Request for Proposals - Organizational and Social Network Analysis for Connected Leadership in Public Health

Resolve to Save Lives (RTSL) is a global health organization that partners locally and globally to create and scale solutions to the world’s deadliest health threats. Millions of people die from preventable health threats. We collaborate to close the gap between proven, life-saving solutions and the people who need them. Since 2017, we’ve worked with governments and other partners in more than 60 countries to save millions of lives. We work toward a future where people live longer, healthier lives, communities flourish, and economies thrive. This is an ambitious vision, and it inspires us and our partners to make progress every day. 

Resolve to Save Lives (RTSL) is seeking consultancy support as part of its Connected Leadership initiative, which contributes to the broader global effort to strengthen the health emergency workforce. The initiative is aligned with the World Health Organization’s Health Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Resilience (HEPR) framework and supports the operationalization of the Global Health Emergency Corps (GHEC). 

1. Background 

Public health leaders in National Public Health Institutes (NPHIs) and Ministries of Health (MoH)- at the executive and political level - direct the health response to complex, high-stakes emergencies that can impact on all sectors of society. This requires them to coordinate as part of a multi-sector response across levels, sectors, and boundaries. However, much of the focus of health preparedness and response is on single organizations. This hampers multi-sector work and collaboration. Evidence from complex responses shows that adopting a network approach aids multi-sector collaboration and positively impacts response delivery. Building organizational capacity to activate and coordinate public health activities within the multi-sector response eco-system can improve development of public health response.  The aim of the connected leadership initiative is to co-design, prototype and scale approaches that foster connected leadership in countries that enhance preparedness and response in complex public health environments.  

The initiative will be co-designed between RTSL and countries, focus on country requirements and structures, build on existing structures and practices. Tools and solutions developed as part of the initiative must be capable of being deployed and utilised in low resource environments at zero additional cost and must be replicable and sustainable.  

Phased Implementation 

The initiative will focus on identifying and developing emergency management eco-systems at national level and build individual leadership capacity to develop, maintain and collaborate within those systems. The initiative will be implemented in phases. Elements of the phases can run concurrently as necessary:  

Phase 0 |  

Launch and selection of participants: Develop Social Network Analysis (SNA) method. 

Phase 1 |  

Diagnose (Months 1-3): Use SNA map and visualise existing formal and informal response networks, key