RFQ; FOR DEVELOPING USER-FRIENDLY MATERIALS FOR RAISING AWARENESS ON BUILDING RESILIENCE TO CLIMATE CHA

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

Title: REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR DEVELOPING USER-FRIENDLY MATERIALS FOR RAISING AWARENESS ON BUILDING RESILIENCE TO CLIMATE CHANGE AMONGST WOMEN AND GIRLS IN 10 COMMUNITIES IN NAMAQUALAND

RFP No: AMD 1

Date of Issuance: 11 April 2024

Background Conservation South Africa (CSA) is a local affiliate of Conservation International (CI). CSA is committed to helping societies adopt a more sustainable approach to development, one that considers and values nature at every turn and improves human well-being through the conservation of healthy ecosystems and the goods and services they provide. 

CSA has rolled out a Conservation Stewardship Program with communal livestock farmers in Namaqualand over the past 12 years. Our vision for this program is building good governance and democracy in the societies we work with, empowering women and girls to take leadership in rangeland decision-making and building their resilience to withstand the impacts of climate change.

CSA is seeking a professional service provider to develop and design user-friendly awareness raising materials focusing on culture and tradition pertaining to climate change and rangeland management. 

1. Project Overview As part of CSA’s project that seeks to empower women and girls in Namaqualand to take leadership in better rangeland management and to build their communities’ resilience to the impacts of climate change, CSA has facilitated a process whereby women from different communities have identified appropriate topics on which messaging needs to be developed for achieving these outcomes. The concept messaging was developed at work sessions and workshops, and CSA is now seeking a professional person to develop appropriate, user-friendly awareness raising materials on these topics, based on the workshop proceeds, as well as to develop materials on culture and tradition as pertaining to climate change and rangeland management, developed by an intern. The successful service provider will work closely with the CSA Namaqualand Landscape staff and communications staff. The outcomes required from a service provider are the following:

2. Develop and design communication products, to be used by local gender champions in communal rangelands, that raise awareness amongst women and girls on building resilience to climate change and improved rangeland management, ensuring that messages are appropriate to communities, user-friendly for Conservation South Africa field staff, and easy to understand especially by women and girls in communities. 

3. Develop an additional product which highlights the traditions and cultural goods which can contribute to good rangeland management and rangeland restoration, with partners and donors being the main audience.

4. Terms of Reference, Deliverables and Deliverables Schedule 

The successful service provider will:

• Meet with CSA staff to learn about the work we do in the region generally, and specifically with regards to the Women Empowerment Project, and to receive inputs on the requirements of the products to be developed. 

• Deliver first drafts, in Afrikaans and English, of the products to CSA’s Namaqualand Landscape Program for review and feedback.

• Deliver two printed products on building resilience to climate change and two printed products on improved rangeland decision-making by women in communities to CSA’s Landscape Program, as well as one product which can be shared mainly electronically, on cultural goods and traditions which can contribute to good rangeland management and rangeland restoration.

1. Submission Details 
   1. Deadline. Proposals must be received no later than 30 April 2024. Late submissions will not be accepted. Proposals must be submitted via email to csaprocurement@conservation.org. All proposals are to be submitted following the guidelines listed in this RFP. 

   2. Validity of bid. 120 days from the submission deadline

   3. Clarifications. Questions may be submitted tomgardiner@conservation.org by the specified date and time in the timeline below. The subject of the email must contain the RFP number and title of the RFP. CSA will respond in writing to submitted clarifications by the date specified in the timeline below. Responses to questions that may be of common interest to all bidders will be posted to the CSA website and/or communicated via email.

   4. Amendments. At any time prior to the deadline for submission of proposals, CSA may, for any reason, modify the RFP documents by amendment which will be posted to the CSA website and/or communicated via email.

   5. Award amount. The proposal amount should not exceed R70 000

2. Minimum Requirements 
   1. The service provider must be suitably qualified to undertake design and development of content for awareness raising materials, with preferred experience in the conservation sector. 

   2. Must be able to speak, read and write Afrikaans and English fluently, as products must be delivered in Afrikaans and English;

   3. Familiarity with the Northern Cape province and rural development context in the Namaqua District will be an advantage. 
      
      

3. Proposal Documents to Include
   1. Signed cover page on bidder’s letterhead with the bidder’s contact information.

   2. Signed Representation of Transparency, Integrity, Environmental and Social Responsibility (Attachment 1)

   3. Technical Proposal.
      1. Corporate Capabilities, Experience, Past Performance, and 3 client references. Please include descriptions of similar projects or assignments and at least three client references.

      2. Qualifications of Key Personnel. Please attach CVs that demonstrate how the team proposed meets the minimum requirements listed in section 5 (Minimum Requirements). 

      3. Technical Approach, Methodology and Detailed Work Plan. The Technical Proposal should describe in detail how the bidder intends to carry out the requirements described in the Terms of Reference (Section 3- no more than 2 pages)

   4. Financial Proposal.

   5. Company registration documents

   6. B-BBEE Certificate/ affidavit

   7. Valid Tax Clearance Certificate

1. Evaluation Criteria In evaluating proposals, CSA will seek the best value for money considering the merits of the technical and costs proposals. Proposals will be evaluated using the following criteria:

1. Proposal Timeline 

1. Proposal Timelines

1. Resulting Award CSA anticipates entering into an agreement with the selected bidder by20 March 2024. Any resulting agreement will be subject to the terms and conditions of CSA’s Services Agreement. A model form of agreement can be provided upon request.

This RFP does not obligate CSA to execute a contract, nor does it commit CSA to pay any costs incurred in the preparation or submission of the proposals. Furthermore, CSA reserves the right to reject any and all offers, if such action is considered to be in the best interest of CSA. CSA will, in its sole discretion, select the winning proposal and is not obligated to share individual evaluation results.

1. Confidentiality All proprietary information provided by the bidder shall be treated as confidential and will not be shared with potential or actual applicants during the solicitation process. This includes but is not limited to price quotations, cost proposals and technical proposals. CSA may, but is not obliged to, post procurement awards on its public website after the solicitation process has concluded, and the contract has been awarded. CSA’s evaluation results are confidential and applicant scoring will not be shared among bidders.

2. Code of Ethics All Offerors are expected to exercise the highest standards of conduct in preparing, submitting and if selected, eventually carrying out the specified work in accordance with CI’s Code of Ethics [for GCF-funded projects only, add: “and the Green Climate Fund’s Policy on Prohibited Practices”]. Conservation International’s reputation derives from our commitment to our values: Integrity, Respect, Courage, Optimism, Passion and Teamwork. CI’s Code of Ethics (the “Code”) provides guidance to CI employees, service providers, experts, interns, and volunteers in living CI’s core values, and outlines minimum standards for ethical conduct which all parties must adhere to. Any violation of the Code of Ethics, as well as concerns regarding the integrity of the procurement process and documents should be reported to CI via its Ethics Hotline at www.ci.ethicspoint.com. 

3. Attachments:

Attachment 1: Representation of Transparency, Integrity, Environmental and Social Responsibility

Attachment 1: Representation of Transparency, Integrity, Environmental and Social Responsibility

RFP No. AMD 1

All Offerors are expected to exercise the highest standards of conduct in preparing, submitting and if selected, eventually carrying out the specified work in accordance with CI’s Code of Ethics. CI’s Code of Ethics provides guidance to CI employees, service providers, experts, interns, and volunteers in living CI’s core values, and outlines minimum standards for ethical conduct which all parties must adhere to. Any violations of the Code of Ethics should be reported to CI via its Ethics Hotline at www.ci.ethicspoint.com. 

CI relies on the personal integrity, good judgment and common sense of all third parties acting on behalf, or providing services to the organization, to deal with issues not expressly addressed by the Code or as noted below.

1. With respect to CI’s Code of Ethics, we certify:
   1. We understand and accept that CI, its contractual partners, grantees and other parties with whom we work are expected to commit to the highest standards of Transparency, Fairness, and Integrity in procurement. 
      
      

2. With respect to social and environmental standards, we certify:
   
   
   1. We are committed to high standards of ethics and integrity and compliance with all applicable laws across our operations, including prohibition of actions that facilitate trafficking in persons, child labor, forced labor, sexual abuse, exploitation or harassment. We respect internationally proclaimed human rights and take no action that contributes to the infringement of human rights. We protect those who are most vulnerable to infringements of their rights and the ecosystems that sustain them.

   2. We fully respect and enforce the environmental and social standards recognized by the international community, including the fundamental conventions of International Labour Organization (ILO) and international conventions for the protection of the environment, in line with the laws and regulations applicable to the country where the contract is to be performed. 

1. With respect to our eligibility and professional conduct, we certify:
   
   
   1. We are not and none of our affiliates [members, employees, contractors, subcontractors, and consultants] are in a state of bankruptcy, liquidation, legal settlement, termination of activity, or guilty of grave professional misconduct as determined by a regulatory body responsible for licensing and/or regulating the offeror’s business

   2. We have not and will not engage in criminal or fraudulent acts. By a final judgment, we were not convicted in the last five years for offenses such as fraud or corruption, money laundering or professional misconduct. 

   3. We are/were not involved in writing or recommending the terms of reference for this solicitation document. 

   4. We have not engaged in any collusion or price fixing with other offerors.

   5. We have not made promises, offers, or grants, directly or indirectly to any CI employees involved in this procurement, or to any government official in relation to the contract to be performed, with the intention of unduly influencing a decision or receiving an improper advantage. 

   6. We have taken no action nor will we take any action to limit or restrict access of other companies, organizations or individuals to participate in the competitive bidding process launched by CI. 

   7. We have fulfilled our obligations relating to the payment of social security contributions or taxes in accordance with the legal provisions of the country where the contract is to be performed. 

   8. We have not provided, and will take all reasonable steps to ensure that we do not and will not knowingly provide, material support or resources to any individual or entity that commits, attempts to commit, advocates, facilitates, or participates in terrorist acts, or has committed, attempted to commit, facilitate, or participated in terrorist acts, and we are compliant with all applicable Counter-Terrorist Financing and Anti-Money Laundering laws (including  USA Patriot Act and U.S. Executive Order 13224).

   9. We certify that neither we nor our directors, officers, key employees or beneficial owners are included in any list of financial or economic sanctions, debarment or suspension adopted by the United States, United Nations, the European Union, the World Bank, or General Services Administration’s List of Parties Excluded from Federal Procurement or Non-procurement programs in accordance with E.O.s 12549 and 12689, “Debarment and Suspension”.   

Name:        _____________________________________________

Signature: ___________________________________________

Title: ______________________________________________