Tender for Final Evaluation for Irish Aid supported EQuIP programme

1.SUMMARY

Plan Ireland is requesting applications from research organisations, universities, academic institutes or think tanks for the final evaluation of Plan Ireland’s flagship Education programme ‘EQuIP’ (Education: Quality, Inclusive, Participative).

The study should be carried out between April and October 2015.

The programmes overall objective is to increase access to and quality of primary and secondary education for all girls and boys in 4 target countries (Burkina Faso, Guinea, Guinea Bissau and Sierra Leone) in West Africa.

Plan Ireland secured funding for the EQuIP programme through Irish Aid’s Programme Funding for 4 years from January 1st, 2012. A fifth ‘bridging’ year has been accorded in order to appropriately evaluate the programme cycle and prepare for the subsequent programme cycle.

Due to the recent EBOLA crisis in West Africa,the final evaluation will only target Burkina Faso and Guinea – Bissau.

The deadline for submitting the application is 23rd of February 2015.

2.INTRODUCTION TO PLAN IRELAND AND EQUIP

Plan is an international child centered development organisation working in 50 developing countries. With a focus on long term sustainable development, Plan assists children and their communities across a range of sectors including education, health, livelihoods and water/sanitation. Established in 2003, Plan Ireland supports Plan’s work worldwide with a particular focus on West Africa. Funding is received from a variety of sources including through the public via child sponsorship, Irish Aid, EU, trusts, foundations, trade unions and corporate firms.

Plan Ireland and Irish Aid are working in partnership to achieve the common vision of a world in which all children realise their full potential. Achieving this vision depends on both boys and girls enjoying their right to good education. It is largely recognised, that education is one of the most important investments a country can make andis critical to reducing poverty and inequality.

The EQuIP programme concentrates on grass root initiatives that contributeto increasing the quality of learning (such as teacher training and training of school directors). Thatmakes schools more girl friendly and increases awareness amongst key duty bearers of the importance of education for all children, especially girls and disabled children.

These grass roots initiatives are supported by capacity building of local education authorities and strategic engagement on policy issues at national level that impact on access to and the quality of education. Key regional elements of the EQuIP strategy include:

  • Quality Teacher Training
  • Regional Research on access of children with disabilities to education and protection services
  • Policy Engagement
  • Social Accountability
  • Participatory Monitoring of programme progress.

EQuIP overall description

The five results of the action are:

  • Increased learning outcomes for children
  • Increased numbers of girls completing the education cycle in targeted primary (and secondary) schools
  • A more conducive environment for inclusive education for children with disabilities exists
  • Citizens in target communities share ownership for better education with school authorities by actively participating in educational decision-making
  • MoE strategies for rolling out its education policy take into account best practices in relation to quality and inclusion

3.IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS

The Plan country offices in Burkina Faso and Guinea Bissau implements the projects in partnership with relevant local ministries and local implementing partners manage activities on the ground.

4.PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES OF THE EVALUATION

The overall purpose of the evaluation is to assess the level of attainment of targets, results and objectives. The evaluation will contribute to shared learning and provide accountability to partners, beneficiaries and donors. It will identify lessons learned and make recommendations to guide and inform future similar projects and programs.

The evaluation will assess the performance of the project against key parameters including the project’s relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability, timelines of activity implementation, and its strengths and weaknesses. In addition, the strengths, weaknesses and challenges during implementation will be analysed with a view to extract lessons and best practices for the future.

5.OBJECTIVES

The final evaluation will provide the decision-makers in the Government, Irish Aid, Plan and the wider public with sufficient information to:

a)make an overall independent assessment about the past performance of the project paying particularly attention to the impact of the project actions against its objectives;

b)Identify key lessons and to propose practical recommendations for follow-up actions.

The evaluation will be based on the five evaluation criteria endorsed by the OECD-DAC (relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, sustainability and impact. The evaluation will also assess the integration and impact of cross cutting issues in the project).

The key parameters to be assessed by the evaluation are:

a)Relevance: describes how well a project addresses a real problem of the beneficiaries and how well it matches the development policies and strategic objectives of the country/region.

b)Efficiency: stands for how well the inputs are transformed into output and outcomes.

c)Effectiveness: measures the degree to which the project’s outputs have provided benefits and contributed to the project purpose.

d)Impact: describes how and to which degree the project has contributed to the solution of the problem and to the achievement of the overall objective. While actual impact can only be measured expost, the evaluation should nevertheless scrutinize the impact prospects, i.e. the project’s likely contribution to the project’s overall objective and results.

e)Sustainability: measures the likelihood of a continuation in the stream of benefits produced by the project after the period of external support has ended.

f)Mutual reinforcement (coherence): assesses the extent to which activities undertaken complement partner country's policies and other donor interventions. The consultants are required to use their professional judgment and experience to review all relevant factors and to bring these to the attention of the project partners.

6.SCOPE OF THE EVALUATION

The evaluation will cover the accomplishment of all the expected results as outlined in the project document and detailed in the annual work plans during the period of 1st January 2012 – December 2015. All the project result areas, outcomes and activities stated in the logical framework matrix of the project will be assessed (these documents are available on request to interested parties).

7.PROJECT REGIONS AND TARGET BENEFICIARIES

Guinea Bissau / Burkina Faso
Primary schools / 41 / 92
junior schools
senior school / 7
girls / 3,284 / 6,285
boys / 3,332 / 7,313
total pupils / 6,616 / 13,598
Girls with handicap in EQUIP schools / 13 / 153
Boys with handicap in EQUIP schools / 26 / 92
Total children with handicap in EQUIP schools / 39 / 245
directors / 41 / 99
Teachers / 131 / 404
inspectors / 20 / 35
VSLA groups total / 68 / 228
Participants estimated including 2014 / 2,220 / 4,941

The evaluation team will select sample districts, schools, and communities from the project region in consultation with relevant stakeholders. They will use statistically acceptable parameters, and will ensure that the sample selected is representative of the geographical coverage of the project as well as the target beneficiaries.

8.SPECIFIC TASKS

The specific tasks of the evaluator will be to:

a)Develop an evaluation framework and methodology and refine these with the project team.

b)Develop a sampling frame that will be discussed and adopted by the evaluation team

c)Develop an evaluation plan

d)Undertake extensive document review of the project

e)Conduct field visits, focus group discussions and interviews with relevant beneficiaries, partners and project team members to collect information on various parameters of the evaluation which are directly related to identified outcomes and outcome indicators in the results framework for the EQuIP programme. Both quantitative and qualitative information are required to adequately evaluate the outcomes and include (but not exhaustive) :

  • Quantitative information will be related specifically to key indicators related to:
  • Access to education for girls and children with disabilities (enrolment rates, dropout rates, repetition rates, primary completion rates, transition rates to secondary school)
  • Teachers receive regular & relevant guidance from education authorities to improve their teaching methods
  • Early grade reading assessments to determine levels of reading at Grade 3.
  • Economic situation of families, in particular village savings and loans scheme members, and their ability to support the financial cost of education for all their children (both boys and girls)
  • Qualitative information will be collected in relation to :
  • Community attitudes towards children with disabilities and attitudes relating to education for girls.
  • Children’s (boys and girls) perception of the learning environment including specifically the level of gender inclusion in schools
  • Teachers’ capacities to ensure a quality learning environment.
  • Education Authorities capacity to provide guidance and supervision
  • Level of awareness and knowledge of HIV AIDS
  • School Management Committees, Parent Teacher Associations, Children’s Parliaments and the general communities’ level of engagement in school governance.
  • The influence the project has had on local, regional and national educational policies
  • All information shall be disaggregated according to sex, area of residency (village, town or city) and disability.
  • The above information should be collected in a sample of communities participating in the EQuIP programme as well as in communities not participating in the programme as a counter factual to allow for impact evaluation. Ethical considerations in doing this should be considered and it may not be appropriate to collect all of the above information in these control areas.

f)Prepare the evaluation draft report and present the findings to Plan Ireland and the respective Country Offices

g)Prepare and submit the final report to Plan Ireland and the respective Country Offices

h)Present the final findings of the evaluation to Plan Ireland and the respective Country Officesand conduct an in country workshop in both Burkina Faso and Guinea Bissauto present the final findings of the evaluation.

9.EVALUATION APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY

The evaluation approach should be developed and implemented in three main phases: An inception phase, a field investigation phase and a synthesis and feedback phase.

  1. Inception Phase

This phase will involve the thorough and systematic review of the relevant programming documents related to the project, as well as documents shaping the wider strategy/policy framework. The consultant will analyse the logical framework in order to determine relevant issues and evaluation questions. Specific tasks to be undertaken during the inception phase will include:

  • Develop and present an indicative methodology.
  • Interview the project management team
  • Present each identified evaluation question stating the information already gathered and provide a first partial answer to the question, identify the issues still to be covered and the assumptions still to be tested, and describe a full method to answer the question.
  • Identify and present the list of tools to be used and applied in the field/data collection phase;
  • Prepare and submit a detailed work plan with an indicative list of people to be interviewed, surveys to be undertaken, dates of visit, itinerary, and name of team members involved.
  • Define issues and gaps requiring further analysis;
  • Prepare and share inception report of not more than 6 pages
  1. Field Investigation Phase

The Field Phase should start upon approval of the inception Report by Plan’s evaluation contact point. The consultant will:

  • Undertake the field mission applying the plan developed during the Inception Phase. This plan has to be applied in a way that is flexible enough to accommodate any last-minute challenges in the field. If any significant deviation from the agreed work plan or schedule is perceived as creating a risk to the quality of the evaluation, these should be immediately discussed with the evaluation manager.
  • Hold a briefing meeting with the project team in the first days of the field phase.
  • Undertake school visits and stakeholder interviews including relevant education authorities.
  • Ensure adequate contact and consultation with the key project staff
  • Ensure adequate contact and consultation with, and involvement of, the different stakeholders; working closely with the relevant government authorities and agencies during their entire assignment. Use the most reliable and appropriate sources of information and harmonise data from different sources to allow ready interpretation.
  • Summarise field works at the end of the field phase, discuss the reliability and coverage of data collection, and present preliminary findings in a meeting with the project management team and relevant MoE administrations.

All data sets and original completed questionnaires and data collection sheets will become the property of Plan and will be shared with the draft Evaluation Report

  1. Synthesis and Feedback Phase

This phase is mainly devoted to the preparation of the draft final report in English and relevant official language (French / Portuguese). The consultants will make sure that:

  • Their assessments are objective and balanced, affirmations accurate and verifiable, and recommendations realistic.
  • When drafting the report, they will acknowledge clearly where changes in the desired direction are known to be already taking place, in order to avoid misleading readers and causing unnecessary irritation or offence.

The consultant will submit the draft evaluation report to the Plan evaluation contact point for review. On the basis of comments expressed by Plan the relevant education authorities, the consultant will amend and revise the draft report. On the basis of comments made by participants, the consultant will prepare the final version of the report and will present this to Plan Ireland and to the Country Offices through an in country workshops.

10.EXPERTISE REQUIRED

The following are the qualification requirements for the evaluation consultant:

  • Advanced University Degree in public education or related field.
  • A minimum ten (10) years of relevant professional experience in the areas of basic/ primary education, teacher development, capacity building of education administrations, education economics and in the definition and implementation of sectorial policies in the education sector;
  • Extensive experience in the evaluation of technical assistance projects, preferably, those under the education portfolio;
  • Fully conversant with the principles and working methods of project cycle management. knowledge of the activities of multilateral development donors will be an added advantage;
  • Solid knowledge of, and practical experience with gender analysis and planning;
  • Full working knowledge of English and excellent report writing skills
  • French and Portuguese fluency within the evaluation team
  • Competence and adequate experience in the use of qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection and analysis including: sampling, desegregation of data, structured and semi-structured interviewing, focus group discussions, and observation and triangulation research methods.
  • Ability to interpret and analyse complex qualitative and quantitative data, and to present findings and recommendations in a clear and concise way.
  • Excellent inter-personal communication skills including experience of facilitation and presentation.
  • Ability to work equally well with communities and international organisations.
  • Knowledge and sensitivity to political and social contexts of West African Communities.
  • Experience in West Africa would be an advantage.

11.TIME FRAME

The evaluation will be carried out from March 2015

The consultant will be required to submit a technical proposal indicating the number of days and rate for the consultancy work with a realistic action plan.

Phase / Envisioned Timeline
Inception Phase / 16.03.2015-24.04.2015
Field investigation Phase / 27.04.2015-22.05.2015
***NOTE data collection must be completed by the end May so as to not interfere with State exams
Draft report / 31.08.2015
Final report / 30.09.2015

12.SUPERVISION AND MANAGEMENT

The overall supervision of the evaluators will rest with Plan Ireland. The consultant will report to a designated manager. The consultant will be expected to work closely with, and interact with the implementing agency, the MOEs and relevant in country staff and implementing partners.

13.TERMS AND CONDITIONS

  • Logistics: The consultant’s travel from base to the field and back will be included in the current contract
  • Professional fee: The consultant will propose the professional fee as part of their financial proposal.
  • Tax and insurance: The consultants shall be responsible for their income tax and/or insurance during the assignment.
  • Code of conduct: The consultant is bound by the principles and conditions of Plan’s code of conduct and child protection policy.
  • A contract will be signed by the consultant/evaluator upon commencement of the evaluation which will detail additional terms and conditions of service, aspects on inputs and deliverables.

14.APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

All expressions of interest should include:

  • Cover letter: A short (maximum three pages) letter addressing the evaluation criteria.
  • A detailed curriculum vitae of key evaluation staff
  • At least 2 references of organizations for whom you have carried out similar work
  • Technical Proposal (maximum eight pages) interpreting the understanding of the TOR, detailed methodology of executing the task, as well as draft evaluation framework and plan.
  • An approximate timeline for the work (based on timeline above)
  • The financial proposal should :
  • Provide cost estimates for services rendered including daily consultancy fees related to the consultant and/or associate consultant who will take part in the final evaluation of the project.
  • Include all expenses (transport cost; per diems, stationeries, and supplies) related to all the different phases of the assignment.
  • Include all expenses related to Dissemination of reports to Plan and stakeholders.
  • A PDF scanned copy of the tender cover letter signed by an authorized officer of the consultancy team outlining the contents of the tender documents

The above information should be forwarded to before 5pm GMT on February 23rd, 2015. E-mails containing tender documents should have the subject: “Tender for the EQuIP Final Evaluation”. Tenders and other e-mails sent to this address will not be open until after this date.