TERMS OF REFERENCE (TOR) FOR DEVELOPING AN INFORMATION MANAGEMENT, DATA PROCESSING AND ANALYSIS PLATFORM, BASED ON KOBOTOOLKIT AND POWER BI – Somalia

SOS CHILDREN’S VILLAGE SOMALIA PROGRAMM

TERMS OF REFERENCE (TOR) FOR DEVELOPING AN INFORMATION MANAGEMENT, DATA PROCESSING AND ANALYSIS PLATFORM, BASED ON KOBOTOOLKIT AND POWER BI.

1. INTRODUCTION

SOS Children’s Villages (SOS CVS) Somalia is a non-governmental social development organisation that has been active in the field of children’s rights and committed to children’s needs and concerns since 1985. SOS Somalia is currently active in the project locations of Banadir, middle shable, Bay and Bakool regions of Somalia.

During the intervening years, the Organization has continuously expanded its programmes and currently operates in Mogadishu, Hudur, Diinsoor, Elberde, Baidao, Bal’ad and Jowhar of South-Central Somalia and Hargeisa, Berbera and Sheikh in the Southwest zone of Somaliland.

The core bussines of SOS Chldren’s Villages Somalia is Child care. After the first children’s village in Mogadishu was opened in 1985 to provide altenative family like care to children who have lost parental care. SOS Somalia has continuously expanded its programmes in the care for children and provide Medical Care, Education, Youth care, Employment & Employability and Emergency Programes in Somalia. SOS Somalia has provided care and support to the Vulnerable communities in Somalia continuously without a break since 1985 to date.

These terms of reference serve as a request for expression of interest from individual consultants who will help SOS CVS to develop a monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEAL) information management system that digitalizes monitoring and evaluation forms (for assessment, evaluation, surveys, and PDM) which are then hosted in Kobo Toolbox, and uploads cleaned datasets into a Power BI dashboard.

PURPOSE OF THE CONSULTANCY

SOS CVS MEAL team collects substantial amounts of data (at process, output, outcome, and impact levels) within our programme interventions, that help monitor implementation progress and assess impact. Data is mostly collected through paper forms, but through this consultancy, we desire to digitalize the system using the open data kit (ODK) mobile data collection tools, with Kobo Toolbox as the data aggregator, cleaned and visualized in a Power Bi dashboard.

With large volumes of data collected in MEAL, it becomes increasingly challenging to timely process paper-based questionnaires and analyse this huge volume of data in almost real time, and track progress. In order to help us achieve a more efficient information processing outcome from our M&E tools, SOS CVS seeks to hire services of a consultant to develop such an information management, data processing and analysis platform – based on the Kobo Toolkit and Power BI.

It is expected that the consultant will provide information management recommendations and required support in setting up a mobile data collection system, preferably using API calls on Kobo, and shape and analyse datasets in R or Python, and finally create a visualization dashboard in Power BI. The system should be able to generate user-friendly reports and insights for evidence-based decision making. The consultant will also build the capacity of SOS CVS MEAL through training on maintaining and updating the system for a period of not less than 6 months after commissioning.

2. OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE OF WORK

2.1. Overall objective

The main objective of this consultancy is to develop an information management and visualization system that will support MEAL teams in real-time mobile data collection, storage, processing and analysing of program M&E data, and visualizing key indicators to support evidence-based decision making. The data management and visualization pipeline shall include the development of a system for data capture, submission, cleaning and shaping, and an interactive dashboard which will be the main system interface for managers.

2.2 Desired results

The consultant shall be expected to put in place an information management system, based on KoboToolbox and Power BI, that enables field MEAL teams to interactively work with data collected via mobile phone forms, GIS datasets and photos into a real-time reporting dashboard. He/she will be responsible for delivering results through a number of technical deliverables, but not limited to the following:

• System requirement/problem definition: At inception phase, the consultant will be expected to submit his/her understanding of user requirements, technical implementation details, and recommendations on the system proposed.
• Digitalize MEAL reporting forms: The consultant will work with the monitoring and evaluation team to digitalize activity reporting forms into ODK/Kobo compliant formats, and publish them to the SOS CVS KoboToolbox server.
• Develop data preparation and cleaning scripts – preferably in R or Python – that automate the process of extraction, cleaning, shaping of submissions submitted via KoboToolbox – preferably via API Tokens – and update the Power Bi data models accordingly.
• Power BI dashboard: Develop a power bi dashboard that consolidates and visualizes data from the digitalized MEAL reporting forms and data cleaning R/Python scripts.
• Training and system documentation: The consultant should be able to develop a standard operating manual that will document the technical and development process, and guide users on the use of the system. It is expected that the consultant will be available for at minimum 6-months after commissioning of the system to provide support.

2.3 Timing of the consultancy

The consultancy is expected to take place between 16^th of Feb to 10^th of March 2021. The duration of the assignment will be 25 days including travel days, excluding holidays and off-days. It is expected that much of the work will be done remotely and that the actual time line can be adjusted based on mutual agreement during inception phase.

3. REQUIRED SKILLS FOR THE CONSULTANTS

The following are minimum requirements for the consultant to be considered for carrying out the assignment.

• Ability to design and implement of v1/v2 KoboToolbox APIs for both internal and external data access
• Excellent analytical, detail-oriented, presentation and problem-solving skills
• Proven work experience as a data/system analyst, and developer including use of web enabled systems; prior experience in development of an information management system for humanitarian organization will be an added advantage.
• Experience in developing data visualization tools/dashboards using Power BI
• Experience with data modelling and statistical tools, preferably in R and Python
• Familiarity of mobile data collection platforms including KoBoToolbox, ONA and ODK
• Advanced degree (Masters level) in a relevant field (computer science, data/information management, advanced statistical analysis, information technology, software engineering and Monitoring and Evaluation)
• Evidence of similar works done in the last 3 years. SOS CVS will be interested to verify related assignments conducted in the past 2 years.

The criteria for selection are:

• Method: The proposed problem definition, system requirement analysis and technical recommendations
• Timetable/work plan: The timetable/work plan is realistic and meet the needs of the programme
• Cost: The cost of the proposal is reasonable and feasible
• Experience: The training and experience of the consultants in related recommendations from organisations for which the consultant(s) has previously worked.

All correspondence and submissions should be done through the Procurement email on

procurement@sossomalia.org or reach out through 0613333162

Please send your completed applications not later than 15^th feb, 2021.

4. SIGNATURES

Programme Director (Name) ___________________ Place: _________Date: _________________

Consultant (Name) ___________________ Place: _________Date: ________________