Terms of Reference:

Sustainability Studies for

HELINA Nutrition Project

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is looking for a consultant to conduct formative research to learn from and assess the Healthy Living through Integrated Nutrition Activities (HELINA) project’s previous and current sustainability strategies. The assessment will take a deep dive into the projects’ various interventions and their sustainability aspects to better understand what results have been achieved and areas where strategies need to be revised, adapted, or improved to ensure nutrition practices are sustained beyond the project closeout. The study will be conducted in the Township of West Point and New Kru Town.

1. Background:

CRS began working in Liberia in 1957, with a permanent country program office opening in 1990 to provide life-saving relief in response to emergencies and to address issues of poverty and injustice through innovative and sustainable development programs. In Liberia, CRS employs a holistic human development approach to help poor and vulnerable people live full and productive lives. Since operations began in 1957, CRS has built deep relationships with the Government of Liberia and the Catholic Church’s social service agencies by collaborating to bring public and private-sector actors together for community-based development. CRS currently works with the people of Liberia to tackle poverty on several fronts including improving maternal and child health; increasing access to water and sanitation; promoting agriculture to enhance food security; reducing election-based violence and promoting peace; encouraging youth livelihood opportunities; and increasing financial assets through Savings and Internal Lending Communities (SILC).

Nutrition plays a critical role in infant and young child growth and development, ensuring they meet age-appropriate mental and physical milestones and build adequate vitamin and mineral stores to support a healthy immune system. In thinking of nutrition across the lifecycle, early access to proper nutrition influences a child’s ability to learn and participate educationally, socially, and economically in society at each stage of life. Liberian Mothers, infants, and young children face significant challenges in accessing a diet with optimal nutrition. With a population of 5.2 million people, Liberia ranks on the lower end of the development scale.

Through the HELINA project, CRS is working to improve the nutrition outcome of adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) and their children under 2 years in West Point and New Kru Town. The goal of the HELINA project is to improve the nutrition of infants and young children under 2 years by supporting adolescent girls and young women (under 25 years of age) and creating an enabling environment for the adoption of key behaviors for improved nutrition among these AGYW as well as other adults in their households. The HELINA project accomplishes the above through a dedicated nutrition education curriculum delivered by community health promoters to AGYW. The topics covered during the nutrition education include Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) and Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) practices. Nutrition counseling is delivered both at Health Facilities and through home visits to the project participants. The HELINA project also provides support to selected adolescent girls and young women in entrepreneurship and vocational skills to increase their income generation capacity, which will lead to increased household food security. The HELINA project’s key activities include:

• Development of specialized AGYW nutrition counseling curriculum
• Training of community health workers and health facility staff
• Development of key nutrition messages for behavior change communication.
• Nutrition home counseling conducted by community health promoters.
• Growth monitoring and nutrition counseling at health facility
• Nutrition SBCC outreach activities, awareness, and campaigns
• Business skills training and cash support
• Vocational skills training and startup kit support

The HELINA project seeks to achieve its results through the following three Strategic Objectives (SO):

SO1: Improved adoption by AGYW of key caring and feeding practices to support improved child nutrition.

IR 1.1: Adolescents and young women adopt key infant and young child feeding behavior.

IR 1.2: Adolescent girls and young women adopt key WASH practices.

IR 1.3: Adolescent girls and young women utilize available health, nutrition, and early childhood development services.

SO2: Improved provision of health, nutrition, and early childhood development services for AGYW and their children.

IR 2.1: Targeted health facilities apply improved MCH nutrition counseling.

IR 2.2: Strengthen the National Catholic Health Council (NCHC) competencies in nutrition programming.

SO3: Increased access to resources and support for AGYW.

IR 3.1: Families adopt key behavior that supports AGYW and their children.

IR 3.2: Targeted AGYW adopts improved income generation activities.

Achievements so far:

Through the HELINA project (now in its third year), AGYW who have received nutrition education from Catholic Relief Services (CRS) have gained knowledge and have improved their key Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) and Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) practices. The HELINA project has improved nutrition outcomes for 500 children under 2 years old in West Point Monrovia, Liberia.

Before HELINA, adolescent girls who had children complained of rejection and lacked support from their parents and spouses. They were left to struggle and care for their babies alone. HELINA has engaged key family members in the girls’ nutrition counseling sessions with behavior change messages, home counseling, and encouragement to support and accept adolescent girls and their children. As a result, 77% of HELINA participants reported increased acceptance and support from their families like accompaniment to antenatal care visits, childcare, and financial support.

To improve AGYW’s livelihoods and give them a voice in household decision-making, CRS has offered business and vocational skills activities through the HELINA project. Participants who had small businesses received training to strengthen their financial management skills and increase their sales. Alternatively, participants who completed business and vocational skills training were assisted to develop business plans to qualify them to receive a business grant and start-up materials to invest in their new businesses. These young mothers are now independently managing their small businesses, and the profits they generate support their children’s nutritional needs.

The number of adolescent girls accessing services at health facilities in the project target community in Monrovia was low before HELINA. In HELINA, project participants learned the importance of seeking maternal and childcare services at the health facility and they were linked to health facilities within their community. Now 90% of HELINA participants are accessing services at healthcare facilities in their communities.

Challenges encountered:

The HELINA project has been successful in many ways; however, there have been some challenges with the sustainability of nutrition practices after the project phased off from the community. AGYW behavior and practices are easily influenced by others, especially by their parents, peers, and other key family members. During the project implementation behavior change occurred rapidly, and CRS is interested in ensuring that these behaviors/practices can be sustained for the longer term. There are already sustainability strategies in place, the need to assess/review these plans/strategies to ensure the sustainability of the project is paramount.

This consultancy is intended to assess the impact of the project, review existing sustainability strategies, and identify innovative and relevant approaches to sustain nutrition behavior change amongst AGYW. This will lead to the design/development of the HELINA model, an approach to AGYW nutrition program implementation in Liberia.

Key challenges encountered during the project include:

• Continuation of nutrition practices amongst AGYW beyond the project closeout is a challenge that needs to be address.
• Parents and grandparents influence on AGYW Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) behavior is a challenge.
• Managing domestic waste, babies’ feces/diapers disposal within the project communities.
• Participants lacks financial resources to afford children healthcare bills.
• Managing Mother support group activities in project communities is a challenge.

1. Objectives:

CRS is seeking the services of a consultant(s) to conduct a study on the sustainability strategies of the HELINA project and come out with recommendations to inform the development of the project phase IV. This phase of the project will be known as the HELINA Model as it will encompass a wholistic approach for long-term sustainability and lasting impact.

The objectives of the research include the following:

• Evaluate the sustainability of the HELINA nutrition project in Liberia, focusing on its ability to continue delivering positive health and nutrition outcomes beyond the project duration.
• Identify factors influencing the sustainability of project interventions, including institutional capacity, community ownership, funding mechanisms, and policy support.
• Assess the scalability and replicability of successful project components to inform future programming and resource allocation in similar contexts.

• Catalog all the relevant stakeholders and key institutions that are relevant to the implementation of sustainability strategies and assess their capacity to implement the sustainable plans that are proposed by this research.
• Identify opportunities (resource needs, capacity needs, gaps in knowledge, skills, and abilities, etc.) to facilitate identified stakeholders and key institutions to effectively and efficiently implement identified sustainability strategies and plans proposed by this research.

III. Scope of Work:

The scope of work under this consultancy includes but is not limited to:

1. Stakeholder Engagement: – Engage with project stakeholders, including government agencies, implementing partners, community leaders, and beneficiaries, to gather feedback and insights on project sustainability. – Conduct focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and participatory workshops to solicit perspectives from diverse stakeholders.
2. Institutional Capacity Assessment: – Evaluate the capacity of government institutions, local organizations, and community structures to sustain project activities and outcomes. – Assess the availability of human resources, technical expertise, and financial resources to support continued project implementation.
3. Community Ownership and Participation: – Assess the level of community ownership and participation in project activities, including decision-making processes, resource mobilization, and implementation oversight. – Identify mechanisms for strengthening community engagement and empowerment to ensure sustained commitment to health and nutrition interventions.
4. Participants behavioral analysis: Identify relevant barriers, motivations, and opportunities that promote increased nutrition and WASH practices among AGYW and understand the aspirations of AGYW concerning their roles as women, mothers, and income-earners.
5. Financial Sustainability Analysis: – Analyze the financial sustainability of project interventions, including the availability of funding sources, cost-effectiveness of interventions, and potential revenue-generating activities. – Explore opportunities for diversifying funding streams, leveraging public-private partnerships, and integrating project activities into existing government nutrition programs and budgets.
6. Policy and Advocacy: – Evaluate the policy environment related to nutrition and health in Liberia, including the existence of supportive policies, regulations, and strategies. – Identify advocacy priorities and opportunities for influencing policy change to sustain and scale up project interventions at the national, and local levels.

1. Methodology:

This study will produce a comprehensive report detailing key sustainability strategies assessed using a combination of contextual analysis, research on best practices, focus group interviews, and surveys with target populations. The process of assessing the relevancy of the current strategies and developing the plan for recommended improvements should be participatory – prioritizing input from the project partners and beneficiaries while also including feedback from other key stakeholders at community, sub-national, and national levels. The research should also develop a stakeholder engagement plan with a broad category of actors in the health and nutrition sectors, for project consideration and implementation.

The approach for this study should combine a mixed research methodology with the aim of highlighting key recommendations for project sustainability and impact. Data collection will be carried out across desk research, individual interviews, focus group discussions, and observation. These different sources of information should be presented in a framework that demonstrates that group discussions and individual interviews are representative of the diverse beneficiary groups and households throughout the project. Several types of tools are to be used, including household surveys, focus group discussion guides, and school and health facility-level questionnaires.

The methodology should be participatory, interdisciplinary, and contextually appropriate to capture diverse perspectives and generate actionable recommendations.

The research methods and techniques to be employed should include qualitative and quantitative data collection methods, sampling strategies, and data analysis techniques. This includes applying the mixed method to the research work to capture cross-cutting details about knowledge, practice, and sustainability.

The team leader of the selected consulting group is expected to propose the methodology and sampling technique that is representative of the population at multiple levels, including beneficiaries and key stakeholders.

CRS will provide important project documents to the selected consultant, including the project proposal, and M&E system (M&E plan, available data collection tools, IPTT, baseline report, etc.) for use as guides in the development of methodology and strategies to conduct this study.

V. Deliverables

Comprehensive sustainability assessment report detailing findings, conclusions, and recommendations, including:

• Analysis of institutional capacity, community ownership, financial sustainability, and policy support for project sustainability.
• Identification of key enabling factors and barriers to sustainability, along with actionable recommendations for addressing them.
• Documentation of best practices, lessons learned, and case studies to inform future programming and policy advocacy efforts.

• Presentation of findings and recommendations to project stakeholders, including government officials, donors, implementing partners, and community representatives.

VI. Timeline

• Provide a detailed schedule outlining key activities, milestones, and deliverable dates for each phase of the sustainability studies.
• Ensure that the timeline allows sufficient time for data collection, analysis, report writing, and stakeholder engagement activities.

VII. Qualifications/requirements

Expected Profile of the Consultant: The firm should provide:

1. A proof of a valid certificate of Incorporation and Commencement of Business.
2. CVs of key personnel who will be involved in the assignment.
3. Evidence of similar assignments undertaken in the last 3 years (2021-2024) with references or certificates of work completion from clients.
4. Any other relevant information that will be useful in determining the suitability of the organizations for the assignment.

Expected Profile of Individual Consultant: The lead consultant and his/her team are expected to hold the following qualifications to be eligible for this call:

1. A recognized university degree in development studies, public health, nutrition, population studies, international development, medical anthropology, or related social science (at a minimum of master’s degree level), as well as professional qualifications in project management
2. At least 5 years’ progressive experiences in the nutrition sector (specifically adolescent girls and young women nutrition) in the development context, gender issues, and impact evaluations both in organizations and in projects

1. Familiarity with the Liberian context, including health systems, community dynamics, and policy landscape, is desirable.

4. Good knowledge of the institutional framework for health and nutrition services in Liberia, including sustainability issues, policies, and community participation. Knowledge of the context in Liberia is a requirement.
5. Experience in the formulation, monitoring, and evaluation of projects in health and nutrition.
6. Should be highly familiar with evaluation design methodologies, performance measurement, quantitative and qualitative data collection, and analysis.
7. A demonstrated high level of professionalism and an ability to work independently and in high-pressure situations under tight deadlines.
8. Strong interpersonal and communication skills
9. High proficiency in written and spoken English.
10. Proficiency in the use of mobile data collection platforms (IFORM builder, CommCare, ODK, etc.)

Role of CRS Liberia and collaborators: CRS Liberia will perform the following roles in the conduct of the sustainability study:

• Provide project documents such as the project proposal, name of the study communities, and health facilities.
• Review the study plan and tools.
• Facilitate the conduct of community entry processes in the study communities.
• Provide technical review and share feedback on the draft report.
• Support with logistics and organization of Stakeholder Review Meeting after the study

Main Tasks of the Consultancy: The consultant will work in conjunction with the HELINA project team Lead, and MEAL Associate to finalize the design and plan for the study. During the field survey, the consultant will coordinate with the Project Officers, and local stakeholders to conduct the study. The consultant is expected to undertake the following tasks:

1. Prior to the study, carry out a desk review of relevant project documents (to be provided upon signing the contract), including the project proposal, results framework/output, outcomes table, and other relevant documents.
2. Participate in an inception meeting to discuss the objectives of the study, methodology, workplan, and general expectations of the consultant.
3. Develop and submit an inception report, detailing the evaluation design, revised/updated methodology, indicators, tools, work plan schedule, and budget to carry out the assignment, and the target groups to be interviewed. This will be developed and finalized in consultation with CRS.
4. Finalize a Sampling Design and Data Collection & Management Protocol that meets industry standards including key rapid catch indicators. The data collection tools should adequately address the gender (men and women) perspectives around nutrition practices.
5. Facilitate training of field staff (enumerators, interviewers, observers/record reviewers) and pre-testing of data collection tools.
6. Finalize work plan and lead field data collection, data entry into a suitable platform, data cleaning, data analysis, data interpretation, and synthesize survey findings.
7. Develop and submit the first draft of the sustainability study report and debriefing to CRS. The reports should be comprehensive and provide detailed specific findings, providing key recommendations for implementation and/or improvements.
8. The lead consultant will be required to facilitate participatory reflection at a sitting with key project staff, partners and other stakeholders to discuss the findings, identify learning and recommendations, and develop an after-action plan based on the result of the study.
9. Submit the final evaluation report (together with a 2-pager summary) to CRS. This should comprise three (3) hard copies and an electronic copy. The raw data, the database that has been cleaned (both qualitative and quantitative, including original field notes for in-depth interviews and focus group discussions, as well as recorded audio material), and data collection tools used in the evaluation should be submitted together with the report. A simple inventory of material handed over will be part of the record. CRS has sole ownership of all final data and any findings shall only be shared or reproduced with the permission of CRS. The lead consultant will be expected to compile and submit the draft report, make a presentation to CRS, incorporate comments from presentations, and submit a final report within 10 days of the end of the evaluation.
10. The consultant will be responsible for guiding the entire evaluation process and all other specific responsibilities as stipulated in the Terms of Reference and Evaluation Plan.

VIII. Budget

• Provide a detailed budget proposal outlining the anticipated costs for personnel, travel, quantitative and qualitative data collection, analysis, reporting, etc.
• Ensure that the proposed budget is realistic and aligned with the scope of work and objectives outlined in the terms of reference.

1. Reporting and Communication:

• Establish clear lines of communication between the consultant/team and project stakeholders throughout the duration of the sustainability studies.
• Regular progress updates should be provided to keep stakeholders informed of developments and any emerging issues.
• Final reports and deliverables should be submitted on time and per the agreed-upon schedule.

X. Evaluation Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated based on the consultant/team’s qualifications, relevant experience, proposed methodology, budget, and overall suitability to undertake the sustainability studies for the HELINA nutrition project in Liberia.

Only bidders who are considered technically responsive (technical score of at least 75%) will proceed to the financial evaluation.

1. Stakeholder Engagement:

• Ensure active participation and engagement of key stakeholders throughout the sustainability studies, including government officials, implementing partners (National Catholic Health Council), community representatives, and donors.
• Foster collaboration and dialogue to promote ownership of study findings and facilitate the uptake of recommendations for enhancing project sustainability.

The selection will involve very competitive and transparent processes:

• Firstly, a general advertisement would be made, where various individuals and organizations can submit their technical (including detailed evaluation design) and financial proposals for review.
• The proposal should include a tentative work schedule which should clearly outline the time needed for the different tasks as mentioned in the technical proposal requirements. However, the time frame for the submission of the key deliverables should be within 6 weeks of the consultancy agreement.
• Soft or hard copies of the proposal (technical and financial) should be addressed to the

Operations Manager

Catholic Relief Services – Liberia

16th Street Sinkor Gardner Ave. C-140 (Beachside)

Alternatively, the proposal can be sent via the e-mail: liberiaprocurement@crs.org

• CRS will evaluate the proposals and award the assignment based on technical and financial feasibility. Subsequently, short-listed Institutions May be invited for an interview. The Catholic Relief Services reserves the exclusive right to select the candidate it considers suitable for the assignment.

XII. Deadline for Submission

All applications are to be received not later than April 3, 2024.