Purpose and Aim of the Evaluation into the Imali
YeMwana Network
The aim of the evaluation
is to review the network in order to strengthen it so that it can have a
comprehensive strategy that empowers different country networks in future. To
achieve this, the successful consultant shall undertake the following:
a) Evaluate if the initial goal, objectives and strategies
of the network have been achieved since its inception.
b) Analyse and evaluate if the network has brought any
change (s) in the lives of children who are the main benefactors of the
project.
c) Analyse and evaluate if the network has brought any
change (s) in budget priorities at SADC and national levels in regard to
service provisions for children.
d) Document the impact, achievements and added value
that the project has brought on regional and national networks and recommend
how to make Imayi ya Mwana more attractive and effective to ensure that it
meets its original objectives and goals.
e) Evaluate if the network has achieved any capacity
and organisational development for the national partners and national networks.
f) Identify the strength (s) and weakness (es) of the
network and how it can be improved.
g) Evaluate and analyse if there is any challenges in
the network’s coordination and communication mechanism and recommend various
options to improve its coordination and communication with national members.
Introduction
Save the Children is a membership-based international
non-governmental organisation, independent of any political party or religion,
working for the rights of children. Save the Children advocates for the
realisation of children’s rights stipulated in the UN Convention on the Rights
of the Child (UNCRC) and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the
Child (ACWERC). Save the Children collaborates with and funds more than 20
civil society partners in Southern Africa.
In 2004 Save the Children funded a consultative meeting in Johannesburg; initiated by Idasa through the
then Children’s Budget Unit and other partners.
The consultative meeting passed a resolution to form the SADC Child Budget
Network, also known as Imali YeMwana, a network of eight Southern African child
rights organisations, with a specific focus on advocating for more budgetary
allocations to address the rights of children. The network was/is premised around strengthening
both national and local networks and creating linkages between these networks
on a rights-based approach towards budgeting. The current members of the
network are Zambia, Botswana, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique,
Mauritius and Lesotho. Countries are
represented in the network by individual organisations that work in the area of
children’s rights. In addition to the individual member organisations, the
network has also worked with civil society networks including, MACOSS in
Mauritius; Lesotho Council of NGOs; and National Association of
Non-Governmental Organisations in Zimbabwe. All the networks have programmes
directly related to children’s rights.
To inform further growth
and development of the network on the role it should play for the future, Save
the Children and Idasa, together with the other partners will undertake
an evaluation to establish the impact of the network on its members and to
obtain a better understanding of what role the network could play in the future
at regional and national level on child budgeting.
Background of Imali YeMwana Network
Imali YeMwana Child
Budget Network, conducts regional training and support around child budget
analyses, advocacy, tracking and monitoring. It builds capacity of parents and children to
monitor local level spending on basic services for children through the
advocacy and support of child rights.
The project has the following
objectives and related outcomes;
- To
promote child rights organisations’ participation in national budget processes
and monitoring in the SADC region.
- To
build capacity of members to advocate and lobby social sector ministries
and Parliaments for policy reforms
and more efficient allocations to education and other social services in
the eight member countries.
- To
improve civil society’s understanding of government policy and decision-making
processes, to enable better participation.
- To
build a regional network of civil society organisations using budgets for
policy advocacy on behalf of children.
- To
network with national, regional and international media and other civil society
organisations for advocacy platforms and exchange of information and skills on
children’s issues.
As part of the Strategic Plan of 2007
to 2010, the partners identified challenges to child access to education,
health and social protection in their countries. While it is to be presumed that some of the
challenges do not remain the same, they provide a useful baseline for the
project as it continues along the same trajectory. The challenges that were identified by
members included the following:
- The
quality of education in most countries is poor;
- Street
children are poorly integrated into communities;
- A
poor appreciation of child rights and child participation;
- Much
of the education budget is spent on tertiary education;
- The
problem of integrating learners with disability into the education system;
- Enormous
gaps exist between the numbers of those entering primary school and those
who graduate;
- High
levels of HIV and AIDS impact on the ability of health systems to provide
diverse services;
- The
SADC region as a whole has very high numbers of orphaned children but very
weak social protection;
- Limited
space for citizen participation in governance;
- Increasing
levels of poverty, joblessness and high levels of mostly illegal
migration; and
- Increase
in citizen protests, mostly youth led (Swaziland, Mozambique, Malawi, and
South Africa).
Scope of Work
In addition to desktop
research, interviews, meetings and phone-calls to network partners – including
Save the Children. The consultant will travel to meet with four (4) national
network partners for site visits which will be agreed to by Idasa and Save the
Children.
Deliverables (to be
submitted in electronic format and in hard copy)
- A comprehensive work-plan
and budget.
- Draft and final reports,
maximum 20 pages, excluding appendices for partner-specific information.
- Make a presentation of the
draft conclusions and recommendations of the report to Save the Children Sweden
and Idasa on a date to be set.
- Submission of a final
report incorporating comments and feedback from the Imali YeMwana partner
meeting in August.
Proposed Timeframes
Deadline for submission: 30
September 2012
Final report: 12 November
2012
The details of specific
dates to be stipulated in the contract will be finalised by Save the Children
Sweden, Idasa and the selected consultant.
Competencies
Consultants and research
institutions interested in conducting the evaluation should include personnel
with the following qualifications:
- Expert knowledge and
practical experience on conducting evaluations in the NGO sector and networks.
- Proven experience in
conducting organisational review and assessments.
- Ability to travel across
the SADC region and to communicate to individuals.
- Excellent analytical
skills.
- Fluency and proficiency
in written and spoken English
For
more information and to send proposals contract:
Lead Implementation Officer,
Imali YeMwana Project
Or
Regional Programme Officer - Child Rights
Governance,
Save the Children -
Southern Africa
Children at Pelican Park Primary, Grassy Park in Cape Town are participating in the Media Monitoring project implemented by the organisation Media Monitoring Africa. The project encourages child participation in the media. It also ensures media literacy and children's ability to analyse the media when it comes to their rights. The project also improves children's ability to read and write. 
