1. Background and Introduction
   1. About ZELA

Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA) is a premier public interest environmental law organization based in Zimbabwe that seeks to promote environmental justice, sustainable and equitable use of natural resources. ZELA is working on developing a gender transformative programme focus across all the thematic areas it works on namely Land and Natural Resources, Mining and Extractives Industry, Climate Change and Energy, Responsible Investments and Business rights and Service Delivery governance. 

1.2 Climate Change Adaptation and Sustainable Energy

Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA) is working on the Climate Change and Sustainable Energy programme, a 3-year flagship programme supported by Christian Aid.  In Zimbabwe, a pilot approach was adopted in line with the decolonization agenda to strengthen capacity of local organizations and communities in assuming the lead role. ZELA, as the Lead Partner, will coordinate other partners namely Community Technology Development Organization (CTDO) and Centre for Agriculture and Food Policy (CAFP) in the implementation of proposed interventions throughout the programme lifecycle.

To this end, ZELA seeks to engage a qualified independent consultant/evaluation team to conduct a baseline for the Programme. The baseline will be conducted in the target areas of operation (Manicaland Province in Chipinge and Nyanga districts and national level advocacy) to collect baseline data at the beginning of the Programme.  This data will describe the status of the relevant populations at the start of the programme and will give relevant interventions informed by the local community based on primary evidence to inform design of the programme and form basis of programme indicators tracking for the programme.

• Brief Overview of the Programme

The Zimbabwe Programme is titled “Climate Change Empowerment Action for Women, Youths and Marginalised Groups in Zimbabwe” and will be implemented in Chipinge and Nyanga districts. The programme has a strong focus on addressing the gaps in climate policy, programming and adaptive resilience capacities of the  poor.

The broad goal, objective, and outcomes of the Programme that the baseline will focus on are:

Programme Goal:  The Programme contributes to poverty alleviation through strengthening climate resilience of the poor, as well as supporting them to adapt and access sustainable energy sources.

The programme outcomes are: (1) Community led (women, PwDs, religious groups & youth)  climate justice movement have their capacity to adapt to climate shocks and prophetic voice strengthened, (2) Increased use of evidence in formulating climate change and mitigation policies, regulations and frameworks, (3) Increased income for marginalised people (rural women, PwDs, religious groups, and youth) led enterprises for a climate resilient community., and (4) Strengthened rural livelihood strategies of the vulnerable communities (rural women, PwDs, religious groups and youth) through capacity building, diversification and adaptive climate resilience.

2.1  The Programme Design

This Programme aims to strengthen the capacity of local partners in stimulating climate action among women and marginalised groups through generation of policy relevant evidence on climate change advocacy. Through the Programme, local organizations that are better placed to support women, youth and other marginalized groups to reduce their vulnerabilities to climate change related shocks and hazards, will lead in the action. Using participatory methodologies including, Outcome Harvesting, Picture Video and Most Significant Change stories to address  social, economic, political, and environmental rights, target communities will engage duty bearers, policy holders and decision-makers to account.  The geographical areas have been selected based on the problems the communities face such as lack of proactiveness to climate change issues by duty bearers and communities living along the climate frontier which is exacerbated by a limited understanding of climate change and natural resources management laws and policies, lack of knowledge of platforms for advocacy, patriarchal stereotypes among others , and the impacts of climate change on community livelihoods.

• Purpose, Scope, and Objectives of the Baseline
  • Purpose

The baseline will  examine the context, identify gaps and possible interventions, including assessing feedback mechanisms.

• Specific Objectives

The specific objectives of the baseline -are as follows:

1. To collect data and establish baseline of the project showing gaps and needs of the target groups in Chipinge and Nyanga districts.
2. To identify gaps and needs of the different groups in Chipinge and Nyanga districts to inform programme implementation.
3. To develop possible and appropriate interventions based on evidence to inform programme prioritization and serve as a springboard for implementation and tracking performance.
4. To draw indicators to be tracked and measured in the project basis for documentation of impacts in Chipinge and Nyanga districts.
5. To assess existing community accountability mechanisms and establish preferred feedback and complaints channels.

• Baseline Design and Research Questions

ZELA is keen to get a consultant who has a strong appreciation of both quantitative and qualitative methods to use suitable design, tools and draw a representative sample size for his assignment. The consultant will draw baseline questions and objectives for the study/hypothesis.

 The key questions to get answers to:

1. What is the current situation (baseline values) in Chipinge and Nyanga district on climate change for target groups?
2. What are the needs of the target population in Chipinge and Nyanga districts?
3. What are the existing interventions and gaps in the current situation in Chipinge and Nyanga district?
4. What are the expected interventions recommended for action in Chipinge and Nyanga districts?

In consultation with ZELA, the consultant is expected to:  

• Develop a rigorous design that is suitable to bring out both quantitative and qualitative with emphasis on participatory methods.
• Develop the baseline questions for individual surveys, focus group discussions, and key informants.
• Suggest the best tools for data collection in the areas of operation with limited internet access.
• Train partners on the research tools, Safeguarding and Accountability and oversee data collection where possible.
• Analyse the data and produce a baseline report.

• Tasks, Deliverables and Timelines for the Assignment

The consultants tasks and deliverable are:

1. Carry out a desk review of relevant programme documents to be provided by ZELA which include Programme proposal, results framework, and other relevant documents which will be agreed upon and made available during the inception period.
2. Develop and submit an inception report detailing the understanding of the assignment, study design, methodology (sampling design and data collection methods), data collection instruments, work plan schedule and budget to carry out the assignment. This will be reviewed and approved by ZELA.
3. Conduct field data collection using agreed tools between ZELA and the consultant in Chipinge and Nyanga districts.
4. Perform traceable data cleaning and analysis.  Share raw data sets, including field notes and reports, audio recordings and transcripts for qualitative work, with ZELA. A simple inventory of material handed over will be part of the record.
5. Develop and submit the draft report in electronic form showing findings and recommendations.
6. Finalise and submit the final Baseline report after incorporating any feedback/comments provided to the draft report.

6.1 Timeline

The baseline to commence by 25 October 2023, and the final report submitted by 15 November 2023. The consultant in collaboration with ZELA and consortium partners will prepare the work plan that will operationalize and direct how the baseline is to be carried out. The baseline should be completed within 20 working days.

• Management of the Assignment

The ZELA C-CASE Programme Lead will be the point of contact in this assignment with support from the Christian Aid Programme Lead for this programme.  The ZELA Programme Lead, MEAL Officer, Programme Manager and CAZ will provide support in the management of the assignment respectively.

• Logistics

ZELA will provide all logistical transport from Harare to the agreed areas of operation (Programme sites).

• Profile (Qualifications, Competency and Experience) of the Consultant

The following competencies are desired:

• Proven experience of conducting in-country baseline surveys using mixed methods, including gender inclusion and power aspects.
• Ability to use the GESI approach
• Possess relevant qualifications in fields such as Monitoring and Evaluation, , Development/Social Studies, Environment/climate change/Disaster Risk Management, or other relevant social sciences. 
• Strong quantitative and qualitative research, analysis and synthesis skills
• Ability within strict timelines.

The technical proposals should have at least the following sections. 

• Cover Letter
• Interpretation of the Terms of Reference  
• The methodological approach proposed for the baseline, including a description of any tools and data to be collected, sampling process, identification of data sources, quality control and analysis plans. 
• Proposed work plan and roles and responsibilities of the core team 
• Details of how the consultant/evaluation team meets the suitability requirements.
• Profile of the consultant/evaluation team (including a list of all related assignments with contacts of clients) and detailed CVs of the core team that includes the qualification, most relevant experience, lists of traceable publications as an indicator of writing quality (if available) and references.
• Annexes of a copy of the two most recent reports for a similar assignment

The financial proposal should include :  

• Breakdown of professional fees (including daily rates) and necessary operational cost (itemized) in USD
• The total cost of the exercise in USD
• Value Added Tax and other tax compliance documents. If not VAT compliant, the consultant must include a written confirmation to ZELA for withholding of Tax as required by law.
• DSA costs for the Consultant(s) and enumerators

Interested and qualified Consultants who meet the above requirements should send their Expression of Interest clearly stating how they meet the requirements, methodology to be used and cost of the consultancy to: procurementzw@gmail.com  by 15 October 2023. The title of the consultancy should be clearly stated in the email subject.