Consultancy for STEAM research - Nationals only (4 months)

Consultant Teaching & Training Programme & Policy

Contract

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UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, Care.

How can you make a difference?

Objective:

The purpose of the consultancy is to provide insights into the:

1. Perception of girls towards and barriers to engage in STEAM subjects, fields and careers, targeting girls in marginalized communities (e.g. rural areas, refugee and migrant communities) in Egypt;
2. Digital literacy among girls as the foundation for STEAM learning and improved employability;

which will inform the planning of STEAM and digital learning interventions and form the baseline for UNICEF’s country programme.

Methodology:

The consultant will work under the technical supervision of the Education Specialist, UNICEF Egypt Country Office, and in close collaboration with the Education Chief, Innovation team and girls’ empowerment focal point.

The Consultant is requested to conduct a research, including developing an inception report, conducting desk review, designing methodology and research tools (including ethical clearances). The research will be conducted in Greater Cairo and selected governorates, data analysis, report writing, development of a brief and presentation of findings to key stakeholders.

Overall, the research will focus on children aged 6-18 years (including children with disabilities), parents and teachers and target Greater Cairo (including host and refugee communities; disaggregated by Egyptians, Syrians and non-Syrians) as well as rural areas in selected governorates (e.g. one governorate from Lower Egypt, Upper Egypt, Suez Canal zone and frontier governorate).

The research will make use of both primary and secondary data. A thorough analysis of the existing evidence and secondary data is needed. The collection of primary data should be done through mixed research techniques, including:

1. In-depth interviews and focus group discussions with adolescents (girls and boys), parents and teachers from host and refugee communities in urban and rural areas as highlighted above;
2. RapidPro Survey, an interactive two-way mobile survey that will be shared with adolescents, aged 10-18 years, from the Dawwie network;
3. Pre- and post-test (or alternatively short survey) to identify teachers’ perception on relevant topics (e.g. gender perception, perception on STEAM etc.) to be conducted with primary school teachers in public and refugee community schools);
4. a more experiential methodology should be identified to provide a snapshot of the perception of girls and boys aged below the age of 10 years, such as analysing the drawing of students.

Students of both genders will be participating in the interviews/discussions and surveys to identify gender-specific differences, bottlenecks and needs. Data shall be disaggregated by gender, nationalities, geographic location, school type and grade level.

The research objectives for this assignment are as follows:

STEAM:

• To identify the reasons for the students preferring a STEM or a non-STEM subject or activities.
• To explore the confidence gap issue in girls - STEM vs non-STEM subjects and identify possible reasons.
• To identify the barriers for choosing STEM subjects, activities and a career in STEM fields.
• To understand the influence of role models and their degree of influence in the decision-making process.
• To understand the perception of teachers and parents of girls choosing STEM vs non-STEM subjects and careers.

Digital literacy:

• To understand self-perceived digital literacy among girls and boys.
• To explore the perceived importance and benefits of digital literacy among students.
• To explore the extent digital literacy education is provided in schools.
• To explore the development of digital literacy skills in their personal lives.
• To understand the perceived challenges in gaining digital literacy skills.

The consultant should provide a detailed research methodology including the selection of the sample of respondents and the proposed research questions as part of the inception report.

The study should adhere to UNICEF Procedure for Ethical Standards in Research, Evaluation, Data Collection and Analysis and ethical participation of children. The individual consultant is required to clearly identify any potential ethical issue, as well as the processes for ethical review and oversight of the research/data collection process. Thus, it is required for the consultant to develop the necessary forms for interviewees according to the UNICEF ethical procedure before conducting the interview. In addition, it is the consultant’s responsibility to make sure that these procedures are being followed and that the forms are collected from all interviewees. The research tools need to be ethically cleared by UNICEF before conducting in-depth interviews and FGDs. In addition, any participant will be fully informed about the nature and purpose of the assignment and their requested involvement. Only participants who have given their written or verbal consent (documented) will be included in the consultations.

Travel by the consultant will be required within Greater Cairo and selected governorates to conduct relevant interviews and FGDs. UNICEF will be able to facilitate access to refugee students, teachers and parents as well as adolescents through the Dawwie network; however, it would be beneficial if the consultant has access to the target population (directly or through a network of community-based organizations) that can be tapped into, particularly for rural areas.

In addition to conducting the primary data collection, analyzing the data and writing the report, the consultant is requested to develop a brief to highlight the findings of the research. This brief will then be shared by UNICEF and partners and other forums and shall complement the research report. Finally, the consultant is expected to present the findings to key stakeholders (launch of the report).

ACTIVITIES, DELIVERABLES AND TIMELINES, PLUS BUDGET PER DELIVERABLE:

The consultant is expected to:

1. Conduct desk review/secondary analysis of available data from research on the topic: The consultant will conduct a desk review/secondary analysis of existing data, studies, research, and reports that identify the bottlenecks of girls to participate in STEAM education and gain digital skills in Egypt/region. Analysis of main results of desk review/secondary analysis shall be included in the Inception Report and final research report.
2. Develop inception report including detailed research methodology: Based on initial discussions with the UNICEF Education team and the desk review, the consultant will develop an inception report, detailing agreed understanding of the project, methodology to be adopted (sample size, questionnaires, sample frame for the general public and the targeted groups of interest, approach to covering targeted populations and sub-groups, etc.) and timeline.
3. Develop data collection tools and obtain ethical clearance for the tools: The consultant will develop qualitative, quantitative and experiential tools to be used for the primary data collection. The consultant is required to clearly identify any potential ethical issue, as well as the processes for ethical review and oversight of the research/data collection process. Furthermore, the consultant is required to get ethical clearance from UNICEF before conducting the data collection activities.
4. Conduct primary data collection: The consultant will conduct primary data collection in Greater Cairo and selected governorates as per the agreed methodology. The consultant is requested to provide a summary after the completion of agreed sets to convey key findings for each group.
5. Analyse data collected: The consultant is responsible for the analysis of the primary data collected through the different research methodologies.This also includes the results of the pre- and post-test administered to teachers from public as well as refugee community schools as part of the STEAM Camps.
6. Develop draft research report: The consultant will share a draft research report with UNICEF and partners for feedback and input. The report needs to include (but not be limited to) the following: Methodology, summary of desk review, findings from primary data collection, sample of quotes, research gap, recommendations, research tools.
7. Finalize research report: The consultant will incorporate comments provided by UNICEF and partners and finalize the report. The final report will include a full analysis of results that emerged from both the secondary and primary data analysis showing differences between groups.
8. Develop a brief (max 2 pages): The brief will complement the research report and highlight the findings of the research. The brief will be shared with UNICEF donors and partners interested in the research topic.
9. Presentation of findings (launch of report): The consultant is requested to present the research report to a group of internal and external stakeholders identified by UNICEF and discuss the findings of the report.

The deliverables, timelines and payment modalities are outlined below:

DELIVERABLES:

Estimated Duration to Complete

Payment

1. Inception report including a summary of desk review and detailed research methodology

10 working days

30%

2. Approved qualitative, quantitative and experiential data collection tools & ethical clearance

10 working days

3. Primary data collection completed

35 working days

Reimbursement of travel costs

4. Draft research report submitted

15 working days

50%

5. Finalized and approved research report

10 working days

20%

6. Approved 2-pager brief on the findings of the report

2 working days

7. Presentation of the findings of the report to key stakeholders

2 working days

Total

84 working days

100%

The consultant will be paid on a monthly basis on submission and acceptance of the deliverables at every stage of payment

Conditions of work:

The consultant will report to the Education Specialist, working closely with the Education Section Chief, Innovation team as well as the girls’ empowerment focal point. The consultant will use his/her own laptop. The consultant will be requested to travel to selected governorates to conduct primary data collection as agreed in the Inception Report. The costs for this travel will be reimbursed by UNICEF Egypt.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

-Advanced degree in education, gender, psychology, social sciences or related fields relevant to the assignment.

-At least 10 years of relevant research experience using mixed research methodologies including secondary data analysis, development of research tools, conducting primary research, analysis of data (including experience in the consistent use of age and sex-disaggregated and gender-sensitive data) and report writing.

-Proven experience in conducting research with children, adolescents and young people including ethical considerations.

-Experience working with refugee and migrant communities is an advantage.

-Excellent technical knowledge regarding education (preferably STEAM), digital literacy and/or gender issues.

-International experience with UN agencies is a plus.

-Fluency in English and Arabic is a requirement.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS).

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Remarks:

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.

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Added 8 months ago - Updated 8 months ago - Source: unicef.org