1.            Background and Purpose

The Government of Rwanda has demonstrated, through various policies, legislative and programme initiatives, strong commitment towards meeting the rights of the children of Rwanda. The Constitution of the Republic of Rwanda (article 27); the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (article 20 and 21) as ratified by the Government of Rwanda; the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the child (article 25); and the Integrated Child Rights Policy and the recommendations of the 7th National Children Summit in which children expressed their concern that all children living in institutions should be reunited  in their families and/or other alternative family based care. slightly more than 9 in 10 children in Rwanda between 7 and 12  years old attend primary school and the number of children with disabilities enrolled in pre-primary school has increased from 1,153 pupils in 2013 to 1,387 pupils in 2014[1]. With nutrition indicators among children improving, overall stunting dropped from 44.2% to 37.9% between 2010 and 2014/15 while that for the poorest quintile improved also dropping from 54% to 48.6%[2]. However, some of the biggest challenges facing children in Rwanda today are risks from abuse, violence, exploitation and neglect. Gender-based violence remains a particular concern in Rwanda: 33 per cent of girls and 29 per cent of boys have been victims of physical or sexual violence (DHS[3] 2014/15), while 22 per cent of women and 15 per cent of adolescent girls have been victims of sexual violence. Statistics from the National Police indicate that children account for 65 per cent of all gender-based violence and abuse cases registered at the One-Stop Centre for victims of violence in Kigali. While women and girls are more often the victims of violence, 65 per cent is notably high within the region. Recent DHS (2014/15) results also show that currently only 56 per cent of children are registered at birth while 97 per cent do not have a document to prove their identification. The child labour is higher in rural than it is in urban areas for the proportion of children engaged in economic activities was 14 % in rural area compared to 10 % in urban area (EICV4). Factors such as poverty, domestic violence, and child neglect are often linked with family separation and institutionalization of children.

 The National Commission for Children (NCC) is the organ tasked with the coordination, monitoring and evaluation process of the Integrated Child Rights Policy (ICRP) and its Strategic Plan. The policy highlights the importance of the rights of children to be raised in a family environment. It also details the importance to strengthen families and ensure children without parental care are catered for through social support and establishment of systems for good alternative family based care; where a community child protection system is operationalized and a comprehensive system for alternative care is established.

In line with this, in 2012, the Cabinet of Ministers of 16 March adopted a Strategy for National Child Care Reform which details how children living in institutions will regain their right to live in a loving, safe and supportive family environment.   In 2013, The NCC and UNICEF developed a programmatic framework for the implementation of the Strategy for National Child Care Reform and the establishment of a strengthened child protection system: The Tubarerere Mu Muruyango Programme (TMM, ‘Let us raise children in families’). TMM aims at contributing to the fulfilment of the following strategic objectives:

1. Build and enhance the capacity of the National Commission for Children to lead a National Child Care Reform and coordinate a functioning Child Protection System;
2. Strengthen the capacity to deliver and coordinate child care services at decentralized levels;
3. Strengthen the family unit for reintegration, resilience and prevention through social protection;
4. Ensure sustainability for national child care and strengthen the child protection system;
5. Enhance data and strategic knowledge management and monitoring and evaluation.
6. Enhance public awareness and community mobilization on the importance of raising children in families.

The Tubarerere Mu Muryango Programme (refered as TMM hereafter) was put in place in 2013 to safely place children from orphanages - found across 19 Districts of Rwanda- to family based care using a cadre of professional social workers and psychologists. Under NCC’s leadership, TMM has been implemented since March 2013 through a tri-partite partnership between the Government of Rwanda, UNICEF and Non- Governmental Organizations.

 From 2012 up to December 2016, 2559 out of 3323 children have been placed in families and other alternative care while other children were prevented from entering institutions or being separated with their families. Among the 2559 children placed, 1373 were safely placed under guidance of TMM programme.

The Government of Rwanda is currently implementing Phase II of the TMM programme where the focus is more on child Protection system strengthening to prevent and respond to neglect, abandonment, exploitation and violence against children.

2.            Justification  

Phase I of the TMM Programme ended in September 2016 and Phase II commenced in October 2016. At this juncture, it is critical to draw lessons learned from the Phase I interventions.  In addition, there is a strategic need to generate concrete evidence on whether the programme interventions (TMM Phase I) have yielded intended results by benefitting the targeted population (children found in institutional care, the communities and families; social workforce and local government authorities) especially from sustainability point of view.  It is with this justification that UNICEF Rwanda in collaboration with the Government of Rwanda (GoR) is undertaking a summative evaluation of TMM Phase I and for this purpose, is seeking a qualified international institutional consultancy firm to undertake a summative evaluation. 

3.            Objectives  

This summative evaluation intends to generate  lessons learned  and recommendations which will be used by GoR, UNICEF Rwanda and Implementing Partners (IPs) to feed into the TMM Programme Phase II implementation.

The specific objectives of the evaluation are set as follows:

1.  To assess the level of implementation of TMM Phase I and results achieved against the ToC/Workplan.
2. To identify drivers and constraint to implementation (i.e. why), what worked and what did not work.
3. To perform a cost and ownership analysis to the extent possible to feed into sustainability and value-for-money discussion for TMM II. 
4. To perform  in-depth  assessment of the well-being of children who were placed into families under TMM Phase I, and identify the best practices of the program; 
5. To assess any spilt-over effects over the community attitude/ social behaviour change toward the benefit of raising children into families;
6. To draw lessons and generate recommendations to strengthen on-going and future Child Protection interventions in the country.

   To shed light on the positive effects, potential problems that were not intended as an outcome of the direct Programme interventions.

   As per the OECD-DAC evaluation criteria, the above mentioned objectives will be pursued by posing (but not limited to) the following evaluation questions:

   Relevance:

• To what extent has TMM I responded to Rwanda’s national and sector development priorities?
• What is the value of the interventions in relation to global references such as human rights, CRC and SDG?
• What does the experience in TMM I suggest about the appropriateness of the current programming strategy under TMM II?

Impact:

• What were the results of the TMM I intervention – positive, negative, intended and unintended particularly on the most vulnerable population?     
• To what extent has TMM I addressed inequality issues by benefitting the most vulnerable population?   

Effectiveness:

• Did TMM I deliver the results according to the workplan? Did it reach the intended beneficiaries in timely manner? If not, why?
• Did TMM I intervention demonstrate added value/good examples vis-a-vis the existing public system in terms of improving the quality of life of the most vulnerable children?  

Efficiency

• Did the TMM I use the resource in the most economical manner in achieving intended results?

Sustainability

• Has the TMM I intervention contributed to put TMM II strategy more widely replicated and/or scaled up with a clear ownership in sustainable manner?   

4.            Methodological Approach & Expected Output

This evaluation will focus on the outcomes of implementing the six objectives of the TMM programme. The Theory of Change (ToC) as annexed was reconstructed based on the existing programme documents. This is a theory-based evaluation which attempts to establish contribution and attribution by testing the ToC. Since those children who are benefitted by the interventions were selected not by the standard criteria, but by various factors such as preference of caregivers, a purposive sampling will guide the overall sampling framework.    

A mixed method approach (qualitative and quantitative) will be used to attempt triangulation.  

A variety of data collection strategy will be applied by using but not limited to the following methods;

1. Review of secondary data and programme documents;
2. Interviews with key informants (Children, teachers, Local authority leaders, parents, Institutional care managers, social workers);
3. Primary data collection (qualitative and quantitative).

     

   Gender and equity analysis, and bottleneck analysis will be performed, Most Significant Change (MSC) technique will be applied to assess intended/unintended results. 

   5. Limitation 

   The quality and limited availability of disaggregated data and documents may negatively affect the quality of analysis.

   6. Ethical considerations

   Scientific and ethical clearance will be sought from the Rwanda National Ethics Committee. Adequate measures should be taken to ensure that the process responds to quality and ethical requirements. As per United Nations Evaluation Group (UNEG) Standard and Norms, the evaluator(s) should be sensitive to beliefs, manners and customs and act with integrity and honesty in relationship with all stakeholders. Furthermore, the evaluator(s) should protect the anonymity of individual information, and respect the confidentiality of all information which is being handled during the assignment. The best interests of a child must be taken into consideration throughout the evaluation process. The evaluator(s) are allowed to use documents and information provided only for the tasks related to the terms of reference of this evaluation. Data will be stored in a secure location, kept confidential with access restricted to principal investigators. The data will be used only for the purpose of this evaluation.

   UNEG Norms and Standards (www.uneval.org) particularly, intentionality, impartiality, independence, quality and transparency standards will be strictly adhered to.

    

7.            Major Tasks, Deliverables & Timeframe

The evaluation will be implemented through the following the phased approach. :

1) Inception Phase

• To produce an inception report that scopes the evaluation and is accompanied by the Evaluation Framework and outline of the report
• To fine-tune reconstructed Theory of Change 
• To propose sampling method, data collection tools , as well as analytical framework in the context of selected districts to evaluate the well-being of children placed into families;

2) Data collection phase  

• To hire and train local enumerators to collect data as per identified methodology;
• To train the local enumerators on interview techniques with focus on targeting children and young people who were placed into families;
• To adapt and conduct a pilot test of the questionnaire-interview questions for accuracy of translation into the local language;
• To pay specific attention to confidentiality and use appropriate and sensitive methods during interviews with each child who have been affected after being placed into family and takes into consideration psychological issues that may arise as a result of participating in the study;
• To develop a data collection monitoring framework and monitor the fieldworks;
• To Review or develop data entry programme (SPSS for quantitative and any other relevant program for qualitative data) and provide training to the local data clerks; and ensure quality check while data entry and facilitate data cleaning process;
• To train a core NCC team for provision of immediate assistance to the identified most vulnerable children and their families;
• To provide observations and further recommendations to the assessment process done by the local enumerators.

3) Analytical phase

In close collaboration with the National Commission for Children, MIGEPROF and UNICEF, the consultant will evaluate if the expected results set under the 6 strategic objectives of the TMM I Programme were achieved. Following are the expected results under each objective:

Objective one: Build and enhance the capacity of the National Commission for Children to lead a National Child Care Reform and coordinate a functioning Child Protection System

1. An organizational capacity comprehensive assessment conducted by an independent international organization;
2. An institutional capacity building strategy and focused institutional capacity building technical assistance plans developed;
3. Immediate human resources and technical assistance provided;
4. Medium and long term human and technical capacities provided;
5. National guidelines on Alternative Care including foster care, national adoption, inter-country adoption revised and implemented;
6. National standards for institutions revised and enforced.

Objective 2: Strengthen the capacity to deliver and coordinate child care services at decentralized levels

1. 68 staff at the decentralized level: 34 social workers and 34 psychologists recruited and deployed in 30 Districts;
2. Social workforce skills enhanced (Prevention, Assessment, Decision making, Care Planning, Reviews and Reintegration) according to international and national child care standards;
3. Contracting mechanism between public and private sector for provision of alternative care services established;
4. Capacity development to monitor and inspect orphanages established.

Objective 3: Strengthen the family unit for reintegration, resilience and prevention through social protection

1. Family performance contracts with local authorities signed by parent/carers;
2. Contractual public private partnership between partner organization and NCC established and Memorandum of Understanding signed;
3. Tailored reintegration packages for children and families available;
4. Roles and responsibilities of professional social workers and community social workers in the provision of psycho social support clarified and formalized;
5. Alternative social protection support pilot-tested and linkages to complementary social welfare services established.
6. Prevention mechanisms for child abandonment and child institutionalization established.

Objective4. Ensure sustainability for national child care and strengthen the child protection system

1. Increased sustainable Government funding for the provision of child protection services available;
2. 68 Government workers and psychologists integrated into civil service and paid by the Government;
3. District Child and Social Service united piloted and scaled-up;
4. Roles between District, Sector, Cell and Village clarified;
5. Referral mechanisms between District, Sector Cell and Village established.

Objective5. Enhance data and strategic knowledge management and monitoring and evaluation (discussed by each group)

1. Case management and routine monitoring system to inform policy and practice established;
2. An assessment to map and assess the alternative care system is conducted;
3. An assessment of the status of children who  have been deinstitutionalized from orphanages in 2012 care is conducted;
4. An evaluation of the reintegration packages conducted if various types of reintegration packages are pilot tested;
5. Community of practice between Ethiopia and Rwanda established.

Objective 6: Public awareness and community mobilization

1.  Parents and community members are aware of the importance of family environment for children and families willing to foster/adopt children are available
2. Institutions' managers are compliant and supportive in reintegration process;
3. The programme is understood, owned and disseminated to the churches followers;
4. Local leaders understood well the TMM programme and are supporting in the implementation;
5. The forums of Malayika Murinzi revived, empowered and become role models of foster carers in their respective communities;
6. Young adults become agents of change in their societies but at the same time grow up as future responsible parents;

4) Reporting Phase

• The Consultant will prepare a draft report with the analysis, findings, and recommendations on development of the program for strengthening the national child protection structures in Rwanda.

• The consultant will prepare presentations and present evaluation findings to the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion, National Commission for Children, UNICEF, Local and international Partners working in the area of child protection.

• The evaluation report will be finalized by incorporating the comments from different stakeholders. 

Deliverables with timeframe

Major Task

Deliverable

Timeframe

1.Conduct introductory meetings with key stakeholders

Inception report including evaluation framework

One  weeks and 5 days

2.Development and finalization of evaluation tools, questioners and methodology in participatory manner

Evaluation framework 

3.Desk Review of available documents

Desk review

3 days

4.Training for enumerators

District statistics officials/enumerators are trained for data collection

One week

5.Data gathering

Completed datasets

Two weeks

6.Produce data analysis and draft report,  and share it with other relevant stakeholders

Data analysis and draft report

Two weeks

7.Hold validation workshop to disseminate findings and recommendations, and incorporate feedback into the final report

Evaluation findings and recommendations validated, Final report, Dissemination kits

One week

End products:

• The Evaluation Report should include executive summary, findings, conclusions, recommendations (management response), lessons learned as per the UNICEF Evaluation Standards.
• Succinct and realistic recommendations and follow-up actions which feed into the management response   
• Popular version of evaluation summary (max 15 pages) and a PowerPoint presentation.
• The draft and final documents will be shared with and validated by National Commission for Children/ MIGEPROF, UNICEF and other Child Protection implementing partners.

6. Stakeholder Participation

The consultancy firm will work in close collaboration with relevant Government entities, the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion, National Commission for Children, National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) and other stakeholders including UNICEF and other International NGOs to gather relevant information related to programme establishment and implementation. For this purpose, an evaluation steering committee will be established.  

The consultant will also work with decentralized levels as well as community and families to collect data on the well-being of families and children placed under the TMM programme.

7. Qualifications and Requirements

The International Consultant has to fulfill the following qualifications:

• Extensive evaluation expertise and experience (at least 10 years ) including theory-based evaluation.
• Relevant and proven professional experience in handling sensitive data/information and in undertaking research on child rights issues, child protection and violence against children. Relevant publication list on child rights, child well-being or any other child protection issues may be requested;
• In depth knowledge of substantive social, economic issues and development issues in Africa. A good experience in performing quantitative and qualitative data analysis including a large scale data collection.  ;
• Availability, motivation, patience and commitments to be engaged with intensive analytical process and dialogues in producing a high-quality report;
• Proven skills in analyzing policy process, political dialogues and understanding institutional dynamics and developing the sound recommendations based on the evidence;
• Extensive experience in capacity building in data collection and analysis by targeting different levels of audience;
• Excellent writing skills, preferably demonstrated by the peer-reviewed journals;
• Good computer skills and good command of qualitative and quantitative analysis software
• Demonstrate strong interpersonal, communication skills, and ability to address difficult topics with vulnerable populations and especially conducting qualitative research with children;
• Fluency and excellent writing skills in English required. Working knowledge of French and Kinyarwanda would be an advantage;
• Work experience in developing countries. Knowledge of the Rwandan development context would be an asset.

8. Supervision

The institution will work under the joint supervision of the Rwandan National Commission for Children (NCC), the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion and UNICEF Rwanda Child Protection Section and PME section. A steering committee comprised of MIGEPROF, NCC, UNICEF and various NGOs will be put in place to provide overall guidance for the evaluation. The contract will be signed between the consultant and UNICEF in close collaboration with the National Commission for Children and shall be governed by the UNICEF’s rules and regulations. The day to day administrative arrangements will be managed by the UNICEF Child Protection Specialist and the NCC TMM  Programme Senior Manager.

9. Terms and conditions:

General conditions

• Official travel to the country and within the country will be as required for completing tasks. Travel costs should be specified as part of the proposed budget and the institution should make transport arrangements for all staff involved;
• No equipment or office supplies will be provided by UNICEF;
• No access to UNICEF transport.

Policy both parties should be aware of

• Under the consultancy agreements, a month is defined as 22 working days and fees are prorated accordingly.  Consultants are not paid for weekends or public holidays.
• Consultants are not entitled to payment of overtime. All remuneration must be within the contract agreement.
• No contract may commence unless the contract is signed by both UNICEF and the Contractor.
• All outputs shall be the absolute property of UNICEF and Government of Rwanda

How to apply:

Qualified institutions are requested to submit a full proposal, consisting of two parts (technical and financial.

Deadline for submission: 26 May 2017

SEALED offers shall be sent to:

UNICEF Office, Kacyiru Ebenezer House/Reception Desk or to the following email:[email protected]

Financial proposal should provide a budget and timeline, using the table below as an example: 

Deliverable

Number of person  days

Delivery date

Costs

Total

A two stage procedure will be utilized in evaluating consultancy bidding proposals, with evaluation of the technical proposal being completed prior to the financial proposal.

All documents shall be submitted to UNICEF before the deadline containing the following required documentation:

Technical Proposal: The bidder should prepare a ‘technical proposal’ on the basis of the tasks and deliverables detailed in the ToR. The technical proposal should include:

• Description of past experience reflecting why the institution is suited to fulfill the scope of this work; (please provide references from previous similar work)
• Draft work plan and timeline;
• Risk assessment – please provide a description of the most likely risks which will inhibit this consultancy from achieving its objectives, and what measures you will put in place to reduce or mitigate these risks;
• CV’s of the team of staff/consultants who will be working on this consultancy, including their intended role in this consultancy and the days available over the period of this consultancy.

   No financial information should be contained in the technical proposal.

   

  Financial Proposal:  The bidder should prepare a proposal with the price broken down for each component of the proposed work, based on an estimate of time taken which needs to be stated. The price proposal should include consultancy fees, travel and other costs

  Submitted proposals will be assessed using the Cumulative Analysis Method. Technical proposals should attain a minimum of 50 points to qualify and be considered.

   

Technical proposal

Points

Experience of the institution and personnel – match between the institution and the ToR

30

The successful consultancy firm will be able to demonstrate skills in these main areas:

• Strong experience in evaluating child protection programmes including alternative care
• International exposure to low and middle income countries.
• Prior work with government and non-government partners.
• Proven ability to work across disciplines.
• Excellent qualitative and quantitative research analytical skills.
• Demonstrable experience in convening multi-stakeholder processes and building consensus on research and policy priorities.

Between them, team members should demonstrate meeting the following requirements:

• High level of experience – at least 10 years – on evaluation particularly on analysis of qualitative and quantitative data;
• High level of understanding and experience – at least 10 years – on child protection issues including alternative care;
• Demonstrated experience in developing national reports and action plans;
• Excellent writing skills;
• Fluency in English.

Proposed methodology and approach

30

• Quality of previous work done on child protection programme evaluations;
• Quality of the proposed methodology a;
• Quality of the proposed process towards the final report and action plan.

Technical capacity for management and planning

10

• Profound and demonstrated experience on evaluation of child protection programmes;
• Realistic and timed plan of action;
• Proven ability to conceptualize, innovate, plan and execute ideas;
• Good management, interpersonal, planning and coordination skills;
• Extensive experience working in sub-saharan Africa with preference for experience in Rwanda.

Total Technical

70

Financial Proposal

30

• The price should be broken down for each component of the proposed work, based on an estimate of time taken which needs to be stated;

• Separate cost table;

• The budget narrative must explain the assumptions behind all cost estimates.

The maximum number of points shall be allotted to the lowest financial proposal that is opened/evaluated and compared among those technical qualified candidates who have attained a minimum of 50 points score in the technical proposal. Other financial proposals will receive points in inverse proportion to the lowest price.

N.B

The contract will be awarded to the candidate obtaining the highest combined technical and financial scores, subject to the satisfactory result of the verification interview.

The proposals that do not comply with any terms and conditions contained in this ToR, including the provision of all required information, may results in the proposal being considered non-responsive and not further considered.

THEORY of CHANGE

IMPACT: Vulnerable children who are returned from residential institutions live in loving and safe family or community-based based care environment

OUTCOME:NCC leads a National Child Care Reform and coordinate a functioning Child Protection System

STRATEGIE:Build and enhance the capacity of the National Commission for Children to lead a National Child Care Reform and coordinate a functioning Child Protection System

1. An organizational capacity comprehensive assessment conducted by an independent international organization;

2. An institutional capacity building strategy and focused institutional capacity building technical assistance plans developed;

3. Immediate human resources and technical assistance provided;

4. Medium and long term human and technical capacities provided;

5. National guidelines on Alternative Care including foster care, national adoption, inter-country adoption revised and implemented;National standards for institutions revised and enforced

OUTCOME:Child care services are delivered in coordinated manner at districts.

STRATEGIE:Strengthen the capacity to deliver and coordinate child care services at decentralized levels

1. 68 staff at the decentralized level: 34 social workers and 34 psychologists recruited and deployed in 30 Districts;

2. Social workforce skills enhanced (Prevention, Assessment, Decision making, Care Planning, Reviews and Reintegration) according to international and national child care standards;

3. Contracting mechanism between public and private sector for provision of alternative care services established;

4. Capacity development to monitor and inspect orphanages established.

OUTCOME:Families are united for integration, resilience and prevention through social protection system

STRATEGIES:Strengthen the family unit for reintegration, resilience and prevention through social protection

1.Family performance contracts with local authorities signed by parent/carers;

2. Contractual public private partnership between partner organization and NCC established and MoU signed;

3. Tailored reintegration packages for children and families available;

4. Roles and responsibilities of professional social workers and community social workers in the provision of psycho social support clarified and formalized;

5.Alternative social protection support pilot-tested and linkages to complementary social welfare services established.

6. Prevention mechanisms for child abandonment and child institutionalization established.

OUTCOME:National child care and strong child protection system are maintained in sustainable manner

STRATEGIES:Ensure sustainability for national child care and strengthen the child protection system

1.Increased sustainable Government funding for the provision of child protection services available;

2.68 Government workers and psychologists integrated into civil service and paid by the Government;

3.District Child and Social Service united piloted and scaled-up;

4.Roles between District, Sector, Cell and Village clarified;5. Referral mechanisms between District, Sector Cell and Village established.

OUTCOME:M&E and knowledge management system inform policy formulation and decision making.

STRATEGIES:Enhance data and strategic knowledge management and monitoring and evaluation (discussed by each group)

1. Case management and routine monitoring system to inform policy and practice established;

2. An assessment to map and assess the alternative care system is conducted;

3. An assessment of the status of children who have been deinstitutionalized from orphanages in 2012 care is conducted;

4. An evaluation of the reintegration packages conducted if various types of reintegration packages are pilot tested;

5. Community of practice between Ethiopia and Rwanda established.

OUTCOME:Parents, caregivers and community members offer family environment and protection for vulnerable children

STRATEGIES:Public awareness and community mobilization

1. Parents and community members are aware of the importance of family environment for children and families willing to foster/adopt children are available

2. Institutions' managers are compliant and supportive in reintegration process;

3. The programme is understood, owned and disseminated to the churches followers;

4. Local leaders understood well the TMM programme and are supporting in the implementation;

5. The forums of Malayika Murinzi revived, empowered and become role models of foster carers in their respective communities;

6. Young adults become agents of change in their societies but at the same time grow up as future responsible parents.

PROBLEM

Child rights deprived due to neglect, abandonment, exploitation and violence against children, family separation, poverty, gender based violence, alcoholism and drug abuse by parents/care givers.