Hiring of Consultant for App Development

Strengthening Participatory Organization

ToRs for the hiring of a Consultant Firm for

APP development (Mobile (Android & IOS) & Web-based)

For the provision of family planning services

Introduction

Strengthening Participatory Organization (SPO) is a right and responsibilities-based organization serving to improve the well-being of communities and citizens of Pakistan by creating their awareness of fundamental rights and ensuring their access to those rights. We envision “a democratic, socially just and ecologically sustainable society” with a mission to support and strengthen disadvantaged communities and public interest institutions for sustainable development. Our broad programmatic portfolio and extensive countrywide presence are embodied in our past outreach in over 75 districts and our presence in more than 25 districts. We have dynamic teams based in 9 offices in all four provinces of Pakistan who work with a diverse spectrum of groups from grassroots communities to various tiers of governance at local, district, provincial and national levels.

SPO consistently promotes citizens’ active and meaningful participation in key decision-making mechanisms and public policies with a strong belief in adaptability, mutual trust, volunteerism, accountability, transparency, inclusivity, and environmental sensitivity. This rights-based approach is embedded in the design, implementation, and execution of soft- and hard-core service delivery initiatives and entails that every citizen is aware of their fundamental rights, which include but are not limited to education; healthcare; sustainable livelihood; clean drinking water and preparedness for adaptation to disaster response. SPO believes in the continuity of efforts that guarantee participation, innovation, and ownership of the local communities, by facilitating the process of building consensus in identifying and prioritizing underlying issues and finding sustainable solutions and their execution at all levels.

Background of the project

The project titled “Improve Family Planning Knowledge, Positive attitudes and practice through systematic and evidence-based social and behavior change communication interventions (Digital Technologies)” is a joint initiative between PPIF and SPO. The project aims to improve Family Planning (FP) knowledge, positive attitudes, and practices by applying systematic and evidence-based Social and Behavior Change Communication Interventions through mobile health technologies and Social Media campaigns. For this project, SPO intends to undertake systematic and evidence-based Social and Behavioral Change Interventions (SBCCI) on social media and as a critical approach to achieving the outlined objectives of this project. SPO incentive-based approach will encourage men’s engagement in voluntary FP services access, a triangulated qualitative methodology for Knowledge, Attitude, and Perception (KAP) study, utilization of digital technology for information dissemination, and SBCCI-based edutainment and awareness campaign. SPO will work in 6 districts; Rajanpur, Okara, Jhang, Sialkot, Sargodha, and Sheikhupura, with direct and indirect beneficiaries, including men and MWRAs young MWRAs, and newly married couples. SPO will partner with public and private FP information, services, and modern contraceptive providers to ensure a. access to FP services and information for remote and low-income communities to meet the needs of unmet communities, b. transformation of attitudes and behaviors of traditional FP method users to modern contraceptive users.

Objectives of the Mobile and Web-Based App

The App is expected to achieve the following set of objectives,

  1. To facilitate the access of MWRAs to accurate information and services on family planning and raise awareness of Social and Behavioral Change Interventions through mobile health technologies and Social Media campaigns.
    1. To ensure access to FP services and information for remote and low-income communities to meet the needs of unmet communities,
    2. To facilitate the task of family planning service providers and clients in recommending and practicing a safe, effective, and acceptable contraception method for the target population of NMWRAS.
    3. To transform the attitudes and behaviors of traditional FP method users into modern contraceptive users.
  2. Required Service

    To achieve the aforementioned objectives, SPO seeks to develop a comprehensive, centralized, user-friendly Android, IOS, and Web-Based mobile application. The service provider’s task, i.e., the MobWapp Developer, has to design, develop and launch a multi-platform Mobile and Web-Based Application, testing the application and one-year technical support.

    Solution Scope

    The intended solution consists of the following modules:

    1. The Mobile Application: Accessible and user-friendly; compatible with android, IOS, HUAWEI platforms, etc.
    2. The Web-Based control panel: which will be used to administer the mobile application through a Content Management System (CMS) to enable the Software Development Framework (SDF) team to upload, update and tag new content, track the progress of the App users, and generate reports on weekly, monthly and quarterly basis;

    Key Functionalities of the App

    1. Information dissemination for family planning
    2. Monitoring and tracking of field activities
    3. User/beneficiary validation through unique ID’s, social media profiles, mobile phone numbers etc.
    4. Provides real-time, accurate, and realistic data
    5. Display multimedia content, e.g., interactive maps, infographics, interactive content, graphics, video, audio, both live and offline streaming;
    6. The mobile platform should enable users to interact with the content and to give their feedback (comments, sharing of content, impressions, etc.) and should include features such as a notification system;
    7. Location-based functionality with a pop-up at the sign-up time to map end-user on a location basis (district-wise),
    8. Embedded maps of proximal service providers such as LHVs, BHUs, hospitals, and other private entities such as Green Star, Marie Stops, etc.
    9. List operational hours and contact information for all public and private FP service providers by providing their google coordinates and addresses for end-users
    10. Capability for monitoring and track users who visit the FP service providers. The App should pick these up from google maps.
    11. The App should be accessible for people with disability and easy to use by different community groups, and should enable users to access it offline

    Built-in reporting functionality to generate customized reports by users, location, gender, age, etc., App usage statistics, services availed through the App, trend analysis over time, etc., using the dashboard and statistical reports.

  3. Key characteristics of the App
    1. Interactive and user-friendly
    2. Dynamic and replicable
    3. Highly customizable
    4. Easy integration with other tools/technologies
    5. Bi-lingual (Urdu/English)
    6. Voice note enabled
    7. Can work online and offline

    General and Non-Functional Requirements:

    1. Accessibility: Adherence to international accessibility standards of Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) across all the modules of the solution;
    2. Data Security: Adherence to the data rights, security, and privacy regulations;
    3. Integration: Possibility of integration with external solutions for data and content providers as well as external complaining systems;
    4. UX/UI: Interfaces of the entirety of the solution modules and components must be designed in accordance with the highest standards of user experience, ensuring friendliness and seamlessness;
    5. Availability: 24/7 availability of the system and all its functionalities;
    6. Insights: Access to analytics tool to show how the users interact within the MobWapp – log all events by users, with elaborate reports and charts dashboard providing statistics about the MobWapp usage; 2
    7. Testing and Quality Assurance: Leverage the highest standards of software quality assurance and software development best practices, e.g., usability testing, stress testing, and performance testing;
    8. Non-functional Requirements: Ensure the solution’s reliability, interoperability, upgradability, scalability, maintainability, and sustainability

    Proposed Tasks and Indicative Timeframe:

    Tasks Description Due Date
    Task 1: System Analysis In consultation with the relevant stakeholders, the service provider should develop and produce a solution overview and business analysis/Software Requirement Specifications document, which will be the reference for the application development. September 12, 2022
    Task 2: Development of the application’s Prototype and minimum viable

    product (MVP)[1]

    		 2.1    Presenting the application prototype and MVP iteratively[2] to the stakeholders with the proven user acceptance rates of the Prototype;

    2.2    The Prototype of the content management system and control panel.

    		 September 30, 2022
    Task 3: Development of the application Upon the Prototype’s approval, the application is developed and iteratively presented to stakeholders for comments and feedback. November 10, 2022
    Task 4: User acceptance testing and piloting of the product 1.1.Conduct the user acceptance testing for the application

    1.2.Conduct the needed testing of both the functional and non-functional requirements

    		 December 10, 2022
    Task 5: Finalization of the mobile application 5.1.Development of the mobile application that will meet the system specifications provided by SPO;

    5.2.Upon completion, handover of the software source code and documentation (both user and technical) to SPO and PPIF.

    		 December 31, 2022
    Task 6: Capacity building for relevant staff 6.1.Provide a training plan/curriculum.

    6.2.Provide training to relevant SDF staff.

    		 January 10, 2023
    Task 7: Continuous support Provide a 1-year warranty on the APP/software developed. January 10, 2023

    [1] MVP stands for Minimum-Viable Product. An MVP means that you will launch a product with the bare minimum features that are core to the design and function. MVP development incorporates only the fundamental attributes and the standard UI/UX of the app (Ref: MVP Mobile Apps: What is an MVP and How Much does MVP Application Cost (cubix.co).

    [2] Iterative: iterative refers to a process where the design of a product or application is improved by repeated review and testing. In programming specifically, iterative refers to a sequence of instructions or code being repeated until a specific end result is achieved (What is iterative? (techtarget.com)). Iteration is the repetition of a function or process in a computer program. Iterations of functions are common in computer programming, since they allow multiple blocks of data to be processed in sequence. This is typically done using a “while loop” or “for loop”. These loops will repeat a process until a certain number or case is reached (Iteration Definition (techterms.com)).

  4. Consultant’s Duties and Responsibilities
    1. Submit a financial offer, with a break-down of the costs;
    2. Submit a technical concept note explaining a description of the mobile application tool, the work methodology, and the tools that will be used;
    3. Submit the expected timeline for the completion of each step of the App;
    4. Submit CVs of the team and proof of the service provider’s experience in implementing similar services;
    5. Submit a technical report on the implementation of the requested service;
    6. The service provider has to ensure the mobile App’s security and intellectual property.

    Assessment Criteria

    Offers will be assessed as follows,

    Technical proposal: 70%

    Financial proposal: 30%

  5. S/No Criteria Marks
    1 Clarity of technical proposal, work plan, and timeliness 30
    2 Effectiveness and clarity of the used methodology 20
    3 Past experience of the service provider 20
    4 Financial offer and cost advantage 30
    Total 100

Implementation Duration

The required service for developing Android, IOS & Web-Based mobile applications will take four months at the maximum from the time of signing the agreement.

Financial Obligations

Payment will be made in PKR after completing the service and submitting reports and approval by the SPO. Payment will be made through a bank transfer or cheque within one month from the service completion date.

Payment will be in installments based on the completion of the deliverable at each stage. The payment schedule is given below,

S/No Installment Activity/Project Stage Payment (%)
1 1st Installment After the signing of agreement as mobilization 10%
2 2nd Installment Upon the completion of task 1 & task 2 and providing all supporting documents separately for task 1 & task 2 20%
3 3rd Installment Upon the completion of task 3 & task 4 and providing all supporting documents separately for task 3 & task 4 30%
4 4th Installment Upon the completion of task 5 & task 6 and providing all supporting documents separately for task 5 & task 6 30%
5 Last Installment Upon completion of task 7 10%

Interested consultants/firms are requested to send their sealed proposal ‘Technical and Financial’ including profile of experience to the Chairperson, Consultant recruitment committee on or before 1700 hrs. Friday 9th Sep 2022.

Note: Only peoples from Lahore Rawalpindi and Islamabad will be eligible to apply.

SPO reserve the right to partially of fully refuse any proposal without giving any reason.

Proposal should be addressed to;

Chairperson Consultant Requirement Committee

Strengthening Participatory Organization,

Building # 1B, Street 26, Sector G-9/1 Islamabad

Tel: +92 51 8736193-4 

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