Evaluation of Accountability to Children​​ Processes

_Save the Children Norway (Redd Barna)is a non-governmental child rights organisation working to realise children's rights in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Our vision is a world in which every child attains the right to survival, development, protection and participation. Our ambition for 2030 is that all children survive, learn and are protected. We aim to reach the most deprived children. We are a membership organization, and we are politically and religiously independent. SC Norway is a member of Save the Children Association which works in almost 100 countries._

Accountability Evaluation on Children’s Feedback and Participation in Humanitarian Responses

Save the Children Norway, in partnership with Save the Children International and Save the Children Denmark, invites expressions of interest from qualified consultants or organizations to lead a global evaluation examining how children’s feedback and participation influence humanitarian decision-making.

Background

In 2025, Save the Children, Plan International, and the Norwegian Refugee Council conducted a joint global study examining accountability to children and young people in humanitarian action. The study identified a significant gap between existing commitments and actual practice. While children and adolescents are increasingly consulted, their perspectives rarely translate into meaningful influence over decisions, programme adjustments, or funding priorities.

As a direct follow-up, Save the Children is initiating a second-phase, learning-focused evaluation to move beyond identifying gaps and toward scrutinizing whether real change is taking place. This evaluation seeks to assess the extent to which findings and recommendations from the initial study have informed concrete action, including improvements in how children’s participation is facilitated and how their feedback is used within humanitarian responses. To capture this progress, the evaluation will utilize a structured, longitudinal approach that assesses change over the course of the response period; this involves recording current practices regarding participation and feedback at the outset and conducting a subsequent review to determine if these practices have improved in quality, inclusiveness, and the consistent application of children’s insights.

By focusing on real-time practice and lived experiences, the evaluation aims to determine whether humanitarian actors—starting with Save the Children—are taking meaningful action to strengthen accountability to children, and whether these efforts result in tangible improvements in how children are heard, respected, and able to influence humanitarian outcomes.

Purpose of the Evaluation

The purpose of this consultancy is to design and implement a mixed-methods evaluation assessing how children’s participation is meaningfully enabled within humanitarian responses, and how their feedback and perspectives are:

• Safely and inclusively expressed through participation processes.

• Actively listened to and recognized as valuable contributions.

• Analyzed and interpreted within humanitarian systems.

• Used to inform decision-making, programme adaptations, and response priorities.

• Communicated back to children in transparent and accountable ways.

The evaluation will place a strong emphasis on children’s participation and feedback inputs integration as an active, ongoing process, examining whether children are not only consulted but are able to influence decisions and experience tangible changes as a result of their engagement. It will also assess how children perceive their participation, including whether they feel listened to, respected, and able to shape humanitarian action.

Specific Objectives

The selected consultant or team will:

• Develop and validate mixed-methods evaluation questions.

• Design and implement the evaluation framework.

• Conduct safe, child-friendly, ethical, and age-appropriate field-level data collection in 2–3 humanitarian contexts (e.g., Colombia, Syria, TBD) to capture authentic perspectives from children and adolescents. (Multilingual proficiency is required).

• Evaluate the inclusiveness, accessibility, and responsiveness of current participation practices to determine if they meet accountability standards.

• Analyze how children’s inputs are processed and utilized, specifically determining whether organizations incorporate this feedback into decision-making and effectively 'close the loop' by reporting back to children on the actions taken in response.

• Determine the extent to which children’s feedback directly drives programmatic adjustments, resource allocation, and organizational strategy.

• Capture children’s own perceptions of participation and how their feedback inputs are used.

• Pinpoint the systemic barriers (e.g., power dynamics, lack of transparency) and enablers (e.g., dedicated focal points, child-friendly formats) that influence the effectiveness of child participation and the impact of children's feedback and inputs.

• Generate actionable country-level and global reports, facilitate stakeholder learning workshops, with recommendations for improvement.

• Ensure findings are translated into accessible dissemination products that are shared back with participating children.

Key Deliverables

• Inception report (including methodology and situational analysis).

• Evidence-based baseline evaluation findings.

• Final recommendations (briefs or notes).

• Learning workshops and Global synthesis report.

• Dissemination of materials (reports, advocacy materials).

_The selected consultant should demonstrate how the evaluation design will build upon and operationalize findings and recommendations from the 2025 joint accountability study._

Required Qualifications and Experience

• Demonstrated experience in humanitarian evaluations, research, or Accountability to Affected People (AAP) work, with child-centered experience.

• Strong expertise in AAP, child participation, child rights, or child-centered programming and child-friendly evaluation methods.

• Proven experience conducting field-based, mixed-method evaluations, including with children and experience in global accountability standards e.g. CHS, IASC, Grand Bargain

• Strong understanding of ethical and safeguarding standards when working with children.

• Experience producing high-quality analytical reports and actionable recommendations.

• Ability to work across multiple stakeholders, including country offices and partners.

• Familiarity with interagency AAP structures, humanitarian coordination mechanisms, and humanitarian response plans with existing network prefered.

• Fluency in English is required both writing and communication.

• Arabic and/or Spanish are highly desirable and may be required depending on the selected country contexts. (Candidates or organizations with working proficiency in both Arabic and Spanish, or other additional languages relevant to Save the Children, are strongly encouraged to apply.)

• Formal association with a well-established research institute or consulting firm is considered an asset to ensuring continuity between project phases.

The consultant(s) must certify in their cover letter that they have a legally registered consultancy and the necessary permits to work in the stated locations.

Important

All applicants must be able to demonstrate full compliance with

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

**C