CONSULTANT TO CONDUCT BASELINE SURVEY

REQUEST FOR CONSULTANTS TO CONDUCT BASELINE SURVEY

The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is a global humanitarian organization with a mission to work with people in poverty and distress to create just and positive change. ADRA Somalia belongs to the worldwide network, comprised of more than 130 supporting and implementing country offices. ADRA Somalia is seeking to recruit a consultant to conduct baseline survey in Banadir, Jubbaland, Southwest, Hirshabelle and Galmudug states of Somalia for the EU Project “STRENGTHENING EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN SOMALIA” (SETS II) Project.

1. PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVE OF THE CONSULTANCY

The purpose of the consultancy is to generate comprehensive baseline information on the current education services in the project’s implementation locations Somalia, particularly the target regions. The information will inform education programming in these regions and support implementation partners to understand and monitor the progress and results of their education interventions in the regions.

The overall objective of the baseline survey is to generate baseline data, both qualitative and quantitative, by analyzing it to provide statistical information that will set benchmarks for the project’s take off and provide the overall direction based on the present provision of education services in Federal Government of Somalia.

The baseline survey will focus on different streams of providing education to different learners’ groups e.g., pastoralists, minority, and children from IDP families, learners with special needs, children in the streets, women, returnees, and youth. The study will also map out the conceptual factors influencing the adoption of the recently completed distance learning curriculum targeting primary and secondary school learners, to inform strategic options necessary. The action will support Federal MOECHE in collecting and collating comprehensive data on education services in target regions. The assessment will be coordinated by MoECHE at Federal and State levels for purposes of uniformity. This action will make certain that it is up to date with any recent developments with regards to participation in education by all age-groups. The information will feed into the national education sector strategic plan. A survey of the physical infrastructure will allow the civil engineer to establish an action plan for that site. But most importantly, the assessment will allow consulting all stakeholders and evaluating different strategies that will be necessary to expand education and training opportunities in Somalia in general and target regions in particular. The baseline assessment will also review ongoing teacher training programs planned at Somali National University and Gaheyr Teacher Training Institute to ascertain gaps and priorities for planned teacher training program. The baseline will further estimate communities’, private sector and government’s level resource commitment to expanding participation in primary, secondary, TVET and teacher training. This will present the basis for decision-making on inclusive education provision strategies by the action and at the macro-level, the National Development Plan.

The specific objectives of the consultancy are to:

a) Generate baseline data that will identify and set benchmarks and milestones in order to reveal the current situation of education service in all the above stated regions and assist project partners to better monitor and measure progress achieved through its education interventions in the regions.

The data should cover the following key sectors with particular focus on the parameters of access, equity, relevance, quality and completion:

1. Basic Education (including early childhood education)
2. Secondary Education
3. Technical Professional Secondary Education
4. Alternative Basic Education (ABE)
5. Non-Formal Education
6. Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET)
7. Teacher Training.

As pointed out, specific data on access/enrolment rate, quality of education, relevance of education, internal efficiency, equity, utilization and integration of ICT in schools, protection, disability, community resilience, preparedness and gender issues.

b) Conduct a needs assessment for the 45 existing public primary, secondary and schools that were initially supported by the SETS and SETS EA projects and will now be supported by the SETS II project covering the current status of enrolment, infrastructure and teaching force, learning resources and curriculum, extra-curricular activities. Needs assessment will also be conducted for 8 existing TVET centers constructed during previous EU supported interventions.

1. Conduct learning assessment targeting learners in model schools constructed during SETS and SETS EA projects.
2. Assess the current capacity of education authorities in the target regions of Banadir, Jubbaland, Southwest, Hirshabelle and Galmudug in planning, delivery and monitoring and governance and system management of education at all levels
3. Design a monitoring and evaluation framework for the project, which will include contextually relevant set of education baseline tools for use by project partners in the life of the project, as well as for adaptation in education baseline surveys in other areas of operation.
4. Impart education project staff and Ministry staff in the target regions and partners participating in the baseline survey with relevant skills in collecting and analyzing data and effectively reporting on education baseline surveys. This will be gained through training and working together with staff and partners during the consultancy.
5. Impart education project staff and Ministry staff in the target regions and partners participating in the baseline survey with relevant skills in collecting and analyzing data and effectively reporting on education baseline surveys. This will be gained through training and working together with staff and partners during the consultancy.
6. SCOPE OF WORK

The consultancy falls under the SETS II project funded by the European Union, implemented by ADRA (Lead Agency), CISP and Alight, in partnership with the Federal Ministry for Education, Culture and Higher Education in Banadir, and State Ministries of Jubbaland, Southwest, Hirshabelle and Galmudug.

The consultant will be expected to undertake the following tasks:

1. Participate in briefing and consultative meetings on the assignment in different locations of Somalia.
2. Familiarize with the local education context, past and ongoing education projects, the Education Sector Strategic Plans, and the SETS II project documents.
3. Review extensively all relevant reports, studies and surveys on the education sector in Somalia, and synthesize the information to ensure that data collection focusses on areas not covered by current literature.
4. Evaluate the project log-frame in detail, and propose revisions to the proposed indicators where necessary, based on the findings of the baseline survey.
5. Assess the overall design strategy and implementation approaches of the programme and propose methods of ensuring that the project is implemented in a relevant, effective, efficient and achieves maximum impact and complementarity with other actions.
6. Design and deliver a 3-day training for the education project staff (and partners) on key aspects of the baseline survey including how data will be collected (process, methods, and tools), analyzed, interpreted, and reported.
7. Constitute the survey team (in agreement with Ministry and consortium staff).
8. Set off the survey team to pre-test and refine the data collection tools and to collect required data.
9. Enter and analyze the baseline data (jointly with select education project staff partners – for learning purposes). Relevant data analysis software such as SPSS will be used.
10. Debrief education project management staff from the consortium agencies and the respective Ministries on the process and preliminary findings of the baseline survey.
11. Prepare and submit comprehensive, well-structured report of the baseline survey.
12. DELIVERABLES

The following services and outputs are expected:

1. 1. An Inception Report prior to the commencement of the baseline survey, explaining the detailed baseline survey design and the implementation plan. The Inception Report shall be approved collectively by Federal MoECHE and ADRA before data collection begins.
   2. Detailed and comprehensive baseline survey tools to be used in capturing the information required by the SETS II programme implementing partners in all the project locations, and for the mid- term and end of project evaluations. The tools should be discussed and agreed at the project level before utilization and there after be annexed to the baseline survey report.
   3. Orientation/ training of the education project staff (and partners participating in the survey) on the conduct of the baseline survey. The baseline survey tools will be discussed and finalized during this workshop.
   4. Debrief session and power-point presentation for the SETS II Programme implementation team.
   5. Comprehensive draft and final baseline survey reports. A compulsory annex to the baseline survey report is the M&E plan for the project, summarizing how data on the variables/indicators listed in the SETS II logframe, among others identified by the consultant and the education project team should be garnered and reported on. M&E data collection templates should also form part of the M&E plan. The M&E plan should also have draft tools to be used in data collection by ADRA and MoECHE technical teams.
   6. Soft copy of the database of the primary data analyzed and used in the report.

The draft and final reports should be submitted in soft copy to the ADRA SETS II consortium manager/Project Manager and copied to Federal MOECHE within two weeks of completing field work. The consultant will submit the final report, 2 weeks after receiving consolidated comments from consortium members and the Federal Ministry of Education, Culture and Higher Education in Mogadishu and State MoEs. Federal MOECHE and ADRA’s Programs Director will collectively approve the report if it meets organizational minimum standards. The report should not be more than 60 pages (excluding the annexes) and should contain relevant parts such as an executive summary, findings, lessons learnt, recommendations and annexes.

1. PROPOSED METHODOLOGY

As much as possible, the consultant should ensure the baseline survey is conducted in a participatory manner and that the exercise enables participating staff (and partners) to pick useful data collection and analysis skills. Children, Community Education Committees, education authorities, ADRA, CISP, Alight and other stakeholders should be meaningfully and fully involved in the survey.

The consultant will be expected to utilize various research techniques and methods in collecting the required information. This would, as found appropriate, include review of secondary data, personal and group interviews, questionnaire administration, observations, focus group discussions, key informant discussions, among others with especial emphasis on:

• Access to the school environment/ infrastructure-child friendliness, favourable for learning status of learning facilities-classrooms, chalk boards.
• Assess the capacity of proposed adult learning centers to provide quality adult learning services.
• Teachers’ qualification including disaggregating by gender.
• Teachers’ recruitment process.
• Knowledge and skills of education authorities and CECs to manage schools to promote quality education.
• School curriculum in use.
• Assess existing infrastructure and facilities on inclusive and disability education, as well as government priorities on the same.
• Capacity of education authorities (MoE and CECs) to lobby for increased financing for education.
• Existing policies against discrimination either on gender, disability and other socio-economic factors.
• Protection in terms of health and hygiene to learners in schools.
• Awareness of the existing protection policies by key education players at the local level.
• Availability of WASH facilities and their status in the target centres.
• Assess the nature and variety of skills available for youth and certification processes.

The collected data will have to be collated, analysed and interpreted in a coherent and systematic manner, using detailed data/information analysis method(s).

The methodology to be proposed by the consultant in the technical proposal will be reviewed by the procurement committee of MOECHE and ADRA who will approve it before commencement of the assignment.

1. Profile of the consultant

Essential:

• Post graduate degree in education from a recognized institution of higher learning.
• Extensive experience in research including designing and conducting (education) baseline surveys and assessments.
• Extensive understanding of the Somali context and education sector in particular
• Fluent in both Somali and English languages
• Knowledge and experience of using participatory methodologies in monitoring and evaluation of education work in a developing country context.
• Knowledge and understanding of education management systems.
• Proficiency in computer skills.
• Understanding of education in a developing country.
• Excellent facilitation and report writing skills in English language.
• Extensive experience of delivering training workshops.

Desirable:

• Experience of working in a Somalia.
• Familiarity with donor funded Education programmes in Somalia.
• Familiarity with previous work of similar nature will be an added advantage.

1. Supervision and management

The consultant(s) will be competitively identified through a process coordinated by ADRA HR team and MoECHE. Upon successful selection, the consultant(s) will report to and receive initial briefing from the ADRA Education program manager and the Programs Director. At the field level, the MoECHE Director General of Education, MoECHE Planning Director and target States of Banadir, Jubbaland, Southwest, Galmudug and Hirshabelle, as well as the Field coordinators and Project Managers of ADRA, CISP and Alight will provide day to day guidance and support. Relevant background documents/literature will be provided before or during the briefing session by consortium members.

1. terms and conditions of service

• ADRA with funding from the EU will provide such necessary resources required for the successful execution of the assignment. This will include transport, security arrangements, accommodation, lodging, and any other relevant support requested by the consultant.
• ADRA will cover the consultants local travel and accommodation during the field work in Somalia.
• Logistics of travel to and from project locations. Airport tax where applicable will also be paid for and handled by ADRA. ADRA will also cover transport, security arrangements, lodging, consultant travel and visa charges (if applicable), accommodation and other logistical travels.
• The consultant shall be responsible for his/her taxes and/or security implication because of the consultant being engaged in this piece of work.