Democratic Republic of the Congo: Evaluation of interactive radio instruction (IRI) for out of school children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Summary

The consultant will conduct a program evaluation of War Child Canada’s radio based education program for out-of-school children aged 12-16 in South Kivu, DRC.

Background

War Child Canada works with war-affected communities to help children reclaim their childhood through access to education, opportunity and justice. War Child Canada has over 15 years of experience working in communities in conflict and post-conflict zones. All work is implemented in direct partnership with local communities, local NGOs and other stakeholders using a child-centered approach. War Child Canada currently works in Uganda, Sudan, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Iraq and Jordan, and is a registered Canadian charity based in Toronto.

Background

In 2014 War Child Canada was funded through the Partnership to Strengthen Innovation and Practice in Secondary Education (PSIPSE) initiative. PSIPSE is a funder collaborative that seeks to increase secondary education access and improve learning outcomes for marginalized populations and funds the development and testing of innovative models to address barriers to participation and achievement in secondary education.

Through PSIPSE, War Child Canada implemented a pilot program that uses interactive radio instruction (IRI) to improve the educational outcomes of out-of-school children aged 12-16. One of the goals of the pilot is to assess whether the use of IRI in a conflict-affected environment can improve the educational outcomes of out-of-school children.

Lessons are broadcast over the radio five days a week for 1.5 hours. A total of 300 students attend 10 community IRI centres to listen to the broadcasts with the support of two education assistants per classroom. Approximately 70% of the students are female. Currently, the project has produced and implemented lessons covering years 1 and 2 of secondary school.

Purpose

The purpose of this program evaluation is to engage beneficiaries and stakeholders to assess the effectiveness and quality of the IRI education model that has been developed. In particular, the evaluation will focus on the model’s prospects for scale up and recommendations for taking the model to scale, options to ensure the sustainability of the model, and an assessment of program quality and recommendations for improving project design and implementation.

Scope of work

In collaboration with War Child Canada, the consultant will develop and finalize the evaluation approach to be used. Additionally, also in conjunction with War Child Canada, the consultant will establish the core questions and components to be addressed in the evaluation. These may include:

· The ability of the project to increase educational outcomes for out-of-school children, particularly girls

· Whether the model allows for increased access to education in conflict affected or hard to access environments

· The effectiveness of different components of the model, including Community Education Committees, Education Assistants, education centres and the recorded lessons

· The prospects and options for scale-up and long term sustainability of the project

· Government buy-in of the model and their attitude toward scale up of the model

· Methods for engaging out-of-school populations including recommendations for student retention

· The effectiveness of the project’s approach to monitoring and evaluation and how it can be strengthened

Although the specific methodology will be developed by the consultant, it is expected that the consultant with engage a variety of stakeholders including students, education assistants, government officials, community education committee members, War Child Canada and partner staff, parents and other stakeholders.

Key deliverables for this project include:

· Finalized methodology and data collection and assessment tools used for the evaluation.

· A final report with the consultant’s findings, lessons learned and recommendations. The report should address all the key components and questions identified at the outset of the evaluation.

Timeframe

The period for this assignment is 15 days in May and/or early June 2017. This includes time for document review, in-country data collection and producing the final report.

Experience and skills

· Demonstrated experience evaluating community based programs in conflict affected environments

· Experience with M&E and research methodologies

· Experience collecting, analyzing and presenting quantitative and qualitative data

· Ability to work in a team and coordinate evaluation teams

· Experience evaluating education projects – experience with accelerated learning and/or interactive radio instruction (IRI) an asset

· Familiarity with the DRC and the DRC’s education system an asset

Interested applicants are invited to send an expression of interest electronically to: jobs@warchild.ca.

The expression of interest should include the following:

· Curriculum vitae

· Proposed methodology, workplan and timeline

· Proposed fee and expenses to complete the required deliverables

· Confirmation of availability

Please ensure your application email has the subject heading of “DRC Evaluation – [insert your name]”

War Child Canada is committed to providing a work environment in which all individuals are treated with respect and dignity. Final candidates will be vetted in accordance with War Child Canada’s Child Protection Policy, including appropriate reference and security checks.

Only those applicants selected for an interview will be notified. No phone calls please. For more information about War Child Canada, please visit www.warchild.ca.