Who We Are
Girl Effect is an international non-profit that builds media that girls want, trust and need.From chatbots to chat shows, TV dramas to tech, our content helps adolescent girls in Africa and Asia make choices and changes in their lives. We create safe spaces for girls, sharing facts and answering questions about health, nutrition, education, and relationships, empowering girls with the skills to negotiate and redefine what they are told is possible “for a girl”.
Our reach is 20 million and counting, and we use technology to reach girls at scale so every girl can choose to be in control of her body, health, learning, and livelihood.
Because when a girl unlocks her power to make different choices that change her life, it inspires others to do so too. She starts a ripple effect that impacts her family, community, and country.
That’s the Girl Effect.
Background
Over the last 15 years, Girl Effect has pivoted several times to serve the needs of adolescent girls. From advocacy groups to donors, we’ve played different roles in fighting gender inequality at different times. Girl Effect is evolving to become an expert in digital media and the leading driver of demand for services, products, and opportunities amongst adolescent girls in Africa and Asia. Through our portfolio of brands and digital products, we aspire to tackle issues that girls and young women face by equipping them to adopt and maintain new behaviors that will improve their mental well-being and sexual and reproductive health (SRH), and empower them economically.
As per previous campaigns at GEI, one of the reasons for girls’ low outcome expectations is that their partners play a key role in the decision-making of contraception uptake and it is not an individual decision. This built on our understanding of the role of key influencers in girls’ decision-making. Therefore including boys in conversations around sexual and reproductive health was identified as one of the next steps in a newly launched program called The Tipping Point Program (TPP). The GE India Strategy thus highlights the importance of engaging parents, peers, and partners of girls in the brand ecosystem and products.
In doing so, the first step is to understand the perceptions, experiences, and behavior of adolescent boys and young men (18-24 y.o.) around love, relationships as well as sex and contraception. Based on these insights, the team aims to deliver digital content that suits the consumption needs of adolescent boys and young men to engage them in conversations around sexual and reproductive health while recognizing their unique needs in a relationship.
What You’ll Do
- Research Set up: Support in tool development, translations, and other research set-up
- Recruitment: Lead the recruitment of respondents in New Delhi
- Data Collection: Through in-depth interviews and couple dyads, conduct qualitative research with unmarried adolescent couples including content exposure and feedback on content. The content will be available digitally.
- Data Analysis: Responsible for data analysis with support from the GE India Evidence and Insights team.
- Report Writing: Responsible for the report writing, based on inputs from the GE India Evidence and Insights team.
Research Question & Objective
Question: How do young unmarried couples understand and navigate sex, consent and relationships?
Objective:
To qualitatively explore how young Indian couples understand and navigate sex and consent in their romantic relationships by examining agency, attitudes, and societal norms through semi-structured interviews and interactive activities.
Sample Size & Target Audience
Unmarried Couples
18-24 y.o.
SEC C
Digitally active
A fair mix of caste and religion
Been in a relationship for 6 months or more
Sprint 1
Sprint 2
7 couples
8 couples
Exposure: Podcast + VoxPop (Part 1)
Exposure: VoxPop (Part 2) + Fiction Series
Suggested Methodology
1. Parallel Interviews with the boyfriend and the girlfriend (30-45 minutes per participant)
Purpose:
- Capture individual narratives, beliefs, and expectations about their first sexual experience.
- Reduce social desirability bias by separating partners.
Structure:
Day 1 – 60 to 75 minutes
- Introduction
- Interview Themes:
- About the respondent: family, education
- Social circle of respondent: Trust Circle Exercise
- About the relationship: timeline, story, dynamics
- About any previous relationships
- Content Exposure: Expose them to the pre-decided format and episode
Day 2 – 90 minutes
- Introduction (5 minutes): Explain confidentiality, consent, and research goals.
- Interview Themes:
- Visual Metaphor Elicitation Activity: only for partners – How do they view their partners? What is their relationship with their partner like?
- Awareness and Knowledge: What do they know about sex and where they learned about it?
- Expectations and Concerns: What expectations do/did they have regarding their first sexual experience?
- Planning and Communication: Have they talked about this with their partner? If so, how?
- Communication and Negotiation: How do they manage differences in expectations? Are they able to communicate openly about these?
- Content Exposure:
- Content Relevance: Feedback on how they received the content, key takeaways, and general feedback on how relatable and relevant it was for them
- Engagement: How much they engaged with the content, did they talk to anyone (their partner/peers about it), did they share it with anyone
Tools Required:
- Consent forms
- Semi-structured interview guides
- Recording devices
- Comfortable and private interview spaces
Research guide
- To be developed
Day 2
Activity-Based Dyads (45-60 minutes per couple)
Purpose:
To explore shared dynamics, communication styles, and decision-making processes through structured, interactive tasks.
Activity 1: Story Mapping (15 minutes)
Task:
- Give each couple a story template: “Imagine two people in a relationship planning their first intimate experience.”
- Ask them to co-create the story by filling in key events like how they initiate the conversation, discuss contraception, and manage concerns.
Tools Required:
- Printed story templates
- Markers and sticky notes
What to Observe:
- Joint decision-making patterns
- Negotiation skills
- Who leads or dominates the conversation
Research guide
- To be developed
Activity 2: Problem-Solving Scenario (15 minutes)
Task:
- Present a hypothetical situation
- Ask the couple to discuss and agree on how they would address this.
Tools Required:
- Scenario cards or printed case studies
What to Observe:
- Conflict resolution strategies
- Emotional sensitivity and listening skills
- Cultural or gender norms in decision-making
Activity 3: Future Vision Board (15-20 minutes)
Task:
- Provide magazines, scissors, and glue sticks.
- Ask couples to create a “relationship vision board” focusing on shared goals, including communication, trust, and respect.
Tools Required:
- Vision board supplies (magazines, scissors, glue)
- Large poster sheets
What to Observe:
- How they imagine the future of their relationship
- Whether topics like intimacy, respect, and equality appear
- Level of mutual engagement
Ethical Considerations
- Informed Consent:
- Participants will be briefed about study objectives and confidentiality.
- Informed digital consent will be obtained before participation.
- Confidentiality & Privacy:
- Surveys will be anonymous, with unique IDs for pre/post matching.
- Participants’ responses will be stored securely with access limited to research personnel.
- Ethics Review:
- The study protocol will be reviewed by an Institutional Review Board (IRB) or equivalent ethical review body.
- Adherence to WHO Guidelines on Adolescent Health Research will be ensured.
Expected Outputs
- Key Insights:
- Awareness and Knowledge on sex, relationships, contraception
- Attitudes and perceptions around relationships, consent and contraception
- Discussion and communication among couples on sex, contraception and consent in unmarried relationships
- Challenges and barriers to communication among couples on sex, contraception and consent in unmarried relationships
- Conflict resolution strategies among couples on sex, contraception and consent in unmarried relationships
- Relationship Archetypes: Two/three relationship archetypes with anecdotal evidence of agency, attitude, and norms driving these conversations
- User Engagement Insights:
- Perceived relevance and effectiveness of TPP content.
- Key takeaways from participant reflections.
- Programmatic Recommendations:
- Recommendations for refining TPP interventions based on engagement findings.
Timelines
Activity
Timelines
Planning
Receive responses: 25th Feb
Finalize agency: Last week Feb
Onboarding & Procurement
1st week of March
Recruitment & Setup (Tool Development, Safeguarding, Consent Forms)
Phase 1: 2nd week of March
Phase 2: 3rd week of March
Data Collection
Phase 1: 3rd week of March
Phase 2: Last week March
Analysis and Final Report
Draft Report: 7th April
Share Out: Week of 7th April
Final Report: 14th April
Deliverables
- Final Design (with GE’s support and input)
- Participant sampling strategy
- Tool for all research activities
- Consent forms
- Translations of survey tools into relevant languages and formats
- Risk assessment
- Ethical approval certificates
- Training plan
- Raw data files including field notes, transcriptions and audio files
- Analysis plan
- Data quality report
- Report in PowerPoint presentation format
Location
The agency must be based in India.
Reporting
The agency will have a primary point of contact who will be the India Evidence and Insights Manager and will work closely with the managers and global manager, especially for tool translation and fieldwork components.
Who You Are:
-
Extensive experience in designing and conducting qualitative research
- Capacity to deliver all areas expected of this research from design, through recruiting and training researchers, to leading the data collection process in target field locations, ensuring quality assurance and working in line with research ethics principles and delivering high-quality reporting.
- Experience designing and conducting qualitative studies in India, especially with young men and women.
- Experience conducting sensitive research with hard-to-reach, most vulnerable populations
- Experience in interviewing adolescents and with safeguarding policies and procedures
- Excellent and demonstrated understanding of Child Protection/ Safeguarding and ethical issues in research
- Excellent fieldwork supervision and data quality control strategies
- Ability to conduct a risk assessment and mitigation plans for research
- A fieldwork team of female interviewers for girls and young women interviews
- A fieldwork team of male interviewers for boys and young men and women interviews
- Proven record of effectively managing relationships with research partners
- Excellent interpersonal skills and demonstration of effectively managing relationships with research partners
- Exceptional communication and organisation skills
- Ability to respond to comments and questions in a timely, appropriate manner
- Experience in delivering outputs on time and budget
- Ability to write clearly and concisely in English
- The reputation of the responding agencies and any previous experience in similar surveys/research will also be considered.
Proposal Submission
Interested agencies are asked to submit the following to support their candidature (Max 10 pages):
Technical Proposal
- Your understanding of the brief and why you feel you are well-placed to advise us on this
- Credentials – Please showcase any previous work that you consider relevant to what we are trying to achieve, how we approach our work and the audience we cater to. Describe the qualifications, experience, and capabilities of the firm or consultant in providing the requested services (CV/Profile).
- An initial proposal for design – method, sampling, exposure assurance, and analysis plan
- Workplan with Clear Timelines
- Reference – Provide at least three references for similar contracts with a description of the service provided, the value of the contract, and the contract periods of performance
Financial Proposal
- A breakdown of the financial proposal in INR indicating the daily rate for each of the proposed experts, time input and all applicable reimbursable expenses
- All applicable taxes should be quoted separately;
Technical and Financial proposals will need to be submitted as separate documents. Financial bids will not be opened until the technical evaluation and then only for those proposals deemed qualified and responsive.
In their technical proposal, the bidder must demonstrate an understanding of the requirements described in the RFP and demonstrate how the bidder will meet the requirements of the evaluation criteria. The technical proposal must not exceed ten pages.
GE is not liable for any cost incurred during the award/contract preparation, submission, or negotiation of the award/contract. All submitted documentation and/or materials shall become and remain the property of GE.
The proposal’s VALIDITY shall be 90 days from the bid closure date.
Evaluation Criteria
The criteria against which proposals will be evaluated are listed below.
Technical Evaluation
- A well-written capability statement clearly outlines your experience in delivering the Scope of Work and how you meet the ‘Who You Are’ requirements above – 20%
- An initial proposal for design (to be finessed with the GE team upon contracting) – 20%
- Ability to achieve project goals/deliverables, i.e. does the proposal clearly have strong feasibility to move forward the critical deliverables on schedule? -10%
- Demonstrate geographic experience in North India – 10%
- Clear and Concise CV demonstrating relevant expertise – 10%
- Evidence of a minimum of three contactable references – 10%
Financial Evaluation
- Value for money/proposed budget breakdown – 20%
Procurement Timeframe
- Terms of reference published: 18th February 2025
- Proposal submission deadline: 25th February 2025
Ethics
- The successful agency must adhere to Girl Effect protocols and safeguarding measures during all stages of research. This will ensure all girls’ participation will be conducted safely and securely.
- Ethical approval must be submitted to the relevant ethical board to ensure the research takes place with the proper permissions.
- Consent must be obtained from girls with consent forms that clearly state that at any time, research participants are free to decide to leave the research should they feel a reason to do so.
- Care also should be taken by the successful agency to maintain the confidentiality of the information provided by the respondents during the community. Informed voluntary consent should be taken before starting from the community, and parent/caregiver consent should be obtained for a minor. If an individual refuses to participate, they should not be compelled to participate or demoralized by any means. These cases will be treated as no-response under this survey. The research team must all undergo safeguarding training per Girl Effect’s safeguarding procedures and sign the Girl Effect safeguarding policy.
- All data must be stored in password-protected electronic files and shared with Girl Effect via a secure file transfer protocol (FTP)
Tax
Girl Effect India is obliged by the Indian tax authorities to ensure all taxes are charged where applicable. Applicants are advised to ensure that they have a clear understanding of their tax position regarding provisions to Indian tax legislation when developing their proposals.
Copyright
All materials/documents arising from this consultancy work shall remain the property of Girl Effect.
Disclaimer
GE reserves the right to determine the structure of the process, number of short-listed participants, the right to withdraw from the proposal process, the right to change this timetable at any time without notice and reserves the right to withdraw this tender at any time, without prior notice and without liability to compensate and/or reimburse any party. GE shall inform ONLY successful applicant(s). The process of negotiation and signing of the contract with the successful applicant(s) will follow.
Please note: We will evaluate only proposals submitted following the application process outlined in the RFP and using our specified email address ([email protected]).
Safeguarding
You may be required to undertake safeguarding checks. Shortlisted consultants will be assessed on our organisational values at the interview stage. The successful consultant will be expected to adhere to our safeguarding policy. We encourage you to read and understand our safeguarding policy, the executive summary of which can be found here. We have zero tolerance for violence against children, beneficiaries, and staff.
Equal Opportunities
Girl Effect Services is committed to equal opportunity regardless of race, colour, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender, gender identity, or expression. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace.
We are committed to building an increasingly representative organisation that works extensively with the communities we serve. To this end, due regard will be paid to procuring consultancy service organisations and individuals with diverse professional, academic and cultural backgrounds.
How to apply
Please submit proposals, as described above, to Girl Effect’s procurement team ([email protected]) by the 25th of Feb. Please mark your email with the subject line, ‘‘Proposal – TPP Programme Evaluation- Qual India.’