Request for Application-Local Qualitative Research Assistant
Land O’Lakes Venture37
Cooperative Development Activity (CD4)
Funded by USAID
Scope of Work/Job Announcement
Position title: Local Qualitative Field Research Assistant (4 positions open)
Project: Cooperative Development Activity 4 (CD4), implemented by Land O’Lakes Venture37
Location: Kigali, Rwanda with frequent travel to field locations across the country mainly Gicumbi, Rwamagana and Bugesera.
Contract period: Aug 7-25 (17 days of work; this excludes public holidays and Sundays but does include work on Saturdays)
Reporting to: Lead Evaluator (independent consultant)
Date issued: July 26, 2023.
Closing date: July 30th, 2023,
Background on Activity & Final Evaluation:
The Cooperative Development Activity 4 (CD4) is a 5-year activity being implemented by the US-based NGO Land O’Lakes Venture37 in Rwanda, Malawi, and Lebanon, with funding from USAID Washington. The goal of CD4 is to advance cooperatives in the target countries so that they have the enabling environment, improved capacity, and resources to meet the evolving needs of their members. The project include three components: 1) improving the cooperative enabling environment by strengthening apex organizations and the learning platform through which cooperative actors are engaged; 2) improving cooperative business performance by assessing organizations capacity and providing tailored technical assistance to strengthen these capacities; and 3) improving the development communities support for cooperatives by developing a locally-defined learning agenda to guide research, learning, and dissemination through local and global channels. All CD4 activities have a focus on engaging women and youth in the cooperative development process.
Project implementation began in 2018 and is set to close in 2023. In Rwanda CD4 worked with 19 primary cooperatives and 5 apex organizations, across the dairy, horticulture, and maize value chains. Support was administered primarily through technical assistance, though a few grants were provided to select organizations, and sponsored research was conducted with learnings shared with the broader community of stakeholders.
The purpose of the final evaluation is to analyze and document the extent to which the activity has achieved its goals and objectives and to explain any deviations from the plan. The evaluation will include both quantitative and qualitative data collection. The key evaluation questions are:
- To what extent are project-supported apex bodies better able to meet the evolving needs of their members?
- To what extent has the business performance of project-supported apex bodies and primary cooperatives improved?
- To what extent has project-supported learning and dissemination impacted cooperatives and the cooperative development community’s support of cooperatives?
- How has the COVID-19 pandemic influenced CD4’s results and how has CD4 helped cooperative to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic?
- How has gender affected the program and the participants? Have the program outcomes different based on the sex of the participant? What is the impact of the gender action research on the performance of the cooperatives? Has the participation of women within the cooperative changed in any capacity?
Position summary:
Four Rwandan contractors, who will work in two teams of two, are sought to support the lead evaluator in the collection of qualitative research that will be used as part of the final evaluation of the CD4 project. Since the lead evaluator is based in the United States and does not speak Kinyarwanda, these research assistants are responsible for in-country implementation of the qualitative data collection. The lead evaluator will create the research plan and tools, with guidance on who to interview and what to ask, and she will provide in-person training during a trip scheduled for the beginning of the contract. The research assistants will then be responsible for leading all focus group discussions and some key informant interviews, adapting the provided tools as needed and taking very thorough notes to provide complete, detailed English-language transcripts to the lead researcher.
Responsibilities:
- Facilitate focus group discussions (FGDs) with cooperative members:
- Each pair of researchers will facilitate two FGDs on the same day (one with men, one with men) across 6 cooperatives, for a total of 12 FGDs on 6 days. These will take place in the field at the cooperatives’ office, CD4 will provide transport.
- One research assistant will act as the facilitator of the discussion while the other will take detailed notes and support the facilitator as needed.
- The lead evaluator will provide a facilitation guide with questions, but the research assistants should be prepared to adapt and tailor the questions asked depending on the flow of the discussion.
- Lead key informant interviews (KIIs):
- Each pair of researchers will conduct 6 KIIs with the leaders of the cooperatives who participated in the FGDs, conducted on the same day as the FGDs.
- Each pair of researchers will also conduct 5 additional KIIs done with local government officials, federation and unions leaders, and CD4 project union advisors.
- Where possible the pair of research assistants will conduct these KIIs together, with one acting as the lead facilitator and the other as the lead note-taker, but with both able to ask strategic follow-up questions.
- Research assistance will use questionnaires developed by the lead researcher but should plan to adapt the questions asked depending on the flow of the discussion.
- Support facilitation and note taking during “Scorecard workshop” event.
- During the lead researcher’s visit to the country, a full-day scorecard workshop event will be scheduled with various project stakeholders including government officials, cooperative leaders and members, CD4 staff, and leaders of other civil society organizations.
- The research assistants will attend this event and will support the lead evaluator with facilitation, including providing interpretation into Kinyarwanda of the discussion introduction and guidelines, leading small-group break-out discussions, and taking detailed notes of the discussions in small groups.
- Review and help finalize translations from English to Kinyarwanda of research tools.
- During the two days of initial training, the team of research assistants will help the lead researcher to review and revise the FGD and KII tools (questionnaires, discussion guides) in English
- The tools will be provided with initial translation from English to Kinyarwanda already completed, but the research assistants will review these translations for accuracy and help to improve the as needed, and will also help to make changes to the translation based on the changes to the English versions made together as a group
- Create thorough, accurate transcripts of qualitative data collection, translated into English.
- For all KIIs, FGDs, and small-group discussions at the scorecard workshop event that the research assistants are involved with conducting, the research assistant should take very detailed notes of everything that is said (including both the actual questions they asked and the responses). This can be done in English or Kinyarwanda, but if the latter then it must be translated and shared with the lead researcher in English.
- The notes must show all questions asked as well as all responses given, and in the case of FGDs it should note which participant gave each answer (with anonymized descriptors), and how many agreed or disagreed on various ideas that were shared.
- The lead research will provide a template for note taking.
- Where permission is given, the research assistants will make an audio recording of the KII, FGD or scorecard discussion and listen to it later and make a word-by-word transcription. The lead evaluator will provide professional recording devices for this purpose.
- Where the two research assistants work together on a FGD, the lead note-taker is the person primarily responsible for creating the transcription, but the other (who played the role of facilitator) should also review the transcription and provide any additional details or revisions as needed.
Required Skills and Qualifications:
Required:
- Some post-secondary education.
- 2+ years’ experience in leading Focus Group Discussions with rural populations.
- 2+ years’ experience in conducting Key Informant Interviews.
- Strong note-taking skills.
- Native Kinyarwanda language skills.
- Excellent English language skills (written and spoken).
- Willingness to travel to remote places for field work.
- Experience working in a team.
- Must use own computer for creating transcripts.
Desired:
- Bachelor’s degree or higher in a related field
- Experience in working on agriculture projects (especially dairy, horticulture or maize)
- Experience in working with producer cooperatives.
- Experience with project evaluations for an international organization
- Strong typing skills (40 words per minute or more).
Applications Requirements
Interested consultants are encouraged to send your CV and a cover letter showing how you fulfill the required qualifications, your daily rate and why you are interested in this position to Procurement.CDP@landolakes.com no later than July 30th, 2023 12:00 Midnight Rwanda time. This should be in one file (pdf or word document). The title of the email must include “Local Qualitative Field Research Assistant”.
Applications received after the closing date/time mentioned, maybe rejected.
