Plan International
- Background Information on Plan International
Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls.
We believe in the power and potential of every child. But this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination. And it’s girls who are most affected. Working together with children, young people, our supporters and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges facing girls and all vulnerable children.
We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood. And we enable children to prepare for – and respond to – crises and adversity. We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national and global levels using our reach, experience and knowledge.
We have been building powerful partnerships for children for over 85 years and are now active in more than 75 countries.
Read more about Plan International’s Global Strategy: Girls Standing Strong at https://plan-international.org/strategy
- Background/Context
As a result of the conflict in Ukraine from 24 February 2022, as of September 2022, 6.2 million people have been internally displaced[1], and as of October 2022, 7.6 million people have become refugees[2], mainly fleeing violence to neighbouring nations and across Europe, notably in the neighbouring countries of Poland, Romania, Moldova, as well as Hungary, Slovakia, and further into the Western European Union states. In Europe, this is the largest refugee displacement since World War II, with millions of individuals crossing since the beginning of the conflict, 90% of whom are women and children[3].
Interagency coordination fora for the Ukraine crisis, are not doing enough to assess the challenges and perspectives of girls, children, and youth. Child protection assessments are often gender blind and fail to recognise the gendered impacts of crises and address specific needs of individuals in humanitarian responses. Care Rapid Gender Analysis for Ukraine Refugee Response from October 2022 indicated the lack of much needed data and analysis on the gender barriers for youth and adolescent girls and boys around the four areas of protection, SRHR, participation, as well as more broadly. Thus, the needs and voices of adolescent girls in particular are currently largely neglected by the humanitarian community from policy to field level.
- Description & Objectives
Purpose
This Terms of Reference is for two phases of the Adolescent Girls in Crisis Ukraine Response research. Phase One includes a desk review covering the three research country contexts (Ukraine, Poland, and Moldova), the development of a detailed research methodology and analysis framework, a set of qualitative research tools, and submission to an external IRB for ethics approval. The Plan International Research Manager will lead on the desk review and the consultant will support its finalisation. This will include incorporating input from social science students at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Ukraine who will review relevant Ukrainian language literature and map public organizations and initiatives in Ukraine that work with girls or are girl-led. The consultant will share the literature review, the methodology and analysis framework, and the research tools for review with a) the project team at Plan International, b) a group of experts in the field of gender and humanitarian contexts and the research country contexts, and c) a wider reference group. If timelines allow, the consultant will also share the research tools for feedback from social science students at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Ukraine. Finally, the consultant will incorporate feedback from these groups into a final set of research tools and submit them to an external IRB for ethics approval.
As this research builds on the existing Adolescent Girls in Crisis approach, the methodology should be in line with previous AGiC research – this means that it should be qualitative and participatory (as far as possible in these contexts) and use a socio-ecological framework. There will be scope for the consultant to adapt or further develop the existing AGiC approach.
Phase Two of the research will cover the translation and tailoring of tools for each country context, the development and delivery of data collection training to in-country data collectors, the piloting of tools, completion of data collection, coding and cleaning of data, data analysis, write-up of final research report, and validation and review processes. The consultant will work with the Plan International Research Manager to develop and deliver data collection training for the three contexts – this may be done in-person or online – data collection will be carried out by in-country data collectors and will be managed by Plan International. The transcription and translation of data will be managed by Plan International, and coding of data may be carried out by the consultant or by a team of hired coders. The consultant will be responsible for carrying out data analysis and providing initial findings for each of the three country contexts. The main output of this research will be a technical research report covering the three country contexts which the consultant will draft and share for two review stages with a) the project team, b) the expert group, and c) the wider reference group. The consultant will produce a final research report that incorporates feedback from these groups and support the editing and proofreading process that will be led by Plan International.
Research Focus and Objectives- Adolescent Girls in Crisis (AGiC)
This research builds on previous research undertaken as part of a partnership between Plan International, Plan International Australia and Monash University. This original series looked to understand the unique impact crises have on adolescent girls; how they experience and navigate insecurity; their specific and unique needs; and the opportunities that exist to support girls in crisis situations. The latest iteration of the series in the Sahel was in partnership with University College London’s (its Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction (IRDR) and its Centre for Gender and Disaster (CGD) sought to dig deeper into the possibilities for change. Looking at the enabling environment which ‘reflects a set of interrelated conditions: legal, political, social, and cultural’[4] and acknowledges the importance of wider institutional, policy and socio-economic factors in supporting community-level resilience.[5] The proposed Ukraine response Adolescent Girls in Crisis (AGiC) research will form a new study in the Plan global hub (Plan GH) girls in crisis series, focused on the situation facing girls and adolescent girls affected by the conflict inside Ukraine and those now seeking refuge in Poland and Moldova.
The AGiC framework captures how adolescent girls and youth navigate protracted crisis; build resilience individually and through support networks to ensure programming builds on their existing capacities and supports them to enable factors for positive change in protracted crisis. The framework centres adolescent girls by amplifying their voices, drawing upon lived experiences and focusing on how protracted crisis uniquely impacts their needs and perceptions. Aspects of insecurity including agency and decision-making, risk and exposure, capacity and resilience, access to education, experiences of violence (including gender-based violence), physical and mental health, sexual and reproductive health will be explored and assessed as part of the AGiC research initiative.
In addition to focusing on insecurity that is experienced by adolescent girls in protracted crises, the AGiC research also seeks to delve into agency, participation, and mobilisation of youth and adolescent girls and discovering ways how their voices could be further amplified and included in humanitarian response or potential early recovery efforts. In addition, research is going to look into resilience of girls and enabling factors for change.
Research Questions
The research questions are as follows:
- What are the cultural, political, and socioeconomic factors in Ukraine, Poland, and Moldova that can most impact the insecurity of young and adolescent girls?
- How have adolescent girls and youth (aged 10-19) experienced insecurity in Ukraine, Poland, and Moldova, since the outset of the conflict?
- How has the contextual insecurity impacted adolescent and youth experiences in education, violence and protection, freedom of movement, and other basic needs like SRHR and mental health wellbeing and access to services?
- How do adolescent girls and young women aged between (10-19) define and experience the life stage they are in – how do they feel about the changes that they go through from biological changes to behavioural changes and how do they view the crisis impacting the changes they go through?
- How do adolescent girls and boys describe how positive change needs to happen and what positive enablers of change would allow adolescent girls to feel secure?
- How are girls participating and mobilising around the security, socioeconomic and cultural issues which affect their lives? How can stakeholders support the networks, platforms, spaces and opportunities for mobilisation?
- What are the proposed solutions that community, national international and humanitarian actors see as required to address issues of the insecurity of adolescent girls based on their knowledge and understanding of the crisis?
- What is girls’ vision of a peaceful and inclusive Ukraine, what issue should be prioritised in early recovery and where do they see themselves in this process?
Users of the Research
Plan international have identified three primary areas, in which the girls in crisis study can by utilised by end users. Including but not limited too; programme planning; partnership building and youth empowerment; and global advocacy:
- Programme planning the development and dissemination of the research product to inform humanitarian knowledge and contribute to the humanitarian response knowledge base.
- Partnership building and youth empowering: As part of the participatory process for the AGiC research, Plan International envisages to involve youth, adolescent girls, and boys – students, universities and youth led partner organisations in the research process.
- Global Advocacy: The research is intended to be used for advocacy by the Ukraine Response Hub as well as Global Hub advocacy and communications teams.
Methods for Data Collection and Analysis
Guiding principles
The participatory approach will involve the engagement of key stakeholder groups, and is guided by the following principles:
- “Nothing about us without us” – We will work under the premise that wherever possible, analytical and operational decisions for this research will be made in consultation with adolescents and young people, their families, and their communities
- Seek knowledge collaboratively – Where possible, the analysis will be completed with input and reflections from stakeholders across the organisation and its practices
- Curious Learning – We will move forward with an understanding that no one person or stakeholder group lives the same experience, and we make a commitment to listening and learning from a diverse range of perspectives
- Trauma-informed – We recognise that conflict and humanitarian crises harm individuals in many different ways. In carrying out this research, we seek to minimise harm through a focus on building safety, choice, collaboration, and trustworthiness with researchers, collaborators, and respondents
Sample
Data collection will take place in three countries – Poland, Moldova, and Ukraine. The target sample size will be defined at a later stage; however, it will not exceed 500 participants and will include adolescent girls and youth (aged 10-19), boys, and community members including parents. Given the small scale and qualitative nature of the research, a purposive sampling[6] approach would best be applied; however, this will be agreed with individual country teams.
Qualitative: Participatory workshops and FGDs
Adolescent girls and youth will be invited to participate in reflective workshops and group discussions. These workshops must be guided by feminist participatory action research principles, which centre around inclusive strategies for gathering information that involve the people directly affected by an issue in learning about or addressing that issue, and then linking that learning with identifying potential opportunities for addressing the issue or taking action.
Qualitative: In-depth interviews
Key informant interviews, based on a semi-structured interview approach, will be conducted with adolescent girls and youth and actors at the national, community and humanitarian agency level. Plan International Ukraine Crisis response staff will work with the research team to purposively identify study respondents, ensure research quality assurance standards and Monitoring, evaluation and research (MER) standards are followed, as well as facilitate access where need be.
Analysis
Qualitative data will be analysed using NVivo or similar software which allows for data to be inputted, coded and analysed. Sub-analysis must be applied to the data. Typical sub-group differences that may be applied (based on demographic data collected from the adolescent girls for example) include:
- Age (10-19)
- Location (1. Refugee girls in Moldova and Poland; 2. IDP girls inside Ukraine; 3. Girls from the areas close to the frontline)
- Ethnicity
- Education (those engaged in online and offline schools)
- Sexual orientation
- Gender identity
- Disability
- Girls with or without children.
In line with the participatory nature of the research, a collective analysis workshop session must be held in each country with researchers and Plan International gender and programme staff, including youth who are not research subjects. The researchers should facilitate these sessions and compile the results into a report. The detail of these results, although subjective, provide an excellent form of cross-checking anticipated versus actual revelations of the findings.
A draft report for each country setting out the methodology and findings and analysis must be produced. The draft country reports must be sent to the research reference group and relevant Plan International country director for review and input.
Roles and Responsibilities
The consultant(s) will be responsible for:
- Supporting the completion of a 15-page desk review with the Plan International Research Manager
- Producing an inception report that includes a detailed research methodology and analytical framework
- Designing research tools for data collection
- Carrying out data analysis and validation process
- Producing a research report presenting findings from the research with recommendations for key stakeholders
- Incorporating feedback from stakeholder groups at key points during the project
- Upholding all ethics and safeguarding standards and protocols
- Deliverables and Timeline
Key Deliverables
Phase one:
- Work with the Plan International Research Manager to produce a 15-page desk study report [approx.] highlighting the existing knowledge on the Ukraine crisis, and the insecurity of adolescent girls in the crisis and more generally. The report will incorporate feedback from two rounds of feedback including input a) from students at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, b) a group of experts in the field of gender and humanitarian contexts and the research country contexts, and c) the project’s wider reference group
- This desk review will include any policies and commitments policies [e.g., national legislation, multilateral agreements etc.] and available data from across the humanitarian community as a whole including the work of national governments and social responsibility initiatives aimed at empowering, adolescents and girls] to understand the extent to which the distinct needs and experiences of adolescent girls are being acknowledged and prioritised.
- This component of the research will seek to better understand existing gaps and weaknesses in policies, commitments (and standards) and provide recommendations on how these issues can be addressed to drive impact and change.
- Produce a detailed methodology and analysis framework including operationalising ethical practice and engagement for a participatory approach to the research.
- Produce a set of research tools [to carry out participatory FGDs and KIIs], and for the second phase of the research, incorporating feedback a) from students at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, b) from the expert group and, c) from the project’s wider reference group.
Phase two:
- Complete an ethics application and gain ethics approval confirmation from an IRB
- Redraft and tailor of methodology and tools for the Moldova, Ukraine, and Poland contexts
- Plan and implement data collection [this may include identifying data collectors and development and delivery of data collector training]
- Carry out data cleaning and analysis of primary data [primary data may be coded by the consultant or by a hired team of coders]
- Produce a draft report setting out the preliminary findings from the research based on the objectives and methodologies.
- Deliver validation workshops as part of the review stage, and share preliminary findings report for feedback from the project team, the expert group, and wider reference group.
- Produce a final report [max 50 pages] that incorporates comments from 2 review stages.
Timeline
Recruitment: February – March 2023
- Closing date for applications: Monday 6th March
- Interviews: Week of Monday 6th March
Phase One: March – May 2023
- Desk study report finalised by mid-April
- Methodology and tools submitted for ethics approval by beginning of May
Phase Two: May – December 2023
- Data collection in three countries completed by beginning of August
- Final research report ready for editing and design end of October
- Expected Qualifications
Category
Type of skills / experience needed
Thematic / Sectoral
- Knowledge of the Ukraine crisis context
- Experience working on research with adolescents and young people in conflict settings
- Strong understanding of gendered impacts of conflict and humanitarian crises
Methodological
- Experience in designing and carrying out participatory research with adolescents and young people
- Experience in designing online data collection tools
- Strong understanding of safeguarding and research ethics
- Experience with mixed-methods data collection
- Experience with mixed-methods data analysis, incl. coding and report writing (including editing, proofreading and referencing)
Language
- Fluent in English. Knowledge of Ukrainian, Polish, or Moldovan/Romanian/Russian would be an asset.
- Evaluation of offers
Shortlisted suppliers may be invited to discuss their proposals in more detail at Plan’s discretion.
Plan International, at its sole discretion, will select the successful RFQ.
Plan international shall be free to:
- Accept the whole, or part only, of any submission
- Accept none of the proposals
- Republish this Request for Quotations
Plan International reserves the right to keep confidential the circumstances that have been considered for the selection of the offers.
Part of the evaluation process may include a presentation from the supplier and a site visit by Plan International staff, to offices.
Women-owned businesses and companies actively engaged or advancing gender equality and women empowerment in the workplace are especially encouraged to apply.
Value for money is very important to Plan International, as every additional £ saved is money that we can use on our humanitarian and development work throughout the world.
Plan Internationalmay award multiple contracts and all contracts will be non-exclusive.
- Contract Payment terms
Please note that, if successful, Plan International’s standard terms of payment are 30 days after the end of the month of receipt of invoice, or after acceptance of the Goods/Services/Works, if later.
- IR35 Requirements – Only applicable for UK based or connections to the UK Consultants
As of April 2021, all Global Hub UK-based contractors (Consultant/personal service company/agency/intermediary) employing “people” in their chain to deliver serves to Plan International must follow a strict process of IR35 determination.
Plan Limited will conduct a CES tool on all relevant shortlisted proposers as outlined above to determine whether they fall inside or outside IR35.
- Plan International’s Ethical & Environmental Statement
The supplier should establish environmental standards and good practices that follow the principles of ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems, and in particular to ensure compliance with environmental legislation.
Ethics and Child Protection
The research will adhere to Plan Internationals’ MERL policy and standards, framework for ethical MER and Global policy on safeguarding children and young people. External ethics review and approval will be sought and must be completed in collaboration with the core research team, safeguarding focal points in each data collection country office, and any additional national ethics requirements pending country selection must also be complied with.
The consultants will need to abide by Plan International’s Safeguarding policy as well, and, within the scope of this ToR, carefully refine the instruments per context, and undertake all phases of data collection, analysis and write up with the consideration that this is a very sensitive topic, and all data collection tools should frame questions in a sensitive manner. All consultants, data collectors and translators working with participants should be trained on ethics and safeguarding.
The principle of do no harm is paramount and research participants and participatory group members should be engaged with respectfully and safely in line with Plan International ethics and safeguarding policies, the confidentiality and data privacy of participants will be ensured in line with the global data privacy policy. Safeguarding focal points must be present during all qualitative data collection activities.
11. Clarifications
The onus is on the invited companies to ensure that its offer is complete and meets Plan International’s requirements. Failure to comply may lead to the offer being rejected. Please therefore ensure that you read this document carefully and answer fully all questions asked.
If you have any queries in relation to your submission, or to any requirements of this tender, please email:
Thank you for your proposal.
[1] IOM DTM Round 9, 26 September 2022: https://displacement.iom.int/sites/g/files/tmzbdl1461/files/reports/IOM_Gen%20Pop%20Report_R9_IDP_FINAL_0.pdf
[2] UNHCR, Ukraine Refugee Situation, October 11, 2022: https://data.unhcr.org/en/situations/ukraine
[3] UNCHR “Ukraine Situation: Recalibration – Regional Refugee Response Plan – March-December 2022”, October 2022, available at: https://data.unhcr.org/en/documents/details/95965
[4] Joar Svanemyr, Avni Amin, Omar J. Robles, and Margaret E. Greene 2015 Creating an Enabling Environment for Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health: A Framework and Promising Approaches, Journal of Adolescent Health 56 (2015) S7eS14, P S8
[5] John Twigg 2009 Characteristics of a Disaster-Resilient Community, A GUIDANCE NOTE, Version 2, November 2009, Interagency Group
[6] Purposive sampling is a non-probability form of sampling, applied when research targets specific characteristics of people or contexts. It differs from random sampling, as participants are selected on the basis of criteria most relevant to the research questions. Purposive sampling does not allow researchers to generalise findings to a population.
How to apply
- Submission of offers
Applicants should submit an application package by Monday 6th of March 2023 via email to [email protected] with the subject line ‘RFQ FY23 – 150 Adolescent Girls in Crisis Ukraine Response’ and which must include:
- Detailed response to the TOR demonstrating how the consultant/firm/consortium would implement the research set out in the TOR including:
- Ethics and child safeguarding approaches, including any identified risks and associated mitigation strategies
- Proposed timelines (please note that the overall timeframe must be adhered to, proposals should only be submitted if the consultancy is capable of meeting these)
- Team structure and capacity
- Detailed budget, including daily fee rates, expenses, etc.
- CVs of consultant(s)
- Example(s) of previous work
- Signed Annex A – Non-Staff Code of Conduct