Consultancy on Child Protection Information Management Systems- Overview and Guidance Documents

Job Description

Terms of Reference

Consultancy on Child Protection Information Management Systems

Overview and Guidance Documents

Background

Children throughout the world face many child protection (CP) threats related to violence, exploitation and abuse. These can occur in the family or in alternative care placements; it can be the result of conflict and unrest; children may live in a culture of violence[1] and/or in situations experiencing high levels of armed violence despite the absence of armed conflict. Thus a large number of children and families in the world require or receive child protection interventions, including but not limited to emergency interventions, family strengthening, specialised services to address particular issues or violations faced by children, alternative care responses, (rapid) family tracing, and psychosocial support.

According to the UNICEF Child Protection Strategy[2] strong child protection ‘provides a bulwark against the web of risks and vulnerabilities underlying many forms of harm and abuse: sexual abuse and exploitation; trafficking; hazardous labour; violence; living or working on the streets; the impact of armed conflict, including children’s use by armed forces and armed groups; harmful practices such as female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and child marriage; lack of access to justice; and unnecessary institutionalization, among others’.

For the purposes of this exercise, we consider a Child Protection Information Management System as an ‘integrated system for the routine collection, analysis and interpretation of data used in the planning, implementation and evaluation of child protection programming’[3]. Child protection information management systems may operate for a variety of purposes and in a variety of settings, eg for case management in and out of emergencies, for family tracing, in situations involving armed violence and others. The system needs to have a purpose, be accessible and tasks need to be appropriately assigned. Data can be administrative (eg relating to individual children, staff or service provision) or financial (eg on the cost of service provision). From these summary information can be extracted to inform policy and planning, for which data may also be linked with other information management systems, and data from other sources such as surveillance systems, civil registration, health or education management systems and other population data. To be able to make best use of the data it is necessary to have sufficient staff for data collection, analysis and dissemination of the analytical results. Child protection IMS may be paper-based or involve the use of computers, the internet and mobile or smartphones. They may also be run by international agencies or NGOs, or run by governments or their agencies.

The primary focus of these terms of reference relates to work carried out under child protection authorities, including service providers, and data should be collected, considering data protection requirements, on all children in contact with child protection services, whether these are government-run or privately provided (including by NGOs).

Over the past years, UNICEF child protection staff and partners have made numerous efforts to strengthen child protection or related information systems, including:

• · The Inter-Agency Child Protection IMS (IA CP IMS)[4] for use in emergencies;
• · The Gender-based Violence IMS[5] for use in emergencies;
• · MRM[6] IMS in conflict-affected countries
• · The Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) and other mine/ERW-related Victim/Survivor assistance IMSs;
• · RapidFTR for rapid registration of unaccompanied and separated children for family tracing purposes;[7]
• · Efforts in West and Central Africa (WCAR)[8], such as the Benin Tableau de Bord (a database on orphans and vulnerable children), see also the footnoted link
• · Countries which developed child protection information management systems include: Bangladesh (in process)[9], Ethiopia (family tracing and alternative care database[10]), Senegal (case management system, adapted to new forms of service provision[11]), Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, Niger and Nigeria[12] and others.
• · Alternative care information management systems, often databases rather than full IMS, exist in Liberia, Pakistan and Cambodia, among other countries
• · Adoption information system (Kyrgyzstan)
• · Possible linkages with birth registration and civil registry
• · Juvenile Justice Information System (Uruguay).

Some success has been achieved using child protection IMS in emergency situations[13] to foster better coordination and collaboration between agencies (IA CP IMS; GBVIMS; the MRM), though challenges remain in coordinating various IMS systems and ensuring a common understanding among diverse partners as to the purpose, priorities and benefits. IMS systems in emergency response often have very specific objectives (FTR, GBV, PSS, MRM), are likely to be donor-funded and frequently are implemented by INGOs including the International Rescue Committee and Save the Children NGOs and UN agencies, including DPKO, UNDP, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNFPA, and WHO. Most of these IMS are not maintained once donor funding ends and international agencies stop providing technical staff to maintain the information system.

Some efforts to establish child protection IMS have failed to reach their full potential due to a wide range of problems common to information and monitoring systems, including: lack of capacity to input data (such as electricity issues, reluctance to work on statistics rather than assisting children, lack of training for the use of the data base, lack of computers for the number of staff needing to use them), a focus on data input rather than data analysis or follow-up of children, lack of capacity to analyse or interpret data (including lack of systems to consolidate and undertake preliminary analysis of data); uncertainty of how to deal with the data, including confidentiality and security of information issues (though in the case of Gender-based Violence, the Information Management System was developed with a focus on confidentiality, ethics and safety principles); the coexistence of a number of databases, often having different case definitions (or a lack of definitions) or systems that do not enable data compilation, comparison, triangulation, of information sharing between systems, including perhaps a need to input the same data into different systems; lack of funding for system maintenance.

However, there is also a need for development within and between child protection IMS, including links between different, but related information management systems. Given the emphasis on child protection systems development, which is based on the premise that individual children may experience a range of child protection issues, consideration needs to be given to the opportunities for, as well as challenges of, integration and linkages between different information systems, which may, or may not, be government-owned. In a number of country contexts the CP IMS and the GBVIMS have been successfully integrated and an effort is currently underway to determine how best to integrate the CP IMS, FTR, GBVIMS and the MRMIMS.

Increasingly, countries, whether high-, middle- or low-income, are developing their own IMS, sometimes based on existing child protection IMS, sometimes independently. In addition, service providers and others may have their own systems. There may be benefits in having connections between different systems.

While some guidance exists for health management information systems[14], similar guidance has not yet been produced for child protection information management systems. The aim of this consultancy is to produce a stock take of existing CP IMS and based on this produce simple and clear guidance for countries (in a range of resource settings) wishing to develop CP IMS. This guidance development will be coordinated with other efforts currently underway, including how and when aspects of the GBVIMS can contribute to developing national information systems.

Purpose and Objectives

The purpose of this consultancy is to provide guidance to child protection actors (UNICEF and partners, including governments) on child protection information management systems, in particular:

• · Stock taking, and mapping, of what is being done on surveillance/monitoring and case/services management information management systems across the child protection/protection sector, including inside and outside UNICEF (e.g. UNHCR and ICRC’s protection/case management systems, both of which are in the process of being upgraded), in developing countries by governments, NGOs and international child protection actors (based on existing evidence). A methodology for the field visits should also be produced.
• · Review three country experiences with child protection IMS (countries to be agreed with reference group) in terms of lessons learnt (what worked, what did not work and why etc).
• · Produce simple and clear guidance on IMS that is applicable in different economic and governance environments. The guidance should use examples of existing IMS for illustration and present lessons learned. The guidance should include sections on:
  • · Definition of, and guiding principles across, IMS
  • · Limitations of IMS (managing expectations)
  • · Considerations on defining what to include in IMS: data needs (for different purposes), options for obtaining data
  • · Considerations on establishing linkages between different IMS, including whether to link these, consistency of definitions, and other factors. This should cover links with surveillance systems which may extract data from IMS, but may also have other data such as on the prevalence of mines in certain areas, and possible links to e.g. the MoRES system.
  • · Data protection and data-sharing considerations, including specimen data-sharing protocols
  • · Considerations around the use of IT and/or other resources required to run an IMS (including upgrades, vulnerability to damage, security, proprietary use, e.g. who owns and controls the software, etc.)
  • · Discussion of cost considerations: establishment and running costs of an IMS including personnel, hardware and software, including upgrades, training requirements etc.)
  • · Steps to be taken in designing and implementing an IMS
• · The findings from the research and the draft guidance should also be discussed in a global webinar.

Deliverables

• Deliverable 1: Provide an concise overview of existing experiences with child protection IMS, including mapping, following the above literature review, revising it following the country case studies, and a summary of country case studies (max 20 pages)
• Deliverable 2: Develop a succinct user-friendly guidance document on child protection IMS, incorporating the topics listed above as well as any other which may emerge through discussions with UNICEF CP colleagues and partners if relevant (to be agreed to in advance). (max 35 pages)
• Deliverable 3: Global webinar on findings from literature review and country studies, and introducing draft guidance

Scope of Work

The consultant(s) should allocate their time approximately as follows:

Activity

Time

Literature review, mapping and phone interviews re country selection

16 days

Develop research methodology for in-country studies and draft outline for guidance document

4 days

Carry out 3 in-country studies

30 days

Develop guidance for CP IMS

20 days

Run global webinar on draft documents and findings of the review

1 day

Finalise CP IMS guidance based on feedback provided

9 days

Total

80 days

Liaison & Reporting

The consultant(s) will report to the Senior Advisor, Social Welfare and Justice Systems, in UNICEF NYHQ. The following reviews will take place:

• · Review of the initial literature review and country research methodology
• · Review of the final literature review including country case studies
• · Review of the guidance document

A reference group including UNICEF staff from the child protection section in UNICEF HQ, regional level and relevant countries, as well as other key partners, will be set up to guide the consultant(s) in their work.

Contract Arrangements and Time Frame

The work is expected to take 80 working days between June 2013 and February 2014. Payments will be made as follows:

• · 20% at completion of the initial literature review and research methodology
• · 50% following the finalisation of the literature review including country case studies
• · 30% for final paper

Duty Station: Consultant will work remotely.

Consultant qualifications

The successful candidate(s) will be able to demonstrate skills in the following areas:

Required:

• · Master’s degree in Information Management or similar
• · At least 8 years of experience in social sector management, with a particular focus on child protection information management systems
• · High level of understanding of current issues relevant to vulnerable children, including child protection systems, and international development
• · In-depth experience relating to data administration, data management and data protection in child and/or social welfare, and linkages to other systems such as health and other data management systems
• · Relevant IT experience

• Proven ability to assess and analyse information from various sources

• Fluency in written and spoken English, and excellent skills in producing succinct, clear guidance in English
• Fluency in another UN language an asset
• Proven ability to work with policy makers and practitioners
• Successful work experience in an international environment

Applications

Qualified candidates are requested to submit a cover letter, CV and signed P11 form (which can be downloaded from our website at http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/index_53129.html), along with a draft methodology for the assignment, and a sample of similar guidance previously produced, to pdconsultants@unicef.org with subject line “Child Protection IMS”by 15 April 2013. 5:00 pm New York time. Please indicate your ability, availability and daily rate to undertake the terms of reference above. Applications submitted without a daily (or monthly) rate, or without a methodology, will not be considered.

NOTE: Files should not exceed 5.0MB limit

1] World Bank (2011), Central America’s Rising Crime and Violence puts Regional Development at Risk, retrieved from http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/LACEXT/0,,contentMDK:22878371~pagePK:146736~piPK:64909335~theSitePK:258554,00.html, 19.12.2012

[2] http://www.unicef.org/tdad/unicefcpstrategyjune08.pdf

[3] UNICEF/Universitas Indonesia/Columbia University (undated, approximately 2010 or later), Child Protection Information Management Mapping: Towards a Data Surveillance System in Indonesia’, retrieved from internet 31.12.2012, www.cpcnetwork.org/admin/includes/doc_view.php?ID=378

[4] http://childprotectionims.org/service.php. Established in 2005 by IRC, Save the Children and UNICEF, and used in 20 countries thus far as a case management system primarily in emergency contexts.

[5] http://www.gbvims.org/

[6] As required by the 5^th SG report on CAAC (2005), and by subsequent adoption of SCR 1612 (2005).

[7] http://www.rapidftr.com

[8] see review http://www.unicef.org/wcaro/english/regional_review_of_child_protection_information_and_monitoring_systems_in__West_and_Central_Africa.pdf.

[9] UNICEF Annual Report for Bangladesh 2010, retrieved from internet 31.12.2012, http://www.unicef.org/about/annualreport/files/Bangladesh2010_Final.pdf

[10] UNICEF Annual Report for Ethiopia 2011, retrieved from internet 2.1.2013, https://icon.unicef.org/apps02/cop/SitePages/CountryOfficePortal.aspx?CoarId=194&Year=2011&Country=Ethiopia

[11] UNICEF Annual Report for Senegal, retrieved from Internet 2.1.2013, https://icon.unicef.org/apps02/cop/SitePages/CountryOfficePortal.aspx?CoarId=271&Year=2011&Country=Senegal

[12] UNICEF (2009), Regional Review of Child Protection Information and Monitoring Systems in West and Central Africa, retrieved from internet 2.1.2013, http://www.unicef.org/wcaro/english/regional_review_of_child_protection_information_and_monitoring_systems_in_West_and_Central_Africa.pdf

[14] WHO (2004), Developing Health Management Information Systems: a practical guide for developing countries, retrieved from internet 2.1.2013, http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2004/9290611650.pdf

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