RFP: Baseline Survey - Strengthening County Resilience against WASH-related Climate Crisis in Turkana, Kenya (SCORE II) project

TERMS OF REFERENCE (TOR) FOR INSTITUTIONAL CONTRACTORS

1. Background    

Within the framework of the partnership between Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), UNICEF is implementing the project on “Strengthening County Resilience against WASH-related Climate Crisis in Turkana, Kenya (hereinafter referred to as the “SCORE II project”)” in 4 sub-counties, Loima, Turkana Central, Kibish and Turkana North, over the period from 2024 to 2027.   

Turkana County is one of the most drought-prone areas of Kenya and has a significant deficit of water supply infrastructure. This is further compounded by inadequate water management systems and strategies to maximise the utility of this scarce resource.

The project goal is to improve County resilience to WASH-related Climate Crisis through Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), Sanitation and Hygiene in four sub-counties (Loima, Turkana central, Kibish and Turkana North) in Turkana County. This project will address:

• Deficit of water supply infrastructure in Turkana through construction of community water points and rehabilitation of existing boreholes to increase both access (proximity) and availability (continuity) to water throughout the normal dry season and through extreme climatic events such as drought for communities, schools, and Health Care facilities. Promote synergies with JICA-IFNuS especially the ECDE Vegi-lunch project in schools.
• Functionality of rural water points through interventions designed to professionalise the management systems, introduce performance benchmarks, enhance oversight, introduce PPP models, and strengthen regulation. In collaboration with JICA IFNUS (nutrition) project, Strengthen the continuous data updating (CoDuSYS) system in Turkana county.
• Sanitation and hygiene practices and knowledge in communities and schools through community led total sanitation (CLTS) approaches. Inclusion of schools where JICA-IFNuS has presence (especially on sanitation and hygiene matters).
• The Enabling Environment conducive to climate resilient WASH Services and Communities through interventions that catalyse a transformational change in the management culture of relevant institutions to shift towards risk-based approaches.

The project aims to bring about a transformative change for 139,500 people through strengthening community resilience in the face of natural disasters and climate change, improved WASH services, and safeguard livelihoods that depend primarily on livestock. More specifically, the SCORE II project is expected to deliver the following results:

• 46,744 people gain sustainable access to basic drinking water services.
• 80% of the target communities have functional rural water points.
• 139,500 people gain access to improved sanitation and live in open defecation free villages with improved knowledge and skills to adopt hand washing practices.
• County Ministry of Water Services, Environment and Mineral Resources adopt and implement risk-based approaches to planning and implementing water supply infrastructure and management models.

The expected outputs and indicators include:

Output 1: Increase access to climate resilient WASH services.

• Number of people using climate-resilient basic drinking water source in the target communities
• Number of schools having access to climate-resilient drinking water source in the target communities
• Number of healthcare facilities having access to climate-resilient drinking water source in the target communities
• Number of schools with access to improved disability-inclusive sanitation facility in the target communities
• Number of healthcare facilities with access to improved disability-inclusive sanitation facility in the target communities
• Percentage of recommendations from safety audits implemented.

Output 2: Strengthen sustainable management of WASH services.

• Number of government officials trained on sustainable management of WASH services in the target communities.
• Number of communities benefiting from operational sector maintenance service provider in the target communities  
• Number of functional water sources in the target communities
• Number of County Financial Mobilization Action Plan developed.

Output 3: Increase community awareness and adaptive capacity of WASH practices

• Number of people with increased knowledge and capacity on sanitation and hygiene service in the target communities
• Number of households with soap and water at handwashing station on premises in target areas
• Number of newly triggered villages in the target communities
• Number of villages with certification /verification of Open Defecation Free in the target communities
• Number of people who are trained on water-related disasters response risk-based approaches to water management in the target communities.     
• Number of people with access to improved sanitation facilities in the target communities        
• Number of people trained on O&M of WASH services in schools or healthcare facilities.

• Purpose and Objectives

A central element of the SCORE II project is to learn about and document the extent to which interventions are effective, are operationally feasible, and in what circumstances. As such, rigorous monitoring and evaluation is essential to enable accurate tracking of changes in knowledge, activities and practices that result from the development of new water supply infrastructure, and sensitisation and learning activities. The rationale is not only to assess the impact of the SCORE II project in Turkana County, but also to provide credible evidence on the feasibility and effectiveness of these interventions.

The baseline survey is needed to determine the existing situation prior to project implementation. It will be used in conjunction with an endline survey to assess the extent to which the project has achieved its aims and provide some measure of how the project has improved the quality of people’s lives.

The design of the baseline survey must also contribute to facilitating measurement of the project’s output indicators detailed above. Specifically, those that cannot be measured through routine project monitoring activities.

Key objectives of the baseline survey include:

• Have a deep understanding of the initial situation in intervention communities, schools and Health Care facilities to inform the detailed planning of project interventions through mitigation of risks arising from assumptions with respect to community needs, priorities, attitudes, social norms, cultural practices etc.
• To establish the baseline values for both household level outcome and output level indicators in overall program intervention areas
• Collect data needed to inform relevant project outcome and output indicators and establish a reference/baseline situation (where data on these indicators cannot practically be collected through routine project monitoring).
• To collect data that, when compared to that of the final evaluation, will be able to determine the level of change on impact and outcome indicators between baseline and final evaluation.

The above objectives will pay special attention to the situation of women, children and other vulnerable groups including those living with Disability and elderly, and their specific conditions and needs in Turkana County. Disaggregated data for all vulnerable groups should be provided wherever feasible and relevant.

• Scope of work

The consultant conducting this baseline survey is requested to:

• Develop a detailed timeline and work plan for the preparation and conducting of this baseline survey assignment.
• Undertake a desk review on available literature and project documents to identify information gaps and inform the survey methodology and tools.
• Design the baseline survey methodology and tools focusing on the objectives ensuring that samples are representative of the target groups and subcounties.
• Calculate representative sample size and sampling method, develop baseline with clear rationale for their selection, propose data analysis methodology.
• Recruit highly qualified survey team members including surveyors/enumerators, field supervisors, WASH experts, survey experts/managers, statisticians etc. Further include a crowd mapping feature to the survey to capture a full picture of water facilities/points across the counties. This would help to locate and map all types of facilities/points including smaller, ones that might otherwise be missed and update the existing CoDuSYS database. This will give a clearer, more detailed view of accessible facilities/points options for the community.
• Translate baseline survey questionnaires and tools into the relevant local language(s) and conduct a back translation to verify the accuracy of the translation.
• Train the survey team, pre-test the survey questionnaires in the field and adjust them as appropriate.
• Organize data collection using smartphone/tablets and mobile-to-web technologies (recommended as an efficient alternative to paper-based surveys).
• Prepare, conduct and supervise data collection in the field in coordination with UNICEF, county government, JICA, WFP and other concerned stakeholders (including survey team organization, logistics, material, quality assurance etc.) This will include discussions with JICA-IFNUS team to collect data/information on common areas of interest (such as CODUSYs, ECDE Vegi-Lunch). Further have= discussions with WFP for collaboration on community level food security.
• Undertake Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with selected groups of project beneficiaries. Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) will be used to generate in-depth information on the survey questions and serve as a basis of triangulating the responses obtained from the other data collection methods.
• Carry out data entry, cleaning and logging/tracking of any changes made to the dataset.
• Carry out data analysis using a suitable statistical analysis package.
• Participate in the dissemination of the survey results.
• Prepare a detailed analytical report of the baseline survey including key recommendations to inform detailed project design, progress monitoring, and design and implementation of endline survey.

• Methodology

4.1. Data collection methods

The consultant is expected to conduct primary baseline data collection through a variety of quantitative and qualitative methods including:

• A desk review of key documents such as project documents, log-frame, and other relevant documents including key government policies.
• Knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) survey that will be conducted across the sub counties according to the sampling method outlined below. The survey will be conducted using a questionnaire administered by trained enumerators.
• Key informant interviews with community leaders, Boards of Management, Head Teachers, and key WASH/water committee members.
• Direct observation of toilets, hygiene facilities and water points to collect information on accessibility, functionality and the types of facilities (water source and sanitation facilities) as well as presence of latrines, handwashing place, soap, or ash in communities, schools and Health Care facilities.
• Focus group discussions.
• The baseline assessment is expected to be gender-sensitive, rights-based, inclusive, and culturally sensitive.

4.2 Sampling

Only communities identified to benefit from the SCORE Project need to be surveyed. A representative sample should be drawn from the list of intervention communities and surveyed. All 620villages in the 4 sub-counties will be included in the CLTS intervention, while an estimated 41 villages will benefit from a rehabilitation/new water supply structure. The Turkana County Government shall provide a list of villages that currently lack access to an improved source of drinking water. The sample size calculation will comply with the following parameters: Margin of error: 5%, Confidence level: 90%, and Response distribution: 50%. The consultant will propose a suitable sampling method in the technical proposal.

4.3 Data Entry and Analysis

Data will be collected using smartphones/tablets, enabling data entry directly during the interview to increase data quality and reduce data processing time. The consultant needs to elaborate in the technical proposal on the technology that will be used for this assignment. Adjustments may need to be made after being tested, agreed upon and approved by UNICEF at the inception phase. Methodological rigor will be given significant consideration in the assessment of proposals. Hence bidders are invited to demonstrate methodological expertise in survey design, management and data analysis.

Data analysis will be mainly quantitative to provide statistics to help orient future actions and provide recommendations, and to facilitate endline survey comparison.

• Expected deliverables and timeline.

The consultancy is expected to start in December 2024 for a total duration of 60 working days. The table below presents the main activities to be undertaken, deliverables, duration, and tranches of payment.

Bidders are invited to reflect on the proposed activities, tasks and timeline and propose modifications in their technical proposal if appropriate.

• Management and coordination

It is expected that the contractor will manage all aspects of the baseline study and be responsible for the design, data collection, analysis of all data, and report writing. The data collection will be conducted through survey leads that will be identified and recruited by the contractor, pending UNICEF’s review and approval of the proposed CVs, in coordination with Turkana County Government.

The contractor will operate under the supervision of the UNICEF Kenya Chief of WASH, with technical assistance from the UNICEF Kenya Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist.

Contract management and all final decisions/approvals will be made by the UNICEF Kenya. UNICEF will organize key meetings and review all survey documents/tools and draft deliverables. UNICEF will also facilitate contacts with the national and local authorities/institutions, share information with them, ensure their involvement and ownership and seek necessary authorisations.

• Qualifications and experience required.

The baseline survey will be conducted by a qualified service provider, e.g. survey company (or consortium), academic institution or survey institution. The service provider should have a good track record in field surveys and be able to access survey locations. Experience in use of mobile-to-web based applications for surveys will be an asset, as well as experience in conducting both quantitative and qualitative surveys in the areas of water, sanitation, and hygiene promotion, especially in rural areas.

If the service provider is not based in Kenya, the data collection in-country may be conducted through a local partner identified, recruited and trained by the contractor, and under its close supervision. The local partner will be approved by UNICEF country office in coordination with the government.

At minimum, the service provider should mobilize assigned personnel that meet the following qualifications:

Survey management team (can be composed of a few key people with the appropriate mix of skills):

• University degree (minimum master’s degree level) in a subject related to the survey, e.g. Statistics, Monitoring, Evaluation, Public Health, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Sanitation Engineering, or a field relevant to social sciences, WASH, or international development
• High standard of written and verbal English communication skills
• Strong WASH expertise
• Extensive experience with field survey (quantitative and qualitative surveys, including in WASH) and with enumerator training and supervision.
• Qualifications/expertise in statistics and data analysis (and extensive experience using relevant IT tools and software) using latest version of statistical software/packages.
• 5-7 years of expertise and experience in conducting similar surveys, particularly in the areas of water, sanitation and hygiene promotion, especially in rural areas
• Capacity/experience in mobile-to-web technologies for surveys is an asset
• Good understanding of UNICEF’s mandate and thematic areas other than WASH such as health, nutrition, education, child protection
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to present data and write in a clear and concise manner.
• Ideally, the survey management team will include at least one qualified female member.

Survey supervisors:

• University degree in a subject related to the survey aims.
• Extensive experience with quantitative and qualitative field surveys, if possible, in WASH, and with enumerators training and supervision
• High standard of written and verbal English language skills
• Speak local language.
• Familiarity with the local social and cultural context an asset
• Ideally, there will be at least one qualified woman among the supervision team.

Survey enumerators (surveyors):

• Basic university degree and/or previous survey experience
• Speak local language.
• Familiarity with the local social and cultural context is highly recommended.
• Gender balance among surveyors will be sought (particularly useful for the household interviews)

• Application

• Technical Proposal: The service provider is expected to provide a technical proposal detailing understanding of the context and assignment, proposed methodology and workplan, expected challenges and mitigation measures, detailed references for similar assignments undertaken in the last five years, examples of sample reports/public documents from similar assignments (co)authored by the proposed consultant, team composition and detailed CV(s).
• Financial Proposal: The financial proposal will be all-inclusive and will provide a detailed budget covering consultant fees, travel and subsistence costs, and other expenses to be incurred for this assignment to complete the entire assignment based on the sample sizes (as per instruction given under Section 4.2). Note that UNICEF will cover the workshop costs, and this should not be included in the financial proposal. The institution selected for this assignment must provide their own computers, communication, internet connections and workspaces. Contractors will be responsible for their own bookings and travel to and from the mission locations.

Only those proposals that score 50 points or more out of 70 will be shortlisted for the financial assessment stage. Weighted ratio between the technical proposal and the financial proposal criteria: (70:30)

Table: Evaluation of Technical Proposal

b. Financial Proposal

The total amount of points allocated for the financial proposal is 30. The maximum number of points will be allotted to the lowest cost proposal that is opened and compared among those invited firms/institutions which obtain the threshold points in the evaluation of the technical component. All other financial proposals will receive points in inverse proportion to the lowest price, e.g.,

Score for price proposal X =

The total cost for this consultancy should be provided based on the statistically valid sample size for this survey. The baseline survey is to be completed in 60 working days. It is recommended that interested parties review relevant questionnaires including the JMP core questions for households (https://washdata.org/monitoring/methods/core-questions), and the latest version of the MICS household questionnaire (http://mics.unicef.org).

• Ethical consideration

For Ethics approval, please refer to the documents that can be downloaded, listed below:

Ethical Guidelines for Evaluations:

http://www.unevaluation.org/document/download/548

Ethical Research Involving Children:

http://childethics.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/ERIC-compendium-approved-digital-web.pdf

For data collection, informed consent from all the respondents must be obtained. Data anonymization should be done before analysis. Any sensitive issues or concerns should be raised with UNICEF as soon as they are identified by the enumerators.

Potential identified risks and mitigation measures

Security and Safety Concerns: Security issues in remote areas of Turkana could pose risks to the consultancy team during fieldwork. The consultancy firm must handle its own security protocols and arrangements, liaise with local authorities and community leaders, and develop an emergency response plan, which UNICEF will review for adequacy.

Community Resistance or Lack of Cooperation: Residents may be hesitant to participate due to distrust or survey fatigue. The consultancy firm should design and implement a community engagement strategy, including pre-survey sensitization, recruit and train local enumerators, and manage culturally appropriate incentives for participation.

Data Quality and Reliability: The data collected may be inaccurate or unreliable. The consultancy firm must conduct thorough training for enumerators, pilot test survey instruments, implement real-time data verification, spot-checks, regular feedback sessions, and use multiple data sources and methods to ensure data quality and reliability.

Logistical Challenges: Accessing remote or densely populated areas could delay data collection and increase costs. The consultancy firm must provide a comprehensive logistical plan, incorporate flexibility, have contingency plans for unforeseen delays, and establish partnerships with local organizations for logistical support.

Ethical Issues: Ethical concerns such as respondent confidentiality and informed consent may arise. The consultancy firm must ensure ethical training for all team members, obtain necessary ethics approvals, and clearly communicate the survey’s purpose, voluntary nature of participation, and privacy measures to respondents.

Environmental and Weather-Related Challenges: Adverse weather conditions could impact data collection. The consultancy firm should monitor weather forecasts, provide necessary protective gear and equipment, and schedule data collection during favorable weather conditions to minimize disruptions.

Any other Information

1. The consultancy firm will provide its own office space, stationery, and materials (hardware and software)
2. All payment must be within the contract agreement.
3. No contract will commence unless the contract is signed by UNICEF and the consultancy firm.