Data Collector at Ground Truth Solutions (GTS)

Ground Truth Solutions (GTS) is an international non-governmental organisation that helps people affected by crisis influence the design and implementation of humanitarian aid. As an enumerator, you are tasked with carrying out data collection using tools designed by Ground Truth Solutions to capture the perceptions and feedback of affected people. Enumerators must comply with ethical standards of research and abide by Ground Truth Solution’s Code of Conduct throughout the entirety of their employment.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Data Collector

Location: Nigeria
Job type: Consultancy

Summary

• Ground Truth Solutions seeks the services of a survey/research firm for data collection in Nigeria, using perception surveys designed by Ground Truth Solutions (GTS). We are looking to track attitudes, perceptions, and preferences of communities in northeast Nigeria in relation to cash and voucher assistance (CVA) received and the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The requested services include the finalization of the survey instrument and sample design; data collection (face-to-face surveys); data processing, translation and cleaning. The services will be one round of face-to-dace data collection.
• Data collection will cover the following areas and regions (subject to amendments based on discussions with data collection firm and in-country actors):
  • Adamawa:
    • Maiha – 222
    • Mubi North – 222
    • Mubi South – 222
  • Borno:
    • Jere – 222
    • Konduga – 222
    • Maiduguri – 222
  • Yobe:
    • Geidam – 222
    • Nangere – 222
    • Yusufari – 222
• The draft questionnaire can be found attached (subject to edits and additions).

Purpose and Scope:

• The purpose is to track community perceptions of affected people who have received CVA in the last 12 months through surveys designed by Ground Truth Solutions. Interviews will be conducted with recipients of CVA, to be identified with a filter question (have you received cash transfers or vouchers in the past 12 months).

In carrying out this assignment, the appointed data collection company will be expected to:

• Work closely with GTS in the finalization of survey tools (including translation of survey questions from English into Hausa, Kanuri and Shua Arabic) and the survey methodology.
• Appoint, train and manage a team of capable enumerators, with appropriate education levels and experience in collecting both qualitative and quantitative data from people affected by humanitarian crisis.
• The data collection agency needs to ensure adequate behaviour of enumerators and appropriate language skills or translators to accompany them to work with ethnically diverse groups of affected people.
• Ensure that enumerators are provided with materials and training they need to enable them to complete the assignment within the timeframe, including training on collecting data with Kobo Toolbox and the survey provided by GTS.
• Share the live raw data set with identifiers stripped out daily with GTS.
• Facilitate face-to-face surveys with recipients of humanitarian aid, based on the sampling approach shared by GTS.
• Ensure the security of the completed survey forms and data until it has been successfully received by GTS. The data must be deleted by the data collectors upon the request of a GTS Programme Manager.
• Conduct and submit test survey results in CSV or Excel format, to GTS, for finalisation of Excel template.
• Capture the survey data correctly, though Kobo Toolbox (after submission of dummy data points), for electronic submission to GTS by the agreed due dates.
• Submit weekly short progress reports on the fieldwork that will cover:
• Number of successfully completed interviews
• Progress against the selected respondent category targets (e.g. region, gender, status)
• Records of attrition rates (interviews started but not completed)
• Any other relevant observations and issues
• Submit a final report after data collection, covering the number of successfully completed interviews; adherence to agreed survey and sampling strategy; and any relevant observations and issues.

Quality Assurance:
The following measures need to be taken to ensure that the data quality is of a high standard and accurately captures the opinions of affected people while respecting the sampling strategy and other guidance shared by Ground Truth Solutions:

• Share the enumerator training material with GTS prior to the training for input and feedback.
• Ensure that all interviews are an appropriate length (around 20 mins and no shorter than 10 mins). GTS reserves the right to reject any interviews under 10 mins as it does not adhere to our quality assurance standards.
• Submit 10 initial data points including translations for quality assurance after the test day or first day of data collection according to the GTS format guidelines.
• Share daily updates with GTS on the data collection progress including:
  • The number of interviews completed
  • Locations breakdown
  • Gender overview
  • Status (IDP, host community)
  • Number of interviews refused
  • The interview times with start and end times
  • Names of enumerators
  • Any challenges or issues faced.
• Provide GTS with access to the live data via Kobo Toolbox or comparable solution in order to allow them to conduct daily quality assurance checks on the data and provide feedback to the Data Collector.
• Ensure supervision of enumerators conducting surveys to make sure that the project explanation is accurate, questions are being asked in a clear way, and that responses are being accurately recorded.

Responsibilities

• Keep a low profile and do not attract excessive attention to yourself or research participants.
• Remain aware of your surroundings and potential security risks. Adapt research to security risks and maintain strict confidentiality.
• Refrain from consuming any alcoholic beverages or recreational drugs during working hours (including lunch breaks as the consumption will affect your performance afterwards).
• Obtain informed consent. If the participant has only agreed to participate in the survey, you have not obtained informed consent. Participants must understand who you are, how you will use their information, and the possible consequences for themselves and their communities. Explain that participation or refusal to participate will not have any effect on the individual’s prospects of receiving assistance in the future.
• Ensure that participants understand the difference between receiving aid and participating in research.
• Remain aware of ethical issues and the inherent power imbalance between researcher and research subject. Do not force or intimidate people to answer for the sole purpose of fulfilling your data collection objectives. Treat informants as key actors in evaluation and not simply as the objects of evaluation. Participants should be respected throughout the research process. This includes being attentive to their welfare and security and protecting their privacy and confidentiality. For this reason, you should abstain from smoking during interviews and have your phone on silent. You should never take calls during an interview.
• Do not ask people to come to you in another location to conduct an interview, as this poses a risk to their safety and security. If you are not conducting individual interviews or house visits, notify GTS immediately to confirm a change in approach. Do not keep respondents waiting.

Code of Conduct:

• Ensure that all enumerators adhere to the Ground Truth Solutions Code of Conduct for Enumerators (Annex A). If any aspects of the Code of Conduct have not been adhered to, Ground Truth Solutions reserves the right to withhold payment completely or until data has been collected in line with the above code of conduct.
• In cases where the enumerator’s behaviour constitutes a fundamental breach of the Code of Conduct, leading to the safety / wellbeing of participants being compromised or resulting in reputational damage of the organisation, Ground Truth Solutions reserves the right to immediately terminate the contract of the enumerator’s and the Data Collector.
• In cases where it is brought to the attention of Ground Truth Solutions that the actions of enumerators have constituted a clear breach of safeguarding practices, (e.g. sexual exploitation and abuse) Ground Truth Solutions will also report this to relevant authorities.

Code of Conduct for Enumerator:

• Safety first: the safety of both the enumerator and the survey participant should always be prioritised over research interests. Enumerators should avoid putting themselves or others in danger during the data collection process.
• Informed consent: ensure consent is entirely voluntary and acknowledge that unequal power dynamics arising from the enumerator-respondent relationship can make it difficult to do so. It should be made clear that contribution to the survey will not result in direct changes to aid provision. Participants should also be given a focal point contact at the data collection company should they later decide that they no longer consent to their data being shared.
• Do no harm: avoid inducing further trauma by following the ‘do no harm’ principle. This principle requires humanitarian organisations and their partners to avoid exposing people to additional risk. In practice, this means that enumerators must remain neutral and aim to mitigate the potential negative effects of data collection enumerators should strive to redirect the conversation if traumatic topics emerge which the enumerator has not been trained to handle. Participants should not be urged to share their experiences of trauma under any circumstances. In such cases, it is important to notify your supervisor of this.
• Manage expectations: there is a risk that false expectations will arise if enumerators do not properly explain the purpose of the survey. This can be unfair to those in a vulnerable situation and creates a reputational risk for Ground Truth Solutions. If respondents believe that Ground Truth Solutions has the capacity to implement certain changes but do not, future data collection efforts may become difficult. This can be mitigated by ensuring participants are fully aware of the objectives and rationale of the survey.
• Confidentiality: reassure participants of the confidentiality of the data collection and clarify that Ground Truth Solutions is independent from any aid agency. Participants may have concerns that participation will have negative repercussions on their safety and well-being. In such cases, participants should be reassured of the confidential and anonymous way in which data is collected, stored, and disseminated.
• Safeguarding: enumerators are prohibited from engaging in discrimination and abusing the authority of their position. Sexual exploitation and sexual abuse amount to a failure to adhere to ethical obligations and signify a clear breach of contract. “Sexual exploitation” is defined as any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, power, or trust, for sexual purposes – including, but not limited to – profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. The term “sexual abuse” is understood as the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions. Enumerators are also prohibited from engaging in sexual relations with a child – here defined as any human being below the age of 18 years – in any context. If there are incidents of misconduct by enumerators, enumerators are required to report the incident(s) to the data collection company for review.
• Empowerment: we abide by the commitment to treat participants as key actors in evaluation and not simply as the objects of evaluation. This can be done by ensuring that participants are informed about the nature, purpose, and results of their participation.
• ‘Closing the loop’: every effort should be made to provide participants with the means to access the results of their participation in data collection activities. This can be done by sharing the website/Facebook/email details of Ground Truth Solutions, which will be provided to you during training if the participant has given their consent.
• The enumerators will be informed prior to data collection which medium will be used for sharing the data with respondents. It should be emphasised that their contact information would be only used for sharing data with respondents and for no other purpose.

Breach of Conduct:

• If any of the above code of conduct has not been adhered to, Ground Truth Solutions reserves the right to withhold payment completely or until data has been collected in line with the above code of conduct.
• In cases where the enumerator’s behaviour constitutes a fundamental breach of the code of conduct, leading to the safety / wellbeing of participants being compromised or resulting in reputational damage of the organisation, Ground Truth Solutions reserves the right to immediately terminate the contract of the enumerator and the independent data collector.
• In cases where it is brought to the attention of Ground Truth Solutions that the actions of enumerators have constituted a clear breach of safeguarding practices, (e.g. sexual exploitation and abuse) GTS will also report this to relevant authorities.

COVID-19:

• The Data Collector is required to describe in detail protective measures taken to ensure the safety of enumerators and respondents during data collection.

Survey Methodology and Sample Design:

• There will be around 15 questions, including demographic questions. Questions will be multiple-choice, binary and Likert scale questions, and will include some open-ended questions.
• The field researchers will identify themselves as working for an independent organisation and as completely independent from the aid organisations working on the ground in Nigeria.
• No respondent is required to identify himself or herself by name, and no reader of the survey data (or subsequent reports we will write) will be able to identify individual respondents.
• Surveys will be conducted in the regions listed under 1.3. Summary (subject to discussions with the Data Collector and humanitarian actors in-country.
• Sample size: 2000 surveys with men and women, aged 18 and above who have received CVA in the past 12 months, will be conducted in total across specified areas in northeast Nigeria using a random sampling approach targeting the following demographic split of respondents by:
  • Gender (+/-10%):
    • 50% men
    • 50% women
  • Status (+/-10%):
    • IDP (43%)
    • IDP returnee (20%)
    • Host community (37%)

Deliverables:

• The expected deliverables are: verification and translation of survey tool; Completion of data collection; Submission of translated open-ended questions; Submission of transcribed data in the Excel template format;
• A short report after the data collection covering the number of successfully completed interview, adherence to agreed survey and sampling strategy, and any relevant observations and issues; completion of a brief enumerator survey (online).

Timeframe
The data collection will begin in September 2020, with submission of the data no later than 25th September 2020 (including translations).

• 25th August: Deadline for submission of proposals for data collection
• 28th August: confirmation of data collector
• 31st August: Survey translated
• 1st – 6th September: enumerator training (time allowed for separate training across the three collection locations.
• 7th – 21st September: data collection, daily quality checks.
• 25th September: submission of cleaned data with translations of open-ended questions.

Contractual Arrangements:

• The agreement will be between the appointed data collection company and GTS, and it will specify quality and assurance checks on the data. The agreed overall budget will be paid in full upon satisfactory completion of the subtasks specified within the agreement. Failure to satisfactorily complete the tasks may result in the agreement becoming void.
• The data collection company and its staff will be expected to conduct themselves in accordance with the requests and guidelines of GTS, when moving around and engaging with affected people. Before surveying can begin, all necessary permission and consent need to be sought from the relevant authorities and/or organizations operating in the country.
• All data and work produced during this engagement will be the sole property of GTS, and the data collection company will have no authority to use or disseminate any of it without prior approval by GTS.

Application Closing Date
Tuesday, 25th August, 2020.