Consultancy for Corporate Philanthropy Research – Aga Khan Foundation – Nairobi

1. Background and Context
The Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) has been working in East Africa since 1974 and pursues innovative solutions to the seemingly intractable problems that lead to poverty. AKF is managing a robust and expanding portfolio of multi-sectoral initiatives that includes programmes in sustainable economic development, education, early childhood development, health, nutrition and civil society strengthening.

2. About the Project
The Aga Khan Foundation and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) are together supporting a four-year project (2014-2018) called Yetu Initiative. Yetu means “Ours” in Kiswahili, and the Initiative is supporting Kenyans to come forward and say, “These are our concerns, these are our solutions and these are our contributions.” Yetu is working to strengthen Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to cultivate a culture of community philanthropy. Community philanthropy occurs when citizens take lead in addressing their community’s needs by mobilizing their own capital, including both financial and non-financial resources. Community philanthropy enhances local ownership and empowerment, reduces donor dependency, and creates greater and more sustainable impact.
The Yetu Initiative is supporting Kenyan CSOs to develop a “Community of Practice” that strengthens their assets and capacity and supports them to build trust. Building trust between CSOs and the communities they serve provides a lasting foundation of local support into the future. Yetu believes that by improving communication and capacity, CSOs can encourage more support for their missions and better demonstrate that they have successfully used that support to impact issues that their communities care about.
Yetu Initiative is working on building local civic engagement capacity through three objectives;
1) Build at least 8 alliances between CSOs, Foundations, and businesses that mobilize at least $1 million in assets for local development needs;
2) Improve the organizational capacity of 200 Kenyan CSOs, enabling stronger development outcomes;
3) Improve the Kenyan cultural and technological environment for community philanthropy.

3. Purpose of the study
Beyond the routine monitoring and evaluation of project activities, research and learning is one of the pre-eminent themes running throughout all components of the Yetu Initiative. Therefore, in addition to the three programmatic objectives, the Yetu Initiative is contributing to the existing body of knowledge on the potential of community philanthropy as a mechanism for; enhancing local ownership and control over development priorities, strengthen organizational sustainability, reduce donor dependency and thereby result in greater development impact. Specifically, this study will focus on the assessment of the landscape of corporate giving in Kenya. The study will also assess whether there have been any factors that have prevented business organisations in Kenya from substantially contributing to local community development through the practice of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). [1]CSR can be defined as the duty of the companies to the development of its stakeholders, and to the avoidance and correction of any negative consequences caused by business activities.

4. Justification for the study
This study will focus on establishing the key drivers and deterrents to corporate giving to local CSOs by business organizations in Kenya. The findings will broadly inform CSOs on how to engage with businesses and the private sector to catalyse corporate giving. This is an instrumental strategy for the Yetu Initiative to capacity build local CSOs and enable them tap into local corporate giving for fund raising. The study will also provide pertinent information on the landscape of corporate giving in Kenya to different stakeholders involved in community philanthropy.

5. Study Objectives
The basic question that this study aim to address is ‘what is the state of corporate giving in Kenya’? Therefore, this study will generally assess the landscape of corporate giving in Kenya. Specifically, the study will:
1. Map out the players in the corporate community philanthropy in Kenya
2. Assess the processes and criteria employed by corporates in Kenya for determining the CSOs and projects to support, thematic areas for support and resource allocation
3. Establish the key drivers and deterrents of corporate giving to local CSOs in Kenya

6. Scope of study
The study will examine a number of business or private sector institutions which includes corporate and SMEs operating in Kenya. The institutions will be drawn from various sectors.

The institutions will include:
• Multinationals & local companies listed in the Nairobi Securities Exchange
• Small & Medium Enterprises drawn from Top 100 SME Companies (initiative by Nation Media Group)-Will include key companies that may not be listed.
• Multinational, Regional or National (Not listed on the NSE) e.g. GE, Unilever, Microsoft

These corporates will cut across various sectors including:
• Information, Communication and Technology (ICT Sector)
• Finance and Banking Sector
• Pharmaceutical and health Sector
• Industrial and manufacturing sector
• Retail Sector
• Extractives Sector
• Transport and infrastructure sector
• Agriculture sectorTourism and hospitality sector
• Building and construction

Key Study Questions
1. Who are the players in the corporate community philanthropy in Kenya and their annual contributions?
2. What are the factors contributing to the rise of corporate foundations?
3. What processes and criteria are employed by corporates in Kenya in determining the CSOs and projects to support or thematic areas for support and who makes the decisions on giving?
4. How do corporates allocate CSR resources [financial budgets, in-kind giving (products, services, volunteering)]?
5. What CSR activities are currently ongoing in Kenya and how are the local CSOs involved in them?
6. What is the perception of the role of CSOs by corporate foundations?
7. How do companies align their CSR with their business strategy or development needs?
8. How do companies align their CSR with the global SDGs?
9. Who is in charge of corporate responsibility within the different companies and what are their qualifications?
10. How do corporates engage their employees in the CSR processes within and without their institutions and the CSOs or projects they implement?
11. What strategies are used by corporates in measurement and reporting on their giving?
12. What is the sustainability and vision of corporate giving in Kenya?
13. How are regulations/policies on Corporate Responsibility in Kenya employed by corporates? Are they aware of the them and implementing them.

Scope of work
1. Undertake review of key Yetu Initiative documents, philanthropy related documents and corporate /business documents
2. Design study and sampling
3. Design quantitative and qualitative data collection tools and review where deemed necessary
4. Develop and present the inception report and review where deemed necessary.
5. Carry out data collection using the agreed tools
6. Carry out a comprehensive analysis of the data gathered in line with study objectives
7. Validate data with the reference group and other stakeholders
8. Present findings to AKF and its key stakeholders.
9. Finalize the evaluation report, print and disseminate to stakeholders.

7. Reference Group
The Yetu Initiative has reached out to a pool of like-minded partners with interest and experience in corporate philanthropy to constitute a core team that will drive the study This will be the Reference Group for the study. The partners are expected to bring in their expertise in corporate philanthropy as well as pool in resources to enable implementation of the study.
Yetu will also be involved with a wider network of stakeholders from its Community of Practice and other associations and networks involved in community philanthropy in Kenya.

8. Research Methodology
The study will employ a mixed methods cross-sectional design to enable collection of both quantitative and qualitative data sequentially. This approach assumes that the collection of various types of data will provide a deeper understanding of the research problem posed. The qualitative open-ended interviews will be used to collect detailed views from the corporates and to define more clearly some of the reasoning behind how corporates structure the philanthropy process. The quantitative aspect will employ a questionnaire to collect data mainly on trends. The study will also involve a comprehensive desk review of secondary information (including research reports, media publications, social media chats and blogs) to augment the primary findings.

9. Deliverables
The consultant will prepare and deliver the following deliverables within agreed timelines
a) An inception report with the proposed study design, methodology, samples, tools and procedures for data collection and plan for data analysis.
b) First and second draft of the study report in soft copy for review by AKF Yetu Initiative.
c) A final study report in MS Word, plus relevant appendices
d) An MS PowerPoint summary of the study report
e) All datasets in MS Excel or MS Access
f) All instruments used in the data collection
10. Study Timelines
The timelines of the study will be from early March to mid -April 2017 a duration of 45 days (including final report submission)
11. Payment Schedule
The financial proposal should include study costs including daily consultant rates and total consultancy fees. The consultancy payments will be made in tranches depending on milestone deliverables especially on the reports.

12. Consultants Requirements
The consultant is expected to meet the minimum requirements outlined below:
• Must have an advanced degree preferably a post graduate degree in social sciences, development or business related course.
• At least 5 years’ experience in donor mapping research, local philanthropy research or implementation in Kenya.
• Must have carried out corporate philanthropy research within the last 3 years in Kenya
• Data management skills and must be conversant with qualitative and quantitative analysis soft wares including SPSS and N-Vivo
• Must have good communication and interpersonal skills
• Provide 3 references for corporate philanthropy studies conducted
[1] An Institutional Analysis of Corporate Social Responsibility in Kenya, Judy Muthuri and Victoria Gilbert

HOW TO APPLY:
1. Submission Details
All interested consultants/firms are requested to submit their proposals via email to yetuinitiative@akfea.org by 10th March, 2017 with the email title ‘Yetu Corporate Philanthropy Research’. The submissions will include:
1) Technical proposal (not exceeding 15 pages): The technical proposal should reflect the consultants/firm’s understanding of the TORs and how they will undertake all the tasks outlined in the Scope of Work.
• The consultant/firm will also provide a detailed plan of specific activities and timetable for carrying out the assignment
• Resumes of proposed lead consultant and team with relevant experience and references. Note: The lead consultant mentioned in the proposal is expected to steer the study with no replacements.
• Firm’s application must include all copies of statutory requirements.
2) Financial Proposal: The consultant/firm shall propose a realistic cost estimate for this assignment, including a breakdown of the budget and justification of expenses. The budget shall include only those costs that can be directly attributed to the activities proposed. This should be submitted separately from the Technical Proposal.

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