International institutional consultancy to support the process of enhancement of school-based disaster risk reduction (DRR) monitoring capacity of the Ministry of Public Education (MOPE)

The purpose of this assignment is to fill the gap in school monitoring system of MOPE, through introduction of school-based DRR monitoring mechanism, tools, and guidelines. The development of this monitoring system aims to contribute to operationalization of the school-based DRR guidelines, and measurement of the progress of its implementation at school level. Successful finalization of this assignment will also contribute to the enhancement of overall emergency preparedness of education system and children in Uzbekistan, as it is articulated in UNICEF Country Programme Outcome 2.

Duration

December 2016 – February 2017

Anticipated start Date: 1 December 2016

Location

Tashkent, with possible visits to regions

Background

The Ministry of Emergency Situations (MOES) and the MOPE have been working together to improve the school-based DRR in Uzbekistan. One of the key achievements is the guidelines for development of emergency preparedness (EP) plans at school level, drafted by the experts of MOES and MOPE. In accordance with these guidelines, school EP plan consists of three parts: (a) general information about school and hazards that exist around school, (b) standard operating procedures for different emergency situations, and (c) an annual calendar of DRR events. The purpose of these guidelines is to transform schools into safe places, enhance the knowledge of children and teachers on right actions in case of emergencies, and develop proactive attitude to emergencies through operationalization of school EP plan. Hence, ensuring that each school in Uzbekistan develops and implements EP plans is one of the priority programmes for both MOES and MOPE. Taking into account this priority, the Country Programme Action Plan 2016-2020 between the Government of Uzbekistan and UNICEF has a component on improving emergency planning and response in schools.

With introduction of school-based DRR guidelines by MOES and MOPE, it is expected that the knowledge gap on development of school EP plans among school management would be partially addressed. However, in order to ensure that schools will develop quality EP plans, revise it on annual basis, and timely implement/operationalize them, there is a need to establish a monitoring system. This system would help to identify the gaps and shortcomings in (a) EP plans, (b) capacity of school management, and (c) operationalization of preparedness plans that require to be addressed through appropriate actions.

The proposed school-based DRR monitoring system is expected to serve for encouragement of school management to develop school EP plans, identify gaps in this plan through self-assessment, develop improvement action plan in accordance with findings of self-assessment, implement the action plan, and measure/assess the improvement. At the same time, the school-based DRR monitoring system should also equip regional education departments with information on implementation of school-based DRR guidelines at school level, and help them to supervise the implementation of improvement plans, provide support to schools with low/no capacity on school-based DRR, and take actions on gaps that requires decision making at higher level. Moreover, this monitoring system aims to encourage higher level education stakeholders to provide technical support with elements of ‘supportive supervision’, along with administrative support to lower levels. Moreover, this system will focus on monitoring of performance towards set goals by schools, using the findings of assessment for decision making at each level, and will help to make school EP plan work, rather than checking to see what is wrong. It is expected that the system will result in empowerment of school management to be proactive in school emergency preparedness. In the long run, it is expected that the established school-based DRR monitoring system after the successful testing will be transformed into electronic platform, and will become part of existing MOPE’s school monitoring system.

The successful fulfilment of this assignment requires specialized expertise in establishment of monitoring and evaluation systems, along with school-based emergency preparedness. As fulfillment of this assignment requires allocation of additional resources (i.e. human and financial), there is a need for external international intuition’s expertise services, that can deliver quality product in a timely manner.

Purpose

The purpose of this assignment is to fill the gap in school monitoring system of MOPE, through introduction of school-based DRR monitoring mechanism, tools, and guidelines. The development of this monitoring system aims to contribute to operationalization of the school-based DRR guidelines, and measurement of the progress of its implementation at school level. Successful finalization of this assignment will also contribute to enhancement of overall emergency preparedness of education system and children in Uzbekistan, as it is articulated in UNICEF Country Programme Outcome 2.

Objectives

The followings are the objectives of this assignment:

• Ensure that existing school-based DRR guidelines are in line with the disaster management pillar of Comprehensive School Safety Framework ;
• Develop school-based DRR monitoring mechanisms, tools and guidelines for different levels (school, district, region, national) based on existing school-based DRR guidelines; and
• Develop capacity of MOPE at different levels on school-based DRR monitoring system.

Timeline & Deliverables

It is expected that the consultancy will deliver following outputs by 28 February 2017:

1. Inception report, which will outline the school-based DRR monitoring mechanisms, tools, and guidelines (10% of total fee);
2. Revised school-based DRR guidelines, which reflect all steps required for development of quality school EP plans (15% of total fee);
3. School-based DRR monitoring mechanisms, tools, and guidelines as per Annex 1 of this TOR (50% of total fee);
4. Trained district/region education department personnel on provision of supportive supervision on development/implementation/revision of school EP plan (15% of total fee);
5. Final consultancy report reflecting the tasks accomplished, documenting the challenges, lessons learnt, and action plan for MOPE for further operationalization of school-based DRR monitoring system (10% of total fee).

In order to be able to deliver above outputs, the consultant is expected to perform following tasks:

• Conduct meeting(s), interview(s) with relevant staff of MOPE and UNICEF, and desk-review of existing documents to develop inception report;
• Elaborate and present the mechanisms, tools, and guidelines of school-based DRR monitoring system to MOPE and UNICEF;
• Review draft of existing school-based DRR guidelines and revise it in line with Comprehensive School Safety Framework;
• Develop self-assessment questionnaires for school management to assess school EP plans;
• Develop criteria for assessment of quality of school EP plan, indicators and methodology for measuring the school preparedness;
• Develop training package for education authorities on using of school-based DRR monitoring system and provision of supportive supervision to lower levels;
• Develop guidelines on using the monitoring tools for school/district/region/national levels;
• Develop guidelines for development of improvement plans of school EP plans;
• Train district education department personnel from selected regions on monitoring and provision of support to schools on development/assessment/improvement/implementation of school EP plans;
• Hold orientation session for DRR committees of selected schools on developed tools and guidelines;
• Test the developed materials in selected schools (Testing will be conducted tentatively in Kashkadarya, Samarkand, and Tashkent at different levels); and
• Revise and finalize monitoring mechanism and tools, in line with identified findings, collected feedbacks and comments during the testing phase.

Management

The consultancy will report and work under direct supervision of UNICEF Chief of Education. Moreover, the consultants will collaborate with two main departments of MOPE, which are responsible for organization of the work of educational establishments, and development of education process. All outputs of this TOR are subject for review of above MOPE departments and UNICEF DRR Officer.

Resource requirements

47 working days are allocated for accomplishment of all tasks and deliverables within the period of December 2016 –February 2017. The consultancy fee will be paid upon successful completion of each deliverable and certification by supervisor,

Required qualifications and areas of expertise

The team of international experts should consist of at least two members: M&E Specialist (team-leader) and DRR Expert.

The team is expected to have the following qualifications and expertise:

• Advanced university degree in social sciences or other related fields (would be verified through review of CVs of team members);
• All team members should have at least 5 years of professional and relevant experience in their respective fields (M&E systems and school-based DRR) within past 10 years (would be verified through review of technical proposal);
• Proven previous experience in establishment of similar monitoring systems (should be stated in technical proposal); and
• Fluency in English is required and knowledge of Russian would be an advantage (to be assessed during interview).

The Team Leader is responsible for:

• Overall coordination and management of the consultancy;
• Ensuring that all the activities are conducted as specified in the TOR; and
• All deliverables are submitted on time as per the TOR.

The interested entities should submit portfolio of entity, technical proposal with reference to previous similar assignments, budget proposal, and CVs of team members.

Procedures and Working Conditions

The consultancy will be distant with two instances of international travel to Uzbekistan and four instances of local travels to regions (as required) for testing of developed materials. All travel(s) to will be arranged in accordance with UNICEF Travel Rules and Regulations.

The consultancy will be responsible for any taxes that might arise because of this assignment and remuneration received by UNICEF, and UNICEF undertakes no liability for taxes, duty or other contribution payable by the consultant on payments made under this contract.

Reservations

UNICEF reserves the right to withhold all or a portion of payment if performance is unsatisfactory, if deliverable(s) incomplete, not finalized or for failure to meet deadlines. UNICEF and MOPE will reserve copyright of all developed materials and own primary data collected during this assignment. The materials cannot be published or disseminated without prior written permission of UNICEF. UNICEF will be free to adapt and modify them in the future. The contractor must respect the confidentiality of the information handled during the assignment. Documents and information provided must be used only for the tasks related to these terms of reference.

Mode of Payment

The fees will be paid by bank transfer and upon acceptance of deliverables. Payments might be partially or fully withheld in case of unsatisfactory performance of duties or failure to provide the deliverables by the agreed deadlines.