Gavi- Expression Of Interest (EOI) For Local Partners To Provide Technical Assistance In Support Of 2021-2025 Strategy And Covid-19 Vaccine Delivery Activities

GAVI
EXPRESSION OF INTEREST (EOI) FOR LOCAL PARTNERS TO PROVIDE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE IN SUPPORT OF GAVI’S 2021-2025 STRATEGY (GAVI 5.0) AND COVID-19 VACCINE DELIVERY ACTIVITIES
EXPRESSION OF INTEREST  REFERENCE: 056-2021-GAVI-EOI
EOI OPENING DATE: 11/05/2021
EOI CLOSING DATE: 31/10/2021 24:00 (CET) (AMENDED)

GAVI’S MISSION
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is a public-private partnership that helps vaccinate half the world’s children against some of the world’s deadliest diseases. The Vaccine Alliance brings together developing country and donor governments, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry, technical agencies, civil society, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other private sector partners. Since its inception in 2000, Gavi has helped immunise a whole generation – over 822 million children – and prevented more than 14 million deaths, helping to halve child mortality in 73 developing countries. Gavi also plays a key role in improving global health security by supporting health systems as well as funding global stockpiles for Ebola, cholera, meningitis and yellow fever vaccines. After two decades of progress, Gavi is now focused on protecting the next generation and reaching the unvaccinated children still being left behind, employing innovative finance and the latest technology – from drones to biometrics – to save millions more lives, prevent outbreaks before they can spread and help countries on the road to self-sufficiency. Learn more at www.gavi.org .

(2) Context for this Expression of Interest
This Expression of Interest is intended for Local Partners only. Please refer to the definition of Local Partners in section 4.

This Expression of Interest is part of the qualification process to receive future tender documents in for opportunity(ies) to provide Technical Assistance services to support Gavi’s immunisation activities in supported countries. Interested parties are asked to express their interest according to the instructions in this document. Organisations must formally express their interest by full completion of the questionnaire (Electronic Expression of Interest Form) available in Section 5 (Response required from Bidders).Organisations who have completed this formal expression of interest (via the questionnaire) may be subsequently contacted to provide Gavi with additional supporting documentation and details on their capacity to engage in relevant technical assistance activities.

This EOI is designed to support Gavi’s current and future Technical Assistance (TA) needs, identified in 2 workstreams, namely:

(i) To achieve the objectives of Gavi’s 5.0 strategy (2021-2025) and

(ii) To meet the immediate technical assistance needs arising in the delivery efforts of COVID19 vaccines in line with the WHO Guidance on the COVID-19 National Deployment and Vaccination Plan (NDVP).

Successful organisations will complement the technical assistance provided to countries by other Alliance partners (such as WHO, UNICEF and Gavi’s existing Expanded Partners) under their institutional mandates. Successful organisations will work in close collaboration with the respective national Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) Programme team, other Ministry of Health (MoH) departments, the Interagency Coordination Committees (ICCs) or other in-country coordination mechanisms, as well as WHO and UNICEF at local and regional levels. In line with the country-ownership principle1, technical support requirements as well as the selection of technical assistance partners will be driven by country needs and priorities e.g., as reflected by the national Comprehensive Multi-Year Plan (cMYP) and annual plan of action, as well as the National Deployment and Vaccination Plan (NDVP) for technical assistance related to delivery of the Covid-19 vaccine. The need for support by the country may evolve throughout the period and therefore successful organisations will work in consultation with Gavi and its partners to adapt and develop their assistance accordingly. Gavi recognizes that gender-related barriers limit immunisation service demand, utilisation, coverage and impact. Therefore, understanding and addressing gender-related barriers through tailored services that are responsive to the needs of different gender identities is key to ensuring zero-dose children, individuals and communities receive the full range of vaccines. Gavi’s Guidance to Address Gender-Related Barriers to Maintain, Restore and Strengthen Immunisation in the Context of COVID-19 can be found here. All Gavi support as part of this process will respect Gavi’s Gender Policy. This EOI is global in nature and covers all Gavi-supported countries eligible for Technical Assistance (Targeted Country Assistance) for the Gavi 5.0 Strategy through the Partners’ Engagement Framework (PEF) and all eligible COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC)-92 economies for activities relating to COVAX Technical Assistance for delivery and deployment activities.

(3) Objectives of this Expression of Interest
This EOI affords potential Local Partners the opportunity to register their interest and illustrate their capacities to engage in the provision of technical assistance for activities contributing to Gavi’s 5.0 strategy and/or the provision of technical assistance for the delivery and deployment of COVID-19 vaccines. Note that interested organisations do not need to be able to conduct all services and can identify the services, or parts of services, that they are able and willing to provide.

(1) Countries/economies determine the partner/s best suited to provide the required support. Further, they assess the effectiveness and quality of support that each partner provides. 3/10 Expression of Interest 056-2020-GAVI-EOI

All documents and information submitted as part of this EOI will be used as part of the qualification process to receive future tender documents. It is the intention of Gavi to invite interested and qualified parties identified through this EOI to a subsequent Call for Prequalification which will further evaluate those organisations’ potential for inclusion in an Approved Suppliers List (ASL), Preferred Supplier List (PSL), Framework Contracts or other Requests for Proposal (RFPs). The Call for Prequalification will be communicated to appropriate bidders following completion of the electronic Expression of Interest.

Organisations that do not complete this EOI will not be eligible for invitation to future prequalification or tender stages as part of this process. However, please note that additional rounds of Expression of Interest may be run in future, as appropriate to meet the needs of supported countries.

The core objectives of this Expression of Interest are as follows:

• Identify local organisations in Gavi supported countries and economies that may be willing and capable of providing the required technical assistance services.
• Understand the interest of identified local organisations to provide technical assistance in the listed programmatic areas across Gavi supported countries and economies.
• Sensitise local organisations to subsequent steps leading to the possible prequalification of organisations, secondary bidding processes and ultimately the establishment of contractual agreements for the provision of Gavi Technical Assistance.
• Ensure that identified institutions meet the qualifying criteria to be considered as a Gavi Local Partner.
• Gather information which may be used for the subsequent pre-qualification of bidders.
• Identify existing or potential future consortia that may be formed by organisations as part of a future bid.

Qualified organisations may ultimately be successful in being contracted by Gavi for the provision of Technical Assistance activities. Prequalified suppliers may be given access to potential tender opportunities which are not available to non-prequalified suppliers.

This EOI itself is not a solicitation for proposals and Gavi shall not issue any contracts based solely on this Expression of Interest. Gavi reserves the right to alter its proposed approach.

(4) Definition and Requirements to be a Gavi Local Partner.

Close collaboration with local organisationsis critical to Gavi’s mission. This EOI is seeking responses from local organisations, who should meet all of the following criteria;

• Organisation should be registered (via certificate of incorporation or equivalent) in one of Gavi’s supported countries or economies (Gavi 57 and/or COVAX AMC 92).
• Must have an office in the country(ies) of work;
• Headquarters (HQ) must be located in one of the Gavi supported countries or economies. Please note that the HQ country does not have to be the same as the country/economy of implementation.
• Majority membership (51% or more) of the governing body must be citizens of the recipient country(ies)/ economy(ies);
• Senior leadership should be primarily located within the country(ies)/ economy(ies) of implementation;
• Majority of project staff (51% or more) must be citizens of the country(ies)/ economy(ies) of implementation;
• No overhead costs allocated outside the country(ies)/ economy(ies) of implementation;

Gavi Local Partners can include but are not limited to:

• Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs)
• Advocacy, Policy and Service Delivery Civil Society Organisations (CSOs)
• Local research, knowledge partners and professional associations
• Community-based actors
• Regional civil society networks/platforms
• Non-profit advocacy organisations
• For-profit community based organisations

(5) Background of the Gavi Initiatives

As noted, this EOI is designed to support Gavi’s current and future Technical Assistance (TA) needs, identified across two works teams, namely:

(i) To achieve the objectives of Gavi’s 5.0 strategy (2021-2025) and

(ii) To meet the immediate technical assistance needs arising in the delivery efforts of COVID19 vaccines in line with the WHO Guidance on the COVID-19 National Deployment and Vaccination Plan (NDVP).

There are a number of differences between these two workstreams which are explained in sections 5.1 and 5.2 respectively. An overview of the programmatic and geographic differences are illustrated in section 5.3.

(3) Organisations without official registration, such as those working in conflict and fragile settings, will have their eligibility considered on a case-by-case basis at the discretion of Gavi.

(5.1)  Background of the Initiative -Gavi 5.0 Technical Assistance (2021-2025)
In June 2019 the Gavi Board approved a new five-year strategy for 2021-2025 (Gavi 5.0) with a vision to ‘leave no-one behind with immunisation and a mission to save lives and protect people’s health by increasing equitable and sustainable use of vaccines.

The Gavi Board has approved an envelope of US $500M for Targeted Country Assistance (TCA) over the course of the strategic period (2021-25). Throughout the Gavi 5.0 Agenda, Gavi aspires to allocate up to 30% of all technical assistance funding to Local Partners (directly and indirectly) over the course of the 5 year strategy. This EOI is a step in the realization of this aspiration. Building on the successes of the previous strategic periods, Gavi 5.0 has several key shifts to deliver on its mission, including:

• A core focus on reaching zero-dose children and missed communities with equity as the organising principle.
• Closer collaboration with Local Partners will be particularly critical to increase sustainability of the technical assistance model as well as to leverage local knowledge of zero-dose communities and barriers to immunisation.
• More differentiated, tailored and targeted approaches for Gavi eligible countries
• An increased focus on programmatic sustainability
• A stronger emphasis on supporting countries in prioritising vaccine introductions
• Providing limited and catalytic support for select former and never Gavi-eligible countries

Gavi’s 5.0 Strategy is guided by a “missed communities, first priority” principle in order to prioritise children missing out on vaccinations, including particularly those found in displaced and vulnerable communities. Almost half of these missed children reside in fragile and conflict settings. The Alliance’s priority for 2021-2025 is to reach zero-dose children with immunisation, ensure they receive a full schedule of vaccines and build a platform that can deliver other primary health care services.

The Strategy aims to comprehensively include and implement the various steps along the Identify, Reach, Monitor, Measure and Advocacy (IRMMA) Framework towards reaching zero dose children, i.e. to:

• Identify and map clusters of missed communities and zero dose children at local level in above settings; understand the specific demand and supply barriers (economic, social, geographic, political) including gender dimensions to access immunisation services.
• Reach missed communities with immunisation services through tailored and innovative strategies, fostering integration and identifying opportunities to build a platform for Primary Health Care

(4) Zero-dose children are those who have not received any routine vaccines. For operational purposes, Gavi defines zero – dose children as those missing a first dose of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis containing vaccine.

(5) Missed communities are home to clusters of zero-dose and under-immunised children. These communities often face multiple deprivations and vulnerabilities, including lack of services, socio-economic inequities and often gender related barriers.

(PHC) and protection services. Build local capacities (civil society organisations, Community-Based Organizations (CBOs), communities) and work on local long term sustainable solutions towards systematically fully immunising children in these communities.

• Monitor programme implementation on a regular basis; use data to improve programme reach and track progress in reaching full vaccination using innovative data tools and approaches.
• Measure impact; include operational research methods aligned to a learning agenda to improve delivery strategies during implementation; inform future programming and build on best practices.
• Advocate for the inclusion of these marginalized communities in programming and routine system delivery, based on evidence, with both national and sub-national authorities and non-state entities, where relevant.

(5.2)  Background of the Initiative -COVAX Technical Assistance (2021-2022) In September 2020, the Gavi Board approved USD 150 million for Cold Chain Equipment (CCE) and Technical Assistance (TA) to support the planning and preparation for the introduction of COVID-19 vaccines. COVAX Technical Assistance has provided support to eligible AMC 92 economies for the planning and preparation for the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines. Technical assistance activities were operationalized according to the programmatic areas in line with the WHO-UNICEF COVID-19 Vaccine Country Readiness Assessment Tool (VIRAT).

Continuation of this initiative is subject to additional funding for technical assistance support being made available by the Gavi Board from June 2021 to support the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines across programmatic areas in line with the WHO Guidance on the COVID-19 national deployment and vaccination plan (see activities table and further details in the section 5.3).

Through this additional COVAX TA funding, eligible AMC 92 economies and in-country partners will aim to strengthen delivery capability in countries and build back better immunization and health systems, including opportunities for integration of the adult immunization program with other non-communicable disease prevention and screening programs. To this end, this targeted technical assistance funding may be complemented by operational delivery support. COVAX TA support for deployment and administration of COVID-19 vaccines will be administered according to the Partners’ Engagement Framework (PEF) principles of country ownership, differentiation, transparency, accountability, right partnerships (including embracing partnerships beyond immunization), focus on zero-dose children and missed communities, and sustainability.

This EOI provides a unique opportunity for identifying and implementing new partnerships (including with CSOs and humanitarian actors) across multiple sectors for a more holistic approach linked to broader primary health care and universal health coverage efforts. Closer collaboration with Local Partners will be particularly critical to increase sustainability of the technical assistance model but also to leverage local knowledge.

5.3. Targeted Technical Assistance Programmatic Areas and Geographic Scope:

(6) Response Required from Bidders
Interested organisations should respond by completing the online Electronic Expression of Interest form in either English or French on or before the closing date of this EOI, 31 October, 2021 (CET) (Amended) and by providing all the required documents and information.

Appropriate organisations who have fully submitted their Expression of Interest (EOI) via the electronic form may be invited to a Call for Prequalification. EOIs will be reviewed on a rolling monthly basis, with suitable identified bidders being invited to submit additional documentation and information under the Call for Prequalification. Organisations are encouraged to submit their EOI as early as possible.

ELECTRONIC EXPRESSION OF INTEREST LINK HERE
Submissions to the Call for Prequalification will be used to further evaluate those organisations’ potential for inclusion in an Approved Suppliers List (ASL), Preferred Supplier List (PSL), Framework Contracts or other Requests for Proposal (RFP). The Call for Prequalification will be communicated to appropriate bidders following completion of the Electronic Expression of Interest. Please note that the Expression of Interest will be collected via secure Qualtrics questionnaire:

If you have questions related to the completion of the Electronic Expression of Interest, please submit them using the online question collecting form [here]. Should any organisation have difficulty completing the Electronic Expression of Interest form, please contact procurement@gavi.org and we can arrange to assist you and submit your EOI via telephone interview.

(Amended) Depending on need, information and question and answers sessions will be organised.

Please note your interest in attending a session by using the online question collecting form [here].

Gavi reserves the right to request further clarifications relating to any information provided in response to this EOI, or to withdraw this EOI at any time before or after submission of information without prior notice or explanation. Gavi reserves the right to complete comprehensive due diligence checks, request further information from organisations and/or investigate further to confirm an organisation’s eligibility to be classified as a ‘Local Partner’. Gavi reserves the right to terminate any contact or agreement following determination that a partner does not qualify as a ‘Local Partner’. Gavi reserves the rights to broaden or narrow the scope of Gavi’s eligibility criteria for a ‘Local Partner’ and any other criteria at any time.

All costs incurred in preparing or submitting a response to this EOI must be borne by the organisation providing the information.

Appendix 1: List of Gavi Supported Countries and Economies

(6) The eligibility of economies to receive COVAX technical assistance support may be subject to the economy confirming participation in the COVAX AMC.

Appendix 2: Electronic Expression of Interest Questionnaire Sections:
To help you prepare your responses, this table replicates the questions you will find in the Electronic Expression of Interest Questionnaire. Please make sure you have your answers and information for each of the below ready before you begin the Questionnaire. A hard copy of the questionnaire can be found here.