ANNEX-F   TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR INSTITUTIONAL CONTRACT           Study (an initiative to establish current knowledge around a specific topic through the descriptive summarization, interpretation or assessment of information and data)         Research (systematic process of the collection and analysis of data and information, in order to generate new knowledge, to answer a specific question or to test a hypothesis)         Evaluation (rigorous, systematic and objective process in the design, analysis and interpretation of information to answer specific questions)   Title of the assignment Analyze Social and Behavior Change (SBC) barriers impeding progress in Maternal, Infant and Young Child Nutrition (MIYCN) and develop community engagement guidelines and materials for use in Rohingya Refugee Camps in Cox’s Bazar. Purpose The purpose of this assignment is to investigate barriers to the adoption and practice of specific maternal, infant, and young child nutrition-related behaviors which will inform the design of Community Engagement (CE)-SBC interventions following a human-centered design approach. The exercise will better position UNICEF to refine MIYCN communication materials and build the SBC capacities   required for Nutrition and SBC partners and community-based nutrition workers to improve maternal and child nutrition in Rohingya refugee camps. Location 33 Rohingya Refugee Camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.  Estimated Duration 10 months upon signing the contract. Reporting to Technical Supervisor of this assignment Social and Behavior Change (SBC) Officers in Cox’s Bazar, in collaboration with Nutrition Section focal in Cox’s bazar and with technical oversight of SBC Manager in Dhaka.   Background: The Standardized Expanded Nutrition Survey (SENS) 2023 reveals worsening malnutrition among Rohingya children with wasting prevalence at a critical level of 15.1 per cent increasing from 12.3 per cent in 2022.  Similarly, the prevalence of severe wasting has tripled, from 0.7 per cent in 2022 to 2.0 per cent in 2023. Wasting prevalence is more prevalent among children aged 6-23 months (19.0 per cent) compared to 24-59 months (12.7 per cent). Similarly, 2024 admissions trend among children aged 6-59 months with severe wasting show a 26 per cent increase (rising from 3,558 to 4,483) and moderate wasting by 45% (raising from 13,436 to 19,462) compared to the same period between January to May in 2023. Stunting among children under five remains high at 41.2 per cent, and anemia continues to be a significant issue, affecting 38.1 per cent of children under five and 24.1 per cent of women of reproductive age. Diarrhea prevalence has increased from 9.5 per cent to 21.6 per cent among children 6-59 months, with higher rates among younger children. In addition, the 2023 SENS survey highlights several critical issues pertaining to Maternal Infant and Young Child Nutrition (MICYN) practices. The prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life was 69.9 per cent, and 79.2 per cent of children aged 6-8 months received age-appropriate semisolid foods. However, 36.5 per cent of children stopped breastfeeding two years. It is noteworthy that stunting trends suggest inadequate nutrient intake during the complementary feeding period[1]. Both severe and moderate wasting treatment program coverage reached 90% and 86%, respectively, according to the Mass MUAC screening conducted in May 2024. Only 2% of children with wasting were not enrolled in the treatment programs, and the remaining children with wasting who were not in the treatment program were covered by the Blanket Supplementary Feeding Program (BSFP).  According to SENS 2023, measles vaccinations (98.5%), vitamin A supplementation (90.6%), deworming (97.4%), and program coverage for BSFP (93.5%) were above targets for children under five. Program coverage for women of reproductive age was 89.3% for Antenatal care (ANC) and 86.0% for BSFP which was slightly below the 90% target. All pregnant and lactating women attending the nutrition facilities are provided with IYCF counselling and messaging. The highest malnutrition rates are among children under two, highlighting the need for focused preventive programs during early life stages [2]. Early breastfeeding initiation was high at 84.9 per cent, but exclusive breastfeeding within the first two days was low at 46.9 per cent. Continued breastfeeding among children aged 12-23 months was 78.4 per cent. Complementary feeding practices showed timely introduction among children 6-23 months was at 74.8 per cent, but poor dietary diversity and low adherence to WHO criteria for a minimum acceptable diet were significant concerns. High consumption of sweet beverages and unhealthy foods among children aged 6-23 months underscores the need for interventions to promote healthier eating habits and improve overall nutrition. The recent survey results highlighted significant quantitative findings but lacked qualitative data and analysis to understand the social and cultural beliefs, practices, and norms around Maternal, Infant, and Young Child Nutrition in the Rohingya community. Therefore, SBC section aims to support the Nutrition programs in Cox’s Bazar by identifying social, cultural, and environmental gaps in recommended MIYCF and care practices, building the SBC capacities of nutrition programme partners, strengthening community engagement, and reviewing strategic communication materials to enhance the adaptation of optimal MIYC nutrition behaviors and practices. The SBC in UNICEF is a change strategy that addresses the cognitive, social, and structural determinants of social and behavior change in both development and humanitarian contexts. SBC uses the latest in social and behavioral sciences to understand people, their beliefs, values, and the socio-cultural norms that shape their lives, with the aim of engaging them and increasing their influence in the design of solutions for sustainable social and behavior change. SBC is at the core of UNICEF’s mandate, with corporate results across sectors revolving around social and behavioral practices around immunization, breastfeeding, hygiene, and positive discipline etc. TSBC employs a mix of approaches including community engagement, strategic communication, applied behavioral science, service delivery improvement, systems strengthening and policy advocacy, and social mobilization to advance child rights, survival, development, protection, and participation. Within the framework of UNICEF’s Bangladesh country program, the outputs of SBC are intricately constructed into the fabric of sectoral outcomes. The SBC, along with Community Engagement, emerges as a transformative strategy to improve the impact of the nutrition status among the beneficiaries who are provided with direct services through adaptation of the optimal behaviors/practices. UNICEF and its implementing partners have developed Minimum Quality Standards and Indicators for Community Engagement (CE)[3] and a Community Engagement in Humanitarian Action Toolkit (CHAT).[4] UNICEF Bangladesh has adapted CE standards though consultative process and developed capacity of the different organizations.   The Minimum Quality Standards and Indicators for Community Engagement establishes a common language among all stakeholders for defining community engagement principles, key actions, goals and benchmarks. It provides guidance for gender-sensitive community engagement approaches in high-, middle- and low-income countries, and in development and humanitarian contexts, across all sectors. UNICEF considers community engagement as a foundational action for working with traditional, community, civil society, government, and opinion groups and leaders; and expanding collective or group roles in addressing the issues that affect their lives. Community engagement empowers social groups and social networks, builds upon local strengths and capacities, and improves local participation, ownership, adaptation and communication.   Through community engagement principles and strategies, all stakeholders gain access to processes for assessing, analyzing, planning, leading, implementing, monitoring and evaluating actions, programmes and policies that will promote survival, development, protection and participation. CE and SBC approaches are being used by development professionals, policy makers and practitioners including government, UN organizations, non-government, and civil society organizations.   Therefore, it is important to enhance the understanding, appreciation, expertise and access to tools and techniques for effective community engagement varied across the organizations and within sections of UNICEF. The minimum standard and indicators on CE provides a systematic way of following so that the approach helps maximize programme results.    The quality and results of community engagement interventions supported by UNICEF have a direct correlation to the capacity of its implementing partners and to the approaches and tools that are employed by the partners.   UNICEF Bangladesh conducted a study[5] on community engagement aiming to assess the community engagement capacity of UNICEF Programme implementing partners and counterparts for the planning, implementation, and monitoring of community engagement and the approaches and tools these partners employ for community engagement. This study has identified significant gaps in capacity and understanding of community engagement quality assurance and recommended expedited action to build capacity of partners implement community engagements initiatives and activities that meets quality standards.   The Community Engagement in Humanitarian Action Toolkit or CHAT is a compendium of guidance and practical tools that addresses Community Engagement for Social and Behavior change (CE, SBC) programming needs for natural hazards, conflict and fragile situations, disease outbreaks and epidemics, and complex humanitarian emergencies. Moving away from generic guidance and addressing high quality programming needs across different emergencies, the toolkit has full CE, SBC guidance tailored to provide relevant, timely and people-centered interventions in natural hazards, conflict and fragile situations, disease outbreaks and epidemics, and complex humanitarian emergencies. CHAT also links community engagement actions for all elements of Humanitarian Programme Cycle (HPC), including needs assessment and analysis, strategic response planning, resource mobilization, implementation and monitoring, operational review and evaluation.   This assignment will consider these documents as the basis for developing CE- SBC- capacity building packages for Rohingya response. Additionally, UNICEF SBC Section recently completed a comprehensive SBC capacity-building assessment of its programme partners. The capacity-building plan is available with the section. The Section has developed a pool of master trainers to enhance the community engagement capacity of partners. The SBC capacity-building initiatives for Cox’s Bazar requested in this contract should build on these existing efforts.   Purpose and Objectives The assignment is intended to develop community engagement guidelines in Rohingya Refugee Camps in Cox’s, helping to refocusing of CE-SBC and Community engagement interventions to enable increased adoption and practice of desirable MIYCN behaviors by parents and caregivers in the Rohingya camps. Formative research will be conducted to uncover the barriers impeding CE-SBC progress in maternal, infant, and young child nutrition in Rohingya refugee camps. The research will collect insights from camp-based nutrition workers and partners to pinpoint gaps and tailor the materials and interventions to ensure they are consistent with the context. The research will enhance better understanding of the SBC capacity gaps among nutrition partners and community nutrition volunteers and inform measures to equip them with the necessary skills to deliver the SBC and community engagement components. The assignment will   ultimately inform review of the current MIYCN communication materials used by nutrition partners for CE-SBC purposes in the camp and identify gap analysis that will further support to contextualize the findings from survey reports and research results. This alignment will enable UNICEF and its programme implementing partners to scale the SBC and community engagement initiatives across various camps.   The specific objectives of the assignments are: Review existing literature and secondary data to pinpoint barriers hindering nutrition-related maternal and childcare practices. This includes analysing nutrition-related knowledge, beliefs, practices, and cultural norms, aiming to identify qualitative data gaps.   Conduct rapid formative research to bridge data gaps to uncover drivers and barriers affecting the utilization of recommended nutrition-related maternal, infants and child feeding and care practices by pregnant women, postnatal mothers, and children under five years old.   Review existing SBC materials, tools, approaches used by various nutrition partners to promote recommended MIYCF and care practices and propose further contextualization of the materials as needed.   Conduct capacity-building needs assessment of partners and relevant workers and develop a context-specific training module. Combining IPC, community engagement, and SBC, the hiring agency will provide training to relevant partners on IPC, CE, and SBC to effectively implement SBC interventions in the camp areas.   Develop community engagement guidelines for the Rohingya camps, aligned with associated SOPs and other guidelines related to maternal, infant, and young children. The existing community structures/influencers in the camp will be mapped out and outlined in the community engagement guidelines to promote recommended nutrition related practices. The guidelines will be validated by Nutrition Sector in the camps, and partners will be oriented on their application. Key ToR tasks: Organize an inception meeting to ensure clarity on the assignment with relevant UNICEF team members. This will include a clear methodology for both qualitative and quantitative exercises and a sample design best fit for Rohingya Response. Develop an inception report based on the Terms of Reference (ToR), detailing the comprehensive plan for the entire assignment, including the execution of formative research/assessment and analysis, describing responsibilities, and establishing a time schedule. Constitute technical review team comprising internal and external stakeholders to provide technical guidance and direction throughout the process. Conduct a thorough literature review and secondary data analysis focusing on existing evidence regarding specific key maternal, infant and child nutrition and caring practices. Identify qualitative data availability and gaps to inform the design of the formative assessment. Execute the formative assessment in selected Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar district, compiling a detailed report to be shared with nutrition partners, relevant government entities, and UNICEF for review and endorsement. Review relevant guidelines/SoPs on nutrition programme operations Rohingyas in the Cox’s Bazar District camps and based on the formative research findings, develop a community engagement guideline to be used by the nutrition partners/field workers with the aim of systemic community engagement following quality standards and sustainability of the adopted nutrition behaviours and practices. Orient the application of community engagement guideline to the partners.  Assess the SBC capacity needs of community nutrition volunteers, supervisors, managers, and partners, and share the capacity-building needs assessment report. Based on the capacity-building needs assessment report, develop a customized module for the training combining IPC, community engagement, and SBC. Conduct training sessions for the field workers, supervisors, and programme managers of the nutrition response as needed.   Methodology   The conceptual framework for this assignment will be based on the behavioral drivers’ model, which focuses on psychological, sociological, and environmental drivers of behaviors. It is expected that this will leverage and build on existing/available materials.    UNICEF recently completed a comprehensive capacity-building assessment SBC programme partners as well as a pool of master trainers to enhance the community engagement capacity of partners. The SBC capacity-building initiatives for Cox’s Bazar is expected to build on these existing efforts.    A comprehensive and participatory approach should be employed to investigate the social and behavioral change barriers impeding maternal, infant, and young child nutrition (MIYCN) practices. This will include but not limited to identifying and analyzing cultural norms, knowledge gaps, attitudes, and structural challenges influencing MIYCN behaviors. The methodology should prioritize reaching diverse audiences, including caregivers (mothers, fathers, grandparents), healthcare providers, community influencers, and local leaders, to understand their roles and perceptions regarding MIYCN practices. Investigating these barriers is essential to develop evidence-based interventions that address underlying drivers of behavior, promote positive practices, and ensure cultural relevance and sustainability. Meaningful engagement with community stakeholders throughout the process to foster ownership and enhance the impact of the proposed interventions should be prioritized.   This research will follow a mixed method of both quantitative and qualitative approach including literature review, stakeholders’ interview to capture behavioral insights including comprehensive understanding of the cultural, social and environmental factors. Considering the ongoing program and community context, strength-based approaches including appreciative inquiry (use empowering questions so that the inquiry process itself empowers the community without producing guilt and feeling of emptiness) and participatory methods are encouraged to adopt engaging research participants in exploring community practices, understanding challenges, understanding enablers and the barriers for social and behavioral change. Detailed methodology including sample size and geographic scope for the specific location both the camp and host community could be finalized during the inception phase of the research in consultation with reference group members.   Research Questions[6] What are the prevalent beliefs and practices related to Maternal Infant and Young Child Nutrition (MICYN) practices (breastfeeding, complementary feeding, wasting, stunting and malnutrition)? What factors influence caregivers’ decisions on MIYCN practices? What are the roles of family members in influencing MIYCN related behaviours and practices? What is the level of awareness of mothers and caregivers about MIYCN indicators? What are the MIYCN challenges to uptake Nutrition services? What factors will increase community’s willingness to engage in programmes promoting MIYCN?     Ethical consideration The research agency must follow the ethical consideration of UNICEF stated below: Outline the ethical considerations for the proposed activity. Include (i) a general statement on the requirement of agencies to adhere to UNICEF’s Procedure for Ethical Standards in Research, Evaluation, Data Collection and Analysis;  ii) outline any specific ethical risks or concerns expected for this activity (e.g. data collection with vulnerable groups, such as children); iii) state the requirement for personnel of agencies/partners who are conducting data collection with human participants to have appropriate ethical training, which at a minimum should include completing UNICEF’s AGORA course on Ethics in Evidence Generation; iv) state the requirement to store data securely and specify who will have access, and to share only de-identified/anonymous data with others (where relevant, requesting agencies/partners to outline how they will ensure secure storage and transfer of data); v) where applicable, state the requirement for formal IRB approval for the study/evaluation, and that this process needs to be taken into account in the timelines for the activity (see UNICEF’s Procedure for Ethical Standards in Research, Evaluation, Data Collection and Analysis). If relevant, and especially for evaluations, this section should also comment on requests for bidders/agencies to ensure there is no Conflict of Interest as well as outline any possible risks of bias that are foreseen and ask bidders/agencies to outline how they will safeguard against these. For evaluations, state the requirement for all consultants to sign and uphold the UNEG Code of Conduct for Evaluation in the United Nations system.     Deliverables and payment schedule: Key tasks End products/deliverables Timeframe Payment schedule Submission of inception report with detailed action plan, methodology, sample design, data collection and analysis, draft questionaries and timeline Constitute a technical review team with multi-sectoral experts to provide feedback throughout the study process. Conduct a literature review and secondary qualitative data analysis of existing evidence on key MIYCN nutrition and care related optimal practices, with a specific focus on identifying the availability of qualitative findings in these areas. Detailed Inception Report including methodology and sampling.   Simple ToR for and list of technical review team members.   3 weeks after signing the contract  10% of the payment Develop and pre-test research tools Submission of Finalized Research Tools  5 weeks after signing the contract         30% of the payment Conduct formative research based on the findings from the literature review/available survey reports to meet the data gap. Cumulate the secondary data analysis and formative research findings and develop a comprehensive report. Share with Govt. partners, nutrition cluster partners and UNICEF. Obtain input from relevant stakeholders, finalize the report, and complete the endorsement process in coordination with UNICEF Nutrition, SBC and SPEAR and nutrition cluster partners Formative Research Report Submitted 16 weeks after signing the contract Conduct a robust review of the SBC materials, tools and approaches related to MIYCN being used in the Camps. Review the effectiveness of the materials and facilitate further contextualisation of the materials as needed. Reviewed SBC Materials, Tools and Approaches 20 weeks after signing the contract Conduct rapid assessment on capacity gap of SBC Community Engagement on Nutrition Completion of Capacity Gap Assessment and Submission of Report. 25 weeks after signing the contract     30% of the payment   Review and revising of existing training materials on SBC community engagement for Nutrition. Field tests the module/review with existing partners. Facilitate training sessions including a TOT for nutrition and SBC partners and community nutrition volunteers as required. Finalize the TOT and training module based on feedback from the training sessions, as needed.  Revised contextualized SBC training module for Nutrition 30 weeks after signing the contract Leveraging insights from the formative research, capacity gap assessment and existing community structures, and other nutrition related guidelines/SoPs, and based on human-centred design approach, revising existing SBC community engagement guidelines for promoting MIYCN practices in the camp. Share the guidelines with relevant cluster partners, govt. officials and UNICEF for review, clearance, and endorsement. Orient nutrition cluster members/nutrition workers on application of the community engagement guidelines. Revised/updated SBC CE Guideline on promotion of MIYCN 35 weeks after signing the contract  Final Deliverables Completion Report Formative Research Report SBC-CE Capacity Gap Assessment Training Modules Final versions of revised SBC materials Based on requirements produce at least one/two publications. Submission of Final reports including the formative research report, capacity gap analysis report, training reports and final project completion report with all materials/documents. 40 weeks after signing the contract Final 30% of the payment   The Institution will coordinate with the SBC Team for day-to-day guidance in collaboration with the Nutrition team in Cox’s Bazar, for reviewing of work progress, protocols, questionnaires, assessment tools etc. as and when required. The SBC Section Chief and SBC Manager in the country office will provide oversight and technical guidance as and when required on the methodology, data collection tools/reports and guidelines etc.     End products: Inception report with methodology and sample design SBC materials review report with recommendations and contextualization of the materials CE-SBC capacity building gap assessment report using standard tools. TOT module (Session plans, session evaluation format, takeaway materials, training evaluation format, training materials) on SBC, community engagement -contextualized and tailor made. Training report conducted with partners. Community engagement guidelines and tool kit print-ready versions. Formative research report Final completion report and PPT (Preface, executive summary, introduction, methodology, key findings, recommendations/way forward including a comprehensive SBC/Nutrition plan) Shorter version of final report for advocacy purpose     Payment Schedule First instalment:  10% upon submission of Inception Report Second instalment: 30% upon submission of secondary data analysis report, conducting formative assessment and sharing a comprehensive report. Third instalment: 30% upon submission of capacity gap assessment report, contextualize module and organising training for the partners.   Fourth instalment: 30% upon submission of CE guidelines, submission of the assignment completion report, design and printing of the new SBCC materials based on the needs and producing one/two publications in consultation with UNICEF.          Qualification requirement of the company/institution/organization   Demonstrated understanding of social and behaviours change concepts in each of the UNICEF programme areas particularly nutrition and health, among team lead and/or experts on team, with 10+ years of experience on research and social and behaviour change and community engagement programmes/interventions. 10 years or more experience in conducting quantitative and qualitative research, with demonstrated skills in a wide range of national level studies. Experience in conducting formative research in Rohingya camps will be an added advantage.  Experience conducting SBC research and capacity building will be considered as an added qualification. Proven experience in the use of participatory, qualitative, and quantitative assessment/analytic methodologies and background in multi-disciplinary, mixed methods research, using qualitative data analysis tools, and preparing into rich, succinct, and conclusive narrative reports. Solid experience to review and analysis the effectiveness of social and behaviour change/strategic communication materials, and solid understanding on the contextualization. Demonstrated capacity to develop module and provide training to a wide range of stakeholders including community-based workers, Programme managers, and others, equipping them with essential skills on social and behaviour change, interpersonal Communication and community engagement. Institutional record of accomplishment in applying social, and behaviour change communication, capacity strengthening, integration of cross cutting commitments such as gender, disability, disaster risk reduction in training materials. Have at least 10 years’ experience on community engagement and social accountability mechanism Strong analytical and report writing skills in English and communication skills. Burmese, Bangla and Rohingya languages will be required for editing and communication. Must be able to work/operate legally in Bangladesh.       [1] 2023 STANDARDIZED EXPANDED NUTRITION SURVEY (SENS) [2] Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) survey methodology, In Rohingya Refugee Camps and Host Community in Cox’s Bazar District-Bangladesh-2022. [3] 19218_MinimumQuality-Report_v07_RC_002.pdf.pdf (unicef.org) [4] https://knowledge.unicef.org/social-and-behavior-change/resource/community-engagement-humanitarian-action-toolkit-0#:~:text=The%20Community%20Engagement%20in%20Humanitarian,and%20epidemics%2C%20and%20complex%20humanitarian [5]https://www.hdrc-bd.com/community-engagement-capacity-assessment-conducted-for-unicef-year-2022/)   [6] The research questions are not exhaustive rather will be refined and expanded during inception and research phase.