Household Economy Approach Baselines
With Integrated Market System Analysis
Turkana Greater District, Kenya
Background:
According to official Kenya statistics, more than 95% of the population in Turkana lives below the poverty line. While the underlying cause has been described as long-term political neglect and underinvestment, the situation has deteriorated with a series of droughts that seems to be increasing in frequency and intensity.
The regular occurrences of failed rains and augmented livestock mortality and the shortened recovery periods in-between, have caused a near constant erosion of assets with the result that a large proportion of the population in Turkana cannot meet their survival needs without receiving external assistance. The HEA baseline conducted in North Eastern Kenya in 2007 showed that livestock ownership had declined for all wealth groups in the pastoral areas. Criteria that a decade earlier had been used to describe the “middle-income” group, was now used for the “better-offs”, the previous “poor” had in 2007 become the “middle-income” and so forth. Further, the proportion of people pertaining to the very poor/poor group had increased.
The drought combined with increase in food prices that occurred in 2010-2011, showed that there is still a need to improve on response to early warning information. The reasons for delayed response are several, but the ones most frequently cited are:
- a lack of credibility of the present early warning system
- an inability to differentiate between chronic and acute vulnerability. This complicates both the situation- and response analysis.
- an inability to predict and articulate consistently the extend of needs in case of a forecasted shock
- a low understanding of livelihoods. This often leads to standardised and ill-adapted responses to shocks.
Purpose
Oxfam is looking for a team of consultants to conduct a complete set of Household Economy Approach Baselines as well as an integrated market system analysis in Turkana Greater District, northwestern Kenya. The consultants shall also train Oxfam staff in updating and utilising the baselines.
The set of HEA Baselines & integrated market system analysis will be used to develop a more in-depth understanding of livelihoods in Turkana and be used:
- to inform the design of relevant livelihoods interventions and strategies
- to provide better data for policy and advocacy strategies
- to enable Oxfam to monitor and evaluate the impact of our interventions
- to improve response to early warning information through enabling Oxfam to speak with more authority on forecasted outcomes of shocks.
The market system analysis should assist Oxfam when planning and implementing cash transfer programmes in Turkana as well as future livelihoods promotion programmes. Oxfam will need to conduct separate Value Chain Analysis on selected commodities (producer markets), hence this study should focus on broader issues regarding market systems in Turkana, such as consumer’s access to market (what commodities are available and what needs are undermet), what are the main obstacles to increase consumer market capacities and who controls the trade and transport (power analysis).
Expected outputs:
- A review of the current livelihoods zoning in Turkana (confirm or adapt).
- HEA baselines for all livelihoods zones in Turkana, including the following sections:
o Characteristics of the LH zone
o Seasonal calendar
o Wealth group breakdown (% and approx. number of households).
o Sources of food and of cash income
o Expenditure patterns
o Hazards
o Coping strategies
o Scenario analysis/gaps.
- A general section including: Recommendations, i.e. constraints and opportunities and implications for programming. Suggestion on appropriate monitoring indicators. Lessons learnt from the assessments.
- A database including all wealth groups/ livelihood zones using the FEG baseline and analysis spreadsheets capturing both the raw data and the analysed information (figures and graphics) for all wealth groups/each livelihoods zone.
- A separate market system report describing the capacities of the consumer markets today, obstacles to increase these and a power analysis on trade and transport in Turkana with recommendations on what Oxfam and others can do to improve market integration and –capacities in Turkana.
- About 20 Oxfam staff trained in HEA baseline fieldwork and a set of updated HEA material adapted for a Turkana context.
- About 6 Oxfam staff trained in analysing and utilising the HEA baselines/outcome analysis. The trained Oxfam staff will need to become “trainer of trainers”.
- An informed Senior Management that is familiar with HEA and its uses.
- A presentation of the baselines in an external forum.
Competences and skills required:
The evaluation will require the services of an Evaluation Team with the following experience
and skills:
- Proven experience in conducting HEA Baselines and outcome analysis.
- Proven experience in market system analysis.
- Proven experience in training of national staff.
- Excellent writing, communication and presentation skills in English.
- Familiarity with pastoralist livelihoods is desirable.
Please submit your expression of interest with:
a. A short proposal outlining the work plan and the consultants’ daily rate;
b. A cover letter summarising the team’s experience as it pertains to this commission and two professional references;
c. Curricula Vitae (CV);
d. At least one example of product similar to what is described here (or a link to such a product).
Oxfam prefer to receive applications from a team of consultants, and not individual candidates.
Interested candidates should submit their EoI to the following email: kenyajobs@oxfam.org.uk with cc. mvik@oxfam.org.uk. Please write “HEA Baselines” in the subject line.
The EoI must reach Oxfam by 9 March 2012.
The consultancy will be managed by Oxfam’s Kenya office in Nairobi. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for the next step in the application process. We hope the fieldwork can start mid-/late April 2012. Contracting is subject to funding.
Household Economy Approach Baselines With Integrated Market System Analysis
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