Type of Contract: Independent Consultancy (Individual or Firm)
Department: Program Development
Language: English
Estimated Start Date: February 2024
Duration: 3 months
Location: Flexible (Remote Desk Based), with travel
Application Closing Date: 25th January 2024
1.BACKGROUND
Right To Play is a global organisation that protects, educates and empowers children to rise above adversity using play. By harnessing play, one of the most powerful and fundamental forces in a child’s life, we helped 2.3 million children last year to stay in school and out of work, to prevent life-threatening diseases like HIV and malaria and to stay safe from exploitation and abuse. We are the only global development organization focused exclusively on using play to transform the lives of children and youth impacted by poverty, war, disease and inequality.
Established in 2000, Right To Play reaches children through experiential programming in 15 countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and North America. These programs are supported by our headquarters in Toronto, Canada; London, UK and eight national offices across Europe (Germany, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, UK) and North America (Canada, US).
Right to Play has been working in Pakistan since 2008 and since then Right To Play Pakistan has implemented a wide range of play and sports-based development programs aimed at improving the quality of education, strengthening child protection, empowering young women and girls, and promoting social cohesion.
In 2018, the South African Medical Research Council and Aga Khan University conducted a randomized controlled trial in 40 public schools that found Right to Play’s play-based approach held significant promise for reducing violence, promoting gender equality, and helping children lead healthier lives. Notably, the trial found that peer violence against girls decreased by 59% in schools that were implementing Right to Play’s programs.
Building on the existing strength of Right to Play Pakistan, Right To Play Pakistan is now in the process of implementing “What Works 2” in Sindh which is a programme based to prevent violence against women and girls. This school-based Right to Play programme will use the power of sports and play to empower boys and girls to reduce peer violence, improve mental health, and change social norms in support of gender and non-violence.
2.OVERALL OBJECTIVE OF THE CONSULTANCY
The aim of the assignment is to undertake a Gendered Political Economy Analysis (GPEA) for What Works 2, a prevention of violence against women and girls (VAWG) project in Sindh Province, Pakistan. What Works 2aims to reduce gender-based violence against women and girls, to adopt positive forms of masculinity and to develop and adapt curriculum in consultation with the consortium. The program will be working in 60 schools (20 girls-only public schools, 20 boys-only public schools and 20 mixed private schools) which will be part of the research (intervention schools). Within these schools, the program will specifically work with children in grades 6, 7 and 8, approximately with students between 11-15 years of age. For the purpose of the research, 60 other homogenous schools will be taken onboard as the control arm. The GPEA will inform the project’s theory of change and advocacy strategy.
The specific objectives are as follows:
2.1 Conduct a context analysis to describe the context with regard to VAWG; identify key political and economic factors that influence VAWG and the political context related to VAWG prevention.
2.2 Deepen the project’s problem analysis and theory of change vis a vis the context analysis to identify and validate the key drivers of VAWG and root causes of a failure of policymakers to give sufficient priority to VAWG prevention.
2.3 Conduct a stakeholder and power analysis and opportunities and threats analysis to examine factors and actors that affect progress on preventing VAWG.
2.4 Provide recommendations to inform the project’s advocacy goals and approaches. This can be done through a participatory workshop.
2.5 Both organizations in the GPEA will be doing one GPEA which will ultimately contribute to the National Advocacy Plan.
3. METHODOLOGY
3.1 The ToR requires the assessment and analysis be conducted in a participatory manner as much as possible, in close collaboration with the What Works 2 Consortium members. The methodology is expected to include a) desk review, b) participatory multi-stakeholder workshop, c) qualitative data collection (key informant interviews and focus group discussions).
3.2 By the end of the GPEA, all key stakeholders involved in the What Works programme in Pakistan should have a clear understanding of the key drivers and root causes of the problem which includes both the key societal and/or community level drivers of violence against women and girls and the reasons why policymakers are not giving sufficient priority to this issue.
3.3 There should be clear recommendations on what needs to change in order to prevent violence against women and girls including what changes policymakers need to make plus the potential barriers to these changes.
3.4 There should also be a clear mention of what goals the national advocacy strategy should contain and how these support the specific outcomes the intervention is seeking, that is, what specific changes and action should be sought through advocacy.
3.5 The GPEA analysis should also contain who are the main stakeholders whom your advocacy needs to target along with potential allies and opponents. There should be an initial sense of what advocacy approaches and tactics are likely to be most effective to secure the changes.
3.6 Children’s voices must be heard with equal consideration to adults, and equally between diverse groups of children including as boys, girls, those living with disabilities and non-disabled children, those from different ethnic/religious/cultural backgrounds. This will be done according to the guidelines and child protection and safeguarding policies of Right To Play of engaging with children which includes consent from their parents/guardians.
3.7 The consultant is requested to propose their own methodology and/or approach for how they will complete all the key outputs with Right to Play. This includes key research questions, sampling, analysis approach and validation.
3.8 The consultant will be responsible for developing an analysis framework leveraging the guidance provided by Right To Play and leveraging existing best practice in the sector; developing all workshop materials and data collection tools; recruitment and management of any required facilitators, translators and/or transcribers; and all final analysis, validation and reporting.
3.9 All deliverables shall be produced in English and should be simple in expression (jargon free) and accessible to a wide audience. The consultant will submit an electronic version of the final report and all annexes by the agreed deadline. The final reports and annexes will be fully formatted and copy edited with all tables and graphics required included. Annexes are expected to include all tools and raw data/transcripts.
3.10 Right To Play will be responsible for providing guidance throughout the assignment to ensure alignment with Right To Play’s priorities and approaches. The consultant/firm will keep the organisation up to date throughout the project delivery and agree on changes to the methodology where appropriate.
4. ANTICIPATED ACTIVITIES
4.1 Develop a detailed inception report with a work plan, outlining the methodology and timeframe for each milestone. This includes but is not limited to:
4.1.1 Work Plan and Schedule of Activities
4.1.2 Detailed description of how to collect, analyse, triangulate and summarise findings, including proposed facilitation approach for the participatory workshop and proposed sampling approach for any qualitative data collection.
4.1.3 Detailed quality assurance, safeguarding and risk management protocols. This should include explaining how stakeholders will be primed for the activity to ensure quality data is obtained, bias is reduced, and staff and participants remain safe, both during the exercise and during subsequent programming thereafter
4.2 Participate in regular meetings with Right To Play on the study plan/methodology/timeframe, discussing results and findings and agreed recommendations and follow-up actions.
4.3 Conduct a desk review to inform the GPEA. A draft desk review will be shared and revised based on feedback from Right To Play and Consortium members.
4.4 Produce a workshop report summarizing key discussions and outcomes.
4.5 Manage data collection process, including recruitment of any data collectors/facilitators, note takers and translators, providing training and support, supervision of data collection and storage. This includes ensuring the credibility of data collected by facilitators.
4.6 Compile a comprehensive first draft of the GPEA report and revise the report based on feedback from Right to Play and Consortium members.
4.7 Timely submission of the final report package in English to Right To Play, including:
4.7.1 Final GPEA Report in English, as per outline provided by Right To Play.
4.7.2 All workshop materials, data collection tools, coding framework and raw data/transcripts.
5. DELIVERABLES
The consultant will submit the following deliverables:
Deliverable // Estimated Number of Days (Total: 24)
Draft Inception Plan // 0.5
Final Inception Plan // 0.5
Draft GPEA Document Review // 5
Final GPEA Document Review (10 pages maximum, excluding annexes) // 1
Preparation and Delivery of Workshop // 5
Workshop Summary Report, including all workshop materials // 1
Conduct Qualitative Data Collection, including developing tools // 4
Draft GPEA Report // 6
Final GPEA Report with all required annexes. (20 pages maximum excluding annexes) // 1
All materials and deliverables developed for this consultancy will be the intellectual property of Right To Play.
6. TIME FRAME
The consultant is expected to start as soon as possible following the completion of recruitment, with an anticipated start date from February 2024. The contract duration is projected for three (3) months.
7. REPORTING LINE
7.1 The consultant shall work under the supervision of Education Specialist of Right To Play Pakistan.
7.2 Members of the Consortium will have an advisory role in reviewing all deliverables.
7.3 The consultant(s) and the relevant Right To Play team will meet as per agreed timings at various stages of the project.
8. SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
Required experience of the applicant (individual or institution) include:
- Master’s degree or equivalent in a specialization related to VAWG, gender studies, development studies or social sciences.
- A proven track record and experience in leading GPEA or related assignments.
- Previous experience conducting studies in Pakistan, with experience in Sindh province preferred.
- Experience in qualitative and participatory data collection methods and participatory workshop facilitation.
Required competencies of the consultant are:
- Excellent knowledge of VAWG prevention strategies, including advocacy approaches and VAWG prevention among young people.
- Good knowledge and proven experience in research design, implementation and data analysis, including participatory and child-friendly approaches.
- Excellent English and Urdu language and writing skills. Fluency in any other language in particular Pashto and Sindhi is an added advantage.
- High level of inter-personal and cross-cultural skills.
- Excellent planning, organization and time management skills.
How to apply
9. HOW TO APPLY
Interested applicants are requested to submit:
- Proposal (both technical and financial) including current CV(s). The financial proposal should include all personnel, travel and translation costs.
- Sample of work that is relevant to the consultancy, completed within the last 3 years (to be treated as confidential and only used for the purposes of quality assurance).
- Two references, including one from your last client/employer.
10. APPLICATION PROCEDURE
- Please submit your application electronically to [email protected]. Any questions can also be directed to this e-mail.
- The closing date for the application is 25th January 2024.
- The shortlisted 3-4 candidates may be invited to submit modifications.
11. CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMATION
11.1 All documents and data collected will be treated as confidential and used solely to facilitate analysis.
11.2 Where necessary, the respondents will not be quoted in the reports without their permission.
11.3 All those contracted by Right To Play must agree to sign and abide by all relevant Right To Play policies including the Global Safeguarding Policy and Code of Conduct as well as property rights policies.