Individual Consultancy: Evaluation of the Accelerated Birth and Civil Registration project in Nampula

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Application deadline 3 years ago: Monday 31 Aug 2020 at 21:55 UTC

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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.

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How can you make a difference?

  1. Purpose, Objectives and Scope

The overall purpose of this evaluation is to provide feedback to UNICEF and its partners on the effectiveness and efficiency of the public-private partnership (PPP) strategy to achieve Accelerated Birth and Civil Registration project in Nampula province of Mozambique, and assess the feasibility of incorporating such subsidy model on other regions of the country. Given the scarcity of evidence on PPP incorporation in programmes at Mozambique CO, the results of this evaluation aim to contribute to institutional learning through the UNICEF community practice as well as to inform wider social protection community.

The primary objectives of this evaluation are:

  1. To assess the relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, coordination and sustainability of the Right to have Rights Project from its inception to finalization, with particular focus on the PPP agreement and UNICEF’s coordination role to increase partners’ capacity and adapt to changing needs.
  2. To identify and document key lessons learned, good practices and innovations in implementing the project through a PPP strategy.
  3. To provide a set of forward-looking and actionable recommendations to strengthen project role out in other districts and provinces, taking into consideration other efforts already in place for national strengthening of the CRVS system.

Scope

The evaluation will cover the Rights to Have Rights Project from 2014-2018, and the geographic coverage is 7 districts in Nampula:

  • Three initial districts - Rapale, Mecuburi, Ribaue; and
  • Two additional districts added in 2016: Malema and Murrupula
  • Two additional added in 2017: Moma and Mogovolas.

The evaluation will examine trend data, if any, in the implementation process and outcomes between the initial three districts and those added at the later stage to assess the influence differential approaches. The evaluation will have to identify and incorporate gender sensitive and human rights informed lenses throughout all stages of the evaluation process.

  1. Evaluation Criteria and Preliminary Evaluation Questions

The evaluation be guided by key evaluation criteria, and have gender and disability used as cross-cutting themes. Key evaluation questions are presented below, and sub-questions will be formulated during the inception phase.

Relevance: The evaluation will seek to assess the extent to which the objectives of the Rights to have Rights Project and its design were in line with beneficiaries and stakeholders needs, as well as whether the PPP strategy was sensitive to the political economy and capacity conditions in place. It will assess both whether the project identified the right target, as well as if changes during implementation contributed to its relevance.

  • Was the project aligned to rights holders’ economic needs and conditions, specially to those of women, children and people with disabilities?
  • Did the project reach the most vulnerable communities of Nampula Province?
  • Did the project choose and adapt its target group so as to ensure relevance of the interventions along its duration?

Coherence: The evaluation will assess the interlinkages of project strategy with other interventions carried out by partners and other institutions intervening in the same context, adding value while avoiding duplication of effort.

  • To which extent has the project build up from and/or improved other efforts to accelerate civil registration in the region by other (non)government institutions?

Effectiveness: The evaluation will assess the extent to which the project results on accelerating birth and civil registration were achieved, and whether the PPP and mobilization strategies demonstrated a reasonable contribution at the outcome level, including any differential results across groups of women and people with disabilities.

  • To what extent were the project results on accelerating birth and civil registration achieved? Have the results been achieved at the cost of targeting bias (selection of easier groups to approach)?
  • Was the community mobilization carried out by Lurio Green Resources of added value to the achievement of increased birth registration and civil identification rates?
  • How do beneficiaries perceive the effects of the project on their living conditions?

Efficiency: The evaluation will measure how resources (funds, in-kind contributions, time, etc) were converted into results and how well has UNICEF managed the PPP to operationalize and implement activities.

  • Did UNICEF ensure timely allocation of funds and material resources?
  • Was the cost benefit ratio of the project adequate (full economic cost of registering a birth or of attributing a civil identification document)?

Sustainability: The evaluation will assess the extent to which continuation of benefits from project was ensured, including the likelihood of and risks to long-term benefits, specially through partners capacity building and the leveraging of PPP.

  • Did the project result in the increased capacity of the partners to ensure continuation of activities on awareness or demand from communities for registration?
  1. Evaluation Approach and Methods

The evaluation methodology will adhere to the United Nations Evaluation Group (UNEG) Norms & Standards. The detailed evaluation design will be developed by the external evaluator (to be contracted) during the inception phase, in close consultation with the UNICEF Mozambique CO Child Protection section with technical support of Social Policy, Research and Evaluation Unit and key evaluation stakeholders. The design should specify how data collection and analysis methods integrate gender considerations throughout the evaluation process, including to the extent possible, inclusion of girls and boys, women and men, as well as a range of project stakeholders.

The evaluation will be conducted at an output and outcome levels. The evaluation will be based on a Theory Based Approach through a contribution analysis: reconstructing and testing the theory of change (TOC) and its assumptions of the programme against what is observed in the context of influence of other factors. As part of this analysis, the implementation of the project over the evaluation period will also be examined, covering project management capacity to learn and adapt to changes in context, needs and priorities.

It is envisioned that the evaluation will use predominantly qualitative design, allowing rights holders, partners, and other stakeholders to identify changes resulting from the project, who has benefited and who has not, and what were the project’s strengths and weaknesses. Considering the limitations for field activities imposed by COVID-19 Pandemic, data collection will be “contactless” and use remote methods (e.g. extensive telephone interviewers with Key Informants under snowball sampling approach). Other complementary ‘contactless’ approaches for data collection are required in order to achieve data triangulation (e.g. sms, phone surveys, etc.)

Primary quantitative data collection is not required. However, triangulation shall be used to compare group information with the opinion of key informants and evidence available from secondary sources. Case studies focusing on life-change stories may be produced to provide more in-depth understanding of the process of individual and collective transformation.

The evaluation consultant will get access to the data sources related to project including: Narrative reports from the province which were produced on a quarterly basis; Statistical information from the provinces; Five donor reports submitted from UNICEF to the donors; Expenditure reports of the project. Data is only disaggregated by sex and age, as per statistical reports produced by the ministries.

There are several limitations anticipated in relation to data on project monitoring:

  • Lack of baseline data;
  • Monitoring spreadsheets not compiled in a reliable overall file with levels of disaggregation;
  • Even though the project follows a defined logic of interventions, it lacks a clearly defined Theory of Change with appropriate indicators at all levels (input, activity, output, outcome and impact)

The inception phase will clarify and finalise the evaluation questions based on the above limitations.

  1. Specific Tasks, Deliverables and Timeline

The key stages of this evaluation and tentative timeline will be the following:

Timeline

Activity

Deliverable

3 weeks after the start of the contract

Payment: 10%

Inception phase

  • Preparation of draft inception report and data collection tools;

• Engagement with stakeholders on formulating and agreeing evaluation questions;

• Ethical approval process

Finalization of inception report, and translation into Portuguese

1. Draft inception report

Recipients: members of the evaluation reference group

2. Presentation of the draft inception report and instruments – in person or via video link – to the Evaluation Reference Group and wider group of partners and UNICEF staff;

3. Final inception report (plus completed revision trail addressing all comments)

Recipients: members of the evaluation reference group, UNICEF staff managing evaluation,

4 weeks after the inception phase

Payment: 20%

Data collection phase

• Preparation of instruments for data collection, their pre-testing and piloting

• Organisation of all aspects of data collection including logistics and management of enumerator teams

• Preparation of interview transcripts,

• Population of evaluation matrix.

4. Data collection de-brief with UNICEF staff

4 weeks after the data collection phase

Payment: 20%

Drafting, validation and completion phase

  • Data analysis and drafting
  • Preparation of a PowerPoint presentation on emerging findings, conclusions and recommendations
  • Engagement with stakeholders on draft report review.
  • Preparation of evaluation and policy briefs.

5. Presentation of Preliminary Findings – in person or via video link – on emerging findings, conclusions and recommendations, with key evaluation stakeholders, including the Evaluation Reference Group.

Recipients: members of the evaluation reference group

6. A complete first draft evaluation report

Recipients: members of the evaluation reference group

1 week after last round of comments

Payment: 50%

Final approval

  • Finalization of report: before approval report will go through at least two revision rounds by an external party against GEROS quality criteria.
  • Preparation of summary PowerPoint presentation

The final 50% of payment is due after all deliverables (including all reviews and evaluation briefs) are completed.

7. A final evaluation report (plus completed audit trail addressing all comments). The final report should be illustrated with data and infographics. Gender should also be included as a cross-cutting theme throughout the findings. The approval process for the final report included at least two rounds of revisions with UNICEF MCO and UNICEF ESARO.

Recipients: members of the evaluation reference group

8. Final PowerPoint presentation that summarizes the evaluation findings.

Recipients: members of the evaluation reference group

9. Evaluation brief. A summary of the key evaluation points, with a maximum of 4 pages, illustrated with data and infographics.

Recipients: members of the evaluation reference group.

10. Support in UNICEF dissemination efforts. Presenting and sharing the results in a web-based conference.

Recipients: national and international stakeholders.

Important notes:

  • Data archive: Data gathered in the exercise is transferred in an organized archive that will permit follow-on users to replicate or extend the analysis. Suitable care to be taken in assuring the anonymity of respondents and documented in inception and final reports.
  • All evaluation products (including dissemination products) should be submitted first in English and the final versions translated into Portuguese by the professional translation service. The financial proposal should include all-inclusive fees.
  • Monitoring work progress on deliverables which are not listed in the TOR will be periodically required.
  • The format of and page limits for the final deliverables will be decided in the inception period. A high value will be placed on products that are concise and communicate well with different audiences. Thus, the final products should be edited, translated into Portuguese and produced to include simple infographics and print layout in an easy to read format (Graphic design and translation may be subcontracted by the individual consultant).
  • Payments will be processed upon acceptance of the corresponding deliverable and against an invoice that will reference the contract and deliverable numbers. Payments will be approved by the respective section chief.
  1. Ethical Considerations

The evaluation consultant should adhere to the following UN and UNICEF norms and standards and is expected to clearly identify any potential ethical issues and approaches, as well as the processes for ethical review and oversight of the evaluation process in their proposal. Copies of all these documents will be provided upon request:

  • United Nations Evaluation Group (UNEG) Standards for Evaluation in the UN System
  • United Nations Evaluation Group (UNEG) Norms for Evaluation in the UN System, including impartiality, independence, quality, transparency, consultative process
  • Ethical Guidelines for UN Evaluations and the UNICEF procedure for ethical standards in research, evaluation, data collection and analysis will guide the overall process
  • UNICEF adapted evaluation report standards and GEROS
  • The evaluation should incorporate the human rights-based and gender perspective and be based on results-based management principles and logical framework analysis.

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

The evaluation will be conducted by an individual consultant - national consultants are highly encouraged to apply. Shall the consultant wish to submit a proposal with an assistant evaluator, it is encouraged to involve a young and emerging evaluator.

The international evaluators should be aware of possible travel restrictions still pending, due to Covid-19, and propose strategies for remote data collection. It is expected the evaluator to have the following qualifications:

Academic qualifications: Graduate degree in Social Science or relevant discipline (economics, sociology, psychology, international relations, evaluation).

Work experience.

  • At least ten years of experience in the field of evaluation in development and public sector projects;
  • At least three years of research or evaluation experience in the area of child and social protection and /or development interventions in low-income context;
  • Research and evaluation experience in the South East Africa and/or Mozambique is highly desirable;
  • Understanding Mozambique socio-economic and community context is required
  • Experience with the ethics of evidence generation; experience collecting data from vulnerable groups; familiarity with ethical safeguards;

Specific knowledge, competencies, and skills required

  • Proven record of expertise in development of evaluation methodologies (quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods approaches);
  • Applied knowledge and application of UNEG norms and standards;
  • Good understanding of modalities of UNICEF multi-sectoral work and their convergence;
  • Excellent abilities in presenting technical information for a non-technical audience;

Language skills

  • Fluency in both English and Portuguese is required.

Work experience:

  • At least six years of proven experience of working with information management systems (preferably related to social assistance, child protection, and/or child rights monitoring and indicator development with Government and development partners. Experience in developing links with and integration of community-based indicators into wider IMS is an asset.
  • Experience in organizational reviews and in the design of statistics staff roles and responsibilities

Specific knowledge, competencies, and skills required:

  • Excellent knowledge of information gathering tools such as focus groups, in-depth interviews and familiarity with major surveys in Mozambique.
  • Proven knowledge of assessing and developing data collection tools, develop methods of verification and quality control.
  • An understanding of relevant international and regional child protection instruments including the Convention on the Rights of the Child and General Comments on its implementation as well as the Convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women;

Language skills: Excellent written and verbal English and Portuguese or Spanish communication skills

Interested consultants are requested to submit their financial proposals and a written sample of their work within two weeks of announcement. After the opening, each proposal will be assessed first on its technical merits and subsequently on its price.

All bidders’ proposals will be reviewed by the supervisor of the consultancy and the Evaluation Specialist.

The selection of the consultant will be based on a “best value for money” principle. Interested candidates should, in addition to submitting their CV and cover letter, indicate their all-inclusive fees (subcontracting costs, etc.) for the services to be provided. Note: this consultancy will be conducted remotely for the whole duration of the contract. The office shall select the individual who quoted the lowest fee from the list of individuals who are deemed technically suitable for achieving all tasks in time.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

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.

Added 3 years ago - Updated 2 years ago - Source: unicef.org