Consultancy for Scoping Study on Early Childhood Development

Request for Proposals

Consultancy for Scoping Study on Early Childhood Development (ECD) and Education in the BARMM

BRAC Philippines

Publication Date: 11 September, 2025

Last Date of Submission: Date: 20 September 2025 Time: 17:00 Philippines Standard Time)

Job Location: BARMM

Organisational Background

BRAC is one of the world's largest development organizations, dedicated to empowering people living in poverty. Working across 12 countries in South Asia and Africa, BRAC touches the lives of more than 120 million people worldwide. BRAC takes a holistic approach to alleviating poverty with programs that include microfinance, education, healthcare, food security programs, and more.

Rationale

BRAC Philippines, in partnership with BRAC International, is committed to delivering inclusive

and impactful Early Childhood Development (ECD) and education interventions targeting

vulnerable children in BARMM across three key age groups:

• 0–3 years: Responsive Caregiving and Wellbeing for Children and Parents
• 3–6 years: Quality Early Childhood Education through the Humanitarian Play Lab (HPL)
• 6–10 years: Transition to Primary Education and Continuation in Safe, Child-Friendly

To strengthen programme design, alignment with national priorities, and donor requirements, BRAC Philippines seeks to engage an external consultant (or consulting team) to conduct a scoping study. This will provide a situational analysis, stakeholder mapping, and evidence-informed recommendations to inform scale-up strategies and funding priorities over the next three years.

BRAC Philippines is seeking to engage a qualitative research and learning partner to undertake a comprehensive scoping study on Early Childhood Development (ECD) and Education in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). The study will generate evidence and insights that will inform programme design, strategic positioning, and partnership building for BRAC Philippines and its stakeholders.

Applicants must have an established physical presence in the Philippines and demonstrate proven expertise in conducting research and studies on ECD and education programmes. In addition, experience working with initiatives that intersect with other thematic areas such as health and nutrition, climate change, livelihoods, and gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) is highly desirable.

Objectives of the Assignment

The consultancy aims to:

• Map the current ECD and education landscape in the Philippines, with a focus on BARMM (including data collection, both quantitative (growth rates, enrollment, immunization) and qualitative (perceptions, cultural practices, barriers) data
• Assess alignment with government frameworks (DepEd, ECCD Council, DSWD, MSSD, MBHTE) and integration opportunities.
• Review existing BRAC Philippines interventions across 0–3, 3–6, and 6–10 age groups, identifying strengths, gaps, and scalability potential.
• Review the scope of integration of health, nutrition, WASH and disability inclusion services available in the communities: Map existing health, nutrition, WASH and disability inclusion services offered by partners and governments in the communities to ensure leverage and integration with BRAC's ECD and Education interventions.
• Identify key stakeholders, partnerships, and donors relevant to scaling ECD and education interventions.
• Generate recommendations for programme design, resource mobilisation, and evidence-building to strengthen BRAC's positioning in the Philippines.

Scope of Work

The consultant will:

1. Conduct a desk review of existing literature, national policy documents, donor priorities, and global evidence on ECD and education. Map services, gaps, and opportunities for each age group:
2. 0–3: Responsive parenting, wellbeing (MHPSS, nutrition, health, SEND inclusion).
3. 3–6: Play-based early childhood education, caregiver engagement, educator capacity building, inclusion of children with SEND.
4. 6–10: Transition readiness, child protection, inclusive pedagogy, and safe learning environments.
5. Document government priorities and system linkages, particularly integration opportunities with existing child development workers, health workers, and local government programs.
6. Collect both quantitative (growth rates, enrollment, immunisation) and qualitative (perceptions, cultural practices, barriers, etc.) data.
7. Engage with key informants and stakeholders (government, INGOs/NGOs, communities, donors) to validate findings.
8. Develop a comprehensive scoping report with actionable recommendations, including an indicative 3-year budget framework.

Deliverables

• Inception Report & Partner Onboarding
• Stakeholder Mapping & Interim Findings
• Draft Scoping Report
• Final Scoping Report
• Presentation of Findings

Duration and Location

• Duration
  : 30–40 working days over a 3-month period (October – December 2025).
• Location
  : Primarily focus on BARMM.

Consultant Qualifications

• Advanced degree in Education, Early Childhood Development, Social Sciences, or related field.
• Minimum 5 years of relevant experience in ECD, education policy, programme design, or research in LMICs, preferably in Southeast Asia.
• Demonstrated individual expertise in qualitative and mixed-methods research.
• Familiarity with Philippine education and child protection systems, including BARMM governance.
• Strong track record in producing high-quality reports and actionable recommendations for INGOs or donors.
• Excellent facilitation, communication, and stakeholder engagement skills.

The listed qualifications are intended for individual consultants. However, in cases where applicants are applying as a team, it is not required that each member meet all the qualifications individually. Rather, the qualifications should be collectively fulfilled across the team members to ensure that the team as a whole possesses the necessary expertise and competencies.

How to Apply

Interested candidates should submit a single compressed pdf that includes the following:

• Short background and information detailing why you are a good fit for this engagement, and contact details of two (2) professional references using this form.
• Financial Proposal (breakdown of consultancy fees and expenses). Please use this format
• Brief 2-page CV(s) of consultant(s) highlighting relevant experience.
• Sample of similar work (At least two sample reports of similar studies conducted). Please include the study protocols, consent forms, and data collection instruments.

Applications should be submitted to

with the subject line:

"Consultancy – Scoping Study on ECD and Education, BRAC Philippines
".

Contact for More Information

Eligible interested consultants may obtain further information at the address below from 09:00 – 16:00 PST, Monday to Friday via
email
at

You may check the detailed terms of reference from this link.

The deadline for submitting Expressions of Interest is on
September 20, 2025 at 1700, Philippines Standard Time
.