request for proposals for quantitative data collection for...

Family Bereavement Initiative Evaluation – Terms of Reference

Request for Proposals for Quantitative Data Collection for an Evaluation of a Family Bereavement Initiative

For Adolescent Girls in the Free State, South Africa

ACTIVITY SUMMARY

Tulane University (TU) through its School of Social Work is issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP) inviting established research agencies within South Africa to submit proposals for conducting data collection activities for an evaluation of a family bereavement initiative. The selected research agency will work under contract with TU and be responsible for planning and implementing fieldwork for this study in the Free State province of South Africa. Specifically, the contractor will collect quantitative data from female adolescents and their primary parents/guardians through structured surveys. The scope of work will include fieldwork preparations and ongoing monitoring and quality control. Activities will be performed at four pre-designated time points over a period of approximately one year beginning in January 2015. TU will provide the research agency with the translated computerized/electronic data collection instruments for pre-testing and implementation. The selected research institution will be expected to work closely with TU staff and faculty and the partnering service delivery organization in South Africa to complete the activity.

The scope of work consists of the following key tasks:

• Pre-test of questionnaires • Recruitment of study team • Training and readiness assessment of study team • Fieldwork logistics and materials preparation • Implementation of baseline and follow-up survey data collection for an estimated total of 400

adolescents and their caregivers; data collection will be staged at four time points over approximately one year, with approximately 200 individuals surveyed at each time point

• Designing and enacting field and data quality control assurance procedures • Ensuring ethical conduct and overseeing respondent referral processes as needed • Manage budget and reporting procedures in accordance with TU-provided norms and standards

Interested institutions should submit their application electronically by 5 PM South Africa Time, November 3rd, 2014; applications after this date will not be accepted. Tulane University will award a firm fixed price subcontract.


I. BACKGROUND

A. Study Background and Purpose

Given the lack of information on the impact of care and support strategies for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC), and the scale of the problem, there is an urgent need to learn how to improve the reach and effectiveness of related program efforts. Tulane University conducts operations research to increase understanding of the quality, scope and comprehensiveness of interventions and key outcomes leading to the improved well-being of orphaned and vulnerable children and their families.

This study will employ a randomized controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of grief-focused interventions for bereaved female adolescents and their primary caregivers. Results from the study will be used to enhance service delivery, establish program effectiveness and promote confidence in and adoption of related recommendations for interventions directed at bereaved youth populations.

Tulane seeks an external contractor to conduct quantitative data collection for the program evaluation.

B. Funding Source

This activity is a sub-component of a larger project — Compiling an Evidence Base for Highly Vulnerable Children Programming (hereinafter referred to as the ‘HVC project’) implemented by Tulane University. The HVC project is a five year project initiated in 2011 with activities in South Africa. The project’s goal is to provide empirical evidence that can effectively guide OVC programming and policy. The project is supported with funding from the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Southern Africa through Cooperative Agreement No. AID-674-A-12-00002. In 2013, Tulane University through its School of Social Work launched the Highly Vulnerable Children Research Center (HVC-RC). The Center combines distinguished leadership and expertise in evaluation and operations research with a focus on the area of OVC. Additional detail on the HVC-RC background and achievements can be found at the following website: http://hvc-tulane.org/.

http://hvc-tulane.org/


II. TERMS OF REFERENCE

A. Study Implementation Details

i. Program Partner Child Welfare Bloemfontein and Childline Free State (CWBFN & CLFS), is a non-governmental organization in South Africa offering an array of child protection services, as detailed on their website: http://www.childwelfarebfn.org.za/index.php. With PEPFAR funding from USAID Southern Africa, the organization provides an array of services including the placement of qualified Social Workers within schools to offer specialized care and support interventions for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC).

A key service offered by CWBFN & CLFS in 2015 is a family bereavement initiative targeting female adolescents. The adolescent component of the program, Abangane, consists of eight sessions of standardized activities and discussion content for bereaved adolescents based on training and other resources from the Khululeka Grief Support Program in Cape Town, South Africa (http://www.khululeka.org/). Primary caregivers of Abangane participants will be recruited to participate in parallel caregiver-only group sessions facilitated by the same CWBFN & CLFS Social Workers that conduct the adolescent groups. The caregiver-focused intervention will be based on the Positive Parenting course designed by Parent Centre of South Africa based in Cape Town, South Africa http://www.theparentcentre.org.za/, and will include additional grief-focused sessions.

ii. Study Overview The purpose of the evaluation is to address the core question: What is the effectiveness of time-limited adolescent grief counseling peer groups coupled with caregiver training and support in improving the psychosocial wellbeing of bereaved female adolescents?

The study population will include: 1) female adolescents who have experienced the death of someone important in their lives, and 2) adolescent participants’ current primary caregivers. Potential participants will be identified through the CWBFN & CLFS intake process for girls in grade nine from as many as 12 participating schools. Eligible adolescents will be randomly assigned by TU to either receive the intervention in 2015 or be wait-listed for enrollment in early 2016. Survey data will be collected from children and caregivers in both the intervention and wait-listed group before and three months following the completion of the interventions. Data will be analyzed to assess for differences between the two groups on key psychosocial outcomes, including measures of psychological distress, resilience, social support and child-caregiver interactions. Results from the study will be used to enhance service delivery, establish program effectiveness and promote confidence in and adoption of related recommendations. Results will be reported to stakeholders and submitted for possible publication in scientific journals.

Further information on the procedures, instruments, study location, sample size and expected responsibilities of the research partner are provided below. A detailed research protocol will also be made available to the selected contractor.

iii. Study Design and Data Collection Timeline

An overview of the study design is depicted in Figure 1. Intervention and wait-listed participants, including adolescents and their caregivers, will be surveyed prior to the intervention and three months following the intervention. Each respondent is surveyed only twice, although data collection will occur at four time points to account for the staged enrollment of participants. Per the schedule presented in

http://www.childwelfarebfn.org.za/index.php

http://www.khululeka.org/

http://www.theparentcentre.org.za/


Figure 1, interventions are provided in two waves: in Term 1 (February – April) at 6 schools and in Term 2 at the remaining 6 schools.

iv. Geographic locations, schedule and sample size

Potential survey participants include eligible female adolescent beneficiaries and their caregivers. The research agency will be provided with a list of eligible participants per school including their names and location.

The study locations have been purposively selected by TU in collaboration with the service delivery partner and minimum sample sizes have been derived considering the outcomes and hypotheses of interest. Applicants should consider the locations and estimated sample sizes described below when deriving proposed project expenses.

The Family Bereavement Initiative will be offered during the first two terms of the 2015 school year to grade 9 female adolescents from 12 schools and their caregivers. The schools are located within three clusters of four schools: an urban cluster in Bloemfontein and two rural clusters in Ficksburg/Clocolan and Parys/Vredefort. Six different schools, two per cluster, will receive the intervention each term per the schedule in Table 1. At least one adolescent and parallel caregiver group will be offered per school. Each group has an ideal capacity of 10 and to account for refusals and loss to follow-up, 12 adolescents and their caregivers will be recruited for participation, with an additional 12 assigned to the wait list (minimum of 24 adolescents and caregivers per school). However, in larger schools with demonstrated need and interest up to two groups will be offered (i.e, possible 48 adolescents and caregivers surveyed from these schools). The precise number of groups implemented per school will be driven by intake data collected by CWBFN & CLFS designed specifically to identify participants. This data will be collected in Oct 2014 for Term 1 schools and early 2015 for Term 2 schools and analyzed by TU. A total of 400 adolescents and caregivers in the sample is estimated, which assumes that half of the participating schools will offer two groups. Final sample sizes per school will be provided to the research agency following the intake procedure and contract adjustments can be considered at that time if needed.


Table 1. CWBFN & CLFS planned implementation of the interventions in 2015 by term and area Area Term 1 Term 2 Bloemfontein (Urban) Kopanong & Commtech Dr Blok & Kagisho

Ficksburg (Rural) Clocolan & Tshepang

Tlotlisong & Boitumelo

Parys (Rural)

Boitlamo & Yakisizwe

Boiphihlelo & SS Paki

v. Study instruments and languages

TU will provide the research agency with all study instruments in English and Sesotho. However, lead staff at the selected research organization will be invited to give feedback on the questionnaires’ content to gather further input prior to implementation and to ensure cultural relevance.

Two questionnaires will be used for the study: 1) Primary caregiver/guardian questionnaire, and 2) Adolescent questionnaire. Interviews are expected to take approximately 60 minutes per respondent, including consent/assent protocols. Both interview types will be conducted in Sesotho.

vi. Survey Modality

Respondents will complete the survey through a face-to-face interview with an interviewer. The interviewer will use computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) technology to read and record responses; the CAPI survey will be electronically developed by TU and provided to the research agency. The data are automatically checked, stored and encrypted, thereby eliminating the need for double capture of surveys and other time-consuming data entry error control processes. CAPI includes automatic skips and reduces literacy barriers associated with self-administered paper and pencil surveys, allowing for greater standardization than interviewer administered surveys while reducing data entry errors.

Additionally, TU employs web-based data collection in which the data are collected offline and stored temporarily on the device (e.g., mobile phone, ipad, tablet computer, etc). At the end of each fieldwork day, the data are synced to an online database to facilitate real time review and analysis of data, including basic frequency calculations, by TU senior staff.

B. Specific Responsibilities and Tasks of Subcontractor

In collaboration with TU, the research institution will have the following responsibilities:

i. Pre- test of questionnaire and review of final questionnaire

The research partner agency will pre-test the youth and primary caregiver questionnaires with a minimum of 30 respondents: a) 15 children and 15 primary parent/guardians. The research partner may propose potential pre-test participants and conduct final selection based on consultation with TU and the service delivery partner. The research contractor will then propose any final changes to the questionnaire in a brief report to TU as a result of the pre-test. TU will work with the contractor to determine what changes should be made, and the contractor will be responsible for ensuring changes are consistent between the English and local language versions of the questionnaires.


ii. Recruitment of the study team The research agency will recruit and hire a study coordinator to oversee the study in South Africa. The study coordinator will help lead the interviewer and supervisor training, oversee all fieldwork staff, and serve as the primary contact with TU throughout the life of the contract. A Field Manager within TU will be assigned to receive regular updates and will help to support and oversee day-to-day management of the quantitative data collection via email and in person.

In addition to fieldwork supervisors and interviewers, other project team members may be proposed by the contractor as needed. The research agency should provide a list of key responsibilities for all positions for consideration by TU. The research agency should describe the qualifications of any pre-identified personnel as well as method for recruitment and minimum skillset of personnel to fill any remaining proposed positions.

The selection of appropriate field team members is an essential component of ensuring the study’s success. The ideal interviewer will be able to interact with all classes of people, and will be non-judgmental, mature, skilled at building rapport, and experienced at dealing with sensitive topics in an interview setting. Skills and experience working with youth are also required. Supervisors should have demonstrated leadership and organizational skills. Given the complexity of the instruments, it is likely that the field team members will need to have above primary level education. All staff members should be fluent in English as well as Sesotho.

The requirements and conditions of employment will be clearly explained to each team member and the option to let go of staff who are not performing adequately or who have negative attitudes towards the topic of study will be maintained throughout the life of the study.

iii. Fieldwork preparations and monitoring The research agency will manage logistical study preparations including developing daily fieldwork plans and obtaining local approvals to conduct the fieldwork. TU will have obtained approval from local ethics board, the provincial Department of Basic Education and principals from participating schools prior to the start of fieldwork. However, the research agency will be responsible for obtaining any other local authority approval necessary in the communities where the study will take place; the partnering service delivery organizations will help facilitate this process and provide local contact information. Lastly, the research agency will develop fieldwork plans and timelines and monitor and report on fieldwork progress regularly to TU and the service delivery organization.

iv. Study team training and pilot test of the questionnaire

Training for all interviewers, supervisors and other key field team members is an essential part of ensuring quality in data collection. The applicant should propose the key elements to be covered in the training, modes of delivery, duration, location and other considerations. Opportunities for the interviewers to pilot the questionnaire should also be considered as part of training and assessment process.

It is expected that the TU Field Manager will facilitate training in collaboration with the study coordinator and other key staff from the research agency. The contractor will draft the training agendas and guides to be used, with input and review from TU. TU will also provide examples of previous training guides; previous Interviewer guides are approximately 100 pages in length and Supervisor guides 20 pages in length. The subcontractor will be responsible for photocopying expenses for all training materials including the interviewer guide, agenda, and questionnaires. The subcontractor will also cover other training expenses such as reserving the meeting room, team salaries and, where necessary, transport, per diem and lodging of the fieldteam members.


v. Implement the survey

The subcontractor will adhere to sampling procedures prescribed by TU and detailed in the forthcoming research protocol. TU will facilitate access to the participant lists which will include names, contact numbers, school assignment, and address details. A combination of household based surveys and school-based survey implementation may be considered. The applicant should propose a fieldplan that describes how and when data will be collected from caregivers and children, giving attention to the need for caregiver consent prior to adolescent participation as well as strict timelines for data collection.

The subcontractor will be responsible for all supply costs related to data collection. The subcontractor will also cover all other expenses for data collection such as transportation, salaries and other logistical support for the fieldteam as well as compensation of local volunteers to assist with locating participants.

vi. Ethical conduct

Research agencies should adhere to the need for a service referral system for children in need. In particular, linkages to a CWBFN & CLFS Social Worker will be made available for any respondents who become upset during the interview and require immediate referral; this will be organized in collaboration with the service delivery partner. Applicants should describe plans to monitor and ensure adherence to strict protocols for respondents’ informed consent, voluntary participation, and protecting the confidentiality of subjects.

vii. Field Quality Control The contractor will be responsible for drafting and implementing a protocol to ensure quality control measures in the field. The applicant is encouraged to describe the proposed procedures to ensure that the study protocol is strictly adhered to, nonresponse and loss to follow-up are minimized, and data collection is of the highest quality.

viii. Manage budget and reporting procedures as a contractor to TU TU anticipates award of a firm fixed price contract. Timeline and increments of fund distribution will be determined in collaboration with the selected research partner and will be based upon the project activity timeline and receipt of agreed upon deliverables.

The research partner will submit a weekly update on the progress of the activity and detail any issues that arise, including the number of participant referrals made. The report will also describe tasks performed, fieldwork logistic plans, and procedures applied for trouble-shooting and assurance of quality data. Additional deliverables are described below.

C. Deliverables

The research agency will produce the following deliverables for TU:

A detailed timeline and schedule of activities to be conducted within the contractual period (these documents require advance TU approval)

Survey pre-test results report Documentation of any additions/changes to the research study protocol or survey instruments Training guides for interviewers and supervisors Quality control protocol Weekly data collection progress reports (described above) Summary data collection report at each of the four data collection points


All deliverables will be submitted electronically. TU reserves the right to disseminate, publish and otherwise use or apply all research products in full or in part.

D. Timeframe

The contract is expected to commence in January 2015 and continue for one year. However, it is anticipated that there will be at least several lull periods in work between data collection activities due to the staged implementation of the program. General expected data collection timelines are provided in Figure 1 and the applicant should address these considerations in their proposal. Final dates will be agreed upon in consultation with the successful research agency and the program partner. The importance of expedient and timely data collection is paramount in this study given it centers on service delivery; intervention group participants need to be surveyed prior to intervention exposure and all follow-up surveys need to have the same post-intervention time period.


III. REQUIRED SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS

The research agency must have:

Extensive experience planning and managing field-based survey data collection activities Extensive research experience (minimum of 5 years) with vulnerable populations in the health

sector (OVC experience preferred) Excellent/documented knowledge of data management Experience with data quality assurance procedures Good interpersonal relationships Good training skills Ability to communicate effectively and clearly in English Experience with USAID-funded projects preferred


IV. APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

A. Proposal Content

Please note that all application documents must be submitted in not more than three electronic files. Failure to follow this directive or to submit any of the documents below will disqualify the applicant:

1. Technical proposal (with any appendices forming part of the electronic document) 2. Budget (in MS Excel) 3. Relevant Sample of Work

Please see below for further guidance on each required document/file.

1) Technical Proposal The technical proposal should be limited to 10 pages, plus relevant appendices. It should be organized and submitted in English with the following sections:

Technical summary (1 page) Technical approach (7 pages)

• Study personnel, including fieldteam composition, recruitment strategies and list of proposed key staff including their responsibilities and levels of effort

• Pre-test • Fieldwork preparations • Fieldworker training • Data collection strategy • Ethical conduct • Quality control procedures

Implementation plan including timelines by task and staffing (2 pages) Appendices may provide further details such as:

• A statement of organizational capabilities, including a list of relevant facilities and similar projects conducted in the past 5 years (no more than 3 pages)

• Key personnel qualifications, including a brief narrative and resumes or curriculum vitae • A signed letter of commitment from identified key research staff stating their availability

to work on the assigned task Technical proposal document (and appendices) must be submitted as one electronic word file. Multiple electronic files will not be accepted.

2) Financial Proposal Applicants must provide a detailed budget which complies with the following instructions:

• Budget must be submitted in Excel format with functioning formulas, using at least the following line item headings (additional disaggregation is permissible): personnel, travel, equipment & supplies, other;

• Print ready (page breaks and margins formatted for easy printing); • Budgets should be submitted in South African Rand (ZAR) and VAT should be included in budget

estimates if the service provider is VAT-registered;


• Includes daily/hourly fees for key proposed staff/consultants and provides a column explaining the number of days budgeted for along with how the rate has been established;

• Level of effort (of each person who will work on the project) should clearly align to activities in the technical proposal;

• Maximum daily rate fees for individuals should not exceed R4,000 per day; • Includes all other costs to be charged to the contract (i.e. flights, accommodation, mileage

reimbursements, printing, etc.) and shows the estimated unit cost and quantity for each item. • Budgets submitted under this RFP will be considered preliminary and are subject to final negotiation

and approval during the pre-award period.

3) Relevant Sample of Work

All applicants must submit a sample of a previous product developed by the organisation/company. Products with thematic links to the work described in this RFP are preferred.

B. Submission and Follow-up Procedures

Interested institutions should submit their application no later than 5PM South Africa time, Monday, November 3rd, 2014. Applications sent beyond this time and date will not be considered. Applications must be submitted electronically to [email protected]. Final notification is expected to be made by November 30th, 2014. Follow-up detail may be requested from short-listed applications. The successful bidder may be required to submit a best and final offer.

Please ensure the subject line states “Application – Family Bereavement Evaluation.”

C. Questions and Answers

Applicants should refrain from contacting USAID South Africa, or Child Welfare Bloemfontain & Childline Free State to discuss or obtain information to prepare this application.

In accordance with US Government regulations on free and fair competition, all prospective service providers must have access to the same information. Therefore all enquiries regarding this request for proposals must be made to TU by 5 PM South Africa time, Monday, October 27th, 2015 to [email protected]; all applicants will receive a standard reply addressing the questions on or before October 30, 2014 at hvc-tulane.org/contacts/request-for-proposals. Please note Tulane cannot commit to providing answers to all questions asked. Tulane will do its best to source answers, but can only commit to making the same information available to all prospective applicants via the question and answer response available online.

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


V. PROPOSAL REVIEW AND EVALUATION

A. Compliance Review

The proposals received will undergo a compliance review before being forwarded for technical evaluation by a selection committee. Failure to adhere to the following compliance criteria may result in disqualification:

Compliance Criteria

No more than 3 electronic documents submitted

Submitted by stated deadline

Budget submitted in print-ready excel format

Budget complies with all budget guidance provided

Following the compliance review, accepted applications will be forwarded to the technical review selection committee. The selection committee reserves the right not to accept the lowest bid, as the elements listed in the scoring criteria matrix below will play a major role when evaluating proposals. In order to ensure fair and effective comparison of proposals, potential service providers are requested to furnish detailed information in substantiation of compliance with the technical evaluation criteria.

B. Scoring Criteria

A committee comprised of key project stakeholders will evaluate all proposals. The proposals will be scored according to the following criteria:

ELEMENT Range

Technical approach, including data collection strategy and content (0-30)

Track record, task-applicable expertise (0-20)

Organizational capabilities and proposed staff (0-30)

Cost efficiency (0-20)

Total (0-100)

Rank and scores of applicants will not be released nor will individual feedback be provided to unsuccessful applicants. All applicants will receive notification limited to whether or not they have been selected to enter into negotiation/contract finalization proceedings.

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