Request for Proposal
SPRINGSTER TIKTOK CAMPAIGN EVALUATION (SOUTH AFRICA)
Who We Are
Girl Effect (GE) is a global organisation that uses creative digital and media products to empower adolescent girls. GE operates in a number of countries across Africa and Asia, with a strong presence in Rwanda, Malawi and Ethiopia through cultural brands as well as in Tanzania, India and South Africa with digital products.
Find out more by visiting our website: www.girleffect.org
Girl Effect’s work in South Africa
In South Africa Girl Effect exists as Springster; a global mobile-first platform that builds girls’ confidence and skills online to help them fulfil their potential offline.
Springster started as a mobile-first website available for free (without needing data) back in 2017. And since then, as girls’ online experience has changed, we have recognised the need to meet girls where they are and have been running social media campaigns on Facebook and Instagram for many years as part of the Springster brand. Topics covered have ranged from girls’ confidence, career goals and Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH). In 2019 we launched a chatbot, called Big Sis, on Facebook messenger and Whatsapp. Big Sis gives girls a safe place to ask and explore their SRH questions privately, as well as linking to SRH services.
In 2021, Girl Effect is moving on to TikTok for the first time and will be kicking off our Tik Tok journey in South Africa, with some additional content taking place in Ghana and Mozambique. It is for this new TikTok content and the surrounding campaign that we want to run a robust evaluation, to measure the impact of content on consumers as well as its resonance and response by the target audience.
Overview of the Springster TikTok project
Girl Effect’s TikTok campaign will focus on girls SRH needs. We know that all around the world, sexual health is an awkward but crucial topic for young girls to learn about. In some places, these topics may not be covered at school and social norms mean the likelihood of them being discussed with family or friends is low. Stigmas are ingrained and misinformation is rife.
In South Africa, teenage girls are more impacted by STIs and unplanned pregnancy than any other demographic. They are afraid to ASK ABOUT and ACCESS SEXUAL & REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH (SRH) services available to them because of the shame associated with pre-marital sex and the stigma of being seen at a health centre. This means SRH services go unused.
Girl Effect’s Springster platform is running an eight-week campaign using social media platforms to increase awareness of services, build knowledge and confidence and generate demand for Big Sis and other SRH services - for example, MSSI. The primary platform for content will be TikTok, and video content will also be repurposed for Facebook and Instagram – as well as subtitled for use in Ghana and Mozambique.
The core audience for the campaign will be girls aged 13 – 19 years old, with a bulls-eye audience of girls aged 15 – 17 years old. They will have access to or own a mobile phone. On TikTok or Instagram, the majority of the girls will be new to Springster and will not have accessed Big Sis before. On Facebook, they may be existing users who are already aware of/ following Springster and have visited the website and experienced previous campaigns.
As Springster first moves onto the TikTok platform we want to develop a robust evaluation to test our content and explore the impact of our content on girls, knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy and behaviour.
Overview of Springster TikTok objectives
We know from our research that girls aren’t getting the SRH support they need. They’re most likely to be impacted by STIs and unplanned pregnancies and this is caused by a lack of knowledge, confidence and feelings of shame when it comes to her body, puberty and sex. We want to arm girls with tools to seek the help they need and connect to SRH services.
Broken down our objectives for this campaign are as follows:
Girls know their sexual reproductive health and rights (Knowledge)
Girls know they have a right to access SRH information
Girls know how to articulate their SRH needs (key terminology/concepts, critical questions to ask etc.).
Girls know different types of SRH services and what information/support they offer (contraception, STI/HIV testing and treatment, advice on pregnancy etc.).
Girls agree that SRH information and services are relevant to her (attitudes)
Girls feel concerns and questions about their SRH needs are normal and nothing to be embarrassed/ ashamed about
Girls support their friends to discuss their curiosities and concerns
Girls are confident to speak to a health provider or friend when they have SRH questions or concerns and need more information and/or support. (Self-efficacy)
Girls express confidence in speaking to a friend or healthcare provider when they have SRH questions or concerns
Girls express confidence dealing with potential embarrassing, judgemental or negative situations
Girls understand the benefits of speaking about their SRH curiosities and concerns (outcome expectation)
Girls understand that speaking about their SRH curiosities and needs is beneficial
Research Objectives
The primary objective of this research is to measure the effectiveness of this content to shift the campaign objectives above. We want to understand any impact of our content and campaign on knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy, outcome expectation and ultimately contribution towards behaviour change.
While the primary focus of this study is to measure the impact of the Springster TikTok campaign we are also interested in exploring any user feedback on the content produced and shared, as such we would be interested in the following questions in addition to the evaluation above:
Does content resonate with girls? Who do girls think the content is designed for?
What do they like/dislike about our content?
Would they share/recommend content to friends?
Do they understand the content, is anything confusing?
Why would they/wouldn’t they click-through on the click-through content?
What is the difference in reception of influencer content or Springster content?
Research Approach
We welcome all recommendations/suggestions from research agencies on the best research approach to serving our objectives of measuring the impact of the Springster TikTok campaign, and would certainly be open to different approaches to the option below if these can better serve our objectives.
Currently, we imagine the research approach will have two major components, a pre and post-survey as well as an online community to share and explore the content with respondents:
A pre and post-survey
to be taken by respondents before the community begins and after it has been completed. This will be the major component to compare any change in girls' responses before and after content has been consumed. It is from the pre and post comparison that we will be able to measure any impact of the campaign on consumers.A 1 (or 2) week online community
served in between the pre/post surveys, in which respondents have shared a range of Springster TikTok content and were given fun engaging tasks and discussions to reflect on the content and share their feedback along the way.
We anticipate a large online community of a minimum of 120 girls aged 14-19, to ensure we are able to capture meaningful change amongst our target audience. But would be open to a larger scale, via multiple communities or a wider range of audiences to be included. If including these in your proposal please provide costings separately.
South Africa will be our primary focus for the evaluation, however, we would like to explore if any or all of the study can be replicated or adapted to a smaller scale in Ghana and Mozambique. If you are able to include any elements in Ghana or Mozambique in your proposal please cost for these separately from the South African element of the study.
Overview of key timelines
Please provide detailed timelines in your proposal.
Content for this study will all be available by end of August, so fieldwork should be able to take place from early September.
We would expect the whole evaluation and reporting to be completed by end of October at the latest. However, we are open to all reasonable timelines based on the proposed methodology.
Requirements of the supporting agency
The successful agency will be responsible for running the project from beginning to end and consulting with Girl Effect throughout the process.
Core responsibilities for the research agency include:
Project Management
Providing detailed timelines and keeping them updated throughout the project
Regular updates and proactive communication with the Girl Effect team
Logistics
Management of all requirements for training for interviewers (if relevant) and moderators, including transport, venue, refreshments (if in person)
All fieldwork/online community logistics, including online community tool, functionality and accessibility
Ethical approval (if required)
Design and tool development
Design of a girl-friendly pre/post survey (Girl Effect able to provide previous surveys on similar objectives as template)
Tasks and discussion guide for online community
Development of all consent and assent forms (Girl Effect able to provide templates if required)
Recruitment
Recruitment of all research participants, adhering to the safeguarding policies as set out by Girl Effect (including informed consent)
Online Community engagement
Ensuring respondents are engaged throughout the online community and suggesting/adapting activities and discussion to ensure that engagement remains high throughout.
Moderation and interviewing
Responsible for providing experienced female moderators for the online community
If interviewing in person, then recruitment of interviewers is also the responsibility of the research agency.
Moderators and Interviewers must complete training prior to fieldwork on the project, tools and safeguarding in line with Girl Effect’s safeguarding procedures.
Data management
Ensuring the safe storage of all data, particularly any PII
Data tables of pre and post-survey responses
Transcripts of online community (if possible)
Reporting
Draft report (PowerPoint)
Final report (PowerPoint) and presentation to the team (following Girl Effect feedback)
Case studies
At the end of our research project, we are keen to capture via video girls’ reactions to our content. We would need their permission (and potentially parents too) to share this with our partners and on our social media channels. This need not apply to all girls that take part in the research study but if we can recruit 5-10 girls that could participate that would be ideal. The onus will be on the agency to recruit participants that feel eloquent and confident speaking to the camera.
Confidentiality, child protection and ethical considerations
Ensuring that everyone who comes into contact with our content and who takes part in our research studies is supported, safe and comfortable is of the utmost importance for Girl Effect, and as such ethical considerations, risk assessments and child protection are a huge priority for us.
Care should be taken by the successful agency to maintain the confidentiality of the information provided by the respondents during the study. Informed voluntary consent should be taken prior to starting the study and parent/caregiver consent obtained in the interview of a minor. In case an individual refuses to participate, she should not be compelled to participate or demoralized by any means and these cases will be treated as no-response under this survey. The research team must all undergo safeguarding training in accordance with Girl Effect child safeguarding procedures and sign the Girl Effect Safeguarding Policy.
Sampling Frame
For the purpose of this research, we want to primarily focus on the target audience of girls 14-19 years old. However if budget allows we would be interested in including a small sample of older girls and/or boys to understand how our content performs amongst this wider group as well. If you are able to include wider demographics in your proposal please provide costs for it separately.
We anticipate a minimum of 120 girls to take part in the online community to ensure robust pre-post comparisons provide meaningful findings. However, are open to all and any design suggestions that will provide meaningful impact evaluation.
All respondents should be TikTok users prior to the research, so that they are familiar with the platform, even though they may not have seen Springster content before.
Analysis and reporting
The successful agency will be responsible for all analysis and reporting to Girl Effect.
This includes:
the quantitative assessment of change between pre and post surveys, including significance testing where appropriate
a qualitative analysis of responses to content via the online community.
Final deliverables should include, anonymised data sets from the pre and post-surveys. A full report (PowerPoint) on the performance of the content, in terms of both the primary impact evaluation and the secondary content resonance research questions.
It is recommended that a draft report is shared first with the Girl Effect team for feedback, followed by a final report which will be presented to a wider Girl Effect team (via online meeting).
Timeframe
Please provide a detailed timeline along with your proposal.
Content will be available for testing by end of August. And we hope for final reporting to be completed by end of October at the latest. If there is a solid justification for longer timelines, please provide an explanation alongside your detailed timeline.
Budget
Consideration will be given for value for money and cost-effectiveness on submitted proposals.
The budget submitted alongside the technical proposal (as separate documents) needs to be a detailed, itemised activity budget (not just the provision of daily rates and expenses).
Please include the following elements:
- Fees (consultant day rates/days)
- Expenses
- Taxes
Milestone Deliverables
In this research study, the agency shall be responsible for producing high quality reporting from quantitative surveys and primary qualitative research. Following are the key milestone deliverables that the agency will deliver under the assignment in line with the payment schedule:
Methodology design
Pre-post community survey tool
Engaging online community activity/discussion guide
Training report following full training for moderators prior to fieldwork
Fieldwork progress reports
Data tables for survey data
A full report including the pre-post evaluation and online community user experience feedback
Presentation of the final report to Springster/Girl Effect team
Competencies
Key competencies across any proposed team for delivering this project are outlined below:
Capacity to deliver all areas expected of this research from design, recruitment and training researchers, to leading the data collection process in target field locations, analysis and reporting, ensuring quality assurance and working in line with research ethics principles.
Vast experience moderating engaging online communities
Experience working with Adolescent girls and young women
Experience working on sensitive subjects (such as SRH)
Experience evaluating the impact of projects (Social behaviour change projects especially desirable)
Established in South Africa with vast experience working in this market
Excellent and demonstrated understanding of Child Protection/ Safeguarding and ethical issues in research
Excellent fieldwork supervision and data quality control strategies.
A fieldwork team with adequate gender balance to carry out this work and specifically ensuring that female researchers collect data from girls.
Ability to conduct a risk assessment and mitigation plans for research
Excellent interpersonal skills and demonstration of effectively managing relationships with research partners
Exceptional communication and organisational skills.
Experience in delivering outputs on time and on budget.
Evaluation Criteria
The criteria against which proposals will be evaluated are listed below:
Understanding of the work to be undertaken. The proposal must meet the scope and needs included herein and be presented in a clear and organized manner; 5%
At least 5 years of team experience in evaluating the impact of projects/programs (Social behaviour change projects especially desirable)- 10%
Ability and experience of the consultant in cost-effective and timely methods of conducting data collection and impact analysis. This includes a sound methodology and work plan, with proposed samples, questionnaires/surveys and duration of work- 20%
Experience in collecting data and working with adolescent girls and young women-20%
Geographical Reach: Demonstrate relevant geographical experience, knowledge and reach to effectively carry out the assignment. Our preference is a consultant based in Southern Africa with extensive reach in South Africa particularly. -5%
Qualifications and competence of the key staff related to the study. Bidders must provide descriptions and Documentation of staff/teams’ technical expertise and experience. -5%
Evidence of a minimum of 2 contactable references (preferably NGOs or social enterprises)-5%
Value for Money/proposed budget breakdown (inclusive of any applicable tax)-30%
Format of the proposal:
The proposal structure should be as follows:
Letter of transmittal (in PDF format signed)
Technical proposal for meeting the objectives and achieving all responsible areas outlined
Budget (Financial proposal) providing a detailed breakdown of costs by activity, daily rates and expenses (include applicable taxes)
Work plan with timelines
1 attached sample of previous similar work
Contact details of two professional recent (max 1 year) references (preferably NGOs or social enterprises). These will be contacted to obtain references Details must include:
Contact Name
Organisation Name
Contact Title
Services Provided
Contact email address
Contact number
CVs of team members and their roles within the research team
Technical and Financial bids should be submitted as separate documents. Financial proposals (in USD) will not be opened until the conclusion of the technical evaluation and only for those deemed qualified and responsive proposals.
NOTE: The commissioned agency may be required to provide further documentation for due diligence and safeguarding purposes. These may include two years of audited financial accounts, CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) certificates for UK individuals who will be dealing directly with young people or their information, or the local equivalent certificate (i.e police checks). Contracting is subject to due diligence.
RFP Timeline and considerations:
Task Description Completion Date (2021)
RFP Issued to bidders 13th August
Bidders to submit RFP questions in writing 17th August
Girl Effect respond to RFP Questions 19th August
RFP Response and proposal due 26th August
Further clarifications (if required) 27th August
Due Diligence and contracting w/c 30th August
Contract go-live w/c 6th September
Closing date for applications: 26th August 2021, 5:00 PM EAT.
Girl Effect will examine proposals for completeness and may seek clarification where necessary. A Proposal may be rejected prior to detailed evaluation if it does not substantially fulfil the requirements of Girl Effect as stated in this RFP document.
Girl Effect will award the contract to the bidder whose proposal has been determined as fulfilling Girl Effect’s requirements as stated in the RFP document and provides the best value proposal in line with Girl Effect’s terms and conditions requirements.
All costs associated with the preparation of a Proposal are to be borne by the bidder.
Girl Effect reserves the right to accept or reject any Proposal and to cancel the RFP process and reject all Proposals at any time prior to award without incurring liability to the affected Bidders.
This RFP contains information proprietary to Girl Effect. All information contained herein as well as information about this bidding process as a whole is considered confidential and should be utilized solely for the purpose of presenting information and pricing as specifically requested below. Any other use of this information or the disclosure/release of this information to persons or organizations without written authorization from Girl Effect is strictly prohibited.
Bidders shall not, without the prior written consent of Girl Effect, make any reference to Girl Effect in any advertising, promotional or published material.
The budget provided as part of the bidder’s proposal is expected to include all costs. Bidders should describe clearly what costs the budget covers. Any additional fee, minimum services or billable cost should be mentioned.
**
How to apply:
Application process
Interested bidders should send their applications to suppliers@girleffect.org by 26th August 5:00 PM EAT. Please also send your questions through this email if you have any.