Consultancy to Develop a Digital Mental Health Game for the Treatment of Common Perinatal Mental Disorders in Adolescent Refugee Mothers at HIAS Refugee Trust of Kenya

TERMS OF REFERENCE

HIAS Refugee Trust of Kenya (“HIAS”) seeks the services of a competent and professional software development expert/firm to work as a consultant to design, develop, and refine a scalable Android based mobile application which creates a digital mental health game for treating common perinatal mental health disorders (CPMDs) in refugee adolescent girls in Kenya. The digital mental health game will combine evidence-based approaches for treating CPMDs with the acquisition of core skills that adolescent girls need as they navigate adolescence and transition into adulthood and motherhood, using a format that has a natural appeal to adolescent girls. This TOR will be terminated, superseded and replaced in its entirety by a consulting agreement fully executed by HIAS and its chosen software developer.

NO JOINT VENTURE OR PARTNERSHIP

The software developer consultant (the “Consultant”) and its employees, affiliates, agents or subcontractors, are not employees of HIAS, but independent contractors. No provision of this TOR, nor any course of dealing between HIAS and the Consultant, will be construed or implied to create the relationship of joint ventures, partners, principal-agent or employer-employee.

OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROJECT

Specific objectives:

• Accountability and Information Sharing: Project staff will be able to track how the target population engages with the programme and measure the user acceptability and outcome of the intervention through in-game behavior e.g., number and frequency of log-ins, activities undertaken, progress on challenges, frequency and quality of contact with mentors, and a questionnaire on acceptability post-intervention.
• Efficiency: Access to data will increase engagement, helping the target population manage CPMDs more effectively and efficiently to achieve greater impact on treating CPMDs.
• Trust Building: Accessibility to information, accountability and transparency help create interventions that are based on trust. Through utilization of the App, all aforesaid benefits attributed to digital games used in the treatment of CPMDs will be realized and the target population’s trust in HIAS with respect to the methodology and expected outcome of the intervention will be enhanced.

OVERVIEW OF PROJECT FEATURES:

The digital game will blend mental health and psychosocial strategies for preventing and addressing CPMDs with activities to build skills needed for the transition to adulthood and motherhood. The Consultant will be responsible for translating this content into a game format that features challenging, motivational and rewarding experiences which increase engagement with the App and improve the App’s scalability and accessibility.

The Consultant, in collaboration with HIAS and the Advisory Committee, will design the game with the following features:

• Screening tool for CPMDs that prompts users to take action to improve their well-being and links them to a counsellor in case of severe depression or high suicide risk;
• Exercises and challenges shown to be effective in treating CPMDs;
• Exercises and challenges that increase protective factors for CPMDs;
• Exercises and challenges that build skills and assets needed for adolescent girls to transition to adulthood; and
• Tracking of users’ experiences to measure feasibility and acceptability of the digital game.
• The game will be supplemented by a peer mentor who provides support online, by mobile and in person.

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR DEVELOPING THE DIGITAL GAME:

In addition to the project features mentioned above in Section E, the following features are also required in the App:

• Simplicity for the User: Convenient user interface/user friendly interface and simplicity.
• Mobile Apps: Native mobile Apps for Android platforms are required.
• Administration Panel: A web admin panel/Content Management System to enable HIAS staff to upload, update and tag new content.
• Application’s Interface: Designed for English speakers with possibility of being expanded to other languages.
• Good Performance/Loading Speed: Speed of loading mustn't keep users waiting.
• Offline Access: Once data has been downloaded, the information must be available to the user offline afterwards.
• Feedback: It must be open to everyone and engage users into mutual communication. Users should be able to leave suggestions, rates, and reviews.
• Technologies: Bidder must provide details of tools and technologies to be used and why the chosen combination is best suited for the said project. Any cloud based (backend DB, administrative portal etc.) portion of the solution must be hosted by HIAS’s Azure platform. The bidder must consider platform, security and usability while proposing a solution.
• Execution Plan & Deliverables: The bidder must provide project proposals (as explained further below) detailing its understanding of this TOR.
• Support: The bidder must provide support for the duration of the project.
• Intellectual Property: All information and assets related to the digital game will be the property of HIAS. Copyright ownership of the digital game by HIAS must be part of the design. For more information about HIAS’s intellectual property rights, see Section I.

The bidder must submit both the technical and financial proposals as a single document for the project. The technical proposal must cover all important aspects of the solution and the financial proposal should cover development and support costs.

These details can be further refined, modified, and amended when the Consultant and HIAS discuss the technical and financial aspects of the App development.

EXPECTED OBLIGATIONS, DELIVERABLES AND OUTPUTS BY THE CONSULTANT:

• Deliverable 1: An inception report for input by HIAS staff;
• Deliverable 2: Detailed design submitted for review and approval to the HIAS App Development Task Team followed by an update based on feedback;
• Deliverable 3: Alpha version of the App focusing on key features;
• Deliverable 4: Full implementation and delivery of the features and design of the App (Beta version);
• Deliverable 5: Finalization, including final quality testing and approval;
• Deliverable 6: Support for the Application process and launch of the App in various digital stores (i.e. Apple App Store) for the targeted beneficiaries to download and use;
• Deliverable 7: Ongoing maintenance for the App, during the last three (3) months of the consulting contract;
• Deliverable 8: A training manual to guide use of the App; and
• Deliverable 9: All software codes for the App in a softcopy format.

INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENT

The Consultant will report directly to a HIAS App Development Task Team, which will be made up of the Principal Investigator, Project Manager, MHPSS Coordinator, Resilience Building Manager, M&E Officer, HIAS Kenya Head of Programs, HIAS Kenya Country Director and HIAS-HQ based Chief Information Officer. The Consultant will continually interact with the team throughout the stages of developing the App.

OWNERSHIP OF ALL MATERIAL PRODUCED

Any deliverable, including the digital game platform and App, which the Consultant develops pursuant to a consulting engagement, including all proprietary rights thereto, is considered “work made for hire,” or the legal equivalent, under Kenya’s intellectual property laws and is referred to as the “Work Product.” HIAS is and shall be the sole, perpetual and exclusive owner of the Work Product and all intellectual property rights contained therein, including all rights in copyright, patents, trademarks and other proprietary rights, and all extensions or continuations of such rights, and other proprietary rights available in all jurisdictions. If, for any reason, the Work Product would not be considered a work made for hire (or the legal equivalent) under applicable law, the Consultant hereby assigns and transfers to HIAS and its successors and assigns the entire present and future rights, title and interest in and to the Work Product, including all copyrights and other proprietary rights existing in the Work Product, and any registrations and copyright applications relating to it. The Consultant will execute, when requested by HIAS, any other lawful documents deemed necessary by HIAS to secure HIAS’s rights in the Work Product.

CONFIDENTIALITY

No confidential information of HIAS will be shared with any prospective bidders for this project until both parties sign HIAS’s Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure Agreement, which will be binding on the bidder and its employees, agents, affiliates and sub-contractors.

EXPECTED DURATION OF THE WORK

It is expected that the Consultant will provide services to HIAS pursuant to a fully executed consulting agreement lasting for a period of up to fourteen (14) months, inclusive of maintenance support to be provided by the Consultant in the final three (3) months of the contract. HIAS and the Consultant shall have the option, upon mutual agreement, to extend the contract if necessary. It is expected that the contract shall commence on or around October 2018 and end no later than December 2019.

LOCATION OF WORK

The Consultant will be based at its usual place of work, whether consisting of a physical office location or through remote access; provided, however, that if the Consultant will be providing services remotely through a residential or non-office location, HIAS reserves the right to inspect said location, during reasonable work hours and upon a mutually agreeable time, to inspect the premises for suitable work condition. The Consultant will be required to travel to HIAS’s Kenya head office and/or to HIAS’s field offices whenever there is a meeting with the HIAS Project Team and the Advisory Committee.

QUALIFICATIONS OF THE CONSULTANT

The Consultant should be a software development company or an independent software developer with a proven record of innovation in the mobile platform and Application field. The Consultant should have a proven record of Applications on the market in Android OS, ideally including Applications designed for low-income users and/or Applications using game features. The Consultant should have or utilize a team of experts that include technology experts, coders, and mobile platform innovation experts. The team leader should have at least 7 years of relevant technology and innovations experience.

In addition to the foregoing, the prospective bidders make the following promises to HIAS:

• All project narratives, proposals, designs, concepts and methodologies created and submitted by the bidder to HIAS are original works;
• The bidder has the requisite authority to bid on this project, including the required permissions, consents and licenses, as applicable; and
• There is no investigation, action or proceeding that is pending or threatened against the bidder, and the bidder has not received written notice of the same.

HIAS may terminate, in its sole discretion, any further business relationship, negotiations or discussions with any bidder that does not comply with the foregoing requirements.

As part of the selection process, software developers who are shortlisted by the HIAS selection team must create and present to the HIAS team a Power Point presentation which demonstrates the software developer’s understanding of this TOR – including the developer’s role, scope of work, expected deliverables and a visual presentation of how the proposed App will work. This will better enable HIAS to select the software developer who best understands what this project must deliver.

SUSPENSION AND DEBARMENT AND OTHER CHECKS

HIAS operates under a strict protocol of refusing business relationships with organizations and people who have been prohibited from receiving governmental and inter-governmental funding. As a recipient of such funding, HIAS is required to perform a suspension and debarment check on every consultant and third party with whom HIAS engages. HIAS reserves the right to conduct other background and criminal checks, as necessary, to verify prospective bidders for this project. In the event HIAS discovers that a prospective bidder has been suspended or debarred from receiving governmental or inter-governmental funding, HIAS will immediately cease and discontinue any business relationship, negotiations or further discussions with such bidder.