Project Effectiveness Review- Women’S Access To Justice 2 In Lebanon

                Terms of Reference Consultant Project Effectiveness Review Women’s Access to Justice 2 in Lebanon Overview As part of Oxfam GB’s Global Performance Framework, every year a small number of projects are sampled for impact evaluation (known as an Effectiveness Review[1]). The purpose of the Project Effectiveness Review is to rigorously assess the impact of this project on the people it is intending to support.  Impact will be evaluated using mixed methods including a measurement tool based on a composite index – the Women’s Empowerment Index[2], combined with qualitative techniques. Oxfam is recruiting two consultants to conduct the design, data collection of the WAJ2 Project. NB: This consultancy does not include the data analysis or final report writing phases (which are done in-house). Two consultants are required: a Qualitative Research Specialist and a Survey Team Coordinator. Programme Summary The Women’s Access to Justice in the MENA region (Phase 2) is a 3-year project implemented by Oxfam GB in partnership with five NGO partners in Lebanon, Jordan, Yemen and Egypt. The overall objective of the project is to contribute to equitable access to formal and informal justice for poor and vulnerable women in target countries. The project seeks to work at the personal, community and systemic levels while fostering stakeholders’ engagement and influencing decision makers at all levels. The Effectiveness Review will assess the impact of the project in Lebanon only.   Scope of the Consultancy This evaluation requires two consultant roles. One consultant will be leading the quantitative survey data collection and one will be leading the qualitative evaluation. The specific scope of work for each position is outlined below. The two consultants need to work together throughout the evaluation and will report directly to the Oxfam GB Evaluation Management Team. 1)      Survey Team Coordinator Survey Data will be captured through the administration of questionnaires, both to project’s participants and to comparable non-participant. The data collection will consist of an individual survey questionnaire. The Survey Team Coordinator will train, hire, supervise and manage a team of enumerators to carry out the data collection. The Survey Team Coordinator will ensure that the data collected meets Oxfam’s high quality standards. The data analysis will be carried out by Oxfam’s impact evaluation team. The Oxfam team will be responsible for the overall methodology, but will work in close collaboration with the Survey Team Coordinator (as well as Oxfam’s programme staff and the partner organizations) to ensure adequate sampling, identifying the comparison group, and create the questionnaire. This programme focuses on highly vulnerable and marginalized women accessing legal and psycho-social support which may be related to highly sensitive and/or traumatic issues (e.g. divorce/alimony, gender-based violence, child abuse/incest etc.). As such, the Survey Team Coordinator will need to ensure team members are carefully selected (considering gender, age/maturity etc.) and receive relevant training and ongoing support. Essential skills and qualifications Relevant university degree (postgraduate degree preferred). Experience in administering individual/household surveys, preferably as a field supervisor or coordinator responsible for checking the quality of work of enumerators. Exceptionally high level of attention to detail in carrying out surveys and data entry. Strong management skills – able to organize the work of teams of enumerators so as to complete the work on schedule and to the required standard. Knowledge and experience of working with civil society in Lebanon, with strong understanding of empowerment and access to justice. Good understanding of gender issues and women movement in Middle East. Knowledge of information and communications technology for data collection. Command of relevant local languages. Strong understanding of research ethics including specific risk and safety concerns related to gender including GBV Good working level in spoken English.   Scope of Work / Key Tasks Review project documents and discuss the project with Oxfam and partner staff, to understand the details of the project objectives and its implementation. Work with Oxfam staff to identify indicators and design a quantitative questionnaire suitable for evaluating the project’s impact on women’s empowerment. Co-facilitate and support Oxfam’s Impact Evaluation Adviser with translating the three-days workshop with Oxfam’s country staff and partner organisations in order to define the evaluation tools (including the characteristics of women’s empowerment in Lebanon). Recruit a team of experienced enumerators for the data collection. Enumerators need to be all women. Lead a three-day training workshop for enumerators. This will include two days working through the paper version questionnaires and the use of the mobile devices/tablets and one day of field testing. (including arranging all logistics, such as finding venue, printing, stationary, etc) Organise all of the logistical arrangements necessary to carry out the field work, including transport and accommodation for enumerators, arrangements with local authorities, and contacting and planning in advance the interview with the selected women. Help identify a valid comparison group of individuals that were similar to the project participants before it started, but who did not participate in the project (including logistical movements to the field areas). Prepare a list of sampled intervention and comparison women (1200 approximately) and a list of replacement women to ensure sufficient sample size, in collaboration with Oxfam and project partners. Manage the survey work in the field, ensuring that the enumerators interview the correct respondents that surveys are carried out to a high standard, and that targets for numbers of respondents to be interviewed are met. Fieldwork will take place in the regions of Mount Lebanon and Tripoli for the intervention group, and any other suitable region in Lebanon for the comparison group.  Arrange the translation of the questionnaire into the local language. Conduct a socialisation exercise presenting summary statistics of the estimates collected in the communities interviewed. Consult Oxfam’s Impact Evaluation Adviser on any problems that affect the selection of respondents for the survey or the number of respondents to be interviewed. Write a brief report on the conduct of the field work, including details of any problems which were encountered and how they were resolved, and any feedback which may be useful for future surveys. Please note that the consultant is NOT expected to conduct data analysis   Oxfam has a strong preference that the survey is conducted using mobile devices or tablets. It is therefore expected that the consultant will:   Work with Oxfam’s Impact Evaluation Adviser to build the mobile survey and upload it onto the mobile/tablet devices. Manage mobile/tablet devices ensuring each device is signed in and out at the beginning and end of each data collection day and that they are safely stored each night. (The consultant will take responsibility to charge devices and to upload the data collected every evening.) Ensure that the data files are uploaded and transmitted to the server every night.   In case data collection is done with traditional paper version the consultant is also expected to: Manage the data-entry process, ensuring that each questionnaire is entered twice by two different data entry clerk. Oxfam’s advisor will produce a report identifying the discrepancies between first and second entries. The consultant is expected to perform the reconciliation for these entries. Please note that the data-entry interface will be provided by Oxfam. Ensure that the data files are submitted online following the guidelines provided, ensuring adequate encryption and using an adequate file sharing system (i.e. Box) on completion of the data-entry work.   2)    Qualitative Research Specialist   Led by the Qualitative Research Specialist with support from the Oxfam GB Evaluation Team. Appropriate qualitative approaches and methods, which may include a combination of qualitative tools, will be used to collect data on individual and community stakeholders’ perceptions of change to women’s access to justice including how and why change is taking place. Scope of work/key tasks: Work with Oxfam staff to conduct the theory of change workshops with a cross-section of project stakeholders to identify the causal linkages that will be the focus of the evaluation. Work with Oxfam staff to select a suitable qualitative methodology for evaluating the project’s impact on women’s access to justice. The consultant will need to have experience in the methodology selected. (at application stage the consultant is requested to provide evidence of previous research using such methodology). Hire an assistant to provide support throughout the qualitative data collection exercise including the capture of detailed notes. (Note: the final selection of the qualitative assistant will be carried out jointly between the consultant and Oxfam, and that both parties will agree on the selected candidates). Lead a two-day workshop for the qualitative research team. This will include one day of familiarisation with the selected methodology and questions and one day of field testing. Organise the logistical arrangements necessary to carry out the field work, including transport and accommodation for the research team, as necessary. Proposals should outline where Oxfam should support on this, and the budget provided must include these costs. Arrange the translation of the questions and tools, into Arabic (where appropriate). However, the consultant and assistant selected should be fluent in both English and Arabic. Work with Oxfam staff and the Survey Team Coordinator to identify a valid comparison group of women that were similar to the project participants before it started, but who did not in fact participate in the project (if required). Facilitate the data collection in the field, ensuring that the selected respondents are interviewed; that interviews are carried out to a high standard; and that targets for numbers of respondents to be interviewed are met. Identify the relevant Justice and Women’s Rights stakeholders to be interviewed as part of the evaluation and conduct these interviews as per the methodology agreed with the evaluation team. Write a report on the conduct of the field work, including details of any problems which were encountered and how they were resolved, and any feedback which may be useful for future surveys.     Deliverables Survey Team Coordinator: Successfully completed (high quality) questionnaires of 1200 interviews (500 beneficiary women and 700 comparison women). Digital data needs to be successfully uploaded on the online serves. (If needed, the physical questionnaires have to be delivered to Oxfam in Lebanon office.) A brief report reporting the findings from the workshop. Training materials enumerator/supervisor training A finalised individual questionnaire (English and local language) A finalised detailed field work planning, indicating 1) the number of individuals surveyed on each day, 2) the precise location of each of these households, 3) the survey team responsible for each of these surveys. A finalised budget clearly indicating the allocation of the budget to the various field work components. Receipts of all payments made in the context of this review (see below) Flexbility to move in different regions of Lebanon to monitor the interviews A brief report on the conduct of the field work, including description of the sampling strategy for both beneficiary and comparison Individuals, details about any problems which were encountered and how they were resolved, and any feedback which may be useful for future surveys.     Deliverables: Qualitative Research Specialist: Theory of change report including narrative, visualisation, and explanation of the causal linkages selected by workshop participants to be investigated through the evaluation.[3] Set of qualitative tools and question checklists for focus groups, interviews etc – translated into local language if necessary. Detailed schedule of data collection activities and locations including description of selection criteria of communities and respondents Set of detailed and legible notes (scanned or typed) from all interviews/focus groups, with breakdown of respondent details Report on the conduct of the field work, including details of any problems which were encountered and how they were resolved, and any feedback which may be useful for future surveys     Time Commitment The Survey Coordinator’s assignment is expected to take approximately 30-35 working days to complete which includes days for training of enumerators and field work. The Qualitative Research Specialist’s assignment is expected to take approximately 20 working days to complete which includes days for preparation, workshops and field work Interviews for selected candidates will be scheduled w/b Monday 6rd November with offers and contracting w/b 13th November. 0000 Preparation for the evaluation is planned to take place from Monday 27 November 2017 Training (e.g. of enumerators, qualitative research team etc.) and data collection should take place starting from Monday 8th January 2018.     Line Manager Survey Team Coordinator: Simone Lombardini - Oxfam’s Impact Evaluation Adviser Qualitative Research Specialist: Rosa Garwood – Global Advisor – Gender & PMEL     Budget Proposals are invited from organisations and individual consultants who meet the profile described above. The proposal should outline the consultant’s profile (including their CV/resume), proposed management arrangements, and examples of previous work. Proposals must also include a clear itemised budget. Any proposals that do not include an itemised budget will not be considered. Please use Oxfam template.   The budget submitted by the consultant should include:   Consultant’s fees and subsistence for approximately 30-35 days of work by Survey Coordinator and approximately 20 days of work by Qualitative Research Specialist . Fees for a team of enumerators to carry out a questionnaire of 1200 individuals, of approximately 60 minutes’ duration each. Fees for a note-taker to support Qualitative Research Specialist as required Use of a training venue and of any equipment required. Transport and subsistence costs for the teams of enumerators and Qualitative Research Team. Translation of questionnaire and qualitative tools into local language, where appropriate. Printing of training materials. Any other costs anticipated in completing this assignment. Contact details for the consultant.   Payment schedule   The gross amount of 30% will be paid up-front (to cover all logistical costs + a share of the consultancy/survey team fees), whereas the remaining amount of 70% will be paid upon successful completion of the assignment (i.e. once all deliverables have been submitted to and approved by Oxfam). This budget must be allocated to the various data collection inputs according to a budget which will be prepared by the consultant in close collaboration with and approved by the Oxfam team. Receipts of all payments made in the context of this review need to be kept by the consultant and submitted to Oxfam for verification of whether expenses are made according to the agreed budget.     Application Process Interested and qualified consultants should send their applications before or by 01 November 2018 and indicate APPLICATION FOR PROJECT EFFECTIVENESS REVIEW IN LEBANON in the subject line to the email slombardini@oxfam.org.uk.  [1]http://policy-practice.oxfam.org.uk/our-approach/monitoring-evaluation/… [2]http://policy-practice.oxfam.org.uk/publications/a-how-to-guide-to-meas… [3] http://www.theoryofchange.nl/sites/default/files/resource/hivos_toc_gui…