ThaiNGO

Scopes of work

Consultant - HIV costing, cost-effective studies, and financing systems development

LINKAGES Thailand/FHI 360

April 13, 2017

FHI 360 Brief Background

FHI 360 is a nonprofit human development organization dedicated to improving lives in lasting ways by advancing integrated, locally driven solutions. Our staff includes experts in health, education, nutrition, environment, economic development, civil society, gender, youth, research and technology, creating a unique mix of capabilities to address today’s interrelated development challenges. FHI 360 serves more than 70 countries and all U.S. states and territories.

Project Description

Funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and managed by FHI 360, the Linkages across the Continuum of HIV Services for Key Populations Affected by HIV (LINKAGES) Project is a global project with specific scopes of work in multiple countries. In Thailand, LINKAGES focuses on interventions to reduce HIV transmission among key populations, predominantly among men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgenders (TG). Most interventions are implemented through community-based organizations (CBOs) and include reach-recruit-test-treat-prevent-retain (RRTTPR) interventions such as peer-driven outreach, use of social media, HIV testing in community clinic settings, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) provision, and increasingly, HIV treatment in community-based clinic settings.    

Although the Government of Thailand supports an overwhelming majority of its HIV response, most of the funding for interventions for key populations through local NGOs is currently supported by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Global Fund for AIDS, TB, and Malaria. There is increasing recognition that the Government of Thailand will finance local NGOs to support interventions with key populations in the near future. However, while there is a significant amount of performance data on RRTTPR interventions from NGOs, there is a

pronounced gap in understanding the routine costs of community-based HIV services as well as their cost-effectiveness in the national response.

Scopes of Work

To help fill this gap, LINKAGES Thailand/FHI 360 is seeking a consultant or group of consultants to conduct the following scopes of work:

Scope of work #1 - Design routine cost analysis framework and components for local NGOs serving key populations - Using global evidence and standards in costing key population interventions, the consultant(s) will work with FHI 360/LINKAGES and local NGO partners to advise on appropriate methods to allocate operational costs to capture the specific per unit costs of RTTPR interventions on an on-going basis. Operational costs of NGOs include costs directly attributable to specific interventions but also indirect costs that need to be allocated to each intervention category. Interventions are in the process of being refined and honed over time with the goal of reducing unit costs, and so the costing methods will need to take into consideration these refinements and track if interventions are, in fact, reducing unit costs. FHI 360/LINKAGES has developed a dashboard that will track RRTTPR performance indicators for each NGO partner over time. The consultant(s) will work closely with FHI 360/LINKAGES on how these unit cost analyses can be integrated into these performance dashboards.

Scope of work #2 – Design specific cost studies and implement them in collaboration with FHI 360/LINKAGES and other partners – In addition to the above routine cost analyses, FHI 360/LINKAGES is seeking consultant(s) to collaborate with local agencies to design and conduct several cost studies. The following are currently envisioned but may change depending on consultations that the consultant(s) and FHI 360/LINKAGES will have with the Ministry of Health, USAID, and other stakeholders:

1. a. Cost-effectiveness analysis of community-based HIV services – This analysis will use RRTTPR performance and cost data from the past several years to measure the cost-effectiveness and HIV cases averted from community-based service provision.
2. b. Cost-effectiveness of PrEP – This analysis will complement other PrEP cost analyses that are currently being implemented in Thailand.
3. c. Cost-effectiveness analysis of standard vs. differentiated care approaches – This analysis will focus on illustrating the cost-effectiveness of HIV care and treatment when a differentiated care approach is implemented.

Scope of work #3 – develop systems for the financing of community-based organizations – FHI 360/LINKAGES is seeking consultant(s) to provide technical assistance to governmental entities, e.g. ministry of health, provincial health services, on appropriate systems and processes to procure HIV services from and manage grant-type mechanisms with community-based organizations. Systems may include the development of guiding principles and operational procedures for tendering services, e.g. requests for proposals (RFPs). These principals and

procedures will underscore the importance of community-level planning that includes both government and non-government organizations; prioritization of interventions that stresses community involvement and value for money; and equitable and fair processes for determining the distribution of funding across different key populations. Areas of technical assistance may include pre-grant planning (government and community planning bodies, budgetary allotment), procurement processes (equitable and competitive procedures for selecting partners), and grants management (grant and payment schemes, monitoring and evaluation processes).  

Minimal qualifications

Scopes of work 1 and 2: Consultants will have successfully conducted similar unit cost analyses and cost-effectiveness studies in other country settings according to global standards, with demonstrable evidence of this work.

Scope of work 3: Consultants will have successfully worked with ministries of health, provincial health services, health departments, etc. to develop or manage procedures and processes with community-based organizations, with demonstrable evidence of this work.  

Period of Performance

The Estimated Period of Performance is May 2017 – April 2018, but these dates will be negotiated with the chosen consultants depending on the actual scope of work.

Instructions to Applicants and Submission Requirements

FHI 360 is requesting interested applicants, groups of applicants, or applicants affiliated with an institution to provide the following documents specified below. Please submit all requirements by e-mail to hr.thailand@fhi360.org by 5.00 PM Bangkok time on May 3, 2017. Applications received after this date and time will not be considered.

1. A letter of interest outlining a summary of possible approaches to the scope(s) of work and relevant expertise and experience (2 pages maximum). Consultants may apply for any one, two, or all three scopes of work but this should be made clear in the letter of interest. The letter must include the following:

• Soonest dates of availability for initial planning and design consultations in Bangkok, Thailand.
• Desired consulting rate based on consulting and/or work history. A final consulting rate will be negotiated with FHI 360.

2. Up-to-date CV(s) for all key staff.