TOR for Consultancy Services to develop Web based MEAL Information Management System-MIS for Emergency Department

1. Background

CARE has been providing development and life-saving assistance across all regions of Somalia since 1981. Our programmes go beyond meeting basic needs at the onset of an emergency to helping affected communities recover and rebuild their lives long after the crisis ends. In order to strengthen communities to better cope with future disasters and address persistent problems of poverty and marginalization, we are implementing a variety of longer term development activities aimed at addressing the underlying causes of poverty in Somalia. Our development programs particularly aim at supporting marginalized women and youth through innovative projects in education, water and sanitation, sustainable environmental activities, civil society development, peace building, governance and small scale enterprise development.

The Emergency Program (EP) provides direct humanitarian relief to communities affected by drought and conflict across Somalia. CARE has its main offices in Hargeisa, Garowe, Mogadishu, and satellite offices in Burao, Kismayo, Erigavo, Bossaso, among others.

2. Purpose of the Consultancy:

The main purpose of the consultancy is to design, develop and support CARE Somalia/Somaliland Emergency Unit implement a comprehensive integrated computerized web-based Management Information System for accurate and timely data capture, donor reporting, program management and information archiving.

3. Description of the features of the Management Information System

1. The desired system is expected to be functionally robust i.e. able to hold all Emergency data and adaptable to structural updates/changes as CARE Somalia’s Emergency data needs evolve.
2. It must be user friendly, interactive and web based; accessible by staff and partners (and in some cases donors) from remote locations.
3. The system is intended to store a large variety of quantitative data, to track and report key changes over time to inform adjustments required in program implementation. The system will be the main source of quantitative data reporting at all levels of program/project delivery though admittedly, quantitative data will not be the only source of information for reporting. There will be a lot of qualitative analysis with community, partners and district and regional stakeholders.
4. The system must track project activities and results against targets for improved project planning, better management oversight, accurate donor reporting and timely program decision-making.
5. Have templates for frequently used forms/sheets e.g. Indicator Tracking Tables (ITTs) and associate them with the respective projects. The ITTs are key component of the way we collect and present program data hence the need to have them well developed.
6. It must have a back-end facility to set up partners, consortium members, programs, projects, sectors, indicators, targets vs actuals, communities, groups, institutions and beneficiaries for routine data uploads. It must have a frontend user interface for manual data entry but must also be compatible with electronic data collection platforms allowing data to be electronically collected, using smart phones/mobile app, sent electronically and automatically synchronized into the system.
7. The system will mostly capture monitoring data but must be easily adaptable to upload and archive survey data.
8. The system must be able to process data and disaggregate information for all projects, programing sectors, indicators, communities, groups, institutions, beneficiaries, age and sex categories and location. The reports generated from the system would include tables, graphs and GIS maps/models, dashboards etc. This provides management insights and analytics
9. The system must include and define user access-right levels to guide institutional data security and data governance; it must also incorporate data backup and security against attacks.
10. The system must track user history (i.e. all edits and modifications) and store these in the system.
11. It must have import/export functionality to allow data and information to be imported/exported to and fro other formats e.g Word, Excel, pdf
12. The system is required to have an action tracker with necessary notifications, both on email and users’ home dashboards
13. The system have a function for Feedback and Accountability management (FAM). This involves recording beneficiary complaints/feedback and emailing internal respondents for information – compute turnaround time. Status – Open, pending, resolved
14. Be able to integrate with SharePoint or other external data repositories where needed.

System Process – Simplified

4. Reporting lines, roles and responsibilities

The consultant will report to the Senior MIS Officer (Emergency Department), with technical oversight from the MEAL Specialist.

The Consultant and CARE staff shall play the following roles as shown in the Table below:

Consultant

CARE

Lead on tasks defined in the ToR

Work with consultant on work plan

Meet deadlines for the deliverables

Provide consultant with relevant reference materials

Ensure the quality of deliverables

Manage logistical arrangements for the consultancy

Arrange for meetings where necessary

Provide inputs to ensure the quality of the deliverables

5. Deliverables

1. Within the first TWO WEEKS, provide the relational logic or flow chart of the database and a report describing the type of data to be managed in the system; relationships between data; query and reporting requirements; who is responsible for data input and system maintenance; the hardware specifications (cloud hosting) and software to be used for the system and the coding scheme.
2. Within ONE MONTH, send the CARE team a fully operational working prototype of the system.
3. Within TWO MONTHS, finalize the computerized system; provide a manual on the system’s use and maintenance and the source code.
4. Conduct a tailor made trainings for staff and partners who will interact with the system as part of their work. This may include the MEAL team, field staff and the data entry clerk as the case may demand
5. Within TWO WEEKS of finalizing the computerized system, provide a report on the training on the use of the system using the manual.
6. Within ONE WEEK of receiving feedback from reviewers, finalize the User and Administrator Manuals.
7. Within ONE YEAR of the consultancy, conclude on technical assistance. Thereafter, the consultant will sign a Service Level Agreement-SLA with CARE.

6. Mode of Operation

The consultant will be required to conduct the above deliverables with a great level of collaboration and regular feedback (on phone and face-to-face/ZOOM) with the CARE contact person(s).

7. Experience/Requirements of Consultants

The consultant(s) or organization must have

I. Consultant must have a degree in Information Technology or related course from a recognised university.

II. A combined background or expertise of web-based system design, M&E/statistics and GIS.

III. Extensive experience with the development of robust web base management information systems (MIS) that involves Geographical Information System (GIS).

IV. Demonstrated experience conducting trainings and capacity building on MIS.

V. Demonstrated experience with development of similar systems for NGOs.

8. Submission of Expression of Interest

Interested candidates or organizations are requested to submit the following information as part of their application.

1. Technical proposal detailing their proposed approach to accomplish the required deliverables.
2. Details of individual/firm’s prior experience in web-based applications development with at least three references from the organizations received similar services.
3. The development language(s) or technologies to be used should be clearly explained.
4. A Financial Proposal highlighting the estimated costs to be charged for the services. Quotations should be inclusive of taxes.
5. Timelines demonstrating how long the consultant/firm is expected to deliver the services.
6. Sample (preferably links) for previous similar works done for other organizations.

Performance Contract

The successful firm shall negotiate and sign a performance contract with CARE Somalia before commencing the assignment.

Evaluation Criteria

The proposals submitted will be evaluated in two stages, namely; Technical Requirements and Financial Requirements. The evaluation criteria will be based on the following weights:

• Technical Evaluation Stage: 70%
• Financial Evaluation Stage: 30%

Hosting Services

Firms are requested to provide indicative annual hosting costs for the proposed system. This cost will affected the above evaluation, it is intended for budgeting purpose.

9. Key Source documents or reference materials

1. CARE Somalia standard Data collection tools
2. CARE Somalia Emergency standard Indicator Dashboards
3. Program documents
4. Sample donor reporting formats
5. Project contracts
6. Care Somalia Country Office M&E strategy
7. Key project M&E plans

10. Application Procedure

Interested consultants or firms are expected to submit their applications, updated CVs of individuals to deliver the service or profile of applying company to: som.consultant@care.org. Please indicate Consultancy Service for Developing MEAL Web-Based MIS as the subject heading not later than 28^th Feb 2021. Applications submitted after this date will not be considered.