National Individual Consultancy – Effectiveness of Communities of practice

Purpose of Activity/Assignment:

Through Education and Skills Development programs in North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Serbia, significant efforts have been made to create and strengthen communities of practice among teachers and education professionals. These initiatives aimed to ensure sustainability of interventions, where communities of practice (COP) are observed as a group of individuals, educators in this case, who come together fueled by a common interest and with a motivation to both learn and share with their peers their individual learning journeys.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that organic interactions and knowledge-sharing occur through cross-country platforms, facilitated by the similarity in language and curricula of the four countries subjected to observation. However, this phenomenon of cross-country networks is driven exclusively by non-governmental organizations, and it is unclear to what extent these efforts are valued or recognized by official education authorities. 

Except for some limited evidence deriving from Serbian education authorities, to date, no in-depth impact analysis has been conducted to assist UNICEF Country Offices (COs) and their partners in leveraging communities of practice as a sustainable mechanism for short-term projects, organic dissemination, and peer-to-peer support. 

Having this context in mind, the abovementioned UNICEF COs have come together to generate evidence on effectiveness and prospects of communities of practice in education sector, which will support each country office and potential subregional interventions in designing and supporting effective communities of education professionals. 

The four COs have partnered with UNICEF Innocenti – Global Office of Research and Foresight to design and implement a comprehensive, multi-country research, which will aim at answering the following questions:

1. Motivations and Barriers:

- What drives teachers to join and engage in communities of practice?

- What prevents some teachers from participating in these communities?

2. Interaction and Effectiveness:

- How do teachers interact within communities of practice (online vs. offline)?

- What distinguishes effective, engaging, and accessible communities from less successful ones?

3. Accessibility and Content:

- How accessible are professional communities of practice for teachers?

- What type of content do teachers prefer, and how is this content developed?

4. Quality and Sustainability:

- How is the quality of professional learning communities ensured?

- What strategies ensure the sustainability of these communities?

5. Recognition and Support:

- What criteria do education authorities use to acknowledge teachers' participation in communities of practice as professional development?

- How are communities of practice integrated into pre-service training curricula and in-service professional development rulebooks?

6. Stakeholder Roles and Impact:

- What roles do key stakeholders (education authorities, academia, professional associations) play in building and supporting communities of practice?

- How do teachers perceive the impact of participating in these communities on their professional growth and student motivation?

7. Scalability and Regional Activities:

- What strategies exist to scale the use of communities of practice in the region?

- What subregional activities are relevant and of interest to teachers?

8. Business Case:

- Is there a business case for a national or subregional community of practice that is culturally contextualized and focused on specific thematic areas?

- The research team will be led by Innocenti experts, including a Research Manager and a Multi-method Research Specialist, with close involvement from Education staff members of the four participating Country Offices. National individual consultants, as specified in this Terms of Reference (TOR), will also play a key role in the team. Each country office will hire an individual consultant who will constitute a wider multi-country research team, supporting both subregional and national activities. 

The main responsibilities of the individual consultant include:

- Map national and subregional communities of practice

- Support the development of research tools, including questionnaires for online surveys and protocols for focus groups and key informant interviews 

- Organize and conduct minimum 6 focus groups (online and hybrid)

- Organize and conduct minimum 6 interviews

- Prepare focus groups and interviews transcripts and reports in English

- Support dissemination of large-scale online survey

- Support validation of key findings

- Support development of the country-level brief and subregional report

Work Assignment Overview

Task 1. Communities of practice mapped by 15^th September 2024

Deliverables:
- Online and offline, formal, and informal communities of practice mapped and classified.

- A clear dataset of COPs prepared and submitted.

No of working days: 10 working days

Task 2: Research tools developed, key respondents mapped, by 15^th October 2024

Deliverables:

- Support provided for development and contextualization of quantitative instruments

- Protocols for focus groups and key informant interviews developed and synchronized with other COs

- Focus groups and key informants interview participants mapped and confirmed with the COs.

No of working days: five working days

 

Task 3: Qualitative data collection completed, by 15^th November 2024

Deliverables:

- Minimum 6 focus groups (online and in person) conducted.

- Minimum 6 key informant interviews conducted.

- Focus groups and interviews transcripts submitted.

- Summary reports prepared and submitted (in English).

No of working days: fifteen working days

Task 4: Large-scale online survey disseminated, by 15^th December 2024

Deliverables:

- Formal and informal networks utilized for increased outreach and participation of survey respondents.

No of working days: two working days

Task 5: Key findings validated, research reports completed, by 25^th April 2025

- Contribute to development of final research report and country briefs. 

- Validate key findings and recommendations with key national stakeholders.

No of working days: two working days

Minimum Qualifications required: 

- University Degree in Education, Social Sciences, or related fields: Specialized knowledge in educational theory and qualitative research methodologies.  

- 3-5 years of experience in leading research projects: Proven track record in managing complex research initiatives, including qualitative data collection and analysis. Progressive experience in research, with a focus on social research, education or related fields. 

- Expertise in Educational Policy and Systems: Comprehensive understanding of educational governance, policy frameworks, and systemic dynamics. 

- Strong Analytical Skills: Ability to synthesize qualitative data, identify trends, and generate actionable insights for educational improvement. 

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required: 

- Fluency in English and local language. (Macedonian mandatory, and Albanian preferred) 

- Strong ICT skills, including the use of Microsoft Office package. 

- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, intercultural sensitivity.  

- Strong facilitation skills and ability to work independently and proactively. 

- Excellent attention to detail, organisational skills and discretion with confidential information 

- Demonstrated experience in research design, qualitative data collection, analysis, and report writing. 

- Proficient in analysing complex data sets using qualitative methods. 

- Experience in facilitating consultations with government representatives, CSOs, teachers and/or education staff.

- Excellent written and verbal communication for reports, presentations, and training sessions.

- Skilled in qualitative data analysis software (NVivo, ATLAS.ti, or MAXQDA) considered an asset.

- Previous exposure to areas of work relevant to UNICEF programmes – considered an asset

Application process/documents – please upload your most recent Motivation letter, CV and the financial proposal. Financial proposal should indicate the Gross fee in MCD per deliverable. Please also indicate the travel cost for potential in-country travel.  

Modality of work: This is home based consultancy with an in-country travel for up to six days.

Payment schedule:

Payments will be made upon successful completion of the deliverables and submission of reports and invoices. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold all or a portion of payment if performance is unsatisfactory, if work/outputs is incomplete, not delivered or for failure to meet deadlines.