Terms of Reference for Qualitative assessment on the impact of cash grants on vulnerable households, their communities and their intersection with pub

**Terms of Reference for Qualitative assessment on the impact of cash grants on vulnerable households, their communities and their intersection with public and community based organisations.

Context

GiveDirectly (GD) aims to reshape international giving – and millions of lives – by allowing donors to provide capital grants directly to some of the world’s poorest people. As the largest nonprofit dedicated exclusively to unconditional cash transfers, GiveDirectly has delivered life changing aid to thousands of extremely poor individuals across the globe. We believe people living in poverty deserve the dignity to choose for themselves how best to improve their lives — cash enables that choice. We are constantly investing in new ways to improve the scale, speed and agility of our operations, while maintaining a high degree of beneficiary care, ethics and protection.

In response to the COVID-19 crisis, GiveDirectly is delivering emergency cash relief of ~$150 per household to more than 40,000 vulnerable Rwandan households who have lost their source of livelihood or have seen a major reduction in income as a result of the pandemic. In partnership with Local Administrative Entities Development Agency (LODA), the program is targeting the poorest most vulnerable households in the districts most affected by the pandemic and related containment measures like lockdown and border closures: Rubavu, Rusizi, Burera, and Nyagatare and Gicumbi. We shall deliver a much needed cash injection into these communities to help these vulnerable families meet their basic needs and improve their livelihoods while stimulating the economy and supporting essential service provision. This programme will take place between May 2021 and December 2021.

GiveDirectly builds significant quantitative monitoring and evaluation into our programmes in order to understand the scale of our impact. However, we would like to work with the successful applicant to this tender in order to understand more qualitatively the impact of our work on individuals, households and communities.

Objectives
GiveDirectly seeks a short term qualitative research consultant to conduct an assessment of the wider impacts of cash transfers on recipients, their communities and their intersection with public and community based organisations.

The audience for this work will be GiveDirectly (in Rwanda and worldwide) and Comic Relief, in order to understand and influence the funding and impacts of unconditional cash transfers on individuals, households and communities.

We propose the following potential learning objectives but are open to applications that include further investigation into adding to and refining appropriate learning objectives:

Assess the impact (positive or negative) that the cash transfers have had on recipients’ lives and their wider communities, including matters of:

Opportunities and aspirations

Psychological well-being and mental health

Dignity and autonomy

Household power and gender dynamics

Resilience

Assess the potential to integrate cash transfers with public services e.g. education, health or social protection initiatives in this context.

Assess the potential to integrate cash transfers with community based organisations providing services to cash recipients e.g. livelihoods support.

Methodology

We are open to suggestions from applicants for the best methods of conducting this research and capturing the experiences of recipients and their communities. Given time constraints and COVID-19 restrictions, remote one-on-one interviews and/or participatory focus group discussions with key stakeholders might be most appropriate but we can support cover participants incidence costs to attend face to face interviews (if these are permitted within COVID-19 restrictions) up to a tune of $3,000 which GiveDirectly.

Existing programme data on recipient spending and nutrition could be incorporated into this analysis. Summary data on recipient food security, recipient spending, recipient program comprehension is available.

Scope

Identify individuals who will participate in the research, with a clear and objective justification for why these individuals have been selected. Participants may include recipients, community members, government officials, community based organisation representatives and local leaders

Explore both retrospective and prospective wider community impacts of GiveDirectly’s programme.

Conduct data collection and analysis using a pre-approved methodology.

Proposal Structure

Proposals should assume a budget of approximately $10,000

Please provide the following:

Evaluation Design

Research questions

Qualitative methods

Sample size, justification and selection process

Data collection method

End products / deliverables (see section on Deliverables below)

Implementation Design / Delivery

Plans for obtaining research approvals (e.g. IRB approvals)

Plans for hiring, training, and supplying equipment to a research field team, if needed

Plans for assuring data quality

Identify anticipated barriers and possible solutions

Analysis

Plans for obtaining supplemental data for analysis (e.g. administrative data)

Plans for data analysis and reporting

Study Timeline

Detail how the program goals / aims will be aligned with milestones, evaluation metrics and reporting

Costs

Provide a breakdown of fieldwork costs.

Track Record.

(See section on Expertise required to conduct the assessment below).

Deliverables

Written research design with methodology, analysis plan, and data collection tools, including a process for identifying participants (to be approved by GiveDirectly before any potential participants are approached)

Audio recordings and clean versions of all data collected, including transcriptions of all interviews in their original language with English translations, as applicable.

A written report of the research analysis and findings.

A presentation of key findings, to be shared with GiveDirectly and other key stakeholders.

Expertise required to conduct the assessment

The consultant should be based locally and understand the local environment and culture.

Provide examples of previous related work conducted as proof of competence and experience in conducting qualitative research. Experience evaluating the effects of cash transfers will be an added advantage..

Provide three references we can contact immediately

A social science background and graduate or postgraduate education in sociology or social work, development studies, community development or economics is advantageous.

Profiles of the lead researcher and key personnel, including their relevant experience and their roles / responsibilities for the proposed project. Please highlight expertise working with populations living in poverty.

Timeline

The research will be implemented from October to approximately 15th March 2022, following receipt of the final payments in recipient communities. GiveDirectly reserves the right to terminate this contract at any point if the scope of services described above are not performed satisfactorily and within the times/duration indicated below.

Payment Terms
GiveDirectly shall pay the consultant US$10,000 for the assignment (including all taxes and other charges). Payment will be in 2 installments: 40% at contracting and 60% at delivery of all agreed deliverables.

Another $3000 will be available to cater for participant incidence costs (administered by GiveDirectly). The consultant shall be responsible for their own medical and indemnity cover as well as any government taxes relating to this assignment. All costs including, but not limited to, local movement and communication expenses required for the consultant to deliver will be covered by the consultant.

Tentative payment schedule is as follows. Payments will be processed upon submission of an invoice inclusive of full bank details.

Deliverable

Timeline

Questions/Clarifications about Call for proposal

To be submitted by 27th Sept 2021. (extended from 13th Sept 2021)

Submission of proposal to GiveDirectly.

To be submitted by 4th Oct 2021. (extended from 21st Sept 2021)

Interviews with candidates

tbc

Notification of successful applicant.

By 18th October 2021 (extended from 5th October).

GiveDirectly shares existing programme data summary on recipient spending and nutrition to support .