The purpose of this Request for Proposal (RFP) is to acquire, in the framework of the Konbat Vyolans project funded by the United States Agency for International Development International Development (USAID), the services of a company or independent consultant (hereafter referred to as Consultant) specialized in information technology. The Consultant will provide a diagnostic capturing and analyzing performance data, and providing recommendations for the overall improvement and effectiveness of a call center.

The Consultant is expected to use the basic requirements outlined in this document as a guideline for the proposed solution, using his/her vast knowledge and experience within the Information Communication and Technology industry to provide the best and most fiscally responsible, scalable, reliable, and maintainable solution possible.


1. Context

Background

Konbat Vyolans is a USAID funded pilot project focusing on combatting gender based violence (GBV) in Haiti. Over the course of three years, Konbat Vyolans will engage stakeholders via three Haitian implementing partners. As one of the three project implementers, Ayiti Nexus is responsible for the following objectives:

1. Conducting organizational capacity assessments and offering other opportunities for the advancement of gender based violence service providers (GBSVP) in target locations;
2. Ensuring that the KOFAVIV call center is equipped and capable of delivering support services to survivors; and
3. GVB supports service providers are mapped and access to information is disseminated and
4. Piloting financial sustainability efforts for select beneficiaries.

The KOFAVIV call center is the only phone-based emergency response system dedicated to rape and sexual assault victims in Haiti. It was designed, launched and tested in 2010 with KOFAVIV, under the stewardship of an international NGO called Digital Democracy . Digital Democracy works globally to empower marginalized communities to use technology to fight for their human rights. Reinforcing the national call center that provides advice and referrals to victims of violence will require a range of assistance: from diagnostic, to compiling the different reports and outcomes resulting from layers of support provided in the past to establish and maintain the call center. Finally, it will involve significant innovations in sustainability for both the call center and KOFAVIV.
The call center is the only one of its kind in Haiti. In recent years, it has been facilitating the support of GBV survivors and lessening their vulnerability to unwanted pregnancy, STDs, persecution and mistreatments. It began operating in 2010 on a trial basis, in response to programs KOFAVIV was implementing where needs were great, and the support mechanisms were few. The call center has gone through a range of inconsistencies in its operations, however, despite financial and operational constraints having forced it to shut down for nine months, KOFAVIV has managed to keep the call center running, providing helpful information to survivors nationwide. Originally, six paid operators answered calls around the clock, seven days a week. Due to the current funding shortage, staff is made of women volunteers who rotate their presence and answer calls eight hours out of the day, six days a week.
KOFAVIV has continued to operate the call center since 2011, which uses multiple phone systems and a web-interfaced database to collect information on violence against women in Haiti. Free calls to the number “572” connect victims to critical emergency care including medical, psychological and legal support. Donors such as ACDI and the Clinton Global Initiative are a few that have kept this service available. In order for Ayiti Nexus to discover how best to maintain the call center, a full diagnostic is necessary as a first step. Preliminary research will help gather information on the creation of the call center, which will impact its sustainability.

3-Scope of Work

The service provider is tasked with the following:

Realization of a full diagnostic of the KOFAVIV call center, which will look at data integration, take into account multichannel interactions to provide a future system beyond the use of dial-in phone service, the extent of system customization, reporting and analytics, friendly user interface, and process outbound as well as inbound calls.

Based on the findings, recommendations will be implemented to improve the overall effectiveness of the call center.

The diagnostic will focus on:

1. First Call Resolution, which means to identify if there are any challenges in meeting the needs of callers and how effective operators are in supporting initial phone calls to the call center.
2. Response Time, it refers to measuring how quickly callers are handled within days, hours, or minutes and helps determine how many resources are needed to effectively field calls.
3. Forecasting Accuracy is a metric that is critical in efficiently staffing a call center, enabling one to evaluate the caller load.

The diagnostic will also evaluate the software and hardware required to enable the call center to function and make recommendations for implementation based on these findings.

Below are a few elements that pertain to the technology of the call center in an effort to fully address its sustainability:

● Scalability - Software should be able to accommodate growth, by ensuring projects are scalable to existing infrastructure, platform, and products.
● Reliability – What are the guarantees of availability, reliability, security and uptime of the call center? Has it experienced crashes or are there technological barriers impeding service to callers, such as calls being dropped for example?

Furthermore, the diagnostic will look at data integration, take into account multichannel interactions to provision a future system beyond the use of dial in phone service, the extent of system customization, reporting and analytics, user friendliness, and process outbound as well as inbound calls. Based on the diagnostic findings, recommendations will be implemented to improve the overall effectiveness of the call center.
3.1 Reports and Communications

REPORT DEADLINE ITEMS INCLUDED
Report Draft 1 2 weeks after selection of consultant Include concepts and specifications.

Feedback 1 1 week after first draft In-person discussion/meeting will follow submission
Report Draft 2 1 week after Feedback 1 Progress update. Teleconference or meeting will follow submission

Feedback 2 1 week after second draft
Final Report 1 week after Feedback 2

4. Language of Deliverables

The final report should be submitted in English and French.

Submission of Proposal

Vendors should submit technical and financial proposals in hard copy or by email, in French or English, with the RFP reference and the date and time stipulated in the advertisement. Proposals must be sent ONLY to the address detailed below no later than Monday May 15, 2017:


Contact Ayiti Nexus
27-35 Ave. John Brown
Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Tel: +(509)28170865
Email: info@ayitinexus.com

A site visit will be organized on Monday May 15, 2017 from 9 am to 12 pm at Delmas 40A, Rue Legros #23.