Terms of Reference

Terms of Reference 

Title of Assignment: Research into issue faced by young people in Nepal leaving care  

Place of assignment: Kathmandu Valley, with travel to regions within Nepal where care homes operate 

Deadline  for EOI: Submission: 25th  September 2020 

Deadline  for  Detailed Proposal submission: 31st October 2020 

Deadline for Final Report submission: January 31st, 2021 (with a view to extending if COVID-19 situation impacts on ability to conduct primary research) 

Reporting to: Jamuna  Shrestha Bhattarai 

1.  Background

Child Rescue Nepal was established in 1999 to help as many forgotten Nepali children as possible to have a safe childhood and a secure future, especially those rescued from or who are at risk of trafficking. Initially called the Esther Benjamins Trust, in 2015 it was renamed as Child Rescue Nepal (CRN) to more accurately reflect its work. Our mission is to end child slavery through rescue and rehabilitation, and through trafficking and child labour prevention work.  

Since 1999, we have rescued over 850 children from India and Nepal and reunified them with their family members and relatives. We have seen 24 agents prosecuted and 14 traffickers jailed. We regard institutional care as the last resort and have developed a thorough process to reunite rescued children with their families.  Currently,  32  children are in our direct care and our priority is to reintegrate these children with their families where appropriate.  

Working through two local partners, The Esther Benjamins Memorial Foundation (EBMF) and Shakti Samuha, we run two, temporary ‘Safe Houses’ for up to 12 newly rescued children where we provide them with medical care, counselling and tutoring. The next step is tracing their families, reuniting them whenever it is safe to do so and providing ongoing support. We also offer a Youth Transition Programme to all the children we have rescued, once they turn 16. Through this project, we teach young people to live independently, gain further qualifications and learn job-related skills.  

Under our 2020 to 2025 strategy, we have identified eight key areas of work. The specific area of work which is of relevance to this assignment is Strategic Area Five: Conduct research, give victims of child trafficking a  voice,  share learning and collaborate with like-minded organisations to undertake evidence-based advocacy and government capacity building on child trafficking and child labour issues. 

2.  Purpose and rational of the assignment: 

Child Rescue Nepal, with the support of Andrews Charitable Trust (ACT), is delivering a three-year programme to support the transition into adulthood for young people who have been displaced from their families at a young age. The overall objective of the partnership is to break the cycle of poverty for trafficked children, ensuring they are empowered to live independently and can embark on a career of their choice. Specific areas of focus within the programme include: 1) Delivery of Child  Rescue  Nepal’s  Youth  Transition  Programme;  2)  Establishment of a  ‘Half-Way  House in Kathmandu/ Lalitpur for young people aged 16 to 20. This property will only be open to vulnerable young people, with priority given to rescued children leaving care for the first time; and 3) Creation of a groundswell of support for care leavers achieved through research and sharing events. 

This TOR relates to the third area of focus: Creation of a groundswell of support for care leavers achieved through research and sharing events. 

As we move into the seventh year of our successful Youth Transition Programme, there is one big question on our mind: How to improve the situation for young people leaving care homes and embarking on their transition to adulthood? Children who have been trafficked from their homes at children remain vulnerable as young adults. Having been forcefully displaced from their families at a young age, they often lack a supportive family network when they grow up, making their transition into adulthood particularly hard.  

Our Youth Transition Programme and proposed Half-Way House both aim to fill this gap, ensuring each young person we support lives in safe housing. However, once they are living independently, young people repeatedly face the same housing challenges: 

• House owners do not trust young people as perspective tenants as they perceive them as high risk in terms of damaging the property, stealing items from the property, holding late night parties etc.  
• House owners want to rent out entire properties rather than single rooms, making it too expensive for a young, single person to afford. 
• Cheaper properties are on the outskirts of town, meaning young people have to travel long distances on a daily basis which is expensive and puts them at risk while travelling alone. 
• Young people can feel intimidated when dealing with their landlord,  for example  when negotiating rent or seeking support for maintenance work. 

We know the above based on our work in this area, but we feel it is important to properly research the issues that young people in Nepal face when leaving care, including housing issues in particular and wider issues more generally. We propose that this research should draw on the experience of young people (in care, about to leave care, have already left care), staff working at/ managing care homes, child rights organisations and landlords, along with other relevant stakeholders.  

Following the completion of the research, and the development of appropriate advocacy calls based on the research findings, we will share our findings at a series of local and national events, targeting the organisations/ government bodies supporting children leaving care, and calling for collaborative working to help develop and implement safe housing solutions.  

3.  Objective 

The objective of this assignment is conduct research into the issues facing by young people in Nepal leaving care, and to present findings and proposed advocacy calls to CRN to incorporate within its 2020 to 2025 strategy.  

4.  Scope of Work 

Proposal stage: 

• Based on a meeting with CRN, finalise the planned approach, detailed methodology and timeline to undertake the research, building on information provided by the consultant at Expression of Interest stage. 
• Develop a detailed budget, with no greater than a 10% variation to any budget submitted within the consultant’s Expression of Interest.  

Assignment stage: 

• Develop all necessary quantitative and qualitative tools to undertake the research, including (as appropriate)  surveys,  secondary data collection and analysis,  observation visits,  key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and/ or case studies. The consultant should identify any further tools at their discretion.
• Submit all tools in English so that they can be reviewed by CRN before finalisation.  
• Co-ordinate with  CRN  staff in  Kathmandu to support in conducting primary research at identified care homes/ relevant locations and with other stakeholders as identified within the proposal. 
• Lead in the delivery of the research, engaging CRN and EBMF staff as required, including engaging staff in data collection as part of the research to ensure staff understanding and engagement in the process.  
• Collate all data collected and conduct all data analysis. 
• Keep CRN staff in Kathmandu regularly updated on progress throughout the research (at a minimum providing a written update documenting progress every two weeks), including informing staff of any potential changes within the agreed timeline.  
• Develop a  detailed report containing quantitative and qualitative data,  key findings and recommendations for both programming and advocacy, based on the research findings. 

5.  Deliverables 

• Detailed Proposal 
• Detailed Report including findings, recommendations and calls for advocacy 
• Four-page Summary Report  
• PowerPoint Presentation for CRN to use externally. 

6.  Timeline 

The assignment is expected to be delivered over a four-month period between October 2020 and January  2021.    However,  the actual timeline shall be discussed and finalised during the initial meeting between the selected consultant and the project team taking into consideration the current COVID-19 situation. 

7.  Budget and Payment Schedule 

The consultant’s payment will be based on the financial proposal developed for this consultancy. Payment will be issued in two instalments: 

• Instalment One (25%): On acceptance of deliverables and receipt of corresponding invoice 
• Instalment Two (75%): Within 15 days of submission of the final report by the consultant. 

8.  Termination of the Contract  

CRN may terminate the agreement if the consultant/firm commits a breach in the performance or observance of any of its obligations under this ToR. The consultant/firm shall be notified in writing seven days prior to the termination of the agreement.  

9.  Confidentiality  

The consultant is not allowed to share any data provided by CRN without taking written consent. Any documents developed under this contract will be the property of CRN and the consultant is not allowed to share these with any external parties.  

10.  Copyright  

CRN will have copyright in all the documents developed under this contract by the consultant.  

11.  General Qualification of the Consultant/Firm  

The consultant is expected to have: 

• Relevant Master’s degree in a relevant field, such as Social Work.  
• Demonstrable  experience  in  undertaking  similar  research  assignments  and  developing advocacy objectives 
• A good understanding of the care sector within Nepal and the issues facing young people both within care and after they leave care 
• Good communication skills 
• Ability to travel outside of Kathmandu Valley to conduct primary research in care homes and other relevant institutions as identified within the Detailed Proposal.  
• Experience in training and managing enumerators (as required within the Detailed Proposal) to support in the delivery of high quality data collection.  
• Ability to work independently, io time and within budget. 

12.  Acceptance of Proposal  

All rights to accept/reject proposal without giving any reason, shall be reserved with CRN. If deemed necessary, the consultant/firm shall be asked for modifications to the proposal before approval.  

13.  Documents to be submitted by the Consultant  

A.  Technical and Financial Proposal (EOI stage) 

• Technical Proposal: Explaining the methodology and approach that will be used to carry out this assignment.  
• Financial  Proposal:  Detailed budget with  breakdown including applicable  Taxes. The financial proposal must include: 
  • The remuneration cost for the resource person/s, and travel/ accommodation budget to undertake primary research in line with the TOR).  

14. Detail of the Consultant/Consulting firms  

In case of consulting firms, the following required documents are to be submitted: 

• Organisation/ consultant profile with relevant experience  
• A copy of consultant/firm registration  
• Signed CV of all team members by the Team Leader  
• A copy of Tax clearance certificate  
• VAT/PAN registration  
• Audit report  

Any other relevant documents, including at least two examples of previous research reports and links to published work.

In case of individual consultant/s, the following required documents are to be submitted: 

• Signed CV of all team members by the Team Leader  
• PAN registration 
• Any other relevant documents, including at least two examples of previous research reports and links to published work  

Interested consultants/consulting firms are requested to submit technical and financial proposal through email to childrescuen@gmail.com within the application deadline of 25th September 2020.