Terms of Reference for Baseline Assessment of Actionaid Nigeria CSP: Citizens Action Against Poverty and Injustice (2024-2034)

AAN is a social justice organisation working to eradicate poverty through gender equality, redistribution of wealth and power. AAN is an affiliate of ActionAid International, which is a global alliance of organisations working towards achieving a world without poverty and injustice in which every person enjoys the right to a life of dignity.  We apply a human rights-based approach to develop and mobilise the active agency of people to confront unequal power relations that exclude them or others from participating in decision-making and limit their access to and control of resources and opportunities. By also challenging the norm and practices that undermine women’s rights and promote patriarchy in formal and informal spheres, we believe we can collectively contribute to the realisation of social justice. 

ActionAid Nigeria (AAN) is seeking for a firm or team of consultants to conduct a baseline assessment of its Country Strategy Paper (CSP):  Citizens' Action to End Poverty and Injustice - CAEPI (2024-2034). 

About the AAN 2024 – 2034 CSP

In August 2024, (AAN) launched its Country Strategy Paper (CSP):  Citizens Action to End Poverty and Injustice, which is expected to run for 10 years from 2024 – 2034. This CSP is our bold and radical commitment of working more with allies especially social movements in jointly identifying pain points and taking collective action for the eradication of poverty and social injustice in Nigeria. With this strategy, AAN aims to empower citizens to collectively work towards advancing the rights of the people whom we serve – this includes the ultra-marginalized groups, women and girls, young people, and persons with disabilities

The ActionAid Nigeria CSP was developed through a rigorous process of collecting inputs and suggestions from several stakeholders, including partners, communities where we work, and researching local context and development trends. The organisation outlined four strategic priorities that it will pursue over 10 years as below.

1. Priority 1: Secure, Resilient and Thriving Communities.
2. Priority 2: Improved living standard: Thriving Communities.
3. Priority 3: Good governance: Equitable access and Thriving Communities.
4. Priority 4: Agile, Effective and Thriving Organisation.

CSP Baseline

The assessment will provide a benchmark on our carefully crafted indicators that will help us assess our progress towards our agreed goals and objectives as well as help us make informed decisions going forward and adopt new best practices as they emerge. This will be conducted in line with existing ActionAid’s Accountability Learning and Planning Systems (ALPS) framework designed for ongoing learning and critical reflection of our work, our engagement with all stakeholders, especially the poor and excluded people.

Purpose of the CSP Review 

This assessment will help AAN establish a starting point or benchmark against which progress, and performance can be measured and allow us evaluate performance by establishing the changes that have occurred between the start and the mid- or end-point. 

Scope of the Baseline 

AAN works in 26 states across all the geopolitical zones in Nigeria. It is expected that a representative sampling framework will be developed to cover the scope of study.

The baseline study will cover ActionAid Nigeria’s current project states, which is currently 26 states across the six geopolitical states in Nigeria. Within these states, the study will focus on selected Local Government Areas (LGAs) and communities where the project is being implemented.

Methodology

The methodology of the study will be decided by the consultants engaged. However, in line with AAN’s ways of work, we encouraged the application of participatory approaches for data collection and analysing. Desk review should complement the collection of data and primary information sources.  We expect that the desk review will involve analysis of National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data and working with states to get community level data.

The consultants will be required to review/familiarise themselves with the current CSP Paper, the AA feminist principles, the HRBA (Human Rights Based Approach) principles, and other programme quality documents which will be provided by AAN. 

NB: they will be representative of people living in extreme poverty and include movements, children, GS selected staff, Board members, peer organisations, etc

Consultancy Deliverables 

The following will be expected deliverables from consultancy.

• Develop a dependable methodology to be discussed with the management or programme team to drive the research; this must be approved before moving to the field. The methodology should be able to reflect and disaggregate the 4 priority areas in the data collection methodology
• The consulting firm/bidder will lead data collection and submit a comprehensive baseline survey report in both electronic version and signed hard copy. The document should be very precise and address each specific objective. The consulting firm/bidder will submit the following:
  • A PowerPoint presentation providing highlights of the assessment as well as key findings .
  • A completed AAN indicator sheet with Baseline data for all the indicators of the new strategy.
  • Inception report on the execution of the assignment within ONE (1) week of the commencement of the consultancy.
  • Share the questionnaire and field test result before finalizing the questionnaire.
• Draft a comprehensive report within 35 days and the report including at least the following:
• Executive summary (2-3 pages)
• Introduction
• Methodology
• Limitation of the methodology
• Rational of the assessment
• Findings
• Conclusion
• The consulting firm/bidder will produce a systematic baseline database and deliver with final report.
• Time-frame: The assignment is expected to take place from January to April 2026 with a reasonable number of working days. 

Qualifications 

We are looking for a consultancy firm or team of consultants with a relevant experience on this type of assessment as well as other aspect that include social research, policy, and gendered analysis, ideally from an intersectional feminist perspective/point of view or monitoring and evaluation. 

The successful firm must fulfil the criteria listed below: 

Essential: 

• Lead Consultant with an advanced degree in Social Research, Evaluation, or a related Social Science discipline.
• At least one team member with a PhD in a relevant social research field, possessing a strong background and expertise in conducting development research.
• A multidisciplinary team with diverse skills and proven experience in both quantitative and qualitative research, including expertise in Monitoring & Evaluation within the programme cycle, as well as conducting learning reviews and evaluations of movement and campaign-based projects in the development sector.
• Proficiency in a wide range of primary and secondary research methods, including participatory approaches.
• Strong linkages with the National Bureau of Statistics to facilitate access to national data.
• Expertise in gendered analysis, ideally from a feminist and intersectional perspective.
• Ability to analyze complex data and present findings in clear, compelling language using engaging visual representations.
• Proficiency in qualitative and quantitative data analysis tools such as SPSS and NVivo.
• In-depth knowledge of research ethics and child protection considerations, ensuring ethical integrity in all research activities.
• Fluency in written and spoken English and excellent communication skills with the ability to tailor communications to a range of audiences.

Expression of Interest 

We invite interested candidates to submit the following application documents: 

• Expression of Interest addressing the consultant’s track record and how they meet the selection criteria.
• Technical Proposal outlining the data collection methodology, workplan, sampling strategy and proposed data collection tools, including:
  a. How the consultant(s) meet the selection criteria.
  b. Demonstrated understanding of the Terms of Reference (ToR).
• Financial Proposal and Budget in Nigerian Naira, clearly separating core consultancy costs, daily rates of team members, and in-country data collection costs.
• CV(s) of the consultant(s) who will be assigned to carry out the work.
• Examples or links to previous similar work or publications.
• Names and contact details of previous clients for reference checks.

Please send your applications to: procurement.nigeria@actionaid.org using the subject line “Baseline Assessment of AAN CSP”

P.S - Incomplete Applications will not be considered

Deadline for submission: 2nd of December 2025

Only shortlisted applicant(s) will be contacted for the next stage of the procurement process