TERMS OF REFERENCE. Consultancy Title: Development of MENA Regional Flag-ship Data-driven Publication Progress for Children with Equity in MENA 1

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1 Page 1 of 10 TERMS OF REFERENCE Consultancy Title: Development of MENA Regional Flag-ship Data-driven Publication Progress for Children with Equity in MENA 1 LOCATION/DURATION: Duration: Total of 60 days within the period 15 April 15 September 2016 Location: Most of the work will be performed remotely, with frequent communication and exchange of documents by the use of , skype, and dropbox. On-site working days: visit to Amman, Jordan for 5 days for finalising the outline of the publication Off-site working days: 55 days Field Missions/Travel: NA Estimated Start Date: 15 April 2016 Estimated end Date: 15 September 2016 Reporting to: MENA Regional Chief of M&E BACKGROUND: Countries in MENA region are witnessing unprecedented, complex and rapidly changing dynamics. Advancement of children s rights, while progressive all in all, in some contexts is slowing down, in others it is stagnating or even reversing. In this context, collating, consolidating, analysing and disseminating of recent or newly emerging evidence, and data in particular, is essential to take stock of the progress made towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) across countries in the region at the end of the MDG era. The post-2015 agenda will be soon setting new targets globally, regionally and nationally. Setting baselines at this early stage and follow-up monitoring of progress vis-à-vis these targets is essential to inform national, as well as UNICEF-specific policies and programmes, focused on the most disadvantaged children across the region. PURPOSE: The purpose of the proposed regional data-driven flagship publication is to serve advocacy and to inform decision making within MENA at regional and at country level. For achieving this, the publication will be developed in a way to easily convey messages to various audiences, with various backgrounds. 1 This consultancy covers the development of statistical publication s content. It does not cover layout, design and print of the publication.

2 Page 2 of 10 DESCRIPTION OF ASSIGNMENT: Overview This TOR refers to developing of first in a series of regional data-driven publications. This first edition will not have one central theme. Rather, it will cover a range of areas, closely related to children. The edition will document the achievements in meeting MDGs and the unfinished business, particularly inequalities and reversals within and among countries from the region. It will then serve national dialogues in the Region around setting baselines for SDGs relevant to children. Existing data gaps will be highlighted and ways forward will be proposed for those indicators, for which data is unavailable or further data processing is required. Subsequent editions may include essays on MENA-specific themes (one per edition) and updates on progress vis-à-vis SDGs. Geographical scope The publication will cover 20 countries in Middle East and North Africa, which constitute MENA region as defined by UNICEF 2. Information, representative at national and sub-national level will be exploited. Work methodology The methodology implies secondary analysis and visual presentation of information from publicly available sources. Where found necessary to implement additional data processing of row data, publishing the results from such additional data processing will be consulted with the respective countries 3. Sources of information The publication will rely mainly on primary, nationally owned data sources such as DHS, MICS, other nationallyrepresentative surveys and administrative data wherever found feasible. Where national information sources are not readily available, regional or global sources will be used. To ensure consistency with global publications, in cases where UNICEF global estimates represent adjusted national estimates, the former will be used after consultations with countries 4 (e.g. child mortality, maternal mortality). Suggested sources of information, among others, are: National Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) series Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) series National Family Health Surveys National Pan Arab Project for Family Health (PAPFAM) surveys Other published national sources (e.g. SMART surveys, Youth surveys, MODA studies, etc.) Other agreed national sources providing information at national and sub-national level for countries in emergency context UNICEF: State of the World s Children reports (SOWC) 2 These include: Algeria, Bahrein, Djibouti, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, State of Palestine, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen. 3 Ibid. 4 Consultation with countries is understood as MENARO engaging, with support from UNICEF COs, in consultation with the national authorities, which are custodians of the respective data.

3 Page 3 of 10 UNESCO: Education for All Global Monitoring Reports WHO: World Health Statistics Reports ILO: LABORSTA databases UN Statistics Division: MDG database Other international (global) sources as necessary UNICEF will provide the consultant with the sources listed above. Publication structure An opening narrative section (max 2,500 words) will include analysis of trends across MENA countries since the 1990s, including progress towards MDGs, recent stagnation or reversals in selected countries on specific goals. It will also assess some region and/or country-specific factors that may hamper progress in the coming years. The following sections will consist mainly of visual presentations (graphs, maps, infographics), which will demonstrate progress as well as existing inequities within and between countries in specific child-related areas. Each of these sections will begin with a short narrative (max 300 words) describing the overall status in the specific thematic area. The sections will be organized by grouping of child-related SDGs and targets where such grouping makes sense. Consistency with UNICEF Strategic Plan s Outcome areas will be sought in this regard, if found feasible. (For the overall structure, see as example UNICEF (2015): Progress for Children; Beyond Averages: Learning from the MDGs). Proposed are six sections, grouping SDGs and targets relevant to children 5. Within each section relevant indicators will be exploited to present the status of children s rights implementation at national and sub-national level. Intercountry as well as intra-country disparities will be presented (urban/rural, by geographic areas, by sex, by wealth groups, by age groups, other dimensions of disparities based on data availability). Wherever possible, trends over time will be analysed and projections made on specific indicators. The list of indicators in each section will be drawn mainly from UNICEF suggested Priority Indicators for Children for inclusion in the Global SDG indicators set; the list will be finalized based on the SDG-indicators list, to be approved in March 2016, and the levels of disaggregation will be identified based on data availability, together with the service provider. It is expected that data on around 50 indicators may be available at national level; data at sub-national level (various dimensions of disaggregation) may be available for around two-thirds of them for various numbers of countries. It will allow to develop between visual presentations (graphs, maps, infographics). 5 The publication s structure may be further adjusted in the process of work based on data availability, in consultation with UNICEF MENARO and Head Quarters.

4 Page 4 of 10 The proposed sections and their focus are as follows: Health (incl. HIV and AIDS) = Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages o Target 3.1: By 2030, reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births o Target 3.2: By 2030, end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age, with all countries aiming to reduce neonatal mortality to at least as low as 12 per 1,000 live births and under-5 mortality to at least as low as 25 per 1,000 live births. o Target 3.3: By 2030, end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases and combat hepatitis, water-borne diseases and other communicable diseases o Target 3.7: By 2030, ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services, including for family planning, information and education, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programmes o Target 3.8: Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all Water, sanitation and hygiene = Goal 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all o Target 6.1: By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water o Target 6.2: By 2030, achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations Nutrition = Goal 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture o Target 2.2: By 2030, end all forms of malnutrition, including achieving, by 2025, the internationally agreed targets on stunting and wasting in children under 5 years of age, and address the nutritional needs of adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women and older persons Education = Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all o Target 4.1: By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes o Target 4.2: By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education o Target 4.4: By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship o Target 4.5: By 2030, eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations o Target 4.6: By 2030, ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy

5 Page 5 of 10 o Target 4.a: Build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all Child protection = Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls; Goal 8: Promote sustained, inclusive economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all; Goal 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels o Target 5.2: Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation o Target 5.3: Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation o Target 8.7: Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end child labour in all its forms o Target 16.1: Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere o Target 16.2: End abuse, exploitations, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children o Target 16.9: By 2030, provide legal identity for all, including birth registration Social inclusion = Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere; Goal 10. Reduce inequality within and among countries o Target 1.2: By 2030, reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions o Target 1.3: Implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all, including floors, and by 2030, achieve substantial coverage of the poor and the vulnerable o Target 1.a: Implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all, including floors, and by 2030, achieve substantial coverage of the poor and the vulnerable o Target 10.1: By 2030, progressively achieve and sustain income growth of the bottom 40 per cent of the population at a rate higher than the national average o Target 10.2: By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status REPORTING REQUIREMENTS: The consultant will work under the supervision of and will report to MENA Regional Chief of Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E). The Regional Chief M&E will lead consultations with HQ as well as with COs at critical stages of work and will share back with the consultant consolidated feedback.

6 Page 6 of 10 TIME LINE The proposed time line is as follows: Milestone Timeline Responsible Issued contract 15 April 2016 MENARO Developed outline of the publication 25 April 2016 Consultant Consultation on the outline and finalising 5 May 2016 Consultant/MENARO/ HQ Draft of one section of the publication developed (will serve as a prototype for the rest, after consultation w/ MENARO) Draft of four sections of the publication developed 23 May 2016 Consultant MENARO 23 June 2016 Consultant Full draft of publication content developed 23 July 2016 Consultant Review of full draft RO, HQ, COs 20 August 2016 MENARO/HQ/COs Finalised publication content 15 September 2016 Consultant KEY DELIVERABLES AND PAYMENT SCHEDULE: The key deliverables and payment schedule are listed below. Drafts and final document have to be submitted in MS Word format. These have to be accompanied by Excel source files. Source data and the presentation itself have to be included in a separate sheet of the Excel file for each visual presentation of a publication section (i.e. a total of six Excel files, one for each section with separate sheet for each visual presentation). Deliverable Timeline Payment Publication outline 7 April 2016 NA Draft of four sections of the publication in MS Word and Excel source file of visual presentations 23 June % of agreed amount Full draft of publication content - in MS Word and Excel source file of visual presentations Finalised publication content - in MS Word and Excel source file of visual presentations 23 July % of agreed amount 15 September % of agreed amount QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS: 1. Education: advanced degree in Statistics, Sociology, Demographics, Economics or another relevant area. 2. Work experience: extensive experience with development of statistical publications with visual presentations, as well as descriptive statistical analysis. 3. Technical knowledge: excellent knowledge of statistical indicators relevant to children and their interpretation; excellent statistical visual presentations skills (development of graphs, maps, etc.); 4. Language: fluency in English. Knowledge of Arabic and/or French is an asset.

7 Page 7 of 10 SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS: Qualified candidates are requested to submit: 1. Cover letter 2. Proposed approach to managing the assignment and work plan 3. Two samples of previous relevant work 4. CV 5. At least 2 Referees 6. Financial quote as lump sum for completion of the assignment 7. Estimated cost of travel to Amman (The consultant will be expected to make own arrangements for travelling to Amman using the most economic route in economy class flights. The cost of travel will be reimbursed by UNICEF MENARO). 8. P 11 form (which can be downloaded from UNICEF s website at: The application should be transmitted via to rgantcheva@unicef.org by cob 22 March 2016, Amman standard time. Subject: Development of MENA Regional Flag-ship Publication. Submissions, which fail to address the above requirements, will not be considered. Successful applicants may be contacted for further technical clarifications. Submissions will be assessed using the following criteria: TECHNICAL PROPOSAL (max. 80 points) Overall Response (max. 15 points) Understanding of tasks, objectives and completeness and coherence of response Overall match between the TOR requirements and proposal Proposed Approach (max. 25 points) Quality of the proposed approach Quality of the proposed work plan Technical Capacity (max. 40 points) Relevance of consultant s experience with similar projects and as per required qualifications Quality of previous work TECHNICAL PROPOSAL - Total Points Applicant FINANCIAL PROPOSAL (max. 20 points) Lump sum for completion of the assignment (for information daily consultant s fee) FINANCIAL PROPOSAL - Total Points Return air ticket - economy class (for information) TOTAL SCORE (max. 100 points)

8 Page 8 of 10 General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants / Individual Contractors 1. Legal Status The individual engaged by UNICEF under this contract as a consultant or individual contractors (the Contractor ) is engaged in a personal capacity and not as representatives of a Government or of any other entity external to the United Nations. The Contractor is neither a "staff member" under the Staff Regulations of the United Nations and UNICEF policies and procedures nor an "official" for the purpose of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, The Contractor may, however, be afforded the status of "Experts on Mission" in the sense of Section 22 of Article VI of the Convention and the Contractor is required by UNICEF to travel in order to fulfill the requirements of this contract, the Contractor may be issued a United Nations Certificate in accordance with Section 26 of Article VII of the Convention. 2. Obligations The Contractor shall complete the assignment set out in the Terms of Reference for this contract with due diligence, efficiency and economy, in accordance with generally accepted professional techniques and practices. The Contractor must respect the impartiality and independence of UNICEF and the United Nations and in connection with this contract must neither seek nor accept instructions from anyone other than UNICEF. During the term of this contract the Contractor must refrain from any conduct that would adversely reflect on UNICEF or the United Nations and must not engage in any activity that is incompatible with the administrative instructions and policies and procedures of UNICEF. The Contractor must exercise the utmost discretion in all matters relating to this contract. In particular, but without limiting the foregoing, the Contractor (a) will conduct him- or herself in a manner consistent with the Standards of Conduct in the International Civil Service; and (b) will comply with the administrative instructions and policies and procedures of UNICE relating to fraud and corruption; information disclosure; use of electronic communication assets; harassment, sexual harassment and abuse of authority; and the requirements set forth in the Secretary General's Bulletin on Special Measures for Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse. Unless otherwise authorized by the appropriate official in the office concerned, the Contractor must not communicate at any time to the media or to any institution, person, Government or other entity external to UNICEF any information that has not been made public and which has become known to the Contractor by reason of his or her association with UNICEF or the United Nations. The Contractor may not use such information without the written authorization of UNICEF, and shall under no circumstances use such information for his or her private advantage or that of others. These obligations do not lapse upon termination of this contact. 3. Title rights UNICEF shall be entitled to all property rights, including but not limited to patents, copyrights and trademarks, with regard to material created by the Contractor which bears a direct relation to, or is made in order to perform, this contract. At the request of UNICEF, the Contractor shall assist in securing such property rights and transferring them to UNICEF in compliance with the requirements of the law governing such rights. 4. Travel If UNICEF determines that the Contractor needs to travel in order to perform this contract, that travel shall be specified in the contract and the Contractor s travel costs shall be set out in the contract, on the following basis:

9 Page 9 of 10 (a) UNICEF will pay for travel in economy class via the most direct and economical route; provided however that in exceptional circumstances, such as for medical reasons, travel in business class may be approved by UNICEF on a case-by-case basis. (b) UNICEF will reimburse the Contractor for out-of-pocket expenses associated with such travel by paying an amount equivalent to the daily subsistence allowance that would be paid to staff members undertaking similar travel for official purposes. 5. Statement of good health Before commencing work, the Contractor must deliver to UNICEF a certified self-statement of good health and to take full responsibility for the accuracy of that statement. In addition, the Contractor must include in this statement of good health (a) confirmation that he or she has been informed regarding inoculations required for him or her to receive, at his or her own cost and from his or her own medical practitioner or other party, for travel to the country or countries to which travel is authorized; and (b) a statement he or she is covered by medical/health insurance and that, if required to travel beyond commuting distance from his or her usual place or residence to UNICEF (other than to duty station(s) with hardship ratings H and A, a list of which has been provided to the Contractor) the Contractor s medical/health insurance covers medical evacuations. The Contractor will be responsible for assuming all costs that may be occurred in relation to the statement of good health. 6. Insurance The Contractor is fully responsible for arranging, at his or her own expense, such life, health and other forms of insurance covering the term of this contract as he or she considers appropriate taking into account, among other things, the requirements of paragraph 5 above. The Contractor is not eligible to participate in the life or health insurance schemes available to UNICEF and United Nations staff members. The responsibility of UNICEF and the United Nations is limited solely to the payment of compensation under the conditions described in paragraph 7 below. 7. Service incurred death, injury or illness If the Contractor is travelling with UNICEF s prior approval and at UNICEF's expense in order to perform his or her obligations under this contract, or is performing his or her obligations under this contract in a UNICEF or United Nations office with UNICEF s approval, the Contractor (or his or her dependents as appropriate), shall be entitled to compensation from UNICEF in the event of death, injury or illness attributable to the fact that the Contractor was travelling with UNICEF s prior approval and at UNICEF's expense in order to perform his or her obligations under this contractor, or was performing his or her obligations under this contract in a UNICEF or United Nations office with UNICEF s approval. Such compensation will be paid through a third party insurance provider retained by UNICEF and shall be capped at the amounts set out in the Administrative Instruction on Individual Consultants and Contractors. Under no circumstances will UNICEF be liable for any other or greater payments to the Contractor (or his or her dependents as appropriate). 8. Arbitration (a) Any dispute arising out of or, in connection with, this contract shall be resolved through amicable negotiation between the parties. (b) If the parties are not able to reach agreement after attempting amicable negotiation for a period of thirty (30) days after one party has notified the other of such a dispute, either party may submit the matter to arbitration in accordance with the UNCITRAL procedures within fifteen (15) days thereafter. If neither party submits the matter for arbitration within the specified time the dispute will be deemed resolved to the full satisfaction of both parties. Such arbitration shall take place in New York before a single arbitrator agreed to

10 Page 10 of 10 by both parties; provided however that should the parties be unable to agree on a single arbitrator within thirty days of the request for arbitration, the arbitrator shall be designated by the United Nations Legal Counsel. The decision rendered in the arbitration shall constitute final adjudication of the dispute. 9. Penalties for Underperformance Payment of fees to the Contractor under this contractor, including each installment or periodic payment (if any), is subject to the Contractor s full and complete performance of his or her obligations under this contract with regard to such payment to UNICEF s satisfaction, and UNICEF s certification to that effect. 10. Termination of Contract This contract may be terminated by either party before its specified termination date by giving notice in writing to the other party. The period of notice shall be five (5) business days (in the UNICEF office engaging the Contractor) in the case of contracts for a total period of less than two (2) months and ten (10) business days (in the UNICEF office engaging the Contractor) in the case of contracts for a longer period; provided however that in the event of termination on the grounds of impropriety or other misconduct by the Contractor (including but not limited to breach by the Contractor of relevant UNICEF policies, procedures, and administrative instructions), UNICEF shall be entitled to terminate the contract without notice. If this contract is terminated in accordance with this paragraph 10, the Contractor shall be paid on a pro rata basis determined by UNICEF for the actual amount of work performed to UNICEF s satisfaction at the time of termination. UNICEF will also pay any outstanding reimbursement claims related to travel by the Contractor. Any additional costs incurred by UNICEF resulting from the termination of the contract by either party may be withheld from any amount otherwise due to the Contractor under this paragraph Taxation UNICEF and the United Nations accept no liability for any taxes, duty or other contribution payable by the consultant and individual contractor on payments made under this contract. Neither UNICEF nor the United Nations will issue a statement of earnings to the consultant and individual contractor NOTE: All persons engaged under a UNICEF service contract, either directly through an individual contract, or indirectly through an institutional contract, shall be subject to the UN Supplier Code of Conduct: