Консультант. Call for expression of interest to conduct a Case study based on the results of National dialogues and learnings to demonstrate the changes in 5 countries – challenges, learnings, successes

About TB Europe Coalition (TBEC)

Established in 2009, TBEC is a regional advocacy network of civil society organizations and individuals from across the World Health Organization (WHO) Europe region, comprising Western and Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia. The network aims to strengthen the role of civil society within the regional response to TB, and ensure political and financial commitments to end TB. Currently TBEC has more than 200 members from more than 30 countries in the region. In 2017, TBEC was registered as a legal entity in the Netherlands to step up its regional and national advocacy, capacity building and support to country-led TB advocacy initiatives. The TBEC Secretariat is located in Kyiv and responsible for the coordination, communication, administration, programmatic and policy management of the network.

Background information on theproject:

After three years of successful implementation of the multi-partner Tuberculosis Regional Eastern European and Central Asian Project (TB-REP), all the 11 countries from the EECA Region are moving forward, advancing from the new model of care towards improving DR-TB early detection and treatment outcomes within TB-REP 2.0 project. TB-REP 2.0 will be implemented during 2019-2021, consolidating the achievements and addressing the challenges of the TB-REP project.

The overall goal of the program is to foster timely TB case detection and improved treatment outcomes in patients with special emphasis on drug-resistant TB, through meaningful involvement of communities and civil society and integrated people-centred TB care delivery systems able to address the needs of key and vulnerable populations.

The project is implemented with the financial support of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in the countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA).

Partners involved in this project’s implementation are: Center for Health Policies and Studies (PAS Center) – Principal Recipient, WHO Regional Office for Europe, TBEC, TB People, Global TB Caucus (GTBC). Within the program implementation TBEC is responsible for strengthening advocacy and the operational role of civil society.

Continuous technical assistance will be provided to countries to catalyse advocacy efforts, assess partnerships and advocacy strategies for civil society organizations (CSOs) and regional stakeholders, as well as forge partnerships with the national TB caucuses.

In order to ensure full engagement of communities and civil society in TB prevention and care for improving TB and DR-TB case detection and patient care outcomes, in 2019-2020 the National dialogues were conducted in 5 countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Tajikistan and Ukraine. As countries are moving towards growing self-reliance, it is critical to document national practices demonstrating the role of CSOs as well as to understand further areas for better cooperation and integration of state and non-state actors in the national TB response. The task will be assigned to an international consultant supported by local consultants (one per each country to be assessed).

The objective of the assignment:

The purpose of the activity is to conduct a case study analysis to learn, document and demonstrate changes in five countries based on the results of the National Dialogues.

• By using a mix of methods to conduct a review of the progress in implementing recommendations of the National Dialogues conducted in 2019-2020 to support the national TB response in selected countries of the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Tajikistan and Ukraine), including:

a. How the process itself of organizing the National Dialogues, of activating the platforms of dialogue between public and non-governmental actors triggered certain changes?

b. If there was a differential impact between National Dialogues organized in-person and online format?

c. If the proposed interventions have been reflected in the national strategic documents and implemented as part of the consolidated national TB response of the selected countries?

d. To what extent advocacy plans for CSOs engagement in the national TB response have being implemented?

e. What are the results of visits to the selected countries and the status of implementation of visits’ recommendations?

• To identify factors attributed to the involvement of CSOs in the national TB response across the following directions within four main blocks of priority actions defined in the EECA Regional Policy Document «Transition to People-centred Model of TB Care: Role of Civil Society and Affected Communities»:

a. Meaningful engagement of communities in decision making, including participation in the TB policy informing and development, the consolidation of collaborative activities, collaboration between governmental and non-governmental actors, as well as level of coordination, sustainability, and management of CSO-led activities within the national TB response;

b. Monitoring and enhancing public accountability; c. Advocacy; d. Service delivery, including direct services provided for people and communities affected by TB.

• To demonstrate best practices through relevant case studies.

• Based on key findings to develop a review report suggesting the areas that might require improvement and/or additional support from development partners.

• To share the findings of the review widely with key national and international stakeholders and other interested parties.

The scope of work:

The International Consultant will be expected to:

• Oversee the development of the protocol and methodology to support the review, including calendar plans and deadlines for key deliverables.

• Supervise the development of a mix of tools appropriate to the review subject. These tools may include a combination of, but are not limited to, the following:

i.Protocol(s) for individual or group interviews with representatives of the National Dialogue, partners and additional stakeholders;

ii.Protocol(s) for interviews/meetings with representatives of external development partners;

iii.Dashboard template(s).

• Develop the procedures to be used to analyse qualitative data; and how it will weigh and integrate qualitative data from these sources with quantitative data to reach conclusions.

• Prior to the start of data collection, the International Consultant will develop and present, for TBEC review and approval, all protocols and procedures for data collection and analysis.3

• Conduct desk review of relevant documentation.

• Provide expert advice and technical guidance to local consultants from 5 countries during the data collection phase.

• Undertake online visits to the selected countries to meet with key national stakeholders, as appropriate.

• Responsible for the overall quality and integrity of the reporting.

• Suggest potential areas for interventions and cross-sectoral programming.

• Present key findings of the review during the national (1 per country, if required) and regional events organized and/or hosted by TBEC.

Materials and methods:

• Desk review of key relevant documentation, including the country visits’ reports and recommendations, the National Dialogue proceedings and recommendations; relevant national strategies on CSOs engagement, Advocacy Plans and Roadmaps, updated National TB Strategies, CCM documentation, countries’ Global Fund Funding Requests and grants approved in the GF 2020-2022 Allocation Period; other documentation relevant to the subject of the review.

• Interviews with key informants through individual and focus group discussions.

• Case studies from countries.

• Literature review, including peer-reviewed publications and grey literature relevant to the subject of the review.

• Country-specific analysis will be complemented with a cross-country comparison in a format of dashboard within the identified scope and objectives of the analysis.

Expected outcomes/Deliverables:

The International consultant will provide the following deliverables, in English or in Russian, to TBEC:

Reporting requirements:

The expected outcomes should be submitted in the Microsoft Office-comparable document format, in electronic copies to TBEC Secretariat, specifically to TBEC Program Manager Kira Grozava, [email protected].

Duration of the assignment and remuneration provisions:

• The work is expected to start after signature of the specific agreement for individual consultancy services.
• The duration of agreement is June 2021 – September, 2021.
• The Consultant will be responsible for the payment of taxes according to the laws of his(her) country of residence.
• Remuneration will be paid in US Dollars, so consultant shall have a USD bank account

Qualification requirements:

The International Consultant should meet the following qualifications:

Experience/Knowledge

• Demonstrated experience and knowledge of the context of TB care, including donors’ environment in EECA region.
• Knowledge of the guiding principles and major global and regional policy documents (UN, WHO, Global Fund, Stop TB Partnership, CRG etc.) to meet the End TB Strategy targets and to guide provision of rights-based people-centred TB care.
• Demonstrated collaboration with the NTPs, WHO entities, civil society and TB affected communities in the EECA region.
• Experience in development and conducting a desk review; protocols and procedures for data collection and analysis; report writing skills.
• At least 3 years of management experience in leading team of consultants and professionals preferably with a focus on policies and/or capacity development of CSOs/communities or government’s officials.
• Experience of working within the TBEC assignments is an advantage.

Skills/Competencies:

• Strong analytical skills;
• Cultural-sensitive communication and rapport building skills;
• Facilitates meetings effectively and efficiently;
• Writes and presents clearly and convincingly;
• Ability to share knowledge and to provide support to others;
• Ability to work independently and respond to feedback in a timely and professional manner;
• Proven ability to meet deadlines.

Education:

• Master level degree in Public health, Social sciences and/or other relevant areas.
• Relevant work experience and professional trainings is an asset

Languages:

• Knowledge of English and Russian is required.

Conditions:

1. Individual consultants are invited to submit expression of interest for the consultancy services mentioned above.

2. TBEC offers the following type of cooperation:

• Consultancy Agreement with an Individual Consultant/Expert. The Consultant will be responsible for the payment of taxes according to the laws of his(her) country of residence. Remuneration will be paid in US Dollars, so consultant shall have a USD bank account.

1. The contract will be awarded on the competitive basis to a Consultant/Expert with the highest qualifications and meeting all requirements described in Terms of References (ToR[1]). Consultant will be evaluated based on the qualifications.
2. Consultancy fee for a given assignment will be based on the cost of the final product and will be negotiated with a Consultant/Expert with the highest evaluation results.

5. Your expression of interest should contain the following documents:

• Overview of proposed approach to the assignment, including:
• CV with proven experience and qualifications (in Eng/Rus, not more than 3 pages).
• Motivation letter (in Eng/Rus, not more than 3 pages), clearly describing:
• Existing experience in the area of the proposed assignment
• Example(s) of previous work that demonstrate capability to complete the assignment.

Failure to meet these requirements will lead to automatic disqualification of application.

6. All documents for expression of your interest should be submitted electronically to Vlada Rabinova, Administrative Officer, TBEC, at the following address [email protected]
7. The deadline for receipt of your expression of interest by e-mail indicated in paragraph 6: June 24, 2021, 6 PM, Kyiv time. Late proposals will be rejected.
8. Selected candidate will be contacted by June 26, 2021.
9. The evaluation and selection will be conducted through procurement procedures set out in the TB-REP2.0 sub-grant agreement between TBEC and PAS Center, as a TB-REP2.0 Principle Recipient of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and are aligned to the World Bank Guidelines. Questions regarding procurement procedures as well as other related to the topic of the current request can be addressed to Vlada Rabinova, Administrative Officer, TBEC, at the following address [email protected].

[1] All the short-listed Consultants/Experts will be included in the TBEC Consultancy pool for potential future cooperation according to the Consultants’ expertize.