SBF End of Project Evaluation Consultancy - Plan International

1- Background Information on Plan International Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organization that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. We believe in the power and potential of every child. But this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination. And its girls who are most affected. Working together with children, young people, our supporters and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges facing girls and all vulnerable children. We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood. And we enable children to prepare for – and respond to – crises and adversity. We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national and global levels using our reach, experience and knowledge. We have been building powerful partnerships for children for over 75 years, and are now active in more than 70 countries. Read more about Plan International's Global Strategy: 100 Million Reasons at https://plan-international.org/strategy

2- Context

Plan Lebanon and its long-term partner Rene Mouawad Foundation (RMF) are currently implementing an 18-month project in response to the concerning trends in child labour that result from the compounding crises impacting Lebanon. The proposed project is preventing and responding to one of the most hazardous forms of child labour which is worryingly increasing in Lebanon; children working on the streets, ultimately contributing to the eradication of this phenomenon.

 

More specifically, the project is tackling the child labour risk factors and responding to the immediate and lifesaving child protection needs of street working girls and boys (6-17 years) through a holistic and child-centered intervention. The activities under the project are following the socio-ecological model to ensure prevention strategies consider all factors at the individual, family, community and societal levels. The project is currently being implemented in Bab el Tebaneh in Tripoli, one of the poorest and most underserved locations, with a 60% Syrian refugee population and some of the most vulnerable Lebanese communities.

 

In order to tackle the risk factors of child labour, and to respond to the immediate and lifesaving child protection needs of girls and boys (6 to 17 years old) working on the streets in Bab el Tebaneh, Tripoli, Plan Lebanon and RMF are:

 

Identifying the children within the community through a door-to-door outreach methodology following a specific vulnerability criterion. Cases are also be referred to the programme through internal referrals from Plan Lebanon and RMF’s existing programmes and externally through referrals from other actors.

Supporting in identified children with recreational activities as well as specialized protection services including case management and community-based and focused psychosocial support that are tailored to address the specific needs of street working children and provide children in the target location with knowledge, attitudes and behaviours to identify protection risks and behaviours and protect themselves.

Providing competency-based training sessions through competency-based training for high risk adolescents benefiting from focused psychosocial support, to give them the necessary knowledge and skills to generate income, which will decrease the possibility of them being engaged in the worst forms of child labour. The adolescents who are completing a minimum of 70% of attendance and score high in the end of training assessment are eligible to receive the start-up toolkit and are internally referred for Job Coaching/Competency-based training sessions at RMF.

Through case management, providing Emergency Cash Assistance to the most acute protection cases to cover urgent needs and to alleviate immediate protection risks. The cash assistance are delivered through cash service providers, following the Cash Task Force standard operation procedures. Case managers are following a ‘Do no harm’ approach to mitigate any unintended consequences.

Providing need-based referrals for the children and their male and female caregivers to critical specialized service providers in the area, such as education, legal, health, specialized mental health services, shelter, basic assistance, water sanitation and hygiene, and food security. The Case Management team are regularly updating the service mapping and referral pathways and coordinate with other local actors on the available services to ensure timely and appropriate referrals.

Supporting caregivers with positive parenting skills and information to prevent child labour as well as soft skills for developing home based business and referrals to income generating opportunities to mitigate the need to send children to work.

Working closely with the targeted children’s caregivers, parents and active community members involved in the Protection Task Force which is supported by the municipality, to raise awareness on child protection and to strengthen the capacity of local actors to address child protection concerns in particular child labour.

Conducting sessions where boys and girls come together to discuss topics around gender equality which include gender norms, the costs and privileges of the expectations that society uphold for girls and boys,

 

The project is being implemented in RMF’s existing community centre in Bab el Tebaneh. To ensure that the target group is reached, a mobile approach is used, with a team of child protection experts including case managers, outreach workers and psychosocial support facilitators. Activities are thus taking place in the centre as well at the locations where the children work. Plan Lebanon is providing ongoing training and supervision to RMF’s specialized staff. Project staff are trained on Child Protection and Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, outreach strategies, safe identification and referrals, gender equality, safeguarding and prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse, community-based child protection mechanisms and child friendly feedback and complaint mechanisms. Project staff and facilitators and are benefiting from regular support by Plan Lebanon and RMF through site visits, coaching sessions, regular meetings and lesson learned sessions.

 

3- Purpose & Objectives

 

              Purpose

An end-of-project evaluation is crucial to this project as it ends in December 2023, due to several factors and considerations:

 

The critical area of implementation in Bab El Tebaneh, Tripoli, including high-risk and vulnerable populations, especially children and adolescents involved in CL and WFCL, specifically the SAWC,

The gap in funding and existing services in Tripoli with regards to protection services in general, which urges the need for an evaluation to the current project to derive lessons learnt and best practices from its findings and inform potential new proposals and funding opportunities,

Ensuring accountability to the donor, i.e. Musikhjälpen, 

Ensuring sustainability at its best modalities through identification of gaps and suggesting future interventions as a response.

              Objectives

              The evaluation aims to assess the project’s effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, impact and sustainability with the below specific objectives:

 

To evaluate the extent to which the project has achieved its intended outcomes and impact in preventing and responding to hazardous child labor among street-working children (6-17 years) in Bab El Tebaneh and Tripoli.

To assess the project's adherence to child protection best practices and the quality of services provided to children and their caregivers taking into consideration the different needs of boys and girls.

To identify strengths and weaknesses in the project's implementation, management, and coordination.

To provide recommendations for improving the project's design and implementation for future phases or similar interventions.

 

4-  Scope

 

The evaluation will cover the implementation period of eighteen months from 1 July 2022 to December 2023, which focuses on addressing the issues of Child labor and mitigating the underlying risk factors associated, through a comprehensive gender- sensitive intervention approach centered around the well-being of children, namely street working children. The scope of work of the external consultant includes, but is not limited to, the following:

 

Desk review: Conduct a comprehensive review of project documents, including project proposals, work plans, monitoring and evaluations reports, ITTs and relevant literature on child labor in Lebanon.

Data collection: Utilize a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to collect data, including surveys, interviews and focus group discussions while ensuring the inclusion of girls and boys, caregivers, project staff and relevant stakeholders.

Assessment of Child Protection Measures: Evaluate the adequacy and effectiveness of child protection measures implemented within the project, including child safeguarding policies and procedures.

Impact Assessment: Assess the impact of the project on the lives of street-working children and their communities, including changes in child labor rates, changes in knowledge and attitude and practices toward gender equality, access to education and psychosocial well-being.

Efficiency and Effectiveness: Evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of the project activities and resource utilization, including the relevance of the interventions to the target population.

Coordination and collaboration: Assess the project's collaboration with other stakeholders and its alignment with national and local child protection initiatives.

Recommendations: Provide clear and actionable recommendations for improving the project's design and implementation for future similar interventions and sustainability.

 

5- Criteria

The evaluation will be conducted based on the following criteria:

 

Relevance:  Assess the extent to which the project objectives align with the needs of street-working children in Bab El Tebaneh and Tripoli, disaggregated by age and sex and the broader context of child labor in Lebanon.

Effectiveness: Evaluate the achievement of the project’s outcomes and impact in contributing to eradicate child labor and reducing child labor risks and hazards.

Impact: Evaluate the effects of the project, including positive and negative, intended and unintended consequences on different age groups, genders, communities and institutions.

Efficiency: Analyze the cost-effectiveness and efficiency of the project activities and resource allocation.

Coherence and coordination: Assess how PIL’s response complemented the efforts of other humanitarian actors while avoiding duplication and contributing to a coherent humanitarian response in addressing child labor in Bab El Tebaneh and Tripoli. Also assess how and if the project aligned with broader sectoral strategies. Assess the effectiveness of coordination with local authorities, NGOs, and other relevant stakeholders.

Sustainability: Assess the potential for project sustainability, including the capacity building of local partner and other local actors and the integration of child protection measures into the community structures.  

Inclusivity: Understand the level of integrating crosscutting themes of Gender and Gender equality in every research question and evaluation criteria by examining the following aspects:

Evaluate how the project addressed the safety, dignity and rights of different gender groups, including girls, boys, women and men.

Analyze the extent to which the project promoted gender equality in its design, implementation and outcomes.

Evaluate the project’s inclusivity in addressing the needs of different groups, including those with disabilities and other vulnerable and marginalized communities.

Consider the barriers to inclusion and gender equality that may have existed and assess how the project addressed and mitigated these barriers.

 

 

  6- Users

The evaluation will inform:

 

The donor “Musikhjälpen”:  Through the evaluation, Musikhjälpen will understand how the funding they provided to the project was utilized and what results were achieved as a result of their support.

Plan International Sweden, Plan International Lebanon and Rene Moawad Foundation: The evaluation will help them assess their own performance in the interventions (oversight and implementation), which includes understanding what worked well and where improvements may be needed.

Other actors in the humanitarian sector, namely the CP sector: These organizations will also benefit from the findings and lessons learned from the evaluation, especially with the existing gap in research in the Child Labor area.

 

7- Methods for data collection and analysis

The evaluation will be conducted using a mixed method approach that integrates both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The methodology will be guided by the following key principles:

Inclusiveness: The methodology will ensure inclusiveness by considering a wide range of viewpoints, with specific attention to gender and age-sensitivity when applicable. The consultant/consultancy firm will participate in “project orientation” sessions with relevant Plan and RMF staff, as part of the development of the Inception Report. These sessions will facilitate a thorough understanding of the assignment, the project, and its evolution.

Mixed-method approaches: The evaluation will employ a mixed method approach, incorporating both qualitative and quantitative methods to capture a comprehensive picture of the project’s effectiveness and impact.

Ethics: Plan International is committed to ensuring that the rights of those participating in data collection or analysis are respected and protected, in accordance with the Framework for Ethical MERL and our Global Policy on Safeguarding Children and Program Participants. Ethical considerations will be central to the methodology, particularly given the vulnerability of the target population. The evaluation will adhere to Plan International’s research ethics guidelines to ensure protection and well-being of all individuals involved in the evaluation. All applicants should include details in their proposal on how they will ensure ethics and safeguarding in the data collection process. Specifically, the consultant/s shall explain how appropriate, safe, non-discriminatory participation of all stakeholders will be ensured and how special attention will be paid to the needs of children and other vulnerable groups. The consultant/s shall also explain how confidentiality and anonymity of participants will be guaranteed.

              The evaluation will adopt the following methods:

Desk Review

A comprehensive desk review will be conducted by the consultant/s. This review will focus on available project data, including monitoring data and information from relevant literature on child labor in Lebanon. The desk review will inform the overall evaluation methodology, identify data gaps, understand the project context, and investigate comparable programs.

Primary Data Collection

Primary data collection for the evaluative component of this assignment will focus on outcome-level changes, using the mixed methods approach, including both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods (Key Informant Interviews and Focus Group Discussions). The consultant will be expected to triangulate data sources to build a robust evidence base around the program’s effectiveness, relevance, impact coherence, sustainability and efficiency and identify ways to improve the program model.

 

Methods should include:

 

Qualitative Methods:

Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) and Focus group Discussions (FGDs) with staff and representatives of key stakeholders including cooperating partner, organizations, communities and individuals (children, adolescents, caregivers/parents, employers, employers, CP actors, etc.) to gather in-depth information on key questions.

 

Quantitative Methods:

Surveys: Surveys should be administered to project participants including boys, girls, female and male parents and caregivers, employers, and others as appropriate, to collect quantitative information related to the study’s main purposes. The consultant will be provided with the list of respondents under the project activities. 

 

 Sampling and Responsibilities

 

 Adequate and representative sample sizes will be determined for each target group based on established sampling methodologies for quantitative surveys. The selection criteria for FGDs and KIIs will also be clearly defined and logically based.

 

The development of the evaluation methodology, tools, and data collection will be the responsibility of the consultant.

Plan International will oversee and provide guidance during the data collection process.

RMF will facilitate communication between the consultant and project stakeholders, ensuring effective collaboration.

 

By adopting this mixed-method approach and adhering to the key principles, the external evaluation will provide a comprehensive assessment of the project's effectiveness, relevance, impact, coherence, sustainability, and efficiency. It will also identify opportunities for program improvement and align with the principles of inclusiveness, rigor, and ethics while considering the crosscutting theme of gender and gender equality.

 

 

8- Deliverables and Timeline  

The key deliverables expected from the consultant(s) during the process such as:

An inception Report including:

Detailed methodology and work plan, including draft sampling methodology and size,

Data collection tools, including consent forms,

Drafted methods for data analysis,

Brief justification of the methods and techniques used (including relevant underlying values and assumptions/ theories) with a justification of the selections made (e.g. of persons interviewed).

Draft evaluation report including findings, conclusions and recommendations

Validation workshop

Final Evaluation Report incorporating feedback from Plan Lebanon and RMF

Youth friendly summary document containing main findings and recommendations

Anonymized primary data sets

 

9- Ethical and Safeguarding and PSHEA responsibilities

 

The consultant must declare any Conflict of Interest with Plan, employees or other stakeholders, as part of their proposal. 

Plan International Lebanon has committed its overriding framework to protect children and programme participants who come into contact with Plan International employees, volunteers, partner organizations and individuals, including consultants, who are working on behalf of Plan International. The consultant has a duty to uphold the principles of the Global Safeguarding Policy: Say Yes! To keeping children and program participants safe and protected, and the Preventing Sexual Harassment, Exploitation, and Abuse (PSHEA) policy during their engagement with Plan International, apply safeguarding and PSHEA standards at anytime and anywhere, display high standards of professional behaviour at all times, treat all children and program participants with dignity and respect, create and maintain an environment that prevents abuse and exploitation of children and program participants, retain and respect the privacy, dignity, and confidentiality of survivors, and report any concerns to [email protected], or to +961 70 121 765. 

The consultant should also include statements in the proposal on how they will ensure ethics and safeguarding of children and programme participants during the commencement of the assignment and during the field work. The consultant should also specify other ethical protocols to be followed during the due course of the consultancy.  

The consultant must apply a rights-based and do no harm approach and are required to agree, sign and adhere to Plan International’s Non-Staff Code of Conduct and Safeguarding and PSHEA Policies, along with the consultancy contract. 

10- Expected qualifications of Consultant

 

In view of the purpose, scope and focus of the evaluation, Plan seeks to hire an external institution or consultant with experience in evaluation of humanitarian programs.

 

Qualifications of the lead consultant:

• Minimum Master’s Degree in social studies, International Development or any other related field
• Minimum 7 years’ experiences in undertaking research, baseline and evaluations in Lebanon or similar contexts.
• Relevant experiences in the response to humanitarian crisis, preferably in the areas of protection and gender (gender transformative programmes).
• Demonstrated experience of facilitating research with participatory methods and tools, particularly with children and young people
• Competency in managing, organizing and interpreting quantitative and qualitative data and information
• Experience working with vulnerable groups, including refugees and children,
• Experience in the Lebanese context and the consultancy/firm should be based in Lebanon.
• Report writing skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in Arabic and English.
• Ability to communicate effectively to a range of different stakeholders.

 

11- Evaluation of offers

Shortlisted suppliers may be invited for virtual interviews to discuss their proposals in more detail with Plan International team.

Plan International, at its sole discretion, will select the successful supplier.

Plan international shall be free to:

• Accept the whole, or part only, of any submission
• Accept none of the proposals
• Republish this Request for Quotations

Plan International reserves the right to keep confidential the circumstances that have been considered for the selection of the offers.

Part of the evaluation process may include a presentation from the supplier.

Value for money is very important to Plan International, as every additional USD saved is money that we can use on our humanitarian and development work throughout the world.

Plan International may award multiple contracts and all contracts will be non-exclusive.

Contract & Payment terms

In the event that there is a change or additional deliverables during the contract period, an addendum to the contract must be agreed and signed.  The change/additional deliverables must be in line with the initial scope of the consultancy. 

Withholding taxes 7.5% are applicable in the event where the service provider fails to provide the Second Party with an invoice including the Ministry of Finance number (MOF) related to the profession documented with copy of the MOF certificate. The Second Party shall apply the withholding tax at applicable rates pursuant to the Lebanese Laws and Regulations.

 

The contract amount will be paid in 2 installments. The first installment of 40% of the contract amount will be paid immediately upon the approval of the inception phase. The second installment of 60% will be paid after Plan International approve the final report.

 

Please note that, if successful, Plan International’s standard terms of payment are 30 days after the end of the month of receipt of invoice, or after acceptance of the Goods/Services/Works, if later. 

 

Plan International’s Ethical & Environmental Statement

The supplier should establish environmental standards and good practices that follow the principles of ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems, and in particular to ensure compliance with environmental legislation

Clarifications

The onus is on the invited individual/companies to ensure that its offer is complete and meets Plan International’s requirements. Failure to comply may lead to the offer being rejected. Please therefore ensure that you read this document carefully and answer fully all questions asked.

For any queries, please send your questions to [email protected] before the deadline.