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1. BACKGROUND
Save the Children and the Arsenal Foundation formed a unique partnership, combining their ambitions, commitment and expertise to improve children’s and young people’s lives affected by adversity. Funded by the Arsenal Foundation, both organisations co-created the ‘Coaching for Life’ (CFL) programme in 2018 that uses sports coaching to strengthen the resilience and wellbeing of children aged 10 to 18 years in Za’atari refugee camp, Jordan. The CFL programme is a Sports for Development programme, bringing together Save the Children’s Child and Youth Resilience methodology, and Arsenal’s expertise in providing sports-based community interventions.
In the current phase of the programme which is running from March 2022 to March 2023 (cycles 7 and 8), children are participating in 20-week cycles of football and resilience modules. Trained community coaches transmit resilience building content using football as a vehicle for communicating and developing skills and capacities in five different locations. While playing football, children naturally interact with one another and experience a range of emotions, which they then reflect on as part of the resilience coaching. Children have a chance to safely interact with one another and a trusted adult, develop social skills and solve problems through play. This in turn is hoped to improve their stress management and impulse control and to help them make new friends. The programme is committed to engage girls and boys equally, and in addition to the football and resilience modules, the programme further incorporates complementary activities with parents and caregivers
2. Objectives and scope
The overall objective of this evaluation is to establish what outcomes the current phase of the Coaching for Life programme has been achieved and how and why change has (or has not) come about. This will include the achievement of child-level outcomes around their resilience and wellbeing, specific changes and differences in terms of gender and disability as well as documenting thus far unexplored improvements at child level. Further outcomes of the intervention for caregivers, coaches as well the wider community level should also be evidenced. In addition, the evaluation is aimed at exploring the intervention process, assessing what has been working and not working and why as well as drawing out challenges and lessons learned. In order to achieve this, the evaluation is intended to bring together the data that has already been collected during monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning (MEAL) activities throughout this phase for analysis, in particular assessing two rounds of pre- and post surveys of participating children. In addition, primary data collection is envisaged to triangulate and further collect evidence.
3. KEY EVALUATION QUESTIONS
The key research questions to be considered for the evaluation are based on the updated list of the OECD DAC criteria for evaluations as well as incorporate Save The Children programmatic quality areas. As recommended, these criteria are covered in line with the purpose and context of the evaluation.
A. IMPACT
1. What is the impact of the football coaching and resilience modules and the wider CFL programme on participating children (in particular with regards to an increase in resilience and wellbeing, including but not limited to changes in social support and social connectedness for children, feelings of belonging, friendships and sense of family; changes to children’s’ feelings of safety, their behaviour and management of emotions [especially anger]; increased confidence and changes to feelings of hope for the future)?
2. How do the results of the programme differ for boys, girls, and children with disability?
3. To what degree did the programme change parents/ caregivers’ attitudes and behaviours regarding parenting and disciplining children?
B. EFFECTIVENESS
4. What are the successes of the CFL programme during this implementation phase and how can these be optimised and replicated? What factors may be limiting these achievements?
5. What is the wider effectiveness of the programme, considering the whole community, including children who don’t participate in the CFL sessions, caregivers and the wider community?
6. What worked well and what could be improved in the implementation of each of the two cycles in the current phase, including assessing the extent to which activities were gender transformative and ensured disability inclusion?
7. What aspects of gender discrimination and inequality did the programme address, considering relevant issues such as child marriage, attitudes towards gender equality and GBV?
8. To what extend did the programme contribute to girl’s empowerment and positive masculinity in boys?
C. RELEVANCE
9. What are the perceptions of community about the programme, including its relevance, usefulness and effectiveness?
10. To what extent has the context for children within Zaatari camp changed since programme inception and has the programme design evolved accordingly?
D. SUSTAINABILITY
11. To what extent have the benefits and positive changes of phase 1 (cycles 1 to 6) of the intervention continued in phase 2 (current phase/ cycles 7 and 8) and how likely will they continue in future?
12. What actions need to be taken to increase the likelihood of the programme results continuing beyond this phase of the programme?
E. EFFICIENCY
13. Are the financial resources and other inputs being used efficiently to achieve outputs? Are there opportunities to improve efficiency?
4. METHODOLOGY
A. DESK REVIEW: Conducting a desk review of relevant Save the Children project level documentation, particularly country MEAL data and information already gathered as well as documents showing progress and effects of the CFL programme. This includes synthesising data from children, parents/ caregivers, and the community, in particular (1) pre-and-post intervention assessments of children and parents, (2) focus group discussions with children, parents/ caregivers and coaches at the end of each cycle, (3) monitoring visit reports, (4) sessions and activities observations, and (5) unstructured conversations with children and parents/ caregivers.
B. QUANTITATITVE DATA COLLECTION (PRIMARY): Consider relevance and usefulness of additional quantitative data, potentially from parents/ caregivers and community members with regards to the usefulness and effects of the programme (including aspects of gender equality and inclusion of children with disability) and wider changes.
C. QUALITATIVE DATA COLLECTION (PRIMARY): Collect further qualitative data through carrying out focus group discussions with a sample of children and young people who participated in the CFL programme, as well as their caregivers and families; and key informant interviews and focus group discussions with coaches as well as the community members.
D. Primary data collection through interviewing relevant programme staff.
5. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The consultant/ consultancy team is expected to design the evaluation approach and methodology, including appropriate sampling methods and tool development, manage the different phases of the evaluation, oversee all in-country data collection and data analysis, as well as producing the full evaluation report. The consultant/ consultancy team, including data collectors will need to complete Save the Children’s mandatory training modules on Child Safeguarding and Code of Conduct as well as Psychological First Aid.
KEY DELIVERABLE
- Inception Report – Including workplan for data collection, finalised methodology, sampling strategy and tools
- Inventory and Data Sets – Inventory of all background materials reviewed and analysed; complete anonymised primary data sets
- Draft Evaluation Report – Including findings, recommendations and case studies
- Final Evaluation Report and Presentation
The evaluation is envisaged to be carried out between February and March 2023 and is expected to be completed in a maximum timeframe of 6 weeks.
** Male and Female Candidates are welcome to apply.
