REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

Reference number: RFP–S&L–2016-9127075 Date of issue: 16-Aug-2016

Dear Sir/Madam,

UNICEF Ethiopia Office is seeking Request for Proposals (RFP) from Firm/Company/Organisation – to assess the perceptions and feedback from beneficiaries and service providers of the interventions carried out under the Integrated Nutrition and Social Cash Transfer (IN-SCT) Pilot, in SNNP region (qualitative approach)

BackgroundUNICEF 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 125 country offices 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 organization’s mission and work.

PurposeUnited Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) wishes to procure the above mentioned services through a competitive bidding process. In this respect, UNICEF would like to invite your organization to submit technical and financial proposals as outlined in this request for proposal and the terms and conditions contained herein.

Request for informationAny questions concerning this invitation must be forwarded in writing by email or by fax, to the person who prepared this document, with specific reference to this RFP number prior to 5 days of the due date of submission of the proposal. No request for information will be entertained after this. The question and its response will be circulated to all the bidders, after deleting the name of the bidder who requested for the information.

Due date and time for submission of the proposalsSealed proposals must be submitted latest by the date and Ethiopian local time specified below. Sealed proposals (technical and financial) received prior to the stated closing time and date will be kept unopened. Proposals received after the stipulated date and time will be invalidated. UNICEF will not accept any responsibility for the premature opening of the proposals not properly addressed or identified. Due to the nature of the bid, there will be no public opening of the bid.

Due date: Friday 9-Sep-2016. Time: 10:00 am standard Time (East African time)

Yours sincerely,

……………………………………… ……………………………………….

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Mekdes Woudneh (OIC, Contract Officer) Srikanth Srinivasan (OIC, Supply & Logistics section)Email: mwoudneh@unicef.org Email: ssrinivasan@unicef.org

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Request for Proposal (RFP) invitation letter………………………………………1

Table of content……………………………………………………………………2

Instruction to bidders…….………………………………………………………3-7

General terms and conditions………………….………………………………..8-11

Specific terms and conditions…………………………………………………12-13

Annex-A: Declaration form………………………………………………….. 14

Annex-B: Technical proposal – Content & Format……………………..….15-16

Annex-C: Contractor’s experience – format……………………………………17

Annex-D: Financial proposal………………………………………………...…18

Annex-E: Evaluation criteria………………………………………………...…19

Annex-F: Check list…………………………………………………………….20

Annex-G: Terms of Reference (TOR’s)…………………………………….21-29

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INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDERS

UNICEF will select a contractor and enter into a contractual agreement to provide the services outlined in the terms of reference, the General Terms & Conditions and Specific Terms & Conditions and in accordance with the method of selection specified in this RFP. Bidders are therefore invited to submit their technical and financial proposals for this assignment in ENGLISH. Bidders shall bear all costs associated with the preparation and submission of proposals, and UNICEF shall not be responsible for these costs, irrespective of the outcome of the bidding process.

1. Format and content of the proposals

1.1 Bidders are required to submit the declaration form in the format attached as Annex A.1.2 Bidders are required to submit technical proposals in the format attached as Annex B&C.1.3 Bidders are required to submit financial proposals in the format attached as Annex D. 1.4 All activities and items described in the technical proposal must be priced in the financial proposal separately. Activities and items described in the technical proposal but not priced, shall be assumed to be included in the price of other activities. 1.5 Submission of the wrong format for either the technical or the financial Proposal may result in the proposal being deemed non responsive.1.6 Bidders are expected to examine all the schedules and all instructions pertaining to the RFP. Failure to do so will be at bidders own risk and responsibility.

2. How the proposals should be marked, packaged and submitted

2.1 Sealed proposals shall be submitted in duplicate, in English, and shall be sealed in 1 outer and 2 inner envelopes and all envelopes shall indicate the bidder’s name and address. The outer envelope shall be addressed and submitted as follow:

UNICEF Ethiopia, Bid Opening Unit P.O. Box 1169, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. RFP-S&P-2016-………. Due date: …... time ……….

2.1.1 Bids can be physically submitted in any one of the two locations provided below

(1) UNICEF, ICC Ware House, Debrezeit Road, Lancia. In front of Concord Hotel, next to Action Aid. Approximately 300 meters from main road. You may call phone no +251 114660848 for directions

Or

(2) UNICEF-UNECA Compound, NOF Building, 2rd floor.

The UNECA security rules requires 36 hours ‘advance notice’ to be given by visitor, therefore please notify the Supply Section by email: ETH-Reception-Desk@unicef.org providing the name of the person who will be submitting the bid and the proposed date of arrival.

Alternatively you may call telephone no +251 115 184000 at least three (3) hours before your arrival at the UNECA Security Gate to arrange to be met.

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(Instruction: - (Bidders to fill the dotted lines above with the reference number of the RFP, due date & time

as specified in the first page of this RFP,)

2.2 The first inner envelope shall be marked technical proposal and addressed in the same manner as the outer envelope as specified above, and shall be in the prescribed format. 2.3 The 2nd inner envelope shall be marked financial proposal and addressed in the same manner as the outer envelope as specified above, and shall be in the prescribed format.2.4 Proposals received in any manner other than as outlined in clauses 3.1 to 3.4, will be invalidated. 2.5 Information which the bidder considers to be proprietary should be clearly marked as such. All information provided by the bidder will be treated as confidential and used for UNICEF internal purposes only.

2.6 Bid Submission by Email (For International Bidders only)

Submission can be done by e -mail through email address - (ETH-SupplyTenderBox@unicef.org) Please inform the office via this email of your intention to submit a bid, and indicate the email address that will be used for the submission.

For the submission: The Email subject line MUST read: RFP- ETH – 2016- 9127075The Technical and Financial proposals must be submitted as separate folders or files and labeled as follows: Technical Proposal RFP- ETH – 2016- 9127075 Financial Proposal RFP- ETH – 2016- 9127075Bidders might want to send separate emails for both proposals due to the size of their submissions.All documents should be stamped and signedThe file format must be PDF or other a non-editable format (submissions in other formats will be rejected as VOID.) Please to make sure your submission is done early to ensure receipt. Activate your own email delivery alert to obtain information on the status of your submission

3. Receipt and public opening of the proposals on the closing date & time

3.1 Sealed Proposals as outlined under para 2.1 to 2.5 must be despatched to arrive at the UNICEF office indicated no later than the closing time and date mentioned in the first page of this RFP3.2 Sealed Proposals received prior to the stated closing time and date will be kept unopened. The officer of the bid opening unit will only open the technical proposals when the specified time has arrived and no proposal received thereafter will be considered. Any delays encountered in the mail delivery will be at the risk of the bidder.3.3 UNICEF will accept no responsibility for the premature opening of a proposal which is not properly addressed or identified.3.4 Bidders, or their authorized representative, may attend the public opening of the RFP at the time, date and location specified. The only envelope that will be opened at public bid opening is the technical proposal.

4. Correction, modification and withdrawal

4.1 Erasures or other corrections in the Proposal must be explained and must be signed by the bidder alongside. 4.2 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.4.3 Proposals may be withdrawn by the bidders through a letter or through a fax prior to the opening time and date specified in the page-1 of RFP. Negligence on the part of the bidder confers no right for the withdrawal of the proposal after it has been opened.

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5. Validity of the proposals

5.1 Proposals should be valid for a period of not less than 90 days from the bid opening date. Bidders are requested to specify the validity period of their proposal. UNICEF may also request the validity period to be extended. UNICEF may award additional contracts against the lowest acceptable proposal if requests for identical services are received during the Proposal validity period.

6. Evaluation of proposals

6.1 Following closure of the RFP, proposals will be evaluated by a UNICEF evaluation team to assess its merits. The evaluation will be restricted to the contents of the proposals, bidder profile, relevant experience, client list, financial status, and price proposal. The adjudication will be done based on the Quality and Cost Based Selection (QCBS) methodology.

6.2 A 2 stage procedure will be followed in evaluating proposals, with evaluation of the technical proposal being completed prior to any evaluation of the financial proposal. Evaluators of the technical proposals shall have no access to the financial Proposals until the technical evaluation is completed.

6.3 Technical Proposals will be evaluated on the basis of their responsiveness to the terms of reference, applying the evaluation criteria and the point system specified in Annex-E. Each Technical Proposal will be given a technical score. Technical Proposals receiving the minimum qualifying points or higher, will be considered technically responsive. After the completion of the technical evaluation, the financial proposal will be opened. Proposals which are considered non-technically compliant and non-responsive, will not be given further consideration.6.4 The financial scores will be arrived at based on the formula specified in para-6.5, whereby the lowest evaluated Financial Proposal (Fm) will be given the maximum financial score (Sf) of 100 points. The financial scores of the other proposals will be in inverse proportion to the lowest price. 6.5 The evaluation formula is outlined as follows: Sf = 100 x Fm/F, in which Sf is the financial score, Fm is the lowest price and F the price of the proposal under consideration.

6.6 Proposals will be ranked according to their combined technical and financial scores using the weights given to technical and financial proposals. The bidder achieving the highest combined technical and financial scores may be invited for negotiations.

6.7 From the time the proposals are opened to the time the contract is awarded, bidders shall not contact UNICEF on any matter and any attempt to influence UNICEF in its evaluation of the proposals and award recommendation, may result in rejection of the proposal.

7.0 RFP terms, conditions and rights of UNICEF

7.1 This RFP and any responses thereto, shall be the property of UNICEF. In submitting a proposal, the bidder acknowledges that UNICEF reserves the right to:-

(a) Visit and inspect the bidder’s premises;(b) Contact any clients of the bidder/referees provided;(c) Request additional supporting or supplementary information;(d) Arrange interviews with the proposed project team/contractors;(e) Request clarification on proposals;

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(f) Request for technical presentation of the proposals;(g) Reject any/all of the proposals submitted;(h) Accept any proposals in whole or in part;(i) Negotiate with the bidder(s) providing overall the best value proposal(s);(j) Evaluate Individual or Organizational conflict of interest of the bidder;(k) Award contracts to more than 1 bidder, as UNICEF considers to be in its best interests;(l) The bidder agrees to be bound by the decision of UNICEF as to whether his/her proposal meets the

requirements stated in the RFP.

7.2 UNICEF reserves the right to invalidate any proposal for reasons mentioned above, and, unless otherwise specified by UNICEF or by the Bidder, to accept any item in the Proposal.

7.3 UNICEF reserves the right to invalidate any Proposal received from a Bidder who, in the opinion of UNICEF, is not in a position to perform the contract, previously failed to perform properly, complete contracts on time etc

8.0 PAYMENT TERMS

8.1 Payment of professional fee and out of pocket expenses will be made only upon UNICEF’s acceptance of the services/work performed in accordance with the contractual milestones. The terms of payment are net 30 days, after receipt of invoice and acceptance of work/services by the technical supervisor of the contract. Payment will be effected by bank transfer in the currency of billing. Financial proposals should include proposed stage payments.

8.2 Where any payment is made in advance of any deliverables as an advance payment, the payment shall be made against the provision by the Supplier/Contractor/Bidder of a bank guarantee for the same amount, and shall be valid for the period stated in the contract.

8.3 Should the advance payment guarantee cease to be valid and the Supplier fails to re-validate it, a deduction equal to the amount of the advance payment may be made by UNICEF from future payments due to the Supplier under the contract.

8.4 If a Contract is terminated for any reason, the guarantee securing the advance may be invoked in order to recover the balance of the advance still owed by the Supplier.

8.5 The currency of the proposal shall be in USD/ (ETB for local firm) 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 price/rates quoted must exclusive of all taxes as UNICEF is a tax exempt organization.

9.0 Eligible Bidders

9.1 In participating in this RFP, the bidder confirms that:-

a) Has the legal capacity to enter into a contract;b) Not be insolvent, in receivership, bankrupt or being wound up, not have had their business

activities suspended and not be the subject of legal proceedings for any of the foregoing; andc) Have fulfilled their obligations to pay taxes according to the laws of the Federal Democratic

Republic of Ethiopia.

9.2 In order to demonstrate compliance with the criteria in sub-clause 8.2 above , a bidder shall submit along with its bid the following:-

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In the case of Ethiopian Bidders only, its certificate of registration from the mandated public

body demonstrating its registered supplier status; and Appropriate documentary evidence demonstrating its compliance, which shall include:

i. Its trading license or equivalent;ii. Its tax clearance certificate and VAT registration, and

iii. Any relevant professional practice certificates joint venture/ association letter agreement of international/national organization.

9.3 A bidder shall be required to obtain a certificate of registration from the mandated public body referred to in clause 8.2, demonstrating registered supplier status, as a condition of contract award.

10.0 Full Right to Use and Sell

10.1 The bidder warrants that it has not and shall not enter into any agreement or arrangement that restrains or restricts UNICEF or the recipient Government rights to use, sell, dispose of or, otherwise, deal with any item/reports that may be required under any resulting contract.

11.0 Sub-contracting

11.1 Special attention will be paid to the approach proposed by the Contractor for managing his sub-contractors. Bidder will be required to indicate the kind of work which they plan to subcontract and the name of any companies to which they are intending to subcontract part of the work.

11.2 Subcontracting during performance of the contract is permitted only with the prior written consent of UNICEF. The Contractor remains solely liable for proper performance of the contract.

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GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

1. ACKNOWLEDGMENT COPY

Signing and returning the acknowledgment copy of a contract issued by UNICEF or beginning work under that contract shall constitute acceptance of a binding agreement between UNICEF and the Contractor.

2. DELIVERY DATE

Delivery Date to be understood as the time the contract work is completed at the location indicated under Delivery Terms.

3. PAYMENT TERMS

(a) UNICEF shall, unless otherwise specified in the contract, make payment within 30 days of receipt of the Contractor's invoice which is issued only upon UNICEF’s acceptance of the work specified in the contract.(b) Payment against the invoice referred to above will reflect any discount shown under the payment terms provided payment is made within the period shown in the payment terms of the contract.(c) The prices shown in the contract cannot be increased except by express written agreement by UNICEF.

4. LIMITATION OF EXPENDITURE

No increase in the total liability to UNICEF or in the price of the work resulting from design changes, modifications, or interpretations of the statement of work will be authorized or paid to the contractor unless such changes have been approved by the contracting authority through an amendment to this contract prior to incorporation in the work.

5. TAX EXEMPTION

Section 7 of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations provides, inter alia, that the UN, including its subsidiary organs, is exempt from all direct taxes (including service tax) and is exempt from customs duties in respect of articles imported or exported for its official use. Accordingly, the Vendor authorizes UNICEF to deduct from the Vendor's invoice any amount representing such taxes or duties charged by the Vendor to UNICEF. Payment of such corrected invoice amount shall constitute full payment by UNICEF. In the event any taxing authority refuses to recognize the UN exemption from such taxes, the Vendor shall immediately consult with UNICEF to determine a mutually acceptable procedure.

Accordingly, the Contractor authorizes UNICEF to deduct from the Contractor’s invoice any amount representing such taxes, duties, or charges, unless the Contractor has consulted with UNICEF before the payment thereof and UNICEF has, in each instance, specifically authorized the Contractor to pay such taxes, duties or charges under protest. In that event, the Contractor shall provide UNICEF with written evidence that payment of such taxes, duties or charges has been made and appropriately authorized.

6. LEGAL STATUS.

The Contractor shall be considered as having the legal status of an independent contractor vis-a-vis UNICEF. The Contractor’s personnel and sub-contractors shall not be considered in any respect as being the employees or agents of UNICEF.

7. CONTRACTOR’S RESPONSIBILITY FOR EMPLOYEES

The Contractor shall be responsible for the professional and technical competence of its employees and will select, for work under this Contract, reliable individuals who will perform effectively in the implementation of the Contract, respect the local customs and conform to a high standard of moral and ethical conduct.

8. INDEMNIFICATION

The Contractor shall indemnify, hold and save harmless and defend, at its own expense, UNICEF, its officials, agents, servants and employees, from and against all suits, claims, demands and liability of any nature or kind, including their costs and expenses, arising out of the acts or omissions of the Contractor or its employees or sub-contractors in the performance of this Contract. This provision shall extend, inter alia, to claims and liability in the nature of workmen’s compensation, product liability and liability arising out of the use of patented inventions or devices, copyrighted material or other intellectual property by the Contractor, its employees, officers, agents, servants or sub-contractors. The obligations under this Article do not lapse upon termination of this Contract.

9. INSURANCE AND LIABILITIES TO THIRD PARTIES

(a) The Contractor shall provide and thereafter maintain insurance against all risks in respect of its property and any equipment used for the execution of this Contract.

(b) The Contractor shall provide and thereafter maintain all appropriate workmen’s compensation and liability insurance, or its equivalent, with respect to its employees to cover claims for death, bodily injury or damage to property arising from the

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execution of this Contract. The Contractor represents that the liability insurance includes sub-contractors.

(c) The Contractor shall also provide and thereafter maintain liability insurance in an adequate amount to cover third party claims for death or bodily injury, or loss of or damage to property, arising from or in connection with the provision of work under this Contract or the operation of any vehicles, boats, airplanes or other equipment owned or leased by the Contractor or its agents, servants, employees or sub-contractors performing work or services in connection with this Contract.

(d) Except for the workmen’s compensation insurance, the insurance policies under this Article shall:(i) Name UNICEF as additional insured;(ii) Include a waiver of subrogation of the Contractor’s rights to the insurance carrier against UNICEF;(iii) Provide that UNICEF shall receive thirty (30) days written notice from the insurers prior to any cancellation or change of coverage.

(e) The Contractor shall, upon request, provide UNICEF with satisfactory evidence of the insurance required under this Article.

10. SOURCE OF INSTRUCTIONS

The Contractor shall neither seek nor accept instructions from any authority external to UNICEF in connection with the performance of its services under this Contract. The Contractor shall refrain from any action which may adversely affect UNICEF or the United Nations and shall fulfil its commitments with the fullest regard to the interests of UNICEF.

11. ENCUMBRANCES/LIENS

The Contractor shall not cause or permit any lien, attachment or other encumbrance by any person to be placed on file or to remain on file in any public office or on file with UNICEF against any monies due or to become due for any work done or materials furnished under this Contract, or by reason of any other claim or demand against the Contractor.

12. TITLE TO EQUIPMENT

Title to any equipment and supplies which may be furnished by UNICEF shall rest with UNICEF and any such equipment shall be returned to UNICEF at the conclusion of this Contract or when no longer needed by the Contractor. Such equipment when returned to UNICEF, shall be in the same condition as when delivered to the Contractor, subject to normal wear and tear.

13. COPYRIGHT, PATENTS AND OTHER PROPRIETARY RIGHTS

UNICEF shall be entitled to all intellectual property and other proprietary rights including but not limited to patents, copyrights and trademarks, with regard to documents and other materials which bear a direct relation to or are prepared or collected in consequence or in the course of the execution of this contract. At UNICEF's request, the Contractor shall take all necessary steps, execute all necessary documents and generally assist in securing such proprietary rights and transferring them to the UNICEF in compliance with the requirements of the applicable law.

14. CONFIDENTIAL NATURE OF DOCUMENTS

(a) All maps, drawings, photographs, mosaics, plans, reports, recommendations, estimates, documents and all other data compiled by or received by the Contractor under this Contract shall be the property of UNICEF, shall be treated as confidential and shall be delivered only to the UN authorized officials on completion of work under this Contract.

(b) The Contractor may not communicate any time to any other person, Government or authority external to UNICEF, any information known to it by reason of its association with UNICEF which has not been made public except with the authorization of the UNICEF; nor shall the Contractor at any time use such information to private advantage. These obligations do not lapse upon termination of this Contract with UNICEF.

15. FORCE MAJEURE; OTHER CHANGES IN CONDITIONS

(a) In the event of and as soon as possible after the occurrence of any cause constituting force majeure, the Contractor shall give notice and full particulars in writing to UNICEF of such occurrence or change if the Contractor is thereby rendered unable, wholly or in part, to perform its obligations and meet its responsibilities under this Contract. The Contractor shall also notify UNICEF of any other changes in conditions or the occurrence of any event which interferes or threatens to interfere with its performance of the Contract. On receipt of the notice required under this Article, UNICEF shall take such action as, in its sole discretion, it considers to be appropriate or necessary in the circumstances, including the granting to the Contractor of a reasonable extension of time in which to perform its obligations under the Contract.

(b) If the Contractor is rendered permanently unable, wholly, or in part, by reason of force majeure to perform its obligations and meet its responsibilities under this Contract, UNICEF shall have the right to suspend or terminate this Contract on the same terms and conditions as are provided for in Article 14, “Termination”, except that the period of notice shall be seven (7) days instead of thirty (30) days.

(c) Force majeure as used in this Article means acts of God, war (whether declared or not), invasion, revolution, insurrection or other acts of a similar nature or force.

16. TERMINATION

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If the Contractor fails to deliver any or all of the deliverables within the time period(s) specified in the contract, or fails to perform any of the terms, conditions, or obligations of the contract, or should the Contractor be adjudged bankrupt, or be liquidated or become insolvent, or should the contractor make an assignment for the benefit of its creditors, or should a Receiver be appointed on account of the insolvency of the contractor, UNICEF may, without prejudice to any other right or remedy it may have under the terms of these conditions, terminate the Contract, forthwith, in whole or in part, upon thirty (30) days notice to the Contractor.

UNICEF reserves the right to terminate without cause this Contract at any time upon thirty (30) days prior written notice to the Contractor, in which case UNICEF shall reimburse the Contractor for all reasonable costs incurred by the Contractor prior to receipt of the notice of termination.

In the event of any termination no payment shall be due from UNICEF to the Contractor except for work and services satisfactorily performed in conformity with the express terms of this contract.

Upon the giving of such notice, the Contractor shall have no claim for any further payment, but shall remain liable to UNICEF for reasonable loss or damage which may be suffered by UNICEF for reason of the default. The Contractor shall not be liable for any loss or damage if the failure to perform the contract arises out of force majeure.

Upon termination of the contract, UNICEF may require the contractor to deliver any finished work which has not been delivered and accepted, prior to such termination and any materials or work-in-process related specifically to this contract. Subject to the deduction of any claim UNICEF may have arising out of this contract or termination, UNICEF will pay the value of all such finished work delivered and accepted by UNICEF.

The initiation of arbitral proceedings in accordance with Article 22 “Settlement of Disputes” below shall not be deemed a termination of this Contract.

17. SUB-CONTRACTING

In the event the Contractor requires the services of subcontractors, the Contractor shall obtain the prior written approval and clearance of UNICEF for all sub-contractors. The approval of UNICEF of a sub-contractor shall not relieve the Contractor of any of its obligations under this Contract. The terms of any sub-contract shall be subject to and in conformity with the provisions of this Contract.

18. ASSIGNMENT AND INSOLVENCY

1. The Contractor shall not, except after obtaining the written consent of UNICEF, assign, transfer, pledge or make other dispositions of the Contract, or any part thereof, of the Contractor's rights or obligations under the Contract.

2. Should the Contractor become insolvent or should control of the Contractor change by virtue of insolvency, UNICEF may, without prejudice to any other rights or remedies, terminate the Contract by giving the Contractor written notice of termination.

19. USE OF UNITED NATIONS AND UNICEF NAME AND EMBLEM

The Contractor shall not use the name, emblem or official seal of the United Nations or UNICEF or any abbreviation of these names for any purpose.

20. OFFICIALS NOT TO BENEFIT

The Contractor warrants that no official of UNICEF or the United Nations has received or will be offered by the Contractor any direct or indirect benefit arising from this Contract or the award thereof. The Contractor agrees that breach of this provision is a breach of an essential term of the Contract.

21. PROHIBITION ON ADVERTISING

The Contractor shall not advertise or otherwise make public that the Vendor is furnishing goods or services to UNICEF without specific permission of UNICEF.

22. SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES

Amicable Settlement

The Parties shall use their best efforts to settle amicably any dispute, controversy or claim arising out of, or relating to this Contract or the breach, termination or invalidity thereof. Where the parties wish to seek such an amicable settlement through conciliation, the conciliation shall take place in accordance with the UNCITRAL Conciliation Rules then obtaining, or according to such other procedure as may be agreed between the parties.

Arbitration

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Any dispute, controversy or claim between the Parties arising out of this Contract or the breach, termination or invalidity thereof, unless settled amicably under the preceding paragraph of this Article within sixty (60) days after receipt by one Party or the other Party’s request for such amicable settlement, shall be referred by either Party to arbitration in accordance with the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules then obtaining. The arbitral tribunal shall have no authority to award punitive damages. In addition, the arbitral tribunal shall have no authority to award interest in excess of six percent (6%) and any such interest shall be simple interest only. The Parties shall be bound by any arbitration award rendered as a result of such arbitration as the final adjudication of any such controversy, claim or dispute.

23. PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES

The privileges and immunities of the UN, including its subsidiary organs, are not waived.

24. CHILD LABOUR

UNICEF fully subscribes to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and draws the attention of potential suppliers to Article 32 of the Convention which inter alia requires that a child shall be protected from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child's education, or to be harmful to the child's health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development.

25. ANTI-PERSONNEL MINES

UNICEF supports an international ban on the manufacture of anti-personnel mines. Anti-personnel mines have killed and maimed thousands of people, of whom a large proportion are children and women. Anti-personnel mines present a serious obstacle to the return of populations displaced from their residences by fighting around their villages and homes. UNICEF has, therefore, decided not to purchase products from companies that sell or manufacture anti-personnel mines or their components.

26. AUTHORITY TO MODIFY

No modification or change in this Contract, no waiver of any of its provisions or any additional contractual relationship of any kind with the Contractor shall be valid and enforceable against UNICEF unless provided by an amendment to this Contract signed by the authorized official of UNICEF.

27. REPLACEMENT OF PERSONNEL

UNICEF reserves the right to request the Contractor to replace the assigned personnel if they are not performing to a level that UNICEF considers satisfactory. After written notification, the Contractor will provide curriculum vitae of appropriate candidates within three (3) working days for UNICEF review and approval. The Contractor must replace the unsatisfactory personnel within seven (7) working days of UNICEF’s selection.

If one or more key personnel become unavailable, for any reason, for work under the contract, the Contractor shall (i) notify the project authority at least fourteen (14) days in advance, and (ii) obtain the project authority’s approval prior to making any substitution of key personnel. Key personnel are designated as follows:

(a) Personnel identified in the proposal as key individuals (as a minimum, partners, managers, senior auditors) to be assigned for participation in the performance of the contract.

(b) Personnel whose resumes were submitted with the proposal; and

(c) Individuals who are designated as key personnel by agreement of the Contractor and UNICEF during negotiations.

In notifying the project authority, the Contractor shall provide an explanation of circumstances necessitating the proposed replacement(s) and submit justification and qualification of replacement personnel in sufficient detail to permit evaluation of the impact on the engagement.

Acceptance of a replacement person by the project authority shall not relieve the Contractor from responsibility for failure to meet the requirements of the contract.

All the other terms and conditions are hereby accepted. The agency will conform to the requirements as listed out by UNICEF.

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SPECIFIC TERMS AND CONDITIONS

1.0. Unethical Behaviour

1.1 UNICEF strictly enforces a policy of zero tolerance concerning unethical, unprofessional or fraudulent acts of UNICEF bidders. Accordingly, any registered bidder that is found to have undertaken unethical, unprofessional or fraudulent activities will be suspended or forbidden from continuing business relations with UNICEF.

2.0 Corrupt and Fraudulent Practices

2.1 UNICEF requires that all bidders associated with this Invitation to Bid / Request for Proposal observe the highest standard of ethics during procurement and execution of the work. In pursuance of this policy UNICEF

(a) Defines for the purpose of this provision the terms set forth as follows:

(i) Corrupt practice means the offering, giving, receiving or soliciting of anything of value to influence the action of a public official in the procurement process or in the execution of a contract, and

(ii) Fraudulent practice means a misrepresentation of facts in order to influence a procurement process or the execution of a contract to the detriment of the client, and includes collusive practice among bidders (prior to or after bid submission) designed to establish bid prices at artificial non-competitive levels and to deprive the client of the benefits of free and open competition; (b) Will reject a proposal for award if it determines that the selected supplier / contractor have engaged in any corrupt or fraudulent practices in competing for the contract in question;

(c) Will declare a bidder ineligible, either indefinitely or for a stated period of time, to be awarded a UNICEF-financed contract if at any time it determines that it has engaged in any corrupt or fraudulent practices in competing for, or in executing a UNICEF-financed contract.

3.0 Guidelines on gifts and hospitality

3.1 Bidders shall not offer gifts or hospitality to UNICEF staff members. Recreational trips to sporting or cultural events, theme parks or offers of holidays, transportation, or invitations to extravagant lunches or dinners are also prohibited.

4.0 Conflict of Interest

(a) Defines for the purpose of this provision the terms set forth as follows

(i) Conflicts of interest can be defined as any situation in which the bidder’s shareholders or its employees or its consultants are in a position to exploit a professional or official capacity in some way for their personal or corporate benefit or in the outcome of this bid.

(ii) An organizational conflict of interest, or OCI, may exist in the same way as described above, in the realm of the bidder providing services to Unicef or its Government partner, where a bidder provides two types of services to Unicef or its Government partner that have conflicting interest or appear objectionable.

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(b) Will reject a proposal for award if it determines that the selected supplier / contractor have “Conflicts of interest” in competing for the contract in question;

(c) Will declare a bidder ineligible, either indefinitely or for a stated period of time, to be awarded a UNICEF-financed contract if at any time it determines that the bidder has not declared while bidding for the contract, its actual or potential “Conflict of Interest”, in competing for or in executing a UNICEF-financed contract.

5.0 Disclosure of Conflict of Interest

(a) Bidders need to disclose in their bids any actual or potential conflict of interest, whether organizational or individual or economic interest or family ties, that exists or may arise in competing for or in executing a UNICEF-financed contract.

(b) Specifically, bidders need to disclose, the name of the shareholders or employees or consultants who are existing staff members of any United Nations Organizations.

(c) UNICEF will review and evaluate the disclosure. UNICEF reserves the right to invalidate any Proposal received from a Bidder or award the contract who, in the opinion of UNICEF, have “Conflicts of Interest” with the award of the contract, which is detrimental to the interest of UNICEF or not in line with its ethics policy.

6.0 Late Delivery

Without limiting any other rights or obligations of the parties hereunder, if the Contractor will be unable to deliver the services by the delivery date stipulated in the Contract, the Contractor shall (i) immediately consult with UNICEF to determine the most expeditious means for delivering the services and (ii) use an expedited means of delivery, at the Contractor's cost, if reasonably so requested by UNICEF.

7.0 Rights of UNICEF

In case of failure by the Contractor to perform under the terms and conditions of this Contract, UNICEF may, after giving the Contractor reasonable notice to perform and without prejudice to any other rights or remedies, exercise one or more of the following rights:

(a) Procure all or part of the services from other sources, in which event UNICEF may hold the Contractor responsible for any excess cost occasioned thereby. In exercising such rights UNICEF shall mitigate its damages in good faith;

(b) Refuse to accept delivery of all or part of the services;

(c) Terminate the Contract without any liability for termination charges or any other liability of any kind of UNICEF;

(d) for late delivery of services or for services which do not meet UNICEF’s terms of reference/statement of work and are therefore rejected by UNICEF, claim liquidated damages from the Contractor and deducts 0.5% of the value of the services pursuant to a Contract per additional day of delay, up to a maximum of 10% of the value of the Contract. The payment or deduction of such liquidated damages shall not relieve the Contractor from any of its other obligations or liabilities pursuant to this Contract.

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ANNEX-ADECLARATION FORM

To be attached with both the technical and financial proposalsTo be submitted in the letter head of the company/firm submitting the proposal

[Location, Date]To: UNICEF,

We offer to provide the consulting services for [Insert name of the assignment] in accordance with the terms of reference, the general and specific terms and conditions specified in your Request for Proposal No. [Insert number] dated [Insert date] and our technical and financial proposals submitted to you separately under a sealed envelope.

We understand that any contract resulting from this bid will contain the terms of reference, the general and specific terms and conditions specified in the request for proposal and is non-negotiable.

We herewith confirm that all the information and statements made in the technical and financial proposal are true and accept that any misinterpretation contained in it may lead to our disqualification. Our technical and financial proposal is binding upon us and subject to the modifications resulting from contract negotiations. Our technical and financial proposal is valid for a period of 90 days from the bid opening date.

We undertake, if our Proposal is accepted, to initiate the consulting services related to the assignment within [***] days/week of signing of the contract.

We understand you are not bound to accept any Proposal you receive.Name of authorized representative:

Title:

Signature:

Date:

Organization Name:

Postal Address:

Telephone/Mobile No.:

Fax No.: Email Address:

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ANNEX-BTECHNICAL PROPOSAL - CONTENT & FORMAT

The Technical Proposal The technical proposal of the bidders should contain the following minimum information. The Technical proposal comprises of four (4) key components background, technical approach, methodology and business plan /work plan and economic capacity. Bidders are urged to present their proposals using the suggested subtitles. UNICEF welcomes new ideas and innovative approaches therefore Bidders are also free to provide, any other information that they deem fit and relevant in support of their bid or solution.

1. Background

1.1 Contractor’s company/firmIn this section the contractor should highlight about their company, how it is organised (organisation structure), its capability and a brief about its key personnel.

1.2 Contractor’s Experiencea) In this section, list maximum 10 names of the clients for whom the contractor has undertaken similar assignments along with the name of the contact person and contact details of its clients.

b) Out of the above list, provide information of 3-5 assignments for which your company and your company’s personnel were legally contracted as a corporate entity or as one of the major companies within an association, for carrying out consulting services similar to the ones requested under this assignment. You can either use the format specified in Annex-C or provide all the information in your own format.

2. Description of the Approach, Methodology and Work Plan

2.1 Technical Approach and Methodology. In this chapter you should explain your understanding of the objectives of the assignment, approach to the services, methodology for carrying out the activities and obtaining the expected output, and the degree of detail of such output. You should highlight the problems being addressed and their importance, and explain the technical approach you would adopt to address them. You should also explain the methodologies you propose to adopt and highlight the compatibility of those methodologies with the proposed approach.

2.2 Quality Assurance.

The proposal should include the bidder’s plan or program for the systematic monitoring and evaluation of the various aspects of the project to ensure that standards of quality are being met.

3. Business Plan or Work plan

3.1 Business Plan or Work plan

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In this chapter the bidder produce a comprehensive Business Plan /Work plan to deliver the overall requirement (ToR). This will include the main activities of the assignment, their content and duration, phasing and interrelations, milestones, key performance indicators (including interim approvals by the Client), and a list of deliverables (reports, drawings, activities) with the estimated delivery dates. The proposed business plan or work plan should be consistent with the technical approach and methodology, showing understanding of the ToR. This should also be inclusive of the level of effort for each team member and explicitly lay out staff input throughout various stages/components.

The plan MUST identify and present specific steps, components activities in a chronological manner ensuring that quantity is presented clearly, and MUST have attached, a flow chart/ Critical Path Analysis/, Activity Plans etc.

3.2 Organization and staffing of the team for this assignment. In this chapter you should propose the structure and composition of your team which will be deployed for this assignment. You should list the main disciplines of the assignment, the key expert responsible and proposed technical and support staff along with their curriculum vitae (CVs). It is desirable that the majority of the key professional staff are permanent employees of the bidder or have an extended and stable working relationship with the bidder.

Team composition and tasks assigned. Please provide the details as per the following:Name of Expert

Area of expertise/ Qualification

Position Assigned

No. of days of Input

Firm Task Assigned

4. Economic and Financial Capacity Bidders must also provide proof of their economic and financial capacity by enclosing with their bid the one or more of the following documents:-

i) Appropriate statements from banks; ii) Most recent audited financial statement; iii) Balance sheets or extracts from balance sheets for at least the last two years for which

accounts have been closed;iv) A statement of overall turnover concerning the services covered by the contract during

the last three financial years.

The Technical Proposal should not contain any price / cost information

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ANNEX-C CONTRACTOR’S EXPERIENCE – FORMAT

Assignment name: Country:Location within country:

Name of Client: Address:

Duration of assignment (months):Start date (month/year):Completion date (month/year):

Total No of staff-months of the assignment:

Approx. value of the contract (in current US$): Approx. value of the services provided by your firm under the contract (in current US$):

Name of associated Contracters, if any: No of professional staff-months provided by associated Contractors:

Name of associated Contractors, if any: Name of senior professional staff of your firm involved and functions performed (indicate most significant profiles such as Project Director/Coordinator, Team Leader etc):

Narrative description of Project:

Description of actual services provided by your staff within the assignment:

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ANNEX-DFINANCIAL PROPOSAL - SUMMARY AND BREAKDOWN OF COSTS

(1) Business Plan/Work Plan, (2) Professional Fees & (3) Expenses

For ease of evaluation, the financial proposal should contain three components as follows

Section 1: Business Plan/Work Plan,Bidders must submit the Business Plan/Work Plan that was produced in the Technical Proposal, this time they must indicate the cost of the various components of the plan.

Section 2: Professional FeesName Description of

Role/FunctionNumber of Person Days

Suggested Fee Rate

Amount(in ETB/USD)

Total Professional Fees in ETB/USD

Section 3: Out of Pocket ExpensesItems No. Unit Rate Amount

Local/Other Travel Costs (specify)

Accommodation and Subsistence per diemPerson / days and cities to be specified (specify)

Communication Including Telephones And Postage

Documentation And Reporting including computing expenses

Any Other Cost (Specify)

Total Out of Pocket Expenses in ETB/USD

Total Proposed Cost: ETB/USD._________________________________________________

The bidders are required to cost for all activities/items proposed in the technical proposal. The above is an indicative list of cost items for out of pocket expenses. Bidders are requested to add or delete budget line items of out of pocket expenses depending on the requirements of the technical proposal.

The currency of the proposal for local bidders shall be in BIRR and for international bidder will be in US$. 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 price/rates quoted must exclusive of all taxes as UNICEF is a tax exempt organization.

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ANNEX-E

EVALUATION CRITERIAOf

TECHNICAL PROPOSAL

CATEGORY MAX.

POINTSMIN.

POINTS1. OVERALL RESPONSE*Understanding of, and responsiveness to, UNICEF Ethiopia Office requirements;*Understanding of scope, objectives and completeness of response;*Overall concord between UNICEF requirements and the proposal.

(7) (4)

2. METHODOLOGY *Quality of the proposed approach and methodology;*Quality of proposed implementation plan, i.e how the bidder will undertake each task, and time-schedules; *Risk assessment - recognition of the risks/peripheral problems and methods to prevent and manage risks/peripheral problems.

(45) (33)

3. PROPOSED TEAM and ORGANISATIONAL CAPACITY* Team leader: Relevant experience, qualifications, and position with firm;* Team members - Relevant experience, skills & competencies; * Organization of the team and roles & responsibilities;* Professional expertise, knowledge and experience with similar projects, contracts, clients and consulting assignments;

(28) (21)

TOTAL MARKS FOR TECHNICAL COMPONENT 80 (1) (59)5. FINANCIAL PROPOSAL - PRICEFull points are allocated to the lowest priced proposal. The financial scores of the other proposals will be in inverse proportion to the lowest price. 20 (2) N/A

TOTAL MARKS 100

1 For this RFP, the Technical Proposal has a total weighting of [80%]. Bidders must score a minimum of 59 points to be considered technically compliant and in order for the Financial Proposals to be opened2 For this RFP, the Financial Proposal has a total weighting of [20%].

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ANNEX-F

CHECK LIST

Checklist for submission of proposals

Bid form filled in and signed

Envelope for technical proposalo Technical proposalo Technical proposal does not contain priceso Envelope is sealedo Envelope is marked as follows:

Name of company, RFP number - technical proposal

Envelope for price proposalo Price proposalo Envelope is sealedo Envelope is marked as follows:

Name of company, RFP number - price proposal

1 outer enveloped o Containing bid form, envelope for technical proposal, and envelope for price proposalo Envelope is sealedo Envelope is marked as follows

Name of companyRFP numberUNICEF XXXAddress

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ANNEX-G

Background

The IN-SCT programme in SNNPR was launched in 2015 under the umbrella of the PSNP 4. The PSNP and the IN-SCT are aiming to support the transition from a series of timebound programs to the development of an efficient and effective system. It will do so by providing its clients with an integrated package of services which include transfers, access to livelihood interventions and access to health and nutrition services.

The IN-SCT programme includes many new innovations, but some key social development provisions are: PSNP client households that have able-bodied adult labor engage in public works and receive transfers for 6

months of the year. Vulnerable household members such as the pregnant and lactating women on the other hand receive direct support and are temporary exempt from public work. Households without labor capacity, permanent direct support clients, receive 12 months of unconditional transfers and are linked with social services. In addition, the program provides technical assistance and training in livelihood activities to clients.

The IN-SCT also facilitates linkages with health and nutrition services. The program promotes health-seeking behavior and good caring practices for children, and aims to increase the nutritional impact of participating in the programme. For example, both male and female public work clients are expected to participate in social behavior change communication (SBCC) sessions during the six months public works period. Pregnant and lactating women (PLW) transition from Public Works to temporary direct support from the first antenatal care visit until one year postpartum. This decreases the public works burden on women during pregnancy, encourage her to seek available health services as early as possible, and allow her to breastfeed during an entire year. Caretakers of malnourished children seeking adequate health services also transition to temporary direct support.

“Linkages to Social Services” is a new sub-component, introduced in recognition of the importance of coordinating a number of interventions in order to ensure rapid progress in reducing maternal mortality and improving nutrition. In return for being exempt of public works, the temporary direct support clients will be encouraged to take up co-responsibilities and access basic health services available under the Health Extension Program (HEP). The Programme also anticipates the introduction of co-responsibilities for permanent Direct Support Clients, which might go beyond the delivery of health care services - and includes education of children. The key target groups for this sub-component are pregnant women; lactating mothers with a child under one and caretakers of children under five identified as suffering from moderate or severe malnutrition. The core elements of this sub-component include the identification of eligible clients, the referral of these clients to appropriate services, and the monitoring and follow-up of the use of these services.

The programme also intensifies it support for the most vulnerable. Whereas public work clients and temporary direct support clients receive 6 months of support, permanent direct support clients (which are more vulnerable and have no able bodied adult in the household) now receive twelve months of support. In addition, the case management of the permanent Direct Support Clients is covered gradually by Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MOLSA) agencies.

The PSNP4 Program Implementation Manual (PIM) developed only a limited number of tools which would support this transition towards linkages with social services and refers to the pilot for testing out some additional tools. As a result, MOLSA, with support of UNICEF and Irish Aid, launched the “Integrated Nutrition and Social Cash Transfer Pilot” (IN-SCT) which is meant to promote these linkages and test out some

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relevant tools which can later be used in other PSNP woredas. This pilot programme is implemented under the umbrella of the PSNP 4, and was launched in 4 woredas in Oromyia and SNNPR. It aims thus to: To test how the social workers and community structures (such as the community based social protection

committees) can support PSNP’s efforts to link temporary DS clients with the health and nutrition services during and beyond the public work season and,

To develop and test a concept for the integration of social cash transfers plus basic social services to be accessed by extremely poor and at the same time labor constrained households that are permanent Direct Support Clients of the PSNP4,

To start the process of transferring the responsibility for the permanent DS component of the PSNP from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MoARD) to the MoLSA.

Although the IN-SCT operates under the umbrella of the PSNP4, some implementation modalities are different. For example, the IN-SCT reduces some of the pressure on the HEW by introducing the social worker as an important facilitator to promote health and nutrition seeking behavior of clients, follow up on compliance with co-responsibilities and ensure reporting through a MIS. In concordance with the PSNP4 design, DS clients are linked with health and nutrition services through co-responsibilities during the six month period (the public work season), but the IN-SCT further promotes the co-responsibilities beyond the public work season. SW and community (through CCC) play a crucial role in promoting compliances, and work closely with HEW. Under the IN-SCT, all members of permanent DS households are considered for linkages with the health, nutrition and education services. It is also expected that the development of the MIS will be very helpful to assess how the compliance with co-responsibilities can easily be monitored. All these IN-SCT innovations are meant to inform the broader PSNP for further expansion.

In conjunction with the above, additional interventions are carried out in SNNPR with co-funding of UNICEF and Irish Aid which will offer a multisectoral package of nutrition interventions in two PSNP Woredas in SNNPR (namely Halaba Special Woreda and Shashago Woreda, Hadiya Zone). With support of the NGO CONCERN, the IN-SCT pilot in SNNP further reinforces the capacities to implement the nutrition sensitive interventions under PSNP for public work, temporary and permanent direct support clients and their communities. CONCERN will therefore: promote the implementation of the SBCC and the use of PSNP gatherings for transferring nutrition

messages to public work and direct support clients; support the health sector’s efforts of improving quality of health services offered, and ensure proper

recording of utilization of health services; support other multisectoral interventions of the National Nutrition Program , including those with schools

and agriculture (eg. support the capacities and interventions of the farmer training centers to promote improved farmer technics for nutrition, school gardens and home gardens and the rehabilitation of water points. Increased nutrition and health awareness and optimal nutrition practices among school going adolescents will be achieved by promoting capacities to create schools health and nutrition clubs, school garden plot for nutrition demonstration;

The promoting of nutrition sensitive public works to support the above interventions. Further develop capacities for nutrition and multi-sectoral linkages by training grassroots workers including

the health extension worker, development agents, social workers, community workers and relevant PSNP process owners.

To assess the impact of the pilot interventions in SNNPR, a mixed method impact evaluation is being carried out by IFPRI in partnership with IDS and local partners. The impact evaluation will review various aspects of the pilot project:

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The impacts of the IN-SCT pilot on the clients and the communities in which they live. This relates to

stunting of children, access to health and nutrition services by pregnant women, adolescents and children 3 and participation of caretakers in community conversation sessions on health, nutrition, sanitation and child protection.

The operational linkages and coordination effectiveness for the system approach of the pilot (the extent to which the pilot operates in accordance with its design) including recording its capital and recurrent costs at kebele, woreda and regional levels.

The impacts of the soft conditionalities related to nutrition The effectiveness with which the pilot reaches the target group and delivers the expected social outcomes in

nutrition, health, education and child protection. To do so, the evaluation will employ several information collection methods: i) a quantitative household survey for welfare impact, soft conditionalities impact and operational performance, and ii) a quantitative community survey (to understand issues such as supply side constraints); as well as iii) qualitative focus group discussions with clients, members of the community, project managers and others.

3 Including growth monitoring and promotion sessions, attendance to at least 4 ante-natal care visit; deworming of adolescent girls and children’,

supplementation of children with vitamin A

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Justification

In addition to the above mentioned impact evaluation, UNICEF is also committed to seek in-depth feedback from the clients of the IN-SCT through an in-depth qualitative beneficiary assessment. This operational qualitative research will allow to gain the views and feedback of the clients regarding the IN-SCT pilot interventions, which should ultimately lead to improved pilot project implementation (if changes deem required following the research outputs).

This qualitative review will assess the client’s perception of the IN-SCT, notably what aspects of the pilot are most relevant to them and how it has affected their lives. If needed, the output of this study might be used to re-orient some of the pilot’s interventions. Because the objective of this beneficiary assessment is to understand the clients’ perspective (e.g. the perceived value of the activities carried out under the IN-SCT), this study will thus complement the quantitative and qualitative impact evaluation. For the purpose of this research UNICEF plans to recruit an international consultancy firm that will work closely with a local partner to fulfil the tasks described below.

Objectives of the beneficiary assessment

a) The main objective The main objective of this beneficiary assessment (BA) is to evaluate the value of the IN-SCT as perceived by project’s clients and the service providers. This includes: obtain feedback from the clients, service providers and their communities of the interventions as carried

out under the IN-SCT, Identify possible constraints which might be faced by the clients and service providers related to the

implementation of the co-responsibilities (or soft conditionalities for direct support clients) and the participation in the monthly behavior change communication sessions (for PW clients) .

Potentially uncover new information that would otherwise not come to light. By gaining the views and feedback of the clients regarding the IN-SCT pilot interventions, some implementation aspects of the IN-SCT can potentially be improved.

b) Specifically, the operational research will:

b.1. Assess client’s perception related to : The potential value of the support by the community based social protection committees and the social

workers to the vulnerable clients; the client’s perception of the introduction of co-responsibilities related to nutrition, health, education,

and child protection measures (for direct support clients) and the requirement of participation in SBCC (for PW clients) – how it has influenced their lives? Does this bring additional value or does it rather induce additional burden on the clients?

Considering that the poor and vulnerable are now also linked to social services, it is also important to assess how the clients perceive these services: were the services available to them? Is the quality of the services acceptable? Have they been treated well while accessing these services?

Overall, the qualitative research will also allow to understand the perceptions related to their rights and responsibilities as clients (with a focus on permanent direct support clients and temporary direct support clients)?

And finally, it will allow to understand how the clients have perceived the other multisectoral nutrition interventions (such as support for improved agricultural techniques, school health and nutrition).

b.2. Assess service provider’s perception related to :

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How the nutrition and gender, social development provisions have influenced the day-to-day work of

the services providers (including the agricultural development agent (DA), health extension worker (HEW) and School teacher);

How the multisectoral collaboration established within the context of this pilot is perceived by the services provider - including the input he/she receives from the social worker and the Community Based Social Protection Committee (CBSPC) to implement the interventions of the IN-SCT under PNSP4;

How do the members of the Community Based Social Protection Committee perceive their own input in the IN-SCT as well as their collaboration with the social worker;

Methodology

The following key methodological principles will be applied

a) Interview targets will be

IN-SCT clients: o Male and female members of permanent direct support clients households;o Temporary direct support clients (pregnant women, lactating women and caretakers of

malnourished children);o In addition, in each kebele, at least one focus group will be organized with public work clients.

Service providers: o In each kebele, at least one health extension worker, one agricultural development agent and one

school teacher will be interviewed; o In addition, in each kebele, at least one focus group will be organized with members of community

based social protection committees (who provide voluntary social services to the poor and link them with social services).

b) For discussions with the clients, the consultancy firm will rely primarily on two data collection techniques: conversational interviews and focus group discussions.

The conversational interviews with IN-SCT clients should be structured around a number of topics related to ongoing interventions and can be conducted one-to-one or in groups, - although it is anticipated that a number of individual interviews should be carried out with women and the permanent direct support clients in order to allow for the free expression of issues by these most vulnerable clients.

Focus Group Discussions will be used to interview target communities in groups which should not exceed more than 10 people

c) For discussions with service providers, including members of the Community Care Coalition (CCC), The consultancy firm will primarily rely on guided conversational interviews with services providers

(including health extension workers (HEW), Development Agents (DA) and school teachers; The consultancy firm can rely on focus group discussions with members of the Community Care Coalitions

(CCC).

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d) Geographical focus

The interviews will be carried out in a number of kebeles in Shashego and in Halaba Special Woreda in SNNP region (the number of Kebeles will have to be defined by the company).

e) Themes to be covered will be:

For clients o General perception of PSNP and IN-SCT by the clients and how it influences their life;o How do clients perceive the function and role of Community Based Social Protection Committees

and social workers; o Clients’ perception related to the co-responsibilities related to nutrition, health, education and child

protection for temporary and permanent direct support clients (eg implementation challenges from the point of view of the client; did it increase nutrition and health seeking behavior? Why (not)?)

o The nutrition social behaviour change education sessions for IN-SCT public work clients on health, nutrition, sanitation and child protection issues (child marriage, education, child labour) (demands on time of clients? Are messages clear? Have they changed behavior? How does it influence their day to day lives?)

o The perception of the services delivered by social worker, health extension worker, the school and the development agent (focus on quality and quality of services delivered, how the poor were treated etc)

o The perception of the clients related to their rights and responsibilities (did they understand the messages related to their rights and responsibilities? Do the clients feel that they are more empowered due to the information provided to them? If applicable: did they achieve more thanks to this increased information?)

For service providers : HEW, DA and school teacherso Do the nutrition sensitive interventions respond to a need within their community (SBCC for public

work clients and co-responsabilities for direct support clients)? o Do the additional intervention address nutrition in a meaningful and efficient way?o Are these nutrition sensitive interventions considered as positive or negative aspect of their day to

day work? Any additional burden on their normal day to day workload (for planning, implementation, reporting)? Which activities do they still find difficult to implement?

o Was there an increase in demand of services by the PSNP/IN-SCT clients? Did this create stress on the workload for the service provider? If so, what are possible solutions?

o How is the support of the social worker perceived to carry out these interventions perceived? Do they think they would have the same results without the support of the social worker? And what about the support of the community based social protection committee?

o Do they feel they are adequately trained to carry out these additional tasks? o Do they receive the necessary support to carry out these tasks by the woreda offices (for HEW, DA

and school teachers) o Do the different sectors work well together? (eg are the multisectoral linkages established under this

pilot effective)?

For members of the CCCo How do the members of the CCC perceive their own contribution to the program? o Is it easily to combine with other tasks in their lives?

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o Do they feel they helped the poor to overcome some barriers in accessing health, education and

social protection services? o What was the most successful approach? What were the most important challenges?o Do they feel that the Social worker was of much added value? o Did they receive the correct training to carry out these tasks? o Was it difficult to engage with service providers from different sectors?

f) Local partnership

The consultancy firm is expected to work with a local partner to fulfill the field interviews and carry out the data collection and the translation of the tools and the interviews. Such partners could be e.g. local institution such as the University of Hwassa, or other research institutions or individual researchers, who will be involved in the data collection and interview process and who know the local language. (note: to allow for free conversations by the IN-SCT, it is important not to involve members of the local community, social workers or staff of CONCERN as translators) . The local partner will have to be contracted by the consultancy firm and will be trained and coordinated by

them.

g) Tool development and report writing Interview tools will be developed for each target group with input from the local partner and IN-SCT

stakeholders A separate draft and final report can be provided for the clients and another one for the service providers Draft versions of interview tools and reports will timely be shared with UNICEF for input – who will

collect comments and input from relevant stakeholders. UNICEF will provide a consolidated set of comments to the consultant.

Specific Tasks

The specific tasks to be performed include but are not limited to the following: Literature review on relevant documents necessary to understand the PSNP provisions, including Gender,

Social Development and Nutrition Sensitive provisions Review of specific IN-SCT documents (manuals, training tools, project documents…) Consultation with relevant IN-SCT stakeholders at federal, regional and local level to gather any relevant

missing information; Develop draft and final inception report which includes also the detailed information on methodology and

timing for the beneficiary assessment Identify and train local partner Develop draft and final conversational interview guides and focus group discussion guides Supervision implementation of field interviews in collaboration with the local partner Transcripts of interviews in English and carry out analysis Write the 2 draft reports including some key recommendations for IN-SCT pilot improvements Organize validation working at regional level with the presentation of the findings Write final reports (one for the clients, one for the service provider)

Draft versions of reports and interview tools will timely be shared with UNICEF for input – who will collect comments and input from relevant stakeholders. UNICEF will provide a consolidated set of comments to the consultancy firm.

Expected Deliverables

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The consultancy firm will present the following outputs: Inception report including but not limited to the following points: a detailed work plan, a timeline, a travel

plan and the finalized analytical framework and detailed methodology A detailed draft report containing an analysis of the field research, presenting the sampled locations and

the selection data on each criteria, the audience for the conversational interviews and the composition of the sample on each focus group. Each theme will be treated, presenting a consolidated data and eventual correlations and conclusions drawn and presented.

A transcript of conversational interviews and focus groups in English. Report of the validation workshop of the report with key stakeholders at regional level Final and validated reports and data Policy brief summarizing the findings of the comprehensive report (approximately 8 pages ) A power point presentation which resumes the key findings of the report (about 20 slides).

Reporting

The team of consultants will be responsible to carry out this research project under direct supervision of SPESI section in UNICEF Ethiopia and work in close collaboration with MoLSA and ALSA SNNP.

Payment schedule

20 % of total amount after submission of Inception report 20 % of total amount after submission of Draft report related to PSNP client perception 20 % of total amount after submission of Draft report related to service provider perception 40 % of total amount after submission of final and validated reports, policy brief and power point

presentation

Expected background and Experience

This work will be carried out by a team composed by at least one international consultant and at least two national consultants/researchers comprising of at least one anthropologists or sociologist and one social policy or social development expert with a strong track record in technical assistance in the field of social protection.

Expected skills and Professional Experience

The international consultant should have multidisciplinary backgrounds and preferably have a Ph.D. With a major in the field of social development, sociology, economics, policy analysis and related fields of study. In addition to this the consultant should have:

Master’s degree in social sciences, anthropology or relevant topic Applied Research experience on topics related to social protection, and social cash transfers Research experience in Ethiopia and work with institutions or individuals. Experience with qualitative reviews, preferably with beneficiary assessments or qualitative research

involving focus group discussions and guided interviews Strong analytical skills and sociological focus; knowledge, understanding and practical implementation

of qualitative survey methods Highly developed communication skills, including the preparation of high quality reports; Excellent English writing and presentation skills

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The national consultants/researchers should have a master’s degree in Anthropology, Sociology, Social Policy, Economics, social work or other relevant disciplines. In addition to this the consultants should have:

Proven experience in Social Protection in Ethiopia with at least 3 years of experience at the national level on social protection, social welfare development of safety nets related programme implementation.

Experience in qualitative research methodologies and interview conducting in rural settings Knowledge of the local languages (Halabinha and Hadya) Good analytical, negotiating, communication and advocacy skills. Good writing and editing skills Fluent in English

Procedures and Logistics

The consulting firm will not be provided with lodging and/or meals or DSA during any field visits for the research.

The consulting firm will not be provided with office space by UNICEF. The firm should be working from their own office facility in Addis Ababa and travel whenever needed for data collection using the company’s own arrangement.

The consulting firm should provide his/her own materials, i.e. computer, required software packages, get the relevant data for the analysis, office supplies, etc.

The consulting firm is not authorized to have access to UNICEF transport. Plan for schedule of payment. Note that final payment to a consultancy firm is dependent on the

completion of deliverables.

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