ThaiNGO

Child Rights Situational Analysis - Thailand

Terms of Reference - External Consultant

Context and Justification

With the ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1990, Save the Children globally has undertaken child rights’ analyses to guide its’ strategic planning. In the late 1990s, these analyses, referred to as a Child Rights Situational Analysis (CRSA), became a central part of Save the Children's planning cycle.

A Child Rights Situational Analysis (CRSA) is an external analysis that allows Save the Children to understand what progress a country is making in meeting the child rights goals it has committed to and where initiatives stand, in an effort to improve the realization of these rights. Conducting a CRSA is an opportunity to map the roles and assess the capacities of those responsible for children's rights - whether parents, community members, or key actors from state institutions, civil society, the private sector or international scene. The CRSA process generates information and knowledge that enables Save the Children to determine how it can best contribute to the achievement of a nation's goals for its children and to position itself in relation to other actors. The CRSA methodology includes a combination of activities including orientation meetings with core program staff to define objectives and methodologies, a desk review of secondary data, and consultations with partners and key informants with a particular focus on children.

Save the Children Thailand is currently seeking an external consultant to conduct a CRSA that will be used to inform the development of its 2022-2024 Country Strategic Plan. The purpose of this consultancy will be to develop a final CRSA report that 1) analyses results of a secondary data review on issues of children’s rights, 2) integrates findings from consultations with partners, children and other stakeholders, and 3) provides recommendations for future programming. The present terms of reference define the topline deliverables. The detailed plan of work to be agreed with the selected consultant.

Key Deliverables plus estimated days:

1. A detailed work plan for the CRSA Core Team, with agreed days for feedback, meetings (including validation meeting), and draft submissions
2. A stakeholder consultation protocol and summary tools reviewed and agreed between the Program Director and consultant, with focus on child consultation and KII tools – February 2021 - 2 days *
3. Secondary data report prepared according to agreed CRSA outline – 15 days**
4. Stakeholder consultation findings incorporated into secondary data report – 2 days
5. Facilitation of an online data validation meeting with key staff – 2 days (includes 0.5-day meeting plus preparation)
6. Final CRSA report in English, incorporating both primary and secondary data and feedback from the validation meeting – 4 days

*MEAL Coordinator and Child Protection and Education Technical Advisor to lead on collection of stakeholder feedback and write up the gender sensitive data summary from these consultations and work with the consultant in ensuring findings are accurately reflected in the final CRSA report. This may also include incorporating findings from a CO-led Gender and Power Analysis.

** If the consultant is not a native Thai Speaker then they must seek to include strategies in their proposal of work on how they will conduct a review of government documentation that has not been translated into English – this could include costing for the LOE of a Thai research assistant as part of the consultant budget to lead on this review, as well as including time for target interviews with technical staff in the Office.

• Total days = 25 days (at least 3 day devoted to #1, #2 above in February 2021, and final CRSA report by end-April 2021)
• Rate = TBD – aligned with consultant technical expertise and evidence of daily rate
• End date – April 30, 2021
• Work can be carried out remotely, with direct engagement with teams using online platforms, such as MS Teams

Consultant Profile

• University degree in social sciences (sociology, anthropology, etc.), Economics / Statistics or other fields relevant for consultancy
• At least 6 years of professional experience in social development or children's rights issues
• Proven experience in designing methodologies for research, writing short analytical papers on social issues, conducting situation analyses or other types of relevant research
• Ability to work in a team and good communication
• Good knowledge of legal instruments regarding children's rights, child protection and thematic issues of SCI
• Mastery in writing in English
• Have a good capacity to lead on the data validation meeting/ workshop

Structure of the CRSA report

7. Section 1 of the report introduces the CRSA. A summary preliminary analysis of consultations findings (Annex 2) completes the CRSA (and has been woven into the relevant sections listed below).
8. Section 2 is a presentation of Thailand, without being an exhaustive description of the context or country. It does, however, provide an overview of the evolving political context in the country, including focus on youth movements, and has focus on COVID-19 impact.
9. Section 3 focuses on some of the more significant factors in the realisation of child rights, such as the socioeconomic situation, the social protection system, gender issues and some of Thailand’s governance system.
10. Section 4 refers to the legislative and institutional make-up of the child rights’ situation in Thailand for the application of the CRC: this covers the definition of a child, basic principles and general application measures. This section is supplemented by Annex 3 providing the list of international human rights instruments that have been signed and/or ratified by Thailand and the main Thai laws on child rights.
11. Section 5 analyses the progress made and principle challenges posed to children’s rights in Thailand and is organised by theme (child protection, health and nutrition, education, civil rights and liberties), grouping the clusters of the CRC articles related to children’s substantive rights, with gender and inclusion analysis by theme. This section does not offer any conclusions but puts forward hypotheses on how things may play out; this section may require further study to be fully validated.
12. Section 6 summarises the key actors in the field of children’s rights in Thailand. However, this section is not a comprehensive analysis of the capacities and interactions between these various stakeholders. 
13. Section 7 provides recommendations for the Save the Children Thailand programme for future programming, organised according to Save the Children International theory of change and global strategies. This section does not claim to offer solutions to the childhood problems in Thailand, but rather offers priority lines of work, accepted by consensus by the Save the Children Thailand teams.

Management of the consultancy

The consultant(s) will report to and be managed by Save the Children’s Program Director. Support will be provided by the MEAL Coordinator and Technical Advisors (Child Protection and Education) who will lead on select aspects of stakeholder consultations, and provide feedback and inputs throughout the process (e,g, proposed methodology, data collection tools, analysis and interpretation and recommendations).

Consultancy Fee

The consultant(s) is asked to propose the budget in Thai Baht and USD. The financial competitiveness of the fee, alongside technical rigour, experience and child-sensitive research approaches will be considered in the selection process. Costs involved in the assessment, such as materials, translation and applicable taxes, should be included in the proposed budget.

Submissions for the consultancy

The submission must address the terms of reference and include:

• The resume of the lead candidate and team (if any)
• A cover letter explaining the interest and suitability
• Assessment plan and budget proposal including research methodology and timeline (3 pages maximum)
• A detailed budget in USD and THB as specify in the consultant fee section
• Samples of past research led by the team members

Close date for submission

Applicant should submit their interest during 8-12 February, 2021.

Submission through: THA_Procurement_BKK@savethechildren.org

Further enquiry: Yonradee.Wangcharoenpaisan@savethechildren.org

Closing Date               :      19 April 2026 (11:59 PM, Bangkok Time)