Invitation to tender: Collaborative review of support for babies and their families across South Africa
Summary
We are seeking proposals from South African-based organisations with expertise in participatory research methods to produce a collaborative research project on current support systems for babies, parents, and carers in South Africa. Up to 3.389.000 ZA (£150.000 GBP)is available for this work, which must be completed within 12 months of commissioning.
The successful organisations will help us by answering three key questions:
What are the current experiences of babies, parents, and carers across South Africa during the 1001 critical days? (This includes other similar projects or research on the ground that have looked into the lived experiences of parents and carers)
What do parents and caregivers in South Africa say they need to help them in giving their babies the best start in life?
How can services and support be designed to better meet the needs of babies across South Africa?
We are commissioning new fieldwork to answer these questions - gathering fresh evidence directly from families, parents, carers, and those who work with them across South Africa. This new evidence will be the heart of the work. Where relevant, it should be contextualised against existing research, reports, and data from organisations, research centres, and universities already working in this space.
The goal is a rigorous and accessible piece that brings new and existing evidence together, amplifying the voices and experiences of babies, parents, and carers to better inform how families can be supported during the critical first 1001 days.
Proposals should include a detailed methodology, estimated costs, completion timelines, and relevant experience.
To be eligible for funding, organisations must be based in South Africa, be registered as a charity or non‑profit organisation for at least three years, and have a minimum of three years of audited financial accounts.
Background: The unique importance of the 1001 critical days
We know that the 1001 days – from pregnancy up to age two – is a critical time of development. This is a time of rapid growth, when the foundations for social, emotional, and cognitive development are laid. The science is clear and universal: these early experiences shape lifelong health and wellbeing for every child, everywhere.
During this crucial period, parents and caregivers may seek comprehensive and coordinated support across multiple areas of their baby's development and their own wellbeing. Families in South Africa face particular challenges and contexts that shape their experiences of pregnancy, birth, and early parenthood, shaped by the rural and urban distribution of the country’s population and by parents returning to work after birth. In South Africa, early childhood development (ECD) policy and programming often focus on children aged three to five years. While this is important, there is a risk that the voices and experiences of babies from pregnancy to age two are less well heard. This gap means that the voices and priorities of parents and carers during the earliest, most formative period may not be represented in policy and service design.
We have met with colleagues across South Africa, including practitioners, organisations, academics, and politicians. We have heard that it would be helpful to understand what practitioners and families are already doing well, what support is currently working for them, and what additional resources would most empower them to nurture their babies' development. This work would contribute to the continuous improvement of the support that parents and carers access in the first 1001 days of their baby’s life. To support this, we are making funding available to listen directly to parents, caregivers and early years’ practitioners, which would help identify both the strengths they bring and the barriers they face, ensuring that services truly meet their needs and aspirations for giving their babies the best start in life.
About us: The 1001 Critical Days Foundation is determined that every baby should experience the best start in life.
We are determined that every baby should experience the best start in life. We achieve this by funding frontline charities that deliver support through community settings, commissioning pioneering research, and advocating globally to promote the importance of the 1001 critical days.
Our international work is built on collaboration and mutual learning. We partner with policymakers, practitioners, and support services worldwide to exchange insights and best practices, drawing on our team's combined century of experience across public policy, early development, clinical care, and research. We are currently developing partnerships with three countries that are committed to improving outcomes for babies: Norway, the United Arab Emirates, and South Africa. In these partnerships, we aim to learn from local expertise and contexts while sharing relevant insights from our experience, always adapting approaches to fit each country's unique cultural, social, and policy landscape.
A cornerstone of our global work is bringing together 1001 cross-party parliamentarians from across the world who share a commitment to the 1001 critical days, united by our 1001 Critical Days Declaration. Additionally, we are proud to have acquired the International Journal of Birth and Parent Education, creating a global platform for practitioners to share knowledge and translate research into practice across diverse contexts.This invitation to tender is part of our growing pipeline of research that will make a meaningful difference to the lives of babies in South Africa and share the lessons learned here with the rest of the world.
This research: Understanding what families need to take better care of their babies.
We are inviting proposals from researchers with expertise in participatory research methods, early childhood development, and the South African context to conduct a comprehensive co- production research project.
This research must centre the voices, experiences, and priorities of parents, carers, and practitioners across South Africa. We would value a partnership approach from organisations that can bring together:
• Parents and caregivers as equal partners in shaping and conducting the research
• Frontline practitioners who work directly with families during the 1001 critical days
• Academic rigour and methodological expertise
For this purpose, we highly encourage partnership applications with organisations that have expertise in both an academic space and on the ground, providing frontline services. We are passionate about ensuring that all our research can be used to have the greatest impact for babies and their families. Therefore, we are looking for applicants to secure the support of at least one South African Member of Parliament, to help turn the insights from this research into policy change.
Research Questions
Through this work, we are seeking to answer:
1. What are the current experiences of parents and caregivers during the 1001 critical days?
We want to understand what is working well for families during this critical period, including the type of support they value, the strengths they bring to parenting, and what resources are making a positive difference in their lives. Building on this foundation of existing strengths and successful practices, we also want to identify where gaps remain and what additional support would be most valuable.
We want to understand the lived experiences of parents across:
• Antenatal and perinatal mental health: What mental health support is available during pregnancy and after birth? How do families experience this support? What barriers prevent access?
• Antenatal medical health: How do women access and experience care during pregnancy? What challenges do they face in receiving consistent, quality medical support during pregnancy?
• Attachment and bonding: What support exists to help parents and babies form secure attachments? How do families understand and experience bonding with their babies?
• Feeding and breastfeeding support: What help is available for infant feeding decisions and breastfeeding? How accessible and culturally appropriate is this support?
• Access to services: What are the key barriers (geographical, financial, cultural, systemic) that prevent families from accessing the support they need?
2. What do parents and caregivers in South Africa say they need to give their babies the best start in life?
We recognise that parents and caregivers are the experts in their own families' needs and already possess valuable knowledge, skills, and resilience in nurturing their babies. Building on what families are already doing well and the informal support networks that sustain them, we want to hear directly from parents and caregivers about:
• What support would make the most meaningful difference to their lives?
• What gaps exist in current services?
• What models of support would work best in their communities?
• What priorities do families themselves identify for the 1001 critical days?
3. How can services and support be designed to better meet the needs of families in South Africa?
We want to identify and learn from what is already working well – the effective practices, successful community initiatives, and innovative approaches that are making a positive difference for families during the 1001 critical days. Understanding these strengths and successes will help us develop recommendations grounded in families' own insights about:
• How services could be more accessible, culturally responsive, and family-centred
• What examples of effective practice already exist in South Africa
• What innovative approaches could address current gaps
• How could different sectors (health, social care, community organisations) work together more effectively
Methodology Requirements
- Mixed Methods
The research must employ mixed methods to ensure a comprehensive understanding and a broad reach:
• Quantitative methods should include surveys and in-person interviews conducted in communities, health facilities, and early childhood centres to reach families who cannot access online platforms.• Qualitative methods should include In-depth interviews with parents and caregivers; focus groups with families, practitioners, and community members; and case studies that illustrate individual experiences and journeys through the 1001 critical days.
- Integration of Multiple Voices
The research should synthesise and present the voices of parents and caregivers through direct quotes, stories, and insights that convey lived experiences. As well as the perspectives of practitioners and professionals who have worked in the early years space, and the views of academic researchers. We would also value case examples in the form of detailed stories that illustrate both challenges and good practices.
We would like the research to come up with a representative methodology sample, so it includes multi-province voices from both urban and rural settings, as well as family types (single parents, multigenerational households, etc.), and socioeconomic backgrounds. This to sample enough parents, caregivers and ECD professionals to represent the whole country.
− Ethical Research Approach
The approach to engaging parents, caregivers, practitioners, and communities must be grounded in strong ethical principles. For example:
- Safeguarding: Ensuring robust safeguarding protocols are in place to protect participants, particularly when discussing sensitive topics related to pregnancy, birth, mental health, and early parenting experiences.
- Compassionate engagement: Recognising that some parents and carers may have experienced distressing care or challenging circumstances during the 1001 critical days. Research approaches must be trauma-informed, with careful consideration given to how participants are recruited, supported during participation, and signposted to appropriate support services if needed.
- Respectful collaboration: Working in partnership with local communities, honouring diverse cultural contexts, languages, beliefs, and practices around pregnancy, birth, and early parenting. Research methods should be adapted appropriately, and researchers should collaborate closely with communities to ensure the research is conducted in ways that respect local values and knowledge systems.
- Informed consent and dignity: Ensuring all participants fully understand the research purpose, how their voices will be used, and their right to withdraw. All engagement should uphold the dignity and agency of participants, particularly parents and caregivers, whose experiences are at the heart of this research.
Practical information
Budget
Up to 3.389.000 ZAR (£150.000 GBP) is available for this research, inclusive of all associated costs (e.g., staff time, overheads, travel, dissemination activities).
Timeline
The project must be completed within 12 months of commissioning.
Outputs required
We expect the following deliverables:
• By month 3 of commissioning the research: A comprehensive summary of the services available for parents and carers, as well as the political landscape. This should include a summary of the projects and research available about
the current support and services landscape.
• By month 6 of commissioning the research: First findings based on the primary research with parents, carers and practitioners on the current support systems and services for parents and carers during the first 1001 critical days.
• By month 12 of commissioning the research:
A final systematic review report (including executive summary and references)
A summary briefing paper (max 2,000 words) for a non-academic audience
A presentation of findings at our annual conference
Optional: a peer-reviewed publication
We may invite you to share your findings as part of the International Journal of Birth and Parent Education, a journal that translates research and supports practitioners to support parents in the 1001 critical days.
Application process
• Application window opens on the 13th of March 2026
• Application window closes 29th of May 2026. - We are going to host an online Webinar for Q&A on the 22nd of April at 4PM.
• Applications reviewed from the 29th of May till the 19th of June 2026.
• Interviews to take place from the 19th of June till the 13th of July 2026.
• Applicants notified of outcome by August 2026.
• We will assess applications based on:
Quality – depth of understanding of the topic, expertise of relevant methodology, rigorous approach, skills and experience of the individual or team.
Price – detailed breakdown of anticipated costs, anticipated value for money, and the balance of seniority of roles in relation to the proposed work.
Timelines – projects that can be delivered to a high quality within a quicker timeframe will be rated more highly. Shortlisted applicants may be invited for a meeting before a final decision is made.
• We anticipate that all applicants will be informed of the outcome by June 26th of 2026.
Applications will be submitted via our online applications' portal here:
https://app.plinth.org.uk/application/GlcUZtfK4pAzpHcN0bQ2?fundId=zeBcdLTwKoKGQSacPQxa