[1] Average household of 6.5 is taken to calculate the total population to be targeted in this project.

4.    PURPOSE OF THE BASELINE SURVEY

The baseline will measure the status of all output, outcome and impact indicators and provide additional information within the project context which is related to the project indicators as mentioned in the LFA of the project. The consultant/firm is expected to update the baseline values against the project targets (output/outcome level) to compare the progress made at the end of the project.

 5.    SAMPLING METHODOLOGY AND APPROACH

        a.  Desk Review

The desk review of the project documents should be done before the actual data collection in field. This provided information on the background of the study and helped customize the tools towards the context. Several documents relating to food security and livelihoods should be reviewed, and information acquired included in the process and outputs of this baseline study.

        b.  Questionnaire development

During this study, three comprehensive tools to be designed and administered: an individual interview at the household level, a focus group discussion-FGD tool at the community level, and a key informant interview-KII should be collected from key persons from the different line departments communities and individuals. The household questionnaire should be mainly based on quantitative indicators, while the FGD and KII included both quantitative and qualitative information. The analysis presented in the baseline report should be based on the household questionnaire, while analysis based on FGD has been incorporated in the final draft.

The consultant/firm will engage enumerators in the study and will supervise and monitor the enumerators in the field to ensure the quality of the data. The consultant/firm will be responsible for data cleaning, entry, analysis. The baseline report will also be carried out by the consultant/firm.

The baseline survey in targeted communities across five major components which include cash assistance to meet immediate food needs, Agriculture inputs, Community Based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM), School Based Disaster Risk Management (SBDRM) and Livestock assistance will be conducted by the consultant/firm. The survey will be conducted with 20% representative sample covering all segment of the society e.g. Men, women, Girls, Boys, children and people with disabilities. It will provide information about the underlying factors and existing situation of flood affected people in social and economic spheres of life. This baseline survey will provide a strong representative data that will be used when compared with similar data (endline) collected at project end to measure the impact of the programme and what changes it produced on the targeted groups.

         c.   Sampling Methodology

Sample Frame: A baseline study to be conducted in 20 selected villages of the project.

Sampling Method: The survey team employed cluster sampling methodology.

Total number of households: 1000

Average person per household: 6.5

1000 x6.5=6500

While employing 95% confidence level and 5% margin of error. The total sample size was 364. For calculation of the sample size, the attached link was used http://www.raosoft.com/samplesize.html.  The survey of each targeted village with 364/20= 18.2 forms in each village. While rounding off the number, to do survey with 19 households survey in each village. Making the total sample to 380. The team should also apply specific criteria to select the participants for the baseline survey in each village to ensure inclusive representation on the basis of gender, religion, vulnerability, and project intervention wise.

Village Sampling: Ensuring equal representation from all villages/hamlets keeping in view the geographical characteristics of villages, a total of 380 households should be planned to assess during the baseline study from 20 villages, the number of forms should be divided into all villages as per their population.

          d.  Data Collection team

The assessment team should be locally hired with good experience of data collection and entry. The team should involve male and female enumerators who understand the local culture and language for ease of data collection and communication with the project participants. The applicant needs to share the CVs or profiles of the assessment team to ensure they are experienced.        

          e.  Ethical considerations and informed consent

Informed Consent has been taken from the community members, permission from the authorities, Data Confidentiality, Data Security, and Protection.

6.    KEY QUESTIONS

For each project activity planned in the project, the consultant/firm is expected to collect the baseline information to assess the current level of knowledge, condition prior to project implementation. The source of information must be triangulated from different sources to ensure authenticity of the data. The consultant/firm is expected to develop the baseline survey tools (household survey, FGD and Key Informant Interview tools) in line with the project log frame. The tools must be approved before the data collection is initiated in the field level. The consultant/firm is expected to do field testing as well with the local data collection team.

7.    MODE OF PAYMENT

The consultant/firm will be paid by three installments as below:

1^st Installment: 40% upon submission and approval of inception report & data collection tools; and a signed contract

2nd Installment: 40% upon submission of the first draft.

3rd Installment: 20% on the approval and submission of the deliverable mentioned satisfactorily.

8.    METHODOLOGY OF THE ASSIGNMENT

Preliminary meeting

Before selection, REEDS and its financing partner will hold preliminary meeting with the potential consultant/firm to clarify the sampling and quality of the report.

Inception Report

The consultant/firm will share the inception report based on the meeting and their understanding of the requirements and expectations from the assignment.

Data Collection Tools Designing and Field Visit Planning

The consultant/firm will be expected to share the data collection tools along with the field visit plan for review and any comments to ensure that both parties understand what is expected and how the information would have gathered.

Data Collection and Analysis

After finalization of the tools and field visit planning, the consultant/firm will collect the data and analyze the findings. 

Submission of First Draft

Based on the agreed timeline of the assignment, the consultant/firm will share the first draft of the report with REEDS and its financing partner for review and comments to ensure its completeness as per the required standards. The reporting template will be agreed with the partner before the submission of the first draft.

9.    FINAL SUBMISSION OF THE ASSIGNMENT

 After addressing the comments or queries raised by the partner, the consultant/firm will be expected to submit the final report within a specified time.

 10.    TIMELINE OF THE ASSIGNMENT

 11.    DELIVERABLES OF THE ASSIGNMENT

 -        Inception meeting report

-        Draft baseline report;

-        Final baseline survey report. Two (2) hard copies and soft copy of the report of maximum 25 pages (excluding preliminary pages and annexes).

The report should be structured as follows:

• Title page (title of assignment, author(s) of report)
• Table of contents - List of tables and figures
• Executive summary (maximum 2 pages; summarizes ToR, methodology, findings, lessons, conclusions and recommendations)
• Introduction (background of study, contextual issues, methodology)
• Findings (addresses requirement from ToR)
• Conclusions (well supported by evidence from findings)
• Recommendations (realistic and clearly set out and cross referenced to the relevant section within the main body of the text)
• Appendices (supplementary data: questionnaires, maps, full ToR, list of contacts/resources, references etc.)
• Dataset (excel or SPSS upload) with raw data in soft copy.

 12.    QUALIFICATION AND EXPERTISE REQUIRED

 REEDS is looking for a consultant/firm with the following minimum qualifications:

 -   Should have at least 8-10 years of proven and well-documented experience in conducting participatory research methods and techniques and quantitative research in rural contexts; with bias to project/programme evaluations. Previous experience of conducting baseline surveys for local and international NGOs is mandatory.

-   Excellent writing skills (English) - Experience of conducting research in two of more on the thematic areas of agriculture, livelihood and DRR.

-   Local data collectors with basic understanding of the language and local culture.