Assignment name:

Baseline Survey for the Supporting Women’s Livelihood (SWL) Project

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

US$ 437,168

 

 

Country:  Zambia

Location within country: 10 districts of Zambia (Chilubi, Gwembe, Itezhi-Tezhi, Lufwanyama, Mafinga, Mungwi, Nalolo, Petauke, Samfya and Zambezi)

 

Duration of assignment (months): 3

 

 

Name of Client: Ministry of Community Development and Social Services (MCDSS), World Bank (WB)

 

Total No. of staff-months of the assignment: 196

 

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

 

Ioana A. Botea, Africa Gender Innovation Lab, The World Bank, Washington DC, USA.

Email: [email protected]

Phone: +1-202-458-0371

 

Start date (month/year): March 2018

Completion date (month/year): December 2019

 

No. of professional staff-months provided by your consulting firm/organization or your sub consultants: 9

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):

Prof. Gelson Tembo – Survey Manager; Nathan Tembo – Researcher/M&E Specialist; Chisangu Matome – IT Specialist; Liseteli Ndiyoi – Analyst/Report Writer

Description of Project:

The Supporting Women’s Livelihoods (SWL) Initiative Midline Survey aimed to assess the impact of the SWL intervention, a component of the World Bank-financed Girls’ Education and Women’s Empowerment and Livelihoods (GEWEL) project in Zambia. The initiative targeted 75,000 rural women in extremely poor households, providing them with a mix of life and business skills training, productivity grants, savings groups, and mentorship. The baseline survey, conducted in 10 districts, focused on 6,861 households across 298 communities, and collected data on household consumption, income, employment, and well-being to measure the intervention’s effectiveness. The randomized controlled trial (RCT) allowed for a comparison between treatment and control groups, with the primary objective of understanding how multi-faceted interventions can help women transition to more secure livelihoods and reduce poverty. The project was supervised by the World Bank and the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services (MCDSS) and involved field data collection, respondent tracking, and quality control mechanisms​​​

 

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

In the Supporting Women’s Livelihoods (SWL) Initiative Midline Survey, Palm Associates provided a comprehensive range of services. The firm conducted interviews with 6,861 households across 298 communities in 10 districts of Zambia, gathering data on household consumption, income, employment, and well-being. Palm Associates was responsible for recruiting and training enumerators, ensuring they were well-versed in local languages and survey protocols. Data collection was executed using Computer-Assisted Personal Interviews (CAPI), while stringent quality control measures, including high-frequency checks and spot-checks, were applied to ensure data accuracy. The firm also implemented respondent tracking to minimize attrition, making multiple visits to households and following respondents who had relocated. Raw data were uploaded to a centralized server in real-time for evaluation team access.