consultant end-line survey Communty Based Inclusive Development-CBID project At OVCI la Nostra Famiglia

OVCI LA NOSTRA FAMIGLIA

The Volunteers’ Organization for International Co-operation OVCI la Nostra Famiglia was founded in Como, Italy, in 1982, with the aim of setting-up initiatives to improve the human, social, technical and medical aspects of developing countries, as well as of promoting the development and autonomy of the people, with particular attention to the integration and rehabilitation of the children with disability.

The priority of OVCI is the prevention, the care and rehabilitation of children affected by physical, developmental or sensorial disabilities.

OVCI has been working in South Sudan since 1983, upon request of the Juba Catholic Archdiocese, setting up a Pediatric Polyvalent Centre called Usratuna Rehabilitation Centre.

In 2006 OVCI started rebuilding the Capital Primary Health System, creating a network of medical services around Juba. While opening – up to the local communities, and in line with the Community-Based Rehabilitation background of the Organization matured in other Countries, in 2007 OVCI took the chance, in partnership with the INGO Cristian Blind Mission (CBM), to plan and implement a new community work strategy in Juba, while planning for the human resources needed to give sustainability to the entire intervention.

BACKGROUND

DISABILITY IN SOUTH SUDAN

Decades of conflict in South Sudan, pre and post-independence in 2011, poverty and poor access to services have increased the rate of disability and have increased the marginalization and the exclusion of people with disability, as a result of the several attitudinal, environmental, and institutional barriers they face, and of the lack of concerted efforts towards inclusion at governmental and at community level. People with disabilities are heavily represented among the poorest and most inactive and unemployed in South Sudan.

Disability has been among the most neglected sectors within the South Sudanese health system, featured by a lack of dedicated facilities and skilled manpower. The estimated global percentage of people with disabilities (15%) can be tailored to the country, worsened by the conflicts and the extremely volatile environment severely affecting the quality of life of the people. Reliable data about disability prevalence in the country are not available: the 2008 census indicated Persons with Disability as 5,1% of the population, more recent papers acknowledge disability prevalence around 11% of the total population (OVCI, 2017; Legge, 2016).

Concerning the types of disabilities, the available studies report physical impairments as the most prevalent, followed by vision impairments, and hearing impairments, intellectual impairments and mental illness and speech (HPF, 2019).

At country level, the main reference documents concerning disability is the South Sudan National Disability and Inclusion Policy (2013): this strategic document, guided by principles of non-discrimination and right-based approach, acknowledges the importance of improvement the rehabilitation services by increasing the number of qualified health professionals and integrating disability within the ordinary health care level. Moreover, it directly encourages the “implementation of community-based strategies, such as CBR, through existing organizations or committees”. Despite the clear objectives, limited operational capabilities and environmental insecurity prevent the Policy’s implementation up to now. Concerning access of people with disabilities to educational system, the legal framework builds on the right to education for every citizen without discrimination, as stated in the Article 29 of the South Sudan Constitution1. Rohwerder (2018) reports: The recent Education Sector Strategic Plan 2017-22, ‘pledges to “seek to increase access to learning for children with special education needs”, with more accessible classrooms and water and sanitation’s facilities and training on inclusive education (MoGEI, 2017, p. 61). Daily experience seems to display an extremely poor access to educational system by Children with Disabilities, despite reliable data are not available nor concordant: while the 2012 South Sudan Annual School Census found that only 1.37% of enrolled pupils were children with disabilities2, the national Disability and Inclusion Policy reported a disability prevalence among the students between 21.9% to 24.3%3. Special schools are scarce and mainstream schools are often inaccessible and lack of teachers trained in inclusive education (Faehnders, 2018; Jørgensen, 2018; Legge, 2016, p. 4). According to the 2015 Education Management Information System (EMIS), 1.7% of the enrolled primary students in the country had an impairment (Rohwerder, 2018). A recent survey commissioned by OVCI, focusing on the connection between human rights and disability status in South Sudan, reported school as the most difficult service for people with disabilities to access (Forcier, 2017). Traditional gender roles restrict women and girls with disabilities from accessing education or vocational training or finding employment in comparison to men and boys with disabilities. Women with disabilities and mothers of children with are also more often target of GBV. ‘Girls with disabilities are less likely to access education than their peers without disabilities as well as than boys with disabilities’. Stigma around disability can also reduce parents’ desire to send their children to school and many communities are unaware that children with disabilities can also participate in mainstream education (UNICEF, 2015).The main reported barriers preventing persons with disabilities to enter or to endure educational system are lack of money to pay school fees, negative attitudes of the families or the communities, distance from the facility, insecurity, lack of assistive devices, poor accessibility related to the roads and the schools’ buildings (ramps, toilets for persons with disabilities), limited presence of trained teachers (Forcier, 2017; Legge, 2016; Rohwerder, 2018).

PROJECT OVERVIEW

In South Sudan OVCI is finalizing a 3-years project named ‘Community Based Inclusive development in Juba – Promotion of Human Rights and Access to Services for Persons with Disabilities’: the project started on the 1st January 2019 and it is funded by Christian Blind Mission (CBM).

The Project overall objective is: ‘Persons with disabilities benefit from better quality of life through promotion of human rights, access to education, health services and livelihoods schemes.’

The specific objective is: ‘Improved access to Services and Participation within the society for persons with disabilities and their family members.’

In order to reach its Goals and Objectives the project will adopt a Community Based Inclusive Development approach, promoting Disability Inclusion according to Sustainable Development Goals SDGs), United Nation Convention of Rights of Persons with Disability (UNCRPD) and CBM Global Strategy.

The promotion of human rights, access to service and inclusion, will be addressed through five dedicated operational areas, called Results areas:

Promotion of community awareness about disability;
Improve the access to health and rehabilitation services for Persons with Disabilities;
Promotion of inclusive education;
Empower the Disabled People Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs);
Access to sustainable livelihood opportunities for persons with disabilities and caregivers.

Project indicators were established in partnership with local OPDs and South Sudan Ministry of Gender, Child & Social Welfare through meeting sessions and proper assessments.

Indicators may however have been adjusted following the elaboration of the baseline survey.

The current CBID Project builds upon a long-term Community-Based Rehabilitation (CBR) program, setup in Juba by OVCI since 2007; by then, OVCI strengthened the collaboration with local authorities and stakeholders and regularly increased the operational area, the number of reached clients and the project’s staff.

OBJECTIVE OF THE END LINE SURVEY

A baseline survey for the project was conducted in July 2019 which provided baseline data for the project. The objective of the baseline mentioned above was “to collect baseline data, both qualitative and quantitative, which will be used to establish clear and measurable starting point in relation to the indicators in the Project Results Areas, allowing proper planning and project implementation.” The Project Results Areas of the project are: 1) Awareness, 2) Health, 3) Education, 4) Empowerment of Organizations of Persons with Disabilities(OPDs), 5) Livelihood.

The objective of the end line survey is to capture the end line values of the project’s qualitative and quantitative key indicators, capture few additional measures, and assess project effects. The goal of the assignment is to undertake an end-line survey across all the five impact areas (mentioned above) and undertake comparative analysis of the previous baseline versus end-line. The End-line findings shall help to establish the achievement level against the planned impact indicators.

METHODOLOGY

The end line survey will be designed to combine qualitative and quantitative with a focus on using participatory approaches.

A survey, using a stratified sample of CBID beneficiaries is the basis of the quantitative component of the end line survey. The qualitative component will include the use of Washington Group Questions technique as a primary tool supported by Key Informant Interviews (KII) and Focus Group Discussions (FGD). The end line survey methodology will also include correlational analysis, effectiveness/impact dashboard, review-based report. The sample size for the end-line should be the same as base-line with a different set of project and control union councils selected through random sampling.

The Consultant is be expected to develop further the methodology on the basis of the structure of the baseline and set up data for a comparative approach.

KEY DELIVERABLES

The consultant is required to deliver the following as per the agreed timeframe:

1) Inception report including the methodology, sampling framework, focus group discussion guides, key informant interviews guide, survey data collection tool, outline of final report and updated timeline.

2) Draft Report to be submitted following field-work activities, which shall include a background, approach and methodology used, the detailed findings, recommendations and conclusion and annexes;

3) Final Report, incorporating comments from OVCI and CBM underlining

a) confront baseline – lesson learnt;

b) changings in perception of disability within the targeted communities;

c) Survey data on MS Excel including codebook;

d) effectiveness/impact dashboard;

e) Transcript of qualitative data collection activities and recording;

f) Photographs and consent forms signed by the participants;

All outputs will be submitted in English. The report shall present the main findings of end line report and compare these findings with the baseline assessment.

TIMELINE

TBA by consultant.

Timeframe: 11 November 2021 – 31 December 2021

Deadlines:

*first draft: 23th December 2021 final report: 31**th*** December 2021

QUALITY STANDARDS & BENCH MARKS

The consultant/firm/organization will be selected on the basis of proven experience, qualifications and ability to deliver a quality product in a timely and efficient manner.

QUALIFICATIONS & REQUIRED COMPETENCES OF THE CONSULTANT:

The consultant should have survey skills and experience, technical expertise in the programmatic area and experience of working in geographical area. The required skills and competencies for this end line survey include sectors of technical competency: Inclusion, Rights of Persons with Disability, Inclusive Livelihoods, Inclusive Primary Health and Accessibility.

Requirements:

● Relevant experience in Monitoring and Evaluation of Disability and Dev. Programs;

● Experience working in a slow onset emergency environment;

● Good understanding of the political and social situation of South Sudan;

● Experience in participatory approaches to evaluations;

● Language skills for field interviews: English;

● Strong analytical and presentation skills.

Costs and Payments

The total amount available for the Endline&Evaluation consulting is: 13000 USD.

All costs should be considered in the bid by the consultant in U.S. Dollars (USD). The financial offer should include travel costs including airfares if applicable, per diem, support staff and daily rate. Payment will be phased upon successful completion of milestones detailed below:

• Submission of inception report (30%)

• Completion of field work (30%)

• Submission and final approval of Baseline Report (40%)

WHO CAN APPLY

Consultants Firms, Companies, Organizations, Humanitarian and development practitioners, consultants.

HOW TO APPLY

Firms, companies, organizations, Humanitarian and development consultants are required to submit a detailed Technical and Financial proposal to

Ms. Ana Cristina Barbero, e-mail: pm-cbid.ssd@ovci.org

THE TECHNICAL PROPOSAL MUST CONTAIN:

Contact person and/or organization name, number, and address;

a. Profile of Firms, companies, organizations, Humanitarian and development practitioners/ consultants.

b. Proposed Methodologies of assignment.