Bid No. 004/19
CALL FOR CONSULTANCY SERVICE
1. Background
CARE Ethiopia is a humanitarian non-governmental organization committed to working with poor women and men, boys and girls, communities and institutions, to have a significant impact on the underlying causes of poverty that aims at contributing to economic and social transformation, unleashing the power of the most vulnerable women and girls, honoring their dignity.
CARE’s program strategy is guided by worldwide experience in eradicating social injustice, poverty, and vulnerability through models that put gender equality and women’s empowerment at the forefront. CARE began working in Ethiopia in 1984 and currently implements programs focusing on livelihoods and food security, nutrition, sexual and reproductive health, water and sanitation, and emergency preparedness and response.
Since 2007, Gap Inc. has been implementing the Personal Advancement & Career Enhancement (P.A.C.E.) program with women working in their factories to improve the skills and confidence they need to advance at work and in life. In 2013, Gap Inc. began offering the P.A.C.E. program to women in the broader community, and in 2016, P.A.C.E. expanded its reach again to include girls ages 13-17. The P.A.C.E. program is implemented by licensed partners. In Ethiopia, P.A.C.E. is implemented by CARE Ethiopia.
As part of an effort to understand the impact of the P.A.C.E. program, CARE Ethiopia is conducting a pilot test of quantitative and qualitative tools to measure the impact of the P.A.C.E. community curriculum on course participants. These tools contain demographic questions as well as questions related to women’s empowerment. The International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) will be using the information gathered during this pilot test to refine an evaluation strategy for the P.A.C.E. program.
2. Purpose and scope of the consultancy
CARE Ethiopia seeks a Consultant to conduct quantitative data collection with 100-120 women and qualitative data collection with 10-15 women, and to summarize feedback on the tools. The Consultant should collect the data in digital form but will NOT be required to analyse the data.
Quantitative Data Collection
A quantitative questionnaire—which will be translated into Amharic and Sidamigna ahead of time—will be tested using quantitative data collection. As part of the quantitative data collection, the Consultant will:
· Participate in an in-person training/briefing conducted by CARE Ethiopia M&E staff or a remote training conducted by ICRW staff
· Double-check the translation of the questionnaire in Amharic and Sidamigna with enumerators
· Work with CARE Ethiopia to recruit 50-60 youth and adult (all 18+) participants who are new to the program (either not started or recently started). Participants may be convenience sampled but must be stratified to include youth (18+) and adults, female household heads and women with husbands. These participants will be located in Amhara (woreda to be confirmed).
· Administer the “baseline” quantitative questionnaire to these 50-60 participants who have not started or only recently started the course.
· Work with CARE Ethiopia to recruit an additional 50-60 adult (ages 18+) participants who completed the program approximately three months before this study. Participants may be convenience sampled but must be stratified to include youth (18+) and adults, female household heads and women with husbands. These participants will be located in Sidama Zone of SNNPR (Hawassa Zuria or Shebedino).
· Administer the “endline” quantitative questionnaire to these 50-60 participants who have completed the course.
· Enter data into STATA or Excel
Qualitative Data Collection
A qualitative interview guide will be tested with a subsample of the quantitative questionnaire participants who have completed the course. As part of qualitative data collection, the Consultant will:
· Participate in an in-person training/brieifng conducted by CARE Ethiopia M&E staff or a remote training conducted by ICRW staff
· Recruit and conduct in-depth interviews with 10-15 respondents who participated in the testing of the quantitative questionnaire in Sidama
· Translate and transcribe these interviews into verbatim, English-language transcripts.
Debriefing During Data Collection
Besides the data collected during this pilot, a critical source of information regarding the data collection tools will be observations made by the Consultant. Therefore, throughout all forms of data collection, the Consultant will:
· Conduct daily debriefs within enumerators, documenting reflections on the process of data collection including logistical challenges, challenges with the tools as a whole (length, format, content), and challenges with individual questions (understanding of the interviewer, understanding of the interviewee, sensitivity, perceived relevance), etc.;
· Write up the key reflections that emerge from these daily process debriefs;
· Participate in regular calls with ICRW and/or CARE Ethiopia M&E staff to discuss these process reflections and adjust attributes of survey design as necessary.
The Consultant should specify in their proposal whether they plan to conduct the quantitative baseline and endline surveys and the qualitative, in-depth interviews simultaneously or sequentially and what implications this has in terms of the number of data collectors required and the timing of all data collection activities.
3. Geographic focus
The consultant will test the tools in one woreda each of Sidama and Amhara.
4. Expected deliverables
The consultant is expected to deliver the following products:
· Field report describing sample (geography, method of recruitment, diversity factors considered), timing of data collection events, and feedback on the questionnaire
· Final baseline questionnaire dataset in STATA or Excel
· Final endline questionnaire dataset in STATA or Excel
· Verbatim transcripts of all in-depth interviews in English
Please note that data analysis is not expected for this assignment, as the entire dataset will be submitted to CARE Ethiopia for further analysis.
5. Timeframe
The table below reflects all expected activities of contract/assignment to take place in January-April 2019.
| Activity | Tentative schedule | Responsibility/Support |
1 | Initial briefing | February 20, 2019 | Consultant |
2 | Training of enumerators on questionnaires | February 21-22, 2019 | Consultant |
3 | Field work | February 25 – March 8, 2019 | Consultant with project staff support as needed |
4 | Submission of deliverables | March 15, 2019 | Consultant |
6. Submission of proposal
Consultants/firms who meet the requirements below should submit a proposal, which should include the following:
· Cover letter describing how the consultant/firm’s previous experience matches the consultancy objectives as well as the candidate’s interest for the consultancy. This letter should not be longer than one page.
· Technical proposal containing the interest and motivation of the consultant or firm, clear framework, methodology and approach, timeline/work plan, comments on the Terms of Reference (TOR), brief experience and profile of the consultant or firm, and any other relevant information regarding the specific assignment. A work plan for this assignment should be developed in relation to the methodology suggested by the consultant/firm and the number of days set for this assignment. This technical proposal should not be longer than 10 pages.
· Copy of the following:
o Renewed trade license
o TIN
o Tax clearance
o VAT registration
· CVs, including detailed work experience and education
· No other annexes or attachments should be included.
· Financial Proposal. The consultant should estimate the cost and prepare a detailed budget to the key activities or phases in the work plan. Cost estimates may cover items including local transportation, professional fees, per diem and other expenses, payments for interviewers, data processors, and secretarial services, applicable tax, etc. This should be presented in a separate envelope and should indicate the breakdown of the proposed cost.
1. Knowledge and experience of team
· Extensive experience in quantitative survey methods and qualitative research methods
· Experience with digital data collection tools (Consultant must provide digital data collection tools to enumerators and train them on them)
· Knowledge and understanding of the rural Ethiopian context
· Team members with fluent knowledge of Sidamigna and Amharic
2. Skills and qualifications
· Minimum of graduate degree in economics, business, rural development, or related field, with demonstrated, relevant professional practice during the last five years
· Strong data collection skills and strong general analytical skills
· Excellent writing skills
· Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate and work well with diverse people.
Please note that no substitution of personnel will be allowed without the prior approval of CARE.
3. Selection/evaluation criteria
The selection committee will review all applications after the submission deadline. All applicants must meet the minimum requirements that described above. The following are evaluation/selection criterion of the technical and financial proposals:
Technical
SN | Criteria | Points (100%) |
1 | Understanding of ToR | 10% |
2 | Methodology | 20% |
3 | Proposal presentation | 10% |
4 | Relevant experience, organization past performance in relevant job, and team composition | 30% |
5 | Key personnel interview (if needed) | (+20% if needed) |
| Overall assessment | 70% |
Financial
SN | Criteria | Points (30%) |
1 | Budget realism and reasonableness | 20% |
2 | Bottom line price analysis | 10% |
| Overall assessment | 30% |