UNICEF Evaluation Management Response Plan

Transcription

1 UNICEF Evaluation Management Response Plan Evaluation title: Protecting children from violence : a comprehensive evaluation of UNICEF strategies and programme performance Year: 2016 Office and person in charge for management response: Division, Ted Chaiban, Director Overall response to the evaluation: Protecting children from violence: a comprehensive evaluation of UNICEF strategies and programme performance is the first comprehensive evaluation of the work of UNICEF to protect children from violence. The Division was actively engaged in the implementation of the evaluation, in particular as principal members of the Evaluation Advisory Group. The evaluation assesses the performance of UNICEF during the period in addressing interpersonal violence against children (VAC), with a focus on systems strengthening, influencing social-norms change and data and knowledge management. In addition, it assesses the advocacy and leadership of UNICEF on VAC and the integration of gender equality and equity in VAC programming. It also gauges the relevance of UNICEF strategies for addressing VAC, the efficiency of the use of resources and the sustainability of results. The evaluation did not delve into violence in humanitarian contexts, as that issue was covered in the evaluation on child protection in emergencies, completed in The evaluation report sheds important light on progress and achievements as well as on areas in which work needs to be accelerated and in which stronger investments are needed. The global objectives of VAC were found to be coherent and aligned within country contexts, but further work is required for greater multisectoral linkages and the measurement of progress. The report noted that the strongest area of growth and progress was in the realm of advocacy and partnership-building, areas in which UNICEF was recognized as a leader on VAC-related issues. The review also noted the increased institutional capacity for developing and implementing interventions, including system strengthening, to prevent and respond to VAC, but noted that results have been limited in terms of coverage and scale. interventions to shift social norms and behaviours relating to VAC, including corporal punishment and sexual violence, need to be further advanced. There was progress during the evaluation period on data collection and use, but monitoring, research, evaluation and the use of data still need to be significantly strengthened. Planned use of evaluation: The evaluation comes at timely juncture for the child protection sector, in particular in terms of addressing VAC. The inclusion of multiple targets relating to VAC in the Sustainable Development Goals has helped to marshal global attention to the issue. The evaluation s conclusions and recommendations will contribute to shaping the UNICEF global agenda for ending VAC and, in particular, for supporting Governments and other partners in their efforts to achieve the violence-related targets under target 16.2 of the Sustainable Development Goals: end abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children. These efforts will also contribute to results against other Goals and targets, notably 4.a, on violence in schools, 5.2, on violence against women and girls, and 5.3, on ending such harmful practices as child marriage and female genital mutilation, which are also associated with violence, as well as 16.1, which concerns reducing all forms of violence and related deaths. At the country level, the evaluation can help to inform country-level programme development regarding the addressing of VAC. The evaluation findings will also inform the development of guidance on and advocacy for the optimal strategies for addressing VAC, and the development of the next strategic plan. Overall, the evaluation report provides a welcome opportunity to build a comprehensive, coordinated and accelerated response to VAC, a universal challenge facing the global community. Evaluation recommendation 1: Revision of the Strategy and/or midterm review of the Strategic Plan should make VAC an organization-wide multisectoral priority, with strong involvement at the regional level, coordinated by the Division at headquarters. Review efforts should emphasize (a) the development of an overarching theory of change for addressing VAC and (b) agreement on core indicators for measuring VAC prevention and response actions. Management response: (agree, partially agree, disagree): agree 1

2 Actions planned Responsible office/person Expected completion date Implementation stage: Cancelled Actions taken Supporting documents Use the processes and mechanisms of the Strategic Plan to build on existing efforts to address VAC by documenting a theory of change that will inform a multisectoral response, through social protection, education, health and other systems, and develop core indicators to measure progress. Director, Division, and Division, with support from other Division sections, regional offices, Office of Emergency s, Evaluation Office and Division of Data, Division Research and Policy (Office of Research - Innocenti and Data and Analytics Section) 2016 Evaluation recommendation 2: In 2016, develop and launch a multisectoral road map towards reducing VAC within a particular time frame. Implementation of this recommendation should include: Focusing on institution and capacity strengthening, down to the service provision level Increasing the financial and human resources of UNICEF to achieve outcomes on VAC Addressing gaps in strategies to ensure that all children, especially children with specific vulnerabilities to VAC, receive the support they need 2

3 Translating, at the regional level, the road map towards reducing VAC to regional road maps corresponding to specific needs and contexts Adapting, at the country level, the road map towards national contexts and priorities, while emphasizing evidence-base development and the capacity strengthening of national systems to prevent and respond to VAC Management response: (agree, partially agree, disagree): agree Actions planned Responsible office/person Strengthen multisectoral programming for the prevention of and response to VAC by developing strategies and indicators, aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals, related to addressing VAC across different sectors. Develop country-level road maps for VAC programmes, with interventions focused on Division, with support from other Division sections, regional offices, Evaluation Office, Division of Data, Research and Policy, including Office of Research - Innocenti and Data and Analytics Division of Communication and external partners Division, working Expected completion date 3 rd quarter st quarter Implementation stage: Cancelled Actions taken Multisectoral programme package under development with partners, including core indicators to measure progress on preventing and responding to VAC A cross-sectoral group in the Division has been convened to provide Supporting documents Strategies to end violence against children: a package for preventing and responding to violence against children (draft), in development by multiple agencies, including the World Health Organization (WHO). Strategies to end violence against children: a package for preventing and responding to violence against children (draft), in development by multiple agencies, including WHO. 3

4 capacity development, evidence building, knowledge management, monitoring and results tracking. These will include a gender and equity analysis and the documentation of best practices for managing and tracking multisectoral VAC programmes (matrix management). In selected countries, including those linked to the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children, implement the inter-agency package of strategies and apply the lessons learned more broadly to VAC programming. with selected country offices, regional offices, other Division sections, Evaluation Office, Division of Data, Research and Policy, including Office of Research - Innocenti and Data and Analytics and Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children technical inputs on the draft inter-agency package of strategies to prevent VAC. The group will inform the development of similar mechanisms at the regional and country levels, in collaboration with Division and the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children. Evaluation recommendation 3: Strengthen context-specific advocacy and resource mobilization, including at the regional and global levels on the basis of bolstered evidence and use of data (see recommendation 7) commensurate with higher expectations for UNICEF action in light of Sustainable Development Goal Implementation of this recommendation should include the formulation/revision of regional and global-level advocacy strategies on VAC. It would encompass ensuring that information gaps are systematically addressed and making a business case highlighting the human, social and economic impact of VAC. This may require further research and assessment. Management response: (agree, partially agree, disagree): agree Actions taken Actions taken Actions taken Implementation stage: Not Started Actions taken Supporting documents 4

5 Cancelled Update advocacy strategies on VAC in order to link them to the relevant Sustainable Development Goals and targets. In addition, map existing partnerships to inform the advocacy strategies and to maximize advocacy and policy efforts. Support the establishment of the Global Partnership and Fund to End Violence Against Children as an advocacy and resource mobilization mechanism aimed at bringing Division, with other Division sections, Division of Communication, regional offices, Public Partnership Division, Private Fundraising and Partnerships Division and Division of Data, Research and Policy, including Office of Research - Innocenti and Data and Analytics Section Office of the Executive Director and Director, Division, with support from 3 rd quarter st quarter In 2013, UNICEF launched the #ENDviolence against children initiative at the global, regional and local levels. A draft compendium report of the experience has been developed. The report provides helpful insights for updating advocacy strategies on VAC. In addition, a network of child-focused agencies was formed to contribute to Sustainable Development Goal advocacy relating to VAC; the network provides a platform for taking forward advocacy at the global and regional levels. The Director, Division, is Co-Chair of the Interim Advisory Group of the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children: draft strategy 5

6 evidence-based interventions to scale to advance progress towards Goal Resource mobilization will be focused on new funding sources and, in particular, on attracting more domestic financing. Division, and regional advisers Children (the Global Partnership launches officially in July 2016) To implement the multisectoral programme package, develop a resource mobilization strategy that complements the existing child protection resource mobilization strategy and brings together domestic and other financing and support from partners. Division, with Public Partnership Division, Private Fundraising and Partnerships Division, Division of Data, Research and Policy, including Office of Research - Innocenti and Data and Analytics and regional offices 2016 Evaluation recommendation 4: Accelerate the roll-out of the systems strengthening approach to preventing and responding to VAC. The revamping of systems strengthening must be: Based on a common understanding of VAC Responsive to equity, human rights and gender Well-resourced Accompanied by the consolidation, analysis and sharing of information on VAC situations and programme responses, including multisectoral progress Supplemented by accelerated capacity-building initiatives for staff and partners, insisting on the common understanding of VAC and the systems approach 6

7 Management response: (agree, partially agree, disagree): agree Actions planned Responsible office/person Strengthen systems for preventing and responding to VAC by addressing gaps in social welfare services through the following initiatives: Expected completion date Implementation stage: Cancelled Actions taken Supporting documents 1. Developing a basic training package for the workforce (e.g., social workers) on the prevention of and response to VAC, with modules on: (a) implementing and monitoring prevention programmes; (b) protocols for referrals and care; (c) information management (see also mention under recommendation 7); and (d) model coordination mechanisms between line ministries. 2. Documenting case studies on systemstrengthening work in Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Senegal and the United Republic of Tanzania so as Division, and inter-agency partners, including Global Social Service Workforce Alliance Division 1 st quarter st quarter 2016 Final drafts available Case studies on strengthening child protection systems in Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Senegal and the United Republic of Tanzania, UNICEF,

8 to facilitate the sharing of good practices across different contexts. 3. Undertaking a global thematic evaluation of the work of UNICEF to strengthen child protection systems. Evaluation Office, with support from Division Global thematic evaluation of the work of UNICEF to strengthen child protection systems included in the Integrated Monitoring and Evaluation Framework of the UNICEF Strategic Plan, UNICEF Strategic Plan, 2014-: Integrated Monitoring and Evaluation Framework Develop tools and a common methodology for estimating government expenditures on child protection, with a view to informing advocacy and providing technical assistance for the strengthening of investments in social welfare and allied sectors. Require staff to complete a mandatory training module on the UNICEF policy on protection from sexual exploitation and abuse. Division, and Social Inclusion and Policy sections Division, working with inter-agency partners, Office of Emergency s, Draft manual produced on financial benchmarking for child protection, including research undertaken in Indonesia in 2015 UNICEF has developed a new set of internal alert protocols Draft manual: Financial benchmark for child protection United Nations zero-tolerance policy on sexual exploitation and abuse UNICEF notification alert to senior management: reporting allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse of children by United Nations personnel or by foreign military personnel associated with a United Nations mandate 8

9 Supply Division, Department of Human Resources, Office of the Legal Adviser and Office of Internal Audit and Investigations Evaluation recommendation 5: Renew the focus on preventing violence, including through fostering supportive social norms, addressing harmful social norms, strengthening structural change for equality and equity and reducing drivers at the personal level that may lead to VAC. Implementation of this recommendation should include: More emphasis on structural change that would support prevention, such as challenging gender norms, increasing positive parenting training, supporting local economic development, adopting labour-saving tools and developing programmes to address alcohol and drug abuse by caregivers Increased attention to preventing forms of violence that are not socially sanctioned, such as rape, incest and other serious abuse Greater effort to identify and integrate local supportive social norms in the prevention of and response to VAC Integrating prevention more firmly into the systems approach through collaboration with Governments and civil society organizations to design and implement actions Management response: (agree, partially agree, disagree): agree Actions planned Responsible office/person Provide guidance and lessons learned to country offices on the experience to date in addressing social norms and supporting behaviour change, drawing on work in social-norms change relating to female genital mutilation/cutting, Division, with support from Communication for Development (C4D) Expected completion date 2016 Implementation stage: Cancelled Actions taken Guidance on effective interventions to change harmful social norms and behaviours is being integrated into the multisectoral programme package on VAC, building on lessons learned from Supporting documents Strategies to end violence against children: a package for preventing and responding to violence against children (draft), in development by multiple agencies, including WHO. 9

10 and adapting it to address VAC more broadly. Continue to provide technical support to country offices, in collaboration with regional offices, on the implementation of interventions to address the structural causes of violence against children. Build on initiatives already undertaken, strengthen C4D capacity across UNICEF in order to better address social norms and behaviours that underlie multiple aspects of child well-being, including VAC. This will include: Division, and regional offices. and C4D sections, Division, Learning Team, Division of Data, Research and Policy, and Office of Emergency s 2 nd quarter the United Nations Population Fund- UNICEF Joint on Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting. Guidance on addressing social norms relating to violence against children is under development by the C4D and Child Protection sections. Strengthening C4D in UNICEF for enhanced results for children, Recruiting C4D advisers in all regional offices to provide focused technical support to countries on C4D interventions, including those relating to VAC. Recruitment of C4D staff in all regions is ongoing and expected to be completed by October

11 2. Developing an e- learning course on socialnorms change, in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania, which will include VAC as a topic. 3. Continuing the learning course on C4D with Ohio University to build a critical mass of C4D professionals across sectors and at all levels of the organization. An e-learning course on social norms (in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania) has been recently completed. The UNICEF-Ohio University Learning Course on C4D, held every year, consists of a 40-hour e-learning programme and a twoweek face-to-face workshop. E-learning course on social-norms change: Information on UNICEF-Ohio e-learning course on C4D: 4. Strengthening the quality of C4D interventions in humanitarian contexts by means of technical support to improve C4D strategies and messaging, including on VAC prevention and response. A two-year project (2016-), funded by the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, is under way to improve quality programming and accountability to affected populations in humanitarian contexts; it includes a focus on developing simple, practical strategies and tools for strengthening C4D. Concept note: common platform for communication to strengthen community engagement in humanitarian emergencies Project summary: ensuring quality programming and accountability to affected populations Strengthen the capacity of country office staff and partners to implement and and C4D sections, Workshop on programme communication and Outline of UNICEF EAPRO Workshop on C4D approaches to address VAC 11

12 measure C4D interventions to prevent VAC by means of: 1. Capacity-building workshops and ongoing technical support provided jointly by the Child Protection and C4D sections. The technical support builds on a model, implemented with the East Asia and Pacific Regional Office (EAPRO), that includes: (a) an assessment of country-level C4D and VAC strategies; (b) a technical workshop to assess gaps and make strategic recommendations; and (c) on-demand technical support facilitated in coordination with the regional office. Other resources available to strengthen country-level capacity include a longterm agreement mechanism, with 27 organizations available to provide support in research, monitoring and evaluation, implementation, capacity- Division, and Division of Communication, with regional offices violence prevention held in EAPRO in November 2015 The West and Central Africa (WCAR) and Eastern and Southern Africa (ESAR) regions have regional frameworks on C4D, which include a focus on VAC and will form the basis of technical support to country offices over the next three years. The Latin America and Caribbean Regional Office (LACRO) is also building the capacity of country offices and partners to address gang-related violence in the region. WCAR communication for development (C4D) regional strategic framework ESAR communication for development (C4D) regional strategic framework

13 building and knowledge management. 2. The standardization of research protocols to improve data collection and the analysis of social norms and behaviours that include VAC components and to better measure the effectiveness of interventions, including for excluded children. Work on the standardization of research protocols in the Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States Regional Office (CEE/CIS) and the Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO) is under way. The approach will be shared with Child Protection and C4D Regional Advisers, including in network meetings. Terms of reference for institutional consultancy to conduct a systematic review and assessment of approaches to research and data gathering on knowledge, attitudes and practices related to children with disabilities in the CEE/CIS region Evaluation recommendation 6: Improve the focus on gender and equity approaches and interventions within the overall systems approach, including through child participation in the prevention of and response to VAC and through stronger targeting of boys and children living with disabilities. Implementation of this recommendation should include: Increasing the focus on addressing VAC in different child population groups Increasing attention on the abuse of boys and children with disabilities Considering how to reach children subject to violence across socioeconomic groupings Increasing the participation of children, from the global to the community level, in discussions, decision-making and actions to prevent and respond to VAC Management response: (agree, partially agree, disagree): agree 13

14 Actions planned Include gender and equity analyses as part of the development and roll-out at the country level of the multisectoral programme package. Responsible office/person Gender and Child Protection sections, Division Expected completion date 1 st quarter Implementation stage: Cancelled Actions taken Supporting documents Strategies to end violence against children: a package for preventing and responding to violence against children (draft), in development by multiple agencies, including WHO. The country-level road maps (see also the mention under recommendation 2) will include support to child protection committees and children s clubs as well as to child helplines and other digital platforms linked to feedback loops to protect children and engage them in VAC prevention and response. Document and disseminate good practices on effective strategies for the inclusion of children with disabilities and other vulnerable children, such as children affected by HIV, in VAC Division of Communication and C4D and sections, with regional and country offices and other international nongovernmental organization and civil society partners Division, and Disability Section Final draft: #ENDviolence compendium 14

15 programming, data collection and research. Evaluation recommendation 7: Institutionalize child protection systems mapping and assessment exercises and strategically plan for follow-up research and data initiatives. Promote and support the use of practical protocols to aid the measurement of results on VAC, so as to inform future programme planning and provide an evidence base for advocacy and resource mobilization. Implementation of this recommendation should include: Supporting the development of a common definition, highlighting which types of VAC are prioritized, for use in UNICEF research and monitoring Conducting comprehensive VAC surveys (as is done in the United Republic of Tanzania) or similar analyses of the various types of VAC and their drivers in different national settings Encouraging the consistent adoption of UNICEF ethical protocols. Strengthening national VAC monitoring and evaluation systems Supporting capacity-building with regard to child protection evidence generation and use Using information to feed back into and improve systems functioning by embedding a culture of evaluation in all child protection work Management response: (agree, partially agree, disagree): agree Actions planned Responsible office/person Expected completion date Implementation stage: Cancelled Actions taken Supporting documents 15

16 Accelerate the roll-out of the training of UNICEF staff in planning, monitoring and evaluation related to programmes to prevent and respond to VAC. This will include training in conducting an equity-focused situation analysis aimed at improving the prioritization and targeting of interventions to address VAC in order to reach the most vulnerable. Prepare an in-depth global review of and report on administrative data on child protection, including, but not limited to, civil registration/vital statistics, VAC and juvenile justice. This will inform the strategy and subsequent investments to strengthen national administrative data collection and the development of an information management system. Division with Evaluation Office, Division of Data, Research and Policy, including the Office of Research - Innocenti and Data and Analytics and Field Results Group Data and Analytics Division of Data, Research and Policy, with Child Protection Division 3 rd quarter Dissemination of hard copies and electronic version of resource pack to all country and regional offices and key partners; roll-out plan for resource pack developed in collaboration with Division of Data, Research and Policy, Evaluation Office, Field Results Group and regional offices; draft e-learning module and face-to-face workshop materials developed on resultsbased management Child protection resource pack: how to plan, monitor and evaluate child protection programmes Draft results-based management learning materials (developed by the Field Results Group) 16

17 Develop guidelines on the production of data to support the country-level monitoring of violencerelated targets in the Sustainable Development Goals, including target 16.2, and develop a new survey module on sexual violence to support Governments in monitoring progress towards that target. Data and Analytics Division of Data, Research and Policy 2 nd quarter 2018 Develop an integrated case management information system informed by experiences across a range of contexts, including from such key sectors as health and education. Operationalization of the information system will be part of the planned basic training package aimed at building the capacity of the social welfare sector to address VAC (see also the mention under recommendation 4). Disseminate minimum standards for ethical research, evaluation and Division, and regional and country offices Office of Research - Innocenti, March 2015 and ongoing UNICEF, together with inter-agency partners, has developed a case management application for emergency settings entitled Primero (protection-related information management for emergency response operations). Draft guidelines on information handling and management in child protection information management systems UNICEF procedure for ethical standards in research, evaluation, Primero project brief Primero child protection information management system (CPIMS) user guide (release 1.1.0) Guiding principles on information handling and management in child protection information management systems (draft) UNICEF procedure for ethical standards in research, evaluation, data collection and analysis 17

18 data collection and analysis processes in UNICEF globally. Define an organizationwide research agenda on VAC. Division of Data, Research and Policy Division, with Division of Data, Research and Policy (Office of Research - Innocenti and Data and Analytics) and Evaluation Office 2016 data collection and analysis developed, posted on internal website and disseminated to staff through two webinars held on 26 and 30 March; collection of tools and good practices available on internal website for all staff UNICEF has developed a framework for research that details research priorities for each outcome area of the Strategic Plan. Office of Research - Innocenti SharePoint site on ethical evidence generation: 20Evidence%20Generation.aspx UNICEF Policy on Research (CF/EXD/ ), 19 April 2016 UNICEF framework for research Evaluation recommendation 8: Develop a web-based knowledge networking platform that facilitates information sharing and incorporates the experiences (good practices, lessons learned) of countries on child protection systems strengthening overall with particular attention to VAC. Implementation of this recommendation should include: Involving all key stakeholders from the global to the subnational level, including development agencies, government representatives, civil society groups and other non-state actors Linking the platform to the #ENDviolence campaign site Using the platform to develop greater coherence and clarity on VAC issues and strategies as well as improve the effectiveness and efficiency of actions undertaken Management response: (agree, partially agree, disagree): agree 18

19 Actions planned Develop a child protection global team site (SharePoint) that includes a repository of documents (including webinar recordings), e-discussions and Yammer groups to facilitate informationsharing, including on the prevention of and response to VAC. The team site will also link to the #ENDviolence initiative site. Responsible office/person Division, and Division of Communication Expected completion date 3 rd quarter 2016 Implementation stage: Cancelled Actions taken Supporting documents 19