Terms of Reference: Purpose The purpose of the study is to conduct a Gender Equality Analysis in 5 low performing districts of Bangladesh which will inform changes/revisions and framing of interventions strategies, results and activities, recommend changes in the policy, operational plan and quality of care standards related to Sexual Reproductive Maternal Newborn Child & Adolescent Health (SRMNCAH) services with a view to enhance gender responsiveness of the SRMNCAH services where women and girls are empowered to engage with the system and treated with dignity and respect. Location Bhola, Khagrachari, Sherpur, Kurigram, Sunamganj Estimated Duration 3 months duration (12 weeks from signing of contract) Technical Supervisor assignment of the Gender Programme Specialist, Programme - Dep Representative's Office 1. Background and Context Bangladesh has achieved the health-related Millennium Development Goals by using its modest health spending efficiently and equitably, concentrating on primary care services and advancing the social determinants of health. However, as the population ages and the burden of non-communicable diseases increases, its health system is not wellplaced to reach the health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) targets, including Universal Health Coverage (UHC). Persistent low utilization of services in Bangladesh remains a concern. Some aspects were determined to be significant barriers to Bangladesh's efforts to integrate into the existing health and family planning service delivery systems (i.e., poor management and planning at the district level and the inadequate technical capacity and skills of health workers). The current health system requires a transformative change to meet the emerging needs of RMNCAH services. According to the country’s 2020 Voluntary National Review of Sustainable Development Goals1, there have been improvements in medical care, improved access to and utilization of health facilities, combined with fertility reduction, higher education levels in women and girls, and increased per capita income helping to reduce the maternal mortality rate from 478 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1990 to 165 in 2019. However, progress in reducing the maternal mortality rate has stagnated as persistent barriers to universal access to sexual and reproductive health persist despite introduction of emergency obstetric care at district levels and upazila health complex level in 1990. By 2010, the country established comprehensive and basic obstetric and newborn care supported by trained medical doctors in all 64 districts. Currently basic emergency obstetric care is available within an hour and comprehensive emergency obstetric care within two hours. However, the as the data suggests maternal health system is still not at its optimum whereby the system is able to ensure quality of care for all mothers. Some critical challenges include: Primary health care towards achieving UHC: Bangladesh has a good infrastructure for delivering primary health care services. However, due to inadequate service readiness to provide quality primary healthcare services, the full potential of this infrastructure has never been utilized completely. The country performs below its neighbours on financial risk protection, with a comparatively high proportion of healthcare spending coming from Out of Pocket (OOP) payments and high rates of catastrophic expenditure impacting disproportionately millions of women, adolescents, and marginalized communities. Maternal Health: Bangladesh has committed to ending preventable maternal, newborn and child deaths by 2030. Around 5,200 women die each year in Bangladesh due to pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum complications. The maternal mortality rates have stagnated from 194 in 2010 (according to Bangladesh Maternal Mortality Survey, BMMS) to 163 in 2020 (Sample Vital Registration System, SVRS 2020). Haemorrhages and eclampsia account for 54 per cent of all maternal deaths (BMMS 2016). The annual rate of reduction for MMR needs to be accelerated to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target of 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030. Despite the increase in the coverage of one antenatal care visit at 75 per cent, only 37 per cent of pregnant women had four-visits (MICS 2019). Furthermore, 17 per cent of women had no antenatal care during their last pregnancy. Even though the skilled birth attendance rate increased to 59 percent in 2019 from 43.5 percent in 2013, a significant percentage of mothers still deliver at home. With other indicators, there is a significant variation in coverage of these interventions across the regions in the country, as well as different population groups and socio-economic strata. For example, only 10.6per cent of women in the lowest wealth quintile received four antenatal visits, compared with more than half of the women in the highest quintile. The stillbirth rate is still very high which, stands at 24/1000 live births and >72,500 still births annually, as per the UN Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation report, 2020. An estimated 50% of stillbirths occur intrapartum, i.e., after labour has commenced but before delivery, and almost all intrapartum stillbirths are preventable with the provision of quality care during childbirth. Obstetric fistula (OF) is one of the leading neglected morbidity of mothers in developing countries, including Bangladesh. In 2019, DGHS, with the technical support of UNFPA and Obstetrical and Gynaecological Society of Bangladesh (OGSB) took initiative to revitalize actions to eliminate fistula, including the launching of a strategy, developing a uniform tool for fistula data record at the facility level as well as communication tools to build awareness in the community on fistula prevention and identification of cases. Substantive efforts are needed to eliminate obstetric fistula from Bangladesh by 2030. 1 https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/index.php?page=view&type=30022&nr=2073&menu=3170 There are several maternal health related issues that need to be tackled to reduce maternal mortality. Women and girls’ empowerment by enhancing agency through education and life-skills, shifting norms and creating an enabling environment is crucial and central to addressing these issues. Newborn and child health: The reduction of neonatal mortality rate is far less than desired and is still very high, 20 deaths per 1000 live births as of 2022 Bangladesh Demographic Health Survey (BDHS). To achieve SDG target 3.2, Bangladesh must reduce the under-five mortality rate by 44 per cent, including newborn deaths, by 60 per cent. UNICEF supported the MOHFW in introducing Kangaroo Mother Care for small and premature babies and supported the scaleup of Special Care Newborn Units (SCANU) for the care of low birth weight and sick newborns at district and medical college hospitals. Despite remarkable progress in reducing under-five mortality in recent decades and the existence of low-cost and effective interventions, pneumonia has remained the leading cause of child morbidity and mortality among under-five children for more than 3 decades in Bangladesh. UNICEF supported MOHFW to roll out the facility and community Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) through capacity development, updating the IMCI protocol and recently supported National Newborn Health Program (NNHP). Early Childhood Development and Nurturing Care is a new priority area of work in the health sector, collaborating with other ministries. The major gap in this area is the parenting care element, including the importance of parents understanding the needs of their infants and children and taking action to fulfil these in this key phase of their lives. UNICEF is working with DGHS to better coordinate with other sectors and develop guidelines aligning with the World Health Organisation (WHO) ECCD framework, the capacity development of service providers and parents. Adolescent Health: Access to age-appropriate health services is a major challenge for 36 million adolescents because of the limited gender-responsive adolescent-friendly health services at health facilities in Bangladesh. Mental health is an emerging priority, but comprehensive information on the prevalence and pattern of mental health problems among adolescents is lacking. Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR): There are significant gaps in ensuring integrated, comprehensive SRHR services. Many basic SRMNCAH service have been included as part of the universal primary health care package, but are still unavailable at the Primary Health Care (PHC) level viz, standard antenatal care packages, quality routine maternity care as guided by WHO, health response to gender-based violence, 24/7 availability of all Basic Emergency Obstetric Care (BEMONC) signal functions, cervical cancer screening, management of sexually transmitted infections, menstrual regulation and post-abortion care, family planning services in the delivery room, and respectful education and health services focused on adolescents and youth. Cervical cancer amongst women is still an area that requires both more preventive and curative measures. Family Planning (FP): Ensuring availability and utilization of high-quality, human rights-based, comprehensive, and well integrated FP services, especially postpartum FP and Long-Acting Reverse Contraception and permanent methods (LARC&PM) is still a challenge. Gender Inequality: The health systems related challenges are further compounded by issues of socio-economic inequities, gender norms and discrimination having direct bearing on women and girls’ access and utilisation of health care services. Women do not get access to family planning and maternal healthcare services due to gender norms that limits women’s decision making power within the household, restricts mobility and capacity to participate in public space. Myths related to family planning constructed for controlling sexuality of women, stereotyping of roles/responsibilities and lack of participation of women in economic activity also constraints both access and utilisation of services by women and girls’ even when the services are available. Gender-based inequalities within the household and communities’ limits the power of women to make decisions regarding critical life choices including access and utilisation of quality health care services. According to BDHS 2022, only 87% of women received at least one ANC from a skilled provider and 38 percent received at least ANC4, with at least one visit consultation by a skilled provider and only 78% of mothers with institutional deliveries received PNC from a medically trained provider within 2 days of delivery. Thirteen percent of women who had non-institutional deliveries received PNC from a medically trained provider within 2 days of delivery. 60 percent of women and newborn dies because of poor Quality of Care. There is significant variation in coverage of these interventions across the regions in the country, as well as different population groups and socio-economic strata. For example, only 10% of women in the lowest wealth quintile received four antenatal cares. In a patriarchal society men get privileges over access to resources, legal rights, opportunities, and services which also limits women’s ability to conceptualize and prioritize their well-being and autonomy to exercise their SRHR rights. Women as a result becomes disempowered to influence change based on their priorities and perspectives and make informed choices within any systems and private lives. Therefore, it is critical for SRMNCAH systems to actively identify and respond to women’s needs and perspectives for contributing to achieving gender equality goals and SDG targets. Historically, at every level SRMNCAH has been considered as an issue for women only and therefore male involvement on matters of SRMNCAH at family, community and in policy frameworks remain limited. To shift gender norms and stop harmful practices there is a need to rethink strategies to involve and engage men and boys. High prevalence of GBV and child marriage in the context of Bangladesh renders women and girls severely vulnerable to exploitation and domination by almost all actors within formal and informal systems resulting in fewer choices and opportunities to resist and improve her life and well-being. This has a direct bearing on the sexual and reproductive health and psychological well-being of women and girls, impacting older and younger women and married and unmarried girls differently. Poverty combined with gender norms and GBV forces them to become passive agents of change and affects their abilities to negotiate better health care including SRMNCAH services. Therefore, it is essential to develop a deeper understanding of contextual drivers, norms, and manifestations of gender inequalities that helps to shape the narrative of SRMNCAH services and ensure women’s needs and choices are prioritized, listened to, and included into the quality-of-care standards and service delivery mechanisms. Shifting patriarchal mindsets of stakeholders within the eco-system of health services will play an instrumental role towards increasing gender responsiveness of the system. The findings of the study will enable the public health system to recognise the differential needs of women and men and women as users as well as influencers and decision makers and participation in decision making and quality of services. By identifying critical areas that require more exploration through data collection and evidence generation, it will help the system to streamline data, reporting and coordination systems for evidence-based decision making. By helping to develop a nuanced understanding of persistent gaps in SRMNCAH and priorities of women and girls in this regard, the project will be able to carve out entry-points and pathways to mitigate and overcome the gaps. Most importantly the study will enable the project define strategies for empowerment of women and girls within the system and address harmful gender norms that will ultimately in the longer term contribute to achieving gender equality goals. Therefore, the TOR has been developed with the intent of conducting a comprehensive gender equality analysis for the “Health System Strengthening for Primary Health Care” project jointly implemented by UNICEF and UNFPA and supported by Global Affairs Canada. Project Overview UNICEF and UNFPA, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), have jointly developed the "Health System Strengthening for Primary Health Care (HSS4PHC)" project. This initiative aims to improve healthcare services to align with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 3 and 5, with a focus on universal health coverage and gender equality. • Key Objectives The HSS4PHC project, spanning from 2024 to 2029, is designed to target the following five districts: Kurigram, Sherpur, Bhola, Khagrachari, and Sunamganj. The project aims to achieve the following objectives: • Enhance Health Services: Improve sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health (SRMNCAH) services, emphasizing access for women, adolescents, and marginalized populations. • Strengthen Health Systems: Build the capacity of MoHFW and district health systems to deliver genderresponsive, high-quality, and sustainable health care. • Promote Women’s and Children’s Health: Focus on women’s empowerment and community participation to support the rights and health of women, adolescents, and children. • Implementation Strategy The project will adopt a systems-building approach, emphasizing: • Reviewing National Strategies and Policies: To create a more resilient health system. • Digital Health Solutions: Promoting digital healthcare tools and integrated data management systems for better decision-making. • Budget Advocacy: Ensuring adequate budget allocation to support universal health coverage. • Alignment with National and Global Priorities The project supports various national priorities outlined in Bangladesh’s 8th Five Year Plan and the upcoming Health, Population and Nutrition Sector Programme (HPNSP). It aligns with multiple national strategies, including the National Strategy and Action Plan for Maternal Health, the National Midwifery Strategy, and the Bangladesh Every Newborn Action Plan (BENAP). Additionally, it contributes to international commitments, such as the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD25) and Family Planning 2030. Other partners include academic institutions, professional associations, and research agencies. • Project Implementation Areas The project will be active at both national and district levels, targeting: o Districts: Bhola, Khagrachari, Sherpur, Sunamganj and Kurigram. (green coloured districts) and diverse gender populations. • Expected Outcomes o Improved Health Services: Enhanced quality and coverage of SRMNCAH services for marginalized populations. o Community Engagement: Increased involvement of women, adolescents, and communities in health decisionmaking. o Strengthened Systems: Resilient and equitable health systems ensure continuous care. o Resource Allocation: Effective use of resources to support health services for the most vulnerable. 2. Rationale / Purpose of the evidence activity The purpose of the study is to understand how gender norms and roles impact health-seeking behaviours, access to health services, and the quality of care received , which will help to define the interventions, strategies, result framework of the program and to have gender responsive outcomes (referring to the gender marker of UNICEF-UNFPA & GAC.) Why It Is Necessary: Gender Equality Analysis is essential for understanding the different health needs, challenges to access, and outcomes experienced by women, men, and non-binary individuals. It helps identify how gender norms and roles impact health-seeking behaviours, access to health services, and the quality of care received. This understanding ensures that the project addresses inequities and promotes health services that are inclusive and accessible to all genders, ultimately leading to more effective and equitable healthcare delivery. Key Gaps in Knowledge: Key knowledge gaps often include the lack of data on how gender influences health outcomes, the extent to which gender biases may exist in health service delivery, and how gender dynamics affect decision-making in health care contexts. These gaps can lead to health interventions that do not fully address or recognize the unique challenges faced by different genders, potentially perpetuating existing inequities and failing to reach those in greatest need. Why Now: Addressing gender disparities is more critical than ever, especially in the wake of global health challenges that disproportionately affect vulnerable populations. As primary health care systems are strengthened, incorporating Gender Equality Analysis ensures that these systems are resilient and responsive to all societal needs. Immediate action is necessary to align with international commitments to gender equality in health and to capitalize on the momentum generated by global health equity movements, making healthcare systems more robust and inclusive for future generations. 3. Objectives UNICEF/UNFPA is seeking consultancy services to undertake Gender Equality Analysis and preparation of Gender Action Plans for addressing gender considerations within the project based on a nuanced understanding of gender inequalities and norms of the targeted communities and stakeholders. The findings will be utilized to sharpen/adapt existing project intervention strategies as well as design innovative need-based and context-specific solutions that will enable the maternal health care systems to respond effectively and meaningfully. The Gender Equality Analysis will contribute to enhancing gender responsiveness of the programme. The overall objectives of the Gender Equality Analysis: 1. To gain a deeper understanding of the context-specific gender norms, inequalities and barriers at household, community, and facility levels. The knowledge and insights gained from the analysis will inform intervention and advocacy strategies, framing of results statements and project-specific GE strategy of the project. 2. To identify opportunities, enablers, and challenges of fostering women’s leadership within the targeted communities/platforms and empowerment of female health frontline workers within the eco-system of SRMNCAH. 3. To provide recommendations and actionable strategies to integrate gender considerations into government systems through technical support from the project, for enhancing gender responsiveness of the system and effectiveness of the programme. 4. Scope The Consultant(s) will be responsible for the following tasks: i. Inception Phase • The Consultant shall review relevant documentation and information related to the programme and overall context of gender and health in Bangladesh. • Prepare an inception report summarizing the objectives, scope and outputs of the assignment, detailed methodology, required tools and workplan for achievement of the outputs. ii. Overall Gender Equality Analysis • Assess the contextual gender related factors influencing maternal, neonatal child and adolescent health care practices. • Assess the gender related perception of key health service providers and receivers representing critical service points to understand gender responsiveness. • Assess existing institutional arrangements at the community, union, upazila, district and national level to respond adaptively to prioritise/support women’s needs and opportunities of women’s participation in planning and decision-making processes at village, union, upazilla and district level. • Facilitate group discussions separately for experts, service providers, women, and community members, women’s rights organisation, relevant ministries etc. to identify key issues and explore strategies for gender integration and responsive gender programming. iii. Project specific analysis/activities • Share the findings in a workshop for developing a gender action plan through an analysis of enablers and barriers for gender integration based on the findings. • Identify key actionable recommendations and strategies of gender considerations for integration in the budget and for enhancing gender responsiveness of the health system. 5. Research Questions How are the deeply entrenched context specific gender norms, beliefs and harmful practices affecting women’s and girls’ rights and entitlements to quality sexual reproductive, maternal, neonatal, child and adolescent health services in family, community and facility/service provider settings in the low performing districts? What norms, beliefs, practices and mindsets need to be targeted for having positive sustainable changes within the health systems considering the contextual realities, lived experiences of women and girls and geographic vulnerabilities? Identify women’s capacities, potentials and experiences that enables women to thrive and overcome barriers which needs to be harnessed by the project to develop innovative intervention plans for transformative change. What opportunities and challenges of fostering women’s leadership exists within the eco-system (including communities and female frontline health workers) of SRMNCAH? What are the likely potential enablers and positive practices within the community, health service delivery mechanisms and policy framework for fostering women’s leadership considering intersectionality and geographic vulnerability? What are the recommendations and actionable strategies in the light of the findings of Gender Equality Analysis that will ensure gender responsiveness of the SRMNCAH rights and services considering the service delivery mechanisms, relevant policy and operational frameworks, quality of care standards, women and girls’ empowerment and men’s involvement? Based on this learning, what are the recommendations for changes/revisiting/reframing results statement of the project, development of the project gender equality strategy, workplan and intervention strategies? What is the gender related perception and mindset challenges of particularly health service professionals and frontline workers of key selected service points by the project and key community stakeholders. This will be done through a survey to enable the projects to determine shifts of mindsets that are required for gender transformation) It is expected that the analysis will focus on the following for enquiry (not exhaustive) • Contextual gender related factors influencing maternal, neonatal and child and adolescent health care practices. • Gender related perception of key health service providers and receivers representing critical service points to understand gender responsiveness. • Existing institutional arrangements at the community, union, upazila, district and national level to respond adaptively to prioritise/support women’s needs and opportunities of women’s participation in planning and decision-making processes at village, union, upazilla and district level. • Potential opportunities of engagement with organized platforms/professional bodies that can contribute to improving gender responsiveness within eco-system. • Influence of meta-norms like patriarchy, masculinity, sexuality etc. in access and control of the SRMNCAH services, service designs and mechanisms • Economic and social vulnerabilities resulting from inequalities and discrimination impacting/constraining access to quality services and rights. • Positive practices (community and service providers) and harmful practices including GBV. 6. Methodology It is expected that the study will be a qualitative study supported by an additional perception survey on gender of stakeholders of selected service point including that of public health officials and frontline staff. The study should apply a holistic Gender Equality Analysis framework (refer to UNICEF gender toolkit) to examine the roles, responsibilities, access to resources and health services, policies and laws, gender norms and capacities of women and girls and marginalized communities including women of diverse background, age, disability and various vulnerable categories of women. All data must be disaggregated by age, gender, ethnicity, region, marital status, institution/groups etc. in order to ensure do no harm principle in programming and use of evidence to apply the intersectional lens. It is expected that the Gender Equality Analysis will apply a gender-based analysis plus approach (the plus approach refers to intersectional factors) in alignment with GACs framework. The methodology should include a comprehensive literature review of national strategies (specifically Clinical Mentorship, Reaching Every Mother and Newborn Strategy, EPMM-ENAP, Family Planning) and operational plans, program documents, donor strategy (Feminist International Assistance Policy) and other relevant literature and socio-economic frameworks for improving gender responsiveness of SRMNCAH services. The consultants are encouraged to apply innovative and unique tools that allow deeper discussions on sensitive issues. The analysis should explore gendered power dynamics within families, in underserved communities and between women/girls and service providers. The analysis should also carefully look into the challenges of the health service delivery systems and gaps in the system including challenges faced by female frontline staffs and by female service receivers/clients. Key stakeholders for the study are: Pregnant women, women, community support system members, health care service providers, young married adolescent girls, husbands, mother-in-law, private sector actors delivering maternal health care services, relevant ministries and departments and women’s rights organisations etc. The Gender Equality Analysis will be conducted in 5 districts covering all project sites- Bhola, Khagrachari, Sherpur, Kurigram, Sunamganj which are characterized by low prevalence of institutional delivery, low coverage of ante natal care, high prevalence of child marriage etc. 7. Ethical Considerations The research agency is expected to follow the ethical principles and considerations outlined in the United Nations Evaluation Group (UNEG) Ethical Guidelines for Evaluation and the UNICEF Procedure for Ethical Standards in Research, Evaluation and Data Collection and Analysis. In addition, the UNEG norms and standards will be observed. As per UNICEF standards for ethical research, the evaluation/research agency must give special attention to ethical considerations and should put in place adequate measures for ethical oversight throughout the study/evaluation period. All researchers and field investigators involved in primary data collection should have undergone basic ethics training, which at a minimum includes completing UNICEF’s AGORA course on Ethics in Evidence Generation or its equivalent. In conducting the study, the research agency must ensure informed consent, respecting people’s right to provide information in confidence and making study participants aware of the scope and limits of confidentiality. Furthermore, the agency is responsible for ensuring that sensitive information cannot be traced to its source so that the relevant individuals are protected from reprisals. Data storage and security must be ensured at all stages of the study. Only select personnel from the research agency should have access to de-identified data, and only anonymised data should be shared externally, and with UNICEF (unless stated otherwise). Independent Review Board (IRB) approval is mandatory for this study/evaluation, given it involves data collection with vulnerable populations. The evaluation/research agency will be responsible for getting necessary IRB approvals for the protocol and other relevant components of the study/evaluation and should factor in the IRB process, from both financial and timeline perspectives. The proposal and implementation should be informed and guided by UNICEF’s Procedure for Ethical Standards in Research, Evaluation, Data Collection and Analysis. Ethical issues and considerations are described and guided by the UNEG ethical standards for evaluation. As such, the evaluation report should include: - Description of ethical safeguards for participants appropriate for the issues described (respect for dignity and diversity, right to self-determination, fair representation, compliance with codes for vulnerable groups, confidentiality, and avoidance of harm) - ONLY FOR THOSE CASES WHERE THE RESEARCH INVOLVES INTERVIEWING CHILDREN: explicit reference is made to the UNICEF procedures for Ethical Research Involving Children 8. Use of Findings The findings will be used to strengthen the technical assistance provided to improve the SRMNCAH systems and defining more specific advocacy agenda for enhancing the gender responsive of important streams of SRMNCAH services. It will also be used to reframe the results statements of the project and development of a gender equality strategy/gender action plan. The study findings will be disseminated through a workshop with government stakeholders and project staff. Additionally, the findings will be published in project briefs or any other publication as and where necessary. 9. Publication Plan i. General Conditions of Contracts for Services: UNICEF entitled to all property rights with regard to material created by the Contractor. ii. UNICEF owns all rights in the publication and in the underlying data/research. iii. In the process of undergoing external academic publication by a UNICEF institutional contractor, then the review and approval process stipulated in the contract will apply. This should normally include a quality assurance review in accordance with the UNICEF Procedure for Quality Assurance in Research iv. The contract stipulates that UNICEF owns all the intellectual property in the research collected or generated as part of the contract and does not give the contractor any right to use the research materials. In such cases, the Contractor can only issue an external academic publication with the prior written consent of UNICEF. (This consent would be from the Head of the relevant office/division, based on the advice of the relevant programme manager). UNICEF can veto the publication if it determines that it is appropriate to do so v. In some cases, UNICEF may have given the contractor the right to use the research generated as part of the contract for non-commercial academic or educational purposes. In such cases, UNICEF generally requires that the contractor share the proposed draft with UNICEF at least thirty days before sharing it with the third-party publisher to allow UNICEF (a) to ensure that no confidential information is included and (b) to provide comments. (This review would be done by the relevant programme manager, who should also notify the Head of the relevant office/division of the imminent publication). vi. In the interests of transparency, the following items should ideally be prominently disclosed in all external academic publications: (a) the author’s role and relationship with UNICEF; (b) any actual or potential conflict of interest by the researchers; (c) all funding sources for the research. vii. Appropriate attribution of the source of the research data should be included. 10. Schedule of Tasks & Timeline SL. No. Major Task Deliverable Specific delivery date/deadline for completion of Estimated travel required for completion of deliverable deliverable (please mention as date/no. of days/month) (please mention destination/ number of days) 1. Prepare proposal for IRB approval including inception report (i) Inception report (ii) IRB Approval Within 30 calendar days of signing of contract 2. Tools development and finalization Set of Data collection tools drafted and endorsed by UNICEF supervisor Within 45 calendar days of signing of contract 3. Training of data collection team Report on training completion Within 45 calendar days of singing of contract All travel requirements need to be borne by selected organization. The travel amount required need to include in financial component during bidding of this ToR. 4 Produce progress report after data collection and analysis covering the initial findings of analysis. This report must be submitted to UNICEF, relevant government counterpart and UNFPA. In case of national level workshop for reviewing these findings, selected organization will act as main facilitators in workshop Progress report endorsed by UNICEF, relevant government counterpart and UNFPA Presentation of the national workshop and incorporation of the workshop output in the final report Within 60 calendar days after signing of contract. (Data collection is to be completed within 30 days after completing training of field teams) 5 Produce final report comprised of overall findings, recommendation. Develop policy brief and presentation for advocacy. This report must be submitted to UNICEF, to relevant government counterpart and UNFPA. In case of national level workshop for reviewing (i)Final report endorsed by UNICEF, relevant government counterpart and UNFPA (ii) Policy brief document Within 70 calendar days after signing of contract All travel related cost should be included in financial proposal bid these findings, selected organization will act as main facilitators in workshop 6 Produce publications and policy document. Facilitate dissemination workshop The following document will be endorsed by UNICEF and government: (i) Final report on assessment (ii) Policy brief document including key finding and recommendations from baseline assessment 90 calendar days after signing of contract Produce publications and policy document. Facilitate dissemination workshop 11. Estimated duration of contract The research plan to start from 1st December and aim to complete by 28 February,2025. The exact time and date can be flexible depending on the contract signing. However, the total duration will be within 3 months. 12. Deliverables The deliverables are same as mentioned in the above table (Section 10: Schedule of tasks and timeline). 13. Team composition, Qualifications & Experience required Qualifications: UNICEF is expecting a gender balanced team comprising of international and national expert from consulting firms/research agencies/universities supported by qualified data collection and management teams with the following specific experience: a. Advanced degree in gender studies, social sciences, development studies, or a related field b. Strong knowledge and expertise in Gender Equality Analysis and mainstreaming, preferably in the context of maternal health and gender along with strong background of qualitative analysis on gender norms. Experience of work in South Asia/Bangladesh will be preferred. c. Demonstrated experience in conducting gender related research, including qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis. d. Demonstrated expertise on public health particularly SRMNCAH within the team. e. National experts with good knowledge of public health systems in Bangladesh and gender f. Ability to deploy experienced organization/individuals for data collection and management. g. Excellent analytical and report writing skills. h. Strong communication and interpersonal skills to effectively engage with stakeholders and community stakeholders both in English and Bangla i. Experience of work with UN Agencies/International Organisations/GAC Applicants should submit the following: a. Technical proposal b. Updated Resume of Team Members c. Organizational Capacity Statement in the relevant field d. Two samples of previous work that is most relevant to this assignment. e. Financial Proposal 14. Duty Station The consultants will have to conduct the study from Dhaka Bangladesh and travel to project locations for data collection, organising interviews with UN and government staff and conducting workshops. 15. Management and Supervision i) The contracted research or evaluation agency will play a critical role in executing the activity with a clear set of responsibilities and expected standards. Primarily, the agency will be responsible for designing the study, collecting data, and analysing the results. They will ensure rigorous adherence to quality assurance measures, such as the meticulous recording and reporting of any suspected adverse events. Further, the agency will implement robust data handling and record-keeping protocols with quality check to maintain data integrity and confidentiality. Quality control will be integral to their processes, with regular audits and validations to ensure accuracy and reliability of the data collected. The agency will also be required to provide comprehensive, transparent reports and updates to keep all stakeholders informed and engaged throughout the study period. This combination of roles and responsibilities, along with stringent quality measures, will ensure that the research is conducted to the highest standards and yields actionable insights. ii) UNICEF and UNFPA: UNICEF and UNFPA will provide overall technical management for this research. The contracted agency will operate under the supervision of a Gender Specialist, who will work closely with health manager and, ultimately, to the Chief of Health. All materials, including reports, questionnaires, and other documents, must be certified by the Gender Specialist before being finalized. The selected agency is required to share drafts of all materials and present them to government counterparts after receiving endorsement from UNICEF. iii) Government: Ministry of Health and family welfare will be overall management and supervision of this task. Selected organization will act as facilitators in reporting to UNICEF, UNFPA and government bodies A reference group will be established for the analysis comprising of relevant programme staff from UNICEF and UNFPA, Evaluation/Research related focal point of UNICEF and external members representing women’s rights organisation and public health experts with expertise on SRMNCAH and Gender to be selected by the consulting firm and approved by UNICEF-UNFPA. 16. Official travel and costing All travel related cost needs to include in the financial proposal. In line with UN procedure for contracted partner, only economy class travel is applicable, regardless of length of travel. It is expected that all costs will be borne by the consultant except for the study dissemination workshop which will be borne by UNICEF Bangladesh. The consultants will have to include costs of 2 external reference group members from women’s rights organisations and health experts whose roles and responsibilities will be guided by an MOU agreed by both UNICEF/UNFPA and the Consultants/Firm/University. 17. Payment Schedule The total contract amount to be paid through instalments linked with planned deliverables as described below: == 1st Instalment 20%: Upon acceptance of detailed Study Protocol developed, methodology and instruments == 2nd Instalment 20%: Upon completion of data collection == 3rd Instalment 30%: Upon submission of first draft report == 4th Instalment 20%: Upon submission of perception survey report == 5th Instalment: 10% Upon acceptance of all deliverables