UNICEF Albania Country Office - July 2013
TERMS OF REFERENCE
for a UNICEF Consultancy
Analysis of Policies and Reforms
Affecting the Situation of Children in Albania
Country Office :
Albania
Application Deadline:
August 31, 2013
Languages Required:
English
Consultancy Starting Date :
15 September 2013
Expected Assignment Duration:
September 2013 – February 2014
General background
Albania is an upper Middle-Income Country in South-East Europe, whose trajectory and scope of socio-economic
transformation in the past 20 years have been among the most impressive in the region. A lot of the country’s
progress in terms of halving the poverty rates between 2000 and 2008 is credited to high rates of Albanian workforce
emigration, with up to 45% of Albanians estimated to be living/working abroad (main destinations being Greece and
Italy). Internal migration flows from rural areas in the mountains to major cities and towns have been intense too,
and the majority out of 2.8 million Albanians now live in urban settings, according to the demographic census of
2011.
Albania’s aspiration to obtain the status of EU candidate country has not materialised yet; a number of “unfinished
agenda” items featured prominently in the European Commission’s country progress analysis reports in the past two
years – such as the need for nation-wide political consensus, better governance, stronger rule of law, and observance
of human rights standards. In the meantime the parliamentary elections of 2013 are feared to bring about yet more
turmoil of staffing changes in all echelons of public authority, which may further weaken the capacity of government
institutions to perform on par with their basic accountabilities. Given that the entire social policy sector has not been
among the priority areas for the EU accession process1, UNICEF has been using every opportunity to highlight
existing social misbalances and call for more accountability from those officially in charge.
In 2012, UNICEF started its new 5-year programme of assistance to the Government of Albania, embedded in the
Joint UN-Government (or “Delivering as One”) programme of cooperation. UNICEF’s engagement is focused on
assisting Albanian government institutions to work more effectively and guarantee that all children in the country
have access to justice, protection and necessary social services, irrespective of their income status, geographic
location, gender or nationality. Thematically, this engagement covers the areas of health, nutrition, education,
juvenile justice, child and - more broadly - social protection. Priority is given to the age group of young children
(under a comprehensive framework of Early Childhood Development) and marginalised children from Roma and
Balkan Egyptians ethnic minority groups.
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Of the total envelope of external assistance to development in Albania in 2000-2010 only 14% was invested in education,
health, social protection and employment.
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UNICEF Albania Country Office - July 2013
Situation analysis in UNICEF programming
A Situation Analysis (SitAn) is one of the fundamental documents in UNICEF programming that informs the action
of the cooperation partners – the host Government and UNICEF alike – on the knowledge gaps and priorities for
action. In most general terms it should include:
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a disaggregated assessment of the status of and trends in the realization of children’s rights;
identification of significant inequities in the wellbeing of children across geographic, spatial, socio-economic,
gender or ethnic divides;
identification of the most deprived groups of children and their specific forms of deprivation;
an analysis of the immediate, underlying and structural causes of shortfalls and disparities across various groups;
systematization and analysis of causes by category (i.e. causes associated with policy, legal and budgetary
frameworks; accountability enforcement mechanisms; institutional setup and capacities; social norms, etc.);
stemming from a thorough causal analysis, clear articulation of public servant accountabilities in relation to
identified deprivations;
identification of successful (or failed) “drivers of change” that the government, as the main duty-bearer, is using
in addressing inequities and deprivations; and
based on all the above, suggestion of policy and programmatic recommendations to address shortfalls and
accelerate progress towards development goals and the fulfilment of human rights conventions2 and
recommendations by treaty bodies.
A SitAn document, as a synthesis of new statistics, national policies, laws and trends, and new research and analysis
accumulated over the past years, should be prepared at least once in the course of a country programme cycle. In
Albania, UNICEF-supported interventions planned as part of the Joint UN-Government Programme of Cooperation
for 2012-2016 have been informed by a combination of Common Country Assessments (unpublished update of 2010
was based on a CCA prepared in 2004). Given the overall complexity and dynamism of Albania’s socio-economic
transformation in the past few years, it is felt that the Mid-Term Review of the cooperation programme in 2014 will
require a more in-depth analysis of how the recent changes of the country’s context impacted the lives of children
and their families.
It is important to highlight that the SitAn is intended to support national capacity development and policy-making
processes, therefore it should be inclusive of a broad range of stakeholders. The SitAn exercise engages duty-bearers
and rights-holders in a collective analysis of shortfalls and disparities and their causes. In this sense it represents a
consensus building process on how to reduce inequities in child outcomes and better fulfil children’s rights.
Acceptance of the SitAn findings and recommendations by national stakeholders paves the way to subsequent policy
and strategy adjustments, budgetary decisions and national programme upgrades.
National ownership
The SitAn is being conducted at the moment when the Government and the citizens of Albania are developing their
longer term vision of the country’s social, economic and political priorities for the period until 2020. A new
Government will be formed as a result of parliamentary elections held in June 2013, and an updated Situation
Analysis specific to children has great potential to influence future government policy directions. In harmony with
the major EU planning frameworks, the planning horizon of Albania’s National Strategy of Development and
Integration (NSDI) is being extended until 2020, supported by a number of sector-specific and cross-cutting
strategies addressing national priorities in governance, justice, economic development, agricultural and rural
development, health, education, social protection, social inclusion, etc. UNICEF, together with other UN agencies,
has been an active contributor to conceptual thinking and technical work behind the preparation of many of these
strategic documents. The SitAn process will benefit from the accumulated experience of highly collaborative effort,
many well-tested consultative techniques, and will contribute to the national knowledge as yet another piece of
validated evidence to drive future reforms that should take into account, among other considerations, the best
interests of the child.
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Particularly the Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC), the Convention on the Elimination of All Types of
Discrimination Against Woman (CEDAW) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
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UNICEF Albania Country Office - July 2013
Methodology
The methodology of the SitAn will be guided by the steps of:
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assessing the manifestations of child rights shortfalls and inequities in child outcomes (data consolidation);
analysing major causes of child rights shortfalls and inequities (causal analysis);
analysing the existing government policies (and/or reforms) meant to address such causes as to their actual
effect; and analysing whether key accountability for policy reform, policy implementation and service provision
are in fact clearly assigned;
validating the analysis, findings and recommendations for further programming and advocacy (SitAn validation).
Data consolidation
The SitAn exercise in Albania will have to review a very substantial amount of available statistical and factual
information accumulated in the past 5-7 years. It includes primary data sources, such as the Population Census
(2011), DHS (2008-2009), Household Budget Survey (2008-2009), LSMS surveys, Child Labour Survey (2010), and
a number of smaller-scale baseline surveys and KAP (Knowledge, Attitude and Practice) studies on various subjects.
These special-purpose surveys will be complemented by data collected on a routine basis – through information
management systems operated by health, education, social protection, finance, law enforcement and birth/vital
registration authorities. Any recent socio-cultural/ethnographic research should also be added and considered in the
category of primary sources. The volume of data used by the SitAn should satisfy the critical requirement of
disaggregation, to reveal inequities due to income, geographic location, gender, age, disability, religion and/or
ethnicity. It should also be comprehensive enough (ideally, include time series of data) not only to capture the status
but also the trends over some meaningful periods of time.
To clarify ambiguous issues or add a qualitative dimension to the above mass of knowledge, the consultant(s) will
conduct (with UNICEF Country Office logistical support) focus group discussions and semi-structured/documented
interviews with representative groups of public administrators, service providers, civil society activists, children and
young people, women, communities and representatives of especially vulnerable groups.
There is also a plethora of secondary sources to be processed, such as various government reports (annual and
periodical), Albania state party reports on international conventions, treaties and targets (including the latest national
report on the CRC implementation and corresponding recommendations by the CRC Committee issued in 2012),
alternative reports submitted by NGOs and independent human rights institutions, legislative and budget reviews,
macro-level and sector-specific studies, previous SitAns, academic/thematic studies, vulnerability mappings, hazard
maps and risk assessments, country-specific gender reviews, analytical reports by donor agencies and their projects,
programme evaluations, etc.
A substantial part of publicly accessible information, data sources, research and analysis products have already been
assembled by UNICEF Tirana Office and will be offered to the consultant(s) in an electronic form or as links to
respective web-sites, which should save time and effort at the stage of preliminary information gathering.
In case any critical knowledge gaps are identified in the course of data consolidation and review, additional smallscale rapid assessments might be considered but these would not represent part of the present assignment.
Causality analysis
There are many instruments and frameworks that can assist the researches in understanding and revealing deep
underlying causes of various phenomena; such instruments include, for example, role-pattern analysis, capacity
mapping and gap analysis, bottleneck and barriers analysis, determinant analysis, problem tree plotting, gender
reviews, various risk assessments, and so on, and so forth. None of these frameworks is flawless or would
universally fit any type of research. All of them introduce a certain degree of simplification and schematization to the
very complex social processes, for the sake of diagnostics and solution searching. However, all of them aim at
constructing a comprehensive picture of cause-and-effect relationship, and making it repeatedly at the (i) immediate,
(ii) underlying and (iii) structural levels, thus gradually zooming into the very essence of identified problems.
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UNICEF Albania Country Office - July 2013
In relation to Albania’s SitAn, it is suggested to use a set of determinants, each probing possible causes of the
problems from different angles. Namely, the SitAn should be looking at3:
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legislation frameworks
policy provisions and regulations
budget allocation and expenditure
duty-bearer roles and accountability in governance
access to services, including their financial affordability for right-holders
quality of services, including of various types of resources they use
socio-cultural norms, beliefs and practices among right-holders that influence their demand for services
socio-cultural norms, beliefs and practices among duty-bearers that influence their supply of services
For each of the determinants the most complete chain of cause-and-effect should be constructed, reaching down to
the most basic, deeply-rooted factors generating or influencing how certain systems, interventions, behaviours and
practices look like in the context of Albania. This analysis should be deep enough to a/ reveal longer-term trends in
reform processes and political will, and b/ assess whether such policies have been effective at all. Such in-depth
review will require a particular effort in assembling a sufficient amount of statistical (data time series) and factual
evidence.
Some causes will be classified as creating barriers or bottlenecks, but some other would appear as enabling or
facilitating progress, so it will be important to differentiate between these and highlight potential for improvement,
wherever it could be found. UNICEF’s methodology of Monitoring Results for Equity Systems (MoRES) will serve
as one of the instruments to ensure a systematic in-depth review of all major determinants of change.
It should be particularly worth noting that any politically of socially sensitive causes should not be excluded from the
analysis; on the contrary, they must represent the focus of the consultant’s attention, as the “sensitivity” often flags a
combination of really acute needs with the absence of an immediate (“easy”) solution, thus indicating where policy
interventions are needed the most.
Validation of findings and recommendations
The conceptual framework and causality analysis presented explicitly for each separate determinant will have to be
validated by a broad range of relevant stakeholders, including policy makers, service providers, civil society
representative, communities, children and young people, parents, academia and the media. Working with others, the
SitAn can help the stakeholders agree on a vision that reflects and is aligned with development results for children.
Validation of conclusions and recommendations sets the foundation to prioritise issues and develop scenarios
towards further action, hence the forward-looking nature of the SitAn as a powerful programming tool. The SitAn
will also most probably reveal areas requiring additional research, so a national consensus over what is missing in the
picture about children in Albania is also an important result in itself.
Normative principles
A rigorous application of the determinant analysis framework, based on a solid foundation of sufficiently diverse and
disaggregated data, will enable the SitAn process to keep sharp focus on human rights and equity considerations.
Gender will be mainstreamed throughout the analysis; environmental sustainability and disaster risk reduction will
also be emphasized.
Mapping of partners and their activities
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UNICEF will provide additional guidance, consultations and reference materials in relation to recommended analytical
approaches and questions to ask for each separate determinant.
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UNICEF Albania Country Office - July 2013
An up-to-date concise description of major development partners’ mandates and activities in Albania will have to be
included in the report as an annex (format to be discussed and agreed upon with UNICEF).
Deliverables
No
Deliverable
Submission date
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First draft of the SitAn report (submitted for UNICEF internal review)
15 November, 2013
2.
Second draft of the SitAn report (revised based on national stakeholder consultations) 15 January, 2014
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Final draft of the SitAn report (with all annexes)
28 February, 2014
Duration of the assignment
The consultancy is planned to involve about 80 working man/days spread between September 2013 and February
2014. Out of this number, about 20 working days are supposed to be spent in Albania (the cost of travel, visa
issuance and accommodation will be covered by UNICEF Office separately and should not be included in the
Consultant’s fee calculations).
Payment
The assignment will be remunerated upon delivery of the agreed outputs. Payment will be made in three instalments:
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30% upon signing the contract
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30% upon submission of the 2nd draft report
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30% upon submission of the final (edited and formatted) report, with all the annexes
Required skills/experience
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Demonstrated experience of the Consultant (or institution/organization) to conduct high-quality research and
analysis (both qualitative and quantitative) in a timely manner
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Proven skills of the researcher (or research team members) in socio-economic analysis, interpretation of
statistical data, utilization of qualitative research methods, identification and articulation of socio-cultural
and political factors
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Experience in public policy analysis (in terms of both design and implementation, at central and local levels)
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Close familiarity with various frameworks of causal analysis
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Ability to articulate the theory of change (from governance interventions to outcomes for children) in a
particular national context
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Solid record of publications (individual or as an organization)
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Good facilitation skills and demonstrated experience of conducting participatory research
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Excellent writing skills in English
Interested individuals and institutions are requested to submit
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UNICEF Albania Country Office - July 2013
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Letter of interest presenting the reasons why the individual applicant (or institution/organization) is deemed
well suited for the assignment
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Curriculum Vitae of the individual (or staff) expected to work on the assignment
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List of (and web-links to) relevant research products/publications produced by the applicant (or
institution/organization)
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Scanned copies of legal/statutory documents of the organization (in case of the institutional application)
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Fee estimate based on the man/day costing unit
Application procedure and selection criteria
Applications should be sent electronically to tirana@unicef.org, copied to vgavrilova@unicef.org and
egorenca@unicef.org. The subject line should read: Application to conduct the Analysis of Policies and Reforms
Affecting the Situation of Children in Albania. The deadline for applications is August 31, 2013 (inclusive).
The consultant(s) will be selected based on their previous relevant experience, individual credentials, composition of
the team who will conduct the research (in case the application is submitted by an institution), strength of the
arguments explaining the suitability of the applicant(s) for the job and reasonability of the budget estimate.
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UNICEF Albania Country Office - July 2013
Annex I – Suggested Structure of the SitAn Report
Acknowledgements
Table of contents
Executive summary
Methodology and conceptual framework
Chapter 1:
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impact on children
(15 pages)
Poverty patterns
Migration
Urbanization
Jobs and livelihoods (including, remittances)
Gender misbalances
Ethnic minorities
De-concentration of health, education and social protection functions
Local governance reform
Fiscal decentralization
Environmental challenges
Disaster risk
Civil society
Aid environment
European integration perspective
Chapter 2:
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Albania's socio-economic transformation:
Children and adolescents in Albania: inequity and exclusion profiles
(5 pages)
Early Childhood Development: exclusion starts at birth
Adolescence: opportunities of the “second decade”
Roma and other vulnerable children: breaking the cycle of exclusion
Chapter 3:
Policy response to prevent social exclusion
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National legal and institutional framework for child rights monitoring and protection
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Child rights in sector-specific frameworks and policies
 Protection from poverty, abuse, neglect and exploitation
 Policy response and its determinants
 Policy bottlenecks and recommendations for action
 Access to Justice
 Policy response and its determinants
 Policy bottlenecks and recommendations for action
 Inclusive Education
 Policy response and its determinants
 Policy bottlenecks and recommendations for action
 Equitable Health Care
 Policy response and its determinants
 Policy bottlenecks and recommendations for action
(20 pages)
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UNICEF Albania Country Office - July 2013
Chapter 4:
Way forward: summary of policy recommendations
(5 pages)
Annexes
Acronyms and abbreviations
Bibliography
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