Regional - Working with Civil Society to Promote Sustainable Energy: Sustainable Electricity Use and Integrated Markets

Country:Regional

Business sector:Sustainable Resources and Climate Change

Project number:68395

Funding source:SFEBSF - EBRD Shareholders SF

Contract type:Consultancy Services

Notice type:Invitation for expressions of interest (CSU)

Issue date:21 Jul 2017

Closing date:04 Aug 2017   at  14:00   London

Project Description:

The energy sector in many Western Balkans countries faces challenges due to years of underinvestment and slow progress in the implementation of reforms resulting in high carbon-intensity, low energy efficiency, and a high level of energy losses.

Though its Elektrokrajina Power Distribution Project in Bosnia and Herzegovina (the “Investment Project”), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (“EBRD” or “the Bank”) proposes to address some of these challenges through (i) the reconstruction of medium and low-voltage networks (ii) the reconstruction of substations (iii) and the introduction of smart metering technology (in Banja Luka, Prijedor and Gradiska region).

Non-technical measures, in particular behavioural changes, are challenging to achieve. Civil society organisations (CSOs) are well placed to reach out to stakeholders, including electricity end users. In particular, civil society has an important role to play in (1) promoting awareness about the benefits of smart metering technology and about rational electricity consumption practices, as well as in (2) conducting policy advocacy for developing appropriate national plans for the implementation of relevant legislations. These measures are crucial for the successful implementation of the Investment Project in Bosnia and Herzegovina and of comparable investments in other countries in the Western Balkans where similar technology is being implemented, as well as for promoting an efficient integrated electricity market in the Western Balkans region. Also, civil society can help improve public awareness about the necessity of initial costs associated with the introduction of smart metering as well as medium-to-long term benefits with regards to energy and cost savings. However, local civil society organisations would benefit from capacity enhancement support in order to implement the necessary awareness raising and communications efforts.

Assignment Description:

The EBRD now proposes to engage a firm or group of firms (the “Consultant”) to conduct CSO capacity enhancement activities in order to help increase civil society capacity and public awareness about environmental, social, and economic benefits of sustainable electricity and energy consumption practices and consequent improvements of electricity systems (the “Assignment”).

The Assignment will be conducted in coordination with and be complementary to the stakeholder engagement efforts required by the Environmental and Social Action Plan (ESAP) for the Investment Project (Phase 1 of this Assignment) and other relevant investment projects to be identified in the three selected Western Balkans countries for Phase 2 of the Assignment.

Consultants are advised to refer to the Terms of Reference ('ToR') accessible through the link provided for a more detailed description of service requirements.

Status of Selection Process: Interested firms or group of firms are hereby invited to send submissions.

Assignment Start Date and Duration: The Assignment is expected to start in September 2017 and has an estimated overall duration of 36 months (Phases 1 and 2).

Cost Estimate for the Assignment: EUR 247,900 (exclusive of VAT). Subject to the availability of funding, the performance of the selected Consultant and the specific needs of the Client and the Bank, the Assignment may be extended beyond the current scope.

The Consultant must determine whether any VAT would be directly chargeable on the services and the basis for that determination, without taking into consideration the special status of the Bank as an IFI and state this to the Bank in their response to the Invitation for Expressions of Interest. To the extent that a Consultant incurs input VAT on goods and services purchased in connection with the provision of services (e.g. VAT on airline ticket) which is not otherwise recoverable by the consultant from the local tax authority, the gross cost to the consultant of such expenses shall be treated as a reimbursable expense and deemed to be included in the Maximum Contract Amount.

Funding Source: It is expected that the Assignment will be funded by the EBRD Shareholder Special Fund. Please note that selection and contracting is subject to the availability of funding.

Eligibility: There are no eligibility restrictions.

Consultant Profile: Corporate services are required. The Consultant will be a firm or a group of firms preferably with:

1. a) proven track record in outreach and communications, training provision and capacity building for CSOs;
2. b) specialised expertise on sustainable energy and energy efficiency, in particular extensive knowledge of relevant smart metering technology and electricity markets; and
3. c) expertise in the Western Balkans region with demonstrable local knowledge (e.g. language skills and cultural sensitivity, knowledge of stakeholder groups, including vulnerable stakeholders, and communication skills appropriate for different stakeholder groups).

The Consultant’s expert team is expected to include key experts as follows:

Key Expert No 1 - Senior Programme Manager with

• Preferably 10 years or more of advisory experience in the area of sustainable energy and energy efficiency;
• Preferably 5 years or more of project management experience including acting as Team Leader on comparable assignments;
• In-depth knowledge of smart metering technology and electricity markets;
• Very good understanding of civil society landscape in target countries;
• Excellent communication, analytical, report writing and presentation skills; and
• Proficiency in written and spoken English. Knowledge of the local language of target countries at an appropriate level is a distinctive advantage.

Key Expert No 2 - Smart Metering Technology and Electricity Market Specialist with

• Preferably 5 years or more of advisory experience related to smart metering technology and electricity markets (covering the areas listed in the scope of work and the services offered in the Assignment);
• Preferably 3 years or more of experience in training provision;
• Experience in conducting capacity building and trainings;
• Good understanding of regulations and legislation in the energy and electricity sectors, of European Union directives and Energy Community Treaty commitments, in a regional context in the Western Balkans; and
• Proficiency in written and spoken local and English languages.

Key Expert No 3 - Communications/advocacy and Outreach Expert with

• Preferably 5 years or more of communication, outreach and advocacy experience;
• Experience in advising on communication and advocacy material/tools/activities in relation to sustainable energy or similar;
• Very good understanding of the civil society landscape in target countries;
• Excellent communication and presentation skills; and
• Proficiency in written and spoken local and English languages.

Pool of local experts.

Submission Requirements: In order to determine the capability and experience of Consultants seeking to be selected, the information submitted should include the following:

1. a) Technical Proposal

A1. Completed Consultant Declaration Form and Contact Sheet, the template for which is available from the following web-link:

http://www.ebrd.com/pages/workingwithus/procurement/notices/csu/contact_sheet.doc.

A2. Company/group of firms’ profile, organisation and staffing (max. 2-4 pages).

A3. Details of previous project experience or similar assignments particularly undertaken in the previous five years, including information on contract value, contracting entity/client, project location/country, duration (mm/yy to mm/yy), expert months provided (if different from duration) , main activities, objectives (max. 15 pages).

A4. CVs of key experts who could carry out the Assignment detailing qualifications, experience in similar assignments, particularly assignments undertaken in the previous five years, including information on contracting entity/client, project location/country, duration (mm/yy to mm/yy), expert months provided, assignment budget, main activities, objectives.

A5. Proposal for assignment implementation, including the proposed approach and methodology to a successful delivery of the Assignment, reporting format and structure, a work plan with milestones, and a Team Input summary indicating the number of working days allocated to the Assignment by each Key Expert (max. 15 pages).

1. Financial Proposal not exceeding the stated budget of EUR 247,900 (ex. VAT) and completed using the template provided.

Submission format:

1. Technical Proposal

The technical proposal shall be submitted shall be submitted in English electronically through e-Selection, to reach the Bank not later than the closing date. The technical proposal shall be one file (pdf). Consultants are reminded that the technical proposal MUST NOT contain the financial proposal (the instructions for which are listed below).

1. Financial Proposal

The financial proposal shall be submitted in English by email to the Bank’s contact person only, to reach the Bank not later than the closing date. The financial proposal shall be one file (pdf).

Bank Contact Person:

Paula Alegria

Deputy Head TC Operations, Technical Co-operation

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

One Exchange Square

London EC2A 2JN

Tel: + 44 20 7338 7589

E-mail: AlegriaP@ebrd.com

Important Notes:

1. This is a Selection from Shortlist procedure as envisaged in the EBRD’s Procurement Policies & Rules. The selection will normally be made from responses to this notification only. The highest-ranked Consultant will be invited to negotiate the contract, subject to availability of funding.
2. Validity Period: The proposal validity period is 90 days from the deadline date for receipt of submissions. During this period, the Consultant shall maintain its original Proposal without any change, including the availability of the Key Experts, the proposed rates and the total price.
3. Written Questions and Clarifications: Applicants may submit the questions concerning this procurement notice in writing only via email to the Bank’s contact person listed above. The deadline for receipt of requests for clarifications is 4 August 2017 at 14:00 hrs (GMT). No questions will be accepted after this date.
4. The award criteria and procedure will be as follows:

Technical Criteria (100%)

1. Firm’s proven track record in outreach and communications, training provision and capacity building for CSOs (15%);
2. Firm’s specialised expertise on sustainable energy and energy efficiency, in particular extensive knowledge of relevant smart metering technology and electricity markets (15%); and
3. Firm’s expertise in the Western Balkans region with demonstrable local knowledge (e.g. language skills and cultural sensitivity, knowledge of stakeholder groups, including vulnerable stakeholders, and communication skills appropriate for different stakeholder groups) (15%).
4. CVs of Key Experts (30%); and
5. Quality of the Consultant’s proposal for assignment implementation (25%).

Only those submissions which score 70% or more of the total marks available for the technical criteria will be eligible to have their financial proposals evaluated.

Financial Criterion (100%)

The lowest evaluated financial proposal (Fm) will be given the maximum financial score (Sf) of 100. The formula for determining the financial scores (Sf) of all other financial proposals will be calculated as following:

Sf = 10 x Fm/F, in which “Sf” is the financial score, “Fm” is the lowest price, and “F” the price of the financial proposal under consideration.

Combined Technical & Financial Evaluation and Ranking

The weights given to the Technical (T) and Financial (P) Proposals are:

T = 80, and

P = 20

Submissions will be ranked according to their combined technical (St) and financial (Sf) scores using the weights (T=the weight given to the Technical Proposal; P = the weight given to the Financial Proposal; T+P=1) as following: S=St x T% + Sf x P%.