RFP – Local Implementing Partner At Girl Effect

Who We Are

Girl Effect is an international non-profit that builds media that girls want, trust and need. From chatbots to chat shows and TV dramas to tech, our content helps adolescent girls in Africa and Asia make choices and changes in their lives. We create safe spaces for girls, sharing facts and answering questions about health, nutrition, education, and relationships, empowering girls with the skills to negotiate and redefine what they are told is possible “for a girl”.

Our reach is 50 million and counting. And we’re using technology to reach girls at scale so every girl can choose to be in control of her body, health, learning and livelihood.

Because when a girl unlocks her power to make different choices that change her life, it inspires others to do so too. She starts a ripple effect that impacts her family, community, and country.

That’s the Girl Effect.

Girl Effect Tanzania

Girl Effect Tanzania has been empowering girls since 2019. Girl Effect is dedicated to dismantling the root causes of barriers faced by adolescent girls and young women. Girl Effect firmly believes in every girl’s right to be in control of her body, health, education, and livelihood, regardless of her circumstances.

Working closely with adolescent girls and young women and community experts, Girl Effect crafts innovative and responsive programs that enable girls to explore diverse opportunities, shift attitudes about themselves, and make informed decisions regarding their health, education, and financial choices. Through their empowering initiatives, Girl Effect Tanzania ensures that each girl can pave her path to a brighter future, embracing a life of agency, opportunity, and success.

The Program

Girl Effect, in partnership with Gavi, the vaccine alliance, has embarked on a 4-year (September 2022 to August 2026) program aimed at improving the health of children, adolescents, and women by increasing demand for and uptake of vaccines in Katavi, Lindi, Mtwara, Tabora and Shinyanga regions, with a particular focus on girls 9-14 years before eligibility for the HPV vaccine and those (up to 29 years old) who are pregnant or caregivers of children below the age of 2. The program is operating in a total of 18 wards in the 5 regions. Working closely with the Ministry of Health and PORALG, the initiative will drive demand to increase the uptake of both HPV and routine vaccines, with a specific focus on reaching underserved communities. Tujibebe’s channels continue to play a pivotal role in supporting the Ministry of Health’s plans to reach the large number of girls who missed out on the vaccine during the pandemic.

Program expected outcomes include;

1. Increased uptake of HPV Vaccine for 14-year-old girls in target areas with specific populations
2. Increased uptake of Routine Immunization (RI) for 0–2-year-old children of AGYW caregivers in target populations (Young Mothers and Fathers: 15 – 29 years)
3. Increased practice of positive health-seeking behaviour

The program is primarily targeting zero-dose and under-vaccinated areas of the country mainly characterised by a lack of inadequate access to basic health and information services. primarily in the past, GE focused on urban and semi-urban geographies with good access to connectivity and media and now broadening its scope to also reach rural and marginalised groups with appropriate and targeted on-ground engagements over and above using mass media channels.

On-ground programming will include; i) a school-based health education program in schools (in the 5 regions) and ii) Community Engagement/ mobilisation activities led by health providers, community leaders and community health workers (CHWs). These will be among the product mix for on-ground activation. In line with these on-ground activations, the program will provide the mobilisers/ educators with IEC materials (brochures, posters and fliers) and magazines with key messages/content. In addition to the on-the-ground programming, GE will have an ecosystem of products that complements individual-level discussions through targeted and tailored digital/media products that will be produced using local insights and disseminated through selected accessible outlets such as community radios and TVC, social media, apps and/or through individual phones.

Progress to date

Phase I: Completed

In the 1st phase of the GAVI program, we developed the following pieces of content focusing on raising awareness of routine immunisation for children, focusing on the benefits, safety and accessibility of the vaccines;

• 3 Radio Spots are to be distributed across community radio stations.
• 3 Informational Videos are to be distributed within health facilities.
• 3 posters to be distributed within health facilities and community events.
• 1 brochure to be distributed within health facilities and community events.
• 1 flier to be distributed within health facilities and community events.

Phase II: On-going

In phase II, we developed six-episode drama along with 12 pieces of audio content for our IVR (Interactive Voice Response) platform. Like phase I, these pieces of content also focused on messaging around routine immunisation.

GE Tanzania produced multiple HPV Products with MAC & 1-dose Switch Campaign content for MOH’s national campaign, labeled the ‘Binti Makini’ campaign. Products were informed from GE’s Design Process and were co-created with involvement from regional Youth Participation Panels. GE collaborated closely with MOH’s Content and Technical Review Committees to ensure products were reviewed and approved by MOH. The material developed by GE included:

• 1 TV Commercial
• 2 radio spots
• 1 radio jingle
• 4 posters
• 1 brochure
• 6 posters for social media
• T-shirts
• 2 roll up banners
• 1 stage banner.

Phase III: Upcoming

In the last week of June 2024, we began the co-creation work for phase 3 to develop HPV-focused products including 1 TVC, 3 radio spots and 3 mentions, IEC materials (3 posters, 1 brochure), 12 pieces of one-minute audio recordings for IVR (6 choose your adventure and 6 health tips), 12 videos for social media and 2 informational videos.

The Approach

a. Television/Radio: Using our TUJIBEBE brand alongside local influencers, GE will produce girl-centred content that resonates among girls and young caregivers to shift knowledge, attitude and perception around vaccine (HPV & RI) uptake by addressing key behavioural determinants.

b. On-ground engagements through local partners: GE will work with local partners to conduct on-ground activations and engagements. The engagement of the local partner will be as follows:

• Local implementing partner (CSO) will be selected (1 per zone (southern and Northern)) to run the on-the-ground mobilisation in the indicated Districts and wards.
• The on-the-ground implementation will have two wings- RI and HPV which include;
  • In-school and out-of-school engagements with 9-14-year-old girls and boys with HPV messaging.
  • Community mobilization on HPV, especially targeting parents/caregivers of children aged 9-14 years, community leaders and other social actors (e.g. religious leaders, teachers, youth groups) who influence the target population’s behaviour.
  • Community mobilization for RI targeting young caregivers between the ages of 15-29 including conducting targeted outreach sessions in zero-dose communities, as well as facilitating sensitization meetings on the importance of routine immunisation.
• The local partner will employ a robust monitoring and data tracking system to ensure deliverables are well met and lessons are continuously drawn from the on-the-ground implementation.
• Girl Effect provides communication materials including discussion guides, multimedia and print materials to support in-school and community-based mobilisation efforts targetting our audience
• Girl Effect will support the local NGO/CSO to set up a robust monitoring framework, analyse findings from the reports and support in documenting learnings of the community mobilisation activities.

The Scope

The role of the Local Implementing Partner is crucial; a trusted, committed, and flexible partner passionate about empowering girls and women will be the ideal partner for the intended scope of engagement.

Accordingly, the selected Local Partner will lead the on-the-ground community mobilization in the selected region/regions, running the in-school and community interventions for RI and HPV demand generation interventions and approaches. The following are some of the necessary components of the anticipated partnership but are not exhaustive;

• Cultural Scoping and Community Engagement:

The local partner needs good local government/leadership and facilitates any necessary permissions to run the community intervention in the Region/District. (Having a currently running project is an added advantage.)

The Local Partner will be responsible for identifying local adaptations to the anticipated on-the-ground community work by providing tailored strategies and a list of activities that are proven to work in the locations.

The local partner has an existence/ presence in the respective region with some other intervention. Having a current project/ intervention in that region/district will be an added advantage.

The local partner should already have existing school clubs which will be platforms used to disseminate the content to in-school girls and boys.

• Recruitment of CHWs and schools :

The local partners will be responsible for recruiting, training, deploying and following up on CHWs in the indicated districts/wards. The local partner will select the schools (the ones that the organisation already have established clubs) and train focal persons and follow up on the implementation (engagement of content with the existing clubs) of the school program and provide any assistance during the implementation.

Girl Effect will support the school selection process. Moreover, Girl Effect will help the local partner in providing the training/onboarding of the focal person and provide SBC-tailored content throughout the implementation.

The Local Partner will provide a focal person to support the CHWs and the school program and provide the necessary follow-up for the smooth implementation of the project.

Girl Effect will take a ‘train the trainer’ approach to equip the Local Partner with the knowledge and skills required to run SBC-driven community mobilization.

• Running Community Discussions/Mobilization:

The Local Partner will be responsible for designing and running community discussions with target communities. The partner will suggest effective ways to mobilize the community using the CHWs and other key influential community members to advance vaccine knowledge and acceptance. Girl Effect will provide technical guidance on the target audience segmentation, and will also distribute IEC materials and multimedia such as information video, and audio drama to complement community discussion and mobilisation

• Running the School Program

The partner will select 5 schools per ward in respective districts for the school programme, which will run 4-6 weeks before the HPV vaccine campaign period. The partner will recruit and train school facilitators/school club leaders to deliver school content to their students. Girl Effect will provide guidance on the program’s structure and during the training of the school program facilitators. Furthermore, during the campaign period, the partner will provide follow-up for the focal persons in the school to effectively run the contents in the magazine.

• Monitoring and Reporting:

The local partner is required to provide an effective data capturing, reporting and monitoring design as part of its proposal and demonstrate strong organizational capacity to undertake the task. Girl Effect will provide guidance and assistance on the indicators and overall reporting timelines, and the necessary documentation required.

• Safety:

The Local Partner will ensure safety by building a safety code of conduct across its work ethics, including safeguarding young people during the implementation of the project. Staff working directly with children or who will have access to children’s personal data will receive training on safeguarding and Girl Effect’s minimum requirements for safe conduct. Girl Effect and the Local Partner will work collaboratively to ensure the correct safeguarding policy is in place.

• National/regional events:

Girl Effect will work with the local partner to organise national/local events.

Proposal Submission

• Produce a technical proposal that highlights the following key areas (max 10 pages)
  • Brief organizational overview of your organization (Profile/CV/Credentials)
  • Project goal and objectives
  • Strategies to be used
  • Demonstrate similar work carried out and results achieved.
  • List of activities with a clear description of how the activity will roll out, who it targets, number to be reached (male/female reach), number of times the activity will run
  • Output of the suggested activities
  • Monitoring and reporting approach with a clear description of how the suggested activities will be monitored, how data is captured and documented and reporting timelines.
  • A quantitative table that highlights the target as per each suggested activity
• Work plan highlighting timelines of the activities
• Risk Assessment and Mitigation Plan (1-page maximum)
• Additional required documents from Applicants:
  • Organization contact details.
  • Contacts of three organizations (national/international) with whom you have worked previously who can be contacted for a reference.
  • Copies of other registration documents
• Breakdown of Costs provided with applicable taxes and other charges clearly identified in Tanzanian Shillings. The breakdown of costs per activity with detailed cost breakdown by units and frequency. Refer to this link to fill in the detailed Budget.
  • All applicable taxes should be quoted separately;

Technical and Financial proposals will need to be submitted as separate documents. Financial proposals will not be opened until the conclusion of the technical evaluation and then only for proposals deemed qualified and responsive.

In their technical proposal, the bidder must demonstrate an understanding of the requirements described in the RFP and demonstrate how the bidder will meet the requirements of the evaluation criteria.

GE is not liable for any cost incurred during the award/contract preparation, submission, or negotiation of the award/contract. All submitted documentation and/or materials shall become and remain the property of GE.

Who You Are

Applicant organisations are expected to fulfil the following competencies:

• Demonstrate a good understanding of the target community and have current programs/projects in the region and at least in one of the Districts/ wards.
• Have existing community relationships (especially presence/relations with the government/ communities/other partners) to engage with the community or leverage other networks.
• Experience working with and supporting young people, particularly adolescent girls and specific knowledge of gender dynamics at individual, household and community levels.
• Experience in running community mobilization projects, especially with health providers and Community health workers (CHWs), working with and for young people both in and out of school and health and development-related work experience will be an added value.
• Registered as a local NGO/CSO with proper regional permits to undertake projects in the regions and respective Districts.

Local Implementing Partner Competencies

Applicant organizations are expected to fulfil the following competencies:

• Demonstrate an understanding of Child Protection, Safeguarding and ethical issues in research.
• Have existing community relationships in the regions outlined above and the ability to engage with the community or leverage other networks.
• Have existing school health clubs in 2 or 3 of the above-mentioned regions
• Experience running school club sessions
• Experience working with and supporting young people, and particularly adolescent girls, and specific knowledge of gender dynamics at individual, household and community levels.
• Experience working with primary and secondary schools management bodies/ Ministry of education
• Experience conducting research and expertise working with young people/adolescent girls, preferably in the target districts.
• Experience in fieldwork supervision.
• Ability to report and respond to comments and questions promptly and appropriately.
• Good technology infrastructure (use of email, fast internet connection/wi-fi that ideally allows video conference for meetings and training and laptops that can be updated to the latest version of Chrome).
• Good digital skills (be familiar with web browsers and have some experience with using Android apps).

Location

The agency must be based and have extensive experience in Tanzania. The Assignment is to be carried out in Tanzania within the Northern and Southern Region.

Management

The consultant will have a primary point of contact with our Tanzania program team. The language of the materials and reports shall be English. The contract supervisor shall approve all deliverables submitted by the agency before any payment is made.

Procurement Timelines:

• Terms of reference published: 30th July 2024
• Questions/Clarification Deadline: 6th August 2024
• Deadline for responses from GE: 12th August 2024
• Bid Submission Date: 19th August 2024
• Partner selection, contracting and briefing: End of August
• Project commencement: September

Expected Commitment

The local implementing partner in Tanzania will implement the project from October until May 2024 The contract is subject to renewal upon satisfactory performance and funding availability.

Selection Criteria

The criteria against which proposals will be evaluated are listed below:

Evaluation Criteria

Weighting

(Total 100)

Experience working with local communities

10

Organisational Capacities and Reputation

10

Organisational strengths

10

Recruitment

5

Safety

10

Trainer training

5

Locations and geographical footprint

5

Relevant experience working with adolescent girls

5

Technology and digital competency of the organisation

5

Work plan and timeline

10

Risk and mitigating measures

5

Value for money

20

Experience working with local communities

• Does the organisation have a proven track record in working with communities and implementing community projects, preferably in the target Region/District mentioned in the RFP?
• Does the organisation have existing community relationships, and do they have the ability to engage with the community or leverage other networks?
• Does the organisation have existing school health clubs in respective regions/districts?

Organisational capacities

• How strong are the organisation’s capacities in relation to the local implementing partner competencies highlighted in the RFP?

Organisational strengths

• How do the competencies underscored by the organisation strengthen the work that we want to deliver?

Recruitment

• Does the organisation have experience in and/or show a good understanding of implementing a community mobilisation, including working with community leaders, and key influencers, in school engagement programming and out of school young people as part of the process?
• Does the organisation have a clear plan of how it will manage the work activities?

Safety

• Does the organisation have a proven track record in designing, managing and implementing responsive, girl-friendly, and state-of-the-art safeguarding processes in the locations they operate in?

Trainer training

• Does the organisation have previous experience undergoing trainer training and, in turn, training locally recruited team members?

Locations and geographical footprints

• Does the organisation have a presence in the region applied for and some of the target Regions/Districts indicated in the RFP?
• Is there any indication that the organisation faces any significant barriers that impinge on its physical accessibility?
• Does the organisation have experience of fieldwork supervision in the target locations or locations suggested by them?

Relevant experience working with adolescent girls

• Does the organisation have a proven track record in working with adolescent girls and implementing projects on adolescent girls?

Technology and digital competency of the organisation

• Does the organisation have good technology infrastructure (use of email, fast internet connection, wi-fi that ideally allows video conferencing for meetings and training and laptops that can be updated to the latest version of Chrome)?

Work Plan and Timeline

• Are the timeline and work plan realistic and suggest both understanding and capacity to deliver against what is required?

Risk and Mitigating measures

• Is the proposed risk matrix comprehensive and demonstrates an understanding of critical challenges/ limitations with mitigation provided?

Value for Money

• Does the financial proposal demonstrate an ability to complete all required work within the given budget with an appropriate timeline?

Tax

Girl Effect Tanzania is obliged by the Tanzania tax authorities to ensure all taxes are charged where applicable. Applicants are advised to ensure that they have a clear understanding of their tax position regarding provisions to Tanzania tax legislation when developing their proposals.

Copyright

All materials/documents arising from this consultancy work shall remain the property of Girl Effect.

Disclaimer

GE reserves the right to determine the structure of the process, number of short-listed participants, the right to withdraw from the proposal process, the right to change this timetable at any time without notice and reserves the right to withdraw this tender at any time, without prior notice and without liability to compensate and/or reimburse any party. GE shall inform ONLY successful applicant(s). The process of negotiation and signing of the contract with the successful applicant(s) will follow.

Please note: We will evaluate only proposals submitted following the application process outlined in the TOR and using our specified email address (suppliers@girleffect.org).

Safeguarding

You may be required to undertake safeguarding checks. Shortlisted local NGOs/CSOs will be assessed on our organisational values and practices at the interview stage. Successful partners will be expected to share their own safeguarding policy or adhere to our safeguarding policy. We encourage you to read and understand our safeguarding policy, the executive summary of which can be found Here. We have zero-tolerance for all forms of violence against children, beneficiaries and staff.

Equal Opportunities

Girl Effect Services is committed to equal opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender, gender identity or expression. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace.

We are committed to building an organization that is increasingly representative of and works extensively with the communities that we serve. To this end, due regard will be paid to procuring consultancy service organizations and individuals with diverse professional, academic and cultural backgrounds.