About WorldFish
WorldFish is an international research organization working to transform aquatic food systems to reduce hunger, malnutrition, and poverty. It collaborates with international, regional, and national partners to co-develop and deliver scientific innovations, evidence for policy and knowledge to enable equitable and inclusive impact for millions who depend on fish and other aquatic foods for their livelihoods and nutrition. Our work in countries advances progress on multiple 2030 Sustainable Development Goals through science and innovation, with a vision of healthy people, healthy planet and shared prosperity.
Purpose & Objectives the Consultancy
The objective of this consultancy is to support WorldFish and its partners under the Development and Scaling of Sustainable Feeds for Resilient Aquatic Food Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa (FASA) project to implement the Outcome Monitoring Study assessing the effects of FASA-supported capacity-building activities in Zambia. FASA is a five-year initiative (2022–2027), funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) and implemented by WorldFish in collaboration with national, regional, and international partners to strengthen the sustainability, resilience, and competitiveness of aquafeed systems in Kenya, Nigeria, and Zambia. The consultancy will support a mixed-methods outcome monitoring process combining structured surveys and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs), anchored in the FASA Theory of Change. The assignment will assess whether and how FASA-supported capacity-building activities are contributing to changes in knowledge, skills, attitudes, confidence, practices, application of training, cascading of knowledge, and institutional integration. It will also assess changes related to gender-responsive practice, youth inclusion, climate-smart aquaculture, feed formulation, feed-making, and the use of locally available feed ingredients, while identifying the institutional, technical, market, gender-related, resource, policy, and environmental factors that enable or constrain sustained application of these outcomes. The expected outcome of the consultancy is a credible and systematically documented body of quantitative and qualitative evidence showing whether, how, and under what conditions FASA-supported capacity-building activities are contributing to meaningful change. The assignment will generate analysis-ready datasets, validated outcome evidence, and actionable recommendations to strengthen program learning, accountability, adaptive management, future capacity-building interventions, policy engagement, and sustainable aquafeed development.
Scope of Work
• Inception Plan and Study Implementation Framework. The consultant will prepare an inception plan outlining the methodology, activities, milestones, deliverables, quality-assurance procedures, coordination arrangements, and timeline for the FASA Annual Outcome Monitoring Study in Zambia. The plan will cover the structured survey, feed-miller assessment, and KIIs, aligned with the approved protocol, analytical framework, and FASA Theory of Change. It will specify how evidence will be generated on knowledge, skills, confidence, practices, training application and cascading, institutional uptake, gender and youth inclusion, climate-smart practices, local feed ingredients, and aquafeed-business resilience.
• Support Research License Application and Regulatory Compliance. The consultant will support WorldFish in preparing and submitting the required research license application and associated documentation for implementation of the FASA Annual Outcome Monitoring Study in Zambia. This will include providing the necessary study information, fieldwork details, researcher documentation, institutional information, and other supporting materials required by the relevant national authorities. The consultant will also support responses to any queries or requests for clarification and ensure that field activities are conducted in accordance with approved research, ethics, and data-protection requirements.
• In collaboration with WorldFish MELIA scientists, conduct enumerator and facilitator training and submit a brief report documenting the recruitment and training of suitably qualified enumerators and facilitators.
• Structured Outcome-Monitoring Survey. The consultant will support implementation of a structured survey among FASA project participants in Zambia, including trainers, extension and gender officers, researchers, students, farmers, feed millers, ingredient processors, partner staff, and other relevant stakeholders. Responsibilities will include respondent identification and verification, field planning, KoboCollect administration, supervision, and daily data-quality checks.
• Key Informant Interviews. In addition, the consultant will conduct at least 40 KIIs with other FASA stakeholders. Interviewees will include trainers and trainees, extension and gender officers, researchers, students, research and training institutions, farmers and farmer organizations, ingredient processors and suppliers, implementing partners, government institutions, and other relevant actors. KIIs will examine how FASA-supported knowledge and practices have been applied, adapted, cascaded, sustained, or institutionalized and identify key enabling and constraining factors.
• Feed-Miller Assessment. The consultant will conduct 50 in-depth interviews with feed millers to assess feed-formulation practices, ingredient sourcing and substitution, business adaptation, and resilience. The assessment will examine formulation and reformulation decisions, ingredient use, flexibility to adopt locally available alternatives, and factors influencing these decisions, including nutrition, price, availability, quality, and technical knowledge.
• Fieldwork Documentation and Data Quality Assurance. The consultant will maintain systematic documentation of fieldwork progress, respondent profiles, training exposur