A Partner to Evaluate the Little Baby Bundle pilot scheme

Tender description

The Irish Government is looking to commission a mixed methods research evaluation of a pilot scheme for the provision of ‘Little Baby Bundles’ for newborn children, due to be trialed in the Dublin and County Waterford areas between May 2022 and June 2023. The gifting of the Baby Bundle is intended as a welcome from the state to all newborn children and their families, and an acknowledgement of this significant moment in parents’ lives. The expected benefits of the Baby Bundle include: 1) support for parent-infant bonding; 2) providing a source of information for parents on baby development and early learning and play; 3) advice on breastfeeding, safe sleep, and postnatal depression; 4) reduce socio-economic inequalities; and 5) act as a mechanism for encouraging parental engagement with services. The universal distribution of Baby Bundles also reflects an important equality principle that each child is given something of equal value at the start of their life, and it is hoped that the scheme will foster a shared understanding of a society that values and supports all children. The pilot scheme will aim to establish a workable, scalable, and sustainable model for the procurement and distribution of Baby Bundles in Ireland. The evaluation will be used inform policy decisions and direction of travel for an annual rollout of the Little Baby Bundle and to determine value for money and to identify any areas where quality of provision and processes for engagement and distribution could be improved. Further details can be found in the RFT document.