ThaiNGO

Save the Children International is looking for an Accountant

JOB TITLE:  Consultant for Migrant Out-of-School-Children Survey
 

Terms of Reference

1. Background

Migrants from Myanmar in Thailand
Migrants from Myanmar, Laos  and Cambodia  have been present in Thailand in large numbers for many years due to long-term conflict, poor economy and lack of educational opportunities and jobs in the countries.  As a result, approximately 2.7 million migrants from Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos live in Thailand, primarily in areas with large agricultural, fishing, food processing industries or other jobs involving manual labor, such as in Bangkok and Mae Sot, a key border transit and trade site. 
The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that nearly 400,000 migrant children live in Thailand, approximately 11 percent of all migrants, although due to their illegal status and lack of registration the actual number may be much higher.   In order to provide an education for their children, migrant communities set up Migrant Learning Centers (MLCs) run by volunteers and community based organizations, where approximately 18,000 migrant students are studying. 
Migrant Children in Thai Schools and the EFA Policy
In 1990 Thailand adopted the World Declaration for Education for All (EFA). In August 2005, Royal Thai Government adopted a Cabinet resolution to enact the EFA policy, giving all children in Thailand equal access to schooling, regardless of nationality, legal status or identity documentation. While implementation of this resolution has been very slow and many regional education authorities and Thai schools have failed to implement it, in the past three to four years the numbers of migrant children enrolling in Thai schools has steadily risen with over 100,000 migrant students estimated to have enrolled. However this still leaves up to 60% of migrant children out of school and many challenges still exist.
Gaps in Data on Out-of- School Migrant Children
Recent research by Save the Children, other organizations and academics has repeatedly found that one of the key barriers to increasing access to education for migrant children is a lack of accurate data on the numbers of children, their needs and whereabouts. While there are some broad estimates of migrant OOSC at the national level, varying between 100-300,000, these figures are far from precise and give no indication of provincial, district or school level data. Various sources of information can be used – MOI data on migrant registration, health sector data on birth registration, labor sector data, local authority census, and OBEC enrolment data, however these have not been systematically analyzed to give a convincing picture of the situation at the regional level. Furthermore, there are many reasons to believe that many migrant children will not be captured in these systems, for example as many are unregistered and their families wish to avoid detection, or because of the mobility of migrant populations.
The role of community or household surveys
Household surveys involve the direct collection of data by enumerators, government staff, or volunteers on the individual children in a family such as schooling status, age, language, previous schooling, reasons for being OOSC, health status, working status etc. Community surveys are similar but conducted by asking community leaders or groups of people in a given geographical area for data on all the children within the area. They have a similar purpose to household surveys and will aim to collect individual data, often not with the same level of accuracy or detail, but will often have the advantage of being less time-consuming and expensive.
 Experience in Thailand and elsewhere shows that household or community level surveys can be an important source of data to triangulate with other data sources and to verify how far existing government systems are reflecting the reality. Household or community surveys can be powerful tool for capturing a more accurate picture on the numbers, needs, and precise whereabouts of OOSC, and indeed can be a vital first step to reenrollment. Community and household surveys will give precise data on the exact whereabouts of children, and can also ask important questions about the children’s educational needs such as language and previous schooling, or reason for being OOSC, which population data will not normally do. If appropriate strategies for over-coming fear and mistrust are developed,  community and household surveys will also be more effective in capturing more marginalized populations such as unregistered migrants who are not always visible in government data systems. Furthermore, if conducted in in an effective way community or household surveys can be important strategy in raising awareness and mobilizing stakeholders around the issue of OOSC. For example, if schools are involved in the process they will be much more sensitive to the issue of OOSC and their needs, and if parents or community leaders are involved they may become more aware of their role in promoting education and of the opportunities available.
2. The purpose of this consultancy
Save the Children will hire a consultant to design and pilot effective models of collecting data on OOSC migrant children in one pilot district, followed by an expansion of the surveys in three more districts based on lessons learnt.
Goal 1) Assess methodologies for OOSC Data collection
Goal 2) Collect and analyze data on OOSC in target districts (1 pilot, 3 expansion)
Goal 3) Assess barriers to access and impacts of government on migration policies on OOSC

PHASES OF RESEARCH

The research will be divided into 2 main stages, the design, pilot and data collection in one district (by end of June), and then the expansion of the research into 3 more districts (By end of September). The table below gives more details.

Phase Activity Deadline Research Goal

Phase 1
(April- June)
 Review and assess the existing government data on OOSC from different departments (education, health, MOI, MOL, Local Authority etc.) Mid May Goal 1
 Conduct feasibility study (desk-review and rapid stakeholder consultation) to assess the merits and costs of different approaches to collecting data on migrant OOSC at the community and household level (e.g. household vs community, strategies for over-coming fear and mistrust) Mid May 
 Based on feasibility study, design, pilot and evaluate chosen model for collecting primary OOSC data at the community level  in one pilot district  Mid June 
 Through process of data collection and primary and secondary data analysis, provide an up to date and accurate analysis of OOSC in one target district, and assess the extent to which government data captures this issue.  Mid June 
Goal 2
 Through the field data collection on OOSC, as well as a literature review, establish the key barriers to access and enrolment for migrant OOSC.
 Mid June Goal 3
 Examine key obstacles and challenges in government  migration and security policies i.e. migrant regularization, deportation, and border control management that affect OOSC access to school Mid June Goal 3
Phase 2
(July-September) Following findings of the pilot, gather and analyze data on OOSC and barriers to access in a  further 3 districts and  assess the extent to which existing government data captures this issue.
 

Mid September Goals 2 & 3
   
 

The key research questions underpinning the consultancy are:
Goal 1) Methodology
1. What are the relative strengths and weaknesses of the different methods of identifying OOSC? (secondary data, household data, community data).
2. What are the best methods for over-coming particular barriers associated with collecting data on migrant OOSC? (mistrust, fear, mobility of populations)
3. What are the costs implications of the different models?
4. What is the most viable and cost effective model for scaling up efforts to identify migrant OOSC in a further 3  districts?
Goal 2) Expansion of data:
5. How many migrant OOSC are there in target areas?
6. What are the profiles, needs and interests of OOSC? (gender, age, schooling, work status, interests in education etc.)
7. To what extent has existing government data been capturing the numbers and needs of OOSC? (education, health, population, labour data sources).
8. Given the current government structures, policies, budget and priorities, what are the specific steps and recommendations for scaling-up efforts to identify migrant OOSC across Thailand?
Goal 3)
9. What are the key barriers perceived by OOSC to education access?
10. What is the relationship between government migration and national security policies and OOSC access to education? 

3. Consultant’s responsibilities 

I. Develop research design, strategy, plan, tools
II. Plan and manage implementation of the research and communication strategies with communities
III. Hire, train and manage team of enumerators to support field research and data entry
IV. Coordinate and oversee the field research with local partners and stakeholders
V. Conduct consultations with relevant government department in order to obtain and analyze their existing data on migrant populations (education, health, labour, MOI, population, local authority etc.)
VI. Conduct consultations with relevant civil society organizations in order to obtain and analyze data on migrant populations (NGOs, CBOs, community education providers etc.).
VII. Oversee data entry
VIII. Analyze qualitative and quantitative data from the research
IX. Hold regular meetings with SCI, UNESCO, MoE/OBEC and other stakeholders to consult on the research questions and research progress
X. Conduct consultation workshop on the most cost-effective model for scale-up as input into policy briefing
XI. Write research reports and edit as requested by SCI and partners.

4. Deliverables

1. Initial Work plan (April)
2. Bi-monthly updated work-plan (every 2 weeks)
3. Research design & outline documents- background and scope of research, key questions, sampling strategy, research methods and tools etc. (May 1st)
4. Feasibility study on different methods for OOSC primary data collection with recommended approach.
5. Research tools for recommended approach-e.g.  surveys, interviews, questionnaires, data analysis tools, cost analysis tools, etc. (May 11th)
6. Research reports outline & structure (May 1st)
7. Training plan and materials for enumerators, brief training report. (May 25th)
8. Archives of research data collected (Phase 1, June 24th)
9. Database from research (Phase 1 June 24th)
10. Pilot report with data from first district addressing research questions 1-10 for Mae Sot (June 24th)
11. Package of revised and final tools for the expansion of the best model to more districts (July 10th)
12. Final Research report- including analysis of data and findings on all 10 research questions from further 3 districts. (September 15th)
13. Policy Briefing and Recommendations on Cost-Effective models for national scale-up. (September 20thth)

5. Timeframe & Scope

The consultancy should cover at least 1 district for the pilot and a further 3 target districts to be agreed with ESAO, SCI and UNESCO.
 
The expected timeline is as follows:

Deliverables 1-10, should all be completed in final versions following requested edits by UNESCO, ESAO and SCI by June 30th.
Deliverable 10: July 10th
Deliverable2 11 & 12: Final versions completed in final versions with requested edits by September 30th.

6. Consultant qualifications and profile
• At least master’s degree in education, research, social sciences or other related field
• Expertise in qualitative and quantitative research methods.
• Strong qualitative and qualitative data analysis skills
• Experience conducting large scale household surveys or similar
• Expertise in issues related to migrant education
• Working knowledge of EFA policy
• Excellent understanding of government structures and experience working with OBEC, ESAO  and other government officials
• Thai language proficiency (and enumerators/researchers with relevant languages for field research)
• English language proficiency desirable
• Demonstrated experience in leading successful advocacy initiatives with the government

7. Management of research
• The consultant will report to the Tak Education Service Area Office as well as SCI and UNESCO.
• The consultant will report to the SCI Senior Education Specialist/Communications and Advocacy Advisor, whilst also working in close coordination with the project coordinators of the IMPACT and ACCESS projects
• Tak Education Service Area Office, SCI and UNESCO should approve all plans and documents developed by the consultant and the consultant will make revisions as requested by SCI
• The consultant will also work in close coordination with other migrant education stakeholders such as local CBOs

8. Consultancy Budget
The consultant should submit a proposed consultancy fee.

Submissions for the consultancy
The submission must address the terms of reference and include:

• Name and contact details of tenderer
• Resume of the lead consultant
• An overview of the proposed research team and strategy for recruiting enumerators
• A cover letter outlining  the relevant experience and expertise of the consultant
• A draft summary  proposal of the research scope, design, methods, and field implementation approach (maximum 5 pages)
• A detailed quote in $US.

~~Deadline for submission of application is on 8 April 2016
 
To apply, please send your application and CV to HR Department at tui.suvannakul@savethechildren.org and cc-ed to pat.chearasirisin@savethechildren.org

Please indicate in the subject as “Apply for Consultant for Migrant Out-of-School-Children Survey. (Name of candidate)”
Only shortlisted candidates will be notified.
“We need to keep children safe so our selection process reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.”