Global Alliance For Improved Nutrition (GAIN)- Request For Proposals For Assessment Of The Status Of Implementation Of The National Policy On Food And Nutrition & The National Multi-sectoral Plan Of Action For Food And Nutrition

DEADLINE:  22 MAY 2023
GLOBAL ALLIANCE FOR IMPROVED NUTRITION (GAIN)
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR ASSESSMENT OF THE STATUS OF IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NATIONAL POLICY ON FOOD AND NUTRITION AND THE NATIONAL MULTISECTORAL PLAN OF ACTION FOR FOOD AND NUTRITION AT NATIONAL AND STATE LEVEL IN NIGERIA
PROJECT: CATALYZING STRENGTHENED POLICY ACTION FOR HEALTHY DIETS AND RESILIENCE (CASCADE)

As part of the selection process, CARE and GAIN reserve the right to request clarification regarding bids that substantially qualify. Questions in the technical review are at CARE and GAIN’S discretion and will only be directed to bidders who have submitted substantially responsive bids.

The final award is subject to other terms and conditions included in this solicitation, as well as the successful final negotiation of all applicable terms and conditions related to the awarded contract.

(I) PROJECT BACKGROUND AND SCOPE OF WORK

(1) ABOUT CASCADE, CARE and GAIN
The 4.5-year Catalyzing Strengthened policy action for healthy Diets and resilience (CASCADE) project is being implemented by CARE and The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN). By prioritizing the essential nutrition services pathway, CASCADE will work with national and local governments to implement the Nutrition policy and develop a multi-stakeholder strategic implementation plan through which government actors can coordinate to better contextualize national food and nutrition policies. The programme will work with government and its technical committees to improve quality of nutrition programmes and strategies, supporting the organisation of forums and policy dialogues to advocate for increased investment in nutrition policy implementation. The programme will strengthen capacity of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to supply nutrition services, including fortified products.

Founded in 1945, CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty and social injustice. Recognizing that, when equipped with the proper resources, women and girls have the power to lift whole families and entire communities out of poverty, CARE places special focus on women and girls working alongside men and boys. Much of our work focuses on Food, Nutrition, Climate Change Resilience; Women and Girls’ Economic Empowerment; Protection and Gender Equality; Water and Sanitation; and Health.

The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) is a Swiss-based foundation launched at the United Nations in 2002 to tackle the human suffering caused by malnutrition. Working with governments, businesses and civil society, GAIN aims to transform food systems so that they deliver more nutritious foods for all people, especially the most vulnerable. GAIN is driven by a vision of a world without malnutrition and a mission to make nutritious and safe foods accessible to everyone, especially the most vulnerable to malnutrition, and to do this in an environmentally sustainable way.

(2) BACKGROUND
This Request for Proposals (RFP) is issued and will be administered by Cooperative Assistance for Relief Everywhere (CARE) and the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) in respect of The Catalyzing Strengthened policy action for healthy Diets and resilience (CASCADE) project.

The Catalyzing Strenghtened policy action for healthy Diets and resilience (CASCADE) aims to improve food security and contribute to the reduction of malnutrition of women of reproductive age and children in Nigeria. CARE and GAIN will work through the following strategic objectives to achieve the CASCADE programme’s goal in Kebbi, Nasarawa, Jigawa and Bauchi states.

Strategic objective 1: To increase access to and consumption of healthy diets among household members in the six programme countries, particularly women of reproductive age and children.

Strategic objective 2: To increase resilience to price and climate change-related shocks and stresses of household members in the six programme countries, particularly women of reproductive age and children.

We aim to achieve structural and sustainable long-term outcomes by strengthening the implementation of existing national, nutrition-related policies. We aim to do this by supporting, facilitating, and influencing the government, private sector, and other relevant stakeholders, including target groups, all of which will  contribute to the strengthened implementation of nutrition policies. This work is structured through five intermediate outcomes.

CASCADE Intermediate Outcomes (domains)
To achieve the programme’s goal and strategic objectives, CASCADE works through five intermediate outcomes (‘domains’).

• Improved Policy Implementation: Government bodies’ nutrition related policy actions are better coordinated and more effectively implemented
• Supportive Private Service Providers: Enhance the effective implementation of nutrition related policy actions
• Strengthened Community Structures: Community structures (community members, CBOs, public service providers) are drivers of change that positively support improved implementation of nutrition-related policies and practices
• Empowered Women: Women have increased knowledge, skills, and resources to produce, acquire, prepare and consume healthy diets
• Strengthened Coordination: Coordination and linkages among food system actors and processes

(3) PURPOSE
The purpose of the consultancy support is to generate detailed and contextual information on the status of implementation of the National Policy on Food and Nutrition and the National Multi-sectoral Plan of Action for Food & Nutrition at the National and state level, under the guidance of and in consultation with the GAIN and CARE team.

(3.1) OBJECTIVES OF THE CONSULTANCY
The main objective is to assess the policy implementation of the National and State Policy on Food and Nutrition and its corresponding National Multisectoral Plan of Action for Nutrition to ascertain the level of implementation; identify implementation gaps and offer recommendations.

The specific objectives are to:

(1) Conduct a thorough assessment of the level of implementation of the NPFN at national and state level, specifically in CASCADE project implementation states.

(2) Identify the level of implementation and critical implementation gaps of the NPFN and multisectoral plan of action at national and state level in CASCADE project implementation states.

(3) Identify challenges hindering the effective coordination of the various sectors involved in delivering nutrition services in CASCADE project states and proffer solutions.

(4) Identify bottlenecks/challenges faced by key nutrition stakeholders involved in the implementation of the policies.

(5) Collate and analyse data on government and private funding including donors for the implementation of the policy and other nutrition interventions.

(6) Provide recommendations on approaches/strategies the CASCADE project can employ in the implementation states and at national level to ensure transformative policy advocacy for improved nutrition related actions.

(4) PROJECT STATES, AND POLICIES
Under the guidance of, and in consultation with, the CARE and GAIN team responsible for the CASCADE Project, the Consultant shall carry out the objectives outlined above in the project implementation states and National level assessing the Policy implementation of the following

(5) SCOPE OF WORK AND DELIVERABLES

(5.1) SCOPE OF WORK

The successful applicant shall provide the following services:

• Develop an inception report (including detailed methodology and justification, a detailed study protocol, data analysis plan).
• Conduct desk review of project documents and secondary data sources as appropriate.
• For any primary data collected, provide CARE and GAIN with raw and clean datasets.
• Draft full report, including literature review, methods, data collection activities, results, and recommendations.
• Provide a summary of the report in project brief format
• Revise and finalize report based on inputs from GAIN and CARE.

(5.2) DELIVERABLES AND TIMELINE
The timeline for completion of all aspects of the Scope of Work and submission of deliverables is outlined in the table below:

QUALIFICATIONS
The Service Provider must possess the following:

• A post graduate degree in the relevant academic areas which could include nutrition, public health, business administration, demography etc.
• Senior expertise in Nutrition, Public health, Law, Policy Studies, Business Administration, Institutional Governance, etc. with at least 10 years post graduate practical experience in similar roles and responsibilities for similar outputs.
• Extensive experience and expertise in implementing rigorous research using qualitative and/or participatory approaches.
• Excellent analytical and writing skills
• Excellent interpersonal and communications skills
• Ability to effectively liaise with senior government officials and a range of stakeholders.

(II) INSTRUCTIONS FOR RESPONDING
This section addresses the process for responding to this solicitation. Applicants are encouraged to review this before completing their responses.

(1) CONTACT
Key programme and technical staff from CARE and GAIN are part of the selection team of the organization that will review the proposals. They will be available via email to respond to clarifications on this solicitation. Please direct all inquiries and other communications to nquotation@gainhealth.org Responses will not be confidential except in cases where proprietary information is involved.

(2) BUDGET
Applicants are required to provide CARE and GAIN with a detailed budget in Nigerian Naira, including fees/travel/accommodation and any other direct costs to be incurred in the delivery of the Scope of Work. Include a brief narrative justification for line items included. The budget must be inclusive of all taxes/VAT and indirect costs. The final budget amount will have to be approved by CARE and GAIN before starting the project.

(3) FORMAT FOR PROPOSAL
The proposal needs to be formatted as two separate documents:

• Technical proposal:

(i) Description of previous relevant work (maximum 1 page)

(ii) Composition of the team with names and brief biographies of all key staff (maximum 3 pages)

(iii) Detailed proposal explaining how the areas of work mentioned in Scope of Work will be addressed, including risk and mitigation strategy and timeline (maximum 10 pages)

(iv) References

• Financial proposal:

(i) Budget

(ii) Detailed budget justification

(iii) Offer of services

(4) SUBMISSION
Complete proposals should be submitted in electronic copy to: nquotation@gainhealth.org with the subject line “Review of National & Subnational Nutrition Policies”.

(5) DEADLINE
Completed proposals should be submitted not later than 5:00 pm WAT on 22 May 2023

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