DataDENT: One Nutrition Coverage Survey Methods Study in Bangladesh

Background

Multi-sectoral interventions to improving nutrition can range from targeting the more distal causes through food fortification to its more proximate causes through interventions such as infant and young child feeding counseling and micronutrient supplementation. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2012 World Health Assembly’s nutrition targets form the foundation of these commitments. They are operationalized through the national nutrition policies and plans that focus on reducing malnutrition among specific populations.

While data on nutrition outcomes is periodically collected through population-based surveys such as the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), these large, resource-intensive surveys often fail to comprehensively assess a range of nutrition interventions. Many measures used to assess coverage of nutrition interventions are inconsistent, leading to inaccurate estimates.

The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) plans to conduct the One Nutrition Coverage Survey (ONCS), which is a methods survey that measures coverage of various multi-sectoral nutrition interventions informed and implemented by national food and nutrition policies and programs. The ONCS will introduce new measures for certain coverage indicators to improve accuracy and consider time and cost in its design and implementation. It will also estimate coverage and co-coverage of nutrition interventions—measuring how many household members benefit from multiple programs—to assess the universal coverage of critical nutrition interventions. The ONCS is part of DataDENT, a project that aims to transform the availability and use of nutrition data by addressing gaps in nutrition measurement and advocating for stronger nutrition data systems.IFPRI seeks a qualified Collaborator who is committed to high-quality research to undertake this survey in Bangladesh.

Objectives

The study has four main objectives:

• Pilot new and standard coverage measurement questions to comprehensively assess household coverage of multi-sectoral nutrition (e.g., maternal, infant and young child nutrition (MIYCN), nutrition-sensitive social protection (NSSP), large scale food fortification (LSFF).
• Generate coverage and co-coverage estimates for multi-sectoral nutrition interventions, to cross-validate with other available data sources.
• Demonstrate assessment of equity in coverage by highlighting analytic approaches to produce disaggregated estimates by gender, location, economic status, ethnicity, education, and other contextually relevant social groups.
• Develop guidance for implementation and costing (monetary and non-monetary) considerations for integrating questions/modules into large-scale household surveys.

Overview of the survey

The study involves a household-level, district-representative, cross-sectional survey. This methods survey will collect data on a range of recommended multi-sectoral nutrition interventions for key target groups across the life-course using both existing and new quantitative measures. The proposed methods survey will integrate components of learning related to feasibility and accuracy of measuring multiple nutrition coverage indicators in a single survey as well as implications for costs and estimating measures of coverage and co-coverage. A pre-testing period will allow for adaptations of measures and refinement of data collection procedures, followed by the implementation of the survey.

The survey will take place in Bangladesh given its rich nutrition programming landscape. The geographic scope will include four divisions situated in the north, southwest, central and northeast of the country namely Rangpur, Sylhet, Dhaka and Khulna, which were purposively selected given their geographic spread, urban-rural balance, and absence of recent disasters. Within these divisions, districts (zilas) were purposively selected using the same criteria utilized for division selection with additional considerations including: The survey will be cross-sectional in design and employ multi-stage cluster sampling to allow for district representative estimates. Data will be collected at the household level from household heads, women and adolescents will include data on household composition, demographics, household socio economics and a range of nutrition, health and other multi-sectoral nutrition interventions. The estimated total sample size is approximately 3608 households for the survey.

Activities for the Collaborator

The Collaborator will make payments for its staff’s and field workers’ salaries and provide all necessary supplies and services for survey preparations, data collection, processing, and management for the study. This will include the following:

• Plan household sampling approach through review of administrative primary sampling units (PSU) base maps and supporting documentation from Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS)
• Obtain all necessary approvals from an IRB body in Bangladesh and authorities to conduct the study
• Develop and document all field activities
• Recruitment of survey/field staff
• Program the Computer-Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI) for the proposed survey, which should include the following:
• Pre-test period (classroom training (5-6 days) and field pre-test (4-5 days))
• Data collection
• Data quality assurance
• Recording cost estimates: monetary and non-monetary
• Maintain timely routine communication with IFPRI

Timeline of activities

• Dec 10, 2024: Check and update (as necessary) translated questionnaires/tools into Bangla.
• Dec 20, 2024: Obtain local IRB approval to conduct fieldwork.
• Dec 20, 2024: Complete initial CAPI programming.
• Jan 1, 2025: Revise CAPI for pre-testing training
• Feb 8, 2025: Complete training of survey teams, pre-test survey questionnaires, and launch field surveys.
• March 31, 2025: Complete field surveys. Submit survey completion report and raw datasets to IFPRI.
• April 30, 2025: Complete data cleaning and data documentation. Submit clean and documented datasets and financial report to IFPRI.

Duration

November 25, 2024 to May 25, 2025 (6 months)

Required qualifications

• Extensive experience conducting household surveys in Bangladesh.
• Track record of submitting deliverables on time.
• Experience working with international and national researchers or research organizations.
• Experience in building trusting and cordial relationships with local authorities, community leaders, and respondents.
• Experience using and programming CAPI.
• Excellent communication skills in English.

Application

Please include the following (in English) in your application:

• Cover letter
• Technical proposal with a detailed budget
• CV of the key personnel
• References to at least two separate studies in the previous five years involving implementation of household surveys