Out–of–School Children Initiative Formative Evaluation

Detailed description of project Back

UNICEF Evaluation Office (New York) has commissioned a global evaluation of the Out-of-School-Children Initiative (OOSCI). The evaluation shall test the validity of the OOSCI theory of change and its assumptions, strengthen the programme logic, and provide a formative assessment of progress towards achieving the overall goal of achieving a substantial and sustainable reduction in the number of children that are out of school.

The objectives of the evaluation are as follows:

• To examine the efficacy of strategies supported by UNICEF towards realising the goal of universal participation in basic education, and to determine whether pathways to reaching the intended goal are articulated clearly, and are aligned with those of key-partners.
• Determine the extent to which OOSCI studies generated credible evidence on out of school children, influenced key policy changes, and facilitated the selection of effective strategies and interventions for various programming contexts, including countries undertaking humanitarian programming.
• To assess UNICEF’s contribution in building individual and institutional capacities to address barriers to entering and staying in school, assess their adequacy, and evaluate efforts at building capacities of key partners.

https://www.unicef.org/evaldatabase/files/Formative_Evaluation_of_the_Out-of-School_Children_Initiative_OOSCI.pdf

https://gdc.unicef.org/resource/formative-evaluation-out-school-children-initiative-oosci (new link)

Type of services provided

PROMAN provides the services of the Team Leader, the Senior Education Expert, two junior researchers and 8 national education experts; while CEval provides the services of the Evaluation Expert and two senior researchers and Redi4Change insures quality control.

The following evaluation design and methods are applied:

• An online survey with UNICEF Country Offices and Regional Offices;
• A document analysis following an approach oriented at the Grounded Theory Methodology (GTM);
• Primary data collection during stakeholder consultations and field visits.

The Assignment consists of:

• Phase 1: Inception Phase;
• Phase 2: Desk-based review;
• Phase 3: Field-based data collection;
• Phase 4: Reporting and Presentation of outcomes.