ActionAid Zambia
Terms of Reference
Zambia Baseline Study
for
ActionAid’s Strategic Partnership Programme II
1. Background
ActionAid Denmark (AADK) has almost 70 years of experience with development work to improve the conditions of life for and with people living in poverty. Our constituents are primarily young people and specifically young women. Together with local organisations we work to empower people living in poverty and support them in knowing and demanding for the realisation of their rights, for them to build democratic, just, and sustainable societies. As part of the international ActionAid alliance (AA), we work with human rights based development in more than 40 countries and reach more than 25 million of the worlds’ poor.
AADK is embarking on a new four-year funding period from 2022 – 2025 within the Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA II) with the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Danida. The six months from January – June 2022 are considered an inception phase during which, AADK works with the 14 ActionAid country partners under the agreement align to the new SPAII theory of change and thematic approaches, while also revising the overall summary results frame. The 14 AA country partners work directly with other local partners to implement the programme across one or more of the thematic priorities of the programme. The SPAII programme’s overall objective is Societies are transformed to become more just, feminist, green, and resilient, and the thematic priorities are expressed through the following 3 strategic objectives:
1. Strategic objective 1: Young people, especially young women and those facing marginalisation or fragility, enjoy their rights to an open and enabling democratic space and access to well-resourced programmes and public services.
2. Strategic objective 2: Young people, especially young women and those facing marginalisation or fragility, enjoy a just transition and their right to climate resilient livelihoods.
3. Strategic objective 3: Young people, especially young women and those facing marginalisation, are resilient to shocks and enjoy their right to protection in fragile contexts, disasters, and protracted crises.
In Zambia, AA works with 19 local partners on implementing the programme across the three strategic objectives of the SPAII programme in the following implementation areas:
Northern Province (Nakonde, Mbala, Mpulungu Districts), Southern Province (Gwembe District), Eastern Province (Chipata & Chama Districts) Western Province (Sesheke & Nalolo)
2. Objective
AADK has developed a Summary Results Frame for the overall SPAII programme, and each SPAII AA partner country/region has developed a contextualized Theory of Change and Results Frame based on what is appropriate in their context. To set the benchmarks for measuring impact and progress against set targets and outcome, inform the future programmatic decisions at both national and global level, a comprehensive Baseline Study needs to be carried out. The Baseline study will consist of a global study, primarily based on data-collection from the 14 SPAII partner countries/regions, but not limited to this. A global level consultant will design the baseline methodology and process, including data collection methods, defining means of verification/data sources, and counting methodology to be applied in all 14 AA partner countries[1]. This consultant will also conduct trainings in this methodology and will support quality assurance of data collected at country level.
Hence, with these Terms of Reference, AA Zambia is looking to hire a national consultant to perform data collection in Zambia that will feed into the Global study based on the design from the global consultant as well as data on any additional identified indicators in our results frame.
3. Scope & Deliverables
The consultant is expected to deliver the following outputs with key process elements included in the timeline and outputs below:
- Participate in training on the baseline methodology as organised by the global level consultant.
- Conduct the data collection at country level ensuring that all data quality perimeters are adhered to, validate data, and present it in the format that will be guided by the global level consultant.
- In collaboration with AA programme staff define national context specific indicators for Zambia’s results frame
- In collaboration with AA Programme staff define national context specific indicators for partner engagements
- Critically review national result frame for relevance and contextualisation and give input on how to operationalise the counting methodology from the Global SPAII Summary Results Frame.
- Engage in dialogue with AA programme staff at country level, and the global level consultant.
- Prepare for Data management by ensuring that data collected is collected using the correct formats, tools, stored in a well secure storage, complete and accurate
- Ensure Data disaggregation by gender and other appropriate demographic characteristics
- Prepare for target population; the consultant will make prior appointments to inform the target population on the purpose of the baseline study and gain permission for their participation in the study.
- Document a Country Baseline Report
4. Timeline & Expected Outputs
The assignment is expected to take place from August to September 2022 and is estimated to require a total of approximately 30 working days.
Breakdown of assignment into expected outputs
Timeline & estimated time investment
Read background materials (the global SPAII programme, the country SPAII programme document; the Summary Results Frame; AADK strategy).
Mid-August – 1 day
Participate in training to learn the global baseline methodology and data collection methods. If needed, train data collectors in the same.
End August – 2 days
Identify any additional country level data to be collected and devise methodology for this.
End August – 2 days
Dialogue with the global consultant on any needed contextualisation of the methodology to the country context.
End August – 2 days
Customise and translate, if relevant, the tools for data collection produced by the global consultant
End August – 2 days
Remain in dialogue with the global level consultant, AA partner country/region programme team to validate and quality assure the data.
August – October – 3 days
Conduct the data collection for the baseline.
September – 7 days
Present the national baseline report for the global consultant, AA partner country programme staff, and AADK staff, incorporate validating inputs into final report.
Mid-September – 3 days
Submission of Final Baseline Study Report
End-September
5. Qualifications
The consultant is expected to have experience and relevant credentials in:
- Thorough understanding of the context in Zambia with a specific focus on climate justice, Resilience and humanitarian response and public finance sector
- Experienced in conducting baseline studies using qualitative and quantitative data collection methods as well as coordinating and training data collectors
- Experienced in contextualising and elaborating counting methodologies and data collection processes and tools.
- Working with result data collection and monitoring of rights-based, policy-influencing and advocacy interventions
- Conducting participatory and inclusive collaborative processes across different organisations, stakeholders and constituents. Fluency in English a requirement.
- Relevant thematic experience within HRBA, social movement work, climate justice, humanitarian work is an advantage.
6. Management & Reporting
The consultant will be reporting to AA Zambia, Programmes Manager- Youth and is expected to coordinate and stay in close communication with AA Zambia’s Programme Manager and MEL Specialist during the assignment.
The national consultant is also responsible for coordinating with the global level consultant, and for delivering the stated outputs and deliverables to the global level consultant.
AA Zambia Programmes Manager will be responsible for providing the consultant with the necessary information and contacts necessary to perform the assignment.
7. Expression of Interest
Candidates should submit an Expression of Interest by 9th August 2022 by email to [email protected].
The Expression of Interest should include:
- A motivational letter including an indicative methodology for conducting the study, as well as relevant credentials (should be a maximum of 3 pages).
- A budget for consultancy fee using daily fees and other relevant expenses related to the task.
- A CV or CV’s if more than one consultant in the team
- An example of similar work done
[1] Not all global indicators will be relevant in all contexts.