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Request for Proposal

for undertaking
Needs Assessment and Situational Analysis for project preparation:
Support to national capacity building to realize girls right to education in
Pakistan


Organizational Context

The Malala Fund for Girls Right to Education was established under the MOU signed by UNESCO and
Government of Pakistan on 10 December 2012. A Framework Funds-in-Trust Agreement was signed on 6
February 2014 between the Government of Pakistan and the Director-General of UNESCO establishing
the overarching programme Support to national capacity building to realize girls right to education in
Pakistan.

The Programme aims at widening access to education and improving the retention and completion rates
of girls through improved quality of education. The Programme will focus on developing and
strengthening the local institutional and organizational capacities in designing, implementing, and
monitoring interventions for promoting girls education that are well focused and targeted, but also
creative and innovative, in both formal and non-formal education sub-sectors. The overall framework
programme is structured to evolve through three distinct phases over the period of 36 months:
inception (6 months), implementation (24 months) and documentation and scaling up (6 months), and
will be implemented in four (4) provinces and four (4) areas of the federal territories.

The main purpose of the inception phase is to undertake a comprehensive needs assessment study at
federal and provincial/area level and establish the baseline for the set of five project documents to be
developed under the overall programme: one each for the four (4) provinces and one for the federal
areas (covering AJK, FATA, GB, ICT). The proposals will be developed through an extensive consultative
process involving the representatives of the Federal Ministry of Education, Trainings and Standards in
Higher Education (MET-SHE and the provincial/area focal persons) along with the UNESCO team. Each
of the projects will be finalized with full ownership of the concerned province/area department of
education. As UNESCO operates in a Delivering as One context, the opportunity for joint programming
with other UN agencies under each project will be explored during this Inception Phase.

In order to execute the needs assessment studies, UNESCO Office Islamabad is inviting interested civil
society organizations, consulting firms, research institutions, and universities to submit technical and
financial proposals for the following provinces/ areas as per tasks given in proceeding section.
1. Balochistan
2. Khyber PakhtunKhwa
3. Punjab
4. Sindh
5. Federal Area (covering AJK, FATA, GB, ICT)
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Interested institutions/ firms can submit technical and financial proposals for one or more province/
area depending on their expertise, understanding of local context, outreach and local social capital in
the province/ area.

Key Tasks and Expected Results

The assignment involves two main tasks, i.e. i) undertaking an assessment of the situation of and critical
needs in girls education in the province/ area; and ii) facilitating a stakeholders consultation to validate
the findings of the assessment and identify possible strategic areas for improving the access to and
quality of girls education that the new project could address;. More specifically, the selected
organization is expected to undertake the following activities under each task:

Task 1: Situational analysis and needs assessment
1. Carry out a desk review of existing education sector literatures and databases, including
national, provincial and local education plans and programmes, as well as work of donors
particularly with reference to girls education. The aim of the desk review is to assess the current
level of girls participation in basic education (primary and lower secondary levels) and skills
training and identifying context-specific challenges. It should also carefully examine the extent
to which current interventions (government, non-government and donors) are addressing these
challenges and identify gaps for possible interventions.

2. Undertake a mapping of key actors and their interventions in education sector in the designated
areas of the province/ area which will include both public sector entities as well as other
development partners, more specifically UN agencies, but also including the civil society and
private sector organizations.

3. In collaboration with government counterparts, undertake visits to possible project sites in
designated areas of the province/ area to gather qualitative and quantitative information
needed for project preparation. Organize focus group discussions with adolescent girls, parents,
community members, teachers, facilitators and local development workers to gather their
priorities, perceptions, perspectives and feedback on possible education interventions for
promoting girls education.

4. Undertake a rapid assessment of existing institutional capacity and needs of designated areas of
the province/ area education departments, schools, and communities.

5. Review the existing provincial/ area government strategies and available infrastructure for
communication and advocacy and propose its linkages with the project for knowledge
management of results and lessons learned.

6. Review the existing provincial/ area government M&E framework and identify systemic gaps
and needs for improvement.

Task 2: Consultation with Stakeholders

7. Facilitate a stakeholder consultation in designated province/ area with representatives of
provincial/ area government education departments, NGOs, civil society, media, and other
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development partners to share the findings of the assessment, gather perspectives on the local
needs for girls education.

8. Identify priority areas for interventions based on the needs assessment and reach a consensus
on the key areas of interventions for formulation of the provincial/ area project document.

Deliverables

The institution is expected to produce the following deliverable towards the completion of assignment:

a. Summary report of the stakeholders consultation with key findings and recommendations.
b. Consolidated report of the needs assessment survey clearly identifying priority areas for
formulation of provincial/ area project document.

Duration of consultancy

The total duration of the assignment is for 4 weeks starting in mid July 2014.


Eligibility and Process

Interested institutions/ firms should submit detailed technical proposal together with a separate
financial proposal to UNESCO Islamabad demonstrating the interest and capacity to undertake the work
within the suggested timeframe. The proposal should furnish the following:
- Profile of the institution
- Sufficient evidence of similar work in the past
- Research approach and methodology
- Human resource: CVs of the proposed researchers/analysts to form the project team (one team
leader with one or two assistants)
- Proposed budget (financial proposal is to be enveloped separately)
Deadline for submission of interest

Proposals must be submitted to UNESCO by Wednesday 2
nd
July 2014. Results of the selection process
will be notified in about two weeks time.