Request for Proposal (RFP)

Issued on:                               May 23, 2024

Solicitation Number:              PI-BID/BHFA//MAY-2024/100

For:                                             Hiring of Firm for Social Media Influencers Activity

Quotes Deadline:                   June 10, 2024

Pathfinder Background

Pathfinder is driven by the conviction that all people, regardless of where they live, have the right to decide whether and when to have children, to exist free from fear and stigma, and to lead the lives they choose.

Since 1957, we have partnered with local governments, communities, and health systems to remove barriers to critical sexual and reproductive health services. Together, we expand access to contraception, promote healthy pregnancies, save women’s lives, and stop the spread of new HIV infections, wherever the need is most urgent.

Our work ensures millions of women, men, and young people are able to choose their own paths forward.

Project Background

The USAID-funded Building Healthy Families Activity (BHFA) is a five-year program. Pathfinder International is leading the implementation of the Project. The project is being implemented in Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Overall goal is to improve the population’s health outcomes through strengthening the primary care systems so that uptake and continuation of voluntary Family Planning (FP)/Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health (RMNCH) services are encouraged.

BHFA aims to accomplish three results:

1)     Increase the capacity of the government and private health institutions to lead resilient, responsive FP/MNCH systems.

2)     Improve utilization of quality FP/RMNCH products and services.

3)     Men and youth are empowered to communicate about, demand, and use essential health products, practices, and services.

Objective of the Assignment

The objective of this assignment is to promote the adoption of priority behaviors related to family planning, maternal and child health, and gender equality with a focus on youth in the provinces of Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). This will be achieved through the dissemination of video message by creating innovative and original content by the social media influencers which will specifically address existing barriers hindering the implementation of these priority behaviors. The content will be made in the local language that will be easily understandable to the wider audience.

The video message created by the social media influencers through this assignment will serve as a powerful tool for social & behavior change communication. The videos by the social media influencers aim to effectively convey messages that encourage specific priority behaviors related to family planning and maternal and child health.

These videos messages will be utilized as resources to reach a wider audience, including communities, families, and individuals. By leveraging the content, the intention is to make the information engaging, accessible, and easily understandable. The goal is to contribute to positive behavioral change by addressing barriers and fostering a greater understanding of the importance of adopting recommended health practices.

Description of Assignment

The digital marketing agency will engage 6 social media influencers, 3 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and 3 from Sindh. These social media influencers will create videos, each video with a maximum duration of 45 seconds, according to the approved messaging by the BHFA SBCC Manager. Each social media influencer will produce 2 videos, conveying a different message relevant to the given assignment. Social media influencers from Sindh will create videos in Sindhi and Urdu languages, with English and Urdu subtitles. Similarly, social media influencers from KP will create videos in Pashto and Urdu languages, with Urdu and English subtitles. The digital marketing agency will be responsible for engaging social media influencers and for creating and sharing content that promotes our project goals and drives engagement with our target audience. The content must be creative, strategic, and the agency must have a strong understanding of the social media landscape.

Tasks

The agency will be responsible for the following tasks:

1. Initial Meetings with SBCC Manager-BHFA to conceptualize the videos and understand the requirement.

2. The agency will submit the proposal after identification and selection of social media influencers along with their CVs and portfolios for this activity.

3. The Agency will coordinate with the social media influencer to effectively execute the task and ensure its timely completion.

4. The agency will engage 6 social media influencers, 3 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 3 from Sindh, each influencer having minimum 1 million followers (Facebook) and minimum average reach of 500K on Facebook. Each influencer will produce 2 videos with a maximum duration of 45 seconds (Total videos to be produced are 12).

5. The agency is responsible for developing a script and story board of each video ensuring a clear message in alignment with BHFA's objectives.

6. The agency will handle the recording and shooting of the videos, and each influencer will upload it onto their respective pages after consultation with BHFA team.

7. The video content should be visually engaging, narrative-driven, showcasing innovative and unique concepts to fulfill the goal of the project.

8. The videos must be produced in full HD 1080p format (max. 45 seconds each video).

9. The agency will create videos in Urdu, Sindhi, and Pashto languages, with translations provided in Urdu and English subtitles for wider accessibility.

10. Post-feedback editing of videos after incorporating feedback from BHFA.

11. Submission of final videos to BHFA.

12. Provide comprehensive analytics on video performance across social media platforms until the desired engagement metrics are achieved.

 **BHFA project do not uses TikTok**

Deliverables:

The agency will provide following:

1. The firm will share the minutes of all the meetings.

2. Profiles and portfolios of all social media influencers.

3. Influencers are expected to create high-quality video which should be engaging, and professional content aligned with the BHFA message and goals.

4. The agency engaging with the influencers will provide insights into their audience demographics to ensure the message has reached the target audience.

5. The agency will submit the approved version of the scripts of all videos in Ms. Word.

6. Source files of all videos.

7. Translated Subtitles in Ms. word.

8. Final HD videos (1080p) in MP4 format with source files.

9. Every video should achieve minimum 500,000/- (Five hundred thousand) reach.

Time frame/duration:

The assignment will be performed during June – September 2024

Desired experience and qualifications:

Desired experience and qualifications of the digital marketing agency:

• Registered agencies must possess a minimum of 5 years of experience in communication and PR within the government or development sector and has worked on different ad campaigns.

• The agency must demonstrate past success in executing projects involving social media influencers.
• Extensive experience in communication design and social media engagement is required.
• Preference will be given to agencies with prior experience collaborating with influencers.

Inquiries

If you have any questions/inquiries, please e-mail [email protected] no later than close of business May 30, 2024 (3:00 PM) with a subject line Inquiries- PI-BID/BHFA//MAY-2024/100: Hiring of Firm for Social Media Influencers Activity. The solicitation number indicated above must be included in the subject line. Responses will be posted to all known offerors.

Proposal Deadline

All written responses to this RFP must be received by Pathfinder no later than [4:30 PM for physical submission to the following office address] (Pakistan time) on June 10, 2024. The solicitation number indicated above must be included on the envelope. A maximum of two envelops are permissible: one for technical documentation and one for financial details.

Solicitation: PI-BID/BHFA//MAY-2024/100: Hiring of Firm for Social Media Influencers Activity.

Attention: Procurement Department

Office Address:

2^nd Floor Olympus Mall,

F-11 Markaz, Islamabad

Modification

If at any time prior to award Pathfinder deems there to be a need for a significant modification to the terms and conditions of this RFP, Pathfinder will issue such a modification as a written RFP amendment to all competing offerors.  No oral statement of any person shall in any manner be deemed to modify or otherwise affect any RFP term or condition, and no offeror shall rely on any such statement. Such amendments are the exclusive method for this purpose.

Resulting Award

Single contract:

As a result of this solicitation, Pathfinder anticipates engaging a single independent contractor/company.

Any resulting contract will be subject to the terms and conditions contained in Annex B. Part B of this annex will only apply to USG-funded assignments.

Joint ventures are ineligible to partake in the procedure.

Payment Terms

Fixed Price: Pathfinder anticipates entering into a fixed-price contract with the selected contractor.

Proposal Guidelines and Instructions

Offerors will be required to submit proposals in two envelopes, one containing the technical proposal and the other containing the cost proposal. Proposals may be delivered to the following address: 2^nd Floor, Olympus Mall, F-11 Markaz, Islamabad. Envelopes must contain the offeror’s name and the solicitation number: PI-BID/BHFA//MAY-2024/100: Hiring of Firm for Social Media Influencers Activity.

Your proposal should provide basic information about your Company/Individual and relevant service offerings. It should have a section addressing each of the following areas:

Responses should include the following information:

1. Preliminary examination Requirements

• Firm must be registered as a Sales Tax Registered Firm (PASS/FAIL)

• Bid submitted on time. (PASS/FAIL)

• Firm must have physical presence in Islamabad (PASS/FAIL)

Firms that meet the Pass/Fail criteria will undergo further evaluation in consideration of their technical proposals.

1. Technical Proposal

a.     Company/Individual Profile and Past Performance – 90 Points (As per below table)

• Provide a general description of the offeror in terms of experience of conducting similar nature work.

• Briefly summarize the offeror’s qualifications and experience of the activities described in the scope of work.

• Provide a detailed track record of previous similar work undertaken as per evaluation criteria.

b.     Financial Proposal – 10 points

1. 1. Financial Proposal

Offerors pricing should be based on the following:

Fixed Price:  For Services performed during the Term, Firm will be paid a fixed fee after the completion of task with a report accepted and approved by BHFA Team.

The financial proposal is mandated to incorporate a detailed breakdown of costs, encompassing all expenses such as travel costs and lodging, among others. Sales Tax with % is required. Please use below table to submit your financial response.

Reference	PI-BID/BHFA//MAY-2024/100: Hiring of Firm for Social Media Influencers Activity.
Issue Date	May 23, 2024
Closing Date	June 10, 2024 (4:30)
Price Validity	_______________ Please provide this information
NTN
STRN

 

Line Item	Description and Specifications	Qty	Items and Specifications Offered	Unit Price PKR	Sub Total PKR	Sales Tax (%)	Total Price PKR
	Engagement of Social Media Influencers (3 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 3 from Sindh,) Note: Please mention the details of the proposed social media influencers along with their followers and reach on Facebook.	06
	Production of 12 videos with a maximum duration of 45 seconds	12
Subtotal:
Other Costs (Describe: ______________________):
GRAND TOTAL (CIP) PKR:

The project will not provide any reimbursement or additional costs beyond those quoted in the financial proposal.

Sales Tax (ST) Compliance: The project is eligible for a sales tax exemption. ST amount will be withheld, an exemption letter will be provided within 90 days upon receipt of the invoice. If the exemption letter is not provided within this timeframe, the withheld ST amount will be paid upon completion of the USAID compliance timeline of 90 days.

Evaluation Criteria

In evaluating the proposals, Pathfinder International will seek the best value for money rather than the lowest priced proposal. Pathfinder will use a two-stage selection procedure:

• the first stage will evaluate the Technical Proposal.

• the second stage will evaluate the Financial Proposal

Specifically, the selection committee will evaluate each proposal upon the following criteria:

Criteria	Weight
Firm possess a minimum of 5 years of experience in communication and PR within the government or development sector and has worked on different campaigns at least 4 assignments of developing videos in last 2 years. 2.5 marks for each assignment.	A total of 10 marks will be awarded
The agency must demonstrate past success (at least 4 assignments) in executing projects involving social media influencers. 5 marks for each assignment. Contract and work completion must be attached.	A total of 20 marks will be awarded
Proposed social media influencers having minimum 1 million followers and average reach of 500K on Facebook (3 must be from Sindh and 3 must be from KP) 10 Marks for each	A total of 60 marks will be awarded
Financial Proposal	10 Marks
Total Weight	100

Pathfinder is not bound to accept the lowest or any proposal and reserves the right to accept any proposal in whole or in part and to reject any or all proposals.

Pathfinder shall not be legally bound by any award notice issued for this RFP until a contract is duly signed and executed with the winning offeror.

The evaluator will tally all the individual scores for each section and calculate the average score. The total average scores will be added to obtain the total points achieved by the individual supplier. If the total number points meet or exceeds the threshold established in the evaluation methodology, the suppliers cost proposal will be eligible for consideration.

The score for the cost proposal will be calculated in the following manner:

Cost proposal score = 100 x Lowest cost/ cost of the proposal under consideration. The lowest cost proposal will receive the full 100 points.

The total score will be calculated as follows:

Total Score= Technical proposal score of the proposal under consideration multiplied by 75 plus (+) Cost proposal score of the proposal under consideration multiplied by 25.

Relationship disclosure

-           Describe any current or past relationships your organization may have with Pathfinder, and if it is a potential conflict of interest.  If there is a potential conflict of interest, please explain how this risk will be mitigated.

-           Describe any personal or familial relationships any employee of the Contractor has with any employee of Pathfinder. If there is a relationship, please explain how any conflict-of-interest risk will be mitigated.

Disclosure does not automatically disqualify offeror.

Terms

Pathfinder reserves the right to cancel this solicitation at any point and is under no obligation to issue a subcontract as a result of this solicitation.

Pathfinder will not reimburse any expenses related to the preparation of any proposal related materials or delivery.

Confidentiality

IF APPLICABLE As a part of the RFP process, Pathfinder International may be providing confidential information. Consequently, suppliers must complete a Confidentiality/ Non-Disclosure Agreement. See Annex B

Agreement

Any resulting contract will be subject to the terms and conditions contained in the annex. See Annex A

Thank you,

Procurement Team

Pathfinder International

Building Healthy Families Activity|Pathfinder International