REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS / TERMS OF REFERENCE - National Listenership Survey for Twubakane Season 2
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Tender Information
Item | Details |
Organization | Rwanda Men’s Resource Centre (RWAMREC) |
Project | NOVAH_TWUBAKANE |
Tender Title | National Listenership Survey for Twubakane Season 2 |
Tender Method | Open Tender |
Tender Reference No. | August/006/2026 |
Submission Deadline | 15 September 2026, 5:00 PM Kigali time |
1. ABOUT RWANDA MEN’S RESOURCE CENTRE (RWAMREC)
Rwanda Men’s Resource Centre (RWAMREC) is a non-governmental organization dedicated to achieving gender equality by promoting positive masculinities and engaging men and boys as allies in preventing gender-based violence (GBV) in Rwanda.
Founded in 2006 by nine members and legally established in 2008 under Ministerial Order No. 114/11 of 3/9/2008, RWAMREC emerged in response to the critical need for men to actively participate in ending violent behaviours and reshaping traditional gender norms. The organization was born out of the recognition that gender equality efforts were often perceived as solely women’s issues, leading to resistance from some men who felt threatened by the empowerment of women. RWAMREC sought to address this by demonstrating that men also benefit from gender equality and have a vital role to play in fostering inclusive and equitable societies.
Since its inception, RWAMREC has evolved from a small local initiative into a nationally recognized organization operating across the country. Its programmes span all four provinces and the City of Kigali, reflecting its growing reach and impact.
The organization’s core mission remains centred on transforming harmful masculine norms, reducing violence against women and children, and fostering partnerships between men and women to advance gender justice. RWAMREC’s work is grounded in the belief that sustainable change requires the active involvement of men as advocates and role models for positive behaviour.
For more information, click here.
2. CONTEXT AND RATIONALE
The Rwanda Men’s Resource Centre (RWAMREC), in partnership with NOVAH (No Violence At Home), has developed Twubakane, an entertainment-education radio drama designed to contribute to the prevention of intimate partner violence by addressing its drivers and promoting healthier, non-violent relationship behaviours.
NOVAH is a non-profit organization registered in the Netherlands that uses mass media and entertainment-education to prevent intimate partner violence in a cost-effective and scalable manner.
Twubakane Season 1 consisted of six episodes and was broadcast on RC Musanze in early 2025. A subsequent survey in Musanze provided initial evidence on awareness, listenership and audience perceptions.
Twubakane Season 2 expands the programme to a national audience. It consists of 12 Kinyarwanda radio drama episodes, with each episode lasting approximately 20 minutes, including the presenter introduction and closing by Jean Claude Kwizigera.
The series follows three neighbouring households facing everyday challenges involving household finances, alcohol use, communication, trust, decision-making and domestic conflict. Its central message is reflected in the title Twubakane, meaning “Let us build together.”
RWAMREC and NOVAH, in partnership with Innovation for Poverty Action, are conducting a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) in Nyagatare District to evaluate whether Twubakane can contribute effectively to reducing intimate partner violence and improving healthier relationships.
The endline survey is expected to run from August to September 2026. Following the evaluation, Season 2 is expected to be aired on Radio Rwanda for 12 weeks, from the beginning of October 2026 to the beginning of January 2027, with one original episode and one rebroadcast each week. The final broadcast is expected on 9 January 2027.
The expansion from a district-level Season 1 broadcast to national coverage creates the need for a more rigorous, nationally representative measurement of reach.
RWAMREC therefore seeks qualified external technical expertise to co-design and implement a survey that can credibly estimate awareness and listenership among adults in Rwanda.
The methodology and sample size must account for the expectation that approximately 2%–5% of adults may qualify as active listeners and must provide useful precision for the national estimate and pre-specified subgroup analyses.
The resulting evidence will support programme learning, cost-effectiveness analysis, donor reporting, future planning and external communications.
3. OBJECTIVES
3.1 General Objective
To co-design and implement a nationally representative survey that estimates the proportion of adults in Rwanda who actively listened to Twubakane Season 2 and generates credible evidence on programme awareness, reach and audience experience.
3.2 Specific Objectives
The survey will:
Estimate active listenership, defined as the percentage of adults who report listening to at least half of the 12 episodes (at least six episodes) and who pass a short content recall or recognition check of approximately two questions.
Estimate marketing reach and exposure, including raw reach, the number or proportion of episodes listened to, and where respondents first heard about Twubakane, in order to inform future marketing efforts.
Describe the listener profile and listening setting, with reporting by gender, agreed age categories, urban/rural residence, relationship and household status, and other approved variables where sample sizes permit.
Assess programme appreciation and perceived relevance using approximately two short questions and collect limited self-reported change or impact information among listeners, including an optional short open-ended or qualitative follow-up among a subsample.
Produce statistically credible national and subgroup estimates, explicitly discussing precision and aiming, where feasible and depending on observed prevalence and budget, for a confidence interval of approximately ±1 to 3 percentage points around the national active-listenership estimate.
4. SCOPE OF WORK
The assignment covers the design and implementation of a nationally representative listenership survey for Twubakane Season 2.
4.1 Geographic Coverage
All provinces of Rwanda and the City of Kigali.
National urban and rural coverage.
4.2 Target Population
Adults aged 18 years and above who ordinarily reside in Rwanda.
4.3 Unit of Analysis
The individual adult respondent.
Any population exclusions must be clearly documented and reflected in reporting and weighting.
4.4 Thematic Coverage
The survey will cover:
Programme awareness;
Marketing reach;
Raw reach;
Active listenership;
Episode exposure;
First source of awareness;
Listening platform or radio source;
Listening setting;
Programme appreciation and relevance;
Limited perceived change; and
Relevant respondent characteristics.
4.5 Listener-Level Analysis
Among active listeners, the survey should describe episode exposure and listening setting, including categories that distinguish:
50%–80% versus 80%–100% episode exposure;
Listening predominantly with a partner versus alone;
Gender; and
Urban versus rural residence.
The consultant must assess whether these detailed categories can be estimated with acceptable precision and, where necessary, recommend a statistically defensible alternative, such as:
Combining categories;
Oversampling likely listeners; or
Using a two-stage screening and follow-up design.
5. TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
5.1 Tasks
The consultant will carry out the following activities:
A. Survey Design and Preparation
Review relevant background materials.
Clarify indicators.
Assess feasible survey modes.
Conduct sample-size and precision calculations.
Propose the final methodology and workplan.
Develop the sampling frame and selection procedures.
Co-develop a concise questionnaire in English and Kinyarwanda, including content checks, consent language, interviewer instructions, skip logic and field manuals.
B. Survey Programming and Pilot
Programme the electronic survey and quality-control checks.
Recruit and train qualified Kinyarwanda-speaking interviewers and supervisors.
Conduct a pilot.
Analyse pilot findings.
Revise tools and procedures for approval before full data collection.
C. Main Data Collection
Implement nationally representative data collection.
Supervise fieldwork.
Monitor data quality and sample composition.
Provide regular fieldwork progress updates.
D. Analysis, Reporting and Handover
Prepare the required inception, pilot, fieldwork, draft and final reports.
Hand over complete datasets, codebook, documentation and other approved outputs.
5.2 Responsibilities
Consultant Responsibilities
The consultant will:
Lead all technical aspects of survey design, sampling, data collection, quality assurance, analysis and reporting.
Secure and manage the fieldwork team, logistics and technology.
Maintain complete documentation and promptly raise methodological or operational risks.
Ensure that all outputs are accurate, reproducible and delivered on time.
Obtain the appropriate authorizations, including IRB authorization where required, in time to undertake data collection.
RWAMREC and NOVAH Responsibilities
RWAMREC and NOVAH will:
Provide programme materials, broadcasting information and content-check questions.
Provide timely feedback and approval on the methodology, questionnaire, content checks and deliverables.
Facilitate introductions or administrative support where agreed, without replacing the consultant’s responsibility for independent sampling and field implementation.
Pay approved invoices in accordance with the contract.
6. DELIVERABLES
The consultant must produce the following measurable outputs. Major deliverables will be reviewed and approved by RWAMREC and NOVAH in accordance with the decision-making and review process agreed during inception.
Phase | Deliverables | Indicative Timing |
Phase 1 – Inception and Design | Inception report; detailed methodology; sampling and precision calculations; workplan; information requests | Within 10 working days of contract signature |
Phase 2 – Instrument Preparation | Final English and Kinyarwanda questionnaires; programmed survey; interviewer and supervisor manuals; data-management plan | Before piloting |
Phase 3 – Pilot and Finalization | Pilot report; revised and approved tools; final fieldwork plan | Before full fieldwork |
Phase 4 – Main Data Collection | Training report; fieldwork progress updates; final fieldwork report; complete raw dataset; disposition records | January 2027, after final broadcast |
Phase 5 – Data Processing | Clean anonymized dataset; codebook; cleaning documentation | Within one week after completion of data collection |
Phase 6 – Reporting and Handover | Draft report; final report; handover of approved study materials and documentation | Final report within three weeks after fieldwork |
7. METHODOLOGY
Applicants are expected to propose and justify the most appropriate design rather than follow a pre-selected method.
The approach may include:
A household-based probability survey;
Telephone survey;
Mixed-mode design;
Multi-stage cluster sample;
Stratified sample; or
Another defensible approach.
The proposed methodology must clearly explain how national representativeness and subgroup reporting will be achieved.
7.1 Sampling Design and Sample Size
The proposal should:
Provide a detailed sampling frame and selection procedure at every stage, including household and respondent selection where applicable.
Provide sample-size calculations based on expected active-listenership prevalence of 2%–5%, desired precision, confidence level, design effect, non-response and planned subgroup analyses.
Distinguish the precision expected for the national estimate from that expected for subgroup and listener-only analyses.
7.2 Questionnaire Design
The consultant will:
Co-develop a concise questionnaire in English and Kinyarwanda in close consultation with RWAMREC and NOVAH.
Keep the RWAMREC/NOVAH module extremely short for non-listeners, with only essential screening and demographic questions.
Keep the listener module to approximately 10 minutes, where feasible.
Use neutral, non-leading awareness and listenership questions, with unaided questions before aided recognition prompts.
Use approximately two content-check questions supplied by RWAMREC and NOVAH.
Pilot recognition questions to ensure they distinguish genuine listeners from respondents who guess or confuse Twubakane with another programme.
Include appropriate response options for partial exposure, shared listening, irregular listening and rebroadcasts.
Prepare interviewer instructions, skip logic, consent language and field manuals.
7.3 Pilot Testing
The consultant will conduct short pilot testing covering:
Question comprehension;
Translation;
Interview length;
Recall prompts;
Content checks;
Programming logic;
Response distributions; and
Operational procedures.
Pilot findings and proposed revisions must be documented and approved before full data collection.
7.4 Data Collection and Quality Assurance
The consultant will:
Recruit and train qualified Kinyarwanda-speaking interviewers and supervisors.
Use electronic data collection with programmed skip logic, range checks, timestamps and other appropriate controls.
Implement daily field monitoring, supervisor review and documented corrective action.
Monitor response rates and sample composition by strata throughout fieldwork.
Provide RWAMREC and NOVAH with regular fieldwork progress updates.
Promptly report any material deviation from the approved protocol.
7.5 Ethics, Safeguarding and Data Protection
The consultant must:
Apply a do-no-harm approach and appropriate confidentiality safeguards, as perceived-change questions may elicit sensitive disclosures, even though the survey will not directly measure intimate partner violence.
Obtain informed consent and make clear that participation is voluntary.
Conduct interviews privately to the extent possible.
Avoid collecting unnecessary personally identifiable information.
Where contact or tracking information is operationally required, store it separately from survey responses.
Use secure, access-controlled systems for data collection, transfer and storage.
Prepare a proportionate referral and response protocol for distress or spontaneous disclosures in consultation with RWAMREC.
Comply with applicable Rwandan laws and regulations, institutional requirements, and any ethics or research authorization determined necessary for the selected methodology.
8. DURATION AND TIMELINE
The assignment will run from contract signature through completion and approval of the final report.
Twubakane Season 2 is expected to be broadcast from the beginning of October 2026 to the beginning of January 2027, with the final broadcast on 9 January 2027.
Survey fieldwork is expected to take place in January 2027, as soon as practicable after the final broadcast.
Activity | Timeline |
Inception and design | Within 10 working days of contract signature |
Instrument preparation | Before piloting |
Pilot and finalization | Before full fieldwork |
Main data collection | January 2027, after final broadcast |
Cleaned dataset | Within one week after data collection |
Final report | Within three weeks after fieldwork |
9. REPORTING ARRANGEMENT
The consultant will report to the Executive Director of RWAMREC or a designated focal point and will work closely with the Project Coordinator from RWAMREC and the NOVAH team.
The parties will agree on a concise decision-making and review process during inception.
9.1 Progress Communication
Regular fieldwork progress updates must be provided to RWAMREC and NOVAH. Any material deviation from the approved protocol must be reported promptly.
9.2 Reporting Format
Progress will be documented through the required:
Inception report;
Pilot report;
Training/fieldwork report;
Draft report;
Final report;
Datasets;
Codebook; and
Related technical documentation.
9.3 Language Capacity
Survey questionnaires must be prepared in English and Kinyarwanda.
The proposed team must have excellent written and spoken English and strong Kinyarwanda capacity.
9.4 Review and Approval
RWAMREC and NOVAH will provide timely feedback and approval on the methodology, questionnaire, content checks and deliverables.
10. QUALIFICATION AND EXPERIENCE
The assignment is open to qualified individuals and consulting entities. Where a consulting entity applies, it should be legally registered.
The proposed lead consultant and team should demonstrate the following:
Required Qualifications and Experience
Advanced university qualification in public health, social sciences or gender studies.
At least 3 years of relevant experience designing and implementing large-scale quantitative surveys, preferably nationally representative surveys in Rwanda.
Demonstrated expertise in probability sampling and rare-prevalence estimation.
Experience developing and testing questionnaires in English and Kinyarwanda.
Capacity to manage nationwide fieldwork, interviewer training, digital data collection and quality assurance.
Excellent written and spoken English, with strong Kinyarwanda capacity within the proposed team.
Individual applicants should demonstrate how they will collaborate with their institution to assemble a qualified team and provide evidence of the institution’s commitment to ensuring the availability of required personnel throughout implementation.
11. EVALUATION CRITERIA
Proposals will be scored on a 100-point basis, with 65% allocated to the technical proposal and 35% to the financial proposal.
Evaluation Criterion | Weight |
Understanding of the assignment and methodological rigour, including sampling, sample size and precision | 35% |
Relevant team leader experience, including nationally representative surveys | 15% |
Fieldwork, quality assurance, ethics and data-protection approach, feasibility of workplan and availability | 15% |
Financial proposal | 35% |
Total | 100% |
12. APPLICATION PROCESS AND REQUIRED PROPOSAL DOCUMENTS
Interested applicants should submit:
One technical proposal; and
One financial proposal,
together with the required supporting documents.
Applications should be submitted by email to:
Executive Director, Rwanda Men’s Resource Centre (RWAMREC), YYUSSA Plaza, Kimironko, KG 11 Ave, 2nd Floor. Email: info@rwamrec.org
Submission Deadline
15 September 2026 at 5:00 PM Kigali time
12.1 Technical Proposal
The technical proposal should include:
Understanding of the assignment and key methodological challenges, particularly the expected 2%–5% active-listener prevalence.
Proposed survey mode, sampling frame, sampling stages and respondent-selection procedure.
Sample-size and precision calculations for the national estimate and key subgroup analyses.
Proposed approach to listener screening, content verification and mitigation of false-positive reporting.
Fieldwork, quality-assurance, ethics, safeguarding and data-protection plans.
Detailed timeline and staffing plan identifying the team leader and all key personnel.
Any proposed cost-sharing or joint-survey arrangement, clearly explaining governance, questionnaire space, confidentiality, sampling implications, and how RWAMREC/NOVAH data quality and timelines would be protected.
For individual applicants, evidence of their institution’s commitment to supporting the assignment and ensuring availability of the required personnel throughout implementation.
12.2 Financial Proposal
The financial proposal should include:
Detailed, itemized budget in Rwandan francs (RWF), including all applicable taxes.
All assumptions, unit costs and the number of days or units budgeted.
Proposed payment schedule.
12.3 Required Supporting Documents
Applicants must submit:
CVs of the proposed lead consultant and key personnel.
Copies of relevant academic degrees and professional certificates.
Evidence or links demonstrating relevant similar survey assignments.
12.4 Late or Incomplete Applications
Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.
RWAMREC reserves the right to:
Request clarifications;
Negotiate the scope and budget; or
Cancel the procurement process without award.
Done at Kigali on 31 August 2026
Fidèle RUTAYISIRE,
Executive Director,
RWAMREC
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