Survey Development Consultant

Terms of Reference

Seeking for Survey Development Consultant

Deadline for applications submission: 14 TH October 2025

LANGUAGE: LAO AND English

Expected duration of assignment: 5 WORKING DAYS OVER A PERIOD OF 2 WEEKS, STARTING FROM October 20, 2025.

Introduction

Cord is an international Non-Governmental Organisation (iNGO) with administrative headquarters in the United Kingdom and an operational staff team in Laos.  Cord has 50 years of experience in humanitarian and development work with communities worldwide affected by conflicts. We believe that people can only flourish where strong relationships exist between governments, civil Society and the private sector, creating a space for dialogue, dispute resolution and confidence building. This leads to more inclusive development, better governance and people’s rights being represented.

Cord has a presence in Laos since 2011. Cord Laos is a small multi-disciplinary team of technical experts that deliver initiatives to develop the capacity of communities, civil society and government. Cord works in partnership with a range of stakeholders and has a multi-donor multi-partner programme.

Project Description
Led by the Lao Front for National Development Department of Religious Affairs and the Department of Religious and Ethnic Affairs in the Prime Minister’s Office. The Promoting the Rule of Law and Understanding of Religious Affairs (PLURAL) Project aims to strengthen enhance the implementation of Decree on Management and Protection of Religious Activities (Decree No.315/GOL), promoting tolerance and understanding of religious diversity, and documenting lessons learned to support replication and policy development.

Scope and the Objectives of Consultancy

Objective

To design a comprehensive, methodologically sound baseline survey for this pilot project will cover all 31 districts in Vientiane Province, Vientiane Prefecture and Luang Prabang that will be administered online. The objective of this baseline is to provide the necessary data to track project impact based on the provided log frame and indicators, guide the redevelopment/revision of training for primarily sub national government stakeholders but to also guide the development of communications materials aimed at the general public. The consultant will be responsible for developing the survey framework, tools, and guidance documents but will not be involved in data collection or analysis.

Scope of Work

The consultant will undertake the following tasks:

• Review project documentation to understand the objectives, target population, and key indicators.
• Develop the survey design, including:
  – Survey objectives and key research questions;
  – Sampling strategy suitable for online administration
  – Questionnaire structure and content;
  – Logical flow and skip patterns.
• Draft the survey instrument using online survey platform KoboToolbox.
• Ensure ethical considerations are addressed, including informed consent and data privacy.
• Provide a survey implementation guide, including:
  – Instructions for administering the survey online;
  – Recommendations for piloting and quality assurance.
• Revise the survey tool based on feedback from the commissioning organization.

Deliverables

Survey design document (including methodology and sampling strategy);

Draft online survey instrument;

Survey implementation guide;

Final versions of all documents incorporating feedback.

Timeline

The assignment is expected to be completed within 5 working days over a period of 2 weeks, starting from October 20, 2025.

Selection Criteria 

Proven experience in survey design, especially for online platforms;

Strong understanding of quantitative research methods;

Familiarity with ethical standards in research;

Excellent written communication skills;

Spoken and Written Lao and English language skills required.

Application Process

The Project Management Committee invites applicants to submit a detailed proposal to laosoffice@cord.org.uk with the following components:

1. A maximum of 1.5 pages detailing the proposed methodology and approach for the consultancy
2. An indicative work plan with time frame and budget
3. Consultant(s) CV
4. Optional: a previous work product of a similar nature