ALIVE & THRIVE. Request for Proposals (RFP)

Transcription

1 ALIVE & THRIVE Issued on: June 14, 2018 Request for Proposals (RFP) For: To Evaluate the Irish Aid funded interventions implemented by Alive & Thrive in SNNPR and Tigray Regions, Ethiopia. Anticipated Period of Performance: July 16, 2018 January 31, Proposal Submission Date: July 5, Background: Alive & Thrive (A&T) is an initiative to save lives, prevent illness, and ensure healthy growth and development of young children. Since 2009, A&T has worked in Ethiopia predominantly with the health sector, but more recently with agriculture and the Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) platforms, to improve infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices throughout Ethiopia. We have worked at the federal and regional levels (in the Tigray, SNNPR, Oromia and Amhara regions) to support the government s multi-sectoral National Nutrition Program achieve its targets. Evidence from our work over the last nine years has emphasized the importance of engaging in both nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions to make significant progress in achieving improvements in maternal, infant, and young child nutrition (MIYCN). In 2017, Irish Aid funded A&T to implement an innovative approach to multi sectoral nutrition and this scope of work is aimed at evaluating this project. A&T is seeking a qualified agency with experience in qualitative research in African countries, preferably in Ethiopia, to conduct the evaluation. Interested agencies are requested to submit a detailed protocol, information on institutional capabilities, proposed draft data collection tools, a staffing plan, a timeline of deliverables, and budget to Alive & Thrive. Scope of Work (SOW): Irish Aid provided funding to A&T in Ethiopia to implement the project entitled: Improving Nutrition in the first 1000 days: Maximizing Coverage and Effectiveness of High Impact Nutrition-Specific and Nutrition-Sensitive Interventions in Climate Smart Agriculture and Livelihood Programs. In this project A&T worked closely with some Irish Aid funded grantees, notably the Bureau of Agriculture and Natural Resources in Tigray, and a coalition of partners SOS Sahel Ethiopia, Farm Africa, Self Help Africa, and Vita--in SNNPR to mainstream nutrition in their climate-smart agriculture interventions. A&T has provided training, materials, tools, and technical assistance to support their direct implementation of nutritionsensitive and nutrition-specific programs at the woreda and kebele level, and supported them with strengthening multisectoral collaboration at the woredas level among the health and agricultural bureaus. This is an 18-month s project (July 2017 to December 2018) with the following specific objectives: 1

2 1. To enhance capacity of Irish Aid livelihood partners to make their agriculture and livelihood projects nutrition-sensitive 2. To increase coverage of MIYCN interventions delivered through the health sector, among livelihood and PSNP beneficiaries who are pregnant or lactating or have children under 2 years 3. To increase collaboration among woreda health and agriculture officials for improved MIYCN outcomes among livelihood beneficiaries 4. To increase the use of data by partners (including government) to prioritize MIYCN interventions and to implement the National Nutrition Program at the woredas level. The program currently operates in 8 woredas (districts), 4 each in two regions of Ethiopia--Tigray and SNNP as shown in Table 1 below. Table 1: Region Partner Zone Woreda SNNP Vita (NGO) Gamo Gofa Bonke Self Help Africa Gurage Abeshge (NGO) Farm Africa (NGO) Kembata Tembaro Hadaro Tunto SOS Sahel (NG)) Sidama Hawassa Zuria Tigray Bureau of Agriculture Eastern Ganta Afeshom and Rural Development Central Ahefurom Woreleke Partner Southeast Doga Tembey The proposed evaluation described in this scope of work will be conducted in partnership with A&T staff from the Addis Ababa and Washington DC offices. A&T will invite regional bureau staff from SNNP and Tigray to join the final planning and implementation of the evaluation as a learning opportunity in the use of qualitative methods to conduct program evaluations. Objectives of the Final Evaluation: 1. To document activities undertaken and any capacity changes among Irish Aid livelihood partners to make their project more nutrition sensitive. 2. To document the experience of woreda health and agriculture officers in collaborating with each other for improved MIYCN. 3. To document the recent changes on whether and how partners (including government) are using data in decisions related MIYCN interventions and monitoring the National Nutrition Program at the woredas level. 4. Document experience of how pregnant women and mothers of children under 2, and their family members have been engaged with and involved in activities related to MIYCN and NSA interventions. 2

3 The aim of this enquiry is not to quantify any outcomes, but to document the changes that have occurred among stakeholders and beneficiaries. This includes learning the ways in which Irish Aid partners have changed to address nutrition (including MIYCN) in their existing projects; whether regional and woreda Health and Agriculture officials have changed the way they interact to make their programs more nutrition-sensitive and -specific; and whether stakeholders have changed the ways they use data to make decisions about MIYCN programs. An additional aim of this inquiry will be to capture and describe the experiences of a variety of women in program areas, e.g. from different regions, pregnant vs. mothers of young children, different religions, and with young children of different ages. For example, we would like to learn whether they ve made recent changes to how they feed themselves and their younger children and whether their perceptions of services and their beliefs about MIYCF have changed over time. Evaluation Methodology Qualitative methods appropriate to evaluate complex or dynamic programs are expected to be the primary approach for collecting data. Some examples of qualitative evaluation methods include: Most Significant Change Technique 1 ; Outcome Evidencing 2 Outcomes Harvesting 3 The key questions are related to MIYCN coverage and practices and to changes observed at the organizational level either in partner organizations or at the government level. The Program Impact Pathway shown in Figure 1 presents the theoretical framework for how the project was to impact maternal, infant and young child feeding practices. To address evaluation objectives 1, 2 and 3, we expect the data sources to include interviews with various stakeholders such as IA climatesmart agriculture project staff, frontline health and agriculture workers, religious leaders, woreda level managers from health and agriculture sectors, Irish Aid regional staff, program beneficiaries and other community and family members in program areas pdf 3

4 Figure 1. Program Impact Pathway Routine program data collected by A&T will be available to evaluators to augment these sources. The monitoring records may provide insights regarding the adherence to or gaps in actions shown in the Program Implementation Pathway that will be further explored with program staff to elicit information on how similar programs can be better designed. Data available from the routine monitoring system includes: the number of visits to pregnant women and mothers of children under two made by Health Development Army Team Leads (HDATLs) and Health Extension Workers (HEWs), the number of community conversations facilitated by VSLA and SACCO leaders attendance of mothers/caretakers at food demonstrations and group meetings the number of contacts that households have with Agriculture Extension Workers the number of contacts that households have with Health Extension Workers at the health post level To address evaluation objective 4, we request evaluators adopt a prospective case study approach, identifying a small number (2-3) of women in each of the eight program areas to illustrate beneficiary experiences and interviewing them at least three times between August to December 2018 to develop case studies that will document exposures to the interventions, knowledge/beliefs reflecting the drivers of behaviors, IYCF 4

5 Evaluation Timeline: practices, and the community/family environment. Additional respondents will include their family members or other community influential. The start date is expected to be on or about July 16, The data collection to be conducted in the field is expected to take place between August and November This will allow 8-10 weeks of study preparation, including developing qualitative protocols for the qualitative evaluation component (using either outcome harvesting or most significant change methodology) and for the prospective case study. The qualitative protocols should describe the data collection methodology in detail, outline the sampling methodology, field testing procedures and the draft field guides and analysis tools that they will use. The protocol should also outline recruitment of local interviewers with the help of A&T staff in each region, and establish a timeline and a system for continuous data gathering and analysis. Anticipated Key Deliverables and Timeline: Deliverables will be reviewed and approved in writing by A&T. All deliverables will be submitted in word and excel files to A&T Ethiopia Country Programs Director. All payments are contingent upon timely submission and acceptance and approval of the deliverables. The selected firm is expected to deliver the following deliverables: Anticipated list of deliverables Due date 1. Submit draft protocol, qualitative data collection tools and field guides, informed consent form and data analysis plan for A&T review and feedback. 2. Submit final protocol, qualitative data collection tools and guides, informed consent form and data analysis plan, incorporating A&T feedback. 3. IRB approval letter from FHI 360 and the national Ethical review board 4. Brief training report after in-country interviewer training completed; 5. Transcripts of interviews completed through October 5, 2018 (in English) 6. Transcripts of interviews completed through November 10, 2018 (in English) 7. Draft evaluation report and case studies for A&T review and feedback; with complete transcriptions, coding of data and audio recording of transcriptions. 8. Final evaluation report and case studies incorporating A&T s feedback. July 31, 2018 August 15, 2018 August 31, 2018 September 15, 2018 October 15, 2018 November 18, 2018 December 10, 2018 January 10,

6 Required Expertise and Experiences of the Team Reference The firm is expected to clearly portray the structure and composition of its team, which will be arranged for this assignment by listing the main areas of the assignment, the key expert responsible and proposed technical and support staff along with their curriculum vitae (CVs). The firm should highlight similar assignments completed by the proposed team members. Team Composition and Tasks Assigned. Please provide the details using below table: Name of staff Area of expertise Position assigned for No. of days of input Task Assigned Technical Proposal Submission Requirements The technical proposal should have the following components: A. Technical Proposal: 1. Timeline outlining the steps of the data collection processes and tools 2. Protocol for the data collections and analysis 3. Team composition and tasks assigned table, along with CVs of each identified team member. 4. Work plan of the data gathering and analysis including proposed time frames and outputs/deliverables 5. Brief background of the organization including related past experiences in conducting program similar evaluations. Please include a sample of previous relevant work. 6. Three references including contact information of past clients for which similar work has been performed. B. Financial Proposal: As part of the proposal, the firm is expected to provide a clear presentation of the budget required to undertake the evaluation. The budget breakdown should include costs of data collection, personnel costs, and all other necessary administrative costs. The budget breakdown should fulfil the following requirements: All proposed budgets must be submitted in local currency (ETB). It must be developed and prepared in the excel sheet template provided by FHI with formulas included. Detailed budget breakdown (daily fees of the personnel, duration to be spent by the personnel, and estimated costs for all activities proposed in the application with a unit cost and quantity included). The budget should be broken down by labor costs (please identify personnel who will perform the work), include fringe benefit costs in accordance to your company s compensation policies, travel costs, supplies, any other direct costs necessary to perform a category of work, and indirect costs. A detailed budget narrative should describe and justify the cost assumptions for each category and line item in the budget spreadsheet. (Use attached budget template). 6

7 In the cost proposal, please provide the best value and indicate how cost efficiencies are being obtained. If included, indirect costs must be clearly stated including the basis on which they will be applied. Indirect costs are administrative expenses related to overall general operations and are shared among projects and/or functions. Examples include executive oversight, accounting, grants management, legal expenses, utilities, and facility maintenance. In so far as possible, identifiable (allocable) costs should be noted and justified in the proposal as direct costs, including those for dedicated ongoing project management, facilities and support. To the extent that indirect costs are applicable, they are subject to the following limits: 0% for government agencies and other private foundations. up to 10% for U.S. universities and other academic institutions Up to 15% for all other non-u.s. academic institutions and all private voluntary and nongovernment organizations, regardless of location, and for-profit organizations. Indirect cost rates (and the limitations) apply both to the primary applicant organization and any sub-grantees and/or sub-contractors that are part of the proposal. If the organization has lower indirect rates, the lower rates should be used. Please include VAT and any applicable taxes into the cost proposal as FHI SOLUTIONS is not VAT or tax exempt. C. Contact Information: Please include the address where Alive & Thrive may send a confirmation of receipt of your submission. CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION A&T Ethiopia will assign a team composed of leadership and technical staff to evaluate the proposals submitted by bidders. This team will evaluate the bidding documents based on the criteria set below. Selection shall be based on the following weighted categories: Content Point out of 100% Capability and Experience, including proposed key Personnel and technical proposal 60 Points Understanding of the SOW and overall quality of the technical proposal 10 Sampling strategy, data collection methods, and data quality assurance plan including appropriateness of analysis method in line with evaluation 25 objectives and time frame for deliverables Qualification, adequacy and composition of required expertise and experience of the personnel proposed to conduct the evaluation 15 7

8 Previous experience in similar work including years of experience, capability of the organization (management, technical and financial capacity), 10 sample outputs Completeness and appropriateness of the budget 20 Points References and Past Performance 20 Points Total 100% NOTE: FHI SOLUTIONS will not compensate the company for its preparation of response to this RFP nor is the issuing of this RFP a guarantee that FHI SOLUTIONS will award a contract. Anticipated Contractual Mechanisms FHI anticipates issuing a firm fixed-price purchase order. The purchase orders will be issued in local currency (ETB) to the responsive offer that is selected as the highest scorer on a best value basis. Once an award is issued, it will include a schedule of fixed price payments based on completion of deliverables in the scope of work. Application Instructions and Deadline Responses to this RFP should be submitted by to the A&T office address: <atethiopia@fhi360.org> with cc: to Ms. Tika Jaishi-Neupane at tjaishi-neupane@fhi360.org no later than July 05, 2018 at 5 p.m. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia time. Any explanation desired by a prospective offeror regarding the meaning or interpretation of this solicitation must be requested in writing only. Questions should be submitted via to <atethiopia@fhi360.org> with cc: to Ms. Tika Jaishi-Neupane at <tjaishi-neupane@fhi360.org> no later than June 21, 2018 by 5 p.m. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia time. Please follow the instructions carefully. Proposals which do not follow these instructions may not be reviewed. Offers received after this date and time may not be accepted for consideration. Withdrawal of Proposals Proposals may be withdrawn by written notice, or facsimile received at any time before award. False Statements in Offer Offerors must provide full, accurate and complete information as required by this solicitation and its attachments. Proposals become property of FHI SOLUTIONS. 8

9 1. DISCLAIMERS AND FHI SOLUTIONS PROTECTION CLAUSES FHI SOLUTIONS may cancel the solicitation and not make an award FHI SOLUTIONS may reject any or all responses received Issuance of a solicitation does not constitute an award commitment by FHI Solutions FHI SOLUTIONS reserves the right to disqualify any offer based on offeror failure to follow solicitation instructions FHI SOLUTIONS will not compensate offers for response to solicitation FHI SOLUTIONS reserves the right to issue an award based on initial evaluation of offers without further discussion FHI SOLUTIONS may choose to award only part of the activities in the solicitation, or issue multiple awards based on the solicitation activities FHI SOLUTIONS may request from short-listed offerors a second or third round of either oral presentation or written response to a more specific and detailed scope of work that is based on a general scope of work in the original RFP. FHI SOLUTIONS has the right to rescind an RFP, or rescind an award prior to the signing of a subcontract due to any unforeseen changes in the direction of FHI SOLUTIONS s client, be it funding or programmatic. FHI SOLUTIONS reserves the right to waive minor proposal deficiencies that can be corrected prior to award determination to promote competition FHI SOLUTIONS will be contacting offerors to confirm contact person, address and that bid was submitted for this solicitation. END OF RFP****** 9