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Baseline Survey

Supporting Refugees Well-Being Resilience and Self-Reliance through Inclusive and Systems-Oriented Access to Essential Services in Nine Refugee Camps Thailand

Summary

Type of Study Baseline Survey (external)

Project TitleSupporting Refugees Well-Being Resilience and Self-Reliance through Inclusive and Systems-Oriented Access to Essential Services in Nine Refugee Camps Thailand

Project Start DateMarch 2026

Project End Date36 months from start date

Project Duration36 months

Project LocationNine refugee camps along the ThailandMyanmar border: Tak Mae Hong Son Kanchanaburi and Ratchaburi provinces Thailand

SectorsHealth WASH Disability-Inclusive Social Support Education Economic Inclusion & Livelihoods Protection

DonorEuropean Union (DG INTPA)

Lead ApplicantInternational Rescue Committee (IRC) Thailand

Consortium PartnersMalteser International (MI) Humanity and Inclusion (HI) Save the Children Thailand (SCT); Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA); Catholic Office for Emergency Relief and Refugees (COERR)

Final Beneficiaries104282 Myanmar refugees (54033 male; 50249 female) across nine refugee camps

Overall ObjectiveTo contribute to improved well-being resilience and self-reliance of Myanmar refugees through inclusive and systems-oriented access to essential services supporting a gradual transition towards sustainable and locally anchored solutions.

This document sets out the Terms of Reference for an external baseline survey to be conducted at the inception of the above-named action funded by the European Union (DG INTPA) and implemented by a consortium led by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) Thailand with Save the Children Thailand (SCT) Humanity and Inclusion (HI) the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) and the Catholic Office for Emergency Relief and Refugees (COERR) as co-implementing partners.

The survey will establish quantitative and qualitative baseline values for the outcome and impact level indicators defined in the project logframe against which mid-term and endline evaluations will measure change. The action covers four interconnected thematic areas including Health WASH and Disability-Inclusive Social Support; Education Continuity and Transition; Economic Inclusion and Livelihoods; and Protection Systems across nine refugee camps situated in Tak Kanchanaburi Mae Hong Son and Ratchaburi provinces.

The baseline survey is an external independent exercise to be commissioned by IRC in the first three months (inception phase) of the project. The consultant(s) selected will be expected to design and implement a rigorous gender-responsive and disability-inclusive mixed-methods study produce a quality-assured dataset and deliver a final report with baseline values for all TBD logframe indicators. The process methodology and deliverables are described in detail below.

and Context

Thailand currently hosts over 104000 refugees from Myanmar across nine camps along its border reflecting a 31% increase since the 2021 military coup. The majority of refugees are Karen and Karenni; many have been displaced for more than three decades and nearly half are children and youth born in Thailand. This protracted context has resulted in service provision and socio-economic engagement occurring largely through camp-based and parallel arrangements with limited alignment to Thai national frameworks.

The operating environment has deteriorated markedly since 2024/2025. The escalation of armed conflict inside Myanmar has intensified displacement and heightened protection risks particularly for adolescents and young men. Concurrently the suspension of U.S. funding in early 2025 triggered a major contraction in external support across the camps significantly reducing availability of health rehabilitation WASH education food security and protection some camps suicide rates have reached their highest levels in five years.

In August 2025 the Royal Thai Government (RTG) adopted a Cabinet Resolution allowing registered refugees holding Ministry of Interior (MOI) documentation to legally work outside the camps for the first time in decades. While this policy shift creates opportunities for self-reliance for an estimated 42000 working-age refugees approximately 30000 refugees remain excluded due to lack of documentation and continue to face restricted labour-market access and protection risks. National and sub-national Thai systems remain insufficiently resourced and operationally unprepared to absorb expanded service responsibilities for refugee populations.

The 36-month action aims to address the basic needs of refugees across the nine camps through four outcomes:

• Outcome 1: Refugees have equitable and strengthened access to quality health WASH and disability-inclusive social support services aligned with Thai national structures and transition pathways.
• Outcome 2: Refugee children and youth have sustained access to safe inclusive and quality education supported by a stabilized and retained teaching workforce and with transition pathways aligned to education systems beyond the camps.
• Outcome 3: Refugee have Improved economic inclusion self-reliance and food security of refugees through employment-readiness programs aligned with RTG and diversified inclusive and market-relevant livelihoods opportunities including sustainable food production.
• Outcome 4: Refugees especially vulnerable groups are better protected from harm through timely access to inclusive and responsive protection services.

The action applies a gender-responsive disability-inclusive child-sensitive and protection-sensitive approach throughout with particular attention to persons with disabilities (PWDs at least 8% of the camp population) women and girls and first-time job seekers. Wherever feasible data will be disaggregated by sex age and disability.

Consortium partners roles: IRC leads overall implementation; IRC and MI leads health and WASH SCT leads education; ADRA leads livelihoods and economic inclusion; COERR supports livelihoods economic inclusion and protection; HI leads disability-inclusive rehabilitation services.

of Study

The baseline survey is intended to establish the TBD outcome and impact level indicators in the project logframe. It will also generate contextual data that will inform adaptive management support communication with EU-INTPA and provide the reference point against which a mid-term evaluation (approximately Month 18) and an endline evaluation (Month 3336) will measure change. The survey will generate data that is representative at the level of individual camps and allows cross-camp comparison.

The specific objectives of the baseline survey are:

• Establish baseline values for all TBD outcome-level and impact-level indicators in the project logframe disaggregated by sex age group disability status and camp.
• Generate a multi-dimensional well-being and resilience index score per household covering (at minimum) access to essential services perceived safety/protection and ability to meet basic needs as specified under the Impact Indicator.
• Assess access to quality of and satisfaction with health WASH rehabilitation/disability services education livelihoods/employment and protection services across the nine camps at the start of the action.
• Document key barriers to service access and participation especially for women persons with disabilities children and other marginalized groups.
• Assess the current level of refugee participation in income-generating activities awareness of the RTG right-to-work policy and readiness to engage in legal employment.
• Document current community-based protection structures perceived safety and access to information and referral pathways.
• Assess the current level of readiness accessibility and capacity of Thai government systems and authorities to progressively assume service delivery and protection responsibilities for refugee populations including levels of awareness trust and barriers faced by refugees in accessing national systems.

Geographic and thematic scope:

The survey covers all nine refugee camps along the ThailandMyanmar border in Tak Kanchanaburi Mae Hong Son and Ratchaburi provinces. It must produce camp-level representative estimates for each of the four thematic areas. Specific camps: Tak Province (Mae La Umpium Nu Po) Mae Hong Son Province (Ban Mai Nai Soi Ban Mae Surin Mae Ra Ma Luang Mae La Oon) Kanchanaburi Province (Ban Don Yang) and Ratchaburi Province (Tham Hin).

Stakeholder

Intended Use

European Union (DG INTPA)

Intended Use: Accountability reporting verification that log frame baselines are established; compliance with EU M&E requirements

IRC Thailand (lead implementer)

Intended Use: Adaptive management; populating logframe; setting realistic end-of-project targets; informing Year 1 workplan

Consortium partners (MI SCT HI ADRA COERR)

Intended Use: Sectoral program planning; adjustment of activities and targeting; internal MEAL use

Royal Thai Government (MOI MoPH MoE MoL)

Intended Use: Evidence based for policy dialogue on service transition and refugee inclusion

Camp Committees and CBOs

Intended Use: Community accountability and feedback

The following questions guide primary data collection. The consultant is expected to refine and supplement these during the inception phase:

1. Health WASH & Disability: What is the current level of access to (current status of most critical health WASH and disability/rehabilitation services) utilization of and satisfaction with health WASH and disability/rehabilitation services among refugee households disaggregated by sex age disability status and camp (eg. What is the current level of perceived acceptance by the community to contribute financially (in kind) towards support management operation and maintenance of critical WASH services by community committees in the 9 camps)

2. Education: What is the current state of education access quality and workforce stability in camp-based schools including the degree of alignment with Thai national standards

3. Economic Inclusion: To what extent are refugees able to access and engage in safe legal and sustainable livelihood opportunitiesboth within and outside the campsand what are the key barriers to labour market participation (including documentation status language mobility restrictions limited information and protection risks) and how do awareness of the Right-to-Work policy and employment readiness influence their ability to secure stable income and meet basic household needs particularly for women persons with disabilities and other excluded groups

4. Protection: What is the current level of perceived safety among refugees and to what extent are protection services and community-based protection and referral mechanisms accessible inclusive timely and responsive particularly for vulnerable groups across the nine camps What are the existing barriers service gaps and levels of trust influencing the readiness and ability of Thai government authorities to progressively assume protection responsibilities and ensure continuity of protection support

5. Well-Being Index: What is the baseline multi-dimensional well-being and resilience score of refugee households covering access to essential services perceived safety and ability to meet basic needs disaggregated by sex age disability and camp

Methodology

The baseline survey will employ a mixed-methods design with a primary quantitative component (household survey) supplemented by qualitative methods to contextualize findings and capture dimensions of experience not amenable to quantification. The study must be gender-responsive disability-inclusive child-sensitive and protection-sensitive throughout.

Indicative data collection methods include:

• Structured household survey across all nine camps designed to produce camp-level representative estimates for logframe indicators.
• Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) with labor offices camp committee members CBO leaders frontline service providers camp managers and consortium staff to contextualize quantitative findings and provide institutional-level data authorities at camp level local authorities at district provincial level and national level if feasible.
• Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with purposively selected groups: adolescent girls and boys School aged children women men PWDs and elderly refugees to capture qualitative perspectives on access barriers and well-being. (Note: recommend the child-friendly methodology for the school aged children)
• Document/records review for any indicators measurable through administrative data (enrolment records insurance registration logs rehabilitation service records WASH service delivery records) to avoid duplication with primary data collection.

The consultant will propose a detailed sampling strategy in the Inception Report ensuring probability-based sampling with camp-level representative estimates and adequate coverage of women men boys girls persons with disabilities and households with diverse livelihood profiles.

Ethical Considerations

The study must adhere to the highest ethical standards throughout including:

• Informed consent: All participants must provide voluntary informed consent prior to data collection using age-appropriate and accessible formats. For children under 18 parental/guardian consent and child assent must be obtained.
• Confidentiality and data protection: No personally identifiable information will be disclosed. All data must be encrypted stored securely and transferred to IRC upon completion in anonymized form.
• Do no harm: All methods and tools must be reviewed for potential risks to participants. Sensitive topics must be addressed using trauma-informed approaches. Referral pathways must be in place for any protection concerns arising during data collection. All individuals collecting data from children must be trained or oriented in safeguarding policies.
• Protection of vulnerable groups: Special care must be taken with women children PWDs and individuals with potential exposure to protection risks.

The consultant should acknowledge and propose mitigation strategies for the following potential limitations in the technical proposal:

• Camp access and permissions: Entry requires MOI and camp authority approval; conditions vary across provinces.
• Rapidly shifting context including political change: The August 2025 RTG employment policy ongoing funding contractions and active service handovers mean baseline values may reflect a moment of acute disruption rather than a stable pre-intervention state. Exhausted of key informant should be considered as there were a lot of surveys and assessments conducted after implementation of right to work policy.
• Self-reporting bias: Indicators on perceived safety well-being and protection are subject to social desirability effects particularly where respondents may associate survey participation with service entitlement.
• Representative bias- The assessment relies on individual cases (the most outspoken camp residents) to judge the whole target populationrather than using accurate sampling systematic data.
• Administrative data inconsistencies: Where baseline values draw on partner program records data quality coverage and indicator definitions may vary across consortium partners and camps limiting direct comparability.
• Seasonal effects: Data collection during monsoon season (approximately MayOctober) may affect field accessibility (especially for Ban Mae Surin Mae Ra Ma Luang Mae La Oon Ban Don Yang) affecting completeness and cross-camp comparability school attendance figures and agricultural livelihood indicators producing values that do not reflect year-round conditions.

Deliverables

All deliverables will be submitted in English in MS Word and PDF format unless otherwise indicated. IRC will provide consolidated written feedback within ten working days of receiving each draft.

Deliverable: Inception Report

Description: Baseline questions and indicator matrix; proposed methodology and sampling strategy; data collection tools (survey instrument KII/FGD guides) analysis plan/approach in English; ethical protocol; risk and mitigation plan; work plan with detailed timeline. Maximum 15 pages plus annexes.

Format: MS Word PDF

Deliverable: Translated Tools

Description: Household survey instrument and qualitative guides translated into Karen Karenni and Burmese.

Format: MS Word digital (CommCare or equivalent)

Deliverable: Fieldwork and Data Collection

Description: Primary data collection: household surveys KIIs and FGDs. Weekly progress updates to IRC MEAL team.

Format: Progress report (email)

Deliverable: Preliminary Findings Presentation

Description: Presentation of preliminary findings data quality notes and any emerging data gaps to IRC and Consortium Partners.

Format: PowerPoint presentation (online)

Deliverable: Draft Baseline Report

Description: Baseline report including executive summary; methodology; findings by thematic area and camp; populated logframe indicator table with baseline values; limitations; annexes.

Format: MS Word PDF

Deliverable: Final Baseline Report

Description: Revised final report incorporating consolidated consortium feedback.

Format: MS Word PDF

Deliverable: Summarized Four-Page Evaluation Report

Description: Report that summarizes the baseline findings conclusion and recommendations.

Deliverable: Clean Raw Datasets

Description: All anonymized raw quantitative datasets (CSV/XLSX) and qualitative transcripts/notes (MS Word) with a data dictionary and codebook.

Format: XLSX/CSV MS Word

Deliverable: Stakeholder Presentation

Description: Concise presentation of key findings and baseline values for consortium partners and selected government stakeholders.

Format: PowerPoint (editable)

Management

The consultant will report directly to the IRC MEAL Coordinator with support of Deputy Director of Programs and Regional Measurement Advisor Asia Thailand who will serve as the primary point of contact and Study Project Manager throughout the assignment. Overall quality assurance oversight is provided by the IRCs Thailand Team Regional Sector Leads Asia and Regional Measurement Advisor Asia.

IRC will convene a baseline inception meeting at the start of the assignment to brief the consultant on the project introduce key consortium contacts and clarify any questions relating to the logframe and indicator definitions. IRC will provide consolidated written feedback on all submitted drafts within ten working days of receipt. IRC will facilitate access to refugee camps where possible support and guidance on possible ways for the recruitment of data collectors/enumerators facilitate engagement with IRC staff and other key stakeholders and provide all necessary program documents and contacts of relevant stakeholders.

The consultant is responsible for the full management of the baseline including team leadership logistics field operations data management analysis and report writing. This includes recruiting and training qualified enumerators with relevant language skills managing daily fieldwork logistics ensuring data quality throughout collection and meeting all agreed deadlines. The consultancy fee covers all the consultancy-related costs including internet costs communication travel and lodging/accommodation costs etc.

Team

IRC is seeking a qualified individual consultant or research firm with demonstrable expertise in conducting large-scale multi-sector surveys in humanitarian or refugee contexts in Southeast Asia. Applications will be assessed against the criteria below. Criteria marked as Essential must be met; Desirable criteria will be used to differentiate between technically qualified applicants.

Team Leader / Principal Investigator Essential Requirements

• Advanced degree (Masters or higher) in statistics social science public health development studies or a related field.
• Minimum seven years experience in quantitative and qualitative research including at least three large-scale household surveys/Baseline surveys and will be able to share the previous baseline report.
• Demonstrated experience designing and implementing multi-sector baselines or needs assessments in humanitarian or refugee camp settings.
• Strong expertise in sampling methodologies for refugee/displaced populations.
• Proficiency in quantitative data analysis (SPSS Stata or R) and qualitative analysis (NVivo or equivalent).
• Experience developing gender-sensitive and disability-inclusive data collection tools.
• Fluency in English; excellent report writing skills.
• AI-generated reports will not be accepted. Candidates are strongly encouraged to demonstrate their technical knowledge and apply their relevant professional experience.

Team Leader Desirable

• Prior experience conducting research in Thailand or the Mekong sub-region.
• Familiarity with EU-funded project MEAL requirements.
• Experience with multi-dimensional well-being or resilience index construction.
• Knowledge of the ThailandMyanmar border context and Myanmar refugee populations.

Field Research Team

• Adequate number of trained enumerators to complete data collection within the agreed fieldwork period across all nine camps.
• Enumerators must be fluent in Karen Karenni and/or Burmese (as required by camp population) and in Thai.
• At least 50% female enumerators to enable gender-sensitive data collection.
• At least one team member with specific expertise or experience in disability-inclusive data collection (e.g. use of the Washington Group Short Set).

Criterion: Technical understanding

Description: Demonstration of understanding of baseline survey objectives log frame indicators and the Thailand refugee camp context.

Weight: 20%

Criterion: Methodology

Description: Quality rigour and appropriateness of proposed methodology sampling strategy and analytical approach.

Weight: 30%

Criterion: Team qualifications

Description: Relevant qualifications and experience of the team leader and field research team; language competencies.

Weight: 20%

Criterion: Organizational capacity

Description: Demonstrated capacity to manage multi-site fieldwork across the refugee camps within the proposed timeline.

Weight: 15%

Criterion: Financial proposal

Description: Reasonableness of costs value for money and transparency of budget breakdown.

Weight: 15%

Schedule

Installment: First payment

Trigger / Deliverable: Upon IRCs written approval of the Inception Report and all data collection tools

Amount (%): 20%

Installment: Second payment

Trigger / Deliverable: Upon completion of fieldwork and submission of clean raw datasets preliminary findings presentation and submission of draft baseline report.

Amount (%): 30%

Installment: Third payment

Trigger / Deliverable: Upon IRCs written approval of the draft final baseline Report.

Amount (%): 30%

Installment: Four payment

Trigger / Deliverable: Upon IRCs written approval of the final baseline report and data handover.

Amount (%): 20%

to Apply

Interested individual consultants or research firms should submit a technical and financial proposal to the IRC Thailand by the deadline specified in the call for applications. Proposals should be submitted electronically in PDF format. The proposal package must include:

• Technical proposal (maximum 20 pages) covering: understanding of the assignment; proposed methodology and sampling approach; data collection tools (outline); work plan and timeline; team CVs; and examples of at least two comparable baseline surveys conducted by the team lead.
• Financial proposal detailing: personnel allocation by role (number of days and daily rate inclusive of taxes); field operational costs (transport accommodation per diem); translation costs; and any other applicable costs. IRC seeks value for money and quality; the lowest-cost proposal will not automatically be selected.
• Expression of Interest (EOI) form.

IRC reserves the right to request additional information and to conduct interviews or technical presentations as part of the selection process. Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.

For questions or to request additional project documentation contact: with the subject line: EU Baseline Survey Thailand.

PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS

All International Rescue Committee workers must adhere to the core values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. Our Standards are Integrity Service Equality and accordance with these values the IRC operates and enforces policies on Safeguarding Conflicts of Interest Fiscal Integrity and Reporting Wrongdoing and Protection from Retaliation. IRC is committed to take all necessary preventive measures and create an environment where people feel safe and to take all necessary actions and corrective measures when harm occurs. IRC builds teams of professionals who promote critical reflection power sharing debate and objectivity to deliver the best possible services to our clients.

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