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.

 

1. 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 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. To read more about UNFPA, please go to: UNFPA about us.

 

Terms of Reference (ToR)

Background and programme description

According to the UN Secretary General’s Bulletin on SEA the term “sexual exploitation” means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. Similarly, the term “sexual abuse” means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions.

Sexual exploitation and abuse is a serious human rights violation and when conducted by an aid worker is considered as a gross misconduct. People affected by war and other humanitarian crises are particularly vulnerable to sexual exploitation and abuse due to asymmetric power relationships between the beneficiaries and those providing assistance.

In 2002, the Inter-Agency Standing Committee endorsed the six core principles against SEA that were also incorporated into the UN Secretary General’s Bulletin on SEA. The latter declared zero-tolerance toward SEA, became binding for the UN (and agencies and individuals with cooperative agreements with the UN) and obliged all UN personnel to report incidents of abuse. Today many humanitarian organizations have codes of conduct, internal regulations (including disciplinary procedures to use corrective actions against perpetrators) and complaint and redress mechanisms for handling SEA allegations.

IASC Six Core Principles Relating to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse:

1. “Sexual exploitation and abuse by humanitarian workers constitute acts of gross misconduct and are therefore grounds for termination of employment.

2. Sexual activity with children (persons under the age of 18) is prohibited regardless of the age of majority or age of consent locally. Mistaken belief regarding the age of a child is not a defence.

3. Exchange of money, employment, goods, or services for sex, including sexual favours or other forms of humiliating, degrading or exploitative behaviour is prohibited. This includes exchange of assistance that is due to beneficiaries.

4. Any sexual relationship between those providing humanitarian assistance and protection and a person benefitting from such humanitarian assistance and protection that involves improper use of rank or position is prohibited. Such relationships undermine the credibility and integrity of humanitarian aid work.

5. Where a humanitarian worker develops concerns or suspicions regarding sexual abuse or exploitation by a fellow worker, whether in the same agency or not, he or she must report such concerns via established agency reporting mechanisms.

6. Humanitarian workers are obliged to create and maintain an environment which prevents sexual exploitation and abuse and promotes the implementation of their code of conduct. Managers at all levels have particular responsibilities to support and develop systems which maintain this environment.”

Since the start of the large-scale military invasion of Russia to Ukraine in February 2022 the risks of GBV to the affected population in Ukraine have risen. The Ombudsman and the Ministry of Interior reported cases of rape and sexual violence in non-government controlled areas. Multiple forms of GBV are being reported, with particularly high insecurity and risk for women and girls on the move, at border crossing points and transit/collective centers, and in bomb shelters. This includes reports of intimate partner violence, sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, sexual violence (including conflict-related sexual violence), and economic abuse. There is a high risk of trafficking for sexual exploitation at borders where registration is patchy and little control of documents, and young women are often not accompanied by other family members. (Gender-based violence secondary data review 27 April 2022)

 

Conflict-related sexual violence is being reported in war-affected militarized areas with Human Rights Watch reporting cases of rape in Kharkiv. The Guardian is highlighting that women across Ukraine are grappling with the threat of rape as a weapon of war as growing evidence of sexual violence emerges from de-occupied areas. (Gender-based violence secondary data review 27 April 2022)

Prerequisites

UNFPA is inviting qualified research suppliers/ group of consultants to conduct a joint risk assessment of sexual exploitation and abuse in Ukraine. Selected research supplier’s/consultant’s activity will be managed by the Interagency Coordinator on PSEA, the UNFPA GBV Program Manager, the GBV Policy Associate (who is also Co-chair of the PSEA Task Force in Ukraine) and the other Co-chair of the PSEA Task Force in Ukraine.

 

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. The methodology should ensure that the information collected is valid, reliable and sufficient to meet the assessment objectives and that the analysis is logically coherent and complete (and not speculative or opinion-based). The methodology will cover a mixture of:

• A desk review of existing relevant risk assessments (for example, on GBV, Cash assistance, etc.). A partner UN agency (IOM) is preparing such an exercise by 22 August 2022 as part of a SEA risk assessment in Ukraine, which will provide information, as agreed in a call with IOM.
• Desk review of national legislation including on GBV prevention and response, by-laws, policy documents and guidance, documents of PSEA Task Force, GBV Sub-Cluster, ICCG, UN documents, etc. This task will be coordinated with the IOM risk assessment as well.
• Key informant interviews, including representatives of the UN, international organizations, national NGOs and charitable organizations;
• Structured and semi-structured interviews with protection services providers representing the onsite case risk assessment, response and referral mechanism;
• Interviews with local authorities, state authorities;
• Field observation exercise together with GBV, Gender, and/or Child Protection actors. For this, the Empowered Aid concept will be used;
• Organise a workshop for the PSEA Task Force, where the results of the analysis will be shared and discussed, so the TF can jointly complete the risk register, and particularly assess the effectiveness of existing internal controls and agree on required additional risk responses.

 

Work scope

THE AIM OF SERVICE PROVISION IS:

 

Sexual exploitation and abuse is a form of gender-based violence. Recent analyses of the prevalence of GBV and gender discrimination in Ukraine give substantial input to the PSEA effort. In addition to drawing on findings and recommendations of existing GBV risk assessments in Ukraine, this SEA risk exercise will give particular attention to the risks that abusive persons who are linked to the aid effort pose to women and children who seek humanitarian assistance. It will also include analysis of specific risks that abusive staff, volunteers or contractors in the aid response pose to LGBTQ persons, people with disabilities and other marginalized persons. The assessors will cooperate with members of the PSEA Task Force in Ukraine to align current and planned assessments, in order to avoid overlaps and enhance the impact. For instance, a desk review is planned in an IOM SEA risk assessment for Ukraine that has been advertised and has a 15 July 2022 deadline for consultancy applications. This assessment may eliminate the need for a desk review by the joint risk assessment.

 

This joint risk assessment will deepen the scope of recent GBV risk assessments to address, inter alia, risks associated with inadequate vetting of national and international job candidates; the importance of cross-border collaboration among law enforcement agencies and INTERPOL; gaps in GBV investigative capacity of domestic and international aid providers in the public, civil society and private sector; gaps in whistle-blower protection and lack of a “speak-up culture” in aid organizations; gaps in awareness raising in local communities and in aid agencies of prohibitions against SEA; the role of community-based organizations in building trust among persons at risk and survivors of SEA; the need for GBV expertise in inter-agency and local complaint and feedback mechanisms; and the need for local women, children and LGBTQ people to guide PSEA programme design.

 

Many of the GBV services of government entities or civil society that were fully functional before the February 2022 escalation of the conflict have either stopped their services or adapted them to help people find shelter and food. The approximately three dozen helplines available for GBV reporting until February 2022 are thus either shut down or struggle to operate. A national and functional hotline that UNFPA supports, received 1,515 calls or online requests in the three-week period between 28 March and 17 April 2022 (Rapid Gender Analysis of Ukraine, 4 May 2022, by UN Women and CARE ).“Survivors’ access to response services is also difficult. Before, referrals were made by the police, but now the police work for the defence. Specialist service providers who had previously worked in safe shelters for survivors of violence have also transferred to other jobs.” (Rapid Gender Analysis of Ukraine, 4 May 2022, by UN Women and CARE) A June 2022 GBV risk analysis for cash and voucher assistance (CVA) in Ukraine identified multiple risks, including one relevant to sexual exploitation and abuse: In face-to-face CVA delivery, there may be a higher risk of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA), as it may give extra power to a single actor (usually a Finance Service Provider, from the private sector)(GBV risk analysis for cash and voucher assistance in Ukraine, by the GBV Sub Cluster, June 2022).

 

According to the generic terms of reference for coordinators of protection from sexual exploitation and abuse, which were endorsed by the IASC Operational Policy and Advocacy Group (OPAG) in August 2021, the PSEA coordinator shall “Support the Network to carry out a joint PSEA risk assessment in [Ukraine] to inform senior leadership on strategic decision-making, and “Support senior leadership in developing and implementing PSEA Network TORs and an Action Plan, based upon the risk assessment.”

 

The risk assessment outcomes will inform strategic decision-making of senior leadership and the PSEA Task Force Action Plan. A SEA risk assessment, depending on its design, can gather data on:

- risks related to prevention (including risks of SEA occurring)

- risks related to response (including reporting, investigations and accountability processes)

- risks related to assisting victims

- risks related to in-country inter-agency coordination

The risk assessment can therefore be used to inform how the Task Force can take steps to reduce the likelihood of SEA happening (e.g. PSEA mainstreaming), and the impact of SEA incidents, and steps to build the capacity of all organizations to handle allegations and enhance coordination.

 

A joint risk assessment will provide a baseline which makes it easier to monitor success, helps prevent future SEA through program adjustment, and raises awareness around SEA risk among stakeholders. It can help identify early SEA trends and patterns that the PSEA Task Force can use to offer concrete guidance to organizations and clusters on how to reduce the risk of SEA in their programming. A joint risk assessment also will provide an evidence base for priority goals of senior leadership and will be used in the design of the PSEA Task Force Work Plan. Future activities of the PSEA Task Force, as well as relevant cluster activities, will be adapted according to the outcomes of the joint risk assessment.

 

The selected supplier shall undertake the following tasks:

 

The IOM Joint SEA Risk Assessment Technical Note (2022) will guide this exercise. It refers to the Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Risk Management Toolkit of the Department of Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance (DMSPC), the Empowered Aid Monitoring and Evaluation Toolkit and other resources. UNFPA’s Risk Management Toolkit (2022) will also guide this assessment. To address specific themes and prepare questions to be asked, the assessment may also use Safeguarding Resource Hub’s Safeguarding (or SEAH) risk assessment and management tool in emergencies .

The SEA risks assessment exercise should include the following objectives:

• Conduct a situation analysis, through desk review and consultations, which will look at the external environment (learning from person at risk and survivors), the humanitarian context, governance and law enforcement, social and child protection systems, work with implementing partners, and existing internal controls (awareness raising and information sharing, work of HR, reporting mechanisms, internal governance and leadership or organizations, investigations)
• Based on the situation analysis, identify the key risks posed to the effective protection from sexual exploitation and abuse, including in relation to prevention, response, victim assistance and coordination.
• Assess the likelihood and impact of those risks
• Assess the effectiveness of internal controls and if risks remain
• Develop mitigation measures and assign responsibility (including identify any required resourcing)

 

 

Deadlines for service delivery and payment

Stage-by-stage payment is organized based on the task performance by the supplier:

 

Deliverables	% of full contract amount	Date
Briefing meeting with Interagency Coordinator on PSEA, UNFPA, GBV SC to conduct a briefing session and share relevant documents and key contacts.	10%	20 working days after signing the contract
Inception Report submission (draft): Report contains: an assessment design, methodology, data sources (including proposed by the assessment team) and collection methods, a general assessment implementation plan with a timeline, meetings/interview plan and list of key informants, deadlines for submitting the deliverables, and the suggested structure/contents of the assessment report.
Inception Report submission (final): Report contains all adjustments, amendments and recommendations based on the received feedback from Interagency Coordinator on PSEA, UNFPA
Assessment report submission (first draft): The report must contain an executive summary (briefly presenting the assessment purpose and objectives), its methodology and key findings, conclusions.	40%	67 working days after signing the contract
Meeting with Interagency Coordinator on PSEA, UNFPA to receive and understand feedback/comments/recommendations on first draft assessment report
Assessment report submission (second draft, presentation and infographics): All Interagency Coordinator on PSEA, UNFPA comments, suggestions and recommendations are incorporated.	50%	97 working days after signing the contract
Finalization of the assessment report: The final “clean version” of the assessment report.

 

These documents (reports) should be submitted to the Interagency Coordinator on PSEA, UNFPA GBV Program Manager and GBV Policy Associate in English language before the deadlines agreed with the Interagency Coordinator on PSEA, UNFPA GBV Program Manager, and GBV Policy Associate.

Intellectual Property

All information pertaining to this project (documentary, audio, visual, digital, cyber, project documents, etc.) belonging to UNFPA, which the Contractor may come into contact with in the performance of the duties under this assignment shall remain the property of UNFPA 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 in line with the national and International Copyright Laws applicable.

 

Requirements and qualification

UNFPA is looking for service research supplier with mandatory involvement of a national lawyer, and GBV expert, with a solid practical experience in monitoring and evaluation/assessments, or will represent a specialized agency (with mandatory involvement of a national lawyer and GBV expert). One of the team members will be assigned with the Team Leader responsibilities.

 

 

Proposal evaluation

The detailed evaluation of the quotations will consist of technical evaluation and financial evaluation.

 

Questions

Questions or requests for further clarifications can be requested via email to UNFPA up to 3 August 2022 17:00 Kyiv time. The question will be answered in writing, which will be distributed among all parties as soon as possible.

 

 

Name of contact person at UNFPA:	Roksolana Turkovska
Email address of contact person:	turkovska@unfpa.org

 

 

III. Content of quotations

Quotations should be submitted in a single e-mail whenever possible, depending on file size.

Quotations must contain:

 

a) Technical proposal comprising:

1. Demonstration of the understanding of the assignment by the evaluators and explanation of the proposed approach to organizing and managing the works, the proposed structure/contents of the evaluation report, how it will be composed.
2. A methodology, data collection methods and tools on how they will approach and conduct the work.
3. Work schedule with task component performance order and general sequence.
4. Portfolio with a proven experience including:

• Academic background or special training in monitoring and evaluation.
• Sound experience in GBV prevention and response interventions
• Excellent knowledge of evaluation principles, norms, standards, methodologies, designs, ethics and practices
• Technical evaluation skills
• Excellent legal experience and sound knowledge of Ukrainian national laws and regulations.
• Previous experience of working in humanitarian context will be an asset.
• Proven experience of conducting programme or project evaluations, ideally in gender equality or GBV response
• Excellent knowledge of Ukraine’s systems of social protection and social services
• Data management and analytical skills
• Communication and interpersonal skills
• Time management skills, ability to respect set deadlines
• Excellent writing skills
• Perfect knowledge of written and spoken Ukrainian, and English.

5.    Names and qualifications of the key personnel that will perform the services indicating Team Leader, GBV expert, lawyer etc. CVs demonstrating qualifications must be submitted.

 

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/ team leader of the group of consultants 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: Friday, August 10, 2022 at 17:00 Kyiv time. Proposals sent to any other address will not be considered.

Name of contact person at UNFPA:	Iryna Bohun
Email address of contact person:	ua-procurement@unfpa.org

Please note the following guidelines for electronic submissions:

• The following reference must be included in the email subject line: RFQ Nº UNFPA/UKR/RFQ/22/18. 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.

1. 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.

 

	Criteria	Maximum Points
1.	General quality and completeness of the proposal vis-à-vis the terms of reference	10
2.	Applicant’s understanding of the assessment subject, purpose, objectives, scope, expected deliverables	5
3.	Applicant’s background, official registration, certifications, memberships etc.	5
4.	Proposed approach to organizing and managing the assessment	10
5.	Proposed methodology, data sources, data collection methods and tools, data analysis procedures and criteria for making judgments	15
6.	Proposed structure/contents of the evaluation report and how it will be composed	15
7.	Deliverables are addressed as per TOR; proposed timelines are met.	10
6.	Range and depth of experience with similar assessment reports	10
7.	Academic qualifications and job record	10
8.	Competencies and skills relevant for the evaluation (e.g. communications, analysis, data management, report writing)	5
9.	Language proficiency in English and Ukrainian. Fluency in Ukrainian is required.	5

 

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
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.

 

1. 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:

Financial score =	Lowest quote ($)	X 100 (Maximum score)
	Quote being scored ($)

Total score

The total score of each application will represent the weighted sum of its technical and financial scores as follows:

Total score =70% Technical score + 30% Financial score

 

VI. Award Criteria

UNFPA shall award a Purchase Order/Contract with duration of 97 working days to the offer with the highest overall score.

 

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).

 

IX. Fraud and Corruption

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 Manager Olesia Kompaniiets at e-mail: kompaniiets@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

 

Name of Bidder:
Date of the quotation:	Click here to enter a date.
Request for quotation Nº:	UNFPA/UKR/RFQ/22/18
Currency of quotation:	UAH
Validity of quotation: (The quotation shall be valid for a period of at least 3 months after the submission deadline)

All prices must be exclusive of VAT tax, since UN and its specialized agencies are exercising zero VAT payer status

 

Item	Description	Number of Staff by Level	Hourly Rate	Hours to be Committed	Total
Expenses (All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal):
1	Joint assessment of sexual exploitation and abuse in Ukraine
2	Travel (if applicable)
3	Other Expenses (if applicable)
Total Contract Price, excl. VAT					UAH

Vendor’s Comments:

 

 

 

 

I hereby certify that the company mentioned above, which I am duly authorized to sign for, has reviewed RFQ UNFPA/UKR/RFQ/22/18 [Conduct a joint risk assessment of sexual exploitation and abuse 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.

	Click here to enter a date.
Name and title	Date and place

 

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