SUMMARY OF PROCUREMENT

WRI intends to award a Fixed Price type contract for assessing the uptake and upscaling of propositions and recommendations on climate and nature financial flows in the Congo Basin. Key deliverables include a framing climate and nature finance document to guide WRI’s approach on financing mechanisms for low-carbon, climate-resilient and nature-positive economies in the Congo Basin, and reports of engagement with key players in the region.

Submissions requested by July 15, 2024.

The quoted budget in the RFP is 20,000 USD. WRI is strongly committed to attaining value for money in all aspects of our work, however, we recognize the importance of this initiative and are open to negotiating with potential partners if there is a strong case for additional financial resources.

1 Overview

WRI is a trusted partner for change. Using research-based approaches, we work globally and in focus countries to meet their development goals while protecting and restoring nature; and to stabilize the climate and build resilient communities. We aim to fundamentally transform the way the world produces and uses food and energy and design cities to create a better future for all. Founded in 1982, WRI has nearly 1,800 staff around the world, with country offices in Brazil, China, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Mexico and the United States and regional offices in Africa and Europe.

WRI’s recently launched 2023-2027 Strategic Plan | Getting the Transition Right for People, Nature & Climate which significantly shifts not only the impact that WRI aims to achieve but also demands increased collaboration across our distributed global network to deliver this impact. The strategy includes a strong argument for catalyzing financial flows to developing countries, to enable transitions in three Human-Centered systems: food, land, and water; energy; and cities.

Of all global rainforest basins, the Congo Basin has notoriously been attracting the lowest rate of international public and private financial flows over the past decades. While nascent, research on this gap has explored a range of structural and conjectural barriers to the attractiveness of this basin, and has laid out diverse, complementary but also contradictory propositions and recommendations.

2 The assignment

WRI is seeking the services of a consultant (or team of consultants) to guide its approach on financing mechanisms for low-carbon, climate-resilient and nature-positive economies in the Congo Basin. Through an in-depth literature review and well-targeted stakeholder consultations, we aim to assess some of the underlying factors for the slow the uptake and upscaling of existing proposed solutions for improving climate and nature finance towards the Congo Basin.

The consultant will perform three main tasks:

– Scan recent research on climate and nature financial flows at the regional, national and local levels, to map the main propositions and recommendations for financing mechanisms. There is now growing and undisputable evidence that the Congo Basin receives much less finance for sustainably managing its ecosystems while promoting regenerative economies for the people of the region. Some of the past research has focused on the regional level, while others have investigated financial flows towards specific countries and landscapes. Ultimately, these amazing efforts have led to generate propositions of approaches and mechanisms for accelerating finance for the region. However, the extent to which these multiple propositions and recommendations are similar or dissimilar is yet to be known. Further, whether they align with the priorities of some of the current largest donors and investors in the region could be of interest.

– Engage with well-targeted players, including donors, investors, and high-level decision-makers to further assess the alignment with proposed and recommended pathways for improving climate and nature financial flows to the region. Building on the previous activity, it would be critical to understand enablers and barriers for the uptake of some of the well-thought propositions and recommendations into their priorities. A deep-dive assessment and consultation in two DRC provinces may help properly pin down the matter and highlight concrete ways forward.

– Conduct close engagement with selected donors and investors in the region on the results of our assessment. This engagement may take the form of a series of workshops and field visits.

The assessment will inform an internal briefing document that will a) enhance understanding within WRI of the opportunities for quickly advancing climate and nature finance in the Congo Basin, and b) enable WRI to more effectively support government staff, civil society organizations, INGOs, IPLC groups who are willing to get a better sense of possible poor uptake of their propositions and recommendations on the financing of their efforts to preserve the Congo Basin rich ecosystems, and c) support WRI’s engagement strategy with donors and investors in the region. This document may be turned into a WRI publication later if time and resources allow. The research will build off a similar analysis conducted by WRI, CIFOR, WWF and Climate Focus, and a broad range of other actors.

The selected consultant will complete the assignment alongside the WRI team, especially the Congo Basin Strategy and Engagement Lead, Country Managers and experts in the priority countries (Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon and Republic of Congo).

3 Key deliverables

– An inventory of proposed solutions for increasing and improving climate and nature financial flows to the Congo Basin, and alignment with main donors’ and investors’ priorities;

– An initial review of some of the major challenges and success factors relating to the uptake and upscaling of those proposed solutions by the donor and investor community;

– A detailed offer of WRI’s potential role in advancing climate and nature finance in the Congo Basin, with entry points that have been properly discussed with main donors, investors and selected decision-makers.

4 Budget

The expected value of this contract is USD20,000. WRI is strongly committed to attaining value for money in all aspects of our work, however, we recognize the importance of this RLI initiative and are open to negotiating with potential partners if there is a strong case for additional financial resources.

– Pricing should be valid for ninety (90) days.

– A proposed budget with a breakdown of costs sufficient to assess reasonableness.

– Fieldwork budget will be covered directly by WRI, and co-organized with WRI staff.

– Please also include a payment schedule associating amounts with work milestones.

– Provide pricing for all applicable costs associated with this solicitation. An estimate of the number of days required to carry out the activities is to be provided by the consultant in the proposal and must be reflected in the estimate. However, once the budget has been validated, the payment of the service will be conditional on the delivery of the deliverables and not on the number of days actually worked. All expenses (equipment, materials, supplies, consumables, insurance, travel expenses, etc.), except field travel expenses, necessary for the performance of the proposal should be reflected in the budget.

4.1 Timeline

Please submit your initial proposal by July 15, 2023. Top candidates will be interviewed between July 22-24, 2024. The final selection will be made by July 30, 2024. The assignment is aimed to start by early August 2024.

Key Milestones & Dates:

Note: These milestones and dates are estimates and can be adjusted based on best practice and indicated in the proposal submitted by the Consultant.

Regular Check-Ins

In addition to the key milestones and dates above, the Consultant should propose a regular check-in with the project team to help guide the project. The Consultant is responsible for driving the agenda of these check-ins and key follow-up.

5 Guidelines for proposal submission

5.1 Requirements

This consultant should demonstrate the following qualifications:

– Experience working climate and nature finance in the Congo Basin;

– High-level expertise in environmental economics, finance, and governance;

– Demonstrated abilities to facilitate consultations on climate and nature finance;

– Superior communication skills (both written and verbal) and facilitation skills;

– Track-record of high-level donor and investor engagement;

– Ability to effectively conduct the work remotely, utilize diverse methodologies to engage staff and stakeholders in the process;

– Overall cost and reasonableness of the proposal;

– Strong network in the sector.

5.2 Format of Proposals

Prospective consultants should submit proposals that are no more than 5 pages in length with additional annexes as needed. Proposals should address the following components:

• A statement of interest describing the proposed team and how it meets the above
  requirements;
• The consultant’s unique interest in, and fit for, this project
• Approach and deliverables provided according to the Services mentioned above
• Detailed budget breakdown according to the Services mentioned above
• Relevant case studies and results from past work
• At least two references or evidence of previous work.

6 EVALUATION AND SELECTION

6.1 Evaluation Criteria

The following elements will be the primary considerations in evaluating all proposals submitted in response to this RFP:

– Completion of all required elements;

– The extent to which the consultant’s proposal fulfills WRI’s stated requirements as set out in the RFP;

– Experience with similar projects;

– Overall cost of the consultant’s proposal;

– Sustainability – WRI values sustainability and all other factors being equal, will favor a proposal to more sustainably perform the work.

– Equity – At the World Resources Institute, we strive to have an inclusive delivery chain. We believe the environmental and international development communities are strengthened by providing equality of opportunity to vulnerable groups – and it is important to WRI that we partner with organizations and consultants who share these values.

The bidder offering the best overall value based on the above criteria will be selected. For this procurement, price and non-price aspects are considered to be of approximately equal importance. WRI reserves the right to select, or not select, an organization for any reason.

6.2 Selection Process

No proposal development costs shall be charged to WRI / all expenses are to be borne by the bidders. WRI reserves the right to seek bidder clarifications and to negotiate fees with those bidders deemed to be within a competitive range.

During the final selection process, Consultants may be requested to present their bids to a select group of WRI staff.

WRI may, at its discretion and without explanation to the prospective consultants, choose to modify or discontinue this RFP without obligation to such prospective consultants or make multiple awards under this RFP. The terms of this document are not and are not intended to be binding on the parties. Any agreement between WRI and a successful consultant will be memorialized in a definitive written agreement signed by WRI and the consultant