STATEMENT OF WORK

BACKGROUND:

Launched in 2007, the Model Schools Network (MSN) Program is a USAID-funded initiative that aims to build institutional capacity in the Palestinian school system. The MSN Program is focused on developing a school improvement network that will serve as a model for basic education in Palestine. Its initial phase supported 17 private schools in the West Bank between June 2008 and December 2012.  The focus of this support was in four program areas: 

1)  Teacher and administrator professional development;

2)  Upgrades to schools’ physical capacities;

3)  Educator networking;

4)  School and community integration activities;

5)  Educational assessment. 

 A second phase, outside the scope of this Statement of Work, expanded the program to public schools in the West Bank.  Therefore, the nature of this assignment covers only the 17 private schools.  

The MSN Program’s main goals are to:

·         Introduce a student-centered, contemporary approach to teaching and learning in the areas of English, science, technology and mathematics within a network of 69 public and private schools that will serve as the foundation for replicating lessons learned and best practices among other Palestinian schools

·         Introduce educational concepts, teaching approaches, techniques, and resources that will measurably improve student learning outcomes at participating schools

·         Develop a collective leadership approach among public school principals which builds the capacity of district offices in order to support a school-based reform agenda with a focus on instructional leadership

·         Upgrade schools’ physical capacities, including science and computer labs, libraries, and playgrounds, and provide teaching resources such as netbooks and internet connectivity

·         Promote communication and linkages between schools and their communities so that parents have a greater stake in the teaching and learning of their children.

·         Introduce a wide range of student extracurricular programming, such as summer camps, cultural and scientific field trips, and student clubs, which foster creative and critical thinking and student engagement

·         Evaluate and document results of the project in order to establish evidence-based practice as a means toward school improvement 

Under the MSN Program, approximately $1.5 million was spent on physical capacity upgrades for schools.  MSN invested in procurement in six key areas: 

·         books and educational resources;

·         school renovations and refurbishment;

·         netbooks and laptops;

·         computer labs;

·         science labs and related equipment;

·         wireless internet connectivity. 

In addition, procurement has supported other smaller program components, such as purchasing extracurricular equipment and art tools for schools, and museum materials for Al-Quds University, a local implementing partner of the MSN Program.  The Physical Capacity Building Evaluator will focus on the impact, efficiency, scalability and sustainability of the upgrades. This evaluation should include investigating the links between the Physical Capacity Building component and the other four components of the MSN Program described above.    

Key questions the Evaluator should answer include, but are not limited to: 

1.       Did the school administration have a clear background and understanding of the MSN Program’s goals and mandates?

2.       Did the materials, equipment and/or renovations provided to the school (IT equipment, books, furniture, science kits, etc.) satisfy the school’s needs?

3.       Are the supplies and equipment being used effectively and efficiently?

4.       Was the delivery of the supplies and equipments done within a useful timeframe?

5.       Did the teachers acquire, through MSN training, the required understanding of the uses and benefits of the items purchased?

6.       Did the students acquire, via their MSN-trained teachers, the required understanding of the uses and benefits of the items purchased?

7.       Is there a school-level plan for sustainability to ensure that the supplies and equipment will still be used and maintained when needed after the MSN Program ends? 

The Evaluator will have access to partners, principals, teachers and students in grades 1-9 for the collection of qualitative data.  Data collection could take the form of interviews or focus groups with a variety of stakeholders and should include visits to schools.  In addition, the qualitative data collection effort of the Evaluator(s) should incorporate the results of a quantitative capacity upgrade survey that AMIDEAST’s M&E staff will undertake.

 RESPONSIBLITIES: 

The Physical Capacity Building Evaluator shall coordinate closely with the MSN staff to develop a comprehensive evaluation report on the Physical Capacity Building component of the program for the private schools.  The Evaluator will collect qualitative data from MSN’s 17 participating private schools regarding the use of materials purchased, as well as the procurement and distribution process. The final report shall be based on both quantitative and qualitative data collected by the MSN Monitoring & Evaluation Department, as well as the additional qualitative data collected by the Evaluator.   

The Evaluator’s activities will lead to two major deliverables:

1. Qualitative Raw Data:

The Evaluator will deliver all data collected to MSN.  This data may include hard copies of surveys; audio interviews and their transcripts; observation notes; video; spreadsheets or databases; or any other form of data collected, as well as the mechanisms used to analyze it (such as spreadsheets, databases, or graphs and charts in soft copy).  MSN may choose to use the raw data in other, future evaluations of the program.  

2. Narrative Report:

The Evaluator will produce an in-depth narrative report describing the impact of the Physical Capacity Building component of the program.  The audience for the report is comprised of MSN staff and trainers, USAID, the Palestinian Ministry of Education, implementing partners associated with the Procurement, Professional Development  and Community Outreach activities, as well as beneficiaries of the program, namely the private school administrations.   

MSN staff will suggest a sampling strategy per school and procurement activity.  MSN staff will also provide a breakout of each type of procurement activity, which schools received resources and the relevant objectives, goals and indicators for each of the resources.  Based on this information, qualitative data collection can begin as early as November 15, 2011.  Both the raw data and the narrative report will be due January 15, 2012. AMIDEAST estimates this report will take the Evaluator 20 days of work.  It is essential the timeline for this SoW is maintained as this evaluation is linked to other evaluations.