ThaiNGO

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

 Reference No: 2018/03

A Consultancy Assignment on End of Project Evaluation for

REGIONAL CITY-BASED HIV TESTING CAMPAIGN (testXXX) PROGRAMME

for APCOM

Dear Sir/Madam,

APCOM hereby invites RFP from individual professionals or firms for a consultancy assignment to conduct End of Project Evaluation for Regional City-based HIV Testing Campaign (testXXX) Programme conducted by APCOM under the grant from Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF).

The contract period is from 01 November 2018 to 23 November 2018 (inclusive). The recruited Consultant is expected to develop detailed study paper on the testXXX programme, 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. APCOM’s 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

ANNEX 1. PROPOSAL INSTRUCTION SHEET (PIS)

ANNEX 2 . TOR-TERMS OF REFERENCES

1. INTRODUCTION

Founded in 2007, APCOM is a coalition of members – governments, UN partners, non-profits and community based organisations – from Asia and the Pacific. We represent a diverse range of interests working together to advocate on, highlight and prioritise HIV issues that affect the lives of men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender people, including rights, health and well-being.

By influencing governments and opinion leaders, we are generating positive, enduring change. The APCOM Strategic Framework for 2018-2020 is available at this link.

testXXX is conceived by APCOM to close the gap between the HIV prevalence among MSM in Asian cities and the rate of HIV testing among them. Many countries within Asia are recording alarmingly high numbers of HIV infection among MSM population. This is particularly evident in large urban areas like Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta and Manila where prevalence has been reported between 15-31%. Where data is available, the rate of HIV testing among young MSM (aged 29 and below) is less than 50%.

testXXX was piloted in Bangkok, named TestBKK, in 2014 with the support from LINKAGES Thailand led by FHI Thailand funded by USAID and PEPFAR. With the support of Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) in 2015, testBKK received additional resources for three years (2015-2018) and TestXXX expanded to three new cities:  Ho Chi Minh City (TestSGN), Manila (TestMNL), and Jakarta (TestJKT). Each of these expanded campaign received a one-year grant.

While TestBKK is directly implemented by APCOM, the other TestXXX campaigns are implemented by country-level partners – so called Country Implementing Partners (CIPs) under APCOM’s supervision and guidance. These CIPs are CARMAH for TestSGN, Love Yourself Inc. for TestMNL and Jaringan GWL-INA for TestJKT.

Each testXXX campaign is mandated to create partnerships with a certain number of clinics that provide sexual health services, including HIV and STI testing and treatment, to MSM. These selected clinics should be accommodating and sensitive to the needs of MSM, including ensuring non-judgemental, anonymous and confidential service delivery.

Visit http://apcom.org/testXXX to learn more about the programme.

The following table summarises testXXX campaigns’ key information.

1. PURPOSE OF CONSULTANCY

(1)     Conduct an evaluation of the Programme (testXXX) as implemented by APCOM and its Country Implementing Partners (CIPs) covering the period 2015-2018, against its stated objectives and targets;

(2)     Assess the effectiveness of Programme-related structures, relationships, and responsibilities between APCOM and CIPs, in contributing to the achievement of the Programme’s stated objectives and targets, and recommend changes that would enhance program efficiency and effectiveness;

(3)     Identify and document notable achievements of the 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 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

III. SERVICES REQUIRED

The expected tasks, deliverables, location and duration of the consultancy is detailed below.

TASKS

(1)     desk review of relevant Programme’s conception documents, including contract between EJAF and APCOM, agreements between APCOM and the CIPs, project narrative and financial reports from CIPs to APCOM, project narrative and financial reports from APCOM to EJAF

(2)     desk review of publications profiling the Programme and knowledge product resulted from the Programme

(3)     draft/propose the evaluation’s methodology

(4)     identify individuals directly involved in the Programme’s implementation to be part of the evaluation’s key informant interviews and/or focus group discussion

(5)     draft key informant interview questions

(6)     draft focus group discussion questions

(7)     arrange and conduct the interviews and focus group discussion

(8)     document, review, and analyse results of key stakeholder interviews and focus group discussions to inform the findings of the evaluation.

(9)     write and distribute draft evaluation report to key stakeholders for feedback, in consultation with APCOM

(10) address feedback from key stakeholders as appropriate and finalise evaluation report.

DELIVERABLES

(1)     methodology for the evaluation;

(2)     key informant interview questions

(3)     focus group discussion questions

(4)     draft evaluation report

(5)     final evaluation report that contains executive summary, list of acronyms, table of contents, methodology, findings, recommendations, citations/references, and bibliography.

LOCATION AND DURATION

The consultancy will take place primarily in APCOM Secretariat Office in Bangkok.  Interviews with informants outside of Thailand should be conducted via conference call. The duration of the consultancy is a maximum of 10 to 15 days.

IV. PAYMENT

Payments shall be made on submission of invoices, received by APCOM Operation Unit, along with a satisfactory note/clearance note from the reporting supervisor at APCOM. Payment will be made by via wire transfer in favor of the CONSULTANT as per the deliverable and payment schedule mentioned in the above table. The destination of the payment should be a bank account under the name of the CONSULTANT.

V. KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL REQUIREMENTS

The applying candidates are expected to possess the following knowledge and skill

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 HIV, social cause and other human rights- and/or health-related field.

Functional / Technical Knowledge

• Demonstrated experience in implementing a similar scope of work especially project management
• 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.

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)
• If applicable, include airfare round trip (only economy) and daily stay and allowance estimated cost (subject to project/assignment requiremen )
• If applicable, 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 scoring process
• Include any tax (%) applicable for this assignment as per your country law.