Participatory Evaluation Consultancy at Child Fund International

Consultancy to Conduct Participatory Evaluation of Strengthened Partnership for Nurturing Care Project

Background Information

The current consultancy is to carry out a Participatory Evaluation using the Most Significant Change (MSC) methodology to evaluate the impact of the Early Childhood Development (ECD) Parenting Project implemented by ChildFund International and its implementing partner , Kisumu Development Programme in Siaya County, Kenya titled “A Strengthened Partnership for Nurturing Care” from August 2018 to October 2021.

Rationale for the Participatory Evaluation:

The evaluation will employ a participatory approach to facilitate an ongoing process of empowerment and capacity development of intended beneficiaries (both parents/ caregivers and ECD practitioners) beyond the life of the project. The approaches provide an opportunity for stakeholders and beneficiaries to reflect on project progress, generate lessons learned and plan future priorities for ECD their relevant programs.

Early Childhood Development is an evolving field of practice, varying between individual, context, and type of programming. As such, standardized indicators of progress or success often carry significant limitations in reflecting full and effective programing with young children and families. Participatory approaches allow us to engage stakeholders and beneficiaries in the evaluation process as partners, not only in data collection and analysis of change, but also in determining what kind of change matters most. Participatory evaluation findings will therefore be more valid as they are contextually appropriate and verified or endorsed with key stakeholders.

Objectives

The purpose of this assignment is to work in close coordination and consultation with ChildFund Kenya and implementing partner Kisumu Development Program to undertake the project’s participatory evaluation from the design and conduct of the data collection, as well as the generation of a the final Most Significant Change stories.

The national consultant’s main roles will be to:

• Draft a plan for the participatory evaluation including the overall methodology design, tools, MSC story templates.
• Lead the technical coordination and facilitate the in-person data collection for six focus group discussions and one stakeholder workshop.
• Conduct data analysis and subsequent drafting of the MSC stories (no more than 1.5-pages each)

Expected Deliverables

The following are the main activities of the consultant:

• Review key internal and external documents to inform finalizing of methodology from, ChildFund’s Responsive and Protective Parenting Program model’s past project reports and evaluations, and Hilton’s program strategy, etc. 2 days
• Finalize the evaluation’s methodology. 1 day
• Data tools development and translation 2 days
• Participant Selection and preparation (facilitated by ChildFund Kenya staff) 3 days
• Training of enumerators on data collection methodology, tools, tools pre-testing, and finalization 3 days
• Lead Data Collection & Focus Group Facilitation 3 days
• Analyze Focus Group data and produce draft Stories of Change (6 stories) 4 days
• Lead Stakeholder Workshop to present Focus Group Findings 1 day
• Analyze Stakeholder Workshop data and incorporate findings into draft Stories of Change (6 final stories) 1 day
• Finalize Stories of Change at a maximum of 1.5 pages per story. 4 days

This is a deliverables-based consulting agreement. The estimated number of days for the consultancy is 24 full days (excluding two days of travel).

Payment process

The consultant shall be paid for the successful completion of the deliverables in accordance with the following payment schedule.

Deliverable

• Finalized MSC Methodology & Data Collection Tools 25%
• Draft of 6 Stories of Change 25%
• Final 6 Stories of Change 50%

The Consultant’s compensation shall be paid within 30 days from receipt of a proper invoice unless otherwise specified.

Payment will be made by electronic transfer unless otherwise specified. The payment shall be subjected to 5% withholding tax as required by the Law at the time of payment. The full costs include consultancy/professional fees, enumerators professional fees, field logistical costs (enumerators training, field data collection, transport, accommodation, and meals) for the entire assignment.

Proposed Time Frame

The participatory evaluation should take place between July 15th and August 15th, 2021, with the final stories submitted no later than August 16th, 2021.

Scope of Evaluation

The participatory evaluation will be undertaken in the 3 wards (Ugunja, Sidindi and Sigomre wards) of Ugunja Sub- County located in Siaya County.

Evaluation Approach

The evaluation will be done in line with participatory evaluation plan that will be developed in consultation with ChildFund Kenya and ChildFund International.

Management and Coordination

The key people that the consultant will be working closely with at ChildFund include:

ChildFund Kenya team namely Technical Advisor-ECD, Child Protection Advisor, Communications Specialist, Monitoring and Evaluation Manager, Project Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Project Coordinator and Kisumu Development Project staff. ChildFund International team specifically the Senior ECD Advisor, Senior Advisor Child Protection and Partnership and Grants Manager. The day-to-day management of the consultants is the responsibility of the Project M&E Officer in consultation with the Project Coordinator.

ChildFund Kenya will support in the following:

• Provide access to documents and information needed to undertake the survey,
• Mobilization of respondents
• Provide day to day coordination of activities and as need arise,
• Pay the agreed costs for the assignments and as per the deliverables completed.

Selection of Consultant

Interested individuals and/or institutions are requested to provide, at a minimum:

• Their CV and CVs of all team members (if institution or team) highlighting relevant experience in documenting Most Significant Change Stories,
• Highlighting 5 or more years’ experience evaluating projects (baseline, endline, mid-term, participatory research) on Early Childhood Development, Education, parenting education, infant and young child nutrition, responsive caregiving, child rights and protection,
• A past writing sample of Most Significant Change stories (may include methodology applied) or a final assessment report,
• A financial proposal showing a detailed breakdown of all the costs involved for the entire assignment including logistical costs that include enumerators professional fees and field costs (enumerators training, field data collection, transport, accommodation, and meals) for the entire assignment, and
• Reference contact information of at least 2 individuals or institutions that have conducted research with the individual or institution in the past.