REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL AND TOR FOR

CONSULTANCY SERVICES TO DEVELOP

PARENTAL SKILLS MANUAL FOR NORAD

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FOR CONSULTANCY

SERVICES TO DEVELOP PARENTAL SKILLS MANUAL FOR NORAD

1. Evaluation summary

2 Background information

2.1   About SOS Children’s Villages 

SOS 󠄀Children’s 󠄀Villages 󠄀is 󠄀a 󠄀global 󠄀non-profit organization with 138 member associations all over the world, working in more than 2,000 programme locations worldwide. We work together with a single vision: every child belongs to a family and grows with love, respect and security. Uniquely, we provide long-term, family-like care for children who have lost parental care (Alternative Care Programme), and we work with vulnerable families and communities to help strengthen them and prevent child abandonment (Family Strengthening (FS) Programme. 

SOS Children's Villages in Ghana is a non-governmental social development organization that has been active in the field of children's rights and committed to children's needs and concerns since 1974. The 󠄀organization 󠄀is 󠄀a 󠄀member 󠄀of 󠄀the 󠄀SOS 󠄀Children’s 󠄀Villages International Federation. 

SOS 󠄀Children’s 󠄀Villages 󠄀in 󠄀Ghana 󠄀has 󠄀been 󠄀providing 󠄀care 󠄀and 󠄀support 󠄀to 󠄀orphans 󠄀and vulnerable 󠄀 children through two main programmes, namely, Alternative Care and Family Strengthening. It is important to note that Family-Like Care (FLC) and Community Empowerment for Family Empowerment (CFE) are rendered by both AC and FS respectively.  

In our Family–Like Care, a service under Alternative Care programme, we have four Villages located in Tema, Kumasi, Asiakwa and Tamale. These Villages have a total of 51 family houses currently providing care and protection for 640 children who have lost parental care. For 51 years, 󠄀SOS Children’s 󠄀 Villages in Ghana has enabled hundreds of children to grow into independent, responsible citizens.  The Family Strengthening Programme is a community-based approach to support, strengthen and empower families and communities, thus enabling them to effectively and sustainably care for their children 󠄀and 󠄀advocate 󠄀for 󠄀their 󠄀rights. 󠄀To 󠄀this end, 󠄀 SOS 󠄀Children’s 󠄀Villages in Ghana works together with Community-Based Organisations (CBOs), Local Government, Schools, Healthcare Providers, private individuals, institutions and other NGOs providing a wide range of services in health, education, sanitation and nutrition 󠄀 for 󠄀 children. 󠄀 In 󠄀 addition, 󠄀 SOS 󠄀 Children’s 󠄀 Villages 󠄀 in 󠄀 Ghana 󠄀 provides 󠄀 opportunities for young persons to acquire entrepreneurship and employable skills. Through the Family Strengthening 󠄀Programmes, 󠄀SOS 󠄀Children’s 󠄀Villages 󠄀in 󠄀Ghana 󠄀over 󠄀the 󠄀years 󠄀has supported directly 125,000 children and 20,000 vulnerable families and approximately 10,000 young persons (MA National Strategy 2023-2027).

Between 󠄀2008 󠄀and 󠄀2011, 󠄀SOS 󠄀Children’s 󠄀Villages 󠄀in 󠄀Ghana, 󠄀within 󠄀the 󠄀broader 󠄀Family Strengthening 󠄀Programme approach, implemented the Farming Livelihood Improvement Programme (FLIP) in two locations in Ghana, namely Asiakwa and Tamale in the Eastern and Northern regions of Ghana respectively. The project was aimed at addressing the problem of rural youth unemployment through organic farming and other income generation activities.

SOS 󠄀 Children’s 󠄀 Villages 󠄀 in 󠄀 Ghana 󠄀 also 󠄀 implemented 󠄀 the 󠄀 MFS 󠄀 II 󠄀 Project 󠄀 as 󠄀 part 󠄀 of 󠄀 the 󠄀 “Together4Change” 󠄀alliance. 󠄀The 󠄀project 󠄀was 󠄀implemented 󠄀during 󠄀2011-2015 as a five-year project in the four regions of Ghana. A post MFS II project was also implemented from 2016-2018, as a three-year 󠄀project 󠄀in 󠄀the 󠄀four 󠄀regions 󠄀of 󠄀Ghana. 󠄀The 󠄀“No 󠄀Business 󠄀as 󠄀Usual” (NBU) 󠄀Project 󠄀was 󠄀launched 󠄀in 󠄀2017 to support inclusive economic growth and to drive youth employment opportunities in Asokore Mampong Municipality in the Ashanti Region. Other projects that have been implemented within the last ten years include, Save My Mother (SMM), Oral Health, Quality Education Now (QEN), End Child Marriage, 󠄀Sustainable 󠄀Livelihood project 󠄀Ghana, 󠄀Sagnarigu 󠄀Women’s 󠄀Empowerment 󠄀Project (SWEP) 󠄀 and Protecting the Future (PTF) project.

2.2 Background to the Project

SOS 󠄀Children’s 󠄀Villages 󠄀has 󠄀secured 󠄀funding 󠄀to 󠄀implement 󠄀the 󠄀NORAD-funded project, "Protecting Children at Risk of Losing Parental Care." This programme aims to prevent parent-child separation among 1,590 families, reaching approximately 4,753 children across 15 communities where poverty is a major contributing factor of family separation. 󠄀The 󠄀core 󠄀interventions 󠄀will 󠄀focus 󠄀on 󠄀improving families’ 󠄀financial 󠄀 stability 󠄀and 󠄀strengthening 󠄀caregivers’ 󠄀capacity 󠄀to 󠄀provide 󠄀quality 󠄀care and protection 󠄀for 󠄀their 󠄀children. SOS 󠄀Children’s 󠄀Village 󠄀in 󠄀Ghana 󠄀provide 󠄀two 󠄀service 󠄀types under 󠄀the 󠄀Family 󠄀Strengthening 󠄀programme, 󠄀 namely Direct Family Empowerment (DFE) and Community Empowerment for Family Empowerment Programme (CEF). The DFE is the direct support (grant) given to the project participants with the goal of attaining self-reliance. The Community Empowerment for Family Strengthening activities are designed to benefit communities by promoting positive behavioural change and encouraging attitudes that support child protection and family well-being. For example, community sensitization and education on child labour and child trafficking aim to empower community members to take collective action. These efforts help strengthen local capacity to establish protective structures and mechanisms to prevent and eliminate the menace of child labour and trafficking within their communities. 

3 Objectives of the Assignment

The project is in its early stages and need to develop a comprehensive, practical, and rights-based parental skills training manual to build the capacity of partner organisations to deliver high-quality caregiver training aimed at preventing parent–child separation.

To achieve the above, the project will engage a consultant with in-depth knowledge of these locations’ dynamics and the subject in the topics within Ghana.

3.1 Specific Objectives

• Develop a standardised parental skills training manual aligned with Ghanaian policies and community realities.
• Strengthen the technical and facilitation capacity of four (4) partner CSOs through Training of Trainers.
• Ensure training content is inclusive, gender-responsive, disability-sensitive, and culturally appropriate.
• Promote child protection, positive parenting, family self-reliance, and caregiver well-being.

3.2     Scope

The consultant/institution will undertake the following tasks:

1. Design, develop and deliver training to the project partners, equipping them with key competencies and skills in the following topics.

CHILD CARE/PARENTING

• Understanding child development and rights
• Identifying harmful practices on child’s well-being
• Cultural practices that affect children’s well-being
• Understanding punishment and discipline
• Positive discipline approach and conflict resolution
• Child and youth participation
• Caring for children with special needs
• Safety and protection mechanism at home (Protecting children from physical abuse, emotional abuse and neglect)
• Roles and Responsibilities of parents.
• Male involvement in parenting

HEALTHCARE

Personal Hygiene/Nutrition

• Maternal and child nutrition (focusing on balanced diet, Compatible diets, Growth Monitoring and Promotion, Dietary Diversification and Food Hygiene)
• Environmental hygiene/sanitation (e.g. waste management, etc.).
• Hand washing practices

     Immunization and Vaccination (as mandated by GHS policies).

• Ante-Natal Care
• Post-natal Care (exclusive breastfeed, child weaning)
• Quality Health Promotion (e.g. NHIS, hotline No, patient charter, risky health behaviors/abuse of traditional medicines/self-medication)
• Birth Registration for Children.
• Family Health Emergencies and Response Plan/Mechanism

SRHS

• STIs and HIV/AIDS Prevention
• Abstinence
• Contraceptive use/Family Planning

INCOME GENERATION TOPICS

1. Soft Skills Development

• Business identification and viability
• Financial Management (profit and loss) and VSLA
• Packaging and Marketing

Technical and Vocational Skills Development

• Alternative Livelihood Activities

Literacy

• basic numeracy

Mental Health

• Stress Management
• Emotional Intelligence/Mood Regulation
• Self-care/Self-Compassion
• Trauma/Abuse management
• Substance Abuse

1. Train a total of four CSO partners selected from the project 4 districts.
2. Deliver training within a maximum period of one (1) month.
3. Ensure that training delivery process, approach and methodology is tailored to take into consideration the target beneficiaries, particularly People Living with Disability (PLWD)
4. Develop training manuals expected to serve as a key resource document in collaboration with SOS CV Ghana focusing on key elements of Human Right Based Approach.
5. Work within the agreed timeline and comply with agreed milestones.
6. Produce a final report on the training delivered to the partners to SOS CV Ghana within 10 working days after training has been delivered.

4 Methodology and Duration of the Assignment

The consultant shall propose a methodology that: - Emphasises practical, participatory adult-learning approaches - Is suitable for low-literacy and rural contexts - Integrates Human Rights–Based Approach (HRBA), safeguarding, and gender equality - Ensures inclusion of Persons Living with Disabilities (PLWD) - Applies ethical standards, confidentiality, and do-no-harm principles

The consultant shall have 2 months from the date of engagement to deliver on and complete the entire task and submit the final draft report.

4.1  Expected Deliverables

• Inception Report
• Develop a training manual on the topics indicated above.
• Train four partners in their various locations on how to deliver training on the above topics participatorily.

• Submit a final report on the training delivered to the partners to SOS CV Ghana within 10 working days after training has been delivered.

4.2  Expected Outcome

Four project partners receive training on parental skills from consultant to in turn train two thousand (2000) beneficiaries from vulnerable households who are at risk of parent child separation to build their capacity in the various thematic areas to enable them to manage their homes effectively, manage their finances and better equipped with child protection issues.

4.3  Indicative Timetable

The development and training process is expected to start 27^th March, 2026. The preferred completion date is 30^th April ,2026. SOS CV Ghana team will facilitate timekeeping with weekly check ins with the consultant. See Appendix 1 for details of the indicative timetable.

4.4  Manual format

The manual shall be in English and be provided electronically and in twenty (20) hard copies.

The manual format below must be strictly adhered to:

• Cover page

Title of the assignment, Name of the consultant, Country, name of project, date of the assignment.

• Executive summary (maximum 2 pages; cross-reference pages or paragraphs in the main body)
• Training content

 5.Instruction to Consultants, selection criteria and contracting

SOS 󠄀 Children’s 󠄀 Villages 󠄀 in Ghana invites interested Consultants to submit their Technical and Financial proposals for the consultancy service to develop a parental skills manual for the NORAD project. This proposal is open to all national and international Consultants (Individual consultants or companies) who are legally constituted and can perform the requested Assignment.

The Consultant shall bear all the costs incurred in preparing the proposal; costs of the proposal cannot be included as a direct cost of the assignment. The proposal and all supplementary documents must be submitted in English. Financial proposals need to 󠄀be 󠄀presented 󠄀in 󠄀Ghana Cedis (GH₡).

5.1  Process of Submission of Proposals 

To facilitate the submission of proposals, the submission duly stamped and signed can be done electronically in PDF format and sent electronically in PDF format to ama.attafoe@sosghana.org and copy George.Boateng@sosghana.org and benedicta.ofosuaa@sosghana.org

The titles of submitted documents should clearly state “Technical proposal for consultancy services to develop parental skills for NORAD project and “Financial Proposal for consultancy services to develop parental skills manual for NORAD.  Please make sure that the technical and financial proposals are submitted separately (financial proposal to be sealed in a closed envelope or a separate PDF file in case of electronic submission). 

During the process of evaluation, technical proposals will be opened and evaluated first. The financial part of those proposals, which are shortlisted after evaluation of the technical proposal, will be opened in a second step. Include all required forms listed below:

• Price schedule form (to be sealed in a closed envelope or a separate PDF file)
• CVs and copies of certificates of the team member(s)
• Three references (at least two of them must be familiar with your work)

5.2    Deadline for submission

The proposal must be received on or before February 24, 2026, at 4:00 pm GMT. Proposals received after the deadline will not be considered. 

5.3 Modification and withdrawal of bids

Consultants may withdraw their proposals on written request before the closing date of this invitation. Any corrections or changes must be received before the closing date. Changes must be clearly stated in comparison with the original proposal. Failure to do so shall be at the consultant’s own risk and disadvantage.

5.4    Signing of the contract 

SOS 󠄀Children’s 󠄀Villages 󠄀in Ghana shall inform the successful Consultant electronically and will send the contract form within two (2) days after negotiating on the Technical and Financial proposal. The successful Consultant shall sign and date the contract including the Code of Conduct and return it to

SOS 󠄀Children’s 󠄀Villages 󠄀Ghana 󠄀within 󠄀two(2) 󠄀calendar 󠄀days 󠄀of 󠄀receipt 󠄀of 󠄀the 󠄀contract. After the contract 󠄀 is signed by the two parties, the successful Consultant shall perform the assignment in accordance with the schedule outlined in the request for proposal document.

5.5    Selection criteria

After the opening, each proposal will be assessed first on its technical quality and compliance and subsequently on its price. The proposal with the best overall value, composed of technical merit and price, will be considered. The technical proposal is evaluated based on its responsiveness to the evaluation objectives. The criteria for selection are:

Method: The proposed method is suitable for the assignment

Timetable/work plan: The timetable/work plan is realistic and meet the needs of the project

Cost: The cost of the proposal is reasonable and feasible, given the other aspects of the proposal

Experience: The training and experience of the consultants in developing the parental skills manual and recommendations from organisations for which the consultant(s) has previously worked

5.6     Evaluation and scoring of Financial Proposal

The financial proposal carries a weight of 30% in the overall evaluation and scoring. The lowest evaluated financial proposal (Fm) is allocated the maximum financial score of 100 points. The financial scores (Sf) for all other proposals are calculated using the formula below:

Where:

Sf = financial score of the proposal under consideration

Fm = price of the lowest evaluated financial proposal

F = price of the proposal under consideration

The financial score (Sf) will then be weighted at 30% and combined with the technical score (weighted at 70%) to determine the final overall score.

5.7      Proposal Evaluation and Scoring

The overall evaluation of proposals will be based on a weighted combination of the technical and financial scores. The technical score (St) will be calculated as the total technical points obtained, expressed as a percentage of 100, and weighted at 70%.

The financial score (Sf) will be calculated as described in Section 5.5.3 and weighted at 30%. The final score (S) for each proposal will be calculated using the following formula:

The proposal achieving the highest final score (S) will be ranked first and considered for award, subject to due diligence and the fulfilment of all eligibility requirements.

5.8    Logistical arrangements

Staff 󠄀of 󠄀SOS 󠄀Children’s 󠄀Villages (SOS 󠄀CV) 󠄀will 󠄀provide 󠄀support 󠄀in 󠄀coordinating 󠄀the logistical aspects 󠄀of the assignment. This will include facilitating the meetings with the various partners, contacting relevant SOS Children’s 󠄀Villages 󠄀 staff, 󠄀 making 󠄀 necessary 󠄀 announcements, and handling local preparations. In addition, SOS CV staff will assist in establishing linkages with community duty bearers, partners, and national authorities, as required.

5.9 Terms of payment 

Payment will be made only upon 󠄀 SOS 󠄀 Children’s 󠄀 Villages' acceptance of the work performed in accordance with the above-described deliverables. Financial proposals should include proposed stage payments. Payment will be effected by bank transfer in the currency of billing and is due 20 days after receipt of the invoice and acceptance of work. 

Funding 󠄀and 󠄀Payment: 󠄀The 󠄀consultant 󠄀will 󠄀be 󠄀paid 󠄀by 󠄀SOS 󠄀Children’s 󠄀Villages 󠄀as 󠄀follows: 󠄀

10% on the submission and approval of the inception report 

60% on completion of the draft manual 

30% on acceptance of the final manual 

5.10 Notice of delay

Shall the successful Consultant encounter delay in the performance of the contract which may be excusable 󠄀under 󠄀unavoidable 󠄀circumstances; 󠄀the 󠄀Consultant 󠄀shall 󠄀notify 󠄀SOS 󠄀Children’s Villages 󠄀in 󠄀 Ghana in writing about the causes of any such delays within one (1) week from the beginning of the delay.

After 󠄀receipt 󠄀of 󠄀the 󠄀Consultant’s 󠄀notice 󠄀of 󠄀delay, 󠄀SOS 󠄀Children’s 󠄀Villages 󠄀in 󠄀Ghana 󠄀shall analyse 󠄀the 󠄀 facts and extent of delay and extend the time for performance when in its judgment the facts justify such an extension. 

5.11 Copyright and other proprietary rights

SOS 󠄀Children’s 󠄀Villages 󠄀shall 󠄀be 󠄀entitled 󠄀to 󠄀all 󠄀intellectual 󠄀property 󠄀and 󠄀other 󠄀proprietary rights including, 󠄀 but not limited to, copyrights, and trademarks, with regard to products, processes, inventions, ideas, know-how, or documents and other materials which 󠄀the Contractor 󠄀has 󠄀developed 󠄀for 󠄀SOS Children’s 󠄀 Villages under the Contract and which bear a direct relation to or are produced or prepared or collected in consequence of, or during the course of, the performance of the Contract. The Contractor acknowledges and agrees that such products, documents and other materials constitute works made for 󠄀hire 󠄀for 󠄀SOS 󠄀Children’s Villages.  

All materials: plans, reports, estimates, recommendations, documents, and all other data compiled by or 󠄀received 󠄀by 󠄀the 󠄀Contractor 󠄀under 󠄀the 󠄀Contract 󠄀shall 󠄀be 󠄀the 󠄀property 󠄀of 󠄀SOS Children’s 󠄀Villages 󠄀and 󠄀 shall be treated as confidential, and shall be delivered 󠄀 only 󠄀to 󠄀SOS Children’s 󠄀Villages 󠄀authorized 󠄀 officials on completion of work under the Contract. The external consultant is obliged to hand over all raw 󠄀data 󠄀collected 󠄀during 󠄀the 󠄀assessment 󠄀to SOS Children’s 󠄀Villages.

5.12 Termination

SOS 󠄀Children’s 󠄀Villages 󠄀reserves 󠄀the 󠄀right 󠄀to 󠄀terminate 󠄀without 󠄀cause 󠄀this 󠄀Contract 󠄀at 󠄀any  time 󠄀upon 󠄀 forty-five 󠄀(45) 󠄀days 󠄀prior 󠄀written 󠄀notice 󠄀to 󠄀the 󠄀Contractor, 󠄀in 󠄀which 󠄀case 󠄀SOS Children’s 󠄀Villages 󠄀shall 󠄀 reimburse the Contractor for all reasonable costs incurred by the Contractor prior to receipt of the notice of termination.  

SOS 󠄀Children’s 󠄀Villages 󠄀reserves 󠄀the 󠄀right 󠄀to 󠄀terminate 󠄀the 󠄀contract 󠄀without 󠄀any 󠄀financial obligations in 󠄀 case the contractor is not meeting its obligations without any prior notice: 

• agreed time schedule
• withdrawal or replacement of key personal without obtaining written consent from SOS

Children’s 󠄀Villages

• the deliverables do not comply with requirements of ToR

Annex

5.13 SOS Children’s Villages child safeguarding policy and code of conduct 

SOS 󠄀 Children’s 󠄀 Villages 󠄀International 󠄀has a child protection safeguarding, code of conduct that all consultants will be expected to comply with and will be required to sign a statement of commitment to the policy. This will happen upon signing of contract, together with an orientation of consultants on internal child safeguarding processes and data protection regulations. 

5.14 Proposal Bid submission/identification form 

This proposal submission form 󠄀must 󠄀be 󠄀completed, 󠄀signed 󠄀and 󠄀returned 󠄀to 󠄀SOS 󠄀Children’s Villages. 󠄀 Proposals have to reflect the instructions described in the Request for Proposal and Terms of Reference.

Any requests for information regarding this Request for Proposal shall be sent to ama.attafoe@sosghana.org

The Undersigned, having read the complete Request for Proposals including all attachments, hereby offers to supply the services specified in the schedule at the price indicated in the Price Schedule Form, in accordance with the Terms of Reference included in this document.

Offering 󠄀service 󠄀for: 󠄀SOS 󠄀CHILDREN’S 󠄀VILLAGES 󠄀GHANA

1. Company/Institution 󠄀Name/Individual’s Name____________________________________________

1. Address, Country: _______________________________________________________________

1. Telephone: __________________ Fax _________________ Website_______________________

1. Date of establishment (for companies): _______________________________________________

1. Name of Legal Representative (if applicable): _________________________________________

1. Contact Person: _____________________________________ Email: ______________________

1. Type of Company: Ltd. Other ______________________________________________________

1. Number of Staff: ________________________________________________________________

1. Subsidiaries in the region:

Indicate name of subsidiaries and address 

a)___________________________________________________________ 

b)___________________________________________________________ 

c)___________________________________________________________ 

Validity of Offer:    valid until:_________________________________

Date:

Signature and stamp:

5.15  Previous experience form 

5.16 Price schedule form

The financial proposal needs to include all taxes. 

This proposal should be authorized, signed and stamped _______________________

                                                                                                (Name of Organisation)

Name of representative

Address:

Telephone/Fax/Email: 

5.17 Technical proposal (guideline) 

Qualification and expertise of organisation/team of consultants/consultant submitting proposal

• The lead consultant must have at least a master’s degree in social science or related fields relevant to the assignment.
• Reputation of firm/organisation and staff and individual consultant/s (competence and reliability) in carrying out evaluations.
• Relevance of:
  • Specialized knowledge
  • Proven expertise in carrying out similar assignments.

               CVs for key staff