Terms of Reference for a Mid-Term Comparative Review of The Queen s Young Leaders Awards Background The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust, in partnership with Comic Relief and The Royal Commonwealth Society, established The Queen s Young Leaders Programme in honour of Her Majesty The Queen s 60 years of service to the Commonwealth. The Queen s Young Leaders Programme is discovering, supporting and celebrating young people from across the Commonwealth, to help them transform their lives and the lives of others around them. From 2015 to 2018, each year 60 exceptional young people aged 18-29 from all over the Commonwealth will receive a Queen s Young Leaders Award to recognise the lead they are taking in their communities to change lives. Award winners receive training and mentoring from the University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education, networking opportunities, and the chance to participate in a unique residential programme in the UK where they will receive their Award from Her Majesty The Queen. Each year a cohort of highly commended runners-up will be chosen, who will engage in all of the elements of the Award apart from the residential programme in the UK. Together, the Award Winners and the highly commended runners-up make up the Queen s Young Leaders. During the second year of the implementation of the Awards, Comic Relief (on behalf of the Queen s Young Leaders Programme) is looking to commission an independent mid-term comparative review to be covered by a contract up to a value of GBP 60,000. Scope of the review The main objectives of the mid-term review are: i. To address a list of key learning questions and produce actionable recommendations to improve the Awards programme, both in the immediate and long-term ii. To identify and tell stories of change representing the impact of the Awards in young people s lives and their communities iii. To generate learning that will be shared with the broader youth sector beyond the duration of the programme 1
Learning questions and actionable recommendations A list of learning questions have been drafted for each focus area that we expect the contracted party to address with the mid-term review. The questions are covering the following three focus areas: 1. Design and delivery How can the Queen s Young Leaders Programme partners improve the design and the delivery of the Awards? 2. The experience What is it like for the Queen s Young Leaders to be part of the programme? 3. The impact How is the Award changing the lives of the Queen s Young Leaders and the lives of people in their communities? As mentioned earlier in this document, a key deliverable of the review is to produce actionable recommendations that can be implemented to improve the remaining two years of the Awards. Wider lessons about Awards schemes that could be shared across the Commonwealth would also be welcome. This will be achieved as follows: - Producing of a final written report with a specific sections with actionable recommendations and an outward facing and accessibly written briefing summary; - Designing and facilitating a participatory process with the Queen s Young Leaders Programme Partners and the Institute of Continuing Education of the University of Cambridge to present, validate and integrate findings and recommendations of the review; - Designing and delivering the launch of the review during one or a series of dissemination events in 2017. We expect the actionable recommendations to be generated at two different levels programme and youth sector level. Programme level recommendations will be generated to improve the implementation of the Queen s Young Leaders Programme. Recommendations at this level are required both for immediate action i.e. informing the planning and delivering of the 2017 Awards and longer term action i.e. actionable during the course of 2017 and informing planning and delivery of the 2018 Awards. Recommendations at this level will be mainly contained in the written report and addressed during the internal validation process. Youth sector level recommendations will be relevant to the broader youth sector and generate learning that will be useful and scalable beyond the duration of the Programme and the stakeholders participating in the study. At this level, recommendations will be also generated to inform best practices among the organisations and programmes providing their time to support the comparative element of the review. 2
Recommendations at this level will be enclosed in the written report and summary briefing and will be important element of the launch event(s) N.B. Annex 2 is listing the proposed learning questions and for each of them what type of recommendations are expected to be formulated. We encourage input from the contracted party, and we will ask them to review the proposed questions and to work with the programme partners to assess feasibility and relevance. The comparative element of the review The Queen s Young Leaders Programme has also identified and started to contact organisations and / or programmes that support young people. Those organisations have been included on the basis of the following main criteria: - Their main objectives including supporting to young people to express their full potential (essential) - They use capacity development approaches to support technical and soft skills of young people (essential) - They have a leadership component, and view young people as catalysts of change in their society (desirable) These programmes will be a third source of comparative analysis to identify and share best practices in the sector that the Queen s Young Leader Programme could also implement to improve the Awards. There is a strong commitment from Comic Relief that the review will be also relevant for these stakeholders and the youth sector overall. The contracted party will be expected to take over the relationship and follow up with these organisations / programmes and involve them in the review. Data collection and methodology In order to achieve the review s objectives, the contracted party will be expected to use a combination of newly generated information to be collected and analysed on past and current Young Leaders (primary data) and existing information generated during the implementation of the programme (secondary data). Primary data generation and analysis could include the following sources: - Direct follow-up with at least 20% from the 2015 cohort of Award Winners and Commended Runners up at least 24 individuals - In addition the review should draw upon information collected among current Awards Winners and highly commended runners-up from the 2016 cohort - Access to organisations / programmes expressing their availability to participate in the comparative component of the review 3
- Access to Queen s Young Leaders Programme staff to act as key informants and / or participate in reflective and participatory sessions - Access to Institute of Continuing Education at the University of Cambridge staff to act as key informants and / or participate in reflective and participatory sessions Secondary data generation and analysis could include the following sources: - Original anonymised applications forms submitted by the Awards Winners and highly commended runners-up from 2015 and 2016 - A baseline, mid-term and end line survey that has been already administered to Awards Winners and Highly Commended Runners-Up from 2015 - Content produced by the Awards Winners and Highly Commended Runners-Up while participating in the online course, the mentoring support and during the UK residential week e.g. written tasks and assignments; videos; tests; reflective essays; etc. - Access to online platforms and tools used by the Programme where appropriate - Access to tools and working documents used for the implementation of the Awards - Access to documents, tools and platforms that the programmes / organisations participating to the comparative component of the review may make available to the contracted party We are inviting bidders to propose a methodology to carry out the review. Such methodologies include but are not limited to theory-based qualitative and quantitative designs; case-based designs; participatory methodologies; synthesis studies; statistical designs, and mixed methodologies. It will be also important that the selected methodologies will facilitate the identification and telling of stories of change among the young leaders to inspire other young people in the Commonwealth and beyond. In selecting their proposed methodology, individuals or teams responding to this terms of reference may find useful to refer to the report co-funded by Big Lottery Fund, Bond, Comic Relief and the Department for International Development Impact Evaluation A Guide for Commissioners and Managers (Stern, E. 2015). Specifications for shortlisting and selection Proposals will be shortlisted based on the following specifications: - Suitability of the proposed approach, budget allocation and individuals / team experience to meet the expected deliverables (detailed table with deliverables in annex 1 to this document); - Experience in research and / or evaluation of programmes of capacity development programmes, ideally with a focus on the youth sector and including familiarity with the use of mixed methodologies; - Ability to clearly communicate accessible findings and recommendations to a variety of audiences and stakeholders 4
- Experience in facilitating group learning and participatory processes to validate and integrate research findings into actions; - Experience in designing and implementing strategies for dissemination of findings; - Extent to which the Queen s Young Leaders will be put in the centre of the review and dissemination strategy, (i.e. going beyond them being only key informants and object of study of the review) Responding to this request for proposals If you are interested in applying for this work, please provide a full response to this document (no longer than 2500 words + annexes) no later than Tuesday the 28 th of June COP and include: In the main document Based on the given specifications and the deliverables in annex 1, why you are best placed to carry out the work, Your proposed approach and methodology to review and address learning questions, produce actionable recommendations Your proposed approach and methodology to implement the comparative analysis Your proposed approach to facilitate a participatory process to validate and integrate findings with Queen s Young Leaders partners How you will put the Queen s Young Leaders at the centre of the review Team composition, including roles and responsibilities In the Annexes CVs of relevant team members Detailed budget (up to GBP 60,000) Any other relevant information Your submission should be sent to Antonio Capillo (a.capillo@comicrelief.com) and Fabienne Katy Camm (f.camm@comicrelief.com) by Monday, 27 th June. If your proposal is shortlisted, we will ask you to be available in person or Skype / phone interview in the period between the 6 th and the 17 th of July. 5
Annex 1 Summary of key deliverables and timeline In the table below, we are listing a summary of the key deliverables the contracted party will be expected to complete over the course of the review. Deliverables Timeline Notes- Participating in a half-day inception meeting with Comic Relief and other relevant Queen s Young Leaders Programme partners July 2016 This meeting will primarily have the objective to get the team to meet in person with us to set up systems and processes over the life of the review Producing an inception report, that could be based on the submitted proposal with necessary additions July/August 2016 The report will be expected to include the final reviewed list of learning questions Data collection and analysis Production and internal presentation of first draft of written report Design and facilitation of participatory process to present, validate and integrate findings of the review July-September 2016 September 2016 October 2016 The inception report will need final sign off from Comic Relief (on behalf of the Queen s Young Leaders Programme partners). To include primary and secondary data collection and analysis and implementation of comparative analysis of the review. Data collection and analysis will also be required to allow for the identification of emblematic stories of change among the young leaders that will be included in the final report; the summary briefing and the launch of the review. The contracted party will be required to propose a template for the report Considering time and resources constraints, this is required to take no more than one day of participants time The final proposed process will require final sign-off from Comic Relief (on behalf of the Queen s Young Leaders Programme partners) Presentation of final version of written report, November 2016 The final version of the report will be also adapted based on the outcomes of the participatory validation process The report will require final signoff from Comic Relief (on behalf of the Queen s Young Leaders Programme partners) 6
Production of written briefing summary for external dissemination Designing the strategy and leading the implementation for the launch of the mid-term comparative review December 2016- January 2017 January-July 2017 This document is expected to be an accessible and sector relevant version of the report The final version of the summary briefing will require final sign-off from Comic Relief (on behalf of the Queen s Young Leaders Programme partners) In line with comic Relief MEL strategy, the contracted party will be expected to explore existing relevant platforms and communities of practice for dissemination rather than creating new ones. The launch and dissemination strategy will require final sign off from Comic Relief (on behalf of the Queen s Young Leaders Programme partners) Annex 2 Learning questions; comparative questions; expected recommendations Focus area 1 Design and delivery Learning questions in this area cover ways of working of the Queen s Young Leaders Programme partners; access to and engagement with online platforms; relevance of the Award to Young Leaders needs. Learning questions Comparative dimension of the questions Recommendations are expected on How are the Queen s Young Leaders Programme partners working together to design and deliver the Awards? How do other organisations work in partnership when delivering different elements of one programme? How to work and efficiently deliver the Award working in partnership. Are the online platforms provided by the Award accessible to and engaging for the Young Leaders participating in the Awards? How do other organisations ensure access to and facilitate long-term engagement in their online platforms / spaces? How to make our online learning and networking platforms more accessible and engaging for all Young Leaders. Is the Award designed to meet the specific background, interests and needs of the selected Young Leaders? Focus area 2 The experience How do other programmes adapt their offer to participants with different backgrounds, interests and needs? How to adapt the design of the online course and mentoring support to make it more relevant to the Young Leaders. Learning questions in this area cover the experience of the highly commended runners-up; potential unintended effects of high profiling of the initiative on Queen s Young Leaders experience; perceived and actual inclusivity of the Award. Learning questions Comparative dimension of the questions 7 Recommendations are expected on
Do the Highly Commended Runners-Up feel an integrated and important part of the Programme? How do other programmes deal with participants receiving different levels/tiers of support and keep high levels of engagement across the groups? How to engage current and future Highly Commended Runners-Up more effectively in the programme. Could the high profile of the Award result in the Young Leaders unwillingly feeling under the spot light or uncomfortable with this level of recognition? Could social, demographic and group s dynamics make some individuals or groups feel isolated or excluded? Focus area 3 The impact How do other programmes support their participants to cope with high levels of public visibility? How do other programmes improve the experience of participants that are part of social or demographic marginalised groups? How to mitigate the potential negative effects of unwanted popularity or imposter syndrome. How to ensure that we are aware inclusive and responsive to sociodemographic dynamics; how to ensure that individuals from marginalised groups are encouraged to apply to become Queen s Young Leaders. Learning questions in this area cover the capacity development element of the Award; the impact of the Award on developing and maintaining Young Leaders networks; the impact the Award having on the Young Leaders communities. Learning questions What impact is the capacity development element of the Award having on Young Leaders soft and technical skills? What impact is the Award having on young leaders personal connections and professional networks? What is the added value of the Award in getting the young leaders to bring about positive change in their own communities? Comparative dimension of the questions What experience do other programmes have delivering remote capacity development for young people and what are successful approaches? How are other programmes supporting the development and facilitating the continuation of networks in the long term? How are other programmes supporting young people to change their own context Recommendations are expected on Suggested that are necessary to amplify the impact of the Award on Young Leader s soft and technical skills How better enable the Young Leaders to make connections between them and expand their networks beyond the duration of their participation in the Award. How does this inform legacy planning. Ways in which the Award can support Young Leaders to influence positive change in their communities 8