Consultant - Baseline Study for Reaching and Empowering Adolescents to Make Informed Choices for their Health (REACH) at Save The Children

Project Overview
Nigeria has an estimated population of 182 million people, of which over 22.5% are adolescents (aged 10-19). The REACH project specifically targets states with some of the worst indicators for adolescents, especially girls, and will focus on rural and hard to reach communities. Across Nigeria, 11.6% of girls are married by age 15 and 49% are married by 18. Wide regional disparities exist within the country, with the Northern region demonstrating the worst outcomes for health, nutrition, education, poverty, and early marriage. Zamfara state has the lowest median age of marriage for girls in the country at 14.5 years, with Gombe at 16 years and Katsina at 15 years (DHS, 2013). On average, men are nine years older than women at the age of their first marriage, however focus group discussions in target states identified married adolescent boys (ages 15-19) who confirmed the need for more information on antenatal care (ANC), immunization and family planning. In addition, research shows that ages of first sexual encounter for adolescent girls are often up to two years earlier in rural areas than in urban areas (National HIV & AIDS and RH Survey, 2012). Therefore, while both adolescent girls and boys need improved access to gender-sensitive and adolescent-friendly SRH information and services, it is important to keep in mind that their specific needs for information and services largely depends on their age, gender and marital status. Program interventions must take the specific needs of each group into account to achieve maximum impact.

The REACH project aims to improve the SRH of adolescent girls and boys (aged 10-19) in hard to reach, rural communities of Nigeria in Gombe, Zamfara and Katsina states. REACH will contribute to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3, particularly indicator 3.7 (ensure universal access to SRH services, including for family planning, information and education, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programmes) and SDG 5 (achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls), by:

• Improving access to high quality, gender-sensitive and adolescent-friendly SRH services for unmarried and married adolescent girls and boys;
• Increasing the decision-making of married and unmarried adolescent girls about their own SRHR; and
• Improving the integration of civil society contributions and evidence-based best practices in ASRHR policy design and implementation at local and state levels.

Baseline Objectives
A baseline study will be conducted in Nigeria and the key objectives of this baseline are as follows:

• Identify the benchmarks for the REACH intended outcomes, against a set of approved indicators;
• Provide information for setting realistic and achievable targets for the four year project;
• Provide evidence on key contextual factors, particularly related to gender equality, and verify Save the Children’s understanding of the situation in REACH intervention areas in the three regions of Nigeria.
• Identify factors influencing access of adolescents to quality sexual and reproductive health services.
• Conduct a social norm diagnostic covering the following areas:
  • Power dynamics at the household and community levels;
  • Distribution of resources at the household level (access to and control over);
  • Roles and responsibilities of women, girls, men and boys;
  • Cultural and religious taboos, myths and beliefs;
  • Knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Save the Children Nigeria Country Office, Save the Children Canada, and the donor (Global Affairs Canada) will be the major users of the baseline data. In addition, key stakeholders in project countries such as government line ministries/departments, partner NGOs, local authorities, and communities are interested parties of the findings.

Methodology

• Throughout the project cycle, outcomes will be measured through a mix approach (quantitative and qualitative), beginning with the quantitative survey.

A.) Data Collection Tools:
Data collection tools will include:

• A quantitative household survey that will be administered with
  • Adolescent girls and boys (10-19) in Gombe, Katsina, and Zamfara, stratified by age (10-14 and 15-19);
  • Male and female head of households, parents, community members, and spouse of each age sub-group of girls and boys, stratified by age (10-14 and 15-19);
  • Married and unmarried adolescent girls and boys, stratified by age (10-14 and 15-19).
• A quantitative health facility questionnaire will be administered with:
  • Primary and secondary health facilities utilized by cluster populations, stratified by type of health facility;
  • Service providers i.e. lady health workers and doctors at primary and secondary health facilities.
• A qualitative key informant interviews with:
  • Health ministry officials and civil society members;
  • Key community members.
• Qualitative analysis of social norms (to understand the power dynamics) will be administered with:
  • Adolescent girls and boys (10-19) in Gombe, Katsina, and Zamfara, stratified by age (10-14 and 15-19);
  • Male and female head of households, parents, community members, and spouse of each age sub-group of girls and boys, stratified by age (10-14 and 15-19);
  • Married and unmarried adolescent girls and boys, stratified by age (10-14 and 15-19).
  • Key community members.

B.) Sampling:

• Sample sites will be selected through a stratified multi-stage cluster sample design. Strata will be selected at the country level, and will include key characteristics and factors expected to impact progress towards outcome (i.e. geographic location, socio-economic features, etc.)

C.) Sampling for Household Survey:

• The proposed sample sizes will have 95% confidence interval, enabling results to be generalized to the project intervention areas. An additional 10 percent sample of households will be included to address non-respondents or incomplete questionnaires.
• Several key populations have been identified for data collection for the REACH project:
  • Adolescent girls and boys, stratified by age (10-14; 15-19);
  • Male and female head of households, parents, community members, and spouse of each age sub-group of girls and boys, stratified by age (10-14; 15-19);
  • Married and unmarried adolescent girls and boys, stratified by age (10-14; 15-19).

D.) Sampling for Health Facility Questionnaire

• Health facilities will be selected through a purposive sample, corresponding to the community clusters where the household survey is conducted.
• The exact sample size will be determined in consultation with Save the Children Nigeria and consultant but is not expected to exceed 1-2 facilities per cluster. Based on a sample of 30-35 clusters, approximate number of health facilities that will be assessed will range from 35-70 facilities.
• Note: It is recommended that enumerators responsible for conducting the health facility questionnaire have a health background.

Scope of Work for the Consultancy
The Consultant will be the lead national technical consultant for this baseline study in Nigeria, with a focus on:

• Planning and reporting on country level baseline data collection;
• Finalizing design and sampling methodology;
• Piloting and translating the data collection tools into Hausa
• Carrying out all recruitment, training and supervision of enumerators/data collectors and supervisors required to complete the assignment efficiently;
• Leading the implementation of high quality data collection on all PMF indicators at both the household and health facility level, with adequate field testing and supervision of all data collection and data entry;
• Overseeing data entry, cleaning and validation of household, facility data, and key informants
• Preparing clean data analysis tables of the household survey and the health facility questionnaire data, with disaggregation to be determined in consultation with Save the Children, but at a minimum, by sex and age (10-14; 15-19).
• Providing full transcripts from all qualitative interviews;
• Share a draft report for Save the Children’s feedback;
• Adjust Save the Children’s feedback in the draft and provide final report.

The Consultant will report directly to the Save the Children’s MEAL focal point in Nigeria, who will be responsible for overseeing the overall baseline study process. The Consultant will also collaborate closely with the Save the Children ASRH Advisor and Sr. MEAL Adviser Save the Children Canada, tasked with providing harmonized leadership and technical oversight on the baseline study.

Sr. MEAL Adviser in conjunction with the technical team at SCC will:

• Draft and finalize the Terms of Reference (ToR), design and sampling methodology of the baseline study in consultation with the consultant and Save the Children Nigeria;
• Develop the data collection tools – household survey, health facility questionnaire, and key informant questionnaire in consultation with the consultant and Save the Children Nigeria.

Roles and Responsibilities
Responsibilities of the Consultant are as follows:

• Present an overall sampling strategy and timeline for data collection at household, and health facility, and key informants at community and health ministry level;
• Review documents, including the Performance Measurement Framework and the finalized data collection tools;
• Ensure that all necessary research ethics approvals are obtained on time, as per country guidelines;
• Recruit translators, enumerators/data collectors and field supervisors, and data entry operators, ensuring gender balance as appropriate;
• Prepare and conduct enumerator training with support from the MEAL focal point at SCI Nigeria and Sr. MEAL Adviser SCC, including co-facilitation of a gender equality, child safeguarding and child protection components;
• Ensure all tools are translated into Hausa and piloted with women, men and adolescent girls and boys prior to enumerator’s training;
• Submit an inception report, and provide country level updates on progress in data collection;
• Oversee data collection including piloting, supervision and spot checking;
• Ensure that all data collection activities are gender-responsive, adolescent-friendly, and respect child safeguarding principles;
• Oversee data entry as per agreed upon software and data entry protocols established;
• Review data entry to ensure data quality and consistency;
• Ensure all training materials, original data collection forms, and hard copies of raw data are maintained and submitted to Save the Children Nigeria with the final dataset;
• Liaise with the Sr. MEAL Adviser SCC and Save the Children Nigeria office for technical support throughout the process, and integrate feedback provided.

Deliverables, Time Frame and Level of Effort

• The period of the contract will be from June to mid-August 2018, with an expected contribution of approximately 50 working days over four months as per agreed upon timeline.

Qualifications of Consultant(s)

• Minimum of 7 years of experience in coordinating and administering baseline/endline studies, including gender-sensitive data collection and entry, data management and storage, preferably for international non-profit organizations or multilateral agencies with preference for studies in Adolescents sexual reproductive health programs;
• Demonstrated experience in training, facilitation and supervising survey enumerators and data entry team to collect and enter data as per high quality standards;
• Demonstrated experience in setting up relevant data base systems;
• Demonstrated experience in quantitative and qualitative data analysis, particularly as it relates to social norms i.e. power dynamics between male and female members, decision making, and others;
• Knowledge and experience with ASRH issues, social norm change, policies and services systems in Nigeria;
• Knowledge of and experience with gender equality in programming;
• Fluency in English and Hausa (spoken and written) is a requirement;
• Ability to produce high quality work under tight timeframes;
• Ability to work jointly with the Save the Children Nigeria office and integrate feedback as required.

Supervision/Management of Assignment

• The Consultant will be required to work closely with the Save the Children Nigeria country office and Sr. MEAL Adviser Save the Children Canada.
• The Consultant will be directly accountable to the Save the Children Nigeria MEAL focal point. The Consultant will keep the Save the Children Nigeria’s MEAL focal point continually informed on the progress of the assignment through updates via email and skype conferences.

Application Package and Procedures
Applications for the consultancy must include following components, for a total of no more than 15 pages (not including appendices, CVs, etc.):

• Detailed technical proposal clearly demonstrating a thorough understanding of this ToR and including the following:
  • Demonstrate previous experience in coordinating and administering studies of a similar nature, including experience with the implementation of data collection activities that are gender-responsive, adolescent-friendly and respect child safeguarding principles;
  • Team composition (including sex-disaggregation) and level of effort of each proposed team member, if applicable.
  • A proposed timeframe detailing activities and a schedule/work plan (including a Gantt chart) with the proposed number of enumerators, size of enumerator teams and total number of days in the field; and
  • As adolescent mothers are among the key respondents for the household survey, the proposal should detail the informed consent process considering the situation for both male and female adults as well as adolescent girls and boys under the age of 18;
  • Propose steps to be taken for enumerator training, piloting/translation of tools, data collection, spot checking, data entry and management;
  • Propose a plan for surveying the projected sample population, with adequate consideration for timing of household surveys, travel cost per team of enumerators, supervision of enumeration teams, and quality control;
• A financial proposal with a detailed breakdown of costs for the study:
  • Itemized consultancy fees/costs for all team members
  • Itemized field data collection expenses
  • Itemized administrative expenses
  • Validity period of quotations
• Curriculum Vitae(s) of all proposed staff outlining relevant experience.
• Names and contact information of three references who can be contacted regarding relevant experience.
• A copy of a previous report of a similar nature undertaken on: a) baseline study; OR b) endline study.
• A Consulting Firm profile (if applicable).

The proposal will be scored on both technical (methodology) and financial (budget) aspects weighted at 70% and 30% respectively. Complete applications should be uploaded electronically

Ethics Approval and Disclosure/Ownership of Information

• The Consultant must obtain and adhere to ethical approval processes of Nigeria before commencement of data collection. Full ethical approval must be obtained before the study commences, if required. This may be obtained in one of two ways as appropriate:
• All ownership and copyright for the data collected is held by the REACH project Save the Children Nigeria. It is understood and agreed that the Consultant shall, during and after the effective period of the contract, treat as confidential and not divulge, unless authorized in writing by Save the Children Nigeria, any information obtained in the course of the performance of the assignment. Information will be made available for the consultants on a need-to-‘know basis.

Disclaimer:

• Save The Children Nigeria reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals/application without assigning any reason what so ever.