Provision of Consultancy Services for a Study on Mobilizing Commercial Financing to Accelerate Health Facility Electrification

New clarification added: Question:The RFP states that the consultancy will focus on operation and maintenance, but many of the listed research questions center on attracting commercial financing for CAPEX. Could you clarify the balance between these priorities?UNOPS Answer:The focus is on unlocking commerical financing. The study should focus on both capex and O&M; for example, while it may be more straightforward to unlock commercial financing for capex (and there may be more examples of this), the more critical area to unlock financing for is unlocking financing to cover long-term O&M.Question:​Should the scope of the study cover both public and private health facilities? If private facilities are included, does this refer only to non-profit institutions or also for-profit clinics and hospitals?UNOPS Answer:The focus should be on commercial financing to cover capex or O&M or ideally both. All kinds of institutions (public and private) are in scope.Question:How is SEforALL defining ‘commercial financiers’? Specifically, are both impact investors and development finance institutions considered commercial financiers for the purpose of this study? Given the focus on commercial financing, under what conditions are fully donor-led projects considered within the scope of this study?UNOPS Answer:The condition for commercial financing is provided: we are not looking for fully donor funded projects. There should be at least some commercial financing in the form of debt/equity etc. this could come from private institutions or finance instituions.​Question:Do we have to submit a bid guarantee in form of an amount on an escrow account or similar?4. RFP_Section_IV_Contract Forms_RFP-2025-56291 states that "a performance guarantee is not required." indicating no.Form G  states that "(ii) we do not supply or refuse to provide the performance security." indicating that we cannot refuse to provide this.Does signing Form G then mean we have to provide a bid guarantee [upon request]?UNOPS Answer:We confirm that a bit guarantee is not required.Question:The TOR specifies an expectation of approximately 75 person-days of effort for the completion of this report. However, given the extensive scope—particularly the requirement for an in-depth study of three focus countries, alongside comprehensive evaluations of both African and Asian sub-regional contexts—the allocation of 75 person-days for the entire team's engagement appears insufficient. We request you to reconsider and revise the estimated effort to better align with the comprehensive nature of the assignment.UNOPS Answer:The specified LOE is based on an assessment, and is given as an indication or guide for the development of the proposal. If bidders want to present an increased LOE, with a justification on why and where LOEs are required above what is mentioned in the TOR, they are free to do so. It is encouraged to include a section in the narrative proposal on 'deviations to the TOR' or similar to address this.Question:Should all project experience referenced within the technical proposal be listed in Form F? Or only those most relevant? Is there a guide for the number of reference projects which should be included in Form F?UNOPS Answer:Form F must list the continuous business of most relevant experience as specified in the Schedule of Requirements during the last 5 years.

New clarification added: Thank you for confirming the submission of your proposal.

New amendment added #1: Dear Vendors,Please be advised that the deadline for submission of proposals for RFP/2025/56291 has been extended to 10 April 2025, 22:59 UTC.Consequently, the deadline for submission of clarification requests has been extended to 2 April 2025, 16:00 UTC.We encourage you to review the revised timelines and submit your proposals and clarification requests accordingly.Thank you for your continued interest.Sincerely,UNOPS

New clarification added: Given this, we kindly request an extension of two weeks beyond the current deadline of March 31st, allowing us to put forward a well-structured and competitive proposal. We believe, this additional time will enable us to enhance the technical and financial robustness of our submission, ensuring alignment with the project’s objectives.Answer: The proposal submission deadline will be extended until April 10thQuestion:  The scope of work outlined for the three countries would require a detailed primary and secondary research to arrive at outcome for enhancing financing for electrification in health care facilities. The current mandays efforts is listed at 75 days, reflecting 25 person days per country which may not do justice to the expected outcome. We would request UNOPS to relook at the efforts envisaged and increase the same to ensure an insightful outcome from the engagement. Answer: At this stage the terms of reference will not be adjusted. Bidders are allowed to highlight interpreation of the scope of work, as well as recommendations for adjustments as part of the bids.Clarification Questions – Proposal SubmissionCould you please confirm where the organigram should be uploaded? Is it acceptable to include it within the technical proposal (e.g., under the team bios section)?Answer: Yes, Organigram can be added as part of the Technical ProposalRegarding financial stability, is there a specific format or template you require for this information? Would submitting our 2023 Profit & Loss statement and Balance Sheet be sufficient?Answer: Please submit your Audited Financial Statements for the last two years in an official and formal format.For the administrative documents requiring signature, should these be signed by the organisation’s statutory legal representative or can the project lead sign them?Answer: These must be signed by the legal representativeCould you clarify how the returnable bidding forms should be submitted? Specifically, for Form C, should we insert our Technical Proposal below the signed form as it is i.e., including all text and evaluation criteria sections?Answer: Vendors can either submit the technical proposal as an attachment along with the signed Form C or directly insert the proposal under signed Form C. Questions: Please confirm if there’s a page limit for experts' CVs? Asnwer: There are no page limits, however, vendors are encouraged to keep them precise and relevantPlease confirm whether the proposal shall be valid for a period of 120 days as stated in the template Form A: Proposal Submission Form, or 90 days as stated in the Tender Particular details on the UNOPS vendor portal (from the date fixed for the Proposal submission deadline as set out in the RFP)? Answer: 120 days as stated in the form