Call for Tenders for External Project Evaluation Partnership for Inclusion

SUMMARY

Type of assignment

Final external evaluation of a development project “Partnerships for Inclusion”, funded by Czech Development Agency and implemented by the Association “Woman and Child – Protection and Support” in partnership with Caritas Czech Republic and the Ministry of Education.

Expected duration of assignment

2 ½ months: 18^th September – 30^th November 2017

Purpose of the evaluation

The final evaluation findings are expected to:

• Evaluate achievement of specific objectives, indicators and project results;
• Analyze and possibly determine the impact [knowledge progress] of trained people and stakeholders (tools and % should be specified in the proposed methodology);
• Analyze progress, cost effectiveness, project management and organization, impact and sustainability of the project activities in relation to the de facto circumstances in Moldova;
• Identify deficiencies or lacks as well as good practices of the project through methods and tools/approaches applied;
• Provide recommendation(s) for future actions in the field of inclusion in Moldova.

Project information

Project title

“Partnerships for Inclusion” 

Lead Implementing Organization

Caritas Czech Republic (hereinafter: CCR)

 

Implementing partners

Association “Woman and Child – Protection and Support” (hereinafter: FCPS) 

Donors

Czech Development Agency

Project budget

4 810 840 CZK

Project Period

October 2015 – December 2017 (27 months).

Target groups

• At least 1,000 professionals and experts in the field (kindergarten teachers, psychologists, speech therapists, social workers…)
• Staff of 6 training/information centers operating under model of inclusive kindergartens (in the districts of Orhei, Edinet, Leova, Stefan Voda, Ceadîr-Lunga a Nisporeni). The staff of the regional training centers is included in the total number of participants of the trainings;
• Selected staff of kindergartens with more than 100 children that were pre-selected to participate in the trainings. Not limited to the manager, methodologist and one or two preschool teachers, including the trained mentors (responsible for dissemination of knowledge and skills among their colleagues) that were selected as participants of the trainings.
• Representatives of local governments: social workers, civil servants, and mayors.
• The District (Rayonal) Services of Psycho-Pedagogical Assistance (PAS).

Final beneficiaries

• Children’s families who have benefitted from the support of kindergarten and community, involving representatives from LPA.
• National and local NGOs who have joined initiatives of parents for children’s rights.
• Community members that were/are informed and realize the need for inclusive education of children with SEN in early age.
• Primary school teachers. Primary school teachers who have got familiarize with children with SEN portfolio that will come from the kindergarten, will get to know their route of development, needs for development and of assistance that children benefited. The teachers will take intervention methods and will be assisted by kindergarten to provide support to that child.

Institutions involved:

• Ministry of Education (MoE);
• The Institute of Educational Science;
• District (Rayonal) Educational Departments;
• District Services of Psycho-Pedagogical Assistance (PAS);
• Selected Preschool (kindergarten) educational institutions.

Project Background

The overall aim of the project was identified by the Czech Development Agency (CDA): on 4 August 2015, subsequently publishing a call for project proposals named: “Through Partnership towards Inclusion.”

CDA acknowledges that despite the successes achieved in the area of inclusive education, the situation of children with special needs in Moldova remains bleak. The situation is to be improved or at least mitigated by a project which intended to strengthen the capacities in the area of inclusive education of marginalized groups. Besides the call published by CDA, the project also responds to the request of the organization Women and Child – Protection and Support (FCPS) and of the Moldovan Ministry of Education to Czech government to improve the situation in inclusive education in Moldova. As described by this project proposal, there have been crucial changes in Moldova in recent years. The changes are supported by foreign foundations and non-governmental organizations who strive for radical changes in the treatment of children with special needs. It comes as no surprise that a similar appeal has been made to the Czech embassy in Chisinau and to the representatives of the Czech Development Agency, which resulted in the announcement of call for projects (to be funded by a CDA grant) aimed at inclusive education development. Activities and outputs of the project have also been consulted with representatives of the Ministry of Education of Moldova. Other donors active in the field of inclusive education will be invited to participate in selected activities of the project in order to prevent interference of the project activities with other interventions.

The overall objective of the project is to contribute to the decrease of discrimination approach towards children with special educational needs in Moldova.

The specific objective of the project purpose is to ensure access to inclusive education to children of pre-school age with special educational needs.

Expected outputs (results) of the project

Output 1: Training module updated or incorporated into Educational System of Moldova as Continuous Training of Specialists

Output 2: At least 1,000 people competent in working with children with special educational needs from early age

Output 3: Enhanced cooperation among stakeholders of early inclusive education sector and increased awareness of the need to support the inclusive education process

Organizational Context

Caritas Czech Republic (CCR) is a non-governmental organization with the vision of reducing human suffering, loss of lives, and poverty, enhancing the dignity of people living in poor conditions as well as building up and strengthening solidarity and participation. The traditional fields of work for CCR are social work, health care, education and livelihoods. Besides its activities in the Czech Republic, CCR, through its department of humanitarian and development aid, provides assistance abroad, in areas affected by natural disasters, war, conflicts, or poverty, both on humanitarian and development basis.

Association “Woman and Child – Protection and Support” FCPS is a non-profit, non-governmental, apolitical and non-commercial organization which serves as a member of the Coordination Board for Inclusive Education and De-institutionalization of Children with Special Needs of the Ministry of Education (further Coordination Board). Since 2011, FCPS cooperates with the Ministry of Education under an agreement on cooperation, which covers the project activities as well, obliging the Ministry to actively participate in the project.  

TIME FRAME OF ASSIGNMENT

Deadline for applications: 18 September 2017

Start of work: 20 September 2017 (preparatory work, field data collection, report drafting)

Submission of draft evaluation report: 30 October 2017

Feedback from CCR on the draft evaluation report: 07 November 2017

Submission of final evaluation report: 15 November 2017

DESCRIPTION OF DELIVERABLES

1.     Draft of Evaluation report in English – Due on 07^th November 2017, shall be submitted to ProgramManager Zuzana Hricovova zuzana.hricovova@caritas.cz

2.     Final evaluation report in English with all annexes – Due on 15 November 2017, shall be submitted to Program Manager Zuzana Hricovova zuzana.hricovova@caritas.cz

Add 2. The evaluation report shall have between 35 – 60 standard A4 pages (1 800 characters per single page). Its structure shall be as follows:

• Summary
• Context
• Methodology and applied instruments
• Findings (as per the structure below)
• Conclusion and recommendation
• Annexes (lists and opinions of interviewees, diagrams and informants, questionnaires, photos etc.)

The evaluation shall focus mainly on the topics and questions below (the list is not exhaustive)

Project relevance

• Relevance of the project objectives and expected results to the needs of the country, target groups and beneficiaries
• Relevance of the project objectives and expected results to the expectations of the main stakeholders
• Ability of the project management to adjust the project to changing context in the given sector

Progress made towards the achievement of results

• Fulfillment of the project objectives and results against project timeframe
• Reasons for delay in achieving project objectives and results (if applicable)

Achievement of given indicators

On the level of Results

• At least 1000 people will be trained in circa 40 trainings comprising approximately 25 participants:
• 650 teachers representing selected preschools (ca. 230 preschools out of 1,418 operational in the country in 2013), including 150 local mentors;
• 35 pre-school teachers for that work in Pedagogical Assistance Services (PAS) at district level;
• 35 specialists from Department of Education responsible for early education at regional (rayonal) level;
• 280 representatives of LPA;
• 35 district meetings organized;
• 6 regional meetings (platforms) organized;
• 1 conference organized with participation of 150 people;
• Media Coverage: 5 radio broadcasts; 1 Television stream; 6 articles published in regional press; and, 1 article published in national press;
• Mobile teams: undertaking at least 96 visits within 6 months (second semester of 2017);
• 4 members of mobile team hired;
• Overall impact analysis performed.

On the level of Specific objective:

• The number of pre-school children with SEN who were involved in pre-school educational institutions at the beginning of the project (2015) and at the end of the project (2017)

Project impact on target groups and final beneficiaries

• Impact of the project on target groups, beneficiaries, local partners and other local stakeholders
• Contribution of the project to achievement of relevant national development strategies
• Changes in policy environment attributable to the project

Efficiency

• Efficiency of the financial resources needed to achieve the existing outputs / results
• Efficiency of the human resources needed to achieve the existing outputs / results

Sustainability and replication prospects

• Prospects for viability of the training model developed by the project
• Prospects for future application and dissemination of the knowledge gained by the project beneficiaries

Project management and organization

• Effectivity of the communication between CCR, project partners and other stakeholders
• Level of local stakeholders´ (including beneficiaries, government and the local partners) participation in project implementation
• Visibility of the project and its funding (does it meet respective donors´ requirements, is it sufficient or not)
• Arrangement and transparency of project documents (documents proving implementation of activities, achievement of results and objectives, financial documents) keeping
• Effectiveness of CCR and FCPS internal project monitoring mechanisms (monitoring of partners´ performance, project events, measurement of impact of the trainings etc.)

Recommendations

• Project design recommendations for future actions relevant to the context and needs
• Modification / upgrade of the methods and tools relevant to the context and needs
• Measures needed to ensure sustainability and replication prospects for future actions
• Measures needed to ensure project benefit for the target groups and other stakeholders
• Organizational and management changes needed to improve the project management and administration (if applicable) 

REQUIREMENTS

Necessary:

• At least three (3) years of experience in evaluating development projects (verifiable list of evaluations conducted in the past required)
• Fluency in written and spoken English
• Demonstrated excellent analytical skills (evidence required)
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, and comfortable working across cultures
• Demonstrated understanding of development sector in the field of health care (verifiable information on relevant experience required)

Recommended:

• Expertise in inclusion field or social protection sector, prevention programs, educational programs in health sector
• Experience in working in Moldova

SELECTION OF SUPPLIER AND SELECTION CRITERIA

The evaluator will be selected on the basis of offers containing:

• evaluation plan
• description of experience and expertise (copies of documents proving the expertise and experience shall be attached)

The evaluation plan has to contain:

• Description of the methodology to be applied
• Timeframe
• Budget of the evaluation (break down) and total price of the offer (the price cannot exceed the price stated below)
• Proposed structure of the evaluation report

The evaluation plan will become an annex to the contract that will be concluded between CCR and the evaluator selected.

The description of experience and expertise has to include:

• contacts to persons / institutions that can provide reference, and / or
• copies of official documents proving the experience and expertise stated

The selection criteria will be as follows:

• Offered price (25%)
• Proven expertise and experience (25%)
• Quality of the proposed methodology (50%)

TERMS OF ASSIGNMENT

Selected evaluator will be subcontracted by CCR to produce the deliverables specified above. The contract to be concluded between CCR and the selected evaluator constitutes Annex 1 to this call for tenders.

The evaluation report has to be submitted to Program Manager Zuzana Hricovova zuzana.hricovova@caritas.cz

Maximum price to be paid for the delivery is Two Thousand Euros (€ 2000)

The price agreed on will cover evaluator´s remuneration, all costs incurred by the evaluator related to the assignment and all taxes and fees required by law. The price will be final and cannot be increased under any circumstances.

CCR will provide the evaluator with all information and documents it has at its disposal needed to conduct the evaluation.

HOW TO APPLY

Interested candidates should send their offers in English with clearly indicated Name and Surname to the following address hrccrmd@gmail.com by 18^th September 2017.

Incomplete offers and offers received after the deadline will not be considered. CCR reserves the right to cancel the tender at any time.