Request for Proposals: Service Capability Mapping and Maternal Health Facility Readiness Assessment

Philippine Society for Responsible Parenthood, Inc. (PSRP)  ·  In partnership with UNFPA Philippines

Terms of Reference

1. Background

   The Philippine Society for Responsible Parenthood, Inc. (PSRP), in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), is implementing an integrated project to strengthen the Reproductive and Maternal Health (RMH) Service Delivery Network and operationalize telemedicine systems in Laguna Province to accelerate maternal mortality reduction. This collaboration builds on PSRP's extensive experience in reproductive and maternal health programming, service delivery network strengthening, and digital health implementation.

   The current project focuses on enhancing coordination across public and private providers, improving maternal risk identification, and integrating telemedicine functionalities within existing platforms to ensure timely, quality, and continuous RMH services. The engagement of an institution is critical to assess the Maternal Health Facility Readiness by identifying the locations of local public-private maternal health facilities and validating their service readiness and maternal care gaps, in alignment with project objectives and UNFPA-supported health systems strengthening efforts.

2. Objective

   The primary objective is to strengthen the maternal health service delivery network (SDN), building a functional, integrated, and accountable public and private network of providers across different levels of care. Specifically, the objectives include:

   • Geographic inventory: Identify the exact geographic locations and distribution of all public and private maternal health facilities in San Pablo City, along with the Laguna Medical Center, Sta. Cruz.
   • Facility readiness assessment: Assess the readiness and service capabilities of mapped facilities against national and international standards, UHC reforms, and PhilHealth accreditation requirements through self-assessment and validation.
   • Facility improvement plan and HCPN arrangement strategy: Develop actionable facility improvement plans and a public-private HCPN arrangement strategy to support a functional, integrated, and accountable maternal health service delivery network.
3. Scope of Work

   Under the technical guidance and supervision of PSRP, the contracted institution is expected to carry out the following:

   • Public-Private Facility Mapping: A complete inventory of private and public facilities (lying-in centers, birthing homes, and hospitals) in San Pablo City and Santa Cruz.
   • Tool Development and Validation: Develop and validate the Maternal Health Facility Readiness Self-Assessment Tool through literature review, stakeholder consultations, expert validation, and pilot testing.
   • Facility Readiness Assessment and Community Feedback: Orient facilities on the self-assessment process, support completion of the assessment, and conduct community consultations with women and adolescent clients to identify root causes of gaps across the continuum of care.
   • Validation and Facility Improvement Planning: Validate findings through facility verification and stakeholder discussions, confirm priority gaps, and develop facility-specific improvement plans alongside a public-private HCPN arrangement strategy.
   • Draft Report: Consolidate and analyze assessment and validation results; prepare facility-level and aggregate reports documenting key findings, readiness scores, service gaps, and recommended improvement actions.
   • Stakeholder Validation: Present draft findings to key stakeholders, gather feedback, and refine recommendations to ensure accuracy, relevance, and stakeholder ownership.
   • Final Report and Dissemination: Finalize the assessment report, improvement plan, and HCPN strategy, and disseminate findings to relevant stakeholders.
4. Tasks and Activities

   Tasks and Activities	Timeline
   1. Public and Private Facility Mapping
   Mapping of public and private maternal health facilities	June 2026
   Create a public and private facility directory
   2. Development and Validation of the Maternal Health Facility Readiness Self-Assessment Tool
   Conduct literature review of national and global standards; develop concept note and tools	June – July 2026
   Submit inception report with Facility Readiness Assessment Tool, KII, and FGD questionnaires
   Inception meeting with PSRP, UNFPA, Laguna Health Team, LGU of San Pablo City, and Laguna Medical Center
   Pilot test the self-assessment tool, KII, and FGD questionnaires in selected facilities
   Finalize the validated self-assessment tool, KII, and FGD questionnaires
   3. Implementation of Facility Self-Assessments and Community Consultations
   Orient facility staff on the tool process; support facilities to complete the self-assessment across all domains	June – July 2026
   Generate a facility readiness scorecard with domain scores and overall rating
   Conduct community consultations with women and girls clients
   4. Development of Facility Improvement Plans and HCPN Arrangement Strategy
   Validate self-assessment scorecards through facility visit or verification	July 2026
   Develop a facility improvement plan with activities, responsible persons, timelines, and resource needs
   Develop a Public and Private HCPN Arrangement Strategy for referral and counter-referral pathways
   5. Submit Draft Report
   Compile and analyze self-assessment, community feedback, and validation results	July 2026
   Generate facility-level report including readiness scores, strengths, gaps, improvement plan, and HCPN strategy
   Prepare summary findings for district and provincial analysis
   6. Stakeholder Validation
   Present draft findings to key stakeholders	August 2026
   Obtain feedback and validate results
   Refine findings and improvement priorities based on feedback
   7. Submit Final Report and Dissemination
   Finalize report with validated findings, improvement plan, and HCPN strategy	August 2026
   Disseminate the report to key stakeholders
   Use findings to inform decision-making, resource allocation, and monitoring

5. Target Stakeholders

   The key stakeholders involved and targeted in this initiative include:

   • Local Government Units (LGUs) and City/Municipal Health Offices;
   • Health service providers from public and private facilities such as barangay health stations, rural health units, lying-in centers, birthing homes, and hospitals; and
   • Women clients from selected barangays within the City of San Pablo.
6. Payment and Compensation

   Payment shall be made in tranches tied to the delivery and acceptance of agreed milestones. The total contract amount shall be determined through competitive bidding and awarded to the most qualified and cost-effective bidder.

7. Reporting and Supervision

   The Contracted Institution shall:

   • Designate a primary point of contact who shall report directly to the PSRP Project Lead for all technical, administrative, and financial matters related to this engagement; and
   • Coordinate closely with the PSRP Maternal Health Coordinator, Field Coordinator, and IT Specialist, as well as local government and health facility counterparts, throughout implementation; and submit all required deliverables in accordance with the agreed workplan and reporting schedule.
8. Timeline

   The Contracted Institution shall be engaged from June 20 to August 31, 2026.

9. Qualifications

   The institution is expected to deploy a multi-disciplinary team with expertise in maternal health, health systems strengthening, health facility assessments, and stakeholder engagement. The team should possess the following qualifications:

   • Proven experience in maternal health, RMNCAH, health systems strengthening, and service delivery network initiatives.
   • Demonstrated expertise in the design, development, validation, implementation, and analysis of health facility readiness or service capability assessments at national and sub-national levels.
   • Experience in developing assessment tools, conducting facility mapping, gap analyses, quality improvement planning, and validation processes with health facilities and stakeholders.
   • Proven experience in mixed-methods research, including facility assessments, key informant interviews, stakeholder consultations, community feedback collection, and data analysis.
   • Established networks and working relationships with LGUs, provincial and municipal health offices, public and private health facilities, preferably within Laguna Province.
   • Proven track record in delivering actionable outputs, strategic recommendations, and research products for government agencies, development partners, and international organizations.
   • Strong project management, coordination, communication, and stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to manage multiple activities and deliver outputs within agreed timelines.
   • Excellent technical writing, report preparation, presentation, and documentation skills.