ThaiNGO

Save the Children International is looking for a First Reach: Research and Implementation Partnership

JOB TITLE:  First Reach: Research and Implementation Partnership

TEAM/PROGRAMME: First Read Project     

LOCATION: Deep South of Thailand - Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat

Background

The Situation for Children in the Deep South

The Southern border provinces of Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat rank among the 20 poorest in Thailand, and are home to over 65% of Thailand’s Muslim Malay minority population. Save the Children’s 2015 Child Rights Situation Analysis (CRSA) identified significant gaps in school readiness and emergent literacy for the most deprived children, especially ethnic and minority language groups such as those in the Deep South. UNICEF reports that 5% of primary age children are not in school in southern Thailand. Since 2004, the area has been affected by an on-going conflict between Malay insurgents and Thai forces. In 2014, fifty-seven different incidents were reported in Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat, resulting in the death of 23 children and the maiming of 65.^[1] Schools and teachers have often been the target of attacks, disrupting the quality and continuity of education in the area. While the on-going conflict is a contributing factor to this situation, other factors are also significant; with language barriers faced by ethnic minority children as well as weaknesses in ECCD among the most important.

First Read will strive to strengthen learning and development of ethnic minority children aged 3-6 in the southern border provinces of Thailand. It is a three year project implemented by Save the Children Thailand and funded by Save the Children UK. The programme is a learning and research project, which will seek to adapt and test the First Read approach in the context of southern Thailand, with a particular focus on the marginalized ethnic Muslim minority and Malay language groups in the conflict-affected Deep South. The project is specifically designed with a view to learning from this experience in order to further develop the First Read approach and, hopefully, to expand to other marginalized populations in Thailand, while at the same time contributing to global learning on ECCD for ethnic and linguistic minority and conflict-affected communities.

 Objectives

This project aims to strengthen emergent literacy, learning and development for ethnic minority children aged 3 to 6 in the Deep South of Thailand through improved parenting practice and access to quality age-appropriate reading materials in local languages. Utilizing Save the Children International’s (SCI) existing presence in Thailand and expertise in education programming – SCI will target 900 households comprising approximately 1,250 adult community members and 1,250 children with the First Read program.

Save the Children Thailand’s Country Strategy seeks to promote education in children’s mother tongue.^[2] Not only does this better support children to develop foundational literacy skills and to understand the curriculum, it also supports their acquisition of a second language, and can promote peace and stability where language is a source of political and ethnic tension. Given this fact, the project has the potential to provide significant added value by developing and promoting early literacy, learning & development in Pattani-Malay.

At the conclusion of the program it is expected that Save the Children International will:

1. Improve the availability of quality, age appropriate, Pattani-Malay children’s books and print materials for children aged 3 to 6;
2. Improve home and community learning environments for children age three to six via improved community member knowledge, skills, and practices and access to materials;
3. Strengthen evidence and learning around strategies to improve emergent literacy, learning and development among minority language groups;
4. Increase commitment and capacity among key community, Civil Society Organizations, and government stakeholders to expand strategies for promoting emergent literacy, learning, and development.
5. Implement practices which will assist in safe guarding the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in the context of Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD)

 Expected Impact Level Results

• Improved scores in emergent literacy of children aged 3 to 6
• Improved scores in home literacy environment assessments

The First Read Log frame

The logframe summarizes the basic causal steps that lead from project activities to the achievement of the First Read project goal. Impact level indicators are as follows:

Indicators– objective and outcome levels

The purpose of this partnership

This partnership is looking for a research partner to lead in conducting Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice (KAP) household survey and IDEALA child assessments for both baseline and end line research to capture the impact of the First Read project and contribute to global learning around this type of intervention.

SCI Thailand is also looking to include activities around implementation that specifically boost the capacity of community health volunteers and women’s group representatives in targeted localities and direct coordination and implementation of the home based ECCD support package to female caregivers of children age 3 to 6 in agreed localities with some supplementary training session for female caregivers of children age 0 to 3.

PHASES OF Partnership

 The partnership will be divided into 4 main stages, the baseline and end line research and the implementation of activities in first the intervention area and later the control area. The table below gives more details.

1. Deliverables 

1. Initial Work plan
2. Bi-monthly updated work-plan (every 2 weeks)
3. Attendance at Project Steering Committee meetings
4. Input into Situation Analysis report (gathering data to complete gaps in situation analysis)
5. Co-leading on the design of the project strategies and delivery structure with SCI
6. Co-leading on the design of the research and learning component with SCI
7. Input into research design & outline documents- background and scope of research, key questions, sampling strategy, research methods and tools etc.
8. Refinement and piloting of research tools
9. Hiring and training of research team inclusive of: enumerator teams, data entry teams, & survey manager
10. Managing the research process and collecting the data
11. Baseline research
12. End line research
13. Supporting the design of the comprehensive home-based ECCD program led by SCI
14. Hiring and training of relevant personnel for implementation inclusive of: community mobilizers, lead trainers, etc.
15. Coordination and co-training of agreed ToT to community health volunteers, community imam, and women’s group representatives
16. Co-training, quality control and technical support provided during delivery of series of comprehensive home-based ECCD programs inclusive of training sessions, home-visits, and play group activities in up to four (4) sub-districts
17. Building capacity of government partners to implement the comprehensive home based ECCD program
18. Support book distribution to communities as needed
19. Coordination and regular partnership with SCI, Ministry of Public Health, and Thai Health Foundation (for example by participating in focus group reflections on the home based ECCD program and regular attendance at Project Steering Committee meetings)
20. Support the projects advocacy strategy

2. Timeframe & Scope

Scope:

The First Read project aims to reach at least 1,000 children age three to six in the border provinces of Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat with a comprehensive home-based ECCD program inclusive of training sessions, home-visits, and play group activities.

Each round of research surveys will include up to XXX household responses the comprehensive home-based ECCD program will intensely target up to four (4) sub-districts.

The expected timeline is as follows:

- Baseline research conducted in 2016: Deliverables

- On the ground implementation in treatment areas conducted in 2017

- End line research conducted in 2018: Deliverables

- On the ground implementation in control areas conducted in 2018: Deliverables

*the partnership and activities will follow the timeline of the three year First Read project 2016 to 2018, contracts will be issued on an annual basis

3. Partner qualifications and profile

• Local university
• Survey manager will require 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
• Excellent understanding of government structures and experience working with OBEC, ESAO and other
• Thai and Pattani-Malay language proficiency (and enumerators/researchers with relevant languages for field research)
• English language proficiency desirable
• Access to communities in conflict affected, low socio-economic status, and rural areas of the three border provinces – Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat
• Reputation of professional conduct

4. Management of research

• Research design and strategy will be approved by SCI Thailand, Save the Children UK, and the research partner
• The main research tools will include a Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices (KAP) survey and IDEALA student assessment provided by Save the Children
• These tools will be piloted and refined prior to the full role out of the baseline research
• The baseline research will include up to 800 households

Submissions for the sub-award

The submission must address the terms of reference and include: 

• Name and contact details of tenderer
• Resume of the lead contact
• An overview of the proposed research team and strategy for recruiting enumerators
• An overview of previous experience working with communities in Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat; proposed community mobilization team; and strategy for encouraging participation of male and female caregivers
• A detailed quote in $US.

Close date for submissions: Please send your proposal a quotation by 16^th September 2016

Submissions should be addressed to: hr.thailand@savethechildren.org  jaem.prachoommark@savethechildren.org, yo.sornsomrit@savethechildren.org, Ratjai.adjayutpokin@savethechildren.org.  

 “We need to keep children safe so our selection process reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.”

[1] https://childrenandarmedconflict.un.org/countries/thailand/

[2] Current research highlights the importance of using mother-tongue education to ensure educational quality and access for linguistic minorities, showing that educational success can be founded on early learning and schooling in the mother tongue. See for example ‚Inclusive ECCD for All: Valuing and Respecting the Unique Needs of Every Child’, ARNEC, 2011, p. 4.

[3][3] The ToT for community health volunteers and community imam will be jointly conducted by Save the Children, Ratchapat, and Perkasa (specifically for male volunteers); this will be followed by co-training by community health volunteers, Ratchapat, and SCI, directly to care givers, later Ratchapat may provide quality control to trainings led by community health volunteers