This Request for Quotation is open to all legally-constituted research companies that can provide the requested services and have legal capacity to perform in Ukraine, or through an authorized representative or is open to groups of consultants.
- About UNFPA and UNDP
In Ukraine and around the world the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) work together to protect and support young people, providing a platform through which their needs can be addressed, their voice can be amplified, and their engagement can be advanced. Both agencies are working together to enhance awareness of the state of youth in Ukraine and increase recognition of the rights and aspirations of young people; promote national youth policies, national youth coordinating mechanisms and national youth programmes as integral parts of social and economic development, in cooperation with both governmental and non-governmental organisations. UNFPA and UNDP, jointly with partners, contribute to strengthening the participation of youth in decision-making processes at all levels in order to increase their impact on national development and international cooperation as well as are working together to empower young people and enable them to become drivers of change.
UNFPA is an international development agency that works to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every child birth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled. UNFPA is the leading UN agency that expands the possibilities for women and young people to lead healthy sexual and reproductive lives. UNFPA is working with a multitude of partners, in particular young people themselves, advocating for evidence-based policies and programs for adolescents and youth; promoting their access to comprehensive sexuality education as well as sexual and reproductive health services, including family planning; and facilitating their leadership and participation. This is done with an emphasis on reaching the poor, marginalized, and underserved, especially adolescent girls. With this strategy, UNFPA is not only calling attention to the right of young people to achieve their full potential but also demonstrating how critical early investments in sexual and reproductive health can enhance the lives of individuals and the welfare of their society.
UNDP is working to meaningfully and sustainably engage and partner with young people, their organisations and networks, through formal and informal mechanisms, to realize universal youth participation. This includes support to youth policy development, strengthening of youth inclusion in public life and support to platforms and institutions at all levels in the Government, Parliament and other official bodies. UNDP supports civic engagement of youth through creation of youth spaces, capacity development of young people and youth-led organisations and provides funding to youth-led initiatives. UNDP is working with mainstreaming youth into development planning, particularly in the context of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), acknowledging that with the right opportunities to participate, politically and economically, young people become an asset critical to a future of peace and development.
In Ukraine, UNDP and UNFPA are long-standing partners of the Ministry of Youth and Sports in developing and implementing initiatives for and with young people of Ukraine. Both agencies provide support to the Government of Ukraine in the area of youth policy development and implementation through provision of technical expertise and development of strategic documents, conducting national surveys in the area of youth, implementation of national and subnational programmes and initiatives aimed at involving young people in the decision-making process. UNDP and UNFPA partner with young people, helping them participate in decisions affecting them, and strengthening their ability to advance human rights and development issues such as health, education and employment.
Terms of Reference (ToR)
Background and programme description
The ongoing war in Ukraine has resulted in significant loss of life, unprecedented displacement, internally and towards neighbouring countries, and devastating destruction of infrastructure. Humanitarian needs continue to rise in Ukraine and the region as the war enters its sixth month. An estimated 12 million people have been forced to flee their homes with the majority being women and children. According to the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine data as a result of the war, 40% of young people in Ukraine have been affected: more than two million young people have become internally displaced persons and around two million young people have been forced to flee abroad. For children and youth, the situation has been specifically harsh, with disrupted education and psychological traumas. Crisis and displacement put them at increased risk of sexual and physical violence and abuse. Young people continue facing multiple challenges, including anxiety disorders and mental instability, low levels of independence and resilience, and inability to cope with the current situation. Economic instability in the country, high unemployment and migration (internal and external) rates as well as destroyed youth infrastructure continues to have a negative impact on the wellbeing of young people in Ukraine.
At the same time, since the outbreak of the full-scale war, Ukrainian youth have been active in the emergency response, engaging as volunteers in their communities, helping with distribution of humanitarian aid and to accommodate IDPs and vulnerable population. Meanwhile the formal structures for youth engagement and participation (youth centers and youth councils), were early integrated into the government-led emergency response and operation in the humanitarian setting. Nevertheless, the mid- and long-term role of young people in the recovery phase is not defined and there is no natural platform where youth can articulate their needs, challenges and vision.
UNDP and UNFPA are recognizing youth as key agents of change in resilience building and sustainable recovery, and in the longer term, sustainable peace. Building on a strong relationship with the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine and a substantive experience of supporting youth participation at national, regional and local levels, both agencies support the promotion of young people’s voices and participation in decision making processes at all levels in humanitarian and recovery efforts, in line with the Youth, Peace and Security agenda.
In partnership with Volyn Youth Platform and Ukrainian Association of Youth Councils, UNDP is during the summer 2022 organizing a series of youth dialogues (20), where young people will be connected to policy and decision makers and members of civil society and 1. Learn about dialogue processes; 2. Exchange experiences and discuss the role of young people in humanitarian and recovery efforts; 3. Voice ideas about the role of young people in their community and the larger recovery process of Ukraine. The youth dialogues will be organized together with youth councils (local and regional level), considering their roles as advisory bodies to the local self-governance structure.
UNFPA in partnership with NGO Molodvizh is conducting a series of thematic youth dialogues in a form of podcasts which provide a safe space for communication between young Ukrainians and selected experts on different topics about their own life and challenges, their ups and downs of mental health, about the new future of Ukraine and life after war. The dialogues will serve the ground in ensuring that youth voices are heard and will lay the foundation of the future roadmap as part of the planned recovery and restructuring efforts of Ukraine in various sphere.
Building on the two dialogue processes, UNDP jointly with UNFPA will conduct a nationwide research with the aim to understand the specific impacts the war has on young people in Ukraine and how to enhance the role of youth in the recovery work. The process will make available data on youth perceptions for young women and men from diverse backgrounds in Ukraine, supporting government partners to inform planning and serve as a base for design and roll-out of future evidence-based UNFPA and UNDP YPS-programming, as well as, broader work in support of youth engagement, and support to the implementation of the Ukraine’s National Recovery Plan by the Government of Ukraine in the area of youth.
Prerequisites
UNFPA and UNDP are inviting qualified research suppliers/group of consultants to conduct a joint nationwide research on the impacts of war on youth in Ukraine. Selected research supplier’s/consultant’s activity will be managed by UNFPA Progarmme Analyst and the UNDP Civil Society Project Coordinator.
II. Methodology
The selected pool (group) of experts or research company is expected to develop an assessment methodology framework with methods and instruments to be discussed and agreed upon by UNFPA and UNDP.
Developed methodology should include the following:
1. An overview of the research design and tools for information collection suggested, such as questionnaires for individual interviews, guides for focus group discussions, online survey questionnaires. The number of respondents, focus groups, and interviews should be consistent with the status of the representative nationwide research. The design of all research elements is led by the contractor in close consultation with both agencies (UNFPA and UNDP) and other UN agencies working with youth as well as youth advisory group. Methodology and tools should be approved by UNFPA and UNDP jointly.
2. Channels of data collection and communication with young people, both in person (if the security situation allows) and for groups (multi-channel phone line, Skype, ZOOM, social networks, unified email, UNFPA Youth Wellbeing Platform for online surveys of young people etc.).
3. Quality assurance methodology (initial pilot of the questionnaire, spot checks, back checks, etc.)
Work scope
Through this assignment, UNFPA and UNDP seek services of a qualified Contractor to conduct a nationwide research with the aim to understand the specific impacts of the war on young women and men and assess the prospects of young people’s participation in the humanitarian and recovery activities. The Contractor is also expected to develop a list of policy recommendations on how to mainstream youth needs and use youth potential in the Ukraine’s National Recovery Plan.
The Contractor will be responsible for conducting a nationwide representative research among youth aged 14 -35 (age segments, 14-23 and 24-35, geographical dimensions (IDP’s vs local; rural and urban) and to prepare a report on impacts the war has and will have on young men and women; how young people see their current and future engagement in humanitarian and early recovery activities; discover issues that unite or divide different segments of young people; identify factors and trends that can cause or prevent conflict and insecurity; and to envisage potential scenarios for the country from the youth perspective. This will be achieved by examining the following research topics:
- How do young people perceive the current situation, past and future in their communities (economic opportunities, social, participation in political life, participation in public life, cultural, education, health, security and safety, information and communication technologies?
- Examine the aspirations and anxieties of young people about changes in their current lifestyles, outmigration decisions in looking for better opportunities elsewhere, family and their future aspirations that affect demographic future of Ukraine
- Look at the most disadvantaged groups, especially those furthest behind such as young people with disabilities and LGBTQI groups that are among the most marginalized and commonly experience discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity and disability as well as are more likely to face severe social, economic, civic disparities and violence
- What are issues and factors that they see as contributing to conflict or strengthening stability?
- How do youth see the roles of themselves and others in the broader recovery process, in creating a just, cohesive and inclusive society?
The Research will complement and will be coordinated with the ongoing UNDP led Human Impact Assessment. In particular this Research will look more specifically and in depth on various groups of young people in terms of vulnerability, geographical coverage, age and social status dimensions, will utilize more youth friendly and age appropriate methods of research.
The selected supplier shall undertake the following tasks:
- Development of the methodology for conducting a nationwide research.
- Conducting the nationwide research and preparing the draft report.
- Preparation of the final report and presentation of the results.
Deadlines for service delivery and payment.
Stage-by-stage payment is organized based on the task performance by the supplier:
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Deliverables |
% of full contract amount |
Date |
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Development of the methodology for conducting a nationwide research. The purpose of the activity is to develop a research methodology for collection of information within the nationwide research, including quantitative research elements (survey), combined with qualitative elements (such as focus group discussions), looking more closely at gaps that were not covered in the survey, or exploring interesting results further. The study shall cover at least the following core areas:
Coverage of other areas and specific questions is up to the Contractor and subject to justification of their necessity for completeness and accuracy of the study (to be defined and justified in the technical proposal). The research should be representative, targeting respondents (age segments, 14-23 and 24-35) in urban and rural communities on the government-controlled territories in all oblasts, as well as where and to the extent possible young people who migrated to other countries. The targeted respondents should include young people with disabilities and LGBTQI groups that are among the most marginalized and commonly experience discrimination on the basis of their disability, sexual orientation or gender identity. Output: detailed design and methodology for the research produced, including description of all tools and methods (such as questionnaires and survey questions) for collection of data, including detailed structure of the report. All documents are submitted to UNFPA and UNDP for final approval. The document should follow the next requirements: (up to 20 pages single spacing, Myriad Pro, size 11, Ukrainian language). |
20% |
28 October 2022 |
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Conducting the nationwide research and preparing the draft report. Following the programme objectives, the Contractor will be responsible for the following: 1. Conduct a pilot survey of up to 20 respondents to test the questionnaire, prepare a brief report (up to 2 pages) on the survey dynamics and approve any changes to the questionnaire with UNFPA and UNDP, if needed. 2. Conduct the research according to the developed and approved design and methodology. 3. Based on the research findings, prepare and submit the draft report (links to data sources should be duly indicated throughout the document. The structure of the report should be the following:
4. Prepare and submit final datasets (in CSV and SPSS formats) and the fieldwork report - a summary of the fieldwork phase, detailing the number of surveys conducted per data collector and per location (planned and realized), survey design and methodology, pilot and quality control results, response rate, basic descriptive statistics, as well as any issues that were encountered during the data collection phase. Output: the draft report is submitted to UNFPA and UNDP (the document should follow the next requirements: up to 40 pages without annexes, single spacing, Myriad Pro, size 11, Ukrainian language). |
40% |
26 November 2022 |
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Preparation of the final report and presentation of the results. After the approval of the draft report by UNFPA and UNDP UNFPA and aggregation of feedback from both agencies, the Contractor is required to:
Output: the final report is finalized according to the comments and approved by UNFPA and UNDP. Detailed presentation of the research findings made during the internal meeting with both agencies. |
40% |
09 December 2022 |
Intellectual Property
All information pertaining to this project (documentary, audio, visual, digital, cyber, project documents, etc.) belonging to UNFPA and UNDP, which the Contractor may come into contact with in the performance of the duties under this assignment shall remain the property of UNFPA and UNDP with the exclusive rights over their use. Except for purposes of this assignment, the information shall not be disclosed to the public nor used in whatever without written permission of UNFPA and UNDP in line with the national and International Copyright Laws applicable.
Requirements and qualification
The consultancy requests company/organisation/expert group that will be presented in the tender proposal with their key qualifications and specialities related to the assignment: Team Leader, at least 2 (two) Key Research experts. Team Leader will lead the assignment in close collaboration with Key Research experts.
Key requirements to the organisation:
- Officially registered organisation (commercial or non-profit) in Ukraine for at least 4 years with experience in conducting sociological research including nationwide). In case, if Group of Experts decides to apply, a letter of affiliation with an officially registered organisation (which will be the Contractor in case of contract award) must be provided;
- Proven track record on conducting at least 3 nation-wide surveys (own or in a consortium);
- An own network of interviewers for conducting national polls is a strong asset.
- Research team that has the following minimum composition and qualifications:
- Having proposed expert team (3 Specialists) consist of both women and men (at least 30 % of the team are women, but not more than 70 %) will be an asset.
Team Leader
Education
- At least Advanced University degree (Master’s/ Specialist) or equivalent in Sociology, Political Science, Economy, Finance, Public Administration, Management or related field.
Experience
- At least 5 years of professional experience in research and analytics including managing and controlling quality of nation-wide or regionally representative opinion polls (samples of works or links thereto are to be provided);
- Excellent reporting skills (reference to at least 2 open source reports should be provided);
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- At least 3 Methodologies (qualitative and quantitative) for conducting a nationwide researches / surveys developed;
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- Experience of conducting surveys in the field of the youth development and policy will be considered as a strong asset.
Languages
- Fluent Ukrainian, Working knowledge of English will be considered as an asset.
2 Key Research Experts
Education
- At least Undergraduate University degree (Bachelor) or equivalent in Sociology, Political Science, reconciliation and conflict prevention, gender equality and youth studies, Economy, Finance, Public Administration, Management or related field.
Experience
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- At least 5 years of professional experience in research and analytics including providing and controlling quality of nation-wide or regionally representative opinion polls (samples of works or links thereto are to be provided);
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- Excellent reporting skills (reference to at least 2 open source reports should be provided);
- Experience of conducting surveys in the field of the youth development and policy will be considered as a strong asset.
Languages
- Fluent Ukrainian.
Proposal evaluation
The detailed evaluation of the quotations will consist of technical evaluation and financial evaluation.
Questions or requests for further clarification can be asked during the debriefing, which will be held on Friday, September 16, 2022 at 14:00 via ZOOM conference (link to the conference session will be provided later).Questions or requests for further clarifications can be requested up to 20 September 2022 17:00 Kyiv time.
In case of your participation in the meeting, we ask that you send a confirmation with the full name of your representative to the UNFPA contact person by 15:00 Kyiv time on September 12, 2022.
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Name of contact person at UNFPA: |
Liudmyla Shevtsova |
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Email address of contact persons: |
The question will be answered in writing, which will be distributed among all parties as soon as possible.
Questions or requests for further clarifications can also be shared to the above email addresses prior the debriefing meeting by 15 Thursday, 15 September, 17:00 Kyiv time.
III. Content of quotations
Quotations should be submitted in a single e-mail whenever possible, depending on file size.
Proposals should include:
a) Technical proposal comprising:
- Technical proposal form filled in and the company profile not exceeding 15 pages.
- Proposed work plan, with suggested timeline; approach to the development of the project and description how objectives mentioned in ToR will be achieved indicating the persons responsible for each area of activity.
- At least 2 reference letters for the company from the previous customers/clients/partners reflecting the nature of projects implemented, their results and the role of the applicant.
- Description of the proposed team including CVs of the team proposed.
- Samples of nation-wide or regionally representative opinion polls managed by Team Leader;
- Reference to at least 2 open source reports developed by Team Leader;
- Samples of nation-wide or regionally representative opinion polls provided by 2 Key Research Experts;
- Reference to at least 2 open source reports developed by 2 Key Research Experts.
The Technical Bid must be submitted by electronic method of transmission at the email address indicated in the section IV.
b) Price quotation with proposed budgets should be submitted strictly in accordance with the price quotation form.
c) Language of the proposal – English.
d) Separate Technical Proposal and Financial Proposal should be signed by the bidding research company’s relevant authority and to be submitted in pdf format.
IV. Instructions for submission
Proposals should be prepared based on the guidelines set forth in Section IV and III, along with a properly filled out and signed price quotation form, are to be sent by e-mail to the secured e-mail and contact person indicated below no later than: Monday, September 26, 2022 at 17:00 Kyiv time. Proposals sent to any other address will not be considered.
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Name of contact person at UNFPA: |
Iryna Bohun |
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Email address of contact person: |
Please note the following guidelines for electronic submissions:
- The following reference must be included in the email subject line: RFQ Nº UNFPA/UKR/RFQ/22/22. Proposals that do not contain the correct email subject line may be overlooked by the procurement officer and therefore not considered.
- The total e-mail size may not exceed 20 MB (including e-mail body, encoded attachments and headers). Where the technical details are in large electronic files, it is recommended that these be sent separately before the deadline.
V. 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 (100 points max)
Technical proposals will be evaluated based on their responsiveness to the service requirements /TORs listed in Section I and in accordance with the evaluation criteria below.
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Criteria |
Maximum Points |
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1. |
General quality and completeness of the proposal vis-à-vis the terms of reference |
10 |
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2. |
Applicant’s understanding of the assessment subject, purpose, objectives, scope, expected deliverables |
5 |
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3. |
Applicant’s background, official registration, certifications, memberships etc. |
5 |
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4. |
Proposed approach to organizing and managing the assessment |
10 |
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5. |
Proposed methodology, data sources, data collection methods and tools, data analysis procedures and criteria for making judgments |
15 |
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6. |
Proposed structure/contents of the evaluation report and how it will be composed |
15 |
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7. |
Deliverables are addressed as per TOR; proposed timelines are met. |
10 |
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8. |
Range and depth of experience with similar assessment reports |
10 |
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9. |
Academic qualifications and job record |
10 |
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10. |
Competencies and skills relevant for the evaluation (e.g. communications, analysis, data management, report writing) |
5 |
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11. |
Language proficiency in English and Ukrainian. Fluency in Ukrainian is required. |
5 |
The following scoring scale will be used to ensure objective evaluation:
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Degree to which the Terms of Reference requirements are met based on evidence included in the Bid submitted |
Points out of 100 |
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Significantly exceeds the requirements |
90 – 100 |
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Exceeds the requirements |
80 – 89 |
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Meets the requirements |
70 – 79 |
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Does not meet the requirements or no information provided to assess compliance with the requirements |
0-69 |
Only those technical proposals achieving the score of 70 points and above will be considered as qualifying for evaluation of the financial proposal.
- Financial Evaluation (100 points max)
Financial proposals should follow the results-based budgeting approach. They will be assessed based on their clarity, completeness, level of detail and appropriateness. The maximum number of points shall be scored to the lowest price proposal among all technically qualifying applications. Other financial proposals will receive scores according to the following formula:
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Financial score = |
Lowest quote ($) |
X 100 (Maximum score) |
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Quote being scored ($) |
Total score
The total score of each application will represent the weighted sum of its technical and financial scores as follows:
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Total score =70% Technical score + 30% Financial score |
VI. Award Criteria
UNFPA shall award a Purchase Order/Contract with duration up to 31st of December 2022 to the offer with the applicant whose offer will receive the highest total score and will meet the requirements of the tender documents.
VII. 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.
VIII. Payment Terms
The payment will be done in accordance with the above deliverables acceptance of the Contractor's invoice and complete set of supporting documentation.
The payment will be done in currency: Ukrainian Hryvnias. In case of two currencies involved, the United Nations Operational Rate of Exchange should be used on the day UNFPA instructs that payment(s) (web: www.treasury.un.org). The payment term is 30 days after receipt of documents, invoices and other documentation required by the contract.
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 UNFPA Office of Audit and Investigations Services as well as with any other oversight entity authorized by the Executive Director 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 Agreement, 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.
X. 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.
XI. 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 Programme Analyst, Youth/HIV Liudmyla Shevtsova at e-mail: shevtsova@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.
XII. 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). English version of request for quotations prevails.
PRICE QUOTATION FORM
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Name of Bidder: |
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Date of the quotation: |
Click here to enter a date. |
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Request for quotation Nº: |
UNFPA/UKR/RFQ/22/22 |
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Currency of quotation: |
UAH |
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Validity of quotation: (The quotation shall be valid for a period of at least 3 months after the submission deadline) |
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All prices must be exclusive of VAT tax, since UN and its specialized agencies are exercising zero VAT payer status
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Description |
Number of Staff by Level |
Hourly Rate |
Hours to be Committed |
Total |
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Expenses (All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal): |
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1 |
Joint nationwide research on the impacts of war on youth in Ukraine |
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2 |
Travel (if applicable) |
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3 |
Other Expenses (if applicable) |
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Total Contract Price, excl. VAT |
UAH |
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I hereby certify that the company mentioned above, which I am duly authorized to sign for, has reviewed RFQ UNFPA/UKR/RFQ/22/22 [Conduct joint nationwide research on the impacts of war on youth in Ukraine] including all annexes, amendments to the RFQ document (if applicable) and the responses provided by UNFPA on clarification questions from the prospective service providers. Further, the company accepts the General Conditions of Contract for UNFPA and we will abide by this quotation until it expires.
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Click here to enter a date. |
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Name and title |
Date and place |
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ANNEX I:
General Conditions of Contracts:
De Minimis Contracts
This Request for Quotation is subject to UNFPA’s General Conditions of Contract: De Minimis Contracts, which are available in: English, Spanish and French