Consultant for Baseline Survey in Muong Te, Lai Chau

Project: “New Integrated Development and Essential Action (NEW IDEA) for Ethnic Minority Communities in Thai Nguyen and Lai Chau provinces of Vietnam”

TOR for baseline survey

1. Background:

Church World Service (CWS) is an American NGO, which began its work in Vietnam in 1954. Since then, CWS Vietnam has supported Vietnam continuously with projects primarily focusing on improving health services, access to water and sanitation, nutrition for children, education for ethnic minorities and disaster relief.

In 2015, CWS Vietnam and its project partners in Muong Te district of Lai Chau province will begin the project “New Integrated Development and Essential Action (NEW IDEA) for Ethnic Minority Communities in Thai Nguyen and Lai Chau provinces of Vietnam”. The project is funded by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and lasts for two years, 2015-2016. Under this project, many activities mainly focusing on capacity building, development and promotion of a safe and child-friendly learning environment, raising awareness of local people, education and promotion of health and hygiene behaviors, etc in ethnic minority communities in Thai Nguyen and Lai Chau provinces will be implemented to achieve the following objectives and expected outcomes (results) of the project:

Objectives

1.Education: Increase educational access and quality for children in priority communities
2.Health and hygiene/sanitation: Improve health service access and quality as well as household hygiene and communal sanitation in priority communities
3.Community development: To increase information-sharing and awareness to build knowledge of (a) children’s rights, including the rights to education and protection; (b) hygiene at the household and community levels and (c) essential health, especially maternal/newborn health basics. Community Culture Houses will be refurbished to support these activities.

Expected results

Outcome 1:  Teachers, teacher assistants and local education officials have increased access to information, expanded awareness, more knowledge and improved skills (altogether: more capacity) to teach and manage education for ethnic minority students.

Outcome 2:  Schools are physically improved to foster safe and child-friendly learning environments in classroom, libraries, etc.

Outcome 3: Commune, village and district health care workers, including  traditional birth attendant (TBA), have increased access to information, expanded awareness, more knowledge and improved skills (altogether: more capacity) and their networks are strengthened.

Outcome 4: Hygiene/sanitation situation in communes, villages and households is improved.

Outcome 5:  Communities are supported to increase their knowledge of (a) children’s rights, including the right to protection from all forms of harm; (b) hygiene at the household and community levels and (c) essential health, especially maternal/newborn health basics.

2. The baseline survey:

2.1 Purpose and specific objectives:

The baseline survey is necessarily conducted to collect and analyze data and information on current situation at this early stage of the project. The findings from survey will be used to measure the progress, achievement and impact of the project

The specific purposes of the baseline survey include:

- To help identify a clear baseline picture of education and schools in project communes; opinions, expectations, and initiative of local communities and the district department of education and training (seen from the perspectives of both the service providers and the service beneficiaries) about:

• the current situation (capacity, quality of and access to) of the education services being delivered and accessed for ethnic minority children from communes and villages, especially for girls and disabled children;
• the current situation of knowledge, attitude and practice of local people including students, their parents, teachers and villagers, about child rights and child protection, child health and nutrition, child sexual abuse and trafficking, as well as their attitudes and behaviors towards girls and disabled children;

- To help identify a clear baseline picture of the health sector in district and project communes as well as the overall opinions of local communities and of the district health center (seen from the perspectives of both the service providers and the service beneficiaries) in terms of the health services being delivered and accessed

• the current situation (capacity, quality of and access to) of the health services being delivered and accessed for ethnic minority people from communes and villages, especially for girls and disabled children;
• the current situation of the hygiene/sanitation situation in communes, villages and households as well as the knowledge, attitude and practice of hygiene behaviors and essential health, especially maternal/newborn health basics, of local people;

- To review and recommend with baseline situation for each project indicator to facilitate monitoring and evaluation of the project objectives and outcomes;

2.2 Expected outcome:

- Tools of baseline survey materials (questionnaires, interview guidelines, analyze data methods  etc...);
- Completed survey forms and information analysis;
- The final baseline report in Vietnamese and its translation into English that should include a table of appropriate indicators with baseline information recommended for monitoring and evaluation of project objectives and outcomes, and also stories from individuals, villages and schools that may likely get involved, participated or benefited from the project.

2.3 Methodology:

The baseline survey will use both qualitative and quantitative tools to collect data and information from a variety of sources including local authority, related agencies, project beneficiaries; field observations; the project documents and other reports. This information, including information on knowledge, attitudes and practice (KAP) of the ethnic minority populations towards issues mentioned in the project’s objectives, should be gathered and reported using methods that provide accurate, representative and appropriately detailed information. Conclusions and recommendations must relate clearly and directly to the data and analysis presented in the body of the reports.

At all times the consultants are expected to collaborate with CWS staff and project partners in Muong Te district of Lai Chau province, either during the field survey or in the office. All survey forms, data collection and analysis, draft and final reports should be in consultation with CWS.

2.4 Work locations and timeline:

The consultant service is expected to be implemented within the period from January to April, 2015. As such, the field survey, of about 10-12 days including travel time, is expected to be conducted in project sites in project communes in Muong Te district during January – February for the final report to be available by April 15th, 2015.

3. Professional requirements for consultant:

The below are professional requirements for the leading evaluation consultant:

• Experience in development project baseline, evaluation and analysis.
• Knowledge and practical experience in health and hygiene education and/or rural water and sanitation baseline surveys and analysis, as well as in raising people’s awareness and behaviors in issues related to health and hygiene promotion.
• Knowledge and practical experience in basic education and in raising people’s awareness and behaviors in issues related to gender, child rights and protection, child health and nutrition, child sexual abuse and trafficking, as well as disabled children.
• Good understanding and working experiences with ethnic minority populations, particularly those in the north-west of Vietnam
• Fluent written Vietnamese and English skills

The following experience and skills are seen as advantages:

• Good understanding of issues including gender, disability, health and nutrition, environmental sanitation.
• Experience in the child-friendly school library, the child-centered teaching methodology, the safe and child-friendly learning environment.
• Experience in IEC and in KAP survey methodology.
• Good communication, facilitation, analytical and writing skills.

Interested candidates please send an application letter and detailed CVs to [email protected] no later than January 4th 2015.