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WHO CENTRE FOR HEALTH DEVELOPMENT, I.H.D. CENTRE BUILDING 9F, 1-5-1 WAKINOHAMA-KAIGANDORI, CHUO-KU, 651-0073
KOBE JAPAN – TEL CENTRAL +81 78 230 3100 – FAX CENTRAL +81 78 230 3178 – WWW .WHO.INT/KOBE_CENTRE/
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS:
Piloting the Age-Friendly City Indicator Guide
The World Health Organization Centre for Health Development is requesting proposals for the
piloting of a new guide on core indicators of Age-friendly Cities.
Project title:
Piloting the Age-Friendly City Indicator Guide
Responsible Officer:
Megumi Kano
Deadline for submission: 31 October, 2014
1.
BACKGROUND
1.1
ABOUT THE WHO CENTRE FOR HEALTH DEVELOPMENT (WHO KOBE CENTRE)
As an integral part of the Geneva-based Secretariat of the World Health Organization (WHO), the WHO Centre for
Health Development in Kobe, Japan (also known as the WHO Kobe Centre, or WKC) has been conducting research on
the health consequences of social, economic, environmental and technological change and their implications for health
policies since 1996. This research strengthens WHO’s capacity to address priority global health issues that require
coordinated action across multiple disciplines and sectors of society. In recent years, the Centre has been focusing on
improving health equity in urban settings, developing urban health metrics, and encouraging innovations for ageing
populations.
1.2
INTRODUCTION
As the global demographic trends of urbanization and population ageing progress, the number of older people in urban
environments will continue to grow rapidly. By 2050, 70% of the world’s population is expected to live in urban areas.
The proportion of people over the age of 60, globally, is expected to nearly double from 11.7% in 2013 to 21.1% in 2050.
Much of this growth in both urban and older populations is increasingly occurring in low- and middle-income countries.
Given the converging pressures of population ageing and urbanization, there is a need to be strategic and thoughtful
about creating an urban environment which enables all people to maintain their levels of health, functioning, and
engagement with society as they grow older. In particular, both the physical and social dimensions of the urban
environment need to be considered to promote older adults’ participation in society, health, and wellbeing. This
includes particular attention to ensuring equity in access to essential health and social services.
1.3
ABOUT THE CENTRE’S WORK ON AGE-FRIENDLY CITY INDICATORS
In 2007, WHO published “Global Age-Friendly Cities: A Guide”, which was based on qualitative research on the
experiences and perspectives of older people, care givers, and service providers, conducted in 33 cities across the world.
It provided guidance on key domains of urban life in which interventions could potentially improve opportunities for
health, participation, and security, in order that quality of life and dignity are ensured as people age. This was the first
major effort by the WHO to make cities more “age friendly”. In 2010, WHO established the Global Network of AgeFriendly Cities and Communities (GNAFCC) to facilitate the exchange of information, best practices, and experiences on
making cities and communities more age friendly.
Piloting the Age-friendly City Indicator Guide
To date, no specific guidance has been developed by WHO on the use of indicators to monitor progress and measure
the outcomes of action on the age-friendliness of cities, or their impact on the wellbeing of older people. In 2012, the
WHO Kobe Centre, in consultation with the WHO Department of Ageing and Life Course (also the Secretariat of
GNAFCC), initiated a project to develop core indicators for measuring the age-friendliness of cities.
Since then, a set of core and supplementary indicators have been developed through desktop research, two expert
consultations, a preliminary survey on the draft core indicators, and extensive peer review. These are explained in a
new publication under development by WHO Kobe Centre, “Measuring the Age-friendliness of Cities: A Guide to Using
Core Indicators”. This Request for Proposals seeks to identify communities from around the world willing to participate
in a pilot test of this new Guide.
2.
TERMS OF REFERENCE
2.1
SCOPE OF WORK
Entities participating in the pilot study are expected to:
 review the Guide (to be provided by the WHO Kobe Centre in English, French, Spanish or Chinese) and report
data on the indicators provided in the Guide for their local community. They are strongly encouraged to use
the indicator definitions in the Guide, utilize existing data, and report on both the core and supplementary
indicators in the Guide, as well as other locally identified indicators not included in the Guide. At minimum,
they are required to report on the indicators for which they have existing data. They will have the option to
use alternative definitions for the indicators and to conduct surveys to collect data at their own discretion.
 provide background information on their local context, including local activities to create age-friendly
environments
 describe their process of piloting the Guide, including key stakeholders, data collection methods, challenges
and successes
 offer feedback on the overall usefulness of the Guide; and
 suggest additional resources and information for possible inclusion in the Guide.
The information above must be prepared and submitted in the form of a written report. Additional supporting
documents may be submitted. A report template will be provided. The report must be written in, or translated into,
English. Thus, applicants are strongly encouraged to include someone on the project team who can prepare the report
in English. The use of tables, figures, and photos/images are encouraged to complement the narrative text, as
appropriate. The WHO Style Guide, to be provided by the WHO Kobe Centre, is the recommended format for the
report. Progress reports and earlier drafts of the report must also be submitted in English according to a set timeline
(see Section 2.3 below) in order for WHO Kobe Centre to monitor progress and provide feedback.
After completion of the pilot study, the WHO Kobe Centre is planning to invite a representative of the pilot site to
participate in a face-to-face meeting of all participating communities for an opportunity to exchange experiences and
perspectives, and to contribute to the finalization of the Guide (details of the meeting to be confirmed). Participation in
this meeting will be optional.
2.2
OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this pilot test are two-fold: 1) to collect seminal data on the core indicators, globally; and 2) to gather
inputs for improving the Guide from a user’s perspective.
2.3
DELIVERABLES & TIMELINE
The lead individual or entity representing the participating community will enter a contractual Agreement for
Performance of Work (APW) with the WHO Kobe Centre to produce the following deliverables according to the timeline
below, within the aforementioned Scope of Work.
1.
First draft report
1 February, 2015
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Request for Proposals
Piloting the Age-friendly City Indicator Guide
2.
3.
Second draft report
Final report
1 March, 2015
31 March, 2015
All of the above deliverables must be submitted in English. Each deliverable will be reviewed by WHO. The contractual
partners will be required to respond to their comments and take them into account in preparing subsequent drafts and
the final report. All correspondence, including e-mails, with WHO must also be in English.
2.4
PAYMENT SCHEDULE
The total budget allocated for each pilot site is US$ 5,000. While applicants are strongly encouraged to include
someone on the project team who can prepare the report in English, an additional US$ 1,000 will be provided to sites
that require professional translation of the report from their local language into English.
1) There will be no initial payment against receipt of counter-signed contract.
2) An initial payment of US$ 2,000 (40% of total) will be made against the satisfactory submission of the first draft
report due on 1 February, 2015. Only for those sites needing to translate their report into English (including
drafts), an additional payment of US$ 1,000 will be made at the same time.
3) A second and final payment of US$ 3,000 (60% of total) will be made against the satisfactory submission of the
final report due on 31 March, 2015.
2.5
COPYRIGHT
WHO will retain copyright to the submitted report.
3.
SUBMISSION OF PROPOSAL
3.1
PROPOSAL FORMAT
The proposal must be prepared in English as an electronic document and include:
1. Cover letter which expresses interest in the pilot study, articulates how it can benefit the local community, and
also identifies the individual authorized to commit to a contract.
2. Concept note (1-2 pages)
 Brief background information about the community and its suitability as a pilot site.
 Details of the individuals who will carry out the project (institutional affiliation, relevant experiences and
skills). Attach resumes/CVs of key personnel.
 Project proposal including the expected timeline and activities, key partners to be engaged, existing data
sources and other resources that can be mobilized for the project.
 Include expected limitations of the proposal, specifically the things that may not be accomplished and
why.
 Include, as applicable, comments on the scope of work and timeline described in this RFP.
3. Budget estimate in US Dollars including a breakdown of how the budget of US$ 5,000 will be used. For staff
cost, the cost per unit (e.g. per person per day) should be indicated. The need for the extra budget (US$ 1,000)
for translating the documents for submission should be clearly justified.
Please send the proposal package with all relevant file attachments by e-mail, with the subject heading “Piloting the
AFC Indicator Guide”) to:
Megumi Kano
WHO Centre for Health Development (WKC)
Technical Officer, Urban Health
Email address: Kanom@who.int
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Request for Proposals
Piloting the Age-friendly City Indicator Guide
Proposals must be received at the above e-mail address by 31 October 2014, 24:00 (GMT). Any proposal received after
this date or sent to another address will not be considered. All proposal documents shall become the property of WHO
and will not be returned.
3.2
EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS
A total of 12 sites will be selected from around the world. The selection will be based on an evaluation of the proposals
against the following key criteria:
1. Overall quality of response (e.g. adherence to instructions, clarity of information)
2. Applicant qualification (e.g. skills, experience, credentials of affiliated organizations)
3. Quality of the concept paper (e.g. feasible, strategic, likely to produce expected outcomes, quality of writing)
4. Proposed budget
Priority will be given to communities in urban settings, and to applicants who will be working in a team or partnership
that includes multiple disciplines (e.g. going beyond public health) and sectors of society (e.g. government bodies, civil
society groups, academia). In addition, consideration will be given to select a diverse set of communities in terms of
their geographical location/cultural context, population size, level of progress/achievements in creating age-friendly
environments, and the stakeholders involved in the project. Information other than that provided by the applicant may
be used in the evaluation, including publicly available information and inputs received from the WHO Secretariat of the
Global Network of Age-friendly Cities and Communities and its regional counterparts. WKC is not obliged to disclose
such information.
3.3
SELECTION NOTIFICATION
Selection results will be notified by 30 November, 2014. WKC will not necessarily acknowledge the receipt of all
proposals or explain its decisions.
3.4
INQUIRIES
Any inquiries regarding this RFP should be referred to Megumi Kano, Technical Officer, Urban Health, WHO Kobe
Centre, by e-mail to Kanom@who.int.
3.5
CONFIDENTIALITY
All information contained in the RFP is confidential and considered to be the exclusive property of WHO. Recipients of
this RFP are not to disclose any information contained within this RFP unless such information is publicly available. This
RFP is provided for the sole purpose of enabling the interested parties to develop a response.
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Request for Proposals