Save the Children has started implementing a project entitled Resilience Building in Education in Sitti zone and South Somali. One of the activities in this project is conducting a resilience building study in education. As well known the project areas are drought and other hazards prone area and as a result students and the community at large encounters disasters, shocks and stresses which is ends up with student dropout and low academic achievements. The study is expected to be conducted with the participation of the local community and students. To guide the desired study this TOR is drafted.
Experience shows that the social and economic costs of disasters, shocks and stresses are rising, with the poorest and excluded most vulnerable and disproportionately at risk[1]. These situations degrade livelihoods and undermine already fragile gains in development and poverty reduction, particularly that of children. Large scale, high-cost humanitarian response remains the norm, despite the fact that these shocks and stresses are frequently predictable and the consequences to a large extent avoidable.
The regional education bureau recognizes the inadequacy of development and humanitarian systems to deal effectively with shocks and stresses in the areas mentioned. Studies show that several recent crises have brought their failings into sharp relief. In 2011, the drought in the Horn of Africa highlighted a lack of effective early-action despite clear signals from early-warning information systems (Bailey, 2013 and Hillier and Dempsey, 2012). In 2012, on the other hand, the Sahel crisis showcased the limitations of an effective early response in a context of chronic vulnerability (Save the Children, 2012). Across sectors, political willingness to confront the root causes of these crises is growing, with resilience central to discussions on addressing these issues (USAID, 2012 and Ashdown, 2011).
Advocacy and position papers have been released by donors such as USAID, DfID and the EU, with numerous NGOS engaging in the discourse through the publication of think pieces, guidance documents and tools (see recommended reading for a selection of documents). At the international level weight has been provided by the Political Champions of Resilience[2] , with UN agencies also driving discussions of resilience forward. A number of weaknesses and limitations persist, not least the gap in understanding the role of children in this discussion, but momentum behind the concept is considerable (See Béné et al, 2012 and Levine et al, 2012).
In light of this wide-ranging thinking and building international momentum, this TOR presents a guide for conducting an in depth study to generate information that enable to identify action points that would help to be build resilience in education.
To start with it is essential to agree on the broadly defined definition of resilience. Resilience draws on concepts such as disaster risk reduction, sustainable livelihoods and climate change adaptation. Thus it seems to be familiar territory. However, to say “we already do resilience and we’ve been doing it for years” fails to meet demand posed by increasingly fragile contexts of children and communities exposed to regular yet unpredictably severe shocks and stresses. The humanitarian-development divide is not a new problem and the need to engage in integrated programming that works across themes, actors and in a contextual manner is not a revelation. But both remain major challenges in our work. The resilience agenda builds on existing thinking and practices, whilst offering space, and creating a framework, to confront challenges from a fresh perspective.
Below are three definitions of resilience which reflect the differences and similarities in donor and NGO approaches.
Definitions “Resilience is the ability of countries, communities and households to manage change by maintaining or transforming living standards in the face of shocks or stresses without compromising their long term prospects” (DfID)
“the ability of people, households, communities, countries, and systems to mitigate, adapt to and recover from shocks and stresses in a manner that reduces chronic vulnerability and facilitates inclusive growth” (USAID)
“The ability of children, communities and systems to withstand, adapt to, and recover from stresses and shocks advancing the rights of every child, especially the most disadvantaged” (UNICEF) |
It is not the intention of this TOR to engage in a definitional discussion, however it is useful to note that concepts of resilience can be adapted to reflect different agendas, such as ‘inclusive growth’ in USAID’s definition and DfID’s reference to ‘transformation.’ For this purpose the UNICEF definition could be appropriate. This does not mean that there is no lea way for modifying the definition.
Some common elements drawn from these definitions and the wider literature include:
· The ability to resist or absorb the adverse effects of shocks and stresses, as well as the capacity to change or adapt key structures and functions in the face of it, are essential characteristics of resilience.
· Resilience applies to particular moments in time, but is also forward looking (e.g. a household selling its assets to cope with a particular shock, is not resilient if that action undermines long-term prospects and ability to withstand future shocks).
· Resilience applies to individuals, households and communities as well as national and international systems. Asking resilience ‘of what, to whom?’ clarifies our focus at a given scale but we must also understand how that scale connects to the broader system.
For our purpose we could adopt the definition developed for East Africa Which is stated below.
A resilient system (including the child, household, community) system has the capacity to respond positively to change, maintaining or improving function whilst being able to address uncertainties in the future.
The overall objective of this study to know the major hazard encountered in the project intervention areas, the impacts and the cope up systems and mechanisms at different levels. The specific objectives of the study are stated the following.
1. Identify what the major hazards experienced in the project areas are.
2. Delineate the effects of hazards experienced in the intervention area?
3. What systems and mechanisms exist to address the effects of hazard in education?
The study will be done in sampled schools in Sitti and Liben zones (Dolo Woreda). Twenty (20) schools from Sitti zone (16 schools) and Dolo-ado (4 schools) will be randomly selected. The total sample size will be 20 schools.
The task specifically includes:
· Preparing a data collection tools.
· Reviewing available literature to ensure that adequate relevant information could be generated for enriching the findings of the study. The field work should not take more than 20 days all together.
· Save the Children will avail only field vehicles once the consultant reaches to field offices?
The consultant is expected to:
6.1 Present concept paper for education staff of SC at field office/ head office before entering contract agreement.
6.2 Produce summarized assessment of related literature on education resilience..
6.3 Develop a strategy for collecting data
6.4 Validate the draft study report work with the presence of Steering committee (composing of REB deputy bureau head (1), SCI education staff (2), TDP &Curriculum department heads (2), RDPPB-early warning (1) persons)
6.5 Prepare camera ready study report.
6.6 Submit the final camera ready report include soft copies of data collected..
7.1 Technical Proposal should describe:
· Background and experience of the consultants/firm and or individuals’ skills and professional mix of the team proposed to carry out the service.
· Adequacy and technical quality of the proposal for meeting the TOR, proposed scope and focus.
7.2 Financial proposal should describe
The study will be done in purposively sampled schools. The consultant will prepare a framework that includes what will be studied and how the study will be done. The sample size of the schools on which the study will be done will be 40% of the intervention schools in the Somali Region in particular Sitti zone and Dolo area.
This study work is open for all legally registered consultants and firms. The consultant/firm shall consist of professional(s) of various professional and relevant backgrounds.
The consultant shall have the following expertise and qualification:
Information and pictures quality assurance will be done by SC field staff in particular MEAL team. Thematic review will be made on the work done. It has to be noted that the study has to be of high quality that will be shared to the wider education community and the donor.
The duration of the assignment shall not take more than 30 working days including travel, field work, study preparation and submission of the final work. The consultant should indicate a breakdown of timeframe showing the detail work plan and expected dates for each phase of the assessment undertaking.
No. | Activities | Due period | Remark |
1. | Inception report submission and review | 3 days | Including weekends |
2. | Study framework | 2 days | ‘’ ‘’ ‘’ |
3. | Field work | 15 days | ‘’ ‘’ ‘’ |
4. | Data organization | 5 days |
|
5. | Report preparation | 10 days | ‘’ ‘’ ‘’ |
6. | Report validation | 1 days | ‘’ ‘’ ‘’ |
7. | Report finalization | 1 days | ‘’ ‘’ ‘’ |
8. | Report submission | 1 day |
|
· Logistics:
ü The consultant will be responsible for covering all expenses related to their logistics including airfare trips/travel expenses to the study area (Dolo-ado woreda and Diredawa FO).
ü The consultant will be responsible to cover per-diem and any other related expenses for its team members but SCI will provide vehicles for transportation and periderm for its staff during school visit.
· Professional fee: the consultant has to reflect professional and per-diem rate in the financial proposal
· Tax and insurance: SC will deduct 2% tax based on TIN or 30% withholding tax
· Child Safeguard Policy: According to the policy of the Save the Children the assignee will receive a Child-Safeguarding orientation and sign the ‘Child Safeguarding Policy’ of the organization and during the contract period consulting firm will not violate any policy. In case of any policy violation the contract will be automatically cancelled.
· Contract: a contract agreement will be signed between the consultant and SC immediately after the selection process and the contract assignment will be effective from the date the agreement is signed.
13.1 The consultant will:
· Submit covering letter which express consultant interest to carry out the work, technical and financial proposal with clear statement of the proposed methodologies.
· Lead consultations process, with all informants of the study and responsible for validity of the information
· Collect data as per the framework agreed
· Have a briefing meeting with the project staff before the start of the field exercise
· Undertake other activities stated in the scope of the work and in this ToR.
· Produce the expected report specifying the data for each intervention areas (Sitti and Dolo ado).
· Review and incorporate feedback received from SC and donor
· Responsible for the tasks specified and for making sure quality of work is done in the agreed timeframe and meeting the required standard.
· Adhere to the SC’s Child Safe Guarding Policy and Code of Conduct. The consultant shall sign the SC’s code of conduct
· Following the field work an overall review workshop will be held to consolidate inputs, recommendations
· Upon completion of the overall review workshop, report will be produced with specific action points, and make recommendations for adjustments. The document will be shared with all partners and the donor.
13.2 Save the Children will:
· Ensure involvement of government stakeholders (woreda officials, directors supervisor, teachers students, PTSA and community members) as a members of the study team and also informants;
· Provide the necessary reference documents for the consultant.
· Provide transportation service from field office to school level.
· Support in facilitating consultation meetings with the relevant bureaus and offices;
· Ensure contacts established in areas of the study
· Review the draft report work and provide feedback to the consultant on time;
· Facilitate other works as per the specified activity plan/ToR;
· Effect payments of the service as per the contract agreement and on accomplishment of the task according to the service agreement.
The documentation report incorporating the feedback from SC Ethiopia will be submitted in both soft and hard copies in 7 days after receiving comments from Save the Children and partners. The content and structure of the final should meet the requirements as stated in the TOR and should include the following:
1. Required documents
Potential consultants are required to submit the following documents together with their technical and financial proposal.
The consultant/s prepares and submits two types of proposals, the technical and financial proposals. The technical proposal takes the lion share of the score allotted to the proposal which is 60% and 40% of the score goes to the financial proposal. The technical proposal will be evaluated using the following criteria.
s/n | Selection criteria | Points | Remark |
1 | Team composition | 12% |
|
1.1 | 7-8 years direct related consultancy experience in one or more professional disciplines with a Master’s degree, or equivalent combination of relevant education and experience. Theoretical base in subject area, with ability to translate theory. Good understanding for cultural context and sensitivity in the study area. | 12 |
|
2 | Understanding the TOR | 8% |
|
2.1 | Clear presentation of the tasks indicated in the TOR within the proposal | 8 |
|
3 | DESIGN OF the Reading Assessment | 25% |
|
3.1 | Comprehensiveness of technical proposal | 10 |
|
3.2 | Data collection procedures, organization and presentation suggested by the consultancy firm | 15 |
|
4 | Assessment Plan | 15% |
|
4.1 | Plan of data collection | 6 |
|
4.2 | Fairness in the distribution of activities against the time allotted for the study | 5 |
|
4.3 | Total Number of days suggested to conduct the task | 4 |
|
| Total | 60% |
|
Once the consultant is selected, the following terms of payment will apply: -
Please Submit the Proposal/Application in person or by mail within 10 days of the announcement to:
Save the Children
P.O. Box 378
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
[1] Shocks can be fast or slow onset but happen in a specific moment in time such as an earthquake, drought or a hike in food prices. In contrast stresses that compound vulnerability levels and increase impact of shocks are cumulative and continuous, such as climate change or urbanisation
[2] The Political Champions of Resilience is composed of the heads of OCHA, UNDP, World Bank, DFID, ECHO, USAID, and SIDA.
This study work is open for all legally registered consultants and firms. The consultant/firm shall consist of professional(s) of various professional and relevant backgrounds.
The consultant shall have the following expertise and qualification: