Home-based: Phase-out Country Sustainability Re-assessment

Save the Children Norway (Redd Barna) is a non-governmental child rights organisation working to realise children's rights in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Our vision is a world in which every child attains the right to survival, development, protection and participation. Our ambition for 2030 is that all children survive, learn and are protected. We aim to reach the most deprived children. We are a membership organization, and we are politically and religiously independent. SC Norway is a member of Save the Children Association which works in 117 countries. 

Call for Tender: Phase-out Country Sustainability Re-assessment

From 2010 to 2020, the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) funded comprehensive children's rights programs in Cambodia, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Nicaragua, and Zimbabwe. Save the Children's Norad-funded programs (hereafter programs) were implemented through three successive framework agreements in collaboration with Save the Children Norway (SCN) and Save the Children (SC) Country Offices (COs). Funding from Norad facilitated the development of extensive programs in the thematic areas of Education, Child Protection (CP), and Child Rights Governance (CRG) in all countries.

In 2018, phase-out frameworks were implemented to ease program transfers to national government agencies and locally based civil society organizations. To this end, these encouraged building local relationships, securing sustainable funding for programs investing in children, improving the accountability of local authorities, and cultivating equal participation opportunities for children in policy- and decision-making.

The Norad-funded programs were built on SC's six sustainability principles. First, the programs invested in government capacity-building, including advocacy campaigns. Second, all programs were aligned with national plans, thus building on, and strengthening existing frameworks regardless of national and local context. Third, the programs invested in local civil society organizations by investing in capacity-building and knowledge transfers, enabling locally based actors to carry existing programs forward. Fourth, CRG principles were cross-cutting elements in all thematic program areas, promoting positive change in decision-making and accountability toward children. Fifth, the programs strove to develop a transferable and context-sensitive approach to handing over structures and knowledge to local authorities and community actors. Lastly, program staff documented experience and knowledge conducive to sustainable programming and organizational development. Together, these six sustainability principles provided the foundations for program handover in all four countries.

Independent evaluation teams in Cambodia, Ethiopia, Nicaragua, and Zimbabwe (a report was not developed for Mozambique) found that the phase-out strategies successfully facilitated program transfer. First, the Norad-funded programs had strengthened governance capacity, promoting sustainability. Second, the core programs were aligned with national plans and policies, avoiding building parallel and incoherent structures. Third, capacity-strengthening programs have benefitted local communities and contributed to building resilient civil society organizations. Fourth, CRG principles were integrated as cross-cutting elements, laying the foundations for sustainable change in the child rights regimes of all countries. Fifth, concepts and approaches were transferable to the local context and widely adopted by locally based stakeholders. Lastly, the focus on advocacy, documentation, and knowledge-sharing has benefited stakeholders at the local and national levels. Knowledge sharing facilitated the creation of accountability mechanisms conducive to sustaining targeted programs for children.

Objectives: 

However, the evaluation reports outlined several challenges to long-term sustainability. Therefore, SCN seeks a consultant to conduct a follow-up assessment to understand better the challenges and drivers of sustainability at the country level.

The consultant is expected to compare sustainability results in Cambodia, Nicaragua, and Zimbabwe.  against the status of selected-based phase-out evaluations, revisit the original reports, and analyze whether the predicted sustainability prospects have materialized. The assessment will focus on program activities, approaches, and results of Norad-supported programs of high interest to the Save the Children Country Offices, SCN, and locally based stakeholders. The topics will vary across national contexts and be jointly defined and signed off by SCN before evaluating their respective value in understanding what drives long-term sustainability.

The re-assessment is not intended to comprehensively cover all sustainability achievements documented in the initial evaluation report. Instead, SCN is for thoroughly evaluating jointly selected topics and sound recommendations for phasing out programs in the future.

In Mozambique, the consultant is expected to assess the sustainability planning process.

Five days of fieldwork are expected in Cambodia and Zimbabwe. Remote interviews/focus groups are expected to be conducted with stakeholders in Mozambique and Nicaragua.

Investigation Strategy and Methods: 

While the specifics of each re-assessment may vary, the evaluation must follow a standardized development structure and investigative strategy to ensure comparability. The assessments should be based on sound analytical criteria. These criteria should be:

• Rooted in Save the Children's sustainability principles.
• Based on the results of the initial sustainability/phase-out assessment.
• Leverage the sustainability questions submitted to COs before the phase-out assessment.
• Apply a standardized analytical framework, including research question(s) and interview guide(s).

The re-assessment will adopt a primarily qualitative design, focusing on stakeholder interviews and document analysis. It should provide insight into the factors that support projects' long-term sustainability and the relevance of SCI's sustainability principles. This can be understood as having several component sub-questions:

1. Have impact and, most essential outcome results, sustainability results, program approaches, and methods from the Norad-funded SC programs been sustained since phase-out? The evaluation team should revisit the programs and approaches considered "sustainable" by the authors of the initial sustainability report and provide a status assessment.
2. What factors have contributed to the success or failure of sustainability efforts?
3. Have assumptions about sustainability been held in the years since phase-out?
4. Are there any new achievements since the original report that can inform future sustainability efforts?

Project Development Phases: 

1. Identify case studies per country and plan fieldwork in Cambodia (5 days of fieldwork)  and Zimbabwe (5 days of fieldwork. Remote interviews/focus groups will be conducted in Nicaragua and Mozambique.

1. The consultant will examine previous reports and extract examples of potential case studies (1 per thematic area) for the re-assessment. SCN staff will be consulted in the process.
2. Consult relevant stakeholders, including SCN (current and previous, if possible), to ensure analytical relevance and feasibility of data collection.
3. Identify essential claims and details regarding the handover (concerning sustainability principles).
4. Review the original claims and identify key assumptions, risks, and likelihood analysis for sustained activities or results.

2. Review original document claims of sustainability.

3. Adapt interview questions to contexts, specific projects, and stakeholders (SCN has developed a general framework), conduct fieldwork and prepare the final report.

SCN MEAL leads the process and discusses with SCN thematic experts and portfolio managers before discussing with CO colleagues. Colleagues at COs will determine feasibility, stakeholder access, and data availability.

The original sustainability reports were based on the questions outlined below:

Has the MoU/partnership agreement established at phase-out been followed up on or maintained after phase-out/handover?

In what ways have locally-based stakeholders taken on the role of primary drivers of the projects/programs?

Has any of the following actors sustained Norad-supported program activities and approaches:

• (a) government (national or subnational)
• (b) national/local civil society organizations
• (c) community-based organizations or child-led groups,
• (d) other non-CSO partners?

Describe the level of sustainability observed. Have partners been actively involved in the continuation of programs/approaches?

What are the lessons learned?

Are there any "best practices"?

Have government partners maintained specific methodologies introduced by Norad-supported programs?

SCN will draft interview questions such as those listed in the table below. The consultant is expected to modify these questions based on contexts/needs.

Table 2: Interview guide (draft)

Comments

Context: A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)/partnership agreement was established with locally-based actors. SCN is interested in understanding whether developing such agreements facilitates sustainability. Objective: To elicit a story about planning the transfer of programs from SCN to locally based actors. Suggested interview questions: Has the MoU/partnership agreement established at phase-out been followed up on or maintained after phase-out/handover? Probes: [insert here] In what ways have locally-based stakeholders taken on the role of primary drivers of the projects/programs? Probes: [insert here]

Please review the document and include it in the interview.

Timeline:

• January 10, 2024: The call closes.
• January 15, 2024: Interviews concluded/contract signed.
• February 1, 2024: Inception report. Fieldwork in Zimbabwe and Mozambique must be completed in February 2024.
• March 15, 2024: Final report.

Organization, Roles, and Responsibilities: 

The process will be led by (an) external consultant(s), who will drive the process forward and ensure timely, high-quality deliveries. Within the agreed timeline, the consultant is expected to collaborate closely with the SCN's gender adviser and submit the draft review report on time for comments and feedback from the SCN. The consultant is responsible for incorporating feedback and submitting the final report within the agreed timeline. SCN will share the report template to be used for report writing. Finally, the consultant will present the preliminary findings to SCN and other relevant stakeholders.

Desired Competencies and Skills of the Consultant: 

• Minimum master's degree in social sciences or equivalent.
• Experience with sustainability studies (OECD-DAC)
• Good communication and facilitation skills.
• Documented analytical and report-writing skills in the English language.

To apply, please submit the following documents at this link:

• CV.
• Letter of interest (1 page).
• Project and financial proposal.
• Writing sample if relevant.

All applications must be submitted through Redd Barna's human resources portal due to GDPR. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

For questions regarding the consultancy, please contact Christina Wagner Faegri.

Email: christina.faegri@reddbarna.no