and advice where necessary;

·        Consulting firm will prepare a detailed task timeline and draft methodology (inception report) and work with Save the Children to finalize the methodology;

·        Consulting firm is responsible for methodology design, including sampling and tools for data collection

·        Consultant/Consulting firm is responsible for conducting data analysis based on collected data through evaluation;

·        Consulting firm will adhere to the timeframe of the consultancy;

·        Consulting firm will deliver periodical and final report;

·             All the data collected during the research/study period should be protected in line with provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679, and national regulations on the protection of personal data in Bosnia and Herzegovina[1] and Republic of Montenegro;

·        Consulting firm will ensure the ethical participation of children, and ensure full implementation of Save the Children's policy on Child Safeguarding.

Responsibilities of Save the Children:

·        Providing all background materials for the research consulting firm;

·        Ensuring the participation and support of implementing partners and beneficiaries;

·        Monitoring adherence to specified deadlines; facilitating access to required information;

·        Providing guidance throughout all phases of execution, approving all deliverables, and facilitating, access to any documentation (or any person) deemed relevant to the process;

·        Share deliverables with stakeholders;

·        Perform quality control, as required for all deliverables.

 

5. DELIVERABLES AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

 

The consultant/consulting firm should submit the following deliverables during the evaluation process:

·        Draft methodology for the Impact Evaluation (including evaluation design);

·        Inception report (methodology, sampling, tools for data collection, approach to data analysis and details of Evaluation Work Plan (draft implementation schedule);

·        Draft and final report of Impact Evaluation submitted in English; final report will incorporate Save the Children’s feedback into the draft report;

·        Datasets – quantitative data/datasets created or obtained in performance of this task; datasets) must be delivered in non-proprietary, machine-readable format; dataset must be organized and documented for use by those not fully familiar with the intervention or evaluation.

6. CONTENT OF THE EVALUATION REPORT

 

Save the Children expects that the final report will include the following sections, at a minimum:

·        Cover Page;

·        Acronym List;

·        Executive Summary;

·        Project Background;

·        Purpose and Scope of the Evaluation;

·        Literature review;

·        Evaluation Questions;

·        Evaluation Methodology;

·        Evaluation Results;

·        Conclusions (successes, challenges, and lessons learned);

·        Recommendations;

·        Attachments (evaluation SoW/ToR, data collection instruments, photos, charts, graphs, additional analyses).

·        Bibliography (APA Style of referencing)

 

7.        EVALUATION SCHEDULE

The below evaluation schedule can be modified and adjusted according to the Activity overall implementation plan. In order to perform all scheduled tasks, Consultant/Consulting firm shall be hired for the period September 2022 – December 25, 2022. The Consultant/Consulting firm shall prepare and implement the work plan in consultation with and support by the relevant personnel of Save the Children and partner organizations, in accordance with the following dynamics:

 

Activity	Time-frame
Drafting of the work plan and preparation of detailed work methodology and submitting the Inception report with a detailed work plan and methodology for the evaluation	Oct 15, 2022 (10 days)
Impact Evaluation – final report
Evaluation Report	December 20, 2022 (20 days)
Total estimated number of consultancy days	30

 

 

8. SELECTION CRITERIA

 

Save the Children will engage an experienced, independent third-party Consultant/Consulting firm to conduct impact evaluation. Save the Children’s preference is to use the same external Consulting firm for all three evaluations for consistency in the data collection and analysis. Therefore, Save the Children will select an external Consulting firm and Save the Children will work with the same firm throughout the life of the project. The third-party evaluator will:

·        Be financially and legally separate from Save the Children and partner organizations;

·        Have staff with demonstrated knowledge, skills, and experience in conducting impact and performance evaluations of education development programs;

·        Provide an outline for the evaluation, major tasks, and schedules prior to initiating the evaluation;

·        Experience in conducting evaluation will be considered an asset.

Save the Children will make the award to the Bidder whose proposal provides the best value, considering both technical and cost factors. Technical and cost factors will be evaluated relative to each other, as described herein. The technical evaluation factors, taken as a whole, are of greater importance than cost or price in determining best value.

Bidders should note that these criteria:

(1) serve as the standard against which all proposals will be evaluated, and

(2) serve to identify the significant matters which Bidders should address in their proposals.

The proposal submitted will be the primary document upon which each Bidder will be evaluated. 

Save the Children reserves the right to waive any minor or technical defects or irregularities and reserves the right to reject any or all bids.

The Consultant/Consulting firm must submit a proposal taking into account the following guidelines:

·        Description of Methodology;

·        Budget;

·        Curriculum Vitae with detailed summary of the evaluation of programs/ projects conducted previously for individuals/companies. If the evaluation was done for a company/organization, please include a profile of such company/organization;

·        A minimum of three letters of reference from organizations with which it/s/he has conducted previous consulting work or a list of three references;

·        A minimum of two examples of evaluation reports that the consultant/consulting firm has led.

 

Save the Children emphasizes that all the accompanying costs of the process of evaluation and implementation of the engagement (travel costs, accommodation, etc.) should be included in the offer.

Candidates interested in the engagement should send their bids to Procurement.NWB@savethechildren.org no later than Sept 16, 2022 . Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

 

Please find enclosed document for application: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1b6-Xgv6fP9ZHH0kym3q-v1kODCggabBj...

 

Special requirement:

No person working on any task for or behalf of Save the Children may in no way whatsoever be involved or related to child abuse or exploitation as defined in the Save the Children's Child Safeguarding Policy.

 

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)