WHO
Community Engagement Implementation Research Request for proposal

Reference: WPRO/2020-06/DSI_CE/TN109682/lal
Beneficiary countries: Philippines
Published on: 16-Jun-2020
Deadline on: 07-Jul-2020 00:00 (GMT 8.00)

Description

BACKGROUND

The Data, Strategy and Innovation (DSI) unit was set up in 2019 in the Western Pacific Regional Office (WPRO) in response to the Regional Director’s white paper “For the Future” and focuses on innovation, data and strategic engagement with countries on health systems transformation. During the COVID-19 pandemic, DSI is coordinating work with the community engagement COVID-19 response pillar within the regional office to ensure that community engagement activities, that are central to the WHO Western Pacific Regional Action Plan for Response to Large-scale Community Outbreaks of COVID-19, are based on the latest evidence and learning from community engagement challenges in past epidemics.  

DSI established a global “think tank” in March 2020 that used futures thinking and agile methodology to explore trends, barriers, impacts and solutions related to related to gender equality, equity, gender-based violence and vulnerable groups in the context of COVID-19. Key recommendations from this research was the importance of a whole of society approach to equity and engaging and empowering groups who live in vulnerable situations. These findings aligned with the WHO Western Pacific Regional Action Plan for Response to Large-scale Community Outbreaks of COVID-19 that highlighted the essential role of communities and process of community engagement as a priority area for action in pandemic response.

From previous outbreaks, it is clear that effective community engagement in action demands a transformation in the way the public health community responds. This transformation requires an approach that acknowledges the physiological, mental, emotional and social interconnection of people in the context of delivering and receiving health care across diverse settings and health systems.  The community engagement research in WPR will inform and help shape the ongoing community engagement strategy specifically the “Ongoing consultation and support for country development, implementation and monitoring of community engagement priorities, activities, and plans”.  The research work will focus on specific communities activities in 4 of the priority countries in the WPR.

In 2019, with the establishment of the WHO Science Division, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between WHO and the United Nations University International Institute for Global Health which prioritised the need to develop organizational consensus and a strong evidence base for community engagement that can lead to policy level recommendations and action. The area of focus is described as “community engagement and the human dimensions of health systems”. A joint workplan has been developed with the Integrated Health Service Dept at HQ on “Learning to implement health together”.  The project will strengthen technical alignment across health programmes and at the 3 levels of the Organization.

 

PURPOSE/SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE OF THE ACTIVITY

To provide WHO and project stakeholders with process design/facilitation, capacity building and knowledge management expertise in the development of a complexity-based CE intervention package for countries

 

DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITIES TO BE CARRIED OUT

Overall project development, documentation and knowledge management

  • • Support the strategic conceptualization/architecture of the overall project and develop an overarching evaluation framework covering the 5 project phases in the CE research strategy document.
  • • Produce concept briefs and narratives for different phases of the project.
  • • Map elements of facilitated sessions in a visually appealing and easy-to-grasp format.
  • • Produce multi-media products that facilitate project implementation and uptake of project outputs.

Process design and facilitation

  • • Expand on the preliminary work carried out by WHO and conduct detailed stakeholder mapping and scoping at global, regional and country level.
  • • Design and facilitate country level stakeholder dialogues on CE evidence (scientists & policy makers, researchers and CE practitioners, service providers & service users) based on the outputs of the evidence synthesis conducted by the WHO Collaborating Centre. Each of the four countries may have identified different entry points and/or communities for the setting and scope of their intervention sites.
  • • Collate, analyze and synthesize the outputs of the stakeholder dialogues. Use this information to co-develop with the WHO project team and implement engagement processes that support relationship-building and meaning-making between project stakeholders to ensure overall project coherence, technical integrity and successful delivery of outputs and outcomes.
  • • Conduct and analyze interviews with researchers, community engagement practitioners and decision-makers within research countries to understand their perspectives, challenges and needs.
  • • Design and facilitate (implement) inter-governmental dialogues on CE evidence and policy development.

Development and evaluation of innovative community engagement models, prototypes and intervention packages

  • • Compile and analyze documented examples of effective and successful community engagement interventions/processes implemented at scale from health, education, agriculture/environment, justice and development sectors.
  • • Design and convene at least 3 knowledge harvesting dialogues across the country research teams to accelerate horizontal, iterative learning. Rapidly synthesize and share findings with country teams.
  • • Compile, compare and evaluate CE prototypes and engagement interventions emerging across research sites in the four selected WPR countries.

Capacity building

  • • Co-design and deliver a capacity building programme that includes virtual workshops/webinars to a) prepare country research teams for collaborative research design and implementation, b) acquire skills for joint thinking, shared decision-making and collaborative action as they move through the phases of designing, prototyping and testing CE models and interventions.

 

METHODS TO CARRY OUT THE ACTIVITY

Overall:

  • • A timeline and a detailed implementation plan (including estimated budgets) for process milestones and deliverables based on the WHO CE research scoping and strategy document.
  • • Monitoring and evaluation framework(s) that capture critical metrics for each of the project phases, including overall process and project success as well as methods for evaluating impact/outcome by country.
  • • Baseline and post-project assessments of learning/observable adaptations in collaborative thinking and practice (inner and outer process learning).
  • • Collation and packaging of meeting, agenda and stakeholder dialogue designs including any used visual frameworks, templates and tools, process road maps, dialogic practices, and reports etc. to enable replication and ongoing adaptation by WHO and programme implementation partners. 
  • • Documentation of significant learning and/or change moments in the project cycle.
  • • Multi-media products ready for public dissemination.
  • • Facilitator and learner guides for the capacity building programme.
  • • Copyright- The copyright of all deliverables will be solely invested in the World Health Organization.

Project Phase 2

  • • Project stakeholder profiles and network architecture.
  • • Country profiles: stakeholders’ analysis, intended entry point(s), purpose and setting for CE prototyping.
  • • Engagement strategies for country level stakeholders (service providers, service users, decision-makers, CE practitioners and researchers) on CE evidence and gaps in each of the four countries.
  • • Knowledge products for country research teams to engage with evidence synthesis findings.

Project Phase 3

  • • Preliminary content for the capacity building programme.
  • • Compiled and packaged research protocols.
  • • Synthesis of country level dialogues.
  • • Knowledge briefs from harvesting dialogues.

Project Phase 4

  • • Packaging of primary research outputs for different audiences.
  • • Packaged CE models, prototypes and interventions per country.
  • • Analysis of evaluation reports from country research teams.

Project Phase 5

  • • Final evaluation and technical report.
  • • Final learner and facilitator guides: building country capacity for interdisciplinary CE research.
  • • Presentation and dissemination video on the project journey, findings, lessons learnt and impact.

 

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE

The provider shall be an institution operating in the field of with proven expertise in participatory and systemic, collaborative action between diverse stakeholders (across sectors, disciplines and professions) towards achieving a common purpose and goal. They should have worked with academia, governments and community-based organizations and be highly skilled in relationship management and evaluation of complex projects. 

An accreditation or an on-going accreditation process by a certified accreditation body will be an asset.

 

EXPERIENCE

Previous work with WHO, other international organizations and/or major institutions in the field of: Helping a system to see itself through the process of organizational transformation is desirable.

Proven experience required in:

  • • High level and community multi-stakeholder dialogues;
  • • Designing and implementing action research leading to policy development and impact at community level;
  • • Communicating complex issues while confidently working in emergent processes.
  • • Evaluation of innovative and/or proof-of-concept approaches to demonstrate impact and outcome.

The contractor is expected to dedicate one project manager who will be WHO’s main focal point throughout the implementation of the project. The Project Manager will:

  • • demonstrate an adequate level of education and experience (please attach her/his resume to the Technical Proposal);
  • • be responsible for the management of the Contractor’s team.

The Contractor will commit the adequate workforce (in terms of qualification, experience and number) to the project to ensure its fully satisfactory and timely delivery.  

 

TECHNICAL SKILLS & KNOWLEDGE

The contractor is expected to dedicate one project manager who will be WHO’s main focal point throughout the implementation of the project. The Project Manager will:

  • • demonstrate an adequate level of education and experience (please attach her/his resume to the Technical Proposal);
  • • be responsible for the management of the Contractor’s team.

The Contractor will commit the adequate workforce (in terms of qualification, experience and number) to the project to ensure its fully satisfactory and timely delivery.  

 

LANGUAGES

The proposal prepared by the bidder, and all correspondence and documents relating to the proposal exchanged by the bidder and WHO shall be written in the English language.

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The bidder is expected to follow the proposal structure described in paragraph “Proposal Structure” below and otherwise comply with all instructions, terms and specifications contained in, and submit all forms required pursuant to, this RFP. Failure to follow the aforesaid proposal structure, to comply with the aforesaid instructions, terms and specifications, and/or to submit the aforesaid forms will be at the bidder’s risk and may affect the evaluation of the proposal.

Proposals must offer the total requirement. Proposals offering only part of the requirement may be rejected.

 

APPLICATIONS

Qualified and interested specialists should submit their complete proposal to WHO no later than 7 July 2020 at 1200H  (Geneva time)  and Expression of Interest {cover letter} to the Supply Officer through WP RO UNGM at < wproungm@who.int. 

Please use Tender Notice No. 109682 as subject to all submission. Only successful candidates will be contacted.