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Baseline Study Consultant for ENGAGE-South Project

Project:

ENGAGE-South (Empowering New Generations and Growing Environmental Stewardship in Southern Thailand)  

Background:

ActionAid is an international social justice organization operating in over 45 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe, and America, striving for a world free from poverty and injustice. With the Human Rights Based Approach (HRBA), ActionAid aims to strengthen the capacity of people living in poverty and exclusion to assert their rights. We believe in the power of people to bring about change for themselves, their communities, and entire societies. ActionAid has been working in Thailand since 2001 and was registered as ActionAid International (Thailand) Foundation (AAIT) in 2011 as a local non-profit organization. ActionAid works throughout Thailand with communities, civil society organizations, small school networks, government entities, academia, and media to support changing the lives of the poorest and the most disadvantaged.

Inequality remains a critical issue in Thailand despite significant economic growth and CSOs’ active role in supporting the most vulnerable communities. This stems from the country’s shrinking civic space and restriction of freedom of expression that limits CSOs’ intervention, which is crucial in influencing policies and holding the government to account. At the same time, the government’s climate change and environmental policy agenda, closely linked to the economic development project, has generated environmental and health risks, particularly the rising threat of infrastructure and industrial projects in the Southern regions.

With the support of the European Union (EU), ActionAid International (Thailand) Foundation (AAIT) is implementing the ENGAGE-South Project, along with two co-applicants: ENLAWTHAI Foundation (EnLAW) and Green South Foundation (GSF). In addition, six third parties are involved as sub-grantees, namely, Big Trees Foundation (BTF), Southern Youth Strengthening Network (SYSN), PATANI Youth Environment Policy Watch Network, Southern Human Rights Lawyers Network – SHRLN Songkhla, Southern Thai NGOs Coordinating Committee (SOUTH-NGOs-CORD) Songkhla, and Songkhla-Satun Network for Sustainable Development, Chana District, Songkhla.

The project aims to ultimately improve the governance of natural resources and environmental protection in Thailand, as well as protect human rights, including land and health rights of Thai citizens. In particular, the project will work to amplify the voices and leadership of women, girls, and youth and ensure their meaningful participation in the decision-making process that affects their communities and futures, with a focus on the environment.

This project will be implemented at the national level and in 12 provinces in the deep south, the Southern Economic Corridor (SEC), the Andaman Sea, and Songkhla and Satun. It also aims to enhance locally-led management and protection of the environment, mitigating the impacts of climate change in line with the principles of sustainable development, respect for local ways of life, and human rights. This will be achieved by empowering civil society – with a particular focus on youth activists, women and girls, local communities, and CSOs – to play a central and inclusive role in environmental governance and climate action. Estimated outputs of the project are listed as follows:

Estimated Output 1:  Communities, youth leaders, women, and CSOs develop increased awareness of management of natural resources (NRM), environmental protection and rights, and build skills and capacity to contribute to climate actions and awareness raising.

Estimated Output 2: Networking and collaboration among CSOs, academics, and local authorities (LAs) is enhanced to support locally led evidence building and the development of sustainable natural resource management (NRM) models.

Estimated Output 3: Participatory multi-stakeholder dialogue and awareness-building on NRM and ecosystem protection at local, regional, and national levels raise awareness and create space for climate action and advocacy.

Objectives of the project baseline:

The objective of the baseline study is to establish pre-intervention conditions against which changes resulting from the ENGAGE-South Project can be measured in targeted provinces and communities. The baseline will provide evidence to support effective project implementation, refinement of the log frame and indicators, and result-based monitoring and learning.

The baseline study will focus on conditions relevant to civil society participation in environmental governance and policy processes, the enabling environment shaped by state policies and services, and the pattern of engagement in climate action, as well as identifying constraints, challenges, and needs of the target population. In particular, the project focuses on empowering women, girls, youth, and marginalized groups to raise their voices and be meaningfully included in policy planning.

The specific objectives of the baseline study are:

• To assess the existing capacity, skills, and expertise of CSOs, including youth- and women-led CSOs, to engage in environmental governance, policy advocacy, and climate-related initiatives.
• To understand the current enabling environment for participation, including opportunities and constraints faced by targeted populations in influencing environmental and climate-related policies and decision-making processes.
• To examine the awareness, perceptions, and experiences of targeted populations regarding climate change impacts, environmental protection, and participation in governance processes at the local and national levels.
• To establish baseline values for agreed outcome and output indicators and provide evidence to inform the refinement of targets and indicators for mid-term review and final evaluation.

Finally, the project baseline will provide quantitative data to measure the situation of specific groups within the target populations, disaggregated by gender, age, and other relevant characteristics. Qualitative data will be used to contextualize, validate, and explain the quantitative findings. The findings will serve as a reference point for assessing progress and measuring changes in relation to the project’s objectives at mid-term and final stages.

Scope of assessment:

The baseline study aims to collect data and information from targeted CSOs, local partners, and marginalized populations to examine the current situation, needs, and gaps of targeted populations, as well as expected outcomes of the intervention.

The project target areas are in 12 provinces in the Southern Economic Corridor (SEC), the Andaman Sea, and the Deep South (Chumphon, Ranong, Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Krabi, Trang, Phatthalung, Songkhla, Satun, Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat). The target populations include community leaders (50% women), youth (50% women), CSOs, academics, community members, and local authority representatives, who are expected to directly benefit from the project’s intervention and implementation.

Design and methodology: 

The project baseline design should comprise both qualitative and quantitative data. Secondary and primary sources of data will be gathered, presenting sex, age, and inclusive representation of marginalized people, particularly women, girls, and youth. The methodology is expected to include appropriate desk research, field visits, surveys, Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), and interviews with key stakeholders, including targeted populations. On-site, online, or telephone methods can be properly arranged for gathering necessary data and information. 

The consultant will be responsible for developing an analytical framework aligned with the project’s logical framework and indicators, conducting data collection and analysis, synthesizing key findings, and formulating recommendations to inform project implementation and the log frame refinement.

The study design and methodology should be guided by the following questions:

1. What is the current status of awareness, capacity, and participation of targeted CSOs, women, youth, and community members in environmental governance and environmental policy processes at local, provincial, and national levels?
2. What existing collaborations and locally led initiatives support environmental governance and evidence-based policy engagement in the target provinces, and what key opportunities and barriers influence their effectiveness and inclusiveness?

The consultant carrying out the project baseline must ensure that the study design and analysis are informed by the OECD-DAC evaluation criteria, including relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, and sustainability, and that cross-cutting issues such as gender, youth, and environment are being considered and presented.

Expected approach to the project baseline:

AAIT is committed to ensuring all aspects of the project baseline process are included as listed below:     

Reporting back: The consultant should commit to feeding key findings and recommendations back to the communities involved in the baseline survey.

Transparency & ethical standards: The consultant should clearly explain to the communities involved in the baseline the purpose of the exercise and that their information will be used. The baseline should follow ActionAid’s ethical standards for research and data collection and should include a risk assessment covering security risks to the communities.

Community voices: It is essential that the evaluation reflects the voices of affected communities. People should be consulted as part of the baseline study, and their voices should be included in the baseline report as direct quotes and case studies. In line with ActionAid’s mandate, the baseline should prioritize people living in poverty and marginalized people, especially women and youth.

Women’s participation: It is essential that women’s voices are clearly heard in the baseline. As a guide, at least 50% of the people consulted should be women. The timing and location of assessment activities, as well as the composition of the consultant team, should be designed to maximize women’s ability to participate in the baseline survey.

Participatory approaches: AAIT expects the assessment to be as participatory as possible. A participatory evaluation approach should be used, engaging partner organizations and community representatives in the assessment process.

Transparency about methodology: The project baseline should include a detailed and transparent discussion of the methodology used and key decisions made in designing and implementing the baseline. This should cover information about the sampling approach (including the number of people/communities covered and the extent of its representativeness), the tools used and the reasons for their selection, and methodological limitations and gaps in the baseline survey.

Disaggregated data: Data must be disaggregated in as much detail as possible. At a minimum, this means disaggregation by age, sex, ethnicity, and/or group of populations.

Responding to urgent issues: Any information identified by the project baseline that requires urgent action should be immediately highlighted to AAIT, without waiting for the submission of the formal baseline report.

AAIT expects to use both quantitative and qualitative methods to collect and analyze data for the project baseline. The consultant should ensure that the methodologies used in this assessment are designed to encourage participation from the target groups. Additionally, a gender perspective should be incorporated into this process.  Furthermore, the findings should be made available for incorporation and application in future interventions. 

It is expected that a draft of the report will be submitted to the Project Management Team (PMT) of the ENGAGE-South Project at the indicated final submission date, allowing for review and comments before the report is finalized. 

Intended Users:

AAIT and partner organizations will incorporate and carefully examine the key findings from the project baseline report to understand the contextual situation of target areas and populations. The baseline report will be submitted to the European Union Delegation (EUD) with the annual report of the project. Recommendations from the external consultant will be proposed to the project stakeholders.

Roles and responsibilities:

The consultant will be working closely with the ENGAGE-South Project Manager, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, and partner organizations. The activity will be overseen by the ENGAGE-South Project Management Team (PMT), and project staff will assist in contacting the target groups, key stakeholders, and beneficiaries, as well as facilitating during field visits. In case of emergencies or any concerns related to field visits and data collection approaches, the consultant is required to contact or update the ENGAGE-South Project Manager. During the implementation of the baseline study for the project, expenses related to logistics, accommodations, fees, food and beverages, paperwork, data analysis, documentation, arrangements for key informants for interviews, and surveys shall be covered by the consultant.

Expected deliverables:

The agreed deliverables of the final report of the project baseline are:

• Final baseline report of no more than 30 pages (excluding annexes) in both English and Thai languages, including:
  • Cover page (title of the baseline report, date, name of consultants, photos)
  • Table of Contents
  • Executive summary of no more than 2 pages outlining the key purpose of the baseline, main points of analysis, key findings, conclusions, and recommendations
  • Introduction outlining the background to the ENGAGE-South Project baseline
  • Purpose and objectives of the ENGAGE-South Project baseline
  • Methodology/approach, project objectives and indicators used, and limitations of the baseline
  • Major findings (data analysis, including gender analysis, and lessons learned)
  • Recommendations
  • Annexes: details of data collection tools, schedule of field visits and meetings, list of participants interviewed and the approach used, bibliography of key documents consulted, photos, and related documents.
• The raw data (all transcripts, quantitative and qualitative data, data collection tools, photos, etc.) must be handed over to AAIT together with the final baseline report.
• A PowerPoint presentation of key findings and recommendations to the ENGAGE-South Project Management Team (PMT), project staff, and key stakeholders under the project.

Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in social sciences, monitoring and evaluation, international development studies, human rights, and related fields.
• At least 5 years of experience in conducting and managing evaluations, assessments, audits, research, or reviews of development projects and programs.
• Extensive knowledge of monitoring and evaluation in project development, as well as approaches and methodologies in monitoring and evaluation, especially the Theory of Change and the Logical Framework Approach, is preferred.
• Proven record in conducting research, surveys, baselines, and endlines, including monitoring and evaluation of project development funded by international donors.
• Proven experience in monitoring, evaluation, and learning of project development in the development sector is preferred.
• Fluent in English and Thai.
• Good understanding of Thai civil society, policy advocacy, state services, social protection, human rights, marginalized populations, poverty, global warming, sustainable agriculture, and natural resources. Knowledge in inclusive socio-economic development is an asset.
• Good presentation skills and ability to produce high-quality reports.
• Strong commitment to social justice, gender equality, and human dignity.
• Excellent attention to detail and evidence.

How to apply:

Interested candidates are requested to submit an electronic copy of a CV, baseline study proposal, and financial proposal by March 20, 2026, with the subject: “Baseline of ENGAGE-South Project” to jobs.thailand@actionaid.org.