Country: South Sudan
Organization: The Roméo Dallaire Child Soldiers Initiative
Closing date: 28 May 2021
1. INTRODUCTION
The following document outlines the Terms of Reference to conduct a Tracer Study for the Dallaire Institute for Children, Peace and Security (formerly known as Roméo Dallaire Child Soldier Initiative). This GAC-funded 3.5-year project titled “A Child Rights Upfront Approach for South Sudan: Protecting Children and Building Dialogue” is going to conclude in September 2021.
While the Dallaire Institute builds in periodic learning and adaptation processes and regularly measures and reports on progress of the project, this Tracer Study is commissioned to provide an externally assessed perspective on the results and changes contributed by the project. The final external Tracer Study will serve information purposes for project stakeholders and will also serve as a learning venue for future initiatives in the region and beyond.
The scope and focus of this Terms of Reference builds on consultation with Dallaire Institute country office team members (South Sudan) and was further strengthened through consultations/interviews with local partners, security sector actors, CSOs, and key public stakeholders in South Sudan. This document provides general information about the project, key questions to be answered by the tracer study and implementation modalities for data collection and analysis.
2. ORGANIZATIONAL AND PROJECT BACKGROUND
2.1 About the Dallaire Institute for Children, Peace & Security
The Dallaire Institute (DI) was established in 2007 by retired Lieutenant-General the Honorable Roméo Dallaire, former Force Commander of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR). Our mission is to develop new strategies and tactics for preventing the recruitment and use of children as soldiers worldwide. To achieve this important objective, the Dallaire Institute implements the following key strategic AIMS:**
· Comprehensive, prevention-oriented capacity building for security sector actors, in the service of broader security sector reform, as well as collaboration with civil society to create and implement tools that protect children from the dangers associated with recruitment.
· World-class, interdisciplinary research to build and share knowledge, which in turn leads to new solutions.
· High-level advocacy activities to create and promote the political will to end the use of children during the war.
· Education and programming to sustain the efforts to make the use of child soldiers unthinkable by inspiring leaders, educators, and policymakers to implement new approaches, conduct research, and actively share their knowledge on the prioritization of the children’s rights upfront approach.
2.2 The Dallaire Institute’s Work in South Sudan
South Sudan has seen the massive and widespread use of children as soldiers by all parties to the conflict resulting in the country being listed as a state violator on the 2016 UN SRSG’s report on Children and Armed Conflict. In 2017 GAC approved the “A Child’s Rights Upfront Approach for South Sudan: protecting children and building dialogue,” project implemented by Dalhousie University, working with the Dallaire Institute, to support the progressive elimination of the recruitment and use of child soldiers, both boys and girls, in South Sudan. The project works primarily with national security sector actors to strengthen policies and practices in child protection and to improve national capacity to prevent the recruitment and use of children as soldiers. In addition, the project works with civil society organizations and communities to strengthen child protection strategies to protect at-risk boys and girls from being recruited as soldiers. Cross-cutting throughout the project is the generation and use of evidence and knowledge in policies and programming as it relates to child protection, gender equality, child rights, conflict and peacebuilding.
2.3 Project’s Theory of Change
It is imperative that efforts to prevent violence against children are prioritized in South Sudan given the severity of children’s rights violations across the country, and importantly, given the prevalence of the recruitment and use of boys and girls as soldiers. If child soldiering persists in South Sudan, cycles of violence will continue, and the achievement of positive, durable peace will be unattainable. This context underpins the ultimate outcome of the project – the progressive elimination of the recruitment and use of child soldiers, both boys and girls, in South Sudan, and a gender-responsive Children’s Rights Upfront (CRU) approach forms the methodology of the project. To achieve this ultimate outcome, the Dallaire Institute is working with security sector actors, peace process stakeholders, and civil society members to increase awareness about children’s rights and needs, foster collaboration across sectors, and ultimately build a protective environment for children. The results framework of the project is a key guiding document, which is based on the actor focused theory of change, grounded within the spheres of influence model (derived from the GAC tools), contributing to three key project outcomes:
· 1100: Improved capacity of security sector actors to prevent the recruitment and use of boys and girls as soldiers.
· 1200: More effective dialogue that prevents the recruitment and use of boys and girls as soldiers is integrated into the overall peacemaking process in South Sudan.
· 1300: Strengthened the application of child protection strategies by civil society and communities to protect at-risk boys and girls from being recruited as child soldiers.
2.4 Project’s Progress and Key Challenges to date
In the first two years of the project, progress has been made towards its ultimate outcome. With the security sector, the project team has established foundations for effective program implementation. This has culminated in the signing of one Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) with the national military – the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF), and another MOU is pending signature with the national police– the South Sudan National Police Service (SSNPS). Since its inception, the project has navigated the complex architecture of these young institutions, while simultaneously working to build capacity (Intermediate Outcome 1100), by increasing the knowledge and skills of security actors (Immediate Outcomes 1110 & 1120), to foster a protective environment for children. However, as training momentum was accelerating and the MoUs were signed, the Covid-19 pandemic hit, and thus an adaptation plan was put in place where activities were scaled back or adapted to ensure safety of staff and participants, and realistic targets for the final year of the project.
Through inroads that have been made with security sector stakeholders (SSPDF, SSNPS, Joint Transitional Security Committee (JTSC)), actors from the peace process mechanisms such as the Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring and Verification Mechanism (CTSAMVM) and the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC), and civil society actors (ex. Support for Women in Governance Organization (SWIGO and the Nuer Community women for Peace, Reconciliation and Development Initiative – NWCPRDI), the project has progressed towards more effective dialogue in the overall peacemaking process on preventing the recruitment and use of child soldiers (Intermediate Outcome 1200). These inroads led to high-level partnerships (such as those with the SSPDF and SSNPS that have resulted in MoUs) that will be instrumental in ensuring prioritization of prevention by relevant institutions (Immediate Outcome 1210). Furthermore, through ongoing technical assistance and advocacy with stakeholders from various sectors, the project built the capacity of relevant institutions to monitor and prevent recruitment from a gender-responsive approach (Immediate Outcome 1220). For instance, in Year 2 the project delivered training to members of CTSAMVM twice. The first was an orientation for 15 new CTSAMVM monitors (June 24, 2019) on how to monitor and report on the recruitment and use of children. The second was an executive briefing for 10 senior members of CTSAMVM (February 28, 2020), on the importance of a CRU approach in the peace process, and strategies for the prevention of recruitment of vulnerable boys and girls. In addition to the work that has been done to increase the knowledge and skills of civil society actors (Immediate Outcomes 1310 & 1320), the project made space for civil society voices in less accessible spaces, in order to foster greater dialogue to prevent recruitment and use (Immediate Outcome 1200).
Various challenges have been presented while operating in the context of a fragile peace process. While originally the project was expected to have a stronger focus on national institutional capacity building, such as through the development of national policies, strategies, legislation, and doctrine, it was later determined that the conditions were not in place for these activities to take place. Additionally, project activities with the security sector and the civil society actors were not only affected by the delays in the peace process; but also by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. The government has been in a transition process, resulting in a turn-over of government officials and the absence of a fully formed government. These factors stalled some the advocacy and high-level engagement activities with the government. Additionally, as part of the peace process, security sector actors were pulled into the unification process which interrupted the scheduled training calendar. Despite these delays and challenges, the project has adapted and continues to make progress towards outcomes.
3. OBJECTIVES & SCOPE OF EVALUATION
The Tracer Study is being commissioned by the Dallaire Institute to understand and document the main results and changes brought on by the project to the lives of project beneficiaries and the overall peacebuilding ecosystem in South Sudan from a prevention programming perspective. Project beneficiaries include children/child soldiers (the ultimate beneficiaries of the project), key security actors, civil society organizations, communities, and caregivers. Tracer study findings will inform future initiatives aimed at preventing the use and recruitment of child soldiers in South Sudan.
The Tracer Study should assess formative aspects (assessing the design and theory of change of the project), process (assessing the implementation process of the project), and impact/results. The main audience is project beneficiaries in South Sudan, security sector stakeholders, local partner / civil society organizations, Dallaire Institute national and international staff, and GAC.
The Tracer Study is intended to be an independent external reflection on the project, which will complement internal biannual project monitoring and reporting carried out by the Dallaire Institute team, as well as an independent project summative evaluation undertaken separately by GAC. It will reflect on 3 years of implementation.
3.1 Key Objectives
In order to define the key questions and main considerations for this Tracer Study, the Dallaire Institute HQ team used consultations / observations gained through extensive engagement with partners including security sector actors, women’s groups and other actors. The observations included understanding the main positive and negative changes that these stakeholders defined as important aspects to focus on (reported in past progress reports) and converted them into key questions that the Tracer Study can answer. The key objectives of the study are as follows:
· To document changes in the lives of the beneficiaries of the project.
· To understand the correlation between the project activities and these changes, explaining the links between the observed changes in the beneficiaries and the programming, including external factors that have contributed to these changes.
· To document what the project could have done differently and inform learning that can contribute to the design of future interventions.
3.2 Research Questions
The evaluator is expected to develop methodological approaches and tools that will provide answers to the following questions:
· Did the capacity of targeted security sector actors to prevent recruitment and use of boys and girls as soldiers increase in this 3-year period? If yes, then did the project contribute to this increase and how? Did other factors affect this increase positively or negatively?
· Was more effective dialogue integrated in the peacemaking process in South Sudan in this 3-year period? If yes, then did the project contribute to this integration and how? Did other factors affect this integration positively or negatively?
· Has application of child protection strategies by civil society and communities strengthened to protect at-risk boys and girls from being recruited as child soldiers in this 3-year period? If yes, then did the project contribute to this change and how? Did other factors affect this change positively or negatively?
· How do the changes observed by female participants compare to those observed by male participants?
· According to the respondents, what other interventions or approaches could have strengthened the overall changes as well as those specific to female and male participants?
4. METHODOLOGICAL APPROACHES
Evaluation methodology should be participatory, inclusive (consultations with all stakeholders, such as gender, age, disability and other vulnerability considerations), sensitive to social norms and practices, and ethical in data collection practices (safety, informed consent, etc.). This is especially important for the methodology of the Tracer Study, for example, it is encouraged to suggest different methods which include young people as active agents for data collection and analysis as well. Having conflict-affected youth, community members and security sector actors engaged in data collection and analysis in different forms will also be in line with the participatory nature of the project as a whole. Findings and analysis should be disaggregated by age and gender.
Consultants are encouraged to use participatory and qualitative methods for data collection and data analysis, along with quantitative methods for measuring the changes, in line with the overall theory of change of the project – as identified above. Additionally, since one of the objectives of the Tracer Study is to understand the contribution of the project towards change at various levels in the project’s theory of change (key stakeholders/actors, women groups, caregivers), the consultants are encouraged to suggest different methodologies, which can provide answers in a valid and reliable manner.
The consultants will be provided with secondary sources (i.e. project results framework, baseline and progress reports, MEAL analytical reports, results from any FGDs done by Dallaire Institute during implementation, etc.). At the same time, the consultants shall consider other external secondary data sources – All data collection methods should be age and gender appropriate.
5. TIMELINE & ROLES
The Tracer Study will be managed by the Dallaire Institute’s Research and Learning Department, namely by MEAL Manager as well as South Sudan Country Director. Below outlines the activities, timeline and roles involved in this study:
What: Tracer Study TOR publication
By whom: Dallaire Institute’s HR
By when: May 10, 2021
What: Selection of study consultant
By whom: Dallaire Institute’s R&L, South Sudan CD and HR
By when: June 4, 2021
What: Documentation review, desk research & initial consultations
By whom: Consultant
By when: June 11, 2021
What: Inception report, including detailed methodology, questions, tools and sampling methodology
By whom: Consultant
By when: June 18, 2021
What: Inception report review and endorsement
By Whom: Dallaire Institute’s R&L team and South Sudan CD
By when: June 25, 2021
What: Tools translation, pilot testing and tool revision
By Whom: Consultant with logistical support from South Sudan team
By when: July 2, 2021
What: Data collection
By whom: Consultant with logistical support from South Sudan team
By when: July 23, 2021
What: Data entry, cleaning & analysis
By whom: Consultant
By when: July 28, 2021
What: First draft report of the Tracer Study
By whom: Consultant
By when: August 3, 2021
What: Presentation of report findings to DI team and discussion
By whom: Consultant
By when: August 6, 2021
What: Revision of the draft report and sharing for written feedback
By whom: Consultant
By when: August 11, 2021
What: Review and feedback to the report
By whom: Dallaire Institute
By when: August 18, 2021
What: Revision and finalization of Tracer Study report
By whom: Consultant
By when: August 25, 2021
Logistical arrangements for transportation to and from the locations of data collection within the country will be mutually agreed with the consultant and arranged by either party. The logistics of the group discussions and meetings with different target groups will be arranged by the Dallaire Institute. These arrangements will be pre-agreed before starting the field works and should clearly be defined by the evaluator.
6. EXPECTED OUTCOMES
The evaluator is expected to deliver the following outcomes/deliverables:
Inception report, including A) detailed methodology including data collection methods B) tools**:** it will include objectives and key questions, including tools actor by actor, sampling considerations if any, timeline and logistics, etc. C) Data collection plan, including the logistical arrangement and required support from DI and D) Evaluability assessment in the context of Covid-19
Data Collection: This will include reaching out to identified groups as well as project teams in a pre-defined most appropriate manner.
Tracer Study Report- 1st draft, not more than 25-30 pages, written in English. Any additional information should be provided in Annexes.
§ Executive Summary (1-2 page)
§ Methodology, including limitations (2-3 pages)
§ Main Findings (15-20 pages)
o Disaggregated by age, gender, spheres of influence.
§ Conclusions, Recommendations and Lessons (5 pages)
§ Annexes including plans, tools, datasets, etc.
Tracer Study Report-Final – The evaluator is expected to incorporate any feedback from the Dallaire Institute and other stakeholders in the Tracer Study report as per the given timeline and bring out the final report**.** The contract agreement between Dallaire Institute and the evaluator will be based on above-noted deliverables.
7. BUDGET
The available budget for this tracer study is a maximum of 10,000 Canadian Dollars.
8. EVALUATION TEAM
The Dallaire Institute encourages both companies and individual evaluators to apply for this consultancy service. The main requirement is the experience in the region, and usage of innovative and mixed methods approaches, including the considerations for remote modality due to COVID-19. The evaluator (or enumerators engaged in the data collection) is expected to speak Arabic (or be experienced working with a translator), as well as English. Main requirements are:**
· At least 10-15 years’ demonstrated experience in participatory evaluation and research methodologies, preferably in the East Africa Region, especially in South Sudan;
· Advanced university degree (Master’s or Ph.D.) from a recognized institution in the field of social sciences, evaluation, gender and/or women’s studies, conflict studies, international development, or other comparable fields;
· Demonstrated experience in designing age-appropriate, gender-sensitive research methodologies, tools and analysis;
· Demonstrated experience in conducting/analyzing outcomes mapping evaluations (Desirable);
· Demonstrated experience of evaluating child protection programs especially using preventive approaches and security sector reforms and dealing with security sector actors
· Experience in remote modality data methodologies and tools due to COVID-19 adaptations;
· Excellent English communication and writing skills;
How to apply:
Potential consultants / consulting firms should submit their Expression of Interests (EOI) by 5:00 PM Juba Time on May 28, 2021, through mary@dallaireinstitute.org . The interested candidates shall provide:**
· Technical Proposal (not more than 3 pages): Methodology, methods, tools (or approaches), timeline, management, and data collection & analysis plans;
· Financial Proposal in USD (not more than 1 page);
· Organization profile with a personal resume of lead evaluator/resume in case of an individual consultant, along with the list of previous similar experiences; (not more than 3 pages)
· Testimonies of previous reports or publications in related evaluation or research. (Social media links preferred)
In case of any technical questions, please contact Nisreen Abou Mrad, all questions should be submitted on or before May 21, 2021.
1. ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
The proposals will be assessed based on the following criteria:
· Technical Proposal (40%)
· Professional Experience (20%)
· Commercial / Financial Proposal (30%)
· Communications / Writing Style (10%)