Digital Opportunity Trust (DOT) is looking for a Gender Analysis In-Country Consultant for Daring to Shift (D2S) Project.
Terms of Reference
1. Statement of Purpose
Digital Opportunity Trust (DOT) invites proposals from qualified consultants/firms to support the data collection and analysis for a multi-country gender analysis of program contexts for the Daring to Shift (D2S) project, an initiative funded by the Government of Canada.
The purpose of this assignment is to: Generate research and evidence of gender in project contexts in Rwanda and Uganda, through the coordination and facilitation of the mapping of stakeholders, recruitment of participants, qualitative data collection, and participation in analysis of results, using virtual methods and tools. The consultant will work in close collaboration with the DOT Rwanda Gender Officer, DOT HQ Gender Specialist, and other key DOT HQ staff. The consultant will also facilitate support to and coordination of youth researchers, who will support the recruitment of participants, collection of data, and analysis of data using gender-sensitive and virtual methods.
The major objective of this initiative is to: Improve access, inclusion, and program quality for both young women and men, to support DOT’s gender equity approach to the D2S program. This initiative will provide an important grounding to D2S’s overarching goal of enhanced resilience and economic inclusion among participating unemployed and underemployed youth (aged 18 to 35) and their communities, and to develop and support the leadership and decision-making power of young women to enable them to thrive despite the barriers that they face to take advantage of economic opportunities.
2. Organizational Background
DOT is a leading international organization that is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada and was established in 2002. Through its programs, DOT enables economically marginalized individuals to access and apply information and communication technologies (ICT) to create educational, economic and entrepreneurial opportunities for themselves.
The organization’s vision is to make pathways to these opportunities available particularly to young people and women, as a strategy to eradicate poverty, vulnerability and gender inequality. DOT is differentiated by its unique youth-to‐youth model, its use of technology as an enabler to achieve economic and social goals, its record of engagement with the private sector, and its commitment to localization. Globally, DOT has trained over 5,000 young leaders who have in turn reached nearly one million young people and community members. DOT is currently operating in seven countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and North Africa.
Digital Opportunity Trust (DOT) Rwanda is a youth-led movement of daring social innovators who have the tools, knowledge, and networks to create opportunities and transform their own communities. We support youth to become innovators and leaders, and to create and apply digital solutions that have positive impact in their communities.
DOT Rwanda has proven that individuals with strong digital, modern workforce and entrepreneurship skills and a support system of public, private and community organizations, can and will – access economic opportunities. They are finding and creating jobs; improving their livelihoods; participating more effectively in the modern workforce; and individually and collectively contributing to the country’s socio-economic development.
DOT Rwanda has been running youth-led programs focused on sustainable economic growth since 2010. To date, DOT Rwanda programs have reached more than 800 fresh graduates/ youth leaders who have in turn trained and coached more than 100,000 community members.
3. Background Information
Daring To Shift (D2S) Project Background
Daring to Shift will enhance resilience and economic inclusion among participating unemployed and underemployed youth (aged 18 to 35) and their communities in the Sub-Saharan Africa and Middle East regions. Over the course of four years, it will develop and support the leadership and decision-making power of young women to enable them to thrive despite the barriers that they face to take advantage of economic opportunities. The project will take an innovative approach to scaling-up youth empowerment, leadership, and social entrepreneurship. The main programming will be in Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Jordan, and Lebanon, while also deepening and extending programming in Uganda, Malawi, Zambia, and Ghana with support from a youth-led digital innovation team in South Africa.
Among other initiatives, the project will offer training programs, access to peer networks, and linkages to partner opportunities that will strengthen the leadership, social innovation, entrepreneurship, and enhance the digital inclusion of nearly 45,000 young women and men, encouraging the testing of new solutions to old problems. Daring to Shift will also build the capacity of participating organizations and institutions to design, develop, implement, and monitor gender-sensitive strategies that will enhance enabling environments for young women’s leadership and economic inclusion. Finally, the project will scale gender-sensitive youth-led leadership and economic empowerment programming by providing training, coaching, as well as access to technical and financial support to Youth Champions. These Youth Champions are young women and men driving community change through their own community-based non-profit initiatives that provide economic empowerment, digital inclusion, and leadership training and coaching for their fellow youth.
Gender Equality
Gender equality is a core DOT value and gender is mainstreamed throughout Daring to Shift’s management and activities – including in planning, design, recruitment, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation to ensure both gender equity and women’s empowerment. The project combines a focus on gender equality with development innovation and youth empowerment. It seeks to address the root causes of gender inequality, disrupt gender norms, shift mindsets, and build a movement to advance digital inclusion as a foundation for equitable economic empowerment.
Daring to Shift will respond to gender gaps through a comprehensive approach which is clearly outlined in all three intermediate outcome level results: promoting women’s role in leadership and decision making, enhancing the enabling environment, and expanding gender-responsive technical capacities. Moreover, the D2S project will use a gender equity approach to participant targeting, with a mandate to include 70% women in all program streams, and in every program country context. Finally, the project will also play an active role in championing gender equality and transforming gender norms across project countries by building the capacity of young leaders to serve as gender equality champions.
COVID-19 Context
As part of the participatory approach to D2S, DOT had intended to implement a series of co-design labs in each project country from April to July 2020, engaging young women and men in the development, testing, and iteration of programmatic strategies. This would have coincided with the project baseline study and gender analysis, and culminated in a final meeting bringing together DOT local partners and youth to finalize the Project Implementation Plan in August 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, and the subsequent pausing of international travel and in-person gatherings, DOT had to postpone the baseline, gender analysis and gender strategy.
Given ongoing COVID 19 operating conditions, and need to advance thinking around gender in D2S programming, the gender analysis will be conducted remotely using virtual methods. Balancing the need for safety and caution due to COVID, and the imperative to reach youth in areas where virtual access is limited is a clear challenge of this project. Some consideration may be made to strategies to mitigate this, including selecting accessible tools and platforms (e.g. phone calls instead of online chat platforms), and exceptions to virtual collection where necessary and possible, to be decided by DOT Gender Officers, and DOT Headquarters.
4. Scope of Work
The support requested for this initiative includes supporting the delivery of a gender analysis of programmatic contexts in Rwanda and Uganda from start to finish over a 3 month period beginning in February 2021. The estimated level of effort for this initiative is 22.5 days.
The consultant will be managed by the DOT HQ Gender Specialist, who will provide overall coordination and support to each phase of the gender analysis. The consultant will work closely with the Lead Consultant, DOT HQ Gender Specialist, Gender Officers/Focal Points and youth researchers to support the adaptation of the design of data collection tools to country contexts, support Gender Officers with recruitment of participants, lead on gender-sensitive qualitative data collection, and support locally-driven analysis and the development of recommendations with country teams.
This assignment is divided into three phases (which, ideally will be delivered by one consultant or team):
Design Phase – Proposed Level of Effort: 2.5 days
Building on the design already completed, the In-Country Consultant will provide feedback to the design of the gender analysis and plans for its implementation, in close collaboration with the Lead consultant, DOT [country 1] and DOT [country 2] Gender Officer, DOT HQ Gender Specialist, and other key staff.
This phase includes a mapping of the gender analysis framework/key domains to DOT’s existing data gathered in the design of D2S, adapting data collection tools to local contexts, facilitating the translation of data collection tools (consent documents, interview guides, focus group guides), and supporting the selection of appropriate and accessible virtual platforms for the country context.
Deliverables:
– Mapping of challenges faced by youth to DOT’s existing data gathered in the co-design process for D2S
– Input/review of virtual data collection tools to ensure they are locally relevant and appropriate (interview guides, focus group discussion guides, consent documents) in collaboration with GOs and youth researchers
Data Collection Phase – Proposed Level of Effort: 16 days
In close collaboration with the youth researcher(s), and supported by DOT Rwanda Gender Officer, DOT HQ gender specialist, and the Lead Consultant, the In-Country Consultant will lead the identification of stakeholders and recruitment of participants, manage consent processes, and facilitate support to participants during their participation (orientation on digital platforms/tools, data allowances etc.). This project is aiming to engage ~75 stakeholders from each of Rwanda and Uganda, including diverse youth, as well as other key stakeholders such as parents, local leaders, and relevant community organizations. The In-Country consultant will lead the execution of virtual data collection, including working with the Lead Consultant and DOT HQ Gender Specialist, and DOT Rwanda Gender Officer to maintain data collection schedules, and conduct key informant interviews and FG discussions with youth using gender-sensitive methods. The In-Country Consultant will also support youth researchers by providing orientation on selected virtual tools, and supporting their use of gender-sensitive virtual methods while ensuring rigour throughout data collection. Throughout, oversight will be provided by the Lead Consultant and DOT HQ Director of Impact to maintain gender-sensitive and ethical protocol and practices.
Deliverables:
– Data collection completed within designated time frame
– Qualitative data – Interview and FG transcripts, translated as necessary
– Data Repository – proper storage processes and practices in place
Analysis Phase – Proposed level of Effort – 4 Days
The In-country Consultant will support the validation and analysis of all data collected, through collaboration with the youth researchers, Lead Consultant, DOT HQ gender specialist, and Gender Officers. It is envisioned that the lead consultant will facilitate analysis and validation workshops with country teams, and facilitate an analysis and validation workshop to synthesize recommendations across the network. The In-Country consultant will participate in these validation and analysis workshops.
Deliverables:
– Participate in analysis and validation workshops for relevant D2S program country to develop country specific recommendations, and Country-Specific Report
– Participate in analysis and validation workshop to develop overall D2S program recommendations, and D2S Program report
5. Timeline of Key Activities and Deliverables
– Lead the mapping of stakeholders relevant to D2S program areas in Rwanda and Uganda, in collaboration with youth researchers: completed by March 5, 2021
– Provide input on data collection plan generated by Lead Consultant (data collection matrix with gender-related research questions, data to be gathered, source of data, who will collect it, methods for data collection and analysis, and how the information will be used: completed by March 10, 2021
– Provide input to the design of locally appropriate data collection tools (interview guides, focus group discussion guides) generated by Lead consultant, DOT HQ Gender Specialist, and Gender Officers: completed by March 10, 2021
– Participate in training/orientation on how to use data collection tools, gender-sensitive research methods, and DOT’s consent/safeguarding processes: completed by March 15, 2021
– Lead the recruitment of diverse participants (youth, key stakeholders, local organizations), and work with DOT HQ gender specialist to facilitate support to participants for their participation (e.g. data allowances) completed by March 3-15, 2021
– Lead gender-sensitive qualitative data collection (interviews, focus groups), including orientation of participants on how to use digital platforms/tools: completed by March 15, 2021 – April 14, 2021
– Record, Transcribe, and Translate findings, and maintain data storage procedures, in collaboration with youth researchers: completed by March 15, 2021 – April 19, 2021
– Participate in analysis and validation workshops for Rwanda and Uganda to develop country specific findings and recommendations: completed by April 19, 2021 – April 28, 2021
– Participate in analysis and validation workshop to develop overall D2S program recommendations: completed by April 28, 2021 – May 5, 2021
6. Schedule of Payments
All reimbursable expenses incurred by the consultant in relation to this assignment will be covered according to DOT’s policies on reimbursement and travel. The consultant shall be paid as follows:
– First deliverable: completion of virtual data collection and translation of findings. Upon completion, 60% of Professional Fees to be paid
– Second deliverable: completion of analysis, synthesis, and development of recommendations in country-specific workshops, and DOT Network workshop. Upon completion, 40% of Professional Fees to be paid
7. Qualifications
The consultant(s) must possess:
– Masters degree in Social Sciences, Gender or Women’s Studies, or related field;
– Experience in gender-sensitive research methods and gender analysis, including qualitative data collection methods and tools;
– Experience managing or collaborating with remote/distributed teams;
– Advanced virtual facilitation skills and extensive capacity building experience in developing countries, experience in Africa and the Middle East desired;
– Experience supporting youth-led programming and working directly with youth to support their capacity;
– Strong local networks and knowledge relevant to youth employment and entrepreneurship in Rwanda and Uganda;
– Advanced knowledge/experience in vocational education, entrepreneurship, and business skills development;
– Strong interpersonal skills and ability to communicate with stakeholders at multiple levels and in multiple country contexts;
– Sensitivity to cross-cultural dynamics and gender equality;
– Fluency in Kinyarwanda, and English; knowing Luganda is an advantage
9. Proposals
Interested parties are requested to submit proposals by email to Meaghan Anderson, DOT HQ Gender Specialist, at manderson@dotrust.org by February 26, 2021 at 5pm EST.
Note that proposals will be considered on a rolling basis and short-listed candidates will be contacted before March 3, 2021.
Interested parties should include the following in their proposal:
– A cover letter showing expression of interest.
– CVs which explicitly address the required profile(s) for the assignment and team structure (if applicable).
– Daily rate and two references from clients where similar assignments were performed.
10. Terms of contract
The estimated level of effort for this initiative is 22.5 days. The duration of the assignment will not exceed 4 months. The assignment is expected to begin March 2021 and will end between April and May 2021, depending on virtual data collection and adjustments due to COVID-19.
