1.0 INTRODUCTION

Solidaridad Network is an international solution-oriented civil society organization working through eight regional expertise centres to transform markets to make them more sustainable and inclusive. Our eight regional expertise centres include Asia, Eastern and Central Africa, Europe, Latin America, North America, Southern Africa, South America, West Africa and our global Secretariat in the Netherlands. Solidaridad Eastern and Central Africa, one of the regional centres, headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya with country offices and programmes in Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Uganda. We bring together supply chain players and engage them with innovative solutions to improve production, ensuring the transition to a sustainable and inclusive economy that maximizes the benefit for all. We facilitate strengthening of local capacity in developing countries, support the creation of enabling environments for economies to thrive, and improve market access.

1.1 RECLAIM SUSTAINABILITY! Program.

RECLAIM SUSTAINABILITY! Is a 5-year program (2021-2025) supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kingdom of the Netherlands. The program is implemented through a consortium and in brief it tries to invoke the actual meaning of sustainability both in theory and practice in global commodity supply chains.
Sustainability seems to have lost its true meaning. There is no such thing as sustainable products when the people who produce those goods live in poverty, when natural resources are not managed sustainably, and working conditions are poor.
Civic space in supply chains of our targe countries remains confined. Space for farmers and workers to improve their position in the chain, to bargain for better prices, or working conditions, or to influence equitable access and use of natural resources, in the countries and sectors of our focus is limited.
Systemic, transformative change is therefore required by reclaiming the essence of sustainability through an enabled civic space that sets the right conditions for this to happen.

Given the above explanation, the strategic objective of the RECLAIM SUSTAINABILITY! Program is to contribute to inclusive sustainable value chains and trade in an innovative way, in which the interests, voices and rights of farmers, workers and citizens (both male and female) are represented and heard in decision making for sustainable use of natural resources, decent work, fair value distribution, and sustainable consumption.

The Program’s theory of change’s premise is that: IF we strengthen civil society; IF we increase and maintain civic space; and IF we apply a gender & social inclusion approach – throughout all our interventions in trade and value chains; – THEN this will influence the public and private sector to adopt and implement sustainability norms that will ultimately alleviate the poverty of farmers and workers.
The RECLAIM SUSTAINABILITY! Program works in 7 supply chains being; Palm Oil, Cocoa, Cotton & Textiles, Gold, Food Products, Coffee and Tea. These commodity supply chains are sub-projects of the entire program. We see a strong relevance of these sectors for the global living income/decent work agenda, and a strong linkage with the local Dutch embassy priorities.

The program seeks to strengthened interaction between:

• A Vibrant and Strong Civil Society that engages and debates with public and private decision makers, monitors implementation and enforcement of policies and mechanisms, holds decision makers accountable, safeguards gender and social inclusion, and demands and consumes sustainable products;


• A Responsible Private Sector implementing comprehensive policies and innovative inclusive business models for truly sustainable sourcing, production, trade and investment;


• A Supportive Public Sector enforcing national, regional and international comprehensive norms and regulatory frameworks that ensure sustainable production, trade and consumption.

1.2 RECLAIM SUSTAINABILITY! Consortium:

This consortium has come together in a broad coalition of local civil society partners under one unified banner in a proposed strategic partnership with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to embark on an ambitious goal: to RECLAIM SUSTAINABILITY! We do this in service to our local constituencies: farmers, workers and their communities. The RECLAIM SUSTAINABILITY! Consortium (RSC) is deeply rooted in local societies with a local identity, ownership and autonomy, and local staff under local leadership, acting in compliance with local legislation. The consortium comprises of:

• Fundación Solidaridad Latinoamericana, Solidaridad West Africa, Solidaridad Southern Africa, Solidaridad East & Central Africa, Solidaridad Asia, and Solidaridad Europe, are the ‘Solidaridad Network’; organised in a truly bottom-up model. Each organisation is independent and locally embedded without a headquarter performing an oversight role. Each organisation is considered by local communities, as well as public and private sector actors as credible, and reliable.


• FairFood is a mission driven tech CSO, bringing strong knowledge and tools on digitalisation and fairdata, to be able to capitalise on the tremendous opportunity in smart technologies that will give farmers and workers a digital identity and will have the potential to raise income levels and improve working conditions.


• Business Watch Indonesia (BWI) is one of the oldest NGOs in Indonesia and has garnered the reputation as a prominent sustainability NGO. Together with olidaridad, BWI documented ‘Tea Vision’, aiming for sustainability in the tea sector, and is a Co-founder of the Lestari standard for tea. BWI is the lead CSO for the Solidaridad sustainable landscape management programme at Central Java and has been working with Solidaridad for 13 years.


• TrustAfrica is a locally African registered CSO, operating on a continental scale, and will work together with the three Solidaridad African consortium partners directly to ensure a consolidated continental effort in raising the Voices of African farmers, workers and CSOs. Since 2006 TrustAfrica has funded 211 organizations in 30 countries.

2.0 The Gold Project under RECLAIM SUSTAINABILITY! Program

2.1 Background

Gold mining is a global business with operations on every continent. Africa produces about 24% of the world’s gold, with gold mining operations in at least 34 African countries. West Africa is one of the fastest growing gold producing areas in the world, accounting for about half of Africa’s gold production, with Ghana being the largest gold producing country in Africa, employing over 1.1 million people. The Lake Victoria Goldfields (LVG) in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda have emerged as an important site for gold mining and exploration in Africa, providing livelihoods for over 300,000 people. While the majority of the global gold mining is conducted by major corporations, there are also smaller independent gold mining operations. The nature of the orebody determines whether it is suitable for either large-scale or small-scale mining activity. Artisanal Small-scale gold Mining (ASM) is a collective term embracing both small scale and artisanal gold mining. It covers formal and informal mining which is characterised by low capital intensity, high labour intensity and relatively simple methods for exploration, extraction and processing. ASM is estimated to occur in more than 80 countries globally and to employ between 20-30 million people worldwide. Between 70% and 80% of the small scale miners are informal, ranging from those whose livelihoods rely on subsistence farming to skilled workers who migrated from urban areas in search of work. Reliable statistics of ASM production volumes are a challenge, however it is widely assumed that approximately 20% of the global supply of newly mined gold comes from ASM sources, and 80% comes from large scale gold mining (LSM) sources.

2.2 Expected Outcomes of the Gold project

• New inclusive regulatory frameworks in Kenya and Uganda, that optimise ASM formalisation, provide decent working conditions and living wages, stop child labour and ensure pollution free mining.


• Gold sourcing companies in Europe implement responsible sourcing practices and invest in a responsible ASM sector.


• A strong CSO network in Europe advocates for decent work, fair value distribution and sustainable natural resources management in ASM


• New digital tools and technologies in place for mercury-free processing and geodata


• ASM miners and workers are empowered to demand better working conditions, and safe practices.

2.3 Baseline Objectives

The main objective of the baseline survey is to prepare a pre‐programme / baseline information of the target stakeholders as per the indicators of programme objectives and expected results specified in the programme document and the programme results framework.

The specific objectives of the baseline survey are:

• To collect and analyze verifiable indicator data from the programme results framework


• To collect and analyze data on the current state of the project’s targeted beneficiaries,systems, policies and various stakeholders.


• To produce information to use as a basis for their overall programme monitoring and evaluation against the set indicators over the course of the programme implementation period.


• To identify key implementation strategies, modalities and input for the programme implementation phase.

2.4 Methodology

The methodology for this study will include both direct and indirect data collection, analysis and cross-referencing, and formulating recommendations thematically and as area/site-specific. The Consultant will finalize the methodology to undertake this study in line with the scope of the assessment, presented and refined with the management during the inception meeting.

The methodology used during this assessment will overall, include, but not be limited to the following:

• ● Review existing relevant secondary information and reports related to Gold Mining in East Africa; more so Solidaridad Gold Programs.


• ● Review of previous Solidaridad related Gold programme level documents and reports.


• ● Discuss with key Solidaridad staff, partners, and key informants at Office and field implementation levels.


• ● Carry out field visits in the implementation areas for data collection, observations, and triangulation.


• Hold community-level participatory meetings and focused group discussions for data collection and information gathering.


• Carry out data collection through structured questionnaires.


• Data collection will also entail analysis of climate risks and vulnerability where both secondary data and primary data through qualitative and quantitative methodologies will be done.


• Special emphasis will be put on women spaces, youth engagement, and people with disabilities participation, so as to understand and recommend interventions on issues concerning these interest groups from a gender, youth, and people with disability inclusion’s perspective.


• Use of data from local institutions or organizations.


• Data analysis and verification of analyzed data.

2.5 Responsibilities of Consultants/Scope of Work

The composition of the survey team is left up to the consultant/ organization based on their internal system, ideas, and logic. However, Solidaridad recommends that the team comprise one Team Leader (TL) to coordinate/conduct the overall study and liaise with Solidaridad. To collect information from the field using an adequate number of Field Enumerators (FEs). Supervision of the fieldwork and quality (reliability and validity) of the data/information collected from the field is the primary responsibility of the TL. The TL will work closely with Solidaridad M&E Officers and the programme team. In each step and process, consultation with the Project Manager and the M&E Officer are vital. The survey will be conducted in Kenya and Uganda.

The consultancy/consultant team will be primarily responsible for:

• Development/design baseline survey tools including questionnaires and other tools.


• Share the study design including process, methods, and questionnaires/checklist with the programme team, collect feedback and finalize the study design.


• Pre‐test questionnaires and other tools in one of the programme sites.


• Submit an inception report.


• Debrief/discuss with the programme team about effectiveness of questionnaire, checklists, and other tools used in the pre‐test, collect feedback and finalize them.


• Orient, train, and supervise the enumerators.


• Carry out fieldwork together with enumerators.


• Ensure the quality of information collected from fields, cross-check with the validity of information collected and verify/revise where needed.


• Update progress of the study on a weekly basis to the M&E Officer.


• Analyze data and prepare quality reports.


• Give a presentation of the draft report to Solidaridad, and;


• Submit a final report after incorporating the feedback and suggestions from Solidaridad.

2.6 Deliverables

I. Work plan and expression of interest (EOI) for the baseline survey, outlining;

• A detailed methodology for implementation of the survey, including proposed sample sizes.


• Draft data collection tools (The Consultant shall refine proposed standard indicators in reference to the proposed programme indicators and other guidelines provided by Solidaridad)


• A detailed work plan for the survey

II. Presentation of survey methodology to Solidaridad team in an inception meeting and later incorporate suggestions in the final inception report.
III. A draft report of the study for feedback and comments from Solidaridad and partners involved.
IV. Presentation on the main findings of the study for validation involving project teams, and other stakeholders as agreed with the project team.

2.7 Eligibility criteria

The consultancy / consultant team should have experience on qualitative and quantitative research; clear understanding on research methodology and experiences on using different social research tools and techniques.

• Advanced degree in the extractives sector (Mining, Geology, Mineral Policy)


• Strong experience with and knowledge of qualitative and quantitative research methods and sampling strategies


• Experience in designing and conducting studies using experimental or quasi-experimental techniques. Experience with longitudinal study designs desired.


• Statistical analysis skills and strong proficiency with data analysis packages.


• Proven experience in conducting baseline study surveys, impact studies and evaluations, preferably on the Gold industry in the East and Central Africa region.


• The consultancy / consultant team should have experience on qualitative and quantitative research; clear understanding on research methodology and experiences on using different social research tools and techniques.


• Work experience in the Artisanal and Small scale Mining/ Extractives sector in the East Africa region will be an advantage.

2.8 Consultancy Period

The overall time frame of the survey will be 45 days (including Saturdays and Sundays), which will include inception meetings, finalizing the survey methodology, training of enumerators, data collection, data analysis, report writing, and presenting findings of the survey.

• Interested parties should submit a Technical and Financial proposal. Budget proposals should include logistics costs (transport, communications, meals and accommodation) – 30th April 2021, 5:00pm (EAT)


• Decision of selected consultant – only selected candidates will be contacted – 7th May 2021


• Inception report and meeting (virtual or in-person depending on covid19 situation) – 14th May 2021, 5:00pm (EAT)


• Draft report submitted – 21st June 2021, 5:00pm (EAT)


• Validation meeting and final report (virtual or in-person depending on covid19 situation) – 28th June 2021, 5:00pm (EAT)