Request For Application for CPRC Global Vax

REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS (RFA)

 

USAID Uzazi Staha – Community Partnerships for Respectful Care [CPRC] Project

COMMUNITY BASED SOCIAL BEHAVIOR CHANGE (SBC), DEMAND CREATION, MOBILIZATION AND OUTREACH-BASED SERVICES DELIVERY ACTIVITIES IN 7 COUNCILS [MWANZA & SHINYANGA REGIONS] OF TANZANIA

 

AWARD DATES: 1^st September 2022 to 31^st May 2023

 

1. KEY DATES

RFA issue date	5th August 2022
Period of response closed for any inquiries, questions, and clarifications via email	8th August 2022
Responses to questions and clarification received via email	9th August 2022
Application/proposals submission deadline	14th August 2022
Review of applications (compliance, technical and budget reviews)	15th to 21st August 2022
Finalists notified, meetings with finalist to review any comments or feedback.	22nd to 28th August 2022
Contracts signing and disbursement of funds to awarded CSOs	29th Aug to 4th Sept 2022
Kick-off workshop with awarded CSOs technical, finance, and management staff	8th & 9th September 2022

 

2. PURPOSE

The Americares Community Partnerships for Respectful Care (CPRC) project has issued this Request for Application (RFA) to solicit applications from Tanzania Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Faith-Based Organizations (FBOs), and Community-Based Organizations (CBOs). In collaboration with regional and council health management teams (R/CHMTs), successful applicants will implement community-based interventions, such as the community scorecard, to mobilize communities, build community-facility linkages, and promote local solutions to increase COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and uptake in communities. Successful applicants will also support the R/CHMTs in capacity building efforts for community health workers (CHWs) and healthcare providers (HCPs) and in COVID-19 vaccine data collection systems to accelerate COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and coverage.    

This RFA describes the 1) objectives and characteristics of award activities to be implemented and 2) the process and requirements for a grant application. Issuance of this RFA does not constitute an award commitment on the part of the project. Moreover           USAID Uzazi Staha reserves the right to reject any or all applications or award a grant without discussions or negotiations, if it is considered to be in the program’s best interest.

• BACKGROUND

About Americares:

Americares is a health-focused relief and development organization that saves lives and improves health for people affected by poverty or disaster. Each year, Americares reaches 85 countries on average, including the United States, with life-changing health programs, medicine, medical supplies, and emergency aid. Americares is one of the world's leading non-profit providers of donated medicine and medical supplies. For more information, visit americares.org

About the Community Partnerships for Respectful Care (CPRC) Project:

The Americares CPRC is a five-year project (2020-2025) funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The project aims to reduce child and maternal morbidity and mortality by utilizing community- and facility-based high-quality, high-impact health services, while expanding the number of new and underutilized partners implementing such activities. The CPRC project, also known as USAID Uzazi Staha in Swahili, works with faith-based, private health facilities (HFs), and community networks to address disrespectful and abusive maternity care at the facility level and improve the perception of RMNCAH+FP services among communities and influence norms and beliefs to increase the uptake of RMNCAH+FP and nutrition services. The project also provides strategic technical assistance at the national, regional, and council levels. Americares Tanzania works with Christian Social Services Commission (CSSC) to implement the USAID CPRC project in the Mwanza Region. 

 

About the CPRC Global Vax

To support the Global Vaccine Access (VAX) initiative effort, USAID has awarded Americares with an additional $3.8 million through the USAID CPRC mechanism. The Global VAX project aims to rapidly accelerate the uptake of COVID-19 vaccines to reach 70 percent of the eligible population in Mwanza and Shinyanga regions through social behavior change (SBC) and community-based interventions by generating demand for COVID-19 vaccines. The project will take a facilitative approach in supporting the R/CHMTs in ensuring they have the technical insight, resources, and structures they need to successfully lead the implementation of macro- and micro-plans for increasing COVID-19 vaccine uptake. CPRC Global VAX will be covering four councils in Mwanza (i.e. Kwimba DC, Magu DC, Misungwi DC and Ukerewe DC) and three councils in Shinyanga (i.e. Shinyanga MC, Kishapu DC and Msalala DC).

 

3. OBJECTIVES

CPRC will work directly with four successful applicants (CSOs, CBOs, FBOs and NGOs) across seven councils of two regions and provide funding opportunities in a Fixed Amount Awards (FAA) mechanism. The successful applicants will support the regions’ vaccination demand creation, community mobilization, service delivery and COVID-19 data management efforts in line with Tanzania’s Phase II acceleration plan. Also, the successful applicants will use community scorecard approach to identify major concerns around COVID-19 vaccines, create locally driven solutions to combat vaccine hesitancy/misinformation while strengthening linkages between facility and community health services. The application process aims is to identify eligible CSOs, who can mobilize quickly and leverage long-standing grassroots relationships to bring effective and tailored interventions to the eligible population for the vaccine, including priority groups. The successful applicants will work with existing CHWs, HCPs, and key community stakeholders to address vaccine hesitancy utilizing a robust community mobilization and social and behavior change (SBC) approach. Successful applicants will also be accountable for 1) planning activities and relevant trainings including budget development 2) day-to-day implementation of approved activities and 3) monitoring and evaluation of project activities. Among other tasks, CSOs are expected to implement key community level interventions of the project, including:

 

No	Activity Category	Approaches and Major Activities
1	Support vaccine demand creation, community mobilization and service delivery efforts in line with Tanzania's Phase II acceleration plan at regional and council levels	Work with CPRC to implement interpersonal communication (IPC) activities to address barriers, harmful social and gender norms that hinder individuals from accessing and utilizing COVID-19 vaccines and dissemination of printed SBC materials.
		CSOs with support from R/CHMTs conduct mass communications approaches to address misinformation and community-based vaccination campaigns/outreach events that increase accessibility of vaccines and leverage “positive peer influence” to increase vaccine uptake.
		CSOs will support the CHMTs in rolling out powerful community mobilization interventions that can create demand and build linkages with COVID-19 vaccine services. Service delivery will be linked to demand primarily through mobile vaccination sites at community-based events as that increases geographical access and peer vaccination visibility including Roadshow events, Gulio la Afya events and House-to-House Approach
2	Support monitoring and reporting systems to improve the quality of COVID-19 vaccination data.	CSOs to collect daily, weekly, and monthly COVID-19 vaccination data from community outreach and health facilities, conduct routine data quality assessments (RDQAs), Support CHMTs (DIVO) to ensure that data is entered into the Chanjo COVID system on daily basis and conduct bi-weekly jointly Integrated Supportive Supervision (ISS) with R/CHMTs to monitor implementation of community level interventions.[SBC, community mobilization and community outreach-based service delivery activities) to accelerate the uptake of COVID-19 vaccines.]
3	Implement innovative and high-yield facility-linked community approaches to enhance vaccine acceptance to increase coverage and uptake of COVID-19 vaccinations.	CSOs will support R/CHMTs (trained facilitators) to roll out community score card (CSC) meetings among groups of men, women, youth, community leaders, religious leaders, and service providers. CSC meetings can serve as an inclusive platform to engage with various stakeholder groups and promote equity in addressing COVID-19 vaccine related concerns and increasing uptake. It provides a safe space for marginalized groups (who may be traditionally overlooked or excluded from discussions about service provision) to exercise their voice and agency. Through this process, service users will feel empowered as they can build their agency, feel ownership over service delivery and demand accountability from service providers/duty-bearers, and help ensure public services are responsive to their needs, thereby increasing utilization of services.
4	Strengthen collaboration and coordination with Global Vax implementing partners	At regional and council levels, will support monthly IP meetings with R/CHMTs to share implementation plans and progress to avoid duplication. Furthermore, CSOs will maintain effective communication with other IPs during the course of implementation by sharing plans of community events, which could be integrated with COVID-19 vaccine sensitization and service delivery on weekly basis through coordination from RIVO/DIVO.

 

1. GENDER EQUALITY AND PRIORITY GROUPS

Americares recognizes that gender equality and priority groups are fundamental in the program design and implementation to achieve its program goal. Thus, Americares promotes gender equality and includes priority groups in all aspects of our operations and programs. In this RFA, the CSO's proposed activities should align with prevailing national gender policies and USAID's Gender Policy and Women Empowerment. Similarly, CSOs must demonstrate how their technical approach will benefit the women, girls, and priority groups from program development through implementation, monitoring, and evaluation.

1. AWARD TYPE

Americares Tanzania expects to sub-award applicants at a fixed price, using Fixed Amount Award (FAA) grant mechanism. The application period under this RFA is a 9-months implementation from 1^st September 2022 to 31^st May 2023 with maximum funding of $150,000 (approximately TZS 327,000,000) per each focused geographic area/council. Applying CSOs are highly encouraged to consider project design, implementation plan and budget based on nine months of performance, associated activities, implementation budget, milestones, and deliverables. The CSOs administration and operational budget should not exceed 35% of the total budget per geographical area/council.

• PRIORITY AREAS

CSOs should propose to work in one or several priorities geographic areas/councils in the region they operate. Applicants should select only geographic priority areas in which they meet all three of the following conditions:

1. CSO has a current presence (office, staff, or networks of allies and volunteers in the area).
2. CSO has previous experience (implementing projects in the area over not less than one year); and
3. CSO has a good reputation (to be confirmed through a letter of support and reference checks).

 

 

Americares reserves the right to request finalist CSO(s) to revise their applications to suit their geographic capacity better and address varying needs of the program in the following selected geographical areas/councils which CSO(s) need to prepare technical application based on the category groups below.

Region	Geographical Areas/Councils
Category 1 Councils : Mwanza Region	Kwimba District Council
	Magu District Council
Category 2 Councils: Mwanza Region	Misungwi District Council
	Ukerewe District Council
Category 3 Councils : Shinyanga Region	Kishapu District Council
	Shinyanga Municipal Council
Category 4 Council: Shinyanga Region	Msalala District Council

 

• INDICATORS

CSOs implementing activities under grants are expected to contribute directly to the following indicators:

Indicator Number	Indicator Name	Reporting Frequency	Data Source
1.	Number of people who received a first dose of an approved COVID-19 vaccine (COV-1) with USAID direct support	Weekly	Chanjo COVID Information Management System
2.	Number of people who received a last recommended dose of an approved COVID-19 vaccine (COV-c) with USAID direct support	Weekly	Chanjo COVID Information Management System
3.	Number of adverse event following immunization (AEFI) reports reviewed by the appropriate responsible bodies with USG support among those submitted to country monitoring systems	Monthly	Chanjo COVID Information Management System
4.	Number of people trained on COVID-19 vaccine-related topics with USAID support	Monthly	Project Training Information Management Systems (TIMS)
5.	Number of vaccination sites supported by USAID and number of doses given at these sites	Monthly	Project monitoring tools/Activity Report
6.	Number of people reached through USG-supported mass media and social media with COVID-19 vaccine-related messaging	Monthly	Project monitoring tools/Activity Report
7.	Vaccination status of healthcare workers	Monthly	Chanjo COVID Information Management System/Project monitoring tools
8.	Vaccination status of community health workers	Monthly	Chanjo COVID Information Management System/ Project monitoring tools

 

1. APPLICANT ELIGIBILITY

Eligible applicants must meet the following minimum requirements:

• Must be registered in Tanzania as a local Civil Society Organization (CSO) and have a good reputation. Must present a letter of support from relevant Local Government Authority from each selected priority area, a scanned copy of the registration certificate or a certificate of compliance.
• Must have a physical presence at least in one of the selected districts or regional level and implement the interventions directly (and not subcontract activities to other organizations).
• Previous experience working on maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health, and family planning or community-based SBC, demand creation, mobilization and community outreach-based service delivery activities is required.
• Previous experience as subawardee of prime recipient on US-government funded projects within the past five years is preferred.
• Be able to meet minimum administrative and financial eligibility criteria to receive funding.
• Experience in COVID-19 vaccine uptake demand-side interventions preferred.

 

 

Excludes:

• All politically affiliated CSOs
• All CSOs barred or sanctioned by registrar of NGOs in Tanzania or the U.S. Government
• All CSOs that do not meet the minimum requirements outlined in this RFA

 

 

1. APPLICATION CONTENT

The technical application is the most important factor in selecting sub-awards. Thus, the application should be specific, complete, and presented concisely. The application must demonstrate the applicant's capabilities and expertise to achieve Global VAX's goals. Each application must contain:

 

1. Cover page with the name of the organization and contact information for this RFA, including contact, address, telephone, fax, and email address
2. Technical application including proposed geographical coverage, specific objectives to be achieved, activities to be implemented, implementation procedures, monitoring, and other resources needed
3. Work plan, Ghant Chart Categorized budget for the award period of 9 Months [1^st September 2022 to 31^st May 2023] with budget notes
4. Experience implementing similar programs in the selected area or the country
5. List of office(s) physical presence (address, phone number, number of staff)
6. Staffing, administrative and operational structure
7. The overall page limitation for the technical application is 12 pages (not including the cover page, acronyms, table of contents, and annex). The application shall be written in English and typed on A4 paper, must use Arial, size 12 font, and standard 1-inch margins with each page numbered consecutively. (Points will be deducted for applications that do not follow guidance).

 

Applications should have all components below as relevant for the selected objective; -

 

No	SECTION	CONTENT	SCORE (Out of 100)	PAGE MAXIMUM
A	Cover letter	Preferably in organization headed letter, outlining the documents submitted, and signed by Executive Director or one of the senior management members.	N/A	1
B	Cover page	Must include title, organization name and logo, date of submission, submitted to, and submitted by	N/A	1
C	Acronyms list	Must include all the acronyms in an alphabetical order	N/A	1
D	Table of contents	Updated table of contents	N/A	1
Technical Application body
1	Organizational Information	Includes applicant’s organization name and contact details, along with establishment and registration information with physical address. Includes name and titles of the senior management team. Please also include a short narrative on the organization’s background.	4	1 (plus attachments)
2	Past performance	Gives applicant’s history, experience with similar programs including names of previous funding organizations and level of funding.	8	1
3	Target audience and geographic focus	Confirm the organization’s selection of priority population focus and geographic coverage of their proposed work.	8	1
4	Project Design	Describe proposed project design, considering the activity categories and approaches highlighted in the table above. Activities should be able to be directly linked to achievement of indicators in section VII of this RFA.	25	3
5	Implementation Plan	Gantt Chart illustrating the proposed activities in a table format. Indicate timeframe in months.	10	2
6	Capability Statement & Target Setting	Describes applicant’s personnel, resources and networks available to accomplish proposed activities in a cost-efficient and timely fashion. Demonstrates applicant’s knowledge of USAID Uzazi Staha targets and selection process for the applicant’s target selection.	10	2
7	Proposed Milestones	Detail proposed milestones from your work plan and targets for periodic payments throughout the award. Note: These are subject to review and change before issuing of award.	10	2
8	Detailed Budget	Provides costs of activities in an Excel format. Costs for each activity should be linked to the activity using the same numbering and activity headings. Budget lines should be clear and unit costs reasonable for efficiency. Budget notes should be included in the budget template.	20	Excel template to be provided
E	Annexes	·         A copy of registration certificate or a certificate of compliance ·         Letter of support from the relevant Council authorities in each of the selected priority areas ·         Accreditation document ·         A copy of the ajira organogram ·         Bank account information ·         Copies of the last quarterly narrative and financial report	5

 

SUBMISSION

Submit your inquiries and application package via infotanzania@americares.org. Please write “Americares CPRC Global Vax - RFA/01/2022 Application” in the subject of every email you send related to this RFA.

• The deadline for receiving inquiries/questions/clarifications is Monday, 8^th August 2022, at 6:30 pm (East African Time).
• Questions received and answers provided will be shared with all applicants by Tuesday, 9th August 2022.
• Applications must be submitted no later than Sunday, 14^th August 2022, at 6:30 pm EAT. Applications received after this date and time will not be considered.

Americares will not refund any costs incurred by CSOs in preparation for this application. This includes, but is not limited to, costs for preparing and submitting an application and other communications related to the application. Americares will inform only finalist CSOs. Consider your application unsuccessful if you do not hear back from Americares by September 01, 2022, at 4:30 pm. Thank you for your interest in Americares work in Tanzania and for supporting national initiatives to saving lives and improve health for people affected by poverty or disaster so they can reach their full potential.

• CONTACT PERSON

The contact person for this RFA is the CPRC Project Director. Interested CSOs may obtain further information at the address below during office hours from 08:00 – 16.30 hours local time on Mondays to Fridays inclusive, except on public holidays.

The Project Director,

CPRC/USAID Uzazi Staha Project

Americares Tanzania,

2^nd Floor, Ekacliff Building House,

Balewa Road / Isamilo Area, Nyamagana City Council,

P.O. Box 49 Mwanza,

Tel:  +255 765-696-867

E-mail: JFulli@Americares.org