Request for Proposals on implementing the Capacity Building for Transparency (CBIT) project in Climate Change Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) In Eswatini

New clarification added: I got it and saved info in google sheetResponse: Noted. Thank you for participation in the pre bid meeting.

New amendment added #1: Dear Bidders,The tender has been amended to incude the minutes of pre bid meeting which are part of the solicitation documents. 

New clarification added: Clarification 7:Please could you let us know, what types of monitoring and evaluation reports will be required? What will be the data types and sources of these reports?UNOPS Response:The system will contribute to the generation of reports for monitoring and evaluation of action aimed at addressing climate change, (this includes the upcoming biennial transparency report). The primary source of data will be stakeholders within the country, who will be reached with the assistance of the government. The types of data will vary, based on what is available in the country. However, the developer is welcome to make recommendations. Clarification 8:“NDC Registry Platform (i.e. MRV Platform) will use the tools, templates, and guidelines for MRV of climate change data developed in Work-package 5…” Can you please elaborate about Work Package-5? What will be the input for the MRV platform from WP-5?UNOPS Response:As clarified above;Under Work-package 5 of the project, technical experts will be developing “country-specific templates to streamline data collection and reporting for government and data providers”. In addition, they will develop various material, including national GHG manual, to support the development of long-term institutional memory in the country. These material will be developed based on international best practice, with applicability for the context of Eswatini. Clarification 9Please could you let us know, who will work on that WP-5? We assume this not part of current scope, please confirm. UNOPS Response:Technical experts are already contracted and working on WP-5, and will work with the IT Firm when such is contracted.Clarification 10Can you provide specifics, such as the number and type of departments and stakeholders engaged in the project?UNOPS Response:This information will be gathered by the IT Firm, through stakeholder engagement, as part of their initial scoping exercise when they come on-board the project.Clarification 11What kind of documents and reports would be published on the platform? Would it be possible to share few example documents and reports with us?UNOPS Response:The MRV Platform will be the main source of information for BTR to be developed under the enhanced transparency framework of the UNFCCC. The IT Firm should familiarise itself with what will be required in the BTRs to help understand what kind of reports (including tables) are required from the MRV platform to be developed. Additionally, the MRV platform will be expected to feed into other country reporting requirements by providing information useful for National Communications and so on. Clarification 12“Provide a flexible common focal point for collating and analysing data by relevant organizational collaborations” please could you elaborate more on this point?UNOPS responseThe portal should allow the possibility to visualise a time series of data and the options for the relevant organisation (with due permissions) to download and analyse relevant information.Clarification 13Could you provide specifics on the major outcomes and project metrics / KPIs?UNOPS responseTrack progress towards specific goal or objective (mainly in the NDC’s)Clarification 14Data entry, any survey and data digitization is not in the scope of work? We assume that all the data would be provided in digitized format. Please confirm.UNOPS Response: The data will be provided in the format that it is available in the country. The IT Firm will work with the transparency unit in the country to source the data and to input it into the system. It can be expected that a range of data in different formats will be available.Clarification 15What data formats will be used, what data sources will be used, and how much data will be collected?UNOPS Response:Determining this will be part of the scoping exercise to guide the development of the MRV platform. Clarification 16 Is there any preferred technology stack for development of the platform? What is the preferred content management system for the NDC Registry Platform? Ex: WordPress, Drupal etc.UNOPS Response:There is not currently any “preferred technology stack or content management system” that I am aware of. It is part of the role of the selected IT Firm to first investigate what already exists and what would work best for the specific context of Eswatini. This scoping exercise will inform the IT Firm on the best route to follow.Clarification 17We assume that all the activities including requirement analysis involved in the project would be done entirely at contractor’s location. No onsite visit is required. Please confirm.UNOPS Response:The actual development of the platform will be entirely at the contractor's location, however, this will be based on significant stakeholder engagement, which can be conducted virtually. The contractor may be required to participate in training and stakeholder engagement workshops (either virtually or in person - where additional expenses [flights, accommodation, etc.] will be covered by the project) Clarification 18The medium of instruction for the training and interaction will be in English language. Please confirm.UNOPS Response:Yes. English LanguageClarification 19What is the anticipated duration and number of participants in training exercises? Where these trainings are to be conducted? Would these trainings be conducted in Eswatini or we can provide training through virtual method like Skype, WebEx from our home location?UNOPS response:The number of participants may vary (cannot be stated specifically at this stage). The training will be conducted in Eswatini, by virtual delivery will be an option.Clarification 20In case of physical training we believe that client will provide all the training facilities and refreshments. We need to provide only the trainer in case training is conducted in Eswatini? Please confirm.UNOPS response:In case of "in-person" training, the client will cover to cost of all logistics. Dear Sir, Madam, Clarification 21With regard to the personnel, is it acceptable for the same person to hold 2 positions, i.e. the same person covering for instance both the Senior IT Developer and the Software Database Developer roles? Also, would you accept that other team members are added in addition to the four roles mentioned in the ToR?UNOPS Response:Yes, it is acceptable if the individual holds the necessary qualifications and experience to cover both roles. Similarly, additional team members can be added, as long as it helps the service provider with the tasks to be completed. Important to note is that these variations should also be considered in the budget proposal, as the technical and financial proposals will be judged together.

New clarification added: Question:In the RFP, it is indicated that the “NDC Registry Platform (i.e. MRV Platform) will use the tools, templates, and guidelines for MRV of climate change data developed in Work-package 5”Can we get more information on those outputs (content, planning delivery)?Thanking you in advance for your prompt reply,UNOPS Reponse:Under Work-package 5 of the project, technical experts will be developing “country-specific templates to streamline data collection and reporting for government and data providers”. In addition, they will develop various materials, including the national GHG manual, to support the development of long-term institutional memory in the country. These materials will be developed based on international best practices, with applicability to the context of Eswatini.However, the templates etc., will have to be validated and tested out during the training of the stakeholders.Question:  Is there any further information available on API requirements? Any indication of the required data format or the number of different systems the platform is expected to interact with would be helpful.UNOPS Response:It will be part of the service provider’s responsibility to assess the current and preferred conditions in the country as it relates to the data format, API requirements, etc., and use this information to design and develop the most suitable MRV platform to meet the country’s needs.The initial design for all the interfaces will have to come from the service provider; these will have to be validated and checked by the stakeholders in the country and by UNEP CCC.

New clarification added: Clarification 4:Hi UNOPS team, I did not receive an e-mail for the pre-bid meeting. Can you pls guide me how to register for the pre-bid meeting?UNOPS response:Kindly join using the link shared in the RFP at the time stated. I.e:The pre-bid meeting will be held online via Google Meet Tuesday 9 January 2024· 11:00 UTC – 12:00 UTCGoogle Meet joining info:https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0/r/eventedit/copy/MTI1cjFmcmhidmgybG9qNGZ1NnV2YWlzcm4gcm9zZW1AdW5vcHMub3Jn/dW5vcHMub3JnX2o4NDFvcmlsMTZvbHRhMm8wcGkzZHFtZ3FrQGdyb3VwLmNhbGVuZGFyLmdvb2dsZS5jb20Participation in the clarification/pre-bid meeting is recommended but optional (not mandatory). Suppliers that are not participating in the meeting are still invited to submit their bid in response to the tender.

New clarification added: Clarification 2:Our Organization has an end-to-end, customizable climate solution for developing countries which includes the GHG inventory, the MRV and NDC tracking system and a carbon registry. We could save a lot of cost, provide additional value, and reduce development risks (especially the risks related to the very aggressive time goal you are setting) if we could include a license to our existing software in our bid instead of building it for you from the ground up. Could you please clarify if it would be possible to include licensed components? The terms of our licenses are negotiable, but it usually enables access to source code and the use of self-modified versions within the same client scope (i.e. Eswatini). Thank you and happy holidays.UNOPS Response:The online MRV platform to be produced under this call will belong to the country and the intellectual property rights will not remain with the supplier. Hence the requirement for development of a platform specifically for this RFP. Additionally, bringing in a pre-built product may not match the circumstances and context of Eswatini, hence it is preferred that the awarded  Firm design a product specifically for the country (even though ideas and templates from previous projects contribute to the process).Clarification3:  Dear Sir- In order to register your information and confirm that we will be attending the pre-bid meeting, we have downloaded the.xls file. Could you please tell us to whom we should send this.xls file by email?  Thank You.UNOPS Response:Vendors are to register on the google sheet link provided. The registration is for our planning purposes. However, registration will still be done at the pre bid meeting for any bidder who will not have registered in the sheet. 

New clarification added: Clarification 1:Could you please clarify whether there is a maximum budget available for this project? We could not find this information in the tender documents. UNOPS Response:The budget can not be shared during this tendering process. The bidders will submit their technical and financial offers as per the requirements.