UNICEF has now issued Request for Proposals in order to select a supplier for the provision of . BRIEF BACKGROUND BACKGROUND Implementation Research (IR) is an innovative approach to health systems strengthening in which research is made integral to decision-making. IR is key for, amongst others, three reasons: a) positioning research within existing health programs, b) involving meaningful engagement and leadership roles for decision-makers and implementers within research, and c) aligning research activities with programme implementation cycles. By addressing research questions of direct relevance to programmes getting implementers and policy makers buy-in through direct engagement, IR increases the likelihood of evidence‐informed policies and programmes. Research projects are typically delivered on a limited budget (cost-effective) within a restricted timeframe (to be responsive to immediate needs) and can be made to fit within monitoring and evaluation cycles in country programmes. To enable fast response local (national) research organisations collaborate with implementers and programme decision-makers to identify and prioritise implementation problems for exploration and analysis quickly and effectively. Working with local and global partners, UNICEF has successfully used IR in several settings throughout the world to generate actionable evidence and inform programmes. PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES UNICEF’s Zambia Country office, ESARO and UNICEF New York in collaboration with Zambian Ministry of Health (MOH) and partners, are supporting a series of implementation research (IR) projects to understand and explore challenges and enablers to the operationalisation/implementation of interventions on immunisation programme within the broader Primary Health Care (PHC). The main objective of this implementation research initiative is to identify key implementation challenges in implementing the immunisation programme, devise and explore solutions that can be taken to address those challenges in Zambia. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES  To identify key implementation challenges of the immunisation program in Zambia and document priority research, learning gaps and IR questions.  Conduct IR projects based on the priority learning/research questions to tackle the evidence gaps, identify potential solutions, and ensure their utilisation to reach Zero-Dose (ZD) and missed children though engagement of decision-makers.  Support better packaging of evidence generated from IR projects tailored to users and disseminate with relevant stakeholders to ensure timely and rigorous use of the evidence for immunisation actions. IMPORTANT NOTE This tender will be run through the UNICEF e-submissions system. By clicking on the blue ‘Express Interest’ button in the UNGM tender notice, the full UNICEF e-submission system instructions to bidders document (including instructions on how to access the tender documents and submit an Offer) will be automatically emailed to the ‘contact persons’ included in your UNGM registration. Alternatively, the full UNICEF e-submission system instructions to bidders document is publicly available on the UNICEF supply internet pages here: https://www.unicef.org/supply/index_procurement_policies.html . In the tender management site, if you navigate to the documents tab and opt in to confirm your intention to submit a Bid – you will then see the mandatory placeholders for documents that must be attached prior to submitting your Offer (you will also see if there are any mandatory questionnaires to complete). As such, you are recommended to `opt in` well before the submission deadline so you are clear exactly what documents are required to be uploaded prior to completing your submission. Please note that in order to access the tender documentation through UNICEF’s e-submissions system, vendors must: (i) be registered with UNICEF in UNGM as a company/NGO; (ii) have successfully completed all mandatory information currently required by UNGM when registering. Please ensure that any files submitted as part of your Bid are not corrupt or damaged in any way. Please exercise particular caution when using compressed files. Any corrupt or damaged files may lead to your Bid being invalidated. All vendors are strongly recommended to regularly log in to the UNICEF e-submissions system to check for any deadline extensions, new clarifications, new correspondence or updated tender documents relating to this tender.