Source: Save The Children
- 1. Background of the Project
Save the Children is implementing a Child Sensitive Social Protection Project (CSSP) in Lufwanyama that was initiated in January 2017. The project rests three (3) critical pillars: (1) access for children and their families to social protection programs – both formal, as in national Social Protection programmes and informal such as community based support; (2) capacity of service providers to deliver quality services relevant for social protection; and (3) child sensitivity of service providers, social protection recipients, their households/families (parents and caregivers) and the community at large.
The CSSP project promotes child sensitive social protection through the “cash plus” parenting model, strengthening Community Welfare Assistant committees to help improve parenting practices and mobilize parents/caregivers to prioritize the rights of children to education, nutrition and protection. The project also emphasizes on improving access to relevant basic service by the poorest and most marginalized communities and children in a transparent and accountable manner by facilitating the establishment of various transparency and accountability mechanisms.
2. Background
There is a strong body of evidence that social protection transfers can positively impact the pathways and drivers for achieving breakthroughs for children, particularly those for the survival and healthy growth of all children and for child learning through good quality basic education. Evidence from many contexts consistently shows that social protection transfers to poor households can improve access to and use of education and health services, food intake, dietary diversity, family food security and asset accumulation. There is also widespread evidence that social protection transfers can reduce exposure of children to violence and abuse such as child labour and promotes safer behaviors among boys and girls.
However, evidence also shows that providing cash (as part of social protection transfers) alone brings about limited results on higher level outcomes for children, such as improved learning, health and nutritional status and protection. Such higher-level impacts for children are often additionally dependent on other factors. These factors may include: knowledge and practices of appropriate child care and parenting among parents, care-givers and communities; the availability and accessibility of local basic services; service quality and accountability to users; and household investments made in children. Complementary actions to address these factors, based on context-specific analysis, can potentially be effective in strengthening the impacts of cash transfers for children in poverty, especially at the outcome level. In order to ensure that Social Protection (more specifically social cash transfer in Lufwanyama, Zambia) is child sensitive, complementary actions as part of the overall Child Sensitive Social Protection approach need to be built into the CSSP project. Key complementary actions proposed in the CSSP project include; i) enhancing child sensitivity of parents, caregivers, community members and ii) improving transparency and accountability in the delivery of basic services relevant to social protection interventions for children.
The findings from the KAP study undertaken by Save the Children in Lufwanyama, in 2018, clearly suggests and reinforces the need for implementing “parenting” as a key complementary intervention to the existing Social Cash Transfer in order to achieve the objectives of the CSSP project and to ensure that SCT can lead to positive outcomes for children, especially those from the most deprived and marginalized households.
The Parenting intervention, however, needs to be well planned, designed and implemented in a way that there is a strong appetite for its uptake and replication among other actors/ donors/ Government departments and Ministries in Zambia working with Social Protection. The CSSP “Parenting Package” comprises of a series of parenting and thematic sessions. The parenting sessions are based on the International Child Development Programme (ICDP) principle, but contextualized to the local situation. The 15 trained Parenting Facilitators are responsible for conducting parenting sessions include staff members of Save the Children (SCI), JCTR (local NGO partner) in the CSSP project and members of the Community Welfare Assistance Committees (CWAC). As of 30th November, 2020, the Parenting Facilitators had managed to roll out the ICDP program to 500 Households in 3 chiefdoms of Lufwanyama through conducting 12 sessions in the local context and further provided guidance to the project on the adaptation of the ICDP materials to the local context.
3. Purpose
To assess whether the delivery of the CSSP “Parenting Package” has been effective in promoting sensitivity towards the needs and rights of children among parents and caregivers in the CSSP project sites of Lufwanyama.
4. Objectives
To conduct a Post-assessment survey to determine whether the CSSP parenting package has nurtured positives interactions between care givers and their children. The survey will focus on the following;
For the Parents/Caregivers
To determine the changes in the knowledge, attitudes and practices among parents, caregivers and communities on: parenting and interaction with children, more specifically,
Whether there is an increased self-insight, understanding and awareness on the part of the caregivers of the positive caring qualities in relation to interaction with their child. Caregivers develop a stronger sense of confidence in their roles as caregivers and understand the importance of that role. Caregivers’ skill in observing and understanding their children’s reactions is enhanced.
Caregivers’ communication with their children becomes more based on their children’s point of view and their intentions. Caregivers behave more sensitively and considerately with their children.
In children the assessment will seek to establish
- Children’s’ feelings towards caregivers become more positive than before.
- Children become emotionally more secure, open and confident.
- Start to become more imaginative and creative; and seeking explanations, as well as asking questions, more than before.
- They learn how to plan and reflect more before acting.
- They manage to control better their own behaviour, feel respect for others and show better ability for cooperation with others.
- How the back to back approach was effective with regard to caregivers / parents working on the home tasks with their children.
Ethics and Child safeguarding
The consultant will have to adhere to the Save the Children child safeguarding protocols and relevant ethical guidelines which will have to be demonstrated in the inception report and throughout the assignment.
Proposed Time Frame
The time-frame for the assignment execution will be agreed upon.
Qualified applicants who are interested in applying for the above must meet the following requirements:
- Interested and qualified consultants/firms are required to submit a proposal interpreting the Terms of Reference elaborating the proposed methodology. Detailed work plan and budget indicating both the professional rates and costs for logistics/operations in Zambian Kwacha.
- Detailed CV for the lead Consultant including summarized CVs of technical personnel.
- The applicants must also provide a list of previous/current similar assignments or engagements completed, work references and provide links of sample works successfully produced in the last three to four years.
In addition, applicants should provide requirements as listed below: –
MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS
• That they are not on any Save the Children prohibited parties list or blacklisted by the government.
• Copy of the National Registration Card or copy of the passport
• Copy of Tax Clearance Certificate (TPIN)
• Certificate of incorporation for companies
REQUIRED EXPERTISE & EXPERIENCE
The Lead consultant/team must possess the following qualifications and competences in order to be eligible for this assignment:
- A recognized university degree in Sociology, Demography, Education or related social science (at a minimum of masters’ level. A PhD would be an added advantage but not a pre requisite.
- Profound understanding and extensive knowledge of the social protection programing and services such as the Social Cash Transfer (SCT).
- Has vast experience in parenting models and cash intervention from a Global perspective.
- 5-10 years’ experience in high level studies specifically social protection research
- Previous experience of working with children, using participatory child-friendly assessment/research/evaluation methodologies in Social Protection, Parenting, Early Childhood Education and child protection.
- Previous experience of engaging civil society organizations, national partners and key government staff in the development and implementation of assessments/evaluations.
- Evidence of having done similar work specifically related to social protection plus elements in similar set ups as the project area (Rural areas) in the past 3 years
- Commitment to follow Save the Children’s Safeguarding Policy.
- A demonstrated high level of professionalism
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills including experience of working within multi- cultural teams
Application Conditions
Follow link provided for specific additional information requirements
Deadline for submission of the Expressions of Interest is Monday 17th May 2021 at midnight GMT. Expressions of Interests submitted after the stated closing time and date will not be accepted.
Note
- Save the Children will only contact successful applicants
- Save the Children reserves the right to accept or reject any proposal/expression or cancel the procurement process at any time, without assigning any reason, and shall have no liability to any potential consultants for such rejection or cancellation of the procurement.
