Terms of Reference Schools Programme Evaluation

Who We Are

Girl Effect is an international non-profit organization that builds media that girls want, trust and need. From chatbots to chat shows and TV dramas to tech, our content reaches millions of girls in Africa and Asia to make choices and changes in their lives. Igniting their confidence to act differently at a time that can define their future.

We create safe spaces for girls, sharing facts and answering questions about health, nutrition, education, relationships, etc. And we use innovative technology so we can reach girls at scale. We arm girls with the skills to negotiate and redefine what they are told is possible, so every girl can choose to be in control of her body, her health, her learning and livelihood.

When a girl unlocks her power to make different choices that change her life, it inspires others to do so too. She starts a ripple effect that impacts her family, community, and country. That’s the Girl Effect.

Context of the assignment

Yegna took the TV drama to rural schools in the past year, forming a viewing and discussion platform to improve the knowledge of hard-to-reach girls potentially missing out on vital information. The weekly program for girls and boys aged 13-15 includes viewing sessions of the Yegna TV drama series and discussion groups around key topics discussed in the drama. The discussion session was supported by a student manual and a fact sheet that helped students converse with their families.

Following the school program's success, Girl Effect has expanded the program to 15 schools in the Afar region with the same viewing and discussion model and to 24 Addis Ababa schools in the pocket areas of missed communities with a new model that has only included the discussion sessions followed by a mini-media broadcast. 

The programme started in Nov 2023 and runs until June 2024, targeting students aged 13-15. 

Type of Beneficiaries

• Female and male students (age and grade level appropriate students for the program)
• Students in selected Primary and middle-level schools. 
• Parents and guardians of the targeted student 

The program has been designed to reach female students, ensuring Improved knowledge and attitudes in Nutrition, health, and empowerment-related topics among female and male students and adults reached by the Yegna program.

Specific Objectives 

• To improve knowledge perceptions and result in positive outcomes in nutrition, hygiene, gender equality, and targeted female students' empowerment.
• To improve mindset related to access to and use of health and nutrition-related goods (for parents) and services
• Improved knowledge and attitudes in health and empowerment among adolescent students and adults reached by Yegna SBCC programme with a focus on cervical cancer and HPV vaccine , nutrition, menstruation, health, gender equality and girls’ empowerment.
• Building self-esteem and agency of female students

Expected Outcome 

• We plan to reach 1,200 students with the school program by focusing on nutrition, health and gender equality in the Addis Ababa school program and 750 students from the Afar school program.

What we are looking for

Girl Effect is looking for an agency that will conduct evaluation of the school programme for both Addis Ababa & Afar and report to us as required. 

Evaluation  Purpose

The purpose of this evaluation  is to measure the change on specific outcomes of the programme, to understand if there is any level of impact created among the target audience on the specific themes and areas covered, to understand the effectiveness of the approach and to identify lessons for future programming. 

 The specific objective of this evaluation is:-

• To assess the level of improved knowledge, attitude and practice of Adolescent girls and boys around WASH and Nutrition. 
• To assess the level of Improved knowledge and attitudes in health and empowerment among adolescent students and adults reached by the Yegna SBCC programme, with a focus on cervical cancer and HPV vaccine, nutrition, menstruation, health, gender equality, and girls’ empowerment.

Indicators to be measured through this evaluation:

For A.A school programme

1. Percentage of adolescents (boys and girls) exposed to the TV content school program.
2. Proportion of adolescent boys and girls with improved knowledge and practice in nutrition
3. Proportion of adolescent boys and girls with improved knowledge and practice of Nutrition, menstruation, health, gender equality, girls’ empowerment and child protection.

For Afar School Programme

1. Percentage of adolescents (boys and girls) exposed to TV content, including those anticipated in the rural school program.
2. Proportion of adolescent boys and girls with improved knowledge and practice of Nutrition, menstruation, health, gender equality, girls’ empowerment and child protection.
3. Proportion of adolescent boys and girls with improved knowledge and practice of Nutrition school program
4. Percentage of adolescent students and adults with improved knowledge and attitude on  cervical cancer and HPV vaccine

Methodology

• Data will be collected from the two program regions in Ethiopia: Afar and Addis Ababa, for the school programme.
• The agency will share a detailed methodology, which they will use to capture the necessary data suitable for both programme intervention areas, including the development of survey tools.
• The survey tools may be different for Afar and Addis Ababa as the intervention approach and content differ. 
• The data analysis will also be done and presented separately for both. This will help us compare urban and rural school programmes.
• The agency will give us raw data separately for both target regions. 

Expected Deliverables

The agency will provide deliverables as per the scope of work; this will include: 

• The inception report includes detailed methodology, survey tools, an evaluation work plan with a timeline, data quality and management, research ethics, and safeguarding processes.
• Detailed evaluation report 
• All raw data and supporting documents, field notes, audio recordings, translated transcripts, data table in excel spreadsheet and safeguarding documents.

Expected Commitment

• The data collection needs to be started in the first week of June  2024 and the final report is expected to be submitted before the end of June 2024. 

Reporting

The agency will report to Girl Effect’s Senior Manager, Evidence and Impact based in Ethiopia.

Who You Are

We are looking for a research agency with proven experience and who can provide evidence of previous similar works. The agency needs to have good knowledge of the specific assignment and be expected to have experience in handling permission processes and communication with the government.

Competencies

Key competencies across any proposed team for delivering this project are outlined below: 

• Capacity to deliver all areas expected of this research from designing appropriate methodology including development of survey tools, recruiting and training researchers, leading the data collection process, transcribing data into English, ensuring quality assurance and working in line with research ethics principles.
• Ability to work with communities in relevant local languages 
• Excellent and demonstrated understanding of Safeguarding and ethical issues in research
• Excellent fieldwork supervision and data quality control strategies.
• A fieldwork team with adequate gender balance to carry out this work 
• Ability to conduct risk assessment and mitigation plans for research
• Excellent interpersonal skills and demonstration of effectively managing relationships with research partners 
• Exceptional communication and organizational skills.
• Ability to respond to comments and questions in a timely, appropriate manner.
• Experience in delivering outputs on time and budget. 
• Ability to write clearly and concisely in English.
• The reputation of the responding agencies and previous similar experience will be taken into account.  

Proposal Submission

Your proposal, should you be interested (Max 10 pages), should cover:

• Your understanding of the brief and why you feel you are well-placed to work on this.
• Credentials/Profile - Please showcase any previous work that you consider relevant to what we are trying to achieve, how we approach our work, and the audience we cater to. Describe the qualifications, experience, and capabilities of the firm or consultant in providing the requested services.

An initial proposal for the design/Methodology

• Workplan with clear timelines
• Reference - Provide at least three references for similar contracts with a description of the service provided, the value of the contract and the contract periods of performance.
• Breakdown of Costs with applicable taxes and other charges clearly identified. Firms should provide a financial budget which is the service charge in this case for the service that will be rendered to our company and a standard work plan for the requested deliverables. 
• All applicable taxes should be quoted separately;

Note: The technical and financial proposals will need to be submitted as separate documents. 

In their proposal, the bidder must demonstrate an understanding of the requirements described in the TOR and demonstrate how the bidder will meet the requirements of the deliverables.

GE is not liable for any cost incurred during the award/contract preparation, submission, or negotiation of the award/contract. All submitted documentation and/or materials shall become and remain the property of GE.

The proposal's VALIDITY shall be 90 days from the bid closure date.

Timeframe

• Terms of reference published: 18th April 2024
• Proposal submission: 25h April 2024
• Supplier selection, contracting, and briefing: End of April 2024

Evaluation Criteria

Technical evaluation:

• Demonstrated experience in conducting programme evaluation in similar programme areas, including using appropriate methodologies to produce all deliverables - 35%
• Child Protection/ Safeguarding in research - 10%
• Ability to deliver the research on time and to expected standards - 15%
• Research experience and capacity - 15%

 Financial Evaluation:

• Value for Money - 25%

How to Apply

To apply for this opportunity, please submit a proposal by email with the subject line “[School programme evaluation- Ethiopia]” by the 25th April 2024.

Equal Opportunities

Girl Effect is committed to equal opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, disability, gender, gender identity, or expression. We are proud to be an equal-opportunity workplace.

We are committed to building an organization that is truly representative of the communities that we serve. To this end, due regard will be paid to procuring consultancy services of organizations and individuals with a deep understanding and experience of our programming markets and diverse professional, academic and cultural backgrounds.

Safeguarding

You may be required to undertake safeguarding checks. Shortlisted consultants will be assessed on our organizational values at the interview stage. The successful consultant will be expected to adhere to our safeguarding policy. We encourage you to read and understand our safeguarding policy, the executive summary of which can be found here. We have zero tolerance for all forms of violence against children, beneficiaries and staff. 

Tax

Girl Effect Ethiopia is obliged by the Ethiopia  tax authorities to ensure all taxes are charged where applicable. Applicants are advised to ensure that they have a clear understanding of their tax position regarding provisions of Ethiopian tax legislation when developing their proposals.

Copyright

All materials/documents arising from this consultancy work shall remain the property of Girl Effect.

Disclaimer

GE reserves the right to determine the structure of the process, the number of short-listed participants, the right to withdraw from the proposal process, the right to change this timetable at any time without notice and reserves the right to withdraw this tender at any time, without prior notice and without liability to compensate and/or reimburse any party. GE shall inform the ONLY successful applicant(s). The process of negotiation and signing of the contract with the successful applicant(s) will follow.