Baseline Assessment Consultant 404 views

SOS Children’s Villages in The Gambia Trust is a non-governmental social development organisation that has been active in the field of children’s rights and committed to children’s need and concerns since 1982. Focussing its work on children without parental care and children in families in difficult circumstances, the organisation has a wide range of programmes, which include Children’s Villages, Youth Facilities, Family Strengthening Programmes, Kindergartens, Schools, a Mother and Child Clinic, Vocational Training Centres, a Child’s Rights Instruments, Agent for Sustainable Change Project and a Sustainable Nutrition Improvement Project.

Background of the project

SOS Children’s Villages in The Gambia secured a three year funding (2025-27) from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland through SOS Children’s Villages Finland to implement the Gender Equality First project which seeks to enhance the empowerment of women and young girls towards achieving gender equality and sustainable livelihoods in rural Gambia. The project interventions are comprehensive and designed to address young girls and marginalized female heads of households challenges at community and individual levels with key result areas;

• Increased access for targeted women and girls in vulnerable positions to sustainable economic development opportunities and skills
• Targeted women and girls have better understanding of their rights and improved social and life skills to pursue them whereby at least 600 children will benefit
• Communities adopt positive attitudes and practices supporting gender equality and the rights of women and girls in situations of vulnerability to decent works, livelihood, income and inclusion of persons with disabilities.

The main partners at local level include the regional authorities, women’s rights organizations, vocational training and skills centres, youth clubs and other stakeholders in the communities of Mansajang, Kaba Kama, Brikama Ba and Panchang of the Central River and Upper River Regions of The Gambia.

Rationale and overall objective of the baseline study

The Gender Equality First project baseline study is an analysis of the situation of the target group and intervention communities prior to the implementation of the project against which progress can be assessed and comparisons made as per indicators in the results framework. The baseline study also seeks to test the validity, reliability and data availability of indicators. 

GENERAL INFORMATION ON REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

The bidders are welcome to submit their proposal for a baseline study in the location of Upper River Region and Central River Region. This bid is open to all national suppliers (independent consultants or companies) who are legally constituted and can provide the requested services. The bidder shall bear all costs of the bid; costs of a proposal cannot be included as a direct cost of the assignment. The proposal and all supplementary documents have to be submitted in English. Financial bid needs to be stated in Gambian Dalasis(GMD). 

Process of Submission of Bids 

To facilitate the submission of proposals, the submission duly stamped and signed can be done electronically in PDF format and sent to  job.apply@sosgambia.org Electronic submissions preferred. 

Documents to submit

1. Bid submission / identification form

• Previous experience
• Financial proposal (separate PDF file) 
• Technical proposal
• CVs of the research team member(s) including current geographical location(s) 
• Three references (at least two of them must be familiar with your work) 
• An example of a recent/relevant evaluation report (if available for public use) 

1. Deadline for submission

The proposal has to be received by latest on 29th November 2024 by the end of the day midnight. Proposals received after the deadline will not be considered.

Modification and withdrawal of bids

Proposals may be withdrawn on written request prior to the closing date of this invitation. Any corrections or changes must be received prior to the closing date. Changes must be clearly stated in comparison with the original proposal. Failure to do so will be at bidder’s own risk and disadvantage.

Signing of the contract 

SOS Children’s Villages will inform the successful bidder electronically and will send the contract form within 3 weeks after closure of the bid submission deadline. The successful bidder shall sign and date the contract, and return it to SOS Children’s Villages, The Gambia within seven calendar days of receipt of the contract. After the contract is signed by two parties, the successful bidder shall deliver the services in accordance with the delivery schedule outlined in the bid.

Rights of SOS Children’s Villages:

• contact any or all references supplied by the bidder(s);
• request additional supporting or supplementary data (from the bidder(s));
• arrange interviews with the bidder(s);
• reject any or all proposals submitted;
• accept any proposals in whole or in part;
• negotiate with the service provider(s) who has/have attained the best rating/ranking, i.e. the one(s) providing the overall best value proposal(s);
• contract any number of candidates as required to achieve the overall evaluation objectives

Evaluation of proposals

After the opening, each proposal will be assessed first on its technical quality and compliance and subsequently on its price. The proposal with the best overall value, composed of technical merit and price, will be considered for approval. The technical proposal is evaluated on the basis of its responsiveness to the Term of Reference (TOR). Bidders may additionally be requested to provide additional information (virtual presentation or phone interview) to SOS Children’s Villages on the proposed services. 

TERMS OF REFERENCE

1. Tasks and Questions

The baseline study is an analysis of the situation of women and young girls in central river region and upper river region prior to the implementation of the gender equality project, against which progress can be assessed and comparisons made. The baseline study tests indicators listed in the results framework (or logical framework) regarding their validity, reliability, and data availability. In some cases, the baseline study report might suggest changing/refining indicators or adapting the source of verification within the results framework, because it is not feasible to find reliable data for the originally proposed indicator. In addition to those minor changes, the baseline study should establish the starting indicator value so targets can be set and the source of verification can be tested to ensure it is reliable and data can be accessed or collected. A strong and accurate baseline is the starting point from which change can be measured during monitoring and evaluations.

Key Tasks:

1. Conduct literature review on the situation of women and girls in vulnerable positions having access to sustainable economic opportunities, understanding their rights and, communities adoption of gender equality.
2. If necessary: suggest modification on either sources of verification or indicator definition / operationalisation (only in case of severe challenges in collecting reliable data)
3. Establish baseline indicator values for all indicators defined in the results framework and make recommendations on the targeted values for the end of the project.
4. Provide a report with recommendations and a narrative summary of the baseline findings.

Methodology

The data collection process is to be proposed by the consultant and should include e.g.: accessing existing data collection systems such as SOS Children’s Villages programme database (PDB) and existing reports such as the needs assessment and project proposal dcouments; interviews with key stakeholders like representatives of the target group, community leaders and representatives of the municipality/area council, accessing country statistics etc. The technical proposal is expected to include a detailed section on methodology. 

1. Expected deliverables

• Inception report
• Documentation of activities (e.g. interviews) carried out
• Baseline study (draft and final) report containing (see outline in the annex):
  • Executive summary
  • Methodology
  • Recommendations on indicators and sources of verification
  • Outcome of baseline study (table with baseline values)
  • Narrative summary and recommendations
• Validation meeting

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