Request for Proposals: Development of Household Registry for Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly, Ghana

Location: Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Area, Ghana

Duration: 2 months

Application Deadline: 31st of January, 2024

BACKGROUND:

The Support Unit of the Open Government Partnership (OGP), in collaboration with the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA), is in the process of implementing a water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) project within the Sekondi-Takoradi metropolis through grant funding from the OGP Multi-Donor Trust Fund by the World Bank. The project aims at improving the delivery of WASH services and scaling-up behavioral change campaigns in informal settlements within the Sekondi-Takoradi metropolis through a multi-stakeholder participatory approach.

The project has proposed the establishment of an Online Household Registry (HR) for STMA, as a tool that serves to assist social protection programs to identify, prioritize, and select households living in vulnerable conditions to ensure that different social programs effectively reach their target populations within the Metropolis. The Household Registry involves the registry of households and collection of basic information on their social economic status, water and sanitation conditions. The data from the registry can then be shared across programs. In this context, Online- Household Registry will have the following specific objectives:

• Facilitate the categorization of potential beneficiaries for social programs in an objective, homogeneous and equitable manner.
• Support the inter-institutional coordination to improve the impact of social spending and the elimination of duplication
• Allow the design and implementation of accurate socioeconomic diagnoses of poor people, to support development of plans, and the design and development of specific programs targeted to vulnerable and/or low-income groups especially public toilet dependent households and open-defecation prone communities.
• Contribute to institutional strengthening of STMA, through the implementation of a reliable and central database of vulnerable groups.

The strategy to data collection is through the Census Approach, this entails implementing a house-to-house survey with the objective to visit and register every household by collecting key information that will enable screening for their enrolment into different government programs. The Registry should be online.

OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSIGNMENT 

The objective of this assignment is to undertake data collection by administering the Questionnaire to all households in the selected communities within the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly. Along this line, the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan is seeking a small Data Collection Firm that has the expertise and capacity to:

• Undertake data collection using computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) tools
• Perform data quality control on the field during data collection
• Perform data cleaning
• The data intake questionnaire will include a set of socio-economic information, biometrics, GPS coordinates & photographic images of household heads and/or caretakers. GPS coordinates and photographic images and biometrics will enable better identification of households and to decrease the chances of duplication at this point during data collection.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT AREA

The 2021 population of Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis stood at 245,382, comprising 119,344 males (48.8%) and 126,038 females (51.2%). The total land size of the Metropolitan Area is 65km² with a population density of 3,797 persons per square kilometers. The Metropolitan Area is bordered by Mpohor District and Wassa East District to the north, Shama District to the east, Effia-Kwesimintsim Municipal to the west, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south.

Administratively, the STMA is divided into three Sub-Metropolitan District Councils namely; Sekondi, Takoradi, and Essikado-Ketan. These are further segmented into 13 Urban Councils, 36 Electoral Areas and Two Hundred and Forty (240) Unit Committee Members.

The ethnic composition is primarily Akan (83.6%), followed by Ewe (5.8%), Mole Dagbani (3.8%), Ga-Dangbe (2.7%), Grusi (1.1%), Mande (0.8%) and other groups totaling 1.5%.

The Metropolis has a literacy rate of 89% among individuals aged 6 years and older. However, there is a notable gap between males (92.4%) and females (85.8%) in literacy attainment.

Economically, the service sector takes the lead, engaging 74.9% of the employed population aged 15 years and older. This sector is followed by industry sector at 18.8% and Agriculture sector is 6.3%, collectively contributing to the Local Economy.

Communities and Estimated Households

Locality	Total pop	Estimated Households
TAKORADI	29900	9392
MBREDANE	20280	4920
SEKONDI	17857	5995
KOJOKROM (MPENTSEN SIRIW)	16982	5140
KWEIKUMA	13644	3964
NEW TAKORADI	13,104	4,477
NTANKOFUL	11,943	3,344
KANSAWORADO	9768	2764
FIJAI	9529	2221
KOJOKROM	8168	2654
MPINTSIN	8091	2152
NGYIRESIA	7642	2218
ESSIKADO	7,739	2,687
NKROFUL	6207	2056
ADIEMBRA	6165	1922
BUTUMAJEBU	5743	1735
DEABENE KROM	5622	1471
EFRIM KROM	5526	1266
KETAN	5255	1262
NKONTOMPO	5010	1800
ENOE	4992	1337
AKROMAKROM	4725	1593
AIRPORT RIDGE	4471	1578
NKENYA	4337	1293
EKUASE	4270	1171
OSOFOKROM	3915	1106
MEMPEASEM	3375	1129
KOJOKROM (MPENTSEN)	2805	799
ESHIEM	2645	637
ADAKOPE	2386	767
EFFIA	2341	734
AHENKOFI KROM	2019	646
BAKADO	1853	583
NKENYA AGRIC.	1836	440
NCHAABAN NKWANTA	1633	455
ESSIPON	1552	433
NGYIRESIA-ESSIPON	1479	464
BAKAEKYIR	1294	449
EFFIA NKWANTA	1290	190
AIRFORCE BARRACKS	1222	421
MAMPONG	994	275
ASAAMAN	837	256
AGYAMOA BAKAM	669	227
BUABAKROM	569	211
TAYLORKROM	436	89
EKUASI	377	124
NTAAMAKROM	373	134

SCOPE OF THE CONSULTANCY SERVICES

The assignment should be completed in 3 phases:

• Preparatory phase which includes: the firm must ensure that all the logistics for data collection are in place.
• Data collection: This includes recruitment, training and deployment of field staff, distribution of materials and enumeration
• Post data collection phase: data processing, data analysis and data cleaning and preparation of reports and online registry developed.

The activities to be undertaken under this assignment include the following:

• Participate in the public information campaign
• Test the tablets and the PMT application to ensure its readiness for accurate and efficient data collection.
• Ensure all logistical requirements (assignment of human and material resources) to undertake the field data collection are in place.
• Develop operational, recruitment, and supervision plans
• Recruit, contract, and ensure timely payment of the agreed amounts for staff involved in the collection of data and ensure timely and high-quality training for enumerators
• Ensure high-quality training for enumerators/ Supervisors / coordinators
• In collaboration with Assembly, prepare staff training curriculum, materials, and guidelines for field staff.
• Setup and provide logistical support (transport, per-diem, etc. where necessary) to field staff while data are being collected.
• Develop enumeration or route maps for each community.
• Collect household information by using the Tablet and software. Preference will be given to firm already have tablets for use.
• Ensure the security and proper use of all equipment, electronic devices, and hardware
• Implementation of checks and controls designed together with the Assembly to ensure the quality of the information being collected during the implementation process and a protocol for returning to the field, if necessary, when errors for a particular questionnaire reach a certain threshold.
• Ensuring that data are maintained and stored in a manner that is fully confidential. n) Undertake a Public Information Campaign to inform households about the data collection a few days before the data collection within their assigned geographic area.
• Manage the field staff team to collect the data based on the specific requirements described in these TOR and in coordination with Statistics Department/Social Welfare and Community Development and when necessary, adjust the process execution procedures according to findings of the rollout evaluation and spot check consultants.
• Any other activities as may be necessary for the success of the process

METHODOLOGY FOR DATA COLLECTION 

The data collection process comprises the following:

1. Inception Report including Logistic Plan and Data Collection Manual The firm will prepare and submit to the GNHR during the preparatory phase an Inception Report which will include a Logistics Plan and Data Collection Manual.

The purpose of Logistic Plan is to ensure the smooth implementation of the field data collection and must provide details on the following activities:

• recruitment for field staff;
• schedule and location of training workshops and stakeholder meetings;
• logistics for distribution of all required materials in the field (tablets/smart phones devices, stationary, name tags, mobile phone cards, etc.),
• Retrieval of all required materials from the field (tablets/smart phones devices),
• Regulation/Measures to protect materials from being stolen, damage etc.

The Data Collection Manual should outline in detail all aspects of the field work to be conducted by the firm, including but not limited to the following:

• A Project Gantt Chart
• Composition of a field team
• Expected tasks, responsibilities, and schedule of delivery of each member of the team
• Number of visits per household
• Transportation and lodging logistics summary from the Logistics Plan
• Sample Control File for data collection
• Protocol for confirming that the location has been correctly identified
• Interview protocols
• Enumerator instructions (manual)
• Supervision and spot check plans to ensure adherence to data collection protocols and confirm quality of data collection and entry, re-visits to households to confirm the validity of the data
• Protocols and procedures for addressing data inconsistencies/miss-reporting when identified
• Data transmission & security protocols

2. Public Information Campaign:

A key activity for the success of the process is a massive Public Information Campaign (PIC) through community outreach to inform the public about the registration process. Such outreach, prior to the start of the data collection process in a community, is critical to ensure the success of this type of approach and it must be tailored to the literacy levels, cultural and ethnic differences, and accessibility to remote areas. The PIC effectiveness would be closely monitored and evaluated in a timely manner as to make necessary changes and adaptations along the way.

The Firm will assist in carrying out the PIC at least 1-2 weeks prior to the launch of the data collection process in STMA. The Firm, with the support of STMA will contact the representatives of community leaders of the area to seek their support in terms of information dissemination about the process, and request them to:

• Make special announcements in the local language to reach every household in the community;

3. Pre-training pilot (field-testing) Before the field staff training;

The firm along-side STMA would conduct field-testing of the instruments. The firm must pilot the questionnaires on a selection of 20 households with experienced field staff from the firm

The head trainer and the survey manager must be part of the pilot. The field testing will also be used to test the data entry system. The firm must immediately report any issues that arise because of the field test to the Project Coordinator.

The piloting procedures may include but are not limited to the following:

• Enumerator training on the pilot version of the data collection form and pilot testing protocols with sample beneficiaries.
• Revising the draft data collection form to develop the final version for field use and related field manual.
• Enumerators’ training led by the pilot testing core team. The pilots (or pretests) are essential for examining the following sets of issues:
• All the equipment/tools/connectivity/data syncing is working as designed.
• The questions are appropriately phrased for the local environment.
• How well the data entry system works, including range checking and consistency checking. The pilot will provide useful feedback on length of interview, strategies for approaching beneficiaries, and will inform the content of the field staff program.

The firm will be expected to update the training accordingly using the adjusted questionnaire and implementation materials. All modifications to the data collection form, instructions that may be suggested from the piloting results must be approved by the STMA team before the data collection starts.

Any changes to the format or ordering of the data collection forms to facilitate implementation must be cleared with Project Coordinator and fully documented.

4. The firm will be responsible for developing training content and training all staff that will be involved in data collection. STMA will provide inputs and necessary support for the preparation of the training modules. The training should include instructions and guidance about the process; the management of the instruments used in the process; and the setup, logistics and the supervision of the process. Besides the process overview, the training should be hands-on and tailored to each specific task to be performed. The firm should train at least 20 percent more interviewers than will be required, so that the best interviewers can be retained after training as well as to replace interviewers who drop out during the actual fieldwork and interviewing.

The firm must have a well-developed plan to thoroughly train their team supervisors, enumerators and the data entry staff on the data intake forms and the survey procedures. All team supervisors and enumerators are expected to read, study, and understand the Data Collection Manual. The firm should conduct the training of the interviewers. The training should last a minimum of three days (including field work) and should include explanations of all questions, role-playing of enumerator and actor-respondents, at least two interviews with real participants, and a test at the end

The firm is expected to use the Data Collection Manual as a guide to preparing presentations to be used during training. The list of enumerators and supervisors, including name, mobile phone numbers, and email address, will be provided to the Project Coordinator at the end of the training and the OGP International Secretariat may contact them at any time.

5. Development of enumeration or route maps: This activity should be undertaken by the Firm before starting the house-to-house visits in a specific community. The enumerators (from the Firm) should go to the community to be surveyed and develop the route maps in which they establish the number of structures to be surveyed. All structures in which households are living will be surveyed. During this process each structure should be identified with a number that will then be captured in the data collection process. Also, key local landmarks should be identified to help the process of determining all the different clusters of structures which comprise the community.
6. Data Collection Process:

• Enumerators will carry out house-to-house surveys in their assigned areas, using Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI).
• Provide online and offline capabilities;
• Capability for collecting fingerprint biometrics to ensure effective identification of people and to decrease the chances of duplication.
• Capability for collecting photograph of each household member and their home (a single photograph should be taken of each household member as well as a single photograph of the household structure);
• Capability for collecting geolocation of households: the tablets should be equipped with GPS through which the geolocation of the interviewed households should be taken. The firm would complete data collection within thirty days (30) according to the timelines agreed upon. Summaries of enumeration activities will be made by enumerators/supervisors during the data collection as soon as enumeration is completed and shared with the Project Coordinator on a weekly basis. In case the household is not available for interview, the data collection firm should make up to two additional attempts to visit the household considering their circumstances (work schedules and/or household responsibilities). Information on such households and attempts to re-interview should be regularly included in the weekly reports.

Quality Control Procedures.

The firm shall take the necessary measures to ensure the data gathered is of high quality. The data collection firm shall put in place several quality controls measures. In addition to close supervision of the data collection exercise by both supervisors, several control systems would be introduced to ensure complete coverage of all households in the assigned districts. Using these systems, the supervisors shall closely monitor the quality of the data. In addition, supervisors will be expected to make spot checks in areas covered by enumerators to ensure proper completion of the data intake questionnaires. To successfully achieve this, the firm is required to develop a data quality assurance plan and will also establish and maintain regular communication with STMA for progress updates on implementation.

Household Categorization 

The categorization of households and assessment for eligibility in Social Protection Programs is the responsibility of the Project. The Proxy Means Test formula will be applied to Error free & deduplicated data to generate Proxy Means Test scores. The scores will then be used to classify households into poverty categories depending on cut-off points established.

TEAM COMPOSITION, QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE:

The Data Collection Firm must have a field team comprising of at least: Data Collection Coordinator, Statistical Officer/ Data Analyst, IT Officer, Supervisors and Enumerators.

For purposes of these terms of reference, the firm should follow the indicated qualification and skills for field staff; however, the firm’s proposal should also include clear descriptions, which comprise the experience and roles in the process along with the detailed CVs of the management team. If a firm is selected for this consultancy assignment, it is expected that the firm will mobilize the field staff indicated in their technical proposal. If they wish to substitute any member of the field staff, they must first obtain written permission from the STMA.

DELIVERABLES 

The firm is expected to undertake the following specific tasks and provide the following deliverables:

Specific Activities	Deliverables
Logistics Plan and Data Collection Proposal, which shall comprise: ▪ Details on core staff: provide CVs and biographic information that demonstrates the experience aligned to individual roles and responsibilities in the process. ▪ Procedures and protocols for data collection, quality assurance and supervision of data collection ▪ Detailed timelines for implementation: indicating a list of activities (e.g.: staffing, development of instruments, Field-testing, field visits) with a detail timeframe for each activity. ▪ A recruitment plan summarizing a detailed explanation on how the firm will recruit the staff necessary to perform and complete the work within the timeline. ▪ Data management and security plan: detailing the processes to ensure that data collected will be safe and in line with data collection and dissemination ethical standards and best practices ▪ Data cleaning methodology proposal	Inception report: including a Logistics Plan and Data Collection Proposal acceptable to the STMA /OGP.
Field-testing: The firm should conduct field-testing of the instruments per the field-testing plan.	Interview guide for training of the field-testing acceptable to STMA. Field test documented and data from field test successfully transferred to STMA.
Recruitment and Training of field staff: The firm is responsible for training all field staff and developing staff training curriculum, materials and guidelines for field staff	Roster of recruited enumerators with their corresponding qualifications. Training plan and manuals acceptable to STMA.
Local Public Information Campaign: based on the communication strategy and materials designed and prepared by the STMA, the firm should prepare a PIC implementation plan and deploy it.	PIC implementation plans
Data collection and quality assurance: the firm should complete data collection according to the timeline and should take the necessary measures to ensure the data gathered is of high quality.	Data Collection, submission of all quality assurance documentation, data collection summary statistics.
At the end of data collection, the firm will: ▪ Produce a final cleaned dataset for the online registry	Final Cleaned Data transferred to STMA

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR DATA COLLECTION FIRM 

To be considered for this activity, the firm must demonstrate capacity and capabilities in the following:

• Demonstrated strong capacity and experience in planning and organizing data collection logistics, including the design and implementation of protocols to ensure high quality data
• Evidence of Capacity to store and maintain data in a manner that protects respondent’s identities.
• The applicants should submit the field manual of the most recent data collection process completed.
• A duly registered business entity and has been engaged in the business of providing consulting services.
• Availability of managerial and technical capacity of the firm to provide the desired services and needed results.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR TENDER SUBMISSION 

The following is required:

• Providing a list of at least 3 data collection activities the firm has implemented in the past five (5) years. Stated experiences should be backed by official documentation by the client worked for with a letter of satisfactory completion.
• A field manual of the most recent data collection process completed.
• CVs of the Management team and all key staff who will be part of this assignment
• Description of the firm and individual experience covering: • Data collection of households in Ghana or nearby counties in West Africa. • Data quality assurance protocols experience
• Estimated timeline

CONFIDENTIALITY AND DATA OWNERSHIP

All data is confidential and the property of the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly. No data or other information from this survey will be released to third parties without the written approval of the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly. The firm will turn over all data, data collection tools and other material to the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly and will not retain any information or material after the survey data collection has ended.

DURATION OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The Data Collection Firm will undertake the assignment in 2 months after the contract signature.

REPORTING REQUIREMENTS 

The Data Collection Firm shall report to the OGP Support Project Coordinator/ STMA Project Lead.

FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS

The Consultancy fee shall be paid as per financial guidelines of the Open Government Partnership International Secretariat. Payment will be disbursed in installments as spelled out in the consultancy contract.

SELECTION CRITERIA 

The Consultancy Firm will be selected using Quality-Cost Based Selection (QCBS) method as specified in the World Bank’s “Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers (“Procurement Regulations”) dated July 2016 and revised in November 2017 and Open Government Partnership Procurement Operating Guidelines October 2020, and is open to all eligible Proposers as defined in the Procurement Regulations.

EVALUATION CRITERIA:

Proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

• Relevance of the proposed methodology and work plan.
• Qualifications and expertise of the consultant or consulting team.
• Experience in similar projects, especially in the water and sanitation sector.
• Clarity and feasibility of the proposed financial proposal.

References from previous clients.

PROPOSAL SUBMISSION:

• Interested consultants or consulting firms are invited to submit their proposals, including a detailed methodology, work plan, team composition, relevant experience, and a financial proposal.
• Applicants are to submit one (1) original and three (3) additional copies of their RFP documents. The envelope should also contain a soft copy of the technical proposal only. Technical proposal should be in a separate envelope and be marked “Technical proposal” and financial proposal should be marked “Financial Proposal”.
• Proposal must be submitted as follows:

The OGP Support Project Coordinator

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Project

Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly

P.O. BOX 74, SEKONDI

ROOM 8

Dedicated Email: tcspp.stma@gmail.com for enquiries or clarifications.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION:

The deadline for the submission of proposals is WEDNESDAY 31ST JANUARY 2024 on or before 5:00pm GMT.