BUILDING A HOUSEHOLD ECONOMIC PLAN AND ADDRESSING GENDER STEREOTYPES IN DAILY LIFE AND PRODUCTION

TERMS OF REFERENCE

SUPPORT AND MONITORING OF 350 COUPLES IN BUILDING HOUSEHOLD ECONOMIC PLANS AND ADDRESSING GENDER STEREOTYPES IN DAILY LIFE AND PRODUCTION IN CHIENG YEN COMMUNE

Project: “Economic Empowerment of Ethnic Minority Women in Van Ho District, Son La Province through Support for Participation in the Agricultural and Tourism Market Systems”

I. BACKGROUND

The Northwest Development Cooperation Center (abbreviated as NWD) is a local non-governmental organization, established on October 18, 2011, in accordance with the Vietnamese Law on Science and Technology. The organization’s founders are young people of the 8x generation, who aspire to use knowledge, science, and technology to promote socio-economic development in rural and mountainous areas facing difficulties in Vietnam. NWD’s areas of activity include:

• Consulting – Training
• Impact Investment – co-investing with farmers to develop household economies
• Research and Policy Advocacy

In 2023, the Northwest Development Cooperation Center (NWD) is implementing the project “Economic Empowerment of Ethnic Minority Women in Van Ho District, Son La Province through Support for Participation in the Agricultural and Tourism Market Systems”. The project is funded by the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) and is being implemented over 23 months in two communes, Van Ho and Chieng Yen, in Van Ho district, Son La province. The overall objective of the project is to increase the economic empowerment of ethnic minority women in Van Ho district by supporting their equal participation in the agricultural and tourism market systems. One of the important outputs of the project is training to improve capacity in household economic development planning with gender mainstreaming.

To achieve this goal, the Northwest Development Cooperation Center will recruit consultants to implement Activity 3.2: Support 350 couples (700 people) to develop plans to change economic decision-making and gender stereotypes in daily life and production in Chieng Yen commune, and Activity 3.3: Monitor and support the implementation of plans to change economic decision-making and gender stereotypes in daily life and production activities of 350 couples.

II. OBJECTIVES

• Objectives of Activity 3.2

  • Support 350 couples (700 people) in developing plans to change their household’s economic decision-making.
  • Reduce gender stereotypes in daily life and production activities.
  • Raise awareness of the role of women in family economic development.

• Objectives of Activity 3.3

  • Ensure that economic plans and gender stereotype changes are implemented in accordance with the set direction.
  • Provide timely support to couples during the implementation of economic plans and make adjustments when necessary.
  • Evaluate and acknowledge the difficulties, challenges, and initial successes in the implementation process.

III. SCOPE OF WORK AND IMPLEMENTATION TIMELINE

The training course will be organized in person in Van Ho district, Son La province.

The consultant will prepare and carry out the following tasks:

• Activity 3.2 – Organize direct guidance for households through training courses (Minimum 10 classes, 1 day/class)

  • Design training content and program for one day for participants (couples), with a maximum of 35 people per class.
  • Provide direct advice and support to 350 couples in the process of developing plans to change economic decision-making and reduce gender stereotypes.
  • Complete and submit a report after the training course, including proposals/recommendations for improvement related to the training course.

• Activity 3.3 – Organize and implement 2 monitoring and support sessions (10 days/session)

  • Monitoring: Conduct periodic monitoring visits to track progress and evaluate the implementation of economic plans and gender stereotype changes.
  • Support: Provide advice, guidance, and technical support to couples during the implementation of plans, including adjusting and improving activities if necessary.
  • Reporting: Record results, evaluate the effectiveness of implemented plans, and propose solutions to overcome problems arising during implementation.

IV. EXPECTED RESULTS

The consultant is expected to provide:

• Activity 3.2

  • Training content and program designed to suit ethnic minority groups: Knowledge is focused, easy to understand, and highly applicable. Ensure a balance of time between theory and practice so that learners can grasp the teaching methods and knowledge about finance and household economic development planning.
  • The training course takes place as planned, achieves its objectives, ensures timeliness, and meets the expectations of the Organizing Committee and trainees.
  • 350 household economic plans are developed and incorporate gender aspects.
  • The post-training report is complete as required, on time, and the recommendations (if any) are constructive, helping to improve future activities.

• Activity 3.3

  • Monitoring report: Report on the progress and results of monitoring activities, including specific recommendations for each couple.
  • Support report: Summarize issues arising during implementation and how they were addressed, along with improvements made to the original plan.

V. QUALIFICATIONS AND CAPABILITIES

The consultant will be selected based on the following criteria:

VI. APPLICATION SUBMISSION

Interested candidates (consultant groups or consulting organizations/companies) are invited to submit a complete application before 9:00 AM on September 4, 2024, via email to contact@northwest.com.vn. The complete application should include:

• Technical proposal including the expected timeframe, teaching methods, and financial proposal for conducting the training course (including consulting fees and other expenses).
• Curriculum vitae of the candidate (consultant group or consulting organization/company).

Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for further interviews and selection.