Consultant to undertake Baseline Assessment for Local Engagement to Advocate for Peace (LEAP) II Project

1              Background

Participatory Action Research (PAR) by Save the Children reveals that children in the deep south live with insecurity and fear on a daily basis and are frequently victims or witnesses of violence. They are also routinely denied opportunities to participate in and lead peace-building activities due to a lack of support from adults, leaving children feeling powerless. Therefore,the overall objective of LEAP 2 project that will be implemented in three provinces of Yala, Narathiwat, and Pattani for 36 months is to empower children and youth as agents of change who contribute to the promotion of safer environments, improved child protection and increased social cohesion in conflict-affected communities. The action has been designed with three interconnected ‘pillars’ or results as the following.

The proposed intervention in outcome 1 will directly target 10 CSO partners in the LEAP network, including 30 staff who will receive capacity building and training designed to respond to specific needs. LEAP II will also offer support to CSOs through a grant scheme to implement a three-pronged advocacy campaign, targeting other CSOs, religious leaders and government officials in order to increase understanding and acceptance of child safe space (CSS) concept and of the child-led approach. Outcome 2 under the lead of Prince of Songkla University Alumni Association Volunteer (PSUAAV) as implementing partner, the programme will directly target at least 30 youth, building their capacity and skills as advocates and leaders. Small grants will be provided to CSOs to work with youth leaders to develop and implement CSS in 15 communities, which will directly benefit 1,000 children and youth (boys and girls) and other community members where they are established. The project team will ensure equal representation of boys and girls, as well as the inclusion of youth ages 15-25 of different ethnicities and backgrounds who will need to demonstrate a clear willingness and commitment to participate in the full programme. Under outcome 3, SC will work with Prince of Songkla University (PSU) Faculty of Nursing, expanding the evidence-based research to improve understanding around the impact of the conflict on children and youth in the Deep South. This will directly target at least 30 university staff and students.

2              Purpose and Scope of this consultancy:

Save the Children would like to conduct a baseline assessment for the LEAP II project to generate evidence, knowledge and information needed for the program planning, implementation and support the reporting. A consultant is therefore being sought to:

1. Conduct context analysis and establish baseline indicator values (as show in project log frame) for children and youth on resilient skill, capacity, networking and level of participation in promote safer space, improve child protection and increase social cohesion in conflict-affected community of Thailand’s deep south.
2. Conduct context analysis and establish baseline indicator values (as show in project log frame) for Civil society organization in the deep south on capacity, knowledge and skills on engaging children for effective advocacy for peace building and child participation approach.
3. Gather primary data and review relevant report, research and publication to identify research areas for advocacy purposes on impact of the conflict on girls and boy in the deep south.

3              Design and Methodology:

An independent consultant will be recruited to lead this baseline assessment. The following is the outline of a suggested process; however, it would be expected that this would be further refined by the consultant. The baseline assessment shall be undertaken based on the Save the Children International requirements and must be in line with Save the Children’s ethical guideline (Annex II).

Literature/ Desk Review

• Literature review of relevant documentation;
• Development of survey/interview tools to be used for collection of baseline data (Quantitative and Qualitative);
• Development of sampling methodology for administering surveys (as applicable), ensure the gender balance of respondent;
• Training of data enumerators (as applicable);

Field Work

• Leading the administering of baseline survey tools;
• Leading other consultations with project beneficiaries, partners and Government as deemed necessary during baseline methodology design;

 Data Processing, Analysis and Reporting

• Data entry and analysis of completed baseline survey tools with gender disaggregated data;
• Discussion on preliminary findings of baseline;
• Draft Report and Final Reports;
• Presentation on key findings;

4              Target area and respondent

The project targets implementation in the Yala, Narathiwat, and Pattani provinces. This baseline assessment expects to collect information to adequately represent of all project locations. The key informants should comprise of children and youth, Civil Society Organization, Academic institute, local and provincial government.

5              Timeframe

The consultant will be required to dedicate an estimated 27 working days to this consultancy work during April to June 2020 period, subject to the requirements and agreements with Save the Children.

6              Schedule and Deliverables

Deliverables	Timeframe	Remarks
Submission of draft Inception report and work plan Mapping of available data and plan for data collection Draft of assessment framework Draft of assessment tools Consultation meeting with Save the Children project team	7 working days after confirmation of contract.	Desk review process: Save the Children will review and approve the Inception report within 5 working days (5 working days)
Submission of finalized Inception report include: (i) Introduction; (ii) Study context; (iii) Study purpose; (iv) Methodology (data collection and analysis methods, samplings, limitations and mitigation strategies); (v) Work plan; (vi) Assessment matrix (annex); (vii) Data collection instruments (annex).	By 2nd Week of April 2020	(2 working days)
Data collection, validation and analysis	During 3rd and 4th week of April 2020	(12 working days)
Presentations of preliminary findings to Save the Children Presentation file shared with Save the Children at least 3 days prior to the presentation	1st Week of May 2020	(1 working days)
First draft of reports in English with recommendation.	By 3rd Week of May 2020	Save the Children will provide feedback on the first draft within 5 working days (5 working days)
Final draft of reports 2 pager assessment summary report (in English and Thai) Full report (25 pages maximum excluding appendices) in English and Thai including (i) Executive summary; (ii) Context and purpose of the evaluation (evaluation scope, evaluation criteria); (iii) Evaluation framework and methodologies; (iv) Findings; (v) Conclusions and recommendations for future actions.	By 1st week of June 2020	(2 working days)

All materials and raw data collected during the consultancy process should be submitted to the MEAL team focal point prior to the termination of the contract.

7              Management of the Consultancy

The consultant(s) will report to LEAP II project coordinator, with technical support from Child Protection Programme manager, MEAL Coordinator and Progarmme Director who will provide inputs throughout the baseline assessment process including on the proposed methodology and data collection tools, analysis and interpretation and recommendations. Furthermore, the LEAP II project team will support logistics and arrangements for data collection and consultation with stakeholders.

The consultant/s will be responsible for

• Coordinating the data collection and consultation
• Developing the baseline framework, processes and tools
• Training the data collection team and interpreters/notetakers as appropriate
• Overseeing the data collection
• Data entry and analyzing data
• Compiling and submitting the assessment report including documentation of findings, learnings and recommendations for programming

Save the Children should approve all plans and documents developed by the consultant. The final report will be assessed against Save the Children’s Evaluation Checklist (Annex III).

8              Consultancy Fee

The consultant(s) is asked to propose the budget. The financial competitiveness of the fee will be considered in the selection process. Costs involved in the assessment, such as materials, interpreter, travel, accommodation and applicable taxes, should be included in the proposed budget.

9              Qualifications

• At least master’s degree in social sciences or other related field.
• Expertise in qualitative and quantitative research methods.
• Strong qualitative and qualitative data analysis skills.
• Expertise in issues related to child empowerment, capacity building or advocacy is an asset.
• Thai/English language proficiency
• Ability to work within strict deadlines
• Ability to travel to the deep south provinces of Thailand

10           Submissions for the Consultancy

The submission must address the terms of reference and include:

• The resume of the candidate
• A cover letter explaining the candidate’s interest and suitability
• Experience in conducing evaluation in multicultural, multilingual and sensitive context will be an asset
• A technical proposal including research scope, design, methods, field implementation approach and work plan (7 pages maximum)
• A detailed budget outlining all expense and consultancy fee in USD and THB (including travel and other costs)

Annex

Evaluation report quality score tool

Interested candidates should submit a motivational letter, comprehensive CV and details of at least 3 referees to: hr.thailand@savethechildren.org

Please indicate in the subject as “Consultant to undertake Baseline Assessment for Local Engagement to Advocate for Peace (LEAP) II_(Name of candidate)”

Only shortlisted candidates will be notified.

“We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse”

Contact : hr.thailand@savethechildren.org

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ที่ปรึกษา / Consultant