Consultancy: End Term Evaluation PROJECT BEACON – Regional Advocacy for EU Child Online Safety Regulation

Estimated at 40 days of work, September – December 2024

ORGANISATIONAL CONTEXT

ECPAT International is a global network of organisations working together for the elimination of the sexual exploitation of children (SEC) in all its manifestations i.e., exploitation of children in prostitution, online child sexual exploitation, sale and trafficking of children for sexual purposes, sexual exploitation of children in travel and tourism and some forms of child, early and forced marriage. The ECPAT Network currently consists of 126 members working at national and local levels in 105 countries.

The ECPAT International Secretariat coordinates the global work of the organisation and is based in Bangkok, Thailand. The Secretariat designs and implements global and regional level programmes, and undertakes programming, advocacy and research and facilitates a range of network initiatives.

CONSULTANCY CONTEXT

Project Beacon is an ongoing initiative led by the Child Protection and Technology programme of ECPAT International in close cooperation with the Head of Advocacy. It aims to influence the adoption of new and improved policies and legislation that will ensure child protection is actively considered and remains possible in digital environments.

Since 2020, the team has been working closely on developments in relation to key legislative processes, with a focus on those specific to the sexual exploitation and abuse of children in digital environments. This evaluation relates to the second phase of Project Beacon under a 3-year grant which began in 2022.

In addition to advocacy at the EU level in Brussels, Project Beacon also involves cooperation with ECPAT members in EU Member States on lobbying, advocacy and public awareness activities. This includes building on and translating the overarching messages of Project Beacon for national audiences in EU Member States, and conducting targeted education, advocacy and lobbying with national MEPs from Member States, as well as national governments.

Ensuring policies and strategies adopted at national levels fully integrate adequate provisions and priorities for comprehensive protection of all children from sexual exploitation, including in relation to the facilitating role of technologies and digital services, is critical and requires coordinated advocacy at local, national and regional levels.

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the endline evaluation are to assess the relevance, efficiency and effectiveness of approaches employed by Project Beacon, comprised of the ECLAG group, ECPAT members in the European Union, and support of the secretariat, to achieve its goals of: 1) influencing the adoption of new or improved legislation and policy related to child protection within digital environments at the EU-wide level, and 2) sensitising the public within EU member states to support adoption of EU policy and strategies at the national level.

Specifically, the evaluation should assess strategies employed to achieve the goals of Project Beacon, and provide learnings and recommendations for future expansion and scale up, related to:

Policy Change

• Progress made towards adoption of new or improved policy changes and legislative improvements at the EU and national levels
• Changes in support for the policy, by policymakers, institutions and the public
• Key learnings on what approaches and methods were most effective to achieve policy change, or changes in support, if there was any progress towards this. This may include: increasing focus on the Project Beacon agenda across public and private institutions, changing public awareness, attitudes, and opinions, shifting the discourse to define key terms and communicate the importance of the topic

Civil Society Capacity

• Civil society capacity to identify the types of stakeholders involved, their roles, and to develop effective engagement and coordination mechanisms
• Civil society capacity to lead effective advocacy approaches to achieve Project Beacon goals, such as developing effective strategies and messaging
• The effectiveness and learnings from advocacy approaches and tactics used in the context of a shrinking civil society space and hostile environment with competing ‘rights’

Stakeholders and Partnership

• Which stakeholders were engaged (or should have been engaged) in progressing the project goals, what roles they played in effecting change, how they were coordinated and worked together, and how ECPAT International can target and mobilise the most relevant and impactful stakeholders going forward
• Partnership approaches employed by civil society (ECPAT International and its members in the EU) to facilitate effective engagement across geographies and sectors
• Coordination, collaboration, and knowledge exchange between CSOs engaged in advocacy at the national and international levels
• Broader enhancement of CSO participation in relevant policy dialogues and relationships with public and private stakeholders related to this topic
• Changes in political or public perceptions of the legitimacy of CSOs

Advocacy and Movement Building

• The adequacy of the strategies employed to coordinate CSO efforts to exchange knowledge and resources, coordinate advocacy, action and messaging, and their role in supporting initiatives at the national level, and collective action and coalition building at the EU level.
• The approach of using complementary national and regional advocacy to shift demand at the EU and member state levels

Multi-Country Approach

• Adaptations made to tailor advocacy messaging, implementation, engagement, and action to various national contexts, considering differences in the status of existing legislation and policy, as well as cultures, norms, and political climate.
• Expertise, interest, and action taken by national CSOs to support efforts towards EU level and national level objectives.

ECPAT International’s role

• The role of the ECPAT International Secretariat in enabling and advancing progress towards Project Beacon objectives.

The design, methodology, findings and recommendations from this evaluation will be used to:

• Understand what the expected and unexpected achievements and challenges of Project Beacon have been
• Understand what approaches were effective at achieving progress, and what the enabling factors and barriers to this have been in each context
• Inform the continuation, scale up and/or transition of Project Beacon advocacy efforts at the EU and national levels
• Inform organisational strategy on creating, implementing and evaluating advocacy and movement building efforts to increase the adoption of effective child protection legislation globally
• Inform organisational strategy on implementing and evaluating public engagement and sensitisation to prevent online child sexual exploitation.

DELIVERABLES

• Inception Report: Outline of the evaluation design, methodology, and work plan.
• Interim Reflection Workshop: Discussion and validation of preliminary findings and insights from the data collection phase
• Final Report: Comprehensive evaluation report with findings, conclusions, recommendations, and a roadmap for future initiatives.
• Case studies: Two case studies documenting examples of effective approaches to sensitise the public and shift policy at the national level, this may include increasing public interest and scrutiny, building credibility, partnership and coordination of key stakeholders, among others.
• Final Presentation: Summary of key findings and recommendations

PROPOSED METHODOLOGY

We anticipate the evaluator(s) employing a range of tools and methods related to developmental and process evaluations that are appropriate for evaluating advocacy initiatives. The evaluator(s) may propose the use of a range of methods such as stakeholder analysis, social network analysis, process evaluation, contribution analysis, outcome harvesting.

KEY QUESTIONS TO ORIENTATE ASSIGNMENT

Below are examples of learning questions to guide the assessment:

Relevance:

• Are the messages and actions of Project Beacon in line with EU and national policies and priorities around prevention of digitally facilitated child sexual exploitation?
• To what extent were the approaches used the most relevant to shift policy at the EU level and influence public opinion at the national level?
• To what extent did the Beacon project target the most relevant stakeholders, employ the most effective engagement strategies and sensitise the broader public to contribute to progress towards the project goals?

Effectiveness:

• To what extent is Project Beacon achieving its objectives? What anticipated interim outcomes indicate this and were there any unanticipated outcomes?
• How has Project Beacon responded to the changing landscape of policy priorities and space for civil society within the EU?
• To what extent has Project Beacon strengthened capacity and/or coordination mechanisms among CSOs to exchange knowledge and resources, adapt their approach, and take individual and collective action to adopt new or improved legislation at the EU and national levels?

Efficiency:

• Are the CSOs and relevant stakeholders adequately resourced to achieve the project objectives?
• Is Project Beacon resourced, managed and coordinated in an appropriate way to support locally led advocacy and achieve its objectives, given possible alternatives?
• To what extent do simultaneous regional and national advocacy movements complement each other?

Cross-cutting issues:

• To what extent does Project Beacon mainstream and address intersectional issues of gender equality and social inclusion?
• To what extent does Project Beacon succeed in centring the voices of children within its strategies and approaches?
• To what extent might the coordination and coalition building within Project Beacon be sustained to support advocacy on online child sexual exploitation and broader advocacy initiatives following withdrawal of external support?

MANAGEMENT AND REPORTING ARRANGEMENTS

The evaluator(s) will report to the Global Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Lead and the Regional Coordinator for the European Union but will work in close collaboration with other ECPAT Secretariat colleagues, including the Head of Child Protection and Technology, the Project Beacon team and the Research, Advocacy, Campaign and Communications team.

TIMELINE

This consultancy would take place between 1 September – 20 December 2024 with an estimate approx. 40 working days.

CONSULTANT PROFILE

The evaluator(s) should have expertise in advocacy, policy analysis, child protection, and multi-country and/or EU-level program evaluations. Experience in process evaluations and knowledge of the legislative context of online child safety in different countries is highly desirable. Fluency and experience of report writing and policy analysis in English is essential, and the ability to work in additional EU languages would be highly considered.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• This is a home-based position using their own equipment. The consultant(s) should be available for online calls including with different time zones in particular with Thailand where ECPAT International Secretariat is based.
• The Consultant is expected to act at all times in a manner consistent with the values of ECPAT International and in compliance with the organisation’s policies and procedures including Safeguarding Policies and the Code of Conduct.

OUR COMMITMENTS

As ECPAT’s International Secretariat we recognise that our strength lies in the diversity of the people who make up our global network, staff, volunteers and consultants. We are committed to being an inclusive workplace where people of all backgrounds and cultures can strive and be themselves. This means we will challenge ourselves to do better and to continue learning, to create and maintain a working environment steeped in respect, tolerance, safety, and where all parties are valued equally.