Organisation
Hoffnungszeichen tendersglobal.net Sign of Hope e.V.
www.hoffnungszeichen.de, www.sign-of-hope.org
Position
Baseline Study Consultant
Type of Contract
Short-Term Consultancy
Location
Home-based with field mission travel to Saghata Upazila, Bangladesh
Relevant languages
English/Bengali
Application Deadline
9th October 2024
Starting Date
28th October 2024
Project Title
Promoting sustainable livelihoods and food security initiative in Saghata Upazila, Bangladesh.
Total Project Budget
755,091 EUR
Hoffnungszeichen tendersglobal.net Sign of Hope e.V. (SoH) is announcing an open tender procedure for consultancy services for a baseline study in Bangladesh.
Background and Organisational Setting
SoH is a Christian motivated organisation for Human Rights, Humanitarian Assistance and Development Cooperation. From its base in Constance, Germany, SoH is committed to helping those in distress and exploited people worldwide.
This baseline study is commissioned, prior to project implementation, under the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) budget for development projects run by private organisations.
SoH will be the private German executing agency and the contracting party, with Koinoniabeing the local implementing partner.
This project aims to improve the living conditions of 2,500 people in five vulnerable villages located in the Saghata Upazila (Gaibandha District, Rangpur Division), Bangladesh significantly. These communities face recurring challenges due difficult weather conditions (floods, drought, etc.). They lack adequate coping mechanisms, which result in severe food insecurity and malnutrition, especially amongst children. The project’s primary focus is to bolster their resilience to cope with the changing climate conditions. To achieve this, a range of diverse activities will be introduced. The proposed initiatives include providing comprehensive training on innovative agricultural techniques, fostering income-generating activities and establishing self-help groups to advocate for their civil rights, among others.
Baseline Study Objectives
The purpose of the baseline study is to provide SoH with a sound basis for developing a complete project concept, by identifying project prerequisites, opportunities and risks. This process includes an assessment of the baseline of the proposed project intervention to assess if it can plausibly achieve planned objectives given existing contextual realities.
This comprehensive study will verify relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability of the proposed project intervention. The study will provide concrete and practical recommendations that will assist with the finalisation of project design elements, including the logframe, risk analysis, problem analysis and relevance of the proposed project intervention, stakeholder analysis, among others.
The study will support the project quality assurance measures implemented by SoH and contribute to the decision-making process regarding the funding of the proposed project activities.
Duties and Responsibilities
The selected Consultant will work in close cooperation with the responsible SoH Officer and the local implementing partner.
The duties and responsibilities of the consultant will include:
- Develop a work plan outlining the proposed research methodology, geographical coverage, and schedule to conduct the baseline study,
- Carry out a project site visit to the project location to conduct research, collect data and establish contact with the local implementing partner, potential beneficiaries and relevant project stakeholders,
- Review existing policies and structures, government development strategies as well as relevant studies and research projects that could serve as a basis for the baseline study,
- Identify relevant project stakeholders at various levels (local, district and national if applicable), including local governing bodies, academia and industry as well as lessons learned and best practises of similar on-going and implemented projects relevant to the project,
- Evaluate all available data and sources providing background information on identified issues, the problem analysis as well as the selected intervention to address identified needs (baseline data with focus on the qualitative analysis),
- Assess the proposed activities, as well as their timing and required financial resources.
- Examine institutional, technical, staffing and financial capacities of the selected implementing partner, as well as its relationship with the target group. Based on the findings, determine if there are areas in which capacities of the local implementing partner need to be developed,
- Review main governmental and non-governmental stakeholders with a purpose to see if there is a potential overlap or conflict of interest as well as opportunities for coordination with the aim of creating synergies and new cooperation partnerships,
- Examine the identified target group, its needs and role in the broader social context as well as the relevance of the planned project activities for addressing their needs,
- Identify potential obstacles and alternatives to overcome the foreseen challenges,
- Review and analyse all available project design elements and draft documents related to the project concept, if necessary,
- Critically review the planned project in terms of OECD/DAC criteria of relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability (please see www.oecd.org/development/evaluation/daccriteriaforevaluatingdevelopmentassistance.htm),
- Prepare a report containing the findings on the above items, specific recommendations for the project concept with a view to planning and implementing foreseen project activities.
Expected Deliverables
The study will produce the following deliverables:
- a baseline study outline, including the proposed methodology and data collection tools, table of content and a timeline of research activities (inception report) prior to the site visit to the project location,
- a summary containing a brief overview and the main findings of the study,
- a comprehensive report of a maximum of 30 pages with practical recommendations and relevant annexes,
- a review of the main project design elements and provision of concrete recommendations for improvement,
- an analysis of the institutional structure required for project implementation, stipulating the roles and responsibilities of staff members involved, a detailed problem analysis, a stakeholder analysis, a revision of the target group, an analysis of the potential risks and recommendations on how to mitigate these risks, a schedule of project activities, a financial plan (planning budget), a detailed project logframe with SMART indicators for the project objective and results listing related activities and required resources,
- a “Do-no-harm analysis” including recommendations on how to mitigate potential harm and conflict situations that can potentially arise during or as a result of the project activities
- a Gender mainstreaming analysis identifying potential risks and recommendations to ensure gender equality in all aspects of the project design and implementation.
A template will be provided to serve as a guide and suggested structure for the final report.
Process/Timeframe
A total duration of the assignment is up to 20 working days within the period of 28th October to 24th November 2024.
A planning meeting with Koinonia, handover of relevant documents 1 day
Initial document review and preparing inception report 3 days
Sharing inception report with SoH and Koinonia 1 day
Data collection site visit to a project location 5 days
Data analysis, draft report with annexes, presenting to SoH 5 days
Incorporating received feedback and finalising the report 5 days
Qualifications and Experience
Essential:
- Minimum of 5 years of project evaluation and/or implementation experience in the result-based management framework
- Proven experience of conducting baseline studies, evaluations and other research projects
- Technical and methodological knowledge to conduct research projects and formulate conclusions based on a solid methodology, assessing projects for relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability of projects
- Experience working with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and partnered projects
- Fluency in written and spoken English
Desirable:
- Experience in the relevant field
- Fluency in written and spoken Bengali
- Professional familiarity with the project country/region
- Practical experience of working for and/or evaluating BMZ-funded projects
Academic Background
An advanced level university degree (Masters’ degree or equivalent) in social sciences, public administration, international development studies, law and/or other relevant field. A first-level university degree in combination with additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted.
The consultant is to be independent and impartial with no liabilities to any other organisation or government entity regarding this evaluation.
How to apply
Application Process
Please submit the following documents as PDF files with the subject line “Baseline Study in Saghata Upazila, Bangladesh, DC-BGD24.01” to [email protected] later than 9th October 2024, 23:59 CET:
- A résumé indicating all relevant experience (max. 2 pages),
- contacts of at least two professional referees,
- a cover letter, including a brief description of the proposed research methodology (technical proposal max 1 page) and a comprehensive breakdown of costs (financial proposal), including professional fees and all other relevant costs such as travel expenses,
- a writing sample of a document of similar research value (for example, a baseline study, an evaluation report).
Companies as well as independent consultants are invited for this tender. Female and differently abled candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
Please note that due to a large number of applications we may limit establishing contact to shortlisted applicants.
Bids received after deadline will not be considered. If offers are incomplete, bidders may be able to hand in missing documents within a deadline upon request by SoH.
The selection of the consultant will be conducted jointly by Koinonia and SoH. Interviews with shortlisted candidates will be held online.
The consultancy agreement will be set up by SoH and Koinonia. Consultancy agreements set up by auditors won’t be accepted.
Criteria and weighting for the evaluation of the submitted proposals:
- Essential and desirable competencies, proposed methodology: 30 %
- Financial proposal (fee): 30 %
- Performance during interview: 20 %
- Writing samples: 10 %
- Minimum amount of years of relevant experience: 5 %
- Language skills: 5 %
Annexe 1: Impact matrix Engl.