Formative Evaluation of Role and Engagement of Business Sector to Respect and Promote Child Rights

1. INTRODUCTION

This Terms of Reference (ToR) document outlines the purpose and scope of a forward-looking and learning-oriented Formative Evaluation of Role and Engagement of Business Sector to Respect and Promote of Child Rights. The evaluation is expected to help focus UNICEF’s Malaysia Country Office strategies to engaging business as duty bearers and partners for child rights by examining the partnerships and interventions that are in place with the business sector. It will look at the quality of the non-financial corporate social responsibility and corporate resource mobilisation[1] programming, the results achieved, and seek to explain why and how these results occurred. This formative evaluation will contribute to inform the strategic direction of the role and engagement of business to respect and promote child rights, in the remaining part of the 2016-2020 UNICEF Country Programme in Malaysia, and potential future scenarios for the new UNICEF Malaysia Country Programme (2021-2025).

With this backdrop, these ToR present methodological options and operational modalities for an institutional contract for a team of two evaluation consultants (one international and one national). This independent evaluation is commissioned by UNICEF Malaysia; hence UNICEF is looking for institutions with deep commitment to, and strong background in, the evaluation of non-financial corporate social responsibility and corporate resource mobilisation, tentatively planned from December 2018 to March 2019.

1. BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE

2.1 COUNTRY CONTEXT

Malaysia is a high middle-income country seeking to become a high-income country. The Government’s national development plan, the 11th Malaysia Plan, is heavily focused on achieving further economic growth. It highlights the importance of the business sector in promoting economic growth, while enhancing the delivery of social services, particularly for the ‘bottom 40’. It also encourages the business sector to implement corporate social responsibility programmes and identifies national commitments towards children, that are a vital component of Malaysia society. In 2015, Malaysia has also embraced the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Agenda 2030, as part of its commitment for a more inclusive society – leaving ‘no one behind’.