[{"Salary":null , "Remote_Job":false , "Posting_Title":"Request for Proposals: Economic Valuation of Welfare Entitlements" , "Is_Locked":false , "City":"New Delhi","Industry":"NGO/Social Services","Job_Description":"
About Indus Action
Founded in 2013, Indus Action is one of Indialeading policy implementation organisations dedicated to enabling sustainable access to social protection for vulnerable citizens. We aim to enable over 800 million vulnerable citizens in India to move irreversibly out of extreme poverty by facilitating access to critical government support to which they are entitled. We use inclusive, tech-enabled, citizen-centric social protection systems in partnership with government departments. Since inception, we have supported more than 1.9 million citizens in accessing welfare entitlements across workstreams of education, labour, food security, access to public services and pandemic relief.
The Assignment
Indus Actionwork spans different welfare entitlements that vary widely in their social and economic returns to those receiving them. For example, a seat in a private school for eight years of education under the RTE Section 12(1)(c) for a school-going child is likely to yield substantive social and economic returns over the individuals life. Similarly, programs to support new livelihood-generating opportunities are likely to generate long-term income gains for women who belong to SHGs. On the other hand, some entitlements are aimed at easing shorter-term shocks/events, such as covering medical expenses or maternity benefits, but with the potential to prevent families from falling into poverty and debt traps. To make our efforts comparable across entitlements, it has become increasingly vital to understand the total economic and social impact of each entitlement, not just its monetary value. We are looking to contract an economist to compute the Social Returns on Investment (SROI), or another relevant framework for economic valuation of the entitlements we work on. The focus of this assignment will be on the following entitlements 1 :
- Free private school education under the RTE Section 12.1(c)
- Selected scholarship schemes for school-going children (1-2 schemes)
- Welfare benefits for construction and unorganised sector workers under the BoCW and UWA, respectively (between 8-10 key schemes such as pensions, maternity benefits, medical reimbursements, ex-gratia payments for heat waves etc.).
Scope of work
The consultant will:
- Develop or adapt a relevant framework for measuring the economic value of welfare entitlements listed above
- Develop a plan for computing the economic value through secondary research and/or original field surveys. The need for original field surveys must be discussed mutually and within reasonable budgets. For the field surveys, the economist will develop the 1 In terms of geographical scope of the value of entitlements, we are expecting an average value computed for India on the whole questionnaires and research design in collaboration with Indus Action staff, while Indus Action will implement the surveys.
- Compute the economic value of entitlements based on the research conducted for 2025-26.
- Develop a calculator for Indus Action to update calculations as metrics evolve. Share reproducible code/Excel with Indus Action.
- Indus Action is open to the original surveys serving the dual purpose of supporting the computation of the economic value of entitlements, and aligned, publishable research co-authored collaboratively with the consultant. Survey questions in benefit of research publications may be included by the consultant in discussion with Indus Action.
Deliverables:
a) A framework document on the economic valuation of social welfare entitlements
b) Questionnaires (as required) for field surveys
c) Document with the computed economic value of welfare entitlements for 2025-26
d) Calculator (Excel-based or reproducible code) for economic valuation for future use by Indus Action
Indus Action will:
a) Provide existing information on schemes and organise internal consultations to map the social and economic benefits of different schemes.
b) Implement original surveys and conduct data analysis as per the questionnaire and data analysis plan prepared by the consultant.
Timeline:
The overall timeline for this consulting project is 9 months from the date the contract is signed. Within this period, the consultant must identify the person-days required for specific milestones and the total number of consulting days.
Requirements Who we are looking for
1. The ideal candidate should have a PhD or Masters degree in Economics with significant experience conducting research on economic valuation/SROI in the field of human development/health/social welfare, among others.
2. This is a consulting position. So the candidate may hold other positions (full or part-time), but must be able to commit the fixed number of days per month as mentioned in their proposal.
3. The proposal must clearly outline whether SROI or some other similar or a combination of methods are best suited to this assignment. We understand the limited data you have at this point, and will assess your proposal based on that limitation.
Terms of engagement
1. We will require a weekly check-in with the Director of Impact and Learning at Indus Action to update on progress and for planning.
2. We will review the progress made with Indus ActionBoard Sub-Committee on Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning (MERL) against each milestone. The Director of Impact and Learning will anchor this process.
3. Any data shared by Indus Action must be treated as confidential.
4. You will need to have your own laptop/computer and a copy of the statistical software you intend to use if it is a paid software like STATA. We use R at Indus Action.
5. The IP for the economic valuation framework and strategy will be with Indus Action.
What we need from you:
1. A brief proposal (max. two pages) on the most suitable analytical framework and the methods required.
2. A timeline with key milestones including the following: (a) a framework for economic valuation (b) research plan (c) field research (if required) (d) submission of a comprehensive final report with the framework, research design, and computed value of entitlements and (e) entitlements value calculator.
3. The above-mentioned milestones (or slight modifications to them based on the proposal) should be mentioned clearly along with milestone-based payments.
4. The number of person-days required for each milestone, the total person-days and the associated cost.
5. Your CV and a cover letter highlighting your previous work relevant to this assignment.
","Job_Type":"Part time" , "Job_Opening_Name":"Request for
