Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL) Advisor
Terms of Reference
Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL) Advisor
for Nha Nhieu Cot Campaign Phase 2
TUVA Communication is a communication agency dedicated to development projects. We provide services on research, consulting, production and execution of media campaigns and communications activities that address social issues. Pioneering in the application of new technologies such as big data, artificial intelligence (AI) and social listening tools, our mission is to spread meaningful messages of campaigns and projects for a better community.
Since 2020, under Australian Government's Investing in Women (IW) initiative, TUVA has led the creation of Nha Nhieu Cot, a media campaign aiming to raise awareness and change behaviors among young people towards gender equality. The campaign’s method is decoding and analyzing everyday gender-biased practices using prestigious theories, and reframing the trending debates on the media through a progressive gender lens.
Nha Nhieu Cot (NNC), now with over 50,000 followers, has sparked millions of positive discussions within the community, significantly contributing to changing gender stereotypes about family and workplace roles.
2. Project Description: NNC Phase 2 (2024 - 2027)
In Phase 2, NNC aims to contribute to IW’s goal to foster positive shifts in gender norms, enhancing women's economic participation and promoting gender equality in the workplace. Additionally, the campaign aims to foster the creation and dissemination of successful examples developed during its course, generating new discussions on Vietnamese media platforms.
Our main objectives:
- Awareness and attitudes of urban Gen Z and millennial employees on gender equality in the workplace are shifted.
- Urban Gen Z and millennial employees advocating for gender equality in the workplace.
- Tens of thousands of examples of change are encouraged, recognized, documented, and communicated to the public to encourage those who are not yet ready to change.
NNC Phase 2 will be conducted based on the following strategies for the Campaign and the Community of Practices (CoPs) activities, respectively:
Campaign Strategy:
Key theme: Promote gender equality in workplace culture
Targeting urban Gen Z office workers aged 20-30, NNC phase 2 continues to utilize multiple social media platforms to spark conversations and engage youth participation towards a more inclusive and equitable Vietnamese workplace.
Key activities include:
- Producing content in diverse formats such as long-form articles, short posts, picture albums, infographics, comics, and short video series.
- Producing an experimental video will showcase the impact of gender norms on women in the workplace.
- Partnering with other platforms and influencers to create media products themed on workplace gender inequality.
- Holding events at universities to foster discussions on recognizing and addressing gender inequality.
CoPs Strategy:
We target active or motivated communities that lack sufficient resources to sustain and expand their efforts in promoting gender equality. Our goal is to empower them through training and resources, enhancing their capacity to advocate effectively and broaden their impact. NNC will be in charge of fostering those communities, and connecting them with the gender network that has been developing throughout the years in Vietnam.
We focus on three main groups: (1) NNC core followers, (2) NNC's ally groups & community and (3) university clubs/networks
3. Scope of work
We are seeking an advisor to help us a) design the MERL plan for the new phase and b) enhance TUVA’s MERL capacity overall. The advisor will work closely with NNC’s Project Manager and the team to design, set up the implementation of the plan and incorporate it into TUVA’s capacity.
a. MERL Plan for NNC Phase 2
The MERL Advisor is responsible for the development of a Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and learning (MERL) system that facilitates the efficient planning, monitoring, research and evaluation of the project objectives, results, and activities and contributes to internal learning both within TUVA and the CoPs that NNC will support in Phase 2.
This system needs to meet the Campaign and CoPs Strategies described above, compliant with IW’s MERL Manual, and will also be based on the minimum MERL Activities that NNC is required to carry out, detailed below:
|
Activities/Deliverables |
Description |
|
Conduct Mini-SNAPS (Mini - Social Norms, Attitudes and Practices Survey) at baseline, endline survey Submit full dataset to IW |
Mini-SNAPS will be conducted at baseline and endline with at least 300 males and 300 females from the target audiences. The goal is to assess how these individuals transition from adopting progressive attitudes to behaviors and ultimately becoming advocates of gender equality. Mini-SNAPS will help evaluate the impact of campaigns and activities on the target audience. |
|
Conduct On-going Partner Data Collection
|
Ongoing Partner Data Collection aims to gather quantitative and qualitative data to monitor campaign and CoPs activities' progress and effectiveness. Quantitative data is collected via post-event surveys, event registration forms, and/or virtual event logs. Qualitative data, gathered through in-depth interviews (IDIs) with cohort groups of target audience to provide insights on campaign impacts, audience feedback. IDIs with CoP members to document evidence quality, CoP member growth, strategy effectiveness, and personal stories of change. This data will track the transition of early adopters into gender equality advocates, identified through Mini-SNAPS, with annual follow-ups. Media monitoring will track the reach and engagement of advocacy campaigns, including owned, paid, and earned media. The Most Significant Change (MSC) method will collect significant changes in stakeholders' transitions and growth. All collected data will be entered into an IW-designed information system, serving as a tool for tracking campaign and CoP growth and supporting cross-country learning. On-going monitoring data will be used for analysis and reporting in Progress and Completion Reports. |
|
Regularly conduct Quarterly Partner Reflection Submit learning memos to IW |
Quarterly partner reflection involves regular learning discussions facilitated by MERL staff and program team in coordination of the IW team. These sessions will:
Learning memos will summarize key takeaways and provide follow-up actions for adaptive management and strategic planning. |
b. Improving TUVA’s MERL Capacity
The MERL Advisor is also responsible for the assessment of TUVA’s current capacity, and to help the team improve. The end goal of this is to ensure that the team can successfully execute the MERL plan delivered in part a of the Scope of Work.
4. Deliverables
|
Task/Deliverables |
Estimated Days required |
Timeline |
|
Review of IW MERL System, TUVA’s current MERL activities/capacity. |
5 days |
Start in early August 2024 preferably |
|
Develop NNC’s MERL Plan based on project objectives, activities and the MERL Manual from IW |
12 days |
August |
|
Revision of the MERL Plan in coordination with IW |
3 days |
August |
|
Develop a MERL capacity improvement plan for NNC’s team |
5 days |
December |
|
Organize MERL training sessions for NNC’s team |
4 days (including 1 day for preparing training material and 1 day for report) |
December |
|
Mentor TUVA’s team on executing MERL activities |
24 days (4 days/month x 6 month) |
From December 2024 to February 2025 |
We expect the advisor to work with us for at least six months. The timeline can be negotiated with selected applicant, but will be contingent on these following dates:
- Final Approval of Campaign and CoP Plan: End of July 2024
- Mini-SNAP start date: September 2024
- Multi-country learning event: August/September 2024
5. Qualifications
- Minimum 5 years’ experience in designing and implementing MERL systems both quantitative and qualitative in development projects.
- Master’s degree in Development Studies, Public Policy, Social Studies or relevant fields.
- Proven expertise in developing MERL systems, with strong skills in MERL capacity assessment and team building.
- Demonstrated experience in analyzing data from MERL activities to advise on reflective learning documentation and the development and implementation of programs aligned with the Theory of Change.
- Experience in gender equality projects is desirable.
6. Application
Qualified applicants are requested to submit the following documents in English by 11:59 PM, (GMT+7), August 12, 2024.
- Applicant’s CV which includes relevant experience, skills and qualifications
- Applicant’s understanding of the TOR
- Applicant’s proposed daily rate and total value of the contract
All applications should be submitted through email to [email protected] (Ms. Quynh Anh), with the headline: Application - MERL Advisor - Applicant’s Name