Assignment
Monitoring and assessment of take up rates of CSG and other children’s grants
Location South Africa, Pretoria
Duration Five months from signing of contract
Start date Upon signing of contract
End date 31 January 2015
Reporting to Chief of Social Policy
Closing date for proposals 15 August 2014
1.0 BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE
The Child Support Grant (CSG) gives hope to a decent life for the majority of disadvantaged children in South Africa. As at the 31 March 2014 there were 11,125,946 children accessing the Child Support Grant (Statistical Report, SASSA 2014) grant. A recent impact assessment (DSD, 2012) has shown that accessing the grant has contributed to the improvement of the developmental outcomes of beneficiary children such as improved height-for-age scores, reduced likelihood on being hill, ability to complete more grades of schooling and lesser likelihood to be involved in child labour. Nonetheless, about 2.3 million eligible children are still unable to access the CSG, despite a number of interventions by SASSA (SASSA, 2013). Government and stakeholders have been trying to reach the excluded children who are missing this lifetime opportunity and are denied their constitutional right to social assistance.
In 2013 SASSA, in collaboration with UNICEF and the Department of Social Development, undertook a study onPreventing Exclusion from the Child Support Grant: A study of exclusion errors in accessing CSG benefits,which explored the extent of the exclusion of children aged (0 -1) and (12 – 17) years and evaluated existing information and outreach programmes, using the GHS 2011, NIDS2 and SOCPEN Data. The study found that the take-up rates of the CSG remained low for infants and adolescents, particularly orphans; school drop outs; children of teen mothers and/or children living only with their fathers; children with mothers with no schooling or caregivers with tertiary education; children with limited mobility or whose caregivers experience limited mobility; children of refugees and children living on the streets.
SASSA has instituted a number of information and outreach programmes to increase the take-up rates of the Child Support Grant, culminating in a good number of children who were previously not receiving the grant being offered the opportunity to access the grant. This study will build on the findings of the 2013 study and attempt to estimate and explain the changes in take up rates that have occurred after the GHS 2011 and NIDS 2 wave surveys. The study will also establish the take-up rates of other social grants that are targeted at children and the trends thereof.
The study will provide SASSA, government and key stakeholders with the evidence needed to address the challenge of ensuring that children who are eligible but not receiving social grants are reached.
2.0 AIM AND OBJECTIVES
2.1 AIM
The aim of the study will be to monitor and assess the take up of the CSG and other children’s grants, and identify key factors preventing eligible children from accessing them.
2.2 OBJECTIVES
§ To establish the take up rates of the Child Support Grant and other children’s social grants using the 2011 Census data, GHS 2012, the NIDS wave 3 and other datasets as appropriate, determining the numbers and percentages of eligible children who are not receiving the grant by their demographic, geographic, physical, social and economic attributes and that of their households. The geographic disaggregation of exclusion rates should be Regional, district, local area and ward levels with data permitting.
§ To assess the changes in trends of take up of the CSG and other children’s social grants between the Census 2011, GHS 2012, the NIDS Wave 3 and earlier surveys.
§ To ascertain changes in the factors that impede take-up rates of the CSG and other social grants for children.
§ To explore the policy and program implications of the changes in the take up rates of children receiving social grants.
3.0 SCOPE OF WORK
In order to achieve the above objectives, it is envisaged that the following specific tasks will outline the scope of the study.
a) Take-up rates:How many eligible children were not receiving the Child Support Grant and other grants for children in the 2011 Census, GHS 2012, 2012 NIDS 3? What are the characteristics of these children and their households? How many of the children living in poverty were not receiving grant? What is the demographic and spatial distribution of eligible children who are not accessing the grant(s)? The demographic analysis on exclusion should be Regional, district, local area and ward level.
b) Monitoring trends in take-up rates:What are the trends in the take-up of children with different individual and household attributes?
c) Assessment of trends in take-up rates: What are the probable explanations of the change in trends in the take-up of children from different individual and household characteristics over time?
d) Assessing the extent of inclusion errors: What is the level and trend of inclusion of ineligible children in the provision of social grants?
e) Bottleneck analysis:What are the factors that prevent children from accessing the Child Support Grant and other grants? Have there been changes in the factors that prevent children from accessing the Child Support Grant from previous studies, if so to what extent, if not, Why not? What changes have taken place for children from different race, age and gender groups, social and economic attributes, geographical locations etc.?
f) Vulnerable children namely children with disabilities, infected and affected by HIV/Aids, single and double orphans: Determine the extent of their access to child grants and their exclusion factors
g) Policy and programme implications:What are the policy and programme changes that were implemented in recent years to increase take up and reduce exclusion from the CSG and other grants? What were the implications of these changes in the take up rates among eligible children? What programmes/actions should SASSA and or DSD implement to increase the take-up rates of the CSG and other social grants for children? And how should these programmes/actions be monitored?
4.0 Methodology
Upon appointment to undertake the assignment, the service provider will be expected to develop an analytical framework outlining how the research questions outlined in the previous section will be answered. The following methodologies are suggested for conducting the assignment:
4.1 Quantitative analysis
§ Descriptive analysis of national datasets (Census 2011, GHS 2012, NIDS3 and SOCPEN2014) on take-up rates of the CSG and other social grants for children by age group, population group, location and gender. The social and economic status of children will need to be disaggregated by income percentiles to analyse the links between take up rates, poverty and access to social services across socioeconomic strata.
§ Modelling:Apart from cross tabulating the relevant variables, the service provider will also be anticipated to use multivariate statistical methods to explore and explain the interaction between accessing or failing to access social grants and their main drivers. In estimating the take up levels of social grants, there will be a need to devise appropriate ways to correct for possible income under reporting that might affect the estimated level of exclusion or inclusion.
4.2 Qualitative analysis
§ Literature reviewof existing research on the take up rates of the CSG and other social grants.
§ One-on-one interviews with officials in government departments responsible for policies, planning, allocating resources and managing programmes directed at children.
§ Focus group discussionswith eligible beneficiaries who are not accessing or applying for social grants for children.
§ Participatory workshops with SASSA management and stakeholders to review and clarify the findings of the study with people that are involved in the actual delivery of social grants.
5.0 DELIVERABLES AND WORK PLAN
The study and presentation of the final draft of the Report is expected to take place within 4 months. The following outputs are expected:
Deliverable Timeframe Comprehensive inception report, work plan and research instruments Within 21 days of signing contract Progress report Within 40 days of signing of contract Draft report for review Within 90 days of signing of contract Draft final report for review Within 120 days of signing of contract Final report, including:
- Executive summary (One page and four pages summaries)
- Research report on the monitoring and assessment of take up rates of CSG and other children’s grants (approximate length of the report: 80-120 pages in MS Word)
- Presentations to stakeholder’s workshops of preliminary findings and final report Within 140 days of signing of contract
6.0 REPORTING ARRANGEMENTS
The study will be commissioned by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the South African Social Security Agency. The Consultants will work under the supervision of the Chief of Social Policy, UNICEF South Africa, and the General Manager for M&E in SASSA.
A project steering group will be established to provide technical guidance. Members are expected to be drawn from SASSA, DSD, DPME, DOH, DHA and UNICEF.
7.0 REMUNERATION AND PAYMENT SCHEDULE
Level: UN level NOD for the lead consultant(s).
Payment will be structured as follows:
- Detailed inception report, work plan and research instruments20% - Draft report 40% - Presentation and acceptance of final report, with one page and four pages summaries 40%
Payment will be effected upon receipt of an invoice to UNICEF, and upon submission of key deliverables to the satisfaction of the Steering Committee. Any deliverable submitted and not meeting the specifications must be reworked and resubmitted at no additional cost.
The service provider will work on her/his own equipment and use her/his own office resources and materials in the execution of this assignment. The service provider’s fee shall be inclusive of all office administrative costs. Any travel or meetings to be included as part of the assignment should be included in the budget submitted.
8.0 REQUIRED EXPERTISE
The ideal consultant(s) should have strong skills in quantitative analysis of social protection programmes. In addition, they should have a minimum of a Master’s degree in the social sciences and at least 10 years of experience in related assignments.
Excellent writing skills as evidenced by peer reviewed journal articles or book chapters. Candidates should submit at least three (3) copies of related previous publications.
Excellent oral presentation skills as evidenced by conference presentations and workshop facilitation.
9. EVALUATION WEIGHTING
The following criteria will be used to evaluate the bids that will be received:
§ 60% technical content of submitted proposal
§ 40% financial estimate of all the projected costs
§ 100% total
10. SPECIFIC CONDITIONS
The contractor will work on its own computer(s) and use its own office resources and materials in the execution of this assignment. The contractor’s fee shall be inclusive of all office administrative costs.
Payment will be effected upon receipt of an invoice to UNICEF, and upon satisfaction of the key deliverables by UNICEF. Any deliverable submitted and not meeting the specifications must be reworked and resubmitted at no additional cost.
Local travel (outside Gauteng) and airport transfers (where applicable) will be covered in accordance with UNICEF’s rules and tariffs.
Flight costs will be covered at economy class rate as per UNICEF policies.
Any air tickets for travel, will be authorized by and paid for by UNICEF directly, and will be for the attendance of meetings and workshops (if contractor is from outside Gauteng)
The Drafts and Final documents will be property of UNICEF after completion and will be handed to the SASSA with full title rights. The contractor will be acknowledged for the work done in the Drafts Documents as well as the final document, accept if the document is published as official policy of the SASSA, then the discretion to do this lies solely with the SASSA in accordance with its policies and procedures.
The contractor shall at all times keep information obtained during the work assignment confidential and shall not circulate the document or any part there-of, at any stage to any party without the explicit permission of the SASSA and UNICEF.
The contractor shall not publish the document, any part thereof, or any reworked version thereof, without the explicit permission of the SASSA and UNICEF under such conditions that both parties will agree too.
Please also see UNICEF’s Standard Terms and Conditions attached.
11. References
DSD, SASSA and UNICEF. 2011. Child Support Grant Evaluation 2010: Qualitative Research Report. Pretoria: UNICEF South Africa
DSD, SASSA and UNICEF. 2012. The South African Child. Pretoria: UNICEF South Africa
SASSA and UNICEF. 2013. Preventing Exclusion from the Child Support Grant – A study of exclusion errors in accessing CSG Benefits. Pretoria: UNICEF South Africa
SASSA. 2014. Statistical Report 2 of 2014 (Retrieved 14.05.2014 fromhttp://www.sassa.gov.za/index.php/statistical-reports )
How to apply:
Enquiries:
Please direct any enquiries to: safpretoriavacancy@unicef.org
Interested and suitable candidates should ensure that their applications are to be accompanied by the attached completed and signed Personal History form (P11 Form), CV with a clear reference of the individual consultancy assignment being applied for. Applications are to be sent on or before 15 August, 2014 to the following email address: safpretoriavacancy@unicef.org
South African Nationals/candidates who have permanent residence/temporary residence and/or valid work permit for the duration of the contract will be considered.
Only short listed candidates will be contacted and regret emails will only be sent to interviewed candidates.
