Term of reference

For consultancy service to facilitate the learning and documentation of the lesson learnt from
the implementation an Oxfam’s programme on Poor Women’s economic leadership (PWEL) in
Vietnam

I. Background

Oxfam is seeking a/ group of consultant(s) to work with partners in Lao Cai and Ninh Thuan
provinces to support them in the process of learning and documentation of the lesson learnt from the
implementation of PWEL programme in practice and at local level, particularly at household and
community levels.

Poor Women’s Economic Leadership, refers to the processes and outcomes through which poor
women are able to effectively participate in, and meaningfully contribute to, economic decision-
making and to gain control over economic resources, on an equal footing with men – at the household,
community, national and global levels. Oxfam’s vision is that ‘millions more women will gain power
over their lives, and overcome the barriers that keep them in poverty’. To achieve this, poor women’s
economic leadership will need to be strengthened at all levels, from the household to the global. By
developing work on poor women’s economic leadership, Oxfam can make a significant contribution
to overcoming poverty and addressing inequality, through all aims - greater gender equality,
strengthened livelihoods, more right to a say, improved access to basic services and protection of life
and security. For more information about PWEL approach and tools, please follow the link:

http://growsellthrive.org/resources/learning-resources#Presentations

In Vietnam, Oxfam in partnership with local government and relevant agencies has implemented the
PWEL programme since 2011 through supporting poor ethnic minority women in the poor and remote
communities of Ninh Thuan and Lao Cai provinces to be active and fully engage in agricultural value
chains which are suitable and bring benefits for women. The programme has brought some changes to
the life of ethnic women themselves and their family in terms of income improvement and gender
transformation/ equality. For more information about PWEL programme in Vietnam, please follow
the link:

http://www.oxfamblogs.org/vietnam/category/livelihoodssinh-ke/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9ZFeYmGOUU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABficD8YdK8

In order to share the lessons learnt and good practices of the programme to wider community, we
would like to invite a/ group of enthusiastic expert(s) who can speak to and work together with our
local partners, beneficiaries to facilitate the learning process, systemize and document the lessons
learnt concerning the project’s cycle, rearrange and sharpen the project’s training curricular/
communication materials as well as present those documents in user –friendly appearances.

II. Objectives
 The assignment aims to support local partners and beneficiaries and other stakeholders to have an
insight reflection through the process and results of the PWEL program implementation in Vietnam in
order to find out what would be applicable or done differently in terms of partnership, project design
and implementation, and who should know the lessons. This will help to replicate the good practices
from PWEL programme in wider and deeper scale through knowledge sharing activities, advocacy.

III. Outcomes

The consultant(s) have to develop a set of communication materials that can reach the identified target
audience (s) (smallholder farmers, traders, agriculture extension workers, veterinarians, agribusiness
owners, Women’s Union cadres, Policy makers etc) based on the PWEL framework and real stories
from Lao Cai and Ninh Thuan. The stories will be shared to target audience(s) about the challenges,
failures, achievements, and lesson learnt of applying PWEL. The language of the communication
materials is Vietnamese, except some specific topics will have additional language versions based on
the requirement from the target audiences (will translate later based on the results of the assignment).
Consultant (s) must submit all the communication materials required for the assignment in digital
form which can be shared via the internet. In addition, the communication materials can be presented
in both forms of a whole set of documents or a separate/ independent document based on the key topic
(i.e gendered value chain development, women’s empowerment) or the target audience (i.e policy
makers, staff from development programmes, ethnic minorities).

Topic Target audience Purpose of the communi

Select and develop an Staff from district and provincial Department of Agriculture Detail guidance on marke
agriculture value chain that is and Rural Development (DARD), Women’s Union (WU), interventions
potential for poverty reduction Farmers’ Union (FU), and relevant development programmes
and women’s empowerment

Policy makers The importance and key s

or women’s empowermen

Organize smallholder farmers in
groups and facilitate collective
actions toward market-oriented
production
Leaders of farmers’ groups, village leaders The importance and key s
production at community
Staff from commune up to provincial level of DARD, WU, How to organize smallhol
FU, and relevant development programmes, private sector actions

How to mobilize and engage Leaders of farmers’ groups, village and commune leaders The benefits of each actor
different stakeholders, especially within a value chain.
smallholder farmers and private
sector to upgrade a specific Strategies to mitigate risk
value chain for both economic Private sector linkages (how to build up
and social empowerment how to find and enter to th
objectives

Local government, related agencies The role of local governm

enabling environment for

Approach to empower ethnic Local government, related agencies (DARD, DOLISA, AEC, Some simple and practica
minority farmers, especially to WU, FU…) and development programmes ethnic minority farmers (e
women on market access and
gender issues

Partnership/ coordination Local government, related agencies (DARD, DOLISA, AEC, How to integrate PWEL is
amongst key project WU, FU…) and development programmes
stakeholders for project
implementation and advocacy
work

Upscale and/ or replicate the Local government, related agencies (DARD, DOLISA, AEC, Tips for upscale and/or re
PWEL good models/ good WU, FU…) and development programmes
practices within and beyond the How to avoid mistake
PWEL projects

The applicability of PWEL MARD, MOLISA, WU What elements from PWE

framework in the context of
Vietnam, especially in the
remote ethnic minority areas

Notes:

The PWEL programme have a set of film on different topics, consultant(s) do not need to produce
the new ones

Consultants are welcome to indentify more lesson learnt topics and the appearance of
communication material beyond the above suggestion

IV. Approaches

The consultant(s) has to work with local partners and Oxfam staff to identify and develop key lessons
learnt from implementation PWEL projects through the key recommended steps:
 Desk review the PWEL programme in Vietnam (project proposals, projects’ reports, related
documents) and discuss with Oxfam staff for further information;

 Organise a learning workshop for local partners ( DARD, AEC, WU, District and commune
People’s Committees), and key beneficiaries (ethnic men and women as leaders from producer
groups) to map out key lessons learnt and identify target audiences of the lessons;

 Build capacity for local partners on how to organise and develop lessons learnt for self- learning
and for sharing (The process might include in-house/ distance training or coaching, conducting
field studies in order to encourage staff from local partners to indentify and write down lessons
learnt by themselves);

 Group and sharpen the selected lessons learnt and present them in innovative and user- friendly
forms which are based on the characteristic of target audience(s) and/or the purpose of sharing.

V. Location

Lao Cai and Ninh Thuan provinces

VI. Time frame

Between March- May 2015

March: Desk review, draft outline for communication materials

March: Field trip to Ninh Thuan and Lao Cai

April- May: Develop key communication materials for Ninh Thuan and Lao Cai

VII. Qualification requirements

 Proven experience, strong skills and innovative approach in project documentation; use of diverse
digital forms is an asset;

 Experience in advocacy and communication work is an advantage;

 Good knowledge and experience/skills in Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL), capacity
building (both formal and informal approach);

 Good knowledge and analytical skills in agriculture and rural development issues, particularly in
ethnic monirity and mountainous areas is preferable.
 VIII.Contact person

Interested person(s) should send his/ her CV together with a proposal and supporting documents that
show his/her capability to fulfill the tasks (e.g. training curriculum, documentary lessons learnt that
he/ she developed before) via email before 17th March 2015 to:

Le Thi Sam

Livelihoods programme officer

Oxfam in Vietnam

22 Le Dai Hanh, Hai Ba Trung, Hanoi

Email: LTSam@oxfam.org.uk