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ChildFund in Laos is the representative office of ChildFund Australia – an independent international development organisation that works to reduce poverty for children in developing communities.
ChildFund Australia is a member of the ChildFund Alliance – a global network of 11 organisations which assists almost 23 million children and their families in 70 countries. ChildFund Australia is a registered charity, a member of the Australian Council for International Development, and fully accredited by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade which manages the Australian Government’s overseas aid program.
ChildFund began working in Laos in 2010 and works in partnership to create community and systems change which enables vulnerable children and young people, in all their diversity, to assert and realise their rights. Projects are implemented in Houaphanh, Xieng Khouang, Phongsaly, Sayabouly, Luang Prabang, Khammouane, Savannakhet, Sekong Provinces and Vientiane capital.
With a focus on upholding child rights and improving access to quality education, ChildFund in Laos also prioritises projects which focus on child nutrition, sexual reproductive health and rights, media literacy, and job readiness.
The Promoting Accountability and Education Rights (PAER) [1] project has been implemented over 30 months, by the applicant, ChildFund in Laos (CFL) in close collaboration with the co-applicants and Non-Profit Associations (NPAs) Aid for Children with Disability Association (ACDA) and Life Skills Development Association (LSDA). The overall objective of the Action is to contribute to the realisation of the the right to education by strengthening the role and capacity of village-level Civil Society Groups (such as women’s & youth groups, VEDCs, VDCs, People with Disabilities, etc.) in promoting the rights of education in Lao PDR. Given the restricted operating context, and the low numbers of formally registered Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Lao PDR, the Action’s specific objective will focus on enhancing and increasing the participation of civil society in promoting and protecting education rights in Huaphanh Province. A key component of this involves the strengthening of capacity and knowledge of communities and village-level Civil Society Groups on children’s rights – particulary their rights to access education as well as their rights to be free from discrimination. The specific objective will be achieved through engagement with local associations that are also co-applicants of the action.
ChildFund’s implementation experience reveals that local civil society capacity at the village level is either very low, or not existent and that the inclusion of women in decision making processes is yet to be fully realised. Different village committees make most of the major decisions relating to village life. These committees are largely made up of male members, and only occasionally include a Women’s Union representative who is appointed by local authorities, and not women themselves. Turnover of members is high, and continuity is low. The roles and responsibilities are also unclear to the members themselves, and in many instances to the communities which they are meant to serve. The Village Education Development Committee (VEDC) is mandated to increase enrolment and attendance rates, supervise teaching quality and undertake school development planning to improve education outcomes (amongst other things). Strengthening the roles and responsibilities of VEDCs, as well as understanding their mandate, will provide clarity to both members and communities, contributing to greater transparency in decision making, and leading to greater accountability.
The goals, three outcomes and performance indicators of the project are as follows:
PROJECT GOAL: Enhance and increase the participation of civil society in promoting and protecting rights in Huaphanh Province, particularly the right of education
Outcome 1: Village-level groups work with village duty bearers to support government development plans (especially those related to education) via a monitoring and reporting mechanism
Performance Indicators
1: # of local village-level civil society groups involved in decision making processes
2: % of participants from civil society demonstrating increased awareness and knowledge on how to promote and protect education rights
3: % of VEDCs using improved monitoring techniques
4: % increase reported in VEDC participating in district planning
Outcome 2: Village-level human rights perspectives are effectively communicated to district and provincial levels
1: % of schools with increased access to facilities (adapted infrastructure for Children with Disability (CWD), school materials, access to drinking water, basic sanitation and handwashing facilities as a result of SDPs)
2: % of village level groups with increased capacity to facilitate basic engagement with duty bearers
3: # of SDPs developed and monitored by village level members that secured funding (CFA record only)
Outcome 3: Evidence around local development interventions and related issues produced as part of advocacy and outreach initiatives
1: # of VEDCs and DESB report improved district village planning interactions as a result of the Action
2: % of village level group actively advocate to enrol marginalised children in school at the completion of action
3. Purpose
This project requires an external, independent end-of-project evaluation of its performance. Evaluation questions should be driven by the OECD evaluation criterion of relevance, coherence, efficiency, effectiveness, impact, and sustainability, as well as cross-cutting issues including human’s right, children’s right, gender inclusion, disability inclusion, community participation and inclusive of marginalised groups. In the findings, the consultant will also help to highlight the potential lessons learnt, challenges, solutions, and recommendation. The consultant will further advice on the management of this project and present key results and findings that will enable ChildFund in Laos to improve future project design and programmatic strategy.
This evaluation is to undertake an outcome evaluation which will assess the:
Relevance: The extent to which the project design and project outcomes responded to the needs of
individual, group and organisational participants. Addressing the questions relating to hindering and
facilitating factors; relevance of interventions to the target groups; utilising the most appropriate
interventions.
Coherence: The extent to which the project complemented other ChildFund in Laos projects that share
similar programmatic aims as well as the extent to which the project complemented the work of
broader NPA and government actors with similar programmatic aims (external coherence)
Efficiency: The extent to which all project activities and outputs outlined in the project design were
achieved on time, within budget and with quality. This includes an analysis of the cost-efficiency and
value for money of the project interventions versus the benefits from the project and the number of
people reached.
Effectiveness: The extent to which the project objectives and associated key performance indicators
(outlined above) were achieved, citing quantitative and qualitative evidences (e.g., change stories),
contributing and hindering factors in all project components at all levels of implementation and project
management.
Sustainability: The extent to which the capacity of the project stakeholders and partners was built to
enable the benefits of the project to continue with/without support from CFL and other external actors.
This will also examine what sustainability measures were put in place and what measures should be
included should there be a next phase.
What are evidences showing that project achievements will continue/sustain upon project completion?
Which components of the project are owned and driven by the communities, partners and relevant government authorities?
What are the sustainability factors and strategies that needs to be in place, should there be a next phase in the project?
What are the most significant changes the project has contributed towards participation of civil society in promoting and protecting rights to education?
What are the most significant changes the project has contributed towards the education experience for children with and without disability?
Are there any evidence of impact of a personal level through success stories or case studies about individuals involved in the project?
Gender inclusion - The extent to which barriers to participation were identified and addressed, such as
promoting gender equality, empowering girls and women, LGBTQ, gender roles and power relations. How specific activities impacts the welfare of girls and whether any activities provided opportunity for empowering girls?
Disability inclusion - The extent to which barriers were identified and addressed, such as access to
services, participation in activities and decision-making. How are the interventions contributing towards tackling inequality faced by people with disability?
Inclusion of vulnerable groups - The extent to which barriers were identified and addressed of identified
vulnerable groups, such as access to services, participation in project design, project briefings, activities,
decision-making and project feedback. How inclusive the intervention has been for different vulnerable groups?
Drawing from the above two areas, an assessment of project implementation challenges and evidence
of promising practices and lessons learnt, ultimately resulting in a set of recommendations to inform
both future project design and ChildFund’s Education programming and advocacy to relevant stakeholders.
4. Scope of Evaluation
To conduct a desk-review in order to gather and review relevant literature, project documents and reports including the Baseline Report, from ChildFund in Laos, government (including second data from the MoES, PESS and DESB) and other sources.
Prepare a detailed inception report for submission to ChildFund for review and approval. This shall clearly describe research methods in detail, data collection tools and formats, work plan to undertake the assignment etc.
Focusing on outcomes and their performance indicators (as mentioned above); review and develop existing tools including the Focus Group Discussions, School Observation-Checklists and Key Informant Interview approaches in order to capture the targeted groups, its objective and performance indicators.
Train enumerators on both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods.
Conduct field level data collection based on agreed assessment tools, maintain quality and accepted norms and standards, lead the data entry and analysis.
Develop a comprehensive draft report on findings/results of the study with input from ChildFund/project team.
Present/share the findings of the endline study to and with ChildFund and relevant stakeholders through a workshop.
Incorporate comments and suggestions forwarded and produce final report as per the agreed timetable.
Methodology
The consultant, in consultation with ChildFund in Laos and ChildFund Australia Education and MEL advisors, is expected to develop the appropriate methodology to collect data.
The methodology and tools have to:
Report:
Note: this is subject for negotiation with the Consultant
Indicative dates Outputs and Activities Number of Days
Week 1-4 of Feb 23 # Consultant Recruitment
Negotiation and signing the contract -
Week 1-2 of March 2023 # Consultant prepares the Inception Report to 2
CFL and Sydney Technical Advisor
# Work in collaboration with the Senior MEL coordinator,
Sydney-based Education and MEL Technical Advisors to 2
develop methodology and tools
10th March 2023 # Submit the inception report -
17th March 2023 # Revise and get approval on inception report including 1
methodology and tools
20th – 31st March 2023 # Training and Data Collection:
1. Training on the data collection for enumerators from
2 districts (2 days)
Piloting the tool in Xamnuea districts
2. Data collection*
2.1 Data collection in 8 villages in Xamnuea (08 days) 15
- Travel to Houameung district
2.2 Data collection in 8 villages in Houameung district (08 days)
- Travel from Houameung to Vientiane capital
Suggesting to split into 2 teams.
24th April 2023 Debriefing and presenting results to ChildFund team 1
5th May 2023 # Data analysis
# Report writing 7
# Submit the 1st Draft Report in English
30th May 2023 # Feedback and finalise the report
# Submit the final report (English) 2
Total number of days 30 days
7. Management and Reporting Arrangements
The Consultant will report directly to Education Program Manager, and keep Senior MEL Coordinator and the Acting Country Director – Program, copied to the communication chain. The consultant will work closely with the Project Coordinator from Xamnuea district, Huaphanh Province. All reports must be written in English providing in an electronic format (Microsoft Word). Reports and tools will additionally be reviewed by Education and MEL technical advisors at ChildFund Australia.
8. Confidentiality
All discussions and documents relating to this ToR will be treated as confidential by the parties.
9. Child Safeguarding
The successful applicant will be required to comply with ChildFund Australia’s Child Safeguarding Policy and Procedures and to sign a Code of Conduct. The consultant will also have in place an Australian Federal Policy Criminal Background Check and Working with Children Check.
10. Counter-Terrorism
ChildFund Australia acknowledges its obligation under the Australian laws relating to counter-terrorism. In order to meet its obligation, the consultant’s name will be reviewed against Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and National Security Australia lists at the onset of any financial relationship.
11. Conflict of Interest
The Consultant must declare any financial, personal, family (or close intimate relationship) interest in matters of official business which may impact on the work of ChildFund
12. Fraud and Corruption prevention and awareness
ChildFund Australia has a zero approach to fraud and corruption act. The successful consultant will be required to comply with ChildFund Australia’s fraud and corruption prevention and awareness Policy and act against any form of fraud or corruption and not offer, promise, give or accept any bribes.
13. Insurance
The successful applicant will be required to have in place insurance arrangements appropriate to provision of the requirement in this TOR including (without limitation) travel insurance.
14. Acknowledgment and Disclaimer
ChildFund, its Board and staff make no express or implied representation or warranty as to the currency, reliability or completeness of the information contained in this ToR. Nothing in this ToR should be construed to give rise to any contractual obligations or rights, expressed or implied, by the issue of this ToR or the submission of Expression of Interest in response to it. No contract would be created until a formal written contract is executed between ChildFund and a selected consultant.
Selection Criteria for Consultant
Core Competencies
Essential Qualification and Experience:
Submission Procedure:
ChildFund in Laos welcomes applications from qualified applicants residing in Laos including Lao national. Applicants should consider and explain the necessary adjustments to the mode and cost of delivery due to possible restrictions from Covid 19 in their application.
The successful candidate is expected to start as soon as possible. All interested candidates should submit a CV and cover letter in English describing their suitability based on the above required qualifications and experiences.
ChildFund will ONLY accept applications that include a CV, a cover letter and technical proposal this end-of-project evaluation that address the criteria above as well as a financial proposal.
ChildFund in Laos will not return any applications and does not require interested candidates to submit copies of certificates, ID cards or any other information.
ChildFund in Laos is an equal opportunity employer and has a strict child protection policy and background checks will be undertaken prior to any offer of employment. All candidates should submit two professional referees including their current or most recent employer.
APPLICATIONS SHOULD ONLY CONTAIN A CURRENT CV AND A COVER LETTER IN ENGLISH ADDRESSING THE CRITERIA OUTLINED FOR THE POST ALONG WITH A FINANCIAL PROPOSAL.
Please send all applications by 03 March 2023.