Request for Proposals
Title: National group of consultants or Organization for Sustainable Financing Mechanism and Improvement of BLUD Management in Whale Shark Tourism and MPA Management
RFP No: KI-001/XII/2024
Date of Issuance: 23 December 2024
1. Background
This RFP seeks a national group of consultants, or an organization preferably based in Mataram, NTB, or other regions in Indonesia. The sub-grantee will play a key role in identifying the long-term financial sustainability mechanism for a Regional Public Service Agency (Badan Layanan Umum Daerah or BLUD) located on Sumbawa Island. This role is part of a project on development of a Marine Protected Area (MPA) dedicated to protecting the critical habitat of whale sharks and supporting sustainable ecotourism in Saleh Bay, Sumbawa Island, Indonesia.
In achieving the project targets, Konservasi Indonesia (KI) through the FEF project is currently seeking an organization or a national group of consultants as a project sub-grantee. We require a highly qualified professional with expertise in sustainable financing and enhancing BLUD's management and capacity to support its performance as a service provider to the community based on its functions, as well as to provide a roadmap for sustainable financing development and business models to support its operations. This includes identifying existing funding opportunities from public and private entities, such as government sources like the Environmental Fund Management Agency (known as Badan Pengelola Dana Lingkungan Hidup – BPDLH), Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs, national and international donors, and philanthropic organizations, as well as identifying potential revenue stream from tourism or other environmental services activates in Saleh Bay and surrounding areas technical assistance to support BLUD's funding gaps and independence in providing services. In addition, the sub-grantee is required to perform assessments to identify the knowledge and skills gaps of BLUD managers and personnel including providing necessary capacity building to enhance their management and performance. This includes supporting human resources development to foster more effective management, a business mindset, and private sector partnerships for BLUD's sustainable financing and activities based on the funding options identified.
2. Project Overview
Konservasi Indonesia (KI), with funding from France Government, supports the Government of Indonesia in the creation of the first marine protected area (MPA) of 69,550 hectares protecting 59% of the critical habitat of whale sharks in Saleh Bay, Sumbawa Island in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) to allow for annual increase of 10% in the whale shark population.
Based in Saleh Bay, Sumbawa, the project's activities will support the improved management of whale shark habitat and the wider marine ecosystem, protect their population, facilitate the rebound of the regional population, and promote ecotourism and sustainable livelihood opportunities for the local community. At the end of the project, the local government will have received support for the designation of a new MPA, based on the crucial factual data provided by the project. The MPA management unit and other relevant authorities will have improved skills and knowledge of MPA management and sustainable and viable financing options for MPAs, as well as have a learning center for information exchange and awareness-raising among community members and tourists.
As part of the project activities, Konservasi Indonesia requires a national group of consultants or an organization to support in developing a sustainable funding roadmaps and capacity building aspect for BLUD in the region. Key tasks will include the following activities:
1. Developing a roadmap and identifying existing and potential funding options to support BLUD activities in whale shark tourism and MPA management including identifying optimal cost to manage whale shark based MPA and tourism in Sumbawa, Bima and Dompu areas.
2. Capacity building for BLUD managers and personnel by identifying the skills and competencies gaps to enhance their business mindset. This includes exploring the skills gaps and identifying training and capacity building activities to address these gaps in supporting the tourism sustainability and MPA management activities in the selected areas.
These tasks are critical to ensuring that the BLUD has the potential revenue stream, financial resources, and institutional support necessary to protect whale shark tourism and MPA management in Sumbawa Island, NTB.
The primary objective of the consultancy is to establish a robust and adaptable roadmap for a financing mechanism that can secure long-term funding for BLUD activities in whale shark tourism and MPA management activities in Sumbawa, Bima, and Dompu areas. This includes identifying skill gaps within the BLUD managers and personnel and providing the necessary capacity building to enable them to access the funding needed. The goal is to secure and manage potential revenue streams from various sources of funding such as such as BPDLH, CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) programs, environmental grants/loans, banks, philanthropy, technical assistance, carbon credit, biodiversity credit, green bonds, investments, and other financial instrument to support BLUD's activities.
3. Terms of Reference, Deliverables and Deliverables Schedule (This may be included here or as an attachment to the RFP, particularly if the term of reference is quite long (See Attachment 2))
Attached
4. Submission Details
a. Deadline. Proposals must be received no later than 15 January 2025 at 16:00 WIB (Westen Standard Time). Late submissions will not be accepted. Proposals must be submitted via email to (grantcontractid@konservasi-id.org, mherwata@konservasi-id.org, zzulkifli@konservasi-id.org). All proposals are to be submitted following the guidelines listed in this RFP.
b. Validity of bid. 120 days from the submission deadline
c. Clarifications. Questions may be submitted to (mherwata@konservasi-id.org, zzulkifli@konservasi-id.org and grantcontractid@konservasi-id.org) by the specified date and time in the timeline below. The subject of the email must contain the RFP number and title of the RFP. KI will respond in writing to submitted clarifications by the date specified in the timeline below. Responses to questions that may be of common interest to all bidders will be posted to the KI website and/or communicated via email.
d. Amendments. At any time prior to the deadline for submission of proposals, KI may, for any reason, modify the RFP documents by amendment which will be posted to the KI website and/or communicated via email.
5. Minimum Requirements
a. A master's degree in finance, marine science, business development, environmental and economic development, public administration, business management, or related disciplines.
b. A minimum of 10 years of relevant professional experience related to public and private finance, training and capacity building, investment, and financial modeling.
c. Experience working with a diverse range of stakeholders, including government agencies, private sector companies, financial institutions, firms, NGOs, and local communities.
d. Understanding of sustainable financing mechanisms, including green bonds, carbon credits, and impact investing.
e. Understanding local context and experience working in Sumbawa Island or West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) region will be highly considered.
f. Proven track record of building and managing partnerships that secure long-term funding and institutional support.
g. Strong communication and negotiation skills to ensure stakeholder alignment and collaboration.
h. Understanding of the legal and regulatory framework related to establishing and managing public service agencies (BLUD), cooperatives, or business entities and other sustainable finance structures in Indonesia.
i. Understanding of conservation practices, ecosystem services, and natural resource management, particularly in the context of coastal and marine ecosystems.
j. Familiarity with biodiversity conservation programs, habitat restoration activities, and community-based natural resource management is a plus.
k. Proficiency in English and Bahasa Indonesia.
l. Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to produce clear and concise reports, presentations, and documentation.
6. Proposal Documents to Include
a. Signed cover page on bidder's letterhead with the bidder's contact information.
b. Signed Representation of Transparency, Integrity, Environmental and Social Responsibility (Attachment 1)
c. Technical Proposal.
i. Corporate Capabilities, Experience, Past Performance, and 3 client references. Please include descriptions of similar projects or assignments and at least three client references.
ii. Qualifications of Key Personnel. Please attach CVs that demonstrate how the team proposed meets the minimum requirements listed in section 5 (Minimum Requirements).
iii. Technical Approach, Methodology and Detailed Work Plan. The Technical Proposal should describe in detail how the bidder intends to carry out the requirements described in the Terms of Reference (indicate Section 3 or Attachment 2). (Maximum 4-5 pages describing your approach to fulfilling the Scope of Work, including key methodologies, timeline, and deliverables)
d. Financial Proposal. Offerors shall use the cost proposal template (Attachment 3).
7. Evaluation Criteria In evaluating proposals, KI will seek the best value for money considering the merits of the technical and costs proposals. Proposals will be evaluated using the following criteria:
Proposals will be evaluated ONLY against the Evaluation Criteria in the RFP (no other evaluation criteria may be considered for selection).
| Evaluation Criteria | Score (out of 100) |
| Experience providing similar services, qualification of key personnel, and meeting minimum requirements | 20%/ Max points |
| Technical capacity, including the framework, workplan, and technologies offered | 30%/ Max points |
| Demonstrating the ability to respond effectively and proven past performance (verified through the reference checks) | 25%/ Max points |
| Cost: Costs proposed are reasonable and realistic, reflect a solid understanding of the assignment. | 25%/ Max points |
8. Proposal Timeline
| RFP Issued | 23 December 2024 |
| Clarifications submitted to KI | 6 January 2025 |
| Clarifications provided to known bidders | 10 January 2025 |
| Complete proposals due to KI | 15 January 2025 |
| Final selection | 30 January 2025 |
9. Resulting Award KI anticipates entering into an agreement with the selected bidder by (30 January 2025). Any resulting agreement will be subject to the terms and conditions of KI's Services Agreement. A model form of agreement can be provided upon request.
This RFP does not obligate KI to execute a contract, nor does it commit KI to pay any costs incurred in the preparation or submission of the proposals. Furthermore, KI reserves the right to reject any and all offers, if such action is considered to be in the best interest of KI. KI will, in its sole discretion, select the winning proposal and is not obligated to share individual evaluation results.
10. Confidentiality All proprietary information provided by the bidder shall be treated as confidential and will not be shared with potential or actual applicants during the solicitation process. This includes but is not limited to price quotations, cost proposals and technical proposals. KI may, but is not obliged to, post procurement awards on its public website after the solicitation process has concluded, and the contract has been awarded. KI's evaluation results are confidential and applicant scoring will not be shared among bidders.
11. Code of Ethics All Offerors are expected to exercise the highest standards of conduct in preparing, submitting and if selected, eventually carrying out the specified work in accordance with KI's Code of Ethics [for GCF-funded projects only, add: "and the Green Climate Fund's Policy on Prohibited Practices"]. Konservasi Indonesia's reputation derives from our commitment to our values: Integrity, Respect, Courage, Optimism, Passion and Teamwork. KI's Code of Ethics (the "Code") provides guidance to KI employees, service providers, experts, interns, and volunteers in living KI's core values, and outlines minimum standards for ethical conduct which all parties must adhere to. Any violation of the Code of Ethics, as well as concerns regarding the integrity of the procurement process and documents should be reported to KI via its Ethics Hotline at www.ci.ethicspoint.com.
12. Attachments:
Attachment 1: Representation of Transparency, Integrity, Environmental and Social Responsibility
Attachment 2: Terms of Reference
Attachment 3: Cost Proposal Template
