Oxfam
1. Background
Oxfam Canada (OCA) is an affiliate of the international Oxfam Confederation, networked in over 90 countries as part of a global movement for change. Our mission is to build lasting solutions to poverty and injustice with a focus on improving the lives and promoting the rights of women and girls. We work directly with communities, partners and women’s rights organizations to challenge the systems that perpetuate inequality and keep people poor. Together we seek to influence those in power to ensure that women trapped in poverty have a say in the critical decisions that affect them, their families and entire communities.
The Jamaica-based projectis a unique, behaviour change project (2022-2027) that will address Gender-Based Violence (GBV), one of the most pervasive violations of human rights that limits freedom, participation in equal decision-making, access, and control over resources for many Jamaican women and other marginalized groups. The project will directly reach 68,488 women, girls, boys and men, particularly adult women (30+) and young women (15-29) in rural and urban communities across Jamaica. The team projects indirect project reach to be 205,464.
1. Programming Vision and Approach
The project’s central vision is to reduce GBV through work under two related pillars. Pillar 1 will increase community and individual awareness of pervasive harmful norms, practices, and myths that lead to the prevalence of GBV, and increase the ability of influencers to be champions of change. Pillar 2 will increase the capacity of civil society organizations (CSOs), women’s rights organizations, youth organizations and feminist collectives to coordinate/promote social norms change, and to advocate for duty bearers, including government stakeholders, to address GBV and to provide quality services for survivors.
These pillars will work in parallel to address broad barriers to gender equality that exacerbate the risk of GBV, including:
- Harmful and pervasive social norms, behaviours and attitudes normalizing GBV,
- Limited women’s decision-making ability due to exclusion from governance and decision-making processes
- Unequal distribution of unpaid care work, and
- Multiple oppressions, vulnerabilities, and discrimination that increase the risk of GBV.
To address these barriers, the project will take a holistic approach to change social norms and reduce GBV through a combination of research, stakeholder engagement, behaviour change communication campaigns, and capacity building.
2. Project Partners
While OCA is accountable for the overall management of the program, two partner organizations will implement the project in Jamaica. Both organizations will provide contextual knowledge and on-the-ground expertise to ensure that the project activities roll out as intended and the project responds appropriately / effectively to local needs.
2. Purpose and Scope of the Baseline Study
The baseline study will provide an independent assessment to establish baseline values for project indicators during the inception phase. The baseline study is also intended to provide contextual information that will help OCA and the partner organizations better understand how to manage the project moving forward. The primary audience is internal, namely: OCA, Global Affairs Canada (the donor), and project partners. With this in mind, the baseline will employ a mixed-methods approach, leveraging both quantitative and qualitative data.
3. Objectives of the Baseline Study
Overall, OCA and its partners envision a feminist baseline study that draws on a range of stakeholder voices and contextual experiences to:
- Set quantitative baseline figures for immediate, intermediate and ultimate outcomes in the project Performance Measurement Framework (PMF),
- Provide qualitative contextual information relevant to the project design, implementation, and PMF
- Employ qualitative methodologies that could be used for project monitoring throughout the lifespan of the project. In this regard, OCA and partners are open to discussing relevant ideas with the successful consultant(s), including application of the Social Norms Diagnostic Tool.
OCA and its partners also understand the following specific objectives and related learning questions as relevant for the baseline study. We expect the successful consultant(s) to propose further learning questions related to these specific objectives. In doing so, the successful consultant(s) should keep in mind that the project’s partner organizations have limited MEAL capacity. Recommendations should be highly practical, contextual, and adaptable for teams with limited human and financial resources.
Specific Objective
Learning Question
Assess the context related to GBV in all 14 parishes in Jamaica
- What are the drivers of GBV across Jamaica’s parishes over the past 12 months?
- How can Jamaica’s current laws and policies on GBV benefit or hinder the project?
- How well do community members in project areas understand GBV and women’s rights and leadership?
Measure knowledge, attitudes, norms and practices on GBV in intervention areas
- To what extent do community members justify or normalize GBV in their communities?
- Who are the opinion makers and norms influencers in these communities?
- Do survivors of violence seek help? What are the barriers to help-seeking behavior[1]?
- What are the social norms, behaviors and attitudes that sanction GBV?
- What changes to these social norms, behaviors and attitudes can be made in a 5, 10 and 15 years’ period?
Provide practical recommendations to help adjust the project’s implementation
- What do key project stakeholders consider as important measures of success for projects seeking to reduce GBV?
- What project coordination strategies (i.e., the formation of community feedback groups) could help the project best reflect community input?
- What existing structures are in place that could be leveraged for this purpose to avoid duplication?
Test of feminist MEAL methods and tools that could be used in subsequent project monitoring and evaluations, and provide related recommendations
- What are practical examples of how the project team can apply a feminist lens to MEAL work?
- How can the project team (OCA and its partners) best include community members in project MEAL practices?
4. Methodology
The baseline survey is intended to provide initial data on indicators in the project PMF. The consultant(s) should be prepared to use either SurveyCTO or LogAlto software for data collection and quality checks. OCA has licenses for both types of software. At OCA, our default position is to use cluster sampling to select the statistically representative sample of direct reach within a project’s implementation area. Using a 95 percent confidence interval, a 5 percent margin of error, and a 50 percent response distribution, we estimate a sample size of 383 for this survey.
OCA and partners will also share examples of qualitative methods with the successful consultant(s) (for example, drawing on the principles of Most Significant Change or Outcome Mapping, or vignettes to facilitate stakeholder reflection). Oxfam is also keen to collect baseline data on prevalent social norms using an adaptation of the Social Norms Diagnostic Tool, and encourage the consultants to include this or similar methodologies in their proposals. OCA and partners will prioritize methods that amplify women’s voices, highlight the role of community stakeholders, use a household engagement approach, and empower future participants of this project. We would look favourably on use of a qualitative method that the project team could replicate in future project monitoring and evaluation.
OCA and partners recognize that the scope and format of data collection may need to change based on the evolving nature of COVID-19 related restrictions in Jamaica. In making its selection, OCA and partners will prioritize applications that fulsomely discuss data collection in the context of COVID-19 and illustrate ways that the consultant(s) would be adaptable if context were to change.
5. Guiding Principles and Values
The successful consultant(s) should include and address all potential ethical issues related to this review in its proposal and subsequent inception report. Additionally, the successful consultant(s) are expected to undertake the baseline study with high respect given to transparency, cost-effectiveness, gender transformative potential, and collaboration with a range of stakeholders.
OCA and partners expects the consultant(s) leading the baseline study to use a gender lens. In its work, OCA seeks to apply a Feminist Approach to Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (FMEAL). In doing so, it prioritizes seven key foundations, including:
- Understanding feminist MEAL as an approach,
- Positioning MEAL as an integral part of social transformation,
- Shifting power to participants in evaluations,
- Understanding the role of the evaluator as a facilitator,
- Valuing collective, context-driven knowledge generation,
- Providing a learning orientation to evaluative exercises, and
- Rooting feminist MEAL in safe programming, guided by ‘do no harm’.
The successful consultant(s) should reflect these foundations in their proposal, and in their examples provided of previous relevant experience. The online Measuring Change with a Feminist Lens profile highlights some examples of MEAL work that OCA has previously done using a feminist approach.
6. Key Activities and Deliverables
The baseline study will start upon signing of the contract between OCA and the successful consultant(s) or an otherwise agreed upon date. The exact due dates for all deliverables will be finalized with OCA prior to submitting the inception report, so long as the dates continue to fall within the broad start and finish dates of the consultancy.
OCA and partners envision the baseline study as a collaborative undertaking with the successful consultant(s). We expect that the selected consultant(s) will engage with both OCA and partners and provide feedback on a continual basis. On our part, we commit to collaborating with the selected individual/team and to providing sufficient time for regular dialogue and review.
*Note that timelines below could change as a result of travel and activity restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Key Activities / Deliverables
Proposed Timeline
Start date of contract
31 July 2022
Inception phase
- Submit work plan
- Undertake a thorough desk review
- Draft a quantitative survey tool
- Draft qualitative data collection tools as relevant
- Submit an inception report
- Discuss and finalize details with OCA and partners
Inception report by 25 august 2022
Oxfam and partners will provide feedback on the inception report.
Inception Report finalized by 5 September 2022
Data collection
- Test survey and qualitative tools
- Adapt tools as necessary
- Conduct baseline survey
- Conduct associated qualitative data collection
- Provide oversight (via SurveyCTO or LogAlto) during data collection
Data collection will be completed by October 5th 2022
Draft report
- Conduct data analysis on all quantitative findings, including calculating PMF indicator values
- Triangulate findings to provide a fulsome contextual picture
- Present initial findings to OCA and partner staff (remotely)
- Sense making / validation exercise with partners and stakeholders (preferably in person in Jamaica)
- Engage in discussions with OCA and partners about revisions to the report
- Submit a draft report
Presentation on initial findings by 15 October 2022
Sense making exercise in November 2022
Draft Report, including complete PMF and recommendations for future use of feminist MEAL in the project by 30 November 2021
Final report
- Submit a final report including tools to support the future application of feminist MEAL in the project
Oxfam and partners will provide feedback on the draft report by 15 December 2022
Final Report by 31 December 2022
1. Inception Report
The inception phase will begin with a thorough desk review of existing project documents and current research on GBV in Jamaica, with consideration of the Caribbean region and selected global resources. Based on this analysis, the inception report will include:
- Updated learning questions,
- Roles and responsibilities of consultant(s) including enumerators executing the Baseline Study,
- Orientation/training plan for enumerators on the project
- Data collection tools (a survey and supporting qualitative tools),
- Data collection plan
- Data analysis plan
- Updated budget,
- A proposed schedule of meetings with key Oxfam and partner staff to check progress and provide updates throughout all phases of the Baseline Study, and
- A detailed table of contents for the final Baseline report
- Description of proposed knowledge products
In-country data collection can only begin after OCA approves the inception report.
2. Final Report
The final report will provide contextual reflection and project-specific recommendations for the project’s rollout in Jamaica through triangulating data from the desk research, survey, and supporting qualitative data collection. The report shall provide clear documentation and findings related to the project rollout across the 14 parishes, focusing on the project’s design, assumptions, and sustainability. The final report will provide insight into opportunities for innovation and increased effectiveness, both for implementation and through a MEAL lens, as well as potential barriers to project / programme delivery. The final report must be copy edited and laid out in a final format in accordance with Oxfam reporting guidelines (to be provided).
3. Annexes to the Final Report
The final report shall also include a number of annexes, which will provide context to the report’s findings and recommendations. Suggested annexes include:
- Terms of Reference for the final review.
- Final review inception report.
- Data collection tools, including survey and qualitative tools.
- List of individuals and stakeholder groups consulted.
- List of supporting documentation reviewed.
- 2-3 Knowledge products / infographics highlighting key findings from the final report.
- Powerpoint presentation summarizing content of the baseline study
4. Knowledge Products
Produce 2-3 knowledge products highlighting key findings from the baseline study, in consultation with Oxfam and partners.
How to apply
1. Profile of the Review Team
The consultancy can include different team members. Key competencies of the team include:
- Strong experience designing and leading applied research and evaluation projects of similar scope and scale.
- Previous experience conducting baseline studies is considered a strong asset.
- Strong background in gender equality. Experience with GBV prevention and response specifically is desirable.
- Experience utilizing feminist MEAL principles and practices.
- Ability to facilitate and relate to stakeholders at multiple levels and in diverse contexts.
- Proven ability to engage in quantitative data analysis, with preference given to experience with SurveyCTO or LogAlto.
- Strong written and verbal communication and presentation skills in English.
- Sensitivity to cultural and historical contexts in the data collection and analysis process.
- Strong preference for teams that include members with experience conducting research in the Caribbean. Specific experience in Jamaica, including across a variety of Jamaican parishes, is considered an asset.
- Strong preference for teams that include members fluent in Jamaican Patois.
2. Submission and Evaluation of Proposals
Consultants meeting the above criteria are invited to submit a proposal by email to: [email protected] with the subject line: “Proposal for Jamaica GBV Baseline Study”. Proposals should be received no later than Monday 25 July 2022. The body of the proposal should be no longer than 10 pages single spaced and should include the following:
- A cover letter outlining relevant experience in similar studies, including experience reviewing GBV projects, as well as experience in Jamaica.
- An outline of the baseline study approach, highlighting: proposed research questions, feminist methodological approach, data analysis plan, proposed knowledge products, potential technical and operational challenges, and strategies to ensure timely, high-quality deliverables.
- Work plan: A list of key activities, linked to the proposed activities, within a scheduled timeframe.
- A staffing and management plan, including details of team composition and specific qualifications of key staff.
The proposal should also include Annexes, which are not included in the 10 page limit, such as:
- An estimated budget, including personnel, not exceeding a maximum of CAD 30 000.
- List of three (3) references who can attest to the team’s experience and expertise as it relates to this project (including daytime phone numbers and email contacts).
- CVs of the review team, outlining previous evaluation experience and accomplishments demonstrating the skills and knowledge needed to fulfill the Terms of Reference.
- Preferred: Two samples of large-scale reviews recently completed by the consultant(s). If possible, at least one should be relevant, or similar to, the subject of this study.
Oxfam and local partners will review all proposals closely against this outline.