Making Advances to Eliminate Child Labor in More Areas with Sustainable Integrated Efforts
(MATE MASIE)
Terms of Reference
Assignment: Household Vulnerability Assessment
Reports to: MATE MASIE Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) Officer
Location: Ashanti Region, Ghana
Duration: February-May 2022
Background: Winrock International is a nonprofit organization that works with people in the United States and around the world to empower the disadvantaged, increase economic opportunity, and sustain natural resources. Winrock is implementing the four-year, Making Advances to Eliminate Child Labor in More Areas with Sustainable Integrated Efforts (MATE MASIE) project. The project is funded by the United States Department of Labor (USDOL) and will strengthen capacity, connections, and accountability across child labor enforcement and monitoring within cocoa cooperatives in Ghana and will build the capacity of cooperatives to support vulnerable member households directly and by linking their members with other service providers.
Rationale and Objectives: This assessment serves the following purposes:
- Secure information/data on the resources and needs of households within relevant cocoa cooperatives which are at-risk of or engaging in child labor and how existing services to those households can be strengthened. This data will enable the cooperatives to deliver targeted social protection, child labor remediation, and livelihood services to those households and/or link members households to external service providers. This assessment will enable the project to have data and information on different types of households in order to make activities as responsive as possible to their unique needs.
- Establish reliable baseline level for the following project indicator: Number of vulnerable households provided with social protection and/or child labor remediation services by grantee co-ops.
Research Questions: The household vulnerability assessment should seek to answer the below research questions. When answering these questions, the individual or firm/organization should present specific analyses for households with children. The individual or firm/organization should propose methodologies to address these questions.
- What is the socioeconomic profile of households within the sampling frame?
- What child labor risk factors are currently present in sampled households?
- What types of social protection, livelihoods, and child labor remediation services do households within the sampling frame need?
- To what extent can households within the sampling frame access these types of services?
- What types of services are needed by the relevant households, especially female members of the households, but are not available and/or cannot be accessed? Why are these services unavailable or inaccessible?
- To what extent have the relevant cooperatives referred vulnerable household members to social protection, livelihoods, and child labor remediation services?
- Have these referrals been successful? If not, why?
- What has the referral process been like for the households? How could this process be strengthened/improved?
- Are services and training accessible to all households equally, or do certain households run the risk of being exposed to greater levels of vulnerability in accessing these services?
- Are there any barriers to child labor remediation services across different types of households?
Summary of Assignment: The MATE MASIE project focuses on strengthening the capacity of cocoa cooperatives to monitor child labor and to provide social protection, child labor remediation, and other services to their member households. Prior to initiating project activities, an assessment of the resources and needs of vulnerable member households is needed. The assessment will focus specifically on a sample of vulnerable households within Adansi South Municipal (New Edubiase), Atwima Mponua District (Nyinahin), Atwima Nwabiagya South Municipal (Nkawie), and Offinso Municipal (Offinso) district that are members of Kuapa Kokoo Farmers’ Co-operative and Marketing Union (KKFU), Cocoa Abrabopa Farmers’ Association (CAA), Kokoo Pa, and Offinso Fine Flavor Cocoa Co-operative. The sample is not meant to be representative of households within the targeted districts as a whole but within the cocoa cooperatives. The estimated cocoa cooperative farmer populations are as follows:
The sample is representative of households within the aforementioned districts that are members of the aforementioned cocoa cooperatives. This is not a prevalence study of child labor in these districts and so only a representative sample of those households should be assessed.
NO.
COOPERATIVE
DISTRICT
COMMUNITY
MEMBERSHIP
1
Kuapa Kokoo Farmers Union
Adansi South
AHOMAHOMA
AGORTIME
BIAKWASO
M:37, F:43 = 80
M:38, F:11 = 49
M:45, F:48 = 93
Kokoo Pa
ODUMASE
ESSONGKROM
M: 18, F:12 = 30
M:24, F: 23 = 47
Sub total
299
2
Kuapa Kokoo Farmers Union
Atwima Mponua
KYIRIBAA
AFEPAYE
AWISESU
M: 124, F:53 = 177
M: 48, F: 17 = 65
M: 35, F: 13 = 48
Kokoo Pa
OWUSUKROM
DEBRA CAMP
M: 25, F:15 = 40
M: 31, F:11 = 42
Sub total
372
3
Kuapa Kokoo Farmers Union
Atwima Nwabiagya
NEREBEHI
NWERESO
HIAWU BESIASE
M: 70, F: 49 = 119
M: 33, F: 13 = 46
M: 26, F: 21 = 47
Kokoo Pa
NTABANU
AHWIAA
M: 19, F: 8 = 27
M:14, F:6 = 20
Sub total
259
4
Kuapa Kokoo Farmers Union
Offinso Municipal
AYAASU
AMANINGKROM
M: 35, F: 30 = 65
M: 49, F: 46 = 95
Offinso Fine Flavor
ABOFOUR
KYEBI
AMOAWI
M: 61, F: 31 = 92
M: 42, F: 11 = 53
M: 17, F: 21 = 38
Sub total
343
TOTAL
(M: 791, F: 482) = 1,273
Winrock is seeking to engage an individual or firm/organization to carry out the following duties. Additional information on these duties is included under the “Detailed Description of Duties” section below.
- Work with Winrock to develop a workplan, methodology, survey instruments, and respondent consent forms for the assessment.
- Recruit and train enumerators and supervisors on the final versions of the survey instruments and consent forms.
- Conduct the household vulnerability assessment, following the approved sampling and methodology.
- Collect, clean, and process data from the assessment.
- Consolidate and analyze data from the assessment to inform Winrock’s determination of baseline levels and targets for project indicators.
- Complete a draft assessment report.
- Deliver a presentation of assessment findings to MATE MASIE staff and other stakeholders to gather feedback on the findings
- Complete the final assessment report after the presentation.
Detailed Description of Duties:
- Work with Winrock to develop a workplan, methodology, survey instruments, and respondent consent forms for the assessment. The individual or firm/organization must review all relevant project documentation, including the project proposal, country context documents, and documentation on similar assessments in Ghana and elsewhere. In consultation with Winrock’s MATE MASIE M&E Officer, MATE MASIE Project Director, and home office M&E and project staff, the individual or firm/organization will develop a final workplan and methodology prior to field visits. The methodology should include an interviewee list, sampling methods, pre-test and training plans, logistics, etc. The individual or firm/organization must uphold ethical behavior that includes obtaining proper consent and assent during data collection, treating respondents with respect and sensitivity, and maintaining confidentiality.
- Recruit and train enumerators and supervisors on the final versions of the survey instruments and consent forms. The MATE MASIE M&E Officer will provide oversight for this process. The team should ensure that enumerators are gender-balanced and are aware of gender norms to ensure individuals are comfortable and able to respond to questions easily. If there are needs related to translation, those considerations should be planned for.
- Conduct the household vulnerability assessment, following the approved sampling and methodology.
- Collect, clean, and process data from the assessment.
- Consolidate and analyze data from the assessment to inform Winrock’s determination of baseline level for project indicator.
- Complete a draft assessment report. The report will be reviewed by Winrock and USDOL. This process may take multiple rounds of review and revision until all feedback from Winrock and USDOL are addressed and incorporated into the final draft.
- Deliver a presentation of assessment findings to MATE MASIE staff and other stakeholders to gather feedback on the findings. The presentation should be planned to be conducted in-person in Ghana, but the format may need to be adjusted to virtual depending on circumstances regarding Covid-19. The presentation and findings should reflect any relevant findings/information that is related to gender and social inclusion that would be significant for staff and stakeholders to have greater awareness of.
- Complete the final assessment report after the presentation.
Research Design: The household vulnerability assessment survey design will utilize a quantitative method for data collection in the form of household surveys. These surveys will be administered to the household representative selected by the household. The quantitative data collection should include questions to gather information on socio-economic status and level of access to social protection, child labor remediation, and livelihood services.
Qualitative data collection should include key informant interviews and focus group discussions to supplement and contextualize findings from the quantitative survey.
Secondary data review should be gathered by the individual/firm from relevant Ghanaian government ministries and international organizations and will be provided to support the assessment’s conclusions and recommendations.
Sampling Plan: The individual or firm/organization should prepare a sampling plan that includes a description and justification of the sampling technique and the proposed respondent selection process.
In detail, the sampling plan document should include all of the following elements:
- The individual or firm/organization should show the equation used for the sample size calculation and the parameters used in the equation. The survey should only be administered to households that are members of the targeted cooperatives (Kuapa Kokoo Farmers’ Co-operative and Marketing Union (KKFU), Cocoa Abrabopa Farmers’ Association (CAA), Kokoo Pa, and Offinso Fine Flavor Cocoa Co-operative) and live within the targeted districts of Adansi South Municipal (New Edubiase), Atwima Mponua District (Nyinahin), Atwima Nwabiagya South Municipal (Nkawie), and Offinso Municipal (Offinso) district. The sample is not meant to be representative of households within the targeted districts as a whole. Rather, it is meant to identify the unique needs of a representative sample of households within the aforementioned districts that are members of the aforementioned cocoa cooperatives. This is not a prevalence study of child labor in these districts
- Explanation of the sampling strategy to select the households and the approach to collect data
- Proposed approach for ensuring surveyor/interviewer and respondent safety given the Covid-19 pandemic, including procedures for social distancing and personal protective equipment.
- Alternative plan for remote data collection should in-person collection no longer be possible and/or appropriate due to heightened Covid-19 concerns or other circumstances.
Schedule: The anticipated timeline for this assignment is February-May 2022. The timeline can be adjusted after mutual agreement between the individual or firm/organization and Winrock International.
Activities
February
March
April
May
Preparation
Sampling methods, interview guidelines, sample size
Questionnaire design
Pre-test, questionnaire revision
Training field team (enumerators and supervisors)
Final preparation before field activity
Data Collection and Analysis
Field data collection
Data cleaning
Data analysis
Draft report
Presentation of findings
Final report
Deliverables: The following deliverables are required by Winrock International. Deadlines for each deliverable should be included within the proposal and will be reviewed and finalized by Winrock International at the beginning of the assignment.
No.
Deliverable
1
Workplan, methodology, survey instruments, and respondent consent forms for the assessment
2
Report on findings from pre-test of survey instruments and changes resulting from pre-test, including revised questionnaire
3
Final survey instruments and consent forms
4
Content for training of enumerators and supervisors and field manual with protocol and implementation plan for enumerators and supervisors. Protocol should include plan to accommodate gender norms and any anticipated issues in collecting data from men and women.
5
Data analysis plan
6
Electronic and hard files with all raw data in SPSS or other format that allows anonymized data; a) micro-data files, including survey weights, if applicable, b) identifiers to link adult and child responses, c) table of response rates – full, partial non-response, etc.
7
Log of analyses carried out during data analysis and report writing phase that includes a) public use data sets, data dictionaries, syntax files, and any other materials required for data analysis (how data was analyzed should be carefully documented: what variables were used, what formula was used, etc.), b) data crosswalks that present which survey items were used to code variables for analysis, c) draft tables (dummy tables) to present findings from data analysis
8
An electronic copy of the draft assessment report in English which must include, but is not limited to the following sections: a. Summary
b. Background
c. Objectives
d. Survey Methodology (to include project/survey locations, sampling design and sample size; questionnaire design and development; training; field work; data entry and processing; data analysis; limitations to the study)
e. Results presented in narrative and tables/graphs
f. Conclusions and Recommendations
g. Annexes (to include references, tables and figures, questionnaires and other data collection instruments, training content for enumerators, pre-testing process and results, including individual or firm/organizations’ follow-up to adjust survey as needed, etc.)
9.
PowerPoint for a presentation of assessment findings to MATE MASIE staff and other stakeholders to gather feedback on the findings
10.
An electronic copy of the final assessment report in English which takes into consideration input, feedback, and comments on the draft report.
Qualifications:
- Master’s Degree in economics, education, statistics, social sciences, child labor, development studies or related field;
- Knowledge and work experience in child labor in supply chains, ideally in the Ghanaian coca sector
- Understanding of the intersection of gender/social inclusion issues within child labor in supply chains desirable, but not explicitly needed
- Experience in survey design and management of survey administration
- Knowledge and experience in both quantitative and qualitative data analysis and research;
- Experience conducting field research using participatory approaches;
- Experience in consolidating and analyzing data, writing reports and in making recommendations;
- Ability to analyze and present complex data in a clear and understandable format;
- Excellent communication skills;
- Ability to manage the available time and resources and to work to tight deadlines;
- Strong interpersonal skills, cultural awareness, and sensitivity
- Fluency in English is required
- Evidence of delivering similar assignment
- Strong analytical, research and presentation skills
- Excellent report writing skills
Application Information: Applicants should submit the following documents, referencing MATE MASIE Household Vulnerability Assessment. Applicants should go to the Winrock Careers page at https://winrock.org/join-us/careers/ or directly to the following link https://grnh.se/9c6e75322us and submit by February 9, 2022.
- Cover letter
- Narrative proposal (15-20 pages). The narrative proposal should include the following contents. Recommended page lengths are also included below.
- Cover page (1 page)
- Consultant/organizational profile (4 pages). The applicant must present in narrative format a description of: (a) company/individual profile (supplemental material could be placed in the annex), (b) the organizational/individual capacity to conduct the scope of work (place copies of comparable household surveys conducted in the annex), (c) include CVs of all proposed experts/team members (placed in annex) (d) the organization’s/individual’s knowledge of child labor in supply chains and the Ghanaian coca sector, (e) previous experience conducting similar work, and (f) training capacity
- Technical proposal (10 pages). The applicant should describe in the technical proposal their approach and methodology for the study which must specify the intended survey design, including sampling methodologies and preliminary sample size calculation. The proposal should indicate how the applicant intends to interview the selected households. Furthermore, issues of consent/assent and plan for protection of human subjects must be highlighted within the proposal. All draft templates such as information sheets, consent and parental permission (for parents and guardians) and assent for children aged below 18 years must be annexed to the proposal. The narrative should describe the consultant’s plan for the questionnaire design and implementation; training for enumerators and supervisors; data collection and quality control; data entry; data analysis, data storage and security, and report writing. A detailed workplan including activities, timeframes, staffing, and resources should be included in the technical portion of the proposal
- Financial proposal in MS Excel and accompanying budget narrative in MS Word. The applicant must present a detailed financial proposal that includes a narrative on the assumptions behind the estimates. All costs should be denominated in Ghana Cedis (GHS).
Winrock International will evaluate the proposals received on their technical merit and estimated costs. Each proposal will be evaluated using the following criteria: Institutional Capacity/Institutional Experience (20%), Proposed Team (20%) Technical Proposal (30%), and Cost estimate (30%) – assessment of cost estimate against implementation plan.
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