I.      Background

We Effect is an International Development Organization with headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden. It is present in 20 countries in Africa, Eastern Europe, Asia and Latin America. The We Effct Europe Regional Office Programme covers five countries: Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, and North Macedonia. The programme is focused on sustainable rural development through organisation and business development, with strong focus on strengthening cooperatives and other types of farmers organisations. Gender equality is fully mainstreamed in the overall work of We Effect along with the full integration of the human rights-based approach.

We Effect has been active in Albania since 2005 through the support of several CSOs active in the area of Rural Development and Human Rights.  In 2023 We Effect also started a collaboration with the Une Gruaja from Pogradec working on empowering women and youth through support for advocacy, public awareness, citizen engagement and environmental protection. The identified opportunity announced by the EU delegation is in line with what We Effect is currently doing with its partners in Albania, backuping the interventions that are supporting civil society organisations in Albania in the fields of environment, culture, food safety and consumer protection.  

We Effect has submitted a Concept Note for the CfP as a Lead Applicant in collaboration with one Co-Applicant, the partner of We Effect in Albania, Une Gruaja.

The submitted Concept Note was pre-selected by the European Commission (Delegation of the European Union in the Republic of Albania). We Effect is now requested to submit the full project application by 03^th of September 2024.

We Effect will submit the full application with the above-mentioned co-applicant organisation, and implementing partner in Albania:

·         Une Gruaja – non-profit member-based organization, registered in 2003. The mission of the organization is to empower women and youth in the Pogradec – Korça area. Une Gruaja has worked at the institutional level to establish and build the capacities of the Technical Working Groups in each of the Administrative Units.  part of the Coordinated Referral Mechanism of Domestic Violence in the Municipality of Pogradec. “Unë, Gruaja” is a member of AWEN (Albanian Women Empowerment Network). The main areas of the association’s activity include: – Equal opportunities for women and youth; Reducing the violence and abuse toward women; – Empowerment of rural women; Women’s participation in decision-making and policy formulation; – Women’s information on their rights; Establishing and maintaining the networks in the region; – Environmental Protection;

We Effect and the designated organisation referred to as co-applicant, respectively, have agreed to submit a full application to the call for funding announced by the European Union Reference: EuropeAid/180788/DD/ACT/AL. The call is open for Albania and the deadline for submission of the full application is 03/09/2024.

We Effect identifies the need to contract an external resource to facilitate the formulation process, as well as contribute to the formulation and structuring of a complete narrative application document, with its respective Logical Framework Matrix and Budget, complying with the quality and requirements of the European Union, as well as the strategic and tactical interests of the participants. The external resource can be a legal entity or individual, hereinafter referred to as a consultant.

 

II.  Objectives of the assignment

Based on the pre-selected concept note and We Effect’s core values and principles (human rights based approach, gender equality, climate justice), to formulate, design and develop a full project application for the call EuropeAid/180788/DD/ACT/AL – Support to Civil Society Organizations in Albania in the fields of environment, culture, food safety and consumer protection. The specific objective of this lot is to increase the capacities of CSOs to participate in the decision-making process, cooperate with the relevant stakeholders and monitor the field of environment, climate change and conservation issues.

The priorities of this lot are:

–          Support CSOs’ role and capacities in fighting environmental, biodiversity and climate degradation, through influencing and monitoring the policy process and advocating for changes and reforms;

–          Strengthen cooperation among CSOs and other stakeholders in policy and concrete actions that increase the protection of the environment and biodiversity and a number of actions against climate change, at the local and national levels to empower civil society to participate in all policy/reform processes, including their implementation; 

–          Increase awareness and support behavioural change to protect the environment, biodiversity, and fight environmental crime and climate change.            

                           

III.          Scope and Methodology

The modality of work will be based on the principles of participation and co-facilitation between the consultant and the team of We Effect and the co-applicant.

The following points are key orientations for guiding the process

·         The pre-selected concept note is guiding document for the full application. Differences and changes from the concept note should be pre-agreed with We Effect before written in the application

·         We Effect’s core values and principles shall be integrated in the application

·         The We Effect team and the consultant will be responsible for coordinating the participation of organisations to provide time and inputs for the formulation of the application. The consultant, together with the We ​​Effect team, will develop methods to generate consensus and achieve a high-quality technical and financial application – coherent and representative of the perspectives and approaches of each organisation involved, as well as in the fulfilment of objectives and priorities set out in the call EuropeAid/180788/DD/ACT/AL

·         Working sessions will be developed in agreement with We Effect and the co-applicant and will contribute to validating the progress of the application’s formulation.

·         The consultant and the We Effect team are responsible for ensuring the technical quality of the proposal.

 

IV.           Expected deliverables

In close collaboration with We Effect and the co-applicant, according to criteria established in the EU Funding & Tenders Portal (europa.eu), to deliver a complete application of high quality consisting of:

1.       Completed Annex A2. Grant application form – Full application

2.      Completed Annex C – Logical Framework with its respective indicators

3.      Completed Annex B – Budget

The deliverables should be submitted following the deadlines set forth in the section V. Timeframe.

 

V.   Timeframe

The estimated workload of the assignment, from signing of the contract until submission of final draft of documents, is approximately 15 days.

Tentative timeline

A detailed schedule will be developed between We Effect and the consultant. However, several preliminary key moments and dates of the assignment are identified:

Date	Activity
6 – 7 August	Contracting of the selected consultant
8 – 9 August	Overview of the existing documentation: –          Guidelines of the EU Call EuropeAid/180788/DD/ACT/AL –          The pre-selected Concept Note, –          preliminary LFA and –          preliminary Budget
12 – 13 August	Working sessions for design of application with We Effect and Une Gruaja Construct and confirm the main objectives of the application, goals hierarchy, define the roles between co-applicants, identify the beneficiaries.  To be conducted online
21 August	Delivery of first draft version of the application (grant application form, LFA and budget) to We Effect team for first quality check.
27 August	Delivery of final draft of application (grant application form, LFA and budget) to We Effect team for final quality assurance.

 

VI.           Profile of consultant

The consultant shall possess the following skills and experience:

·         Professional in Environment, Social Sciences, Economics, Rural Development or similar;

·         Vast experience in Formulation and/or Management of Environment and Climate Change Projects.

·         Experience in formulating projects for the European Union;

·         Proficiency in written and spoken English language.

 

The contracted consultant will be obliged to perform the following competencies:

·         Demonstrates integrity and fairness by modelling We Effect’s values and ethical principles.

·         Demonstrate professional competence and be conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments.

·         Observing deadlines and achieving results.

·         Display cultural, gender, ethnic, religious, and age sensitivity, and adaptability.

 

VII.       Duty travel & accommodation

No travel or accommodation are foreseen for this assignment. All work will be organised online.

 

VIII.   Application process

By July 29, 16:00 CET, all interested a should send their applications to [email protected] and [email protected].

To secure the multilevel integrity of the process, applicants should use two separate emails for their application:

Email 1: CV, Reference list and Declaration for relationship (PDF documents)

a)      The CV should reflect the required information stipulated in section VI Profile of the Consultant

b)     The Reference list should at least contain the below information on developed and awarded and/or managed similar projects/assignments in the relevant field of this assignment

·         brief description of the project / assignment;

·         value of the project in EUR;

·         year of the assignment;

c)      Signed Declaration of relationship (see section XI Declaration of relationship)

Email 2: Financial offer (PDF document).

d)     Financial Offer should be expressed as a lump sum price in EUR, valid for the entire assignment. The offer shall be inclusive of all applicable local taxes and related expenses to the assignment (e.g., income tax, VAT, insurance, legal fees, etc.). The Financial Offer should be submitted as a separate file from the remaining documents

Offers submitted in currency other than EUR, for the purpose of evaluation, will be converted by We Effect into EUR as per OANDA’s average daily rate applicable for the day of the submission.

 

IX.           Evaluation of the applications

Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested documents.

The best value for money principle will be taken into account by using a weighted scoring method to evaluate the combination of the applicants’ qualifications (75%) and financial offer (25%).

When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract will be made to the bidder whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

·         Responsive/compliant/acceptable, and

·         Having received the highest combined score out of a weighted technical and financial evaluation specific to this ToR

 

1)     Technical evaluation (max 75 %):

The technical evaluation of the received applications will consist of:

·         Number of years working in Environment, Social Sciences, Economics, Rural Development or similar (10 %)

—      Minimum 5 years                   7%

—      6-9 years                                 8%-9%

—      10 years and more                  10%

·         Number of developed and awarded projects/assignments in the relevant field of this assignment (25 %)

—      Minimum 1-2 projects            15%-18%

—      3-5 projects                             19%-24%

—      6 and more                            25%

·         Number of managed projects/assignments in relevant field of the assignment (20 %)

—      Minimum 1-2 projects            14%-16%

—      3-4 projects                            17%-19%

—      5 and more                            20%

·         Number of developed and awarded projects for the European Union (20 %)

—      Minimum 1 project                14%

—      2-3 projects                             15%-19%

—      4 and more                            20%

Only the candidates who will reach the threshold of 60% (min score 45) of the technical qualification will be considered for the financial evaluation.

 

2)    Financial evaluation (max 25 points)

The evaluation of the financial offers will be conducted in the following manner:

·         The offer with the lowest price shall receive a total of 25 points

·         The other offers with higher prices shall receive the respective score according to the following formula: 25 x (Lowest Offer / Proposed Offer).

 

X.  Terms of Payment

The terms of payment for this assignment will be specified in the Service Contract and its respective annexes. Payment will be made via bank transfer in one instalment upon approval by We Effect of the submitted deliverables.

 

XI.           Declaration of relationships

Applicants are strongly encouraged to describe in a free from any present or past business or personal relationships with:

·         closely associated party from We Effect;

·         We Effect’s Regional Office in Skopje;

·         We Effect’s employees;

·         We Effect’s governing bodies; or

·         Co-applicant (Une Gruaja).

A closely associated party (persons, physical or legal) as per We Effect’s definition is considered a person who has the possibility to exert control over, or significant influence on, the other person when it comes to financial and operative decision-making concerning an activity.

Business relationships do not refer solely to contracting arrangements but also to one-off engagements. Personal relationships do not refer solely to immediate family, but also to extended relatives, friends, and acquaintances.

The purpose of the Declaration is to disclose relationship information which makes the application and evaluation process more transparent and supports the bids in their relevance according to conditions on the open market.

Declaring any relationship shall NOT disqualify the Applicant from the procurement but rather contribute to more transparent evaluation process.

 

XII.       Other

The late execution of the contract will result in a fine for the consultant. The economic penalty attributable to the contractor will be 1% of the total amount of the contract for each business day according to the contractual term. Such a fine shall be effective on the amount of the balance of the outstanding payment. This penalty clause may not exceed 25% of the total amount of the contract. Also, beyond this amount, We Effect can resolve the contract and also demand compliance with the obligation contracted in the agreed terms, as applicable. If the delay occurs for reasons not attributable to the consultant, and in which case, he/she will notify We Effect in writing of the reasons for the delay. Once We Effect analyses  the situation, and if applicable, We Effect will authorise the extension of the final delivery period.

 

MISCONDUCT

If you want to alert We Effect on suspected discrimination, corruption or other serious misconduct during the procurement process, do not hesitate to use our Whistleblowing System.