Regional Survey of Investors - Broadband Infrastructure

20 February 2019: The procurement notice is updated as follows:

The deadline for submission of proposal has been extended until the 8th of March, 2019.

Location:Regional

Business sector:Telecoms, informatics and media

Project number:76828

Funding source:SFEBSF - EBRD Shareholders SF

Contract type:Consultancy Services

Notice type:Invitation for expressions of interest (CSU)

Issue date:12 Feb 2019

Closing date:06 Mar 2019 at 15:00   London

Single Stage Open Competitive Selection

Project Description:

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (hereinafter "the EBRD" or "the Bank has carried out regular (in 2008, 2012 and 2016) assessments of the electronic communications sector in its countries of operation. These assessments have focused on the overall potential of the sector for reforms that could improve the overall investment climate in the sector, in particular to improve the infrastructures for delivering modern broadband services. The previous assessment approach used by EBRD has been to study key characteristics of the market, in terms of output metrics (for example broadband penetration, eGovernment and eCommerce world rankings) alongside a comparison between the legal and regulatory framework and best practice in the sector. The methodology relied on building an accurate picture from the outputs of the sector itself alongside on the policy, legal and regulatory environment for investors, service providers and consumers.

Given the increased reliance of business and society upon efficient and effective internet connectivity based on high-speed broadband infrastructure, development of that infrastructure has become critical to growth of the broader economy. As such, engagement in the sector remains a key activity of the Bank, both in terms of financing and technical assistance. Central to the attraction of investment into the Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) sector is the level of confidence that existing investors have with respect to any expansion plans or new investors with respect to new investments. Investor judgment represents a highly valuable external indicator where the strengths and weaknesses of a given national legal and regulatory regime enabling policy makers and regulators to pinpoint with precision specific impediments to investment. The higher the investor confidence levels, the higher the likelihood of additional or new investment being attracted into the sector, and the better the prospects of a financing or investment project for the Bank.

With this in mind, the Bank is launching a new project to assess the environment for investment into broadband infrastructure across a selection of the Bank’s countries of operation. EBRD wishes to survey as many existing and potential investors as possible in broadband infrastructures and services. These investors will include finance providers, telecommunications network operators, broadband and internet service providers and other interested analysts and market stakeholders. The main output of the survey, analysis and assessment will be a ranking of countries, based on their investment attractiveness, with further explanations for each country giving the main reasons expressed by investors that have led to the index and ranking calculated

Assignment Description:

EBRD intends to select and contract a consulting company (the ‘Consultant’) to conduct the Assignment.

The expected outcome of the Assignment is the assembly and publication of an Investor Perceptions Index drawn from an assessment of environment for investment into broadband infrastructure. The main output of the survey, analysis and assessment will be a ranking of countries, based on their investment attractiveness, with further explanations for each country giving the main reasons expressed by investors that have led to the index and ranking calculated. The survey methodology, analysis, index calculations and output formats have already been defined – the consultant will be provided with a copy of these.

The selected Consultant is expected to provide the following services:

Preparation of the survey;

Conducting visits to the agreed countries;

Conducting the full survey; and,

Analysing and reporting the survey results
Full Terms of Reference (TOR) of the Assignment can be found here:

http://www.ebrd.com/documents/procurement/tor-76828.docx

Consultant Selection Procedure: Single stage open competitive selection. Interested firms or groups of firms are invited to submit a Technical and Financial Proposal.

Assignment Start Date and Duration: The Assignment is expected to start in March 2019 and has an estimated overall duration of 9 months.

Cost Estimate for the Assignment: EUR 150,000 (exclusive of VAT).

Funding Source: It is anticipated that the contract will be financed by EBRD’s Shareholder Special Fund. Selection and contracting are subject to the availability of funding.

Eligibility: There are no eligibility restrictions based on the consultant's country of origin.

Consultant Profile: Corporate services are required. The Consultant will be a firm or a group of firms preferably with previous project experience related to the design and conduct of multi-country and cross regional sector surveys, face-to-face in-country and remotely, the collation and analysis of survey output, reporting of the output, analysis and its conclusions, the identification of trends and the graphic representation of the results on an individual and cross-country comparison.

The Consultant's expert team is expected to include the following key experts (the 'Key Experts'):

Key Expert 1: Team Leader, with a minimum of 10 years proven experience in the design and conduct of substantial regional and inter-regional, multi-country surveys, comparative analyses and assessment of the telecommunications sector, with a focus on regulated telecom infrastructure and services;

Key Expert 2: Telecom Analyst/Advisor, with a minimum of 7 years proven experience in analysis and assessment of the telecommunications sector, with a focus on regulated telecom infrastructure and services;

Key Expert 3: Survey Advisor, with a minimum of 7 years proven experience in the conduct of multi-country and cross regional sector surveys, face-to-face in-country and remotely, the collation and analysis of survey output, reporting of the output, analysis and its conclusions, the identification of trends and the graphic representation of the results on an individual and cross-country comparison.

All key experts will be required to have had experience in the Eastern Europe, Caucasus, Central Asia and Southern and Eastern Mediterranean regions.
Submission Requirements: Qualified firms are now invited to submit a completed Technical and Financial Proposal as per the standard templates and instructions available at this link: http://www.ebrd.com/documents/procurement/single-stage-package.docx. Interested Consultants should make themselves familiar with these Standard Templates, Standard Instructions and Conditions of Contract in preparation of their proposals.

The Technical Proposal shall be submitted in English electronically via eSelection not later than the Closing Date, as one single PDF file. The technical proposal should not exceed 20 pages excluding the Declaration Form and CVs (Form 1- TP 1 and Form 1 – TP 6).

The Financial Proposal (Form 2 – FP 1 and FP2) shall be submitted in English separately by email only to the Bank Contact Person. Consultants are reminded of the requirement to ensure the confidentiality of the Financial Proposals.
 

A Technical Proposal that contains elements of a financial proposal shall be declared non-responsive.

A Financial proposal submitted together with the technical proposals via e Selection shall be declared non-responsive.
Bank Contact Person:

Sanda Jugo
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
One Exchange Square
London EC2A 2JN
e-mail: JugoS@ebrd.com

For the avoidance of doubt, technical proposals should be sent through eSelection and NOT to this email address. Financial proposals should be sent to this email address and NOT through eSelection.
Deadline to Submit Clarification Questions: Via e-mail to the Bank Contact Person by 20/02/2019

Selection Method and Evaluation Criteria:

1. Technical Proposal Evaluation Criteria

Firm's previous project experience related to the design and conduct of multi-country and cross regional sector surveys (25%)

Quality of the methodology proposed for the Assignment (25 %)

CVs of the Key Experts (50%).

The minimum technical score (St) required to pass is 70.

2. Opening of Financial Proposals

After the technical evaluation is completed, only the submissions which score 70 or above of the total marks available for the technical criteria will be eligible to have their financial proposals opened.

3. Combined Technical and Financial Evaluation

The lowest evaluated Financial Proposal (Fm) is given the maximum financial score (Sf) of 100. The formula for determining the financial scores (Sf) of all other Proposals is calculated as follows:

Sf = 100 x Fm/ F, in which "Sf" is the financial score, "Fm" is the lowest evaluated Financial Proposal, and "F" the price of the Proposal under consideration.

Proposals are then ranked according to their combined technical (St) and financial (Sf) scores using the weights (T = 90; F = 10) T + F = 100 as follows: S = St x T% + Sf x F%.

Important Notes:

The proposal validity period is 120 days from the deadline date for the receipt of submissions. During this period, the Consultant shall maintain its original Proposal without any change, including the availability of the Experts, the proposed rates and the total price.

The selection will be made from the Proposals received in response to this notification only, on the basis of the submission requirements and selection criteria set out in this Procurement Notice. The highest-ranked Consultant will be selected and invited to negotiate the contract, subject to availability of funding.
Any updates of and clarifications on this procurement notice shall be announced as updates on this notice, without any other notification. In the event of changes consultants will need to download the updated versions. Consultants are required to periodically check the notice for updates. Failure to take the updates into account while preparing the Proposal may result in disqualification or penalties to the scores in the evaluation.