Consultants Needed at the Catholic Relief Services (CRS)

Posted by Future on Wed 26th Jan, 2022 - nigeriantenders.com

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) invites qualified and interested consultant(s) to indicate interest by submitting applications for the following works:

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is the international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. Founded in 1943 by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the agency provides assistance to 130 million people in more than 110 countries and territories in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Eastern Europe.

Applications are invited for:

Title: Call for Consultancy - Standardizing the Mini-Social Cohesion Barometer as a Measurement Tool

Background

CRS views social cohesion as the strength, quality and diversity of relationships between and among individuals, groups and communities, coupled with the linkages between society and the state, markets and other institutions, all based on trust, respect, mutuality and equal opportunity, for the dignity of every person and the common good for all (CRS, 2019).

CRS’s Social Cohesion Conceptual Framework considers that social cohesion encompasses three broad spheres of society: Socio-cultural, Economic, and Political spheres, manifesting across diverse groups (horizontal) and different levels of leadership, authority, power, and influence (vertical).

Simultaneously with the elaboration of this framework, and in response to needs arising from different countries (especially in Africa), in 2013 the CRS team created a mini-Social Cohesion Barometer (the Barometer). This innovative tool gauges perceptions of the level of social cohesion in a defined area using 18 indicators that fall under the socio-cultural, economic, and political spheres. The defined area could be a country, sub-region, district, community, or any other designated scope.

While originally developed as a tool to stimulate reflection during social cohesion workshops, the Barometer has increasingly been used by CRS Country Programs for additional purposes, including:

Pre-intervention assessment instrument to ensure grasp of a conflict context (baseline).
A context monitoring tool throughout project implementation.
Post-interventions or end-lines (to compare with baselines or midlines) to gauge changes in perception, illustrate trends or suggest project modifications and follow-on activities.

Objectives

Given these varied uses of the tool, which show promise but which are largely untested, this consultancy will validate and confirm the appropriateness of the Barometer indicators for use in project baseline studies, and mid-term and final evaluations; as context indicators; to gauge the perception of social cohesion in specific geographies and demographics; social science and population research and application to measuring social cohesion perceptions in various contexts with different gender, age, cultural, regional and other groups, and measure statistical change over time.

This consultancy will assess and provide recommendations regarding the following:

The Barometer tool in general
How to analyze data
How the Barometer could be incorporated into project survey instruments

Qualifications

The ideal consultant will possess the following qualifications:

Deep and broad familiarity with statistics, sociology, psychometry or other related discipline (PhD an advantage).
Demonstrated experience in developing/validating research tools in sociological or similar research;
Excellent writing and analytical skills;
Strong coordination skills and ability to adhere to deadlines and work remotely.

Application Closing Date

14th February, 2022.

Submission of Documents

The consultant needs to submit:

Technical Proposal:
- Cover letter indicating applicant’s ability and availability
- Consultant CV and/or Company Profile
- Summary of the proposed methodology for Barometer validation including a detailed list of activities with estimated level of efforts for listed.
- Reference list (names and contact information for at least three references)
Financial Proposal: Lump-sum offer in US Dollars with the cost breakdown for:
- Draft of the methodology for the Barometer validation
- Draft of the Barometer validation report and recommendation
- Finalizing the Barometer validation report

Submit the following documents by COB to: heidy.garcia@crs.org and eduardo.andino@crs.org

Click Here (PDF) for a detailed description of the document.