Procurement Notices

The United Nations Development Programme, with support from the Government of United Kingdom, is providing technical assistance aimed at taking advantage of the opportunity brought about by the pandemic to reframe and rewrite the development trajectory. Recognizing the linkage of the pandemic with environmental degradation and economic shocks, the technical assistance will employ a mix of assessments to map entry points and formulate policy briefs and actionable recommendations. This will highlight the socioeconomic advantage, including green jobs and investment opportunities, of pursuing a “green recovery track” and how it can support strengthening resilience. The work will be enabled by a multi-stakeholder base to ensure a well-rounded, scientific, and evidence-based push for policy, institutional, and behavioural change in driving a more sustainable and resilient recovery.

UNDP is engaging a firm to support the provision of technical assistance in greening the Philippines’ COVID-19 recovery and resilience strategies of the national and local government and the private sector.

Objectives:

More specifically, it aims to:

1. Deepen understanding on the linkage between the pandemic/health risks, environment, and economy within the Philippine context and the value of integrating environmental sustainability in the country’s COVID-19 recovery and resilience efforts at national and subnational level
2. Identify green growth and employment opportunities by sector to help line Departments and Local Governments incorporate these in their plans. From the 2020/21 budget and other relevant documents establish the level and share of green investment that are essential to ensure sustainability and to help create millions of jobs.
3. Establish the gains made in terms of environmental quality (e.g. decreased air pollution) due to COVID-19 related mobility restrictions and the possible trajectory in post-COVID era with the view to assess if Philippines will be able to meet its national climate targets. 
4. Establish the evidence base and offer actionable recommendations by which multiple outcomes—including sustained economic growth, inclusive and equitable growth, social, economic and environmental resilience, healthy and productive ecosystems, and greenhouse gas emission reduction—may be pursued simultaneously and in a balanced and integrated manner.
5. Assess the possibility of blended financing for financing green growth and employment opportunities for sustainable and green recovery.  Among others, the contractor to identify national funds and instruments available and may be established to support the implementation of green growth recovery opportunities.

Scope and Methodology

Under the direct supervision of UNDP Climate Action Programme Team Leader and Programme Analyst, the Firm/Contractor shall:

1. Conduct of an inception session with UNDP and stakeholders (composed of national and local government representatives, private sector, civil society, development partners) to further define scope of the engagement and methodology

Through a combination of desk research (including national and international literature and data), multi-stakeholder consultations, focus group discussions, key informant interviews, modelling, and/or surveys (as relevant):

1. Conduct a systemic analysis on the linkage between the pandemic/health risks, environment, and the economy, including the root causes of the population and economy’s vulnerability to pandemic and the systemic impact of COVID-19.
2. Review and evaluate existing governmental policies and programmes and their effectiveness in reaching strategic objectives affecting the country’s priority economic sectors and identify  entry points for green recovery strategies at national, sectoral and local levels to identify gaps and opportunities. This could include key sectors, including energy and transportation, waste management and circular economy – focusing on food and beverage and health, green buildings/infrastructure, tourism
3. Conduct quantitative and qualitative analysis to establish an evidence base and economic case for green recovery strategies, highlighting the socioeconomic advantage, including green jobs and investment opportunities, and contribution to strengthening health and overall resilience of the population and the sectors.  Outline scenarios based on business-as-usual and selected proposed alternative investments and co-benefits by way of green/climate responsive/nature-based jobs, SME and value chain opportunities
4. Identify actionable recommendations and develop policy briefs based on findings, including, but not limited to the following thematic/sectoral focus:
   • Determine the level of investments needed to foster green recovery.
   • Fiscal and non-fiscal measures to advance green recovery
   • Greening local recovery strategies
   • Sectoral focus, based on priority sectors identified, which could include energy and transportation, waste management and circular economy – with focus on food and beverage and health, green buildings/infrastructure, tourism
5. Craft a communication and advocacy strategy and develop thematic and strategic communication and advocacy materials, including infographics, mini-documentaries, social media posting
6. Support design and conduct of thematic virtual dialogues and webinars on green recovery
7. Serve as resource person on green recovery in various fora as requested

The work entails a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis from secondary and primary sources. UNDP will provide relevant documents/literature upon commencement of the engagement.

Interested firm is expected to include proposed methodology and approach in the proposal. The proposal will also include indicative work plan, including activities, timelines, stakeholders, and data requirements and sources.

Expected Outputs

Expected duration of the contract/assignment

The Firm is expected to work from  December 2020 to  March 2021. Ten (10) days lead time should be allotted for UNDP and partners to review of output, provide comments and approve outputs.

Duty Station

The location of work is in Manila. However, in view of the current quarantine protocols, telecommuting will be the primary mode of working. Should circumstances permit, the Contractor must be available to report at the UNDP Philippines office in Mandaluyong City on an on-call basis, aside from being present at certain government offices as needed.

Professional Qualifications of the Successful Contractor and its key personnel

The successful contractor shall be duly registered juridical entity, such as a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, or non-profit organization, whether Philippine-based or international and shall have the following minimum qualifications:

• The Firm should have at least 5 years of accumulated experience in any of the following: environmental/climate action, green economy, economic modeling, policy advice and advocacy.
• At least three (3) completed similar projects in the region/Philippines within the last five years
• Key Personnel: (1) Team Leader; (1) Environmental Economist; (1) Climate Change/Environment Specialist; (1) Communication Specialist (please refer to the solicitation document for the complete qualification details attached to this advertisement)

Price and Schedule of Payments (please refer to the solicitation document for the complete details)

The agreed and final contract price is a fixed output-based price regardless of extension of the project or changes in cost components.

Criteria for Evaluation (please refer to the solicitation document for the complete details)

To select the best offer for this post, the combined scoring method will be used where the qualifications and methodology will be weighted a maximum of 70%, and combined with the price offer which will be weighted a maximum of 30%.

The minimum passing score of technical proposal is 700 points.

Interested firms may submit proposals on or before 5:00 PM (Manila Time) on  Monday, December 13, 2020 and via email with the subject: RFP-133-PHL-2020 to email address: bids.ph@undp.org  

Please use the forms provided and attached in this advertisement - Annex 2 Forms.

Your Proposal must be expressed in the English, and valid for a minimum period of 120 days.

In the course of preparing your Proposal, it shall remain your responsibility to ensure that it reaches the address above on or before the deadline.  Proposals that are received by UNDP after the deadline indicated above, for whatever reason, shall not be considered for evaluation.  If you are submitting your Proposal by email, kindly ensure that they are signed and in the .pdf format, and free from any virus or corrupted files.

Services proposed shall be reviewed and evaluated based on completeness and compliance of the Proposal and responsiveness with the requirements of the RFP and all other annexes providing details of UNDP requirements. 

The Proposal that complies with all of the requirements, meets all the evaluation criteria and offers the best value for money shall be selected and awarded the contract.  Any offer that does not meet the requirements shall be rejected.

Any discrepancy between the unit price and the total price shall be re-computed by UNDP, and the unit price shall prevail, and the total price shall be corrected.  If the Service Provider does not accept the final price based on UNDP’s re-computation and correction of errors, its Proposal will be rejected. 

No price variation due to escalation, inflation, fluctuation in exchange rates, or any other market factors shall be accepted by UNDP after it has received the Proposal.At the time of Award of Contract or Purchase Order, UNDP reserves the right to vary (increase or decrease) the quantity of services and/or goods, by up to a maximum twenty-five per cent (25%) of the total offer, without any change in the unit price or other terms and conditions. 

Any Contract or Purchase Order that will be issued as a result of this RFP shall be subject to the General Terms and Conditions attached hereto.  The mere act of submission of a Proposal implies that the Service Provider accepts without question the General Terms and Conditions of UNDP, herein attached as Annex 3.

Please be advised that UNDP is not bound to accept any Proposal, nor award a contract or Purchase Order, nor be responsible for any costs associated with a Service Providers preparation and submission of a Proposal, regardless of the outcome or the manner of conducting the selection process.

UNDP’s vendor protest procedure is intended to afford an opportunity to appeal for persons or firms not awarded a Purchase Order or Contract in a competitive procurement process.  In the event that you believe you have not been fairly treated, you can find detailed information about vendor protest procedures in the following link:

http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/operations/procurement/business/protest-and-sanctions.html

UNDP encourages every prospective Service Provider to prevent and avoid conflicts of interest, by disclosing to UNDP if you, or any of your affiliates or personnel, were involved in the preparation of the requirements, design, cost estimates, and other information used in this RFP. 

UNDP implements a zero tolerance on fraud and other proscribed practices, and is committed to preventing, identifying and addressing all such acts and practices against UNDP, as well as third parties involved in UNDP activities.  UNDP expects its Service Providers to adhere to the UN Supplier Code of Conduct found in this link : https://www.un.org/Depts/ptd/sites/www.un.org.Depts.ptd/files/files/attachment/page/pdf/unscc/conduct_english.pdf

Thank you and we look forward to receiving your Proposal.