Background of Heifer Project International:

Heifer is an international non-governmental development organization working to end poverty & hunger in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Heifer has been in the development sector for more than 75 years. Heifer used to operate in 60 countries in the world but through time, Heifer came to focus to the most poverty and disaster affected 23 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Heifer Project International Ethiopia Program

Heifer started operations in Ethiopia in 2004 partnering with international and local partners in the areas of agricultural projects, including livelihoods improvement – vegetable production, dairy and livestock feed in SNNPR (Wolayita area). In 2019, Heifer Project International (HPI) re-registered to operate in Ethiopia.

Heifer Ethiopia is currently seeking to hire a consultant to carry out Living Income Benchmark study aimed at setting LIB for its signature program strategy design. This Terms of Reference (TOR) therefore intends to set the minimum requirements and the scope of the study processes to be undertaken in the selected regions (Oromia, Amhara and SNNP) and target Woredas of Ethiopia.

Assignment Objective

The objective of this assignment is to determine the LIB in four regions of Ethiopia to allow understanding of smallholder farmers’ income gaps earn enough for a sustainable decent standard of living.

The product should be robust, location-specific LIB following Heifer International’s methodology, as a basis to identify income gaps to aid design of interventions to close and surpass those gaps in Ethiopia.

Specific Tasks

Task 2.1: Work planning

The Consultant will conduct a preliminary work-session with the Heifer Ethiopia and HQ MELS team to refine the scope of work, fully understand Heifer’s Living Income Methodology and plan field (survey or interview) research. This will also entail reviewing any applicable tools and templates.

Task 2.2: Desk review per LIB

Review secondary data/information on all the four states, with specific focus on the project targeted locations. The review should result in an estimate of expected range of values for all Living Income components (Household size, nutritious diet, decent housing, other basic needs (like education and healthcare), savings for future shocks/needs (resilience), and, sometimes, supporting people outside the household.

The consultant will accomplish the following:

• Determine the applicability of the LIB to be estimated in terms of geographical scope and socio demographic if applicable:

Determine cost of a nutritious diet

• Review state, national and international secondary data to assess household nutritional needs

Determine cost of decent Housing

• Review state, national and international secondary data to assess household housing needs and cost of a decent house

Determine cost of other Basic Non-food, Non-housing (NFNH) Costs

• Review literature to determine the cost of education, health, clothing, transportation, communication, culture and entertainment, and community contributions and fees

Determine cost of resilience

• Estimate the cost of unexpected events or savings that enable a household to maintain decent standards of living when faced with unpredictable costs

Determine cost of External Support

• Determine an estimate of financial or material support or spending given by the household to anyone outside it.

Task 3: Field validation per LIB

The consultant will then validate the cost estimates arrived at using desk research activity with the targeted project population, and the assumptions employed. The consultant can sample a total of 11 woredas (4 from Oromia, 3 from Amhara and 3 from SNNP). The detail sample framework includes:

• Conduct at least three Key Informant Interviews (KII) per selected woreda to gather contextual information that will assist in supplementing the information from the secondary document review and FGD responses.
• Conduct at least one FGD per woreda. 
• Conduct at least one market survey per selected woreda. Each market survey should include prices from at least three market sellers.

Task 4: Calculating Living Income Benchmark

Consultant will:

• Add up the annual costs of the components above: nutritious diet, decent housing, other basic needs, resilience, and external support.
• Calculate each component’s portion of the total
• Explain any discrepancy observed in the category costs
• Compare cost needed to live a decent life from all states and target locations (woreda) and identify an appropriate grouping protocol/format to summarize the LIBs (Location (woreda). Or other if applicable

Deliverables (all in electronic format when applicable)

• Inception report following preliminary work session with Heifer Ethiopia and HQ MELS Staff. The inception report includes revised of the Key Informant and Focus Group Discussion Tools (will be provided by Heifer)
• Draft Report in word document describing the process, a summary of the data, key assumptions and explanations, sources of data, methodology, and calculations – the draft will be reviewed by Heifer and feedback will be provided.
• Final report in word document, address the feedback provided.
• Prepare and conduct a Consultative Presentation of findings to Heifer Ethiopia Team and HQ MELS staff via Skype.

Job Requirements

Heifer Project International in Ethiopia is looking for a firm or individual with substantial experience conducting LIB studies or evaluations, in a developing country setting. More specifically, the lead consultant should have a proven track record in conducting qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis. The consultant should have expertise in analytical skills and report writing skills in English.

Responsibility of the consultant/Consulting firm:

• Prepare and present an inception report, the report should demonstrate the consultants’ understanding of the assignment and should detail a breakdown of activities, timelines, and methodology/approach to be used
• Review and familiarize with LIB guides and templates
• Undertake primary and secondary data collection through qualitative and secondary data review approaches
• Analyze and interpret data and thereafter prepare a draft LIB report (word document and in excel format) per the deliverables specifications and share with Heifer Ethiopia staff for review
• Discuss any gaps in the draft with Heifer Ethiopia staff and come up with ways of filling the gaps if any
• Prepare final report in word document describing the process, a summary of the data, key assumptions and explanations, sources of data, methodology, data, and calculations incorporating feedback from Heifer International staff
• Prepare final summary report in excel template provided incorporating feedback from Heifer Ethiopia staff

The assignment will require travel to and possible staying in the target project regions in Ethiopia. Other than related documents, all resources (transport, hotel reservations, data collection enumerators, etc.) should be arranged by the consultant team and factored into the financial proposal.

Required expertise, skills and knowledge are as follows:

• The team will be involved in the LIB survey should have to have Master's or PHD in agricultural economics/economics or other related discipline.
• Minimum 10 years of work experience in conducting sound and thorough technical evaluations of similar projects
• Proven record of excellent management, leadership, decision-making and interpersonal skills
• Evidence of success in completing similar studies
• Proven strong, clear technical writing and oral presentation skills in English
• Strong qualitative research and analytical skills
• Proven ability to prepare high-quality technical reports on time

Consulting firm Submission Requirements:

All interested firms will submit their or organization’s profile with the following information:

• Technical Proposal (not to exceed 10 pages)

General information (not to exceed 2 pages):

• Organization overview highlighting related assignments completed with client name, contact person and mobile number
• Organizational capacity statement, including past experiences and activities related to the theme of the study.
•  At least three references of other clients for which similar assignments were undertaken with contact information for each. reference information must include the location, award numbers, and brief description of work performed.

Approach (not toexceed8pages):

• A detailed methodology on how the assignment will be conducted, including data collection methods and systems/technology to use, field procedures, quality control practices and data analysis.
• List and briefly describe the team and its proposed personnel, indicating what role each proposed individual will have.;
• A clear and comprehensive work plan (draft), outlining the major activities, people responsible and time schedule.

Financial Proposal (in ETB)

• Itemized budget
• Narrative explanations of line items

Annexes

• Documents in favor of the previous relevant studies.
• Organization’s/Firm’s Legal Certificate, PIN and VAT registration
• A summary of previous assignments undertaken within the last 3 years.
• CV of the team leader and other key experts
• Submissions must be in English and typed single-spaced using Times New Roman font size 12, with a complete set of appendices/attachments as applicable. 

How to Apply

The applicants should submit the quotation clearly marked technical and financial proposal separately with Sealed Envelope in person at Heifer International (HPI) Ethiopia Office, located in Bole Sub-city, Wereda, 05 Megenagna area house no. 155 For further information, contact Tel. 0116590001 on November 20, 2021, before 4:00 pm.

NB: The proposal (duly signed) from only firms should comprise a technical and financial proposal. The Proposals received after the submission deadline will not be considered. Offers are responsible to ensure their proposals are submitted according to the instructions stated herein. Heifer retains the right to terminate this RFP or modify the requirements upon notification to the Offers. There is no separate TOR that will be collected from Heifer. This is a call for a consultant, not a job advert.