ZOONOTIC BEHAVIORS SURVEY (ZBS) in Liberia- Request for proposals

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This announcement is for a request for proposals (RFP) by the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs (CCP), on behalf of the Breakthrough ACTION project, to conduct a household survey on factors associated with the prevention and response to zoonotic and epidemic-prone diseases in Liberia. This RFP aims to identify a research firm that will conduct a quantitative household survey in Montserrado and Bong counties with the support of CCP project staff. The selected Vendor will work collaboratively with Breakthrough ACTION Liberia and other local stakeholders to collect information, from a sample of households, about the factors influencing health behaviors related to diseases that come from animals as well as epidemic-prone diseases.

Eligible bidders must be registered non-government-owned enterprises in Liberia.

Expressions of interest on the RFP should be received by March 14, 2024, at 11:59 pm Liberia Time (GMT) by email to: [email protected]

. Please write ” Zoonotic Behaviors Survey RFP Expression of Interest” in the subject line of the email submission. The expression of interest may be a simple email with the text, “[name of firm] is interested in submitting a proposal for the Liberia Zoonotic Behavior Survey Bid.” Upon receipt, Breakthrough ACTION will share the annexes and budget template.

Questions on the RFP should be received by: March 14, 2024, at 11:59 pm Liberia Time (GMT) by email to: [email protected]

Please write ” Zoonotic Behaviors Survey RFP Questions” in the subject line of the email submission.

Technical and financial proposals in English are due by April 5, 2024, at 11:59 pm Liberia Time (GMT) by email to: [email protected]

Please write “RFP Liberia Zoonotic Behaviors Survey Proposal” in the subject line of the email submission.

Awarding of all or a portion of this scope of work is contingent on available funds.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP)

This RFP invites research firms (hereby referred to as the Vendor) in Liberia to submit a proposal to conduct these activities. The Vendor will be evaluated according to the following criteria and the award of the contract will be made accordingly:

• Adherence to RFP submission instructions.
• Clarity and organization of the proposal.
• Inclusion of ethical considerations.
• Detail of the sampling strategy.
• Comprehensiveness of implementation plan.
• Inclusion of appropriate measures to ensure quality; including, but not limited to sampling and accuracy of data collection.
• Detail of implementation plan with weekly timeline.
• Relevant organizational research experience.
• Experience of proposed lead researcher and study coordinator.
• Quality of references provided by previous clients.
• Budget comprehensiveness and alignment with planned work; and
• Detail and comprehensiveness of budget justification narrative.

ELIGIBILITY DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED

The certification form (Annex A) must be signed and submitted with the proposal to verify that the Vendor is not a government-owned enterprise. The conflict-of-interest form (Annex B) must also be signed and submitted with the proposal.

INTRODUCTION AND CONTEXT OF THE PROGRAM

Breakthrough ACTION is an eight-year USAID-funded project run by the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs (CCP) that encourages people to adopt healthier behaviors through innovative approaches to social and behavior change (SBC). Firmly grounded in proven practices, Breakthrough ACTION works in partnership with governments, civil society, and communities around the world

to implement creative and sustainable SBC programming, nurture SBC champions, mainstream new techniques, and technologies, and advocate strategic and sustained investment in SBC. Breakthrough ACTION Liberia works in collaboration with the One Health Platform to explore behaviors related to zoonotic diseases and their determinants. The project’s activities focus on behaviors that affect the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and reporting of zoonotic diseases.

Building from current efforts, Breakthrough ACTION will develop an innovative Zoonotic Behaviors Survey (ZBS) instrument to standardize the measurement of behaviors and behavioral determinants related to selected diseases, which will provide greater understanding and insights into the specific factors that may influence risk and prevention behaviors for diseases that come from animals and other epidemic-prone diseases. Through a household survey, the study will measure the prevalence of priority behaviors in selected sites and explore a range of attitudes and beliefs that influence these behaviors. Statistical analysis of the data will make it possible to identify correlations between specific attitudes and beliefs and each of these behaviors. The results of these analyses will inform future SBC programming.

SURVEY SAMPLE SIZE AND GEOGRAPHIC SCOPE

Through this call for proposals, CCP asks research agencies to submit a proposal to survey a regionally representative sample of 2,000 households in Montserrado and Bong counties of Liberia. The survey will interview the head of household and one adult man or one adult woman (in approximately equal proportions) from selected households. To make estimates at the county level, separate samples will be drawn for each study district/county. Each of the samples will be stratified by urban and rural areas using systematic sampling with probability proportional to size. The total number of households for the 2 counties combined should be in the range of 2,000 households, which will yield a sample of no more than 4,000 respondents (the head of household and one adult man or woman).

Vendors should also use these numbers for preparing budgets for their financial proposals. It is expected that each household will take approximately 2.5 hours to consent and interview.

The sample size distribution across the study zones is shown in Table 1.

County: Number of enumeration areas Number of households Heads of household Number of adult men Number of adult women Total adults

1. Montserrado: 50 1000 1000 500 500 1000

2. Bong: 50 1000 1000 500 500 1000

   Total 100 2000 2000 1000 1000 2000

SURVEY OBJECTIVES

The study aims to provide a better understanding of sociodemographic psychosocial and behavioral determinants related to prevention behaviors for zoonotic diseases across five broad domains:

• Hygiene and sanitation
• Food storage and consumption
• Animal encounters and care-seeking
• Animal care
• Emergency behaviors

SCOPE OF WORK AND DELIVERABLES

The selected firm will be responsible for the following activities, which can be grouped into preparation, implementation, and reporting phases.

Preparation

1. Finalize a work plan that incorporates the Breakthrough ACTION team’s feedback and describes when and how cluster selection, mobile digital collection system configuration, recruitment and training of field workers, cluster enumeration, data collection, data cleaning, and reporting will be completed**.** Plan for two working sessions to review and finalize the workplan and research protocol including sampling procedures and consent forms and processes before the data collector training. The working sessions can be virtual or hybrid.

   Field staff training should take place in June 2024 with data collection commencing immediately thereafter. Fieldwork should take no more than 26 days or end no later than July 15, 2024. Data cleaning should be completed within 10 working days of the end of data collection.

2. Coordinate with the Breakthrough ACTION PI and co-investigators to meet any follow-up IRB requirements from the JHU IRB and the Atlantic Center for Research and Evaluation Institutional Review Board (ACRE IRB, formerly the University of Liberia Institutional Review Board) as requested. Obtain the PI and co-investigators’ approval on all research plan modifications or related documents and support re-submission to the IRBs if needed.

3. Have the ability to verbally interpret the study documents (e.g., consent/assent forms, recruitment scripts, questionnaires) into simple Liberian English (Colloquia) and Kpelle dialect. Provide minor feedback on the English version of study documents to ensure they are culturally appropriate for the local context. These documents will be provided to the Vendor in English by Breakthrough ACTION. The firm should not make major changes to the tools or other study documents.

4. Obtain an updated population sampling frame for the two counties in the study and select clusters proportional to their population size in the study counties as directed by the Breakthrough ACTION PI. Obtain a sketch map of each selected cluster. Allow 5 to 6 enumeration areas for the pilot during interviewer training. Submit details about selected clusters (including cluster identification number, department, sub-division, commune, number of households, and population size) in an MS Excel file for review to the study PI. This should be done before the start of data collection.

5. Provide and maintain all equipment needed for electronic data collection and cleaning of survey data, such as mobile data collection devices and software. This must be done in compliance with relevant US Government procurement guidance, including section 889 of the NDAA.

6. Print sufficient quantities of all approved documents (consent forms and data collection tools) needed for training and fieldwork.

7. Create and implement a mobile data collection system on SurveyCTO using mobile devices (i.e. phones, tablets) with built-in data quality assurance features (e.g. validation, conditional logic) and secure such digital data features (e.g. encryption, password-protection) according to the standards in the approved IRB protocol. Ensure the mobile data collection entry screens and skip patterns are correctly programmed and that all variable labels and value labels are approved by Breakthrough ACTION prior to field worker training.

8. Provide access to the mobile data collection system to the Breakthrough ACTION PI and co- investigators at least two weeks before the start of data collection team training so that they may provide feedback. Address any feedback promptly before pre-testing of study instruments.

9. Establish an encrypted secure socket layer (SSL) connection and a connectivity plan to ensure daily and secure transmission of digital questionnaire response data during data collection. Data should be deleted from mobile devices daily after data is backed up on a secure device, server, or platform. Cloud-based servers must meet International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 27001 guidelines or adhere to a comparable standard.

Implementation

1. Recruit, train and supervise experienced data collectors and data managers keeping in mind the following requirements:
2. All supervisors and data collectors should at least speak standard or Liberian English.
3. The group of interviewers interacting with potential research participants should include an appropriate mix of male and female individuals familiar with the study regions.
4. Interviewers should have previous experience collecting data on health research topics.
5. A sufficient number of data collectors should be recruited so that if certain data collectors are found to be unqualified or are not available at the last minute, there are backup data collectors who have been trained.
6. Arrangements must be made for a five-day training of data collectors, including pre-testing of the study instruments in the community and a debriefing session at the end of the training. The logistics for the training is the responsibility of the research firm, but the content of the training is the responsibility of Breakthrough ACTION and will include training on ethical guidelines.
7. Obtain required authorization from community leaders in the communities where pre-testing and data collection will take place.
8. Under the supervision of Breakthrough ACTION, pre-test survey questionnaires with 100 households (a maximum of 200 participants) as part of the data collector training.
9. Within the agreed timeframe, implement the sampling strategy and collect data for the survey with fidelity to the research plan approved by both ACRE and Johns Hopkins University IRBs. This includes taking direction from the study Principal Investigators to implement field monitoring and supervision strategies to ensure accurate collection, entry, and reporting of high-quality data.
10. Keep a record of sampling information needed for sample weight calculation, including the number of enumerated households per cluster, the number of households that refused participation and their reasons, and the number of individuals that refused participation in each household and their reasons.
11. Document participants’ consent on paper forms as described in the approved research protocol. Keep documents, such as signed consent, with names nicknames, and other identifying information in a locked location and confidential at all times. Scan consent forms to the JHU OneDrive folder shared by Breakthrough ACTION. Destroy any written notes containing potentially identifying information used to conduct interviews after data collection is finished.
12. Submit to Breakthrough ACTION hard and electronic copies of all signed consent forms aligned with the sampling strategy and sample size.
13. Participate in weekly review meetings with the Breakthrough ACTION PI in person or remotely once a week. During data collection, hold daily communication with Breakthrough ACTION via email and/or calls. Communicate any data collection issues, unexpected events, or protocol deviations that occur in the field immediately to the PI.
14. Send electronic copies of a data collection progress report weekly to Breakthrough ACTION and at least 24 hours in advance of the weekly conference calls during the data collection phase of the study. The progress report should specify where data collection activities have taken place to date, the number of households enumerated and recruited as well as the number of eligible and consented participants and reasons for refusals.

Reporting

1. Provide a final report within 30 days of the end of data collection describing all implemented study activities. The report should describe:
   1. Critical reflection on training activities and comparative success of different training approaches.
   2. Training dates and locations, the number and type of staff trained.
   3. Report of data collection procedures including the number of households enumerated and recruited as well as the number of eligible and consented participants and the number of refusals and reasons for refusal at the household and individual levels.
   4. Results of data quality control and assurance measures used.
   5. How data was cleaned, and a description of values changed during cleaning, if any.
   6. Any unforeseen challenges or circumstances that arose during the study and how these were resolved.
   7. A summary of results in Word and PowerPoint versions with descriptive statistics disaggregated by sex, region, and urban/rural for all the questions/measures.
2. Within 10 days of the end of data collection, provide a clean dataset containing a codebook in English with information on the variables and question response value labels relating to the survey. Data sets should be submitted in Stata SE 16 (or higher) with the do-file used to conduct the analyses required for the report.

Deliverables are to be submitted by the Vendor for review and approval by Breakthrough ACTION

1. Updated Vendor workplan
2. Electronic versions of the questionnaires in English in the mobile data collection system
3. An MS Excel file with a detailed sampling frame with an annotated sampling strategy to identify the study population using the most recent national statistics data with probability proportionate to size sampling implemented to identify the selected clusters.
4. After data collection, an updated MS Excel file containing the number of households selected from each cluster and the number of households enumerated, approached, consented and interviewed for each cluster.
5. Hard and electronic copies of all signed consent forms
6. A final report (in Word and in PowerPoint) describing all implemented study activities (as described under task #22 in the Scope of Work).
7. A complete cleaned and fully labeled data set in Stata SE 16 (or higher) with variable and value labels in English and do-file (as described under task #23 of the Scope of Work)

PAYMENT TERMS

The payment terms will be developed and decided on with the selected Vendor at the time of contracting and will be disbursed in appropriate installments. Each payment installment will correspond to the submission and approval of one or more of the deliverables listed above.

PREPARATION AND CONTENT OF PROPOSALS

Questions on the RFP

Interested Vendors may send questions on the Request for Proposals to Breakthrough ACTION at [email protected] by no later than March 14, 2024. Breakthrough ACTION will prepare a document.

responding to all the questions that are received and will send this response document promptly to all interested Vendors who submitted an Expression of Interest.

Proposal Content and Format

Note: Page limits for each section are applicable using 1.5 line spacing and a text size of 12 (Times New Roman or Arial).

All proposals must contain the following sections:

1. Cover letter: a concise one-page cover letter signed by the responsible official of the bidding firm. The letter must include the name, postal address, e-mail address, phone number, and other relevant contact information of the Vendor.
2. Experience: This section should demonstrate a) the technical experience of the research firm as an institution, and b) the experience of the lead researcher and study coordinator(s) who will be assigned to the project. The Vendor must describe previous involvement in quantitative studies similar to this proposed scope of work and include the year in which such studies were conducted. The proposal should be specific about the extent of the firm’s or individual’s involvement in each of the following areas:
3. Relevant organizational expertise demonstrating capacity in:
   1. Conducting quantitative household, public health-related, and/ or knowledge, attitudes, and practice (KAP) research/surveys.
   2. Maintaining ethical study approval from relevant ethical review committees.
   3. Working closely with the Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services (LISGIS), procuring a sample frame, sampling clusters from that frame, obtaining enumeration zone maps, mapping, and enumerating households within clusters.
   4. Launching, logistically supporting, and supervising research studies and data collection teams using mobile digital data collection technology; and
   5. Securely managing online storage of digital data and cleaning it.
   6. Experience of proposed study coordinator(s) and lead researcher in the following areas (note that the study coordinator and lead researcher must be specifically named in the proposal):
      • Study design;
      • Study implementation;
      • Mobile data collection;
      • Field work supervision;
      • Data cleaning and management.

Additional information that qualifies the Vendor to undertake this scope of work should also be included in this section. This section should not exceed three pages in length.

1. Technical proposal: a detailed plan to carry out the tasks described in the scope of work including parts a-d below. The length of the technical proposal should not exceed four pages in length.
   1. Ethical review process: Narrative summary of the process needed to gain approval from the ethics committee.
   2. Sampling strategy: In cooperation with One Health Platform and other partners, plan for procuring cluster sampling frame, selecting survey clusters, mapping households within clusters, selecting households from clusters.
   3. Implementation plan: This should describe the following in detail.
2. Plan for obtaining and programming the mobile devices for data collection.
3. Steps to ensure the security of data during collection, transmission, and storage.
4. Plan for ensuring internet connectivity and adequate mobile device battery charging, particularly during periods of data collection.
5. Plan for recruitment of data collection team including criteria for selection.
6. Plan to ensure adherence to the ethical principles of human subjects research.
7. Plan for obtaining permission from local community authorities, as appropriate.
8. Specific steps to ensure adequate supervision of the data collection process to ensure quality data.
9. Plan for responding to unforeseen delays caused by weather or other factors.
10. Description of how data will be managed and cleaned.
11. Description of how data will be analyzed.
12. Steps to ensure that the database and reports (Word and PowerPoint) are submitted within the periods specified in the SOW.
    1. Quality assurance measures: Specific procedures to be used for supervising data collection and ensuring the quality of data during data collection and cleaning.
13. A detailed work plan for implementing activities, including the personnel responsible for each activity, completion dates, and a schedule of deliverables using a weekly timeline (Gantt chart). The proposed work plan, including tables, graphics, or images, should not exceed two pages.
14. References: A list of at least three former or current clients and their email and phone contact information for whom similar work has been done within the past five years. The list of former or current clients should include a brief description of the work completed and the dates within which it was completed; it may be presented in a table format. Breakthrough ACTION will attempt three times to contact each of these clients for their review of the Vendor’s work. Vendors should only provide the contact information for clients who are willing to be contacted by Breakthrough ACTION to discuss their performance and should not submit letters of reference directly. The list of references should not exceed one page in length.
15. Abridged Curriculum vitae/resume in annex: CV or resumés in an annex for the proposed Vendor staff who will work on the scope of work. Both the Research Lead and the Study Coordinator must be specifically named and their CV or resumés included. The proposed role must be clear to each individual whose CV is presented. The page limit for this section is 10 pages.
16. Human Subjects Research Training Certifications: Inclusion of valid certifications demonstrating training in human subjects research ethics for key staff, as relevant to their proposed role on the project.
17. Budget and justification narrative: A detailed and comprehensive budget in MS Excel to complete the proposed activities under the technical proposal with justification in a detailed budget narrative. A template budget is provided. Budget costs should be grouped into the following categories:
18. staff remuneration costs at each phase (preparation, implementation, reporting),
19. training costs,
20. data collection costs, and
21. itemized administrative costs.

The budget costs should be submitted in a table with the following columns

1. Line-item description.
2. Unit (how the quantity or duration is measured, e.g. “days” or “enumerators”)
3. Duration or frequency
4. Quantity
5. Rate or unit costs.
6. Cost in local currency and
7. Cost in US dollars.

Please submit budgets in both local currency and US dollars using the exchange rates available on Oanda currency converter. The budget should correspond with the Vendor’s proposal and align with the requested SOW. The budget justification narrative should include justification for all unit costs and unit numbers. The budget narrative section should not exceed two pages. These annexes and the budget template will be shared upon expression of interest.

1. The annexed certification form (Annex A): this should be signed to verify that the Vendor is not a government-owned enterprise.
2. The annexed conflict of interest form (Appendix B): it must be completed and signed to declare any conflict of interest. If no conflict of interest exists, write “No conflict of interest to report” in the box.
3. Certificate of registration/incorporation as a firm/organization licensed to operate in Liberia**.**

Note that the application should be submitted in English. The submission should use 1.5 spacing, 12-point font (Times New Roman or Arial), and should meet the section and annex page limits specified above. The technical proposal must be submitted in a Microsoft Word Document or PDF. Financial proposals must be submitted in Microsoft Excel. The Vendor should include all information that is requested in this RFP. The Vendor may include additional information as needed to adequately describe their proposal.

SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

Complete proposals (electronic copy) must be submitted no later than April 5, 2024, at 11:59pm Liberia time by email to: [email protected]

. Please write “RFP Liberia Zoonotic Behavior Survey Bid” as the subject in the email submission.

EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS

Only proposals from vendor applicants that have signed the