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Seeking external consultant for Embracing Change project evaluation

MHCC is seeking an external consultant to evaluate the Embracing Change project, which has been supported through grant funding from the Australian Government.

Embracing Change: Applying the NDIS Practice Standards in Psychosocial Services

This project will deliver ten webinars and one national forum for organisations that provide services to people living with, or at risk to develop, psychosocial disability and their supporters, who also have, or are potentially eligible for, an NDIS plan. The project is being conducted from July 2019 – July 2021.

The project aims to create greater national awareness of the NDIS Practice Standards and Quality Indicators as they apply in the provision of psychosocial support services. It also aims to support existing and prospective NDIS psychosocial service providers to achieve increasing alignment of service delivery practices with the NDIS Practice Standards and registration requirements.

Target Audience

The target audience of the project includes both existing and prospective registered providers of NDIS psychosocial services to people living with, or at risk to develop, psychosocial disability and their supporters, who also have, or are potentially eligible for, an NDIS plan. This would include, but not be limited to:

• Mental Health Executives, Managers, Team Leaders, Service Coordinators, Mental Health and Peer Workers plus other community workers;
• Culturally and Linguistically Diverse, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people;
• NDIS Participants and their carers
• People with a wide range of educational backgrounds and technical skills.

Evaluation Background

MHCC is seeking evaluation of whether the project has successfully achieved its objectives and outcomes. The evaluation should consider the following:

To what extent would (for prospective providers), or did (for existing providers) the project deliverables contribute to the following outcomes for the target audience:

• Improved understanding of the NDIS practice standards and registration requirements;
• Improved ability to demonstrate conformance with the NDIS practice standards and registration requirements;
• Enhanced capacity to provide high quality, safe psychosocial services to consumers with an NDIS plan; and
• Increased proportion of NDIS providers actively participating in the market.

Data Collection Timing and Methods

Quantitative and qualitative data should be collected to monitor and evaluate the impact of project activities and deliverables. Relevant and reliable data should be collected before, during and after webinars and the national forum, as well as at other times over the course of the project as appropriate.

The methods to be used to collect the data could include, but should not necessarily be limited to:

• Surveys;
• Focus groups;
• Case studies;
• Redback webinar poll and survey data already available;
• Webinar live and on-demand viewing data already available;
• Direct feedback from target audience;
• Case studies.

Deliverables

The following deliverables would be required:

• Evaluation plan including detail of evaluation methodology and project timeline.
• Coordination and management of the evaluation activity including, but not limited to: collecting, analysing and reporting on qualitative and quantitative data.
• Ensuring evaluation objectives are met.
• Consultations with the target audience and other relevant stakeholders.
• Drafting and finalisation of an evaluation report and other evaluation material (due June 2021)

Accountability

The evaluator is accountable to MHCC for the completion of the contracted deliverable’s within the agreed time frame.

Budget

$10,000 – $15,000 (including GST)

Webinars and National Forum Dates

24 Oct 2019	Webinar 1
28 Nov 2019	Webinar 2
5 Mar 2020	Webinar 3
30 Apr 2020	Webinar 4
25 Jun 2020	Webinar 5
27 Aug 2020	Webinar 6
29 Oct 2020	Webinar 7
03 Dec 2020	Webinar 8
28 May 2021	National Forum: Quality and Safety in NDIS Psychosocial Services
24 Jun 2021	Webinar 10

Selection Criteria

• Suitably qualified candidates who can meet the following criteria are sought:
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with a peak body and range of community managed mental health organisations to undertake all facets of the evaluation.
• Demonstrated high-level communication and organisational skills.
• Demonstrated experience and expertise in independent evaluation of projects/programs within the community sector, with specific focus on mental health and the NDIS.
• Demonstrated ability to effectively engage with a range of stakeholders and professional bodies.
• Demonstrated experience with both qualitative and quantitative data analysis and reporting.
• Understanding of working within the complexities of a grass roots community setting.
• Understanding of recovery based and trauma informed frameworks.

In submitting the EOI, interested parties should address the above criteria and submit a proposed costing and timeline for the completion of the evaluation.

EOI Deadline – COB 29 January 2020

Find more about the Embracing Change project here

Next Steps

MHCC will assess each application and invite candidates to interview. All candidates will be notified of the outcome.
MHCC will notify the successful applicant by mid-February 2020.

For any questions, please contact Vanessa Bell, MHCC Project Officer by email or phone: vanessa@mhcc.org.au or (02) 9555 8388 ext 112