National and International Consultants to carry out statistical data analysis and report writing for endline evaluation of the Safe to Learn project

Consultancy Terms of Reference

LOCATION: Home-based

Number of Positions: 1 (International and National)

CHILD SAFEGUARDING:

Level 2: either the role holder will have access to personal data about children and/or young people as part of their work; or they will be working in a ‘regulated’ position (accountant, barrister, solicitor, legal executive); therefore, a police check will be required (at ‘standard’ level in the UK or equivalent in other countries).

Consultancy Role: The objective of the consultancy is to carry out statistical data analysis and report writing for endline evaluative study of the Safe to Learn project funded by the Secretariat of the Fund to the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children through Save the Children Australia, and implemented by Save the Children International (SCI) in Cambodia in partnership with World Vision and Plan International.**

Introduction

Save the Children (SC) is the world’s largest independent child rights organization, working in more than 120 countries, including Cambodia. Save the Children in Cambodia implements its programmes in partnership with the Government, civil society and relevant research organizations. We work with communities, local NGO’s and community based organizations to deliver projects that help ensure children are protected, health and educated. We work with the Royal Government of Cambodia at National and Sub-National levels and also with civil society to ensure that our development efforts are sustainable. Save the Children in Cambodia work in the whole spectrum of child development through 5 programmes: Education, Child Protection, Child Right Government, Health & Nutrition, and Child Poverty. Save the Children works in both development and emergency contexts, ensuring that cross-cutting areas such as gender, disability, resiliency, and remoteness are key considerations to achieve immediate and lasting change for the most marginalized and most disadvantaged.

Project Background

Safe to Learn project helped build a child-safe learning culture among all education stakeholders in Cambodia, free from all forms of violence. In order to realize this, the project has aimed to reduce violence against children (VAC) in and through schools through the provision of evidence-based tools and approaches. **

The project has established a consortium of INGO partners convened by Save the Children International (SCI), including World Vision (WV) and Plan International (Plan), leveraging existing VAC collaborations and school based partnerships for implementation, with consistent leadership and engagement from MoEYS and the technical committee (TC) and Leading & Coordinating Committee (L&CC) to support the roll out of the Implementation Guidelines for Child Protection in Schools Policy (IGCPSP).

The project tested evidence-based tools and approaches to reduce VAC in schools by: (1) strengthening the Cambodian CP policy framework through the development, endorsement and dissemination of the IGCPSP, (2) supporting MoEYS in the piloting of the IGCPSP in target primary schools, through the establishment of functioning school based child protection mechanism (SBCPM) and ensuring its coordination with the community based child protection mechanism (CBCPM); 3) supporting target schools in developing a data monitoring system for VAC, as well as safeguarding codes of conduct; 4) empowering girls, boys, non-binary students, children with disabilities and community based child protection actors to speak up and take positive action against violence and abuse in schools; and 5) producing evidence and learning for costed options for implementation scale-up on child protection models, approaches and strategies, including quasi-experimental studies.

Our theory of change was founded on socio-ecological and collective impact approaches. The first recognized social, economic, gender and cultural factors promoting and preventing violence, and suggests intervention at individual, relationship, institutional and societal levels addressing adults and children. The second encouraged structuring our efforts for impact at scale and sustainability around shared aims, indicators and measurements, mutually reinforcing activities, constant communication, and well-resourced facilitation.

Our long-term goal was to create and maintain a child-safe culture where all boys and girls (including those with disabilities and non-binary), can learn safe from all forms of violence; and those who experience violence in and through schools, received greater and more responsive access to care, support, and justice to ensure physical, psychological and social well-being. Multi-stakeholder committees led by MoEYS focused on operationalizing the national child protection policy in target primary schools through evidence-based action.

Outputs focused on development of policy operational guidance (IGCPSP), action and implementation tools to socialize and clarify roles and responsibilities in SBCPM and CBCPM, as well as ensure data reporting and safeguarding, using four INSPIRE strategies: Implementation and enforcement of laws, safe-environments, norms and values, and parent and caregiver support. We compared and piloted evidence-based costed models for sustainable implementation at scale to address:

· Reduction, identification, reporting, and responding to offline (on-site/face-to-face) and online child-safeguarding violations, by education sector staff and volunteers, peers, and services within the sphere of influence of MoEYS;

· Identification, reporting and referral of child protection violations outside this sphere of influence.

Geographical Coverage: Chey Saen, Chhaeb, and Sangkum Thmey districts of Preah Vihear province (42 schools and 15 communes, 45 villages), and Angkor Thom and Banteay Srei districts of Siem Reap province (10 cluster schools, 10 commune and 66 villages)

Duration of Project: October 2020 – December 2021 (extended to 30 June 2022)

Purpose of the Study

The ultimate objective of this endline survey is to provide rigorous evidence regarding the effects (individual and contextual effects) of the project on reduction of violence against children at schools and in the communities during school closure including children with disabilities and marginalized groups. An accurate understanding of what outcomes have been achieved by this project will help to make evidence-based decisions regarding the use of contextualized Child Protection Guideline at Schools in Cambodia.

The study will generate the endline values for the project´s key indicators and constitute the basis to measure the project performance. Thus, the specific objectives of the endline survey are:

1) To compare the status of violence against children on school grounds, on the way to/from school, or through distance learning platforms between baseline and endline and intervention and comparison groups.**

2) To compare knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to violence against children in and around schools among children, teachers, school management, and community between baseline and endline and intervention and comparison groups.**

3) To compare the proportions of cases of violence against children in and through schools reported by children, teachers, school management, and community between baseline and endline and intervention and comparison groups. **

4) To examine the extent to which the reported cases of violence against children in and through schools are followed until conclusion between baseline and endline and intervention and comparison groups.**

5) To determine factors (at individual, household, school, and community levels) that are preventing violence against children on school grounds, on the way to/from school, or through distance learning platforms?**

6) To identify factors (at individual, household, school, and community levels) that are facilitating violence against children on school grounds, on the way to/from school, or through distance learning platforms.**

7) To explore factors (individual, household, school, and community levels including community child protection mechanisms) that are positively or negatively associated with violence against children on school grounds, on the way to/from school, or through distance learning platforms prior to project interventions. **

8) To examine the differences in the key variables related to the Child Protection Guideline implemented at schools between baseline and endline and intervention and comparison groups.

9) To investigate relationship between violence against children (home/school) and children learning and learning outcomes.

10) To measure the impacts of the intervention on violence against children at schools and in the community.

Scope of the Study

The baseline study will address all relevant indicators as laid out in the Lograme. In addition to the generation of values for the endline indicators, the study will examine the determinants of violence against children on school grounds, on the way to/from school, or through distance learning platforms. Contextual effects and the effects of school management including teachers, household and individual characteristics will be examined. Comparisons of key variables related to Child Protection Guideline implementation at schools and relevant indicators and other outcome variables will be made between the intervention sites (target schools) and comparison sites (non-target schools) and baseline and endline.

Study Questions

This endline survey will be guided by the following questions:

1. What are the differences in the violence against children on school grounds, on the way to/from school, or through distance learning platforms between baseline and endline and intervention and comparison groups? **

2. What are the differences in knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to violence against children in and around schools among children, teachers, school management, and community between baseline and endline and intervention and comparison groups? **

3. What are the differences in the proportions of cases of violence against children in and through schools reported by children, teachers, school management, and community between baseline and endline and intervention and comparison groups? **

4. To what extent were the reported cases of violence against children in and through schools followed until conclusion between baseline and endline and intervention and comparison groups? **

5. What factors are preventing violence against children on school grounds, on the way to/from school, or through distance learning platforms?**

6. What factors are facilitating violence against children on school grounds, on the way to/from school, or through distance learning platforms?**

7. What are the differences in the key variables related to the Child Protection Guideline implemented at schools between baseline and endline and intervention and comparison groups?

8. Is there any relationship between violence against children (at home/school) and children learning and learning outcomes?

9. What are the impacts of the intervention on violence against children at schools and in the community?

   Consultancy Role: The objective of the consultancy is to carry out statistical data analysis and report writing for endline evaluative study of the Safe to Learn project funded by the Secretariat of the Fund to the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children through Save the Children Australia, and implemented by Save the Children International (SCI) in Cambodia in partnership with World Vision and Plan International.

Minimum Qualifications for a Lead Consultant/team members:

· Both international and national consultants must hold doctoral degrees in relevant field (education, social work, social psychology, statistics, econometrics, economics, sociology, demography, development studies, etc.)

· Strong academic and/or professional training backgrounds in research and impact evaluation

· Some knowledge and skills in statistics and competent to report statistical findings with support from the national consultant.

· Strong academic and/or professional training backgrounds in advanced statistics and econometric techniques for impact evaluation design and analysis using SPSS or STATA (national consultant)

· Excellent skills and extensive experience in statistical report writing (international consultant)

· Excellent skills and extensive experience in conducting of advanced statistical analysis techniques and econometric modelling (national consultant)

Selection Criteria

These are criteria which bidders must meet in order to be successful and progress to the next round of evaluation. If a bidder does not meet any of the Essential Criteria, they will be excluded from the tender process. This criteria is scored as Pass or Fail and will not be evaluated against capability and commercial criteria.

A. Capability Evaluation=65%

1. Doctoral degrees in relevant field of social science for both international and national consultant. (20%)

2. Excellent knowledge and skills in statistical report writing using simple language for general audiences but maintain statistical standards for professional reporting (International consultant) (15%)

3. Extensive experience in statistical report writing in field of social development (International consultant) (10%)

4. Excellent knowledge and skills in advanced statistical and econometric techniques and able to transfer the statistical outputs in more simple and easy to understand among general audiences (national consultant) (10%)

5. Extensive experience in conducting advanced statistical and econometric analyses. (national consultant) (10%)

B. Commercial Evaluation=30%

These criteria will be used to evaluate the commercial competitiveness of a bid. All bids which pass the Essential criteria will be evaluated against the same pre-agreed Commercial Criteria, which have been created by a committee of representatives from SCI.

C. Sustainability evaluation= 5%

Criteria used to evaluate the impact a supplier has on the environment, local economy and

community. Bids will be evaluated against the same pre-agreed Criteria.

*The detail of TOR can be requested to: [email protected]*