Request for Expression of interest (REoI) for Baseline survey

 Summary

Action for Social Development and Environmental Protection Organization (ASDEPO) and The Donkey Sanctuary (TDS) are looking to contract an experienced and reputable organisation to conduct a baseline study for Gofa one welfare project entitled by “Enhancing Donkey and Mule Welfare and Strengthening Community Resilience through a One Welfare Approach in Gofa Zone “being implemented in Ethiopia, South Ethiopia region, Gofa zone. The aim of the baseline study is to establish starting values for key indicators outlined in the project logical framework, to enable monitoring progress and impact over time.

Background Information

ASDEPO and TDS have stared partnering on project to improve donkey welfare in Ethiopia. We are now beginning one new project for which we want to build an evidence-base to guide our interventions and to inform our decisions.

The Gofa one welfare project aims to improve donkey and mule welfare and thriving community resilience by integrating animal husbandry & management practices, diversified livelihood strategies and environmental protection measures at Zala & Ubadbertsehaye woredas and Sawula town of Gofa zone. More information on the project can be found in the annex below.

Purpose of the Baseline Study

The purpose of the baseline study is to determine the current situation of key indicators in the logical frameworks of the project, which will be used to:

• Establish benchmarks for measuring progress and impact throughout the project lifecycle.
• Develop data collection tools to monitor the achievement of the project results, with relevant indicators disaggregated by gender, age, region or any other relevant subcategory.
• Serve as a reference point for future monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) efforts.
• Strengthen the evidence base for adaptive programming and decision-making.

The consultant/organisation will be expected to design and conduct a robust baseline study that aligns with the project’s logical framework’s indicators, using a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods.

Scope of the Baseline Study

The successful candidate or organisation will be expected to review the relevant project documents, such as the proposal and logical frameworks to design the tools to collect baseline data from the project sites at Zala & Ubadbertsehaye woredas and Sawula town of Gofa zone at South Ethiopia region. The target population for the baseline study will be the project participants, which would comprise of:

• Members of donkey cart associations at Sawula town
• Model Donkey & mule owners and users at Zala woreda, that are targeted by the project
• Model Donkey & mule owners and users at Ubadebertsehaye woreda , that are targeted by the project
• Donkey & mule agents at Zala and Ubadbertsehaye woredas, that are targeted by the project

Methodology Requirements

The baseline study will be used to gather data from the project participants before the project activities, to establish a benchmark to measure progress and impact. Utilising a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, the successful candidate is expected to develop a detailed baseline design and methodology as part of their workplan. The baseline design document should include a series of data collection instruments, which should be simple and replicable. The project targets to work with target woredas agriculture offices, Sawula town administration members of donkey car associations at Sawula town , model Donkey & mule owners and users at Zala and Ubadbertsehaye woredas, Donkey & mule agents at Zala and Ubadbertsehaye woredas that are targeted by the project in Gofa zone of South Ethiopia region, TDSE staffs at HO and ASDEPO HO & project staffs.

The successful candidate is expected to propose a representative sample size for the baseline study, which would refer to the target figures in the project proposal documents, and will be agreed upon in the inception report.

Please refer to this link: >> https://docs.google.com/document/> For more information

Firm Requirements and experience

Firm requirement:

The consultancy firm shall have

1. Valid license and any other legal documents,
2. Four years of experience in consultancy work
3. done at least 2 baseline assessment work in the previous experience, baseline assessment on animal welfare /livestock, livelihood and environment is more preferable)

Firm key expert requirement and experience:

• The firm shall have the following key experts with having the following minimum qualification and skills:

Team leader

• A Master’s degree or higher in Statistics, Economics, Sociology, Development Studies, Public Health, or a related field.
• A minimum of 7–10 years of progressive experience in research, monitoring, and evaluation (M&E), with a specific focus on designing and leading large-scale baseline surveys.
• Proven competency in both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods, sampling techniques, and data analysis software (e.g., SPSS, Stata, R).
• Experience of working in animal welfare or carrying out animal welfare assessments OR the ability to work with other individuals/organisations to carry out the assessments and deliver analysis on the equid welfare standard
• Familiarity with the local context, including experience in developing countries, fragile settings, or specific regions.
• Experience with mobile data collection tools like, KoboTool box,
• A strong record of producing high-quality analytical reports in English for international donors and partners