Recruitment: Consultant to support the re-design of the Vietnam Disability Program

TERMS OF REFERENCE

CONSULTANT TO SUPPORT THE RE-DESIGN OF THE VIETNAM DISABILITY PROGRAM

Agency: Caritas Australia Limited

Location: Vietnam

Key Contact: Tim Morris, Asia DMEL Lead

Contract Period: May - August 2022

1. Organisational Background

Caritas Australia is the Catholic agency for international humanitarian relief and development in Australia. Through relationships with the Church, partners and communities in Africa, Asia, the Pacific and Australia, Caritas Australia helps to end poverty, promote justic and uphold dignity.

Our programs promote the good of every person regardless of their religious, political or cultural beliefs. We envisage a world in which children, women and men most vulnerable to extreme poverty and injustice are agents of their own change and architects of their own development.

2. Project and Partner Overview

The Vietnam Disability Program brings together two projects implemented by two local partners: Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and the Center for Sustainable Rural Development (SRD), and is supported by the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP). The program aims to support people living with disabilities in areas such as healthcare services, education and job training and enhance participation in social life.

The Empowering People with Disabilities Project implemented by SRD has helped over 1,800 children and adults with disabilities and caregivers in 10 communes within Gio Linh district, Quang Tri province.

The Improving Social, Healthcare Inclusion and Education of Children and Youth with Disabilities (I-SHINE) Project implemented by CRS works within 11 communes in Hai Lang District in Quang Tri province and Thang Binh district in Quang Nam province.

The two projects are coming to the end of a three-year phase that started July 2019 and will end to June 2022. And end of program evaluation encompassing both projects was conducted in April-May 2022.

3. Purpose and Objectives

a. Purpose

Caritas Australia is committed to continuing supporting people with disabilities in Vietnam and plans to enter a new five-year phase of the Vietnam Disability Program. Although the current phase of the Program is presented to donors as one integrated program, the two projects were designed independently and there is no overarching logic or common framework.

Through consultation with partners it was decided that the two projects should continue to operate independently, however it would be beneficial to have a common goal that both work towards, and a common MEL Framework to allow reporting of consolidated results.

While Caritas Australia will work closely with partners to coordinate the overall design process, staff will be unable to visit in person. Given the added complexity of designing two projects in tandem and recognising the importance of a strong design process to ensure high quality and impactful programming. Caritas Australia seeks a consultant(s) to provide technical support at key stages of the design process.

b. Objectives

- Provide technical input into partners' planned design processes to ensure that Caritas Australia design requirements are adequately met, including the need for a Gender Equity, Disability and Social Inclusion assessment to be conducted as part of the design.

- Support partners in the analysis of primary and secondary data to understand the context, stakeholders, assets, issues and barriers that the projects seek to address.

- Facilitate the development of an overarching program goal and theory of change, and individual project logics for each partner. 

- Support the development of a common MEL framework, which allows for reporting of consolidated results across both projects.

4. Methodology

While exact process is to be determined in consultation with Caritas Australia, partners and the consultant(s), it is expected that there will be six main steps to the design process, with associated support from the consultant(s) listed under each:

a. Assessment of design requirements and development of design process

- Review Caritas Australia project design template and appraisal criteria to understand the design requirements and inform the process to be taken during project desing;

- Review relevant documentation from the current phase, including project designs, MEL framework, progress reports, evaluation report;

- Facilitate initial workshop to draft design process for each project in consultation with Caritas Australia, CRS, and SRD.

b. Development of overarching program theory of change

- Facilitate workshop with CRS, SRD, and representatives of local partners/stakeholders to develop an overarching program theory of change with common goal, identifying how the planned work of each partners contributes to the whole.

c. Collection, analysis and interpretation of primary and secondary data

- Suggest common tools to use for data collection and data analysis, ensuring they will provide the necessary information as per Caritas Australia's design requirements;

- Support analysis of collected data with each partner, wil level of support to be discussed based on partner needs, to support in interpretation and drawing of conclusions.

d. Development of individual project designs

- Facilitate design workshop(s) to develop each partner's project intervention, taking into consideration findings of the analyses conducted in c), and including project logic, activities, assumptions, and risks;

- Help identify opportunities for mutual learning, sharing and collaboration across projects.

e) Development of common MEL Framework

- Facilitate development of a common MEL Framework that includes indicators, means of verification, definition of indicators, tools/methods to collect data, incorportating Caritas Australia and ANCP indicators where relevant.

f) Completion of project design documents

- Provide partners will support inrefining their draft design document if needed and time permitting. 

5. Accountability

The Consultant will report directly to the Asia DMEL Lead. An internal project team will be established within Caritas Australia to manage the consultancy and provide relevant technical supoprt and oversight at key stages of the project.

6. Timeframe

The design process is planned for June to August 2022, with the two partners' completed draft project designs due tof submission to Caritas Australia 22 Agust for feedback. It is estimated that around 30-40 days will be required for the consultancy between 30 May 2022 and 22 August 2022.

7. Payment

Payment will be on submission of a tax invoice on delivery against milestones. The milestones include:

- 25% upon the signing of the contract

- 50% upon the development of the common MEL Framework

- 25% upon receiving the draft project design documents

8. Selection Criteria

- Strong experience in project design in the international development context

- Well-developed ability to assess, analyse and interpret data

- Knowledge and familiarity of Vietnam's disability sector

- Knowledge and familiarity with a strengths-based approach including asset-based community development

- Experience in Gender, Disability, and Social Inclusion (GEDS) analysis

- Appropriate insurances and willingness to comply with recruitment screenings in line with Caritas Australia's Safeguarding and Counter Terrorism policies

- Preferably based in Vietnam

9. Expressions of Interests

Applicant should submit a simple of Expression of Interest (max 4 pages) to Tim Morris, Asis DMEL Lead by 20 May 2022 via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ,au, that includes:

- Proposed methodology and timings for each phase of the consultation process and your rates and any additional expenses;

- An outline of your previous experience relevant to this Terms of Reference;

- An indication of your available dates, and availability to complete the consultancy within the specific time frame. 

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