Baseline Tender for “Gift Of Hope project- ” at Plan International

1. About Plan International

We strive to advance children’s rights and equality for girls all over the world. As an independent development and humanitarian organisation, we work alongside children, young people, our supporters and partners to tackle the root causes of the challenges facing girls and all vulnerable children. We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood and enable children to prepare for and respond to crises and adversity. We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national and global levels using our reach, experience and knowledge. For over 80 years we have been building powerful partnerships for children, and we are active in over 75 countries.

2. Project Background

Plan International is implementing a two-year youth economic empowerment project. The goal of the project is to empower out of school young people especially girls to have sustained income through enhanced skills and opportunities for entrepreneurship. The Gift of Hope livestock enterprise project will train young people in 8 Sponsorship Communities in Central Province in livestock farming skills to support livestock enterprises in goat, poultry, and beekeeping farming.

Economic gender disparity continues to affect young people especially young women and girls who lack the necessary education and skills for decent work or entrepreneurship opportunities. This has continued to affect young women’s lives, leaving them vulnerable to unhealthy coping mechanisms such as early marriage, transactional sex, or cheap labor. The impact of COVID 19 on young people especially girls and young women has made the vulnerability of this age cohort worse than it was before. With Zambia’s share of young people being neither in employment, education, or training standing at 45%, the economic vulnerability among young people with no skills or assets for venturing into income generation activities or the labor market needs new strategies such as skills building as support by the Youth National Policy of 2015. Young people are further disadvantaged as they are faced with a challenge of access to a better competitive market which results in them earning very little income from either crop or livestock farming ventures.

The Gift of Hope livestock enterprise project is focusing on building the necessary livestock farming skills in 1,240 young people from Central Province in 8 Sponsorship Communities to support their livestock enterprises in Goat, Poultry, and beekeeping farming. The 1,240 beneficiaries including 40 community livestock Volunteers (CLV), 600 initial direct beneficiaries, and 600 pass-on beneficiaries’ Project will support technical skills building and seed capital required to grow a sustainable livestock enterprise for young people. The project will employ the pass-on methodology and Plan’s Plan’s Savings for Wealth Creation (OSAWE)  methodology to continue to grow the required capital for the enterprises, thus ensuring more young people have the skills and capital required to establish their employment pathway and meet the goal to build skills and provide opportunities for themselves and ultimately reducing their likelihood to be engaging in negative coping mechanisms that further increase their vulnerability.

The project will be implemented by Plan International Zambia in collaboration with Government line ministries, support from community leaders and volunteers as well as linkages to trainings and markets through partnerships with the Zambia Development Agency and other private sectors. Plan and partners will facilitate the formation of livestock cooperatives for better bargaining price and reduce the price exploitation of the beneficiaries during the sale of goats and chickens by buyers who are now targeting Chibombo and Chisamba districts due to the increase livestock production.

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3. Purpose of the Baseline

3.1 Assessment of Baseline Values for Project Indicators

Plan International Zambia and its implementing partners are commissioning this baseline in accordance with the provisions for its funding proposal. The main objective of this baseline study is to measure the status of project outcome and selected output indicators as outlined in the project log frame at the beginning of the project. The baseline will set the benchmark for the objective and indicators. The baseline study shall also provide strategic recommendation relevance of the design and sustainability of the project. In addition, the study will look at a Needs assessment (Capacity assessment of selected youth groups through a participatory process. /community mapping for viability).

Indicator

Remark

1 % of young people who report at the end of the training feeling confident about their life skills for self-employment opportunities

2 # of Young people trained in animal husbandry and business skills for the self-employment opportunities in Livestock farming (Disaggregated by Age and Gender)

4 # of young people especially, young women benefiting from the livestock, chickens and bee keeping.

5 % of young people who report at the end of the training feeling confident about their life skills for self-employment opportunities

6 # of Young people trained in animal husbandry and business skills for the self-employment opportunities in Livestock farming (Disaggregated by Age and Gender)

8 % of young people especially women with skills and knowledge for self-employment for sustained livelihood and income.

12 (disaggregated by age and training type)

13 # of livestock cooperatives formed or strengthen and linked to the private sector

14 # of livestock supplied by the cooperatives and individuals to the markets

15 # of Savings and Loan Associations formed in the 8 communities.

16 % of young people especially women with skills and knowledge for self-employment for sustained livelihood and income.

17 (disaggregated by age and training type)

18 # of livestock cooperatives formed or strengthen and linked to the private sector

19 # of livestock supplied by the cooperatives and individuals to the markets

20 # of Savings and Loan Associations formed in the 8 communities.

22 % of young people who report being supported by their family when undertaking self-employment opportunities

25 Degree to which families provide supportive environment to young people for self-employment opportunities

26 # of people participating in dialogue session (Disaggregated by Gender)

27 % of young people who report being supported by their family when undertaking self-employment opportunities

29 % of young people who report at the end of the training feeling confident about their life skills for self-employment opportunities

3.2 Additional Baseline Research Questions

The baseline will, in addition to collecting data to measure the indicators, seek to answer the following questions:

A.    Relevance:

Evaluation questions:

To what extent has the project design responded to the economic needs and priorities of the out of school young people in the target locations?

To what extent has the project addressed gender inequalities which exits in economic participation amongst the young people within the targeted communities?

Identify other key areas that could be targeted to make project design more relevant during the implementation.

B.    Sustainability:

• What are the key factors required to ensure project sustainability?
• What are the challenges identified at project design that might affect the sustainability of the project, and solutions to overcome them?

3.3 Youth economic empowerment, gender and inclusion Research Questions

The baseline will also assess the differences/ power imbalances between girls and boys / women and men in the project.

4.    Users of the Baseline

The baseline findings will be used by Plan International and implementing partners to inform programming. Its results will also be communicated to the Plan national office (Canada National Office-CNO) and project donor (Gifts of Hope). The baseline study will set the benchmark for the indicators at the beginning of the project and will be used as reference for the monitoring and evaluation of the project progress throughout the project lifetime.

Additionally, the baseline study recommendations will be used by the project team to adjust the project strategy as well as activity planning.

5. Methods for Data Collection and Analysis

The study will be conducted by a consultant to be hired by Plan International Zambia as designed in the project and  in consultation with the Canadian National Office(CNO).

The proposed project baseline study requires both qualitative and quantitative data/information analysis. To meet the objectives of the project baseline study, the baseline study will be undertaken through various methods including interviews with beneficiaries, Focus Group Discussion (FGD), Key Informant Interview (KII), and other methods (as it finds necessary by consultant) to gather required information and data.

Remark: The consultant needs to develop tools to collect data for all indicators. The tools shall be developed in a Child/Youth friendly manner and represent gender equality, i.e. the tools do not perpetuate gender stereotype etc. The tools will be shared with Plan International Zambia, and the National Office for Approval before they are rolled out.

5.1 Sample

For the primary data collection, the consultant should outline the intended sampling strategy that includes a description of:

• Sample size (or expectations of the evaluator(s) in calculating it)
• Necessary respondent disaggregation (refer to Plan International’s Minimum Beneficiary Disaggregation)
• Number of sampled locations (Wards) in Chibombo and Chisamba Districts
• Sampling approach

5.2 Participant selection and recruitment

Stakeholder participation at various level in the evaluation process will be critical. The evaluation team should ensure both external and internal stakeholders are meaningfully involved in the review process. These will include ; young people  (male and female) ,  families,  local authorities , Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, Forestry, Ministries (MYSCD and MCDSS), civil society organizations, community based organizations, service delivery partners, focal point persons, representatives of governing bodies and beneficiaries of Plan International programs and projects

6. Ethics and Child Protection

The consultant shall comply with Plan International Zambia Safeguarding Children, Young People Policy and other required policies. The consultant and all related staff must sign the Safeguarding Policy as part of the contract and commit to adhere to it during the course of the contract period

Plan International is committed to ensuring that the rights of those participating in data collection or analysis are respected and protected, in accordance with Ethical MERL Framework and our Safeguarding Children and Young People Policy. All applicants should include details in their proposal on how they will ensure ethics and child protection in the data collection process. Specifically, the consultant(s) shall explain how appropriate, safe, non-discriminatory participation of all stakeholders will be ensured and how special attention will be paid to the needs of children and other vulnerable groups. The consultant(s) shall also explain how confidentiality and anonymity of participants will be guaranteed.

7. Key Deliverables

Deliverable

Format

Length

Due

Detail

Inception Report

Word Document

max.15 pages

Inception report shall include

• an updated timeline;
• detailed methodology, including draft sampling methodology and size;
• draft data collection tools;
• ethical considerations;
• consent forms for any primary data collection;
• (draft) methods for data analysis;
• brief justification of the methods and techniques used (including relevant underlying values and assumptions/ theories) with a justification of the selections made (e.g. of persons interviewed).

Draft Baseline Report

Word Document

max. 30 pages

including an Indicator Tracking Table with baseline data inserted

Final Baseline Report (including Executive Summary)

PDF Document

max. 30 pages

Cleaned Data (including transcripts)

(including data files (e.g. Excel, SPSS), transcripts of qualitative data, syntax/ code books etc.)

Final Data Collection Tools

Completed Consent Forms

Other Communication Products for Dissemination

8. Budget

The consultant shall lead the field data gathering and is expected to propose a budget that covers all related costs for baseline study (including taxes, travel cost, insurance, visa cost, per diems as well as translation cost) together with the proposed methodology in the research proposal for this consultancy work.

Plan International Zambia will assist the consultant in coordination and making appointment with relevant stakeholders for data collection.

Milestone

Detail

Amount to be Paid (%)

Expected Timeframe

Upon contract signature

40%

Upon submitting the final report

60%

9. Consultant

Plan is looking for a qualified, highly self-motivated, enthusiastic and innovative consultant/consulting firm with the following skills and qualifications:

• Post graduate degree or PhD preferred in Social Sciences, Development Studies, must have extensive experience in research, baseline surveys and evaluations, particularly on the areas of gender, Youth Economic empowerment and rural livelihoods.
• Minimum of 5 years’ experience in conducting similar studies,
• Experience in managing and supervising surveys in large scale and ability to ensure accurate information and data and meeting the deadline.
• Proficiency in statistics
• Experience in the design of methodology, tools and questionnaires related to gender, youth economic empowerment, youth and rural livelihoods, and other social development issues,
• Experience in data collection and analysis using participatory methodologies Experience in training data collectors,
• Good interview and analytical skills,
• Fluency in English, Ability to work with communities in relevant local languages.

10. Contact

Interested Consultants should send queries and submit their proposals to:

Plan International Zambia

Email: Planzamtenders@plan-international.org

11. Submission Procedure

Interested applicants should provide a proposal covering the following aspects:

• Detailed response to the TOR
• Proposed methodology
• Ethics and child safeguarding approaches, including any identified risks and associated mitigation strategies
• Proposed timelines
• CVs
• Example of previous work
• Detailed budget, including daily fee rates, expenses, etc.
• Police Certificates of Good Conduct – especially where there is primary data collection

12.  Time allocations

The desired turn-around time for this consultancy is a total period of 4 weeks after the tender has been awarded.

It is therefore hoped that the final report will be submitted to PIZ by 31st of August, 2022.

Please send your bid applications to Planzamtenders@plan-international.org cc. malama.bwembya@plan-international.org, By 16:30hrs, 20th July 2022 local time and any bids received after this time and date will not be accepted.

NB: All shortlisted bid applicants will receive notifications within 07 working days from closure of Tender.