This invitation to tender is for the evaluation of the funding initiative ‘Research Networks for Health Innovations in sub-Saharan Africa’ of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The contractor is to evaluate the 5 research networks within the initiative, each consisting of several African and German research institutions on topics relevant to public health in sub-Saharan Africa. During approx. 4 years, concept and implementation, collaboration, effectiveness, sustainability, and success factors are to be evaluated within the networks, between network partners, between partner institutions and the coordinating agencies (DLR-PT [Project Management Agency of the German Aerospace Center] and GIZ [Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit]) as well as for the initiative as a whole. The tender consists of a main component (inception report and baseline report) and 2 options (mid-term and final evaluation) and is being put out by GIZ on behalf of BMBF.

Sub-Saharan Africa continues to bear a disproportionately high burden of morbidity and mortality both from communicable and non-communicable diseases. Against this backdrop, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) has launched the funding initiative ‘Research Networks for Health Innovations in sub-Saharan Africa’ to improve the understanding of etiology and epidemiology as well as to enhance diagnosis and treatment of neglected and poverty-related diseases. 5 research networks tackling different topics relevant to public health in the region have been established, each consisting of African and German research institutions (totalling 26 and 10, respectively) in health and medicine. The funding initiative emphasises equal involvement of all partners in planning, designing, and structuring the networks, and responsibility for leadership and coordination within the networks are shared between all partners. Conversely, African institutions receive and manage their grants independently of their German partner institutions. Networking and capacity building both across Africa and between Africa and Germany are important goals of the initiative besides the achievement of the respective research objectives.

Across the 5 research networks, partner institutions are situated in 14 different African countries (Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia) plus Germany. The duration of the initiative is 5 years and the total amount of grants being disbursed is approx. 35 000 000 EUR. Coordination of the African partner institutions including financial and contract management, as well as strengthening personnel and organizational capacity is being carried out by GIZ [Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit] while the German network partners are overseen by the Project Management Agency of the German Aerospace Center (DLR-PT). This invitation to tender is for the evaluation of the funding initiative outlined above. It is being put out by GIZ on behalf of BMBF and consists of a main component and a 1st and 2nd option. The main component comprises an inception report and the collection of baseline data at the outset of the evaluation project. The 1st option is for a mid-term report after approx. 2 years, the 2nd option consists of a final evaluation after approx. 3.5 years. The evaluation project is supposed to address the following aspects of the funding initiative and the individual research networks, respectively: concept and implementation, collaboration (specifically between African and German partner institutions), effectiveness, sustainability, and success factors. To achieve the objectives of the evaluation, a mix of various qualitative and quantitative methods will need to be applied. The evaluation is supposed to be launched in November 2017 and will take place under the responsibility of the GIZ Evaluation Unit and in close cooperation with the sounding board of BMBF, DLR-PT, and GIZ. The tender targets project teams with at least 10 years of experience in evaluation (cumulatively), either from academic institutions or from consulting companies. Competitive bidders will have substantial knowledge and experience in research and health, sub-Saharan Africa, and complex evaluations. Moreover, native or near-native proficiency in English and French as well as basic proficiency of German and Portuguese will be necessary in order to successfully execute the evaluation project.