RFP 001/2010 Team Leader Consultant MARPs - China

Description of Requirements

The United States Government, represented by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is seeking proposals from interested contractors in providing the service as specified below. This is to support the operation of USAID Regional Development Mission Asia.

Submissions shall be via email with the relevant information and delivered to the USAID RDMA Office in Bangkok, Thailand at the place and by the time specified above.  Email submissions shall be sent to: spoomtong@usaid.gov.  Late applications may be considered in USAID's sole discretion.  The award of a contract hereunder is subject to the availability of funds. Any questions regarding this position should be directed to spoomtong@usaid.gov.

Issuance of this RFP does not constitute an award or commitment on the part of the U.S. Government, nor does it commits the U.S. Government to pay for costs incurred in the preparation and submission of an application.

Background:

USAID/Regional Development Mission Asia (USAID/RDMA) will conduct an external review of the Supportive Interventions Component of the Comprehensive Prevention Package for most-at-risk populations (MARPs) in China November 30- December 11, 2009.  This review is being conducted as a follow on to the review the Comprehensive Package of Services (CPS) (formerly called the Minimum Package of Services (MPS) that took place in February 2009 to examine the core interventions of the Comprehensive Prevention Package (CPP).  The review of the Supportive Intervention Component will evaluate the essential supportive interventions of the CPP in terms of costing, impact, integration, process and the potential to replicate the supportive activities as part of the CPP model.  In addition, the review will gather lessons learned from the supportive interventions implemented to date at select USAID supported sites.  A key result of the review will be a set of recommendations that can be used by the USG, the Chinese government, and other donors in potential scale up of the CPP model.  These recommendations will also assist the USG in their future planning and also in the refinement of the model. The team will examine the current CPP model at various USAID supported sites in tow provinces (Yunnan and Guangxi) China.

Since this will be an external review, it was determined from the outset that a strong outside consultant will be needed to serve as the team leader. Other review team members will include representatives from USAID/RDMA, China Manager, USCDCUSAID/Washington and representatives from the national/provincial governments in China. The review will be conducted in China November 30- December 11, 2009 so that the recommendations can be incorporated into the FY12 USG HIV/AIDS China Country Operational Plan.

Scope of Work

The review will primarily examine the technical elements of the Supportive Interventions Component of the CPS model. All data will be gathered from key partners, stakeholders, and beneficiaries through meetings, small group discussions, and select site visits. Some questions to consider include (but are not limited to):

• What is the overall contribution of the six supportive interventions to the CPS?
• What recommendations does the review have for improving the approach currently taken to implementation of the supportive interventions?
• What is the potential for sustainability and replication of the supportive interventions by the Chinese government and other donors in other sites and provinces? 

• What are the goals and objectives for each CA in relation to the supportive interventions?
• How do the CAs define their approach to each of the supportive intervention elements and  how do they operationalize their supportive intervention work?
• How is the supportive interventions work undertaken by each of the CAs linked to the CPS model?
• How is the supportive interventions work undertaken by each of the CAs linked to the work of each other and other partners?
• How is the work undertaken by each of the CAs in the supportive interventions linked to other components of the supportive intervention package (e.g. strategic information linked to policy, etc).
• What are the key achievements (and outcomes, if data is available) from implemting the six supportive interventions?
• Which of the six supportive intervention elements are working well and why?  Please provide examples.
• Which of the supportive intervention elements are not working well and why? (Any gaps?) Please provide examples.
• What are the key facilitators to success for the supportive interventions?
• What challenges and barriers have been encountered in implementing the supportive interventions?
• Has the approach of CAs in implementing the supportive interventions been flexible enough to adapt to change?
• How can the supportive interventions be improved or changed? 
• If work was to be scaled up beyond the China – US HIV/AIDS Program, which components of supportive interventions work would need to be replicated?
• To what extent has the capacity of counterparts and stakeholders to implement the supportive interventions been built at different levels (e.g. site, county, prefecture, province)? 

• What is the cost (bare bones, no overhead, etc) for each of the elements of the supportive interventons being implemented?
• What are the start up costs to add new elements of the supportive interventions  (needs assessment, related community planning, training, and stakeholder buy-in, etc)?
• What is the cost of community mobilization and capacity building of local organizations?
• What is the cost of provider training, including sensitization training to address the reduction of stigma and discrimination?
• What is the cost of policy and advocacy related activities?
• What is the cost of livelihood developent activities?
• What is the cost of strategic information activities?
• What is the cost for implementation of the Supportive Interventions Component of the CPP model (per element) for replication? The team should determine whether there are alternate methods of supportive services within the Chinese context that can be implemented to reduce costs (i.e other livelihood development activities being implemented in the community).

V. Draft Review Team Member Composition
*detailed roles and responsibilities for team members will be discussed prior to the review and during the first day of field work in China

Deliverables

Deliverables for the team leader will include:

• Coordinate review team and all sub-teams, ensure all viewpoints are considered and consensus is reached.
• Draft and finalize the review report.
• Draft and finalize debriefing presentation.
• Provide overall technical direction and oversight to the costing consultant on Supportive Intervention review team. The team leader will work closely with the costing consultant on the costing elements of the review
• The level of effort determined for the team leader includes time for pre-meetings and debriefings.

FURTHER READING

• RFP 001-2010 OPH Consultant China

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