Consultancy to Document Case Studies “Evidence from Pilots to Scale in the LAC Region"

Using Case Studies and technical analysis, this assignment aims at documenting the existing evidence of UNICEF work in the Latin America and the Caribbean region on bringing pilot and demonstrative projects to scale. The assignment will be looking into “models” that have significantly influenced national policies or programmes to bring results for children at scale. It will also include the conditions for a pilot project to be scaled up in terms of enabling environment, supply, and demand, as well as partnerships arrangements either with governments, private sector, civil society or other development partner. It will also look at the evidence generated needed to support policy dialogue and advocacy (e.g. costing, theory of change formulation, specified period of implementation, evaluation, and agreed exit strategy).

Terms of Reference for Consultancy Individual Contractor

For

Level of experience:  Junior [  ] 1-3 years  Medium [ ] 4-10 years  Senior [ X  ] more than  10 years

Lugar: Oficina Regional para America Latina y el Caribe (LACRO)

Duration: 6 Months

Languages: Spanish and/or English

Closing date for applying to this consultancy: 16.07.2018

Estimated start date (Estimate): 23.07.2018                           Estimate end date: 31.01.2019

BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE:

1. The majority of countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) where UNICEF functions are high-middle income countries. Country offices have strategically designed their country programmes focused on upstream work, often through a combination of policy and programme advocacy as well as modelling interventions and contributing to pilot projects to be scaled up, targeting institutional and behavior changes in societies towards better results for children. Country programmes are typically designed to create the most appropriate enabling environment, through supporting adequate child focused policies and programmes, and promoting legal frameworks in line with international standards, and improving learning and capacity of government institutions. Pilot projects are implemented in the field to create evidence and engage local partners to identify solutions for children to be replicated or scaled up.
2. Results for children is the main ingredient for the definition of UNICEF country programmes. However, obtaining results at scale is usually not possible within the time span of five years of country programmes. In many cases, from the time a project is conceived, implemented, evaluated, and moved to scale the UNICEF country programme has moved to another programme cycle. Bringing a pilot project to scale requires a combination of different elements. The implementation of a pilot project needs to create ownership, be accompanied by a higher-level advocacy strategy, and capacity building to assure sustainability and institutional buy-in. To achieve results at large scale is a long-term investment. Involving strategic partners, including the private sector, the Government, and the civil society may accelerate results, but at the same time it involves building the relationships and create trust, which may also involve time to be invested.
3. A number of country offices in the LAC region have already contributed to achieve results at scale through the implementation of pilots/demonstrative projects that have been tested on the ground in specific locations and in combination with advocacy efforts contributed to their scalability as national policies or programmes.
4. Despite the fact that pilots or demonstrative projects are present in almost each country programme in the Region, these experiences have been hardly thoroughly documented. There is a need to capitalize from this experience for accountability reasons and organizational learning. Identifying the conditions which make possible to bring a pilot or demonstrative project to scale is critical to UNICEF work, especially in a region where UNICEF has scarce resources and investments in pilots/ demonstrative projects need to yield results that go beyond a small intervention.

PURPOSE OF CONSULTANCY:

5. Using Case Studies and technical analysis, this assignment aims at documenting the existing evidence of UNICEF work in the Latin America and the Caribbean region on bringing pilot and demonstrative projects to scale. The assignment will be looking into models that have significantly influenced national policies or programmes to bring results for children at scale. It will also include the conditions for a pilot project to be scaled up in terms of enabling environment, supply, and demand, as well as partnerships arrangements either with governments, private sector, civil society or other development partner. It will also look at the evidence generated needed to support policy dialogue and advocacy (e.g. costing, theory of change formulation, specified period of implementation, evaluation, and agreed exit strategy).
6. This work will contribute to organizational learning to improve programme performance, and strengthen the focus of pilot/demonstrative projects on results at scale. The case studies and technical analysis will be used to feed into the programme cycle, from planning (design), implementation, monitoring, all the way to evaluation and reporting of results phases. The cases will also be used as advocacy material for promoting results at scale based on empirical evidence.
7. The documentation of country cases will be used by UNICEF staff, Government technical counterparts, and other development practitioners to better understand the complexity of scaling up programmes, especially in the Latin America and the Caribbean context, where UNICEF work is focused on advocacy, technical assistance, and in general upstream work. The assignment will, include the identification of lessons learned and recommendations, and conditions (including accelerators) that make possible scaling up or replication.

SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES / OBJETIVES

8. The objective of this assignment is to elaborate five case studies in which UNICEF LAC has been successful in influencing scaled up national policies and programmes, based on the implementation of pilots or demonstrative projects. The assignment also include a transversal analysis of lessons learned and recommendations for future programming in the region.
9. The assignment includes the identification of five pilots / demonstrative projects implemented within 2005-2017, and accompanying strategy to bring them up to scale. Case studies will preferably target experiences from different sub-regions: Caribbean, Central America, Andean countries, or other. It will also focus on themes diversity, preferably in areas related to specific UNICEF Regional Priorities (violence against children, children on the move, inclusive secondary education, integrated early childhood development, and social protection systems). Gender perspective and the equity approach will be included in each of the case studies and analysis.
10. The assignment will be participatory. Country Offices will be consulted and asked to provide information, including qualitative and quantitative, monitoring data, financial information, partnership arrangements, key resources persons at the national or sub-national counterparts (government, private sector, and/or implementing partners), and  information on the ground from families, women, and children.   Participatory data gathering will ensure that Ethical principles and practices are aligned with UNICEF standards.

DELIVERABLES:

The consultant will deliver four main products. Products can be delivered either in Spanish or English:

1. Inception Report (max. 15 pages) The Inception report will focus on the methodology to develop this work, including the methodology for different phases: data collection gathering and analysis, reviewing processes, and reporting. It will also include application of ethical standards, case study framework and structure of case study briefs, and timeframe.
2. Screening of potential case studies Document identifying the 5 case studies based on a preliminary desk review and the application of selecting criteria, a list of potential case studies to be documented will be identified. The screening should consider pilot / demonstrative projects that have been scaled up, evidence and data available, among other criteria that will be designed in the methodology.
3. Five case studies (15 pages max. each case) Five brief papers showcasing the description of the pilot/demonstrative intervention, context, political, economic and social conditions, and institutional arrangements or partnerships that allowed the pilot to be scaled-up, and the accelerators (conditions) that allowed scalability in a specific time frame. The table of content for the case studies will be discussed after the screening of potential case studies. However, it is expected that the case study briefs include a description of the pilot/project and theory of change to reach results at scale, scalability plan, phases and the time frame of implementation, achieved results, exit strategy, costing including UNICEF and involved partners budget and expenditures, and evidence such monitoring data and evaluation that indicate changes in lives of children at scale and sustainability. It will also include lessons learned, unexpected results, and risks associated in the process (from pilot to scaled-up intervention) and risk mitigating measures. Visualization tools may be used to complement the case studies.
4. Technical brief, Compilation of lessons learned and recommendations for future programming (max. 10 pages) A technical brief with a compiled version of lessons learned, and identification of conditions of replicability in other contexts. The technical brief will also include recommendations for UNICEF work on pilot/modelling to ensure scalability, replication, and accelerating results at scale for children.

Time Frame

11. This work is expected to be implemented in six months from the time the contract is signed.

Distributed of Estimated Budget

12. The anticipated budget for this work will be distributed as follows:

QUALIFICATION & COMPETENCIES:

The consultant will have the following qualifications:

• Post-graduate University degree in subject related matters
• At least 10 years of proven professional experience in the documentation and analysis of case studies, projects, programmes and policies  using evidence from M&E frameworks, stakeholder analysis, costs and budgets.
• Strong knowledge of ethical reviews, evaluation methods, and results-based management approaches
• Knowledge of visualization tools to showcase the case studies is an asset
• Excellent writing skills in Spanish and/or English. Working language of English and Spanish is required.
• Working knowledge in the LAC region
• Familiarity with UNICEF programmes is an asset.

COMPETENCIES: 

• Excellent interpersonal skills with ability to work in a multi-cultural environment
• Excellent capacity to communicate information and ideas effectively and visually creative.
• Excellent organization skills and capacity to work under pressure and meet deadlines.

GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Intellectual property of the final products will be exclusively of UNICEF. All materials developed will remain the copyright of UNICEF and UNICEF will be free to adapt and modify them in the future.

The recruited consultant will maintain a continued communication with UNICEF in order to coordinate and undertake the necessary consultations to follow-up on her/his work until delivery of all products, and will treat all information shared with strict confidentiality.

UNICEF does not work exclusively with any of its contractors.

The selected consultant will work from her/his home and will undertake the travels to the 5 case study countries and will be in continued contact and coordination remotely with UNICEF.

MANAGEMENT ARRANGEMENTS:

The assignment will be managed by the UNICEF LAC Regional Office Planning, and Monitoring & Evaluation Unit, and developed in coordination with sections units which topics were selected. The UNICEF LAC Regional Office Planning, and Monitoring & Evaluation Unit will be the only management contact with the Consultant.

This assignment will be built collaboratively and consultatively with UNICEF Country Offices in the Latin America and the Caribbean Region.

A steering committee composed by a selective group of UNICEF LAC Regional Office, UNICEF LAC Representatives / Deputy Representatives will be in charge of reviewing and approving the inception report, selecting case studies based on screening, and providing comments to case studies and technical briefs drafts and final reports. Reviewing period will be 2 weeks after receiving the products.

WORKPLACES AND TRAVEL

The individual consultant is not a United Nations staff member and will conduct all activities related to this consultancy from her/his home. The consultant is expected to conduct travels to the five case studies countries that will be identified in the preliminary phase of the consultancy and to travel twice to Panama, once at the beginning of the consultancy to present and discuss the inception report and once at the end to present the technical brief/or results of the five case studies.

METHOD OF PAYMENT

Payments will be made upon delivery and approval of deliverables by UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold all or a portion of payment if performance is unsatisfactory, if outputs are incomplete, not delivered of for failure to meet deadlines.

Details of payments will be agreed in advance and individually between the consultant and UNICEF.

HOW TO APPLY: 

To apply, click on the Apply link found either at the beginning or at the end. Submit a cover letter, CV, and economic proposal.

In case of doubts please send your comments to lacro-ops@unicef.org with the subject: CONSULTANCY FROM PILOT TO SCALE at least 3 working days before the deadline.

Example:

The technical proposal should include: short statement/application letter referring to the required qualifications, timeline, workplan, proposed methodology and in annex a written sample of similar analytical work.

In addition, an economic proposal in a separate file than the technical proposal detailing the total costs of the assignment (including all estimated costs for travels) must be submitted.

SELECTION PROCESS: 

The selection process will be competitive, assessing the profile of each candidate against the required qualifications. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

1. Technical Proposal:

 The technical proposal should include: short statement/application letter referring to the required qualifications, timeline, workplan, proposed methodology and in annex a written sample of similar analytical work.

The technical proposal will be assessed again the following qualifications:

The total maximum technical score is 80 points. Only Proposals which receive a minimum of 60 points will be further considered.

2. Economic Proposal:

In addition, separately from the technical proposal (as in another document), an economic proposal detailing the total costs of the assignment (including all estimated costs for travels) must be submitted

The total amount of points allocated for the economic component is 20. The maximum number of points will be allotted to the lowest price proposal and compared among those consultants which obtain the threshold points in the evaluation of the technical component. All other price proposals will receive points in inverse proportion to the lowest price; e.g.

Score for price proposal X = (Max. score for price proposal (20 Points) * Price of lowest priced proposal)/ Price of proposal X

Total maximum score obtainable for technical and economic proposals is 100 points.

Important: In the selection of its consultants, UNICEF is committed to gender equality and diversity, without distinction as to race, sex, or religion, and without discrimination to people with disabilities.