THIS REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) IS THE EXCLUSIVE, CONFIDENTIAL, PROPRIETARY PROPERTY OF FHI DEVELOPMENT 360 LLC (FHI 360). IT MAY NOT BE COPIED, TRANSMITTED, OR DISCLOSED BY ANY MEANS WITHOUT THE EXPRESS WRITTEN CONSENT OF FHI 360. BY ACCEPTING A COPY HEREOF, RECIPIENT AGREES TO USE THE RFP (AND ANY RELATED DOCUMENTS) SOLELY FOR RESPONDING TO THIS RFP, AND DESTROY THE RFP (AND ANY RELATED DOCUMENTS) UPON YOUR DECISION NOT TO RESPOND TO THIS RFP.
Request for Proposal (RFP)
RFP Title: Personal Services Contractor (PSC) for Technical Support on Adult Prevention Activities in Zomba, Malawi
RFP #: 3879-01-105/142-01
Issued on: October 19, 2011
Proposal Deadline: October 28, 2011
Submission Format: Email
I. INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND
Communication for Change (C-Change) is USAID's project for improving the effectiveness and sustainability of communication programs across multiple sectors: population, health, environment and civil society. The program, implemented by FHI Development 360 LLC (FHI 360), is designed to achieve results in four areas: 1) implement evidence-based, scaled-up health and development communication programs applying best practices for behavior change; 2) transfer health and development communication skills and knowledge to developing country institutions; 3) integrate health and development communication within the wider public health and development agendas; and 4) generate and share knowledge about applying effective social and behavior change communication to address emerging health and development issues.
C-Change is funded by the United States Agency for International Development, Bureau for Global Health (USAID/GH) and is managed by the Office of Population and Reproductive Health of the Bureau of Global Health. Ohio University (Ohio) is a capacity strengthening partner for C-Change.
Since 2009, C-Change and the Southern African AIDS Trust (SAT) have collaborated to develop SBCC capacity within the SAT network. SAT is a regional organization that works to support community responses to HIV and AIDS. SAT does this by working to strengthen community based organizations (CBOs) and national networks (roughly 130 CBOs in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania) to support communities in Southern Africa to decrease HIV incidence rates, increase access and adherence to treatment and provide adequate care and support.
II. PURPOSE
The purpose of this solicitation is to contract the services of a consultant to provide technical support to the Southern African AIDS Trust (SAT) partners in Zambia and Malawi and to lay the groundwork for C-Change to integrate emerging programs and/or integrate community issues into existing adult prevention programs (APP).
III. SCOPE OF WORK & DELIVERABLES
Estimated Period of Performance: November 7, 2011 – June 30, 2012
To provide more focused support, C-Change will work with SAT partner, Hope for Life, through direct application of a Community Conversation Toolkit for HIV prevention. Hope for Life is an organization that believes HIV prevention is the key for future generations. It is an implementing organization that mainly works in three technical areas: HIV and AIDS, sexual and reproductive health, and child health. It works with both urban and rural communities of Zomba district to prevent the spread of HIV largely among youth (ages 10-24). Hope for Life’s response is focused on home-based care, assisting orphans/children affected by AIDS, and peer education for children/youth.
The Community Conversation Toolkit is designed to mobilize community adults aged 20 and older to take action around HIV prevention. The toolkit and associated materials seek to address key drivers of the epidemic that have been identified in these countries (e.g., concurrency, cross-generational sex, gender based violence, and alcohol abuse). This toolkit will now complement their existing prevention programs and possibly help them to be more comprehensive in using SBCC tools and techniques. C-Change will facilitate an implementation workshop in November 2011. During the program implementation workshop, the four identified SAT partners in Malawi and Zambia will further collaborate to develop an implementation and monitoring plan on how to use the Community Conversation Toolkit. The toolkit will serve as a catalyst to identify programming priorities and potential programming needs at the community level through dialogue and interaction with community members.
Following the implementation workshop, volunteers and community members will work with the toolkit and additional monitoring tools to identify priorities, gaps, and patterns around their adult prevention programming. These monitoring tools will identify program strength and gaps, and the findings will be analyzed and used to draft plans for action; which in turn will be presented to community members and stakeholders. Finalized with community input and with the help of SBCC tools, the plan will address emerging issues and potential gaps.
Once emerging HIV prevention needs have been identified and developed, existing SAT partners may decide to revise their program strategies, or provide linkages with other programs to enhance the effectiveness of intervention approaches. This activity will also help C-Change and SAT to systematically monitor and observe the effectiveness of the toolkit in generating dialogue on HIV drivers and mobilize action as well as more information seeking behaviors.
While the PSC shall lead this process, C-Change will provide technical assistance throughout.
Specific PSC Tasks (Estimated LOE not-to-exceed 79 days):
The PSC shall complete the following tasks:
1) Review existing background information (to be provided by C-Change) on this activity. (Estimated LOE: 1 day) This includes:
a) The Community Conversation Toolkit (a set of six interactive materials and facilitator’s guide on HIV prevention) and associated reports (concept test and pretest reports)
b) Literature review of existing prevention programs in Malawi
c) Capacity Assessment Reports for Hope for Life
2) Participate in meetings with C-Change staff, the SAT country office in Malawi and Hope for Life to discuss the activity and scope of work (meeting with C-Change by phone and meeting with SAT Malawi and Hope for Life in person). (Estimated LOE: 2 days)
3) Develop draft log frame on Hope for Life’s activities and the toolkit M&E tool prior to implementation workshop. This log frame should include all of Hope for Life’s prevention activities and describe their catchment area. C-Change will provide a format and example. Estimated LOE: 2 days)
4) Participation in the implementation workshop. The workshop will take place in Malawi, Zambia, or South Africa with the four selected SAT partners (two in each country – Malawi and Zambia). Compile relevant background documents in preparation for the implementation workshop. This may include: DHS/DAC data, Hope for Life reports, lists of current partners and also those working in the same/nearby catchment areas as Hope for Life. During the workshop, participate in all activities and provide technical support to the Hope for Life team in developing implementation plan, monitoring tools and evaluation plan. (Estimated LOE: 7 days)
5) Finalize implementation plan, monitoring tools and evaluation plan for Hope for Life based on discussions during the implementation workshop. (Estimated LOE: 3 days)
6) Develop agenda and consult with key stakeholders at the community level about using the toolkit and a series of community conversations to identify gaps in prevention programming for adults. Explore what other local partners are doing in adult prevention and opportunities for collaboration. (Estimated LOE: 5 days)
7) In collaboration with Hope for Life staff, orient their existing community facilitators (e.g.; health volunteers, peer educators, estimated number needed =16) on the use of the toolkit to lead community dialogues (estimated number of dialogues =15)(Estimated LOE: 5 days)
8) Organize system for data collection and plan for analysis with the Hope for Life team. Observe the community facilitators leading sessions with men, women, community leaders, and health workers using the toolkit and the M&E tool to document emerging themes around prevention. (Estimated LOE: 12 days)
9) Analyze findings from the community conversations and draft a report. The report should summarize the findings, detail themes and gaps around adult prevention, provide recommendations and include a draft action plan on how to address existing gaps. The PSC shall finalize report based on consultation with C-Change and SAT. (Estimated LOE: 4 days)
10) Present the community conversation findings and draft action plan (on how to address gaps in prevention programming) to local partners and stakeholders. Based on the meeting and discussions, the PSC shall finalize the action plan. (Estimated LOE: 3 days)
11) Implement the action plan. This may include developing new toolkit components, holding a series on community meetings on a specific prevention topic or strengthening links to outreach services. The PSC shall be responsible for leading this process with the Hope for Life team. The PSC shall also revise the M&E tool based on the action plan. (Estimated LOE: 15 days)
12) Collect monitoring data and document key steps and lessons learned during implementation of the action plan with the Hope for Life team. Participate in discussions with C-Change around lesson learned. (Estimated LOE: 5 days)
13) Participate in experience sharing activity with the other SAT partners participating in this activity in Zomba district. Develop a brief presentation on the activity to share with SAT and the Zomba partner. Results from discussions will feed into the final report and recommendations. (Estimated: LOE 10 days)
14) Prepare final activity report detailing the process and lessons learned. The report shall include recommendations for Hope for Life and the next steps to be implemented. (Estimated LOE: 5 days)
Deliverables/Milestones:
The Consultant shall complete and submit the deliverables by the below listed due dates.
Deliverable / Due DateSynthesis report on existing prevention programs in Malawi aligned with the capacity assessment for Hope for Life / November 10, 2011
Notes summarizing main discussion points and next steps from briefing meetings with C-Change, SAT Malawi, and Hope for Life / November 10, 2011
Hope for Life log frame and M&E Tool / November 15, 2011
Draft implementation plan, monitoring tools and evaluation plan for C-Change review / November 30, 2011
Finalized implementation plan, monitoring tools and evaluation plan / December 7, 2011
Draft community meeting and orientation agendas. Agenda and meeting notes from community meeting / December 12, 2011
Agenda and notes from the orientation. Revised community dialogues schedule and draft data collection plan. / December 16, 2011
Finalized data collection plan and preliminary notes from community dialogues. / January 30, 2012
Draft report on findings from community dialogues and action plan / February 10, 2012
Meeting notes from community meeting and discussion around community dialogue findings and revised plan on action / February 17, 2012
Final implementation plan to C-Change (includes timeline and budget) / February 24, 2012
Draft presentation for stakeholder meeting to C-Change for review / March 2, 2012
Bi weekly email updates to C-Change on implementation progress (includes notes from meetings with stakeholders) / Rolling basis every second Friday through the implementation phase March 5 – May 7, 2011
Preliminary summary of monitoring data and key lessons learned from implementation activities / May 18, 2012
Meeting notes and recommendations from sharing meeting with SAT and partner in Zomba district / June 15, 2012
Final activity report detailing process and lessons learned. The report should include recommendations for Hope for Life and next steps to be implemented. / June 30, 2012
IV. CONTRACT MECHANISM & TERMS OF PAYMENT
FHI 360 anticipates issuing a Level of Effort contract not-to-exceed 79 days tied to specific progress in achieving milestones and submission of deliverables. Payment shall be made upon FHI 360 acceptance of deliverables and reports supported by a fee payment request.
V. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
Offerors shall ensure proposals include:
Agreement to proposed period of performance
Experience of the Consultant
· A short statement describing the Consultant’s capability for best completing the assignment and previous experience with similar activities.
· Suggested LOE if not in agreement with estimated LOE identified in the SOW above
· CV and completed and signed 1420 (see Annex 1). The proposed daily rate should be included in the 1420.
The offeror should read the instructions carefully before submitting a proposal. Any discrepancy in following these instructions or contract provisions may disqualify a proposal without recourse on an appeal for reconsideration at any stage.
All written proposals submitted must be valid for a period of not less than ninety (90) calendar days from the closing date indicated above.
Although present plans are to enter into discussions with those individuals most highly ranked following evaluation of proposals, FHI 360 reserves the right to award without discussions. Hence, proposals should be submitted initially on the most favorable terms, from a price and technical standpoint, which the offeror can submit to FHI 360.
1. Terms/Conditions of Award.
Any impact the proposed Terms and Conditions of award will have on offeror’s proposal must be raised in advance in writing.
VI. CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION
Selection shall be based on the following weighted categories:
Technical Experience: 40%
Experience working in Malawi: 30%
Cost Proposal: 30%
Required Skills and Qualifications
· Must be able to work legally in Malawi
· Experience working in Zomba district and familiarity with Southern Malawi
· Fluency in Chinyanja is preferred.
· Experience in HIV/AIDS and prevention programming and developing health communication materials
· Experience in training in health communication utilizing participatory methods;
· Experience using qualitative methods in SBCC program planning and monitoring
· Good interpersonal skills and cultural sensitivity
· Able to work independently and in a team consisting of people with different technical backgrounds and with varying levels of seniority and program/technical expertise;
· Ability to work in a results-oriented, time-sensitive environment
· Excellent writing and organizational skills
VII. RFP RESPONSE INFORMATION
All responses to this RFP must be received no later than October 28, 2011 5:30 PM Washington, DC Time. Proposals should be submitted in the following format(s):
1) Electronic email copy must be submitted to Yudaya Mawanda, email address: and in MS Word format.
All inquiries and requests for information affecting this RFP must be submitted by e-mail to Yudaya Mawanda, email address: and , reference number 3879-01-105/142-01 no later than October 24, 2011 at 5:30 PM Washington, DC Time. Inquiries and answers to inquiries will be shared with all offerors. FHI 360 will post all submitted questions, along with answers, to the procurement website directly, as well as via email.