GAC SRHR Baseline Consultant

Terms of Reference

- SRHR consultant -

Baseline study (July – September 2021):

Background:
 

Oxfam in Lebanon and Marsa are implementing a 5-year, Global Affairs Canada (GAC) funded project entitled “Health and Rights for women, Adolescent girls and Children (SRHR)”. Overall, the project aims to increase the enjoyment of health-related human rights by the most marginalized and vulnerable women and adolescent girls in the northern city of Tripoli. This goal will be achieved through (1) Increased equitable use of health services by diverse groups of women and adolescent girls, (2) improved provision of gender-responsive, inclusive and accountable health services by health care providers for diverse groups of women and adolescent girls, and (3) improved effectiveness of key stakeholders, particularly women and youth rights organizations, to advocate for evidence-based health care policies, accountable legal framework, equitable and inclusive services.

During the project’s inception phase (June – December 2021), Oxfam in Lebanon will hire a consultant to design and collect baseline data on the project’s results indicators. The baseline study will be used as a point of reference against which progress of outcomes will be measured and assessed to provide relevant quantitative and qualitative data on the project’s results indicators. It will also provide a starting point to capture stakeholders’ priorities, SRH knowledge, beliefs, behaviours (including indigenous, informal peer-to-peer education and services), and related gender and social norms. At the end of the project, the methodology will be replicated to assess changes in results indicators over the project lifetime.

The baseline study has the following objectives:

1. To better understand Lebanon’s updated context for the project implementation (at household, community, health system and supply chain, and government levels)
2. To collect data to inform the establishment of realistic and achievable targets
3. To inform the project’s strategies, analyses (gender-power analysis, and environmental assessment), and theory of change

Objective of the consultancy

With guidance from Oxfam and Marsa, the consultant will design and implement a baseline study including:

• Methodology development and validation
• Desk/literature review
• Data collection tools development
• Data collection, cleaning, and analyses
• Report write up

Note: The consultant is expected to collect baseline information for all result indicators of the project’s logical framework and to present that data disaggregated by age, gender, and geographic location. Other parameters of data disaggregation, including class, income, and sexual preferences are desirable while maintaining the identified ethical considerations.

Expected Deliverables

Based on the above expectations the consultant is expected to provide the following deliverables:

• Written methodology (including sampling methods, ethical considerations, possible limitations)
• Data collection tools
• Cleaned database (qualitative, quantitative)
• Report with findings and recommendations (including consolidation/synthesis of the results from different sources)
• Final revised report - number of revisions depend on the quality of the submitted document

Baseline report (10-15 pages) must be comprised of the following sections:

• Executive summary
• Background and context of SRHR (policies, legal framework; income levels; education levels; etc.)
• Methodology:
  • How the data was collected, analyzed, and validated (design study, sampling, protocols for data collection, criteria for disaggregation, criteria for respondent selection, criteria for qualitative methods)
  • Including challenges and limitations that must be considered to understand and interpret findings

• Key findings:
  • Critical analysis of the data through statistical treatment and triangulation with other sources and literature review
  • Global and national indicators-Gendered-power analyses

• Outstanding recommendations emerging from the analysis
  • Including recommendation(s)of modifications of the logic model and PMF
  • Including recommendation(s)to address data limitations and gaps
  • Including new or emerging learning questions that should be taken forward-Including recommendations on how to monitor and assess progress towards transformational change.

• Annexes:
  • Performance measurement framework completed
  • A copy of all tools, surveys and questionnaires used for data collection (qualitative or quantitative)
  • Data sets (original and cleaned) including any field notes

Timeline and expected number of days

The consultant is expected to provide the deliverables within a period of 60 days that extends between July 5^th and September 5^th 2021 as per the below preliminary timeframe:

Activity                                           Expected number of days                   Deadline

Development and validation of methodology  3                         July 10^th, 2021

Development of data collection tools             10                          July 20^th, 2021

Data collection                                                25                        August 14^th, 2021

Data cleaning                                                  10                        August 24^th, 2021

Report first draft                                             7                          August 31^st, 2021

Report final draft                                            5                          September 5^th, 2021

TOTAL NUMBER OF DAYS                         60         

Consultant qualifications:

This consultancy should be led by a person (or team) with:

• Prior experience working on research specific to sexual and reproductive health
• Prior experience working with youth and women
• A minimum of 5 years of experience in conducting quantitative and qualitative research
• Knowledge of gender-sensitive and feminist approaches
• Excellent communications skills in English, including advanced writing skills
• Strong communication skills in Arabic are preferred
• Direct experience working with women and girls in diverse communities across Lebanon
• Availability to start immediately

CODES OF BEHAVIOUR:

The process will be directed by Oxfam’s guidelines for the ethical conduct of evaluations and research, guiding the team of consultants through careful consideration of the key ethical implications at every stage of the harvest. These guidelines are available at this link: http://policy-practice.oxfam.org.uk/publications/undertaking-research-with-ethics-253032

SHARING AND USING FINDINGS:

The final report will be shared internally with Oxfam staff and affiliates. It will also be shared externally with relevant actors and organizations. Generated data will be used to inform Oxfam’s programmes in Lebanon.

DISCLOSURE:

Although free to discuss with the authorities on anything relevant to the assignment, under the terms of reference, the consultant is not authorized to make any commitments on behalf of Oxfam. All data collected as part of this consultancy belongs to Oxfam and public dissemination of the data and findings and recommendations can only be done with the written consent of the Oxfam.

EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST (EOI):

Oxfam invites EOI from individuals, with the experience and skills described above. The EOI must include:

1. A CV for the consultant;

2. A maximum 2-page document outlining similar previous consultancies (along with an explanation of the purpose of the consultancy, who the contracting authority was)

3. Up to 2 extracts of previous reports done in the same area as the subject of this consultancy. Oxfam will use the reports/parts of reports provided for no purpose other than to assess the qualifications of the applying consultant(s);

4. A one-page budget of the offer, covering all major anticipated costs (see section above on what costs should be included in the offer);

Please submit the EOI and other documents by July 2, 2021 at the latest, to  [email protected] with “SRHR Consultant” in the subject line.