Consultancy - Mid Term Review

1           Introduction

The Aga Khan Foundation (AKF), an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), is a private, non-denominational, international development agency established in 1967. It seeks sustainable solutions to long-term problems of poverty, hunger, illiteracy and ill-health with special emphasis on the needs of rural communities in mountainous and other resource poor regions, primarily in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Its main areas of focus are education, health, rural development, environment and strengthening civil society.

The Aga Khan Foundation (Pakistan) [AKF(P)] is seeking high calibre Consultant/Consultancy firm to conduct a mid-term review for the School Improvement Programme (SIP) to take place in the mountainous regions of northern Pakistan. 

School Improvement Programme (SIP) began as a pilot in July/August 2016 in 60 government and community schools. In 2019 the programme extended to 337 schools in 4 districts of Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral, the furthest most district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. A baseline study was conducted in 2017 to collect data on a sample of SIP interventions and to measure the Learning Outcomes of students. The Mid-term Review will assess the progress of SIP interventions and the extent to which outcomes are being achieved. The MTR report will provide recommendations on any aspects of the programme that may not be working as well as expected. It will also provide evidence that can help with policy dialogue and the replication and/or scaling up of any successful SIP approaches and interventions primarily within the government system.

2           Background

The purpose of the School Improvement Programme (SIP) is to improve the learning outcomes of children in government and community schools and communities in the designated geographical areas in Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral (GBC). The SIP seeks to address the key foci of the Gilgit-Baltistan Education Strategy (2015-2030) and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Education Sector Plan 2015-2020, namely access and equity; quality and relevance; and governance and management, in order to transform the quality of educational services and ensure every child learns effectively.

The SIP model, created by AKF, uses a whole school approach that is participatory and builds the capacity of all stakeholders of a school, enabling each to play an effective role in improving children’s learning. The focus is the child: ensuring that children are ready for school, that schools are ready for children, and that families and the government support school efforts.  It aims to influence change at the child, teacher, head teacher, parent, school management and government official levels through classrooms, schools, community and educational systems and is aligned with national and global sustainable development goals.

The SIP’s cluster-based approach enables schools (typically 3-7 per cluster) within a two hour or so walking distance of the cluster centre school, to support each other in educational improvement interventions, with the help of government education officials, AKDN technical assistance, and a more well-equipped resource school where available.  Building Education Communities of Practice (ECoP) enables teachers to collaborate to improve their teaching and learning practice on a consistent basis. Their regular ECoP meetings help teachers to plan and reflect on their lessons and develop their professionalism within schools and across clusters of schools to strengthen children’s learning.

As implementing partners, the Professional Development Centres in Gilgit (PDCN) and Chitral (PDCC) of the Aga Khan University-Institute for Educational Development build the capacity of Quality Assurance Teams (QAT) consisting of government officials, key resource head teachers and key resource teachers. They then train head teachers and teachers within school clusters. A Cluster Implementation Team (CIT) of local officials, key resource head teachers and teachers then mentor and support teachers in schools and classrooms and set up ECoPs. The faculty of the Professional Development Centres and the Quality Assurance Team members ensure that the field components of SIP are implemented with high quality. AKF (P) is responsible for overall management of the programme and for providing technical assistance to the implementing partners.

AKF is now commissioning a Mid-term Review of SIP to ascertain, in comparison with the baseline, whether SIP is making a difference to equitable access to quality education in targeted schools, and specifically improvement in teaching and learning environments, student learning outcomes, and ownership of local education authorities and the community. The findings and recommendations will help to improve programme interventions and subsequently plans for replication and scaling up.

3           Purpose and Scope 3.1         Purpose

SIP is seeking to procure the services of an independent external Consultant/Consultancy firm to conduct a mixed-method, gender-sensitive Mid-term Review that is inclusive of students with special needs. The purpose of the Mid-term Review is to ascertain the progress SIP has made against the 2017 Base-line and Learning Outcome Study and specific indicators in the LFA 2018. It is also to make recommendations for improving interventions in the future, including for replication and scale-up.

3.2         Scope of Study

The MTR will follow a mixed-method approach. A range of quantitative and qualitative methods and tools will be employed for both components of the study.

3.3         Study Frame

The study will be conducted in Gilgit Baltistan and Chitral. The valleys covered in the baseline are Immit, Silgan, Chipursan, Thalay, Diamir in Gilgit Baltistan and Garam Chashma, Khot, Rech, Yarkhoon in Chitral. The study will be implemented with students, teachers, head teachers, SMC members, parents, AEOs, DIS/DEOs/ADEOs and staff of partner agencies. 

3.4         Sample

A total of 94 schools will be selected in the valleys given above. These 94 schools, 50 in GB and 44 in Chitral, are same schools that were assessed during the baseline. In order to ensure complete coverage of valleys targeted by the program, the number of schools are divided equally across the target valleys. During the baseline the selected control schools are now incorporated into SIP and they will now be considered as intervention schools in the review. The learning achievement of students in the sampled intervention schools will be compared against the average achievement of students across the targeted districts in order to provide a point of comparison. This will not require primary data collection in the schools as we do in case of control schools. Secondary data available with government will be used to compare the progress on enrollment, attendance, transition, completion and school level exams.

The number for carrying out student’s assessment per school was determined in the baseline and same denominators will be used. Based on an average estimate of number of children in Grade 2 and 5 (representing children who would be tested on grade 1 and 4 curriculum content respectively), the number of tests conducted was capped at 25 per school (12 for Grade 2 and 13 for Grade 5) in the baseline; an equal number of boys and girls were selected for the assessments. For learning outcome component the sample of students that will take tests is 2350 with margin of error calculated at 1.9% and confidence level 95%. Statistically it is a fair sample to draw on significance of the results.  

4          Study Objectives

The specific objective of the Study is to assess two interrelated components of the project. The first component will focus on assessing progress towards expected SIP outcomes.

The second component will focus more on the student learning outcomes.

4.1         Key Question

The MTR will seek to answer the following questions based on those addressed in the 2017 Base-line and Learning Outcome Study and the subsequent LFA 2018.  The key question is:

To what extent has SIP made progress against the Base-line of 2017 and what are the ecommendations for areas of improvement?

1.1         Key Deliverables 4.1.1          Inception Report

The Consultant/Consultancy firm will share a detailed inception report with AKF (P) after a two-day inception meeting. The report will outline steps for the study process, reviewing and adapting/developing instruments etc. The inception report for the study will include the following sections: 

• Feasibility of the ToRs and any critical issues or questions.
• Key consideration and approach
• Proposed methodology
• Data collection tools
• Detailed implementation Plan
• Monitoring and Quality Assurance Mechanism
• Plan for data entry and analysis including list of tables required
• The research framework with all key questions addressed

4.1.2          Sense-making Workshop for AKF (P)

·         The consultant will conduct a sense-making workshop after data analysis of the MTR. The meeting will be attended by the representatives of AKF (P), Global Programme Team and the partners in SIP project. 

4.1.3          SIP Mid-term Report

·         The consultant will present a draft study report to AKF (P) for review and feedback within the agreed timeframe.

·         S/he will present a final version of the report (including recommendations where appropriate) to AKF (P) within the specified time frame.  The consultant will submit a well-organized and well-formatted report in the English language in print and electronic version.

5           Qualifications of Consultant(s)

The Consultant should have:

• At least a Master’s Degree or equivalent relevant qualification in Education, Early Childhood Development, Public Policy, Economics or related fields.
• A proven record of at least 15 years of experience in the development field out of which at least 10 years has been gained in the relevant area (as required in ToRs)
•  Experience in monitoring and evaluation, especially in education (especially the early years and school development) and in conducting evaluations and studies in developing country contexts.
• Experience in the leadership and management of development programmes will be considered an asset
• Credible records and references of previous consulting experience in Pakistan
• Fluency in the English language (written & spoken). Proficiency in local languages will be an added advantage.

6           Application Procedure

You are requested to submit your technical and financial proposals by June 23, 2019. While submitting the Technical Proposal, please attach/enclose the following:

·         Profile of the consultant explaining relevant experience.

·         Detailed methodology and conceptual framework with expected deliverables and timelines, team composition, person days required

The financial proposal shall include lump sum cost with a breakdown for fee, travel and number of working days.

AKF(P) offers a competitive remuneration package and conducive working environment. We are an equal opportunity employer - females are encouraged to apply. Please note that only short-listed Consultant Firm/Consultant will be contacted.