REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP): Reflective Reports on the First Delivery of the Qanuippitaa? National Inuit Health Survey in Nunatsiavut and Nunavut

1. Organizational Background

Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) is a federally incorporated registered charitable organization representing and promoting the interests of 70,000 Inuit in Canada on a wide variety of environmental, social, cultural, and political issues and challenges on the national level. The majority of Inuit reside in these four regions collectively known as Inuit Nunangat: the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (Northwest Territories), Nunavut, Nunavik (Northern Québec), and Nunatsiavut (Northern Labrador). Inuit Nunangat includes 51 communities and encompasses roughly 40 percent of Canada’s land area and 72 percent of its coastline.

ITK is governed by a Board of Directors that is composed of the following voting members:

• Chair and CEO, Inuvialuit Regional Corporation
• President, Makivvik Corporation
• President, Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated
• President, Nunatsiavut Government

The following non-voting permanent participant representatives also sit on the Board:

• President, Inuit Circumpolar Council Canada
• President, Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada
• President, National Inuit Youth Council

2. Qanuippitaa? National Inuit Health Survey

In September 2019, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami announced the creation of the Qanuippitaa? National Inuit Health Survey (QNIHS). The QNIHS is a permanent health survey, funded by a 2018 federal budget allocation. The survey is designed to build capacity in Inuit communities to develop and collect survey information and to support Inuit self-determination in research. The QNIHS is Inuit-determined and co-created through partnerships based on the values of Inuit self-determination, respect, governance and transparency, as outlined in the National Inuit Strategy on Research.

The Qanuippitaa? National Inuit Health Survey Steering Committee (QNIHSSC), in partnership with Steering Committees in each of the four Inuit regions, is leading all stages of survey development, implementation, and dissemination of results and reporting. The QNIHSSC includes members from the four Inuit regional organizations, as well as ITK, Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada, Inuit Circumpolar Council Canada and the National Inuit Youth Council. The QNIHSSC is a sub-committee of the National Inuit Committee on Health (NICoH), which reports to the ITK Board of Directors. QNIHS Managers in each Inuit region and ITK form the QNIHS Managers Committee and are the primary points of contact for day-to-day work.

The QNIHS includes Inuit of all ages from every community in Inuit Nunangat. The overall objective of the QNIHS is to provide high quality, Inuit-determined and Inuit-owned data to monitor change, identify strengths and gaps and inform decision-making, leading to improved health and wellness among Inuit in Canada. The first round of data collection began in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region in winter and spring of 2022 and will continue in Nunatsiavut, Nunavik, and Nunavut in 2023.

3. Learning from the first round of the QNIHS

The QNIHS Managers Committee employs monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) practices to allow for continuous learning, self-reflection, and innovation as the program progresses. During the first round of data collection in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (ISR), a consultant was employed to work with the QNIHS team in the ISR to monitor and learn from the first survey delivery. The main purpose of the work was to gather lessons into a Reflective Report that could be used to inform future survey deliveries in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region and in other regions across Inuit Nunangat.

The ISR Reflective Report is now complete and has been a very useful tool for survey planning in the other three regions of Inuit Nunangat. The QNIHS Managers Committee would like to take a similar approach to learning from the first round of data collection in Nunatsiavut, Nunavut, and Nunavik. Data collection began in Nunatsiavut in October 2022 and will continue into the Spring of 2023. Data collection in Nunavut and Nunavik will begin in Fall 2023 and will continue into 2024. ITK is seeking a consultant to work with the QNIHS teams from the Nunatsiavut Government (NG) and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI) to develop reflective reports on the first survey delivery in Nunatsiavut and Nunavut. In Nunavik, the Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services (NRBHSS) will be developing a reflective report internally.

The work will be highly participatory, where the consultant will engage QNIHS staff from Nunatsiavut and Nunavut as well as the QNIHS Managers Committee in developing the key questions for the reflective reports. The consultant will also collaborate with the QNIHS team to conduct and review findings from interviews with the field teams and develop lessons and recommendations to include in the reflective reports. The approach will need to be adapted to the different survey delivery plans and timelines in Nunatsiavut and Nunavut, where Nunatsiavut data collection will likely be complete well before data collection is complete in Nunavut. The approach will also need to be adapted in response to any changes in regional survey delivery plans.

4. Scope of Work

The successful proponent will be responsible for:

• Reviewing national and regional QNIHS program documents;
• Developing a detailed workplan and key questions in collaboration with regional QNIHS staff and with input from the QNIHS Managers Committee;
• Collecting basic information from field teams in each region about their activities while in the field, such as services provided, staff hours and costs;
• Collaborating with the regional teams to hold reflective/debrief sessions after the fieldworker training and at key points during data collection (by phone/video or in-person if required; the cost of all travel will be covered);
• Interviewing all fieldworkers, where possible, about their experiences after data collection is complete and preparing a summary of interview results;
• Facilitating reflective sessions with the regional teams to review fieldworker interview results, share additional reflections, and identify key lessons and recommendations for future QNIHS deliveries;
• Preparing a short reflective report for each region (approximately 15 to 20 pages each) that provides an overview of each region’s approach as well as key lessons and recommendations.

QNIHS staff from the regions and ITK will be responsible for:

• Meeting regularly with the consultant;
• Providing the consultant with relevant information and documents pertaining to the QNIHS;
• Assisting with the coordination and scheduling of reflective sessions and fieldworker interviews.

4. Summary of Request for Proposals

Through this RFP, we are seeking an experienced consultant who can accomplish the above scope of work. We will assess proposals based on the following criteria (please include in your proposal):

• Qualifications of the applicant and examples of similar work, including experience working in Inuit Nunangat
• Project description, outlining a sound, comprehensive approach that covers tasks outlined in section 3 (Scope of Work)
• Budget and budget justification that fit with the project description.

We anticipate that the work required for this project will start in May 2023 and continue to December 31, 2024.

*Companies that are owned, managed or otherwise represented by a beneficiary under an Inuit Nunangat land claims agreement will be given priority consideration. We encourage all applicants to self-identify.

Budget: $100,000, plus all travel costs and any applicable taxes

Submission Deadline: May 31^st, 2023

Contact: Naluturuk Rowan-Weetaluktuk at [email protected]