Request for Proposals: Consulting services for “Leadership for health equity – a community’s journey” Tekano Health Equi

Request for Proposals:
Consulting services for “Leadership for health equity – a community’s journey” Tekano Health Equity’s story of the last five-years
 

Background and Context
Tekano Health Equity, is a non-profit organisation with the vision of an equitable South African society with improved health status across all populations. Tekano fosters dynamic, visionary, value-based leaders working in catalytic communities of learning and action who articulate, convey and act to promote health equity.

Tekano advances its vision through a Fellowship Programme which annually recruits 15 – 25 Fellows who work together to advocate to address the social and structural determinants that drive health inequities. These Fellows then become part of a lifelong alumni network and continuously work with Tekano in catalytic communities to bring about health equity change.

Tekano would like to invite experienced and qualified evaluation consulting agencies to submit proposals for telling the story of Tekano, focused on a five-year retrospective journey of the organization, its role in health equity and how Tekano Fellows are situated in social justice and health equity. We are seeking proposals from consulting agencies with a proven track record in creative storytelling methodologies with an evaluation and learning lens, particularly in the field of health equity or community development.

Objective and Purpose
The purpose of this assignment is to facilitate reflection on health equity to enrich practice within the organization. We also seek to highlight stories of change around social justice and the work Fellows have done, and why this work is important for the vision Tekano envisions for health equity.

Scope of services and deliverables
The successful consulting agency will be responsible for the following:
•Review of Tekano’s Theory of Change (TOC) and testing the assumptions made in the TOC.
•Gathering evidence about the organisation’s evolution. What strategies have been used to organize, stabilise and/or familiarize and potentially grow the organisation and the Fellowship programme.
•Mapping the health equity landscape in South Africa, looking at the changes in the past five years around the social and structural determinants of health, to contextualise the work of Tekano.
•How have the changes brought about in the organisation and Fellowship programme been framed and impacted by the external environment and the historical/recent positioning and trajectories of change in the social justice environment.
•Support Tekano and Fellows in the process of storytelling, highlighting stories of impact.
•Capture the complexity and diversity of Fellows’ experiences as well as the variety of contexts in which Fellows operate, and the different aims they are striving towards in the health equity and/or social justice area.
•Feature Stories of Change describing what the journey has been like for the Tekano Fellows – what have been able to do, what their experiences through the Fellowship programme have been, how have they evolved and what has been the influence of the Fellowship programme on their leadership trajectory.
•How has the fellowship programme influenced, positively or negatively, and the degree to which it has enhanced Fellows ’work. What advances have Fellows made in health equity and/or social justice and how has the Fellowship programme contributed to this impact and effectiveness.
 

Skills and expertise
•Master’s Degree in any social science discipline, preferably including community development, social research and monitoring and evaluation.
•Experience in designing creative methodologies for storytelling, having an evaluation and learning lens.
•Able to tell complex and big stories and facilitate reflections on health equity.
•Must have quantitative and qualitative data analysis skills.
•Expertise in Communications.
•Experience working in the areas of social justice, advocacy, health equity and/or community development.
•Ability to respond to comments and questions in a timely, appropriate manner.
•Experience in delivering outputs on time and budget.
•Ability to produce well written analytical reports.
•Must be proficient in English, written and spoken.
•Ability to speak and understand the local languages.
 

Assignment Duration
Work on this assignment will commence on the 1st of January 2024 to the 31st of March 2024. The final report should be submitted to Tekano by the 30th of April.

Procurement Timelines
•Terms of reference published: 10th November 2023
•Deadline for questions/clarifications: 17th November 2023
•Deadline for responses from Tekano: 21st November 2023
•Proposal submission: 28th November 2023
•Consultant(s) selection, contracting and briefing: December 2023
•Project commencement: 1st January 2024

How to apply Interested candidates are invited to provide technical and financial proposals. Interested consulting agency are asked to submit the following to support their candidature:
•Cover letter: introducing your consultancy, indicating why you are well placed to conduct this piece of work and outlining your experience in storytelling methodologies with an evaluation and learning lens, in health equity or community development.
•Technical proposal: describing your proposed approach, methodology and tools for conducting this reflective piece of work. Highlight any innovative methods you plan to employ.
•Workplan: present a detailed work plan outlining the proposed timeline, key activities, and milestones.
•Budget: provide a detailed budget proposal, including a breakdown of costs for each phase of the evaluation.
•Qualifications: provide details of your team members’ qualifications and relevant experience in conducting similar evaluations and organisational storytelling projects. Also include a portfolio of evidence showcasing similar work done.
•References: include contact information for at least three references from organisations where you have conducted similar evaluations.
•Any additional relevant information or creative ideas that could enhance the evaluation.

Proposals should be submitted electronically via email to tekanoevaluation@tekano.org.za by the 28th of November 2023, at midnight latest. Please mark your email with the subject line “Proposal submission: Tekano 5-year story.”
 

Evaluation Criteria
Proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
•Relevance and clarity: the proposal’s relevance to the scope of work and the clarity of the proposed approach.
•Experience: the experience and qualifications of the consulting agency and its team members in health equity research, creative methodologies and evaluation.
•Methodology: the soundness and appropriateness of the proposed methodology.
•Budget: the reasonableness and cost-effectiveness of the proposed budget in relation to the scope of work.

Selection Process
Shortlisted candidates may be contracted for interviews or additional information. The final selection will be made based on the overall quality of the proposals and the consultants’ qualifications and experience.
 

Disclaimer
Tekano reserves the right to determine the structure of the process, number of short-listed participants, the right to withdraw from the proposal process, the right to change this timetable at any time without notice and reserves the right to withdraw this tender at any time, without prior notice and without liability to compensate and/or reimburse any party. Tekano shall inform ONLY successful applicant(s). The process of negotiation and signing of the contract with the successful applicant(s) will follow.