Baseline Study Consultancy - Strengthening Lao Women and Youth for Climate Resilience and Sustainable Livelihoods

Plan International Laos is seeking a qualified consultant to conduct a comprehensive baseline study for the project "Strengthening Lao Women and Youth for Climate Resilience and Sustainable Livelihoods". The project aims to increase rural livelihood opportunities for youth and women in Bokeo Province, Lao PDR, by supporting improved farming methods, entrepreneurship opportunities, and climate adaptation methods. **Background:** Plan International is one of the world’s largest children’s rights and humanitarian organisations, working alongside children, young people, communities, and partners to advance children’s rights and equality for girls. Plan Laos started operations in Lao PDR in 2007 and maintains a field presence in seven provinces, including Bokeo. The organisation applies a life-cycle approach to the wellbeing of children, adolescents, and youth, integrating gender equality, inclusion, safeguarding, and climate resilience across all programmes. The project "Strengthening Lao Women and Youth for Climate Resilience and Sustainable Livelihoods" builds on the success of the "Climate Change Adaptation in the Upland Areas through Innovative Practices Project (CCA Phase I)" and expands its geographic and thematic scope. The project will be implemented across 22 communities in three districts of Bokeo Province: Houay Xay, Pha Oudom, and Paktha. The overall goal is to increase rural livelihood opportunities for youth and women by supporting improved farming methods, entrepreneurship opportunities, and climate adaptation methods. **Objectives of the Baseline Study:** The purpose of this consultancy is to conduct a baseline study that establishes the current status of project indicators in target communities and schools, providing the reference point against which project progress will be measured throughout implementation. The objectives include: - Establishing disaggregated baseline values (by sex, age, district, and disability) for all Goal, Outcome, and Output-level indicators in the project logframe. - Understanding current levels of climate change awareness, adaptation practices, and access to climate-related information among male and female community members, youth, and women farmers in target communities. - Understanding current knowledge, skills, and practices related to sustainable agriculture, land use planning, livestock and fishery raising, entrepreneurship, and income generation activities among youth and women farmers. - Understanding the challenges and opportunities that young women and men face in accessing economic opportunities and participating in decision-making, including the influence of gender and social norms. - Establishing baseline levels of climate change awareness and disaster risk reduction (DRR) preparedness among secondary school students and schools in target areas. - Reviewing and refining the detailed indicators, targets, and data collection tools that the project team will use for ongoing monitoring throughout the life of the project, and working with Plan Laos to establish achievable annual and cumulative targets. **Scope of Work:** The consultant will be responsible for the following activities: 1. Review of project documentation, including the Project Proposal and Logframe. 2. Review of draft data collection tools and provision of feedback and recommendations for their revision and expansion to cover the project’s broader scope. 3. Design and proposal of an appropriate sampling methodology and size for each population stratum, for agreement with Plan Laos at inception. 4. Training of data collectors and facilitators, pilot testing data collection tools, and leading the field data collection. 5. Translation of all data collection tools from English to Lao, piloting, and finalisation of data collection tools. 6. Data collection across all 22 target communities in the three target districts and in 6 target secondary schools. 7. Data cleaning, analysis, and report writing, including a summary table of baseline values for each logframe indicator and proposed annual and cumulative targets. **Methodology:** The study will combine quantitative and qualitative methods to cover the outcomes, outputs, and population strata: - **Farming Household / Community Survey:** A structured questionnaire administered to farming households or community members in target communities, covering demographic information, sources of income, agricultural practices, climate change awareness and adaptation, land use and natural resource management, and entrepreneurship and income generation, disaggregated by sex, age, and disability. - **Youth-Focused Data Collection:** Focus group discussions (and/or a youth-specific survey module) with young women and men aged 15–24, exploring climate change awareness and adaptation, livelihood and entrepreneurship opportunities and barriers, and the influence of gender and social norms on their participation in economic and community life. - **School-Based Data Collection:** A survey and/or focus group discussions with male and female secondary school students aged 11–17 in the six target schools, to establish baseline levels of climate change awareness and disaster risk reduction preparedness. - **Key Informant Interviews:** Interviews with village chiefs/authorities in all target villages, as well as relevant government partners, Provincial Agriculture and Environment Office (PAEO), District Agriculture and Environment Office (DAEO), District Education and Sport Bureau (DESB), the Lao Women’s Union, the Lao Youth Union, and school directors or head teachers. **Analysis:** Quantitative data will be cleaned and shared with Plan Laos in an agreed electronic format (e.g., Excel) and analysed using appropriate statistical software (e.g., SPSS, STATA, or R), producing descriptive statistics disaggregated by sex, age, district, and disability for each indicator. Qualitative data will be analysed thematically to provide a deeper understanding of the issues explored in the survey, including recurring themes, barriers, and participants’ own proposals for addressing challenges. **Report Writing:** The consultant will prepare a preliminary report and PowerPoint presentation summarising the baseline study findings, including a summary table of baseline values for each logframe indicator and proposed annual and cumulative targets.

The ideal candidate should have: - A master’s degree in a relevant field such as Development Studies, Gender Studies, Agriculture, Environmental Science, Statistics, or Social Sciences. - At least 5 years of proven experience in conducting baseline studies, socio-economic surveys, or similar research in Lao PDR or Southeast Asia, preferably with a focus on climate change, gender, youth, or livelihoods. - Strong experience in quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis, including survey design, sampling methodologies, and statistical software (e.g., SPSS, STATA, R). - Experience in translating research findings into actionable recommendations and reports. - Proficiency in Lao and English (written and verbal). - Familiarity with child safeguarding and ethical research practices, particularly when working with youth and children. - Strong communication and facilitation skills, with the ability to train and supervise data collectors. - Experience working with international NGOs or development organisations is an advantage. **Desirable Qualifications:** - Experience in climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, or sustainable livelihoods projects. - Knowledge of the Lao context, particularly in Bokeo Province. - Experience in designing data collection tools for youth and women-focused studies. - Familiarity with Plan International’s safeguarding policies and gender-transformative approaches.