Job Description

Terms of Reference

Endline Survey services for Waxbar Carurtaada (Educate Your Children) II Project

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

1.1.  About CARE International

CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty and providing lifesaving assistance in emergencies. Its programs go beyond meeting basic needs at the onset of an emergency to helping affected communities recover and rebuild their lives long after the crisis ends. CARE has been assisting communities in Somalia since 1981. CARE works in partnership with the government, international NGOs, civil society, community leaders and local authorities in order to bring effective and lasting change to the most vulnerable communities. CARE currently works through three main programs: firstly, the Rural Women program which supports poor, rural women, and girls in addressing long term underlying causes of poverty and vulnerability as well as social, cultural, political, and economic obstacles towards positive change. We help women and girls improve their economic status, access education, and support them to play a greater role in local leadership and conflict resolution. Secondly, the Urban Youth program focuses on job creation and livelihood opportunities for poor youth through interventions such as secondary education, vocational training, small business development and microfinance. Thirdly, the Emergency program provides direct humanitarian relief to victims of drought and conflict in Puntland, Mogadishu, Lower Juba and Galmudug state. This project falls under the Urban Youth programme.

1.2.  About Waxbar Carurtaada (Educate your Children) II project

Operating in Somalia since 1981, CARE has an extensive track record in implementing successful education programs focusing on increasing access, improving learning outcomes and boosting completion rates for the most marginalized groups of the population, with a particular focus on girls’ education. CARE commits to support the development of the education system in Somalia, contributing to building inclusive, efficient, and effective systems that support the most marginalized to access school and succeed in their education.

In partnership with Educate A Child, a program of Education Above All Foundation, CARE, in a consortium with WARDI and GREDO, is implementing Waxbar Carurtaada II (Educate your Children II/ EYC II) project which aims to address obstacles to educational access for out-of-school children affected by instability, displacement, social exclusion, and poverty in Somalia. The project seeks to enrol 80,600[1] out of school children across six states/region (Galmudug, Hirshabelle, Jubaland, South West, Puntland, and Banaadir) of Somalia. Waxbar Carurtaada II Project seeks to strengthen local governance structures and community support around school safety and inclusive and gender-sensitive education, increasing enrolment rates among marginalized groups, including girls and the extremely poor. Through Accelerated Basic Education (ABE), the project provides viable options for learners unable to access education or to attend regularly because of seasonal and out-migration, domestic demands, and income-generating activities. The project works closely with the Federal Ministry of Education, Culture, and Higher Education (MOECHE) and Federal member states Ministries of Education (MOEs) across the six states/region and other education stakeholders to achieve its objective.

1.3.  Projects overall goal/objective

The overall project goal/objective is to ensure that 80,600[2] out-of-school children affected by instability, displacement, social exclusion, and poverty in Somalia have increased opportunities to enroll and complete a quality primary education. The project aims to achieve this goal/objective through the following strategies and interventions:

1. a)Outcome 1: 70,600[3] vulnerable OOSC in Banaadir, Puntland, Galmudug, Hirshabelle, Jubaland and South-West states of Somalia are enrolled and retained in formal primary education
2. b)Outcome 2: 10,000 overaged OOSC children in Banaadir, Puntland, Galmudug, Hirshabelle, Jubaland and South-West states of Somalia are enrolled and retained in alternative basic education
3. c)Outcome 3: Enhanced quality of education for grade-appropriate learning outcomes 
4. d)Outcome 4: Community Education Committees and MOE staff are strengthened in capacity to improve the management of schools and ABE centers.

1.4.  Program scope

The project is implemented in 25 districts of six region/states. The project covers rural areas of Puntland (Galkacyo North, Galdogob and Jariban districts) and Galmudug (South Galkacyo, Dhusamareeb, Guriel, Abudwak, Cadaado and Hobyo districts), South West (Baidoa, Dinsoor, Hudur, Walanweyn and Afgoye districts), Hirshabelle (Beletweyn, Bula Barde, Mataban districts), Jubaland (Kismayu, Baardheere and Dollow districts) and Banaadir (Bondheere, Hodan, Waberi, Yaqshid and Deynile).

1.5.  Overview of the project implementation timescales

Project start-date:          April 25, 2021

Project end-date:           March 2024

1.6 Project Beneficiaries

The project direct program beneficiaries include: (i) 57,600 out-of-school children from poor marginalized households who face barriers in accessing and attaining education; (ii) 145 Community Education Committees; (iii) 300 primary education teachers; (iv) an estimated 150 ABE teachers; (v) 25 education officers who will benefit from professional development to improve skills in planning, coordination, and monitoring. The project has enrolled 38,808 former OOSC (cohort 1 and 2) in formal primary school and 11,012 (cohort 1 and 2) in ABE. The project is in the process of finalizing verification of cohort 3 children enrolled in formal primary. Table 1 below gives a summary of the project’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) targets and achieved and reported to date.

[1] Out of whom 23,000 OOSC enrolled through a co-funded project - Education Sector Program Implementation Grant (ESPIG)

[2] 23,000 OOSC enrolled through co-funding.

[3] 23,000 OOSC enrolled through co-funding.

Experiences and Qualifications

4.1. Professional Skills and Qualifications

Qualifications: Bidders are required to identify and provide CVs for all those proposed in the team, clearly stating their roles and responsibilities for this evaluation. 

The proposed evaluation team should include the technical expertise and practical experience required to deliver the scope of work and evaluation outputs, in particular, with regards to:

• Data collection management: The team should include skills and expertise required to design, plan and conduct mixed-methods data collection, including, whenever possible, the use of electronic data collection. Enumerators should be able to collect data across the six region/states (Puntland, Galmudug, Hirshabelle, Jubaland, South West and Banaadir). Enumerator teams should include (i) male and female enumerators and (ii) individuals with adequate linguistic abilities to conduct interviews in the mother tongue of respondents.
• Relevant subject matter knowledge and experience: Knowledge and experience required on mixed methods data collection and analysis, including advanced statistical skills; researching with children, the education sector, disability, and gender to ensure that the data collection method is applied in a relevant and meaningful manner, given the aims and objectives of the project and the context in which it is being delivered.
• Primary research: Gender-sensitive management and implementation of primary quantitative and qualitative research in potentially challenging project environments, such as fragile and conflict-affected states – this could include the design and application of household surveys, in-depth interviews and focus groups etc.
• Country experience: the team must have the appropriate country knowledge /experience and language proficiency required to conduct the research required.
• Information management: extensive experience in data quality control and database management (including collating multiple large datasets for analysis).
• Ability to manage English to Somali and Somali to English translation with high quality and accuracy, including for transcription and translation of large volumes of qualitative data.
• Safety considerations: Ensuring the whole evaluation process adhere to best practice for research with children including the implementation of CARE’s Safeguarding Policy, and procedures to ensure the safety of participants. Note that all bidders are expected to be able to show that they have child protection and safeguarding policy in place to safeguard children that the research team would come into contact with through the evaluation activities. All bidders are expected to comply with CARE’s Guidelines for Responsible Data Management as well.

The MEAL Manager, who is the principal point person for monitoring and evaluation for the Waxbar Carurtaada II / Educate Your Children II Project will be responsible for the day–to–day management of the evaluation. CARE USA’s Director of Research, Advocacy and Learning will provide technical assistance to tool development, data quality control and data analysis, and offer technical feedback on all deliverables.  

4.2. Expected Tasks 

The consultant will receive technical supervision and guidance from the MEAL Manager and CARE USA’s Director of Research, Advocacy and Learning and will be accountable to CARE and the MoECHE for quality results and for timely delivery of these. The consultant will be required to conduct the following tasks: 

• Submit an inception report inclusive of the proposed tools, sampling approach, detailed analysis framework, quality control measures and work plan.
• Submit a detailed work plan as part of the inception report and updated data collection plan following training of enumerators. The work plan should include plans/framework for data collection, data entry, data cleaning, transcription, and translation.
• Submit a comprehensive risk management plan highlighting all reasonable measures to mitigate any potential risk to the delivery of the required outputs for this evaluation.
• Submit a quality assurance plan that sets out the systems and processes for quality assuring the research process and deliverables from start to finish of the project.
• Translate data collection tools and training protocols from English to Somali. Note that back translation will be required for accuracy. 
• Develop electronic versions of all relevant data collection tools. 
• Pilot the tools in the respective target region/states, track changes and submit revised tools for approval.
• Take the lead in training research assistants, following guidelines and training plans outlined in the inception report, as well as quality control protocols and guidelines for researchers.
• Prepare all resources and related supplies for data collection, including mobile phones/ tablets with e-versions of the tools uploaded into a platform of choice.
• Undertake data collection in the field following the approach outlined in the approved inception report. 
• Support in data collection related logistics, including but not limited to deployment of researchers to the target region/states, and supervisors; and where required coordination with CARE to access each area with approval from MoECHE and regional states.
• Upload datasets completed by the team daily for verification by CARE’s technical team.
• Conduct qualitative data entry and coding.
• Conduct all necessary data quality and ethical control measures.
• Analyse the data as per agreed upon data analysis framework.
• Provide a draft comprehensive technical report that also includes the status of all the 59,763 students enrolled by the project; a draft summary report; and a draft presentation of findings for review. Incorporate technical feedback received from CARE, MoECHE and relevant stakeholders and provide revised final versions of all three documents for final approval.
• Provide a complete set of physical and electronic data collection documents, filed, and organized as per guidelines provided by the CARE, upon completion of data collection and entry. This includes but is not limited to complete datasets (anonymized and non-anonymized versions), script and analysis files; datasets used for analysis; transcribed and translated versions of FGDs and KIIs; filled surveys, questionnaires, FGD/ interview notes, daily survey logs; voice files (for electronic qualitative data collection), pictures (noting that no pictures of respondents will be allowed under any circumstances, including during data collection or before/ after data collection), etc.

4.3. Deliverables 

Project deliverables: the main deliverables for this project are as follows:

• Inception report.
• Work plan outlining all tasks to be completed within the duration mentioned for this assignment, responsible persons, timeframe for completion of each task and resources required for each task
• Detailed data collection and analysis plan, a comprehensive risk management plan and a quality assurance plan as part of the inception report.
• Translations of survey instruments from English into Somali, to be verified through back-translation (conducted by the evaluator) and secondary spot-checks conducted by CARE.
• Training plan (including summaries of training sessions and relevant presentations/ exercises).
• Complete list of enumerators/supervisors per location, including contact details.
• Training report on the data collection process with recommendations for future data collections.  The report should catalogue and include, in annexes, the final survey and training tools used (with translations where available).
• Complete set of files, hard copies of surveys, audio/ image/ video files and daily data collection reports/ data collection logs signed by enumerators and field supervisors.  
• Complete transcriptions of qualitative data both in Somali and English.
• Clean data sets, to be reviewed and approved by CARE (data quality verified and accepted by CARE). 100% of the planned data is included and the final version of the database should not include any typos, out of range responses for any variable and/or illogical responses.
• Analysis and script files.
• Final report, based on the agreed-upon analysis framework. The methodological section should include a discussion of data collection challenges and limitations, including a summary of data collection activities and the timeline of data collection, a number of total surveys collected and the number of refusals to participate for each location, as well as detailed data collection log per region/state.
• Final summary report.

PowerPoint presentation of findings.

Skills Required

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