AIM OF CONSULTANCY
SECTION27 is seeking a qualified Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) consultant or consultancy with extensive experience in evaluations and documenting contributions to policy change to conduct an in-depth impact case study. Detailed requirements and qualifications are provided below.
ESTIMATED DURATION OF CONSULTANCY
The period of the consultancy is expected to be up to 3 months.
ORGANISATION BACKGROUND
SECTION27 is a well-established and widely respected public interest law centre that seeks to achieve substantive equality and social justice in South Africa. Guided by the principles and values in the Constitution, SECTION27 uses the law through litigation, advocacy, legal literacy, research and community mobilisation to advance socio-economic rights, in particular the right to access health care services and the right to basic education. SECTION27 aims to achieve systemic change and accountability to ensure the dignity and equality of everyone and to contribute to a society that is stable, democratic, and based on constitutional principles.
SECTION27’s primary thematic areas are the right to access health care services and the right to basic education. When the AIDS Law Project was launched in 1993, HIV was one of the biggest threats to the lives of people in South Africa. As treatment programmes and non-discrimination laws were developed and implemented to deal with the threat of HIV, in 2010 we turned to the system that is needed to support people’s health and one of the primary social determinants of health: basic education. SECTION27’s agility has seen it retaining its strategic focus while adapting to address the needs of the moment, whether that is focusing on sexual and reproductive health rights in schools, the impact of climate change on health and education rights realisation, or the ongoing problems with public budgeting and expenditure.
SECTION27 is based in Braamfontein, Johannesburg. Although our work aims to have a national impact we do have interventions with a strategic focus in Gauteng, Eastern Cape, Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga.
CONSULTANCY TERMS OF REFERENCE
Background
SECTION27 is well-known for a number of high-profile litigation cases, including arguably the most important education rights case in South Africa. In the #TextbooksMatter case, the Supreme Court of Appeal upheld SECTION27’s argument that the Department of Basic Education’s failure to provide learners in Limpopo with their textbooks directly infringed on their rights to basic education, equality and dignity and amounted to unfair discrimination. Most recently, after nine years of arbitration and an inquest into the deaths of 144 mental healthcare users, SECTION27 secured a judgment finding that the former MEC and Director of Mental Health caused the deaths of nine mental health care users, representing a huge victory for accountability both for the bereaved families of the Life Esidimeni tragedy, and in the health system in general. SECTION27 has, together with partners, achieved legal, material and political impact from its legal advocacy over the years.
With an eye towards building a body of evidence of its impact, SECTION27 is aiming to begin documenting its successes through a variety of evaluative approaches.
This Impact Case Study will focus on SECTION27’s long standing work around school sanitation, in particular its work on eradicating pit latrines in schools in Limpopo. SECTION27 became aware of the problem of school sanitation in 2012, but the issue became all the more urgent in January 2014, when six-year-old Michael Komape fell into a pit toilet at his school and drowned. SECTION27 successfully represented the Komape family, who was awarded damages by the Supreme Court of Appeal, which at the same time ordered the DBE to provide an audit and plan to address the school sanitation crisis. While there has been significant and measurable progress made to date, which can be directly attributed to SECTION27’s work, we continue to closely monitor the implementation of the Limpopo Department of Education’s plan to eradicate pit latrines. This work is a prime example of SECTION27’s use of the law – through litigation, advocacy, legal literacy, research and community mobilisation – to advance socio-economic rights, in this case, the right to basic education.
Approach and Methodology
The objective of this consultancy is to conduct an impact case study that assesses and documents the contribution of SECTION27 to key policy changes in the South African education sector. The study should provide a comprehensive analysis of SECTION27’s strategies, actions, and their contributions to the observed policy outcomes. The Impact Case Study will provide an objective and impartial assessment that uses mixed methods and different primary and secondary data sources that are systematically triangulated. Using a participatory approach, the consultant is expected to:
- Develop a clear evaluation plan:
- Collaborate and engage with key staff to understand the context, objectives, and key stakeholders involved in the policy change.
- Develop a detailed evaluation plan outlining the methodology, data collection tools, and analysis framework.
- Collect and analyze data:
- Collect and analyze qualitative and quantitative data. Where applicable, the consultant will collect and analyze quantitative data. This may involve reviewing relevant statistics and existing quantitative monitoring data.
- Analyze and triangulate data to cross-verify findings from different data sources and methodologies, enhancing the reliability and validity of the conclusions drawn.
- Reporting:
- Prepare and present a draft impact case study that synthesizes findings, analysis, and recommendations.
- Incorporate feedback from SECTION27 into the final report.
- Submit a final impact case study that includes an executive summary, methodology, findings, conclusions, and recommendations.
The consultant will work with the Executive Director and M&E team throughout the consultancy, and will be provided with the relevant background documents for an initial desk review.
Expected Deliverables
The consultant will work directly with the Executive Director and M&E team to deliver the following:
- Evaluation Plan
- Impact Case Study
- Debrief with the SECTION27 team
TIMELINES
The consultancy will begin in September 2024.
KEY EXPERTISE REQUIRED
Education:
- Minimum of an advanced degree in social science or another relevant field.
- Education in another sector (health, education, gender, public policy) an added advantage.
Skills/experience:
- Demonstrated expertise in impact evaluation, particularly in policy advocacy and change and complex evaluations
- Experience in conducting qualitative and quantitative research
- Demonstrated ability to triangulate data from multiple sources and present findings in a clear and compelling manner.
- Familiarity with policy and advocacy at a range of levels including grassroots programming and national policy influence and advocacy; understanding of public interest litigation will be an asset.
- Experience in facilitation and participatory processes.
- Knowledge of MEL trends and successful practices in the sector, particularly relating to policy and advocacy work.
- Experience working on women’s rights and gender equality.
SUBMISSIONS
Please submit your applications by email to kaseke-palmer@section27.org.za with the subject line ‘Impact Case Study Consultancy’. Submissions must be made by 30 August 2024. The application must include the following:
CV/ profile
A brief technical proposal, including an outline of the intended methodological approach and tentative timeline with key milestones
A financial proposal indicating total number of days required and daily rate
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