Consultancy to Conduct Baseline, Midline, Endline and Post-launch VAT Awareness and Readiness Surveys

LIBERIA REVENUE AUTHORITY GOVERNANCE REFORM AND ACCOUNTABILITY TRANSFORMATION (GREAT) PROJECT (P177478)

IDA CREDIT No: 7511-LR

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST (CONSULTING SERVICES – FIRM SELECTION) LR-LRA-568564-CS-CQS Consultancy to Conduct Baseline, Midline, Endline and Post Launch VAT Awareness and Readiness Surveys

The Government of Liberia, through the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP), is implementing the Governance Reform and Accountability Transformation (GREAT) Project with financing from the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank. The Project supports reforms aimed at strengthening domestic revenue mobilization, public financial management, accountability, and institutional capacity. Under Component 2 of the Project, support is being provided to strengthen domestic revenue mobilization, including capacity building for the implementation of Value Added Tax (VAT). The Government of Liberia is transitioning from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) to VAT, which is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2027. To support the transition, the GREAT Project is financing a nationwide VAT implementation and awareness program to be implemented by the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) and MFDP. The VAT implementation program seeks to achieve at least 70 percent taxpayer awareness of VAT obligations and at least 70 percent business readiness to comply by December 2026. To independently measure progress against these results, the GREAT Project intends to engage a qualified consulting firm to conduct a series of baseline, midline, endline and post-launch VAT awareness and readiness surveys. SCOPE OF THE ASSIGNMENT The consulting services will include the design, implementation, analysis and reporting of four survey rounds covering VAT awareness and business readiness. The assignment will include: A nationwide Baseline VAT Awareness and Readiness Survey covering approximately 1,500 respondents across Liberia's fifteen counties; A Midline VAT Awareness and Readiness Survey covering approximately 800 respondents; A nationwide Endline VAT Awareness and Readiness Survey covering approximately 1,500 respondents; and A Post-Launch VAT Survey and Outcome Assessment covering approximately 1,000 respondents.

The consulting firm will be responsible for, among other activities, developing the survey methodology and sampling strategy; developing and piloting survey instruments; undertaking field data collection; implementing quality assurance procedures; cleaning, validating and analyzing survey data; measuring changes in taxpayer awareness and business readiness across survey rounds; assessing the reach and effectiveness of the VAT awareness campaign; and preparing the required survey reports, datasets, codebooks and analytical documentation. The four survey rounds will be undertaken under a single consultancy assignment to ensure consistency in the survey methodology, core instruments, sampling approach, indicator definitions and analytical framework and to enable reliable comparison of results over time. The detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) for the assignment provides further information on the scope of services and deliverables. REQUIRED CONSULTING FIRM'S QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE The Liberia Revenue Authority, through the GREAT Project, now invites the consulting firms receiving this Request for Expressions of Interest to indicate their interest in providing the services. Interested consulting firms should provide information demonstrating that they possess the required qualifications and relevant experience to perform the assignment. At a minimum, the consulting firm should demonstrate: At least five (5) years of demonstrated experience in survey research, socioeconomic research, market or public opinion research, monitoring and evaluation, or related applied research; Successful completion of at least three (3) similar survey assignments within the last five (5) years , involving large-scale quantitative data collection and analysis, of which at least one assignment involved nationwide or multi-county/multi-region coverage; Demonstrated experience in designing and implementing surveys involving businesses, taxpayers, households or the general public, including development of sampling methodologies, survey instruments, field protocols and analytical frameworks; Demonstrated experience conducting baseline, follow-up, perception, awareness, knowledge, attitude, readiness or comparable surveys designed to measure changes in indicators or outcomes over time; Demonstrated experience managing large-scale field data collection, including recruitment and training of enumerators, multi-location deployment, field supervision and implementation of data quality assurance procedures; Demonstrated experience with computer-assisted data collection, survey data management, statistical analysis, weighting and preparation of analytical reports; Demonstrated experience conducting surveys in Liberia or comparable West African contexts, including the capacity to mobilize field teams and undertake data collection across geographically dispersed locations; and Experience undertaking research related to taxation, domestic revenue mobilization, regulatory compliance, business formalization, public-sector reform or public awareness/behavior-change programs will be considered an advantage.

Relevant assignments should be presented in a table indicating, at a minimum, the name of the assignment, brief description/scope of services, client, country/location, contract start and completion dates, and client contact/reference information. Supporting documentation demonstrating successful completion of the assignments may be requested. KEY EXPERTS The consulting firm will be required to provide a minimum of eight (8) person-months of professional input through the following three key experts:

KE-1: Survey Specialist/Team Leader – 3 person-months

KE-2: Sampling Statistician/Data Analyst