Diagnostic Review – Situation of Early Childhood Development (ECD) in the Eastern Caribbean Area

Detailed description of project Back

The purpose of this assignment is to undertake a Diagnostic Review of the situation in the ECD sector providing a comprehensive overview of the progress, best practices, challenges and priority needs to inform future programming for children 0-5 years in the Eastern Caribbean, including in emergencies.

The review will examine the gaps between policy and practice and the extent to which various programmes, services and policy instruments (such as White Papers, legislation, development plans etc.) have been successfully implemented/ or not and why, with recommendations for policy change and improvements in the provision of quality ECD programmes and services.

The review will also examine the early childhood sectors’ preparedness and the effectiveness of the Governments’ response to natural hazards and other emergencies, including the COVID-19 pandemic, during the period of January 2017 – July 2021.

Type of services provided

• Conduct a desk review of documents related to the implementation of policies, standards, regulations, services and programmes across the Health, Education and Child Protection sectors;
• Identify key persons from the sectors and groups for interviews and focus group discussions;
• Conduct interviews with key stakeholders at national level from the field of health and nutrition, education, social development / child protection sectors to ascertain progress, best practices, challenges and priority needs in the sector;
• Conduct interviews with partners from the Regional and International Organizations, Universities/Colleges, CSOs, NGOs etc;
• Collate and analyze information to prepare user friendly country profiles;
• Collate and analyse information and prepare a comprehensive analytical sub- regional report;
• Lead Stakeholder Engagement sessions;
• Present findings of the Diagnostic Review to UNICEF Staff and National Partners in a Stakeholder Consultation.

Main staff provided:

• Team leader/ECD Expert (70 w/d);
• Regional ECD Expert (55 w/d);
• Education in Emergencies Expert (45 w/d).