Consultant to undertake Baseline Assessment for Supporting an Enabling Atmosphere for Children and Youth Network for peace building Goals (SENANG) Project

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Organization : Save the Children

Consultant to undertake Baseline Assessment for Supporting an Enabling Atmosphere for Children and Youth Network for peace building Goals (SENANG) Project

Background

The DST (Southern Thailand) and BARMM (Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Philippines) are facing a resurgence of ethno-nationalist conflict, rooted in long-standing grievances of minority groups against the state. The conflict is centered on language, religion, and education, which are drivers and products of culture. As a result of the conflict, over 7,000 lives have been lost and more than 10,000 children have been directly and indirectly affected by the armed violence. The conflict has left youth and children traumatized and facing fractured community relations and low educational outcomes. In response to the threat of a resurgence of armed conflict, BARMM is institutionalizing Peace Education in school curricula.

Children and youth are often only seen as victims of conflict, without any agency for change. Culture is often seen as only a reflection of religion or language and has been used as a weapon in local communities, causing damage to multicultural and cross-community relations. However, children and youth have confirmed through community consultations that culture can be a platform for communities with different social norms and beliefs to speak openly about their needs and promote peace.

This 36-month EU-funded initiative SENANG aims to create safe and neutral platforms for children and youth to participate in peace negotiations at the local/provincial level in DST and BARMM. The action includes collaboration with local organizations to feed youth and children's voices into local/national plans and is building on EU-funded initiatives such as LEAP and Spaces for Peace. The action aligns with the 2021 ASEAN Regional Forum statement on promoting youth, peace, and security, recognizing the importance of meaningful youth engagement and empowerment for sustainable peace processes.

Purpose and scope of this consultancy:

Save the Children would like to conduct a baseline assessment for the SENANG project to generate evidence, knowledge and information needed for the program planning, implementation and support the reporting. A consultant is therefore being sought to:

Conduct contextualize risk mapping analysis and expected positive outcomes on supporting children and youth inclusive of those with diverse sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics (SOGIESC)-led inter-generational dialogue on social cohesion through the promotion of art and culture (Impact indicator 1)
Collecting data and analyze public perception (government authorities, community leaders, community members, religious leaders, parents, children and youth) on the current level of security to children and youth, communities, Save the children and its partners in supporting children and youth inclusive of those with diverse SOGIESC -led inter-generational dialogue on social cohesion through the promotion of art and culture (Impact indicator 2)
Conduct gender analysis on the representation and meaningful participation of children and youth inclusive of those with diverse SOGIESC in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and in peacebuilding through peace, tolerance, intercultural and interreligious dialogue. (Indicator 1 and 4 to Outcome 1.1)

- What are the different experience of children/youth (girls, boys, LGBTIQAN+) in peace dialogue participation?

- How each gender group experience unequal impact of the exclusion of children/youth in peace dialogue?

- What level of gender mainstreaming in the project set up phase?

Conduct child-centred conflict analysis in current initiative of peacebuilding through peace, tolerance, intercultural and interreligious dialogue at adults, children, and youth level. (Indicator 2 and 3 to Outcome 1.1)

How have the children of different profiles and ages experienced and been affected by the conflict in specific ways?
To what extent, children of different genders have unique role to play as actors and rights-holders in peacebuilding initiatives?
How well the project was implemented using a conflict sensitive – do no harm approach in the project set up phase?
What is the alignment of the project with the correct understanding of the conflict situation?

Review and identify existing actors, champions who promote youth inclusive in peace process. Identify existing initiatives, action or policy for children and youth to safely participate in peace process through peace, tolerance, intercultural and interreligious dialogue. (Indicator 5 and 6 to Outcome 1.1)
Design and methodology:

An independent consultant will be recruited to lead this baseline assessment. The following is the outline of a suggested process; however, it would be expected that this would be further refined by the consultant. The baseline assessment shall be undertaken based on the Save the Children Thailand requirements and must be in line with Save the Children’s ethical guideline (Annex II).

Literature/ Desk review

Literature review of relevant documentation;
Development of survey/interview tools to be used for collection of baseline data (Quantitative and Qualitative);
Development of sampling methodology for administering surveys (as applicable), ensure the gender balance of respondent;
Training of data enumerators (as applicable);

Field Work:

Leading the administering of baseline survey tools;
Leading other consultations with project beneficiaries, communities, partners and Government as deemed necessary during baseline methodology design;

Data Processing, Analysis and Reporting:

Data entry and analysis of completed baseline survey tools with gender disaggregated data;
Discussion on preliminary findings of baseline;
Draft Report and Final Reports;
Presentation on key findings;

Ethical Considerations

It is expected that this study will be:

Child participatory. Where appropriate and safe, children should be supported to participate in the evaluation process beyond simply being respondents. Opportunities for collaborative participation could include involving children in determining success criteria against which the project could be evaluated, supporting children to collect some of the data required for the evaluation themselves, or involving children in the validation of findings. Any child participation, whether consultative, collaborative or child-led, must abide by the 9 Basic Requirements for meaningful and ethical child participation.
Inclusive. Ensure that children from different ethnic, social and religious backgrounds have the chance to participate, as well as children with disabilities and children who may be excluded or discriminated against in their community.
Ethical: The study must be guided by the following ethical considerations:
Safeguarding – demonstrating the highest standards of behaviour towards children and adults.
Sensitive – to child rights, gender, inclusion and cultural contexts.
Openness - of information given, to the highest possible degree to all involved parties.
Confidentiality and data protection - measures will be put in place to protect the identity of all participants and any other information that may put them or others at risk.2
Public access - to the results when there are not special considerations against this
Broad participation - the relevant parties should be involved where possible.
Reliability and independence - the study should be conducted so that findings and conclusions are correct and trustworthy.

It is expected that:

Data collection methods will be age and gender appropriate.
Study activities will provide a safe, creative space where children feel that their thoughts and ideas are important.
A risk assessment will be conducted that includes any risks related to children, young people’s, or adult’s participation.
A referral mechanism will be in place in case any child safeguarding or protection issues arise.
Informed consent will be used where possible.

Target area and respondent

The project targets implementation in the province of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and 4 district of Songkhla. This baseline assessment expects to collect information to adequately represent of all project locations. The key informants should comprise of children and youth, religious leaders, government authorities involving in peace process, artists, cultural and communication academics.

Timeframe

The consultant will be required to dedicate an estimated 45 working days to this consultancy work during March-May 2023 period, subject to the requirements and agreements with Save the Children.

Schedule and deliverables

Deliverables	Timeframe	Remarks
Submission of draft Inception report and work plan Mapping of available data and plan for data collection Draft of assessment framework Draft of assessment tools Consultation meeting with Save the Children project team	7 working days after confirmation of contract.	Desk review process: Save the Children will review and approve the Inception report within 5 working days (5 working days)
Submission of finalized Inception report include: (i) Introduction; (ii) Study context; (iii) Study purpose; (iv) Methodology (data collection and analysis methods, samplings, limitations and mitigation strategies); (v) Work plan; (vi) Assessment matrix (annex); (vii) Data collection instruments (annex).	By 5th Week of March 2023	(2 working days)
Data collection, validation and analysis	During 1st and 2^nd week of April 2023	(15 working days)
Presentations of preliminary findings to Save the Children Presentation file shared with Save the Children at least 3 days prior to the presentation	3^rd Week of April 2023	(1 working days)
First draft of reports in English with recommendation.	By 4^th Week of April 2023	Save the Children will provide feedback on the first draft within 5 working days (5 working days)
Final draft of reports 2 pager assessment summary report (in English and Thai) Full report (25 pages maximum excluding appendices) in English and Thai including (i) Executive summary; (ii) Context and purpose of the evaluation (evaluation scope, evaluation criteria); (iii) Evaluation framework and methodologies; (iv) Findings; (v) Conclusions and recommendations for future actions.	By 1^st week of May 2023	(2 working days)

All materials and raw data collected during the consultancy process should be submitted to the MEAL team focal point prior to the termination of the contract.

Management of the consultancy:

The consultant(s) will report to Child Protection Program coordinator, with technical support from MEAL Coordinator and Child Protection Technical Expert who will provide inputs throughout the baseline assessment process including on the proposed methodology and data collection tools, analysis and interpretation and recommendations. Furthermore, the SENANG project team will support logistics and arrangements for data collection and consultation with stakeholders.

The consultant/s will be responsible for

Coordinating the data collection and consultation
Developing the baseline framework, processes and tools
Training the data collection team and interpreters/notetakers as appropriate
Overseeing the data collection
Data entry and analyzing data
Compiling and submitting the assessment report including documentation of findings, learnings and recommendations for programming

Save the Children should approve all plans and documents developed by the consultant. The final report will be assessed against Save the Children’s Evaluation Checklist (Annex III).

Consultancy Fee

The consultant(s) is asked to propose the budget. The financial competitiveness of the fee will be considered in the selection process. Costs involved in the assessment, such as materials, interpreter, travel, accommodation and applicable taxes, should be included in the proposed budget.

Qualifications

At least master’s degree in social sciences or other related field.
Expertise in qualitative and quantitative research methods.
Strong qualitative and qualitative data analysis skills.
Expertise in issues related to Peace process, child empowerment, capacity building or advocacy is an asset.
Thai/English language proficiency
Ability to work within strict deadlines
Ability to travel to the deep south provinces of Thailand

Submissions for the consultancy

The submission must address the terms of reference and include:

The resume of the candidate
A cover letter explaining the candidate’s interest and suitability
Experience in conducing evaluation in multicultural, multilingual and sensitive context will be an asset
A technical proposal including research scope, design, methods, field implementation approach and work plan (7 pages maximum)
A detailed budget outlining all expense and consultancy fee in USD and THB (including travel and other costs)