Terms of Reference (ToR) For Contracting Data Collection Services At

Hanga Akazi (HA) 

TITLE: Employment and Entrepreneurship Activity 

1. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

RTI International is an independent, nonprofit research institute providing research, development, and technical services to government and commercial clients worldwide. It is implementing a USAID-funded Hanga Akazi (HA) Activity in Rwanda. HA is a five-year activity that will work with private and public sector to scale up equitable employment and entrepreneurial opportunities in Rwanda’s agri-food system. 

Hanga Akazi will address the problem of insufficient employment opportunities and limited entrepreneurial success for Rwandans. Using a facilitative, demand-driven, private-sector-led approach, the E&E Activity will facilitate capacity development of Rwandans in the key technical and soft skills required to participate in a modern workforce.

The goal of HA is transformative partnerships in Rwanda's agriculture sector and complementary market segments, leading to a resilient and catalytic agri-food ecosystem that drives inclusive job creation, increased entrepreneurship opportunities, and the entry and growth of new and existing enterprises to contribute to inclusive and sustainable private sector growth. The Activity uses two impact indicators that cut across components to measure progress toward this goal:

• Number of individuals with new or improved employment following participation in USG assisted programs (target of 23,000 jobs)
• Number of full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs created with USG assistance (target of 19,000 jobs)

2. ABOUT THE SHORT-TERM ASSIGNMENT

This Terms of Reference (ToR) document refers to services of a firm to perform various types of interviews on selected partners, key informant interviews, focus group discussions) and fill in forms to collect the data provided by interviewees identified by Hanga Akazi. The assignment will also offer services related the collection of data and information for the partner beneficiary baseline and other subsequent studies that will be conducted on an ad hoc and intermittent basis. 

Data will be collected during visits to sampled project beneficiaries’ households and/or to market actors supported by the Hanga Akazi Activity countrywide. After selection, the service provider will receive the project logic model, MEL plan and data collection instruments (the service provider will have to review translation of the tools).

3. SCOPE OF WORK FOR A LOCAL DATA COLLECTION FIRM

Hanga Akazi is seeking a local research firm with experience in both quantitative and qualitative data collection to partner beneficiary baseline and other subsequent studies that will be conducted on an ad hoc and intermittent basis. The selected firm will commence activities in July 2023. 

Key responsibilities of the local data collection partner include: 

1. Instrument finalization. The local data collection firm will be required to assist and advise the HA MEL team (led by MEL Manager) on the contextualization and suitability of the instrument (s) for data collection. HA will adapt the developed tool(s), but the firm will conduct a final review to check for the appropriateness of the language used in the instruments, and will translate the instrument, as it relates to the local dialects used in the specific programme communities. The local data collection firm will be responsible for digitalizing and uploading the survey onto data collection tablets. 

2. Enumerator recruitment and data collection training: The local data collection firm will identify and recruit data collectors (firm will identify total number needed based on data collection caseload described in this ToR) who will be responsible for collecting the quantitative and qualitative data for HA targeted inidcators. The local firm will be responsible for ensuring that qualified data collectors are present. Based on enumerator assessments, a final team of selected enumerators will be determined from the full group of trainees. The local firm will be responsible for developing a Data Collection Guidance note for review by HA MEL team prior to training. The firm will also be responsible for printing all data collection instruments for training, incorporating (and translating) any revisions to instruments following the training and pilots, and printing all instruments for data collection. 

3. Pilot survey tool: The local data collection will conduct a small pilot exercise to ensure an existing survey tool is appropriately adapted for the local context and target population and that the survey has been effectively transferred onto the tablet. The local research firm will be responsible for coordinating the logistics of the pilot exercise, including identifying appropriate participants for the quantitative survey pilots, and providing feedback to HA Mel team on how to modify the survey. 

4. Quantitative data collection: The local research firm will coordinate all logistics for quantitative and quantitative data collection of validated surveys (most significantly, travel to and from the evaluation sites in appropriate vehicles for the local conditions). This may imply the firm may have to collect up 10% more to achieve the required number of effective surveys. Surveys will be administered orally in the local language across the country, as not all respondents will be literate. The precise timing, Location, Women, Men, Youth, and Persons with disability to be surveyed will be provided by HA MEL team prior to data collection. The survey supervisor(s) will ensure that all surveys are completed correctly prior to leaving each evaluation site, and that data is stored securely. The research firm will also be responsible for ensuring all research ethical standards are followed, such as obtaining informed consent, clearly explaining that participants have full choice in participating in the research, and respecting participants who wish to withdraw or discontinue surveys. 

5. Data entry and cleaning: The local data collection firm is responsible for entering all data collected under surveys using their own digital data collection tool like Kobo collect. Daily data-quality checks are required. The data collection firm will be responsible for developing data entry template which will be reviewed by HA Supervisor(s). The hired firm will conduct thorough data sport checks and submit to HA a final, clean dataset. Data collection firm will also prepare and deliver a codebook to accompany final dataset. 

Deliverables and Milestones

• Data Collection Guidance created and translated, and presented to HA
• Quantitative and qualitative enumerators recruited for data collection training
• Training of data collectors co-led by data collection firm and HA MEL team
• Explain the objectives of surveys and their procedures to interviewees, including appropriately gaining informed consent where interviewees agree to participate
• Explain/translate interview questions to ensure interview subjects comprehend questions to ensure data quality
• Where applicable, review the interview guide and provide recommendations to improve it, if any
• Conduct interviews with respondents to collect information and data
• Filling out survey forms and prepare meeting and/or detailed interview notes while maintaining fidelity to what was said by the interviewee.
• Double-check information on survey forms to ensure accuracy
• Identify and report any issues that may arise while attempting to obtain valid data
• Ensure that the supervisor is kept informed of completed assignments and progress, and share any concerns in a timely manner
• Analyze the authenticity of the information provided by ensuring direct contact with targeted interviewees
• Maintain confidentiality throughout the whole process, and particularly when collecting sensitive information such as Workforce Outcome Reporting Questionnaires (WORQ) among others.
• Participate in on-the-job training and pre-testing of data collection tools before the commencement of the survey and / or interviews
• Respond to queries raised by the MEL team on the submitted data, recontacting respondents as required
• Attend any relevant data collection meetings convened by Hanga Akazi as deemed urgent and necessary.

   Note: Final milestones and deliverables will be set in the contract that is signed with the selected

              firm. 

4. COMPETENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS:

Qualifications for lead consultant

• Must have a recognized university degree in Business Information Technology (BIT), Agriculture, agricultural economics, international development, economics, or related field preferred.
• Must demonstrate excellent fluency in Kinyarwanda, English, French and Swahili
• Must demonstrate a high level of experience of conducting quantitative and qualitative surveys in Rwanda in line with employment & entrepreneurship skills, workforce development programs as well as international best practices
• Must demonstrate experience of high level of data cleaning, data entry and familiarity with various data analyses programmes
• Must demonstrate experience collecting sensitive data from survey respondents.
• Experience in doing similar works for USAID/Feed the Future funded Projects.
• Experience in conducting interviews and running Focus Group Discussions, with examples provided where possible
• Experience using smartphones or tablets to collect and record data using Kobo Collect, SurveyCTO, ComCare, PowerBi, among others.

Qualifications for enumerators

• The offeror should propose the minimum qualifications for enumerators that are consistent with the proposed approach.
• The data collection team must have a balance of Youth, Persons with Disability, Men and Women. 

5. REPORTING AND LOGISTICS:

The main contact persons are the HA Monitoring and Evaluation Manager and the Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning Coordinator. 

APPLICATION INSTRUCTION

• Detailed scope of work, budget and timeline discussing your approach to producing the main deliverables described under “Key Responsibilities” above (maximum of 10 pages, single-spaced).

Successful applications will clearly articulate:

• Workplan detailing how deliverables will be produced according to the above timeline, including justification for proposed staff structure.
• This workplan to include how & what the data collectors will carry out the data collection activities.
• How the data collection firm will ensure data is of high quality, including explanation of proposed data backcheck procedures.
• How the data collection firm will ensure high quality double entry of all survey data and will clean the data. How data collected from vulnerable populations will be managed and stored securely.
• If firm has previous experience with electronic data collection, provide explanation of tools/software used, hardware (tablets, smartphones) available for use, and processes typically undertaken to program electronic surveys.
• Overview of how you will ensure that enumerators, supervisors and programme beneficiaries are kept Covid safe during data collection
• The successful applicant must clearly demonstrate how the youth will be involved in the design, development and implementation processes of this assignment.

• Detailed budget (in Rwandan Francs)
• Include a brief summary information for potential data collectors: experience working in Rwanda, education, gender, numbers available. (Note: data collectors must be from Rwanda. The data collection team must have a balance of Youth, Persons with Disability, men and women.)
• Include details of the firm’s past experience conducting research in Rwanda.
• Provide references from three researchers/non-governmental organizations who have conducted data collection using your firm. These can be provided as signed letters or emails from the relevant parties. We will contact these references, so please ensure that their contact information is current

SELECTION CRITERIA

• Technical Approach (30%): Clear and comprehensive methodology and work plan to pursue data collection efforts
• Expertise (30%): Relevance experience with adequate proof related to conducting similar assignments in the past.
• Cost (25%): Reasonableness of the proposed cost of consultancy for the period of performance
• Inclusion (15%): Firm owned by women, youth, and/or persona with disability. 

Payment.

The contracted firm will be paid in tranches based on the delivery of agreed outputs at the different milestones set for the project in the finalized agreement / Contract. 

APPLICATION INSTRUCTION

Submit the documents below to haprocurement@hanga-akazi.org by 20 ^th June 2023, 5pm.

1. A technical proposal (in English) on the assignment. This should begin with a cover letter and include a proposed budget. 10 pages max
2. A detailed CV highlighting previous experiences in undertaking similar assignments. The CVs can include self-declaration on sex, age and disability status - if desired. 5 pages max