Consultant - M&E Capacity Building and Performance Monitoring of ECPN Partner CSOs at Mercy Corps

Tender No: MCN-022-FY2018
Location: Abuja

Brief Summary Description of Project

• Decades of violent conflict between farmers and pastoralists in Nigeria’s Middle Belt have devastated local communities and drastically reduced security and economic activity in the region. Conflict is rooted in competition over natural resources and land, which has been increasing due to climate change, population growth, and the southward migration of pastoralists due to extremist activity in the North
• Farmer and pastoralist communities that traditionally interacted over shared resources are polarized, and clashes between communities have taken on religious and ethnic overtones that deepen divides
• The resulting violence and instability occurs in an environment where widespread poverty, poor governance and corruption is already pervasive. 
• Mercy Corps Nigeria, with support from USAID, is implementing the Engaging Community for Peace in Nigeria (ECPN) program in four states in Nigeria (Adamawa, Borno, Gombe and Yobe). The Engaging Communities for Peace in Nigeria (ECPN) is a four-year USAID-funded program
• The key focus areas of the program include:
  • Reducing farmer-pastoralist violence in the Middle Belt through the provision of relevant skills and support needed to peacefully and collaboratively manage disputes and reduce violence in their communities
  • Incorporating conflict mitigation and Do No Harm (DNH) principles cross-sectorally through USAID’s portfolio; and
  • Building the capacity of influential CSOs in the Northeast to become more effective in addressing divisions within communities, promoting mutual understanding, supporting reconciliation processes and responding to conflicts through non-violent means.  
  • Mercy Corps Nigeria seeks to engage a technical consultant/firm to provide performance management systems development, monitoring and evaluation (M&E) support and performance monitoring to selected civil society organizations (CSOs) working in the four program states.

Scope of Work/Technical Specifications
Background:

• For years, the Northeast of Nigeria has been plagued by insurgency and a dire humanitarian crisis. The intense focus on humanitarian and counter-violence activities, coupled with increasingly complex conflict dynamics in the region, has exposed gaps in the international community’s response to new and emerging sources of violence. Tensions between IDPs and host communities, resistance of communities to accept former fighters and their victims, fear of IDPs to return home and face tensions with those who stayed behind - these are just several evolving sources of conflict. If these issues are not addressed in a timely manner through locally- owned solutions, they have the potential to intensify and worsen the on-going crisis in the NE. Therefore, a pool of strong local partners capable of addressing existing and newly emerging tensions and conflicts is essential to prevent NE from falling further into a vicious cycle of conflict and poverty.
• Although a vast majority of local organizations in NE Nigeria have a strong presence and are well-respected by communities, their work is inhibited by a lack of technical and organizational capacity
• As stated in the 2014 USAID/Nigeria Cross-Sector Conflict Assessment Issues Paper, “Many local implementing partners are operating amidst ongoing conflicts but do not have sufficient capacity to navigate them.” This finding is echoed in the 2016 INGO Forum report analyzing the capacity of 138 CSOs working in Adamawa, Yobe, Gombe and Borno: “[Local] organizations have a very weak financial base, lack skilled and experienced staff, have very flexible program mandates, ineffective and highly personalized leadership, fragmentation of efforts and weak experience in fundraising.”
• Consequently, international agencies are unable to fully leverage the unique experience and knowledge of local groups, or build on their recognition and acceptance in hardto-reach, conflict-affected areas
• Without strong technical and organizational capacity, including the ability to absorb increased funding, local CSOs’ contributions to peace building programs in the NE will continue to be limited, threatening the sustainability and lasting impact of these efforts.
• To fill this gap, Mercy Corps has expanded the scope of work of the “Engaging Communities for Peace in Nigeria (ECPN)’ project, This two-year expansion of ECPN program aims to build the capacity of influential local CSOs in the North East of Nigeria with mandates in peace building and conflict management/mitigation
• The two-year extension will enable Mercy Corps to guide NE-based CSOs through the full cycle of capacity building and project management while utilizing an experiential approach that encourages learning-by-doing. By the end of the project, we will have built a network of local partners with the capacity to apply for grants from international donors and implement high-quality peace building programs
• This increased local capacity will enable greater local ownership of peace building initiatives, and ensure more impactful and cost-efficient investments that can be sustained over the longer-term.

Consultancy Objective(s)

• The objective of the consultancy is to provide performance management systems development, M&E capacity building and performance monitoring (as defined in USAID’s Automated Directives Systems (ADS) 200 to 11 selected Northeast CSOs working on peacebuilding.

Consultant Activities
The Consultant will:

Deliver Monitoring and Evaluation Trainings:

• Facilitate two three-day capacity building training for selected CSOs and provide guidance on the development of sustainable and effective M&E systems based on best practices;
• Facilitate two three-day training for CSOs on a wide range of M&E sub-disciplines including:
  • The selection of sampling methodologies;
  • Qualitative and quantitative data collection methods;
  • Data cleaning, verification, analysis and quality assessment;
  • Performance Management Plan (PMP) and Indicator Performance Tracking Table (IPTT); according to USAID protocols, templates and procedures; 
• Develop M&E plans for each CSO based on their unique activities;
• Provide one-on-one mentorship opportunities during trainings and work closely with CSO staff to ensure retention of training concepts;

Deliverables:

• Delivery of four three-day trainings for CSOs on M&E systems and sub-disciplines; 
• Eleven  CSOs trained in the development of sustainable and effective M&E systems measured through pre- and post-training assessments approved in advance by Mercy Corps; o M&E manuals and guidance tools developed and provided to all CSOs;
• M&E plan for each CSO; o Feedback sessions to address gaps in knowledge. 

Provide Monitoring Support for Selected CSOs:

• Work with ECPN to build CSO M&E capacity by mentoring CSO M&E teams;
• Provide performance-monitoring support, forming working relationships with CSOs that ensure performance management professional standards are deeply ingrained, including an emphasis on CSOs creating and sustaining collaboration; introducing learning, and adaptation (CLA) culture in their organizations;
• Provide sustained guidance to CSOs in collecting, managing and effectively employing performance indicator data; 
• Develop M&E plans in consultation with CSOs and review plans with CSO staff. The consultant will provide rigorous feedback and recommendations in the development of plans, including defining and refining targets to ensure achievability and suitability for CSO measurement;
• Ensure consistent knowledge of data collection methodologies and indicators by all CSOs stressing conformity with USAID best practices and standards; 
• Review CSO performance indicators and assist CSOs to develop a working inventory of report and evaluation writing techniques;
• Ensure that Data Quality Assessment (DQA) is understood by all CSOs and prominently featured as a factor in successful evaluations.

Deliverables:

• Eleven performance monitoring visits conducted (one for each CSO); o Eleven M&E plans developed (one per CSO);
• Eleven data quality assessments conducted (one per CSO);
• Eleven CSOs with collaboration, learning, and adaptation (CLA) mechanisms in place; 
• Report for each CSO on improved knowledge of M&E systems and sub-disciplines. 

Conduct Project Evaluation Visits to CSOs:

• Provide third party review of CSO M&E activities;
• Ensure CSO collection and dissemination of lessons learned to improve program design and implementation, and work with CSO teams to facilitate public forums for the sharing of evaluation findings;
• Assist with the development of analysis and CLA tools while supporting the development of CSO practices and guidelines for enhanced CLA activities.

Deliverables:

• 4Guidelines and templates distributed to CSOs for collection and dissemination of lessons learned;  
• Eleven CSOs supported with the development of analysis and CLA tools;
• Evaluation reports for each partner CSO including assessments of M&E capacities at the completion of the consultancy;
• Documentation of lessons learned in providing M&E capacity building support to CSOs from the consultancy.

Budget:

• A. Personnel, Supplies/materials and local transport B. Support cost and program Administration 

Language:

• The consultancy will be developed in English and all interaction and reporting will be done in English.

Review and Evaluation of Technical and Economic Proposal:

• Description of organization’s technical capacity with a proven record of implementing similar projects, preferably in Nigeria;
• CVs of key project staff describing their experience and qualifications on the subject;
• Technical proposal describing the manner and services to be performed (methodology, approach, schedule of activities);
• Work plan including time required for the inception phase, implementation of activities, and preparation of the final report. 
• Financial proposals will be assessed according to the following:
• Costs are fair and reasonable;
• Costs ensure the implementation of the program as set out in the technical proposal; · The administrative cost and fees are justified and detailed out.

General Conditions for Tender:

• Mercy Corps invites proposals for the services described and summarized in these documents, and in accordance with procedures, conditions and contract terms presented herein
• Mercy Corps reserves the right to vary the quantity of work/materials specified in the Tender Package without any changes in unit price or other terms and conditions and to accept or reject any, all, or part of submitted offers.

Mercy Corps’ Anti-Bribery and Anti-Corruption Statement
Mercy Corps strictly prohibits:

• Any form of bribe or kickback in relation to its activities:
• This prohibition includes any request from any Mercy Corps employee, consultant or agent for anything of value from any company or individual in exchange for the employee, consultant or agents taking or not taking any action related to the award of a contract or the contract once awarded
• It also applies to any offer from any company or individual to provide anything of value to any Mercy Corps employee, consultant or agent in exchange for that person taking or not taking any action related to the award of the contract or the contract.  

Conflicts of interests in the awarding or management of contracts:

• If a company is owned by, whether directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, any Mercy Corps employee or any person who is related to a Mercy Corps employee, the company must ensure that it and the employee disclose the relationship as part of or prior to submitting the offer.   

The sharing or obtaining of confidential information:

• Mercy Corps prohibits its employees from sharing, and any offerors from obtaining, confidential information related to this solicitation, including information regarding Mercy Corps’ price estimates, competing offerors or competing offers, etc.  Any information provided to one offeror must be provided to all other offerors.

Collusion between/among offerors:

• Mercy Corps requires fair and open competition for this solicitation.  No two (or more) companies submitting proposals can be owned or controlled by the same individual(s). Companies submitting offers cannot share prices or other offer information or take any other action intended to predetermine which company will win the solicitation and what price will be paid.

Violations of these prohibitions, along with all evidence of such violations, should be reported to: integrityhotline@mercycorps.org
 
Mercy Corps will investigate allegations fully and will take appropriate action.  Any company, or individual that participates in any of the above prohibited conduct, will have its actions reported to the appropriate authorities, will be investigated fully, will have its offer rejected and/or contract terminated, and will not be eligible for future contracts with Mercy Corps. Employees participating in such conduct will have his/her employment terminated.
Violations will also be reported to Mercy Corps’ donors, who may also choose to investigate and debar or suspend companies and their owners from receiving any contract that is funded in part by the donor, whether the contract is with Mercy Corps or any other entity.

Tender Basis:

• All offers shall be made in accordance with these instructions, and all documents requested should be furnished, including any required (but not limited to) supplier-specific information, technical specifications, drawings, bill of quantities, and/or delivery schedule. If any requested document is not furnished, a reason should be given for its omission in an exception sheet.
• No respondent should add, omit or change any item, term or condition herein.
• If suppliers have any additional requests and conditions, these shall be stipulated in an exception sheet.
• Each offeror may make one response only.
• Each offer shall be valid for the period of [90 days] from its date of submission.
• All offers should indicate whether they include taxes, compulsory payments, levies and/or duties, including VAT, if applicable.
• Suppliers should ensure that financial offers are devoid of calculation errors. If errors are identified during the evaluation process, the unit price will prevail. If there is ambiguity on the unit price, the Selection Committee may decide to disqualify the offer.
• Any requests for clarifications regarding the project that are not addressed in written documents must be presented to Mercy Corps in writing. The answer to any question raised in writing by any offeror will be issued to that offeror. In some cases Mercy Corps may choose to issue clarifications to all offerors. It is a condition of this tender that no clarification shall be deemed to supersede, contradict, add to or detract from the conditions hereof, unless made in writing as an Addendum to Tender and signed by Mercy Corps or its designated representative.  
• This Tender does not obligate Mercy Corps to execute a contract nor does it commit Mercy Corps to pay any costs incurred in the preparation and submission of proposals. Furthermore, Mercy Corps reserves the right to reject any and all proposals, if such action is considered to be in the best interest of Mercy Corps.

Supplier Eligibility
Suppliers may not apply, and will be rejected as ineligible, if they:

• Are not registered companies
• Are bankrupt or in the process of going bankrupt
• Have been convicted of illegal/corrupt activities, and/or unprofessional conduct
• Have been guilty of grave professional misconduct
• Have not fulfilled obligations related to payment of social security and taxes
• Are guilty of serious misinterpretation in supplying information
• Are in violation of the policies outlined in Mercy Corps Anti-Bribery or Anti-Corruption Statement
• Supplier (or supplier’s principals) are on any list of sanctioned parties issued by; or are presently excluded or disqualified from participation in this transaction by: the United States Government or United Nations by the United States Government, the United Kingdom, the European Union, the United Nations, other national governments, or public international organizations.

Response Documents:

• Offerors can either utilize the response documents contained in this tender package to submit their offer or they can submit an offer in their own format as long as it contains all the required documents and information specified by this tender.

Acceptance of Successful Response

• Documentation submitted by offerors will be verified by Mercy Corps
• The winning offeror will be required to sign a contract for the stated, agreed upon amount.

Certification Regarding Terrorism

• It is Mercy Corps’ policy to comply with humanitarian principles and the laws and regulations of the United States, the European Union, the United Nations, the United Kingdom, host nations, and other applicable donors concerning transactions with or support to individuals or entities that have engaged in fraud, waste, abuse, human trafficking, corruption, or terrorist activity
• These laws and regulations prohibit Mercy Corps from transacting with or providing support to any individuals or entities that are the subject of government sanctions, donor rules, or laws prohibiting transactions or support to such parties.

Specific Eligibility Criteria

• Eligibility criteria must be met and the corresponding supporting documents listed below under “Tender Submittals” must be submitted with offers. Offerors who do not submit these documents may be disqualified from any further technical or financial evaluation.

Eligibility Criteria:

• Applicant must be registered individual or firm and must meet all legal requirements to operate within Nigeria;
• National and international organization are eligible to submit proposals;
• Applicants are expected to have financial and reporting systems conducive to managing a contract grant of the size requested; 
• Experience working in Nigeria or with international and/or local organizations in Nigeria is required;
• Applicants with prior experience in USAID’s M&E systems and requirements and/or  are currently implementing USAID funded projects in Nigeria are encouraged to apply; 
• Demonstrated and relevant experience in the design and implementation of M&E systems, management and analysis of programs and projects, defining performance indicators of outcomes/impacts, and analysis of program evaluations and projects is required; 
• Experience and skills in designing and developing computer/database for program and project management programs. Experience and knowledge gained working with local institutions and international development processes of development, and capacity building (training, coaching etc.).  

Tender Submittals

• Documents and required information listed in tender submittals are necessary in order to support the eligibility criteria and to conduct technical evaluations of received offers (and due diligence)
• While absence of these documents and/or information does not denote mandatory disqualification of suppliers, the lack of these items has the potential to severely and negatively impact the technical evaluation of an offer. 

Documents supporting the Eligibility Criteria:

• Legal Business Registration
• Latest Tax Registration Certificate
• Company profile with minimum of 3 references (organizations served on similar consultancy). 
• Financial proposal or budget breakdown based on expected consultancy rates and initial work plan

Documents to conduct the Technical Evaluation and additional Due Diligence: 

• A minimum of two pages to the description of Technical/Professional capacity 
• Professional capacity and description of personnel
• Three to five pages for a technical proposal
• Realistic Budget which include all necessary expenditures 
• Work plan
• Duration
• Company Profile, 2 page max [Required]
• References from previous work projects (including contact information)  [Required]
• Key Personnel CVs, 3 pages max per personnel [Required]

Price Offer:

• The Price offer is used to determine which offer represents the best value and serves as a basis of negotiation before award of a contract
• As a Fixed-Price contract, the price of the contract to be awarded will be an allinclusive fixed price basis, either in the form of a total fixed price or a per-unit/deliverable fixed price
• No profit, fees, taxes, or additional costs can be added after contract signing. Offerors must show unit prices, quantities, and total price, as displayed in the Offer Sheet. All items must be clearly labeled and included in the total offered price. Offerors must not include VAT and customs duties in their offer.

Interested and qualified candidates (organization or consultancy firm) should send their Applications/Proposals with supporting documents by mail to: submission@mercycorps.org The subject for the email should clearly be marked/state "Proposal for M&E Capacity Building and Performance Monitoring of ECPN Partner CSOs, Mercy Corps Nigeria".
Or
Submit Hard Copy Applications/Proposals with supporting documents in a sealed envelope (Subject on the envelope should clearly be marked/state "Proposal for M&E Capacity Building and Performance Monitoring of ECPN Partner CSOs, Mercy Corps Nigeria") to:
Mercy Corps Nigeria Office,
No. 35 Patrick Bokkor Crescent,
Off Ebitu Ukiwe Street,
Jabi, Abuja,
Nigeria.

Click here for more Information (PDF)

Time frame/Schedule

• The period of this consultancy is March 1st, 2018 to May 30, 2019. 
• The Consultant will report to:  Organizational Capacity Building Advisor Engaging Communities for Peace in Nigeria Mercy Corps Nigeria
• Sample Contract This is the anticipated contract. However, if required, additional terms and conditions may be added by Mercy Corps in the final contract.

Note

• Submission of a proposal does not constitute an award commitment on behalf of Mercy Corps. Mercy Corps reserve the right not to fund any and/or all of the proposals received. Any costs involved in preparing the proposal shall not be reimbursed by Mercy Corps regardless of the outcome of the negotiations.
• Proposals that are submitted after the indicated Date and Time will be disqualified and, therefore, will not be eligible for consideration. Proposals that do not meet the requirements specified in Section IV will similarly be disqualified and will not be eligible for consideration
• Only those proposals submitted on or before the deadline and meeting the requirements specified will be evaluated by a Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) facilitated by Mercy Corps according to the criteria established.  The TEC will include representatives from the Mercy Corps and USAID.
• Enquiries/Clarifications: All enquiries or clarification related to this tender should be addressed to this email questions@mercycorps.org before the tender deadline date. All other enquiries submitted through other means of communication will not be given the due consideration.