CONSULTANCY - TERMS OF REFERENCE
UNRWA is a United Nations agency established by the General Assembly in 1949 and is mandated to provide assistance and protection to a population of some 5 million registered Palestine refugees. Its mission is to help Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and the Gaza Strip to achieve their full potential in human development, pending a just solution to their plight. UNRWA’s services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, microfinance and emergency assistance. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions.
For its local team, UNRWA is seeking to employ a qualified:
Consultant - To Conduct Rapid Assessment of Drop-out
and Disability Situation, Jordan
BACKGROUND
The Agency as a whole has been undergoing reform in the past few years through an Agency-wide Organizational Development process which purpose is to serve Palestine refugees more effectively by strengthening the Management Capacity of UNRWA. In the framework of this reform, research based decisions are given great emphasis. In addition, the UNRWA education programme was evaluated by an external consulting firm: Universalia. The evaluation highlighted a range of challenges among which, a high prevalence of special education support (concerning close to half of all children in some fields). These two issues require further investigation and analysis to better understand the ways of targeting actions/ responses taken to address dropout.
PURPOSE
UNRWA recognizes the need to have an active research culture, which contributes to understanding and refining practice, and evidence-based decision-making. Thus a study on Drop-out Study was prepared in 2013 to address this phenomenon and study its reasons. The reasons behind UNRWA student drop-out were explored from three perspectives; (i) students themselves, (ii) their parents and (iii) the teachers. Such understanding intended to enable caregivers identify warning signs and risk factors so that preventative and support mechanisms can be put in place. The UNRWA 2013 Drop-out Study will be available for review as part of the process.
Interaction between children and caregivers characterized one major step in responding to the problem of students who are at risk of drop out. Due to the study limitations, this area needs further exploration and analysis. There is a need to formulate locally informed guidance and have better understanding among, all involved, to address any situation of children at risk of school drop-out. Therefore, the objectives of this exercise are:
1. to better understand how child caretakers and children interact in situations where a child shows signs of school drop-out (being at risk of drop out)
2. to obtain a better understanding of differences in responses based on variation in interaction (if any)
3. to ascertain what attitudes and practices are likely to prevent drop-out and which ones (or lack thereof) are likely to lead to drop out.
These objectives will be studied with the lens of disability and hence would contribute to the general understanding of disability situation in the camps and outside the camps in relation to drop out.
SCOPE, FOCUS AND METHODOLOGY
The methodology of the study will focus on observing and engaging with teachers and principals as well as parents and children themselves. The methods to be used can include, but are not restricted to:
· Review of existing studies;
· Interviews with caretakers;
· Observation;
· Focus groups with beneficiaries;
· Questionnaires (if feasible within the timeframe); and
· Outcome mapping.
UNRWA will support with some lead questions mentioned below, but these questions will be for the contractor to develop further and provide based on item 1 of the "Deliverables" in this Terms of Reference (ToR).
Some lead questions that are formulated according to thematic areas could be:
1.School Principals and teachers' understanding and responding to signs of drop out
1. How do teachers and principals respond to existing signs indicating that students are at risk of drop out, i.e. where any of the factors identified by the drop-out study for drop-out are becoming visible such as:
- Grade repetition/low academic achievement;
- Frequent school absence;
- Deviating student behavior;
- Early marriage.
Included in this will be disability in school children (the disability lens mentioned above).
2.Parents understanding and responding to signs of drop out
1. Are parents/caretakers aware that their child may be at risk of drop-out?
2. How parents/the family respond to signs of drop/out in case they are aware?
3. What relations do parents have with their child that is supportive or lacks support?
3. Students’ understanding and responding to drop out in general
1. Are children aware that they may be at risk of school drop out?
2. Are they aware of the consequences of this for their future lives?
3. What support would they like to have from the school and their caretakers to reduce them risking of dropping out? (There are many issues to be explored on the side of the child that may only emerge in discussions and observations and that are likely to be complex.)
The following definitions are introduced for reference:
1. UNRWA Definition of persons with disability:
According to the last UNRWA disability guidelines and UNRWA policy definition in Dec 2015,
“Persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments, which in interaction with various attitudinal and environmental barriers hinder their full participation in society on an equal basis with others.”
And regarding to UNRWA disability toolkit “Disability series number 4, 2013”
Disability involves the interaction of a person’s functional status with their physical, cultural, and policy environments, and it’s the result of barriers and limitations imposed on people with impairments. These barriers (attitudinal, environmental and institutional) and limitations prevent their full participation and inclusion in society.
2. UNRWA Definition of school drop-out:
"A student who was enrolled in an UNRWA school during the 2014/2015 school year but is not enrolled in any school (UNRWA or otherwise) in 2015/2016 is a drop-out."
UNRWA documents that can support the study
The study will use the following three documents as reference documents for background information:
a. 2014 UNRWA School Drop Out: An Agency Wide Study Sep 2013;
b. Progress, Challenges, Diversity: Insights into the socio-economic conditions of Palestine refugees in Jordan, FAFO 2013; and
c. Swiss Survey Report on Home Accessibility.
EXPECTED DELIVERABLES AND TIMELINE
The contractor is expected to conduct the exercise based on the following deliverables and timeline.
Deliverables
1. Providing a developed outline of study scope, methodology and key research questions as well as proposed report outline (15% payment)
2. Draft report (20% payment)
3. Validation of report and finalization (65% payment).
Timeline
No / Task / Duration / Payment1. / Providing a developed outline of study scope, methodology and key research questions as well as proposed report outline / 3rd week of August / 15% payment of the total amount for the awarded contract
2. / Conducting the study based on the outline in no. 1 / 4th week of August 2016 / 1st week of September
3. / Drafting the report of the study / 2nd week and 3rd week of September / 20% payment of the total amount for the awarded contract
4. / Submission of the first draft of the report for validation / 4th week September
5. / Submission of the final draft of the report. / 2nd week October / 65% payment of the total amount of the awarded contract
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
· An advanced university degree from an accredited educational institution in education, social sciences, public policy analysis or other fields related to education.
· A minimum of 5 years of professional work experience in the consultation domain;
· Proven experience in the use of participatory, qualitative and quantitative assessment/analytic methodologies;
· Excellent command of Arabic and Proficiency in English;
DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS
· Knowledge of education and disability issues in Jordan;
· Understanding the political context situation of Palestine refugees in UNRWA’s fields of operation;
· Previous experience with a UN Agency.
COMPETENCIES
· Evidence/proof of past experience in a similar field;
· Strong communication (written and oral) and networking skills;
· Have proven competencies in research, facilitation skills, good communication;
· Display cultural sensitivity and adaptability.
· Excellent Computer skills: MS Word, Excel, Power Point, and database software;
CONDITIONS OF SERVICE
· The timeline for the study is 4-6 weeks, beginning August 2016 through October 2016. The Consultant will provide detailed work plan according to the timeline suggested by UNRWA under deliverables.
· Remuneration for this consultancy will depend on the qualifications and experience of the consultant.
· The consultant will be required to travel and visit areas where UNRWA operates in the Jordan Field Office (JFO). Logistics for facilitating meetings will be done by UNRWA.
· Provision of office space will be provided within JFO when needed, but it is expected the consultant will primarily work from his/her home or the field.
· The Education Programme (EP) Senior Project Manager will provide all documents and information required to the consultant; facilitate access to staff and visits to UNRWA installations.
· The consultant will work in cooperation with the Deputy Chief Field Education Programme (D/CFEP) (Technical) and Deputy Chief Relief Social Services (D/CRSS).
· S/he will report to the Deputy Director of UNRWA Operations (Programme) (D/DUO(P)).
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION - ETHICS
Any data the consultant may ask to use should be understood that UNRWA owns this data. UNRWA requires that the consultant should not publish or release any data, analysis, statements, or publications based on the UNRWA data without written permission. Children who will be involved in this study means that the consultancy must adhere to basic ethical principles of research which can largely be subsumed as ‘do no harm’ principles.
APPLICATION PROCESS
Applicants should submit a proposal (not more than 5 pages), cover letter, CV with three references and their expected lump sum fee rate including professional fees and exercise costs via , clearly indicating the title of this consultancy “Consultant - To Conduct Rapid Assessment of Drop-out and Disability Situation” in the subject line of the message. Due to the time constraint for the activity, the deadline for submission of applications is 2 August 2016 (late applications will not be considered).
UNRWA is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from both women and men. UNRWA encourages applications from qualified and experienced female candidates. Only those applicants short-listed for interview will be contacted. UNRWA is a non-smoking environment.
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