The contractor will design and implement a multi-annual mixed-methods survey and qualitative research for the ILiPS and CDRD projects in South Sudan. The services include the development, adaptation and translation of questionnaires for household surveys, including a dedicated module on women of reproductive age. The questionnaires must follow a layered design with "must-have" questions for donor reporting and project steering, "should-have" questions to ensure context-specific adaptation of core themes, and "nice-to-have" questions that can be added according to regional or cohort-specific needs. All tools are to be translated into relevant local languages and pre-tested in the field to ensure clarity and feasibility, and must be designed in a conflict-sensitive and culturally appropriate manner.
Sampling must ensure representativeness at state and cohort level with a margin of error of eight percent for both state-level and displacement-strata estimates. Each beneficiary sample shall be matched by a control group of non-beneficiaries in neighbouring Payams, representing half the sample size. The contractor will apply stratified random sampling and use a digital data collection tool, preferably Survey Solutions on GIZ servers, in order to guarantee secure and efficient handling of data. Comprehensive training of enumerators, field supervision and quality assurance measures are required throughout.
The contractor will carry out household surveys for each cohort at the relevant survey stage. For ILiPS, this includes midline data collection in two states in 2026. For CDRD, this includes midterm and endline data collection for the 2024 and 2025 cohorts, as well as a final endline across all states in 2028. The surveys will gather information on sustainable food production capacity, income-generating activities and diversification, household consumption patterns and nutrition, as well as the adoption of sustainable farming practices following project-supported trainings.
The mixed-method approach further includes qualitative research through Focus Group Discussions and Key Informant Interviews. These serve to provide deeper insights into community perceptions of project interventions, barriers to adoption of sustainable practices, and the roles of women and youth in income generation. The qualitative findings complement the quantitative survey data by explaining why certain changes occur, identifying structural and cultural factors influencing livelihoods, and highlighting lessons for future interventions.
All collected data must be cleaned, validated and analysed. The contractor is responsible for preparing analytical reports for each round of data collection, integrating both quantitative and qualitative findings. Reports shall include descriptive results, trend analyses, and clear recommendations for project management and donor decision-making. The contractor must ensure ethical data handling, compliance with the "do no harm" principle, and avoidance of structural bias. Dissemination of findings to the partner system and local stakeholders is an integral part of the assignment, ensuring that results are accessible and contribute to learning beyond project boundaries.
Finally, the contractor must establish a robust operational and security plan for data collection in the fragile context of South Sudan. This includes clear timelines, staffing, coordination with GIZ and implementing partners, risk assessments, contingency planning and adherence to humanitarian security protocols. The assignment therefore requires an experienced research organisation with proven expertise in large-scale data collection in fragile contexts, strong methodological capacities, effective field presence and security systems, and experience in agricultural and food security surveys. The contractor must ensure high-quality delivery across all phases of implementation, while maintaining conflict sensitivity, context appropriateness and methodological rigour.