United Nations Children’s Fund
48A, Primaverii Blvd.
011975, Bucharest 1, Romania
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP)
Telephone 021 201 78 72
Facsimile 021 317 52 55
[email protected]
www.unicef.ro
26.02.2015, Bucharest
UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN’S FUND (UNICEF)
Wishes to invite you to submit a proposal for
Consultancy on current scientific evidence regarding the development of non-cognitive skills,
especially for adolescents
SEALED Proposals should be sent to:
UNICEF Romania – Operations
48A Bd-ul Primaverii, sector 1
011975, Bucharest
Mark on the outside of the envelope: RFP/ROMA/2015/002
IMPORTANT – ESSENTIAL INFORMATION
The reference RFP/ROMA/2015/002 must be shown on the envelope containing the Proposal and
on the envelope containing the Price Proposal, as well as on the outer packaging containing both
envelopes.
The bid form must be used when replying to this request for proposal.
The Proposals MUST be received at the above address by latest 17:00 on 13.03.2015
Proposals received after the stipulated date and time will be invalidated.
It is important that you read all of the provisions of the request for proposal, to ensure that you
understand UNICEF’s requirements and can submit a proposal in compliance with them. Note that
failure to provide compliant proposals may result in invalidation of your proposal.
THIS REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL HAS BEEN:
PREPARED BY: Gina Apolzan
([email protected], to be contacted for additional information. NOT FOR SENDING OFFERS)
APPROVED BY: Sandie Blanchet/Representative/ UNICEF
RFP-ROMA-2015-002 - P a g e 1 of 11
United Nations Children’s Fund
48A, Primaverii Blvd.
011975, Bucharest 1, Romania
Telephone 021 201 78 72
Facsimile 021 317 52 55
[email protected]
www.unicef.ro
BID FORM
THIS PAGE/BID FORM must be completed, signed and returned to UNICEF. Bid must be made in
accordance with the instructions contained in this Request for Proposal.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF CONTRACT
Any Contract or Purchase Order resulting from this INVITATION shall contain UNICEF General Terms
and Conditions and any other Specific Terms and Conditions detailed in this INVITATION.
INFORMATION
Any request for information regarding this INVITATION must be forwarded by email to the
attention of Ms. Gina Apolzan ([email protected]) with copy to [email protected], with
specific reference to the invitation number RFP/ROMA/2015/002.
The Undersigned, having read the Terms and Conditions of RFP/ROMA/2015/002 set out in the
attached document, hereby offers to supply the services specified in the schedule at the price or
prices quoted, in accordance with any specifications stated and subject to the Terms and Conditions
set out or specified in the document.
Signature:
_____________________________________
Date:
_____________________________________
Name & Title:
_____________________________________
Company:
_____________________________________
Postal Address:
_____________________________________
Tel. No.:
_____________________________________
E-mail:
_____________________________________
Validity of Offer:
_____________________________________
Currency of Offer:
RON
Please indicate after having read UNICEF Payment Terms which of the following Payment Terms are
offered by you:
10 Days, 3.0%______ 15 Day, 2.5%_______ 20 Days, 2.0%_________ 30 Days, Net________
Other Trade Discounts: ______________________
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United Nations Children’s Fund
48A, Primaverii Blvd.
011975, Bucharest 1, Romania
1.0
Telephone 021 201 78 72
Facsimile 021 317 52 55
[email protected]
www.unicef.ro
PROCEDURES AND RULES
1.1
ORGANISATIONAL BACKGROUND
UNICEF is the agency of the United Nations mandated to advocate for the protection of children’s rights, to
help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential. Guided by the
Convention on the Rights of the Child UNICEF strives to establish children’s rights as international standards
of behaviour towards children. UNICEF’s role is to mobilise political will and material resources to help
countries ensure a “first call for children". UNICEF is committed to ensuring special protection for the most
disadvantaged children.
UNICEF carries out its work through its headquarters in New York, 8 regional offices and 125 country offices
world-wide. UNICEF relies on voluntary contributions from individuals, corporate and Governments for its
work.
1.2
PURPOSE OF THE RFP
The purpose of this RFP is to invite proposals for NATIONAL EXPERT/ TEAM OF EXPERTS/NGO TO CONDUCT
A DESK REVIEW ON NON-COGNITIVE SKILLS to the Terms of Reference attached in Annex I.
1.3
FORECAST SCHEDULE
The schedule of the contractual process is as follows:
a)
b)
c)
d)
Bidders to confirm their intent to submit a proposal by 6.03.2015
Closing date and time for submission of full proposal: 13.03.2015 by 17:00
Award Notice: 16.03.2015
Signature of contract: 20.03.2015
1.4
RFP CHANGE POLICY
All requests for formal clarification or queries on this RFP must be submitted in writing to Gina Apolzan via email at [email protected], copy to [email protected]
Only written inquiries will be entertained. Please be informed that if the question is of common interest, the
answer will be shared with all potential RFP bidders.
Erasures or other corrections in the proposal must be explained and the signature of the applicant shown
alongside. All changes to a proposal must be received prior to the closing time and date. It must be clearly
indicated that it is a modification and supersedes the earlier proposal, or state the changes from the original
proposal. Proposals may be withdrawn on written request received from bidders prior to the opening time
and date. Bidders are expected to examine all instructions pertaining to the work. Failure to do so will be at
bidder’s own risk and disadvantage.
1.5
RFP RESPONSE FORMAT
Full proposals should be submitted in ROMANIAN and must be received not later than 13.03.2015 by 17:00,
duly signed and dated. Bidders must submit a sealed proposal, with two separate sealed envelopes inside for
RFP-ROMA-2015-002 - P a g e 3 of 11
United Nations Children’s Fund
48A, Primaverii Blvd.
011975, Bucharest 1, Romania
Telephone 021 201 78 72
Facsimile 021 317 52 55
[email protected]
www.unicef.ro
a) the Technical Proposal and b) the Price Proposal.
Sealed proposals must be securely closed in suitable envelopes and dispatched to arrive at the UNICEF office
indicated no later than the closing time and date.
They must be clearly marked as follows:
 Outer envelope: Name of company / RFP number/ UNICEF Romania/ Address
 First inner envelope – technical proposal: Name of company, RFP number - TECHNICAL proposal
 Second inner envelope - price proposal: Name of company, RFP number - PRICE proposal
Proposals received in any other manner will be invalidated.
Sealed proposals received prior to the stated closing time and date will be kept unopened. The responsible
officers will open technical proposals when the specified time has arrived and no proposal received thereafter
will be considered. UNICEF will accept no responsibility for the premature opening of a proposal not properly
addressed or identified. Any delays encountered in the mail delivery will be at the risk of the bidder.
Offers delivered at a different address or in a different form than prescribed in this RFP, or which do not
respect the required confidentiality, or received after the designated time and date, will be rejected.
All references to descriptive materials should be included in the appropriate response paragraph, though the
material/documents themselves may be provided as annexes to the proposal/response.
The bidder must also provide sufficient information in the proposal to address each area of the Proposal
Evaluation contained in 1.10 to allow the evaluation team to make a fair assessment of the candidates and
their proposal.
1.6
BIDDER RESPONSE
1.6.1 Formal submission requirements
The formal submission requirements as outlined in this Request for Proposal must be followed, e.g. regarding
form and timing of submission, marking of the envelopes, no price information in the technical proposal, etc.
1.6.2 Bid Form
The completed and signed bid form must be submitted together with the proposal.
1.6.3 Mandatory criteria
All mandatory (i.e. must/have to/shall/should/will) criteria mentioned throughout this Request for Proposal
have to be addressed and met in your proposal.
1.6.4 Technical Proposal
The technical proposal should address all aspects and criteria outlined in this Request for Proposal, especially
in its statement of work, terms of reference and paragraph 1.10 of this Request for Proposal. However, all
these requirements represent a wish list from UNICEF. The bidders are free to suggest/ propose any other
solution. UNICEF welcomes new ideas and innovative approaches.
RFP-ROMA-2015-002 - P a g e 4 of 11
United Nations Children’s Fund
48A, Primaverii Blvd.
011975, Bucharest 1, Romania
Telephone 021 201 78 72
Facsimile 021 317 52 55
[email protected]
www.unicef.ro
No price information should be contained in the technical proposal.
1.6.5 Price Proposal
The price proposal should be as per but not limited to paragraph 1.10 of this Request for Proposal.
1.6.6 Checklist for submission of proposals
 Bid form filled in and signed

Envelope for technical proposal
o
Technical proposal
o
Technical proposal does not contain prices
o
Envelope is sealed
o
Envelope is marked as follows:
Name of company, RFP number - technical proposal

Envelope for price proposal
o
Price proposal
o
Envelope is sealed
o
Envelope is marked as follows:
Name of company, RFP number - price proposal

o
o
o
1 outer envelope
Containing  bid form,  envelope for technical proposal, and  envelope for price proposal
Envelope is sealed
Envelope is marked as follows
Name of company
RFP number
UNICEF ROMANIA
Address
1.7
CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
Information, which the bidder considers proprietary, should be clearly marked "proprietary", if any, next to
the relevant part of the text, and UNICEF will treat such information accordingly.
1.8
RIGHTS OF UNICEF
UNICEF reserves the right to accept any proposal, in whole or in part; or, to reject any or all proposals. UNICEF
reserves the right to invalidate any Proposal received from a Bidder who has previously failed to perform
properly or complete contracts on time, or a Proposal received from a Bidder who, in the opinion of UNICEF,
is not in a position to perform the contract. UNICEF shall not be held responsible for any cost incurred by the
Bidder in preparing the response to this Request for Proposal. The Bidder agrees to be bound by the decision
of UNICEF as to whether her/his proposal meets the requirements stated in this Request for Proposal.
Specifically, UNICEF reserves the right to:
- contact any or all references supplied by the bidder(s);
- request additional supporting or supplementary data (from the bidder(s));
RFP-ROMA-2015-002 - P a g e 5 of 11
United Nations Children’s Fund
48A, Primaverii Blvd.
011975, Bucharest 1, Romania
Telephone 021 201 78 72
Facsimile 021 317 52 55
[email protected]
www.unicef.ro
arrange interviews with the bidder(s);
reject any or all proposals submitted;
- accept any proposals in whole or in part;
- negotiate with the service provider(s) who has/have attained the best rating/ranking, i.e. the one(s)
providing the overall best value proposal(s);
- contract any number of candidates as required to achieve the overall evaluation objectives.
-
1.9
PROPOSAL OPENING
Due to the nature of this RFP, there will be no public opening of proposals.
1.10 PROPOSAL EVALUATION
After the opening, each proposal will be assessed first on meeting of the technical requirements and
subsequently on its price. The proposal with the best overall value, composed of technical merit and price, will
be recommended for approval. UNICEF will set up an evaluation panel composed of technical UNICEF staff
and their conclusions will be forwarded to the internal UNICEF Contracts Review Committee.
The evaluation panel will first evaluate each response for compliance with the requirements of this RFP.
Responses deemed not to meet all of the mandatory requirements will be considered non-compliant and
rejected at this stage without further consideration. Failure to comply with any of the terms and conditions
contained in this RFP, including provision of all required information, may result in a response or proposal
being disqualified from further consideration.
Technical Proposal and requirements
The proposals will be evaluated against the following:
CATEGORY
1.
Technical Evaluation Criteria
1.1
1.2
POINTS
Overall Response
Completeness of response
Overall concord between RFP requirements and proposal
10
Experience of Company and Key Personnel
40
Education: at least a Master Degree in Social Science, Education, Psychology or related fields
Experience. PhD in above topics is an advantage;
Minimum 10 years of experience and research on adolescents, including on non-cognitive skills. A
mix of academic and practical experience could be an asset.
Similar completed assignments that have materialized with published reports meeting international
standards.
Proven ability to work against tight deadlines
Experience of drafting user-friendly knowledge products such as research papers, toolkits, guides,
methodologies, analytical documents, policy papers and notes, project and program documents,
RFP-ROMA-2015-002 - P a g e 6 of 11
United Nations Children’s Fund
48A, Primaverii Blvd.
011975, Bucharest 1, Romania
Telephone 021 201 78 72
Facsimile 021 317 52 55
[email protected]
www.unicef.ro
baseline studies, desk reviews, comparative studies, etc. is an asset.
Familiarity with education, health and child protection systems in Romania
Minimum 5 to 10 years of proven academic experience in analyzing non cognitive skills of
adolescents, including resilience; the experience can be proven through published academic papers,
as well as participation in international and national conferences.
Experience in examining non-cognitive skills in general, a plus would be if the expertise is focused
on adolescents.
Proven ability to work harmoniously with different external institutions and to incorporate different
viewpoints.
Good command of English in written and spoken.
Availability to travel in country and abroad
1.3
Proposed Approach
- Quality of proposed approach;
- Proposed methodological approach;
- Quality of the proposed work plan and schedule of activities.
30
Total Technical
80
Only proposals which receive a minimum of 40 points will be considered further.
2.
Price Proposal
20
The price proposal must be clearly detailed based on all costs included (e.g.: consultancy fees, travelling, supervising,
etc.) in cost per unit and in number of units, and phased by deliverable.
Priority is to be given for those proposals which need less than 35% of the total amount for human resources and those
proposals which place the funds for the implementation of proposals of adolescents.
The total amount of points allocated for the price component is 20. The maximum number of points will be
allotted to the lowest price proposal that is opened and compared among those invited firms/institutions
which obtain the threshold points in the evaluation of the technical component.
All other price proposals will receive points in inverse proportion to the lowest price:
Max. score for price proposal * Price of lowest priced proposal
Score for price proposal X = ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Price of proposal X
Example: Price of lowest priced proposal= 800 // Price of proposal X= 1000
Max. score for price proposal ( 30) * Price of lowest priced proposal (800)
Score for price proposal X = ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- = 24
Price of proposal X (1000)
Total Technical and Price
100 Pts
UNICEF will award the contract to the vendor whose response is of high quality, clear and meets the projects goals.
RFP-ROMA-2015-002 - P a g e 7 of 11
United Nations Children’s Fund
48A, Primaverii Blvd.
011975, Bucharest 1, Romania
Telephone 021 201 78 72
Facsimile 021 317 52 55
[email protected]
www.unicef.ro
The price/cost of each of the technically compliant proposals shall be considered only upon evaluation of the above
technical criteria.
The bidders should ensure that all pricing information is provided in accordance with the following:
The currency of the proposal shall be in RON. Invoicing will be in the currency of the proposal.
The bidder will suggest a payment schedule for the Contract, linked to unambiguous Contract milestones.
Total aggregated amount of the contract should be spelled out separately, subsequently broken down on A. consultancy
fee; B. Travel costs, including ALL expenses that will incur in relation to the consultancy. For travel costs, please provide
breakdown for transportation (economy class tickets as the case may be) and daily allowance/ per-diem
(accommodation, meals, incidentals.)
1.10
PROPERTY OF UNICEF
This RFP, along with any responses there to, shall be considered the property of UNICEF and the proposals will not be
returned to their originators. In submitting this proposal the bidder will accept the decision of UNICEF as to whether the
proposal meets the requirements stated in this RFP.
1.11
VALIDITY
Proposal must be valid for a minimum of ninety (90) days from the date of opening of this RFP and must be signed by all
candidates included in the submission. For proposals from institutions, the proposal must also be signed by an authorised
representative of the institution. Bidders are requested to indicate the validity period of their proposal in the Proposal
Form. UNICEF may also request for an extension of the validity of the proposal.
1.12
CONTRACTUAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS
The UNICEF Special and General Terms and Conditions are attached and will form part of any contract resulting from this
RFP.
1.13
FULL RIGHT TO USE AND SELL
The bidder warrants that it has not and shall not enter into any agreement or arrangement that restrains or restricts
UNICEF or the recipient Governments rights to use, sell, dispose of or, otherwise, deal with any item that may be acquired
under any resulting Contract.
1.14
PAYMENT TERMS
Payment will be made only upon UNICEF’s acceptance of the work performed in accordance with the contractual
milestones. The terms of payment are Net 30 days, after receipt of invoice and acceptance of work. Payment will be
effected by bank transfer in the currency of billing. Financial proposals should include proposed stage payments.
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United Nations Children’s Fund
48A, Primaverii Blvd.
011975, Bucharest 1, Romania
Telephone 021 201 78 72
Facsimile 021 317 52 55
[email protected]
www.unicef.ro
ANNEX I – STATEMENT OF WORK AND TERMS OF REFERENCE
Background and brief history
Latest brain development and neuroscience research shows that the brain of adolescents is still
flexible and actually grows and changes a lot during the second decade. Adolescence is a time when
adverse childhood events (abuse, neglect, violence, extreme poverty) can have a serious impact - it
is also a window of opportunity to help adolescents acquire the non-cognitive skills they need and
didn’t necessarily develop during childhood (resilience, optimism, self-confidence, grit etc.).
In Romania, the health, social protection and education systems have limited capacity to identify and
provide adapted services to vulnerable adolescents and their families to help them avoid risks, access
basic services and fully enjoy their rights. Community-based services are not adolescents-friendly
and specialized services for vulnerable adolescents are scarce. Consequently, one of the priorities of
the UNICEF Romania 2013 – 2017 Country Programme Action Plan is to contribute to an increased
availability of basic and specialized services for adolescent boys and girls, especially vulnerable ones
and to the emergence of a generation of adolescents more aware and empowered to practice safe
behaviours. Supporting the development of services that equip adolescent boy and girls, especially
vulnerable ones, with a set of cognitive and non-cognitive skills that will increase their resilience and
contribute to their protection (from risky behaviours, from violence, from extremism etc.) and that will
enhance their opportunities to participate in and contribute to an inclusive society is an new area of
work for UNICEF office in Romania.
Purpose
The purpose of the current consultancy is to review current scientific evidence on non – cognitive
skills and to identify areas of promise in order to inform adolescents programme in Romania.
Major duties and responsibilities
 To provide / list definitions of non-cognitive skills and of its subcategories and assess how
they are measured, including scales of measurements and tools used globally and calibrated
for the Romanian population, with focus on adolescents;
 To map interventions implemented in health, education and child protection for the
development of adolescents non-cognitive skills, globally and in Romania in the past 5 years.
Ideally these practices should have led to measured improvements in outcomes in
adolescents;
 To build the capacity of UNICEF staff and partners on non-cognitive skills;
 To identify international and Romanian experts on non-cognitive skills recently published after
2010 in scientific journals.
Methodology
 Literature review focused on non-cognitive skills of adolescents and good practices recently
published after 2010 in scientific journals.

Interviews and/or discussions with academia, mostly in Romania for defining the non-cognitive
skills and its subcategories;
RFP-ROMA-2015-002 - P a g e 9 of 11
United Nations Children’s Fund
48A, Primaverii Blvd.
011975, Bucharest 1, Romania


Telephone 021 201 78 72
Facsimile 021 317 52 55
[email protected]
www.unicef.ro
Interviews and discussions with relevant stakeholders at the level of each relevant ministry
(education, labour, health, youth), as well with NGOs in order to identify interventions and
potential entry points for strengthening the non-cognitive skills approach or to include noncognitive skills at the level of interventions;
Validation workshop with relevant counterparts (MoE, MoL, MYS, academia, NGOs).
Deliverable and time frame
- Methodology (English) by 16 of April 2015;
- Intermediary (draft) report (English) by 6th of May 2015;
- Final draft in English and Romanian – by 22 of May 2015;
- Validation workshop by 29 of May 2015;
- Final version in English and Romanian by 5th of June 2015.
The contract will commence the activity on 23/03/2015
The report will be formulated in English with an Executive Summary and translated in Romanian.
Within UNICEF, the contractor will report to the Youth and Adolescents Development Specialist.
Structure of the report:
- Summary (3 pages);
- Methodology (1-2 pages);
- Chapter 1: Definition of non-cognitive skills and identifications of measurement scales and tools
globally and in Romania (5 pages);
- Chapter 2: Good practices focused on non-cognitive skills that were implemented in health,
education and child protection for adolescents (20 pages);
- Chapter 3: Conclusions and Recommendations for next steps (3 pages).
- Maximum length of the report: 30 pages (plus annexes);
Qualifications
Education: at least a Master Degree in Social Science, Education, Psychology or related fields
Experience;
Minimum 10 years of experience and research on adolescents, including on non-cognitive skills. A
mix of academic and practical experience could be an asset.
Similar completed assignments that have materialized with published reports meeting international
standards.
Proven ability to work against tight deadlines
Experience of drafting user-friendly knowledge products such as research papers, toolkits, guides,
methodologies, analytical documents, policy papers and notes, project and program documents,
baseline studies, desk reviews, comparative studies, etc. is an asset.
Familiarity with education, health and child protection systems in Romania
Proven ability to work harmoniously with different external institutions and to incorporate different
viewpoints.
Good command of English in written and spoken.
Availability to travel in country and aboard.
Payment calendar.
Taking into account the tasks and timeframe mentioned above, fees will be paid in two instalments
after submission of deliverables and upon approval by supervisor, as follows:
RFP-ROMA-2015-002 - P a g e 10 of 11
United Nations Children’s Fund
48A, Primaverii Blvd.
011975, Bucharest 1, Romania
Telephone 021 201 78 72
Facsimile 021 317 52 55
[email protected]
www.unicef.ro
- First payment in the amount of 30% after submission of the methodology of work;
- Second payment in the amount of 70% after the submission of the final report;
This contract includes no other benefits, Travel costs to project sites and attending project meetings
(situations when consultant is authorized to have access to UNICEF transport) will be covered by
UNICEF outside this contract. Payments will be made monthly, based on activity report signed by
supervisor.
Any potential contract resulting from this Request for Proposal will be ruled under UNICEF’s Terms and
conditions:
ANNEX II - UNICEF SPECIAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS
ANNEX - Unicef
Special T&C.pdf
ANNEX III - UNICEF GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR INSTITUTIONAL/ CORPORATE
CONTRACTS
ANNEX - Unicef
General T&C.pdf
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