Terms of Reference

Local Consultant for Gender and Language Education for Ethnic Students’ Empowerment (GLEESE) End-of-Project Evaluations

Organisational context

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 12 organisations which assists almost 32 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.

Background

The Gender and Language Education for Ethnic Students’ Empowerment (GLEESE)[1] started in April 2021 and will end by December 2023. The project goal is aims for all girls and boys at lower secondary education in 10 schools (partially in 20 communities) of Sop Bao and Xam Neua District, Houaphanh Province to complete equitable lower secondary education. To achieve the goal, project is focussing in three main areas, firstly, school infrastructure improvement through renovation to ensure child friendly and gender sensitive. Secondly, gender sensitization in schools and communities to empower girls and boys, so they can make decision about their education and gaining awareness about gender equality. Last but not least, Lao Literacy teaching-learning improvement especially for ethnic students through additional literacy curriculum and library construction and equipped with books and reading facilities in target schools.

Thought the implementation, it had been observed that, the knowledge and understanding of universal design amongst provincial and district authorities especially the Provincial Education and Sport Services (PESS) and the District Education and Sport Bureau (DESB) and District Office of Public Works and Transport (DPWT) are very limited while school construction design from MOES was meet with universal design as an international standard for inclusive infrastructure. Parents and event students themselves do not see the value of education, which = impacts on the school enrolment and retention in target area. Low level of Lao literacy especially amongst ethnic students is crucial and consider as a main challenge for the project to achieve the goal in improving their learning outcome. Lack of capacity among teachers in organize participatory teaching and learning environment and develop innovative teaching tools to support weak learners and limited support to promote Lao literacy learning among ethnic students those are not using Lao language at home.

The goal/impact, three outcomes and performance indicators of the project are as follows:

Goal:

All girls and boys in Sopbao and Xamneua District, Huaphanh Province complete equitable lower secondary education

Indicator: Survival rate in 4th grade of 10 targeted schools (girls/boys)

Outcome 1. Girls and boys have improved school facilities that are child-friendly and gender-sensitive.

Indicator 1: # of schools meet child-friendly and gender-sensitive school facilities standard

Outcome 2. Girls and boys are empowered in making choices about their education through awareness of gender equality.

Indicator 1: % of girls and boys who have a sound/good understanding and practices related to gender and gender roles

Outcome 3. Girls and boys have improved learning outcomes in Lao language reading and writing through increases in teachers’ knowledge, skills, and resources

Indicator 1: % of girls and boys who have Lao language skills in writing and reading

Indicator 2: No. % of trained teachers (female and male) utilizing new classroom skills and knowledge

3. Purpose

This project has undertaken a baseline exercise and a mid-term evaluation. Towards the end of the project, this project requires an external, independent end-of-project evaluation. The 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 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:

OECD-DAC criteria

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.

Did this project reach the more vulnerable communities?
Did the project address the highest priority needs of vulnerable children?
Was the intervention appropriate and its implementation relevant to the operational context?

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)

To what extent did the interventions carried out under this project complements 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.

Was adequate human, financial and logistical resources applied to delivering project outcomes? (operational efficiency)
To what extent did the project adapt the intervention, approaches and methodologies in response to the changing context over the course of the project (response towards project learnings)?

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.

To what extent the project has achieved its intended outcomes, in relation to the key performance indicators of the project?
Were the monitoring mechanisms effective in providing timely data to inform programming decisions?

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?

Cross-cutting issues

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?

Organisational Learning

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 Need Assessment, Baseline Report, Mid-Term Evaluation 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:

Strongly support the active participatory approach and engagement from the project stakeholders including female and male students, school principals and teachers, students’ parents and community leaders, government counterparts from district to national level and ChildFund in Laos staff.
The methods, data collection and analysis should also consider and include the perspectives of different genders and people living with disabilities (PLWD). The tools used during baseline assessment should be utilised or modified, wherever relevant.
Data collection methods should be guided by the project SMART indicators and other useful information to give a clear picture of the project. The consultant is expected to develop a clear guideline to assist the process.
Both qualitative and quantitative data should be collected and reported, and data sources clearly cited.
Tools and methods must coherently respond to the project objectives and performance indicators.

Report:

The report and relevant working documents must be written in either English or Laos, provide in an electronic format (Microsoft Word and PDF). Raw and analysed data can be submitted by Excel or Word file.
The actual evaluation report is limited to 30 pages excluding annexes. A maximum 3-page executive summary should be included as part of the report.
Report format:
- Table of contents
- List of Abbreviations
- Executive summary of the main findings including the major indicators of the project - 3 pages
- Introduction providing background information about the project and objectives of the project
- Methodology and limitations
- Evaluation Findings for each Outcome including 1 case study
- Learning and good practices identified, or highlighting particular needs or weak areas requiring more support.
- Conclusions and Recommendations
- Annexes including all tools used

Deliverable and Indicative Timetable ( 27 days )

Note: this is subject for negotiation with the Consultant

31 July- week 1 of September 2023

§ Consultant Recruitment

§ Negotiation and signing the contract

23-28 September 2023 (2 days)

§ Consultant prepares the Inception Report to CFL and Sydney Technical Advisor

§ Work in collaboration with the Senior MEL coordinator, Sydney-based Education and MEL Technical Advisors to develop methodology and tools

29 September 2023

§ Submit the final inception report

2-13 October 2023 (1 day)

§ Revise and get approval on inception report including methodology and tools

17-31 October 2023 (1 day)

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)

- 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.

1-19 November 2023 (13 days)

§ Data analysis

§ Report writing

§ Submit the 1st Draft Report in English

24 November-15 December 2023 ( 4 days)

§ Feedback and finalise the report

§ Submit the final report (English)

7. Management and Reporting Arrangements

The Consultant will report directly to Education Program Manager, and keep Senior MEL Coordinator and the Country Director, 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 and ChildFund Korea. All tools created and data collected for this project is expected to be provided in an electronic format that allows future editing.

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

Commitment to ChildFund Australia’s values, vision and mission;
Teamwork;
Communication;
Accountability and integrity; and
Adaptability and flexibility.

Essential Qualification and Experience:

At least Master Degree in Education, Social Sciences, International Development, Monitoring and Evaluation, or related disciplines with minimum five (5) years’ experience in conducting similar evaluation and/or research works in developing countries particularly in South East Asia. Doctorate qualification desired.
Relevant experience in development sector around INGOs’ work or relevant agency
Experience in monitoring and evaluation, and conducting end-of-project evaluation, impact studies, utilizing quantitative and qualitative research methods including data collection techniques and analysis
Strong experience in community education development
Familiarity with child‐focused programming;
Flexible and able to adapt to a multi-cultural environment and complex situations, with demonstrable high-level interpersonal and cross-cultural skills especially with ethnic minorities
Familiarity with the development context of Lao PDR including relevant language skills;
Good experience in collaboration and interaction with communities and government bodies from local to national level, especially the Ministry of Health of Laos.
Strong facilitation skills, particularly with children, youth and ethnic women;
Self-driven, strong organizational and planning skills, with the ability to work independently or in a group, as well as under pressure
Fluent in both Lao and English, and showing ability to communicate ethnic languages; Hmong and Khmu would be an asset.

Submission Procedure:

Applications can be made by email to Bamboo HR (linked will be identified when the announcement is launched); all other applications will be rejected. Interested applicants should submit

CV of the lead consultant and their team (if any) and a cover letter
Technical proposal
Financial proposal

NOTE: The financial proposal should specify a total lump sum amount and a breakdown of a daily professional fee and communication costs etc. Applications without a financial proposal will be regarded as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

ChildFund in Laos 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.

Please submit your application https://teamchildfund.bamboohr.com/careers/404**.** before 4:30 pm of 18 Aug 2023

ChildFund is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer and strongly encourage people from all backgrounds, abilities, and identities to apply for any vacancies.

[1] The GLEESE Project is funded by Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) through ChildFund Korea