Qualitative Research Tender, USA - 52863832

Procurement Summary

Country : USA

Summary : Qualitative Research

Deadline : 12 May 2021

Other Information

Notice Type : Tender

TOT Ref.No.: 52863832

Document Ref. No. : IRI2021CPS02o

Competition : ICB

Financier : United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

Purchaser Ownership : -

Tender Value : Refer Document

Purchaser's Detail

Purchaser : INTERNATIONAL REPUBLICAN INSTITUTE
Attn: Isabella Mekker 1225 Eye St. NW, Suite 800 Washington, DC 20005 Tel: (202) 408-9450
USA
Email :imekker@iri.org
URL :www.iri.org

Tender Details

Request for proposals are invited for Qualitative Research in Bangladesh.


REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

Procurement Number: IRI2021CPS02o

Open Date: April 29, 2021

Questions Deadline: May 4, 2021

Closing Deadline: May 12, 2021

Geographical Area Restrictions: N/A

Point of Contact: Isabella Mekker, imekker@iri.org

Background

The International Republican Institute (IRI) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, organization dedicated to advancing freedom and democracy worldwide. Since 1983, IRI has worked to develop democratic institutions and ideals, carrying out a variety of international programs to promote freedom, self-government and the rule of law worldwide. IRI provides technical assistance in the areas of political party strengthening, developing civic institutions and open elections, promoting democratic governance and advancing the rule of law.

IRI seeks a local research firm to pilot a Conflict and Governance Assessment Framework in Bangladesh using quantitative and qualitative research. This RFP captures the scope of work for the qualitative research; please refer to RFP IRI2021CPS01o for information about the quantitative research. Under this project, IRI will support locally legitimate governance actors to implement community-wide interventions that strengthen governance and thereby prevent the spread of violent conflict and foster pluralism.

Period of Performance

June 2021 - August 2021

Statement of Work

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH IN BANGLADESH

OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH

IRI seeks to gather insights into local conflict dynamics, the key actors participating in those dynamics, and the strategies that these actors employ to pursue their interests. This entails assessing the sources of intercommunal conflict and governance of issues that nurture or mitigate conflict.


IRI-S INFORMATIONAL NEEDS
IRI needs to:
1. Understand conflict dynamics—as well as avenues for conflict resolution or mitigation—
in selected communities. What are the structural, institutional and individual drivers, as well
as the trends in intercommunal conflict, particularly ethnic, religious or identity-based conflict?
2. Understand community-level systems of governance. How do these impede or facilitate
conflict resolution?
3. Understand locally legitimate actors in conflict-affected settings. Who are the most
trusted/legitimate actors? What are their interests? What are their networks? What strategies do
they employ to pursue their interests? What is the best method of engagement with them?
METHODOLOGY
The questions above are best addressed by a combination of in-depth interviews and focus groups.
This research will take place in two upazilas of Cox-s Bazar district. The contractor is responsible for
proposing the target upalizas based on the criteria described under proposal requirements. These
communities will be the same as IRI-s concurrent quantitative research IRI2021CPS01o.
The qualitative research will include 10-15 in-depth interviews across two communities in
Bangladesh, with each interview lasting approximately 60-90 minutes. For in-depth interviews, IRI
envisions participants to be context experts, individuals who are exposed to violence and its effects
either directly or indirectly, or other stakeholders relevant to conflict and governance in the two
communities. Such participants could include but are not limited to local government officials, local
tribal or religious leaders, academics, journalists, youth groups, women groups, etc. The final list of
participants will need to be discussed with and approved by IRI before conducting any interviews.
For the focus groups, there should be approximately six groups per community, each lasting
approximately 90-120 minutes and attended by a maximum of 10 participant, with smaller groups
or dyadic interviews being an option for sensitive questions. The exact number of focus group
discussions may vary depending on community demographics. The applicant should provide a
suggested FGD breakdown to include participants relevant to understanding conflict, such as youth
and community members who may be vulnerable to violence. Depending on the proposed research
design and community demographics, FGDs may include a combination of mixed or separated groups
by religion, ethnic affiliation, or gender.
All FGD participants should be:
• Recruited from different neighborhoods within the research locations.
• Contain a mix of urban and rural participants.
• Participants in the same focus group session may not know one another.
GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE OFFEROR
IRI is recognizant of challenges associated with the Coronavirus. IRI is open to the offeror-s
recommendations in the proposal to mitigate risks. IRI will accept participant recruitment by
phone/online, and online FGDs and IDIs, as long as the bidder is able to demonstrate that online
fieldwork has been carefully planned for success.
RFP-IRI2021CPS02o
Offeror will be responsible for managing all logistical aspects of the project and should engage local
support staff as necessary to complete the following:
• Screener. IRI will provide a draft screening questionnaire within two weeks of contract
award based on the aforementioned specifications. The Offeror will review and
recommend changes, if any, within three working days of receipt. Following IRI approval,
the Offeror will translate the screener into Bengali. and relevant most commonly spoken
vernacular of the research communities. IRI reserves the right to review the translation
prior to recruitment launch.
• Recruiting participants. Offeror will recruit all participants according to the screening
criteria listed above. At least one week prior to the start of the first focus group session
or in depth interview, the Offeror will provide a brief description of the composition of
the groups or the interviewees in terms of age, gender, occupation, and other relevant
attributes... Offeror should recruit a maximum of 8-10 participants for each group as well
as 2-3 alternates in case any of the participants are unable to participate. All participants
will be required to give written informed consent to participate in this study. IRI will
provide draft informed consent language which may be adjusted by the bidder in order
to conform to any specific legal requirements in the research country.
• Discussion guide. IRI will provide the draft discussion within four weeks of contract
award. Offeror will be welcome to offer suggestions for improvement and is expected to
format and translate the discussion guide into Bengali and the relevant (most commonly
spoken) vernacular(s) of the research community. Following IRI approval, the Offeror
will translate the screener into Bengali and the relevant most commonly spoken
vernacular of the research communities. IRI reserves the right to review the
translation(s). At least one week prior to the first planned session, the discussion guide
will be piloted with a group of 8-10 pilot participants or 3 in-depth interviewees who fit
the recruitment criteria. The FGD pilot will be moderated by the same moderator who
will moderate the actual groups, while the pilot in-depth interviews will be conducted by
the same qualitative interviewers who will conduct the actual IDIs. The pilot session(s)
will be video (preferred) or audio recorded, and the recording will be provided to IRI. The
Offeror will prepare a 1-2 page pilot report, based on a template provided by IRI. Once
IRI has reviewed the template, some modification of the discussion guide may be
required.
• Focus group moderator and qualitative interview. Offeror will provide a trained and
experienced qualitative interviewer for focus group discussion and in-depth interviews
in person or remotely. The moderator or interviewer should familiarize him/herself with
the topic of discussion prior to the groups. The moderator or interviewer will participate
in a training of up to 2 hours with IRI staff.
• Recording of focus group discussions and in-depth interviews. Audio and/or video
record all aspects of research necessary for full and accurate data collection, transcript
generation and inclusion of illustrative samples in the final analytical report. Offeror will
film focus groups and film should be high quality with clear sound. If participants do not
consent to videotaping, audio recordings are acceptable.
• Written summary of focus group discussions and in-depth interviews. Offeror will
provide a 2-3 page written summary of the focus group discussions and in-depth
RFP-IRI2021CPS02o
interviews in idiomatic English within one week after the final focus group session or
interview. A template will be provided by IRI.
• Transcripts. The Offeror will provide IRI with full verbatim transcripts in English of each
group or interview that will identify each participant speaker by number or first name to
link each comment to the participant-s gender, exact age, education level, city and
occupation.
DELIVERABLES
• Finalized discussion guide (incl translation where applicable)
• Proposed Participant Profile
• Written summary as specified above.
• Full transcripts of all discussions and interviews, as described above.
• Video/Audio recordings of the discussions and interviews, with clear audio.
Recording should be delivered to IRI electronically (for example via a file transfer
service) or delivered to the local IRI office.
• A brief summary outlining the key research findings, no longer than five pages per
community.
PROPOSAL CONTENT
Proposals should address the following points:
• List qualitative projects you conducted with similar specifications in technical area in
Bangladesh.
• Name and explain the role of subcontractors (if any)
• State if you are to comply with all requirements listed on this SOW without
alterations. If any proposed alterations, explain.
• Describe recruitment

Documents

 Tender Notice