REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS: External consultant to organize and facilitate 2-day Regional Working Forum “Provision of Global Fund-related Technical Assistance for CSOs and communities in the EECA region in 2021 – 2022 – lessons learned and the way forward”

RFP Number EHRA-08-30
RFP Title External consultant to organize and facilitate 2-day Regional Working Forum “Provision of Global Fund-related Technical Assistance for CSOs and communities in the EECA region in 2021 – 2022 – lessons learned and the way forward”
RFP Closing Date and time: 24:00 EET 06 September 2022 г.
Proposal Submission Address: info@harmreductioneurasia.org

The Eurasian Harm Reduction Association (EHRA) in the scope of the EECA Regional Platform project supported by the Global Fund is aimed to organize a Regional Working Forum to discuss and learn from the results of the implementation of the Global Fund’s Community Engagement (CE) Technical Assistance (TA) Program in EECA region in 2021 – 2022. The Forum is going to take place in Istanbul (Turkey) on 24 – 25 of November 2022. The working languages of the Regional Forum will be English and Russian.

Objectives of the meeting

The objectives of the Forum are:

  • To learn from the experiences of the Global Fund‘s CE TA providers and recipients of such TA in EECA.
  • To understand the challenges and barriers that CSOs and communities faced while requesting\receiving\providing the CE TA and to discuss how this TA mechanism could be improved in the future.
  • To get a better understanding of the other Global Fund-related TA opportunities that are available in the EECA region for civil society and communities.
  • To contribute to better coordination and harmonization among donors and technical partners in supporting or providing the Global Fund related technical support in the region

Note: Some of the objectives may be revised and adjusted during the process of planning the meeting agenda.

Tasks and the deadlines for the consultants under this ToR:

EHRA is looking for a regional level expert to conceptualize the content of the event and help EHRA with its organization and facilitation.

The expert under this ToR is expected:

  • By 15 of September to review the available draft concept of the Regional Forum, propose and agree with EHRA amendments to it if needed, develop and agree with EHRA the final version of the concept of the event;
  • By 23 of September to develop the draft agenda of the Regional Forum and get the feedback on it from EHRA and other key partners involved into organization of the event if any;
  • By 30 of September to provide EHRA with the final version of the Regional Forum agenda ready for the dissemination among the Regional Forum participants;
  • Help EHRA to identify the participants of the Regional Forum. The final list of participants should be developed by the 30 of September;
  • To help EHRA to identify relevant experts to be invited to participate in the Regional Forum. The list of experts should be developed by 10 of October;
  • Based on the agreed agenda of the event to develop and agree with EHRA the process of its facilitation by 01 of November;
  • By 01 of November – to conduct a survey among CE TA providers and recipients to understand their experiences as well as the priority needs and options for improving the CE TA mechanism and demand for it in EECA.

The survey should include interviews with the selected representatives of TA recipients and providers as well as relevant colleagues from the Global Fund’s Secretariat (no less than 12 interviews altogether). The results of the survey should serve as the base for the discussions at the Regional Forum and should be provided in a separate report.

  • To coordinate the process of development of relevant presentations for the purposes of the event by invited participants and experts: to develop the check list of the presentations; to brief each expert on the expected content, possible structure and timing of the presentation; to collect presentations from experts and participants in advance to the event; to provide a feedback on their content and structure if needed. To participate in planned conference calls with the invited experts;
  • To coordinate the process of the development of the handout materials to be disseminated among the participants of the Regional Forum in advance to the event or distributed during the meeting: to develop the check list of the required handout materials; to collect them in advance to the Regional Forum from the experts or from other relevant sources and make sure that those needed to be printed for the seminar are printed in time;
  • To develop the methodology of the evaluation of the results of the Regional Forum right after the event. Based on this methodology to develop the questionnaire for the participants to fill in right after the event;
  • To participate in a preparatory meeting with EHRA representative and experts the day before the Regional Forum to have the final discussion on its agenda, facilitation processes, roles of key participants and expected results;
  • To facilitate the two-day long Regional Forum on 24 – 25 of November 2022 in Istanbul (Turkey);
  • To be in contact with the people responsible for the organization of the event’s logistics and timely provide them with all required information regarding the requirements for the Regional Forum auditorium, stationery, etc.;
  • By 15 of December to develop and submit to EHRA the report on the process and results of the Regional Forum. The report should be in English and should not exceed 15 pages. Among other issues the report should include a short overview of the Regional Forum organization process, key discussions which took place during the event, key agreements reached, conclusions as well as recommendations both for Global Fund and participants on the next steps to be done as a follow up to the Regional Forum. In particular the report should include:
    • Recommendations for the GF Secretariat on how to optimize the particular CRG TA mechanism to be more demanded\effective in the EECA region
    • Draft position on what kind of Global Fund related TA civil society may need and how the mechanism of such TA provision should work in most effective and efficient way

EHRA will identify the person from among its staff to supervise the work of the expert under this ToR. Supervisor will be a contact person for the expert on all matters regarding the organization and facilitation of the event and will be the one to conclude on the quality of the work done and report provided.

Payment

The final cost of the contract will be calculated based on the number of working days indicated by the consultant in their application required to complete each stage of the assessment process described in this RFP, as well as the daily rate (in Euros) confirmed and agreed with EHRA. The daily rate must include all taxes to be paid by consultant themselves.

EHRA reserves the right to review and agree on the proposed daily rate based on the submitted documents.

EHRA will cover travel and accommodation expenses required to ensure the expert’s participation in the event if needed. The contract with the selected expert will be signed for the period from 5th of September till 20 of December 2022. In case of change of the dates of the event due to the unexpected circumstances the duration of the contract will be prolonged for the relevant period.

Evaluation criteria / requirements for candidates:

 Submitted applications will be evaluated by the evaluation panel of the Eurasian Harm Reduction Association. A two-stage procedure will be utilized in evaluating the proposals:

  • evaluation of the previous experience (portfolio) via technical criteria – 80% in total evaluation (please find the criteria in the table below)
  • comparison of the costs (best value for money) – 20% in total evaluation. The EHRA will evaluate the proposal regarding the best value for money (price in euros and other factors are taken into account).

Cost evaluation is only undertaken for technical submissions that score a minimum 80 points out of a maximum of 100 as a requirement to pass the technical evaluation. A proposal which fails to achieve the minimum technical threshold will not be considered further.

[su-table responsive:yes]
Criteria: Points
The experience of organization and facilitation of a least five (5) regional level workshops\seminars\trainings in last three years; 25
Good understanding of Global Fund sustainability and transition related processes taking place in EECA region and preferably personal involvement into such processes (should be clear from the Letter of Interest); 25
Good understanding of the situation with availability of HIV\TB related TA for civil society in EECA region. Be familiar with the existing mechanisms of TA provision (CRG TA in particular) and challenges being faced by TA recipients \ providers (should be clear from the Letter of Interest); 25
Good communication skills including experience in conducting surveys, interviewing people, report writing (should be clear from LoI and CV) 25
Maximum possible number of points 100
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Mandatory requirement for the candidates: excellent knowledge of written and spoken English and Russian.

This announcement shall not be construed as a contract or a commitment of any kind. This request for proposals in no way obligates EHRA to award a contract, nor does it commit EHRA to pay any cost incurred in the preparation and submission of the proposals.

Based on the evaluation results, the evaluation panel may decide to support several consultants. In this case, the evaluation panel will contact the selected consultants for negotiations.

How to apply

To be eligible as a EHRA consultant, any organization or individual must comply with the Eurasian Harm Reduction Association Code of Ethics which you can find at the following link: https://old.harmreductioneurasia.org/ehra-code-of-ethics/ Also, the applicant should support the position of the EHRA on the issue of Russian aggression against Ukraine https://old.harmreductioneurasia.org/eurasian-harm-reduction-association-condemns-the-russian-war-against-ukraine/

Applicants must submit the following documents:

  • CV,
  • Letter of Interest.

The CV and application must reflect the candidate’s competencies required to complete this task. The Letter of Interest should also include the estimated number of working days required to complete each stage of the assessment process and the daily rate in EUR.

Please submit your proposal to the info@harmreductioneurasia.org

In the subject line of your e-mail please indicate the RFP number and your nameOtherwise, the application will not be considered.