DEADLINE: 14TH JUNE, 2023
INTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE (IFPRI)
CALL FOR PROPOSALS FOR SURVEY FIRM FOR DATA COLLECTION AND TRAINING
APPLICANT SEARCH LOCATION: NIGERIA
POSITION CODE: 2023-001-020
BACKGROUND
Researchers from the International Food Policy Research Institute, UC Berkeley, and UC San Diego (hereafter, the principal investigators, or PIs) are conducting a study (a participatory action research agenda) to improve women’s empowerment beyond the household—including in governance at different levels. Specifically, we propose to test whether a training intervention designed to strengthen women’s sense of collective efficacy and leadership skills will improve their voice and agency in local political engagement via a randomized control trial (RCT) to be implemented in likely 3 southwestern states of Nigeria in 2022 (prospectively, Ogun, Oyo, and possibly a third state – though this is subject to change based on the PIs’ assessment of the appropriate sample as informed by preliminary work with partners). In both treatment and control communities, we will recruit women to join women’s action committees (WACs) to be trained:
(1) 1/3 of WACs (placebo group) will receive basic information on the political process and points of potential influence (one meeting) ;
(2) 1/3 (treatment group 1) will receive the same political information as the placebo group in the first meeting, and receive 3-4 additional intensive trainings in leadership, organizing, civic education, and advocacy, intended to increase women’s sense of group-based injustice, group identity, and collective efficacy (CE), and improve their articulation of demands to policymakers and policymakers’ responsiveness to them; and
(3) 1/3 (treatment group 2) will receive the same treatment as treatment group 1 in addition to having their husband invited to participate in a separate, men’s training on the importance of women’s political participation, and tangible ways to support women’s political participation, voice, and agency.
IFPRI is seeking a firm specialized in participatory action research data collection, to establish a roster of women and design and deliver a training and cover all activities during June 2023 associated with preparing for the rollout (during Q3-Q4 of 2023) of the research study described above. The firm has the following responsibilities:
(1) Establishing a roster and set of data on women participants for trainings intervention: The firm has the mandate of identifying 13 women in each of 450 communities (150 communities in each of 3 states) for a total of 5,850 women. These women must meet all of the following criteria:
(a) Married
(b) Between the ages of 21 and 50
(c) Have done something to earn money outside of their household in the last month (i.e., economically active)
(d) Are interested in participating in training at least once per month over the proceeding 5 months
(e) Have a husband they believe is available and willing to participate in men’s training at least once per month over the next 5 months.
The firm must assemble these women in each community by talking with the baale (community leader), women leaders, and other informal or formal leaders that might support identification of women participants. All women must be brought to the same place in the community on the same day and time, and then the firm must collect key demographic data from the women – including details on marital status, age, and the other criteria listed above. Women must further be made to sign to document their attendance.
Further, the firm must count and provide to the PIs the total number of women in attendance (which should always be 13 – though we note there may be exceptions). Women must also be given unique ID numbers linked to their names, and they must be provided with pieces of cardboard that provide their numbers for them (they must be told to hold on to these pieces of cardboard for future data collection purposes).
(2) Deliver an initial (placebo) training to all of these women: The firm must provide a 3-hour training to all of women in all communities (treatment and control), which we call the ‘burn-in meeting’ for the purposes of this RCT. All facilitators providing the training must be given an ID card that indicates their name/ photo/ affiliation. This is critical to ensure that in all communities, the types of women we are involving are women who are willing to attend such trainings of a 3-hour length. The training will involve a course in civic education, content agreed on with the PIs. A picture proving that this training took places should be provided to the PIs for each of the 450 trainings.
Required Qualifications:
- Excellent knowledge of women’s empowerment programming in Nigeria, and women’s civil society organizations’ operations and roles
- Facility with any required local languages as well as English
- Specialization in designing trainings for both women and men, including on topics relates to political participation, voice, and agency beyond the home
- Professional demeanor in all practice and particularly in oral and written communication
- Experience documenting lessons from a pilot to improve curriculum
- Ability to approach people in a friendly, compelling, and engaging way
- Experience securing government support for and local IRB approval of household surveys in Nigeria
- Good communication skills
- Time-conscious, able to respect deadlines
Application
Please submit a letter of interest highlighting qualifications mentioned above, along with a detailed budget and resume of the team leader. All supporting docs should be uploaded as one pdf to the application section indicating “CV or Resume. Materials should be submitted in English by June 14, 2023.
