CALL FOR BIDS- REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS – Norway 6 views

Vulnerable Too Initiative

Design, Development, Pilot Implementation and Evaluation of a Global Staff Storytelling, Peer Connection and Well-being Initiative

1. Background

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) works in some of the world’s most challenging humanitarian contexts. Staff are regularly exposed to demanding operational environments, high levels of responsibility, emotional strain, uncertainty, loss, and moral distress.

While MSF has developed a range of formal support mechanisms — including psychosocial support, staff health services, coaching, mentoring, safeguarding and behavioural support — there remains a recognized need for additional spaces where staff can share experiences, connect with peers, and express vulnerability without fear of judgment or professional consequences.

The Vulnerable Too Initiative emerged from this recognition. It seeks to explore innovative approaches that foster emotional solidarity, peer connection, storytelling, reflection, and mutual support across the MSF movement — complementing existing support mechanisms by creating opportunities for authentic conversations about the realities of humanitarian work.

MSF Norway is therefore seeking an experienced external partner to support the design, development, piloting, implementation, and evaluation of the Vulnerable Too Initiative over a 24-month period.

Vulnerable Too is a global MSF initiative supported by the Transformational Investment Capacity (TIC).

2. Purpose of the Assignment

The purpose of this assignment is to support MSF Norway in designing and implementing an integrated initiative that combines:

• User research and needs assessment
• Storytelling and narrative-based engagement approaches
• Community participation and peer connection mechanisms
• Digital infrastructure and tools
• Safeguarding and moderation systems
• Monitoring, evaluation and learning processes
• Governance and sustainability planning

The initiative should contribute to strengthening staff well-being, emotional solidarity, peer support, and organizational learning across the MSF movement.

3. Objectives

The selected supplier will support MSF Norway in achieving the following five objectives:

1-Understand Staff Needs

Generate a deeper understanding of staff experiences, needs, concerns, expectations and barriers related to vulnerability, emotional well-being, support-seeking, and peer connection.

2-Enable Safe Expression

Create safe, accessible and inclusive mechanisms that allow staff to share experiences, reflections and stories anonymously or openly.

3-Strengthen Emotional Solidarity

Promote greater connection, understanding and mutual support among staff through storytelling, shared experiences and peer engagement.

4-Contribute to Cultural Change

Support organizational efforts to normalize conversations about vulnerability, well-being and support-seeking while reducing stigma and isolation.

5-Build Sustainable Community-Based Support

Develop governance, participation and sustainability approaches that can support the initiative beyond the pilot period.

4. Scope of Work

The assignment will be delivered through four interrelated workstreams.

Workstream 1: Discovery, Research and Co-Design

A comprehensive discovery phase to understand MSF staff needs through:

• Stakeholder consultations and focus groups

• Interviews and surveys

• User journey mapping

• Review of existing support mechanisms

• Identification of barriers to participation and support-seeking

• Assessment of safeguarding, privacy and ethical considerations

Key Deliverables:

✓ Inception report

✓ Stakeholder mapping

✓ Needs assessment report

✓ User research findings and personas

✓ Functional and technical requirements document

✓ Safeguarding and risk assessment

Workstream 2: Initiative Design and Digital Infrastructure

Design and development of core components supporting the initiative. Bidders are encouraged to propose solutions beyond technology alone.

Storytelling & Experience Sharing

• Anonymous and non-anonymous contributions

• Written, audio and multimedia formats

• Experience repositories and curated collections

• Content submission and review workflows

Community Participation

• Peer engagement features

• Dialogue and reflection opportunities

• User contribution pathways

Safeguarding & Support

• Community guidelines and moderation

• Escalation protocols

• Referral pathways to formal support

• Content warnings and consent processes

Accessibility, Security & Privacy

• Mobile access and multilingual support

• Low-bandwidth considerations

• GDPR compliance and data protection

• Privacy-by-design principles

Workstream 3: Community Engagement and Participation

Designing and supporting approaches that encourage participation and foster emotional solidarity:

• Story collection methodologies and editorial guidelines

• Participation strategies and community engagement approaches

• Staff outreach, communication plans and engagement campaigns

• Approaches for reaching underrepresented groups

• Team and individual reflection resources

• Peer conversation and dialogue tools

Workstream 4: Governance, Sustainability and Evaluation

Establishing sustainable foundations for the initiative, including:

• Governance: roles, responsibilities, oversight and ethical review

• Sustainability: long-term models, resource requirements and funding

• Monitoring & Evaluation: participation, safety, engagement, solidarity and cultural change

• Baseline, mid-term and final evaluation reports

• Future roadmap and scaling recommendations

5. Deliverables Summary & Timeline Phase

Key Deliverables

Phase 1

Months 1–6

• Discovery and needs assessment

• User research findings

• Safeguarding assessment

• Initiative design framework

Phase 2

Months 7–12

• Pilot implementation

• Initial storytelling and participation mechanisms

• Community engagement framework

Phase 3

Months 13–18

• Expanded implementation

• Participation and outreach activities

• Monitoring and learning processes

Phase 4

Months 19–24

• Governance recommendations

• Sustainability planning

• Final evaluation

• Future roadmap

6. Required Expertise

Bidders should demonstrate expertise in the following areas. Consortia are welcome.

✓ Human-centred design

✓ User research and service design

✓ Digital product or community infrastructure development

✓ Community engagement and participation

✓ Storytelling and narrative methodologies

✓ Behavioural change and culture transformation

✓ Mental health and psychosocial well-being

✓ Safeguarding and moderation systems

✓ Data protection and GDPR compliance

✓ Humanitarian, public sector or international NGO environments

7. Budget

Financial proposals should include:

• Detailed breakdown of professional fees
• Development costs
• Travel and expenses
• Hosting and maintenance assumptions
• Third-party costs
• Payment schedule proposal

8. Evaluation Criteria

Evaluation Criterion

Weight

Understanding of the assignment and methodology 25%

Relevant experience and expertise 20%

Quality and feasibility of proposed approach 20%

Safeguarding, ethics and data protection approach 15%

Community participation and engagement strategy 10%

Financial proposal and value for money 10%

9. Ethical, Safeguarding and Data Protection Requirements

The selected supplier shall:

• Comply with GDPR and applicable privacy legislation
• Adhere to MSF safeguarding principles and standards
• Implement trauma-informed approaches
• Ensure confidentiality and secure data management
• Establish clear protocols for responding to high-risk content
• Demonstrate commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion

10. Intellectual Property

All deliverables, research outputs, frameworks, materials and assets developed under this contract shall become the property of MSF Norway unless otherwise agreed in writing.

11. Submission Requirements

Proposals must include the following components:

• Organisational profile
• Relevant experience and references
• Proposed methodology
• Workplan and timeline
• Team composition and CVs
• Safeguarding approach
• Data protection approach
• Risk management approach
• Monitoring and evaluation approach
• Detailed financial proposal