RFQ Goods/Services - Provision of Consultancy Services for Business Startup acceleration/Entrepreneurial support and Training in Madaba, Jordan

New amendment added #2: Dear Sir/Madam,Please be informed that the RFQ/2025/56760 quotation submission deadline has been extended to 2025-05-07 09:00 UTC. Regards.

New amendment added #1: Dear Sir/Madam,Please be informed that Section II: Schedule of Requirements and Section III: Returnable bidding forms are revised adding the answers from clarifications. Please find revised version of documents under documents section.Regards.

New clarification added: Dears,in reference to the Request for Quotations for promoting women's entrepreneurship through training and the incubation of activities in crafts and tourism, we are submitting the following requests for clarification:1.     Is the provision of seed funding for the incubation component eligible under this budget? If so, are there limitation in terms of budget percentage or amount per startup?2.     Considering the number of participants in the different components of the program, is venue going to be provided by the HERitage project or is it to be accounted for in the submitted designs?Thank you in advance for your support.Answers to Clarification:Question (1): Seed funding wasn’t originally planned or included in the budget for this component, since our focus has been mainly on setting up and running the incubation program itself. That said, we're very open to suggestions from the selected provider on whether seed funding could add value, and how it might be worked in without compromising the budget and/or other priorities. Question (2): The trainings will be held in the training halls of MIMAR. The service provider will provide an allowance to MIMAR for the use of the training halls (rental fees). 

New clarification added: Questions:17.    Regarding the indicator: "Number of women-led projects supported and coached – Target: 5–15" – can these be led by individual women, or can they be formed as group businesses under a single project umbrella?18.    In Form B: Price Schedule Form, are the percentage weights for each deliverable fixed, or can they be adjusted to better reflect the scope and cost of each activity? For example, can the incubation component be re-weighted since it will span 9 months and carry significant operational effort?19.    In Form C: Technical Quotation Form, are we required to strictly fill in the provided format, or are we allowed to submit a comprehensive technical proposal that incorporates this form as a section, alongside other narrative and supporting elements?Form C is part of a pass/fail evaluation, so it must be filled out strictly as provided. Unfortunately, alternative formats or expanded proposals cannot be accepted at this stage, as per the tender’s requirements20.    Will training/incubation venues be provided by the project partners (e.g., municipal spaces), or must the service provider arrange and finance suitable locations?21.    Are there any local content or vendor preferences that must be observed (e.g., prioritizing Madaba-based trainers or service providers)?22.    Will the training curriculum and methodology require prior approval from Cities Alliance or UNOPS before implementation?23.    Are narrative and financial reports to be submitted in English only, or must they be bilingual (Arabic and English)?24.    Is the service provider responsible for designing and implementing M&E tools, or will standardized tools/templates be provided by Cities Alliance or UNOPS?Responses:(17): They can be both, led by individual women and group businesses. (18): The delivery timeline and costs for this process are fixed and cannot be altered. Suppliers should therefore base their offers on the existing arrangements. In Form B (Price Schedule), the cost‑breakdown table and percentage allocations are also fixed; however, you may insert additional rows into Table 3 if needed.(19): In Form C: Technical Quotation Form, the bidder must complete the provided format without making any changes to it. The bidder may attach detailed information along with.(20):The trainings will be held in a training hall at MIMAR. The service provider will provide an allowance (rental fees) to MIMAR for the use of the training halls.(21):Yes, supporting Madaba’s local community is a key priority in implementing this project. Preference should be given to Madaba-based trainers or service providers, provided they meet the required professional qualifications and can ensure the quality of deliverables.(22):Yes, all training materials and manuals should be reviewed and approved by the Cities Alliance team. (23): All narrative and financial reports should be submitted in English.(24):The service provider is expected to propose suitable M&E tools and methods as part of their technical approach. However, Cities Alliance and UNOPS may share relevant templates or frameworks, if available, to ensure alignment with project-wide monitoring and reporting requirements. Coordination with our team on this will be important during the inception phase.

New clarification added: Questions:1.    Can transportation allowances for participants be included in the project budget? If yes, will they be managed by the service provider or by other implementing partners? 2.    Can financial grants (beyond in-kind support) be awarded to the most promising business projects after the incubation phase, through the service provider's budget?3.    Are the same 150 women expected to participate in both the training and business incubation programs, or will a filtering/selection process apply between the two components?4.    Can you clarify whether success is measured by the participation and progress of all 150 women or solely by the 5–15 business projects mentioned in the RFQ?5.    Who is responsible for outreach and participant recruitment – Cities Alliance, the Municipality, or the service provider? Is the service provider expected to develop and implement an outreach plan?6.    Is collaboration with MIMAR or the Municipality mandatory when recruiting trainers? If yes:o    Are trainers provided by the project partners, or must the service provider recruit them?o    Who covers their fees?o    Which sessions must be led specifically by MIMAR/Municipality-affiliated trainers?7.    Should the digital platform be custom-built for this project, or can it be based on an existing system? Who will be responsible for hosting and maintaining the platform after project completion?8.    What are the minimum required features for the digital platform (e.g., multilingual support, user progress tracking, ability to upload videos, submit assignments, etc.)?9.    Should all training materials and digital content be provided in Arabic only, or both Arabic and English?10.    Will the donor or project partners provide any physical training materials (e.g., mosaic tools, fabrics), or is the service provider responsible for procurement?11.    Will the list of 150 women beneficiaries be provided directly by the donor/Cities Alliance, or should the service provider conduct outreach and selection based on predefined criteria?12.    Can any of the training sessions be conducted virtually, or must they all be delivered face-to-face?13.    In the case of face-to-face training sessions:•    Where are they expected to be held?•    Who is responsible for securing and covering the cost of the venue?•    What hospitality standards are required: is a coffee break sufficient, or are full meals expected?14.    Is there a target number of one-on-one coaching sessions per participant? Are these expected to be in-person or can they be virtual?15.    Will the service provider be responsible for the costs of building and maintaining the online platform?16.    How many beneficiaries are expected to participate in the Training of Trainers (ToT) component?Responses:(1): Yes, if there’s a need to provide transportation allowances for participants, it should fall under the responsibilities of the service provider and be covered from the budget allocated to this component.(2): The current budget for this component does not include financial grants beyond in-kind support. However, if the service provider sees strong justification for awarding cash grants to top-performing businesses after the incubation phase, we are open to considering such a proposal. This would need to be well-reasoned, fall within the allocated budget, and would likely require prior approval from the donor before moving forward.(3): Selection criteria for both the capacity-building and incubation programs should be developed in collaboration with the Cities Alliance team. It is important to note that the criteria for selecting participants in the capacity-building program will differ from those used for the incubation program. (4): Success will be measured by achieving the target of training 150 participants, as well as supporting between 5 and 15 business projects.(5): Participant outreach will be carried out by the service provider in coordination and collaboration with the Municipality of Madaba and MIMAR, under the oversight of and the selection criteria developed by Cities Alliance.(6): One qualified trainer has to be recruited from the Municipality's staff and one from MIMAR’s. The rest of the trainers are the responsibility of the selected supplier to recruit.-One trainer must be assigned from the Municipality of Madaba and one from MIMAR. The remaining trainers will be recruited by the service provider, as mentioned above.- The service provider is required to allocate a budget for all trainers involved in both the capacity-building and incubation programs.  Even the ones assigned from MIMAR and the Municipality of Madaba. -The courses to be delivered by MIMAR and the Municipality of Madaba will be finalized in consultation with them after the contract with the selected service provider is signed. (7): No custom-built platforms should be developed. All relevant training materials will be uploaded to the MIMAR website.(8): Once the contract with the selected service provider is signed, a meeting will be arranged between the service provider and the MIMAR’s IT focal point to obtain information about the MIMAR website.(9): All trainings, materials and resources shall be delivered in Arabic language, with English versions provided for Cities Alliance records.(10): The service provider is responsible for procuring all relevant materials. If they require MIMAR to provide these materials, the service provider must reimburse MIMAR. (11): Participant outreach will be carried out by the service provider in coordination and collaboration with the Municipality of Madaba and MIMAR, under the oversight and selection criteria of Cities Alliance.(12): All trainings should be delivered face to face. (13): -All trainings will be in training rooms in MIMAR Premises in Madaba. -The training will be held in a training hall at MIMAR. The service provider will provide an allowance (rental fees) to MIMAR for the use of the training halls.-Coffee breaks are sufficient. (14): Each participant is required to receive a minimum of six one-on-one coaching sessions. In addition, there should be flexibility to provide up to three additional sessions (for a total of eight) for participants who may require more tailored or intensive support.(15):No custom-built platforms should be developed. All relevant training materials will be uploaded to the MIMAR’s website. (16): This shall be discussed and agreed upon with the selected supplier. 

New clarification added: Dear Procurement Team, We are writing this message in order to kindly ask you for a two weeks extension to the deadline for the submission of the Offers in relation to the procedure in object. Thank you in advance and best regards,Cities Alliance response:At this stage, we do not anticipate the need for an extension. However, as we approach the deadline, we may consider a one-week extension, if necessary. Should this be the case, it will be communicated officially.

New clarification added: Dear UNOPS,We would like to submit the following questions for clarification, regarding eSourcing reference: RFQ/2025/56760, entitled Provision of Consultancy Services for Business Startup acceleration/Entrepreneurial support and Training in Madaba, Jordan.The RFQ does not specify the number of people to be trained in the Art Institute. What is UNOP's expectation/target for individuals to be trained?In what language are the trainings, training materials, and resources to be delivered in? English and Arabic? Or only Arabic?Can UNOPS share the results of the first component of the HERitage community mapping, stakeholder engagement, and participatory assessments?Thank youAnswer to question 1: Number of women participating in the capacity building programme: 150Number of women benefitting from activities linked to the incubation program and economic empowerment trainings: 150Number of women-led projects supported and coached: 5 to 15 Answer to question 2:The trainings, materials and resources shall be delivered in Arabic language, with English versions provided for Cities Alliance records.Answer to question 3:The results of the first component shall be shared with the winning bidder once the contract is signed as the final assessment report is yet to be finalized.