1. General instructions
A. Water.org requests proposals from research and evaluation firms to support in data collection and reporting in water and sanitation to understand the results from loans by our financial institutions partners to enterprises that operate in the WSS value chain.
B. The study will require the firm to facilitate and coordinate with Water.org staff and partner microfinance institutions for data collection in the program areas in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. The project requires the firm to submit the following deliverables:
• An inception report, including a desk review and outline of approach, methodology, data inventory methodology.
• A draft evaluation report submitted to Water.org for feedback.
• A final evaluation report, not to exceed 20 pages (excluding annexes) and partner summaries.
• All new data sources (raw data collected and new data analysis files)
C. Participate in kick-off and progress meetings with Water.org.
A kick-off meeting with the Insights team at Water.org to clarify roles and responsibilities (to be conducted remotely) and progress meetings to check on the status of the study.
D. Invoicing will occur upon completion and approval of the deliverables outlined above in Section 1, Part C of this document.
E. Water.org is not liable for any expenditure incurred by responding firms prior to issuance of an executed contract with Water.org.
F. Submissions must be typed and submitted only by email and must follow the format of the requests for information in Section 4:
Submissions Requirements. Unless agreed upon with Water.org, no changes or corrections to a response will be allowed after the deadline.
G. Proposed schedule:
• 14 February 2024 – RFP submissions due by 5:00 PM BST.
• 26 February 2024 – Results announced
• 25 March 2024 – Contract begins
• 30 August 2024 – Contract ends
2. Scope of work
A. Overview For 30 years, Water.org has been at the forefront of developing and delivering sustainable solutions to the global water crisis. Water.org pioneers innovative, community-driven and market-based solutions to provide universal access to safe water and sanitation, giving women hope, children health and communities a future. To date, Water.org has positively transformed millions of lives around the world, ensuring a better life for generations ahead. Through its flagship WaterCredit model, Water.org provides financial and technical assistance to local institutions (primarily microfinance institutions), building their capacity to offer affordable financing for water supply and sanitation services (WSS) to customers at the base of the economic pyramid (BOP). These financial products are designed based on an analysis of local market demand. Philanthropic resources provide the up-front technical assistance financial institutions need to develop these new loan portfolios. The result: more people empowered with safe water and toilets and a sustainable, local market built for those at the BOP.
WaterCredit has reached more than 60 million people in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean by providing access to safe water and improved sanitation. More details can be found on the organizations website.
Study description
Currently we have an evidence gap in the impact from loans by our financial institution partners to enterprises that operate in the WSS value chain. Due to reporting limitations, we have limited information about the types of enterprises are taking the loans, what the loans have been used for and how their resulting impacts have been calculated, including the number of people reached through improved WSS services. To ensure that interventions are meeting Water.org’s goals, and we are capturing our impact adequately, it is important that we fill this evidence gap, especially as Water.org continues to look toward financing enterprises that operate in the WSS value chain.
B. Objectives of the evaluation
The aim of this study is to understand the results from loans by our financial institutions partners to enterprises that operate in the WSS value chain. The research will answer the following questions:
• What is the theory of change and key indicators to base performance and generate insights?
• What is the linkage between Water.org role and the impact being reported?
• What types of enterprises do the loans go to? What do these enterprises do?
• What are the loan products that the FI offers to the enterprises for WSS purposes?
• What are the enterprises doing with the loans? Are they being used for WSS purposes and if so what type of improvements have been implemented?
• Where are the improvements happening?
• Are the WSS improvements functioning and in use?
• What is the client’s experience in accessing and repaying the loan?
• Based on the information directly from the entrepreneurs, who is benefiting from the improvements?
o How many people are reached?
o What are the people reached income levels?
o Is this their main or primary source of income?
o How frequently does the same customer benefit from the improvement?
• How are the partners estimating the people reached? What assumptions are they making?
• What are the insights/lessons learned that can be applied to our work in Africa and other regions? • What are the types of indicators and measurements that FI and Water.org might want to capture for enterprise in the future?
• Is this approach working? Why or why not?
C. Deliverables
• Deliverable 1.
An inception report, including a desk review and outline of approach, methodology, data inventory methodology. This includes a review of the enterprise survey designed by Water.org and feedback for improvement if needed.
• Deliverable 2.
A draft evaluation report submitted to Water.org for feedback.
• Deliverable 3.
A final evaluation report, not to exceed 20 pages (excluding annexes) and partner summaries.
• Deliverable 4. All new data sources (raw data collected and new data analysis files)
D. Methodology
The research will use a mixture of qualitative and quantitative analysis to address the research questions and will primarily draw from the following data sets.
• Program documents and Water Portal. Documents and data of these interventions will be made available to inform measurement framework and study.
• Quantitative household surveys. Using a margin of error of 8% and 95% confidence level, an estimated 100 entrepreneurs will be interviewed in-person. An initial questionnaire will be developed by Water.org and used based on the measurement framework and research questions. The consultant will use mWater mobile tool for collecting the data.
• Qualitative interviews. To understand the story behind the findings of the quantitative surveys, we propose: o Enterprises will be interviewed to gather in-depth information about the use of loans and people reached (if possible). o Water.org staff will be interviewed to gather information about the programming and inform the measurement framework.
o Financial Institution Partner staff will be interviewed to gather information about their experience lending to entrepreneurs.
4 3. Please visit this link to review the Request for Proposals package for more information and link to the budget template
How to apply
5. Submission requirements
To be considered under this RFP, please submit the following:
A. Technical Proposal
A narrative proposal (no more than 10 pages excluding annexes) should include the following sections:
a. Evaluation Methodology: Describe your overall approach including, and not limited to, data collection approach, data quality assurance measures, field planning and staffing plans.
b. Relevant Experience: Provide details of projects of similar scope, complexity and nature you have worked on previously
c. Key Personnel and Staffing: Describe the key personnel and a staffing plan for the project. Include CVs (no more than 2 pages each and attached as an annex) of key personnel who would be part of the proposed plan.
d. Timeline: Include a detailed timeline of key activities.
B. Financial proposaL
5 The financial proposal should include a detailed budget and a budget narrative. Please use the excel budget workbook to prepare and submit the budget. The cost estimates used to prepare the budget should be presented in USD as explained in the excel budget workbook. The budget should not exceed 25,000 USD
6. Criteria for submission
Applicants may be individuals, firms, or groups with a designated team lead, or firms. Applicants must have at a minimum the following qualifications:
• Proposed staffing plan includes at least one native or fluent English speaker as lead writer.
• Demonstrated experience in conducting similar assignments including data collection from enterprises.
• Presence in any of the three countries – Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania
7. Selection process All proposals submitted by the deadline will be carefully reviewed by the Selection Committee based on established selection criteria. The selection process may involve phone interviews with applicants. The final decision will be based on the overall quality of the technical proposal and value for money. The Selection Committee reserves the right to reject any or may cancel any submission at any time prior to agreement if it is in the best interests of Water.org.
8. Contact Proposals and queries related to the RFP should be sent through email to:
Benedict Wambua Regional Insight Lead, Africa Bwambua@water.org & Rafael Castillo Sr. Impact Specialist rcastillomanrique@water.org