Terms of Reference for Baseline Survey

Date of issue:  24.02.2024

Project title: Strengthening democratic and inclusive local governance in Somalia (STRONG) project

Evaluation target locations : 3 districts in the target FMs (Jubaland, Galmudug, and Banadir Regional Administration - BRA).

Deadline for submission of offers:  8th March 2024 at 5 p.m. (East Africa Time Zone)

Contracting authority: FCA Somalia Country Office

Contact: Procurement Committee

E-mail: [email protected]  

1.    Introduction and Background Information

FCA Somalia Country Office seeks a qualified independent consultant(s) to conduct a baseline survey for the Strengthening Democratic and Inclusive Local Governance in Somalia (STRONG) Project, funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). This two-year project, commencing on the 8th of December 2023 and runs until 30th of November 2025, builds upon FCA’s past efforts in promoting inclusive local governance and enhancing stability through district council formation (DCF) processes. FCA, Finland's largest development cooperation organization and second largest humanitarian aid provider, operates in 13 countries across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Their Somalia operations, initiated in 2007, evolved from community-level peacebuilding to state-building and formation initiatives at the Federal Government and Federal Member States (FMS) levels.

1.1       The STRONG Project Background Information

As part of continuation of FCA and Partners’ Local Governance, Peace and Reconciliation efforts in promoting inclusive local governance through district council formation, and strengthening stability in Somalia, FCA and its partners have commenced the implementation of initial two years project funded by the Swedish embassy (SIDA). The project aims to promote sustainable peace and good governance in Somalia through enhanced local capacity and inclusive participation of community including women, youth and marginalized groups in decision making process, improved safe and protected civic space for women’s meaningful role and leadership, and strengthened inclusive local governance and administration for effective basic public service delivery in two Federal Member States (FMS).

The intervention is built on years of experience of FCA in peace and state building in Somalia. The actions are designed based on tested approach, concrete impacts, lessons learned and best practices from FCA’s and its partners’ previous and ongoing work in strengthening inclusive local governance structures through District Council Formation (DCF), promoting the national reconciliation, and strengthening participation of women in political and democratic decision-making. The overall objective of the Strong Project is to strengthen capacity and participation of the local community especially women and enhance inclusive local governance and administration for effective and accountable basic public service delivery in four Federal Member States of Somalia (FMS). This will be supported by three overarching outcomes which include.

To achieve the overall and specific objectives of the project, FCA has designed the following key outcomes that will work towards the aforementioned objectives, and these include;

·         Outcome 1: Enhanced local capacity and inclusive participation of the community including women, youth and marginalized groups in peacebuilding, reconciliation and local governance processes,

·         Outcome 2: Strengthened inclusive and sustainable local governance and administration for effective basic public service delivery,

·         Outcome 3: Strengthened safe, inclusive and protected civic spaces and women’s capacity for their meaningful participation and leadership in strategic advocacy.

The project is being implemented in close coordination with government institutions at FMS level and in partnership with local Partner Organizations (that FCA refers as “Implementing Partners or Partners”). The project target locations will be in 2 FMS (Galmudug and Jubbaland with flexibility of another state based on Security and Government willingness) and Banadir Regional Administration (BRA) with emphasis on a maximum of 3 new districts to be formed through DCF.

Additionally, the project is targeting to undertake peace education activities in FCA selected schools in SWS, Somalia. A flexible approach to programming will be adopted, with the programme being annually reviewed to adapt and adjust the interventions to new development around political context and strategy of the government. The Project Steering Committee and the Project Implementation Team will closely assess the context, risks and provide recommendations, mitigation actions and requests to SIDA for possible adjustment of interventions and/or shift in implementation modalities based on the change in context and risks.

1.2       Objectives of the Baseline Survey

The overall objective of the baseline survey which is expected to be completed at the start of the project, with local stakeholders, will be to measure the status of all indicators and to understand the starting point of key elements of the work against which later progress will be measured. This will enable project indicators at output, objective and outcome level to be measured and tracked.

In addition, baseline survey will seek to establish base values for the project indicators which will act as a benchmark for cross-referencing with the mid-term and final evaluation. The baseline values will be beneficial for tracking indicators and project objectives, identify gaps and issues that need the project management team attention, and put forth practical recommendations.

The overall objective of the baseline survey is to help track project indicators, so that the program management team, FCA and partners’ MEAL teams, and relevant stakeholders, are able to showcase milestones reached against the set objectives.

In a nutshell, baseline survey will work towards the following key specific objectives;

·         Establish baseline values for the project indicators to measure impact of project interventions over life of the project.

·         Assess how the project intervention and strategy (i.e capacity building, multi-stakeholders’ partnership etc.) are expected to transform available resources to expected outcomes in terms of quality and quantity.

·         Assess to what extent the project is seeking to address beneficiaries priorities, designed and implemented in a conflict and gender-sensitive manner, and how learning can be fed into changes in project related context and adaptation and respective changes.

·         Analyse and document factors that can contribute/limit implementation of the project in the target locations, and propose recommendation avert the same.

·         Identify good practices and lessons learnt related to project parameters, contexts, actors, and strategies for seamless of the project implementation

·         Establish what constitutes sustainability in the Somalia context and analyse the expected impact of sustained project activities.

·         Identify gaps and issues that need the project management team attention, and put forth practical recommendations.

1.3       Scope:

The baseline survey will cover the following areas, aligned with the project's objectives and logframe:

·         Local governance: Community understanding and participation in inclusive local governance structures, reconciliation, peacebuilding and decision-making processes.

·         Community participation: Levels of meaningful engagement of different groups (women, youth, marginalized groups) in community affairs and decision-making.

·         Gender equality: Gender roles and norms, access to resources and opportunities for women, women's leadership, and participation at community and state levels

·         Youth participation: Youth engagement in community activities and decision-making, challenges, and opportunities.

·         Civic space: especially pertaining to women’s civil society groups and networks at local and state levels and their ability to participate in and influence governance and peacebuilding processes

·         Marginalization: Experiences and challenges faced by marginalized groups (including persons with disabilities (PWD), especially women with disabilities, minority and traditionally marginalised clans and other disadvantage groups. access to services and opportunities and opportunities to actively participate in peacebuilding, reconciliation and local governance processes.

·         Service delivery: Availability, accessibility, and quality of basic services (education, healthcare, water, and sanitation, etc.) that is climate-conscious and accountable to public thus contributing to peacebuilding and reconciliation outcomes

·         Peace and security: Perceptions of security and stability, experiences with conflict and violence, access to justice mechanisms.

·         Knowledge of the STRONG Project: Awareness of project goals and activities, expectations of communities and other stakeholders include government officials at federal and state levels, other partners like stabilisation actors) and civil societies in Somalia.

1.4       The Baseline Survey Methodology and Approach Process

The baseline survey is expected to adopt a mixed-method by combining qualitative and quantitative approach to gather key data in order to deliver the overall and specific objectives of the baseline survey. The survey questions, topics and specific methods are expected to be produced by the prospect consultants in the technical proposals, and further specified during the inception stage in close cooperation with FCA Somalia team and key stakeholders.  

The project logical framework will be the basis for the baseline survey. The methodologies will include, but not limited to, desk review of existing data and reports (secondary data) which will help in establishing the progress status to date and compile data on some of the logframe indicators, interviews and field surveys in the selected districts of the target locations to establish baseline values for some indicator and focus group discussion with different stakeholder groups.

The baseline survey will be carried out through a participatory approach where key stakeholders in the target FMSs and key technical structures/committees spearheading the DCF process, community leaders, clan elders, religious leaders, representative of the community groups particularly women and youth and other local government officials, are consulted. The assessment is expected to be conducted in 3 project target districts in 2 FMS (Galmudug and Jubbaland) and Banadir Regional Administration (BRA).

The project emphasizes on the importance of inclusivity of women and youth, so therefore, it’s imperative that the tools, methodology and overall report should pay particular attention to the issues and data collected should be disaggregated by sex, age groups and location. In a nutshell, the baseline survey is expected to be gender-sensitive, rights-based, inclusive, and culturally sensitive and comply with relevant professional ethical standards.

Baseline survey is also expected to adopt a collaborative approach to engage project staff, partners, other key stakeholders, government, as appropriate in design, implementation, reporting of the baseline survey. A participatory approaches with emphasis on capturing a cross-section of views from the target groups, and multi-stakeholder quantitative (household surveys) and qualitative assessment techniques (including key informant interviews, focus group discussions, observations, and others as appropriate).

1.5       Baseline Survey Ethical Standards

Baseline survey respondents are expected to be informed of the purpose of the data collection and asked for their informed consent as to whether they agree to participate the interview or not. At any given time, respondents should be assured that they can opt out or skip any questions she/he did not want to answer. Respect respondents’ physical condition, economic background, political inclination, culture and social norms, should also be ensured. Constants will be required to sign a service contract and FCA code of conduct on data confidentiality emphasizing; personally identifiable data are to be kept safe for confidentiality purpose.

1.6       Data Analysis and Reporting: The collected data will be analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative methods to generate findings and insights. A comprehensive baseline survey report will be produced, including:

• Detailed analysis of key findings: Presenting disaggregated data by sex, age, and location to ensure inclusivity and gender sensitivity.
• Interpretation of findings in relation to project objectives: Identifying areas of strength and potential challenges for project implementation.
• Recommendations for project adaptation and improvement: Providing practical suggestions for optimizing project strategies and maximizing impact.
• Presentation of findings and discussion: Sharing key insights with relevant stakeholders through presentations and workshops.

2       Deliverables

The consultant(s) will deliver:

*         Inception Report: Detailing the methodology, work plan/schedule, and data collection tools.

*         Final Baseline Survey Report: Presenting key findings, insights into contribution pathways, and feasible recommendations.

*         Other Documents: Raw data files, quantitative data files, transcripts of interviews and FGDs.

3       Duration of contract

Duration of this contract is one month (30 days) – 12th of March 2024 to 10th of April 2024 (30 days including weekends).

4       Service Terms

FCA Somalia country office intends to contract qualified consultant(s) for one months (30 days).

5       Duty Station

The independent consultant(s) will undertake in-country field work and reporting based on agreed work-plan and methodology. The assessment will take place in Jubbaland, Galmudug and BRA selected (three districts) of Somalia by relevant line ministries at Federal and state levels right after the project launched.  

6       Transport & Logistics

The consultant(s) will cover field transport and accommodation arrangements, translator and/or interpreter needs, focal points and other contact points on the field and other logistical arrangements concerning consultant’s visit(s).

7       Validity

Tenders/Offers shall remain valid and open for acceptance for a period of 30 days after the closing date for the submission.