Somalia: LRPS-EMU-2015-9121169 - Private Sector Engagement to Carry Out Mapping of Private Health Care Facilities

LRPS-EMU-2015-9121169

Private Sector Engagement to Carry Out Mapping of Private Health Care Facilities

1.0 PROCEDURES AND RULES

1.1 ORGANISATIONAL BACKGROUND

UNICEF is the agency of the United Nations mandated to advocate for the protection of children’s rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential. Guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child UNICEF strives to establish children’s rights as international standards of behaviour towards children. UNICEF’s role is to mobilise political will and material resources to help countries ensure a “first call for children". UNICEF is committed to ensuring special protection for the most disadvantaged children.

UNICEF carries out its work through its headquarters in New York, 8 regional offices and more than 190 countries and territories world-wide. UNICEF also has a research centre in Florence, a supply operation based in Copenhagen and offices in Tokyo and Brussels. UNICEF’s 37 committees raise funds and spread awareness about the organisations mission and work.

1.2 PURPOSE OF THE RFP

The purpose of this RFP is to invite proposals from qualified organizations to carry out a mapping of private health care facilities in the three zones in Somalia.

1.3 FORECAST SCHEDULE

The schedule of the contractual process is as follows:

a) Closing date and time for submission of full proposal: 16/10/2015 at 10.00 a.m. Nairobi Time

b) Award Notice: to be determined

c) Signature of contract: to be determined

1.4 RFP CHANGE POLICY

All requests for formal clarification or queries on this RFP must be submitted in writing to Amna Elmamoun aelmamoun@unicef.org/emusumba@unicef.org via e-mail. Please make sure that the e-mail mentions the RFP reference number.

Only written inquiries will be entertained. Please be informed that if the question is of common interest, the answer will be shared with all potential bidders.

Erasures or other corrections in the proposal must be explained and the signature of the applicant shown alongside. All changes to a proposal must be received prior to the closing time and date. It must be clearly indicated that it is a modification and supersedes the earlier proposal, or state the changes from the original proposal. Proposals may be withdrawn on written request received from bidders prior to the opening time and date. Bidders are expected to examine all instructions pertaining to the work. Failure to do so will be at bidder’s own risk and disadvantage.

1.5 RESPONSE FORMAT

Bidders are requested to confirm their intention to submit their proposal, by sending an e-mail to emusumba@unicef.org

Bidders must submit**sealed original copies**of the Bid duly signed and dated, with envelopes clearly marked with the RFP Number and addressed to UNICEF Somalia Support Centre, P.O. Box 44145-00100, NAIROBI. The bids must be received not later than 16/10/2015 by 10.00 am Nairobi Time at UNICEF SOMALIA SUPPORT CENTRE OFFICE, UN GIGIRI COMPLEX, BLOCK Q, 1^st FLOOR.Proposals received after the stipulated date and time will be invalidated.

Sealed Bids received prior to the stated closing time and date will be kept unopened. UNICEF will accept no responsibility for the premature opening of a bid not properly addressed or identified.

Due to the nature of this RFP, there will be no public opening of proposals and responsible officers will open the bids when the specified time has arrived.

1.6 CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

Information, which the bidder considers proprietary, should be clearly marked "proprietary", if any, next to the relevant part of the text, and UNICEF will treat such information accordingly.

1.7 RIGHTS OF UNICEF

UNICEF reserves the right to accept any proposal, in whole or in part; or, to reject any or all proposals. UNICEF reserves the right to invalidate any Proposal received from a Bidder who has previously failed to perform properly or complete contracts on time, or a Proposal received from a Bidder who, in the opinion of UNICEF, is not in a position to perform the contract. UNICEF shall not be held responsible for any cost incurred by the Bidder in preparing the response to this Request for Proposal. The Bidder agrees to be bound by the decision of UNICEF as to whether her/his proposal meets the requirements stated in this Request for Proposal. Specifically, UNICEF reserves the right to:

• contact any or all references supplied by the bidder(s);
• request additional supporting or supplementary data (from the bidder(s));
• arrange interviews with the bidder(s);
• reject any or all proposals submitted;
• accept any proposals in whole or in part;
• negotiate with the service provider(s) who has/have attained the best rating/ranking, i.e. the one(s) providing the overall best value proposal(s);
• contract any number of candidates as required to achieve the overall evaluation objectives.

1.8 VALIDITY

Proposal must be valid for a minimum of ninety (90) days from the date of opening of this RFP and must be signed by all candidates included in the submission. Bidders are requested to indicate the validity period of their proposal in the Proposal Form. UNICEF may also request for an extension of the validity of the proposal.

1.9 PROPOSAL EVALUATION

After the RFP opening, each proposal will be assessed first on is technical merits and subsequently on its price. The proposal with the best overall value, composed of technical merit and price, will be recommended for approval. UNICEF will set up an evaluation panel composed of technical UNICEF staff and their conclusions will be forwarded to the internal UNICEF contracts Review Committee.

The evaluation panel will first evaluate each response for compliance with requirement of the RFP. Responses deemed not to meet all of the mandatory requirements will be considered non-compliant and rejected at this stage without further consideration. Failure to comply with any of the terms and conditions contained in this RFP, including provision of all required information may result in a response or proposal being disqualified from further consideration

The proposals will be evaluated against the following criteria:-

TECHNICAL EVALUATION CRITERIA

CATEGORY/POINTS

1. OVERALL RESPONSE – 5 Points

· Overall concord between UNICEF requirements and the proposals of the candidate organization – 2 points

· Understanding of, and responsiveness to the requirements of the assignment in terms of technical and expert services as per the attached ToR

· Detail and thoroughness of the proposal in respect of the requirements of the ToR and assignment – 3 points

2. STRATEGY/METHODOLOGY OF ASSIGNMENT – Total 30 Points

The Technical Offer including Work Plan and Approach, comprising of:

Proposed design of the process, methodology, preparations and implementation of the analysis and program design process and description of how the institution or company is intending to carry out the tasks (e.g. how to organize the required staff/experts and support their activities in the three zones of Somaliland, Puntland and Central South Somalia, schedule of planned activities, proposed implementation of the required work, etc.)

· Proposed overall process and design of the assignment, including timetable and required deliverables - (workplan) 10 Points

· Logistical and staff/expert arrangements in Somaliland, Puntland and Central South Somalia for efficient implementation in all 3 zones - 10 Points

· Detail and thoroughness of the entire approach/methodology - 10 Points

3. TECHNICAL CAPACITY:

Organization’s Background, Experience, Expertise and Other Attributes - Total 35 Points

i)Company background – 5 Points

· Institution’s or Company’s Background

• Full address and location of registered offices
• Details of registrations (certificate of incorporation/ documentation as a registered company or institution).
• Evidence of ability to mobilize qualified personnel and experts
• Summary of corporate structure and business area
• Organigram
• Details of infrastructure in office
• Number and type of employees or available experts
• Audited financial statements for previous 2 years
• Incorporation documents
• Financial status/yearly turn over for the last two years → supported with appropriate proof/certificates

ii)Company Experience – 10 Points

· The company should have extensive experience (minimum 5 years) in the relevant field of work as per the ToR

· Proven record and experience in carrying out similar work

· Experience in high quality data collection, analysis and research

· Familiarity with Somalia and specific contexts of Somaliland, Puntland and Central South; Experience and good knowledge of local Somali social, cultural, political, economic context

· Experience in complex emergencies or conflict-affected contexts preferred

iii) Expertise – 10 Points

. The company should provide CVs of leading technical and managerial staff required

. Sufficient human resource capacity, competent staff or experts with suitable experience and expertise as per the assignment and ToR (education and peacebuilding, conflict/situation analysis, peace building, peace studies, conflict prevention, conflict sensitivity)

. Demonstrated managerial capacity to undertake the assignment

iv) Other Skills and Attributes Required as per the ToR – 10 Points

. Strong communication, writing and presentation skills

. Able to work in multicultural settings

. Strong analytical and leadership skills

. Excellent interpersonal and team work skills including good judgment and capacity to deal with counterparts of different levels and background

. setting of high standards for work

. Necessary language skills in English and Somali

. Proficiency in ICT (MS Word, Excel, Power point, etc.)

TOTAL POINTS FOR TECHNICAL PROPOSAL IS 70 AND ONLY PROPOSALS THAT SCORE A MINIMUM OF 40 POINTS WILL BE REVIEWED FURTHER

FINANCIAL PROPOSAL: Overall Price and itemized budget covering the entire assignment - both technical and logistical aspects of the assignment as per the ToR

· Unit costs like fee rates, expenses, etc.

· Level of detail of the financial offer and budget TOTAL

· Overall price

· Completeness and detail of budget and offer

· Unit costs, rates, etc.

The total amount of points allocated for the price component is 30. The maximum number of points will allotted to the lowest price proposal that is opened and compared among those invited firms/institutions which obtain the threshold points in the evaluation of the technical component. All other price proposals will receive points in inverse proportion to the lowest price e.g.

Score for price proposal X = Max. Score for price proposal x Price of lowest priced proposal/Price Proposal of X

The bidders should ensure that all pricing information is provided in accordance with the following: The currency of the proposal shall be in US Dollars. Invoicing will be in the currency of the proposal. The bidder will suggest a payment schedule for the contract, linked to unambiguous Contract milestones. All prices/rates quoted must be exclusive of all taxes as UNICEF

TOTAL RFP MARKS (TECHNICAL/FINANCIAL PROPOSAL) - 100 POINTS

2.0 TERMS OF RERERENCE

2.1 Background and Context

The on-going conflict and fragility of Somalia have resulted in a number of parallel and fragmented systems and structures for health care in the country. Somalia continues to have some of the worst health and nutrition indicators in the world; the country is not expected to achieve health related MDGs 4, 5 and 6.

Previous research has shown that the private sector is the dominant provider of health care services in Somalia. The private sector provides an estimated 60% of health care services in the country. Despite this, there is little information available about the private sector and most focus remains on public sector health care. Recently, a Health Facility Assessment was initiated by the Somali Health Authorities, in collaboration with WHO, UNFPA and UNICEF and other partners, to look at public health care services in Somalia. The study will examine 1065 public health care facilities (78 hospitals, 304 Maternal and Child Health Centers and 620 Health Posts) in Somalia. This assessment will use the Service Availability and Readiness Assessment (SARA) methodology to generate information for decision -making. The SARA tool can be found at: http://www.who.int/healthinfo/systems/sara_introduction/en/.

In early 2015, DFID Somalia commissioned a study into the private health care sector, specifically:

1. To achieve a deeper understanding of the role and current dynamics of the private sector in the health sector in Somalia, and
2. To develop recommendations for private sector engagement.

The study report, released March 2015 (and available from UNICEF), made several important recommendations. One important recommendation was related to lack of information about the private health care system. The research concluded as follows:

There are limited data and information available on private health care service providers in the three zones and this prevents a clear picture as to the level and quality of provision available to consumers and/or patients. It is our view that there are three key areas for study. First, a basic health service mapping of public and private health care service providers would support better analysis and planning of health care interventions by government, donors and other agencies. Second, the willingness of consumers and/or patients to pay for private sector health care provision is contested and would benefit from an exploratory study into willingness to pay of the individual, as well as the ability of the individual to leverage social support networks to access financing for treatment. Third, a study to increase understanding as to the extent and preferences for health care funding by Islamic agencies with a view to better communication and coordination is desirable (Page vi).

Based on these recommendations, this Terms of Reference (TOR) is issued to engage a consultancy to address the following:

1. A mapping of private health care facilities in the three zones in Somalia

The funding for this study will come from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria (the Global Fund) through the Principal Recipient for Malaria and HIV, UNICEF Somalia. UNICEF recently signed two new grants with the Global Fund relating to HIV and Malaria, which will commence 01 July 2015 until 31 December 2017. A key component for both Malaria and HIV is the engagement of the private sector in health care services.

2.2 Purpose of the Consultancy

The overall objectives of the Terms of Reference are to engage in a study of private health care in Somalia, as follows:

1. A mapping of private health care facilities including staffing, services, capacity and legal status, using the Service Availability and Readiness Assessment (SARA) methodology as the basis, in the three Somali zones. The SARA methodology is available at http://www.who.int/healthinfo/systems/sara_introduction/en/.

2.3 Methodology

The consultant/consultants are to recommend the methodologies to engage and complete this TOR. In general, however, the following are some recommendations/suggestions:

1. Conduct background research, using secondary research sources on Somalia
2. Develop a working definition of ‘private health care sector’
3. Review and adapt the SARA methodology to make it appropriate for private health care facilities
4. Meet with WHO on the health facility assessment of public health facilities
5. Focus group discussions with users of private health care
6. Quantitative research on the private health care facilities
7. Conduct key informant interviews with key stakeholders including (but not limited to): MOH, regulatory bodies, development partners, professional bodies, private health care providers.

The consultants are required to respect and protect human rights throughout the study and after it is completed. The consultants will be required, in their proposal, to include an explanation on how they will respect and protect human rights and gender throughout the process. This could include (but is not limited to): ensuring informed consent is duly obtained from all study participants, using blind coding during data collection or other means to ensure confidentiality is respected. UNICEF abides by the principles of ‘do no harm’ and the Convention of the Rights of the Child and the consultants are expected to do the same.

2.4 Deliverables

The following are the specific deliverables for the study:

1. Develop a detailed study design and work plan/timeframe for the study, in collaboration with the MOH, UNICEF and other stakeholders as advised by UNICEF. This study design must include participatory approaches, and include MOH and other relevant stakeholders.
2. Undertake study as per the study design and timeframe. Keep UNICEF informed throughout the process.
3. Submit a draft report of the study, including recommendations.
4. Engage stakeholders through a workshop to discuss study findings.
5. Submit final draft report
6. Organize a workshop with representations from government and private sector to disseminate the final study report.

The consulting organization is requested to propose the work plan, activities and timeline for the given deliverables within the overall timeframe of this consultancy

2.5 Management and Organization

The consulting organization will report to the UNICEF Program Manager – Malaria. The consulting organization will work closely with the MOH and UNICEF Malaria and HIV zonal officers ensuring a participatory and collaborative approach with the national health authorities in each zone.

2.6 Management

1. The consulting organization should provide their own working tools to complete this assignment.
2. A working week is defined as 5 working days
3. Daily Subsistence Allowance (DSA) for travel to Somalia will be provided at UN rates as per reviewed and approved work plan the consulting organization will submit to UNICEF.

2.7 Organization

Regular meetings with the relevant zonal MOH units, private outlets and other implementing partners including Programme visits to the field will be undertaken. The work plan is to include the regular progress meetings with the UNICEF Program Manager, Malaria.

2.8 Remuneration

Remuneration will be deliverable-based as follows:

1. 20% upon submission of detailed study design and work plan for the study
2. 30% upon submission of draft report
3. 10% upon completion of workshop to discuss study findings and submission of corresponding workshop report.
4. 30% upon submission of final draft report
5. 10% upon completion of workshop with representations from government and private sector to disseminate the final study report and corresponding workshop report.

2.9 Timeframe

A total of 5 months, from the date of commencement with all deliverables completed no later than 31 December 2015.

2.10 Qualification, Specialized knowledge and Experience

The consultancy or consultants will be a professional consumer or market research personnel/organization with a track record of at least five years of consumer studies in East Africa, with experience in countries of conflict being an advantage. The Consultant’s team will need to demonstrate their experience both in quantitative and qualitative research techniques and strategy formulation. Private sector experience is essential. Previous experience with health systems in fragile states is favorable. Previous experience of Somalia is preferred.

Other qualifications include

· Experience in facilitating and defining strategic documents related to private sector urban and rural work in complex environments required.

· Solid technical background, analytical, diplomacy and facilitation skills required on consultancy team.

· Strong writing and reporting skills

· Good communication skills and ability to work closely with national health authorities and with minimum supervision.

· Fluency in English with excellent facilitation skills. Knowledge of Somali operational context and readiness to travel to Somaliland, Puntland and South Central zones.

· Knowledge of Somali language is desirable among consulting team members

How to apply:

Sealed Hard copy proposals should be hand-delivered or sent by Courier to reach UNICEF at the below address on 16/10/2015 by 10.00 a.m. Nairobi Time. Bids received later than this date will be disqualified:

Supply & Logistics Section

UNICEF Somalia Support Centre

UN Gigiri Complex, Block Q, First Floor

P.O. Box 44145-00100

Nairobi

NOTE:

1. Bidders are requested to provide details i.e. Name/ID No. of person delivering the bids a day before the deadline to facilitate entry into the complex to:somsupply@unicef.org

2. Please request for a complete set of this RFP by writing tosomsupply@unicef.org quoting LRPS-EMU-2015-9121169

3. A printed set of the completed technical and cost proposals should be submitted in three separate sealed envelopes. (Individual envelopes for technical and price proposals) clearly marked with RFP No., Name of Company, Technical Proposal and Financial Proposal