Purpose and Objectives of the Baseline Study

The overall purpose of the baseline study is to establish a detailed and disaggregated understanding of the current status of the targeted communities, institutions, and systems before program implementation. The specific objectives of the baseline study are:

• To provide a baseline database against which future progress and impact can be measured against project indicators.
• To project current adaptive measures and rationality of the program.
• To assess the capacity of LEDARS for effective program management and delivery.
• To assess the alignment of the project with OECD-DAC criteria and any necessary recommendations for future modification of the existing project. It is worth mentioning that the OECD-DAC criteria emphasize Relevance, Effectiveness, Efficiency, Impact, and Sustainability.

The intended outcome of the baseline study is:

• A clear understanding of the current situation
• Identified gaps in knowledge and capacity
• Valuable insights to guide the climate-resilient development in agriculture, water, and health
• Established indicators to track progress towards achieving desired outcomes.

Methodology

Desk studies of documents provided by LEDARS and related policies, strategies, and action plans

Review of project documents: The study team will compare the planning with the anticipated methodology and reassess the possible risks faced by the assignment. For each identified risk, suitable mitigation measures shall be defined. Some early scoping and consultation will be undertaken; Constraints foreseen will be identified. Reconstruction of the Intervention Logic/Theory of Change; Baseline Questions for the study and the Formulation will be finalized. Received documents will be reviewed, and the analysis will inform the baseline study Matrix. Preliminary responses to each baseline study Question will be formulated with an analysis of their validity and limitations. This will inform the identification of the issues still to be covered and of the preliminary hypotheses to be tested during the Field Activities. A presentation will be prepared for a meeting to discuss preliminary findings emerging from the desk review (including gaps and hypotheses to be tested in the field). Essentially, this presentation and discussion are before the field phase. For the baseline studies, along with the provided documents, the study team will review secondary information and documents from the public domains and LEDARS.

Review of documents, strategy, policies, statistics, etc: Review of area profile, documents policies, and strategies, including climate change disaster profile, 8th Five-Year Plan of Bangladesh, Household Income Expenditure Survey by Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), The National Food Policy (NFP), Agriculture Sector Review and Actionable Policy Brief, Agricultural Sector Programme Support, Agricultural Extension Policy, World Bank Priorities for Agriculture and Rural Development, Haor Master Plan, Delta Plan, National Water Policy, District Disaster Management Plan, SoD, Disaster Management Policy, Disaster Management Strategy, Bangladesh Disaster Statistics, Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (BCCSAP), Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC),  National Adaptation Plan, Southern Agriculture Master Plan, Integrated Coastal Zone Management Plan, Multi-cluster Indicator Survey, JMP, National Water Policy, Bangladesh Water Act 2013, National Strategy for Water & Sanitation in Hard-to-Reach Areas of Bangladesh 2011, National Strategy for Water and Sanitation 2014, National Strategy for Water Supply and Sanitation 2021, Nationwide climate vulnerability assessment report, Health Adaptaiton Plan, ccGAP, Climate Finance for Sustainable Devleopment, Climate Fiscal Framework, etc. would be carried out;

Field data collection

Primary information (qualitative and quantitative) will be collected with the following interactive steps:

• Participatory research to get actual data, perspectives, and experiential knowledge through the Household Survey (HHS)
• Participatory capacity, resilience, and knowledge analysis of community and institutional levels through Focus Group Discussion (FGD) and Key Informant Interview (KII).
• Soil and water quality parameter assessment
• Community WASH Resilience Assessment
• Health Assessment Matrix
• Community Resilience Analysis
• Community Livelihood Resilience Analysis
• Assessment of the capacity of relevant stakeholders (LEDARS, private sector, local government, government agencies) through the Anticipatory Social Protection Index for Resilience (ASPIRE) tool