Historique

There exists an extensive body of literature on the definition, measurement and analysis of poverty. Much of this literature however, focuses on analyzing poverty at a national level, or spatial disaggregation by general categories of urban or rural areas. Yet for an individual Municipality or community attempting to tackle the problems of poverty, this level of aggregation is not sufficient for answering specific questions such as where the poor are located in the Municipality, whether there are differences between poor areas, if access to services varies by subgroup, whether specific programs are reaching the poorest, and how to design effective poverty reduction programmes and policies.

Data regarding the size, characteristics and living conditions of the national population as well as individuals and specific social groups in Trinidad and Tobago, has been collected via various data collection instruments. These include the Population and Housing census taken every ten (10) years, the Household Budgetary Survey (HBS) and the Survey of Living Conditions (SLC). The HBS and the SLC more specifically yield data from which living conditions and poverty status of the population can be determined, measured and assessed. HBS have been undertaken since 1971/1972 and the SLC commenced in 1991. An updated SLC is currently being undertaken within the Ministry of People and Social Development. It is expected that the consultant should review the documents identified in Appendix I, before developing the brief methodological description on how to complete this assignment.

In an attempt to identify and understand poverty at the municipal and community levels, a pilot exercise is being undertaken in the Borough of Arima. The objective of this pilot project is to profile poverty within the Arima Borough Corporation; collate community assets and needs; and ascertain public and private sector services, programmes, infrastructure, facilities and amenities. These activities will be conducted with a view to streamline programmes/projects and the allocation of resources in communities and regions to effectively meet the needs of the poor in each community.

The Arima Poverty Profile project is to be implemented in two (2) concurrent phases. A Survey Design and Survey Expert will be hired to, inter alia, generate an aggregate poverty index for the Borough of Arima, and a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) expert will be hired to develop a framework database for application in the development of a Poverty Profile for the Borough of Arima. It is expected that both Experts will collaborate in the Arima Poverty Profile - Pilot Project.

Devoirs et responsabilités

The following outcomes are expected from the Survey and Design expert in the fulfillment of the Arima Poverty Profile Pilot Project:

• I. The development of evidence-based policies and programmes for the Arima Borough Corporation;
• II. The development of a survey model that can be utilized by other municipal corporations; and
• III. Capacity building for identified staff from the Arima Borough Corporation and the various staff represented on the multi-sectoral working group.

Candidates are asked to note that the Multi-Sectoral Working will supplement their human resource in the completion of the Poverty Profile (See Appendix III for complete listing of Working Group members).

The key deliverables for this project would be:

• I. Inception Report – Report 1: This should include a schedule detailing timelines for each phase of the project would be undertaken and completed, together with a Work Plan and a timetable of planned activities and deliverables;
• II. Design of poverty profile for the Borough of Arima – Report 2: This should be a detailed design of the poverty profile;
• III. Arima Poverty Profile – Report 3: This should be the completed, detailed poverty profile for the Borough of Arima; and
• IV. Transfer of knowledge to technical staff – Report 4: This should be conducted through a mixture of mentoring and training (e.g. in the areas of conducting focus groups and the analysis of data).

Compétences

Functional Competencies:

• Excellent oral communication skills and ability to manage group dynamics and mediate conflicting interest of varied actors;
• Excellent written communication skills with analytic capacity and ability to synthesize relevant materials for the preparation of quality project reports;
• Maturity and confidence in dealing with senior and high ranking members of institutions;
• Ability to work under pressure.
  

Qualifications et expériences requises

Education:

• A post-graduate University degree in the social sciences, poverty studies or related field.

Experience:

• 8-10 years working experience in survey co-ordination and poverty analysis;
• Experience in database creation, data filling and working with large data sets;
• A minimum of 5 years’ experience in Survey Design, Sampling, Fieldwork, Data Processing and Statistical Analysis (familiarity with data processing and data analysis software, e.g., SPSS would be highly desirable) and land use planning principles;
• Expertise in qualitative data analysis and research methods.

Language:

• Fluency in oral and written English.
  

This Procurement Notice is targeted to Individual Consultants only and not firms or companies.

Proposals should be submitted at the below mentioned email address no later than Friday 27^th June, 2014 with the subject e-mail "Design and Survey Consultant".

Address: 3A Chancery Lane, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago

The Procurement Notice including the Terms of Reference (TOR) can be obtained by visiting the UNDP website at: http://www.undp.org.tt/procurement