Draft Terms o f Reference-TORs

Location Islamabad

Project Name
Strengthening the legal framework and civil society for an
inclusive Pakistan
Research Study
Generating evidence on government social protection programmes

Background:

Pakistan, the fifth most populous country globally, stands among the 15 nations where the population of
people aged sixty and above surpasses 10 million. Presently, an estimated 6.9% of Pakistan's total
population, approximately 16.5 million people, fall into this age bracket. However, UN projections indicate
that this figure will surge to an astounding 36.6 million by the year 20501, signifying a significant
demographic shift towards an aging population. World Population Prospects - Population Division - United Nations
Recognizing the evolving dynamics of its population, Pakistan has embarked on a legislative journey to
safeguard the rights and well-being of its older people. Notably, the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
and Sindh enacted Senior Citizens Welfare Acts in 2016. Additionally, a significant milestone was
achieved at the federal level with the enactment of the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Senior Citizens
Act in 2021. This pioneering legislation specifically addresses the rights and protection of older people
within the Islamabad Capital Territory, marking a historic development in the realm of older people’s
rights in Pakistan.

In partnership with the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) of Germany
and HelpAge Germany, HelpAge International has embarked on a 3-year project titled "Strengthening
Legal Framework and Civil Society for an Inclusive Pakistan." This project is being executed in the Punjab
province and the Islamabad Capital Territory, with the overarching objective of advancing the rights and
inclusion of older people.

The project, with the support of an external consultant/consulting company, will include three studies
and analyze, in the context, refers to the effort to ensure that older people are fully integrated into
society and that their needs and rights are responded to, with a particular focus on assessing the extent
to which this is achieved. Specific programs under consideration will include prominent government
programs such as the EHSAAS Cash Transfer Program, Health insurance (Sehat Saholat), and the
Baahimat Buzurg program. For only data collection, the civil society organizations trained through this
project will be involved, which will allow for quick and cost-efficient data collection.

The findings and recommendations of these comprehensive studies will be channeled into a series of
three workshops. These workshops will serve as platforms for presenting the study findings and
recommendations to pertinent government bodies and policy makers. This critical step underscores the
project's commitment to influencing policy and effecting tangible change, ensuring that the rights,
dignity, and quality of life of Pakistan's diverse older population (demographic group) are upheld and
protected.

Objective of studies:
As mentioned previously, these envisaged studies will focus on assessing the effectiveness of
government-implemented social security programs, including the EHSAAS Cash Transfer Program, health
insurance Sehat Saholat, and Baahimat Buzurg, aimed at supporting vulnerable groups in Pakistan. For
this research study, a mixed methods approach will be employed, incorporating both quantitative and
qualitative methods.
The aim will be to assess the inclusiveness, sustainability, and identify potential access barriers that
older people (Above 60) or Persons with Disabilities face in benefiting from these programs. The
recommendations on the inclusivity and sustainability of social protection measures will be presented to
the Health and Social Protection Departments in three workshops. These studies are expected to
contribute towards further technical support to the government to ensure sustainability and to expand
into other provinces.

The specific objectives are to:

1) Assess to what extent the programs have met their targets and to what extent they
contributed to the protection of older people aged 65 and the programs have contributed to
the income security and overall well-being of older people and people with disabilities, as well
as their impact on these individuals themselves.
2) Analyze the inclusiveness of the EHSAAS Cash Transfer Program, health insurance, and
Baahimat Buzurg schemes in addressing the needs of vulnerable groups, particularly older
people and people with disabilities.
3) Identify and assess potential barriers older people and people with disabilities face in accessing
and availing of the benefits provided by these social security schemes.
4) Present the findings and recommendations from the studies to relevant government agencies
and policymakers to improve the existing programs and make them more accessible and
beneficial to the target population.
5) Prepare a comprehensive national status report and a shorter (published) policy brief on the
situation of older people in Pakistan with specific policy recommendations to enhance their
well-being and quality of life.
6) Review the inclusivity and sustainability of the programs during the research and after the
research based on the results with consultant, Health and Social Protection Departments.

3.Scope of work

The research study will include the following components:

a) Review existing literature, reports, and data on the EHSAAS Cash Transfer Programme,
health insurance Sehat Saholat, and Baahimat Buzurg programs, focusing on their
implementation and impact on vulnerable groups, especially older or impaired individuals.
b) Focusing on the study area (Punjab) on older people design and implement quantitative
and qualitative data collection tools, including for surveys, interviews, and focus group
discussions, and key informant interviews. Data Entry/Data Quality Control/Data
Management and Field data Collection through randomly sampling Size. The lead
evaluator will collect data at government institutions with appropriate data collection
methods/tools. Methodological design should allow for comparison of results across age,
genders, Socio-Economic and disability status (for older people).

c) Analysis of data collected to assess the social security schemes' inclusiveness and identify
potential barriers older or impaired individuals face in accessing these schemes. This
should include quantitative data analysis using an appropriate software (e.g., SPSS, STATA) and
qualitative data analysis focusing on specific themes.

d) Organization of a session with the research team to reflect on the entire research process.
Discussion of what went well, what challenges were encountered, and whether there were any
unexpected findings.
e) Development of clear and actionable policy and programmatic recommendations to address the
identified barriers and improve the inclusiveness of the social security programs.
f) Prepare a comprehensive national status report of focused area and an accompanying policy brief
on the situation of older people in Pakistan, highlighting their challenges, needs, and potential
policy/programmatic interventions for improvement.
 g) Organization of three workshops/meetings with approximately 50 participants each,
comprising government officials, civil society representatives, and other stakeholders, to
present the research findings and recommendations for further discussion and
refinement.

h) Collaborate with relevant government agencies, civil society organizations, and

stakeholders involved in the Programme.

4. Specific study questions and issues to focus on during the research

4.1 Relevance:

• To what extent were target communities (older people and people with disabilities) and
stakeholders (including government) involved in the needs assessment, design, and
implementation of the response?
• Was the methodology used for the beneficiary selection relevant and were older men and women
and people with disability in the target communities involved in the process? What measures were
undertaken to ensure the inclusivity of the selection process?

4.3 Effectiveness:
• Measure the effectiveness of the social protection programs in achieving its intended objectives.
This involves evaluating whether the program's activities and interventions have resulted in the
desired outcomes, such as poverty reduction, improved well-being, and enhanced social
protection of older people specifically.
• Did the monitoring system used to capture the correct information at the appropriate times
throughout the program? Was the project adapted based on information gained from monitoring?
• What are the major accomplishments of the program?
• What were the major factors influencing the achievement or non-achievement of the objective?

4.4 Impact:
• Examine the overall income security and wellbeing impact of the social protection programs on
the target beneficiaries and their households. This entails analyzing both the intended and
unintended consequences of the program and identifying any positive or negative externalities.
• Who were the direct and indirect/wider beneficiaries of the program supported? (Provide Age,
disability and gender disaggregated data);
• Have there been any community-level impacts?
• To assess the social protection programmes by examining their alignment with the needs and
priorities of the target population. Evaluate whether the programmes address the identified
challenges and whether they complement other initiatives.

4.5 Sustainability:
• To know the sustainability of the program's impact over the specific population. To identify
whether the benefits are likely to continue once the program concludes or if there are any
challenges that may undermine its sustainability or continuity.
4.6 Coherence:
• In how far did the programme measures fit the social protection context?
• Analyze the coherence of the Social Protection programmes with other related initiatives and
policies. Identify any potential synergies or conflicts between this program and other social
protection schemes.
4.7 Mainstreaming/Integration of Cross Cutting Issues:
• To what extent does the programme take gender transformative approach?
• To what extent does the programme take into consideration vulnerable and marginalized
groups?
• To what extent does the programme consider the diverse identities and abilities of older
people?
4.8 Lessons learned, information sharing and debriefing:
• Were there any significant changes or challenges in the programme design or the programme
context?
 • For whom could these lessons have relevance?
• Have lessons been shared during the life of the programmes– with whom, and to what effect?

5. Outputs and deliverables

A complete approved research report and a policy brief includes desk review, analysis, interviews/FGDs
data, and recommendations.

The assignment should be completed in a maximum of 08 weeks in the [Nov-Dec 2023]

Inception report:

An inception report shall be presented to HelpAge International based on the ToR and a study of the
documentation, outlining the understanding of the task and an initial assessment of the relevant issues
for discussion and comments as well as an initial literature review (outline the terms of the study and
approach) and detailed report outline. An initial meeting will be scheduled with HelpAge in order to discuss
the ToR and the inception report.

Draft report:

The consultant will submit a draft Report to the HelpAge International. The report should be analytical,
assess the results achieved and lessons learned, and include conclusions and recommendations. The
draft will be submitted to HelpAge for comments. Comments will be communicated by the research team
back to the consultant within 5 days.

Final report:

The final research report will be submitted within ten days after considering the feedback from the
HelpAge International. The report should be a maximum of 20 pages, excluding annexes, presented in a
way that makes the information accessible and comprehensible with evidence-based findings,
conclusions, lessons, and action-based recommendations, use a consistent and conventional system for
footnotes and references in the text, and be structured in the following manner:
● Title page
● List of acronyms and abbreviations
● Table of contents, including a list of annexes
● Executive summary
● Introduction: background and context of the research study
● Description of the project – it's logic theory, results framework
● Purpose of the evaluation
● Key questions and scope of the evaluation
● Approach and methodology
● Findings (with thematic sub-sections, including analysis and interpretation of findings)
● Conclusions
● Lessons learnt and recommendations
● Annexes (Including one case study)

Policy brief

Report format as well as the format of the policy brief will be finalized by the evaluation team in
consultation with HelpAge International

Presentation:
The consultant will prepare a PowerPoint presentation outlining the research process, main findings and
recommendations present to HelpAge and relevant government agencies and policy makers in the
workshop.
Consultant’s required qualifications, competencies, and skills

● Master’s Degree in Social Sciences and MPhil or PHD will be preferred

● Minimum of 7 to 10 years of experience in research studies with Government sector specially
on social protection programs.
● Good demonstration and presentation skills.
● Proven capacity to effectively analyze, and present data/information.
● Excellent communication and writing skills in English, ability to organize and synthesize
information in a systematic manner.
● Ability to communicate effectively in Urdu and English.
● The consultant/lead consultant must have the ability to travel in Pakistan.
● The consultant/lead consultant should have strong analytical and conceptual skills.
● Proficiency in MS Office, PowerPoint and data analysis by using different software.
● Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive constructive attitude.

Submission of the proposal

• Proposal from the interested consultant firms outlining how they meet the selection criteria and
their understanding of the ToR (may include Similar or relevant experiences of working on older
people and persons with disabilities, conducted similar kinds of studies and surveys. Their
understanding of the Age, gender, disability, and diversity issues prevalent in Pakistan and
familiarity with international standards for the inclusion of older people and persons with
disabilities, national and international legislation/instruments related to age and disability
inclusion,
• A summarized description of the scope of work, the intended methodology to be used, and a
tentative work plan including activities and time frames.
• Names and contacts of three recent professional referees (previous clients) for whom similar work
has been conducted.
• An example of similar pieces of work completed recently.
• Curriculum vitae (CV) outlining relevant qualifications, skills (e.g., drafting, analysis of
quantitative and qualitative data) and experience.
• Itemized financial proposal.

Interested consultants/firms shall submit their proposals (Technical and financial) by 05/10/2023 by
Time at the following address in the name of the Procurement Committee.

HelpAge International, Office 6 Ground Floor, Shah Tower, E-11/2, Islamabad, Pakistan

Please write “Submission of Proposal for Generating evidence and studies on government social
protection initiatives” on the envelope.