Consultancy Opportunity at CRS
Terms of Reference to Conduct Project Baseline Survey – “Sustainable, Targeted, Responsive Approach to Optimize Nutrition and Growth for Adolescent Girls and Young Women” (STRONG) Project in Mbeya and Kigoma Regions- Introduction
Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States, was founded in 1943 by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. CRS seeks to cherish, preserve, and uphold the sacredness and dignity of all human life, foster charity, and justice, and embody Catholic social teaching as we work with local partners to promote human development by responding to major emergencies, fighting disease and poverty, and nurturing peaceful and just societies. In Tanzania, CRS has served vulnerable communities for over 60 years and implements its programs through partnerships with the Government of Tanzania, International and local organizations and community entities for maximum impact and sustainability. Today, the country program supports the program in sustainable agriculture and rural livelihoods, youth empowerment, integrated nutrition, water sanitation and hygiene (WASH), early childhood development and integrated water resource management and HIV/AIDS.
- Project Overview
CRS, with financial support from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), is implementing a five-year multi-country project. The Sustainable, Targeted, Responsive approach to Optimize Nutrition and Growth for Adolescent Girls and Young Women (STRONG) Project aims to ensure AGYW live healthy, productive lives and break the cycle of intergenerational malnutrition.
The project is expected to achieve its goal through the following two strategic objectives (SOs):
- SO1: Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYW) have improved nutritional status.
- SO2: Children under age two (CU2) of AGYW have improved nutritional status.
To reach the project’s SOs of improved nutritional status among AGYW and CU2, STRONG will target three avenues of change, namely:
- Improving service delivery—in health care, education, agricultural extension, and community-based financial services—to meet the needs of adolescent girls and young women.
- Furnishing products and supplements to fill critical nutritional and micronutrient gaps for adolescent girls, young women, and children under age 2 to prevent and treat malnutrition.
- Supporting positive health and nutrition behaviors among adolescent girls and young women and those in their spheres of influence.
AGYW aged 10-24 and CU2 of AGYW are the project’s priority participants who will receive direct counseling and services. Family members of AGYW, including parents, spouses, partners, and in-laws, are additional project participants. Community leaders, influential people, and frontline workers, including community health workers and teachers, will also participate in the project.
- Purpose of the Baseline
CRS Tanzania is aiming to hire a consultant with broad experience to conduct the baseline survey in the targeted intervention area in Kigoma and Mbeya Regions. The baseline will outline the prevailing situation regarding the status of the project performance indicators. The baseline will help to establish the baseline of key performance indicators and set a target/benchmark before the intervention so that the magnitude of change can be measured during the final evaluation to be carried out at the end of the intervention.
The purpose of the baseline survey includes the following.
- To establish baseline values and measure the status of performance indicators.
- To ensure that annual target values are applicable and realistic to measure project outcomes.
In addition to determining the status of the STRONG project’s core indicators, the baseline survey will capture select determinants (e.g., knowledge, attitudes, social norms) of key behaviours that the project seeks to influence.
- Scope of the Assignment
The assignment will be implemented in Kibondo DC, Kigoma DC, and Uvinza DC – Kigoma Region, Mbarali DC, Mbeya DC, and Rungwe DC – Mbeya Region targeting both AGYW in households with age 10 to 24 years, and CU2 of under 2 years as direct beneficiaries and other AGYW Caregivers and Guardians as secondary beneficiaries based on the objectives above. Assessment participants will involve households with AGYW in project targeted areas. The interviews will be administered at the household for CU2 AGYW mothers and caregivers and at school for AG who will be at school during the baseline survey.
The applicant should highlight how effectively will be able to manage the assignment under these complexities. The assignment is expected to be conducted in February to March 2024. Prior implementation of the baseline survey the consultant will be required to solicit research ethical approval from respective authorities. The applicants should highlight the strategy to be used in soliciting ethical clearance and approval from relevant authorities.
- Methodology
- Baseline Assessment Approach
We expect the baseline survey will use quantitative research methods. Quantitative methods will provide statistical description of the status of project core indicators of success. The baseline survey will use a cross-sectional design. We further expect the applicant to propose and approach and strategy that are reliable, timely and cost efficient in team formation, training of enumerators, field work management, data collection and management, quality assurance and ethical consideration.
- Sampling Strategy
Beneficiary registers will be used as the sampling frame. The baseline survey will rely on a two-stage cluster sample to select adolescents, their CU2, and a caregiver to AGYW. During the first stage, project targeted communities will be randomly selected as clusters. Households with adolescents will be randomly selected during the second stage. At each household, interviews will be held with the adolescent girls and their caregiver or guardian. If the adolescent has a child under the age of two, she will answer a section with questions on child nutrition. Representative sample size will be calculated using the guideline provided by CRS. However, based on the sampling strategy highlighted above it is expected that all six districts will be reached by the baseline. The applicant is expected to propose an innovative strategy in implementing the sampling during field work implementation.
- Data Analysis and report writing
Quantitative beneficiary survey data will be collected directly using standard ICT4D solutions (CommCare) to be provided by CRS. The cleaned database shall be imported into standard survey data analysis package such as SPSS, STATA or R, for tabulating the indicator estimates, and their confidence intervals and p-values, and additional statistical analysis including basic descriptive statistics and calculation of key performance indicators as per the definitions, calculations and disaggregation described in the project’s plan. We expect consultant to propose a sound approach to be used in data analysis, visualisation, and presentation.
Consultancy Opportunity at CRS - December 2023.
- Deliverables and Schedule
The assignment is expected to start on 2nd February 2024 and completed by 30th March 2024. Innovative approaches that will aim to accomplish the assignment within shorter period is encouraged.
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