GAVI Alliance

Evaluation of GAVI Independent Review Committees (IRCs)

Dated: July 2009

Request for Proposal Number

RFP-EVIRC060709

Table of Contents

I. Purpose of the evaluation 3

II. Background and context for this consultancy 3

III. Evaluation scope 4

IV. Evaluation questions 4

V. Methodology 5

VI. Awards and evaluation criteria 5

VII. Proposal requirements 6

VIII. Deliverables 6

IX. Timeline 7

X. Management 7

XI. RFP Process and Contact Information: 7

XII. Required Proposal Format & Proposal Content: 9

I. Purpose of the evaluation

This Evaluation is being commissioned by the GAVI Alliance Secretariat at the request of the Programme & Policy Committee and as recommended by the GAVI Phase 1 Evaluation. The objective of this Evaluation is to assess the appropriateness and robustness of the design, execution and decisions of the Independent Review Committees (IRCs). The learning from this evaluation will lead to possible changes to the business model as well as the joint programming for health systems strengthening being explored by GAVI, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the World Bank and the World Health Organization

II. Background and context for this consultancy

The GAVI Alliance was launched in 2000 to increase immunization coverage and reverse widening global disparities in access to vaccines. Governments in donor and developing countries, UNICEF, WHO, the World Bank, non-governmental organizations, foundations, vaccine manufacturers, and public health and research institutions work together as partners in the Alliance to achieve common immunization goals, in recognition that only through a strong and united effort can higher levels of support for global immunization be generated.

The GAVI Alliance mission is to save children’s lives and protect people’s health by increasing access to immunization in poor countries. The GAVI Alliance Strategy positions GAVI’s work within the broader context of child survival and the Millennium Development Goals. The Alliance also makes a major contribution to meeting global goals outlined in the WHO/UNICEF Global Immunization Vision and Strategy (GIVS) by supporting immunization programmes and health systems in the world’s poorest countries.

Since its launch in 2000, the GAVI Alliance has engaged in an innovative grant proposal process in which an IRC reviews country proposals (i.e., proposal IRC) and makes recommendations to the GAVI Board on whether they should be approved. A second type of IRC reviews country Annual Progress Reports (i.e., monitoring IRC) and makes recommendations to the board on the continuation of GAVI support and the approval or rejection of performance rewards to countries. Please consult the GAVI website (www.gavialliance.org) and the GAVI Alliance Handbook (http://www.gavialliance.org/resources/Handbook_in_English.pdf) for a description of application and monitoring procedures at GAVI, including the roles of the proposal and monitoring IRCs.

Page 3 of 10

III. Evaluation scope

This Evaluation will assess the rigor, independence, robustness, and adequacy of the IRC review process implemented since 2006, examining both the proposal and monitoring IRCs. The Evaluation will review the extent to which the design of the IRC process is fit for purpose, as well as the performance of the IRC against its terms of reference. The evaluation will cover the whole process starting from country submission of proposals (in the case of the proposal IRC) or Annual Progress Reports (in the case of the monitoring IRC) to the final IRC recommendations to the Board, including the selection of IRC members by the Secretariat. The study should include an assessment of the support that the Secretariat provides to the IRC and the pre-review process conducted by partners (WHO/UNICEF). In reviewing the process beginning with when applications are submitted to GAVI, the evaluation should build upon and make reference to earlier work that examined technical assistance to countries and preparation of applications.1

IV. Evaluation questions

The main questions to be answered by the Evaluation are as follows:

Design:

o To what extent are the design of the IRC and related processes (e.g., terms of

reference, composition, role of Secretariat and partners, processes for reaching decisions) fit for purpose?

Execution:

o To what extent have the management of the IRC by the Secretariat and the

conduct of the pre-assessment by WHO and UNICEF been appropriate and effective?

o To what extent has the IRC appropriately executed its internal work processes in

reaching decisions?

Results:

o To what extent have IRC decisions regarding country applications and Annual

Progress Reports and recommendations regarding policies been robust, independent, appropriate and well justified?

1 An analysis of technical assistance to countries in developing proposals has been conducted by McKinsey and Co for GAVI.

Page 4 of 10

V. Methodology

Firms bidding on the Evaluation are strongly encouraged to propose innovative methodological approaches in response to the evaluation questions. The study should draw extensively on existing documentation (e.g., McKinsey report on technical assistance, the ISS evaluation, the HSS tracking study and the HSS evaluation). The firm selected to conduct the evaluation should attend a sample of sessions at the IRC meetings to be convened at the GAVI Secretariat in September and October.

To ensure credibility, the Evaluation should be conducted in accordance with the following principles:

a) Independence and impartialityb) Involvement of stakeholdersc) Transparencyd) Reference to international norms and definitions such as the OECD Development

Assistance Committee (DAC) principles

VI. Awards and evaluation criteria

The Evaluation Team may comprise an organisation or consortium of both public and private entities to cover the range of competencies required. Applications from institutions based in developing countries are strongly encouraged.

Collectively, the Evaluation team should demonstrate experience and competencies in qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods, including rigorous process evaluation, and familiarity with proposal review and monitoring processes in other global health partnerships and initiatives.

The proposals will be scored and ranked according to the criteria below:

Technical criteria (80%) % of total scoreUnderstanding and operationalisation of the evaluation questions.

Appropriate and innovative methods proposed for undertaking the work.

Timeline of activities along with the required deliverables, including starting and ending dates for completion of all work.

50%

Ability of the bidder to carry out scope of work (based on qualifications of the team, including CVs of key experts).

Partnership with institutions in developing countries

30%

Page 5 of 10

Financial criteria (20%)Overall cost 10%Realistic costing 10%

VII. Proposal requirements

Following the issuance of the RFP, all interested contractors are invited to submit a proposal which describes:

- the evaluation framework- a detailed description of the evaluation methodology- detailed work plan, budget and timeline - personnel, person-months and costs for each stage of work- team’s experiences dealing with evaluation studies- team composition with full CVs and break-down of the tasks assigned to each member - statement of potential conflict of interest

VIII. Deliverables

Expected deliverables

- During implementation, the Evaluation team will provide monthly progress reports - Draft report:

o To be delivered by 7 December 2009- Final report:

o To be delivered by 18 January 2010o Incorporating comments on the Draft Report

- PowerPoint presentation of the study- Short summary report for public dissemination

The final report should include but not be limited to:

A mapping of the entire process from submission of proposals to review of performance and release of monies under different windows of support at GAVI, including the role of the proposal and monitoring IRCs, audit and finance, and executive committees of the Board

Assessment of the extent to which the design of the proposal and monitoring IRCs and related processes are fit for purpose

Assessment of the extent to which the management of the IRC by the Secretariat and the conduct of the pre-assessment by WHO and UNICEF have been appropriate and effective

Assessment of the extent to which the IRC has appropriately executed its internal work processes in reaching decisions

Page 6 of 10

Assessment of the extent to which IRC decisions regarding country applications and Annual Progress Reports and recommendations regarding policies have been robust, independent, appropriate and well justified

Lessons learned from the IRC experience and recommendations

IX. Timeline

Note: All ‘Event Dates’ shall be executed by 5PM CET.

X.Management

1 Project Management

The GAVI Evaluation will be outsourced in its entirety to consultants. The GAVI Secretariat will be the focal point for the consultants.

2 Oversight

The GAVI Alliance Secretariat is responsible for conducting the bidding process, the selection of the contractor and the management of the Evaluation.

XI. RFP Process and Contact Information:

Instructions to Firms

Any Firm may request further clarification on matters pertaining to this RFP by submitting its question(s) in writing to the individual identified below. Due date for submission is 22 July 2009. In order to keep the RFP competition fair, questions on the substance of the RFP will only be answered in a public document released on 28 July 2009. Please do not contact other GAVI staff to discuss the RFP. To address your questions, please use the form attached as Annex 2.

Confirmation of Intent / Confidentiality

Page 7 of 10

Events DateRFP issued 6 July 2009Submission of clarification questions 22 July 2009GAVI response to questions 28 July 2009Submission of proposals 14 August 2009Selection of the winning contractor 4 September 2009Monthly report Last Day of Each MonthSubmission of draft report 7 December 2009Submission of final report 18 January 2010

Please transmit your intent to participate using and signing the document in Annex 1. This RFP contains information that is confidential and proprietary as stated by the “Intent to Participate” document. Each firm shall transmit a written confirmation of intent or decline to participate by 30th July 2009 COB. Confirmations of intent should be submitted by email to Calin Schiau (contact details below), copying Abdallah Bchir (contact details below).

This RFP is not an offer to contract but rather represents an invitation to Firms to submit a response addressing the requirements set out by the RFP. GAVI is not obliged to select a product / service or part of a product / service from any Firm receiving this RFP. GAVI shall not be responsible for any costs or expenses incurred by the Service Providers in responding to this RFP. Each Service Provider will bear its own costs.

The issuance of this RFP in no way commits GAVI to make an award of its Evaluation Programme and will not have any obligation to justify the reasons for its supplier(s) choices as a result of this RFP. GAVI may chose not to justify its business rewarding decision to the participants to this tender.

GAVI reserves the right to:- reject any proposal without obligation or liability to the potential Firm;- withdraw this RFP at any time before or after submission of bids, without prior notice,

explanation or reason;- modify the evaluation procedure described in this RFP;- accept other than the lowest priced offer;- award a contract on the basis of initial offers received, without discussions or

requests for best and final offers;- decide not to award any contract to any Firm responding to this RFP,- award its total requirements to one Firm or apportion those requirements among two

or more Firms as GAVI may deem.

Acceptable means of transmission include facsimile, mail or computer file with digital signature.

GAVI Alliance RFP Contact Information

Question Type Contact PersonContact

Role/TitleContact Information

Contractual

RFP & Contract Terms & Conditions, Proposal Format, etc.

Calin Schiau Head of Procurement

Calin SchiauGAVI Alliance2, Chemin des Mines1211, Geneva 2Switzerland

tel: +41 22 909 2919fax: +41 22 909 6551email: cschiau@gavialliance.org

Page 8 of 10

GAVI Alliance RFP Contact Information

Question Type Contact PersonContact

Role/TitleContact Information

Technical

RFP Deliverable Specifications & Requirements

Abdallah Bchir

Senior Specialist - Evaluation

Abdallah BchirGAVI Alliance2, Chemin des Mines1211, Geneva 2Switzerland

Phone: +41 22 909 6542Fax: +41 22 909 6550Email: abchir@gaviallianceorg

XII. Required Proposal Format & Proposal Content:

Responses to this RFP must consist of the following:

1. Cover letter, which includes: Name and address of the Firm Name, title, telephone number, and e-mail address of the person authorized to

commit the Firm to a contract Name, title, telephone number, and e-mail address of the person to be contacted

regarding the content of the proposal, if different from above A signature of this letter done by a duly authorized representative of your company

2. Electronic copy

Documents and spreadsheets in Office 2000 format Diagrams and drawings in Visio 2002 or PowerPoint Office 2000 format The electronic copy must be submitted by CD-R or by e-mail. If sent by e-mail, the

proposal must not exceed 2MB. In the case that the proposal exceeds 2MB, Firms may send multiple emails.

Documents have to be compressed using a WinZip 8.0 compliant format.

Please do not submit generic marketing materials, broadly descriptive attachments, or other general literature.

Page 9 of 10

ANNEX 1 WRITTEN INTENT TO PARTICIPATE

ANNEX 2 Q&A FORM

Page 10 of 10