Request for Proposal (RFP)

PF No. and Title: 2024/10/518 Baseline Assessment Consultancy
RFP Issue Date: 02/10/2024
RFP Questions to be Submitted By: 08/10/2024
Proposal Submission Deadline: 14/10/2024
Contracting Entity: Helen Keller Intl
Place of Performance: Akwa Ibom, Ebonyi, Kebbi and Plateau State
Contents of this Document

SECTION 1: Introduction, Eligibility of Bidders, and Definitions…………………………………………… 1

SECTION 2: Scope of Work…………………………………………………………………………………………………. 2

SECTION 3: Proposal Instructions………………………………………………………………………………………. 11

SECTION 4: Evaluation Criteria and Basis for Award………………………………………………………….. 13

SECTION 5: Source of Funding and Authorized Geographic Code……………………………………….. 14

SECTION 6: Proposal Validity, Submission Deadline and Instructions…………………………………. 14

SECTION 7: Negotiations…………………………………………………………………………………………………… 15

SECTION 8: Terms of the Solicitation………………………………………………………………………………… 15

ANNEX A: Conflict of Interest Disclosure………………………………………………………………………….. 17

ANNEX D:   Contract Provisions ……………………………………………. Error! Bookmark not defined.

Bidders are encouraged to read this RFP and all attachments in its entirety paying specific attention to the instructions and requirements. Issuance of this RFP does not in any way obligate Helen Keller International to award a contract, nor does it commit Helen Keller International to pay for costs incurred in the preparation and submission of a proposal. All recipients of this RFP shall treat all information and details included herein as private and confidential.

SECTION 1: Introduction, Eligibility of Bidders, and Definitions

Introduction

Guided by the remarkable legacy of its co-founder, Helen Keller, Helen Keller Intl partners with communities that are striving to overcome longstanding cycles of poverty. By delivering the essential building blocks of good health, sound nutrition and clear vision, the organization helps millions of people create lasting change in their own lives. Working in 20 countries – across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the United States – and together with a global community of supporters, Helen Keller Intl helps to ensure every person has the opportunity – as Helen did – to reach their true potential.

Helen Keller is seeking a consulting firm to conduct baseline data collection of nutrition and health data in health facilities and communities for the Transforming Lives Through Nutrition Project.

The primary objective of the consultancy is to determine the state of nutrition and the systems that support it at the start of the program. The baseline will guide program activities and contribute to global knowledge gaps on coverage and quality of services for the health and food systems interventions.

The purpose of this Request for Proposals (RFP) is to select a vendor that will provide best value to Helen Keller Intl, when both technical and cost factors are combined. 

Eligibility of Bidders

This RFP is open to non-governmental entities and individual consultants that are deemed capable of implementing the scope of work, with a solid record of integrity and business ethics, and that meet the eligibility requirements stated in this Section. 

Bidders that submit proposals in response to this RFP must meet the following requirements:

1. Be non-government entities (for-profit and non-profit companies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), etc.) that are legally registered in Nigeria or be an individual consulting firm with the legal right to work in Nigeria.
2. Consultants must be based in Nigeria and the work must be performed in Nigeria. 
3. Have demonstrated capacity and expertise to successfully implement the Scope of Work
4. Have completed the required representations and certifications incorporated in this RFP 
5. Be willing to comply with relevant donor rules and regulations and Helen Keller Intl requirements. 

Bidders and proposed products must be of Source and Nationality designated in the authorized Geographic

Code, as described in Section 5 “Source of Funding and Authorized Geographic Code.” 

1. Nationality refers to the place of legal organization, ownership, citizenship, or lawful permanent residence (or equivalent immigration status to live and work on a continuing basis) of suppliers of commodities and services.
   1. Source means the country from which a commodity is shipped to the cooperating/recipient country or the cooperating/recipient country itself if the commodity is located therein at the time of the purchase, irrespective of the place of manufacture or production, unless it is a prohibited source country. Where, however, a commodity is shipped from a free port or bonded warehouse in the form in which received therein, “source” means the country from which the commodity was shipped to the free port or bonded warehouse. 

Note: Helen Keller Intl will not award a contract to any firm that is debarred, suspended, or proposed for debarment by the U.S. Government, or who proposes to do business with firms or firms’ principals who are debarred, suspended, or proposed for debarment, in the performance of the requirement of this activity.

SECTION 2: Scope of Work

Helen Keller Intl will evaluate all proposals received in response to this RFP in accordance with the evaluation criteria described in this document.

This RFP contains the following Annexes: 

• Annex A: Conflict of Interest Disclosure
• Annex B: Technical Offer template} 
• Annex C: Format of CV to be used for Personnel (one document per person)
• Annex D: Financial Offer template (separate Excel spreadsheets) 

Program Background 

Globally, a nutrition crisis is disproportionately affecting women and children, particularly in low- and middleincome countries (LMICs). Inadequate nutrition during pregnancy and early childhood leads to poor health outcomes, diminished wellbeing, and increased risk of mortality. Despite the availability of effective nutrition interventions, these are often not accessible due to weaknesses in health and food systems. Moreover, the marketing and promotion of ultra-processed, unhealthy foods further exacerbate poor nutritional status. This systemic failure has placed women and children at the forefront of an unprecedented global undernutrition crisis, with far-reaching consequences for families, communities, and entire nations, potentially hindering human potential for future generations. 

Transforming Lives through Nutrition program will support health and food systems to do better 

In response to this crisis, the Transforming Lives Through Nutrition (TL) program was created to help government partners build the capacity of local health and food systems to deliver evidence-based and lifesaving nutrition interventions to pregnant women and children during the critical 1,000 days window of opportunity (from conception to age 2). The program will operate in 12 countries in Africa and Asia over 5 years and aims to reach an estimated 2.6 million pregnant women and 12 million children. TL is a partnership between Helen Keller Intl, Vitamin Angels, and iDE.

Health system supports will focus on improving the quality and coverage of five live-saving nutrition interventions: (1) prenatal supplements, (2) vitamin A and deworming treatment, (3) acute malnutrition prevention and treatment, and behavior change strategies to support and enhance maternal diet, (4) breastfeeding, and (5) complementary feeding practices. The interventions covered and the specific approaches will vary by country. Broadly, TL will acquire goods (e.g. supplements and equipment) and provide technical support to health and food system actors to deliver care via existing government mechanisms. 

Food systems support will focus on (1) agricultural production, (2) supply chains and small and medium enterprises, and (3) water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH).  TL seeks to improve the broader food environment including production side engagement by supporting households’ ability to grow nutritious foods for home consumption and increasing availability of nutritious foods in local markets with support to commercial producers. We will engage and train entrepreneurs to serve as last mile sales agents, supplying farmers with access to improved inputs for production while also sharing agronomic best practices. These sales agents will be linked to broader value chains and will earn a commission on sales, thus establishing a sustainable model for agricultural extension support. To address market constraints, we will work to support value chain development for nutritious and bio fortified foods and will work to improve standards for foods and regulations around marketing foods to children. To create supportive environments for all underlying determinants of undernutrition, we will address access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene practices. 

A baseline study will be conducted in the 4 project target areas (Akwa Ibom, Ebonyi, Kebbi, Plateau), in Nigeria, to determine the state of nutrition and the systems that support it at the start of the program. The baseline will guide program activities and contribute to global knowledge gaps on coverage and quality of services for the health and food systems interventions. 

SCOPE OF WORK

1. Detailed Program description

The program seeks to make improvements in health and food systems, as depicted in Figure 1. Broadly, TL will acquire goods (e.g. supplements and equipment) and provide technical support to health system actors to increase the quality and coverage of care provided through existing government healthcare mechanisms. Regarding food systems, support will be provided to smallholder farmers to improve production practices, yields, and access to markets. Small and medium enterprises will also be supported to increase affordable access to nutritious foods on the markets. The program will also facilitate greater access to improved water, hygiene, and sanitation products and services while promoting positive behavior change. 

The outcomes expected in each state will be standard, but specific intervention will vary between states and partners.

The goal of the program is to increase people’s access to all health systems and food systems interventions. Over time, countries may expand geographical implementation, or the number of intervention areas targeted.  As such, the baseline will assess the status of all health system and food systems outcomes relevant to the full package of TLTN interventions (Annex A).  

Image 1. TL’s nutrition-specific (mostly health systems-focused) and nutrition-sensitive (mostly food systems-focused) interventions 

In Nigeria, Helen Keller Intl, and Vitamin Angels with funding from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Charities will be implementing the Transforming Lives Through Nutrition project.

Helen Keller will be implementing a program to improve access to Multiple Micronutrient Supplement (MMS), nutritious foods and care for young children, pregnant and lactating women in Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Ebonyi, Sokoto and Kebbi states.  The program’s four key activities are: 

• to improve food access for families through the promotion of diverse and nutritious food production near the homestead. 
• to build the capacity and skills of facility health workers to enhance the knowledge of caregivers to improve access to community management of acute malnutrition services by children. 
• To promote essential nutrition actions (ENA) and Essential Hygiene Actions (EHA), which seek to influence behaviors and practices on infant and young child feeding, water, sanitation, and hygiene. 
• To promote Maternal Supplementation: During the prenatal stage, the focus is on improving the

mother’s nutritional status to ensure a healthy pregnancy and birth outcomes, which is critical for the child’s nutritional status.

Implementation mechanism and target population. The project aims to train 387 model moms, health workers, and pregnant women in MIYCN, WASH, food demonstration, and Enhanced Homestead Food production through a peer-to-peer cascade system.

Homestead food production. Collaboration with State Ministry of Agriculture aims to produce diverse, nutritious food on homestead plots, with women farmers prioritized. Training, peer-to-peer mentoring, and community demonstration gardens ensure year-round production.

Training CHWs. Helen Keller Intl is training frontline health workers to identify children with acute malnutrition, providing mothers with support and training on managing moderate cases at home.

Maternal, Infant and Young Child Nutrition. It will prioritize Essential Nutrition Actions and Essential Hygiene Actions frameworks, address gender norms, and provide training to health workers and CHEWs. The project will also involve mother support and adolescent groups and use various community platforms for message dissemination.

Maternal Supplementation: Helen Keller Intl will work with Vitamin Angels to obtain 300,000 bottles of MMS (targeting 300,000 pregnant women in 4 states). To ensure regular access to the MMS, the project will provide logistics support to the state on monthly distribution of MMS to 1000 health facilities in four states

Vitamin Angels is collaborating on the Transforming Lives Through Nutrition (TLTN) project to enhance nutrition outcomes by supporting vulnerable communities. The initiative focuses on improving the health and nutrition of women and children by providing essential vitamins, supplements, and training to health workers in underserved areas. This partnership aligns with Vitamin Angels’ mission to expand access to vital nutrition interventions, ultimately contributing to better health and well-being in these communities.

On this project, Vitamin Angels will: 

• Supply Chain Support by ensuring the procurement and efficient delivery of vitamins and supplements.
• Distribution of Micronutrients by providing essential vitamins and supplements (e.g., Vitamin A, deworming tablets, prenatal vitamins) to partners across Nigeria.
• Training Health Workers: Train 1,800 health workers (HWs) among VA program partners outside of four joint implementing states with Hellen Keller International to ensure effective delivery of nutrition intervention.
• Partnership Development: Collaborating with local and international partners to expand the reach of the TLTN project across different states and regions.
• Technical Assistance: Providing technical guidance to program partners on best practices for nutrition intervention delivery and program implementation.
• Monitoring and Evaluation: Conducting baseline surveys and assessments (such as MMS Experience Survey) to measure the impact of nutrition interventions and improve program outcomes.

In addition to the four TLTN states, Vitamin Angels supports partners in other states across Nigeria, including Edo, Ekiti, Ogun, Ondo, Plateau, Taraba, Abia, Anambra, Imo, Kwara, Nasarawa, Delta, AkwaIbom, Ebonyi, and Kogi. Currently, Vitamin Angels is conducting an MMS experience survey among some of these partners in Taraba, Imo, Ondo, and Kwara states.

2. Study objectives

The primary objectives of the baseline study are to determine: 

1. Feeding and dietary practices among children 0 – 59 months and their mothers 
2. Coverage of preventive nutrition services among children 0 -59 months and their mothers 
   1. Coverage of screening for acute malnutrition among children 0 – 59months 
   1. Coverage of vitamin A supplementation and deworming among children 6 – 59months of age 
   1. Coverage of prenatal supplementation among women with children 0 -24months 
3. Capacity of health facilities and health workers to deliver nutrition services 

Secondary objectives of the baseline are to determine: 

1. Exposure to counseling on maternal, infant, and young child nutrition among mothers of children

0 – 59months of age 

• Water and sanitation facilities and practices among household with children 0-59 months of age 

• Study site 

The proposed study will take place in 4 states in Nigeria (Ebonyi, Sokoto, Kebbi, and Plateau). 

• Study design

In Nigeria, we will conduct a cross-sectional representative survey of households with children 0 – 59 months of age using a three-stage cluster design and sampling proportional to population size for each stratum. Representativity will be sub-national and specific to the areas of program intervention. Peripheral health facilities and community health workers serving the areas sampled for the household survey will be included in the health system assessment. 

• Sampling

             Household survey.  

The population of interest in this study is households with children under 59 months of age and their mothers in the 5 LGAs of Plateau, Ebonyi, Akwa Ibom, and Kebbi states. We will survey a minimum of one target child per eligible household. This corresponds to a total of 5,064 households to be surveyed.

o     Total Sample size for all stratum:  5,064 children  o    Total children 0 – 23.9 month to be surveyed: 3,376 o             Total children 24 – 59 month to be surveyed: 1,688

             Health Worker survey

One peripheral health facility in each cluster selected for the household survey will be included in the health facility survey. The health facility is defined as the most peripheral/decentralized formal health point. 

             Community Health workers

For the survey of CHWs, this will be a simple random survey using the exhaustive list of CHWs involved in the activities (list available at the health centre). The target is the CSAs in the study area who have been working since at least 2023. 2 Community Health Workers will be randomly selected from the cluster using the comprehensive list of CHWs involved in SVAD activities in each health area. This is an estimated size of 308 CHWs in total. Two community health workers serving the cluster selected for the household survey will be randomly sampled for inclusion in the health worker survey.

6. Data collection tools and variables of interest 

             Household survey 

The survey will assess the following domains. For each of the variables specified in Annex, a standard question and data collection tool exists. The questionnaires for household, health facility, and health worker surveys. The data collection will use the Helen Keller SurveyCTO platform.

Prenatal supplementation. Maternal receipt and consumption of iron folic acid (IFA) and/or multiple micronutrient supplements (MMS) and antenatal care attendance will be assessed via recall. Receipt of any supplements, full course of supplements and attendance to at least four ANC visits will be calculated. Four measures of quality will also be assessed: timing of contact, location of contact, provider, and counseling offered at contact. 

Breastfeeding. The percentage of women who practice early initiation of breastfeeding (within the first hour of life), exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) until 6 months of age, and continued breastfeeding until two years of age will be assessed using the standard WHO question formulation. Current practice of EBF will be assessed among women with children under 6mo, per the WHO indicator. Exclusive breastfeeding will also be calculated using a series of recall questions on the age of introduction of complementary foods among children under 24 mo. Exposure to breastfeeding counseling will also be assessed. Four measures of quality will also be assessed: timing of contact, location of contact, provider, and counseling offered at contact. 

Dietary intake of women and children. The diet quality questionnaire will be used to determine dietary intake of children and their mothers. Diet diversity of women and children, primarily minimum dietary diversity (MDD), minimum dietary diversity for women (MDD-W), and general population dietary diversity score (DDS), as well as other measures of dietary quality, will be calculated. Four measures of quality will also be assessed: timing of contact, location of contact, provider and counseling offered at contact. 

Vitamin A supplementation. To determine the coverage of vitamin A supplementation, receipt of ageappropriate vitamin A supplements will be assessed as well as location of receipt.  

Screening for acute malnutrition. To determine screening coverage of acute malnutrition, questionnaires will ask whether the child was screened for acute malnutrition in the last 3 months. The questionnaire will also assess whether mothers were informed of the results, and if malnutrition was detected whether the child was referred and enrolled in care.  

Water, sanitation, and hygiene. The coverage and status of WASH products and services will be determined according to the Joint Monitoring Programme ladder. Specifically, we will address the source and quality of drinking water, availability of sanitation facilities, and hygiene practices.  

              Health facility and worker survey

The health facility survey will assess adequacy of human resources, training of staff, availability of equipment and supplies, and service provision. The community health worker survey will assess training, payment, motivation, and supervision, four key domains of health worker performance. 

7. Consultant Scope of Work

• Organize sessions to present the progress of preparations and the survey with all stakeholders involved;
• Propose a schedule of all activities required for the Baseline survey to run smoothly;
• Identify, recruit, and train interviewers and team leaders in the proper administration of the questionnaires and implementation of the activity;
• Revise and finalize the questionnaire based on the results of the pilot survey (pre-test);
• Guarantee quality supervision and monitoring of all stages of the survey by team leaders and supervisors;
• Ensure that interviewers strictly adhere to the instructions provided during training and to ethical standards for the smooth running of the activity;
• Ensure that interviewers conduct the survey in all eligible households of the cluster according to the methodology; 
• Ensure daily synchronization of collected data between team leaders and the provincial survey coordinator;
• Organize and implement data quality control measures during data collection, to ensure the quality of information collected during data collection;
• Ensure the security of all data in electronic and paper format;
• Maintain strict anonymity of data, to protect survey respondents and comply with ethical standards. Data must never be used to identify respondents, except for follow-up purposes and with the approval of the study sponsor;
• Carry out regular (daily) checks of electronically entered data to proactively identify and correct any errors, share regular check report;
• Carry out regular (daily) checks of electronically entered data to proactively identify and correct any errors, share regular checks report;
• Notify Helen KelIer IntL promptly of serious problems encountered in the field, delays or other necessary changes to the protocol;
• Process data and information collected to refine evaluation analysis, following Helen KelIer Int’L recommendations; 
• Carry out the post-clearance data analysis in accordance with the agreed analysis framework;
• Draw up the study report using the Helen KelIer Int’L format;
• Make available to Helen Keller all raw data, cleaned data, dofiles and other deliverables created in the course of the study;
• Facilitate the validation workshop for the coverage survey report;
• Finalize survey report and recommendations;

8. Qualifications requises : 

• The team must be multi-disciplinary, comprising experts in statistics, data management, nutrition, public health or a related field, with a minimum of 5 years’ experience;
• Proven experience in the implementation of large-scale household and community surveys/studies in the field of nutrition, in particular the development or design of research and the management of data collection;
• Proven experience in implementing health surveys;
• Good command of the country’s health system;
• Knowledge of local formalities and customs in the implementation of household surveys; 
• Good network of interviewers, team leaders and supervisors;               Very good knowledge of STATA and SurveyCTO. 
• In-depth analytical skills and ability to synthesize information;  – Strong writing skills.

Deliverables and Illustrative Timeline Expected deliverables:

Activities and deliverables	When	Estimated no. Working days
1. Survey preparation   Develop and validate the survey implementation schedule with all stakeholders  Review data collection protocol and training tools and adjust if necessary Coordinate survey preparation with Helen Keller Intl and the various state players, at LGA and community level	21 -25 October	5

Recruit and train data collection teams (interviewers and supervisors)   Deliverables : Final protocol validated Tools for collecting validated quantitative data in Word and xlsformat for loading into the SuveyCTO platform Calendar of all survey activities Letter of approval from the Ethics Committee Detailed interviewer training report, including pilot survey
2. Data collection   Ensure that data collection teams rigorously follow the protocol, household selection and questionnaire administration. Quality control by supervisors, who revisit 10% of the households in each ward surveyed to repeat the interview using a shorter form and compare their data with that of the interviewers.  Develop a dashboard for daily monitoring of key data collection indicators at household, supervisory, health worker and community health worker levels.  Monitor the quality of data collection, including the number of indicators to be tracked on a daily basis, and provide feedback to the Helen Keller team. Ensure that teams of supervisors are deployed to support data collection teams and meet any challenges encountered. Draw up a daily report on interviewers’ data collection and quality control, including differences observed during comparisons and adjustments made to improve quality.    Deliverables Raw quantitative data set in Excel format from/to : o Household and children o Health Care Facilities o Quality control o Supervision    Detailed data collection report including monitoring report, household, health worker and community health worker data collection and supervision of teams    Analysis plan for all quantitative and qualitative databases		28 October to 10 November	13
3. Analysis and report    Quantitative databases cleaned in STATA format in accordance with protocol recommendations and rules Weighting of household database according to recommendations  Transcribed qualitative databases  Perform analysis of all datasets according to the recommended analysis basis –              Prepare the report according to the recommended template. Deliverables Quantitative database in STATA format of : o           Household and children o   Health agents and community health workers o      Supervision		11 – 23 November		12
–	Analysis plan for all databases with tables to be filled in
–	Final survey report
–	A summary of the report

Anticipated Contracting Period and Award Mechanism

The anticipated period of the resulting award is expected to be 3 months beginning on or about August 2024. Bidders must clearly identify “start-up” support costs, if any, required to commence services.

Helen Keller Intl intends to award a Time and material type Professional Services Contract to the winning offer. No profit, fees, taxes, or additional costs can be added after award. This RFP is subject to all the terms and conditions of the resulting contract.  Any resultant award will be governed by these terms and conditions. 

SECTION 3: Proposal Instructions

The Bidder’s proposal will consist of two separate documents: 

Part 1 – Technical Offer

Part 2 – Financial Offer

The Technical Offer and the Financial Offer (altogether “proposal”) must be submitted separately. The Bidder should not include any cost data in the Technical Offer.

The proposal should be concisely presented and structured, and should explain in detail the Bidder’s availability, experience and resources to provide the requested services. 

Proposals that are incomplete or do not address these criteria may not be considered in the review process. All proposals must be submitted in English. 

Both the Technical Offer and Financial Offer must be submitted with a Cover Letter which must include the following information and must be signed and stamped by an authorized representative of the Bidder organization: 

i.     Date of Submission of the Proposal ii.    Term of proposal validity (minimum {90} days) iii.             Name of the company/organization 

iv. Name and title of authorized representative of organization  v. Type of company/organization vi. Address  vii. Telephone  viii. E-mail  ix. Taxpayer Identification Number 

        x.               Other required documents that shall be included as attachments to the cover letter: 

1. Copy of registration or incorporation in the public registry, or equivalent document from the government office where the bidder is registered. 
2. Copy of company tax registration, or equivalent document. 
3. Copy of trade license, or equivalent document. 
4. Corporate Account Details

Bidders must also submit a signed Conflict of Interest Declaration Form. This form will be assessed to establish whether the Bidder has any present or potential future conflict of interest according to the definition in Annex A. If the conclusion is reached that any conflict of interest declared by the Bidder could have a negative impact on the Bidder’s ability to perform the Service, Helen Keller Intl may decide to reject the submitted proposal. Failure to accurately complete the Conflict of Interest Declaration Form may also lead to the rejection of the submitted proposal.

Part 1: TECHNICAL OFFER 

The Technical Offer should be in the English language, typed in Microsoft Word, single-spaced, with each page numbered consecutively. A maximum number of pages for each component of the Technical Offer is given below.

The Technical Offer should include the following:

1. Bidder past performance record/relevant experience– {2} pages maximum 

Information related to Bidder’s past performance/prior experience in conducting work in the country/region similar in nature and volume to the services requested (brief description, deliverables, date, client etc.). 

Bidders must also provide contacts for at least three (3) professional references for previous work and/or experience under similar SOWs. Contact information should include, at a minimum: name of individual, name of company, brief information on relationship to Bidder, address, email, and phone number. Helen Keller Intl reserves the right to contact any and all references provided. Contact information for references is not subject to the page limitation for this section. 

• Technical approach – {7} pages maximum  

The technical approach must describe the proposed approach to achieving the program objectives and must address the following: 

1. Information as to whether the Bidder currently has a presence in the country/region, and the nature of this presence.
   1. A brief description of the Bidder’s understanding of the objectives and scope of work for the consultancy.
   1. An overview as to how the Bidder would propose to complete the requested services indicated in this RFP. 

• Team Structure requirements – {3} pages maximum, excluding CVs
  • Team structure: Bidders must describe the structure of the team that will deliver against the objectives and scope of work described in this RFP. Team structures must identify the project manager (or Team Leader) and other team members and the roles and responsibilities that each will have over the duration of the consultancy.
  • The minimum requirements and qualifications for the Team Leader who will be leading the team are listed in the Evaluation Criteria
  • If any members of the proposed team do not currently reside in Nigeria, the Bidder must state how the personnel would travel to the country to perform such Services, and the estimated travel time.

At a minimum, the Bidder should provide the following information:

• A current CV for the proposed personnel in a format provided in Annex C.  The CV must not exceed three pages in length and shall be in chronological order starting with the most recent experience and summarizing relevant experience and qualifications. 
  • The country of residence for all persons proposed for the provision of this Service (meaning the country in which the person or persons resides and from which they would be flying from in order to reach the Place of Performance to undertake this consulting work).
  • If any of the Bidder’s personnel do not reside in the country in which they are assigned to perform the required Services, the Bidder must state how these personnel would travel to perform such Services, and the estimated travel time.   The Bidder should specify how many trips might be required, and which team members would join these trips.

The Bidder must notify Helen Keller Intl if it intends to replace a key member of the Bidder’s team (with an explanation for doing so) prior to the award date and provide Helen Keller Intl with the information required for the approval of a replacement proposal. Any replacement shall be subject to the approval of Helen Keller Intl.  This is also valid for any replacement taking place during the contract duration.

Helen Keller Intl may choose to contact the Bidder prior to making a final decision. Please confirm whether this would be possible, ensuring that full contact details are also included in the resume (email, telephone number).

Part 2: FINANCIAL OFFER  

This contract will be issued as a firm fixed price contract with payment made against deliverables against services/products.  Helen Keller Intl will only issue payment via electronic payment methods and all bank accounts must be in the name of the company/organization only.  

As part of the Financial Offer, Bidders must include a detailed budget, submitted in Microsoft Excel, expressed in {NGN}, with an accompanying budget narrative, submitted in Microsoft Word, describing the basis for the listed cost elements. Supporting information should be provided in sufficient detail to allow a complete analysis and determination of reasonableness of each cost element. Bidders are required to include and clearly label all costs deemed necessary to complete the work called for hereunder. 

The Financial Offer template can be found in Annex D and must include the following

1. Labor Cost: The Bidder must provide information related to team structure, daily rates and Level of Effort (LoE) (measured in days) for the deliverables listed. Please state assumptions made when submitting the cost information including any additional options, and stating all conditions.  

• Other Direct Costs: The Bidder should provide a breakdown estimate of other main direct costs which are considered necessary for completion of the work. Other direct costs will cover transportation costs, visa, and per diem. Any other direct costs shall be agreed prior with Helen Keller Intl. 

SECTION 4: Evaluation Criteria and Basis for Award

Helen Keller Intl will follow a Best Value Trade-Off selection methodology. Helen Keller Intl may award to an eligible, responsible firm whose proposal is most advantageous to the program, with price and other factors considered proposal, including but not limited to compliance with the requirements of the RFP without material deviation. Bidders may not modify non-responsive offers after the proposal deadline in order to make them responsive. However, Helen Keller Intl may request an Bidder to clarify its offer as long as no material deviation exists. 

The criteria below will serve as the basis upon which proposals will be evaluated. Selection will be based principally on the technical merits of the proposals, but price and other factors will be considered, and award will be made only if the proposal is determined to be technically acceptable and cost reasonable.  NOTE: The Procurement Officer, in consultation with the program manager, will need to determine appropriate scoring method. Note that past performance and technical ability (capacity) must always be criterion for the technical offer evaluation. 

Evaluation Criteria per Sollicitation	Total Max Points
Past Performance/ Prior relevant experience	20
Number of years Experience in at least 5 cross-sectional surveys, including survey design, data collection and processing, statistical analysis, structured interviews and report production. Experience in quantitative surveys Experience in surveys including public health, nutrition, agriculture, maternal and child health.	10
Experience of working with international NGOs, UN agencies or local institutions to conduct surveys. Experience including health system surveys.
Similar work in the past	10
Personnel Qualifications	30
Team Leader Qualifications  – The proposed team includes a team leader with at least a Master’s degree and at least 5 years’ experience in conducting household surveys.	15
Team structure & personnel One team member’s CV includes a degree in public health with at least 5 years’ experience. One team member’s CV includes a degree in statistical analysis with at least 5 years’ experience. Team member’s CV includes experience using SurveyCTO and STATA with at least 5 years’ experience. Ability to collect and analyze data using appropriate tools and software (tablets, smartphones). One member’s CV includes experience in designing dynamic dashboards connected to the data collection process to track and record data collection quality indicators.	15
Technical Merit	40
Design logic and coherence	25
Response to ToRs	15
Operational Capability	10
Size of the organization/demonstration of having completed similar tasks	5
Presence in country	5
Total Points	100

Upon completion of the evaluation of Technical Offers, Helen Keller Intl will evaluate Financial Offers for budget presentation, details of the budget narrative, and cost-effectiveness (reasonable, realistic, match the Technical Offer and meet requirements of RFP). No points are assigned to Financial Offers, but these criteria will be considered, in conjunction with the total score of the Technical Offer. This RFP utilizes the tradeoff process and Helen Keller Intl may award a contract to the offeror whose proposal represents the best value to Helen Keller Intl and the program. Helen Keller Intl may award to a higher-priced offeror if a determination is made that the higher technical evaluation of that offeror merits the additional cost/price.

SECTION 5: Source of Funding and Authorized Geographic Code 

Any award resulting from this RFP will be financed by LDSC funding and will be subject to Helen Keller regulations. 

SECTION 6: Proposal Validity, Submission Deadline and Instructions

Proposals should have a {90-day} validity period from the proposal submission date, as provided in the Cover Letter. 

Proposals must be submitted electronically by the deadline listed on the cover page of this RFP to

[email protected]

A full proposal submission will include the following documents, all of which must reference the RFP number as stated on the cover page of this document:

• Cover Letter
• Technical Offer
• Financial Offer
• Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form
• Copies of Bidder legal registration documents
• Other pertinent information relevant to the proposal submission 

{OPTIONAL SECTION: QUESTIONS: No verbal questions will be entertained, either in person or via telephone.  However, Helen Keller Intl will take written questions about this RFP until the date specified on the cover page of this document. Any questions related to this RFP should be sent to  

[email protected] In order to ensure fairness, Helen Keller Intl’s response to all questions deemed relevant will be communicated to all potential Bidders, ensuring the original requestor’s anonymity.

SECTION 7: Negotiations 

Best offer proposals are requested. It is anticipated that an award will be made solely on the basis of the original offers received. However, Helen Keller Intl reserves the right to conduct discussions, negotiations and/or request clarifications prior to awarding a contract. Furthermore, Helen Keller Intl reserves the right to conduct a competitive range and to limit the number of bidders in the competitive range to permit an efficient evaluation environment among the most highly-rated proposals. Highest-rated bidders, as determined by the technical evaluation committee, may be asked to submit their best prices or technical responses during a competitive range. At the sole discretion of Helen Keller Intl, bidders may be requested to conduct oral presentations. If deemed an opportunity, Helen Keller Intl reserves the right to make separate awards per component or to make no award at all.

SECTION 8: Terms of the Solicitation 

1. Issuance of this RFP does not constitute an award commitment on the part of Helen Keller Intl, nor does it commit Helen Keller Intl to pay for costs incurred in the preparation and submission of a bid. 

• Attached files are integral part of this RFP.

• Helen Keller Intl may contact Bidders to confirm contact person, address, bid amount and to confirm that the proposal was submitted for this solicitation.

• False Statements: Bidders must provide full, accurate and complete information as required by this solicitation and its attachments.

• Conflict of Interest Disclosure: In Annex A Bidders must provide disclosure of any past, present or future relationships with any parties associated with the issuance, review or management of this solicitation and anticipated award.  Failure to provide full and open disclosure may result in Helen Keller Intl having to re-evaluate selection of a potential Bidders.

• Right to Select/Reject: Helen Keller Intl reserves the right to select and negotiate with those firms it determines, in its sole discretion, to be qualified for competitive proposals and to terminate negotiations without incurring any liability.  Helen Keller Intl also reserves the right to reject any or all proposals received without explanation. 

• Reserved rights: All RFP responses become the property of Helen Keller Intl and Helen Keller Intl reserves the right in its sole discretion to: 
  • To disqualify any offer based on Bidder’s failure to follow solicitation instructions;
  • To waive any deviations by Bidders from the requirements of this solicitation that in Helen Keller Intl’s opinion are considered not to be material defects requiring rejection or disqualification or where such a waiver will promote increased competition;
  • Extend the time for submission of all RFP responses after notification to all Bidders;
  • Terminate or modify the RFP process at any time and re-issue the RFP to whomever Helen Keller

Intl deems appropriate;

• Issue an award based on the initial evaluation of offers without discussion;
  • Award only part of the activities in the solicitation or issue multiple awards based on solicitation activities.

• Bidders and its proposed personnel shall disclose any factors that could limit the organization’s ability to independently perform the services such as relationship with counterpart employees, past employment, etc. 

ANNEX A: Conflict of Interest Disclosure

Helen Keller Intl Code of Conduct & Ethics Policy: In accordance with the Helen Keller Intl Code of Conduct and Ethics Policy, Helen Keller Intl requires full and open disclosure when dealing with procurement. As such, Helen Keller Intl employees must avoid any conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict of interest. Helen Keller Intl employees must at all times provide full disclosure of their actions or relationships with prospective vendors, contractors, or consultants.  Helen Keller Intl employees shall not solicit, request, accept, or agree to accept any gift from a vendor or prospective vendor.

Helen Keller Intl reserves the right to reject any or all quotes when considered to be in the best interest of the organization and/or the people it serves. All parties submitting a proposal in response to this Request for Proposal are obligated to disclose the existence of any actual or possible conflict of interest relating to every country included within their proposal in the attached Conflict of Interest Declaration Form.

Failure to fully disclose such information could lead Helen Keller Intl to reject a proposal. If a party has no conflict to declare for any of the countries covered in their proposal, they may submit one form, listing all of the countries covered.

“Conflict of Interest” means a situation in which an Bidder, or an Affiliate (as defined below), or a subcontractor (if any) of an Bidder, has interests (financial, organizational, personal, reputational or otherwise) that would or may appear to make it difficult for an Bidder to fulfill its obligations to Helen Keller Intl in its role as the vendor in an objective, independent and professional manner, or a situation in which it is reasonable to foresee that such an interest would arise. A Conflict of Interest may arise in the following circumstances, which are not exhaustive:

1. a Bidder has been, or is involved in the design of a proposal or request for funding that has been, or will be submitted to Helen Keller Intl;
2. an Bidder has been, or is involved in the provision of advice to an entity that is a Principal Recipient or a Sub-recipient;
3. a Bidder has been, or is involved in, or has provided advice in relation to the procurement of goods and/or services by a Principal Recipient and/or a Sub-recipient;
4. a Bidder has been, or is involved in the provision of auditing services to a Principal Recipient and/or a

Sub-recipient; or 

• a Bidder has submitted an expression of interest, tender, bid or otherwise indicated interest in providing services of any nature to a Principal Recipient or a Sub-recipient that remains valid at the time of, and for the duration of the term of this Contract. 

“Affiliate” means a business concern, individual or other entity that, directly or indirectly: (i) controls or can control an Bidder; (ii) is controlled by, or can foreseeably be controlled by, an Bidder; or (iii) along with an Bidder, is controlled by, or can foreseeably be controlled by, the same third party.

Bidder Conflict of Interest Declaration Form

Please check one box below, as appropriate:

			The Bidder hereby declares that it has read and understood the Conflict of Interest rules set forth in the Request for Proposals (RFP) and warrants that no Conflict of Interest exists on the part of the Bidder or an Affiliate of the Bidder, with regard to the services to be performed under the RFP. The Bidder hereby agrees to comply with the Conflict of Interest rules set forth in the Request for Proposals (RFP).
			The Bidder wishes to disclose a real or potential Conflict of Interest situation(s) and propose mitigating action(s).  Note: if this box is checked, please describe in an attachment, in detail, the situation and present a proposed mitigation plan / arrangement for consideration by Helen Keller Intl.

Bidder: 

Signature:
Printed Name:
Title:
Date:

ANNEX B:  Format of CV to Be Used for Personnel (One Document Per Person)  

Name:
Title:
Nationality:
Home Office Address:
Professional Qualifications:
Language skills: Language: Reading: Speaking: Writing:
Relevant work experience, including the duration and responsibilities:
References:    Name:  Position:  Organization:  E-mail:  Address:  Telephone:  Relationship:	Name:  Position:  Organization: E-mail:  Address:  Telephone:  Relationship:
Certification: I declare that the information provided in this CV is accurate and hereby authorize Helen Keller Intl to undertake whatever inquiries Helen Keller Intl may consider reasonable and necessary in the course of the assessment process, in relation to the information in this curriculum vita relating to my suitability for the position for which I have been nominated.
Signed:		Date:

ANNEX C Financial Offer Format  

DETAILED BUDGET BREAKDOWN WORKSHEET (SAMPLE FORMAT)

Cost Element	Unit Cost	Quantity	Total Cost
1. Professional Fee           Position No. 1 {name)           Position No. 2 {name}   SUBTOTAL			Unit Cost x Quantity
2. TRAVEL & TRANSPORTATION Travel         Per Diem   SUBTOTAL		Number of trips
3. OTHER DIRECT COSTS      Communications      [List Items]   SUBTOTAL
		Total

Principal’s Signature

*The Base for each of these percentages needs to be identified and documented through audited financial statements.

Helen Keller International Request for Proposals  

Summary LOE Table to be Submitted in Excel

Summary of Services
Service	Period covered	Deliverable Deadline	Total Days	Total amount per service
Survey preparation	21 -25 October	25  October 2024	5 Days
Data Collection	28th Oct to 10 November 2024	10 November 2024	13 Days
Analysis and Report	11th to 23rd November 2024	23rd November 2024	12 Days
TOTAL			30 Days	N                          –

Helen Keller International Request for Proposals  

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