Consultant (Final Evaluation of Dfat Project)

Introduction This document provides Terms of Reference (ToR) for Building Peaceful Futures Consortium project Endline Evaluation. It gives detailed description of the project background, study scope, key questions, intended methodology, reporting and governance, key deliverables and timeframes. Background and Context Save the Children is the world's leading independent organization for children, working in over 120 countries around the world. It's a child rights based organization guided by a Child Safeguarding Policy where it aims to ensure that anyone associated with the organization behaves appropriately towards children, never abuses the position of trust that comes with being a part of the Save the Children family, and will respond appropriately to issues of child abuse and the sexual exploitation of children. Save the Children's mission is to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children, and to achieve immediate and lasting change in their lives. Save the Children envisions a world in which every child attains the right to survival, protection, development and participation. The Building Peaceful Futures Consortium is led by Save the Children in close collaboration with CARE International, Norwegian Refugee Council and Humanity and Inclusion. The project supports the safe and dignified return and reintegration of displaced people in Hawija and Sinjar. A key priority is the generation and sharing of robust evidence - including evaluations - to strengthen our learning and quality culture, and to scale up programs, reach and impact for children and their families in Iraq. We are interested to hear from evaluation and research experts that would like to work with us in this. Overall, the evaluations and its reports should inform the audiences of the successes, the challenges and relevant learning for future programming. Scope of Study Purpose, Objectives and Scope This study is being conducted at the end of the project- Building Peaceful Futures Consortium. It will build upon the mid-term and other studies previously conducted. The primary purpose of the study is to generate evidence and inform audiences about the successes, the challenges and relevant learning for future programming The specific objectives of the study include; 1. To understand the extent to which the Building Peaceful Futures Consortium (BPF) realized achievements related to the project objectives. This will be achieved by assessing the programs against the DFAT quality benchmarks for Humanitarian Aid. 2. To serve as a final evaluation for the project by assessing the program against the MEAL framework and identify key learnings that relate to coordination, implementation and value added from the findings. 3. To draw key learnings related to the value of working within a consortium in insecure and or unstable environments. The desired results of the evaluation are to provide best practices, lessons learnt, and recommendations for future partnerships that may be drawn from the findings. 4. To understand to what extend the multiyear funding allow consortium partners to adapt programming to meet displaced people's needs during a protracted crisis and global pandemic. The study main evaluation question: How and to what extent did the BPF Consortium support beneficiaries to become more resilient through the inclusive provision of humanitarian assistance and protection services which contributes to social cohesion programming? Scope: The study will cover all the thematic areas of the project, that is to say Health, WASH, Livelihoods and Child protection and will be conducted in Ninewa Governorate in Northern Iraq. In additional to key stakeholders all beneficiaries categories will be sampled, these categories include, Adult without disability, Child without disability, Adult with disability and Child with disability. Intended Audience and Use of the Study Stakeholder Further information Project donor: DFAT Primary implementing organisation: Save the Children (Project team; Program Development, TAs, MEAL team; Advocacy and Communications team Implementing partners: NRC, CARE, HI, YBDO Government stakeholders: DoW, DoH, Hawija and Ninewa Governorate Community groups: CSO's and DPO's network in Hawija and Sinjar Beneficiaries: Children and adults involved in the program/project/s and the study The study findings will be used to inform the above audiences and others of the successes, the challenges and relevant learning for future programming. Study Methodology Study Design The external evaluation team is expected to articulate a robust and suitable evaluation methodology in line with the scope, objectives and evaluation questions. The detailed method should include but not be limited to the following: * A robust study design to depict the project using mixed methods (quantitative and qualitative) including the use of secondary data, and the triangulation of the findings. * Data collection instruments, protocols and procedures * Sampling procedures for both qualitative and quantitative methods * Procedures for analyzing mixed methods * How users/key project stakeholders in the research will be involved It is preferred that evaluation method selected will involve save the children staff, beneficiaries, and partners. quantitative methods selected should contribute to the assessment of outcomes and outputs indicators. in addition, the consultant should select qualitative data collection methods e.g. focus group discussions, case stories, etc. to give deeper understanding of processes and approaches, perceptions and behaviors and other factors that have contributed to ongoing projects indicators. The evaluation should use appropriate methods to seek feedback from children in line with the basic requirements for meaningful and safe child participation Sampling It is recommended that applicants propose a sampling strategy. The sampling strategy should include the sampling method and the sample size calculation values. For fair and accurate comparison to be made and since there was no baseline, the project team will guide that consultant at the inception to come up with an identical approach to the midterm assessment Data Sources and Data Collection Methods / Tools All primary data collected during the study must facilitate disaggregation by gender, age, disability, location or remoteness, vulnerability status. Save the Children and partners will review and where possible provide more guidance on tools and classification schemes for this minimum dataset. Save the Children and partners if needed will provide enumerators to assist with primary data collection. A range of project documentation will be made available to the study team that provides information about the design and changes made in the course of the implementation, implementation and operation of the Program]. Expected Deliverables The study deliverables and tentative timeline (subject to the commencement date of the study) are outlined below. The MEAL team, SC and Consortium partners will agree on final milestones and deadlines at the inception phase. Deliverable / Milestones The study Team is contracted and commences work The study Team will facilitate a workshop with the relevant stakeholders at the commencement of the project to develop the inception report. The study Team will submit an inception report* in line with the provided template, including: - Final data collection tools * Survey instrument Data collection mechanism/plan An Interim Report / Power Point Presentation including a summary of formative findings from the study. The focus will be on: * Summary of interim findings * Any emerging program issues or risks * Any changes that have had to be made to the study design Key tasks for the next stage of the study and any proposed refinements or changes to methodology A Study Report* (Draft Version - template available including the following elements: * Executive summary * Background description of the Program and context relevant to the Study * Scope and focus of the study * Overview of the study methodology and data collection methods, including a Study matrix * Findings aligned to each of the key Study questions * Specific caveats or methodological limitations of the evaluation * Conclusions outlining implications of the findings or learnings * Recommendations * Annexes (Project logframe, study ToR, Inception Report, Study schedule, List of people involved) A consolidated set of feedback from key stakeholders will be provided by Save The Children within 2 weeks of the submission of the draft report. Data and analyses including all encrypted raw data, databases and analysis outputs Final Study Report* incorporating feedback from consultation on the Draft Study Report - Knowledge translation materials: * PowerPoint presentation of Study findings * Summary info graphs Evidence to Action Brief** *All reports are to use the Save the Children Final Study Report template ** The Evidence to Action Brief is a 2-4 pages summary of the full report and will be created using the Save the Children Management Response template. All documents are to be produced in MS Word format and provided electronically by email to the SC Evaluation Project Manager. Copies of all PowerPoint presentations used to facilitate briefings for the project should also be provided to Save the Children in editable digital format. Study Management The consultancy will be contracted by and report to Save the Children - Iraq Country Office. The MEAL Team, Consortium Director and consortium focal points will act as the advisory group for the evaluation process. They will provide the documents mentioned under list of documents. They will also provide technical assistance (e.g. make practical in-country travel arrangements, oversee/assist in making appointments, assist in finalizing the programme, avail any other documents and information needed etc.). The lead consultant will be responsible for managing the whole consultancy. Study Team and Selection Criteria Interested consultants will be required to submit an Expression of Interest in line with the provided template, which should demonstrate adherence to the following requirements. Understanding of Requirements and Experience To be considered, the study team members together must have demonstrated skills, expertise and experience in: * Designing and conducting endline evaluations using mixed approaches * Conducting Research Studies in multiple thematic areas like Health, WASH, Livelihoods & Protection * Leading evaluations or consultancy work in Iraq or similar settings * Conducting ethical and inclusive studies involving children and child participatory techniques * Conducting ethical and inclusive studies involving marginalised, deprived and/or vulnerable groups in culturally appropriate and sensitive ways * Managing and coordinating a range of government, non-government and community groups * Experience conducting study in humanitarian contexts * Sound and proven experience in conducting evaluations based on OECD-DAC evaluation criteria, particularly utilisation and learning focused evaluations * Extensive experience of theories of change and how they can be used to carry out evaluations * Strong written and verbal skills in communicating technical and/ or complex findings to non-specialist audiences (especially report writing and presentation skills) * A track record of open, collaborative working with clients There is a high expectation that: * A team leader will be appointed who has the seniority and experience in leading complex study projects, and who has the ability and standing to lead a team toward a common goal. * The team has the ability to commit to the terms of the project and have adequate and available skilled resources to dedicate to this study over the period. Financial Proposal Save the Children seeks value for money in its work. This does not necessarily mean "lowest cost", but quality of the service and reasonableness of the proposed costs. Proposals shall include personnel allocation (role / number of days / daily rates / taxes), as well as any other applicable costs. Schedule of Payment The following payments will be made to the consultant using and agreed mode of payment * Upon approval of inception report and tools: [30%] * Upon submission of First Draft study Report: [30%] * Upon approval of final study report: [40%]