REQUEST FOR QUOTATION
RFQ Nº UNFPA/KOS/RFQ/2019/002
UNFPA requires provision of services from interested and qualified individuals, civil society organizations or companies for conducting a research on Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Services, including Gender-Based Violence, for People with Disabilities with focus on Women and Girls in Kosovo.
This Request for Quotation is open to all legally constituted civil society organizations and companies that can provide the requested services and have legal capacity to deliver the services in the country, or through an authorized representative.
- About UNFPA
UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), is an international development agency that works to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.
UNFPA is the lead UN agency that expands the possibilities for women and young people to lead healthy sexual and reproductive lives. To read more about UNFPA, please go to: https://kosovo.unfpa.org/en/node/9285
- Service Requirements/Terms of Reference (ToR)
- Background information
Persons with disabilities are identified in the new Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) as “those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others”. Although the CRPD states that persons with disabilities have the right to experience parenthood, to marry and found a family, to decide on the number and spacing of children, and have the means to exercise these rights, access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) care for people with disabilities remains unacceptably low in many developing countries including Kosovo. People with disabilities still face discrimination and exclusion from health services on account of disability, especially when it comes to exercising sexual and reproductive health rights.
Overall, data about people with disabilities, their life and access to rights in Kosovo is scarce. According to the 2011 Census, the overall number of persons with at least one long-term difficulty reported is 93,288, of which 43.378 (46%) are men and 49,910 (56%) are women, with 11,006 being the number of women of reproductive age (aged 15- 49 years). According to the census, physical disability was the most common disability (35%), followed by other difficulties including any long-standing illnesses (31%), deafness or severe hearing impairment (11%), visual impairment (10%), emotional difficulties (9%) and learning disabilities (6%). Various reports state that little progress has been made on the rights of persons with disabilities and their integration in society remains a challenge due to limited support, inadequate health services and poor access to existing services and employment. Physical access to public buildings, including schools, and transport remains limited for persons with disabilities. Girls face more challenges than boys as regards access to education. Multiple and intersectional discrimination with compounded gender stereotypes hinder women with disabilities participation, access to justice and protection against violence, thus making girls and women with disabilities particularly vulnerable.
According to the available researches it is stated that even though the right to reproductive health and family is one of the basic human rights, guaranteed by various international and national regulations, it remains largely inaccessible to women with disabilities.
Disabled women face multiple barriers when they want to establish a family. These barriers range from very general, which relate to the situation of women with disabilities in society, to very specific ones such as prejudice against mothers with disabilities and insufficiently developed specialized support services for parents with disabilities. Apart from the fact that the lack of opportunities for independent living is a real problem at the moment when a person wants to build a family, women often because they do not see a solution to these issues discouraged and do not think about having their own family and the birth of children. They sometimes accept that they cannot have children, due to the pressure and prejudice they have from the society. Thus, the availability of the labour market and the availability of support services, in a very direct and multi-layered manner, affect the ability of persons with disabilities to be parents.
Most people with disabilities face prejudice, the same applies for women and adolescent girls with disabilities. Prejudice in society and in their own family often cited as the main barrier for establishing a family, is a disability of women. Women with disabilities in the period of growing up and maturing say that they have had no one to talk to and they are not informed about their sexuality, reproductive health, the impact of pregnancy on disability. Women with disabilities face a number of obstacles with the health system. First of all, there is a lack of technical equipment, as well as the negative attitude of medical workers towards women with disabilities, resulting in late and rare gynecological examinations. This situation was additionally hampered by the lack of knowledge of medical workers on the specificities of individual disability, and lack of skills acquired in terms of general treatment with women with disabilities.
As part of concerted effort to strengthen capacities in delivering quality integrated sexual and reproductive health services (family planning, comprehensive maternal health services, HIV/AIDS and GBV prevention and response) and ensuring that women, adolescent girls who are furthest behind, fully exercise their sexual and reproductive rights and are able to use integrated sexual and reproductive health services, UNFPA is proposing the development of assessment which will indicate challenges which people with disabilities are facing before and during exercising sexual and reproductive health rights.
- Development Objectives
Given the lack of data on the rights of people with disabilities, research and report on Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Services, including Gender-Based Violence, for People with Disabilities with focus on Women and Girls in Kosovo will provide an insight to the current situation and contribute to data availability.
The report will be shared with MoH, health service providers, DPOs and wider public, and will be used to advocate for evidence-based policy to ensure better accessibility to SRH services for people with disabilities, particularly women and girls with disabilities.
- Immediate objectives
The immediate objective of this assignment is to complete a Research on Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Services, including Gender-Based Violence, for People with Disabilities with focus on Women and Girls in Kosovo using a human rights-based approach.
- Study purpose and methodology
The selected entity is expected to conduct a Research on Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Services, including Gender-Based Violence, for People with Disabilities with focus on Women and Girls in Kosovo and produce a report.
UNFPA in cooperation with disabled people’s organizations (DPO) will approve the methodology and outline of the report.
- Details of how the work should be delivered. Delivery dates:
The contractor will be expected to implement activities from 18th of November 2019 to 15th of June 2020.
All activities will be closely consulted with DPO’s and UNFPA. The contractor will implement the following activities and will submit the deliverables mentioned below:
|
No |
Activities and Deliverables |
Timeline
|
|
|
29th of November 2019 |
|
|
|
Conduct bilateral meetings with relevant governmental institutions, health service providers, DPO’s and other relevant stakeholders |
20th of December 2019
|
|
|
Develop survey questions and finalize data collection |
15th of March 2020 |
|
|
Analyze and interpret focus group data |
15th of April 2020 |
|
|
Submit Draft Report for circulation with stakeholders |
15th of May 2020 |
|
|
Submit Final Report |
15th of June 2020 |
The contractor will implement all activities in close consultation with UNFPA and DPO’s.
- Activities
Activities include but are not necessarily limited to the following tasks. Based on their technical expertise the contractor should add other activities relevant to the achievement of the expected objectives:
- Meet with UNFPA to discuss this ToR and clarify any details related to the expected activities, deliverables and work schedule;
- Complete desk review and submitting inception report;
- Organize meetings with UNFPA, DPO’s, National Institute for Public Health (NIPH) and Ministry of Health (MoH) to consult narrative and animations;
- Develop survey questions and collect data through focus group discussions with people with various types of disabilities, from 15-49 years old, (4 FGD with women with physical disabilities, 2 FGD with blind and visually impaired women, 2 FGD with deaf women, 2 FGD with women with intellectual disabilities, 2 FGD with women with psychiatric disabilities, 4 FGD with men with various disabilities, 5-10 interviews with couples in which one or both partners have some type of disability.);
|
|
Ages |
# of FDGs |
# of interviews |
|
Women and girls with physical disabilities |
15-30 |
2 |
-- |
|
31-49 |
2 |
-- |
|
|
Blind and visually impaired women and girls |
15-30 |
1 |
-- |
|
31-49 |
1 |
-- |
|
|
Deaf women and girls |
15-30 |
1 |
-- |
|
31-49 |
1 |
-- |
|
|
Women and girls with intellectual disabilities |
15-30 |
1 |
-- |
|
31-49 |
1 |
-- |
|
|
Women and girls with psychiatric disabilities |
15-30 |
1 |
-- |
|
31-49 |
1 |
-- |
|
|
Men and boys with various disabilities |
15-30 |
2 |
-- |
|
31-49 |
2 |
-- |
|
|
Couples in which one or both partners have some type of disability |
-- |
-- |
5-10 |
|
Total |
16 |
5-10 |
|
- Analyze collected data and draft a report;
- Finalize the report based on feedback received from UNFPA, DPO’s, NIPH, MoH, and other relevant stakeholders;
- Timing
The assignment shall be conducted during November 2019 to June 2020. The final deliverables are expected to be submitted latest by 15th of June 2020.
Questions
Questions or requests for further clarifications should be submitted in writing to the contact person below:
|
Name of contact person at UNFPA: |
Zarife Miftari, Programme Analyst Naim Galica, Administrative/Finance Associate |
|
Tel Nº: |
+ 383 38 249 088 |
|
Fax Nº: |
|
|
Email address of contact person: |
The deadline for submission of questions is 18th of October 2019, at 15:30. Questions will be answered in writing and shared with parties as soon as possible after this deadline.
- Content of quotations
Quotations must contain:
- Technical proposal, in response to the requirements outlined in the service requirements / TORs, including a structured and detailed plan of work performance, calendar schedule and major milestones. The technical proposal should demonstrate how the objectives of these terms of reference will be achieved and deliverables produced. The technical proposal shall also include competitor’s supporting documents:
- Copy of the registration certificate for CSOs and companies;
- Organization or company profile including experience in similar assignments, list of similar assignments and clients’ portfolio;
- Resumes (CVs) of the key personnel (including expert who will provide professional expertise on CSE) comprising information requested as per the evaluation criteria;
- Price quotation, to be submitted strictly in accordance with the price quotation form.
Both parts of the quotation must be signed by the bidding company’s relevant authority and submitted in by mail.
- Instructions for submission
Your offer comprising technical proposal and financial proposal, in TWO separate sealed envelopes, clearly indicating RFQ Nº UNFPA/KOS/RFQ/2019/002 as a reference should be hand-delivered to the following address no later than: 28th of October 2019, at 17:30.
UNFPA office, Zagrebi Str. No.58, Prishtina, 10000
Proposals should be prepared based on the guidelines set forth in Section III below, along with a properly filled out and signed price quotation form.
- Overview of Evaluation Process
The evaluation will be carried out in a two-step process by an ad-hoc evaluation panel. Technical proposals will be evaluated and scored first, prior to the evaluation and scoring of price quotations.
- Technical Evaluation
Technical proposals will be evaluated based on their responsiveness to the service requirements/TORs listed in Section 2 and in accordance with the evaluation criteria below.
|
Category |
Criteria |
[A] Maximum Points |
[B] Points attained by Bidder |
[C] Weight (%) |
[B] x [C] = [D] Total Points |
|
|
Overall response |
Completeness of response and overall concord between requirements and proposal |
100 |
|
10% |
|
|
|
Experience of the company |
Expertise of Consultant/Organization/Company submitting Proposal in conducting research/assessment on sensitive issues such as: human/disability rights, sexual and reproductive health and rights, marginalised and excluded groups, gender issues, etc. |
100 |
|
40% |
|
|
|
Proposed methodology |
Proposed Work Plan, Approach and Proposed Research Methods (both qualitative and quantitative) |
100 |
|
40% |
|
|
|
Personnel |
Personnel |
100 |
|
10% |
|
|
|
Grand Total All Criteria |
|
400 |
|
100% |
|
|
The following scoring scale will be used to ensure objective evaluation:
|
Degree to which the Terms of Reference requirements are met based on evidence included in the Bid submitted |
Points out of 100 |
|
Significantly exceeds the requirements |
90 – 100 |
|
Exceeds the requirements |
80 – 89 |
|
Meets the requirements |
70 – 79 |
|
Partially meets the requirements |
1 – 69 |
|
Does not meet the requirements or no information provided to assess compliance with the requirements |
0 |
- Financial Evaluation
Price quotes will be evaluated only for bidders whose technical proposals achieve a minimum score of 70 points in the technical evaluation.
Price quotes will be evaluated based on their responsiveness to the price quote form. The maximum number of points for the price quote is 100, which will be allocated to the lowest total price provided in the quotation. All other price quotes will receive points in inverse proportion according to the following formula:
|
Financial score = |
Lowest quote ($) |
X 100 (Maximum score) |
|
Quote being scored ($) |
Total score
The total score for each proposal will be the weighted sum of the technical score and the financial score. The maximum total score is 100 points.
|
Total score = 70% Technical score + 30% Financial score |
- Award Criteria
UNFPA shall award a Professional Service Contract on a fixed-cost basis to the Bidder that obtains the highest total score.
- Right to Vary Requirements at Time of Award
UNFPA reserves the right at the time of award of contract to increase or decrease by up to 20% the volume of services specified in this RFQ without any change in unit prices or other terms and conditions.
- Payment Terms
The payment will be made in four instalments:
- 40 per cent, after submission of Inception Report,
- 35 per cent after data collection;
- 10 per cent, after submission of Draft Report;
- 15 per cent, after submission of Final Report, once approved by UNFPA.
UNFPA is committed to preventing, identifying, and addressing all acts of fraud against UNFPA, as well as against third parties involved in UNFPA activities. UNFPA’s policy regarding fraud and corruption is available here: Fraud Policy. Submission of a proposal implies that the Bidder is aware of this policy.
Suppliers, their subsidiaries, agents, intermediaries and principals must cooperate with the Office of Audit and Investigation Services of UNFPA as well as with any other oversight entity authorized by the Executive Director of UNFPA and with the UNFPA Ethics Advisor as and when required. Such cooperation shall include, but not be limited to, the following: access to all employees, representatives, agents and assignees of the vendor; as well as production of all documents requested, including financial records. Failure to fully cooperate with investigations will be considered sufficient grounds to allow UNFPA to repudiate and terminate the contract, and to debar and remove the supplier from UNFPA’s list of registered suppliers.
A confidential Anti-Fraud Hotline is available to any Bidder to report suspicious fraudulent activities at UNFPA Investigation Hotline.
- Zero Tolerance
UNFPA has adopted a zero-tolerance policy on gifts and hospitality. Suppliers are therefore requested not to send gifts or offer hospitality to UNFPA personnel. Further details on this policy are available here: Zero Tolerance Policy.
- RFQ Protest
Bidder(s) perceiving that they have been unjustly treated in connection with the solicitation or award of a contract may submit a complaint directly to the Chief, Procurement Services Branch, at procurement@unfpa.org.
Bidder(s) perceiving that they have been unjustly or unfairly treated in connection with a solicitation, evaluation, or award of a contract may submit a complaint to the UNFPA Head of the Business Unit Ms. Aynabat Annamuhamedova Director for UNFPA in Kosovo at annamuhamedova@unfpa.org. Should the supplier be unsatisfied with the reply provided by the UNFPA Head of the Business Unit, the supplier may contact the Chief, Procurement Services Branch at procurement@unfpa.org.
- Disclaimer
Should any of the links in this RFQ document be unavailable or inaccessible for any reason, bidders can contact the Procurement Officer in charge of the procurement to request for them to share a PDF version of such document(s).