Invitation to Tender for consultant with relevant policy and research expertise

EAPN Ireland has received funding from the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission for a project entitled ‘An Analysis of the Increasing Demand for Basic Necessities as provided by the Community and Voluntary Sector’.
 
We are now seeking tenders for a consultant with relevant policy expertise and skills to work with us on a research project specifically around low-income households, the purchase of basic necessities, and the increasing demand for the provision of basic necessities by the Community and Voluntary Sector. This is linked to the IHREC funding strand around ‘Advancing Social and Economic Rights and Equality’.
 
The consultant will work closely with EAPN Ireland staff and will have the main responsibility for the policy work on the project. This includes initial scoping, research and report writing and the presentation of project findings at the end of the project.
 
1: Project aims

• Bring to the fore the experiences of households experiencing poverty who are relying on the provision of basic necessities by the Community and Voluntary Sector. This project is aimed at the households and communities that are currently living on low incomes and experiencing material deprivation, and are unable to afford basic necessities. The experiences of these households are rarely discussed in-depth and the reasons why they require supports with basic necessities.
• To analyse and provide a clear insight into the increasing demand for supports from the Community and Voluntary Sector to meet basic necessities, the root causes behind this demand, and look at the human rights and policy questions it raises. Feedback from EAPN Ireland member organisations, and organisations within the Community and Voluntary Sector, has revealed that demand was already increasing prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.
• This type of material poverty is rarely discussed or highlighted on a policy or political level, we hope this project could help to facilitate a discussion on the human rights and policy implications of the research findings. There is a need to have information and findings available on the struggles many households face trying to purchase basic necessities.

2: Project deliverables
Research and Analysis

• App. 4-6 Qualitative Interviews with service users to discuss their experiences around engaging with support with basic necessities
• App.3-4 Focus groups with services providers specifically around the provision of and demand for basic necessities
• Analysis and collection of data around demand, delivery and usage of services and supports

3: Estimated timeframe

• October 2021-Scoping the project
• November 2021-February 2022- Interviews with service users and focus groups with service providers
• April/May 2022- Joint workshop/roundtable with service users, providers and relevant parties, discussing the initial findings
• End of May 2022- launch of report and dissemination of report
• June 2022- Project complete

4: Developing the Report

• Joint roundtable/workshop between Community and Voluntary Organisations, service users and policy makers around initial research insights and the human rights and policy implications.

5: Impacts

• Final report launch event and dissemination of the Report

6: Budget
The total budget available for the consultant is €9,200.
 
7:  Tender Requirements 
     Please include in your tender:

• Relevant qualifications
• Evidence of Skills and work experience relevant to the project
• Evidence of an understanding of the subject matter, relevant policies, and strategies.
• A clear understanding of the methodology and the overall brief, including time frames.
• Cost effectiveness of the tender, including number of days available to conduct and engage with work on the project. 

8: Selection Criteria
Tenders will be evaluated against the following criteria:

Criterion	Maximum Score
Qualifications and relevant experience	30%
Overall understanding of the Brief and Methodology	50%
Cost of successful and complete project delivery	20%
Total Maximum Score Available	100%

Overall assessment of the proposals will be conducted by a panel.

Tenders should be sent to irene@eapn.ie before 5pm on October 11^th.