Consultant For Scaling –up Access To Basic Education In Lao PDR (sabel) Phase II End-of-project Evaluation

Terms of Reference

Consultant for Scaling –Up Access to Basic Education in Lao PDR (SABEL) Phase II

End-of-Project Evaluation

1. Organisational context

ChildFund in Laos is the representative office of ChildFund Australia – an independent international development organisation that works to reduce poverty for children in developing communities.

ChildFund Australia is a member of the ChildFund Alliance – a global network of 11 child-focused development and humanitarian organisations reaching nearly 32 million children and their family members in 70 countries. ChildFund Australia is a registered charity, a member of the Australian Council for International Development, and fully accredited by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade which manages the Australian Government’s overseas aid program.

ChildFund began working in Laos in 2010 and works in partnership to create community and systems change which enables vulnerable children and young people, in all their diversity, to assert and realise their rights. Projects are implemented in Houaphanh, Xieng Khouang, Phongsaly, Sayabouly, Luang Prabang, Khammouane, Savannakhet, Sekong Provinces and Vientiane capital.

With a focus on upholding child rights and improving access to quality education, ChildFund in Laos also prioritises projects which focus on child nutrition, sexual reproductive health and rights, media literacy, and job readiness.

1. Background

ChildFund in Laos, in partnership with Ministry of Education and Sports have been working hard for a decade to improve the education accessibility and quality for Lao students and communities, especially in Houaphanh province, working closely to address vulnerable children (children from ethnic minority background, girls, children with disability) barriers to education. ChildFund in Laos currently receives the financial supports from ChildFund Korea to implement a 3-year funded project called “Scaling-Up Access to Basic Education in Lao PDR (SABEL II)”. SABELL II is a second phase project following the completion of SABEL I in 2018-2021 with experienced positive achievements, particularly improving children’s reading outcomes in Lao language, improved hygiene practices among students and parents, increased parents’ knowledge over the importance of education for children with disabilities, upskilled VEDC’s understanding to develop Village Education Development Plans. This second phase project emphasizes on the improvement of student’s learning outcomes, school accessibility for vulnerable children in ethnic communities including girls and children with disabilities, and school environment improvement through community participations.  

SABEL II project will be implemented in 30 target schools of Houameuang districts, Houaphanh province at the primary education level (Grade 1-5). 27 out of these schools were targeted by SABEL phase I. The project will work closely with District Education and Sports Bureau (DESB) and Provincial Education and Sports Services (PESS) and the Ministry of Education and Sports at the central level. The project will collaborate with INGOs and local Non-Profit Association (Meaying Houmjai Phattana Association) in relation to technical expertise and resource exchange in relation to gender and disability inclusion.

SABEL II project duration is 36 months - from 1 November 2022 to 31 October 2025. The consultancy period is from March to July 2025. (Please see the logfram of the project in the full ToR)

3. Purpose

This project has undertaken a baseline study and towards the end of the project, this project requires an external, independent end-of-project evaluation. The evaluation questions should be driven by the OECD evaluation criterion of relevance, coherence, efficiency, effectiveness, impact, and sustainability, as well as cross-cutting issues including gender, ethnicity and disability and inclusion. In the findings, the consultant will also help to highlight the potential lessons learnt, challenges, solutions, and recommendation.

Target audience and key stakeholders of this endline evaluations will be Grade 1-5 primary school students and teachers, caregivers, VEDCs, community members, government counterparts from district to provincial level and ChildFund staff.

The assignment involves consultation among Project Coordinator and Project Officers. Technical advisory will also involve Education Advisor and MEL Advisor from ChildFund Australia, as well as inputs from ChildFund Korea as the donor for the project. 

The purpose of this evaluation is to undertake an outcome evaluation based on OECD-DAC criteria.

3.      Key Taks and Responsibilities

It is expected that the consultant(s) to conduct the following tasks:

1. To conduct a desk-review in order to gather and review relevant project documents and reports including the baseline, project reports and related manuals from ChildFund in Laos and related government and implementing partners.
2. Prepare a detailed inception report for submission to ChildFund for review and approval. This shall clearly describe evaluation methods and tools in detail, data collection tools, work plan to undertake the assignment etc.
3. Focusing on outcomes and their performance indicators (as mentioned above); review and update existing tools and develop new tools if necessary, including the Focus Group Discussions and Key Informant Interview approaches in order to measure the progress towards these outcomes and indicators, as well as output indicators.
4. Train enumerators on both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods.
5. Conduct field level data collection based on agreed assessment tools, maintain quality and accepted norms and standards, lead the data entry and analysis.
6. Develop a comprehensive draft report on findings/results of the study with input from ChildFund/project team.
7. Prepare presentation slides in both English and Lao of the endline evaluations for ChildFund and relevant stakeholders.
8. Incorporate comments and suggestions forwarded and produce final report as per the agreed timetable.
9. For the Terms of Reference (ToR), Inception Report, and Endline Evaluation Report, the consultant must discuss the development of each report with the project-implementing organizations and obtain their confirmation for the final version.
10. Submission of all raw data that used as the basis of the report is required
11. Methodology

Detailed methodology is available in the full version of the TOR -  SABEL II EVALUATION - FULL TOR

 Or https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AvezBhWKvrIx4jJXHX1debut3U-Iszpg/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=110536556881273230189&rtpof=true&sd=true

1. Deliverable and Indicative Timetable

The consultant expects to star in the middle of March to June 2025 with total number of day is 30 days (Please see more detail the full ToR)

Selection Criteria for Consultant

Core Competencies

• Commitment to ChildFund Australia’s values, vision and mission;

• Teamwork;

• Communication;

• Accountability and integrity; and

• Adaptability and flexibility.

Essential Qualification and Experience:

• At least Master Degree in Education, International Development, Monitoring and Evaluation, or related disciplines with minimum five (5) years’ experience in conducting similar evaluation and/or research works in developing countries particularly in South East Asia.

• Relevant experience in development sector around INGOs’ work or relevant agency

• Experience in monitoring and evaluation, and conducting end-of-project evaluation, impact studies, utilizing quantitative and qualitative research methods including data collection techniques and analysis

• Strong experience in primary education and teacher training.

• Familiarity with child‐focused programming;

• Flexible and able to adapt to a multi-cultural environment and complex situations, with demonstrable high-level interpersonal and cross-cultural skills especially with ethnic minorities

• Familiarity with the development context of Lao PDR including relevant language skills;

• Good experience in collaboration and interaction with communities and government bodies from local to national level, especially the MoES, PESS and DESB.

• Strong facilitation skills, particularly with children, youth and ethnic women;

• Self-driven, strong organizational and planning skills, with the ability to work independently or in a group, as well as under pressure

• Fluent in both Lao and English, and showing ability to communicate ethnic languages; Hmong and Khmu would be an asset.

Submission Procedure:

Applications can be made by email to Bamboo HR (linked will be identified when the announcement is launched); all other applications will be rejected. Interested applicants should submit

1. CV of the lead consultant and their team (if any) and a cover letter

2. Technical proposal

3. Financial proposal (Please include fee, transportation and accommodation for the evaluation team)

NOTE: The financial proposal should specify a total lump sum amount and a breakdown of a daily professional fee and communication costs etc. Applications without a financial proposal will be regarded as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

ChildFund in Laos does not require interested candidates to submit copies of certificates, ID cards or any other information.

ChildFund in Laos is an equal opportunity employer and has a strict child protection policy and background checks will be undertaken prior to any offer of employment.  All candidates should submit two professional referees including their current or most recent employer.

Please submit your application via https://teamchildfund.bamboohr.com/careers/552, before 5:00 pm of 8th  December 2024.

Please contact Phitsamai (HR) for the full ToR via this email: Phitsamais@childfund.org.la

ChildFund is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer and strongly encourage people from all backgrounds, abilities, and identities to apply for any vacancies.