RFP for Congenital Syphilis Advocacy Strategy NEW

We highly recommend that you view the formal RFP here.

1. About Evidence Action

Evidence Action Evidence Action is a global nonprofit scaling proven health and development solutions to reduce the burden of poverty for hundreds of millions of people. From fighting parasitic worms and providing millions with safe water access to enabling treatments to prevent anemia and congenital health issues, our evidence-based interventions provide the greatest impact for communities per dollar spent.

Our expertise in cost-effective programming, continuous improvement, and commitment to results has allowed us to reach more than half a billion people with our programs over the past decade. We work in nine countries and counting, with 900+ staff- and in some geographies, values-aligned partners – delivering transformative outcomes.

1. The RFP Timeline

Intention to bid notifications: Accepted on a rolling basis

Questions on the RFP are due by: 17 April 2026

Questions will be answered by Evidence Action on or before: 22 April 2026

Your RFP response is due via email by 5 pm EDT on: 1 May 2026

These dates are subject to change. You will be notified via email of any adjustments made to the timeline.

1. Background, Purpose, Deliverables & Methodology

Background

Congenital syphilis causes over 390,000 adverse outcomes annually—including 150,000 stillbirths and 70,000 neonatal deaths—yet remains severely underfunded relative to its burden. The problem is worsening: babies born today are 11% more likely to be exposed to congenital syphilis than eight years ago.

The solution is straightforward and highly cost-effective. Screening pregnant women using HIV/syphilis dual rapid tests (costing just $0.15 more than existing HIV tests) combined with same-day benzathine penicillin treatment (less than $0.20) prevents over 80% of these devastating outcomes. Yet despite proven interventions and recent progress through Global Fund investments, congenital syphilis receives a fraction of the attention and resources proportional to its impact, leading to significant gaps. While new HIV infections among children under five have declined dramatically, falling by 62% from 310,000 in 2010 to approximately 120,000 in 2024, the global burden of congenital syphilis remains high, with the WHO estimating 700,000 cases globally in 2022.

The Global Coalition for the Elimination of Congenital Syphilis has been established with Gates Foundation support, convened by Evidence Action in partnership with WHO, PATH, Unitaid, and other stakeholders. With governance of the coalition established, the focus now shifts to coordinated advocacy execution to achieve the coalition’s primary objective: resource mobilization to drive at least 20M of new funding for congenital syphilis elimination.

Purpose

Develop a comprehensive, actionable global advocacy strategy that guides coalition-led advocacy efforts to mobilize resources and elevate awareness for congenital syphilis elimination.

The strategy will consist of: (a) donor and stakeholder identification and mapping; (b) a stakeholder engagement plan; and (c) development of advocacy assets (d) identification of opportunities to increase dedicated resources, including through domestic resource mobilization.

Note: An investment case on congenital syphilis elimination will be developed in parallel to the advocacy strategy; see here. The content of the investment case may influence the advocacy strategy and vice versa. Interested individuals / firms are welcome to submit a single proposal encompassing both RFPs. If you are doing so, please indicate that in your RFP submission.

Deliverables

Section 1: Donor and Stakeholder Identification and Mapping (6-8 pages)

• Current funding landscape for congenital syphilis (donors, funding amounts, gaps, domestic resource mobilization)
• Donor landscape mapping and segmentation by type (philanthropic, bilateral, multilateral, domestic resources, industry)
• Prioritized list of top 20-30 funding prospects with organizational profiles
• Mapping of non-traditional and emerging donor segments who have not previously funded global health or congenital syphilis work
• Stakeholder power/interest analysis (champions, blockers, influencers)
• Civil society landscape mapping, including identifying CSOs in priority countries that are already engaged in triple elimination work
• Windows of opportunity (conferences, funding cycles, policy moments)

Section 2: Stakeholder Engagement Plan (6-8 pages)

• Donor Engagement Strategy: Tailored value propositions for each donor segment, specific engagement pathways and tactics by donor type, timing considerations aligned to donor funding cycles, meeting and cultivation strategies, specific asks and investment opportunities
• Audience-specific messaging frameworks: Distinct messaging documents for each priority audience, including Ministries of Finance, Ministries of Health, external philanthropic donors, bilateral donors, and multilateral funders, reflecting the substantially different tone and value propositions required for each
• Donor outreach plan: A concrete roadshow plan for presenting the concurrently developed investment case directly to priority funders in-person, including a schedule of investor roundtables and small-group convenings mapped to key global health moments
• In-country champion plan: An identification and engagement plan for locally-based advocates in high-burden priority countries, including proposed roles, engagement pathways, and how their advocacy would complement global efforts
• Communications: Plans for coalition-branded events and webinars, media engagement approach, and digital communications tactics, including a specified set of concrete activities (e.g. side meetings, media outreach, data sharing moments, donor cultivation sessions)
• Visibility Strategy: Event engagement plan that distinguishes between established global health convenings where congenital syphilis is already on the agenda; regional and country-level platforms where government decision-makers can be reached directly; and non-traditional spaces where congenital syphilis has not previously been discussed and new donors can be engaged. For each, the plan should specify concrete activities and tailored messaging

Section 3: Advocacy Assets (10-12 pages)

• Core advocacy messages framework tailored to distinct audiences:
  • Messages for donors (philanthropic, bilateral, multilateral)
  • Messages for policymakers (global health governance)
  • Messages for implementers (technical partners, service delivery organizations)
  • Messages for domestic government audiences (e.g Ministries of Finance, Ministries of Health) in focus countries
  
  
• Content specifications for advocacy materials to be developed (e.g. country case studies)
• A modular advocacy materials package including individual slides, one-page briefs, talking points, and social media assets, in addition to any longer-form documents, that could be made available in English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese
• Communications channel strategy that covers both traditional global health spaces and non-traditional venues, regional summits, and private philanthropic convenings
• Content calendar for coalition visibility that identifies 1-2 anchor events per year around which the coalition will concentrate collective advocacy energy and media outreach, with specific activities mapped to each

Section 4: Implementation Timeline and Coordination (2-3 pages)

• 18-month implementation roadmap
• Quarterly milestones and activities
• Integration with key global and regional health calendar moments

A set of practical tools and templates for coalition use, including but not limited to:

• Stakeholder mapping matrices
• Engagement tracking log
• Message house frameworks by audience type
• Advocacy brief templates (for donors, policymakers, implementers, domestic government audiences)
• Email outreach templates
• Country case study template, to capture successes, challenges, and lessons learned from national programs making progress
• A modular slide library that coalition partners and country teams can draw from independently, pulling individual slides relevant to their audience rather than relying on a single static deck

Note: All materials should be designed with a clear “ask” framework, giving users a concrete sense of what action they are being asked to take and how they can engage, and should be structured to allow for regular updates as new evidence, country examples, and funding opportunities emerge

Potential Methodology

• Stakeholder Consultation:
  • 15-20 key informant interviews with coalition group members, potential donors, country government representatives, global health advocacy experts, and/or MNCH/STI network leaders. Pre-consultation with priority target donors should occur early in the process, before the strategy structure is finalized, to ensure framing and messaging resonates with key audiences
  
  
• Landscape Analysis:
  • Mapping of current congenital syphilis funders and funding amounts
  • Analysis of donor priorities and funding cycles
  • Review of comparable MNCH and STI advocacy campaigns
  • Assessment of policy windows and opportunities
  • Assessment of civil society partnerships and existing triple elimination advocacy efforts in priority countries
  
  
• Strategic Framework Development:
  • Develop theory of change with coalition input
  • Map advocacy pathways for priority audiences
  
  
• Coalition Workshop:
  • Facilitate 1-2 virtual strategy workshops with coalition working group to gather input, build consensus, validate strategic direction
  
  

How to apply

We highly recommend that you view the formal RFP here.

1. Proposal Requirements & Qualifications

Requirements

This section details the requirements you must address and support in your RFP submission.

Applicants are requested to submit proposals in MS Word or PDF (narrative) and Excel (budget), covering the following:

• Overview: Brief overview of the individual / firm and experience with performing similar assignments with international organizations, particularly not-for-profit organizations. Not to exceed 2 pages.
• Proposal: Approach to developing the advocacy strategy and proposed deadlines / activities. Not to exceed 4 pages
• Team: Staff who will work on this project (include brief bios/CVs that are max 1 page for each staff member)
• Budget: Detailed budget breakdown, including a breakdown of hourly / daily rates for all assigned staff, the expected number of hours and any reimbursable expenses
• References: Three references that can be contacted regarding relevant previous work. If you are selected as a finalist, Evidence Action will contact these references. They must be active customers, or customers whom you have served within the past 12 months.

Qualifications

Your proposal materials should demonstrate:

1. Proven track record developing and executing advocacy strategies in global health
2. Deep familiarity with HIV, STI, and/or MNCH funding landscape and donor ecosystem
3. Demonstrated experience with resource mobilization and donor engagement
4. Experience developing strategies for multi-stakeholder coalitions
5. Strong understanding of global health governance and policy processes
6. Excellent writing and visual communication skills

Proposals and any clarifying queries arising on the RFP should be channeled through the following e-mail addresses: rfp@evidenceaction.org and anna.konstantinova@evidenceaction.org. Any questions for clarification on the RFP document or process should be received no later than the date specified in the above timeline (17 April 2026).

This is an invitation to offer and does not commit Evidence Action to accepting any of the proposals received or award the contract to any of the bidders including but not limited to the lowest bidder.

Evidence Action strongly promotes free and fair competition in all its procurement in a transparent manner.

1. Overview of the Evidence Action RFP Process
2. Proposal / Submission Format

Your submissions should be provided electronically via email to the primary contact listed on the cover page (rfp@evidenceaction.org and anna.konstantinova@evidenceaction.org). No hard copies are required.

1. Clarification to RFP Information

Please share any questions or concerns regarding this RFP document or the RFP process with rfp@evidenceaction.org and anna.konstantinova@evidenceaction.org as soon as you have them. If you discover any ambiguity, error, conflict, or discrepancy in this RFP, you should notify us immediately. In the event that it becomes necessary to provide clarifying data or information, or to revise any part of this RFP, those changes will be provided to all vendors who have submitted a notification to bid..

1. Award Decision

Evidence Action will form an internal RFP review team comprised of representatives from the program. The coalition working group may also be consulted.

The team will evaluate all responses and score them based on a common set of criteria. The evaluation process may or may not include a second round of submissions and/or in-person or virtual meetings. Some elements may be added during the process, in which case all participants will be notified and provided with reasonable time to plan and accommodate the requests.

Following the award decision, all bidders have the opportunity to request and receive feedback on their performance. We recognize that you will expend time and resources in pursuit of this business opportunity, and we owe you the chance to understand where you can improve your offering and increase your success rate in the future, with Evidence Action or other prospective customers.

Contract Negotiation & Additional Notes

Vendors must be willing to negotiate a contract with Evidence Action in good faith and in a prompt, efficient, and cooperative manner. The successful Vendor will be required to agree to Evidence Action’s standard vendor contract, including all of the terms and conditions set forth on Exhibit A, attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference. Please note that the terms set forth in Exhibit A are minimum required terms and that Evidence Action reserves the right to modify such terms, in whole or in part, at any time prior to any final contract execution.

The successful vendor should not make any reference to Evidence Action in any literature, promotional material or sales presentation without prior written consent from Evidence Action’s CEO.

Evidence Action may make any and all inquiries as to the abilities of the individuals or organization to satisfy requirements of the RFP and to perform the work. This RFP is not an offer to enter into an agreement with any party but rather, it is a request to receive proposals from respondents interested in providing the services specified herein. Evidence Action reserves the right to reject any or all proposals submitted and to contract in the best interests of Evidence Action. Evidence Action is not responsible for any costs or damages associated with Vendor’s response, including copyright or other rights, regardless of the award or rejection of a proposal.

The Vendor and all relevant staff will be required to sign nondisclosure, conflict of interest and intellectual property agreements as part of its response to this RFP.

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