DEADLINE: 10TH MAY, 2023
SUSTAINABLE ENERGY FOR ALL (SEFORALL)
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR CONSULTANT SERVICES FOR AN INDEPENDENT COUNTRY EVALUATION OF SEFORALL ACTIVITIES IN NIGERIA
Context
SEforALL is widely acknowledged for its achievement in raising global awareness of the world’s sustainable energy challenges, ensuring they were included in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Now an independent international organization, SEforALL is directed by its CEO as it works toward the achievement of SDG7. The organization also supports the work of the CEO in her additional roles as Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General (SRSG) for Sustainable Energy for All and as cochair of UN-Energy. These roles include advising the UN Secretary-General and his staff on issues relating to sustainable energy and the implementation of SDG7 and supporting the coordination of sustainable energy issues in the United Nations system.
The organization currently employs approximately 100+ full-time professionals and now operates out of its headquarters in Vienna and satellite offices in New York City and Washington DC USA; it also has a country office in Abuja, Nigeria. Additional team members are based in Freetown, Sierra Leone; Accra, Ghana; Nairobi, Kenya; and Jakarta, Indonesia, with an expectation of more country-based assignments to occur in the future.
SEforALL’s history has been categorized internally into three phases, each designated by its CEO during that phase.
The first phase, referred to as SEforALL 1.0, covers the early years as a UN initiative from 2011 to 2015. The second phase (SEforALL 2.0) covers the years from 2015 to 2020 when SEforALL became an independent organization. T he third phase (SEforALL 3.0) began in 2020 with the appointment of the current CEO. With progress continuing to be off track to meet SDG7 by 2030, SEforALL 3.0 has broadened its focus to cover high-level global advocacy and country-specific implementation.
SEforALL’s key interventions over its three phases include interventions in the following areas:
- High-level sustainable energy diplomacy including the role of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG);
- Coalitions, collaborations and platforms including accelerators and hubs that were developed during SEforALL 2.0;
- Global thought leadership that includes SEforALL’s focus on Powering Healthcare and Integrated Energy Planning, and publications including Energizing Finance and Chilling Prospects;
- Compelling communications raising global awareness on SDG7 and the sustainable development agenda;
- Direct support to specific countries, which started in SEforALL 2.0 with Action Agendas (AAs) and Investment Prospectuses (IPs) and has been strengthened in SEforALL 3.0 through the country engagement approach.
As the organization reaches a key strategic moment at the end of the current Business Plan (2021-2023) and three years into SEforALL 3.0, this evaluation will provide data and evidence to support our further development and implementation of our country-specific programmes and interventions.
SEforALL NIGERIA COUNTRY ENGAGEMENT
As part of SEforALL 3.0, there has been a shift to increasing our country-level implementation. The country engagement approach has been developed since 2020, with a country presence established in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, and Indonesia. Underpinning the engagement in all countries are three main imperatives: the mutually reinforcing need for higher ambition, stronger policy frameworks and faster delivery on the ground.
Higher ambition includes securing new commitments for energy transition solutions through raising political momentum, fostering collaboration, producing data intelligence and broad-based knowledge documents.
Stronger policy and planning support focus on providing toolkits, solutions, data for decision-making and hands-on support to develop national policies, plans, and roadmaps, that can be adopted by countries to achieve sustainable energy and climate goals.
Faster results are driven through the deployment of new clean energy connections (mini-grids and stand-alone solar systems for productive use) through a ‘results-based financing’ fund.
Underpinning the high-level imperatives, there is an emerging typology of three main country activities:
- Developing/improving Energy Plans, Roadmaps and Frameworks (that include access and low carbon development) that aim to improve policy and planning in the energy, climate and development nexus;
- Supporting the development of innovative frameworks for improved public, private and foreign investment that create the enabling environment for investments to support the energy, climate and development nexus;
- Supporting the development and implementation of sector-specific initiatives that combine energy-climate-development goals through developing and scaling up blueprints of success.
Since 2020, SEforALL has built a close partnership with the government of Nigeria, one of the most significant and rapidly growing economies in Africa, with the largest energy access gap. Nigeria is the first country that SEforALL has focussed on building a substantial in-country presence, building a strategic partnership with the government, and implementing a range of programmes. As such, SEforALL’s work in Nigeria has been significant in ‘piloting’ the country’s engagement model in terms of scope and level of advancement.
The SEforALL approach has been to provide holistic support covering all three imperatives outlined above and is the first country to have established a significant in-country presence through an office in Abuja.
Our work in Nigeria since 2020 has included the following key initiatives.
Energy Transition Plan (ETP) and Energy Transition Office (ETO): The ETP is a data-backed strategy that sets out a timeline and framework for the attainment of emissions reductions in 5 key sectors: Power, Cooking, Oil and Gas, Transport, and Industry. SEforALL helped the government to develop and launch the detailed plan and established a dedicated unit of staff within the government to support the plan’s implementation through leading a dedicated secretariat (ETO) for the Energy Transition Implementation working group (ETWG) chaired by H.E. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and several key ministers (Environment, Finance, Power, Works & Housing, Petroleum, and Foreign Affairs). The ETO supports the ETWG to achieve the concrete objectives that have been set.
Results-based Finance: The Universal Energy Facility (UEF) – a multi-donor facility managed by SEforALL – provides grants to stand-alone solar energy projects that power economic clusters and displace polluting fossil fuel generators in Nigeria. The objectives of the Stand-Alone Solar for Productive Use (SSPU) programme in Nigeria are to scale up electricity access for SMEs by supporting sustainable business models and de-risking investments in solar companies by providing grant payments to enable the expansion of operations.
Nigeria Integrated Energy Planning Tool: The tool is an online, interactive data visualization platform that brings together data to support policy makers and practitioners to make more informed decisions about their strategies and operations to advance energy access in the country. The tool uses geospatial modelling to provide actionable intelligence for the private sector and government stakeholders.
Powering Healthcare: The Powering Healthcare Nigeria Market Assessment and Roadmap provide analysis and practical recommendations for planning and coordination of electrifying Nigeria’s underserved health facilities. The Roadmap has several objectives including i) Providing the government and development partners with market intelligence and the evidence base for advancing health facility electrification (HFE) in Nigeria; ii) Providing the strategic information and implementation guide needed by governments and their partners to increase investment in and the sustainability of HFE efforts, and; iii) Providing practical recommendations targeted at the government and its development partners in terms of planning and coordination of HFE efforts.
Solar Power Naija Project: SEforALL collaborated with the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) to support the implementation of the largest government-driven off-grid electrification project on the continent. SEforALL provided support to the Project Implementation Unit in shaping the implementation framework and rollout of the programme based on geospatial data and a value chain localization economic model.
SEforALL’s work in Nigeria is funded through several donors, including the Rockefeller Foundation, Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), Bloomberg Philanthropies, and the IKEA Foundation.
OBJECTIVE
The Nigeria Country Evaluation has the following main objectives and covers the main phases of the SEforALL country engagement, including the design and planning stage, implementation phase, and expected results/impact from implementation.
- Examine the extent to which SEforALL has been and is likely to be effective, relevant, and coherent in meeting the objectives for which it was set in the context of its core operational priorities and actions. This includes exploring whether SEforALL is doing the right things and whether it is doing things right with respect to its energy sector portfolio and how and to what extent these are validating our organizational and programmatic theories of change in Nigeria.
- Understand the extent to which SEforALL has so far built successful country business models, the scale of country responses, and the extent to which it is attracting greater private and public energy sector investment.
- Appraise to what degree SEforALL has been responsive to the country’s needs and priorities and pursued innovative approaches in its operations.
- Assess the efficiency of establishing operational capacity in Nigeria, benchmarking against peer organizations where feasible.
- Examine what is working, how, and for whom, while identifying key bottlenecks in ensuring access and commitment to the guiding principles of just and equitable energy access and transition.
- Identify key lessons learned and a set of actionable recommendations to support future implementation and increased impact and reach in Nigeria and additional focus countries of SEforALL in sub-Saharan Africa.
The independent evaluation will use several evaluation criteria including the relevance of the mandate; the effectiveness of the programme and processes; the efficiency of processes; sustained impact and coherence in energy sector delivery; gender equity and inclusiveness; innovation; country ownership; and potential for building scale. The evaluation will analyze these criteria customized to this evaluation.
These evaluation criteria will be finalized during the inception phase of this evaluation. Overall, the evaluation will contribute to accountability by reviewing emerging evidence on the performance and the impact and/or likelihood of impact of SEforALL activities in Nigeria.
SCOPE OF WORK
The evaluation will be conducted in close collaboration with SEforALL. The Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Department will manage the consultancy, with engagement with the Nigerian ETO and in-country team and programme teams implementing projects in Nigeria expected.
The selected team will be required to deliver outputs in a timely manner and undertake the following key activities.
Delivery of an Approach/Inception Paper: The selected team will deliver a detailed Approach/Inception Paper (in line with the formatting guidelines provided by the SEforALL), that outlines the structure of the main report and the annexes, explains the conceptual framework, methodology, tools, instruments, protocols, and the expected process that the evaluation will follow within a detailed and time-intensive delivery timeline.
Attend key meetings and perform data collection in Nigeria, including interviews with key informants: This meeting will take place in the third quarter of 2023 with analysis and writing, which will take place in August/September 2023.
Revise Approach/Inception Paper: Once the initial groundwork has been undertaken, and comments received from SEforALL, the selected team will prepare and present a revised Approach/Inception Paper.
Submit final report: The selected team shall draft the zero draft of the factual report, including all annexes and appendices as stipulated in the approach paper, and then, after comments have been received, submit the complete final report with key findings and actionable recommendations, including those that reflect key strategic and learning messages and inputs from SEforALL. The selected team is also expected to draft a PowerPoint presentation summarizing the key issues reflected in the final report.
SCOPE OF BID
Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) issues these Bidding Documents for the consultancy services as specified in the Terms of Reference (TOR).
SEforALL invites bidders to submit bids for all services required
Eligible Bidders
In order to be eligible for this project, the bidder(s) must:
- Submit a copy of their Certificate of Incorporation
- Submit a copy of their bank account details (of a bank eligible to receive international transactions) and a letter from their bank certifying the details
- Submit the latest copy of their Tax Compliance Certificate
- Submit a copy of their gender policy
Bidders shall provide such evidence of their continued eligibility satisfactory to SEforALL, as SEforALL shall reasonably request.
Contents of Bidding Documents
Sections of Bidding Documents
- The Bidding Documents refer to all documents provided to the interested bidders to facilitate them in the preparation of their bids.
- SEforALL is not responsible for the completeness of the Bidding Documents and any addenda if they were not obtained directly from SEforALL.
- The bidder is expected to examine all instructions, terms, and specifications in the Bidding Documents. Failure to furnish all information or documentation required by the Bidding Documents may result in the rejection of the bid.
Amendment of Bidding Documents
- At any time prior to the deadline for submission of bids, SEforALL may amend the Bidding Documents by issuing an addendum.
- Any addendum issued shall be part of the Bidding Documents and shall be communicated in writing on SEforALL procurement’s webpage.
- To give prospective bidders reasonable time in which to take an addendum into account in preparing their bids, SEforALL may, at its sole discretion, extend the deadline for the submission of bids.
Clarification/ Question on Bidding Documents
- Bidders may contact SEforALL at procurement@seforall.org in case of any questions and/or queries.
Preparation of Bids
Cost of Bidding
- The bidder shall bear all costs associated with the preparation and submission of its bid, and SEforALL shall not be responsible or liable for those costs, regardless of the conduct or outcome of the bidding process.
Language of Bid
- The bid, as well as all correspondence and documents relating to the bid exchanged by the bidder and SEforALL, shall be written in English.
Contents of Bid
- The bid should include at a minimum a technical and a financial proposal, in addition to any necessary supporting documents. The technical proposal should include, at a minimum, responses, and information relevant to those topics referenced in the TOR file.
- Technical and Financial proposals are meant to be submitted as separate documents. Proposals must include the following (in either PDF or PPT format):
- Technical Proposal
- Brief background about your organization and the year it was founded.
- The organization’s experience in carrying out similar work including relevant skills, qualifications, and knowledge. (Organizations are requested share the scale and number of projects undertaken for each requirement mentioned above)
- Your understanding of the assignment and a work approach/methodology including any proposed changes to the scope of work
- Timing of activities, and a work plan of the main and sub activities to be carried out.
- Three (3) relevant organizational/client references from the last three years
- CVs of key personnel
- Copy of Certificate of Incorporation
- Financial Proposal outlining the costs associated with carrying out the scope of work.
- Labour costs (personnel, daily rates, LOE)
- Equipment costs (if any)
- Other costs
- All costs must be inclusive of all taxes.
- Bank Account Details, including a letter from the bank certifying the details.
- Latest copy of Tax Certificate/Tax Compliance Certificate
The bid should also clearly include disclosure and explain any potential conflicts of interest.
Currencies of Bid
- The bidder shall quote all prices in U.S. Dollars.
Bid Prices
Bids shall present prices as a single quote. (i.e., budget) Bidders are encouraged to provide a budget breakdown for each country and workstream. Bidders are also instructed to share a quote inclusive of all and any taxes, and delineate the applicable tax rate.
Submission of Bids
Bids should be submitted to SEforALL in electronic format (PDF file) via e-mail to procurement@seforall.org Hand-written submissions are not eligible.
Deadline for Submission of Bids
The deadline for submissions of bids is 17:00 PM CEST time, 10 May 2023 as mentioned in the TOR above
SEforALL may, at its sole discretion, extend the deadline for the submission of bids, in which case all rights and obligations of SEforALL and bidders previously subject to the deadline shall thereafter be subject to the deadline as extended.
Any bid submitted after the deadline will automatically be rejected unless otherwise noted by SEforALL.
ATTACHMENT
