• Overdue Apr 5, 2018

    Consultancy to Conduct Baseline Survey - IMBARAGA Organization

    Employer: IMBARAGA
    IMBARAGA is a national non-governmental Organization with the mission of promoting the socio- economic and political interests of its farmer members. See more
    Posted: 26 March 2018
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    TERMS OF REFERENCE – BASELINE SURVEY

    Terms of Reference to Conduct Baseline Survey on “The Contribution of CSOs and Farmers Organizations to the reduction of poverty and strengthened food security by promoting farmer centred policies in Rwanda”.

    Assessment type: Baseline
    Period of Baseline: April- May 2018
    Budget: Consultancy bids will be analyzed to assess the best offer based on their methodology and on consultants’ fees.
    Project title: ‘Ijwi ry’Abahinzi n’Aborozi i.e. Farmers Voice Project (FVP) in Rwanda.
    Specific objective: To strengthen the voice of farmers’ organizations in agricultural policy making formulation, planning, implementation, budgeting and monitoring and evaluation in seven target districts.
    Project Location: Ruhango, Burera, Rulindo, Rubavu, Rutsiro, Kayonza and Gatsibo District.

    INTRODUCTION:

    Imbaraga is an independent, Non-governmental National Farmers Organization. Imbaraga works with farmers to improve the socio-economic conditions of an estimated 27,400 members located in 25 out of 30 districts throughout the country. Imbaraga is structured from the village to the national level and governed by the vision of making her member “A professional farmer and a change maker” through “lobby and advocacy”; “increase in productivity and competitiveness” and “environmental protection”.

    International Alert is an independent, Non-Governmental Peacebuilding Organization. It works with people who are directly affected by violent conflict to improve their prospects of peace. Alert seeks to influence the policies and ways of working of governments, international organizations like the UN and multinational companies, to reduce conflict risk and increase the prospects of peace.

    Imbaraga and International Alert are co-implementing a three year project (2018-2020) entitled “Ijwi ry’Abahinzi n’Aborozi i.e. Farmers Voice Project (FVP)” in seven mentioned districts located in four provinces of Rwanda.

    Food insecurity is widely recognized by the Government of Rwanda and its development partners as one of the biggest challenges that Rwanda is facing in taking forward the impressive gains made so far in its economic development. The Government of Rwanda is committed to tackling this issue and has set itself a number of ambitious targets through policies and strategies such as its Vision 2020 strategic framework, the Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy II (EDPRS 2013-2018), the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme Compact (CAADP) through the National Agriculture Policy (NAP) and PSTA4 as it has been implementing for the last 10 years. While these quantitative targets are an effective measurement of progress, they impose top-down pressure on government bodies at national and district levels, the private sector and ultimately farmers to address this issue. They fail to accommodate learning and expertise from the bottom-up which can be capitalised on to support a more effective response and represent a missed opportunity to tackle food insecurity in an integrated – and therefore more sustainable – way.

    The success of a more consultative and multi-stakeholder approach is predicated on the ability of farmers themselves to clearly articulate and voice their concerns and recommendations in a constructive way. Civil society has a critical role to play in this process, bridging the gap between farmers and farming communities, national level policy makers and district level government offices and monitoring the quality and responsiveness of policy implementation to farmer and community needs. Increasing numbers of civil society organizations (CSOs) are opting to work on issues of food security. However, these organizations have so far failed to take full advantage of fora that exist for debate and feedback with government. Research reports produced by CSOs on the topic are on the whole unconvincing due to the poor use of evidence to back up assertions. Moreover, the extent to which CSOs themselves are representative and inclusive of farmers in their activities and advocacy campaigns is patchy; many farmers claim they are not consulted as part of research and advocacy processes and therefore do not view CSOs as a strong conduit for their grievances and feedback.

    The “Ijwi ry’Abahinzi n’Aborozi” (Farmers’ Voice) Project aims to tackle this head on by strengthening the participatory research and advocacy capacities of existing civil society bodies working on food security (including farmer cooperatives, value chain associations and research organizations) and creating mutually compatible District Farmers Network (DFN) that offer a space for farmers to voice their concerns and recommendations.
    The overall objective of the project is to contribute to the reduction of poverty and strengthened food security by promoting farmer centred policies through enhanced civil society and farmers’ organizations engagement in Rwanda. Specifically the action will strengthen the voice of farmers’ organizations in agricultural policy making, planning, budgeting and monitoring and evaluation in seven target districts.

    The project has three main results as follows:

    ER1: Agricultural oriented CSOs are better equipped to engage farmers and advocate for their rights in targeted regions.
    ER2: Capacities of the District Farmers’ Network in representing farmers’ interests, rights and needs are strengthened.
    ER3: Improved collaboration and coordination among agricultural oriented CSOs at national level for improved level of influence over policies and decision making.
     
    • The purpose of the baseline survey

    Imbaraga and International Alert are hiring a consultant to conduct the baseline survey. The survey will have two objectives:

    1. To determine quantitatively and qualitatively the current situation in relation to the main elements of the project amongst the target beneficiaries. It will establish the baseline for the project´s indicators and constitute the basis to measure the project performance, and will also be used as an evidence-based lobbying and advocacy tool throughout the project.
    2. To map agriculture oriented CSOs and farmers organizations (internal governance, structuring, resource mobilization, technical skills to advocate for their concerns and engage with local authorities/other partners, the private sector, etc.) at district level.
    This will help us to select two agriculture oriented CSOs per each district which will serve in deeply analyzing the root causes of issues around poverty and nutrition affecting farmers in category 1 and 2 of Ubudehe where food insecurity and poverty are most observed. Once poverty issues are raised, they will help us to engage farmers in policy formulation and amendment on one side, and held policy makers accountable on the other side, as far as sustainable food security in Rwanda is concerned.

    • Scope

    This study is to be conducted with target beneficiaries namely:
    o Smallholder farmers from category 1 and 2 of Ubudehe;
    o Youth in agriculture and women farmers;
    o JADF as a district forum of development actors that help to ensure a sustainable and improved service delivery for Rwandan communities through effective coordination of stakeholders’ interventions and DPEM members;
    o Farmers Organizations, agricultural cooperatives and unions, federations around different value chains, (rice, maize, potatoes, cassava, coffee, etc.);
    o Agriculture oriented CSOs;
    o Twigire Muhinzi extension workers and Agro-dealers;
    o Government ministries and affiliated bodies, specifically MINAGRI, MINALOC, MINISANTE;
    o Research institutions (RAB and the faculties of agronomy from University of Rwanda; INES and INATEK).

    The consultant will use a mixed method approach in collecting data, which might include a desk based literature review, direct observation, quantitative surveys, interviews, and focus group discussions. A final report will be developed in English presenting the analysis of the data. This will be shared with Imbaraga and the EU Rwanda delegation for consultation before it is finalized.
     
    • Specific tasks

    The desired consultant is expected to conduct the following tasks:
    o Gather relevant benchmark data for key project indicators to enable change tracking and measurement in the course of the project life;
    o Provide a detailed holistic mapping of farmers organizations and local CSOs oriented in agriculture at district level;
    o Assess the capacity of farmers organizations and CSOs to engage in agriculture policies formulation, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation processes;
    o Assess the research and advocacy capacities of farmers organizations, CSOs working on poverty reduction and food security (including farmer cooperative, value chain associations and research organizations);
    o Identify citizen roles and responsibility in the agriculture policies formulation, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation processes;
    o Number of farmers’ organizations and CSOs and other stakeholders that have the capacity to organize public dialogues on agriculture policies through their networking and coalition building structures to advocate for policy making and changes.

    • Methodology:

    In responding to this call for expressions of interest, the consultant will propose a comprehensive technical proposal including:
    o Detailed Methods, and Techniques
    o Sampling Framework
    o Data collection tools
    o Baseline study workplan
    o Key questions the consultant will use to ensure the survey meets the key project outcomes
    o Description of how data will be collected, cleaned, analysed and used/disseminated with the project team

    The methodology proposed by the consultant will be discussed and validated with the project team, Senior M&E Officer and partners before data collection begins.

    The consultant is expected to use a variety of methods for the data collection:

    Qualitative methods: including document review, direct observation, group discussions, and key informant interviews. The evaluator is expected to develop interview guides with key questions to be addressed during the discussions. These will be discussed and agreed with the project team, as well as the list of proposed people for interview.
    Quantitative Methods: through a quantitative survey to determine baseline figures and test target values for quantitative indicators. As part of the technical proposal, the consultant will explain the sampling method to be used and the steps they will take to ensure the sample selected is representative.

    The technical proposal should describe the practical steps and methods that will be employed throughout all stages of the design, data collection and data analysis of the baseline to ensure that different gender perspectives are taken into account.

    The methodology proposed should include the following steps:

    Step 1: Preparatory phase: Key documents of the project will be submitted to the consultant and together with the project team the consultant shall draft questionnaires for the quantitative surveys (for different target groups), interviews and focus groups discussions, which incorporate the different indicators and questions. The consultant will:
    o Meet with Project Manager and relevant other staff for initial briefing and discussion of TOR;
    o Do a desk review of all project documentation (proposal, logframe, theory of change, etc.);
    o Develop an inception report and workplan for the baseline, and discuss schedule with Project Manager;
    o Finalize the methodology of the baseline study, the sample size, the interview guides for focus group discussions, and targets for key informant interviews;
    o Review data collection instruments, including questionnaires and all data entry processes, and qualitative tools adapted for different target groups as appropriate;
    o Develop context specific research ethics and appropriate response mechanisms;
    o Ensure all tools are translated into other language(s) ;
    o Review/revise sampling strategy and draw up detailed list of sampling points and ensure agreed sampling strategy is adhered to.

    Step 2: Field work: Field work will be undertaken in project intervention areas (including Ruhango, Burera, Rulindo, Rubavu, Rutsiro, Kayonza and Gatsibo Districts).

    During the field work, and with the support of the project team, the consultant will:
    o Coordinate the recruitment (if additional research assistants required) and train data collectors in quantitative and qualitative methods ;
    o Provide training to enumerators and project staff on research ethics and data collection techniques and practices appropriate to the subject;
    o Arrangement of transport, accommodation & food for the research team. Contact community leaders and community members to be invited to participate in the research;
    o Field test of the questionnaire;
    o Ensure quality control processes are in place and provide on-going technical support for the duration of the data collection process and ensure the on-going coordination and management of all data collection;
    o Ensure the responses to each survey are properly recorded and transcribed in a format agreed;
    o Ensure all required data as described in the schedule and training is collected during fieldwork phase;
    o Provide regular updates on the data collection exercise provided to Imbaraga, and recognise and give account of challenges/limitations in obtaining data and provide feedback from fieldwork activities to Imbaraga,

    Step 3: Data analysis: The consultant will in collaboration with the data collection and the project teams conduct an objective analysis of the data collected to inform project implementation and inform Imbaraga of the desired outcome of the project from a beneficiary perspective. For the quantitative analysis, the consultant will design a data entry matrix in CS-Pro software. After data entry, data analysis will be done using SPSS and Excel.

    Step 4: Draft report: A draft baseline report will be submitted 10 days after the completion of data collection and Imbaraga will have a maximum of 2 weeks to review and provide comments that the final report must take into consideration.

    Step 5: Final report
    The final report will be written in English and will be maximum of 40 pages (without the annexes). It must include the following sections:
    o Executive summary (max. 3 pages);
    o Introduction;
    o Context (description of the project and the areas where it is implemented);
    o Objectives of the baseline study;
    o Methodology;
    o Analysis of the main results of the baseline per indicator;
    o An updated project monitoring and evaluation matrix with a summary of each indicator’s baseline data;
    o Analysis of the main results of the CSO mapping activity;
    o Conclusions and recommendations.

    • Deliverables and timeline

    Timeframe: Twenty five (25) working days between early April and mid May 2018. He/she will submit a work plan and specific dates will be agreed upon at the beginning of the consultancy. The consultant will work closely with FVP field officers at district level and the FVP managers at national level and will from time to time submit and share the progress of his/her activities as agreed.

    • Specific outputs of the consultancy are:
    o Short inception report and workplan;
    o Draft(s) baseline report (format to be agreed during inception phase);
    o Final baseline report incorporating feedback received;
    o Half day oral presentation/meeting with Imbaraga Farmers Organization staff to present summary of the baseline;
    o All raw data files including quantitative output and syntax files, qualitative transcripts etc., should be submitted to Imbaraga along with final report.

    • Support from the contracting agency

    Imbaraga Farmers Organization will provide preparatory assistance to the consultant(s) and these include:
    o Background materials (Project Proposal/TOR, M&E framework etc.);
    o Preparation meeting with Imbaraga and key project personnel;
    o Identify interviewees and set up interviews;
    o Meeting arrangements with stakeholders and beneficiaries;
    o Review of the report.
    The main point of contact and supervisor for this baseline will be the Ijwi ry’Abahinzi n’Aborozi Project Manager. Support will also be provided by the Project Officer, M&E officer, and Project field officers.

    • Consultant Competencies, Experience and Skills requirements:

    The consultant will have:
    o A Post Graduate degree in Rural Development, Social Sciences, or Agronomy sciences and other related fields;
    o Agriculture expertise;
    o Experience in agriculture policy analysis, monitoring and evaluation approaches;
    o Experience in undertaking baseline studies, market studies, policy reviews and development research;
    o Extensive experience in conducting quantitative and qualitative data, using digital tools is an added value;
    o Good knowledge and experience of designing surveys and sampling methodologies;
    o Proven knowledge and experience in Evidence Based Advocacy (EBA) and participatory approaches;
    o Proven publication record, studies or baseline reports (Attached at least two or three research samples);
    o Solid methodological and research skills;
    o Knowledge on ethical research principles and experience applying them in practice;
    o Excellent ability to write clearly and concisely in English;
    o Fluency in the local language (Kinyarwanda);
    o Ability to engage people in conversation and record answers clearly and accurately;
    o Organizational and team engagement skills;
    o Excellent facilitation skills.

    • How to apply:

    Candidates wishing to apply for this consultancy must submit:
    While submitting, the Applicant shall, in particular, ensure to attach the following:
    1. A profile of the consultant explaining why he/she is the most suitable for the work demonstrating their relevant experience;
    2. A technical proposal including a detailed methodology and conceptual framework, a workplan, description of the team composition;
    3. Recent CVs for the suggested work team members;
    4. The financial proposal specifying the total costs and including a detailed breakdown of costs including fees, travel costs and number of working days.

    The interested Consultants are invited to submit proposals via email to Imbaraga Organization at the following email address: abahinzi2013@yahoo.fr with copies to ntajoseph@yahoo.fr and jouve2010@yahoo.fr no later than Wednesday 05th April 2018 at 5:00 pm.

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