REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
RFP No. TGF-15-002
THEMATIC REVIEW ON MARKET-SHAPING
Issue Date: 30 January 2015
RFP Closing Date: 23 February 2015
RFP Closing Time: 5:00pm Geneva time
The Global Fund invites potential suppliers to submit proposals to review the implementation of the Global Fund’s market-shaping strategy.
The purpose of this Request for Proposal (RFP) is to select a supplier offering the best value to the Global Fund in terms of both technical and cost factors.
The services to be provided are fully described in the Statement of Work in Attachment A.
The Global Fund will evaluate all proposals received in response to this RFP in accordance with the Evaluation Criteria in Attachment B.
The Global Fund wishes to stress that an objective of this process is to provide a rigorous and comprehensive review within the confines of a competitive commercial environment. Therefore, we encourage the proposals to provide their best offer and to propose innovative methods, outlining their advantages and disadvantages, to the Global Fund.
This RFP shall not be construed as a contract or a commitment of any kind. This RFP in no way obligates the Global Fund to award a contract, nor does it commit the Global Fund to pay any cost incurred in the preparation and submission of the proposal(s).
The Global Fund Standard Terms and Conditions form an integral part of this RFP and will be included in any contract resulting from this solicitation. Submitting a proposal in response to this RFP constitutes acceptance of these terms and conditions, found at this link on the Global Fund website: http://www.theglobalfund.org/en/business/
To be eligible as a supplier with the Global Fund, any organization or individual must comply with the Policy on Ethics and Conflicts of Interest for Global Fund Institutions and the Supplier Code of Conduct. Both are located on the Global Fund website at the following link: http://www.theglobalfund.org/en/library/documents/
Please submit your proposal in accordance with the instructions given below, no later than the closing date and time, by email to:
· , and
· Orion Yeandel at: orion.yeandel@theglobalfund.org
ATTACHMENT A: STATEMENT OF WORK
I. BACKGROUND
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (“the Global Fund”) was established in January 2002 as a financial instrument, complementary to existing programmes addressing HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. The purpose of the Global Fund is to attract, manage and disburse additional resources through a new public-private partnership that will make a sustainable and significant contribution to the reduction of infections, illness and death, thereby mitigating the impact caused by HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in countries in need, and contributing to poverty reduction as part of the Millennium Development Goals.
The Global Fund bases its work on programmes that reflect national ownership and respect country partnership-led formulation and implementation processes. The Global Fund promotes partnerships among all relevant players within the country and across all sectors of society. It builds on existing coordination mechanisms, and promotes new and innovative partnerships. In addition, the Global Fund strengthens and reflects high-level, sustainable political involvement and commitment in making allocations of its resources.
The Global Fund supports existing and new innovative programmes both within and outside the health sector that promote public, private and nongovernmental efforts for scaling up the prevention, treatment, care and support to those that are directly affected.
The Global Fund is a non-profit foundation under Swiss Law and its headquarters are based in Geneva, Switzerland. The Fund is accountable to its Board, the highest decision making body, which consists of representatives of donors, recipient countries, civil society, the private sector and non-governmental organizations as well as other stakeholders from a broad range of interest groups and communities, including multi-lateral organizations.
The Global Fund's Secretariat is responsible for day-to-day operations, including mobilizing
resources from the public and private sectors, managing grants, providing financial, legal and administrative support, and reporting information on the Global Fund's activities to the Board and the public.
About 600 employees representing more than 100 nationalities work at the Secretariat's headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
The Global Fund’s influence on the market for pharmaceuticals
The Global Fund is a major funder in the health sector and has a huge potential role to shape the market for pharmaceuticals and health commodities. The introduction of ACTs is just one example how the Global Fund has leveraged its purchasing power successfully. In recent years, the Global Fund has continuously worked towards maximizing its influence:
1) In 2007, the Board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria determined that the organization should play a greater role in influencing the market dynamics of the health products that it finances and created the Voluntary Pooled Procurement (VPP) mechanism, the Price and Quality Reporting (PQR) mechanisms. Throughout the years, the Board has also established solid quality assurance policies for pharmaceutical and diagnostic products that are updated from time to time to ensure that health products procured with grant funds are meeting internationally agreed quality norms and standards.
2) At its 23rd meeting in 2011, the Global Fund Board approved a market-shaping strategy. The market-shaping strategy builds on the Global Fund‘s work to date and its core organizational strategy and principles to make the organization an active “market shaper”. Under this strategy, the Global Fund set specific objectives for the characteristics of and outcomes from (i.e., price, quality, availability, and product design) selected product markets and implemented relevant interventions that will leverage its grant investments to achieve the strategy objectives, which were defined as:
1. Accelerate the introduction and maturation of new, more cost-effective products;
2. Ensure implementers procure the most cost-effective, WHO-recommended health products or regimens that meet the Global Fund quality assurance policies;
3. Strengthen countries’ capacity to implement strategic procurement practices; and
4. Ensure the continued availability, affordability, and innovation of products, including those for which there are not currently sustainable market conditions.
3) More recently in 2014, the Global Fund has stepped up its sourcing and procurement strategy through a Procurement 4 Impact (P4i) transformation and has developed product specific strategies, based on market; supplier; risks and opportunity analysis.
As one of the largest purchasers for the three diseases, the Global Fund has shaped market structures through various initiatives such as an increased number of qualified producers; supporting competitive markets, bulk purchasing and improved better forecasting. The price of commodities is also a critical factor in ensuring financial sustainability when countries gradually transition from Global Fund to domestic financed programs.
II. Purpose of the THEMATIC REVIEW
The Global Fund’s Technical Evaluation Reference Group (TERG) is responsible for ensuring independent evaluation of the Global Fund business model, investments and impact. The TERG is an external advisory body to the Global Fund and reports to the Board’s Strategy, Investment and Impact Committee (SIIC).
In 2015, the TERG will commission an independent appraisal of progress towards the commitments reflected in the Global Fund Strategy (2012 – 2016), termed the Strategic Review 2015. Under the umbrella of the Strategic Review 2015, the TERG has planned to commission a number of additional thematic reviews, which are meant to examine specific topics in depth, such as the Global Fund’s role in shaping the market for pharmaceuticals and health commodities.
III. THEMATIC REVIEW objective
The objective of this thematic review is to draw lessons learnt on the Global Fund’s role in shaping the market of specific commodities related to HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. The timeframe for the evaluation spans the initial period of introduction of the market-shaping strategy in 2011 to the later period of the implementation of the Procurement 4 impact initiative in 2013/2014.
IV. EVALUATION QUESTIONS
The evaluation questions are based on the objectives of the market-shaping strategy:
1. To what extent has the Global Fund leveraged its purchasing power to ensure that implementers procure the most cost-effective, WHO-recommended health products or regimens that meet the Global Fund quality assurance policies;
2. To what extent has the Global Fund accelerated the introduction and maturation of new, more cost-effective products for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of the three diseases?
3. To what extent has the Global Fund ensured the continued availability, affordability, and innovation of products, including those for which there are not currently sustainable market conditions?
V. Proposed approach
To strengthen the quality of the thematic review, it should be conducted using a variety of methods, such as document reviews, key stakeholder interviews, analysis of existing quantitative and qualitative data. The Secretariat will be able to provide the potential consultant(s) with a fairly comprehensive set of data; additional data collection, such as interviews with key stakeholders, may be necessary but should focus on filling information gaps. Country visits will not be necessary as the analysis should focus at the global level.
VI. SCOPE OF WORK, TIMEFRAME & DELIVERABLES
Under the guidance of the TERG, in collaboration with the Sourcing Department, the potential consultant(s) will:
1. Review implementation processes and outcome in terms of market responses, changes in price in relation to quantity purchased, changes in number of suppliers/producer in the market for ARTs, ACTs, LLINs, standard short course treatment for tuberculosis and diagnostic equipment (initially for HIV/AIDS and where feasible for tuberculosis and malaria).
2. review how market shaping has been implemented within and outside the Global Fund’s pooled procurement mechanism and Procurement 4 impact initiatives ;
3. analyze the market responses, changes in commodity prices, scale of purchasing order, quality and timeliness of delivery of order, and any other appropriate measure for the defined commodities;
4. advise if and how evaluated initiatives and mechanisms can be made available to countries and disease components transitioning out of Global Fund support; and
5. develop recommended options (dashboard or similar) on how the Global Fund could monitor and evaluate its market-shaping role in the future.
Timeframe
The consultant team is expected to commence their work no later than 26 March 2015. The consultancy should not exceed 130 working days (i.e., level of effort) and will be finalized with the submission of the final draft report by 15th July 2015 at the latest. The final draft report will officially be approval report at the 27th TERG meeting in September 1-3, 2015.
Deliverables
All deliverables will be submitted to the TERG. The Secretariat’s TERG Support team together with the Sourcing Department will be the day-to-day focal point for the potential consultant(s).
The expected deliverables are as follows:
- Inception report Due 24 April 2015
The consultant team shall deliver an inception report, which clearly outlines the review’s purpose and scope, the preliminary hypotheses, the planned methods together with a design matrix as well as a schedule for the review and questions for further clarification.
- Update on preliminary findings Due 15 May 2015
The consultant team shall submit an informal update of preliminary findings. These findings will feed into the 26th TERG meeting that will take place from 2 – 4 June 2015.
- Preliminary draft report Due 15 June 2015
The consultant team shall submit a draft report for review and comments.
4. Final draft report Due 15 July 2015
The consultant team shall submit a final draft report incorporating comments and received. The final draft report will be officially approved at the 27th TERG meeting in September 2015.
In addition, the consultant team is expected to provide regular updates.
VII. ConsultanT requirements
On behalf of the TERG, the Global Fund Secretariat is looking for one or more senior evaluation specialist(s) for this assignment. A four person team consisting of a lead consultant and a senior consultant per disease may be well suited for this evaluation; however, the TERG would like to encourage proposals that are innovative in terms of team composition, team size and work methods. As a starting point, it is envisioned that the team will at a minimum require the skills and qualifications described below:
· Advanced university degree or comparable training in health economics, pharmacology, or related field; with advanced knowledge in HIV, tuberculosis and malaria;
· 10 to 15 years’ experience in procurement and supply management of pharmaceuticals and health commodities in developing countries;
· Advanced knowledge of the market for mentioned pharmaceuticals and health products;
· Experience in evaluating procurement and supply management at the global, country or organizational level;
· In-depth knowledge of or prior work experience with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria;
· Specialist skills with experience in structured synthesis of information from a broad range of source materials; and
· Experience in the private sector and/or generic pharma experience would be a distinct advantage.
In addition to the skills and qualifications identified above, the consultant(s) should have advanced professional proficiency in English.
In order to encourage timely delivery of the report, interested bidders may consider proposing an expert per disease. However, other team compositions will also be considered. The consultancy can be conducted remotely with 2 -3 trips to Geneva. An induction period at the Global Fund offices for one week at the beginning of the consultancy assignment is recommended. The Global Fund will be able to support the visa application for trips to Switzerland if required.
Attachment B: Evaluation Criteria
A. Technical Evaluation Criteria
In assessing each proposal, the Global Fund will allocate greater importance to technical factors than to cost factors. A two stage procedure will be utilized in evaluating the proposals, with evaluation of the technical proposal being completed prior to any price proposal being considered; and cost evaluation is only undertaken for technical submissions that score above the minimum.
The score assigned to each proposal will be of guidance in determining which proposal would provide the greatest value to the Global Fund. However, the Global Fund reserves the right not to employ raw scores in determining best value where it considers, in its sole discretion, that this would not be appropriate.