Request for Proposals: My Education, My Future (MEMF) Final Evaluation At Right To Play

1.Right To Play International

Right To Play is a global leader in delivering play-based programs that promote children and young people’s learning and well-being. Established in 2000, Right To Play reaches children through experiential programming in 14 countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and North America. These programs are supported by our headquarters in Toronto, Canada; London, UK and seven national offices across Europe and North America.

• We put children and young people at the centre: We strive for inclusive and meaningful participation of children and young people in all their diversity. We engage children through participatory approaches that amplify their voices and experiences.
• We have a 24-year track record: Since 2000, we’ve been using playful approaches to improve outcomes for children and young people. In that time, we’ve fostered strong partnerships and established credibility with the communities we serve across Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Canada.
• We know that playing is learning: Play is a universal language. Children across cultures make sense of the world by playing. We have experience offering adaptable play-based approaches that have a proven impact on children’s holistic development.

Our mission to protect, educate, and empower children to rise above adversity using the power of play by delivering programmes and projects focused in four core areas:

• Early Childhood Care and Education
• Primary Education
• Psychosocial Support
• Gender Equality and Girls’ Wellbeing

For more information, follow @RightToPlayIntl and visit www.righttoplay.com.

2. Program Overview

Implemented by Right To Play and the Norwegian Refugee Council between February 2020 and March 2025 the My Education, My Future (MEMF) program is a 5-year, CAD $7.6 million, gender-responsive and conflict-sensitive education program for girls affected by the Burundian refugee crisis in Burundi and Tanzania. The program aims to improve learning outcomes for girls, including girls with disabilities, affected by the Burundian crisis and living in refugee camps in Tanzania, and in repatriated communities in Burundi.

The program leverages Right To Play’s unique gender-responsive Play-Based Learning (GR-PBL) methodology. In Tanzania, RTP has partnered with Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), who have experience and expertise in conflict-sensitive education, to create an innovative approach to reduce barriers to education and build resilience among Burundian refugee girls. The project works with a cross-border population and offers supports and services for refugees and returnees on both sides, including girls and their families who may cross borders, supporting in particular their transition from primary to secondary school. Among other innovative approaches, the project has developed and tested a new model of conflict-sensitive, play-based and gender-responsive alternative learning in Tanzania – this approach supports teenage girls including adolescent mothers and girls with disabilities, to access alternative forms of education and re-enter the school system. Through these interventions, the program has contributed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 4, to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for girls, including girls with disabilities, affected by the Burundian crisis.

The MEMF program endeavours to improve learning outcomes for girls, including girls with disabilities, affected by the Burundian crisis living in refugee camps in Tanzania and repatriated communities in Burundi (at the primary school level). RTP contributes to this ultimate outcome through the following outcomes:

1. Increased support and access by parents and community members for inclusive, protective, gender-responsive, quality education for girls, including girls with disabilities
2. Improved provision of protective, inclusive and gender-responsive play-based learning for girls, including girls with disabilities

Immediate Outcomes:

• Improved understanding among community members of the importance of girls’ access to education, including girls with disabilities
• Improved life skills of girls, including those with disabilities, to make decisions about their wellbeing including learning
• Improved learning environment in schools for girls, including girls with disabilities
• Increased integration of play-based learning into teacher practice

[Please refer to the full document on our website to see Annex 1 for more information on key project indicators].

Under this project, there are four key modalities:

Girls’ clubs: My Life, My Plan is a life skills program designed by RTP which has been contextualised for the project. The manual addresses critical issues around Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights and Menstrual Health and is aimed at coaches who have been trained to run girls’ clubs.

Teacher training and coaching: Right to Play’s core teacher training package, a Gender Responsive Continuum of Teacher Training (CoTT) has been contextualised for the context in Burundi and refugee camps in Tanzania. This resource was used to train teachers to apply GR-PBL methodologies and support positive learning environments for boys and girls. Teachers also participate in Communities of Practice which provide them with opportunities to share experiences with other teachers and learn what works best when it comes to supporting girls’ learning through play-based approaches.

Community Sensitizations: Community members and parents were reached and engaged through awareness meetings and door to door campaigns. Sensitizations focused on raising awareness on child protection and SGBV referral pathways; barriers to education; all children’s right to education, including children with disabilities; and gender equality.

Reading Clubs: In 2024, the project integrated reading clubs across a small number of project schools. Although not included in the project design, these clubs were added as a key modality to improve literacy skills and newly designed storybooks were distributed to active clubs and teachers were trained on how to use ASER to assess children’s reading abilities. By the time of the endline, these clubs will have been active for three to four months.

Target Beneficiaries:

• Direct Beneficiaries: 49,758 children (28,394F)
• Indirect Beneficiaries: 206,804 (102,623F) community members, men and women, boys and girls

In Tanzania, more specifically, the project targeted 14,444 girls and 11,134 boys ages 6-17 in 11 primary schools and communities in the Nyarugusu and Nduta refugee camps. The estimated number of indirect beneficiaries in Tanzania is 52,602 women and girls and 54,741 men and boys.

In Burundi, the project targeted 13,950 girls and 10,050 boys ages 6-17 in 30 primary schools and communities. The estimated number of indirect beneficiaries is 50,021 women and girls, and 49,440 men and boys, in the host commune of Gisuru in Ruyigi province.

Project Timeline: February 2020-February 2025 (includes 1 year extension)

Baseline Study: August 1-November 30, 2020

Outcome Monitoring: November – January 2023

Final Evaluation: September – January 2024

3. Purpose of Consultancy

The objective of this consultancy is to assess the contribution of the MEMF in improving girls’ and boys’ life skills and learning outcomes in Burundi and Tanzania.

In Burundi only, the evaluation will use a quasi-experimental difference in difference methodology to assess the attribution of the project in improving girls’ and boys’ life skills. This approach will include selected control schools identified at baseline in Burundi.

Quantitative and qualitative data should be collected to respond to this question.

The evaluation will take into account the initial Baseline Assessment undertaken in 2020, outcome monitoring findings led in 2023 and the recent research on girls’ clubs led in June 2024. Data will be disaggregated by location, gender, disability status and grade.

The specific objectives of the endline evaluation are:

1. To assess the attribution of the project on children’s life skills
2. To assess the relevance, effectiveness, sustainability and scalability of the MEMF approach
3. To understand where the project did not achieve its main outcomes as expected and the reasons for this, as well as any unexpected outcomes
4. To generate information on best practices and actionable lessons to inform future similar programming and development of RTP’s work in education with children in fragile and conflicted affected settings.

4. Evaluation Key Questions

[Please refer to the full document on our website to review the full details.]

5. Methodology

The methodology across both countries will pair qualitative and quantitative data collection approaches. For Burundi, the Final Evaluation will adopt a quasi-experimental difference-in-difference design using a cross-sectional approach to determine the project’s impact on children’s life skills. For all other indicators, in Tanzania and Burundi, the consultant will lead quantitative data collection with targeted schools to collect data on key project indicators.

Qualitative data collection will prioritise the key learning questions identified in the table above – these questions will be further refined with the consultant and may need to be contextualized for each country based on their respective context. The evaluation would like the consultants to consider using a case study approach to explore the learning questions identified – this will further be discussed with the RTP team. The qualitative approach should be intentional in centering all participants’ voices. RTP recommends leading paired interviews and participatory approaches for collecting data with children.

The first part of the consultancy will involve a document review of the MEMF measurement framework and its accompanying tools; desk research and literature review; and engagement with the program team.

The second part of the consultancy will involve the planning and implementation of the endline study. This includes but is not limited to: finalising inception report, tools, training enumerators, piloting and data collection. As the field work will occur in two countries of implementation, the consultant is expected to collaborate significantly with Right To Play country teams to successfully conduct the field work. Prior to field work, the consultants will be required to conduct a pilot exercise in each country to identify literacy tests of comparable levels of difficulty to those used at baseline. Data from the pilot will be analysed to calibrate literacy subtasks to ensure the tools are child friendly and fit for purpose. The consultant will also be expected to revise all tools in line with recommendations from the baseline.

The third part of the consultancy includes the analysis of data collected and the production of the draft report and appropriate dissemination documents, with incorporated and integrated feedback from relevant Right To Play staff.

The final part of the consultancy will include a workshop with project teams to review findings and develop actionable recommendations which will be included in the final report, alongside 2 webinars presenting the study’s findings with Right To Play’s key stakeholder groups.

Data Collection Tools

The following quantitative tools will be used to measure progress on outcomes selected. All tools must be translated into local languages, as required. The list of tools that will need to be revised and/or developed may include, but is not limited to:

• Classroom Observation
• Child Survey/Life Skills Assessment including:
  1. EGRA
  2. International Social and Emotional Learning Assessment (ISELA)
• Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practice survey with parents and coaches
• Teacher survey
• School Records Guide (for attendance, promotion and performance)

Additional qualitative guides, which prioritise understanding participants’ experiences in the project will be developed by the consultant to adequately answer the research questions posed. The research planning process will entail an in-depth training of enumerators and data collectors, which will include piloting of the instruments to ensure satisfactory reliability and validity, alongside child-friendliness. Tools will subsequently be refined after training and prior to going to the field. All trainings should cover key information about RTP’s approach to GR-PBL, CoPs and girls’ clubs.

Data Analysis

Data will be analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively. An analytical framework will be submitted as part of the evaluation design process, which will detail the specific analytical methodology that will be used to produce results for each indicator measured and each research question posed. The consultant will actively engage with the Right To Play team to determine and agree on these.

The consultant is encouraged to utilize analytical software to analyse both the quantitative (e.g. Excel, SPSS, STATA, R), and qualitative (e.g. NVivo) data. Outputs from data analysis will be submitted as part of the deliverables, as will the scripts (or list of commands) with clear notes/guidance, particularly for quantitative data analysed (in SPSS, STATA, R). All transcripts from interviews/focus groups should also be cleaned and shared with RTP in Word format (or similar). #

6. Key Deliverables and Tentative Timeline

[Please refer to the full document on our website to review the full details.]

7. Scope of Work

• Prepare an inception report outlining the methods to be employed in executing the assignment and a detailed work plan for the final evaluation with:
  • Work plan and schedule of activities.
  • Description of qualitative and quantitative sampling including sampling approach, sample size, power, and confidence intervals
  • Detailed description of how to collect, analyze, triangulate, and summarize quantitative and qualitative data including draft versions of all data collection tools to be used, in English and Kirundi / Swahili
  • Detailed quality assurance protocols to guide data collection/entry, including spot checking procedures.
  • Description of gender sensitive, participatory, inclusive, play-based (considerations of gender, age, disability and other vulnerability conditions) and ethical (child protection, informed consent) research methods that will be integrated into the study.
  • Description of data analysis processes, including use of data analysis software.
  • Detailed indicator descriptions that include indicator definitions, data sources, and calculation formulas.
• Actively participate in regular meetings with Right To Play consulting on evaluation plan/methodology/timeframe, discussing results and findings and recommended follow-up actions.
• Manage data collection process, including recruitment and payment of data collectors, providing training and support, supervision and monitoring of data collection and storage. This includes ensuring the credibility of field data collected by interviewers.
• Data should be collected using mobile devices. All tablets, power banks, and other necessary equipment should be provided by the consultant.
• Compile a comprehensive first draft final evaluation reports and revise reports based on feedback from Right To Play. The consultant should expect up to three rounds of feedback depending on the quality of the report submitted.
• Prepare and submit two final evaluation reports to Right To Play’s Global Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Team, including:
  1. Validation workshop with RTP, stakeholders and beneficiaries
  2. Copy of the final evaluation reports (x2)
  3. Copies of raw and cleaned data sets in both Excel and statistical software formats (e.g., SPSS) including any transcripts, coding frameworks, field notes, as well as annexes of processed results tables and copies of all final data collection tools used (with all levels of disaggregation, including geographical areas breakdown) are to be submitted to Right To Play with the final report
  4. PowerPoint presentation with summary findings for formal presentation to key stakeholders in each of the three countries of implementation
  5. 2 webinars to present findings
  6. An evaluation brief document summarizing the main findings of the evaluation and next steps

8. Roles and Responsibilities

The consultancy firm/group’s roles and responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Background research to familiarize themselves with the MEMF program and Right To Play’s approach (i.e. program documents provided by Right To Play);
• Document review of program, monitoring and evaluation plans, including logical models, performance measurement frameworks, and tools;
• Development of the evaluation design/framework in collaboration with the Right To Play International Steering Committee (further details provided below);
• Throughout each phase, the consultancy firm/group will be expected to maintain regular communications with Right To Play regarding progress;
• Development and implementation of a fieldwork/data collection administration and logistics plan in the two countries of implementation (including comparison group);
• Data collection, entry & cleaning, and analysis;
• Data validation and interpretation through internal review of findings;
• Completion of final baseline report;
• Preparation and presentation of findings and recommendations
• Manage all financial costs and logistics linked to the evaluation;
• Follow RTP policies for travel and accommodation.

*If partnering with a consultancy firm based in Tanzania and/or Burundi, at least 1 member of the proposed lead team should be present to monitor the quality of data collection and lead the training of data collectors throughout the evaluation.

9.General Conditions of the Consultancy

Steering Committee

A steering committee of key implementation stakeholders will be formed to guide and inform the research process. They will help to inform the relevance and appropriateness of the outcome monitoring design framework, the data collection tools and the analytical framework. They will also help to ensure that the research planning and data collection processes are sound, culturally appropriate and contextually relevant to Right To Play’s programmatic needs and to the needs of all relevant stakeholders (i.e. beneficiaries, community members and partners).

Measurement Plan

The measurement plan uses a results-based management approach for tracking the progress of outputs and outcomes against targets.

Consultancy Expectations

• Abide by Right To Play’s child protection and child safeguarding policies
• All materials, processes, methodologies, reports, plans and other works provided to the consultancy firm/group or developed by the consultancy firm/group on behalf of Right To Play remain the property of Right To Play;
• All data must be stored in a safe and secure location, allowing full access to Right To Play staff during the endline process;
• Upon completion of the research, all raw data and analysed data must be submitted to Right To Play.

10. Proposed Budget and Payment Schedule

Consultants are asked to provide a draft financial proposal along with their technical proposal for consideration.

• First payment: After signing of contract agreement with Right To Play (15%)
• Second payment: Submission of inception report, draft analysis framework, and draft data collection instruments (25%)
• Final payment: Submission of final reports, cleaned data and PowerPoint presentations approved by Right To Play (60%)

11. Qualifications

• A consultancy firm/ group with 7 years of experience in the research and/or evaluation field, including experience in quantitative and qualitative data collection, analyzing quantitative and qualitative data, and report writing.
• Extensive experience creating measurement frameworks, refining indicators, and creating measurement tools for education-focused programs.
• Extensive experience managing and designing evaluation studies in diverse contexts (e.g. within multi-country contexts, with children and young people, in remote settings, conflict-sensitive contexts, and in refugee camps).
• Extensive experience in education programming.
• Experience using participatory and gender-responsive techniques in data collection.
• Ability to abide by Right To Play’s child protection and child safeguarding policies.
• Experience following OECD-DAC principles for evaluation and measurement.
• Ability to travel to and within Burundi and Tanzania in support of the study as required.
• Existing network of local data collection firms in Burundi and Tanzania to conduct data collection.
• Excellent skills and experience with data analysis using statistical computing tools (Excel, SPSS, STATA, NVIVO).
• Excellent working proficiency in English. Fluency in French and other local languages preferred.
• Experience conducting education-focused research and/or evaluations in Burundi and Tanzania is preferred.

How to apply

12. Proposal Application Submission

Interested organizations are requested to submit proposals including the following documents:

• Detailed response to RFP, with technical proposal clearly demonstrating a thorough understanding of this Terms of Reference and with specific focus addressing the purpose and objectives of the assignment, methodology to be used and key selection criteria (max. 8 pages)
• Financial Proposal: Detailed budget breakdown based on expected daily rates and initial work plan (in CAD)
• CVs of all key team members who will be the part of the evaluation team;
• Two writing samples, ideally reports the firm/organization/group has lead authorship on (this could be provided via links to reports or writing samples)
• Minimum of two references

The Proposal must be submitted no later than August 26th 2024 to Jessica Best, Global Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Manager at: jbest@righttoplay.com. All questions or clarifications regarding this RFP must be in writing and submitted to jbest@righttoplay.comno later than 16th August 2024. Questions and requests for clarification, and responses thereto, will be circulated to all RFP recipients who have indicated interest in this RFP. As a guideline, financial proposals should be under CAD $210,000.

Proposals will be accepted on a rolling basis and will be reviewed as soon as they are received. Early submissions are encouraged and Right To Play reserves the right to select a consultancy before the proposal submission date noted above.

Right To Play is a child-centred organization. Our recruitment and selection procedures reflect our commitment to the safety and protection of children in our programs. To learn more about how we are and what we do, please visit our website at www.righttoplay.com.

13. Terms of Award

This document is a request for proposals only, and in no way obligates RTP or its donor to make any award. Please be advised that under a fixed price contract the work must be completed within the specified total price. Any expenses incurred in excess of the agreed upon amount in the sub-contract will be the responsibility of the sub-contractor and not that of RTP or its donor. Therefore, the offeror is duly advised to provide its most competitive and realistic proposal to cover all foreseeable expenses related to provide requested goods/services.

All deliverables produced under the future award/ sub-contract shall be considered the property of RTP. RTP may choose to award a PO/ sub-contract for part of the activities in the RFP. RTP may choose to award a PO/ sub-contract to more than one offeror for specific parts of the activities in the RFP.

The Offeror’s technical and cost proposals must remain valid for not less than 120 calendar days after the deadline specified above. Proposals must be signed by an official authorized to bind the offeror to its provisions.

Language

The proposal, as well as correspondence and related documents should be in English.

Negotiations

The offeror’s most competitive proposal is requested. It is anticipated that any award issued will be made solely on the basis of an offeror’s proposal. However, the Project reserves the right to request responses to additional technical, management and cost questions which would help in negotiating and awarding a PO/sub-contract. The Project also reserves the right to conduct negotiations on technical, management, or cost issues prior to the award of a PO/sub-contract. In the event that an agreement cannot be reached with an offeror the Project will enter into negotiations with alternate offerors for the purpose of awarding a PO/sub-contract without any obligation to previously considered offerors.

Rejection of proposals

RTP reserves the right to reject any and all proposals received, or to negotiate separately with any and all competing offerors, without explanation.

Incurring costs

RTP is not liable for any cost incurred by offerors during preparation, submission, or negotiation of an award for this RFP. The costs are solely the responsibility of the offeror.

Modifications

RTP reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to modify the request, to alter the selection process, to modify or amend the specifications and scope of work specified in this RFQ.

Cancellations

RTP may cancel this RFP without any cost or obligation at any time until issuance of the award.

Right To Play is a child-centered organization. Our recruitment and selection procedures reflect our commitment to the safety and protection of children in our programs.

To learn more about how we are and what we do, please visit our website at www.righttoplay.com.