Call for Proposal: to Conduct Household Graduation Survey in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Sokoto and Kebbi states. at Catholic Relief Services (CRS)

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
Feed the Future Nigeria Livelihoods Project
To Conduct:
A Project Household Graduation Survey in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Sokoto and Kebbi states.
Requesting Organization:
Catholic Relief Services, Nigeria
Plot 512 Ahmadu Bello Way, Behind NAF Conference Centre and Suites, Kado District, Abuja Nigeria
Background

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Nigeria is leading an exciting and innovative project designed to develop sustainable approaches to lift some of the most vulnerable households in Nigeria out of poverty. This USAID-supported project called Feed the Future Nigeria Livelihoods Project is implemented by a consortium of non-governmental organizations. The project is based in rural communities in Northern Nigeria of Sokoto and Kebbi states and the Bwari Area Council in the Federal Capital Territory and has expanded to Yobe, Borno, and Adamawa States in FY17. The project consortium works closely with multiple stakeholders within government at state and local levels, and amongst private sector. The project partners with eight local civil society organizations and incorporates a focus on local capacity building for sustained service delivery in project locations.
In the NW and FCT, the project engages communities in agricultural-led growth interventions, using a multi-sectoral approach to help 42,000 very poor households grow their agriculture production, incomes and improve nutrition. The project seeks to improve agricultural practices with a focus on post-harvest storage for nutrient rich crops already being produced, and promotes a market-oriented approach to diversification of production through ensuring that all agricultural activities are adapted to specific agro-ecological and cultural contexts. The project also assists vulnerable families through income diversification and provision of participatory comprehensive nutrition activities at the community level. To help vulnerable families move along the Pathway to Prosperity, the project utilizes cash transfers to help meet nutritional needs, recover assets and overcome barriers to income-generating activities. To support sustainability, the project strengthens the institutional capacity of government systems to implement poverty reduction programs and reinforce accountability between the government and citizens. Therefore, in the NW and FCT, the project has four key results areas of increased agricultural production and productivity, increased income, improved nutrition status and stronger social safety net for households. The project adopts a cohort approach to household interventions. The project randomized the households benefiting in the project into three classes: A, B, and C. Although the intervention with each class
overlapped with another, the intervention began with Class A, then Class B and later Class C. At this stage in the project, the interventions are targeting Class C.
CRS Nigeria requires the services of a qualified consultant to evaluate and implement a process for graduating benefiting Class C households in the project and provide answer by research to key learning agenda question. The aim of the learning agenda is to investigate the different aspects of the project interventions and their corresponding effects. The graduation activity will apply a quantitative approach with focus on Class C households with a total sample of 6,000 households from the total of 19,135 households from Class C in NW while the learning agenda shall combine both qualitative and quantitative methods.
The graduation and learning agenda tools will be administered to project households located in communities in the following locations:
FCT: Bwari Area Council
Sokoto: Dange Shuni, Rabbah, Kebbe and Tangaza LGAs
Kebbi: Birnin Kebbi and Danko Wasagu LGAs
Objective of the Consultancy
The overall objective of this consultancy is to design and administer the graduation tools to project households to evaluate their readiness for graduation; rank households based on performance on the project indicators, determine the appropriate project services necessary for household still receiving interventions to be eligible for graduation and seek solution to a key learning agenda question.
More specifically, the learning agenda will investigate the different aspects of the project interventions and their corresponding effects.
Learning Agenda Question: What will be the relative contribution of Savings and Internal Lending Communities (SILC) and nutrition–sensitive interventions on child nutrition in selected communities of the Feed the Future Nigeria Livelihoods Project?
The question specifically aims at exploring the extent to which SILC activities and consequential economic strengthening can contribute to improving child nutrition and wellbeing at the household level. This is important because nutrition-sensitive activities like SILC have been identified to play a vital role towards improving nutritional status (Lancet Series 2013).
The study will use three intervention arms which are; SILC-only interventions; nutrition-only interventions and integrated SILC plus nutrition intervention. The aim is to prove a synergistic relationship between nutrition counseling and education and SILC as compared to the interventions delivered alone. For the purpose of answering the learning agenda question, the study area will include non-intervention communities.
Main Tasks
1) Finalize tools and develop protocol for graduation
Review relevant literature and materials developed and used in the project.
Review and finalize the criteria for graduation developed by CRS
Review the tools for graduation using these criteria
Present the tools to CRS project management team.
Finalize preliminary protocol and tools after receiving feedback.
2) Administer the graduation tools
Orient and train the teams to collect data.
Initiate and supervise the data collection.
Analyze data and share the initial findings with CRS project team.
3) Conduct and implement the Learning Agenda
Orient and train the Qualitative teams to collect data.
Develop guides for Learning Agenda qualitative and quantitative? data collection
Test and modify learning tools.
Initiate and supervise the data collection.
Analyze data and share the initial findings with CRS project team.
4) Report writing and data dissemination
Write-up data findings and initial draft reports of both studies.
Share findings with CRS project team.
Final report. This must at a minimum contain:

• Title page
• Table of contents
• Executive Summary
• Introduction
• Objectives of the graduation process
• Methodology (how the graduation was conducted)
• Summary of Findings
• Project implications/Lessons learned
• Limitations
• Conclusion and recommendations for the project
• Annexes

5) Develop a database of beneficiaries from the graduation study
General HH information of beneficiaries
HH Wealth ranking
Graduation ranking (status)
Livelihood activities
Current intervention accessed by every member of the HH
Main Deliverables
Detailed workplan after engagement and debriefing
Detailed guides for qualitative study
Revised HH graduation data collection tool
Graduation Ranking protocol
Report of activity after field data collection
Detailed database of beneficiaries showing the graduation ranking by state, by class
Detailed database of beneficiaries showing interventions received by HHs by state, by class
Draft report of HH graduation study for review and comments
Draft report of Learning Agenda study
Final report of both studies

Requirements
To be determined responsive, an offer must meet the below requirements:
General Requirements

• Applications will be accepted from individual consultants or organizations with experience in household surveys, monitoring and evaluation of agriculture and livelihoods programs. The consultants should possess the following combination of skills and expertise:
• Post graduate degree in agriculture, agricultural economics, social science, development studies, etc., and with formal research skills.
• At least 5 years of advanced experience in conducting surveys and evaluations of complex program design with a clear understanding of various social research methodologies.
• Demonstrated research and analytical report writing skills with sound experience in measuring agriculture production, income generation and nutrition and hygiene indicators.
• Experience in multi-sector and multi-partnership approach to poverty reduction and livelihoods programming.
• Ability to clean, analyze and synthesize data using survey data management packages such as CSPro and Excel as well as SPSS, R, STATA, SAS, and Epi-Info or other appropriate software to analyze and report large datasets.
• Good eye for detail, adherence to logic, and capacity for inductive reasoning
• Strong presentation, facilitating, communication and team working skills.
• Strong computer skills and knowledge of ICT4D.
• Demonstrated familiarity with and experience in NW Nigeria.
• Ability to strictly adhere to ethical standards of research and CRS’ protection policy.

Required Documents

• 1. Cover Letter (1page maximum), which shall include the following information at minimum:
• a) Name of the consulting company, organization, or individual (s)
• b) Physical Address
• c) Telephone Number
• d) E-mail Address
• e) Relevant experience

2. Technical Proposal: Applicant must develop a technical proposal that includes 1). a detailed methodology for implementation, 2). data management procedure, 3). proposed timeline and 4). CVs of proposed personnel. Page limit for the technical proposal is 7 pages’ total, not including CVs. Applicants should use reasonable font sizes and margins for the technical proposal, and limit use of non-essential graphics and tables.
3. Cost Proposals Financial Proposal (maximum one-page): breakdown of cost estimates for services rendered. This should include: daily consultancy fees, accommodation, travel and other logistics. Note that, CRS will pay directly for enumerators, and printing of any materials to be used.
4. Please note that payments will be made in local currency.
Deliverables and Timeline
The survey is expected to take place within a period of not more than 38 days, commencing
April 1st to May 17st, 2018.
Deliverable
Description of Deliverable
Timeframe
Number of days
(1). Inception phase report which must include final research instrument and research methodology.
Inception phase (including review of research instruments and finalisation of methodology)
1st – 4th April 2018...........4 days
(2). Final training manual, field activity report including sampling frame.
Primary research - Field work, including pilot and Training
5th-22nd April 2018..........18 days
(3). Data list and preliminary results
Data entry, Cleaning and analysis
23rd – 30th April 2018.........8 days
(4). Household Study first draft Report.
Development of Draft Report for review by CRS
2nd - 6th May 2018...........5 days
(5). Household Study second draft report
Presentation of draft report
12th – 13th May 2018.........2 days
(6). Household Study Final Report
Final report (preparation and submission)
17th May 2018..........1 day
Total days  .....38 days