Call for Tenders: Children’s Learning – Effects of Climate Change and Environmental Degradation

Deadline: 15-Mar-2024

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is inviting applications to conduct a systematic review of the effects of climate change and environmental degradation on children’s learning in low- and middle-income countries.

Purpose

• The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is seeking to commission a systematic review (SR) of the research literature on the effects of climate change and environmental degradation on children’s learning in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
• Systematic reviews are a type of literature review which require equivalent standards of rigour as primary research. Systematic reviews:
  • Use explicit and transparent methods,
  • Are a piece of research following a standard set of stages,
  • Are accountable, replicable and updateable, and
  • Involve users to ensure a review is relevant and useful.
• This SR is intended to:
  • Identify the actual and potential, direct and indirect, effects of climate change and environmental degradation on children’s learning in LMICs,
  • Identify the mechanisms by which climate change and environmental degradation impact learning in LMICs,
  • Evaluate what is known about the nature and scale of these effects on learning in LMICs, and although not a primary focus of the review,
  • Identify effective approaches for mitigating or remediating the effects of climate change and environmental degradation on learning in LMICs.

Sectors

• Climate change, Education, Environment, Girls and women

Research Questions & Scope

• FCDO has identified the following priority questions for the review. The review team should discuss the research questions with FCDO, challenge where this is appropriate and finalise the research questions as part of the development of the review protocol.
  • What are the actual or potential, direct or indirect, adverse effects of climate change and environmental degradation on children’s learning in LMICs?
  • Looking across sectors (health, nutrition, social, infrastructure, livelihoods, growth, water and sanitation), what are the mechanisms or pathways by which climate change and environmental degradation are actually or potentially, directly or indirectly, affecting children’s learning in LMICs?
  • What is known about the nature and scale of these effects on children’s learning in LMICs?
  • What promising interventions promote learning resilience (either at individual, community or system level)?

Funding Information

• The total funding available for this review is £120,000.

Expected Approach

• Systematic review
  • Steps involved in developing an SR include:
    • Finalising research questions, scope, and key terms and concepts
    • Systematically searching for and screening research literature
    • Extracting and coding data from identified studies
    • Critically appraising relevant studies
    • Conducting transparent analysis and reporting
  • The research team will be expected to conduct and report the research in line with relevant methodological standards. There is a range of guidance for systematic reviews, including Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. The Systematic Review Toolbox provides a repository of guidance and tools for undertaking systematic reviews. Some journals may require the SR to be conducted and reported according to their guidelines for publication.
• Co-production
  • A successful SR will involve FCDO decision-makers in the design and delivery of the research. At a minimum, the research team will be expected to:
    • Understand the need for the research, how it is intended to be used in FCDO and ensure that the review is asking the right questions to meet the policy need.
    • Involve users in the development of the protocol and the finalisation of research outputs to ensure the SR meets needs.
    • Support users to digest and apply the findings of the research in their decision-making, e.g., via the development of supplementary products and provision of advice.
  • Research teams are welcome to propose and explore further means of involving users in the design and development of the research, including creating opportunities to build skills in systematic review methods among FCDO staff. Research teams are also encouraged to identify and involve potential users outside of FCDO in the work.

Eligible Countries

• Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo, Congo (Democratic Republic), Gabon, Ghana, India, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Eligibility Criteria

• Non-governmental organisations (NGOs), UK-based non-profit organisations, Companies, Educational institutions, Individuals, Humanitarian relief organisations

For more information, visit FCDO.