Re-advertisement: Consultancy to Facilitate the Engagement of People With Mental Health Lived Experience in the Mental Health Data Prize at African Population And Health Research Center (APHRC)

Scope of Work

• In collaboration with APHRC’s MHDP-Africa project team, the consultant is expected to develop a strategy and conceptual framework for engaging people with lived experience (PLE) in the MHDP – Africa project.
• Identify the mental health lived experience expertise required for assessing applications and report on needs assessment.
• In collaboration with APHRC MHDP-Africa project team, prepare a training manual and facilitate workshops with lived experience team members to generate insights and perspectives to inform project development and implementation.
• Support mental health lived experience team members of the MHDP-Africa project grantees to deliver presentations focusing on their unique perspectives that complement data-driven analyses.
• Collaborate with the MHDP-Africa project team to develop a Monitoring and Evaluation (M &E) logical frameworks (e.g use OECD, WHO, USAID and Measure Evaluation resources) to monitor and evaluate the engagement of PLE in MHDP – Africa. The framework should clearly define key indicators and metrics to measure the effectiveness and impact of PLE involvement throughout the project lifecycle.
• Prepare a write-up or whitepaper on good practices for engaging PLE based on available global evidence or APHRC MHDP-Africa project experiences that can be made publicly available through APHRC or related blog platforms (in French/English/Arabic).
• In collaboration with APHRC MHDP-Africa project team, conduct at least two media interviews through national and international media/platforms on engaging PLEs. The purpose of media engagements is to highlight the successes/impact and challenges of PLE involvement in the MHDP-Africa project to inspire broader engagement and support.
• Engage each prize participant to position expectations around PLE including their involvement.
• Participate in regular project meetings and update progress and inform the mechanisms to monitor ongoing feedback from PLE throughout the project lifecycle; to address cultural nuances for a more inclusive and responsive process.
• Collaborating with country-specific researchers to increase LE community engagement and participation in the study.
• In collaboration with APHRC MHDP-Africa project team, design ways to develop a community of practices and or a peer support group or network for the PWLEs to facilitate connections within the PLE group for sharing learnings amongst themselves.
• Facilitate data use and evidence generation from LE perspectives with the goals of improving mental health interventions, policy formulation, and service delivery in the African region. These include promotion of inclusion of LE perspectives, monitoring how their views and perspectives are included among selected prize winners and etc.
• Ensure involvement and inclusion of PLE within projects team diversity/composition.
• Outline and ensure ethical consideration for engaging PLE in the prize applications.
• Submit bi-weekly project progress report to the project manager.

Deliverables

• Develop a strategic plan and conceptual framework.
• Framing of lived experience involvement in mental health data prize – Africa application process.
• Identifying the expertise required for assessing applications.
• Develop a monitoring and evaluation framework for PLE involvement.
• Conduct and prepare a report on the need’s assessment for PLEs.
• Developing criteria for assessing LE expectations.
• Prepare the training manual and cascade training.
• Create training to support LE team members
• Upskilling LE team members
• Prepare and submit a report
• Lead communication around LE involvement.
• Final pitch event.
• Support LE team members to deliver presentations focusing on their unique perspective that complements data-driven analyses; insights gained, and the impact of those experiences on the project or product being showcased at the final conference.

Timeframe

This will be a 12-month’s contract which will commence in January, 2025 and conclude by December, 2025.