TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR A CONSULTANT (REQUEST FOR A QUOTATION)

Completing the National Commitments and Policy Instrument (NCPI) tool for authorities from the Government of South Africa-Part A, Interim NCPI.

I – Background

The 1 Political Declaration and the 1-6 UNAIDS strategy include some new indicators and policy questions to help in tracking issues on societal enablers and providing better information on the inequities around HIV. The 1 Political Declaration was built on four previous Political Declarations, namely: The 6 United Nations Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS: on the fast-track to accelerate the fight against HIV and to end the AIDS epidemic by 0, adopted at the United Nations General Assembly High-Level meeting on AIDS in June 6; the 1 Declaration of Commitment on HIV / AIDS; the 6 Political Declaration on HIV / AIDS and the 1 Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS. Member States unanimously adopted the 1 Declaration at the United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on HIV / AIDS in 1. The 1 Declaration reflected global consensus on a comprehensive framework to achieve Millennium Development Goal 6: Halting and beginning to reverse the HIV epidemic by 5. It recognised the need for multi-sectoral action on a range of fronts and addresses global, regional and country-level responses to prevent people from becoming newly infected with HIV, expand health-care access and mitigate the impact of the epidemic. The 6 Political Declaration recognised the urgent need to achieve universal access to HIV treatment; care and support. The 1 Political Declaration established targets to intensify the efforts to eliminate HIV and AIDS.

The 6 Political and Sustainable Development Goals focus on the next years, with a renewed focus on integrating the global HIV response into the broader development agenda. Although governments have adopted the declarations, the vision extends far beyond the government sector to private industry and labour groups, faith-based organisations, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and other civil society entities, including those representing people living with HIV.

Policy monitoring has been a component of global AIDS reporting since 3, and it has been implemented every two years, most recently in 2 through the full NCPI. The time frame of submitting the NCPI every two years reflects that changes to laws, policies and regulations are expected to occur slowly, and the need for more frequent monitoring may be limited. The NCPI is an integral component of the Global AIDS Monitoring (GAM) that aims to measure progress in developing and implementing policies, strategies and laws related to the HIV response by doing the following:

• Promoting consultation and dialogue between key stakeholders at the national level, especially government and civil society, to capture their perspectives on the AIDS response.
• Supporting countries in assessing the status of their HIV epidemic and response and identifying barriers, gaps and facilitators to strengthen the response.
• Collecting data on the policy and legal environment related to the AIDS response.

Based on extensive consultations, the NCPI questionnaire has been restructured and the questions revisited to reflect the global commitments in the 1 United Nations (UN) Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS: Ending Inequalities and Getting on Track to End AIDS by 0. The NCPI for 3 reporting is an interim questionnaire that consists of a subset of questions from Part A that refer to policies that are considered to change more rapidly. The wording of some of the questions has been further refined based on experiences in previous reporting rounds and to reflect developments in policy recommendations and available technologies.

NCPI Structure

The interim NCPI has one part, Part A, which is to be completed by national authorities / government involved in the national AIDS response. The questions in Part A are structured around the commitments in the 1 Political Declaration.

II – Scope of work

The measurement tool for the Indicator on Government HIV and AIDS Policies shall be the NCPI questionnaires completed. The methodology shall include desk review and key informant interviews. The National Commitment Policy Instrument questionnaire has one Part – to be administered to national authorities (government officials) involved in the national AIDS response. This consultant will specifically validate responses for questions in Part A, then contribute to the compilation of an NCPI narrative report, summarizing the responses under respective eight NCPI commitments, as follows:

• Combination prevention for all
• for HIV testing and treatment
• End paediatric AIDS and eliminate vertical transmission
• Gender equality and empowerment of women and girls
• Community leadership
• Realize human rights and eliminate stigma and discrimination
• Universal health coverage and integration
• Data, science and innovation

The importance of the NCPI lies in the process of data collection and data reconciliation between different stakeholders, detailed analysis of the responses, and its use in strengthening the national HIV response. The NCPI process provides a unique opportunity for various stakeholders to take stock of progress and discuss what still needs to be done to support an effective and efficient HIV response. When completed in a truly collaborative manner, inviting appropriate representation and respecting different views, the NCPI process can play an important role in strengthening in-country collaboration and increasing shared ownership of the HIV response.

It is important to analyse the data for each of the NCPI sections and include a write-up in the narrative section of the Country Progress Report in terms of progress made in (a) policy, strategy and law development and (b) implementation of these in support of the country’s HIV response. Comments on the agreements or discrepancies between overlapping questions in Part A, as well as a trend analysis on the key NCPI data since 3.

III – Consultancy Objectives and Expected Results

• Overall Objective:

Analyse the findings from the desk review of NCPI questionnaires administered (Part A – to government officials involved in the national AIDS response) and from key informant interviews to determine the NCPI. This consultant will specifically solicit responses for questions in Part A of the NCPI and also contribute to the compilation of the NCPI narrative report.

Specific Objectives:

• Administer respective parts of the NCPI questionnaires to relevant Government Authorities for validation purposes.
• Analyse findings from the questionnaires and complement them with key informant interviews.
• Participate in consultations based on the draft report.
• Compile a brief narrative report outlining the findings of the NCPI responses and desk review.
• Validate NCPI responses for Part A.
• Draft NCPI Narrative Report for components administered to the government departments and relevant Stakeholders.
• Present the draft report and responses to Part A respondents of the NCPI questionnaire.
• Incorporate inputs from all respondents and submit the final NCPI narrative report and corresponding responses to SANAC Strategic Information Unit.

The following Functionality Criteria will apply to this bid:

Only those bidders who score a minimum score of % in respect of the following functionality criteria will be recommended for short listing. Points are allocated for functionality.

Weight

Evaluation Criteria

Points Allocation

Page Ref. Numbers

Points

Bidder must demonstrate experience in successfully executing a similar project.

7 Years’ and above:

4 – 6 Years’ Experience:

1 – 3 Years’ Experience:

The bidder must have demonstrable transaction experience with REFERENCE LETTERS with different organizations in successfully executing similar projects IN THE LAST 3 YEARS. Reference letters must include Project Description | Value | Period.

Provided Three references:

Provided Two references:

Provided One reference:

Not provided reference:

Evidence for this criterion will be:

1. Company Registration Documents

Points

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0 Points

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Bidder’s proposed Team and capacity of resources

The bidder must have qualified personnel that has experience in conducting desk reviews, key informant interviews and reporting writing which includes articulating the status core and depicting trend analysis.

The bidders must submit, as part of its proposal, the following:

List of qualified experts that will be deployed in the project including their Certificates and CV(s) depicting experience. The Teams’ qualifications must include Public Health, Epidemiology, Development Studies, Economics, Public Policy, Social Sciences, and/or a related technical field and Monitoring and Evaluation of HIV, TB, any health or social development programmes or interventions.

Submitted list with 5 experts:

Submitted list with 3 experts:

Submitted list with 1 expert:

Submitted 0 experts:

Evidence for this criteria will be: CV’s and Qualifications / Certificates.

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0 Points

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Bidders Technical Proposal and Methodology

Submit a detailed technical proposal including methodology demonstrating your value proposition to the SANAC Trust that sets you apart.

Submitted a detailed technical approach from concept to launch. Type of methodology followed. Gantt Chart or Project management timeline.

Streamlined methodology and proposed structure of the NCPI Report.

Clear Gantt Chart depicting clear timelines from project inception to completion.

Streamline budget, including Value Added Tax (VAT).

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IV – Conditions for consultancy

Duration of work: days from beginning to March 3 to the third week of March 3. Submit all Request for Quotations to by close of business on Tuesday, February 3.

Management of consultancy: the consultants will work in cooperation with the SANAC National Strategic Information (SI) Unit, under the overall supervision of the SI Manager, Mr Zwebuka Khumalo, email address.

Close consultation and collaboration is expected with relevant stakeholders such as the Department of Health and other national authorities.

Profile of the consultant

Monitoring and Evaluation of AIDS programmes.

• Background in and knowledge of the South African National HIV / AIDS response, including extensive knowledge on HIV policies, guidelines and strategies.
• Knowledge of the Political Declarations on the response to HIV and AIDS.
• Experience:

National Consultants

• Master’s Degree or higher in Public Health or related field.
• Minimum 5- years’ experience and knowledge in the field of the National HIV, TB and STI response (Provide at least 3 contactable references of the most recent similar work done).
• Good Analytical and report writing skills (Provide at least 2 similar narrative reports).
• Ability to work in a team.
• Ability to conduct interviews and to probe appropriately to solicit the most appropriate responses.
• Experience of working without supervision, ability to work under pressure, prioritise work and use personal initiative.
• Experience in using basic Microsoft Office packages (Word, Excel), using email and internet.