National Survey on Civic and Political Awareness in Maldives Maldivian Democracy Network
Purpose of the assignment:
To conduct a scientific study, in collaboration with an international research consultant, that will establish a political awareness baseline in the Maldives.
No central body, or literature currently features this data, exploring the political knowledge of the electorate, how they receive their political information, how the masses combat disinformation, level of influence information sources play at manipulating the public opinion, establishing a relationship between level of cynicism and level of political awareness among many other factors. The absence of this data is not only leading to unsustainable program design, but a mismatch in educational and capacity building efforts. Such a study will inter alia inform future programmatic objectives of international donor agencies, local civil society organization engagement efforts, and program and curriculum design by government agencies.
Scope of Work / Assignment
1. Development of research methodology
1.1. The National Research Consultant will work in collaboration with the International Consultant and MDN to develop a research methodology using a suitable research approach, that will enable a representative finding of cross-country data for this assignment.
1.2. The research must include a literature review of existing studies and papers on the Maldivian civic and political space, political efficacy, and other governance and civic education related literature in the Maldives.
1.3. Mapping of existing civic education programs in the Maldives, identification of successes, impact, challenges and opportunities for future civic education programs.
1.4. Review of best practices in delivering civic education.
1.5. Assess the knowledge of civic and political awareness within the population, disaggregating age, gender, occupation, location, education, level of exposure to previous civic education programs, information sources, political participation.
1.6. Guide the research in sample selection.
2. Survey preparation
2.1. Development of research questionnaires and scoring schedules.
2.2. Development of research plan and timeline of outputs.
2.3. Development of training manual for enumerators.
2.4. Conduction of a one-day training seminar for enumerators and project staff.
3. Conduction of Research and Analysis of findings
3.1. Lead data collection;
3.2. Facilitate focus group discussions;
3.3. Lead data analysis in collaboration with the International Consultant.
Deliverables
| Activity | Deliverable |
|
Assist in the development of the survey questionnaire in collaboration with MDN and our international partners. |
Translated questionnaire including with statistical coding developed and ready for field work. |
|
Assist MDN and international partners in conducting the literature review on existing studies on civic and political participation in the Maldives. |
A literature review segment that will be a part of the final Research Report. |
|
Lead the data collection effort and analysis of data. |
Train enumerators for field work and select a pool of enumerators to assist MDN in the data collection activities;Create data entry sheets, online collection points, and raw data conversion schemes; |
| Development of the Research Report. |
Develop a draft of the full Report on the research featuring the literature review and data analysis. |
| Final Research Report. |
Report finalized and endorsed by MDN and international partners. |
| Feedback |
Researcher’s notes and narrative on the conduction of the research, along with gaps, and potential areas of further research discovered submitted to MDN. |
Payment Schedule
A 50% of the full payment agreed after 3c of the deliverable list is completed. Payment of the balance with the satisfactory completion of 5a and 6a, subject to contractual obligations.
Oversight
MDN in collaboration with our international partners shall work closely with the National Research Consultant to provide oversight, technical support where necessary, and to track progress of the research. The National Research Consultant will be overseen by the Senior Management Team of MDN.
Workplan and Official Travel
The National Research Consultant is expected to follow the Gantt chart submitted along with the application. Revisions to the workplan may be submitted for review. MDN will only cover the expenses of data collection travel pertaining to this research.
Station
Maldivian Democracy Network, Male’, Maldives.
Qualifications or Specialized Knowledge / Experience
1. Academic Qualifications
Academic Qualifications in Social Science / Political Science / Education / Humanities or related technical field or Social Research (Required)
2. Knowledge, Skills and Experience
2.1. Five years of experience in program design, administration, monitoring and evaluation or research design (Required);
2.2. Working knowledge in conducting scientific research and statistical modelling (Required);
2.3. Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Required);
2.4. Experience in computer data entry and analysis software (Required):
2.5. Experience of managing a diverse, young team (Desired);
2.6. Extensive knowledge of civic and governance issues in the Maldives (Desired);
2.7. Experience conducting research specifically on governance issues (Desired).
Application
- An updated Curriculum Vitae;
- Sample(s) of completed work in similar areas;
- Sample(s) of reported writing;
- Gantt chart detailing the proposed workplan to conduct the research guided by Section ii. And Section iv of this call.
Interested parties may send in a full application by 29 September 2019, 1600hrs (Maldivian time) to MDN by emailing admin@mdn.mv with the subject line “CPAS: National Research Consultant Application” or by submitting a physical copy of the full application to:
Maldivian Democracy Network
(CPAS: National Research Consultant Application)
H. Hulhugali, 5A
Karankaa Magu
Male’, Maldives
Late applications and submissions that does not cover the documents required for a full application will not be considered. For more information regarding this call, please contact admin@mdn.mv or call 334-3609.