Terms of Reference (TOR) for Research Firms to

Conduct Qualitative Research Interviews

Application Details:

• The bidder should submit their technical and financial proposals with relevant supportive documents through the email addresses mentioned below on or before June 30, 2024
• The selected firm is expected to notify TDS/PMC office within 48 hours of its willingness to accept the offer and start the work as soon as possible to meet the deadline.
• Interested and eligible firms should submit technical and financial proposals to mbrowne.tds@gmail.com, jldushime@populationmedia.org and mntoe.tds@gmail.com. sdichiara@populationmedia.org
• Bidders may submit questions to the email addresses listed above at any time during the application window. TDS/PMC will respond as soon as is feasible. Note that questions submitted immediately before the deadline may not receive a response, so bidders are encouraged to submit questions early on.
• TDS/PMC reserves the right to accept or reject any or all bids.
• All timelines presented in this TOR represent TDS/PMC’s current best estimates and are subject to change.

Background:

Population Media Center (PMC) and Talking Drum Studio: Liberia Peace Center (TDS) have collaborated to propose a tailored and culturally sensitive multimedia behavior change strategy. PMC’s well-tested and proven Social Behavior Change (SBC) methodology, with over 20 years of field-testing, has demonstrated positive impacts on similar issues through long-running, locally grounded serial dramas. TDS Liberia is a trusted media voice that currently engages and influences communities across Liberia through entertainment-education and participatory theater. The primary component of this project was the broadcast of a Radio Serial Drama (RSD) that addresses per-selected major and minor themes. In order to monitor the effects of the Radio Serial Drama in communities, TDS & PMC, require the immediate collection of qualitative data in the form of Interviews with individuals who have been exposed to the RSD to assess the broadcast since March 2023.

Objectives of the Qualitative Participatory Interviews:

The qualitative interviews will be conducted in Montserrado County. The main purpose of the interviews is to collect data that will help TDS and PMC monitor the progress of the RSD program. The qualitative interviews aim to provide insights and recommendations in the following areas:

1. Relevance and Appropriateness: Assessing the design and strategies used in the program to determine their relevance and appropriateness in addressing the objectives and target audience’s needs.
2. Identification of Key Lessons and Good Practices: Identifying key lessons learned and good practices that have emerged during the implementation of the program. These insights can be used to inform future initiatives and improve the effectiveness of similar interventions.

Methodology

The consultant or firm is expected to propose and deploy appropriate participatory research methods and principles in order to best carry out the collection of qualitative methods to meet the goals proposed in this terms of reference document.

The Research Interviews will be conducted in Montserrado or nearby areas that fall within the broadcast area of the RSD. Perspective research partners are expected to explain their approach to sampling and indicate the number of communities within the county they will visit in their proposal. The research interviews will target 25 individuals with a diverse selection of community groups including youth, men, women and key stakeholders.

The RSD is designed to address four major and two minor themes:

1. Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) [major theme]
2. Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) [major theme]
3. Social Cohesion and Conflict Resolution [major theme]
4. Gender Equity [major theme]
5. Sustainable management and use of natural resources [minor theme]
6. Sustainable agriculture [minor theme]

Our selected research partner will work together with us to conduct qualitative research interviews comprising of 25 interviews with individuals who had a high level of exposure to the RSD.

TDS/PMC will develop the interview guide with input from the research firm (interviews to take approximately 40 to 60 minutes each). At least one representative from TDS/PMC will oversee field work.

The local research firm will complete data collection, create transcripts of the interviews, and translate the transcripts into English. The Firm will also lead the qualitative analysis and draft final report with support from TDS/PMC.

The main deliverables for this activities are:

TDS/PMC is seeking a proposal for this qualitative research project. This document describes the terms of reference for submitting proposals. A successful proposal will include detailed responses to the following eight items.

1. Methods and Sampling Techniques

Bidders must briefly explain how they will approach the general tasks listed above.

2. 2. Consent and Recruitment

Proposals should include a plan and costs for the interviews. The research firm will be able to work with TDS/PMC to utilize social media campaigns and advertising for recruitment purposes.

3. Data Collection

Proposals should describe the process of collecting data in selected area immediately following the training and review of questionnaire. Information in this section should answer the following.

• Space: What are the recommended locations of spaces where data collection will occur?
• Participant Incentives: What are typical incentives expected by research participants, if any?
• Data: How will interviews be recorded? Who will be in charge of study documents? How will the data be managed?

4. Data Entry and Cleaning

Proposals should describe the processes for transcribing interview recordings. This should include a description of how the local languages transcriptions will be translated into English and how the final data will be delivered to TDS/PMC. Describe the procedures used to transcribe and translate the participants’ responses. Include a description of potential software used to process the qualitative data and the file format of the final, clean transcriptions.

5. Research Firm Team Members

Proposals should include a profile of potential team members comprising of both male and female interviewer so as to interview people of the same sex.

For the team, provide the following for each person:

• Fluency in English
• Status as a full-time, part-time, or contracted employee
• CV, including educational background and experience

• Experience with qualitative data collection

6. Timeline

Proposals should provide a work plan that shows the number of days and weeks required to complete the research tasks described above. The chart should include all tasks and activities mentioned above and related to this project.

7. Budget

Proposals should include a budget that includes a line item for each of the activities described above. This section should provide all of the costs associated with conducting the pilot research, including human resources, travel per diems, accommodations, operational costs for fieldwork, and miscellaneous costs, including communication (phones, etc.).

8. Company Profile/Organizational Portfolio

Proposals should provide a brief history of their research firm and describe recent research projects. This should include:

• Size of the research firm,
• Expertise in conducting research in Liberia
• Previous use of qualitative data collection methods