TERMS OF REFERENCE-BASELINE STUDY
Inclusive Community Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Project
1. About Plan International
We strive to advance children’s rights and equality for girls all over the world. As an independent development and humanitarian organization, we work alongside children, young people, our supporters and partners to tackle the root causes of the challenges facing girls and all vulnerable children. For over 80 years we have been building powerful partnerships for children, and we are active in over 75 countries. Plan International has been working in the Philippines since 1961 to advance children’s rights and equality for girls.
2. Project BackgroundPlan International will be implementing a project funded by the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded Inclusive Community Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) Project for 18 months from 1 August 2024 to strengthen the capacity of local government units (LGUs), specifically Barangay and Municipal Disaster risk Reduction and Management Councils (B/MDRRMCs) and increase awareness in target communities on disaster risk reduction, preparedness and mitigation, in the two municipalities of Western Samar: Zumarraga and Matuguinao; and two municipalities of Eastern Samar: Oras and Jipapad. The proposed project will directly benefit 7,680 children and adults in 20 barangays (villages) from the 4 above-mentioned municipalities through disaster risk reduction interventions.
The goal of this project is to strengthen vulnerable populations’ resilience to multiple natural hazards and improve local government units’ capacity to prepare for, respond to, and mitigate disasters. Overall, the project aims for communities, local structures and vulnerable populations, especially girls and young women, to have increased resilience and strengthened capacity to cope with the adverse effects of natural hazards in Western and Eastern Samar. The project has two outcomes:
· Outcome 1: Local government units have improved their knowledge and strengthened their capacity on disaster risk reduction, mitigation, and preparedness.
· Outcome 2: Vulnerable populations, especially girls and young women, have a basic understanding of disaster risk reduction and mitigation.
Part of the start-up phase is to take stock of current community and LGU capacity and determine existing DRRMs in the project areas. These are proposed to be captured in a baseline study that will provide the benchmark for the indicators that will be tracked during implementation.
3. Purpose of the Baseline 3.1. Assessment of Baseline Values for Project IndicatorsThis baseline study determines baseline project indicator values at the outcome level. It will also provide relevant information and a guide for improving the project’s programmatic implementation. Baseline findings will primarily be used:
· By the project team to set project targets to facilitate tracking the progress towards and on expected project outcomes over its lifetime.
· By Plan International to demonstrate accountability to the donor for the funding it received.
· By partners and stakeholders in the Philippines such as government departments/ministries, local authorities, civil society organizations (CSOs) and communities to inform and to act on the wider understanding of education and gender equality issues in the targeted districts.
The following indicators will be measured under this baseline assessment:
Outcome 1 indicators:
· C01: Improved capacity of targeted LGUs for disaster risk reduction and management
· C03: Number and percentage of Local Development Plans and Comprehensive Land Use Plans that have incorporated Local DRRM Plans
· C05: Percentage of targeted LGUs receiving additional or maintaining budgetary support as a result of lobbying by MDRRMC and BDRRMC members engaged by the project
Outcome 2 indicators:
· C11: Percentage of targeted communities with an established or improved Community-Based Early Warning Systems
3.2. Gender-Transformative, Inclusive and Safe ProgrammingA safeguarding and gender-transformative approach will be employed by the project to ensure that girls, boys, women and men with diverse Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Gender Expression, and Sexual Characteristics, persons with disability, and other vulnerable groups are heard and protected throughout the project cycle. The project will take conscious steps to ensure the meaningful participation of communities, especially girls and young women. The project will ensure that sex, age, and disability disaggregated data is collected and analyzed through a set of standardized tools which have been subjected to Plan’s gender transformative tool
4. Methods for Data Collection and AnalysisA mix of both quantitative and qualitative methods will be used in the baseline study. Data collection tools will include a participatory self-assessment, as well as thorough review of LGU records. The following tools will be developed and used to establish baseline values:
1. Participatory self-assessment scorecard tool adapted from an existing tool developed by Tearfund[1]
2. Document review checklist for verifying incorporation of risk reduction and risk management plans into Local Development and Land Use Plans
3. Budget review checklist for verifying LGUs’ financial support acquired through lobbying efforts
4. Verification form for documenting the presence of established or improved Community-based Early Warning Systems in target communities
The study should include pilot testing and pre-testing of data collection tools and instruments before the actual administration in the target communities and respondents to ensure the quality of research data and help improve the accuracy and validity of study findings. The report from the pre-test should be presented and submitted to Plan for review and approval before the actual conduct of the research.
Note: Upon signing of the contract, the selected consultant and staff from Plan International USA and Philippines will initially meet to ensure that both have the same understanding of the baseline study objectives, how these objectives are to be achieved, and when. A more comprehensive and final Terms of Reference will then be produced by the consultant and approved by Plan, including the process to be followed, indicative timeline, proposed analytical framework, and deliverables.
4.1. SampleAn appropriate sampling strategy will be suggested by the consultant/consultancy firm. In determining the sample, appropriate segregations mentioned in the objectives should be considered, for example, geographic location. The consultant is expected to develop and suggest a sampling strategy including a description of:
· Sample size (or expectations of the consultant (s) in calculating it)
· Necessary respondent disaggregation
· Number and type of locations
· Sampling approach
4.2. Participant Selection and RecruitmentThe Baseline study will cover the program areas in Western and Eastern Samar. It will specifically gather data from the in the two municipalities of Western Samar: Zumarraga and Matuguinao; and two municipalities of Eastern Samar: Oras and Jipapad. Scorecard assessment respondents will be purposively selected from the representatives of the local Planning and Development and DRRM Offices of the covered municipalities and barangays to get their perspectives on the capacity of their respective LGUs in disaster risk reduction and management. The assessment team will verify financial support resulting from lobbying efforts in consultation with representatives from LGU Offices at both barangay and municipal levels in the project areas. Efforts to verify the presence of functioning community-based early warning systems will engage representatives from the DRRM office or the Emergency Response Team and community members, including vulnerable populations such as women and girls from the project areas.
5. Ethical Clearance and Safeguarding Children and Young People (Child Protection)
5.1. Ethical Clearance and Child Protection
The consultant should include appropriate consideration to obtain ethical clearance (if required) for the survey from a government institution and sign the child protection policy from Plan. The project participants should be ensured for safety, non-discrimination participation, the inclusion of gender and people living with disability, as well as free and un-coerced consent and withdraw.
5.2. Safeguarding Children and Young People (Child Protection)
Plan International is committed to actively safeguarding children and young people from harm and ensuring their rights to protection are fully realized. The project team will do an internal safeguarding risk assessment to ensure there are mitigating measures in place for all potential risks in the study. The safeguarding risk assessment will be shared and discussed with the external consultant. The Consultant should describe in their proposal how they will ensure ethics and protection of participants throughout the assignment and in line with Plan International’s policy on safeguarding children and young people. This must also consider any risks related to the assignment and how these will be mitigated. Consideration must be given to:
· Safeguards to protect the confidentiality of those participating in the study
· Data protection and secure maintenance procedures for personal information
· Consent processes
5.3. Plan’s Child Protection Policy, Code of Conduct, and Data Privacy Policy
The consultant undertaking this Baseline study must demonstrate commitment to strictly adhering to Plan’s Global Safeguarding Policy[2], Plan’s Code of Conduct[3] and Data Privacy Policy[4]. Any violation/deviation in complying these will result in termination of the agreement.
6. Key DeliverablesThe scope of work will preferably include, but will not be limited to:
· Inception Report including:
o an updated timeline;
o detailed methodology, including draft sampling methodology and size;
o draft data collection tools;
o ethical considerations;
o consent forms for any primary data collection;
o (draft) methods for data analysis;
o a brief justification of the methods and techniques used
· Draft Baseline Report
· Final Baseline Report (not to exceed 15 pages [excluding appendices]) including:o The standard cover sheet
o List of abbreviations/acronyms
o Executive summary
o Background/Introduction
o Methodology (including Final Sampling methodology)
o Key Findings and Analysis, including Indicator Tracking Table with baseline data inserted
o Conclusion
o Recommendations
o Appendices (to include Final Data Collection Tools and Consent Forms,
· Cleaned Data (including data files (e.g. Excel, SPSS), transcripts of qualitative data, syntax/ code books, etc.)
· Other Communication Products for Dissemination (e.g., PowerPoint for results validation meeting)
Note: Progress review meetings will be held from time-to-time between the Consultant and Plan International. The Consultant will be responsible for presenting the most significant findings to Plan International and key stakeholders, including the communities, to get their feedback on critical areas.
7. Proposed TimelineActivity
Working Days
Inception Call/ Inception Workshop
1 day
Submission of Inception Report
1 day
Preparations for Data Collection (testing of tools, translation of tools, mobilization of respondents, training of enumerators where applicable, ethical or government approval for data collection (where applicable)
3 days
Data Collection
14 days
Data Entry and Cleaning
5 days
Data Analysis
5 days
Validation of findings with key stakeholders and respondents
3 days
Submission of Draft
1 day
Submission of Final Report
1 day
Submission of Other Deliverables
1 day
Action Plan (analysis of the indicators, and adjustments that need to be made based on the findings).
2 days
8. Budget
Payments will be made in three installments:
1. 30% Upon acceptance of the inception report
2. 30% Upon acceptance of the first draft report
3. 40% Upon acceptance of the final report, cleaned dataset and results validation presentation
9. Expected QualificationsInterested Parties must have:
· At least 5 years of experience in coordinating and administering baseline studies, including gender-sensitive data collection and entry, data management and storage, preferably for international non-profit organizations or multilateral agencies in DRRM
· Experience using participatory and gender-sensitive techniques in data collection, with demonstrated experience in data collection on DRRM, strongly preferred;
· Experience with quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis
· Experience training, facilitating and supervising enumerators and data entry operators
· Knowledge and experience with Gender Equality, and DRRM issues
· Solid background in at least 2 of the following: gender and disability inclusion, community-based humanitarian programming and research;
· Strong communication skills, both written and oral (knowledge of local language a plus)
· No history of violation of child rights.
10. ApplicationsApplications for the consultancy must include six components, to a total of no more than 15 pages (not including appendices, CVs, etc.):
1. The detailed technical proposal demonstrates a thorough understanding of this ToR and includes the following:
o Demonstrated previous experience in coordinating and administering studies of a similar nature;
o Plan administering the participatory scorecard activity with LGUs and conducting the document review, travel cost per team of enumerators, supervision of enumeration teams, and quality control;
o Process for enumerator training, translation of tools (if necessary), data collection, spot-checking, data entry, risk mitigation and data quality assurance;
o The proposal should detail the informed consent process considering the situation for both male and female respondents;
o Schedule/work plan (including a Gantt chart) with the proposed timeframe, number of enumerators, size of enumerator teams and the total number of days in the field;
o Team composition (including sex disaggregation) and level of effort of each proposed team member, if applicable.
2. A financial proposal with a detailed breakdown of costs for the study:
o Itemized consultancy fees/costs
o Itemized field data collection expenses
o Itemized data transcriptions costs
o Itemized administrative expenses
o The validity period of quotations
3. Curriculum Vitae of the lead/team leader and all proposed staff outlining relevant experience.
4. Names and contact information of three references who can be contacted regarding relevant experience.
5. A copy of previous reports of a similar nature, including examples of household surveys, mixed methods studies, and/or project evaluations which include an assessment of the DAC criteria.
6. A Consulting Firm profile (if applicable).
The proposal will be scored on both technical (methodology) and financial (budget) aspects weighted at 70% and 30% respectively. The technical section of the proposal will be distributed as 20% for the proven experience; 30% for methodology including GE integration; 10% for contextual understanding; 10% for risk management framework/data quality assurance systems/CYS integration.
Submissions after the deadline of 8 August 2024 will not be considered. Both technical and financial documents described above should be with a cover letter, ideally in pdf format.
[1] Disaster Management Capacity Assessment (DMCA) Tool: A tool for local organizations involved in disaster preparedness and response. 2019. Tearfund. Available at: https://learn.tearfund.org/en/resources/tools-and-guides/disaster-management-capacity-assessment-tool
[2] https://plan-international.org/publications/global-policy-on-safeguarding-children-and-programme-participants/
[3] https://plan-international.org/uploads/2021/10/pii_code_of_conduct_february_2018.pdf
[4] https://plan-international.or.id/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Data-Privacy-Policy.pdf
Plan International works for girls’ rights. Harmful barriers like child marriage, human trafficking and gender-based violence are preventing girls and young women from achieving their full potential. Plan, along with government and private partners, fights against harmful gender norms and empowers young people to create positive change. We have worked in communities for more than 80 years and implement locally-led programming through approximately 240 offices around the world. Our technical sectors include education, youth economic empowerment, sexual and reproductive health rights, empowerment of girls and young women, and emergency response.
We are fully committed to the safeguarding of all children and young people from all forms of violence.
