REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL Development and implementation of a country-specific strategy for demand creation and advocacy activities on HCV diagnostics and diagnosis in Cameroon, Georgia, India, Malaysia, Myanmar and Viet Nam Issue date: 28 March 2018 RFP closing date: 20 April 2018 RFP closing time: 18:00 Central European Time FIND Campus Biotech Chemin des Mines 9 1202 Geneva Switzerland T +41 (0)22 710 05 90 F +41 (0)22 710 05 99 www.finddx.org i
Title Background Aim Objectives Request for Proposal (RFP) for development and implementation of a country-specific strategy for demand creation and advocacy activities on HCV diagnostics and diagnosis in Cameroon, Georgia, India, Malaysia, Myanmar and Viet Nam The World Health Organization has set the target for 90 percent of people with hepatitis C virus (HCV) to be diagnosed by 2030 however, less than 5 percent are currently diagnosed. Current screening and diagnostic tools for HCV are expensive and sub-optimal, particularly where patients also have HIV infection, and there is limited trained staff in laboratories, an absence of reliable rapid diagnostic tests, a reliance on centralized testing, a lack of awareness about the options at the country and community levels, and a lack of donor support, among other barriers, which contribute to these low screening and testing figures. FIND was established in 2003 as a global non-profit organization dedicated to accelerating the development, evaluation, and delivery of high-quality, affordable diagnostic tests for poverty-related diseases, including tuberculosis, malaria, HIV/AIDS, Ebola, sleeping sickness, hepatitis C, leishmaniasis, Chagas disease, Buruli ulcer, and acute febrile illnesses. FIND functions as a global health product development and delivery partnership, engaging in active collaboration with over 150 partners. FIND s headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland, with country offices in India, South Africa, Uganda, and Vietnam. More about FIND and our programmes can be found on www.finddx.org. Under its HCV project, FIND plans to introduce new and simpler HCV diagnostics, piloting innovative approaches for screening and treatment for HCV and devising cost-reduction strategies. The project will create the case for policy change at global and national levels and help pave the way for a public health approach to HCV diagnosis and treatment. This RFP is to select one or more partners to complement FIND in-country activities by developing and implementing tailored advocacy work in project countries on demand creation and advocacy among community-based organizations, patients, and patient advocates on HCV diagnostics and diagnosis. FIND requests proposals from organizations actively involved in advocacy for hepatitis C and related services. Specifically, the proposals should focus on the development of country-specific strategies (first submission) and implementation plan (second submission for shortlisted applicants) for demand creation and advocacy activities on HCV diagnostics and diagnosis. Target countries are: Cameroon, Georgia, India, Malaysia, Myanmar and Viet Nam The applicants should select those countries where a track record activity on HCV advocacy can be demonstrated. If multiple countries are selected the country-specific strategies have to be included in one single application. Only the shortlisted applicants will be asked to submit detailed implementation plan of the strategy for each country they have applied for. Four key areas: 1. Leadership, including the building of networks, alliances and coalitions Build community leadership for advocacy on all HCV issues (prevention, treatment and care) especially on testing and diagnostics. 2. Information and knowledge generation, communication, raising awareness Generate increased awareness and improved understanding amongst PWID and other key communities about HCV and its transmission and prevention, health effects, diagnosis and treatment, and their human rights. Improved understanding of issues faced by PWID living with HCV infection and HCV/HIV coinfection in project countries. Awareness for universal ii
access to HCV testing and inclusion of HCV in national surveillance mechanisms and building national Viral Hepatitis programmes. 3. Community mobilization and capacity building Strengthen and sustain the ability and capacity of the HCV community and key populations to address the issues around HCV, to advocate for their rights, and to participate in decision-making processes that affect communities. 4. Policy and guideline development and reform for HCV diagnostics Influence over and input into the development of relevant policy and guidelines at national, regional and global levels that address the issues of HCV services especially pricing and availability of testing and diagnosis. Key deliverables 1. Leadership, including the building of networks, alliances and coalitions Organise National Advocacy Strategy Planning Workshops in project countries. Build national networks on HCV and enhance regional HCV networks by developing national HCV community advocacy strategies and building alliances and coalitions Generate recommendations from communities, from steering committee(s), from the non-governmental organizations to provide technical support and collate data from regional and global meetings to inform strategies for (HIV/HCV/TB) integration across diagnostics platforms. 2. Information and knowledge generation, communication, raising awareness Development of HCV Advocacy Brief in English language and translated to project country national languages. Develop training packages for community-based advocates on HCV diagnostics and diagnosis. Dissemination of advocacy material, news and updates on HCV Dx and Tx through websites, e-groups and social media. Community representation and presentation in nationals and international conferences relevant to HCV e.g. World Hepatitis Summit, International AIDS Conference etc. Widespread advocacy activities and public campaign during the National Hepatitis Day. Prepare media strategy, including media briefing materials in relevant languages, community spokespeople trained and resourced, and maintain contacts with journalists and other media personnel. 3. Community mobilization and capacity building Provide guidance and support for convening of regional advocacy meetings on HCV diagnostics and treatment. Enhance diagnostics literacy for community-based organizations and advocates. 4. Policy and guideline development and reform for HCV diagnostics Develop and write community policy briefing papers on HCV specific issues. iii
Expected project duration Support provided Requirements Regularly communicate with different stakeholders to bring community perspective to discussions and plans. 18 months from the date of signature of the contract. For the development of the strategy and its implementation, FIND will provide: 1. Funding to cover the personnel and material expenses incurred by the advocacy organization(s) for the development of in-country strategy and implementation 2. Support from FIND personnel and consultants as needed to develop the strategy and the implementation plan, in particular to provide technical expertise for any diagnostic-related topics and communication To promote sustainability and country ownership, the implementation of the strategy has to be carried out, entirely or in close collaboration with, a domestic or regional civil society organization or network, with strong links to local health policy advocates. The supplier(s) must have proven expertise and experience in health advocacy, communications and policy development. The supplier(s) must also demonstrate the support of one or more key populations network which will benefit from improved access to HCV services including diagnosis. Confidentiality FIND considers any proposal received under the RFP as confidential. FIND will not disclose the proposal to third parties without the prior written agreement of the proposal submitter. The review of proposals will be carried out by FIND and FIND s independent review committee, all members of which are also under confidentiality and are recused if found to have a potential conflict of interest (which they are obliged to disclose). Any specific questions concerning confidentiality should be addressed to the FIND team. Timeline Activity Date / time RFP published March 28 th, 2018 Deadline for clarification questions (by email) April 6 th, 2018 FIND to respond to clarification questions (by email) April 11 th, 2018 Deadline for submission of the proposal of in-country April 20 th, 2018 strategy/ies Shortlisted candidates informed April 24 th, 2018 Deadline for submission of the proposal (shortlisted May 4 th, 2018 candidates only) in-country implementation plan Award decision standstill letters issued May 11 th, 2018 Contract concluded with winning supplier June 1 st, 2018 Contract start date June 4 th, 2018 Proposals in English are to be sent by e-mail to the project team (see contact details below). The deadline for proposal (first pass) reception is fixed as April 20 th, 2018 by 5pm CET Contact Annexes FIND is also available to further discuss this opportunity in a telephone conference and to answer questions via e-mail at HEADstart@finddx.org ATTACHMENT A: EVALUATION CRITERIA ATTACHMENT B: GUIDANCE FOR SUPPLIERS iv
ATTACHMENT A: EVALUATION CRITERIA A FIND evaluation panel will assess the extent to which proposals submitted in response to this RFP meet the evaluation criteria below. The evaluations are divided into technical and cost factors. These factors will be evaluated relative to each other as described herein. 1. Technical Evaluation Criteria In assessing each proposal, FIND will allocate greater importance to technical factors than to cost factors. A twostage procedure will be utilized in evaluating the proposals, with evaluation of the technical proposal being completed (first pass) prior to any price proposal being considered; and cost evaluation is only undertaken for technical submissions that have been previously shortlisted based on the content of the technical proposal. The score assigned to each proposal will be of guidance in determining which proposal would provide the greatest value to FIND. However, FIND 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. The technical merit of proposals will be evaluated based on the following evaluation criteria: Category a. Technical approach 50 points 1. The extent to which proposal demonstrates a clear understanding of the topic of the work being undertaken (i.e. diagnosis and diagnostics) and the environment (i.e. countryspecific context) in which the work must be performed. 2. The extent to which the proposed approach and methodology contained in the statement of work are effective, feasible, implementable, sustainable, and relevant to the national context. b. Expertise and qualifications 50 points The extent to which the applicant has demonstrated track record on HCV advocacy, sufficient personnel with the necessary education, training, technical knowledge, and experience for their assigned functions and strong linkage with CBOs/NGOs/Civil Society in the country/ies included in the application. 100 points A minimum technical score of 70 out of a maximum of 100 is required to pass the first evaluation. A proposal which fails to achieve the minimum technical threshold will not be considered further. 2. Cost Evaluation Criteria The cost proposal (second pass for shortlisted only) will be evaluated in terms of best value to FIND, price and other factors. v
ATTACHMENT B: GUIDANCE FOR APPLICANTS Required Technical Proposal The proposal on the in-country strategy should be concisely presented and structured, and should explain your availability, ability, capacity and resources to provide the requested services. Proposals that are incomplete or not responsive to these criteria may not be considered in the review process. All proposals must be submitted in English. In case potential candidates require additional information for their proposal development, this would be provided to them by FIND on demand. On electronic submission of the proposal and for correspondence regarding this request for proposal, the RFP number, as appears in the cover letter for this solicitation, and your company name must be clearly indicated in the subject line of your e-mail and in the names of any documents attached to the e-mail. 1. Proposal The applicants are required to produce a proposal not exceeding 3,000 words describing: their organization s theory of change Overview of the strategy with expected outputs/outcome(s)/achievement(s) of the initiative including intermediate milestones, and activities (general) Explain: o strategy to build sustainability o risks and mitigating strategies o approach to ensure meaningful engagement of women, key populations and advocates 2. Past professional experience As part of the proposal, potential suppliers are required to provide information regarding prior work experience. In describing experience, you must ensure it contains the following: 1 to 3 projects executed within the last five years which demonstrate technical ability to conduct similar analysis, capacity-building and advocacy Place and period of performance Description of the work How impact was assessed Cost, timeline and milestones for the project 3. Key team members CVs for all team members should be attached, focusing on work experience and qualifications which correspond directly to the requirements set out in the scope of work, which include licensing or educational qualifications, training, publications, and field experience. Although not an exhaustive list, specifics regarding, information on the company/organization, years of experience with respect to the company/organization, geographic locations of the work, are some exemplar areas which should be clearly highlighted in your CVs, where appropriate. Also list three references of organizations or individuals familiar with your work. Please include name and contact details. 4. Key population/people living with HCV Applicants may enclose one or more letters of reference from key population or people living with the diseases networks from country or regional level describing why they believe your organization will be competent to take on this work. vi
5. Estimated budget The cost component can cover one or more services requested in the scope of work outlined in the concept paper and must be in US Dollars. The cost tables and accompanying notes must show the composition of all cost elements, including fees and profits. It must include the following: Number of estimated working days and daily rate per team member/role. Cost breakdown (working days, daily rates and expenses) per identified step: o Interviews, document review and analysis; o Meetings, seminars, training session, webinars; o Tools and resources developed Cost breakdown of expenses: travel, per-diem, and other expenses (for example: communication costs etc.). The ceiling for this whole project is USD 300,000. 6. Other supplementary documents In addition, potential applicants may add any other documents they see relevant to clarify their expertise in conducting this work. General information FIND may, at its discretion, change the closing date, cancel the RFP, or revise the terms of reference, by issuing an amendment to this solicitation. All Amendments to this RFP will be posted on FIND website: https://www.finddx.org/. It is the Supplier s responsibility to consult FIND website to ensure that they are aware of amendments to this RFP. FIND may (a) reject any or all proposals, (b) accept for award a proposal other than the lowest cost proposal, (c) accept more than one proposal, (d) accept alternate proposals, (e) accept part of a proposal, (f) waive informalities and minor irregularities in proposals received, and (g) cancel this RFP. FIND may award one or more contracts on the basis of initial proposals received, without discussions or negotiations. Therefore, each initial proposal should contain the Supplier s best terms from a cost and technical standpoint. FIND reserves the right (but is not under obligation to do so) to enter into discussions with one or more Suppliers in order to obtain clarifications or additional detail, to suggest refinements in the technical proposal or other aspects of the proposal, or negotiate the cost proposal. FIND will be under no obligation to reveal, or discuss with any Suppliers, how a proposal was assessed, or to provide any other information relative to the selection process. Suppliers whose proposals are not selected will be notified in writing of this fact, and shall have no claim whatsoever for any kind of compensation. This RFP shall not be construed as a contract or a commitment of any kind. This request for proposals in no way obligates FIND to award a contract, nor does it commit FIND to pay any cost incurred in the preparation of the proposal. Suppliers are solely responsible for their own expenses, if any, in preparing and submitting an offer to this RFP. This would include any costs incurred during functional demonstrations and subsequent meetings and negotiations. In addition to the written proposal, FIND may request suppliers to make oral presentations in English or to participate in a pre-proposal conference. The date, time, and place for such (if any) will be communicated to all eligible suppliers. Information obtained through oral presentations will be considered in the overall evaluation process. vii