Background
The Expanding Access to Justice Program (EAJ) is a five-year associate award (2018–2023), funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) via the Freedom House-led Human Rights Support Mechanism (HRSM) and implemented in partnership between Pact and the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ROLI), that aims to improve access to justice and mechanisms to address grievances in Somalia. The Program has a strong focus on research activities and knowledge creation to ensure that program activities and objectives are embedded in rigorous contextual understanding.
Upon the request from USAID, the EAJ Program redesigned its programmatic approach in Year 2 and narrowed its programmatic focus in Year 3. The revised Year 3 Work Plan reflects the evolution of the program’s approaches and practices based upon 2.5 years of implementation and learning. Leveraging these accumulated capabilities, Year 3 approaches are directed at accelerating service delivery and expanding impact across EAJ’s implementation areas. EAJ plans to achieve broad and significant impact by maintaining the approach set out in the 2020 Program Description with respect to its goal, objectives, and theory of change. EAJ also affirms the continuing relevance of its Access to Justice conceptual framework and previous analysis of the Somali stabilization continuum, along which the entirety of the program’s work takes place.
To that extend, EAJ’s conceptual framework is still based on the six ‘Access to Justice Assessment (AJAT)’ elements:
Legal and Policy Framework
Legal Knowledge and Confidence
Citizens can obtain Advice and Representation
Citizens not impeded from accessing Justice Forums
Justice Mechanisms address Grievances Efficiently and Fairly
Solutions are Enforceable
In 2019/20, the EAJ had conducted a Baseline Assessment in selected locations in Benadir, South West State and Jubaland. The assessment consisted of qualitative and quantitative data collection assessing the status of the six core AJAT areas in different locations. The study formed part of EAJ’s monitoring activities for one of its goal indicators. While the assessment captured people’s perceptions in regards to the these six areas, it also conducted case studies aiming to understand the behavior people display when attempting to access justice.
Given EAJ’s current upscaling of implementation, the Program plans to track changes in people’s perception on a more regular basis, including to track potential effectiveness of program approaches. The Justice Barometer will therefore build on the previously conducted Baseline Assessment, its key research questions, and its findings. It will focus on fewer selected areas, however, concentrating on districts in which the EAJ Program currently implements, and track citizen’s perceptions stratified along the six AJAT areas on a longitudinal basis.
While the Justice Barometer will be implemented by a research company, the EAJ Programme is seeking the assistance of an expert consultant to lead on the Justice Barometer Assessment on behalf of the EAJ.
Purpose and Tasks
EAJ plans to measure changes in the program locations through a regular justice user perception survey. While tracking progress of EAJ interventions, the Justice Barometer will also provide general in-depth understanding of changing community-level conditions that can help adjust programming strategies where necessary.
Geographic priorities: The Justice Barometer will be implemented in the key operational locations of the EAJ, namely:
Wadajir District in Mogadishu
Afgoye in Lower Shabelle
Merka in Lower Shabelle
Baidoa in South West State
Timeline: The Justice Barometer will be implemented over one year with the possibility of extending into another year. It will track the questions and report on results on a quarterly basis.
Indicators: It will be centered around pre-established indicators, which will allow the EAJ to track change over time, but also indicate if specific corrective measures are required for programming.
Findings: Findings will be shared with the EAJ internally and will be used as a base for the team’s quarterly Collaboration, Learning and Adaptation (CLA) sessions. In these sessions, the team will discuss effectiveness and efficiency of EAJ approaches and operation and decide on adjustments to the program where necessary. Findings will also allow the team to understand potential unintended outcomes of its interventions, which may call for necessary adjustments.
Research Team: A research company will track the responses to a set of key perception questions provided by the EAJ, quantifying their metrics using pre-established indicators through a mixed-method and longitudinal approach. The EAJ Research Team will assist in the formulation of key assessment questions and will ensure quality outputs; as well as apply findings in its regular CLA sessions.
4.5. Methodology
Indicators and Survey Questions: Indicators will be developed around the six AJAT elements, and largely based on already existing questions from the previous EAJ Baseline Assessment:
Legal and Policy Framework
Legal Knowledge and Confidence
Citizens can obtain Advice and Representation
Citizens not impeded from Justice Forums
Justice Mechanisms address Grievances Efficiently and Fairly
Solutions are Enforceable
Given the qualitative nature of the questions, metrics will be embedded into each key research question, which will allow the measurement of issues that have no numerical constant. The research company will establish a Justice Barometer baseline, carry out field research, indicator tracking, and report on a quarterly basis on changes in the perception metrices (indicators/variables), design and maintain an online dashboard (Ona), and deliver endline findings.
Justice Barometer Baseline. The baseline will have three objectives:
Establish baseline values for EAJ’s metrics of access to justice and establish where communities are in regards to the 6 core AJAT elements on Access to Justice
Assist in understanding Access to Justice trends in the different geographical areas by focusing on existing justice dynamics, justice institutions and justice actors
Provide samples that can be tracked longitudinally throughout the year
The Justice Barometer Baseline will be based on a minimum sample size of 400 respondents, defined by their residence location, clan and sub-clan identity, gender and age. This baseline will be used for the development of indicators, operationalization of research questions, and the development of indices.
Quarterly Reporting: The research company will provide data on short- and medium-term trends and community perceptions in regards to Access to Justice. This will allow the EAJ to monitor changes over time in the specific locations, in which it implements activities. The perception survey trends will be extended through media monitoring on justice issues, as well as qualitative interviews to produce more qualitative explanation to some of the observed trends in perceptions. The quarterly reporting will build on the baseline, as survey respondents and qualitative interviewees will be re-contacted every quarter. The research company will aim to contact the same 400 respondents as during the baseline, with the following minimum numbers at each location: 100 in Baidoa; 100 in Wadajir District; 100 in Afgooye and 100 in Merka. Interviews and the survey will be conducted through a call center by telephone.
Data will be disaggregated by location, gender, age, and kin background of the respondent.
Justice Barometer Endline: The endline will build on the same methods but will allow the drawing of conclusions about the efficiency and impacts of programme implementation. In the endline, the research company will compare endline data to the baseline data and produce insights into changes, especially where they can be connected to program activities. The endline will further provide insights - based on a year of regular longitudinal data collection - into how specific local events can shape perceptions, how those effects are amplified and how different types of events interact with specific contexts in yielding outcomes.
The expert consultant will be part of the EAJ Research Team and will work closely with the Research Company in the detailed design of the survey and regularly assess the quality of data outputs.
4.6. Timeline for research activities:
Assist with detailed design of Justice Barometer
30 June 2021
Review Justice Barometer Baseline submission
15 October 2021
Review of Quarterly Reporting
15 February 2022
15 May 2022
15 August 2022
Review endline report to EAJ
15 December 2022
Assist with analysis of trends – quarterly / EAJ Team to discuss trends / submission of results to USAID
20 November 2022
Experience of Expert Consultant
Masters Degree in Social Science, Political Science or related field
In-depth knowledge about Somalia’s socio-political landscape
At least 4 years of experience in working with international organizations in Somalia
At least 4 years of experience with quantitative data collection methodologies
Excellent English writing skills
Track record of high quality publications
Period of Consultancy
40 working days between 15 June and 31 December 2022.
Supervision
The consultant will report to the EAJ Research Team Leader
How to apply:
Interested applicants please submit your applications to applyeaj@abaroli.org.