Government of Malawi

National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC)

Governance to Enable Service Delivery (GESD) Project

Terms of Reference for Design and Implementation of National Citizen Satisfaction Survey

1. Background

The Government of Malawi with support from the World Bank have designed and launched the Governance to Enable Service Delivery Project (GESD).  The objective of GESD is to strengthen district Local Authorities’ (LAs) institutional performance, responsiveness to citizens, and management of resources for service delivery. The project represents a 5-year, USD $100 million commitment by the Government of Malawi to address the challenges of translating the accelerated decentralization of key service delivery sectors to Local Authorities (LAs). 70% of the project funds (USD $70 million) will be dedicated to the introduction of a new Performance Based Grant (PBG) which will have the potential to significantly increase the discretionary development financing available to Malawi’s 28 rural LAs, but tied to the achievement of results.

Enhancing citizen engagement is central to GESD’s design and theory of change, which aims to foster positive, self-reinforcing cycles of performance and institutional reform. By expanding the discretionary development resources available to LAs, the PBG aims to strengthen local governments’ ‘downward accountability’ to citizen priorities. The PBG performance measures (PMs) further incentivize responsiveness through targeted efforts to intensify engagement by LAs with citizens at key points of the project investment cycle. The project also will develop a facility to support strategic partnerships between government (national and district-level) and CSOs that seek to scale up proven social accountability initiatives (for example, scorecards, public expenditure tracking, social audits).

One of GESD’s four Project Development Objective (PDO) indicators is ‘strengthened responsiveness to citizens’ measured by an increase in citizen satisfaction with preparation and implementation of District Annual Investment Plans (AIPs). Specifically, this would be measured by citizen feedback on 4 aspects of the AIP: opportunity for participation; efficiency of implementation; responsiveness to citizen needs; transparency of process.

The National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC) is the fiduciary agency of the project. Other key implementing partners are:  the Ministry of Local Government, the Ministry of Finance, National Audit Office (NAO), Central Internal Audit Unit (CIAU), Accountant General’s Department (AGD), Department of Human Resource Management and Development (DHRMD), Local Government Service Commission (LASCOM), E-Government, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, PPDA and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food security.

2          Citizen Satisfaction survey

The National Local Government Finance Committee would like to use part of this grant to conduct a National Citizen Satisfaction Survey. The results of the survey will primarily provide the key stakeholders with evidence on the current status of quality of service delivery by councils in the project districts. The project will be able to use the findings of the survey in order to report on the project development objective indicator on ‘strengthened responsiveness to citizens’ as part of the GESD Monitoring and Evaluation Results Framework. It will also serve as a key input for the project’s adaptive learning approach in order to promote a robust approach to monitoring the efficiency and effectiveness of implementation, encourage innovation, fine-tune the monitoring system and make necessary changes in the activity plan as appropriate. Further, the findings and recommendations from this survey will also enable relevant MDAs to initiate necessary policy reforms towards improving service delivery provisions by councils. The findings of the survey will serve to improve the performance of councils in a manner that will enhance cost effectiveness, gender sensitivity and inclusion, and responsiveness to the special needs of the poor.

It is against this background that NLGFC would like to recruit a consulting firm or a team of consultants to conduct a National Citizen Satisfaction Survey with the capacity for collection of real-time data from citizens, the beneficiaries of the GESD Project.

3          Objectives of the survey

The National Citizen Satisfaction Survey will capture “citizens' voice” on the effectiveness of public service provisions of councils through eliciting views of stakeholders including communities and representatives of councils. The overall objective of the survey is to find out how citizens perceive and value services made available by councils – with a particular focus on citizen satisfaction with preparation and implementation of LA Annual Investment Plans (AIPs). This first round of survey will serve as baseline for future surveys measuring the citizen satisfaction with LAs service delivery in Malawi.

Specific objectives of the survey are:

• Obtain citizen feedback on the adequacy and quality of public services provided by councils;
• Elicit information about citizen participation in decision making process of councils, efficiency of implementation, responsiveness to citizens, transparency of process;
• Determine the level of awareness of citizens and council officials on their mutual rights and responsibilities.
• Derive recommendations that would be of use to the GESD project for planning future activities and promoting dialogue with and between stakeholders to achieve better results in the future.

4          Scope of work

The scope of work for this study include:

1. Identify and propose a detailed methodology, based on international good practices, for conducting this Citizen Satisfaction Survey
2. Review legal provisions and mandates related to the role of councils in delivering services
3. Acquire perceptions of the responsiveness of councils in regards to citizens’ priority service needs
4. Elicit opinions of the ability of councils to effectively represent citizens and the degree to which representative bodies are held accountable for their decisions and the services that they provide
5. Carry out a set of well-structured field observations and consultations, on the current state and scope of services being delivered to communities
6. Obtain perceptions of the capacity of councils to effectively carry out their duties including feedback on the services provided by these councils
7. Explore, reflect and identify areas and options for actions whereby councils could contribute to improve service effectiveness

The research framework for the Citizen Satisfaction Survey should be developed with the reference to overall project objectives. As such, survey questions are likely going to focus on the following issues:

• Citizens’ participation in planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development projects in the Annual Investment Plan (AIP); budget analysis and expenditure tracking for effective public service delivery.
• Levels of knowledge of citizens on roles of different actors at council level and development funding schemes at local level.
• Capacity level of key actors at council level to deliver effective and efficient services which are responsive and demand driven.
• Governance and accountability processes notably in policy dialogue and public expenditure tracking at local level.
• Opportunities and challenges at the local level to monitor public expenditure.
• Availability of the political and civic space to navigate the structures that would help people participate in budget tracking and expenditure monitoring.
• Specific skills set that are available and the gaps available i.e. budget analytical capacities, both on the side of citizens and district councils.
• Citizens’ ability to significantly influence projects, budgets and policies at local level.
• Levels of engagement between the public and the councils in providing periodic feedback on projects and budgets implementation.

5          Approach/Methodology

The survey will be executed using a participatory and collaborative approach. This will involve working closely with NLGFC team. The consultants will develop a survey methodology based on their understanding of the overarching objectives of the survey and perform a technical assessment to identify the optimal use of technology, including interactive voice recognition (IVR) to deliver the survey in a wide-ranging and cost effective manner, while ensuring methodologies are not exclusionary to key segments of the population.

6          Deliverables

• An inception report prior to the commencement of the survey, confirming the consultant’ understands of the TOR as well as their technical and financial proposal for this work.
• A desk review Report summarizing the consultant’s analysis of relevant research, policies and strategies relating to Citizen Satisfaction surveys.
• Validated research protocol and tools for data collection.
• Draft report submitted and presented to project team.
• Final Citizen Satisfaction Survey report drawing together data collected during desk review and primary data collection process (hard and soft copies). The final report should be submitted in English in a standard format as per agreed reporting template.

7          Time frame

The implementation period for the assignment is ninety (90) days and the expected start date of assignment is November 2021.

8          Requirements/ Consultant’s Profile

The consultant will be an experienced professional with a demonstrated track record in providing similar surveys in Malawi and/or neighbouring countries. Competencies and qualities within the firm’s (or consortium of firms) team should include:

• Advanced Degree in the field of governance and development, social research or other relevant social science subject.
• At least 10 years of experience in conducting citizen satisfaction surveys, or related field or equivalent combination of education and experience;
• Firm experience implementing mobile surveys will be an added advantage;
• Demonstrated in-depth (i) knowledge of policy & process of gathering relevant & accurate information & evidence for M&E purposes; (ii) proficiency of systems, methods, and techniques used in evidence collection, management, and documentation such as surveys.
• Ability to identify the needed resources to accomplish results involving multiple stakeholders and finds solutions to obstacles affecting key deliverables.
• Proven ability and flexibility to work simultaneously on a variety of tasks, meet deadlines, and provide quality outputs.
• Excellent English drafting skills.

Interested candidates are invited to submit the following application documents:

1. A copy of CV of the consultant/s who will be assigned to lead the assignment.
2. A proposal detailing (a) how the consultant/s meet the selection criteria and (b) their understanding of the TOR.
3. A sample of relevant reports or publications.
4. Contact details of 2 referees from immediate past clients.

Please send your applications on and or before the close of the business on 2^nd September, 2021 to:

The Chairperson

Internal Procurement and Disposal of Asset Committee

National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC),

Red Cross Building Area 14,

P.O. Box 31162,

Lilongwe 3