Assignment Name:

 

Assessing the impact of the HIV prevention tool ‘Join-In-Circuit on AIDS, Love & Sexuality

 

Approx. value of the contract (in current US$):

 

USD 117,960

Country: Zambia

Location within country: Choma and Livingstone

Duration of assignment (months):

9 months

Name of Client:

American Institutes for Research (AIR)

Total No. of staff-months of the assignment:

69

Contact Person, Title/Designation, Tel. No./Address:

 

1. Arianna Zanolini, Senior Education Advisor, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), Lilongwe, Malawi

Current Contact: linkedin.com/in/arianna-zanolini-083a16199

2. David Seidenfeld, Senior Vice President, American Institutes for Research, North Carolina.

Email: [email protected]

Start date (month/year): January 2017

Completion date (month/year): October 2017

No. of professional staff-months provided by your consulting firm/organization or your sub consultants:

9.7

Name of associated Consultants, if any:

 

N/A

 

 

 

Name of senior professional staff of your consulting firm/organization involved and designation and/or functions performed (e.g. Project Director/Coordinator, Team Leader):

Project Director: Prof. Gelson Tembo

Master Trainer: Nathan Tembo

IT Specialist: Liseteli Ndiyoi

Qualitative Lead Researcher: Dr. Fusya Goma

Description of Project:

Palm Associates Limited was subcontracted by the American Institutes for Research (AIR) to conduct baseline data collection for the impact evaluation of the “Join-In Circuit on AIDS, Love & Sexuality” (J-IC) program in Zambia. This was a three-wave impact evaluation of the HIV prevention tool ‘Join-In-Circuit on AIDS, Love & Sexuality’ in 200 schools of Choma and Livingstone. More than 20,000 students were interviewed.

Commissioned by GIZ under Contract No. 83231517, this evaluation sought to measure the effectiveness of the J-IC intervention in promoting HIV/AIDS awareness and encouraging positive behavioral change among in-school adolescents. The project was implemented in Central Province, Zambia, across a randomized sample of 70 schools involving both treatment and control groups.

Description of actual services provided by your staff within the assignment:

 

Palm Associates led all fieldwork activities required to gather high-quality baseline data from over 20,000 students across the 200 sampled schools in Choma and Livingstone. Palm Associates Limited led the field implementation of all three phases of the impact evaluation for the “Join-In Circuit on AIDS, Love & Sexuality” (J-IC) program in Central Province, Zambia. Over a ten-month period (January to October 2017), Palm was responsible for piloting, baseline, and endline data collection under the direction of the American Institutes for Research (AIR), the prime contractor to GIZ. For each phase, Palm recruited, trained, and deployed experienced field staff—including enumerators, a Master Trainer, and a Survey Coordinator—with strong expertise in electronic data collection and adolescent survey protocols.

During the pilot phase, Palm mobilized four enumerators and a senior trainer for a five-day field test of instruments in Livingstone, supported by logistical and supervisory personnel. For the baseline and endline phases—each spanning approximately 10 weeks—Palm recruited and managed eight enumerators and a master field trainer based in Choma and Livingstone, ensuring daily supervision, adherence to protocols, and logistical coordination. The team worked in sampled schools from Monday to Friday, with regular quality control oversight and technical supervision. Tour guides were also engaged to support community entry and logistics over the 52-day field periods. Palm’s contributions ensured timely, high-quality data collection aligned with international research standards, contributing to a robust evaluation of the J-IC intervention’s impact on adolescent knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to HIV and sexual health.