Collating and Reviewing Qualitative and Quantitative Research, IEC/BCC
materials and Social Mobilization and Advocacy tools used in BCC
interventions in India IHBP / Academy for Educational Development (AED)
Location: India
Last Date: September 30, 2011
THIS
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) IS THE EXCLUSIVE, CONFIDENTIAL, PROPRIETARY
PROPERTY OF THE ACADEMY FOR EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (AED). IT MAY NOT
BE COPIED, TRANSMITTED, OR DISCLOSED BY ANY MEANS WITHOUT THE EXPRESS
WRITTEN CONSENT OF AED. BY ACCEPTING A COPY HEREOF, RECIPIENT AGREES TO
(I) BE BOUND BY THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS CONTAINED HEREIN (INCLUDING
BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE CONFIDENTIALITY PROVISONS), (II) USE THE RFP
(AND ANY RELATED DOCUMENTS) SOLEY FOR EVALUATION PURPOSES AND FOR
RESPONDING TO THIS RFP, AND (III) RETURN OR DESTROY THE RFP (AND ANY
RELATED DOCUMENTS) UPON FHI360’S REQUEST OR UPON YOUR DECISION NOT TO
RESPOND TO THIS RFP.
Request
for Proposal (RFP)
RFP
Title:
Collating and Reviewing Qualitative and Quantitative Research, IEC/BCC
materials and Social Mobilization and Advocacy tools used in BCC
interventions in India
RFP
#:
3760-046-RFP-03
Re-Issued
on: September 14, 2011
Period of
Performance: 10 weeks
Questions on RFP Due: September 21, 2011
Proposal
Deadline: September 30, 2011
I. INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND
The Project, led by the US nonprofit agency Academy for
Educational Development (FHI360), is a five year project (base period
three years with two option years) to improve adoption of positive
healthy behaviors through institutional and human resource capacity
building of national level institutions and state and district-level
institutions in Uttar Pradesh (UP). The project will provide technical
assistance to develop sustainable national, state and district
institutional capacity to design, deliver and evaluate strategic
evidence-based communication programs that will:
a)Increase knowledge and attitudes of individuals,
families, communities and health providers about health;
b)Promote an environment where communities and key
influencers support positive health behaviors; and
c)Reduce barriers of vulnerable populations (e.g.,
Women, Persons Living with HIV or PLHIV, TB patients) to demand and
access health services.
The project will focus on four program areas -
HIV/AIDS, Family Planning/Reproductive Health (FP/RH), Tuberculosis
(TB) and Maternal and Child Health (MCH).
The IHBP project aims to build the Social and behavior
change communication capacity of the Indian government officials,
health workers at the national, state and district level under the
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of Women and Child
development and the National AIDS Control organization. The front line
workers shall in turn influence the community to adopt positive
behaviors.
According to NFHS III data, population literacy levels
nationally and in the state of Uttar Pradesh stand at 74% and 69.7%
respectively. The UN Millennium Development Report 2011, states that
there are presently around 650 million people, about 54% of the
population, living below the poverty line.
At the Uttar Pradesh household level the target
populations include men and women aged 15-49 years, their families,
children aged 0-6 years, and youth aged 15-19 living below the poverty
line with low literacy levels and poor health seeking behaviors. To
build an enabling environment the program shall also target policy
makers, community leaders and PRI representatives. Vulnerable and
marginalized groups and especially women shall be an integral part of
the project focus.
II.
PURPOSE
IMPORTANCE OF REVIEWING RESEARCH, IEC/BCC MATERIALS,
SOCIAL MOBILIZATION & ADVOCACY MATERIALS
A basic
purpose for using the Social and Behavior Change Communication
framework in planning BCC programs and interventions is to gather
evidence that will be useful for gaining in-depth knowledge about the
population targeted for behavior change under the four program
elements. Such evidence is found in studies which probe population
segments’ knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and practices using both
quantitative and qualitative research methods.
Aside from
research studies of the target audiences, studies that generate
information about health workers and other community influencers’
knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding HIV/AIDS, TB, FP/RH and
MCH issues are equally important. This is because they deliver the
services and messages that influence people’s decisions to practice
promoted behaviors. Findings from these studies will help in designing
communication and training strategies to be used by the project.
A study of existing IEC/BCC materials, developed for
various interventions would help in assessing their usability for new
interventions and also in analyzing gaps within these materials which
could be addressed. IHBP does not need to “reinvent the wheel” if
there are already existing materials that have been proven effective
for various target audiences.
A similar study involving collation and review of social
mobilization and advocacy materials for first line of communicators (ASHA/ANM/AWW/Link
Workers and Peer Educators. developed for interventions in Uttar
Pradesh would help in designing new materials or identifying existing
materials which have been effective in creating impact.
TASK
OVERVIEW
1.
Collate and summarize relevant quantitative and
qualitative research studies
on HIV/AIDS, TB, FP/RH, and MCH done nationally and in Uttar Pradesh
(since 2007) and summarize findings from the studies. These studies
will include Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices (KAP) studies in the four
program areas conducted among various target groups, evaluation studies
done on communication interventions targeting audiences for these four
program areas and other relevant quantitative research studies that
provide information on knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and practices.
Qualitative studies will include research using qualitative methods
(focus groups discussions, in-depth interviews, anthropological
techniques, etc.) that provides information on beliefs, perceptions,
attitudes, barriers to behaviors, etc. regarding good health practices
held by target audience segments in these four program areas.
2.
Collate and review IEC and social mobilization
materials produced by government, donor-funded projects and NGOS
that are aimed at changing health practices of target audiences in the
four program areas. These include print materials (e.g., posters,
flyers, manuals, flipcharts, and billboards); media materials (TV and
radio spots, films, etc.) and materials produced using other media
forms (new media, etc.).
3.
Gather information on BCC Communication strategies used
for the collated IEC/BCC materials. The review
shall include documentation released from 2007 onwards.
III.
SPECIFIC TASKS & DELIVERABLES
1.
The agency shall collate
all available qualitative and quantitative research on communication
interventions in India (2007 onwards) on the following technical
areas: FP/RH; HIV/AIDS & TB; and MCH.
Research to be reviewed and IEC/BCC materials to be
gathered will include topics related to the following sub-topics:
Family
Planning (FP)
·
KAP re FP among various target groups, including health
workers
·
Birth Spacing and use of modern spacing methods
·
Spousal support/ inter spousal discussions
·
Use of limiting methods.
·
Post-partum counseling
·
Use of traditional methods
Target
groups for FP will include mothers, fathers, adolescents, other family
members, community influencers, etc.
Maternal and child health (MCH)
Maternal Health (MH)
·
KAP re MH among various target groups, including health
workers
·
Marriage before 18 years of age/ Delay pregnancy till 21
·
Institutional delivery, post-natal care
·
Home delivery
·
Care during pregnancy including ANC
·
Maternal nutrition
Target
groups for MH will be the same as for FP.
Child health/Child Care
·
KAP re Child Health among various target groups, including
health workers
·
Diarrhea and use of ORT
·
Care of newborn
·
Danger signs in new born
·
Immunization including Vitamin A routine
·
Breastfeeding including Exclusive breast feeding till 6
months
·
Complementary feeding from month 6 along with breast
feeding
Target
groups for child care will be the same as for FP/MCH.
Tuberculosis (TB)
·
KAP re TB among various target groups, including health
workers
·
Spousal support
·
Seeking diagnosis
·
Stigma & Discrimination
·
Early detection
·
Initiating treatment and sustained compliance
Target
groups for TB will include general population, men, women, other family
members, at-risk populations.
HIV
·
KAP on HIV/AIDS among various target groups, including
health workers
·
Migrants- in and out migration
·
Stigma & discrimination towards positive people and their
families (Community, Health providers, Women of HIV +ve husbands ,
Children )
·
Prevention of Parent to Child Transmission (PPTCT)
·
HIV and TB co infection
·
Correct and consistent use of condoms
·
ICTC counseling
Target groups for HIV/AIDS include general population,
migrant workers, at-risk populations (truckers, sex workers, etc.), and
adolescents.
The agency will summarize methodology used
and key findings from each of the research studies in a pre-approved
format. Sample format is given in
Annexure-F : Format-1 (Agency can suggest a revised format ).
Sample format given in Annexure-F: Format 1
4.
The agency shall review the IEC materials (Mass media
/mid media/IPC) used and describe each material according to their key
message content, target audience, outreach and (if applicable) any
innovations in the content for each of the interventions.
Sample format in Appendix-F: Format-2
5.
If the IEC/BCC material collated was part of a
communication strategy or plan, , the agency will identify and briefly
describe the communication strategy. (For this purpose the agency will
create a link between format 2 and 3). The communication strategy
description will identify the communication
objective, key messages and media channels used. The agency will
provide information on the impact of the strategy, if an assessment or
evaluation was undertaken.
Sample format in Appendix-F: Format-3
Duration: The assignment is to be completed within 10
weeks from the date of commissioning.
Deliverables Table
AGENCY DELIVERABLES & TIMELINE
|
REPORTS
|
TIME
LINE |
A |
Methodology or design for collection of the information (research
and materials) including timeline and staff responsible |
Within
first week of signing of contract |
B |
Draft
report on Qualitative & Quantitative Research studies on the
selected theme at National & State level |
Within
eight weeks |
C |
Draft
report on description of communication strategies
|
Within
eight weeks |
D |
Draft
report on collation and review of
·
IEC materials
·
Social Mobilization & Advocacy tools used in Uttar
Pradesh |
Within
eight weeks |
F |
Final
Reports & recommendations |
Within
ten weeks |
Please note
–
·
Hard /electronic copies are required of all IEC, social
mobilization and training materials.
·
A Separate report has to be prepared for each task.
·
Final reports are required in both print and electronic
versions.
·
Agency shall regularly update IHBP on the progress made
and submit a brief report in the 4th and 6th
week.
IV.
CONTRACT MECHANISM & TERMS OF PAYMENT
AED
anticipates issuing a firm fixed price
subcontract or purchase order-- to be determined by contracts--
. Once an award is issued, it will include a fixed price payment
schedule, based on the approved budget, with deliverables specified in
the Scope of Work.
V.
PROPOSAL SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
Offerers
should read the following proposal instructions carefully. All
interested offerers must provide the following:
[SAMPLE FOLLOWS, ILLUSTRATIVE ONLY]
1.
Capability Experience Statement – not to exceed two (2) pages,
indicating the following:
a. Brief,
general overview of organization - size of the agency, staff, past
experience/case studies in social and behavior change communications
for public health issues including work with the government of India
and donor organizations, specifically USAID.
b.
Capabilities and experience in conducting similar scopes of work as
described above.
c. If the
offerer has a website or can post examples of their work, please
indicate the website. Do send/include any relevant materials with the
proposal.
2.
Technical Statement – not to exceed six (6) pages, including the
following:
a. Brief
description of offerer’s technical proposal in response to the RFP.
The offerer must show an understanding of the technical work requested,
explain how they will conduct the proposed scope of work, and propose
an implementation and timeline of tasks to accomplish this scope of
work.
b.
Description of any partner organization or subcontractor that the
offerer might contract with to do any portion of the scope of work.
Also include a budget, and a description of the level of effort and
division of responsibilities between your organization and the partner
or subcontractor.
3.
Staffing – Please identify key personnel and the percentage of
time they will spend on each task. Please include CVs and a completed
1420 Biodata Form for each key personnel (See Appendix A).
4.
Price/Cost Proposal – In a separate email
submission/envelope, provide a detailed budget and budget narrative
for the activities listed in the RFP that reflects as accurately as
possible the real cost of these activities and the time periods during
which they will be conducted. The budget should be broken down by
labor costs (please include the names of the people who will do the
work, position, number of hours/days and rate) and unit costs
for all other activities with an explanation in the budget narrative of
how each unit cost was reached including travel costs, supplies and
materials, and overhead or agency fees. All agency costs must be
clearly stated including the basis on which they will be applied as
indirect costs. For example if your organization has a set price card
for these activities, please indicate it and include it; also any
agency or overhead fees if applicable. Offerer will submit with their
proposals a budget with sufficient detail to allow evaluation of
proposed cost elements. Any lower tier subcontract budgets must be
included with the agency’s budget as one line item and the organization
must present an accompanying budget and budget narrative in detail for
that organization. This will be a fixed price
budget and upon award the agreed budget will be allocated to
deliverables and paid on receipt and approval of those deliverables.
Please
note that AED cannot honor exchange rates included in a budget and
payments will be made according to the exchange rate at the time of
payment.
Please
indicate the inclusion/exclusion of any applicable VAT. AED is
generally exempt from VAT payments and thus will not reimburse for VAT.
VAT should be listed separately and then added to total costs.
Please see
Appendix B & C for a Budget Narrative Format and Budget Proposal
Format.
5.
References: Please include three client references and contact
information. References should have worked with your agency within the
past two years and specific to countries or regions (and if possible,
subject matter) applicable to this RFP.
6.
Certifications– Please read and sign the required
Certifications attached in Appendix D.
7.
Procurement Template & Mandatory Client Flow Down Requirements
– Please review the procurement template and clauses attached in
Appendix E.
VI.
CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION
Proposals will be evaluated and ranked by committee
according to the conditions described in the evaluation criteria below.
AED
will determine the eligibility of each offerer submitting a proposal
based on the criteria and provisions submitted. AED shall review,
evaluate, and compare all proposals according to, but not limited to
the evaluation factors that total 100 points:
1.
Capability
and technical experience (including references): 15 points
2.
Understanding of the technical work requested, approach for proposed
implementation of tasks to accomplish this scope of work: 40 points
3.
Timeline
(ability to adhere to period of performance from start to finish): 10
points
4.
Staffing:
25 points
5.
Cost
proposal (completeness, competitiveness, appropriateness of the
budget): 10 points
According
to the review criteria stated, price will be a factor in determining
the winning proposal. However, all evaluation factors other than cost
or price, when combined, are significantly more important than cost or
price.
VII. RFP
RESPONSE INFORMATION
Immediate
acknowledgment of receipt of this RFP is requested to be submitted by
email to
araheja@fhi360.org
Any
questions or requests for clarification need to be submitted in writing
to
araheja@fhi360.org
by 4.00 pm, September 21, 2100. Inquiries and answers to inquires will
be shared with all applicants. No telephone inquiries will be
answered. If this solicitation is posted on
procurement@FHI360.org,
AED will post all submitted questions, along with answers, to the
procurement website directly.
Responses
to this RFP should be submitted by email to
araheja@fhi360.org
by September 30, 2011 before 5.00 pm. Proposals received after this
date and time shall not be accepted and shall be considered
non-responsive. AED will acknowledge receipt of your proposal by
return email.
Proposals should be submitted in the following format(s):
1) Electronic email copy must be submitted to
araheja@fhi360.org
in [WORD/
PDF]
format.
Budgets must be provided in Excel with formulas visible.
Tentative Time Table for Award if Proposal is Competitive
Within two
weeks of submission of the proposal AED may ask clarifying questions
to those organizations in the competitive range based on the technical
and financial review. At that time AED will request revised proposal
submissions, answers to questions, and/or revised budgets. After
additional clarifications, final reviews, and USAID approvals, if
required, an awardee will be selected and a contract will be drawn up
within two weeks of final approvals.
AED will not compensate offerer for its preparation of
its response to this RFP.
VIII.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Offerers
are responsible for review of the terms and conditions described below
and in the award template attached. If relevant, particular attention
should be paid to clauses regarding USAID geographic code, marking and
branding requirements and equipment and commodity purchases.
WITHDRAWALS OF PROPOSALS
Offerer may
withdraw proposals by written notice via email received at any time
before award. Proposals may be withdrawn in person by an offerer or
his/her authorized representative, if the representative’s identity is
made known and the representative signs a receipt for the proposal
before award.
RIGHT TO SELECT/REJECT
AED reserves the right to select and negotiate with
those firms it determines, in its sole discretion, to be qualified for
competitive proposals and to terminate negotiations without incurring
any liability. AED also reserves the right to reject any or all
proposals received without explanation.
DISCLAIMER
This RFP
represents only a definition of requirements. It is merely an
invitation for submission of proposals and does not legally obligate
AED to accept any of the submitted proposals in whole or in part, nor
is AED obligated to select the lowest priced proposal. AED reserves the
right to negotiate with any or all firms, both with respect to price,
cost and/or scope of services. AED has no contractual obligations with
any firms based upon issuance of this RFP. It is not an offer to
contract. Only the execution of a written contract shall obligate AED
in accordance with the terms and conditions contained in such contract.
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FIRM GUARANTEE
All information submitted in connection with this RFP
will be valid for three (3) months from the RFP due date. This
includes, but is not limited to, cost, pricing, terms and conditions,
service levels, and all other information. If your firm is awarded the
contract, all information in the RFP and negotiation process is
contractually binding.
OFFER
VERIFICATION
AED may
contact offerer to confirm contact person, address, bid amount and to
confirm that the bid was submitted for this solicitation.
FALSE
STATEMENTS IN OFFER
Offerer
must provide full, accurate and complete information as required by
this solicitation and its attachments.
CONFLICT
OF INTEREST
Offerer
must provide disclosure of any past, present or future relationships
with any parties associated with the issuance, review or management of
this solicitation and anticipated award. Failure to provide full and
open disclosure may result in AED having to re-evaluate selection of a
potential offerer.
RESERVED RIGHTS
All RFP responses become the property of AED and AED
reserves the right in its sole discretion to:
-
To
disqualify any offer based on offerer failure to follow solicitation
instructions;
-
AED reserves the right to waive any deviations by
offerer from the requirements of this solicitation that in AED's
opinion are considered not to be material defects requiring rejection
or disqualification; or where such a waiver will promote increased
competition;
-
Extend the time for submission of all RFP responses
after notification to all offerer;
-
Terminate or modify the RFP process at any time and
re-issue the RFP to whomever AED deems appropriate;
-
AED reserves the right to issue an award based on the
initial evaluation of offers without discussion;
-
Award only part of the activities in the solicitation
or issue multiple awards based on solicitation activities.
Governing Law and Language
This
solicitation and any resulting contract shall be interpreted in
accordance with the laws of the U.S. Government except in cases where
they contradict Indian law. The English language version of this
solicitation and any resulting contract shall govern, and all notices
pursuant to the provisions of this solicitation and any resulting
contract shall be in English.
Certification of Independent Price Determination
(a) The
offerer certifies that--
(1) The prices in this offer have been arrived at
independently, without, for the purpose of restricting competition, any
consultation, communication, or agreement with any other offerer,
including but not limited to subsidiaries or other entities in which
offerer has any ownership or other interests, or any competitor
relating to (i) those prices, (ii) the intention to submit an offer, or
(iii) the methods or factors used to calculate the prices offered;
(2) The prices in this offer have not been and will not
be knowingly disclosed by the offerer, directly or indirectly, to any
other offerer, including but not limited to subsidiaries or other
entities in which offerer has any ownership or other interests, or any
competitor before bid opening (in the case of a sealed bid
solicitation) or contract award (in the case of a negotiated or
competitive solicitation) unless otherwise required by law; and
(3) No attempt has been made or will be made by the
offerer to induce any other concern or individual to submit or not to
submit an offer for the purpose of restricting competition or
influencing the competitive environment.
(b) Each
signature on the offer is considered to be a certification by the
signatory that the signatory--
(1) Is the person in the offerer's organization
responsible for determining the prices being offered in this bid or
proposal, and that the signatory has not participated and will not
participate in any action contrary to subparagraphs (a)(1) through
(a)(3) above; or
(2) (i) Has been authorized, in writing, to act as
agent for the principals of the offerer in certifying that those
principals have not participated, and will not participate in any
action contrary to subparagraphs (a)(1) through (a)(3) above;
(ii) As an authorized agent, does certify that the
principals of the offerer have not participated, and will not
participate, in any action contrary to subparagraphs (a)(1) through
(a)(3)
above; and
(iii) As an agent, has not personally participated, and will
not participate, in any action contrary to subparagraphs (a)(1) through
(a)(3) above.
(c)
Offerer understands and agrees that --
(1) violation of this certification will result in
immediate disqualification from this solicitation without recourse and
may result in disqualification from future solicitations; and
(2) discovery of any violation after award to the
offerer will result in the termination of the award for default.
IX. RFP
ATTACHMENTS
Appendix
A:
1420 Biodata Form
(1420
Instructions for New Employees)
Appendix B:
Budget Template
Appendix C:
Budget Summary
Appendix D:
Certifications
Appendix E:
Procurement Instrument
Template
Appendix F :
Sample Report Formats
– END OF RFP
–
|