Terms of Reference: Gender-Responsive Baseline Study
Action for Paid Childcare Sector Transformation (ACT) project
Position Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Duration of Contract: 35 working days
Reports To: ACT Project Director
Application Deadline: 20 May 2024
Expected Start Date: 30 May 2024
1. Introduction
World University Service of Canada (WUSC) is a Canadian non-profit organization working to create a better world for all young people. We bring together a diverse network of students, volunteers, schools, governments, and businesses who share this vision. Together, we develop solutions in education, economic opportunities, and empowerment to overcome inequality and exclusion for youth around the world, particularly young women and young refugees. WUSC currently works in 25 countries across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America, with an annual budget of approximately CAD $40 million. We have over 90 staff in our Ottawa office and over 200 people overseas implementing 16 development projects in collaboration with donors, including Global Affairs Canada; the UK Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO); the MasterCard Foundation; World Bank; the Asian Development Bank; and the African Development Bank.
2. The ACT Project
The Action for Paid Childcare Sector Transformation (ACT) project is a 4-year collaborative initiative that uses an innovative systems approach to drive gender-transformative, locally-owned, collaborative action to transform paid childcare from a job of last resort to a vocation of choice. The project also aspires for the paid childcare sector to become one of economic prosperity for women in Kenya and Malawi. ACT aligns with Canada’s commitment to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 on gender equality and empowerment, SDG 8 on decent work for all, and Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP) action area on growth that works for everyone.
ACT responds to recognition within the global policy agenda that women are overrepresented within the largely informal paid care economy, where they face low pay, poor working conditions, limited social protection, and rights abuses. These are key barriers that contribute to significant poverty among women-paid childcare providers, and that limit potential for their economic empowerment. The barriers also severely limit women-paid childcare providers’ ability to deliver quality childcare services. Women are the primary participants in the paid childcare economies of Kenya and Malawi. This sector has a high economic opportunity for women due to the potential for sustainable demand for childcare services; however, this opportunity is unrealized.
The essence of ACT’s Theory of Change (ToC) is that the economic empowerment of women childcare providers in Kenya and Malawi can only be achieved if systemic, gender transformative change is driven and owned by local ecosystem actors. ACT’s systems approach tackles the most pressing underlying issues by working with key actors in Kenya and Malawi who influence those issues. ACT will enable coordination, knowledge, capacity, and performance improvements to address gender-based inequities. Geographically, ACT will focus on areas with large concentrations of women childcare providers, seeking opportunities to support rural and urban providers, including the most marginalized, and where project partners have existing networks, starting in Kenya. It will scale to Malawi following foundational mapping and relationship-building activities there.
The ACT project will be implemented in close collaboration between WUSC and partners in Kenya and Malawi, notably Uthabiti and the Coalition of Violence Against Women (COVAW) in Kenya and the Women’s Legal Resources Centre (WOLREC) in Malawi.
The ultimate outcome of ACT is:
The intermediate outcomes are:
The immediate outcomes are:
1. Purpose and Objectives of the study
The primary objectives of the ACT baseline study are the following:
2. Scope of Study
The consultant will serve as the lead coordinator of the ACT gender-responsive baseline study. Note that data collection as part of this consultancy will be undertaken only in the project regions in Kenya (Nairobi, Kisumu and Kakamega counties). Activities in Kakamega will focus on strengthening the supply of quality childcare providers and activities in Nairobi/Kisumu will focus on both the supply/demand side (childcare providers and employers).Baseline data collection in Malawi will take place prior to roll out of programming in the country in year two and a separate call for proposals will be issued for that portion of the study. The consultant will be responsible for the following activities in coordination with WUSC’s baseline advisory committee (comprised of the ACT Project Director, ACT Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist, WUSC Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL) Advisor, WUSC Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Advisor, WUSC Economic Opportunities Advisor), as well as other country office staff members and project partners (Uthabiti, COVAW, and WOLREC), as appropriate:
The study is expected to collect data to inform program indicators as outlined in the PMF. Please note that the following indicators will be revised and updated in coordination with the successful consultant/firm.
Indicators
3. Study approach and methodology
The overall methodology for the baseline study should be established and detailed by the consultant in the proposal, with priority emphasis on gender-sensitive approaches. It is anticipated that the study will use mixed-methods. Where possible, participatory approaches are encouraged. Any assumptions upon which the methodology is contingent should be clearly articulated.
While the consultant, informed by discussions with Ottawa and country-based project personnel, is encouraged to suggest alternative methodologies, the following data collection methods may be considered:
The consultant is expected to propose a detailed methodology for assessing all project indicators using a combination of these and/or other methods, as appropriate; however, the consultant should ensure that both qualitative and quantitative methods are included.
The proposed methodology should be replicable at midterm and end line with the aim of assessing change against outcome indicators over the project lifetime, as well as the project interventions’ contributions to observed outcomes.
The consultant should clearly outline in the proposal the types of statistical analyses that will be carried out in the study (descriptive and inferential), as well as detailed data quality assurance protocols.
4. Key Activities and Deliverables
The selected Consultant will have overall responsibility for the design and implementation of the study, and for ensuring quality and timeliness of all deliverables. The Consultant will be responsible for designing the study, sampling, data collection tool development and piloting, enumerator recruitment and training, data collection, data entry, data analysis, report writing, and results dissemination.
The key activities and deliverables expected from the Consultant(s) for this assignment are as follows:
A detailed inception report and work plan is to be produced that includes the following elements:
Development of quantitative and qualitative tools for data collection. These tools will be reviewed during the inception phase and must be included in the inception report/work plan.
5. Time Frame and Level of Effort
The period of the contract is expected to be from 30 May, 2024 to 14 July, 2024 with an expected contribution of approximately 35 working days. The consultant is expected to carry out all the preparation required to roll out the study as per the suggested time frame below. Dates will be reviewed and finalized during the inception meeting.
Task/Output: Level of Effort (in days) Proposed Completion Date
Document Review and Literature Review: 2 days, by May 30
Inception Meeting[4] : 1 day, by June 1
Develop draft Inception Report and Work Plan: 5 days, by June 7
Integrate comments from WUSC and submit Final Inception Report: 1 day, by June 10
Preparation for Country Enumerator/Data Collector Training with country office: 2 days, Ongoing
Enumerator Training and Pilot: 3 days by June15-17
Data Collection: 10 days by June 20-31
Data cleaning, entry and analysis: 4 days, by July 3-6
Draft Study Report (following report structure outlined provided): 4 days, by July 7-12
Incorporate feedback and comments of organization and submit Final Report: 1 day, by July 14
Dissemination/validation event: 1 day, by July 14
Total 35 days
6. Qualifications of Consultant(s)
[1] A copy of the PMF and other relevant documentation will be provided to the consultant prior to the inception meeting.
[2] The inception report is an elaborated version of the initial proposal submitted. An outline for the inception report will be provided to the successful candidate(s) prior to the inception meeting.
[3] Timelines will need to be coordinated with the ACT project team. WUSC will facilitate this with the consultant.
[4] Prior to the inception meeting all relevant documents, including the tentative PMF, will be provided to the successful candidate.
Qualified and interested parties are asked to submit the following:
Tagged as: Kenya, World University Service of Canada
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