ThaiNGO

Consultant for USAID Achieve

Final Evaluation

Introduction

Since 2004, Thailand’s Deep South has seen a resurgence of ethno-nationalist conflict between Thai Buddhists and Patani-Malays. The drivers of this conflict are rooted in the grievances of Patani-Malays stemming from perceived systematic state discrimination as well as economic inequities such as a lack of youth opportunities. Through USAID Achieve, Save the Children (Thailand) Foundation (SCT), ACTED, and The Looker are working with local partners and stakeholders to implement a People-to-People (P2P) model of the vocational training (VT) for vulnerable youth in the Deep South of Thailand. The project results aimed to ensure greater understanding and mutual trust among the Deep South population, for the common goal of peace for all youth and communities in the Deep South.

The project has been designed in consultation with local stakeholders and aimed to contribute to peacebuilding by promoting mutual understanding and positive engagement in both horizontal relations (i.e. between Patani-Malay and Thai Buddhist youth) and vertical relations (i.e. between local government officials, community leaders, civil society organizations (CSOs), and business leaders. Five hundred and fifty vulnerable boys/men and girls/women between 15 and 25 years old were targeted as direct beneficiaries from USAID Achieve.

The Vocational Training (VT) program was implemented by local VT colleges in collaboration with local CSOs. All local partners are trained on the People-to-People (P2P) approach, as well as technical and organizational capacity building based on completed needs assessments. Youth team-building activities fostered self-reflection and bonding between groups, while a Small Enterprise Development (SED) Fund encouraged innovation and inter-communal collaboration.

The overall goal of USAID Achieve is to promote inter-communal collaboration, mutual understanding and positive engagement between Patani-Malays and Thai Buddhists while improving economic opportunities for vulnerable youth in the Deep South of Thailand. 

To achieve the goal above, SCT has been working on the following domains and intermediate results:

As shown in the following section, the aim of the endline evaluation is to determine progress and impacts made both in regards to the overall goal, as well as within each of the intermediate results.

Purpose, Objectives and Scope

This study is being conducted at the end of the 5 year of Achieve project. It will build upon the baseline and mid-term study for the project. The primary purpose of the study is to assess the effectiveness, efficiency and adequacy of the implementation in achieving project outcomes and impact.

The study main objectives are to establish the following:

• Evaluate project performance, including progress and achievements towards the project goal and objectives, the overall impact of the project, including unintended consequences and the factors that influenced change at all levels of the outcomes framework.  Measure and report against the project outcome indicators. Make comparison between baseline, midterm and endline where possible.
• Consolidate key success stories and lessons learned (what work and did not work) from the project.
• Assess to what extent the project has made impacts to project beneficiary and policy agenda.
• Capture gap and barrier that project faced challenge in both operation and result achievement.
• Provide recommendation to SCI management and program team for project adaptation and scale up. 

The Evaluation team will be required to undertake consultation with the SCT Achieve team, MEAL Coordinator, and the Child Poverty Technical Advisor, at the commencement of the assignment in order to further refine the evaluation objectives and fully define the evaluation scope.

The consultant will be required to review relevant project and partner reports. The consultant will conduct data collection, data analysis and reporting with primary target of this assessment including implementing partner and related stakeholders. Additional stakeholders might be identified by SCT and consultant during the inception period. Key stakeholders and beneficiaries are located in Pattani province. List of implementing partners, beneficiaries, and key stakeholders will be provided by Save the Children.

Research Design and Sampling

It is expected that this study will involve:

• a quasi-experimental design
• mixed, qualitative and quantitative methods
• random sampling for the majority of the beneficiary population.

The suggested research design for this evaluation is a mixed methods design including participatory methods if and where possible. Both qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis for addressing each of the evaluation criteria. SCT anticipates the methodology to include a review of project documents, beneficiary survey, semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with relevant stakeholders including beneficiaries, observations, and review of project monitoring data. The consultant is encouraged to propose additional methodology that they consider appropriate to the project, which is subject to Save the Children’s approval and must meet ethical guidelines.

The evaluation will focus in the targeted area in Southern Border Province; Pattani. It will involve the direct beneficiaries, vocational institutions, implementing partners, CSO trainers, and SCT project and partners’ team. The detailed sampling method is to be propose by the consultant.

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 behavior 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.
  • 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.

USAID Achieve will conform to all ethical standards while conducting the above research studies among vulnerable population and young people. We abide by ensuring the informed consent of beneficiaries and appropriate accountability mechanisms.

Expected Deliverables

The study deliverables and tentative timeline (subject to the commencement date of the study) are outlined below. The consultant team and Save the Children will agree on final milestones and deadlines at the inception phase.

Deliverables and Tentative Timeline

*All reports are to use the Save the Children Final Study Report template [unless another format is required by the project donor or used by partner who did the research/assessment/evaluation].  Please also refer to Save the Children technical writing guide.

** The Evidence to Action Brief is a 2-4 pages summary of the full report and will be created using the Save the Children Management Response template.

All documents are to be produced in electronically and provided electronically by email to the SC Evaluation Project Manager. Copies of all PowerPoint presentations used to facilitate briefings for the project should also be provided to Save the Children in editable digital format.

Reporting and Governance

The consultant will report to the SCT Livelihood Coordinator, Child Poverty Technical Lead and MEAL Coordinator. Additional technical advice will be provided by technical advisors from Save the Children. Save the Children should approve all plans and documents developed by the consultant.

The lead consultant is to provide reporting against the project plan. Regular email at least once a week to the Save the SCT livelihood Coordinator, Child Poverty Technical Lead and MEAL Coordinator on documenting progress, any emerging issues to be resolved and planned activities for the following period.

At the end of the field data collection, the evaluator will hold a meeting with the project team and project partners to discuss the preliminary findings of the evaluation exercise.

A draft report should be submitted for feedback and comments. The report should be written in English and in line with the guidance provided in the deliverables section. The final evaluation report template will be provided by SCT and must be adhered to.

The consultant will revise the report according to the received feedback and comments.

The final report will be assessed against Save the Children’s Evaluation Report Scoring checklist (Annex III). The MEAL Coordinator and Technical Advisors will review and sign-off for final submission to the Strategic Program Quality and Impact Director, who will be accountable for approving the Final Evaluation.

Consultant

To be considered, the Evaluation team members together must have demonstrated skills, expertise and experience in:

• Individual consultant or a Team of consultant
• Masters’ degree in Social sciences, development studies, economics, education, or relevant area to the project is desirable
• Proven experience in data collection and reporting high quality project evaluations and assessment
• Proven ability and track record conducting ethical and inclusive research with vulnerable populations while ensuring rigorous ethics, integrity, and safeguarding especially in migrant setting;
• Ability to work independently and meet tight deadlines
• Language proficiencies required include: English, Thai, Pattani malay; kindly include a clear plan for language proficiencies in the team and/or translators included in the team
• Experience in using online application to conduct data collection and can troubleshooting any issue that may occur using online application.

There is a high expectation that:

• Members (or a proportion) of the evaluation team have a track record of working together.
• The team has the ability to commit to the terms of the project, and have adequate and available skilled resources to dedicate to this evaluation over the period.
• The team has a strong track record of working flexibly to accommodate changes as the study is implemented.

Applications for the consultancy should include:

• Expression of interest: stating candidate skill and experience suitable for the consultancy (max 1 page)
• Technical and financial proposal: Outline of assessment framework and methods, proposed timeframe, work plan and budget (max 4 pages).
• CV of proposed individual/s and one piece of evidence of similar study carried out previously, preferably in English language

If you are interested in this assessment, please submit your application by 13 April 2023 to: THA_Procurement_BKK@savethechildren.org