TOR for Evaluation of Rwandan Girls’ Education and Advancement Programme (REAP)
Background to the GEC Programme and the Project
1. GEC programme background
The Department for International Development (DFID) manages the UK’s aid to poor countries and works to get rid of extreme poverty. DFID is working to reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the international targets agreed by the United Nations (UN) to halve world poverty by 2015. Progress on girls’ education is critical to the achievement of these targets.
DFID is refocusing its efforts on girls’ education through the Girls Education Challenge (GEC) with the ambition that this will have a catalytic effect on other international partners. The GEC was open to competitive bids from non-state organisations to fund programmes that focus on getting girls into primary and lower secondary education, keeping them there and making sure they learn. It is expected that £355 million is available in total to support the GEC up to March 2016. This support should enable at least 660,000 marginalised girls to complete a full six-year cycle of primary school or 1 million marginalised girls to complete three years of junior secondary school.
2. Project context
Health Poverty Action, known as Health Unlimited prior to 2010, works in 13 countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America (with more currently in development). We always prioritise the most poor and the most marginalised – those neglected by almost everyone else. Health Poverty Action has been operational in Rwanda since 1998 and started its programming with the now highly popular Urunana radio soap opera. Health Poverty Action is currently implementing sexual and reproductive health, sexual and gender based violence, water and sanitation, HIV, and youth income generation projects.
In 2012, Health Poverty Action conducted a comprehensive assessment and stakeholder consultation in Nyaruguru to explore the reasons why girls drop out at secondary level. It found that the main barrier to girls’ education at this level is: cost; lack of opportunities for girls at the end of their education; teenage pregnancy (about 20% of girls have started child bearing by the age of 19); school environments that are not girl-friendly; and sexual harassment in school. 35% of families withdraw their children due to the inability to afford the user fees, books, uniforms and lunches, and the opportunity cost of girl labour at home. Families prefer to send boys because they are perceived to have more income generating opportunities after school than girls. Lack of opportunities for girls after school means there is no reason for completion. With a ratio of one toilet to 60 students, schools do not have safe and adequate sanitary and dormitory facilities for girls and boys. Girls mostly stay home from school during menstruation. Girls who are: orphans, affected by HIV, disabled, household heads, historically marginalised (Batwa etc.) are particularly at risk of dropping out.
3. Project rationale
The government and other NGOs are investing in improving the supply side of education in Rwanda, for example with teacher training, new curricula, and improving classroom structures. Health Poverty Action therefore proposed a project that would apply innovative approaches to increase demand for girls’ education. DFID agreed to fund the project.
4. Project aims and objectives
The project’s expected impact is to improve life chances of marginalised girls. Its expected outcome is 8,983 marginalised girls in Rwanda able to complete a full cycle of education and demonstrate learning. Expected outputs are:
• Increased income for investment in schools and girls’ education.
• Safe, sanitary and girl-friendly school environments.
• Increased awareness among girls and parents about the importance of and barriers to girls’ education.
• Learning and operational research from the project contributing to and informing girls’ education models and their replication.
5. Intended project outcomes:
The project will benefit approximately 16,324 girls aged 6–19 in 28 primary and secondary schools. If the pilot is successful, it will be scaled up to reach 37,843 girls (aged 7-12) in 86 primary schools and 6,017 girls (13-18) in 39 secondary schools across Nyaruguru District. It can also be applied in other regions of Rwanda. The project’s community-led targeting process will target the worse off schools, and within those worse off schools the girls most in need will benefit from the IGA, including girls who are orphans, affected by HIV, disabled, household heads, historically marginalised groups like the Batwa) and out of school girls.
6. Project activities:
The project will implement the following innovative methods:
• “Education that Pays for Itself” model: Teach a Man to Fish (TAMTF) will pilot this model (which has been successful in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and 2 institutions in Rwanda). Alongside traditional academic subjects the Financially Sustainable Schools will teach business and practical skills through running their own profit-making businesses which provide motivation and cover part of girls’ school costs.
• Mother-Daughter Clubs (MDC): This method has never been tested in Rwanda. The teams will be trained on Income Generating Activities (IGA) (e.g. production of washable sanitary napkins); formed into cooperatives; and facilitated to discuss issues like teenage pregnancy and the importance of education.
• ECOSAN composting toilets in schools: Previously tested in Rwanda, these toilets turn human excreta into safe compost material. The project will facilitate communities including women and men to construct school toilets, maintain them, and use the compost for income generating school gardens. Changing facilities will also be constructed alongside the toilets for girls to wash and dry their reusable sanitary napkins.
• Radio Soap Opera on Girls’ Education: Building on the experience of an ongoing health radio soap opera, the project will pilot a new version of the soap (using the same popular characters) to address issues related to girls’ education.
7. Project delivery roles and responsibilities:
The project will be led by Health Poverty Action (HPA), a UK based NGO already managing several DFID contracts, whose focus is on the links between health and poverty. Partners will include: 1)Teach a Man to Fish – a UK based NGO specialising in education, which invented the “Education That Pays For Itself” methodology which has been piloted in Latin America, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and two Rwandan institutions; 2) Urunana Development Communication (UDC) – a local Rwandan NGO which, for more than 10 years, has been running Urunana, an entertaining and educational radio soap opera that has successfully disseminated health messages and led to behaviour change among 70% of the national population/ 7 million Rwandans who listen to it; and 3) Nyaruguru district authority who will support the project to coordinate with schools and communities and other initiatives in the district.
8. Overview of the project budget and implementation timescales:
The project runs from June 2013 to February 2016 with a budget of £1,100,640.08. Health Poverty Action is also adding £225,000 from other sources.
Evaluation Objective
9. The project is seeking to procure the services of an independent Evaluation Team to design, plan and conduct the evaluation of the REAP project over the next three years, which is funded through the GEC. The Evaluation Team will provide an independent and rigorous evaluation and research function, designing and implementing a framework which will assess the process of delivery, effectiveness, Value for Money (VfM) and impact of the project and report the findings and lessons learnt throughout the process.
Recipient of the Service
10. The recipient of the service is Health Poverty Action.
Professional Skills and Qualifications
11. Qualifications
Bidders are required to clearly identify and provide CVs for all those proposed in the Evaluation Team, clearly stating their roles and responsibilities for this evaluation.
The proposed evaluation person / team should include the technical expertise and practical experience required to deliver the scope of work and evaluation outputs, in particular, with regards to:
• Evaluation design: design and plan the evaluation approaches and research methodologies, including quantitative and qualitative research methods – the team should include skills and expertise required to design, plan and conduct impact evaluation, potentially using experimental or quasi-experimental techniques;
• Information management: design and manage data and information systems capable of handling large datasets for M&E purposes;
• Statistical analysis: a range of statistical modelling and analysis of impact data; highly proficient user of: SPSS or STATA; and qualitative data analysis software e.g. ATLAS.ti, NVivo or equivalent; and
• VfM assessment of education projects: education economics expertise to conduct cost benefit analysis and cost effectiveness analysis as part of the assessment of the project’s VfM.
The Complete TOR is available at http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/TOR-REAP-MandE%28DRAFT4.7.13%29.docx
The deadline for the submission of proposals is 18th July 2013.
How to apply:
Please email your proposals (including detailed budgets) to the following email address: a.sizer@healthpovertyaction.org.
Background to the GEC Programme and the Project
1. GEC programme background
The Department for International Development (DFID) manages the UK’s aid to poor countries and works to get rid of extreme poverty. DFID is working to reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the international targets agreed by the United Nations (UN) to halve world poverty by 2015. Progress on girls’ education is critical to the achievement of these targets.
DFID is refocusing its efforts on girls’ education through the Girls Education Challenge (GEC) with the ambition that this will have a catalytic effect on other international partners. The GEC was open to competitive bids from non-state organisations to fund programmes that focus on getting girls into primary and lower secondary education, keeping them there and making sure they learn. It is expected that £355 million is available in total to support the GEC up to March 2016. This support should enable at least 660,000 marginalised girls to complete a full six-year cycle of primary school or 1 million marginalised girls to complete three years of junior secondary school.
2. Project context
Health Poverty Action, known as Health Unlimited prior to 2010, works in 13 countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America (with more currently in development). We always prioritise the most poor and the most marginalised – those neglected by almost everyone else. Health Poverty Action has been operational in Rwanda since 1998 and started its programming with the now highly popular Urunana radio soap opera. Health Poverty Action is currently implementing sexual and reproductive health, sexual and gender based violence, water and sanitation, HIV, and youth income generation projects.
In 2012, Health Poverty Action conducted a comprehensive assessment and stakeholder consultation in Nyaruguru to explore the reasons why girls drop out at secondary level. It found that the main barrier to girls’ education at this level is: cost; lack of opportunities for girls at the end of their education; teenage pregnancy (about 20% of girls have started child bearing by the age of 19); school environments that are not girl-friendly; and sexual harassment in school. 35% of families withdraw their children due to the inability to afford the user fees, books, uniforms and lunches, and the opportunity cost of girl labour at home. Families prefer to send boys because they are perceived to have more income generating opportunities after school than girls. Lack of opportunities for girls after school means there is no reason for completion. With a ratio of one toilet to 60 students, schools do not have safe and adequate sanitary and dormitory facilities for girls and boys. Girls mostly stay home from school during menstruation. Girls who are: orphans, affected by HIV, disabled, household heads, historically marginalised (Batwa etc.) are particularly at risk of dropping out.
3. Project rationale
The government and other NGOs are investing in improving the supply side of education in Rwanda, for example with teacher training, new curricula, and improving classroom structures. Health Poverty Action therefore proposed a project that would apply innovative approaches to increase demand for girls’ education. DFID agreed to fund the project.
4. Project aims and objectives
The project’s expected impact is to improve life chances of marginalised girls. Its expected outcome is 8,983 marginalised girls in Rwanda able to complete a full cycle of education and demonstrate learning. Expected outputs are:
• Increased income for investment in schools and girls’ education.
• Safe, sanitary and girl-friendly school environments.
• Increased awareness among girls and parents about the importance of and barriers to girls’ education.
• Learning and operational research from the project contributing to and informing girls’ education models and their replication.
5. Intended project outcomes:
The project will benefit approximately 16,324 girls aged 6–19 in 28 primary and secondary schools. If the pilot is successful, it will be scaled up to reach 37,843 girls (aged 7-12) in 86 primary schools and 6,017 girls (13-18) in 39 secondary schools across Nyaruguru District. It can also be applied in other regions of Rwanda. The project’s community-led targeting process will target the worse off schools, and within those worse off schools the girls most in need will benefit from the IGA, including girls who are orphans, affected by HIV, disabled, household heads, historically marginalised groups like the Batwa) and out of school girls.
6. Project activities:
The project will implement the following innovative methods:
• “Education that Pays for Itself” model: Teach a Man to Fish (TAMTF) will pilot this model (which has been successful in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and 2 institutions in Rwanda). Alongside traditional academic subjects the Financially Sustainable Schools will teach business and practical skills through running their own profit-making businesses which provide motivation and cover part of girls’ school costs.
• Mother-Daughter Clubs (MDC): This method has never been tested in Rwanda. The teams will be trained on Income Generating Activities (IGA) (e.g. production of washable sanitary napkins); formed into cooperatives; and facilitated to discuss issues like teenage pregnancy and the importance of education.
• ECOSAN composting toilets in schools: Previously tested in Rwanda, these toilets turn human excreta into safe compost material. The project will facilitate communities including women and men to construct school toilets, maintain them, and use the compost for income generating school gardens. Changing facilities will also be constructed alongside the toilets for girls to wash and dry their reusable sanitary napkins.
• Radio Soap Opera on Girls’ Education: Building on the experience of an ongoing health radio soap opera, the project will pilot a new version of the soap (using the same popular characters) to address issues related to girls’ education.
7. Project delivery roles and responsibilities:
The project will be led by Health Poverty Action (HPA), a UK based NGO already managing several DFID contracts, whose focus is on the links between health and poverty. Partners will include: 1)Teach a Man to Fish – a UK based NGO specialising in education, which invented the “Education That Pays For Itself” methodology which has been piloted in Latin America, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and two Rwandan institutions; 2) Urunana Development Communication (UDC) – a local Rwandan NGO which, for more than 10 years, has been running Urunana, an entertaining and educational radio soap opera that has successfully disseminated health messages and led to behaviour change among 70% of the national population/ 7 million Rwandans who listen to it; and 3) Nyaruguru district authority who will support the project to coordinate with schools and communities and other initiatives in the district.
8. Overview of the project budget and implementation timescales:
The project runs from June 2013 to February 2016 with a budget of £1,100,640.08. Health Poverty Action is also adding £225,000 from other sources.
Evaluation Objective
9. The project is seeking to procure the services of an independent Evaluation Team to design, plan and conduct the evaluation of the REAP project over the next three years, which is funded through the GEC. The Evaluation Team will provide an independent and rigorous evaluation and research function, designing and implementing a framework which will assess the process of delivery, effectiveness, Value for Money (VfM) and impact of the project and report the findings and lessons learnt throughout the process.
Recipient of the Service
10. The recipient of the service is Health Poverty Action.
Professional Skills and Qualifications
11. Qualifications
Bidders are required to clearly identify and provide CVs for all those proposed in the Evaluation Team, clearly stating their roles and responsibilities for this evaluation.
The proposed evaluation person / team should include the technical expertise and practical experience required to deliver the scope of work and evaluation outputs, in particular, with regards to:
• Evaluation design: design and plan the evaluation approaches and research methodologies, including quantitative and qualitative research methods – the team should include skills and expertise required to design, plan and conduct impact evaluation, potentially using experimental or quasi-experimental techniques;
• Information management: design and manage data and information systems capable of handling large datasets for M&E purposes;
• Statistical analysis: a range of statistical modelling and analysis of impact data; highly proficient user of: SPSS or STATA; and qualitative data analysis software e.g. ATLAS.ti, NVivo or equivalent; and
• VfM assessment of education projects: education economics expertise to conduct cost benefit analysis and cost effectiveness analysis as part of the assessment of the project’s VfM.
The Complete TOR is available at http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/TOR-REAP-MandE%28DRAFT4.7.13%29.docx
The deadline for the submission of proposals is 18th July 2013.
How to apply:
Please email your proposals (including detailed budgets) to the following email address: a.sizer@healthpovertyaction.org.
Evaluation of Rwandan Girls’ Education and Advancement Programme (REAP)
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