Request for Proposal – In-Depth Needs Assessment – RFPJOR2025547

You can download the soft copy of the RFP following this link on Google Drive: (Full copy)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oCDXnVzFALYsbu1fhs4JvISjdYyAjy_J/view?usp=drive_link

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oCDXnVzFALYsbu1fhs4JvISjdYyAjy_J/view?usp=drive_link

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Advertisement – REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

WUSC invites proposals for: Hiring a Firms to Conduct an In-Depth needs Assessment on Guardian Engagement, Gender Norms, and Women’s Economic Opportunities, right to work, in the ECCD Sector in the project targeted areas

(Amman, Madaba, Zarqa, Irbid, Ajloun, Karak and Ma’an )

«RFPJOR2025547»

The closing date for receipt of proposals will be « 19 Jan 2025 » at «16:00 Amman Local time» –

All submissions must be electronically submitted to Jordan procurement email address

« [email protected]»

For further information, contact WUSC through « [email protected]»

Contents

Contents

INSTRUCTION TO BIDDERS 2

1. Description of the Procurement 2

2. Eligibility and Qualification of Bidders 2

3. Language of the Proposal 2

4. Documents included in the Proposal 3

5. Clarification and Amendment 3

6. Modification and Withdrawal 4

7. Payment and Currency 4

8. Format, signing and submission of Proposals 4

9. Deadline for Submission of Bids 4

10. Bid Opening 4

11. Evaluation of Technical Proposals 4

12. Evaluation of Financial Proposals 5

13. Confidentiality 6

14. Notification of Award 6

15. Award of Contract 6

16. Signing of Contract and Performance Security 6

17. Settlement of Disputes 7

18. Compliances 7

Annex 1:Terms of Reference (TOR) 8

Annex 2: Declaration of No Conflict of Interest 13

INSTRUCTION TO BIDDERS

1. Description of the Procurement

WUSC intends to procure a Firm Conduct an In-Depth needs Assessment on Guardian Engagement, Gender Norms, and Women’s Economic Opportunities, right to work, in the ECCD Sector in the project targeted areas (Amman, Madaba, Zarqa, Irbid, Ajloun, Karak and Ma’an ) as per the Terms of Reference attached in Annex 1.

1. Eligibility and Qualification of Bidders

2. In order to be awarded the contract, bidders should possess the financial, economic, technical, and professional capacity to perform the contract. Bidders should fulfill their tax and social insurance liabilities in the country and should not currently be subject to a debarment penalty.

   1. Bidders must adhere to the highest ethical standards, both throughout the bidding process and execution of the contract.
   2. WUSC has zero tolerance for unethical behavior/corrupt practices including:
   • Bribery: the act of unduly offering, giving, receiving or soliciting anything of value to influence the procurement process;
   • Extortion or coercion: the act of attempting to influence the process of procuring goods or services, or executing contracts by means of threats of injury to person, property or reputation;
   • Fraud: misrepresentation of information or facts for the purpose of influencing the procurement process;
   • Collusion: an agreement between bidders designed to result in bids at artificial prices that are not competitive;
   • Guilt of misrepresentation in supplying the information required by the contracting authority as a condition of participation in the contract procedure or failing to supply this information;
   • Anti-terrorism: support of any terrorist or terrorist group as defined by donors;
   • Other civil, criminal acts or otherwise illegal activity which would be detrimental to the financial interests of WUSC
   1. WUSC may declare the consultancy firms, their boards of directors and/or individual personnel ineligible to register with the organization either indefinitely or for a stated period of time.
   2. WUSC will reject a proposal if it establishes that the bidder recommended for award has engaged in corrupt, fraudulent, collusive or coercive practices in competing for the contract.

3. Languageof the Proposal

The Proposal as well as all, correspondence and documents related to the proposal shall be written in English Language.

1. Documents included in the Proposal

The proposal will be prepared, submitted and evaluated in two parts as follows:

1. Technical Proposal Format and Content

   The Technical Proposal shall be prepared using the instructions provided below and shall comprise the documents listed**.** The Technical Proposal shall not include any financial information. A Technical Proposal containing material financial information shall be declared non-responsive.

Section 1 (In case of an open tender where the suppliers are not known to WUSC; the following documents should be requested) for eligibility and compliance check/evaluation

• Covering letter on firms headed paper giving complete details including email addresses, telephone contacts, office location
  • Copy of Certificate of Incorporation/registration (Commercial registration)
  • Valid Tax compliance certificate (where applicable)
  • Copy of Current Trading License (Vocational license)
  • Copy of regulatory body certificate (where applicable)

Failure to submit the documents requested in Section 1 will lead to rejection of the proposal.

1. Financial Proposal format and content

   The Financial Proposal shall be prepared in the format below and it shall list all costs associated with the assignment, including (a) remuneration for Key Experts and Non-Key Experts, (b) reimbursable expenses as follows:

   • Summary of Costs
   • Breakdown of Remuneration of the key experts proposed
   • Reimbursable expenses if any

4.2.1 The prices given in the financial proposal must include all taxes and duties in accordance with the laws of the country. (No Tax exemption)

4.2.2 The price offered must remain fixed during the contract performance.

4.2.3 The bid price must be in the requested Currency, which is Jordanian Dinar (JOD).

1. Clarification and Amendment

   WUSC will, within 3 days, respond in writing or electronic mail to any request clarification received in writing or electronic mail no later than 7 days before the expiry of the deadline for submission of the bid. The response will be distributed to all bidders without identifying the source of the request. All inquiries should be written to WUSC through ([email protected])

2. Modification and Withdrawal

3. The bidder may submit a modified bid or a modification to any part of it at any time prior to the proposal submission deadline. The bidder’s withdrawal notice envelope must be marked as “Modification”. No modifications to the bid shall be accepted after the deadline.

   1. The bidder may submit a bid withdrawal notice to any part of it at any time prior to the proposal submission deadline. The bidder’s withdrawal notice envelope must be marked as “Withdrawal”. No withdrawals to the bid shall be accepted after the deadline.

4. Payment and Currency

   1. Payment under the Contract shall be made in the currency or currencies in the bid which is (JOD)
   2. Payment will be made within 30 days upon submission of invoice and satisfactory receipt of goods.

5. Format, signing and submission of Proposals

   1. An authorized representative of the bidder shall sign the original submission letters in the required format as one original.
   2. The original Technical Proposal shall be clearly marked “TECHNICAL PROPOSAL” Title of the attachment.
   3. The original Financial Proposal shall be clearly marked “FINANCIAL PROPOSAL” Title of the attachment. (Note : Technical and financial proposals must be submitted in one email with separate attachments).

6. Deadlinefor Submission of Bids

   The proposal must be submitted through the email with the subject of “RFP/JOR/2025/547” and must be received by WUSC by Jan 19 2025 16:00. Bids received after this date will be rejected.

Proposals submitted must be valid for 90 days from the bid submission date.

1. BidOpening

   1. WUSC evaluation committee shall conduct the opening of the proposals immediately after the bid submission time. The opening date will be Jan 20 2025.
   2. At the opening of the proposals, only the Technical proposal shall be opened while Financial Proposal shall remain at the procurement department and shall be securely stored. bids the following shall be read out: (i) the name and the country of the bidder (ii) any modifications to the bid submitted prior to proposal submission deadline; (iii) any other information deemed appropriate. This information will be filled in the bid opening form.

2. Evaluation of Technical Proposals

   1. The evaluators of the Technical Proposals shall have no access to the Financial Proposals until the technical evaluation is concluded
   2. The tender committee shall evaluate the Technical Proposals on the basis of their responsiveness to the Terms of Reference and the RFP, applying the evaluation criteria, sub-criteria, and point system specified below. Each responsive Proposal will be given a technical score.

A Proposal shall be rejected at this stage if it does not respond to important aspects of the RFP or if it fails to achieve the minimum technical score.

During evaluation of bids, WUSC may request of the bidder, in writing using the mailing address or email address, to provide clarification of his bid. No change in price or substance of the bid shall be sought, offered or permitted.

Proposal Evaluation Criteria

Criteria, sub-criteria, and point system for the evaluation of the Technical Proposals:

Points

1. Technical ( which includes; doing an evaluation for the video quality, equipment & creativity – (70 points)
2. Financial Proposal (30 points)

Total points for the four criteria***:*** 100

The minimum technical score (St) required to pass is: 55

The minimum Overall score 70

1. Evaluation of Financial Proposals

   1. The Financial Proposals of the bidders who attain the minimum technical scores are opened (can be made public to all bidders who participated, and if a public opening is called all bidders must be informed in advance of their technical scores and those qualifying informed that their financial proposals will be opened during the public opening and those who did not attain the minimum points are informed that their financial proposals will be returned unopened after the contracting process is complete ) and the summary of cost prices read out and recorded in the bid opening form by the tender committee. All other Financial Proposals are returned unopened after the Contract negotiations are successfully concluded and the Contract is signed.
   2. Arithmetical errors will be rectified in the following manner. If there is a discrepancy between the unit price and the total price, obtained in multiplying the unit price by quantity, the unit price will prevail. If there is a discrepancy between the words and figures, the amount in words shall prevail. If the bidder disagrees with such his bid will be rejected.

Proposal Evaluation Criteria

The lowest evaluated Financial Proposal (Fm) is given the maximum financial score (Sf) of 100.

The formula for determining the financial scores (Sf) of all other Proposals is calculated as following:

Sf = 100 x Fm/ F, in which “Sf” is the financial score, “Fm” is the lowest price, and “F” the price of the proposal under consideration.

[or replace with another inversely proportional formula acceptable to the WUSC]

The weights given to the Technical (T) and Financial (P) Proposals are:

T = [70], and

P = _______[30]

Proposals are ranked according to their combined technical (St) and financial (Sf) scores using the weights (T = the weight given to the Technical Proposal; P = the weight given to the Financial Proposal; T + P = 1) as following: S = St x T% + Sf x P%.

1. Confidentiality

   1. No bidder will contact WUSC on any matter related to his bid except for requests related to clarifications of the bid. Information concerning procurement process and evaluation of bids is confidential. Any clarification related to the selection process, shall be done only in writing.
   2. Any attempt by the bidder to influence improperly WUSC officials in the evaluation of the bid or Contract award decisions may result in the rejection of its bid, and may be subject to the application of prevailing WUSC’s debarment procedures.

2. Notification of Award

   1. The Consultant with the Most Advantageous Proposal, which is the Proposal that achieves the highest combined technical and financial scores, will be notified of award of contract by WUSC in writing.
   2. At the same time WUSC notifies the successful bidder, WUSC will notify all other unsuccessful bidders and provide a debrief where one is sought in writing within 3 days.
   3. The notice of acceptance will be given by the successful bidder within 7 days of the notification of award.

3. Award of Contract

   1. WUSC will award the contract to the bidder whose bid is determined to be substantially responsive and who offered the best evaluated bid.
   2. WUSC reserves the right to accept or reject any bid or all bids and to cancel the bidding process at any time prior to award of the contact without thereby incurring any liability to bidders without being required to inform the bidders of reasons for such actions.

4. Signing of Contract and Performance Security

   1. WUSC will send the successful bidder the Contract. The bidder will sign and date the contract and return to WUSC within 14 days of receipt of the notice of award.
   2. Together with the signed Contract, the bidder will furnish WUSC with a Performance Security, if required to do so.
   3. If the successful bidder fails to submit the performance security, if required to do so, within 14 days, then it shall be sufficient grounds to revoke the award of the contract. In this case, WUSC will award the contract to the next bidder.
   4. A performance security may be required in cases where the supplier is given an advance payment. Performance Security must be in the form of a Bank Guarantee or a bond from an Insurance Company licensed by the Bank.

5. Settlement of Disputes

Disputes that may arise during the performance of the Contract shall be settled in accordance with the laws of the country, by arbitration or mutual agreement between the parties.

1. Compliances

Bidders must submit valid certificates of compliances from the relevant bodies as requested.

Annex 1:Terms of Reference (TOR)

Terms of Reference (TOR) for Hiring a Firm to Conduct an In-Depth needs Assessment on Guardian Engagement, Gender Norms, and Women’s Economic Opportunities, right to work, in the ECCD Sector in the project targeted areas

(Amman, Madaba, Zarqa, Irbid, Ajloun, Karak and Ma’an )

Terms of Reference

PRJOR2025547

• Background

The “Burden of Childcare Reduced and Addressed for Women in Jordan” (BUCRA) project, funded by Global Affairs Canada and implemented by the World University Service of Canada (WUSC) in partnership with the National Council for Family Affairs, SADAQA, and the Vocational Training Corporation, under the umbrella of the Ministry of Social Development., aims to transform parental and guardian engagement in Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) through gender-responsive models. By piloting innovative strategies informed by research and community input, the project strives to foster an inclusive ECCD ecosystem that empowers women and facilitates their participation in the workforce.

BUCRA project will undertake a thorough assessment with diverse stakeholders to gather comprehensive data on ECCD services, cultural perceptions of childcare, gender norms, environmental sustainability, and women’s economic opportunities in the ECCD sector. This research will inform the development of culturally sensitive, evidence-based messaging for strategic campaigns, as well as guide outreach sessions to increase parental engagement in ECCD. This assessment will be capturing insights necessary for designing impactful, data-driven communication strategies.

• Purpose of the Assignment

The selected bidder will conduct an in-depth needs assessment to identify key factors influencing guardian engagement in ECCD, gender norms, and the economic participation of women, right to work, in the sector, within the project targeted areas ( Amman, Madaba, Zarqa, Irbid, Ajloun, Karak and Ma’an ). This assessment will provide evidence-based key messages, and suggested tools, that will guide the project communications to be inclusive and culturally and gender sensitive ensuring an impactful communications activities, and will feed into the project outcomes:

• Support for Women’s Employment: Link women to ECCD employment opportunities and starting their own home-based nurseries.
• Strengthening Policies: Working with stakeholders to develop processes and regulations and enforce policies that support quality, inclusive, gender-responsive ECCD services.
• Changing Attitudes: Improving perceptions among women, their families, and communities about women’s work and the importance of ECCD as well as the potential for integration of environment and climate considerations within the sector.
• Enhancing ECCD Services: Helping ECCD employers provide inclusive, gender-responsive, environmentally sustainable and high-quality childcare services.
• Scope of Work

The contracted bidder will implement:

1.Inception report:

This report should include:

1. Research Methodology
2. Targeted groups
3. Timeline
4. Fieldwork plan
5. Propose key research questions

2. Desktop review

Review all relevant documents, studies, and available secondary data resources regarding:

1. ECCD services, availability, affordability, and accessibility.
2. Cultural attitudes and norms related to childcare and gender roles.
3. Barriers and enablers affecting women’s participation and right to work in the ECCD sector.
4. Community perception on childcare services, with a focus on parents, caregivers, community leaders, and ECCD providers.
5. Key environmental issues relevant to the ECCD sectors as well as perceptions of the importance of integration of environmental considerations into ECCD business operations and teaching/learning methods

3. Conduct Data collection process:

Data collection should be implemented in cooperation with our BUCRA partners, it also should tackle 3 levels :

• Community level
• Level of women and their families (barriers, burdens, enablers of women to get into the workforce)
• Level of the legal framework women working in the childcare sector

1. Analyzing the Data :

Analyze all primary data collected, and triangulate with secondary data whenever available and appropriate.

Identify Key Barriers and Opportunities:

1. Evaluate cultural and structural barriers hindering guardian engagement and women’s economic empowerment in ECCD.
2. Identify opportunities for promoting gender-responsive and environmentally sustainable ECCD services.
3. Findings and Recommendations

Develop Evidence-Based Key Messages:

• Use the findings to create key messages tailored for the BUCRA communication activities. These messages should be culturally relevant and impactful to foster guardian engagement, increased awareness of relevant environmental issues and potential for early environmental sensitization, and influence gender norms and women’s opportunities and right to work in the ECCD sector.

Provide Recommendations:

• Offer strategic recommendations to support the development of communication tools and outreach activities, based on data-driven insights.
• Advise on communication channels and methods most effective for engaging target audiences.

1. . Key Deliverables

• Inception Report: Outlining research design, methodologies, data collection tools, and work plan, and timeline.
• Desk review and Data Collection Report: Summarizing findings from the desktop review, providing a comprehensive analysis of data throughout the data collection process, including identified barriers, opportunities, and key findings.
• Key Messages and Tools Recommendations: Developing clear, evidence-based key messages and strategic recommendations to guide future communication activities. And propose suitable communication tools and channels that BUCRA can use to effectively reach each targeted audience. (This should include diverse methods such as digital media, print materials, community workshops, and traditional media, tailored to audience accessibility and preferences). The key messages should be developed in Arabic and English.
• Validation presentation: lead a workshop (facilitated by WUSC) to discuss and Present findings and key messages to BUCRA project team and partners for review and feedback.
• Final Report: (to be submitted in both word and pdf versions with all annexes and references, data collection tools and raw data files) a comprehensive report that includes the methodology, findings, and recommendations, taking into consideration the feedback from the validation and review process by the BUCRA project team and partners.
• Launch Event : Display and Present findings and key messages in a public event (led by WUSC)

1. Duration of Assignment

From Feb till end of May 2025

1. Time line :

The table below summarizes key dates:

Table 1: Important Dates

RFP Key Activities

Date

Announcement date

8 Jan 2025

Pre-bid clarification (Q&A)

15 Jan 2025

Deadline for submission

19 Jan 2025

Sign the agreement

26 Jan 2025

Inception Report

2 Feb 2025

Desk review and Data Collection Report

March 2025

Key Messages and Tools Recommendations

April 2025

Validation presentation

April 2025

Final Report

30 April 2025

Launch event

May 2025

1. Qualifications and Experience

The bidder must have:

• Proven experience conducting social research or needs assessments, particularly on gender or / and ECCD-related topics.
• Demonstrated expertise in qualitative and quantitative data collection methodologies.
• Knowledge of ECCD services, cultural and gender dynamics, women’s economic empowerment and mainstreaming of environment and climate change issues in the Middle East or similar contexts.
• Strong analytical and reporting skills in English and Arabic.
• Proven experience in developing communications key messages that proved impactful campaigns.

1. Submission Requirements

Interested Bidders should submit:

1. A detailed technical proposal, including research methodology, approach, and timeline.
2. A financial proposal with a detailed budget breakdown.
3. Examples of previous relevant work or reports.
4. CVs of key personnel involved in the assignment.
5. Technical Proposal Evaluation Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated based on:

• Methodology and approach (50%)
• Relevant experience and qualifications (20%)
• Financial proposal (20%)
• Timeline and feasibility (10%)

1. Application Deadline

Interested organizations are invited to submit their proposals by email no later than

January 19 2025 – 16:00 hrs.

Email: [email protected]

1. Price and payment

• Prices shall include all taxes (no tax exemption)

1. 35% payment will be made upon signing after receiving the appropriate invoice
2. 35% payment upon concluding the desktop review
3. 30% payment will be made after receiving the final approved report.
4. Legal responsibility
5. All produced materials under this TOR are the property of WUSC-BUCRA and cannot be distributed or used by any agencies.

In case of any inquiries, please contact WUSC Jordan Country Office Email: [email protected] with the subject line of: ‘RFP/JOR/2025/547’.

Annex 2: Declaration of No Conflict of Interest

I, —————————————————, declare to WUSC that:

• I have no, any obligation to persons with whom WUSC deals with as a contributor, supplier of goods and services or as a recipient of services or funds from WUSC
• I have no, any personal interest in a transaction or with parties to a transaction involving a material contract or proposed material contract with WUSC.; and/or
• I have no any material interest in a company or person to be regarded as interested in any contact made with that company or person.

In the event of a conflict or the risk of perceived conflict, I will immediately inform WUSC

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Signature Date

How to apply

Interested organizations are invited to submit their proposals by email no later than

January 19 2025 – 16:00 hrs.

Email: [email protected]

In case of any inquiries, please contact WUSC Jordan Country Office Email: [email protected] with the subject line of: ‘RFP/JOR/2025/547’.