Mid-Term Study on Learning Outcomes under AGES project

  1. SUMMARY

CARE Somalia (henceforth referred to as “CARE”) is seeking to procure the services of a local or international evaluation company to support a mid-term study on student learning outcomes to be conducted by the Adolescent Girls’ Education in Somalia (AGES) project. AGES is funded by the United Kingdom’s (UK) Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) through its Girls’ Education Challenge- Leave No Girl Behind (GEC/ LNGB) initiative. The GEC is a global initiative focusing on ensuring the expansion of education opportunities for marginalised girls at primary and secondary level, using rigorous evaluation practices. The AGES project seeks to improve learning and transition outcomes for 42,000 severely marginalised girls in conflict-affected areas of Banaadir, Jubaland and South West states of Somalia. AGES supports formal, non-formal and accelerated education for some of the most affected out-of-school girls, including internally displaced populations (IDPs), girls with disabilities, minorities, married and divorced girls, adolescent mothers and those in child labour.

Through this tender, CARE seeks the services of a consultancy company to clean and analyse data from student learning assessments and associated student surveys, and prepare a report for this mid-term study. Due to the limited availability of resources, the data for the study will be collected by CARE staff and subsequently reviewed, cleaned and analysed by the consultancy company.

It is expected that this mid-term study will enable AGES to assess to what extent students supported by the project have improved their literacy and numeracy outcomes; if the improvements, provided they have occurred, have reached the expected targets; and differences in literacy and numeracy outcomes for subgroups of the population, including students enrolled in different education tracks (formal school; accelerated basic education; and non-formal education); students with and without disabilities; students from different ethnic groups and clans; IDPs and non-IDPs; etc. The mid-term study will include a longitudinal comparison of the results from literacy and numeracy assessments conducted at the baseline and in 2021, therefore using a pre-post design. Literacy and numeracy outcomes will be assessed using adapted versions of EGRA and EGMA, applied with the students included in the baseline sample for the first cohort of AGES students. A short student survey will also be conducted with the sampled students to enable the consultant to identify factors affecting learning outcomes, including the participation in project activities and external factors. The project will also conduct headcounts of AGES classes in each sampled location in order to assess attendance rates.

This mid-term study of learning outcomes will inform adaptations to project design and delivery modalities, seeking to maximise and equalise impact for all subgroups of girls targeted by the project. It will also contribute to a broader assessment of AGES’ Value for Money (VfM); and identify valuable lessons learned for girls’ education programming in Somalia as well as other fragile and conflict-affected contexts.

This consultancy will also include an analysis of learning assessments and a short student survey conducted with a representative sample of the second cohort of students enrolled by AGES. This analysis will form the baseline for the second cohort.

2. BACKGROUND TO THE GEC PROGRAMME AND THE AGES PROJECT

2.1. GEC Programme Background

FCDO leads the UK’s work to end extreme poverty. FCDO is tackling the global challenges of our time including poverty and disease, mass migration, insecurity and conflict. FCDO’s work is building a safer, healthier, more prosperous world for people in developing countries and in the UK too.

FCDO is working to reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. Progress on girls’ education is critical to the achievement of these targets. SDGs 4 and 5 specifically relate to education and achieving gender parity. SDG 4 specifically notes ‘inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning’.

Globally, 31 million primary age girls have never been to school[1]. And the majority of these girls come from the poorest and most marginalised communities in the most disadvantaged locations, ethnic groups etc[2]. Over the last 20 years, primary enrolments for girls have improved along with boys but completion rates are equally low for both sexes. At the secondary level the differences between boys’ and girls’ participation rates really start to show. In the specific case of Somalia, such disparities are already observed at primary entry level. Significant disparities exist within countries, with the poorest girls from rural areas most severely subject to educational disadvantage – even at the primary level[3].

The Girls’ Education Challenge (GEC) is helping the world’s poorest girls improve their lives through education and supporting better ways of getting girls in school and ensuring they receive a quality of education to transform their future.

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) and alliance partners have been contracted as the dedicated Fund Manager (FM) and is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the GEC. This includes establishing the recipient tendering process, supporting bidders, sifting and scoring proposals, monitoring Value for Money (VfM) and making project funding recommendations for FCDO approval. The FM also manages the relationships with the selected projects and oversees their Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning operations.

Through the GEC, the UK government provided £355m between 2012 and 2017 to the FM to disburse to 37 individual projects across 18 countries across sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia to help girl’s education. In 2016 the GEC Transition window has been set up with additional UK funding to support the original GEC beneficiaries continue their journey through stages of education and further transit to upper grades and improve their learning[4].

CARE Somalia is implementing AGES, one of the GEC-funded projects. AGES’ intervention focuses on providing tailored, sustainable solutions to develop literacy, numeracy and key life skills (financial literacy and knowledge of reproductive health) for 42,000 of the most marginalised girls in South Somalia, including girls with disabilities, those from minority groups, IDPs, married and divorced girls and adolescent mothers.

2.2. Project Background

Operating in Somalia since 1981, CARE currently works through three main programs: the first, CARE’s rural vulnerable women’s program, supports poor rural women and girls in addressing long term underlying causes of poverty and vulnerability, addressing social, economic, cultural and political obstacles to positive change. We help women and girls improve their economic status, access education and support them to play a greater role in local leadership and conflict resolution. Our second program area, the youth program, focuses on job creation and livelihood opportunities for poor youth through e.g. secondary education, vocational training, small business development, and microfinance. Thirdly, the emergency program provides direct humanitarian relief to victims of drought and conflict in Puntland, Mogadishu, and Lower Juba. CARE has its main offices in Hargeisa, Garowe, Mogadishu, and Erigavo, and satellite offices in Burao, El Afweyn, Kismayo and Bossaso. We work with a large number of local partners and maintain excellent relations with local governments.

Led by CARE in partnership with ADRA and three local NGOs, AGES works with schools, communities, individual students, religious leaders, the Federal Ministry of Education, Culture and Higher Education (MOECHE) and State Ministries of Education (MoEs) in Banaadir, South-West and Jubaland Administrations to:

  1. Increase the availability of flexible, quality learning opportunities tailored to the needs of ultra-marginalised out-of-school girls:
  2. Accelerated basic education (ABE) including compressed primary content;
  3. Increased access to quality formal education through agreements with education providers and teacher training (reading, numeracy, child protection and gender-equitable practices);
  4. Life skills course for older girls (age 16+), teaching literacy, numeracy, financial literacy, savings and basic business planning.
  5. Social norm change movement towards broader life opportunities for adolescent girls and boys:
  6. Religious leaders trained on Islamic principles to support gender equity and education for girls;
  7. Community leaders and Community Education Committees (CECs) sensitised and mobilised to work with parents to identify and support extremely marginalised girls to enrol in learning opportunities and attend classes regularly;
  8. Mothers and mothers-in-law mobilised through village savings and loans associations (VSLAs) and enrolment drives;
  9. Girls trained on leadership skills, menstrual hygiene management, savings and forming peer support networks at Girls’ Empowerment Forums (GEFs);
  10. Boys mentored through Boys’ Empowerment Forums (BEFs);
  11. Messages reinforced via radio and social media.
  12. Build institutional capacity: Support to strengthen monitoring of education services and to the review of the policy framework for ABE.

Following the COVID-19 crisis, AGES is also providing the means for girls who are unable to attend school consistently to study remotely, through guided lessons and remote support, as well as remedial classes since resuming school; mobilising communities to follow up on dropouts and ensure their return to school; providing hygiene supplies to participants and schools; and supporting the implementation of psychosocial first aid.

Central South Somalia’s gross primary enrolment rate stands at just 22% (Education Sector Analysis, 2017) and 36% in Mogadishu, with a gender parity index of 0.85 (Education Statistics Yearbook, 2014). Recent data shows that the net attendance rates for girls and boys age 6-13 are as low as 25% and 28%, respectively, in the whole of Somalia[5].

The use of flexible learning tracks by the AGES project, complemented by remote education, allows girls engaged in labour, married and divorced girls, and pastoralist girls to attend learning sessions despite the limitations on their time. The work with religious leaders and Quranic teachers addresses the resistance to the inclusion of older and married girls and issues with their mobility and approval from family to attend classes, particularly in areas where recent influence from armed groups has resulted in severe curtailing of women’s freedom.

Physically disabled girls with limited mobility benefit from (1) access to ABE/ life skills courses close to home; (2) renovations to schools which include accessible features such as ramps; (3) access to remote learning allowing them to learn from home; (4) increased awareness of parents and community members of the importance of education for the disabled. Girls with special learning needs are benefitting from scholarships to attend special needs schools. Girls facing severe anxiety and depression are supported through the combination of psychosocial first aid and support networks through the GEFs.

Girls from minority clans and ethnic groups develop their self-confidence and aspirations and build connections beyond their own clans through participation in the GEFs. Furthermore, teachers have been trained to support girls who are lagging behind and first-generation learners, enhancing the likelihood of enrolment and retention in both ABE and formal education. Girls from displaced and ultra-poor families as well as orphaned children are overcoming financial barriers through parental participation in VSL.

See Annex 1 for an overview of the project’s outcomes, intermediate outcomes, outputs and associated indicators as well key activities under each output.

2.3. Overview of the project implementation timescales

Project start-date: September 7, 2018

Project end-date: August 31, 2022

2.4. Project beneficiaries

AGES seeks to support out-of-school adolescent girls age 10-19 facing multiple barriers to enrolment, attendance and learning. The project will enrol two cohorts of students in formal school, accelerated basic education (ABE) and non-formal/ life skills courses, reaching a total of 42,000 girls. The first cohort enrolled by the project included 20,468 girls[6]. The pre-enrolment assessment of Cohort 1 students indicated that 31% are IDPs; 16% belong to marginalised minority groups; 40% are Af-Maay speakers (including 18% who are Af-Maay speakers in areas where this is a minority language); 13% are orphans; 10% do not live with parents; 4% are married and 4% are divorced. The enrolment of girls with disabilities was prioritised by the project, with extensive sensitisation of stakeholders and multiple rounds of identification being conducted in order to maximise the likelihood of enrolment. A total of 253 Cohort 1 girls have disabilities other than mental health issues, while 6,140 girls were estimated to face severe anxiety and/or depression.

Cohort 2 participants are being enrolled in November 2020-January 2021. Information on selected students will be provided once enrolment has been completed.

Table 1 below provides a breakdown of Cohort 1 participants by learning track.

Intervention pathway

Which girls follow this pathway?

How many girls follow this pathway for cohort 1?

How long will the intervention last?

How many cohorts are there?

What literacy and numeracy levels are the girls starting at?

What does success look like for learning?

What does success look like for transition?

Formal school

Girls aged 10-12

6623

4 years

3

Grade 0-1 for literacy-numeracy

Girls achieve grade 4 level for numeracy

Girls enrolled and retained in formal school

Accelerated basic education (ABE)

Girls age 13-16

7241

2 years

2

Grade 0-1 for literacy-numeracy (original estimate; present results shows otherwise)

Girls achieve grade 4 level for numeracy

Girls enrolled and retained in ABE; a proportion of the girls are expected to transition into formal school upon completion

Life skills

Girls age 17-19

6604

11 months

3

Grade 0-1 for literacy-numeracy (original estimate; present results shows otherwise)

Girls are able to read with comprehension and achieve mastery of basic operations (addition and subtraction with problem-solving)

Girls enrolled and completing life skills training

Table 1 – Breakdown of Cohort 1 participants

2.5. Approach during the COVID-19 pandemic

Following the closure of schools in March – August 2020, movement restrictions and a severe economic crisis, the project team and the Fund Manager have agreed on a set of midterm adaptations to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on the students and schools supported by AGES. Those included:

-Social protection and safety: Support to parents engaged in savings groups, including coaching of adult and adolescent savings groups; linkages with banks; provision of seed funding; provision of hygiene materials to families; training of community health workers to support GEFs;

-Continuation of teaching and learning: Remote learning content provided to students; strengthening supervision and professional support to teachers by regional and district education officers; printing and dissemination of ABE curriculum materials; provision of teaching and learning materials to students in ABE and formal schools;

  • Return to school and learning centres: Follow up on dropout cases; provision of PPEs and hygiene supplies to schools; cleaning of schools prior to reopening; coordination with other development partners on provision of WASH supplies;

-Wellbeing: Provision of grants to GEFs to implement girl-led activities; awareness raising on COVID-19 prevention; provision of psychosocial support to children;

-Combatting exclusionary norms: Community mobilisation to support remote learning; mobilisation of religious leaders to promote equity in education; strengthen official tracking of out-of-school children and gender-sensitive and inclusive quality assurance processes.

The project has also agreed on a revised logframe (MTR logframe), provided in Annex 1.

3. CONSULTANCY PURPOSE AND DESIGN

3.1. Rationale for the Mid-Term Study on Learning Outcomes

The findings from the mid-term study on learning outcomes will primarily be used:

· To determine the achievement of expected learning outcomes against targets based on benchmarks established at the project’s baseline;

· To identify the extent to which learning outcomes differed between subgroups of the AGES student population;

· To assess how the participation in project activities is contributing, or not, to progress on learning outcomes;

· To determine baseline values for learning outcomes for the second AGES cohort;

· To assess mid-term progress for some logframe indicators (including the original logframe and the modified logframe used to assess COVID-19 interventions). A complete table of the logframe indicators to be tracked through this study is provided as an annex;

· By the project management team, project partners and stakeholders to inform improvements in the delivery of the project during its lifetime;

· To demonstrate accountability for the funding received to FCDO, other UK Government Departments, UK taxpayers, UK media;

· By the project management team to leverage additional resources from existing and new partners and stakeholders in order to scale-up and sustain the activities /benefits delivered by the project;

· By the project management team to support the on-going development and implementation of the project’s sustainability and succession strategies;

· By partners, stakeholders and the Government to learn lessons from the project for the purpose of informing education programming and sector planning in country, in particular considering the upcoming development of the new Education Sector Strategic Plan 2021-2025;

· By the Fund Manager to feed into and identify insights in order to inform programme level questions; and

· By other donors, academic institutions and education networks to inform the wider policy debate concerning the education of girls and marginalised girls.

In addition, this mid-term study will enable the project to collect data on learning outcomes using a revised version of the EGRA and EGMA tools, inclusive of more advanced tasks. Baseline data indicates the potential for ceiling effects in the project’s final evaluation. In order to prevent a situation where no gains can be identified due to extremely high baseline results, mid-term learning data should be collected using an expanded tool, enabling a subsequent comparison with final evaluation results. The data collected through this study will serve as a mid-term data point for subsequent comparison with final evaluation results. The results of this study will indicate the extent to which the AGES investment represents Value for Money for UK taxpayers, the MOECHE and marginalised Somali girls targeted by the project.

3.2. Objectives of this Consultancy

The project is seeking to procure the services of an independent consultancy company to analyse the data collected by the project for this mid-term study. This task entails the review of data collection procedures; data cleaning; data analysis and reporting.

3.3. Mid-Term Study Research Questions

The study will seek to respond the following research questions:

  1. What impact did AGES have on learning outcomes? Are there specific literacy / numeracy skill areas that are not improving? Why?
  2. Do gains in learning outcomes differ for girls in formal education, alternative basic education and non-formal education? Are those differences related to a different proportion of individuals severely affected by the COVID-19 crisis in each learning track?
  3. Are students enrolled in alternative basic education acquiring literacy and numeracy skills at a similar pace as their peers enrolled in formal education? If not, why?
  4. Which subgroups of the AGES population have had the greatest learning gains, and for which subgroups has learning remained stagnant? Are there any differences in learning outcomes between Af-Maay and Af-Mahatiri speakers; girls with and without disabilities; girls from minority groups and those from mainstream groups; IDPs and non-IDPs? To what extent are such differences linked to different degrees of participation in the project? What are the main lessons learned about reaching ultra-marginalised groups?
  5. Which student-level factors are affecting the acquisition of literacy and numeracy skills?
  6. To what extent has participation in specific project activities, such as Girls’ Empowerment Forums and savings groups, affected learning outcomes for girls?
  7. Are there ‘plateaus’ in the acquisition of literacy and numeracy skills? To what extent are project interventions effective in addressing those? What are the key areas for adaptation?
  8. Have State-specific differences been observed in learning and transition patterns? Which factors/ characteristics may be driving such differences?

3.4. Overall Mid-Term Study Approach

The study will use a pre-post comparison design, longitudinally tracking the sample originally identified at the project’s baseline. Results will be compared against benchmarks for performance, set for each type of education intervention, corresponding to: an improvement of 0.2 standard deviation over and above the following grade level for formal education; 0.2 standard deviation over and above the corresponding grade for ABE (in relation to the formal grade performance); and minimum achievement levels for literacy and numeracy for at least 70% of the students attending life skills classes.

3.5. Research design

The following methods will be used in this mid-term study:

· Learning assessments (adapted versions of EGRA and EGMA, expanded from the baseline tools; a financial literacy assessment, which will be developed for this study, based on the tool currently being used by the SOMGEP-T project; and a short survey on knowledge of menstrual hygiene management): A sample of 1,420 out-of-school girls (“learning cohort”), randomly selected from the first cohort of girls identified for enrolment in formal education, ABE and life skills training, was identified at the baseline and will be tracked through the life of the project. This sample will include students from each education ‘track’, or intervention arm – namely formal education (421); ABE (484); and life skills training (515). The sample has been drawn from 38 formal schools, 34 ABE centres and 36 non-formal education (life skills) classes, randomly selected proportionally to the distribution of implementation locations through the three States, and proportionally to the number of identified girls for each learning track in each State. Girls enrolled in formal education or ABE will be primarily re-contacted at school, while those who have completed life skills training will be re-contacted at household level. Dropouts who can be located and remain in the same project location will be interviewed at home, provided they have had sufficient exposure to the project (i.e. at least four months of learning).

The same learning assessments will be applied with a representative sample of the second cohort, estimated as 1,530 girls, randomly selected from the same project locations. The baseline sample for the second cohort will include 510 girls from each learning track.

· Short girl survey applied with all respondents of learning assessments. The survey will include background information; socio-economic household status; disability module; questions on transition (for those who completed the course); questions related to COVID-19 and exposure to conflict; educational experience; exposure to interventions (GEF, savings) and educational experience.

School-level tools

· Headcounts will be conducted in ABE, non-formal education and formal classes.

All quantitative data will be collected using electronic tools and Kobo Collect, unless otherwise agreed with the consultant.

All tools will be piloted prior to data collection and refined as necessary. Learning assessments will be piloted with a sample of non-participant girls in grades 4-5.

Potential adaptations in response to COVID-19 restrictions

Current conditions allow for in-person data collection in South Somalia, provided those collecting data adhere strictly to safety protocols for their own safety and the safety of project participants and other stakeholders at community level. Data collectors will follow CARE’s COVID-19 prevention measures to prevent potential harm to participants and themselves.

CARE does recognise, however, the potential for rapid shifts in field conditions and the need to plan for alternative scenarios in case of a dramatic escalation in infection rates and/or movement restrictions due to other reasons, including instability, conflict and natural disasters. In case those scenarios occur, CARE will work with the consultant and the Fund Manager to agree on adaptations, including phone-based data collection with abridged tools and modified versions of learning assessments.

3.6. Sampling for the second cohort’s baseline

The sampling process is described above and in the project’s MEL Framework. The project will provide the sampling framework (list of enrolled students in the second cohort) and request the consultant to select a stratified random sample of those, thus preventing potential selection bias. The final sample should be representative of the second cohort in order to ensure:

· Reasonable ability to generalise the intervention’s effectiveness to similar contexts; and

· Reasonable ability to generalise the insights into what works and why for similar contexts.

3.7. Ethical protocols

The mid-term study on learning outcomes will consider the safety of participants and especially children at all stages. While the consultant (s) will not have direct contact with children, it is still expected that the selected proposal will demonstrate adherence to child protection and safeguarding principles in data analysis and report writing, as well as complete compliance with international good practice with regards to research ethics and protocols, and in particular to safeguarding vulnerable groups (including people with disabilities) and those in fragile and conflict-affected states. Consideration should be given to:

· Administrative and technical safeguards to protect the confidentiality of those participating in research, including data protection and secure maintenance procedures for personal information and adequate handling of data for analysis and reporting;

· Immediate communication to CARE, following appropriate channels as determined by CARE’s policies, of any reports of child protection, abuse or harassment cases in datasets. The consultants will receive a briefing on CARE’s policies on child protection and prevention of sexual harassment and abuse (PSHEA).

3.8. Risk and risk management[7]**

Risk management plan: It is important that the successful bidder has taken all reasonable measures to mitigate any potential risk to the delivery of the required outputs for this study. Therefore, the selected evaluation company should submit a comprehensive risk management plan covering:

· The assumptions underpinning the successful completion of the proposals submitted and the anticipated challenges that might be faced;

· Estimates of the level of risk for each risk identified;

· Proposed contingency plans that the bidder will put in place to mitigate against any occurrence of each of the identified risk;

· Specific child protection risks and mitigating strategies, including reference to the child protection policy and procedures that will be in place; and

· Health and safety issues that may require significant duty of care precautions, including the potential for delayed completion due to potential issues related to COVID-19 outbreaks.

3.9. Data quality assurance

In terms of data quality assurance, this consultancy includes the responsibility for review of data collection training procedures, data cleaning and collation. The consultants are asked to outline a draft data cleaning plan in their proposal, summarizing common issues in learning assessment data and girl surveys, and proposed approaches to quality assurance and cleaning. **

3.10. Existing Information Sources

In the first instance, the selected evaluation company should refer to the GEC website:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/girls-education-challenge for general information concerning the Girls’ Education Challenge.

The selected evaluation company should refer to the following GEC programme documentation:

· Grant Recipient Handbook

· Evaluation Guidance

· Logframe and workplan guidance

The selected evaluation company should refer to the following GEC project documentation that includes:

· Project logframe and MTR/COVID-19 logframe (attached as an annex);

· List of logframe indicators to be tracked (attached as an annex);

· Project MEL framework;

· Project documents related to the COVID-19 adaptations.

The selected evaluation company should also refer to relevant country data and information that is currently available, as required, to prepare the proposal.

4. SCOPE OF WORK

4.1. Professional Skills and Qualifications

Qualifications: the selected evaluation company is required to clearly identify and provide CVs for all those proposed in the Evaluation Team, clearly stating their roles and responsibilities for this study.

The proposed evaluation team should include the technical expertise and practical experience required to deliver the scope of work, with regards to:

· Quality assurance, data management and data cleaning

· Data analysis and reporting, including:

o Skills in quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis;

o Relevant subject matter knowledge and experience, including knowledge of research methods in education and gender, particularly in the analysis of large-scale learning assessments and adolescent surveys;

o Country experience: It is particularly important that the team has the appropriate country knowledge /experience and ability to interpret findings from a contextual perspective;

o Information management: Management of sex- and disability-disaggregated data and information systems capable of handling large datasets for MEL purposes, including cross-referencing different datasets;

o Statistical analysis: a range of statistical modelling and analysis of impact data; highly proficient user of SPSS or STATA;

o VfM assessment of education projects: Education economics expertise to conduct cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analyses as part of the assessment of the project’s VfM; and

o Safety considerations: Ensuring the whole study adheres to best practice for research with children, including in data analysis and reporting. Note that all bidders are expected to be able to show that they have a child protection policy in place; although it is not expected that the selected bidder would have direct contact with children, a child protection policy is essential to ensure an appropriate approach to data analysis and reporting.

The day–to–day project management of this study will be under the responsibility of Paul Odhiambo, M&E and Knowledge Manager, AGES project/ CARE Somalia.

4.2. Deliverables and Schedule

Expected Tasks

  1. Review the project’s MEL framework, original logframe, logframe for COVID-19 adaptations and other relevant project documents and external literature related to the Somali context and in particular, the education sector in country;
  2. Submit an inception report (draft and final), that outlines the analysis framework and detailed work plan outlining all tasks to be completed by each of the members of the study team;
  3. Technical support for stratified sampling of cohort 2 participants;
  4. Attend data collection training and provide feedback as appropriate/ necessary (it is not expected that the consultant will deliver the training, but rather to review data collection procedures);
  5. Quality checks for collected data;
  6. Cleaning and collation of datasets, working in coordination with CARE staff;
  7. Analyse the collected data in accordance with the agreed analysis framework.
  8. Prepare a comprehensive draft and final study report, according to the format provided by the Fund Manager, and inclusive of the GEC Outcomes Spreadsheet if required.

Deliverables

In reference to the scope of work above, the consultant team is expected to accomplish and submit the following:

1) An inception report including:

· The sampling methodology for the baseline of the second cohort

· The analysis framework for the study;

· Detailed work plan outlining all tasks to be completed by each of the members of the consultant team for the duration of the study.

2) Feedback on data collection procedures as appropriate;

3) Complete clean datasets in SPSS, inclusive of complete codebooks, and where applicable, consolidated datasets (girl survey + learning assessments);

4) SPSS syntax and output files reflecting the analysis conducted;

5) A 100-150 page draft report (in MS Word), following the format required by the Fund Manager.

6) Presentations of preliminary findings and recommendations validation and feedback with CARE and other stakeholders.

7) Final report with corresponding finalized annexes in English.

Project milestones: bidders are required to include in their detailed work plans the milestones set out below.

Component 1: Data collection

Milestone

Timeframe/ number of days

Draft Inception Report submitted for review and comments

Review of inception report completed and comments returned to supplier/consultant

Final Inception Report submitted

Draft datasets submitted

Clean datasets submitted

Data analysis and drafting of the report

Draft Study Report submitted for review

Presentation to Evaluation Steering Group

Review by Project Management and stakeholders completed / comments provided to Supplier/Consultant

Supplier/Consultant addresses comments and revises the study

Final report submitted

The selected bidder will be expected to identify a Project Manager for communication and reporting purposes. At the inception meeting, the Project Manager (s) will be expected to submit a full contact list of all those involved in this mid-term study.

The selected bidder (s) will be expected to report to the Evaluation Steering Group and attend all meetings as agreed with the Project Evaluation Manager. The successful bidder (s) will be required to submit to the Project Evaluation Manager weekly progress reports (by email) during the study periods summarising activities /tasks completed to date (percent achieved), time spent etc.

In addition to the Evaluation Steering Group, the Ministries of Education will also be part of the study. Regional/State MoE staff will liaise with the sampled schools to ensure their support to the study, working closely with CARE and Consortium Partners collecting data. The MOECHE research coordinator and gender focal person will provide input to the draft evaluation tools and report.

5. SUBMISSION

The deadline for submission of bids is March 03, 2021. Interested bidders are welcome to submit questions until February 28, 2021 to Lotte.Renault@care.org and Paul.Odhiambo@care.org. Bids should be submitted to Som.consultant@care.org, in the subject line should be mark Mid-Term Study on Learning Outcomes under AGES project

Bids should include the following:

· Technical proposal – bidders approach to the evaluation; workplan with milestones.

· Financial proposal

· Qualifications – how does the bidder meet the qualifications, including CVs of all key involved persons

· Risk Management as per the annex 2 template

Annex 1: Project Logframe (original and COVID-19 adaptations) and List of Logframe Indicators for Tracking

Annex 2: Risk Management Template

Risk type

Risk

Likelihood

(1-5, 1 – not likely, 5 – highly likely)

Severity

(minor; moderate; major or severe)

Mitigation

(please briefly outline the measures you propose to mitigate these risks)

[1] United Nations, 2015. The World’s Women 2015: Trends and Statistics. New York: United Nations,

Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Statistics Division. Sales No. E.15.XVII.8.

[2] Idem

[3] Idem

[4] https://www.gov.uk/international-development-funding/girls-education-cha…

[5] Federal Republic of Somalia (2020) The Somali Health and Demographic Survey, p.25

[6] 23,025 if considering subsequent enrolments; after the initial cohort was enrolled, several classes were over-subscribed.

[7] Please use Risk Analysis Matrix in Annex 2

How to apply

The deadline for submission of bids is March 03, 2021. Interested bidders are welcome to submit questions until February 28, 2021 to Lotte.Renault@care.org and Paul.Odhiambo@care.org. Bids should be submitted to Som.consultant@care.org, in the subject line should be mark Mid-Term Study on Learning Outcomes under AGES project

 

Related Posts

Leave a Comment

%d bloggers like this: