International consultancy on Youth Situation Analysis and Assessment

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For every child, development

Azerbaijan is a young country with over one-third of its population under the age of 24. The well-being of young people is a major determinant of economic and social development and a key indicator of the potential progress of a country. Azerbaijan recognizes how critical this is for achieving national strategic goals. Since 2002 when the Law on Youth Policy was passed, Azerbaijan has been increasing its focus on and investment in its young people. The State Youth Programme 2017-2021 laid out the implementation of the Youth Policy, including main objectives, timelines, budget, and an action plan that assigns specific activities to specific Ministries.

UNICEF Azerbaijan, through its Country Programme of Cooperation with the Government of the Azerbaijan in 2016-2020 implemented a comprehensive Adolescent Development and Participation Programme. The Baseline Survey carried out in 2016-2017 in 6 districts across the country identified challenges of adolescents and young people in physical and mental health, education and learning, economic opportunities, protection and participation/engagement. Several programmes were implemented to address some of the challenging areas particularly in youth-friendly services and youth participation through the projects such as the UN-Joint UN House programme, the Basic Life Skill Education initiative, and the Azerbaijan Youth and Adolescent Participation (AYAP) programme. However, interventions in some other areas such as adolescent and youth mental health, skill development and employment support were still insufficient. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the challenges particularly in these areas that adolescent and young people will continuously face in the coming years.

Since the State Youth Programme had been ended by 2020, the Ministry of Youth and Sports (MoYS) is planning to conduct a review and assessment of the State Youth Programme and develop a new State Programme for the future years. From UNICEF, the previous Country Programme 2016-2020 required an endline survey to assess the outcomes of the programme interventions, and the new Country Programme 2021-2025 also defined new focuses on the two critical areas of adolescent and youth mental health and skill development.

The proposed Youth Situation Analysis and Assessment serves multi-purposes, aiming to provide the most updated information about the situation of adolescents and youth development in Azerbaijan, and set up a new baseline for the future government and UNICEF’s programme interventions.

More specifically, the study will use mixed (quantitative and qualitative) research methods to:

• Collect information to support assessment of the State Youth Programme 2017-2021;
• Collect information to support assessment of the Adolescent and Youth Programme of the UNICEF Country Programme 2016-2020;
• Referring to international methodologies and good practices, collect information and analyze situation of adolescent and youth development with special focus on mental health and skill development needs for employability.
• Propose key recommendations for the future youth policies and programmes in Azerbaijan.

Key stakeholders for this study include:

• Ministry of Youth and Sports (MoYS);
• Ministry of Education (MoE);
• Youth Foundation;
• NGO/CSO partners and Youth Organizations;
• Other UN Agencies and international organizations;
• Adolescents and young people.

How can you make a difference?

The international consultant(s) is expected to provide technical guidance and  leadership on implementation of the Youth Situation Analysis and Assessment Study to achieve above mentioned objectives. The consultant(s) will ensure the design of the study, both quantitative and qualitative methodologies that would meet the study objectives. By working with a national research team and a national consultant, the international  consultant(s) will ensure quality of the data collection, data processing and analysis, and development of a comprehensive study report with recommendations to UNICEF and government partners on further enhancement of youth development and participation in the country.

Scope of Work:

1. Undertaking desk review of the existing documents, including but not limited with the State Youth Programme 2016-2020, the UNICEF Country Programme Document (CPD) 2016-2020, and the new CPD 2021-2025, the UNICEF Baseline Survey Report (2018), the Youth Study by MoYS (2019), as well as global and regional guidelines, framework and research methodologies on youth development, in particular the area of mental health and skill development, and any other references identified by the consultant(s)
2. Defining the scope of the research and developing qualitative and quantitative methodologies, tools and implementation plan including identification of target population, defining indicator framework and key questions, developing quantitative methods and tools including sampling methods and framework, questionnaire(s), digital or face-to-face data collection tools and training package for the national research team in implementation of the survey, developing qualitative research such as Focus-Group Discussions, individual interviews and observations etc. with key stakeholders focusing on skill development and mental health, preparing the implementation plan with clear time-frame and logistic requirements for the study; and together with UNICEF defining a report structure for the final report.
3. Providing technical guidance on data collection by supporting the selection of a national research team for field data collection, developing data entry and data analysis programs and ensuring quality of data entry and data processing results Providing technical support to the local research team for quality assurance including proper training and guidance to the implementation of data collection, field supervision and monitoring.
4. Conducting analysis and assessment and preparing the full research report. Conducting some qualitative information collection in particularly with national stakeholders. Analyzing data with special attention on equity analysis with disaggregation by sex, age, geographic location, disability and IDP communities. Preparing a draft report with comprehensive analysis and consulting with relevant stakeholders through a validation workshop. Finalizing the research report including a high-quality Executive Summary/Policy Brief, and a PowerPoint Presentation.

International consultancy will be supervised by Youth Adolescent Development Specialist, with the overall guidance of Deputy Representative and Child Rights Monitoring Specialist.  

Tasks/Milestone:	Deliverables/Outputs:	Timeline:
Undertake a desk review of relevant documents and international experience in research tools and approaches for measuring issues related to adolescents.	An Inception Report includes: Defined study methodology, including sampling methods, sample size, and qualitative study proposals that would to the extent possible explore the possibility to use innovative approaches to data collection, such as online surveys, with the consideration of reaching the most disadvantaged groups[1]. Ethnic, gender and vulnerable population (including disability and IDPs) with equity lens should be considered in the methodology development. A detailed work plan for the study with a timeframe and requested local support. A Technical Note on the survey to be shared with the Ministry of Youth and Sports and Ministry of Education, Youth Foundation of Azerbaijan. A proposed study report structure with proposed table of contents and key study questions	20 August, 2021
In consultation with the UNICEF Country Office team, prepare a study methodology and scope, and develop an inception report		30 August,2021
Support selection of the local research company	Technical support provided to: Selection of local research company which will implement the field work, Discussion on the methodology and scope of the study, Agreement on research company’s roles and responsibilities, as well as work plan.	August 30
Develop the study tools and materials.	A set of documents of the study tools and materials: Sampling framework and sample size; Survey questionnaires and instruments for field data collection, including proposal on innovative data collection methods and tools; Qualitative methods such as focus group discussion, individual interviews and observations, etc ;  Proposal for management of the study and field work.	September 15
Providing technical guidance on data collection	Training package and training provided to the local research team and conduct pre-test of the study tools; Guidance and support to a 10-14 day local quantitative and qualitative data collection activity. Guidance on data entry and assurance of the quality; Data processing and a set of tabulations	September 30, 2021
Conduct data quality control and in-depth analysis for both quantitative data and qualitative information collected by the local research agency. Draft the analytical study report and share with the UNICEF Country Office for review and comments	– Draft Study Report including key statistics tables	October 20, 2021
Incorporate comments and revise the draft report and prepare a Power Point presentation	Revised draft Study report; A Executive Summary/Policy Brief (not more than 5 pages) and a Power Point presentation for the key findings The results delivered in a validation workshop	November 15 2021
Finalize and submit the final report	–  Final Study Report	November 30 2021

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The consultancy is open to individual international applicants or a team.

Applicants are required to provide:

• A short cover letter
• CV of the individual applicants and the team member if applied
• A technical proposal with workplan and timeframe
• Financial proposal

The short-listed applicants will be contacted by UNICEF with a technical discussion and interview.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Remarks:

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.