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REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

 Reference No: 2018/02

A Consultancy Assignment on End of Project Evaluation for Multi-Country South Asia Global Fund HIV Programme for APCOM based in Bangkok, Thailand

under

Multi-Country South Asia (MSA) HIV Programme

“Reducing the Impact of HIV on MSM and Transgender Populations in South Asia”

Dear Sir/Madam,

APCOM hereby invites RFP from individual professionals or firms for a consultancy assignment to conduct End of Project Evaluation for Multi-Country South Asia Global Fund HIV Programme under the Multi-Country South Asia HIV Programme, where Save the Children-Nepal  is the Principle Recipient and APCOM is Regional Sub-Recipient.

The contract period is from 01 September 2018 to 21 September 2018  (inclusive). The recruited Consultant is expected to develop detailed study paper on the MSA programme 2014 -2017, including but not limited to success stories, challenges and failures. In order to prepare a responsive proposal, interested consultants or firms are expected to examine in detail the RFP documents:

Annex 1. Proposal Instruction Sheet (PIS)

Annex 2. Terms of Reference (TOR)

Annex 3. Evaluation Methodology and Criteria

Annex 4. Format of Technical Proposal

Annex 5. Format of Financial Proposal

Annex 6. Proposed Sample of Contract

The interested consultants or firms will be selected based on the Evaluation Methodology and Criteria indicated in Annex 3.

This letter is not to be construed in any way as an offer to contract.

Yours sincerely,

Kularb Khongtaisong

Senior Finance Officer

APCOM Secretariat

1. Proposal Instruction Sheet (PIS)

Annex 2. TOR-Terms of References

1. Background: APCOM is a regional organisation based in Bangkok. Thailand, working on the health and rights of key populations affected by HIV and AIDS. Currently, APCOM is implementing the Multi Country South Asia Global Fund HIV Programme (MSA) which aims to reduce the impact of, and vulnerability to HIV of men who have sex with men (MSM), hijras and transgender people through Community Systems Strengthening (CSS) in seven countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Save the Children, Nepal is the Principal Recipient and APCOM is the regional Sub Recipient in the implementation of the programme.

Since the start of the programme in 2014, APCOM has launched various capacity development initiatives including, but not limited to:

•       Turning the Corner¨, a workshop on resource mobilisation and sustainability
•       PrEPARING ASIA¨, a regional dialogue to explore the feasibility of PrEP in the region
•       A Regional M&E Workshop to develop indicators to measure advocacy, communications and social mobilisation
•       Strengthening Programme Management Systems¨, a regional workshop to improve project management skills and knowledge
•       The Workshop on Developing Effective Leaders Resulting in Good Governance
•       A Regional Consultation on Strengthening South Asia’s HIV Response through Partnerships, and
•       A Regional Workshop : Changing Gears – Reanimating HIV services for MSM and Transgender/Hijra Communities.
• Rights, Resources, Resilience Asia Pacific (RRRAP) Summit, a regional summit to engage on broader issues critical to addressing the escalating HIV                epidemic among MSM, persistent stigma, discrimination and acts of violence against key population, and sustainability of HIV programmes;

In addition, APCOM extended technical assistance to SR Partners in Bhutan (Lhak-Sam) and Nepal (Blue Diamond Society) with aim of strengthening the organisational capacities and identifying advocacy priorities respectively. The assessment activities, which focused on Governance, External Relationships and Advocacy, has highlighted that strengthening organisational capacities are linked to effective advocacy activities at the ground level.

In December 2017, APCOM documented in a report titled “Here to Where” the contributions of the activities under the MSA Programme in bringing about anticipated changes/impact, to examine which factors have proved critical in helping or hindering changes to draw lessons for future.

1. Objectives: The overall objective of for this consultancy are as followed:

1.  Conduct an evaluation of the MSA Programme as implemented by APCOM covering the period 2015-2018, against stated goals and objectives of the program. The evaluation will cover program implementation, finance management, and partnership with country SR partners.
2. Assess the performance of programme-related structures such as partnerships and implementation arrangements, relationships, and responsibilities between APCOM, and sub-grantees, in contributing to the achievement of the Initiative’s stated goals and objectives, and recommend changes that would enhance program performance;
3. Identify and document notable achievements of the MSA Programme and factors which contributed to these achievements;
4. Identify and make recommendations for ongoing opportunities and activities for APCOM that will build on the achievements of the MSA Programme to date.
5.   Prepare consolidated final report for the project donor including identification of problems, causes of potential bottlenecks in implementation, and providing specific recommendations

5.

III.        Methodology: The consultant will undertake the listed below. APCOM Secretariat is based in Bangkok, and will be available for face-to-face interviews or participation in focus groups as required. Other interviews or focus group discussions may take place by conference call if necessary

Task

(1)  Desk review of relevant project agreements, project narrative and financial reports, publications, media reporting, and previous evaluations of the Initiative;

(2)  Face-to-face and telephone interviews (10-15) with key stakeholders from the Save the Children Secretariat, APCOM Secretariat, government representatives, and country partners;

(3)  Draft key stakeholder interview questions; arrange and conduct interviews with assistance from APCOM;

(4)  Draft focus group discussion questions; arrange and conduct FGDs with assistance from APCOM;

(5)  Document, review, and analyse results of key stakeholder interviews and FGDs to inform the findings of the evaluation.

(6)  Write and distribute draft evaluation report to key stakeholders for feedback, in consultation with APCOM.

(7)  Address feedback from key stakeholders as appropriate and finalise evaluation report.

Outputs

(1)  Methodology for the evaluation;

(2)  Key stakeholder interview questions.

(3)  Focus group discussion questions.

(4)  Draft evaluation report.

(5)  Final evaluation report including executive summary, table of contents, methodology, findings, recommendations, citations/references, and bibliography.

1. Payment Schedule and Milestones

Payment will be made through bank transfer

1. Knowledge and Skill Requirement

Education: Master’s degree in Public Health or other relevant field

Professional Experience:

3 to 5 years of professional working experience and providing consultancy services, preferably in the field of HIV and Key affected populations

Functional / Technical Knowledge

• Demonstrated experience in implementing a similar scope of work including developing training modules.
• Possess adequate knowledge on MSM, Transgender related issues and has an understanding about HIV intervention programmein SA countries
• Excellent communication skills and able to translate hard concepts into simple and easy language to the participants.
• Excellent written communication skills in English, especially drafting meeting report.

1. Reporting & Communication

The recruited consultant/firm will closely work with the APCOM’s Programmes, Programme and Advocacy unit.

ANNEX 3. Evaluation Methodology and Criteria

Evaluation Methodology: Combined Technical and Financial Proposal

The weight of technical Proposal is 80 percent with 800 maximum points. Any technical proposal with a score below 65% is rejected, and the financial file will remain unopened at the end of the selection process.

The Technical Proposal calculation is as follow: (80 (% technical proposal weight) x Company total points) / 100 (maximum points) = X%

The weight of financial proposal is 20% with a maximum of 200 points

The Financial Proposal calculation is as follow:

Lowest bid proposed = maximum points = 200

Other bids are calculated as follow: (200 (maximum points) x lowest price evaluated) / price under consideration = number of point

The Proposals will be ranked according to their Combined Technical and Financial Proposal scores.

The Company achieving the highest combined score will be invited for Negotiation and Contract Award.

Evaluation of technical proposal:

The quality of each technical proposal will be evaluated in accordance with the following technical evaluation criteria and the associated weighting (total possible value of 800 points):

A proposal shall be rejected at this stage if it fails to achieve the minimum technical threshold of 65% or 520 points of the obtainable score of maximum of 800 points for the technical proposal.

ANNEX 4. Format of Technical Proposal Proposals

Proposals not submitted in this format may be rejected. The Technical Proposal should include the following details,

Covering Letter (use the sample provided, please submit signed copy with organization seal)

To: Date:

Kularb Khongtaisong, Senior Finance Officer

APCOM Secretariat

66/1 Sukhumvit 2,

Klongtoey, Bangkok 10110

Thailand

We, the undersigned, hereby are pleased to submit the Technical Proposal in response to the RFP Reference number (XXX).

We, the undersigned, declare that we have read and understood the Terms of Reference, evaluation method, sample contract. We at this moment declare that all the information and statements made in this Proposal are true and accept that any misinterpretation contained in it may lead to our disqualification.

We have followed the Proposal Instruction Sheet and accordingly prepared our submission. We understand that you are not bound to accept the lowest evaluated proposal or any other proposal that you may receive.

Signed: _______ [insert date of signing]

Name: _____ [insert complete name]

Position:

Technical Proposal

1. A) The proposer is requested to include a one-page value statement indicating why he/she/consulting firm is the most suitable to carry out the assignment.
2. B) The Past and ongoing assignment/project details with results (relevant to the proposed assignment)
3. C) Technical Proposal
4. D) Proposed detail timeline and Quality Assurance

• Detail timeline for project
• Strategy/Steps for quality control and check

1. F) Detailed firm’s CV (Detail any specialized knowledge that may be applied to performance of the TOR. Include experiences in the region)

Important submissions

• Soft Copies or Link of previous work: Website, application, design.

ANNEX 5: Format of Financial Proposal Finance Proposal

 Finance Proposal

The Financial Proposal must be prepared and submitted as a separate PDF file from the rest of the RFP response as indicated in (Annex 1). The components comprising the total price must provide sufficient detail to allow APCOM to determine compliance of proposal with requirements as per TOR of this RFP.

Instructions:

• Use the most recent daily consultancy rate (attach evidence, recent contract)
• Include airfare round trip (only economy) and daily stay and allowance estimated cost.

( subject to project/assignment requirement )

• Include any other ground travel or incidentals expected expenses based on your experience ( subject to project/assignment requirement)
• Please provide explanation/notes for each line item for clarity during evaluation
• Include any tax (%) applicable for this assignment as per your country law.