International Consultant GBV Data System and Data Management

Hiring Office:

United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Philippines

Consultancy Period

The consultancy will involve 95-person days spread over a duration of 5 months

Purpose of consultancy:

Background and Rationale

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is committed to strengthening evidence-based interventions across sectors, particularly in the areas of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in the Philippines. Through its 9th Country Programme, UNFPA supports the Philippine government in developing policies and programs that effectively prevent and respond to GBV, ensuring a human rights-based, survivor-centered approach that prioritizes the dignity, safety, and well-being of survivors. A critical component of this strategy is the development and enhancement of GBV data systems that uphold ethical standards, ensure confidentiality, and facilitate informed decision-making to improve service delivery.

The Government of the Philippines has reinforced its commitment to addressing GBV through the 2025-2030 National Action Plan to End Violence Against Women (NAP EVAW). A central pillar of this plan is the establishment of robust GBV data systems to generate timely, reliable, and actionable evidence that informs policy decisions, strengthens service delivery, and improves coordination among key stakeholders.

In alignment with national efforts, representatives from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW), as the Chair and Secretariat of the Inter-Agency Council on Violence Against Women and Their Children (IACVAWC), respectively, participated in an Expert Group Meeting (EGM) organized by the UNFPA Asia-Pacific Regional Office in Bangkok, Thailand, in July 2024. The meeting underscored the critical role of both prevalence and administrative data in addressing GBV, highlighting the need for ethical, digitized, and standardized data systems across sectors.

Recognizing the need to strengthen GBV data management, IACVAWC established a Technical Working Group (TWG) on Data Harmonization. This TWG brings together key government agencies responsible for GBV case management, service provision, data reporting, and utilization. To further advance this initiative, UNFPA, in collaboration with DSWD and PCW, convened a National GBV Data Forum during the 2024 18-Day Campaign to End Violence Against Women (VAW). This forum brought together international, national, and local experts to share best practices and emerging strategies for strengthening the Philippine GBV administrative data system. Discussions highlighted persistent challenges, including inconsistencies in definitions, reporting mechanisms, and case documentation, as well as the need to enhance ethical standards in data collection, management, and use, particularly in ensuring survivor confidentiality and informed consent.

Building on the achievements in 2024, the DSWD, in partnership with UNFPA has identified two key priorities for 2025:

Development of Standards and Guidelines for GBV Data Systems and Ethical Data Management

The diverse mandates of government agencies across different sectors in GBV; health, security, legal and justice, and social welfare, result in fragmented data systems with varying standards and protocols, despite serving the same population of GBV survivors.

Led by the IACVAWC-TWG, this document will harmonize minimum requirements and recommended practices in managing data and information systems across all government agencies that come into contact with GBV. 

The national standards and guidelines will serve as a comprehensive primary reference to standardize minimum data sets, definitions and intake forms, and establish a survivor-centered GBV data management and data-sharing protocols. This will ensure a significantly effective and coordinated approach to GBV data collection, analysis and use across all relevant entities, operating at both the national and local levels. Furthermore, it will facilitate the identification of shared objectives and collaborative actions, promoting a survivor-centred approach to the responsible sharing of aggregated data. The standards and guidelines will also enhance the analysis, dissemination and impactful use of GBV data collected from the various sources

Development and operationalization of an interoperable and harmonized VAWC Information Management System (IMS)

NAPEVAW consultations to key stakeholders from different sectors representing different entities at the national and local levels expressed the pressing need to establish a harmonized data system for VAWC cases to implement a coordinated case management that prevents burden and retraumatization for survivors who opt to seek services from different sectors with different systems. It should promote a seamless process of the referral system and service provision from one service to another. 

During discussions at the National GBV Data Forum, it was recognized the government lacks a fully operational, harmonized and standardized data system and guidelines for survivor-centred data management across all sectors of GBV services that extends up to the LGU level.

While DSWD, the lead agency for social welfare which facilitates the case management, currently operates a case management data system, its use is limited to DSWD regional offices and remains largely underutilized. LGUs implement varied systems based on their capacities and resources for their GBV case management, with some still relying on paper-based records or basic spreadsheets. These fragmented and inconsistent approaches may compromise data accuracy, security, and survivor confidentiality, and limit options for data analysis and use.

The VAWC IMS development, which will be led by the DSWD as the chair of the IACVAWC, aims to establish an enhanced interoperable and coordinated data system for all sectors by fully digitizing the GBV case management processes at the national and LGU levels, aligned with the standards and guidelines for GBV data systems and ethical data management that will be developed. This will provide social workers who serve as case managers with a unified tool to establish ethical case management, efficient referral system, facilitate effective and secured data collection and sharing, and ensure a survivor-centered approach that prioritizes confidentiality and ethical data handling across all sectors involved. 

The interoperable system will strengthen inter-agency coordination, improve data-driven decision-making, and enhance GBV service delivery nationwide.

To achieve these objectives, UNFPA seeks to engage an International Consultant (IC) with expertise in harmonized GBV data systems and ethical data collection, use, analysis, sharing and reporting. The consultant will provide technical leadership and strategic guidance in the operationalization of a harmonized VAWC IMS and development of national standards and protocols for GBV data systems and ethical data management in the Philippines. The consultant will work and coordinate closely with an IT Firm which will be contracted by DSWD to provide IT consultancy services for the development of the Information Management System (IMS) for VAWC. The firm’s deliverables involves a comprehensive scope of work, including project planning, requirements analysis, software development, extensive testing, deployment support, and ongoing maintenance of the system. Additionally, the firm is responsible for training DSWD end-users and technical staff, ensuring 24/7 system operation and security, and transferring full ownership and source code of the developed system to the DSWD.

Objective:

The consultant will provide technical expertise on the operationalization, functionality, and ethical design of the harmonized VAWC IMS. This includes ensuring that the system’s features, data fields, and workflows reflect survivor-centered principles and are aligned with ethical standards for GBV data management. The consultant will lead the development of user manuals, operational guides, and training modules for system implementers across sectors within the GBV Service Delivery Network

Additionally, the consultant will develop a comprehensive document outlining the standards and guidelines for the operationalization of GBV data systems and the ethical handling of GBV-related data. This document will serve as a practical reference for all entities, both data users and producers, that manage or interact with GBV data and cases, ensuring alignment with key principles such as safety, confidentiality, and informed consent.

Scope of work:

Development of Standards and Guidelines for Harmonized and Interoperable GBV Data Systems and Ethical Data Management

The consultant will work closely with the IACVAWC-TWG and will lead the development of national standards and guidelines to promote a harmonized, survivor-centered, and ethically sound approach to GBV data management across all relevant sectors. Specific tasks include:

• Lead the development of a comprehensive document outlining the standards and guidelines for GBV data systems and ethical data management, including but not limited to the following:
  
  • Minimum required data sets
  • Common definitions and intake forms
  • Data-sharing and storage protocols
  • Survivor-centered and rights-based principles, including confidentiality and informed consent
• Facilitate consultations and validation workshops with key stakeholders, including the IACVAWC Technical Working Group on Data Harmonization and local government units.
• Ensure that the standards reflect inter-agency coordination and promote consistent practices among data producers and users at both national and local levels.
• Support the rollout of the final standards and protocols through engagement activities, presentations, and knowledge-sharing with relevant stakeholders and implementers across sectors both the national and local level. 
• Review the roadmaps on digitalization and system enhancement developed by TWG member agencies during the 2024 National Data Forum, and assess opportunities to align their systems with survivor-centered GBV data systems and ethical data management standards

Coordinated VAWC Information Management System (IMS)

The consultant will work closely with the DSWD and provide technical expertise and operational guidance throughout the development and rollout of a coordinated VAWC IMS to ensure alignment with ethical standards and functional needs, including but not limited to the following:

• Conduct strategic planning workshop with key personnel from DSWD and UNFPA to build shared understanding of the system’s objectives, scope, and data protection requirements.
• Develop an implementation plan for a harmonized VAWC IMS in alignment with the project plan to be submitted by the IT Firm.
• Provide continuous technical guidance to the IT Firm during system development, ensuring that features, workflows, and data fields are survivor-centered and aligned with GBV ethical data standards.
• Lead the development of a Manual of Operations that clearly outlines system functionalities, roles and responsibilities of users across sectors, data flows, and protocols for use.
• Design and develop training modules tailored to system implementers within the GBV Service Delivery Network, covering social welfare, health, police, legal, and justice sectors.
• Conduct training sessions and onboarding workshops for system users and administrators in coordination with the IT Firm to support and ensure effective and ethical system use.
• Review the roadmap that was developed by DSWD for the full implementation of the VAWC IMS and ensure its alignment with the developed guidelines and protocols.

In general, the IC is also expected to

1. Provide technical assistance to the UNFPA Country Office Philippines to enhance its ongoing support to the government on GBV data through developing a roadmap for the Country Office. 
2. Provide specialized support for the methodological analysis, informed interpretation, and ethical use of multi-sectoral administrative data. A key aspect of this support will be to clearly delineate the strengths and limitations of administrative data (e.g., reflecting reported cases or service engagement) compared to prevalence estimates generated by national population-based surveys (e.g., capturing broader population experiences, including underreporting).

Please note that if the consultant determines that additional experts or personnel are needed to complete all deliverables in this project, all associated expenses, including travel costs, professional fees, and any other related expenses, will be covered by the consultant.

Work Schedule Arrangements:

The consultancy entails a commitment of  60 person-days spanning a 5-month timeframe, commencing promptly upon contract approval. This includes on-site visits in the Philippines during in person consultations, capacity-building/ workshops. The exact number of days of missions and timeline of activities will be finalized with the DSWD upon planning. The rest of the processes/activities can be carried out via virtual means, facilitating a flexible home-based work environment.

In addition to close collaboration with the IT Firm, the consultant will work closely with the technical teams from both the TWG-IACVAWC and UNFPA’s gender team. The consultant will be supervised by the UNFPA CO Philippines Representative and the Assistant Representative will provide strategic oversight. The consultant is also expected to collaborate with the relevant Regional Advisors at the UNFPA Asia-Pacific Regional Office (APRO), alongside with national experts. 

UNFPA will cover travel expenses, including airfares, land transportation costs, daily subsistence allowances (DSAs), incidentals, etc., of the consultant in addition to the consultancy fee.

Duration and Delivery dates, Proposed Payment Schedule and how work will be delivered (e.g. electronic, hard copy etc.):

The consultant will involve 95 person- days spread over a calendar period of 5 months, commencing immediately upon awarding of contract.

The consultant will be paid on a per deliverable basis following the schedule below:

1. The first payment of 30% will be made upon receipt and acceptance of the first deliverable as per the table of deliverables (electronically);
2. The second payment of 40% will be made upon acceptance of the second deliverable as per the table of deliverables (electronically);
3. The remaining 30% will be made upon approval by the representative and acceptance of the third deliverable as per the table of deliverables (electronically).

A detailed project timeline, including specific deliverables and their associated deadlines, will be mutually agreed upon by the consultant and UNFPA. This timeline will be outlined in an inception report to be submitted by the consultant at the commencement of the engagement.

Place where services are to be delivered:

Please note that locations including its corresponding activities and schedules may change depending on the availability and preference of partners

Target locations for the activities:

Please note that the travel costs for the consultant (1 pax), including airfares, land transportation expenses, daily subsistence allowances, and incidentals for fieldwork such as consultations, validations, and data gathering, will be covered by UNFPA in addition to the professional fee.

The consultant will primarily work remotely from home and deliver outputs to UNFPA Philippines CO. Travel for in-country missions will be conditional upon agreements and will align with country regulations and the mutually decided timeline.

Monitoring, Supervisory, and quality check arrangements: 

Supervisory Arrangements:

The UNFPA Country Representative will oversee the project's overall management, with day-to-day technical support provided by the Assistant Representative and the National Programme Officer on Gender/GBV. The consultant is expected to collaborate closely with the UNFPA Country Office for coordination purposes.

The Management and Programme Team will engage with the consultant regularly at different stages to:

1. Provide a comprehensive briefing on the assignment, its process, and expected deliverables;
2. Furnish key documents pertinent to the deliverables;
3. Introduce and facilitate the consultant's collaboration with key stakeholders and counterparts as necessary; and
4. Offer feedback and reach agreement on the subsequent steps of the assignment.

Required expertise, qualifications, and competencies, including language requirements:

The following experience and qualifications are required for the IC:

Education:

• Masters degree or equivalent in Gender Studies, Development Studies, Social Sciences, or any other relevant field of study.

Knowledge and Experience:

1. Experience in Gender-Based Violence (GBV):
   • At least ten (10) years of experience in working on gender-based violence with at least five years (5) of professional experience in GBV data management, case management, or information systems in the context of GBV prevention and response.
   • Proven experience working with government agencies, international organizations, or NGOs on developing or improving GBV data systems, case management frameworks, or related programs.
2. Expertise in Data Systems and Information Management:
   • In-depth knowledge and practical experience in the development, operationalization, and enhancement of GBV Case Management and Information Management Systems (IMS), preferably harmonized and coordinated systems.
   • In-depth knowledge with ethical data governance, including principles of confidentiality, survivor-centered data management, informed consent, and human rights-based approaches in data collection and use.
   • Experience in developing implementation and strategic plans, guidelines, and manuals related to ethical data management systems, particularly in GBV/VAWC.
3. Experience in Stakeholder Coordination and Capacity Building:
   • Experience in developing training modules and organizing and facilitating multi-stakeholder consultations and capacity-building sessions for government agencies or service providers, ensuring understanding and adherence to ethical principles, human rights standards, and survivor-centered approaches.
   • Experience in working with technical working groups (TWGs), government entities, or multiple stakeholders to ensure effective implementation of strategic plans, roadmaps, and advocacy strategies.

Competencies:

• Analytical Skills: Strong ability to analyze, synthesize, and present complex data and information related to GBV programs and data systems.
• Leadership and Technical Guidance: Demonstrated ability to provide strategic direction and technical leadership on GBV data systems, ensuring the adoption of best practices and ensuring alignment with international standards.
• Collaboration and Teamwork: Proven ability to work collaboratively in cross-functional teams and with diverse stakeholders, including government, UN agencies, and civil society organizations.
• Communication Skills: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to prepare and present reports and guidelines to various audiences, including technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Problem-Solving Skills: Ability to identify and address challenges in data harmonization, coordination, and system design, while proposing practical and effective solutions.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English, both written and spoken, is required.
• Knowledge in Filipino (Tagalog)/ Bisaya is an advantage, especially for engagement with local stakeholders for consultations and trainings

Inputs/services to be provided by UNFPA or implementing partner (e.g support services, office, equipment), if applicable:

UNFPA in partnership with IACVAWC will manage the logistical aspects required for activities including arranging the venue and accommodations (if necessary), and meals.

UNFPA and IACVAWC will provide essential reports, databases, research, and other relevant documents to support the desk review of the IC.