Individual National Consultant to Support the Development of a Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Framework of the Child Sensitive Cash Plus Project in Da Nang City, including a Baseline Study

Contract

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Background

Over the past decade, the reform agenda of social protection in Viet Nam has seen significant progress. In 2017, Viet Nam marked a key milestone when the Prime Minister approved the Master Plan on Social Assistance Reform and Development (MPSARD) 2017-2025 and Vision to 2030, serving as the first comprehensive social assistance framework in Viet Nam. The plan envisages an ambitious scaling up of social assistance, with the overall aim of progressively realizing universal access.

In 2021, the Government issued Decree 20/2021 replacing Decree 136/2013 serving as the most important decree on cash assistance in Viet Nam, with the renewed focus in the first 1,000 days of life. As of 2021, more than 3.1 million people received a regular benefit (about 3 per cent of the population) of which about 51,000 are orphans and 70,000 are children with disabilities (MOLISA, December 2021). The newly issued Decree 20 reflects an expansion in social assistance coverage for only a small group of children under 3 years old from poor households living in ethnic minority communities in mountainous areas. The Decree 20 also includes an important article allowing provinces and cities with an existing and potential fiscal space to have the flexibility to make decisions on the coverage and the value of the benefits to be transferred to beneficiaries. However, the revised Decree 20 is still categorical, narrowly targeted and without a roadmap for a progressive introduction of universal social assistance for children nor the inclusion of emergency and shock responsive cash assistance for children. Finally, the Decree 20 does not provide guidance to strengthen the linkages between social assistance beneficiaries and access to essential services.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that social protection system needs modernization. The support provided to households and children in response to the pandemic has been limited in terms of coverage, linkages to essential services, the adequacy of the benefits delivered, the complexity of targeting and limitation in the current management information system which have resulted in inclusion and exclusion errors in the identification of the people most in need.

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Assistance (MOLISA) is the government body responsible for the administration, implementation, and general oversight of social protection in Viet Nam. Over the past years, MOLISA and UNICEF have developed a strong partnership to promote and protect children’s rights in Viet Nam. Under the new Country Programme Document of 2022-2026, UNICEF Viet Nam Country Office continues its collaboration with MOLISA in strengthening the integrated and child-sensitive, shock responsive and gender transformative social protection systems.

At sub-national level, UNICEF Viet Nam has cooperated with Da Nang City since 2020 with a focus on evidence generation to inform the planning, development and implementation of child sensitive socio-economic development plans and the City Programme of Action on Children. Da Nang is a vibrant economic hub and has been experiencing rapid urbanization and stable economic growth. Da Nang is one among few self-financing provinces/cities in Viet Nam. In addition, Da Nang is one of the sub-national authorities to have increased the level of social assistance allowance, expanded the group of beneficiaries for social assistance, and added an education subsidy.

UNICEF and Da Nang Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (DOLISA) are supporting the initial stages of a child-sensitive cash plus programme in Da Nang. The programme facilitates linkages between cash transfer and complementary services to bring about synergistic impacts for children and their families with the ultimate goal of advancing child-sensitive, gender and shock-responsive social protection in Viet Nam, free from violence. The programme is part of the Da Nang Child-friendly City Project 2023-2026 — a collaboration between UNICEF Viet Nam and Da Nang City. The concept paper on child sensitive cash plus model was developed to inform the design and support the initial stages of this programme in Da Nang City.

The overall goal of the project is to contribute to the reduction of child protection risks and vulnerabilities to improve the development and wellbeing of children through the combination of cash transfers and complementary child protection services (case management). The proposed model combines a) monthly cash transfers to vulnerable children and children at risks (identified through vulnerability and risk screening/assessment) with b) case management. The model will be piloted in selected communes of Hoa Vang and Cam Le District for one year with the support of UNICEF.

Purpose and Objectives:

The purpose of the assignment is to develop a comprehensive M&E framework that will serve as a guideline for monitoring, evaluating and documenting the process and impact of the intervention and to conduct a baseline study to provide baseline information.

1) The main objective of the M&E framework is to provide a conceptual basis and methodology for monitoring and evaluation and to describe tools that will be used to facilitate information collection and reporting. The M&E framework, therefore, primarily intends to provide an overview and operational mechanism of M&E with different requirements and responsibilities taking into account the piloting nature of the intervention and cross-cutting issues such as equity, gender and adolescents.

The framework focuses on (i) monitoring and reporting on the pilot processes for learning, including third party monitoring as required; The framework will help the partners and UNICEF team assess whether the planned activities are being implemented with reference to the agreed process, challenges and result chain during the implementation phase and (ii) assessing outcomes and impact by emphasizing the result, effectiveness and success of the project. This includes overall design of the randomized impact evaluation. Moreover, the generated information will ensure reliable and timely evidence for reflection, learning and decision making.

2) The baseline study will help establish a starting point for monitoring and evaluating the impact of the project. It provides a clear understanding of the current situation, identifies gaps, and provides valuable insights that guide the development of appropriate interventions and the establishment of indicators to track progress towards achieving desired outcomes. The baseline study serves as a reference point against which progress can be measured and evaluated throughout the project cycle.

[1] According to the latest report of MOLISA on implementation of Decree 20/2021/NĐ-CP, about 146,365 children under 3 from poor households living in ethnic minority communities in mountainous areas receiving monthly cash assistance

Detailed Work Assignments and Deliverables as attached TOR Consultant for Cash Plus Baseline for distribution.pdf

Management

The consultancy will be supervised by the Social Policy Officer under the overall guidance of the Chief of Social Policy and Governance Section. The consultant will work in close collaboration with the colleagues from Child Protection (CP) Section, PM&E and Da Nang DOLISA.

The consultant will be in charge of recruiting and management of any potential enumerators deemed necessary for data collection (in discussion and agreement with UNICEF).

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

- Master’s degree in public policy, governance, development studies, economics, statistics and other relevant fields.

- Significant and demonstrable experience in the design and delivery of evaluation and research and in the context of international development (preferable).

- Proven knowledge and application of M&E systems and methodologies – including quantitative and mixed-method evaluation approaches, including experience in developing logical frameworks and theories of change.

- Familiarity with randomised impact evaluations.

- Excellent ability in data analysis, drafting and coordination of high-quality evaluation reports/outputs.

- Proven experience in managing data collection, enumerators and other field-related activities.

- Knowledge of Viet Nam’s socio-economic context as well as local context in Da Nang would be an asset.

- Proven capacity to facilitate multi stakeholder consultations and communications.

- Good listening skills as well as written and communication skills in English.

- Excellent teamwork skills particularly with local researchers.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

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

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

Assessment criteria:

For evaluation and selection method, the Cumulative Analysis Method (weight combined score method) shall be used for this recruitment:

a) Technical Qualification weight 75 points:

Educational background (15 points):

- Master’s degree, ideally in public (social) policy, development studies, economics, statistics, social work or social science-related field.

- Relevant work experience (40 points):

+ Minimum 10 years of working experience in the design and delivery of evaluation and research and in the context of international development (preferable).

+ Proven knowledge and application of M&E systems and methodologies – including quantitative and mixed-method evaluation approaches, including experience in developing logical frameworks and theories of change.

+ Familiarity with randomised experiment;

+ Have a good understanding of Da Nang’s socio-economic and partnership context.

+ Strong knowledge and technical capacity

- Relevant skills and competencies (20 points)

+ Excellent research, analytical, writing, and communication skills;

b. Financial Proposal weight 25 points:

- All prices/rates quoted must be exclusive of all taxes as UNICEF is a tax-exempt organization.

- Financial proposal should be all-inclusive lump-sum cost including consultancy fee, costs for domestic and international travels and communication.

- The maximum number of points shall be allotted to the lowest Financial Proposal that is opened/evaluated and compared among those technical qualified candidates. Other Financial Proposals will receive points in inverse proportion to the lowest price.

- The Contract shall be awarded to candidate obtaining the highest combined technical and financial scores, subject to the satisfactory result of the verification interview if needed.

Submission of applications:

a. Letter of interest/confirmation of availability and CV;

b. A technical proposal which clearly explains the outline on how to deliver the tasks and deliverables;

c. Three references;

d. Financial proposal: All-inclusive lump-sum cost including consultancy fee, costs for domestic and international travels and communication and any other relevant costs for this assignment.

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.