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Working in partnership with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer  (LGBTIQ+) youth networks in 4 Asian countries,  UNESCO Regional Office in Bangkok (UNESCO Bangkok) is supporting the design and implementation of innovative approaches to enhancing inclusion in education, while simultaneously advancing solutions to combating discrimination and violence in learning spaces  based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression (SOGIE). The 5-year project, which is being implemented over the period 2021-2026 and is valued at USD 360,000, aims to achieve results in 2 outcome areas:

1. Outcome 1: Youth members of LGBTIQ+ networks have strengthened technical and advocacy skills to promote the creation of LGBTIQ+ inclusive learning spaces (approx. 60% project budget); and
2. Outcome 3 Learning spaces become more LGBTIQ+ inclusive, through implementation of tools and approaches by LGBTIQ+ youth leaders working in partnership with the education sector (approx. 40% project budget).

To deliver on these project outcomes, UNESCO Bangkok is collaborating with at least 1 youth network in each of the 4 project countries: Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines and Japan, to reach the following targets:

• at least fifty youth per country context, as direct beneficiaries of skill-building activities;
• at least 1 education institution (eg university), engaging at least 800 student peers, and 100 university faculty/management staff through advocacy and outreach approaches.

Key activities being implemented by country-level youth networks with UNESCO Bangkok’s technical and financial support include:

(i) co-creating with students, an advocacy approach and activities for LGBTIQ+ learner inclusion that responds to evidence of LGBTIQ+ learners’ needs and priorities in their respective education setting(s);
(ii) carrying out a rapid mapping of the skills and other capacity-needs to be strengthened among LGBTIQ+ and ally students for them to implement their advocacy approach and activities;
(iii) design and delivery of relevant skills/capacity-building workshop(s) for advocacy on LGBTIQ+ learner inclusion, that respond to the needs identified in the rapid mapping;
(iv) providing relevant technical and/or financial support (e.g. through small grants) for students to implement their advocacy approaches, activities and products and supporting the reach of their advocacy through diverse (digital and non-digital) channels as appropriate; and,
(v) tracking and documenting the progress of implementation by students of their advocacy approaches, activities and products through routine monitoring reports, stories or other means, capturing project reach and results in digital and non-digital formats

UNESCO is seeking an evaluation consultant to conduct a mid-term project evaluation for the implementation period from October 2021 to October 2024. The overall purpose of the mid-term evaluation is to inform and improve the ongoing project by assessing its completed and ongoing activities. Considering the Results Framework (see ) of this project, this mid-term evaluation will be done through 1) assessing implementation of the project to-date; 2) assessing project outputs and immediate outcomes achieved to-date; and 3) identifying lessons and recommendations to inform implementation over the remaining project period – including corrective measures where needed.  

In addition to overall guidance by UNESCO Bangkok, throughout the processing of carrying out the mid-term evaluation the consultant will receive additional technical inputs, review and feedback on draft consultancy outputs  from a Project Reference Group that comprises ten regional/country organizations serving constituencies of diverse stakeholders working on LGBTIQ+ youth inclusion. The Project Reference Group has been convened by UNESCO Bangkok to provide overall guidance to and quality assurance of project implementation, communication, monitoring and reporting, and offer expert inputs and technical review of all the project’s activities and outputs.

The key stakeholders (users) of this evaluation are:

• Internal to UNESCO: Education for Health and Well-being Team, Unit for Transformative Education, Education Section, UNESCO Bangkok and additional UNESCO field offices/HQs 
• External: Donor to this project 
• Secondary external stakeholders: Civil society organizations, young people, and individuals who are involved in the project.

Under the overall authority of the Regional Director, UNESCO Regional Office in Bangkok (UNESCO Bangkok), the overall guidance of the Chief of the Section for Education, and the direct supervision of the Regional Advisor on Education for Health and Well-being, the consultant is expected to undertake a comprehensive mid-term evaluation of the project on enhancing LGBTIQ+ inclusive learning spaces in Asia.

Specifically, the consultant shall carry out the following tasks:

1. Draft, in close consultation with UNESCO and the Project Reference Group, an evaluation inception report, which contains updated methods for data collection and analysis and a timeline with deliverables for the evaluation. This includes: 
   - participating in an inception meeting with UNESCO and the Project Reference Group to review and confirm the consultancy’s scope, objectives, and expectations; 
   - conducting a comprehensive desk review of project documents, including the project proposal, Result Framework (RF), work plans, progress reports, and other relevant literature; 
   - mapping key stakeholders, including the UNESCO project team, implementing partners, beneficiaries (learners, teachers, supporting staff, and communities), and relevant parties; and, 
   - preparing the narrative inception report that documents the overall methodology for the mid-term evaluation, proposes the key areas of investigation and associated data types, data collection approaches and tools. 
    
2. Make any revisions, on the basis of feedback provided, to the overall methodology and data collection tools (eg as questionnaires, interview guides, and focus group discussion (FGD) guide, as appropriate) 
    
3. Plan and carry out data collection and analysis according to the agreed methodology of the mid-term project evaluation. This potentially includes: 
   - communicating with the interviewees and key informants to schedule the data collection period; 
   - collecting primary data- where relevant - through online key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and surveys, ensuring the inclusion of diverse and marginalized voices, particularly from LGBTIQ+ youth; and
   - compiling, cleaning, and analyzing the collected data using appropriate qualitative and quantitative methods to identify strengths, weaknesses, trends, and areas for improvement.
    
4. Develop and submit to UNESCO Bangkok a full, final mid-term evaluation report and summary presentation of the key findings from the report. This includes:
   - preparing a draft mid-term evaluation narrative report against the project Result Framework (RF), including an executive summary, methodology, findings with case studies of youth-led projects highlighted, conclusions, and recommendations;
   - developing a presentation (e.g. Microsoft PowerPoint or Canva) summarizing the key findings, conclusions, and recommendations from the mid-term evaluation; and
   - submitting to UNESCO Bangkok the final mid-term evaluation report (maximum 25, A4 pages, plus annexes) incorporating feedback from stakeholder validation discussions at the learning exchange meeting, with specific recommendations to UNESCO on actions needed for enhancing implementation of the second-half of the 5-year project, along with the presentation and other relevant documents. 
    
5. Deliver the summary presentation and co-facilitate with UNESCO, discussions at an in-person learning exchange meeting to react to, and validate the evaluation findings and recommendations. The learning exchange meeting will be organized by UNESCO in the first week of December 2024 (tentatively) in Bangkok, Thailand. The consultant will co-create with UNESCO the meeting’s discussion methodology and gather participants’ feedback to incorporate into the final mid-term evaluation narrative report.
    

UNESCO Bangkok will provide technical inputs to the development of all aspects of the mid-term evaluation process and will be responsible for the learning exchange meeting’s logistical preparations (i.e. arrangements and costs associated with venue, meals, accommodation, travel, per diem, document translation, simultaneous interpretation etc. as appropriate). Any travel costs by the consultant to participate in this learning exchange will be covered separately by UNESCO Bangkok.