TERMS OF REFERENCE
Title of Consultancy: Development of country-level case studies/vignettes on
practical examples of Child Protection Systems Strengthening
Planned Duration of Consultancy: 1 month
Submitted by: Child Protection
1. Background and Context
There has been increasing momentum in Africa on the child protection systems agenda.
Nearly half the countries have completed or launched exercises to map and assess their child
protection systems, allowing them to describe those systems and specify priority areas of
engagement and investment. Some countries, including Ghana, Kenya, Morocco and Sierra
Leone, have begun the process of re-defining the Child Protection or Child Welfare system
through development of new policy frameworks, tapping into existing practices and resources
and forging links between informal and formal parts of the system, making the system in its
entirety more sustainable, effective and ‘fit’ for the country context. Sub-national coordination
mechanisms built around child protection committees or the equivalent are rolling out in
countries such as DRC, Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. In
addition, human resource gap analyses and ministerial audits have been conducted in some
countries to inform the strengthening of the social service workforce.
In each country a different process has been undertaken post-mapping to identify priorities
and move forward with their systems strengthening agenda. Some countries have used issues
– child trafficking; Child Care Reform; Violence Against Children as entry points for beginning
the process of reforming or strengthening the national child protection system. However, there
is currently a dearth of information or practical examples of how countries have gone about
this work. In order to better capture the practical realities of this systems strengthening work
and the unique process that countries have undertaken, the Child Protection Systems InterAgency Group proposes to write-up the experiences of five countries in Africa that have
embarked on the systems strengthening process. These concrete examples will then serve
as a guide not only for other countries who are just starting out, but also for members of the
ACERWC and other interested parties who require a better understanding of what child
protection systems strengthening entails.
2. Justification
Given the fact that major investments have now been made in mapping child protection
systems, developing national strategies and action plans and beginning the process of
systems strengthening, it is important to document some of these processes in an easily
accessible format so that lessons learned can be used to guide other countries embarking on
the journey and to promote and support advocacy efforts at regional and pan-African level.
The case studies or vignettes need to be practical and honest so that lessons learned can be
shared across the continent.
3. Purpose and Objective
The overall objective of the consultancy is to develop practical case studies/vignettes for five
countries in Africa. The proposed countries for this consultancy are – Morocco, Tanzania (a
draft exists for Tanzania – so this will be an update/revision), Ghana, Niger and Rwanda.
The specific objectives of this assignment are to produce 5 country level casestudies/vignettes that should include the following:
1. A summary of global, regional and national thinking on child protection systems – as a
front page introduction to the five vignettes.
2. A description of current initiatives to strengthen the national child protection system –
how and why it started; who was involved (key actors – including children themselves;
roles and responsibilities); key steps in the process (i.e. mapping; development of a
national strategy/policy; reform of the system; HR Gap Analysis; integrated services
models at the decentralized level); current/new structure and resources/budget
required (if possible).
3. Identification/documentation of tangible results for children of the Child Protection
Systems strengthening work.
4. Conclusion with some practical guidance/recommendations on next steps and scale
up/replication strategies for other countries.
4. Methodology and Technical Approach
Methodology:
It is envisaged that the research will be conducted as a combined desk review of existing
documentation and semi-structured interviews with key informants.
The outputs will be:
Five (5) country case studies/vignettes in clear non-technical language on the process that
the country took for strengthening their child protection system. Each case-study/vignette
should be no longer than 8 pages; include visuals; and be easy to read and understand.
5. Activities, Tasks, Outputs and Deliverables
Tangible and measurable outputs of the work assignment (e.g. end products) including
qualitative & quantitative expectations:
After performing a desk review of available literature (mapping reports, national
policies/strategies, reports, proposals…..), the researcher will design a semi-structured
questionnaire that seeks to answer the points raised in section 3.
Tasks to be completed
Phase I: Desk review; preparation and delivery of
questionnaire
1. Undertake an initial review of the literature/documentation
on Child Protection Systems strengthening work in
Morocco, Tanzania, Ghana, Niger and Rwanda – 5 days
2. Building on the initial review of the documentation,
develop a semi-structured questionnaire for key
informants as well as a detailed list of the key informants
to be interviewed– 1 day
3. Organise calls with each country to undertake interviews
with key informants – 5 days
4. Finalize the outline of the case studies/vignettes and
submit a first draft – 1 day
Number
of Days
12
Completion
Date
16th April
Phase II: Final Case Studies/Vignettes
1. Produce 5 draft country case studies/vignettes (using the
outline agreed in phase I) to circulate to the inter-agency
group. These should be a maximum of 10 pages each in
clear non-academic language – 5 days
Revise and finalize the case studies/vignettes - 3 days
8
30th April
6. Management, Organization and Timeframe
END-PRODUCTS/OUTPUT:
Phase I
 Semi-structured questionnaire
 Outline for the final report
 Draft literature review
Phase II
 Final case studies/vignettes
Deadline
Comments

Electronic
submissions in
Word

Electronic
submissions in
Word
The case studies/vignettes will be developed by a social science consultant familiar with
working with the child protection sector, particularly in Africa. Supervision and case
study/vignette review will be conducted by a reference group made up of members of the panAfrican Inter-Agency Group on Child Protection Systems. Regular (minimum once per week)
contacts will be maintained with the consultant for progress reports through a focal point.
7. Remuneration
This assignment corresponds to level P4.
Consultancy fees will be dependent on the qualifications and experience of the consultant.
The payment will be one-off, on receipt of five (5) satisfactory vignettes/case studies.
Payment Schedule for fees:
Deliverables
Submission
of
studies/vignettes
the
final
Payment
case 100%
8. Qualifications and Specialized Knowledge/experience required
The study will be undertaken by a bilingual English/French-speaking individual consultant
familiar with working with the child protection sector in Africa at P4 level.
9. Conditions of Work
The consultant will work remotely, with weekly email and/or Skype contact with the
supervisors.