Request for Proposals: Partnership Model Assessment

1. Background 

The Canadian Partnership for Women and Children’s Health (CanWaCH) is currently accepting proposals for a consultant to undertake a partnership model assessment, with the aim of providing the CanWaCH secretariat and membership with practical recommendations to further enhance and effectively harness the power of coalition work and partnerships.

CanWaCH catalyzes Canadian collaboration to deepen effectiveness in improving women’s and children’s health in communities around the world. Our more than 100 members are instrumental in reducing maternal and child mortality, promoting accountability to women, adolescents and children, seeking innovation, generating research and supporting monitoring and evaluation.

CanWaCH approach and objectives is informed by SDG 17, premised on good partnerships, and on the belief that by mainstreaming purposeful partnerships as an approach to global health and gender equality, effectiveness gaps can be more rapidly and comprehensively addressed. CanWaCH is itself a unique and innovative model of partnership, bringing together cross-sectoral partners (academics, CSOs, health professionals), focused on generating knowledge, behavioural and process innovation for collective impact. CanWaCH is cognizant that collective impact requires organizations to work together to solve common challenges that wouldn’t be possible to address in isolation. 

2. Project  Description and Scope

2.1 Project Summary 

With a mission to unite the expertise and commitment of Canadian organizations and individuals to advance the health and rights of women, children and adolescents globally, CanWaCH’s current strategic plan offers a direction for how the work of Canadian organizations with programming in global health and gender equality can be strengthened by working together. 

In our work, we hold the objective of working in an inclusive, rights-based and feminist framework. CanWaCH utilizes active ‘on the ground’ listening with members and partners, as well as multiple data points to strategically react and respond to consistent and emerging needs of the sector. To date, in particular, our work has been informed by annual member engagement surveys, working groups, 1-1 conversations, events, and a mid-term evaluation of CanWaCH’s current Global Affairs Canada project. 

The objective of this work is to inform and strengthen CanWaCH’s approach to coalition work and partnerships, set best practices in monitoring and evaluating the work of coalitions, and to ensure that we are well tooled to suit our members’ needs. Building on the findings of these data points, CanWaCH  is seeking a Consultant to undertake a partnership model assessment to evaluate: (1) the value-add of coalitions in strengthening the capacity of the sector, (2) best practices and approaches in inclusive, feminist-informed frameworks of exchanging knowledge to guide behaviour change among individuals and organizations, and (3) the governance model 

and policies that guide the organization. The Consultant will work with the CanWaCH secretariat and members, to review and assess the partnership’s work, share findings and recommendations to further enhance and effectively harness the power of partnerships.

2.2. Project Scope 

With these objectives in mind, CanWaCH is seeking a Consultant to undertake a partnership model assessment, in order to review success to-date and provide forward-looking practical and technical recommendations.

CanWaCH is seeking a provider to:

1. Review key CanWaCH assessment documents and external resources on partnership models (with a focus on member-based organizations and coalitions); 
2. Support the design and implementation of data collection tools such as questionnaires and 1-1 discussions for members and key relevant stakeholders; Please note, CanWaCH will be implementing its Annual Member Engagement Survey, Gender Capacity Assessment and Environmental Capacity Assessment. Ideally, the Consultant would support alignment and coordination amongst these three facets of upcoming member outreach.  
3. Review, assess and provide recommendations on the governance model and policies that guide the organization.
4. Based on the above, analyze data and information and draft a report assessing CanWaCH’s partnership model. Provide practical recommendations for consideration, including; 
   1. Identify best practices in feminist-informed ways of coalition work and partnership buildling
   2. Identify specific and tangible recommendations for CanWaCH to improve  monitoring and evaluating the impact of CanWaCH’s work,
   3. Assess CanWaCH’s role in strengthening the capacity of the sector and supporting behaviour change among individuals and organizations. 
5. Prepare content for a 1-page infographic on coalition work and the power of partnerships 

3. Estimated Project Timeline

1. Week of  February 15: Selection of successful Consultant and finalization of contract
2. Week of February 22: Initial meeting with CanWaCH for comprehensive review of project scope and deliverables
3. March 1 – April 15, 2021: Support the development, coordination and analysis of data collection tools, in collaboration with CanWaCH. Conduct thorough literature review of key and relevant resources 
4. April 30, 2021:  First draft of partnership assessment submitted  

5. May 15, 2021:  Final partnership assessment  and 1-page infographic on coalition work submitted

*Please note, throughout the project period, CanWaCH and the successful bidder will have regular progress meetings.

4. Budget

4.1 All proposals must include proposed costs to complete the tasks described in the project description and scope. 

CanWaCH will provide the following:

• Access to key documents for review including the mid-term evaluation, gender capacity assessment, annual member engagement survey, etc
• Translation of final assessment documents
• Technical and logistical support for virtual meetings

4.2 All costs and fees must be clearly described in each proposal. If the organization submitting a proposal must outsource or contract any work to meet the requirements contained herein, this must be clearly stated in the proposal. Additionally, all costs included in the proposals must be 

all-inclusive to include any outsourced or contracted work. Any proposals which call for outsourcing or contracting work must include a name and description of the organizations being contracted.

5. Bidder Qualifications

Bidders should provide the following items as part of their proposal for consideration:

• Description of experience and expertise working with civil society organizations, board of directors and understanding of Global Affairs Canada frameworks and approaches.

• Description of experience and expertise in performing literature reviews and partnership model assessments (experience working with coalitions is highly desirable).
• Description of experience and expertise in designing questionnaires and facilitating 1-1 discussions. 
• Specific examples or portfolio of relevant resources, publications, toolkits etc. that you have developed and attest to your specific skills and expertise in this subject matter area.
• Testimonials from previous clients.
• Anticipated resources you will assign to this project (total number, role, title, experience)
• Confirmation that you will be able to meet all deadlines outlined in Section 4. 

6. Proposal Evaluation Criteria

CanWaCH will evaluate all proposals based on the following criteria. To ensure consideration for this Request for Proposals, your proposal should be complete and include all the following criteria:

• Overall proposal suitability: proposed solution(s) must meet the scope and needs included herein and be presented in a clear and organized manner;
• Organizational Experience: Bidders will be evaluated on their experience as it pertains to the scope of this project;
• Previous work: Bidders will be evaluated on examples of their work pertaining to the delivery of public engagement strategies and/or plans, as well as client testimonials and references;
• Value and cost: Bidders will be evaluated on the cost of their solution(s) based on the work to be performed in accordance with the scope of this project;
• Expertise and experience: Bidders will be evaluated based on descriptions and documentation of staff expertise and experience.

7. Submitting a Proposal

7.1 All proposals in response to this RFP are due no later than 11:59PM EST Friday, February 12. Any proposals received after this date and time will be returned to the sender. All proposals must be signed by an official agent or representative of the company submitting the proposal.

7.2 Within the following 10 business days CanWaCH will notify the winning bidder and bidders who were not selected. Contract negotiations with the winning bidder will begin immediately and be completed within these 10 business days.

7.3 Bidders should submit their proposal to: 

Alli Bunting 

Director, Programs and Operations

[email protected] 

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How to Apply:

Bidders should submit their proposal to:  Alli Bunting  Director, Programs and Operations [email protected]