Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF)- Request For Proposals For The Engagement Of A Consulting Firm To Implement A Labour Market Information System For The State

DEADLINE: 15TH JUNE, 2022
LAGOS STATE EMPLOYMENT TRUST FUND (LSETF)
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR THE ENGAGEMENT OF A CONSULTING FIRM TO IMPLEMENT A LABOUR MARKET INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR LAGOS STATE
LSETF/QBS/6/22

The Lagos State Employment Trust Fund “LSETF” was established by the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund Law 2016. The Fund’s mandate is achieved through the provision of access to affordable finance to nano, micro, small & medium enterprises, training of youth in technical and vocational skills, business support services to entrepreneurs and recommendation of processes to improve the ease of doing business in Lagos State. Similarly, LSETF develops and implements interventions targeted at the technology ecosystem within the State

The promotion of skills development and sustainable growth for decent employment opportunities is a concern for various public and private sector stakeholders that contribute to the economic development of Lagos State. Whilst there is a consensus on the need to tackle unemployment especially amongst the youth in the State, activities by different stakeholders in both private and public sectors are currently fragmented. Government, private sector, and development institutions embark on individual interventions, often overlapping each other and mostly driven by insufficient market evidence from incomprehensive data sources. As a result, little synergies are created, and interventions fail to precisely target the common goal – a prospering Lagos state that offers decent employment opportunities for all.

To effectively drive initiatives around employment and job creation, it is critical to develop a system that provides accurate and reliable data on the current job status of residents of Lagos state. To achieve this, a two-pronged approach is required:

(1) Establish a platform where multiple stakeholders can collaboratively synergize their information, expertise, and activities towards achieving the common goal – job creation and employment; and,

(2) Leverage technology to design and deploy a robust Labor Market Information System (LMIS) capable of aggregating data from diverse sources and providing key market insights in real (or near-real) time.

Consequently, the LSETF now invites proposals from qualified consultants to provide the following consulting service (hereinafter called “Services”): Implementation of a Labour Market Information System (LMIS) for Lagos State.

In this Request for Proposal document, you will find detailed instructions relating to the submission of your proposal; you are requested to strictly follow the instructions and provide the mandatory documents for your proposal to be considered for the Consultant Pre-qualification exercise.

Please submit your Proposal titled “Consultancy Service to Implement a Labour Market Information System (LMIS) for Lagos State” no later than close of business (4:00 p.m.) on Wednesday, 15th June, 2022 » through: https://lsetf.ng/tenders

Request for Proposals – Instructions 4
Requests for clarification can be made to the below email address, on or before Monday, 6 June, 2022: procurementunit@lsetf.ng

This RFP is solely for preparing and submitting a Proposal and confirmation of your ability to provide the required services. All information, both written and oral, which is obtained or provided in connection with this RFP is confidential.

Kindly note that submission of a proposal does not guarantee engagement. Applicants selected to work with the LSETF will be notified via email, alongside necessary information to continue with the selection process.

Those not selected will also be notified via email; LSETF is under no obligation to disclose the reason for rejection.

LSETF is NDPR compliant. By submitting your information and documents to us, you are agreeing to the storage and usage of your data by LSETF, in accordance with our privacy policy.

Yours truly,

Teju Abisoye

Executive Secretary

Request for Proposals – Instructions 5

SECTION II – INSTRUCTIONS TO CONSULTANTS

1. INTRODUCTION
2. General

This RFP is issued for submission of proposal for the implementation of a Labour Market Information System (LMIS) for Lagos State

2. Definitions

«Day» means calendar day;

«LSETF» means the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund;

«NDPR» means National Data Protection Regulations;

«Project Name» means “Request for Proposal – Engagement of a Consultant to Implement a Labour Market Information System (LMIS) for Lagos State”;

«Proposal» means a Proposal submitted by a Consulting firm, pursuant to this RFP;

«RFP» means this Request for Proposal;

«TOR» means the Terms of Reference, setting out the detailed scope of work required from the consulting firm.

(B) REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

Contents of the Request for Proposal

(3.1) This RFP describes the procedure, terms, qualifications, requirements and conditions for the submission of a Proposal. This RFP consists of the following:

• The Letter of Request for Proposal
• Instructions to Bidders
• The Terms of Reference

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Request for Proposals – Instructions 7

(3.2) The Consultant shall examine the instructions, sample documents and requirements provided in this RFP and adhere to all instructions and requirements herein, in submitting a Proposal.

(4) Amendment of RFP
(4.1) At any time prior to the deadline for submission of Proposals, the LSETF, may for any reason at its own initiative or in response to a clarification requested by a consultant, modify the RFP.

(4.2) All Firms that have received/access the RFP will be notified in writing or by standard electronic means of any amendments to the RFP.

(4.3) In order to afford the firms reasonable time in which to take the amendments into account in preparing their Proposals, following a request for clarification LSETF may, at its discretion, extend the deadline for submission of Proposals.

(C) PREPARATION OF PROPOSAL

(5) Language
The Proposal and all related correspondence shall be in English.

(6) Contents of Proposal
(6.1) The Proposal shall comprise of the Technical Proposal and the Financial Proposal.

(6.2) The Financial Proposal shall consist of the following documents:

• A written letter signed by the authorized representative of the Firm; and

• The detailed breakdown of the estimated cost i.e. summary of cost and breakdown of prices

(6.3) The Technical Proposal shall consist of the following documents:

• The Profile of the Firm, setting out its organizational structure, relevant experience in leading or providing advisory on labour market, employment and policies to public or private organizations, its resource plan and the proposed methodology, work plan and team composition clearly indicating the team leader, and other key experts.

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Any other information which the firm reasonably believes is necessary, having reference to the contents of the TOR.

(6.4) The Technical Proposal shall not contain any pricing information whatsoever. Pricing information shall be separated and only contained in the Financial Proposal.

(6.5) Any information which the Firm considers confidential shall be clearly marked as such and shall be treated accordingly.

(7) Currency of the Proposal
The prices in the Financial Proposal should be quoted in Naira. Payment will be budgeted and disbursed as Naira.

(8) Validity of the Proposal
The validity period of the Proposal shall be 30 days.

(9) Cost of Preparation of Proposal
The Firm shall bear all costs associated with the preparation and submission of its Proposal. LSETF shall in no case be responsible or liable for any costs associated with submitting Proposals, regardless of its conduct or the outcome of the Proposal. The LSETF reserves the right to annul the Proposal process at any time prior to awarding the contract, without thereby incurring any liability to the Firm.

(D) SUBMISSION OF PROPOSAL
(10) Sealing and marking of Proposal
The Firm shall place the Technical Proposal (and its supporting documents), and the Financial proposal (and its supporting documents) in separate documents, marked as such.

(10.1) The documents shall indicate the name and address of your Organization, the name and address of LSETF, the Project Name and reference number of the Proposal as indicated in the Letter of Proposal.

(10.2) The supporting documents required are:

(1) Evidence of registration with Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC)

(2) Tax Clearance Certificate for the preceding 3 (three) years 2019-2021 from the Lagos Internal Revenue service (LIRS)

(3) Evidence of registration/renewal as a consultant with the Lagos State Public Procurement Agency (LASPPA) for the current year (2022)

(4) Audited Financial Statement for the last 3 (three) years (2019- 2021)

(5) Corporate profile of the company services and affiliations

(6) Curriculum Vitae of at least 3 key professional staff

(7) Evidence of at least 3 (three) similar jobs executed in the last 2 (two) years including letters of awards and reference letters

(8) An affidavit that all documents submitted are genuine and verifiable

Request for Proposals – Instructions 9
(11) Deadline for the Submission of Proposal.
(11.1) Proposals must be received through the link specified in above on or before the close of business on Wednesday 15th, June, 2022.

(11.2) Any Proposal received by LSETF after the deadline for the submission specified in paragraph 11.1 shall be returned unopened to the Firm

(11.3) LSETF may, at their sole discretion, extend the deadline for the submission of Proposals by amending this RFP in accordance with the terms and conditions hereof.

(12) Clarifications
(12.1) A Firm requiring additional clarification of any part of this RFP, may notify the LSETF via the contact details provided above. The LSETF will respond in writing, or by standard electronic means to any request for clarification of the RFP that it receives no later than Monday, 6th June 2022 and may send written copies of the response (including an explanation of the query but without identifying the source of inquiry) to all Firms. If LSETF deem it necessary to amend the RFP because of a clarification, it shall notify any firm that has submitted a Proposal prior to such amendment.

(13) Modification/ Withdrawal of Proposal:
(13.1) A Firm may withdraw its Proposal after the submission, provided that written notice of the withdrawal is received by LSETF prior to the deadline prescribed for submission of Proposals.

(13.2) No Proposal may be modified subsequent to the deadline for submission of Proposals without prior approval from the point of contact specified above.

(E) OPENING AND EVALUATION OF PROPOSAL
(14) Opening of Proposals

(14.1) The LSETF shall only open Proposals received after the submission deadline with the Evaluation Committee only in attendance. The Technical Proposals shall be open and evaluated prior to the opening of the Financial Proposals.

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(15) Evaluation of Proposals

(15.1) The Evaluation Committee shall evaluate and compare the Proposals as follows:

• Pre-Qualification exercise to determine that all requested documents were submitted and in the required format.
• Examination of the Technical Proposal in order to confirm conformity with specifications contained in the RFP and the substantial responsiveness of each Technical Proposal to the RFP. For this purpose, a substantially responsive Proposal is one that conforms to all terms and conditions of the RFP without material deviations. LSETF’s determination of a Proposal’s responsiveness is based on the contents of the Proposal itself without any recourse to extrinsic evidence.
• Upon examination of the Technical Proposals, the Evaluation Committee shall select the Technical Proposals that are substantially responsive and examine the Financial Proposals submitted with such Technical Proposals. In examining the Financial Proposals, the Evaluation Committee shall verify any arithmetical errors. For example, if the Proposal in figures is different from the Proposal in words, the amount in words shall prevail. If there is a discrepancy between the unit price and the total price that is obtained by multiplying the unit price and quantity, the unit price shall prevail, and the total price shall be corrected.

(16) Fraud and Corruption:
(16.1) The LSETF and the consulting firm shall hold the highest ethical standards, both during the selection process and principle, and shall abstain at all times from corruption or fraudulent practices. Corruption and fraudulent practices are defined as follows:

(a) “corrupt practice” means the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting, directly or indirectly, of anything of value to influence the action of a public official in the selection process;

(b) “fraudulent practice” means a misrepresentation or omission of facts in order to influence a selection process;

© “collusive practices” means a scheme or arrangement between two or more Consultants with or without the knowledge of the LSETF, designed to establish prices at artificial, non-competitive levels;

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(d) “coercive practice” means harming or threatening to harm, directly or indirectly, persons or their property to influence the selection process or affect the execution of a training program.

The LSETF shall reject a proposal for award if it determines that the firm recommended for contract award has, directly or through an agent, engaged in corrupt, fraudulent, collusive or coercive practices in applying for the proposal.

SECTION III
TERMS OF REFERENCE
Engagement of a Consultant to Implement a Labour Market Information System (LMIS) for Lagos State

Background Information
These Terms of Reference (“TOR”) describe the tasks to be performed by a Consultant for the Implementation of a Labour Market Information System (LMIS) for Lagos State.

The promotion of skills development and sustainable growth for decent employment opportunities is a concern for various public and private sector stakeholders that contribute to the economic development of Lagos State. Whilst there is a consensus on the need to tackle unemployment especially amongst the youth in the State, activities by different stakeholders in both private and public sectors are currently fragmented. Government, private sector, and development institutions embark on individual interventions, often overlapping each other and mostly driven by insufficient market evidence from incomprehensive data sources. As a result, little synergies are created, and interventions fail to precisely target the common goal – a prospering Lagos state that offers decent employment opportunities for all.

To effectively drive initiatives around employment and job creation, it is critical to develop a system that provides accurate and reliable data on the current job status of residents of Lagos state. To achieve this, a two-pronged approach is required:

(i) Establish a platform where multiple stakeholders can collaboratively synergize their information, expertise, and activities towards achieving the common goal – job creation and employment; and,

(ii) Leverage technology to design and deploy a robust Labor Market Information System (LMIS) capable of aggregating data from diverse sources and providing key market insights in real (or near-real) time.

(1.0) Objectives
Develop a robust Labour Market Information System (LMIS) for Lagos State (LASG) to aggregate data from public and private sector employment-generating, education and training institutions, and the general public. Collected data, when analyzed will provide current market insight to help:

• Education and Training Institutions: to develop a curriculum that is up-to-date and relevant for the current (and future) business ecosystem
• Private and Public Employers: identify the available skilled manpower in the market to meet their needs
• Unemployed Youth: stay abreast with current skill demands in the market and the relevant training institutions to obtain skills – Career Guidance
• Government: have reliable market insight to inform policy decisions for sustainable and impactful growth of Lagos State.

(2.0) Scope of Work
The LMIS Consultant will be required to undertake the following tasks for a period of eighteen (18) months:

(2.1) Build Institutional Network

(i) Provide guidance and direction on establishing frameworks and mechanisms for effective and continuous data sharing across relevant institutions and stakeholders in the labour market ecosystem

(ii) Coordinate activities of the Public-Private dialogue platform and drive engagement and involvement of key stakeholders required for access to labour market data

(iii) Identify key stakeholders and institutions with access to reliable labour market data and establish formal institutional arrangements for effective and continuous data sharing

(iv) Participate in Technical Working Group sessions, providing input and collecting feedback that helps in strengthening data collection mechanisms

(2.2) Analytical Capacity
(i) Carry out system requirements definition and scoping for an analytical and reporting portal through engagements with key stakeholders

(ii) Determine user needs by analyzing technical requirements, and design system UI and backend database structure to meet identified requirements

(iii) Support with portal design, development, testing and launch

(iv) Lead end-user training and onboarding for all stakeholder groups

(2.3) Data Collection and Aggregation
(i) Carry out data requirements definition and scoping through engagements with relevant stakeholders

(ii) Define and establish data collection and aggregation framework across relevant institutions in Lagos state

(iii) Advise on tools, mechanisms, and personnel for data collection and aggregation

(iv) Lead data collection and aggregation drives, including recruitment, training, and rollout of personnel

(2.4) Data Storage & Repository
(i) Support with system data storage requirement definition and scoping including database structure definition, scalable storage design definition, server requirements, etc

(ii) Identify, evaluate, and recommend hardware or software technologies to achieve desired database performance.

(iii) Provide guidance in the design of database applications, such as interfaces, data transfer mechanisms, global temporary tables, data partitions, and function-based indexes to enable efficient access of the generic database structure.

(iv) Support with the planning and installation of upgrades to database management system software to enhance database performance.

(v) Lead consolidation and upload of data from collection campaigns/drives onto storage servers

(2.5) Ancillary
(i) Assess the LMIS to identify key areas for redesigning, rebuilding, and restructuring to meet project deliverables

(ii) Identify problems uncovered by end-user feedback and testing, and correct problems

(iii) Provide support to a diverse band of end-users.

(iv) Collaborate with key project stakeholders to understand business or industry requirements.

(3.0) Key Competencies and Expertise Required
The Partner shall consider and demonstrate the expertise required for the performance of its services. Related experience shall include the following:

(i) A solid understanding of the Nigerian and Lagos labor market including knowledge of institutions, key stakeholders that play critical role in access to reliable labor market information

(ii) Access to vast institutional network in the Lagos labour ecosystem

(iii) Prior experience in leading or providing advisory on labour market, employment and policies to public or private organizations.

(iv) Prior experience in the design, and development of labour market information systems to meet the needs stated in section Section 2 of this TOR.

(v) Adequate knowledge of tools and technologies required to build an efficient and robust labor market information system

(vi) Aggressive problem diagnosis and creative problem-solving skills

(vii) Demonstrated capacity to juggle multiple tasks within the constraints of timelines and budgets

(viii) Thorough knowledge of all aspects of managing a project, such as this, including a clear understanding of evolving trends and technologies

(ix) Possess adequate personnel and facilities necessary for the activities required.

(x) Ability to fund aspects of the programs in advance.

(4.0) Duration and Proposed Payment Terms
(4.1) The duration of this assignment is eighteen (18) months

(4.2) The LMIS Lead Consultant should expect to be paid on a fixed schedule, based on the achievement of pre-negotiated milestones established prior to project commencement. The below chart is an example of the type of chart that will be developed once selected”.

(5.0) Client’s Input and Counterpart Personnel
The Consultant Team will work with LSETF Designated Implementation Teams. The Team Leader will be responsible for the quality of the services provided by the team.