Jordan Nutrition Innovation Lab: Call for Expressions of Interest

Deadline: 12-Nov-20

The Nutrition Innovation Lab invites Jordanian institutions to submit an expression of interest (EOI) to develop and implement a qualitative and quantitative impact and process evaluation of the USAID Community Health and Nutrition (CHN) program and implement capacity-building activities.

The Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Nutrition (herein as, Nutrition Innovation Lab) at Tufts University is one of 20 Innovation Labs supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Bureau for Resilience and Food Security.

The Nutrition Innovation Lab aims to address all forms of malnutrition, through policy-relevant research focused on the intersections between health, nutrition, and agriculture.

In Jordan, the Nutrition Innovation Lab through support from USAID/Jordan will implement an impact and process evaluation and support capacity building activity that support key priorities of the Government of Jordan and the USAID/Jordan on the optimal infant, young child, and maternal nutrition and health in Jordan.

Objectives

USAID/Jordan has funded the Nutrition Innovation Lab to implement a rigorous research agenda and innovative capacity building activities. The key objectives of the Nutrition Innovation Lab Jordan project are:

To develop and implement a rigorous research agenda to understand how the CHN program, aiming to improve maternal and IYCF practices within the context of maternal health and nutrition, achieves its outcomes. The evaluation of CHN will involve three components: first, a rigorous quantitative impact evaluation designed by the Nutrition Innovation Lab; second, a process and performance evaluation of the CHN; and third, an assessment of sustainability, based on the learning and best practices of the CHN program. Both qualitative and quantitative assessment methods will be utilized across the three components.
To build human and institutional research capacity in the area of exclusive breastfeeding and infant and young child feeding. An underlying objective is to support the generation of evidence to support advocacy at the policy level. To achieve this the Nutrition Innovation Lab will implement an annual symposium and support young scholars with small grants for conducting their thesis research.

Duration

The duration of this project will be January 2021 through January 2025.

Eligibility Criteria

This EOI is open to any organizations that is based in Jordan that has research and administrative capacity to support the Nutrition Innovation Lab through the duration of the project.

Criteria

A successful application will demonstrate the following:

The technical and administrative ability and commitment to engage, collaborate and support the Nutrition Innovation Lab to meet the goals and objectives of the proposed project.
Proven track record in the implementation of large research studies particularly those focused on programmatic evaluations.
Institution’s opacity to provide administrative and logistic support and commitment to supporting key in-country staff of the Nutrition Innovation Lab.
The ability to implement an annual scientific symposium in collaboration with the Nutrition Innovation Lab at Tufts University, USAID/Jordan, Ministry of Health and Jordanian academic institutions.
The ability to develop a strategic plan for policy engagement at the national and sub-national level in Jordan to ensure research uptake and dissemination of findings.
Demonstrate the capacity to satisfy the administrative and financial reporting requirements to the Management Entity at the Nutrition Innovation Lab at Tufts University, including the audit requirements contained in the Single Audit Act Amendments of 1996 (31 U.S.S 7501-7505) and 2CFR 200 Section F. The applicant must commit to provide an audit report for the most recently completed fiscal year or commit to using an independent, non-federal auditor or audit organization to fulfil the auditing requirements immediately upon receipt of the sub-award.

Application Process

Electronic Application
- To be considered, the EOI should be completed and submitted electronically using the provided EOI template.
- The completed EOI should be emailed to them. All EOIs should have ‘EOI -Jordan Nutrition Innovation Lab’ in the subject line. Receipt of the application will be acknowledged by e-mail.
Deadline for Submission
- All EOIs must be received by close of business (5:00 PM Jordan Time/EEST) on November 12, 2020. EOIs received after applicable deadlines will not be considered for funding.
Announcement of Selection
- The announcement of the first call will be made directly to the competitively chosen institutions by November 30, 2020, with pertinent instructions and information on the next phase of the selection process.