Consultant For"skills For Development" End Of Project Evaluation (Fy12-Fy15)

1.    Evaluation Summary   Programme/Project Skills for Development Project (FY12-FY15) Programme Phase Final phase Evaluation Type End of project evaluation Evaluation Purpose Assess the project’s contribution to promoting positive holistic child development among schools, teachers, parents and students Provide evidence, best practices and lessons learned for planning, programming, replication and expansion of life skills education in the Beirut Area Programme and other WV programmes nationally and regionally, and for local implementing partners Contribute to project accountability to community members, partners and donors by sharing evaluation findings and results Primary Methodologies Quantitative and qualitative Evaluation Start and End Dates April 20, 2015  to   June 30, 2015 Anticipated Evaluation Report Release Date July 31, 2015 Date of TORs posted online March 24, 2015     2. Description of Project Being Evaluated   World Vision Lebanon (WVL)’s Skills for Development Project is funded by the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) under the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP), in coordination with World Vision (WV) Australia Support Office. It is currently in its fourth and final year of implementation.   The goal of the Skills for Development project is to contribute to “nurturing boys and girls in Ain el Remmaneh (AER) Area Development Programme (ADP) schools to have productive and fulfilling lives”, by focusing on contributing to two main outcomes: 1) Boys’ and girls' caregivers (teachers, parents, and WV staff) promote positive holistic child development; 2) Boys and girls apply life skills core competencies in their daily lives.   WVL Skills for Development is a school-based project implemented in the areas of Ain el Remmaneh (AER) and Chiyah characterized by a highly politicized and religiously diverse context.  Children in particular, have inherited the political and societal divide that existed in the area since the civil war and are at risk to engage in violence, street fights, and other risky behaviours. To address these circumstances, the project intends to empower children with a wide range of interpersonal skills such as: interpersonal communication skills, stress management, emotional intelligence, critical and creative thinking through the support of trained teachers and parents. The project also aims to promote higher levels of responsibility amongst children towards maintaining a peaceful and harmonious environment both at school and throughout the communities in which they live. As such, children are provided with opportunities to apply life skill competencies in their daily lives, including within active children clubs that partake in social as well as culturally-based activities in schools such as environmental initiatives, socio-educational activities and a life skills fair.   The Life Skills project targets children aged between 8-12 years in six local schools and works holistically, by engaging teachers, parents, caregivers and school communities in promoting a positive environment for the development of children.  The Beirut office has incorporated life skills education in its new Beirut Area Programme in the current year (FY15-FY17), and will build on the experience and the results from the evaluation to further develop, expand and sustain the life skills education outcomes.   3. Evaluation Target Audiences   The evaluation will help ensuring accountability and visibility for all beneficiaries and participants in the life skills project and the supporting organisms, including: students participating in the life skills sessions, parents (especially parents involved in the parents committee), teachers (especially the life skills educators), school directors and administrators, other local partners and collaborators (including local governmental entities and local CSOs), and donors (ANCP and WVAUS  Support Office and  other WV support offices supporting other programs in the area such as WVF and WVUS). The evaluation will serve as a learning resource providing evidence for planning, programming and replication of life skills education for the following local and regional stakeholders: WVL Beirut Area Office (to inform further expansion and integration of life skills education in the Beirut Area Programme for the subsequent years) and WVL National Office (especially the Technical Unit), WV MEER Office (particularly the Urban and Education Learning Hubs), and the primary local implementing partners. Donors, local implementing partners as well as community members (teachers, parents, and students) will be involved in planning, data collection and data analysis as the evaluation strives to ensure a participatory process.    4. Evaluation Type   The evaluation is an end of project evaluation. The Skills for Development project is is in its fourth and final year of implementation (FY12-FY15). The evaluation is scheduled to be carried out between April and June FY15, since the Beirut office has incorporated life skills education in its new Beirut Area Programme in the current year (FY15-FY17), and will build on the experience and the results from the evaluation to further develop, expand and sustain the life skills education outcomes.   5. Evaluation Purpose and Objectives   Purpose of the evaluation: The purpose of the evaluation is to assess the change in the promotion of positive holistic child development contributed to by the Skills for Development Project among schools, teachers, parents and students, by allowing the comparison of the findings with the baseline results. The evaluation also aims to provide evidence, best practices and lessons learned for planning, programming, replication and expansion of life skills education in WV programmes, and to inform the integration, expansion and sustainability of life skills education within the Beirut Area Programme for the upcoming three years. The evaluation seeks to ensure accountability by measuring if the initial assumptions held true and disseminating the results to community members, partners and donors.   Objectives of the evaluation: These Evaluation Terms of Reference specify five primary objectives, namely to assess the a) relevance, b) effectiveness, c) impact, d) efficiency, and e) sustainability of the Skills for Development project. Evaluation objectives are detailed in the Evaluation Matrix (in Appendix A).        6. Evaluation Methodology   The evaluation methodology is informed by the M&E plan specified during program design and it is aligned with WV LEAP and ANCP guidelines and standards for ensuring good quality evaluation process. The assessment methods should be a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods with the relevant Skills for Development project stakeholders, partners and beneficiaries. Data collection methods may include but are not limited to secondary data information (provided by WVL), general observations, surveys, Key Informant Interviews (KII) with main stakeholders/partners, and focus group discussions (FGD). The Development Assets Profile (DAP) tool (please refer to Appendix B) should be used to measure life skills and development assets among children, in order to ensure comparability with baseline findings. Data should be analyzed with a confidence level of 95% and a statistical significance set at 0.05 and confidence intervals should be calculated and added. The consultant is expected to develop the appropriate methodology and tools that would best capture the objectives of the evaluation. The consultant should also ensure that donors, local implementing partners as well as community members (teachers, parents, and students) are involved in planning, data collection and data analysis through a participatory process.      The evaluation matrix is attached as Appendix A and it is required to be completed by the consultant as part of developing the evaluation methodology.     7. Responsibilities and tasks   Role Responsibilities and tasks Consultant Develop and submit the evaluation methodology (sample selection, quantitative & qualitative methodology) which ensures participation of donors, implementing partners and community members in planning, data collection and data analysis Submit evaluation matrix Develop data collection tools based on WVL and ANCP standards and aligned with the tools used during the initial baseline (including the DAP tool) Pilot testing of the tools where relevant Conduct qualitative data collection Recruit and train data collectors if relevant Supervise and assure the quality of quantitative data collection Supervise data entry clerk Conduct in depth data analysis Provide weekly feedback to WVL team Prepare 2 power point presentations of the main findings (2 versions: highly technical and lay terms) Present findings to WV staff, partners and community members Support WVL team in validating the results with beneficiaries and partners Draft the Evaluation report Finalize the Evaluation report based on feedback from WVL team Submit a 2 pager summary fact sheet   8. Logistics   The recruited consultant will be in charge of finalizing logistical issues related to the transportation to the different areas where data collection will be completed. As for the location for completing the different meetings (KIIs, FGDs, validation meetings, etc.), it will be in WV’s offices in Beirut and at the National Office in Mansourieh, based on the needs, and unless judged otherwise. WVL will support in coordinating the meetings with local partners and community members.   9. Products and deliverables   The expected deliverables throughout the process of evaluation include:   Evaluation Methodology (including Evaluation Matrix) Validated and tested data collection tools Thematic in-depth analysis of qualitative data Data sets (software outputs if possible) Tabulation of results including descriptive analysis, associations and comparison with baseline data Evaluation Report (based on LEAP Evaluation Report Template) including a reflection on the evaluation process in itself Power Point presentation of the findings: two versions should be developed: 1) a highly technical presentation in English intended for WV national and regional offices and implementing partners, and 2) lay presentation in Arabic for local partners and community members (teachers, parents, students) 2 pager fact sheet summary (in English and Arabic)     10. Qualifications of the consultant   The consultant should have the following competencies and experience: At least 5 years of progressive proven experience in similar studies and in using both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies and data analysis; Previous evaluation experience (to be provided within the CV); Extensive professional experience in the design and implementation of outcome and impact evaluations; Good analytical and critical thinking; Proven knowledge and experience in applying participatory research methods and tools; Advanced degree in relevant field (e.g. Public Health, Epidemiology or any related technical field); Good understanding of the Humanitarian work especially the development field; Familiarity with civil society and Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) engagement; Ability to work on tight schedules with minimal supervision; Good English and Arabic speaking and writing skills.  10. Budget  The funding available for this end of program evaluation should include transportation and accommodation fees identified by the consultant, as well as recruitment of data collectors/data entry clerks and data collection, data entry and translation fees.