The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) invites interested / efficient evaluation partner(s) and consultants to indicate interest by submitting RFP documents for the following works:
The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) is a Swiss-based foundation launched at the UN in 2002 to tackle the human suffering caused by malnutrition. Working with both governments and businesses, we aim to transform food systems so that they deliver more nutritious food for all people.
Applications are invited for:
Title: Request for Proposal (RFP) for Evaluation Partner – Transforming Food Systems to improve Diet Quality and Resilience for the most Vulnerable
Preamble
GAIN seeks to transform food systems leading to lasting changes that favour improved diet quality and ultimately, nutrition outcomes. With support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands (MoFA), GAIN is embarking on a new round of programming (5-year grant) being undertaken in up to 6 countries (Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Mozambique, Benin, Uganda). The approach will build on the previous work of GAIN and others and varies in each country context. In general, activities can be classified into 4 categories:
- Strengthening nutritious food value chains from production to consumption.
- Prioritize, empower, protect those in situations of vulnerability.
- Generate and use evidence for programme improvement, to inform policy making, and to influence the approaches and priorities of others.
- Collaborate, share, disseminate, learn, and strengthen impact potential.
The portfolio of work is under development and the detailed theories of change and workplans will be finalized early to mid-2022.
Objectives
With this RFP GAIN seeks an evaluation partner who will work closely with GAIN’s Knowledge Leadership team to conceptualize and eventually commission process and impact evaluations in up to 6 focus countries. We envision this role as thought partner, drawing on evidence and experience, and building on the evaluation approaches that have been utilized by GAIN previously to assess progress and impact of nutritious value chain projects.
The specific objectives to be addressed by this RFP are as follows:
- Design a proposed approach to assessing progress and impact of the programme in each of 4 (and up to 6) focus countries.
- Identify a local research / academic institution in each of the focus countries to conduct the evaluations as fullintellectual partners (including local co-PI) and collaborate with these institutions throughout the evaluation lifetime.
- Identify opportunities for and lead in collaboration with GAIN peer-reviewed papers about evaluation frameworks, approaches, methods, and similar.
Scope of Work
The successful applicant shall provide the following services:
- Review the theories of change underlying the 4 (and potentially 2 additional) country programs, and based on these develop detailed impact pathways that can be used to guide the evaluations
- Support GAIN to ascertain evaluability of the programs in Kenya, Ethiopia, Mozambique, and Nigeria by the end of 2022 (and potentially up to 2 additional countries by mid-2023)
- Based on the impact pathway and evaluability assessment, develop an initial overview of potential evaluation approaches for each of the country programs, including a detailed overview of how they will work with GAIN, and engage with local academic/ research institutions as full evaluation partners (i.e., local co-PI), including specific details of roles and responsibilities for all stages of evaluations from design through reporting and publications
- Identify a local evaluation partner in each country context and support (together with GAIN) that partner to obtain all relevant ethical approvals, access and data collection permissions as appropriate, e.g., government approvals.
- Support the local partner in the development of study protocols (including literature review, detailed methodology and justification, sampling plan (where applicable), data analysis plan, and data collection tools) for review and approval by GAIN
- Support or oversee (as agreed with GAIN) all aspects of primary data collection, quality assurance, and data entry, cleaning, management and analyses conducted by local implementing partners.
- For primary data collected, ensure that GAIN receive raw and clean datasets, accompanying codebooks, and syntax and output of all data analyses. If quantitative data are collected, data documentation must be provided using Nesstar2
- Work with local evaluation partners (aligned with pre-defined roles and responsibilities), draft full reports, including literature review, methods, data collection activities, results and conclusions/recommendations.
- Identify opportunities for and lead in collaboration with GAIN peer-reviewed papers about evaluation frameworks, approaches, methods, and similar.
Instruction for Expression of Interest
This RFP will be managed in a 2-stage process. This initial expression of interest must be based on the information available in this pre-RFP only and does not represent a commitment to submit a full proposal should the additional details modify the interest. For those selected to submit a full proposal, no funding will be made available from GAIN for this process. GAIN anticipates inviting 2-4 expressions of interest to submit a full proposal. The decision will be based on understanding of the task, viability and innovation of proposed approach, and composition of the team.
For the expression of interest, we request a response of no more than 2 pages containing at least the following information:
- Clear explanation of the bidder’s understanding of the role of the proposed evaluation partner
- Brief overview of proposed approach to meeting the 3 stated objectives
- Overview of approach to working in collaboration with GAIN
- One paragraph capacity statement outlines key proposed team members and overview of relevant experience
- One paragraph overview of anticipated costs (excluding field data collection and associated costs as discussed above)
Application Closing Date
5:00pm (EST), 20th April, 2022.
Submission of Documents
Expressions of Interest should be in English and submitted in electronic copy to the following e-mail address: [email protected] Please include EoI: Evaluation Partner in the subject line.
Note
Expression of Interest will not be reviewed or considered if:
- Received after the RFP deadline at the specified receiving office.
- Received by fax.
- Incomplete as per sections noted above.
- Not signed.
Click Here (PDF) for a detailed description of the document.