Tender

TERMS OF REFERENCE (TOR)

For recruiting consultancy service on managing/implementing HIV/AIDS and related surveys

Project Titles	Surveys related to HIV/AIDS
Specific tasks	· Mortality among people living with HIV (PLHIV) in care and treatment in Ethiopia from 2016 to 2022: A facility-based study. · IBBS (Integrated Bio Behavioral survey) and size estimation among high-risk adolescent girls and young women in hot-spot areas in Ethiopia. A mixed study · Assessment on Why male lag behind in HIV testing utilization in Ethiopia
Duty Station	Different Regions in the Country as indicated in protocol/Abstract
Type of the Contract	National Consultancy
Project Owner	Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI)
Duration	7months
Hiring Unit	HIV and TB directorate, EPHI
Date of Commencement	October 2, 2023

Introduction

The Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI) is the primary organization in Ethiopia responsible for public health research, laboratory confirmation of public health threats, training of public health professionals, and public health emergency response. Established to provide a consolidated approach to public health concerns, EPHI serves as the central body for addressing various health-related issues in the country. Its main aim is to ensure that the public health policies and strategies adopted by the country are evidence-based by undertaking scientific research on priority health and nutrition issues.

Over the years, EPHI has played a crucial role in combating major health challenges in Ethiopia, such as infectious diseases, malnutrition, and non-communicable diseases. With its commitment to improving the country’s health sector, the institute partners with various national and international organizations, ensuring that the health strategies adopted are comprehensive, efficient, and effective. EPHI also serves as a center of excellence, providing technical support and training to strengthen health systems throughout the nation.

As part of its mission, EPHI conducts applied research based on the national public health research agenda and on priority public health and nutrition issues. The Institute conducts surveillance for the early identification and detection of public health risks and the prevention of public health emergencies. It generates, translates, and disseminates scientific and technological knowledge.

Accordingly, the HIV and TB research directorate have been working on protocols to conduct three different surveys on HIV/AIDS in different parts of the country. Given the fact that the assessments are large scale, and because of the principle of collaboration that EPHI follows, we are looking for a sub-sub-recipient or an organization that is interested in handling specific tasks for the three assessments.

The three assessments are given in the details below:

Task 1. Mortality among people living with HIV (PLHIV) in care and treatment in Ethiopia from 2016 to 2022: A facility-based study

The aim of this study is to evaluate and delineate HIV-associated mortality among PLHIV receiving care, and to record the progression of national responses to control the epidemic in Ethiopia from 2016 to 2022.

Primary objectives:

To determine the proportion of deaths among PLHIV in care and treatment from 2016 to 2022 in Ethiopia.
To determine trends in death among PLHIV in care and treatment from 2016 to 2022 in Ethiopia
To assess the determinants of deaths among PLHIV in care and treatment from 2016 to 2022 in Ethiopia.
To determine the magnitude of HIV-associated deaths among PLHIV admitted to in-patient care from 2016 to 2022 in Ethiopia.
To assess reason or diagnosis at admission and cause of death among PLHIV admitted to in- patient care from 2016 to 2022 in Ethiopia.
To determine survival of individuals among PLHIV newly enrolled into ART from 2016-2022 in Ethiopia.
To characterize AIDS deaths among PLHIV admitted to in-patient from 2016 to 2022 in Ethiopia

Scope of the study

Extract and analyze service delivery data from 40 hospitals and 40 health centers in different regions of the country during 2016 to 2022:

Collect death data from both PLHIV in care and from in-patients.
Upload the data to EPHI survey platform on daily basis.
Summarize Socio-demographic and clinical characteristics.
Conduct mortality trend analysis from 2016 to 2022
Conduct Survival analysis for those who start ART between 2016 and 2022.
Estimate AIDS-associated mortality out of the total deaths from in-patient care (irrespective of HIV status), and AIDS-associated deaths among PLHIV who died during in-patient care.

Deliverables

Inception report with clear and agreed methodology and approach. Based on the inception report, the consulting sub-sub-recipient shall receive and incorporate feedback given by EPHI, start the data collection process, and update accordingly.
Data collection from selected health facilities for the period from 2016 to 2022 in Ethiopia.
Draft a comprehensive result of PLHIV both in soft and hard copies
Validate the result at the validation workshop.
Prepare the final report and submit to EPHI in both soft and hard copies.

Timeframe (Duration)

The assignment is expected to be finalized within five months.

Working and contracting arrangements

The EPHI will supervise the assignment, including facilitating access to relevant reports and reference materials through the national GFSHSTF.

Expertise required

The sub-sub-recipient must present the following qualifications:

Technical Competency

A renewed license for sub-sub-recipient with similar tasks (national applicants are eligible to apply).
The sub-sub-recipient should have a minimum of five international and/or national survey experiences and expertise in the following areas: Health policy analysis, HIV research specialization, statistics, survey design and data collection and analysis, Public Health, Global health, infectious diseases, quantitative/qualitative; experts in follow up studies and capability to manage and analyze large size data from multiple sites.
Experience in collecting data from multiple sites at the same time using digital platforms like CISPRO, ODK, and REDCap.
Ability to use statistical software like SPSS, R and Python’s pandas for data preparation and analysis.
Capacity to conduct data mining and multi-pronged data quality assurance and data cleaning techniques
Have similar work experience and will be a key requirement; and references of contact addresses (type of work done, location, time/period, email and phone number for reference, ….) of organizations or its representative of the organization shall be mentioned; and evidence/certificates shall be annexed with the technical proposal
All team experts should have a minimum of a master’s degree and a minimum of 10 years of experience. They should also have experience in developing government policies and strategies as well as working with both government and/or the private sector. Facilitation skills are also important.
The sub-sub-recipient must possess significant experience, knowledge and skill in health research, in particular with special focus in HIV/AIDS research
Experience conducting ART survival studies including clinical and viral outcome measures
In depth knowledge and understanding of the health sector in Ethiopia, the policies and strategies, and how it affects and may affect women differently;
Having team members with diverse technical, language and geographic representation. Having a native English speaker in the team is a plus
Integrity, timeliness, openness to learn, and willingness to have long term engagement with EPHI.
Experience in handling potential divergence in interpretation of findings

Functional Competencies

Positive and constructive approaches to working with energy
Demonstrate openness to change and ability to receive and integrate feedback
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Strong time management and meeting established deadline.

Language and Other Skills

Excellent command of English, including the ability to write reports clearly and concisely and to set out a coherent argument in presentations and group interactions.
Capacity to facilitate and communicate with different stakeholders.
Access to data management and analysis software

Lists of region, Facilities, Woreda, Zones and number of patients on treatments expected for AIDS mortality study.

Region	Descriptions	Name of Hospital	Alternative Naming	Woreda	Zone	Patients on Treatment FY23 Q1	Name of Health centers	Patients on Treatment	Proximity	Woreda
Tigray	4 General Hospitals	Mekele Hospital	Mekelle zonal Hospital	Semen
		Aksum Hospital
		Humera Hospital
		Wukro Hospital
Afar	General Hospital	Asayta Hospital	Ayssieta Hospital	Asayita Town	Awsi (Zone 1)	728	Mile Health Center	245	In the same zone	Mille
	Referral Hospital	Dupti Hospital	Dupti Hopital	Dubti Town	Awsi (Zone 1)	1251	Logiya Health Center	700	In the same zone	Semera Logia Town
Amhara	5 Referral Hospitals	Gondar Hospital	Gondar University Hospital	Gondar Town	Gondar Town	5553	Gondar Health Center	2247	In the same Town	Gondar Town
		Bahir Dar Felege-Hiwot	Felegehiwot Hospital	Bahir Dar Liyu	Bahir Dar Liyu	6751	Bahir Dar Health Center	1958	In the same Town	Bahir Dar Liyu
		D/Birhan Hospital	Debrebirhan Hospital	Debre Birhan Town	Debre Birhan Town	2100	Debrebirhan Health Center	905	In the same Town	Debre Birhan Town
		Dessie Hospital	Dessie Referal Hospital	Dese Town	Dese Town	6207	Dessie Health Center	2273	In the same Town	Dese Town
		Debre-Markos Hospital	Debremarkos Hospital	Debre Markos Town	Debre Markos Town	3685	Debremarkos Health Center	1340	In the same Town	Debre Markos Town
	2 General Hospitals	Debre Tabor Hospital	Debretabor Hospital	Debre Tabor Town	South Gondar	2154	Debretabor Health Center	421	In the same Town	Debre Tabor Town
		Woldia Hospital	Woldyia Hospital	Woldiya Town	North Wolo	4042	Woldyia Health Center	1462	In the same Town	Woldiya Town
Oromoia	5 Referral Hospitals	Jimma Hospital	Jimma University Specialized Hospital	Jimma Town	Jimma Town	3150	Jimma Health Center	1168	In the same Town	Jimma Town
		Nekemte Hospital	Nekamte Specialized	Nekemte Town	Nekemte Town	2259	Nekemte Health Center	815	In the same Town	Nekemte Town
		Metu Hospital	Mattu Karl Specialized	Metu Town	Ilu Aba Bora	1737	Burusa Health Center	45	In the same zone	Metu Zuria
		Shashemene Hospital	Shashemene Hospital	Shashemene Town	Shashemene Town	2359	Abosto Health center	1567	In the same Town	Shashemene Town
		Adama Hospital	Adama Teaching Hospital	Adama Town	Adama Town	7638	Adama Health Center	2002	In the same Town	Adama Town
	5 General Hospitals	Negelle Borena Hospital	Negelle Borena Hospital	NegeleTown	Guji	1033	Shakiso Health Center	1311	In the same zone	Shakiso Town
		Nejo Hospital	Nedjo General Hospital	Nejo Town	West Welega	505
		Chiro Hospital	Chiro General Hospital	Chiro Town	West Hararge	1205
		Bishoftu Hospital	Bishoftu Hospital	Bishoftu Town	Bishoftu Town	3950	Bishoftu Health Center	1029	In the same Town	Bishoftu Town
		Ambo Hospital	Ambo General Hospital	Ambo Town	Ambo Town	2907	Ambo Health Center	221	In the same Town	Ambo Town
Somali	2 General Hospitals	Karamara Hospital
		Kebridar Hospital
Benishagul	2 General Hospitals	Pawe Hospital
		Assosa Hospital
Gambella	General Hospital	Gambella Hospital
SNNPR	2 Referral Hospitals	Dila Hospital
		Sodo Hospital
	4 General Hospitals	Arbaminch Hospital
		Butajira Hospital
		Hossana Hospital
		Yirgalem Hospital
Dire Dawa	Referral Hospital	Dilchora Hospital
Harari	Referral Hospitals	Hiwot Fana Hospital
Addis Ababa	4 Referral Hospitals (Two from AAHB and two federal Hospitals	Paulos Hospital
		St. Piter Hospital
		Yekatit-12 Hospital
		Zewditu Hospital

Note: Any changes to study setting, study group or participants need EPHI approval if any, with acceptable reasons.

Means of verification

All the requirements will be valid with relevant required documents. Therefore all the competing firms will be expected to avail all the required documents related to survey Experiences (Direct and indirect), Human resources, all the requirements listed under implementation plan, and the three years of financial standings

S.N	Required Documents	Means of verifications
1.	Experiences related to implementation of national survey	Previous Contractual agreements of the firms’
2.	Human Resources	All the academic credentials, and contractual agreements or payroll of the professionals
3.	Financial standings	Three years audit reports from certified auditors
4	Implementation plan	Evidences related to appropriate technology to conduct the survey, Logistics and supply for the three tasks, Field coordination plan and related experiences, Monitoring mechanisms and Organogram

Selection Method

Quality based

The minimum points to recruit the firm will be 85 points

Task 2. IBSS and size estimation among high-risk adolescent girls and young women in hot-spot areas in Ethiopia. A mixed study

[This activity requires data and specimen collection from the study subjects]

The IBBS serves as a critical instrument, providing a deep understanding of the HIV epidemic dynamics within specific demographics, enabling data-driven policymaking, intervention efficacy monitoring, and resource distribution. In line with these needs, the GoE has decided to conduct the IBBS.

Objectives of the Survey

To conduct IBBS and size estimation among high-risk adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in urban towns/hot spots/high incidence woredas in Ethiopia

Primary objectives:

Describe the HIV risks and vulnerability behaviors of AGYW in major urban towns at hotspot woredas in Ethiopia.
Estimate the HIV prevalence among AGYW in major urban towns/hotspot woredas in Ethiopia.
To determine the prevalence of HIV recent infection among AGYW in major urban towns at hot spot woredas in Ethiopia.

Secondary objectives:

To determine the proportion of self-awareness of HIV status among AGYW in major urban towns at hotspot woredas in Ethiopia.
To determine the proportion of self-reported current ART use among HIV positive AGYW in major urban towns at hotspot woredas of Ethiopia.
To determine the viral load suppression among AGYW on ART in major urban towns at hot spot woredas of Ethiopia
To determine the prevalence of Sexually Transmitted Infections (syphilis, HBV, and HCV) among AGYW in major urban towns in hotspot areas of Ethiopia.
To assess the SRH/ HIV/STI Health Service delivery (accessibility and availability) for high risk AGYW major urban towns in hotspot woredas of Ethiopia.

Scope of the study

Collect and analyze bio-behavioral data in different high risk towns/hotspots of the country.

Collect behavioral data from in-school and out-of-school adolescent girls and young women and analyze the data based on the objective of the survey
Collect and analyze qualitative data based on the objective of the survey.
Collect and analyze biological tests.
Upload the data to the EPHI survey on a daily basis.
Transport laboratory specimens to EPHI central laboratory.

Deliverables

Inception report with clear and agreed methodology and approach. Based on the inception report, the consulting sub-sub-recipient shall receive and incorporate feedback given by EPHI, start the data collection process, and update accordingly.
Quantitative data from in-school setting
Qualitative data – audio, transcribed and translated data
Draft a comprehensive result and submit in both soft and hard copies
Validate the result at the validation workshop.
Prepare the final report and submit to EPHI in both soft and hard copies.

Timeframe (Duration)

The assignment is expected to be finalized within five months.

Working and contracting arrangements

The EPHI will supervise the assignment, including facilitating access to relevant reports and reference materials through the Global Fund Supported HIV related Surveys Task Force (GFSHSTF).

Expertise required

The sub-sub-recipient must present the following qualifications:

Technical Competency

A renewed license for sub-sub-recipient with similar tasks (Both international and national applicants are eligible to apply).
The sub-sub-recipient should have a minimum of five international and/or national survey experiences and expertise in the following areas: Health policy analysis, HIV research specialization, statistics, survey design and data collection and analysis, Public Health, Global health, infectious diseases, quantitative/qualitative;
Have similar work experience and will be a key requirement; and references of contact addresses (type of work done, location, time/period, email and phone number for reference, ….) of organizations or its representative of the organization shall be mentioned; and evidence/certificates shall be annexed with the technical proposal
The team should be led by a team leader with a Ph.D. degree in Public Health or related fields and 10 years of relevant experience in one of the above-stated areas of study.
All team experts should have a minimum of a master’s degree and a minimum of 10 years of experience. They should also have experience in developing government policies and strategies as well as working with both the government and/or the private sector. Facilitation skills are also important.
Data collectors for qualitative part of the study should at least have a master’s degree in health science with a minimum of eight years of relevant experience
Data collectors for the quantitative part of the survey study should at least have a BSc degree in health science with a minimum of seven years of relevant experience.
The sub-sub-recipient must possess significant experience, knowledge and skill in health research, in particular with special focus in HIV/AIDS research among adolescent and young population
In depth knowledge and understanding of the health sector in Ethiopia, the policies and strategies, and how it affects and may affect women differently;
Fluency in local languages is preferable.
Integrity, timeliness, openness to learn, and willingness to have long term engagement with EPHI.

Functional Competencies

Positive and constructive approaches to working with energy
Demonstrate openness to change and ability to receive and integrate feedback
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Strong time management and meeting established deadlines.

Language and Other Skills

Excellent knowledge of English, including the ability to write reports clearly and concisely and to set out a coherent argument in presentations and group interactions.
Capacity to facilitate and communicate with different stakeholders.
Computer skills: full command of Microsoft applications (word, excel, PowerPoint), Stata, CISPRO, ODK and common internet applications.

Lists of region, Facilities, Woreda, Zones expected for AGYA study.

The lists of 27 Woreda’s will be selected out of 265 hot spot woreda’s identified by FHAPCO after formative assessments for the RDS and Selected high schools or university will be selected from towns after the formative assessment.

Note: Any changes to study setting, study group or participants need EPHI approval if any, with acceptable reasons.

Task3. National Formative Assessment on Why male lag behind in HIV testing utilization in Ethiopia

Objectives of the Survey

The formative assessment aimed to assess the possible factors contributing r the lag of adolescent boys, young and adult men in HIV testing service utilization in Ethiopia.

Specific objectives:

To characterize the adolescent boys, young and adult men lagging behind in HIV testing service utilization.
To identify the determinant factors contributing to adolescent boys, young, and adult men lagging behind in HIV testing service utilization.

Scope of the study

Collect qualitative data in different regions of the country.
Conduct 19 FGD, 36 individuals for IDI, and 25 KII.
Regularly monitor the quality of data
Submit expanded field note
Submit the audio, transcribed local languages and translated data in English
Analyze the data using NVIVO or ATLAS ti

Deliverables

Inception report with clear and agreed methodology and approach. Based on the inception report, the sub-sub-recipient shall receive and incorporate feedback given by EPHI, start the data collection process, and update accordingly.
19 FGD, 36 IDI, and 25 KII audio files
19 FGD, 36 IDI, and 25 KII transcribed and translated files
Complete codebook – starting from coding to categorize data followed by axial coding to identify relationships.
Draft a comprehensive result and submit in both soft and hard copies
Validate the result at the validation workshop.
provide set of specific recommendations with options to operationalize
Prepare the final report and submit to EPHI in both soft and hard copies.

Timeframe (Duration)

The assignment is expected to be finalized within five months.

Working and contracting arrangements

The EPHI will supervise the assignment, including facilitating access to relevant reports and reference materials through the national TWG.

Expertise required

The sub-sub-recipient must present the following qualifications:

Technical Competency

A renewed license for sub-sub-recipient with similar tasks (Only national applicants are eligible to apply).
The sub-sub-recipient should have a minimum of five national survey experiences and expertise in the following areas: Health policy analysis, HIV research specialization, statistics, survey design and data collection and analysis, Public Health, Global health, infectious diseases, quantitative/qualitative;
Have similar work experience and will be a key requirement; and references of contact addresses (type of work done, location, time/period, email and phone number for reference, ….) of organizations or its representative of the organization shall be mentioned; and evidence/certificates shall be annexed with the technical proposal
The team should be led by a team leader with a Ph.D. degree in Public Health or related fields and 10 years of relevant experience in qualitative data management.
All team experts should have a minimum of a master’s degree and a minimum of 10 years of experience. They should also have experience in developing government policies and strategies as well as working with both the government and/or the private sector. Facilitation skills are also important.
Data collectors should at least have a master’s degree in health science, sociology, Anthropology, Psychology or related fields with a minimum of eight years of relevant qualitative data collection experience.
The sub-sub-recipient must possess significant experience, knowledge and skill in health research, in particular with special focus in HIV/AIDS research.
In depth knowledge and understanding of the health sector in Ethiopia, the policies and strategies, and how it affects and may affect women differently;
Fluency in local languages is preferable.
Integrity, timeliness, openness to learn, and willingness to have long term engagement with EPHI.

Functional Competencies

Having the organizational structure and HR to conduct complex studies
Positive and constructive approaches to working with energy
Demonstrate openness to change and ability to receive and integrate feedback
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Strong time management and meeting established deadlines.

Language and Other Skills

Excellent knowledge of English, including the ability to write reports clearly and concisely and to set out a coherent argument in presentations and group interactions.
Capacity to facilitate and communicate with different stakeholders.
Computer skills: full command of Microsoft applications (word, excel, PowerPoint), Stata, CISPRO, ODK and common internet applications.

Payment Milestones and Authority for all projects

The prospective sub-sub-recipient will indicate the cost of services for each deliverable in ETB all-inclusive lump sum contract amount after VAT when applying for this consultancy. The sub-sub-recipient will be paid in three phase installments. Phase one at signing of contract and submission of clear roadmap (30%); phase two at receipt of draft report of field team deployment (50%); phase three (final installment) to be paid after validation of report and submission of final report in soft and hard copies (20%). Payment during all phases will be made after approval from Global fund supported HIV survey task force (GFSHSTF) that confirms the successful completion of each deliverable.

Confidentiality and Proprietary Interests of all project

The sub-sub-recipient shall not, either during the term or after termination of the assignment, disclose any proprietary or confidential information related to the consultancy service. Proprietary interests in all materials and documents prepared by the sub-sub-recipient under the assignments shall become and remain projects/property of the EPHI.

The Role of EPHI

The key roles of EPHI, among others, will include:

Ensure the implementation of the survey as per the approved protocol.
Undertake close supervision during implementation of the survey and report write up as deemed necessary.
Monitor that the survey implementation would fit technical and ethical standards.
Give appropriate and timely feedback to the sub-sub-recipient
EPHI will check data collectors, translators and supervisors who will be recruited for the assignment. And will do a random supervisory check on field work.

Responsibilities of the sub-sub-recipient

The sub-sub-recipient strictly recommended to work in collaboration with EPHI who will facilitate access to some or all of the following resources:

Review the survey and other relevant documents including but not limited to:
Approved proposal & monitoring protocols
Contract/agreement
Survey implementation progress reports
monitoring progress reports and database information
Recruit and train evaluation team and pre-test data collection tools.
Recruit experts for qualitative and quantitative survey.
Prepare and submit inception report
Conduct data collection, processing, analysis, management and reporting
Prepare and submit to the report for feedbacks and comments
Submit to the final report to EPHI (both in hard copy and softcopy)
Submit to a complete data set with the attendant codebook to the EPHI

Lists of region, Facilities, Woreda, Zones for why men lag from using HIV testing services study.

S/N	Level	Method	participants	Number of participants	Remark
	Federal and regional	KII (7)	Federal and regional HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Coordination Office	Federal=1 Regional=7 (Oromia, Amhara, AA, Sidama, Afar, Diredawa, Gambella)	Six regions were identified based on HIV/AIDS prevalence and low level of testing utilization
	Woreda	KII (15)	HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Coordination Office	1 KII in each woreda/town (15 towns)	2towns/ woredas will be selected in consultation with regional health bureaus based on HIV/AIDS prevalence and low level of testing utilization
	Community	FGD (15 FGD)	Youths-male	1 FGD in each woreda/ town
	Community	Individual in-depth interviews (30 Individual interviews)	Youth representatives	2 in each woreda/town	Individual in-depth interview will be conducted with young boys who are unwilling to participate in FGD and with youth representatives
	Total	KII=19 + 5= 24 FGD=17=17 IDI=30+ 4=34

Number of sessions and individuals participated for FGD, IDI, and KII

No	Name of regions	Number of Towns /sub-City selected	Number of FGD assigned	Number of IDI	Number of KII	Remark
1	Addis Ababa	3	3	6	4	Include federal for KII
2	Afar	2	2	3	2	Include regional office experts for KII
3	Amhara	3	3	6	4
5	Dire Dawa	2	2	4	3
6	Gambella	2	2	3	3
8	Oromia	4	5	9	6
9	Sidama and SNNP	2	2	5	3
#		18	19	36	25

Note: Any changes to study setting, study group or participants need EPHI approval if any, with acceptable reasons.

Evaluation Criteria for all projects

Consultant Selection Procedure and Criteria

We will select the sub-sub-recipient based on their technical capability to execute the activities. However, price will be considered to select a winner among those that are technically qualified.

Technical Evaluation Criteria

The technical evaluation criteria and their weighting points that indicate their level of importance are determined, as follows:

Time frame with detailed activities

S.N	Lists of activities	Time duration	Remark
	Contract signing	One month
	Data collection and repository at EPHI server	5 months (up to March 31, 2024)
	Write up and First draft technical report per the tasks (At least three )	One month (April 30, 2024)
	Final technical report of the three tasks	One month (up to May 31,2024)
	Dissemination by the EPHI	Disseminating before June 30, 2024

Evaluation Criteria

S.N	Expected standards	Points per requirements out of total allocated points	Total Points out of 100	Remark
1.	General previous experiences on handling national health surveys (Numbers of contract with evidences)		10
	Three and above	5
	Two contract	3
	One contact	2
	No contract experiences	0
2.	Direct experiences on HIV/ AIDS related surveys or researches (Numbers of contract with evidences)		10
	More than three direct	5
	Two	3
	One	2
	No experience	0
3	Experience in HIV Database development		5
	No Evidences of HIV data base development		0
4.	Human resources		20
	1. Epidemiologists and public health professionals (At least Masters )		5
	Five and above	5
	Three to five	3
	Two	2
	One	1
	Non	0
	2. Statisticians/Bio-statisticians		5
	More than two	5
	One	3
	Non	0
	3. PhD in health related field		5
	Five and above	5
	Three to five	3
	Two	2
	One	1
	4. Professionals with qualitative study experiences (Add means of verifications)		3
	More than two	2
	One	1
	Sociologist or social anthropologists or related social science		2
	One and more	2
5.	Evidence of RDS (Respondent Driven Sampling ) technique use		5
	No-Evidences of RDS		0
6.	Implementation plan (Scientific strategies related to technology, logistics and supply, field coordination plan, the firm organogram, monitoring mechanisms)		35
	Appropriate technology to conduct the survey
	Logistics and supply for the three tasks
	Field coordination plan and related experiences
	Monitoring mechanisms and Organogram
	Readiness to take the work on immediately
	Number of standing staff for the survey
7.	Financial standings (Past three years audit report) at least with average annual turn overs more than 5M.		10
	5-7Million	2
	7-10M	3
	>10M	5