| RFP Number | EHRA-06-21 |
| RFP Title | External consultancy for the revise the methodology and tools of the assessment of the fulfillment of the commitments taken by the governments to ensure the sustainability of HIV response among key populations in the context of transition from the Global Fund’s support |
| RFP Closing Date and time: | 24:00 EET on June 27, 2022 |
| Proposal Submission Address: | info@harmreductioneurasia.org |
Background
Eurasian Harm Reduction Association (EHRA) is a non-for-profit public membership-based organization uniting harm reduction activists and organisations from Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia (CEECA) with its mission to actively unite and support communities and civil societies to ensure the rights and freedoms, health.
Being a partner of the Alliance for Public Health, the All-Ukrainian Network of PLWH 100% Life and other regional networks in the implementation of the Global Fund funded regional HIV project “Sustainability of services for key populations in Eastern Europe and Central Asia”, EHRA is aimed at the improving the financial sustainability and allocative efficiency of HIV programs in EECA countries.
To contribute to this objective, in 2020 – 2021 EHRA has developed and piloted a methodology and tool for assessing the fulfillment of the commitments taken by the governments to ensure the sustainability of HIV response among key populations in the context of transition to national financing from the donors’ / Global Fund’s support. It is expected that the results of such assessment will help representatives of key affected communities maintain their awareness and engagement in monitoring of the transition related process and advocate for the sustainability of the national response to HIV.
In 2021, while piloting the developed methodology and tool, EHRA conducted nine assessments in such EECA countries as Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Tajikistan.
EHRA is looking for a consultant to help with revising the current version of the methodology and tools based on the results of its piloting in 2021.
Goals and objectives
The consultant is expected to review and refine the methodology and tool for assessing the implementation of government commitments to ensure the sustainability of the HIV response among key populations in the context of the transition from Global Fund support based on a pilot project conducted in 9 EECA countries in 2021. Therefore, EHRA proposes that the consultant’s workflow should include (but not be limited to) the following steps:
- Acquaintance with the current version of the assessment methodology and tools.
- Familiarization with reports on the results of assessments in 9 countries and a list of methodological and technical limitations and problems identified so far (to be provided by EHRA).
- Development and agreement with EHRA of a questionnaire for semi-structured interviews on issues related to methodology, preparation and agreement with EHRA of a list of experts for interviews. The total number of interviews should not exceed 12.
- Conducting, transcribing and analyzing interviews with selected experts.
- Based on the information collected, finalize the methodology and tool for assessing the fulfilment of HIV resilience commitments made by national governments in the context of a country’s transition from Global Fund support to national funding.
The Assessment Guide Benchmarking the Sustainability of the HIV Response in the Context of the Transition from Donor Funding, along with the Transition Monitoring Tool in Excel format, can be found on the EHRA website: https://old.harmreductioneurasia.org/tmt/. In addition, EHRA will provide the selected consultant with (1) national reports on completed assessments and (2) a list of methodological and technical limitations and problems identified from the results of the pilot, which will need to be taken into account and addressed in the course of work, as well as (3) contacts of experts who conducted national estimates.
EHRA will support the selected consultant in understanding the methodology. Upon request, the EHRA will provide detailed feedback on the intermediate products of the consultant’s work being created. In addition, the consultant is expected to be available for regular calls with assigned EHRA staff/experts to discuss progress/problems related to the implementation of the tasks set under this ToR.
Expected work results:
The following products (in English or Russian) should be provided as a result of the work carried out by the consultant following this TOR:
- Revised and finalized methodology to assess of the fulfillment of the commitments taken by the governments to ensure the sustainability of HIV response among key populations in the context of transition from the Global Fund’s support;
- Revised and finalized tool(s) required to do such assessment including the instruction for local consultants on how to use them.
Proposed timeline:
- By 08.07.2022 – the consultant should familiarize himself/herself with all the provided by EHRA assessment related documents
- By 22.07.2022 – to develop the questionnaires for the interviews discussions and agree on the list of key respondents
- By 31.08.2022 – to conduct all interviews
- By 22.09.2022 the consultant should provide the assigned EHRA staff/experts with a draft version of the revised and updated documents for review as specified in the section «Expected Results» of this ToR.
- By 15.10.2022 the consultant must provide to EHRA assigned staff/experts a pre-final version of the revised and updated documents specified in the section «Expected Results».
- By 31.10.2022 the Consultant must provide to EHRA assigned staff/experts the final version of the documents specified in the section «Expected Results».
Cost of services and payment order
The final cost of the contract will be calculated based on the number of working days indicated in the work plan, the daily rate (in Euros) confirmed and agreed with EHRA. The daily rate must include all taxes paid by the consultant himself. Taking into account the terms of the TOR, it is assumed that the payment under the contract will be divided into two parts:
- 50% will be paid to the consultant after developing and submitting the first draft of revised and finalized assessment methodology and related TOR documents to EHRA assigned staff/experts.
- 50% will be paid after revising and finalizing the assessment methodology and related to TOR documents will be reviewed and approved by EHRA assigned staff/experts.
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.
- 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.
| Сriteria: | Points |
| Excellent understanding of the context and processes related to the sustainability and transition of the response to HIV from Global Fund support to national funding taking place in the EECA region | 20 |
| Experience in similar work over the past 3 years and commitment to evidence-based approaches (links to examples of relevant documents should be provided in the Motivation Letter) | 40 |
| Proven set of skills for interviewing, conducting a literature review, and writing | 40 |
| Maximum possible number of points | 100 |
Excellent written and spoken English or Russian is a requirement for all applicants.
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/
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 and also include
- the estimated number of working days for each stage,
- the daily rate in euros,
- the terms of the work plan within this terms of reference.
Please submit your proposal to the info@harmreductioneurasia.org .
In the subject line of your e-mail please indicate the RFP number and your name. Otherwise, the application will not be considered.