Overview
Request for Proposal (RFP) for an Independent Final Evaluation:
Expanding Family Planning and Integrated Sexual and Reproductive Health Services in Burundi
Phase II
1. Introduction
Since 2013, Population Services International (PSI), in partnership with the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (EKN), has implemented the Expanding Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) Services in Burundi program Phase II. PSI now seeks to engage an experienced team of consultants to conduct an independent final evaluation of the project to assess its efficiency and effectiveness, to document lessons learned, and to prepare for a potential next phase.
Population Services International (PSI) is the world’s leading non-profit social marketing organization. We work to make it easier for people in the developing world to enjoy good health by providing access to quality products and services. PSI has operated in Burundi since 1990 in close collaboration with the Government of Burundi (GoB) and its financial partners to respond to the needs of Burundian population in HIV prevention and treatment, Sexual and Reproductive Health, and malaria prevention and treatment.
2. Program Overview
Using a private sector model, the objective of the Expanding Family Planning and Integrated Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) Services program in Burundi is to increase Burundi’s contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) through expanding the delivery of high quality Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) products and services to WRA and youth in particular. This program aims to contribute to SRH in Burundi in alignment with EKN’s four result areas:
Result Area 1: Young people are better informed and are thus able to make healthier choices regarding their sexuality
Result Area 2: A growing number of people have access to anti-retroviral drugs, contraceptives and other commodities required for good SRH
Result Area 3: Public and private clinics provide better sexual and reproductive healthcare services, which more and more people are using
Result Area 4: Greater respect for the sexual and reproductive rights of people to whom these rights are denied
The program is producing the following three outputs:
Output 1: Increase demand for SRH products and services among WRA with an accent on young men and women (15-24 years old)
Output 2: Increase quality of care and access to SRH products and services among WRA, and particularly young men and women (15-24 years old)
Output 3: Strengthen the favorable environment for SRH rights and service delivery for young men and women (15-24 years old)
This phase of the project employed a four-pronged approach to drive demand for, increase access to, and create an enabling environment for high-quality SRH information, products, and services, particularly among youth, including girls and boys. This approach consisted of (1) evidence-based social and behaviour change communications (SBCC), (2) delivery of high-quality SRH services, (3) distribution of a wide range of contraceptive methods, and (4) community engagement to break down the systematic barriers individuals face to accessing these SRH products and services.
The four prongs of this approach were linked through the use of mobile phone-based technology platform—Movercado—enabling individuals reached by project-related SBCC to more readily access and use the SRH products and services available to them and enabling PSI/Burundi to more rapidly collect and analyze information for a data-driven, audience-centered response.
The first phase of the project began in 2013, in support of Government of Burundi’s Family Planning Acceleration Plan. The latter promotes social franchising and social marketing as necessary interventions for achieving the country’s FP2020 goals. To respond to this plan, in Phase II, PSI expanded the Tunza franchise to 57 clinics across nine provinces. All staff at Tunza-branded clinics have been trained to provide equitable, accessible, and appropriate SRH information and services tailored to the unique needs of young women and young men. All Tunza clinic owners have received intensive coaching and support to grow and strengthen their businesses. PSI/Burundi made an emergency contraceptive (EC) pill available in all Tunza-branded clinics, and access to post-abortion care (PAC) services – Including distribution of misoprostol – was increased from nine to 19 clinics.
3. Purpose of the Final Evaluation
The evaluation will make a comprehensive assessment of the program describing its level of success in achieving its objectives, program efficiency and effectiveness, the sustainability of its interventions, the impact attributable to the program, identifying key weaknesses and assessing its contribution to national SRH priorities. The evaluators will be tasked with documenting lessons learned (including identified weakness and missteps) as well as best practices, and concrete recommendations for strengthening future programming.
4. Scope and Key Evaluation Questions
The final evaluation will assess the collective performance, implementation and impact of all program activities, including those carried out by sub-awardees Population Media Centre (PMC) and Triggerise. The evaluation will address the Relevance, Cost Effectiveness, Efficiency, Sustainability, and Impact of the project while assessing how effectively gender concerns and issues specific to youth were part of project planning and implementation. The evaluators will provide an analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) to the program’s achievement.
Relevance: What was the reason for the intervention? What was the problem the intervention was intended to address? To what extent did the program meet the priority needs of the target group– Women of Reproductive Age (WRA), young men and young women? Were the activities as reflected in the program proposal and work plans consistent with the overall goal and objectives? Are the geographic zones and areas of activity appropriate? Has the project effectively reached rural and peri- urban women and how could this be expanded?
Effectiveness: What are the achievements of the program? Were there any unexpected outcomes? How have the inputs and activities led to the output? Was the coverage of the intervention (at the province, commune, “colline”-levels) sufficient or reasonable given the budget? Did the program effectively target the agreed population groups? What contextual factors have contributed or distracted to the achievement of the outcomes? What expected results were not achieved and why? What lessons can we draw from this? Was collaboration with stakeholders (GoB, other NGOs, local civil society) effective? If not, how could it have been improved? The project provides a number of FP products and services. The consultants will evaluate the services & products with regard to their marketing, value for money, return on investment and potential for scaling up.
Efficiency: Has the intervention been cost-effective (compared to alternatives)? Was the staffing complement appropriate? There is concern that the number of clients regularly accessing FP services at Tunza-branded clinics is low. How has PSI attempted to address this issue and what approaches would be recommended to increase accessibility of FP services? Has PSI remedied all concerns regarding importing and distributing FP commodities to ensure that there will be no stock-outs or other disruptions in the future? Were the sub-agreements with PMC and Triggerise useful addition to achieving project objectives?
Sustainability: To what extent can major milestones achieved during the program be sustained beyond the life of the intervention to support the needs of the beneficiaries? Which sustainability mechanisms has PSI put in place to ensure continuity of activities and approaches at the end of the program? Are they likely to be effective? Do the local stakeholders have the financial & technical capacity to maintain the benefits from the intervention when EKN support comes to an end?
Impact: What is the program’s contribution to the national CPR? How did the program contribute to increase SRH knowledge among young people? How has the program changed SRH attitudes and practices among young people? How did the program strengthen favorable environment for SRH rights and service delivery for youth? Are there factors that impeded the achievement of the overall goal as reflected in Program Proposal? What are the unintended positive and negative impacts of the implementation of the program? What measures have been and can be taken to reduce the negative impacts and expand the positive? What were the particular features of the program that made the most difference? Has the program had any impact on private health care sector more generally? What was the level of satisfaction of clients, youth, parents, teachers, SRHR partners including EKN-funded partners and the GoB (PNLS & PNSR), and Tunza clinic & kiosk owners with the program? Were the pilot income generation components of the project (work with VSLA, Adult Communication Agents) successful and worthy of further exploration?
Gender considerations: Has the program effectively contributed to the creation of favorable conditions for gender equality for SHR access? Are the means and resources to achieve results being used efficiently in terms of improved benefits for both women and men? Did stakeholders (Tunza clinics, Condoms sales points, indirect target groups) benefit from the interventions in terms of institutional capacity-building in the area of gender mainstreaming and the development of gender competence among their staff.
Responsibilities
5. Evaluation Methodology
The evaluation will involve all relevant stakeholders, including program staff, implementing partners, clients and others as are deemed relevant. PSI proposes that the evaluation methodology consist of both qualitative and quantitative data gathering techniques including key informant interviews, focus group discussions, questionnaires and other methods to answer evaluation questions.
The evaluation will take place during the run-up to the 2020 presidential election in Burundi, a period of increased sensitivity. The evaluation methodology and communication strategies must take this into account. PSI and the EKN will work with the evaluation team to ensure approval for all evaluation approaches, activities and timelines as well as to ensure all safety and security considerations for the evaluation team and enumerators.
6. Timeframe
The duration of the assignment will be a maximum of 120 consultancy days total for three consultants, including travel to Burundi and presentation of the final report. The evaluation is expected to begin on February 20, 2020 or as soon thereafter as possible. The following allocation of days is a proposed guide for the consultants.
Preparation (4 working days per consultant)
- Desk Review of relevant information
- Conceptualizing the evaluation approach
- Reflection and development of the evaluation approach
- Stakeholder mapping and inception meetings
Inception (7 working days per consultant)
- Presentation of the inception report
- Consultation with PSI team
- Consultation with EKN
- Finalization and agreement on evaluation methodology
- Advise PSI as to in-country needs including recruitment of enumerators
- Assist PSI with international and national ethics approvals
Data Collection (15 working days per consultant)
- Travel to Burundi
- Selection and training of enumerators
- Field data collection
Data Analysis (7 working days per consultant)
- Data cleaning and analysis of finding
- Interpretation of findings
Reporting (7 working days per consultant)
- Draft Report (Narrative and Powerpoint slides)
- Dissemination of draft report and evaluation findings for discussion for feedback and agreement
- Completion of final draft of the evaluation report incorporating feedback
- Presentation of the Final Report
Total: 40 Days/consultantQualifications**
8. Deliverables of the Assignment
Phase 1: Contract signed, and Workplan presented. Stakeholder analysis including their roles in the evaluation. Evaluation approach, design and sampling methods, Data collection method and if possible draft tools Data analysis strategy work-plan including key activities and timeframes. International and national Ethics approvals.
Phase 2: Submission of final tested data collection instruments and draft report on the data gathering process after it is completed, updated data analysis plan based on the available data. Presentation of draft report all narrative and PowerPoint at PSI Office for feedback.
Phase 3: Submission of the Final Report in bound copy and PowerPoint slides in the agreed format outlined. After the submission of the bound copies of the report will the consultant fees be processed and finalized.
9. Required Competences, Experiences, and Skills
PSI seeks a team of three consultants who as a team possess the following set of skills and experiences:
- Advanced degrees in social science, public health, development, and/or related areas.
- Experience with private sector approaches to health care delivery in low-resource settings.
- Experience and proven understanding of health commodities marketing and services
- Ability to understand the impact of Burundi’s political ecosystem on health care and FP commodities availability and delivery.
- 10 years of experience in implementing and evaluating development programs including SRH projects, PPP contracts.
- A proven record of conducting evaluations using mixed methods and participatory approaches.
- A proven record of completing evaluations for large NGOs and donors,
- Experience conducting evaluations in African countries or similar settings.
- Fluency in oral and written English and French.
- At least two of the consultants must also be fluent in either Swahili or Kirundi.
10. Selection Criteria and How to Apply
Criteria
Score
Previous Experiences of the Bidder
20
Languages skills and geographic experience
20
Understand and experience with methodology proposed
20
Quality of Writing/Evaluation Sample
20
Cost Effectiveness of Proposal
20
Total
100
Applicants are required to submit Technical and Cost Proposals.
Please submit application packets to Cary Johnson, [email protected] by 15 February 2020.
PI117789795
More Information
- Job City Bujumbura
