BASELINE SURVEY – URBAN FOOD HIVES (UFH) PROJECT – Kenya

TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR BASELINE SURVEY – URBAN FOOD HIVES (UFH) PROJECT

1. ABOUT OXFAM

Oxfam is an international confederation of 21 organizations working in over 60 countries worldwide seeking to find lasting solutions to poverty and injustice around the world. Oxfam is determined to change that world by mobilizing the power of people against poverty. Around the world, Oxfam works to find practical, innovative ways for people to lift themselves out of poverty and thrive. We save lives and help rebuild livelihoods when crisis strikes. And we campaign so that the voices of the poor influence the local and global decisions that affect them. In all we do, Oxfam works with partners, public and private sector institutions alongside vulnerable women and men to end the injustices that cause poverty. Read more about Oxfam from https://kenya.oxfam.org/

1. OVERVIEW OF THE UFH PROJECT

Despite the global commitment to end hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition by 2030, the world is still off track to achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 2 that aims to “End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture”. Some of the threats to progress include climate variability, conflicts, the COVID 19 pandemic, pest and disease outbreaks and global economic slowdowns. Urban dwellers are affected by profound inequalities stemming from differences between socioeconomic groups, ethnicity, migratory status, location of residence (informal or formal settlements), city size, and a host of other factors. In Nairobi, 60% of the population lives in informal settlements that are deprived of basic amenities and whose inhabitants experience high proportions of inequalities. Food is primarily obtained from purchase and consequently a stable income is vital for food access. The livelihoods and food security of the urban poor heavily depend on informal-sector employment, on formal and informal safety nets, and on coping mechanisms to deal with income or food price shocks. It is in areas like these that SDG 11 focusing on making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable, hopes to concentrate on to ensure the one billion slum dwellers in the world are not left behind. Achievement of this and other SGD goals requires the collective efforts of stakeholders both globally and at the grassroot levels.

To address food insecurity in urban areas, Oxfam and SecondMuse came together for the Urban Food Hives (UFH) Initiative that seeks to address the systemic, economic, gender, and climate related inequalities and challenges in global food systems. Urban Food Hives are models of how communities, civil society, entrepreneurs, and governments come together to build regenerative, equitable, and nourishing local food systems of the future. The project focuses on three inter-related pillars namely, Urban food production and entrepreneurship, Policy and advocacy and Consumer behavior change. For Oxfam in Kenya, the vision of the food hives is “To have a transformative, inclusive and sustainable food system, where women and youth are represented, have access to equal opportunities across the food systems value chains, earn a decent living and households in the informal settlements of Nairobi have sustained access to affordable and sufficient nutritious foods. The project will focus on urban informal settlements communities in Nairobi with a key focus on women and youth. It seeks to:

• Strengthen national and county food systems policies, legislation, and institutional frameworks

• Improve women and youth led social enterprises within food system value chains.

• Improve food production and diversification through climate resilient practices.

• Increase consumption of healthy nutritious diets

3. PURPOSE OF THE BASELINE

The baseline study is intended to provide programme stakeholders with data on key project indicators to enable them measure changes taking place over the course of the project period, learn from the implementation, assess progress, adjust if necessary and inform decision making. It will employ a participatory approach that will be used to benchmark data as the project is implemented to track the theory of change progress.

The specific objectives of the baseline study are;

• Review of the draft MEAL framework against which baseline values will be established.

• Stakeholder analysis and mapping .

• To establish benchmarks on key outcome indicators for comparison and analysis upon program completion

  1. SCOPE OF THE BASELINE STUDY

The UFH project will focus on the urban informal settlements of Nairobi, specifically Korogocho, Dandora and Kawangware. The consultant will be expected to collect data from selected respondents that will be randomly sampled and the data representative of the population that is targeted by the project. He/She will be required to present a methodology for collecting, analyzing and presenting the data, details of which should be in the inception report. The methodology will be discussed and finalized in consultation with Oxfam’s MEAL and the UFH project staff. The possible key respondents will be derived in consultation with Oxfam in Kenya and partners however, the detailed data source and methods, and full questionnaires are required from consultant team.

5. SAMPLING AND METHODOLOGY

The study will have a mixed approach that will include both quantitative and qualitative methods for the data collection and analysis. This will enable the project indicators at output and goal/outcome level to be measured and tracked over the project period.

Primary Data Collection– information gathering and field-based exercises in target informal settlements within Nairobi. The survey will involve the development of a structured series of Household interviews, Key Informant Interviews, Expert Consultations and Focus Group Discussions and other information gathering techniques that will be used in parallel under the UFH.

To conduct the baseline survey on the key parameters, the following methodologies can be utilized, but should not be limited to:

• Qualitative Data Collection

Qualitative data collection and analysis of regionally based information from different organizations, government and non-government institutions working in the Food Systems sector will be undertaken. This will be done through key informant interviews, stakeholder consultation, focus group discussions with target population, and other participatory methods used in consideration of the outcome areas of the project.

• Quantitative Data Collection

Quantitative data collection and analysis: will be done through household surveys with target population.

Mapping of actors- stakeholder analysis & mapping:

• This will focus on developing an understanding of the ecosystem of actors involved in the food system.

• It will aim to identify and capture a summary of key actors involved in development of laws and policies related to the prioritized intervention areas.

• Actors will include but not limited to i) decision makers, ii) researchers/academicians, iii) civil society actors iv) media (journalists)

• It will also include a systematic analysis aimed at determining and recommending potential partners to recruit into, or relate to in, the programme.

  1. DATA COLLECTION AND INSTRUMENTS

The identified consultant will develop relevant data collection tools and identify appropriate means of collecting the data which will be discussed and agreed upon prior to the data collection exercise.

7. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

The consultant will put in place measures to ensure data collection adheres to all necessary ethics and guidelines provided by local laws on data protection and ‘Do no Harm’ standards, Oxfam safe programming and feminist principles

8. DELIVERABLES

Output 1: The consulting firm/bidder will submit a comprehensive baseline survey report in both electronic version and signed hard copy. The document should be very precise and address each specific objective.

The consulting firm/bidder will submit the following:

1. Inception report on the execution of the assignment within three days of the commencement of the consultancy; setting out how they will approach the assignment, proposed methodology and timetable and data collection tool, including draft discussion guide for collection of field-level data in the selected counties.
2. Share transcripts, raw data sets in an appropriate format which shall be agreed upon by Oxfam and the consultant and field test results with Oxfam and agree on the final discussion guide that includes signed consent forms from the respondents, with detailed understanding of their data rights as per the General Data Protection Regulations (2016).
3. Draft comprehensive baseline survey report which should include at least the following:

• Executive summary (2-3 pages)
• Introduction
• Purpose and objectives
• Methodology
• Findings as per outcome and based on questions provided in the ToR
• Conclusion and recommendations

Output 2: The consulting firm/bidder will produce a baseline database for the survey and deliver with draft baseline report.

Output 3: The consulting firm/bidder will deliver a high-quality Power-Point presentation of the report before finalizing the assignment.

Output 4: Facilitate a stakeholder validation workshop to receive input and feedback from Oxfam.

Output 5: Final report, incorporating Oxfam’s, partners’, and stakeholders’ input, completed after input is received.

The written report will be:

• Produced in English language and using accessible and concise language.

• The report format and text shall be in A4 paper size and a legible Arial 12 font size.

• The report should not exceed more than 40 pages.

• At least one signed hard copy and one electronic copy by the agreed deadline.

9. SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE OF CONSULTANT

The desired specification and qualities of the consultant(s) are as hereunder:

• At least a master’s degree in Social Sciences for the lead consultant and a minimum of bachelor’s degree on the relevant academic areas for research assistants.

• In-depth knowledge and experience on using participatory research methods (household survey, key informant interviews and focus group discussions).

• High quality skills and demonstrated experience in similar baseline study.

• Demonstrated understanding of constitutional and policy environment, national strategies and programs, county integrated development plans and strategies, food security, food systems, youth and women’s economic empowerment.

• Experience in implementing Urban Food systems and/ or Food security programmes or related field.

• Familiarity with the targeted urban informal settlement context.

• Familiarity with feminist approaches to women economic empowerment.

• Experience in undertaking a stakeholder mapping.

• Strong analytical, communication and report writing skills.

• Good spoken and written communication skills in Kiswahili and English.

• Proven experience of using participatory methods for data collection and analysis in programme evaluation.

• Confidentiality of information: All documents and data collected will be treated as confidential and used solely to facilitate analysis. Interviewees will not be quoted in the reports without their permission.

  1. TAX AND VAT ARRANGEMENTS

Oxfam will deduct withholding tax from the consultancy fees which will be in conformity with the prevailing government rates and submit the same to the Government of Kenya.

11. BID REQUIREMENTS

Consultant(s) who meet the above requirements should submit bids, which at minimum include the following:

• Suitability statement, including commitment to availability for the entire assignment in the period between February 2023 –March 2023.
• Brief statement of the proposed study methodology including a detailed work plan.
• Detailed financial proposal, including daily costs.
• Information on the team composition and level of effort of each team member – include updated curriculum vitae that clearly spell out qualifications and experience.
• Contacts of three organizations that have recently contracted the consultant to carry out relevant study.

Budget financial proposal must indicate all-inclusive costs for conducting the survey.

N/B: The entire bid should be a MAXIMUM OF TEN (10) PAGES inclusive of CVs and Budgets. Bids not meeting this requirement will not be considered.

12. REPORTING LINES

The consultant shall work under the supervision of the Oxfam’s MEAL Advisor with a strong liaison with the UFH project manager.

How to apply

APPLICATION PROCESS

Oxfam Kenya invites individuals who meet the criteria to submit Expression of Interest that clearly articulates the consultant(s) understanding of the terms of reference, methodology for executing the work including key deliverables and tentative budget should and clearly indicated “Baseline Survey for Urban Food Hives ” Expression of Interests shall be sent to Kenya.logs@oxfam.org.uk, no later than close of business on 31st January 2023. Only applicants who qualify will be contacted.