Terms of Reference-TORs

 Background:

 Pakistan, the fifth most populous country globally, stands among the 15 nations where the population of people aged sixty and above surpasses 10 million. Presently, an estimated 6.9% of Pakistan's total population, approximately 16.5 million people, fall into this age bracket. However, UN projections indicate that this figure will surge to an astounding 36.6 million by the year 2050¹, signifying a significant demographic shift towards an aging population. World Population Prospects - Population Division - United Nations

Recognizing the evolving dynamics of its population, Pakistan has embarked on a legislative journey to safeguard the rights and well-being of its older people. Notably, the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh enacted Senior Citizens Welfare Acts in 2016. Additionally, a significant milestone was achieved at the federal level with the enactment of the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Senior Citizens Act in 2021. This pioneering legislation specifically addresses the rights and protection of older people within the Islamabad Capital Territory, marking a historic development in the realm of older people’s rights in Pakistan.

 In partnership with the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) of Germany and HelpAge Germany, HelpAge International has embarked on a 3-year project titled "Strengthening Legal Framework and Civil Society for an Inclusive Pakistan." This project is being executed in the Punjab province and the Islamabad Capital Territory, with the overarching objective of advancing the rights and inclusion of older people.

 The project, with the support of an external consultant/consulting company, will include three studies and analyze, in the context, refers to the effort to ensure that older people are fully integrated into society and that their needs and rights are responded to, with a particular focus on assessing the extent to which this is achieved.  Specific programs under consideration will include prominent government programs such as the EHSAAS Cash Transfer Program, Health insurance (Sehat Saholat), and the Baahimat Buzurg program. For only data collection, the civil society organizations trained through this project will be involved, which will allow for quick and cost-efficient data collection.

 The findings and recommendations of these comprehensive studies will be channeled into a series of three workshops. These workshops will serve as platforms for presenting the study findings and recommendations to pertinent government bodies and policy makers. This critical step underscores the project's commitment to influencing policy and effecting tangible change, ensuring that the rights, dignity, and quality of life of Pakistan's diverse older population (demographic group) are upheld and protected.

 Objective of studies:

As mentioned previously, these envisaged studies will focus on assessing the effectiveness of government-implemented social security programs, including the EHSAAS Cash Transfer Program, health insurance Sehat Saholat, and Baahimat Buzurg, aimed at supporting vulnerable groups in Pakistan. For this research study, a mixed methods approach will be employed, incorporating both quantitative and qualitative methods.

 The aim will be to assess the inclusiveness, sustainability, and identify potential access barriers that older people (Above 60) or Persons with Disabilities face in benefiting from these programs. The recommendations on the inclusivity and sustainability of social protection measures will be presented to the Health and Social Protection Departments in three workshops. These studies are expected to contribute towards further technical support to the government to ensure sustainability and to expand into other provinces.

 The specific objectives are to:

 1)   Assess to what extent the programs have met their targets and to what extent they contributed to the protection of older people aged 65 and the programs have contributed to the income security and overall well-being of older people and people with disabilities, as well as their impact on these individuals themselves.

2)   Analyze the inclusiveness of the EHSAAS Cash Transfer Program, health insurance, and Baahimat Buzurg schemes in addressing the needs of vulnerable groups, particularly older people and people with disabilities.

3)   Identify and assess potential barriers older people and people with disabilities face in accessing and availing of the benefits provided by these social security schemes.

4)   Present the findings and recommendations from the studies to relevant government agencies and policymakers to improve the existing programs and make them more accessible and beneficial to the target population.

5)   Prepare a comprehensive national status report and a shorter (published) policy brief on the situation of older people in Pakistan with specific policy recommendations to enhance their well-being and quality of life.

 6) Review the inclusivity and sustainability of the programs during the research and after the     research based on the results with consultant, Health and Social Protection Departments.

 3.Scope of work

 The research study will include the following components:

 a)   Review existing literature, reports, and data on the EHSAAS Cash Transfer Programme, health insurance Sehat Saholat, and Baahimat Buzurg programs, focusing on their implementation and impact on vulnerable groups, especially older or impaired individuals.

b)   Focusing on the study area (Punjab) on older people design and implement quantitative and qualitative data collection tools, including for surveys, interviews, and focus group discussions, and key informant interviews. Data Entry/Data Quality Control/Data Management and Field data Collection through randomly sampling Size. The lead evaluator will collect data at government institutions with appropriate data collection methods/tools. Methodological design should allow for comparison of results across age, genders, Socio-Economic and disability status (for older people).

 c)   Analysis of data collected to assess the social security schemes' inclusiveness and identify potential barriers older or impaired individuals face in accessing these schemes. This should include quantitative data analysis using an appropriate software (e.g., SPSS, STATA) and qualitative data analysis focusing on specific themes.

 d)   Organization of a session with the research team to reflect on the entire research process. Discussion of what went well, what challenges were encountered, and whether there were any unexpected findings.

e)     Development of clear and actionable policy and programmatic recommendations to address the identified barriers and improve the inclusiveness of the social security programs.

f)     Prepare a comprehensive national status report of focused area and an accompanying policy brief on the situation of older people in Pakistan, highlighting their challenges, needs, and potential policy/programmatic interventions for improvement.

 g)   Organization of three workshops/meetings with approximately 50 participants each, comprising government officials, civil society representatives, and other stakeholders, to present the research findings and recommendations for further discussion and refinement.

 h)   Collaborate with relevant government agencies, civil society organizations, and stakeholders involved in the Programme.

 4. Specific study questions and issues to focus on during the research

4.1 Relevance:

• To what extent were target communities (older people and people with disabilities) and stakeholders (including government) involved in the needs assessment, design, and implementation of the response?
• Was the methodology used for the beneficiary selection relevant and were older men and women and people with disability in the target communities involved in the process? What measures were undertaken to ensure the inclusivity of the selection process?

4.3 Effectiveness:

• Measure the effectiveness of the social protection programs in achieving its intended objectives. This involves evaluating whether the program's activities and interventions have resulted in the desired outcomes, such as poverty reduction, improved well-being, and enhanced social protection of older people specifically.
• Did the monitoring system used to capture the correct information at the appropriate times throughout the program? Was the project adapted based on information gained from monitoring?
• What are the major accomplishments of the program?
• What were the major factors influencing the achievement or non-achievement of the objective?

4.4 Impact:

• Examine the overall income security and wellbeing impact of the social protection programs on the target beneficiaries and their households. This entails analyzing both the intended and unintended consequences of the program and identifying any positive or negative externalities.
• Who were the direct and indirect/wider beneficiaries of the program supported? (Provide Age, disability and gender disaggregated data);
• Have there been any community-level impacts?
• To assess the social protection programmes by examining their alignment with the needs and priorities of the target population. Evaluate whether the programmes address the identified challenges and whether they complement other initiatives.

4.5 Sustainability:

• To know the sustainability of the program's impact over the specific population. To identify whether the benefits are likely to continue once the program concludes or if there are any challenges that may undermine its sustainability or continuity.

4.6 Coherence:

• In how far did the programme measures fit the social protection context?
• Analyze the coherence of the Social Protection programmes with other related initiatives and policies. Identify any potential synergies or conflicts between this program and other social protection schemes.

4.7 Mainstreaming/Integration of Cross Cutting Issues:

• To what extent does the programme take gender transformative approach?
• To what extent does the programme take into consideration vulnerable and marginalized groups?
• To what extent does the programme consider the diverse identities and abilities of older people?

4.8 Lessons learned, information sharing and debriefing:

• Were there any significant changes or challenges in the programme design or the programme context?
• For whom could these lessons have relevance?
• Have lessons been shared during the life of the programmes– with whom, and to what effect?

 5.     Outputs and deliverables

A complete approved research report and a policy brief includes desk review, analysis, interviews/FGDs data, and recommendations.

The assignment should be completed in a maximum of 08 weeks in the [Nov-Dec 2023]

Inception report:

An inception report shall be presented to HelpAge International based on the ToR and a study of the documentation, outlining the understanding of the task and an initial assessment of the relevant issues for discussion and comments as well as an initial literature review (outline the terms of the study and approach) and detailed report outline. An initial meeting will be scheduled with HelpAge in order to discuss the ToR and the inception report. 

Draft report:

The consultant will submit a draft Report to the HelpAge International. The report should be analytical, assess the results achieved and lessons learned, and include conclusions and recommendations. The draft will be submitted to HelpAge for comments. Comments will be communicated by the research team back to the consultant within 5 days.

Final report:

The final research report will be submitted within ten days after considering the feedback from the HelpAge International. The report should be a maximum of 20 pages, excluding annexes, presented in a way that makes the information accessible and comprehensible with evidence-based findings, conclusions, lessons, and action-based recommendations, use a consistent and conventional system for footnotes and references in the text, and be structured in the following manner:

• Title page
• List of acronyms and abbreviations
• Table of contents, including a list of annexes
• Executive summary
• Introduction: background and context of the research study
• Description of the project – it's logic theory, results framework
• Purpose of the evaluation
• Key questions and scope of the evaluation
• Approach and methodology
• Findings (with thematic sub-sections, including analysis and interpretation of findings)
• Conclusions
• Lessons learnt and recommendations
• Annexes (Including one case study)

Policy brief

Report format as well as the format of the policy brief will be finalized by the evaluation team in consultation with HelpAge International

Presentation:

The consultant will prepare a PowerPoint presentation outlining the research process, main findings and recommendations present to HelpAge and relevant government agencies and policy makers in the workshop.

Consultant’s required qualifications, competencies, and skills

• Master’s Degree in Social Sciences and MPhil or PHD will be preferred
• Minimum of 7 to 10 years of experience in research studies with Government sector specially on social protection programs.
• Good demonstration and presentation skills.    
• Proven capacity to effectively analyze, and present data/information.
• Excellent communication and writing skills in English, ability to organize and synthesize information in a systematic manner.
• Ability to communicate effectively in Urdu and English.
• The consultant/lead consultant must have the ability to travel in Pakistan.
• The consultant/lead consultant should have strong analytical and conceptual skills.
• Proficiency in MS Office, PowerPoint and data analysis by using different software.
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive constructive attitude.

Submission of the proposal

• Proposal from the interested consultant firms outlining how they meet the selection criteria and their understanding of the ToR (may include Similar or relevant experiences of working on older people and persons with disabilities, conducted similar kinds of studies and surveys. Their understanding of the Age, gender, disability, and diversity issues prevalent in Pakistan and familiarity with international standards for the inclusion of older people and persons with disabilities, national and international legislation/instruments related to age and disability inclusion,
• A summarized description of the scope of work, the intended methodology to be used, and a tentative work plan including activities and time frames. 
• Names and contacts of three recent professional referees (previous clients) for whom similar work has been conducted. 
• An example of similar pieces of work completed recently. 

• Curriculum vitae (CV) outlining relevant qualifications, skills (e.g., drafting, analysis of quantitative and qualitative data) and experience.
• Itemized financial proposal. 

Interested consultants/firms shall submit their proposals (Technical and financial) by 05/10/2023 by Time at the following address in the name of the Procurement Committee.

HelpAge International, Office 6 Ground Floor, Shah Tower, E-11/2, Islamabad, Pakistan

Please write “Submission of Proposal for Generating evidence and studies on government social protection initiatives” on the envelope.