BRAC | Request for Expressions of Interest for AIM Research Partners | (Remote) Kenya

Career with BRAC International

BRAC International (BI) is a leading non-profit organisation with a mission to empower people and communities in situations of poverty, illiteracy, disease, and social injustice. We design proven, scalable solutions that equip people with the support and confidence they need to achieve their potential. BRAC’s institutional expertise on successfully implemented programs is applied across 10 countries, touching the lives of over 130 million people, where our models are adapted according to the country’s context.

Overview of AIM:

Mastercard Foundation Accelerating Impact for Young Women in Partnership with BRAC, or AIM, is a multi-faceted, seven-country program designed to equip 1.2 million adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in Africa with age-appropriate entrepreneurship, employability, and life-skills training, along with the tools to start and scale their own businesses. From 2022 to 2027, the five-year, $267 million program will integrate several of BRAC’s globally recognized, evidence-based approaches, drawing from Empowerment and Livelihood for Adolescents (ELA), Ultra-Poor Graduation (UPG), microfinance and other programs. Implemented in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana, and Kenya, AIM is part of the Mastercard Foundation’s Young Africa Works strategy, which seeks to enable access to dignified and fulfilling work for 30 million young Africans, 70 percent of whom will be young women, by 2030.

Request for Expressions of Interest for AIM Research Partners

Objectives:

BRAC International seeks a research and learning partner to execute an impact evaluation on the AIM model. We envision conducting an impact evaluation in two countries, likely one in East Africa (Tanzania or Uganda) and one in West Africa (Sierra Leone or Liberia). Our aim is to conduct the impact evaluation on the third cohort, participating in the program in 2025.

Methodology:

As part of the overall AIM Learning Agenda, BRAC International seeks to conduct an impact evaluation using a methodological approach to be determined in conversation with short-listed candidate(s).

Research Partner Qualifications & Experience:

To conduct the proposed impact evaluation, BRAC International seeks to make an award to a single entity. The entity to receive the award must have the capacity to manage the award in all of its aspects, including research design, data collection, analysis and report writing. We welcome partnerships between research firms and potential principal investigators from academic institutions, and will accept applications from both.

In cases where the principal investigator (PI) is not an employee of the entity applying for the award, the proposal should outline the history of the relationship between the award applicant and the PI. We will show preference to entities that have already identified a PI. Preferably, this relationship would be demonstrated through a letter of support from the PI submitted with the proposal. In any case, it is expected that a teaming agreement or memorandum of understanding between the awardee and the PI be established before the award can be made.

Scope & Responsibilities:

The research team, comprised of the entity receiving the award and any partners or subcontractors, must be able to:

• Serve as research partners willing to collaboratively work with BRAC International to co-design a study that will both be rigorous and inform key programmatic designs;
• Maintain regular communication with BI throughout the process to ensure that BI can adequately support and coordinate with the research team while allowing for opportunities for AIM to learn from the insights generated by the research team;
• Conduct research, with potential for peer review, in the countries in which AIM is operating;
• Obtain all necessary research approvals at the institution and country level;
• Collect data, manage, and store data according to the highest ethical standards;
• Clean and analyze data; and
• Submit clear and well-articulated reports on research findings.

The entity to receive the award will be solely responsible for the submission of deliverables according to the agreed schedule.

Key Deliverables and Timeline:

This engagement will commence in 2024 and will continue based on a timeline agreed with the research partner based on the final research design. Studies must be completed no later than January 1, 2027.

Details and Deliverables: More detail on the service required is provided in the Terms of Reference attached below.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1nXkKzlCyFAj_J4b6gkoZJkJi7yti3kU5?usp=sharing