Kenya: Consultancy to Conduct a Formative Assessment for Safety for Children and their Rights Online (SCROL) Response (R) Programme

Title: SCROL Response (SCROL-R): Championing effectiveness in addressing OCSE in Kenya

Goal: All children (regardless of gender, sexual orientation, class, religion, ethnicity, and abilities) are protected from Online Child Sexual Exploitation (OCSE) in a safe family and community environment

Outcome: Justice system actors operate in a coordinated manner and are better equipped with appropriate knowledge and skills to effectively respond to OCSE.

Location: Nairobi, Kenya

Period: April 2024 to March 2025

Beneficiaries: Law Enforcement Agencies

Implementing partner (s): Childline Kenya

2. Background: 

Terre des Hommes Netherlands is part of the International Federation of Terre des Hommes organisations, a strategic partnership of member organisations sharing the same brand name and core values for joint lobby and advocacy around children’s rights. Terre des Hommes Netherlands (TdH NL) protects children by preventing and stopping child exploitation, and by empowering children to make their voices count. Our work is grounded in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and seeks to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Under our new Global Strategy (2023 - 2030), TdH NL is redefining and refining our role as a child rights organisation, with the strategic ambition that “by 2030, Terre des Hommes Netherlands is a catalyst for systemic change to stop child exploitation. We do this by empowering children and their communities, connecting them with those who have power to enact change, and utilising our knowledge and expertise to co-create sustainable, evidence-based solutions.”

TdH Netherlands is led by a two-headed Executive Team: the Executive Director and the Director of Programmes.

The values of TdH Netherlands are: Responsible, Bold, Human-Centred and Playful.

The organisation's core principles are:

1. Children at the Centre,
2. Intersectionality and Power Awareness,
3. Safety and Wellbeing,
4. Sustainability, and
5. Meaningful and Strategic Partnerships.

In line with our new strategy, TdH NL is in the process of establishing three thematic programmes under which our portfolio of humanitarian and development projects and programmes will be managed.

These are:

1. Child Labour,
2. Sexual Exploitation of Children, and
3. Humanitarian Action.

Our programmatic work is supported by two cross-programmatic units: Programme Development and Quality (PDQ), and Research, Expertise and Influencing (REI). Aligned to our new strategy, and based on many years of experience as a child rights organisation, we aim to consolidate our expertise and programme management, informed by research, to bring about sustainable and systemic change in the lives of children, and to hold duty bearers accountable.

The focus of TdH NL regarding humanitarian action is on child protection in emergencies (CPiE), with a particular focus on the protection of children from exploitation.

On the African continent, TdH NL works in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Madagascar. In these countries, TdH NL develops and implements programs in close collaboration with local partner organisations. In Kenya, TdH NL programmes are implemented in Central, Rift Valley, Coastal, Western and Northern regions of Kenya where we work with communities, government, private sector, civil society organisations and children themselves, at the centre, to address systemic and structural drivers that expose children to exploitation.

3. About the SCROL Response (R) Programme: 

The SCROL Response (SCROL-R) project proposes a specialised capacity development solution targeting police officers from selected police stations in Kibra and Dagoretti sub counties, Nairobi County. The two areas were selected to leverage on the work being done under the ongoing SCROL programme, and considering the commitment demonstrated by government officials in these locations. The primary target will be officers in police stations who handle child related cases; the investigating officers of the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI), who will be identified by the specialised DCI unit, to broaden the number of trained officers to handle OCSE cases; selected prosecutors to enhance capacity for an effective prosecution of cases with OCSE ingredients, and finally selected magistrates from judiciary in the two counties to enrich their knowledge on OCSE cases for better adjudication in courts.

The trained officers will constitute a group of experts that will commit to champion effectiveness in addressing OCSE cases once reported. Since the solution will be piloted in two controlled areas (sub counties), a coordination mechanism will be established that would see all the trained officers from the police, DCI, prosecution and the courts work collaboratively across agencies on any reported cases.

To complement the capacity enhancement (in person specialised training), SCROL-R will develop an easy-to-use version of the OCSEA Standard Operating Procedures in the form of a checklist, so that the trained officers will use it as a reference document when handling OCSE cases. The checklist will provide clear guidance on the ingredients of OCSE cases and the steps officers will follow while responding to OCSE cases.

4. Purpose of the Consultancy: 

Terre des Hommes Netherlands intends to engage the services of a professional to conduct a formative assessment of the SCROL Response (R) programme to establish the gaps at each link of the justice system chain (Police, Judiciary, and prosecution) to inform the delivery of the programme. This will be done through a comprehensive approach, incorporating desk review of existing data and legal frameworks, capacity assessment to evaluate knowledge and skills in online child sexual exploitation (OCSE) and investigative principles and techniques, access to training resources and programs, enabling environment such as institutions, policies, and social norms, and self-efficacy levels regarding confidence in investigating these cases. Additionally, a knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) survey will be conducted to understand the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of the different law enforcement agencies.

These lessons and best practices on effectiveness to address OCSE will then be shared with the relevant justice system actors to influence the scalability of the specialized training solution to the rest of the Counties

The scope of the assessment will be in Nairobi (Kibra and Dagoretti) County.

5. Objectives for Formative Assessment: 

This assignment aims to establish the gaps at each link of the justice system chain to inform the delivery of the SCROL-R programme. The formative assessment report will be used as a measurement to monitor the project progress against the project activities.

5.1 Specific Objectives:

1. To conduct an analysis of the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) in relation to OCSE by law enforcement agencies.
2. To establish law enforcement agencies' capacity level in investigating and prosecuting OCSE cases.
3. To establish the level of response by law enforcement agencies to address OCSE cases from intake, investigation to prosecution.
4. To provide recommendations for the effective implementation and/or adaptation of the disseminated knowledge/information acquired from the specialised training targeting the law enforcement agencies.
5. To employ an educational framework that facilitates comprehensive understanding of legal protocols, specialized investigative techniques, and collaborative strategies among the law enforcement agencies, ensuring effective knowledge transfer and skill development.

Baseline data will be collected for the project Output/ Outcome/ Objective Indicators below:

Programme Goal: All children (regardless of gender, sexual orientation, class, religion, ethnicity, and abilities) are protected from Online Child Sexual Exploitation (OCSE) in a safe family and community environment

Indicator: 

• Descriptions of ways in which different stakeholders are protecting children against OCSE. (qualitative)
• % of actors (specified) with knowledge on OCSE prevention and identification
• % of actors (specified) with improved OCSE behaviour/attitudes
• Knowledge of investigative techniques and best practices to investigate OCSE
• Capacity/ skills to investigate OCSE
• Level of self-efficacy to investigate OCSE cases

Suggested Methodology: 

• Collection of primary data:
  • Key informant interviews
  • Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Survey
  • Survey
  • Self-assessment

Outcome:

Justice system actors operate in a coordinated manner and are better equipped with appropriate knowledge and skills to effectively respond to OCSE: 

• Number of justice system actors who use the developed checklist to effectively investigate OCSE cases.
• Percentage change in the number of OCSE cases being responded to across the justice system
• Evidence of better coordination among law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders in response to OCSE cases along the justice system chain.

Suggested Methodology: 

• Semi-structured surveys with law enforcement agencies

Note: Definitions of the indicators listed above will be provided by TdH NL.

6. Scope of work

The evaluator will be required to undertake the following specific tasks:

• Conduct a desk review of the existing document and legal framework on OCSE on the role of the justice system to adequately respond to OCSE cases.
• For indicators for which there is no or insufficient secondary data is available, the evaluator will be expected to design tools and pilot tools for the collection of quantitative and qualitative data
• Analyse available secondary data related to project objectives
• Design assessment methods that allow for valid measurement of the programme’s targeted populations and primary data collection, with the support from project teams
• Analyse and interpret data to develop a comprehensive formative report that gives comprehensive values for the programme’s result framework.
• Share key findings and insights with TdH NL Kenya Country office through consultations

7. Timeline:

This period of time to be considered for this evaluation is 15th April 2024 to 15th May 2024. The estimated duration of the assignment is thirty (30) days of work maximum. The draft report will be expected on or before 10th May 2024 and Final report on or before 15th May 2024.

Geographic Scope: The formative assessment will be conducted in Nairobi (Kibra and Dagoretti sub counties).

8. Deliverables and Timeline: 

In accordance with the timetable, the evaluator (s) will produce and/or provide to TdH NL the following:

• Inception report including work plan, final data collection tools in English and local language (template of the report will be provided)
• Training materials for data collectors including data collection and quality assurance mechanisms/ instruction/ guidelines/ protocol (“Child safeguarding and ethical evaluation” presentation template will be provided by TdH NL)
• Online data collection forms in KOBO or other effective mobile data collection applications if used
• Final completed Formative assessment Report in English addressing all comments/ feedbacks from TdH NL and/partners and including a clear set of actionable recommendations (template of the report will be provided)
• Final comprehensive power point presentation of the formative assessment results.
• Access to all completed questionnaires if both soft and/or hard copies used
• Written informed consent with respondents and photos if any
• Raw data:
  • Raw quantitative data
  • Raw qualitative data transcripts ( data entry in Excel or any other qualitative analysis platform or program used) if exist
  • Final clean dataset used for data analysis in software program data analysis such as Atlas.ti / NVIVO, SPSS/ STATA… and syntax for data preparation and analysis if used.
  • Final data analysis outputs (in table, graph…) that will be used for the final report and power point presentation (including data analysis by indicators)

In accordance with the timetable, the evaluator (s) will also:

• Lead the inception meeting to discuss project details, the goal of the assessment and to receive from the project team all important information and documents needed to execute the assignment.
• Provide training to data collection team whenever relevant
• Lead a validation workshop with TdH NL staff and partners to discuss findings of the formative assessment.
• Provide power point presentation of the findings in a dissemination workshop organized by TdhNL

TdH NL will oversee the process and maintain responsibility for accountability and guidance throughout all execution phases and approval of all deliverables.

The deadline for this assignment is 15th May 2024.

9. Evaluator (s) Competencies, Experience and Skill Requirements: 

The evaluator engaged to undertake the assignment must fulfil the following requirements:

Required: 

• Minimum 6 years of work experience of conducting projects evaluations, including baselines and assessments.
• Expertise in Child Protection and child protection mechanisms at all levels
• Outstanding facilitation skills to communicate with project and partner teams in a multicultural environment
• Strong understanding and ability to mainstream TdH NL’s cross-cutting issues i.e. Child Participation, Gender and intersectionality, Inclusion of Children with Disabilities and Standards of alternative care
• Excellent analytical and report writing skills

Desirable: 

• Previous experience of engagement with law enforcement officials
• Previous experience / Strong knowledge related to Online Child Sexual Exploitation
• Expertise in participatory data collection methods
• Knowledge of Swahili and English languages

10. Budget: 

The financial proposal submitted should indicate all-inclusive costs for conducting the assessment.

11. Final Report Format: 

The Final report shall include an Executive Summary of findings and respond to all the objectives mentioned above and measure all indicators listed in section 3. The report should not exceed 20 pages. Raw primary data, summary of all primary and secondary data must be added as annexes to the report.

TdH NL will provide the baseline evaluation reporting template.

12. Management and Supervision: 

The evaluator(s) will work in close consultation with the Programme Manager and Programme Officer for the coordination of the agreed activities.

13. Child Safeguarding: 

The consultant shall sign and abide by Terre des Hommes Netherlands Child Safeguarding Policy and its related procedures. Terre des Hommes Netherlands is committed to keeping children safe and considers child abuse unacceptable under all circumstances. We therefore implement child safeguarding measures as part of our selection and recruitment process.

How to Apply: 

Qualified candidates should submit their Technical and Financial proposals PDF format here by C.O.B Wednesday 17th April 2024.

All applications should include the following:

1. Technical proposal (max. 8 pages) outlining their motivation for the application, the methodological approach on how to conduct the assignment, and the resources required (documents, survey questions, FGD and KII checklists, etc).. The Technical Proposal MUST include an evaluation matrix summarising the evaluation plan
2. A proposed activities schedule/ work plan with a time frame.
3. Financial proposal in Kenyan shillings (KES) detailing evaluators’ itemised fees, data collection, logistical and administrative costs (this should be inclusive).
4. A copy of the CV of the evaluator(s) who will undertake the formative assessment evaluation.
5. One recent copy of similar evaluation/assessment reports conducted by the applicant where possible and/or a recommendation letter from an NGO who the consultant has worked before.

Note that due to the expected large response only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.