Consultancy: Violent Discipline in Middle East and North Africa: A Statistical Analysis of Prevalence, Profile and Effects

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LOCATION/DURATION:

Duration: The duration of the contract is for 5 months starting from date of signature of the contract

Location: From Home

On-site working days: 0

Off-site working days: 60

Field Missions/Travel: 0

Estimated Start Date: September 3^rd ,2017

Estimated end Date:  February 12^th, 2018

Reporting to: Monitoring and Research Specialist

OBJECTIVES:

The specific objectives of the analytical exercise are:

1. Provide a broad overview of the issue in the region – the scale of the problem and number and distribution of children experiencing violent disciplining in MENA, including trends and possible projections.
2. Conduct a comparative cross country equity analysis of prevalence of violent discipline by age, sex, caregiver’s educational attainment, wealth and other relevant characteristics, as feasible and relevant.
3. Conduct multivariate analysis to profile household and caregivers who practice violent discipline in MENA; identify similarities and differences across countries and with other regions (similar in GNI, emergency setting, HDI).
4. Profile households and families who use non-violent discipline in MENA
5. Study how belief in violent discipline effect practice and how it varies across countries while controlling for other characteristics
6. Conduct multivariate analysis to study effects of violent disciplining practices on early childhood development

The assessment will cover all the countries (20) in MENA region, and include various quantitative data sources though mainly be based on available household surveys. The time frame of the analysis should include data from recent years (2010 onwards) but also be accommodating to the situation of some of the emergency effected countries in the region, such as Syria and Djibouti (2006) which do not have very recent data. Furthermore, available surveys targeting refugee population should also be included (Palestinians in Lebanon, Palestinians in Syria) which have comparable data.

The above objectives will be further refined during inception phase after a thorough analysis of available datasets in terms of their accessibility and coverage of needed topics. Furthermore, it is envisaged that some projections would be needed for accomplishing objective 1, as most Gulf countries do not have comparable surveys such as MICS or DHS, other administrative sources and/or estimation technics might be needed for these (applied rate or sum method).

The study should also identify topics and questions for further research which would need other research techniques (qualitative).

 DESCRIPTION OF ASSIGNMENT:

The study will be primarily based on secondary analysis of primary data available in the public domain. The tasks to be completed by the contractor include, but are not necessarily limited to the following:

1. Conduct a focused literature review on violent discipline in the region and globally, relevant program interventions and other relevant information available to situate the analysis in solid theoretical field;
2. Identify, organize and analyze datasets of surveys and other relevant data sources in MENA region from 2010 onwards that will be used for the above objectives. This will include nationally representative household surveys such as MICS, DHS and other national surveys in the region which include the required topics, also other relevant admin sources where survey data is not available[7]. The exploration should also identify data gaps in the region on the specific topic and be incorporated as a section in the final report.
3. Develop a detailed Analysis Plan that are aligned with the objectives of the study above, which includes an equity analysis to highlight existing disparities, as well as bivariate and multivariate analysis aimed at finding correlations among different components that may influence violent discipline practices such as: individual characteristics of the child (age, sex, malnutrition), caregiver (education, age) , household (location, region, wealth) and other behavioral and attitudinal aspects of the family  (parental arrangements, attitudes towards domestic violence, etc.….); similarly country specific enabling (cultural, economic, political) variables can be explored to explain cross-country differences.
4. Produce an inception report, for approval, that describes the methodology including description of the variables and their scales which might be needed to be constructed, detailed description of tests and models to be used, and suitable priori significant values to be used to assess differences, correlations and effects. The inception report will includes the analysis plan.
5. Conduct the statistical analysis and produce a background document that demonstrates in-depth account of the approach: including details on dataset compilation and weighting, model specifications and descriptions, tests of model fit, in addition to variable descriptions and approaches including syntaxes should all be submitted. All tables and graphs would also be shared in excel format.
6. Select the most relevant findings to be presented in the report in agreement with MENARO focal points.
7. Produce an analytical draft report and final report no more than 30 pages covering main analysis and findings. Also, a PowerPoint covering main findings.

KEY DELIVERABLES:

1. An inception report, detailing the:
   • Understanding of the objectives and summary of the literature review
   • Description of the datasets that have been identified, indicators to be used/constructed and method of aggregating datasets
   • Detailed methodology including design specifications and criteria for judgement, and
   • Analysis plan
   • Detailed work plan and timeline
2. Background statistical documentation: This document is to act as an interim product between inception and final report. The document will build on the inception report by further detailing out the entire statistical analysis methodology from dataset and indicator-variable setup and include all the tabulations, crosstabs, model output tables (in excel formats) and relevant statistical results with model descriptions, tests of fit, coefficient tables, syntax files (syntax file formats) and other relevant information (this will be a core background document for ensuring a quality product and will also be disseminated as a walk-through guide for further analysis of quantitative data for internal UNICEF audience)
3. Draft analytical report
4. A final Report (no more than 30 pages), which should include
   • Executive summary
   • Methodology:  description of the methodology used, datasets, indicators, model design and limitations (including identified data gaps)
   • Findings: Description of the result tables and graphs with the results.
   • Conclusions and Recommendations (if any)

The final report should be provided in electronic version in English in MS word document format.

The final report will also be formatted in UNICEF style publication (see examples here).

A PowerPoint summary of key findings is also required.

The background statistical documentation will be in various formats as per the deliverables, which include the compiled data sets and analysis syntax (in a globally recognized format: SPSS, STATA, R); meta-data of datasets, literature, tabulations, graphs and model results in excel format and methodological description and justifications in word document.

REPORTING REQUIREMENTS:

The above list of deliverables capture the key milestone products which are expected to be delivered on specific deadlines (see payment schedule below). In addition, it is expected that at minimum the consultant would be proactive, and share regular updates on progress, challenges and discuss any action needed throughout the contract period to mitigate any delay.

A bi-weekly formal update on progress will be required via email.

 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS:

 The study does not require primary data collection anew from any human subject. It is based on the analysis of data which is already available in the public domain. A pertinent aspect in this regard would be that established protocols for the acquisition and use of the datasets are followed, and diligence should be exercised to follow the ethical principles and guidelines stipulated by the providing agency and governments.

Although risks are low, though during analysis and presentation of data care should be taken to minimize risk of identification through disaggregation and omit any such analysis from the study. The key principle should be to maximize the utility of already available data while minimizing the risk of doing harm.

All the documents, including the compiled datasets, syntax files, and analysis tools, and all the data developed or collected for this study/consultancy are the intellectual property of UNICEF. The consultant may not publish or disseminate the Report, data, analysis or any other documents produced from this consultancy without the express permission of, and acknowledgement of UNICEF MENA regional office.

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:

 Education: Master’s Degree or higher in a field related to Social Sciences, Demography, Statistics, microeconomics, econometrics or other related social or technical field with significant quantitative research and analysis component is required.

Work experience: At least 10 years of experience in analysis of household survey data is required, in addition extensive experience with drafting and publication of analytical reports on child rights topic is highly desirable.

Technical knowledge:

• Excellent report writing and analytical skills
• Strong capacity in statistics, specifically regression modeling in social sciences
• Strong capacity in the use of statistical packages and drafting of relevant syntax files (in SPSS, STATA or R – all manipulation and analysis should be carried out in one software package)
• Experience of working in MENA region is an asset;
• Familiarity with UNICEF’s mission and mandate an asset.
• Prior experience in working with multilateral agencies an asset.

Language: Fluency and strong writing skills in English is required.

Payment Schedule:

The duration for the contract is estimated to be 5 months starting on the date of the signature of the contract.

 Payments will be made by UNICEF upon its review and approval of the deliverables submitted by the consultant. T

ACCOUNTABILITIES

The Monitoring and Research specialist in UNICEF MENA regional office will serve as the primary contact with the consultant. The specialist will also liaise with a technical committee that will include other relevant regional and global experts on the topic to provide timely and quality feedback on the various products.

APPLICATION & EVALUATION PROCESS:

Qualified candidates are requested to submit:

1. Cover letter/application.
2. Financial quote as lump sum for professional fees
3. CV.
4. Two examples of relevant previous work is required to be submitted
5. Proposed methodology/approach to managing the project.
6. At least 2 Referees
7. P 11 form (which can be downloaded from our website at http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/index_53129.html ).

Late submissions, incomplete packets, or submissions with an incorrect email subject heading will not be considered.

Successful applicants may be invited for further technical assessment.

Please indicate your ability, availability and daily/monthly rate (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference above (including travel and daily subsistence allowance, if applicable).  Applications submitted without a daily/monthly rate will not be considered.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of our organisation.