Terms of Reference
Cost of Diet Analysis Consultancy - Concern Worldwide in Zambia
Project: DiRECT (DIRECT RESPONSE THROUGH EMERGENCY CASH TRANSFERS)
Introduction
Concern Worldwide is an international humanitarian organisation dedicated to ending extreme hunger and transforming the lives of the world’s poorest people. Concern has been working in Zambia since 2002; engaging in long term development work, responding to emergency situations and seeking to address the root causes of poverty through advocacy work.
DiRECT is an emergency intervention undertaken by Concern Worldwide in consortium with Save the Children International, with funding from the Department for International Development and in partnership with the Government of the Republic of Zambia. It seeks to address the drought caused by El-Nino in Zambia through cash transfers to affected households and support to markets. An overarching monitoring and learning objective leads to documenting process and impact of the intervention for further use by the Government and practitioners within its Disaster Mitigation and management Unit and the Ministry of Community Development and Social Welfare. DiRECT is implemented in 5 districts of Southern and Western Province. The intervention’s timeframe is September 2016 to June 2017.
Objective of the study
International evidence shows that the size of a social cash transfer has a major impact on nutrition outcomes. To have a positive impact on nutrition the transfer size should take into account the cost of a nutritious (not caloric) diet, while not being so high as to provide disincentives to work. In 2010 the food basket for Zambia cost 96 kwacha for a family of six to meet minimum nutritional requirements. It is likely that the value of the food basket has gone up since then and it is also likely to be higher during the peak of the lean season and times of stress.
The value of the Government’s social cash transfers targeting chronic poverty has recently been raised to 90 kwacha. The DiRECT Emergency Cash Transfers are of the same with the prospect that subsequent emergency responses should be undertaken through a shock responsive social cash transfer system.
To be able to better advocate for a shock responsive cash transfer value an assessment on the current cost of a nutritious diet adjusted for times of stress would allow insight to set a more responsive amount.
Scope of the study
DiRECT is implemented in 3 districts of Southern Province and 2 districts of Western Province. The study will be conducted in 2 of those districts, 1 in Southern and 1 in Western Provinces.
Main duties and responsibilities:
• Background literature review
• Data collection preparation: identify markets and villages, identify and train data collectors, write food list; refine the scope of the work
• Data collection: conduct market analysis, focus group discussions and interviews; oversee data collection,
• Data entry into software
• Analyse and interpret the results
• Write the final report.
Qualifications and Experience:
It is recommended that the consultant is certified by Save the Children. This will ensure that the data are collected, analysed and reported to a high standard. To become a certified Cost of the Diet practitioner an individual is required to attend a Practitioner’s Training, lead an assessment on their own and send the data and the final report for review by staff of Save the Children UK. Once certified, practitioners will receive an official certificate.
Duration:
The Consultancy will be for a period of six weeks broken down as follows:
Week 1: Background literature review
Week 2: Recruit and train staff, identify markets, write a food list
Week 3: Collect data in markets, do interviews and FGDs
Week 4: Enter, clean and analyse data
Weeks 5 & 6: Write report
Location: Zambia and more specifically districts of operation: Pemba, Namwala and Sinazongwe in Southern Province and Limulunga and Sesheke in Western Province.
Reporting to: Director of Programmes
Liaises with: District Programme Coordinator Choma and District Programme Coordinator Mongu, Project field teams, all other Concern staff as required, Save the Children team as required. Technical backstopping will come from Concern s Strategy, Advocacy and Learning Unit.
Tentative timeframe: The consultancy is to be completed by end of May 2017.
Expression of interest: Submissions will comprise of a technical and a financial proposal and will outline availability for travel to Zambia. They will be sent by March 10th 2017 COB to both email addresses below:
Elias.antoniou@concern.net - Desk Officer, Concern Worldwide Head Office
Marie.rongeard@concern.net - Director of Programmes, Concern Worldwide Zambia
PROTECTION OF BENEFICIARIES AND OTHER PROGRAMME PARTICIPANTS
Concern has a Staff Code of Conduct and a Programme Participant Protection Policy, which have been developed to ensure the maximum protection of programme participants from exploitation and to clarify the responsibilities of Concern staff, consultants, visitors to the programme and partner organization, and the standards of behaviour expected of them. In this context staff have a responsibility to the organization to strive for, and maintain, the highest standards in the day-to-day conduct in their workplace in accordance with Concern’s core values and mission. Any candidate offered a job with Concern Worldwide would be expected to sign the Programme Participant Protection Policy and the Concern Staff Code of Conduct as an appendix to their contract of employment. By signing the Programme Participant Protection Policy and the Concern Staff Code of Conduct candidates acknowledge that they have understood the contents of both the Concern Staff Code of Conduct and the Programme Participant Protection Policy and agree to conduct themselves in accordance with the provisions of these two documents.