Title: Conducting Annual Household Survey 2025 for TREPA Project

1. Objective of the Consultancy

This consultancy has the following objective(s):

• to determine quantitatively the project results at the household, farm and firm level in FY 2024. 
• Assess socio-economic conditions, adaptive capacity and resilience at households’ level alongside biophysical parameters of their landscapes.
• Measure the changes observed in 2024 emphasizing on the indicators set out in the project logical framework and Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) Plan.

2. Background

Project Reference: P03168

Donor reference: FP167

3. About IUCN

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is a membership Union uniquely composed of both government and civil society organisations. It provides public, private and non-governmental organisations with the knowledge and tools that enable human progress, economic development and nature conservation to take place together.

Created in 1948, IUCN is now the world’s largest and most diverse environmental network, harnessing the knowledge, resources and reach of more than 1,400 Member organisations and around 15,000 experts. It is a leading provider of conservation data, assessments and analysis. Its broad membership enables IUCN to fill the role of incubator and trusted repository of best practices, tools and international standards.

IUCN provides a neutral space in which diverse stakeholders including governments, NGOs, scientists, businesses, local communities, indigenous peoples organisations and others can work together to forge and implement solutions to environmental challenges and achieve sustainable development.

Working with many partners and supporters, IUCN implements a large and diverse portfolio of conservation projects worldwide. Combining the latest science with the traditional knowledge of local communities, these projects work to reverse habitat loss, restore ecosystems and improve people’s well-being.

The IUCN Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO) operates in twenty-four countries in the Horn of Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa and the Western Indian Ocean. The current ESARO programming is composed of a suite of mutually interrelated programs and projects designed to address some of the most profound challenges affecting people and nature in the region. 

Among the projects implemented by IUCN’s Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office is the TREPA Project – Transforming Eastern Province through Adaptation. It is a six-year project, based in IUCN Rwanda Country Office, and funded by the Green Climate Fund (GCF).

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4. About the Project

TREPA is, in nature, designed to strengthen climate resilience of forest landscapes, people and markets, and subnational institutions. By employing a paradigm shift approach to deployment of nature-based solutions, TREPA hypothesizes that adoption of these NbS within 100 landscapes (each landscape comprising of 400 ha of agroforestry adjacent to protected forest, public forest, smallholder private forest and pasturelands) will positively impact livelihoods and resilience of smallholder farmers and the health of their lands while creating environmental co-benefits.

The TREPA Project intends to restore 60,000 hectares of drought-degraded landscapes into climate resilient ecosystems through re-forestation, agroforestry, restoration of pasturelands, and soil erosion control measures in the Eastern Province of Rwanda. In addition, irrigation infrastructure projects in the targeted landscapes of the eastern province will be climate-proofed by the TREPA Project. These projects under MINAGRI could include Export Targeted Modern Irrigation (ETI) in Mpanga (600 hectares) and Mahama (1200 hectares), Kayonza Irrigation and Integrated Watershed Management Project in Kayonza (2000 hectares), Warufu- Mugesera in Gatsibo and Ngoma as well as Rurambi dyke in Bugesera.

The TREPA Project will finally support the national and local institutions to effectively plan, manage and monitor climate adaptation outcomes from improved land use at national and decentralized levels. 

The TREPA Project is implemented by IUCN (accredited entity) together with the Rwanda Forestry Authority as executing entities in partnership with ICRAF, World Vision, and CORDAID. The Ministry of Environment is responsible for chairing the Project Steering Committee and ensures coherence with national strategies and policies. 

For implementation of the TREPA Project, three components will be considered namely:

Component 1: Restored landscapes that support climate resilient agro-ecological systems and livelihoods in Eastern Province.

Component 2: Market and value chain development for climate resilient agricultural and tree products linked to financial products and services for sustainable management of agro-ecological systems.

Component 3: Strengthened enabling environment to effectively plan, manage and monitor climate adaptation outcomes from improved land use at national and decentralized levels.

In 2024, as part of project’s monitoring, evaluation, and learning framework, the first annual household survey was conducted to monitor progress toward achieving the expected outcomes at household and landscape levels. 

To implement that monitoring and evaluation framework, technical assistance was sought with a dual purpose of (i) conducting the annual survey to determine quantitatively the project’s outcomes at household and landscape levels and (ii) building the capacity of the project team and participants (beneficiaries and local leaders). Among other learnings from the first annual household survey (AHS), more training and mentoring on its SOP is necessary. In addition, other factors such as staff turnover, recent changes in implementation arrangements have reinforced the need to dedicate more time and focus to data analysis and reporting of ecosystem restoration and locally led climate adaptation actions. 

The first AHS followed a mixed-methods research approach to assess the project outcomes and impacts and the first annual household survey served to provide critical information for the baseline scorecard. A quantitative study design was used to estimate measures of changes in project outcome and impact indicators, and a supporting non-experimental (qualitative) design to contextualize and nuance the findings from the experimental design.

 Given that the focus of the evaluation was on the specific changes for every household and landscape receiving the intervention, a longitudinal/cohort study design was deemed appropriate for the TREPA project evaluation. Since project beneficiaries were not randomly selected, a quasi-experimental evaluation design was constructed with a treatment arm (from project target villages) and a comparison group (from adjacent villages) to allow the application of a difference-in-differences estimation procedure. 

The second annual household survey will follow the same methodology, same households and landscapes. However, there are some adjustments or improvements on data collection tools to better understand and document the progressive impact of the project’s interventions and their combined effect on households and landscapes. This annual household survey will also establish baseline for the new sites (last 30 landscapes of AF).

5. Description of the Assignment

Based on the first annual household survey (2024) design, the consultant will review and adapt the existing survey protocols and tools to fit project indicators related to: 

1. Adoption of improved, diversified or new climate resilient livelihood options by gender, age group, and livelihood option.
2. Households’ food security in areas/periods at risk of climate change impacts (Food Insecurity Experience Scale - FIES).
3. Scale of ecosystems protected and strengthened in response to climate variability and change by Intervention (a) Area conserved; (b) Area protected; (c) Area brought under restoration; (d) Area under improved or sustainable management practices.
4. Awareness about the most important climate threats, preparedness measures and the appropriate responses.
5. Use of projects supports tools, instruments, strategies and activities to respond to climate change and variability.
6. Supported institutional and regulatory systems that improve incentives for climate resilience planning and development, and their effective implementation.

The consultant will review the study design, methodology, sampling and data collection approaches, and analytical framework, suggest areas of improvement to capture the current status for all indicators in the project log frame for discussion and agreement with the project team. 

The study design will use a quantitative household survey for socio-economic, resilience and knowledge related data. In addition, the design prioritizes the experimental or quasi experimental methods that allow determination of actual results on the project indicators. 

Moreover, the desk review of relevant project documents, land degradation and food security diagnostics and secondary data from the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) or other public institutions related to household, land, and forestry within the project’s selected landscapes. 

It is envisioned that, to be representative of the target, the sampling approach will consider stratification by type of restoration measure (ex. Agroforestry, PFMU, Silvopasture, …), and randomization of households and landscape/sites. 

The major activities will include (but not limited to) the following:

• Documentation Review: Relevant documents that IUCN will share with the Consultant include (but not be limited to) the following: GCF Accreditation Master Agreement (AMA); Funded Activity Agreement (FAA); TREPA funding proposal (including ESMF); Project Revised logical framework; Project Monitoring and Evaluation plan; Project Implementation plan; TREPA Project Feasibility Study; Map of the targeted landscapes/villages; Project gender action plan; Restoration Opportunity Assessment Methodology Report; Preliminary Baseline Report; Annual Progress Report FY 2022; Annual Progress Report FY 2024; Annual household survey report 2024; Documentation of TREPA Achievements.

• Reviewing and adapting the existing AH survey design: Experimental design (Randomized Controlled Trials – RCTs), or Non-experimental methods or Mixed methods, Sample size and Power calculations; sampling and allocation into treatment and control groups.

• Improve on/elaborate data collection tools.

• Train the i) project team on the annual survey process, protocol, tools for data collection and practical data analysis and ii) enumerators on data collection tools. 

• Coordinate the field work: deploy field teams; conduct FGDs and KIIs ensuring high data quality and in-depth understanding of the context, challenges and key learnings. 

• Analyze data, write survey report, and integrate comments from the project team in the final report 

• Develop project learning plan/questions detailing what stakeholders (per category) need to know, how and when, general and specific learning questions, learning activities, audience and timing for each activity.

• Review and include in the report the updated Project MEL Matrix to show clear indicator definition, calculation/computation mode, value and comments where relevant. 

• Disseminate findings through a validation workshop with key stakeholders and project implementing teams.

6. Objectives and Scope of Work

To monitor progress towards these positive impacts, the project will be conducting a second annual household survey with the purpose of determining quantitatively the project’s outcomes at household and landscape levels.

The specific tasks of this assignment include:

1. Design and train project participants on the annual survey framework with appropriate methods, sampling protocols, data collection tools, analytical framework with practical use of year 1 data, and reporting. 
2. Undertake the annual survey and determine the actual values of the key socio-economic indicators (refer to indicator table below) before and after restoration activities that started in October 2023 and continued throughout 2024.

Note: *Indicators required to be measured using Land Degradation Surveillance Framework

** Indicators required to be measured through project activities 

*** New indicators not initially part of the result framework

C. Determine the actual results of the following metrics of results of project interventions:

7. Duration of the Assignment

The assignment will be conducted within 45 days: November 24th and January 23rd, 2025.

8. Deliverables and Activities

The consultant will provide the following deliverables and carry out the following activities:

9. Payment Schedule

The timetable below summarises the chronological order of deliverables and indicates milestones at which IUCN will pay the Consultant.

10. Skills and Experience

The consultant will meet the following conditions:

• Proven experience in conducting socio-economic studies, food security and livelihoods assessment.

• Having undertaken annual outcome surveys in Rwanda, preferably the Eastern Province

• Experience in designing ex-post impact studies with demonstrated application of various evaluation designs - experimental non-experimental designs, sample size and power calculations.

• Capacity to plan, manage and collect socioeconomic and food security data with a management system to ensure quality, robustness and rigor throughout the data collection.

The key skills and competencies include:

• A relevant post-graduate degree at or above MSc level in Agricultural, Natural Resource and Rural economics, Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition or a related discipline. 
• At least five (5) years’ experience in socio-economic and food security assessment, and livelihoods assessment.
• Proven experience conducting evaluations (baseline/midterm/impact) and annual outcome studies for bilateral and multilateral donor funded projects; experience with GCF/GEF-funded projects is desirable.
• Previous experience in the development and analysis of monitoring metrics and indices, preferably food security scores, KAP scores, scorecards and resilience index.
• Clear understanding of research methodologies and experience using a range of research tools and techniques with regard to outcome measurement in the areas of climate change resilience.
• Fluent in spoken and written English.
• Knowledge of Kinyarwanda language is desirable.

11. Supervision and coordination

The consultant will work under the overall coordination of TREPA Project Chief of Party and in close collaboration with the Monitoring and Evaluation Officer and IUCN Hub Coordinators. 

Notice: 

For RFP and other documents related to this consultancy should be found: 

Currently running tenders | IUCN (Microsoft Word - RfP_Annual Household Survey_TREPA Project).

Applications should be sent electronically (email) to tenders.rwanda@iucn.org.