Consultant - Africa Cities Partnership & Engagement Strategy

SUMMARY OF PROCUREMENT

WRI Africa intends to award a fixed-cost contract to an individual consultant to support the Africa Cities Team to develop a ‘WRI Africa Cities Partnership and Engagement Plan (2024-2029)’

About WRI Africa

WRI has been working in Africa for more than 30 years, supporting local partners and Africa governments to advance forest protection, landscape restoration and sustainable cities. Our vision for Africa is inclusive transformation so Africa’s people and landscapes flourish. To realize this vision, WRI works with partners to generate actionable knowledge across three strategic pillars: vital landscapes, thriving and resilient cities, and institutional and economic transformation.

Under the Thriving, Resilient Cities pillar, WRI is working to help countries and cities overcome the barriers they are facing and support the implementation of an enabling environment at all levels of governance to unlock the urban transition. The Cities Program in Africa currently undertakes work in 12 countries on the continent focusing on:

• Urban mobility: Road safety; innovation, mapping, integration and digitization in public transport; promotion of non-motorized transport, convening practitioner communities; and policy development.
• Climate resilience: Nature based solutions, urban water resilience, urban heat, urban forests and resilient housing and infrastructure.
• Livable neighbourhoods- Air quality, low carbon buildings and infrastructure.

SCOPE OF WORK AND OUTPUTS/DELIVERABLES

WRI is seeking an individual consultant based in Africa (preferably in either Nairobi, Addis Ababa or Kigali City) to support the development of a ‘WRI Africa Cities Partnership Plan (2024-2029)’ by October 2024. The successful candidate will work under the direct supervision of the Climate and Engagement Lead, Cities WRI Africa.

The consultancy will undertake the following tasks:

1. Situational Analysis:

• Conduct a comprehensive stakeholder review of the current organizations working in areas that intersect with WRI Africa Cities strategy.

• Assess the relevance of the current WRI Africa cities partnerships and their alignment with the WRI strategy 2024-2025.

• Identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) in the current WRI partnership approach

1. Partnership Strategy Development:

• Identify potential strategic partners including: a. Donors (including institutional funders (bilateral, multilateral donors), foundations as well as non-traditional funders), and

b. NGOs (specifically strategic peer organizations, with complementary expertise, that WRI could effectively collaborate with to advance work in African cities).

• Develop strategies for engagement, collaboration, and partnership building.

• Outline mechanisms for maintaining and managing partnerships.

• Support the Africa Development and Cities team with the organization/preparation of one urban-focused partners roundtable (one engagement session) (including by identifying key donors, developing agenda etc.)

3. Capacity Building:

• Conduct training sessions for the WRI Cities team in Africa on effective fundraising and partnership building.

• Develop a resource toolkit for ongoing use by the team

4. Monitoring and Evaluation:

• Work with the Africa Development and Cities team to develop targets and metrics for the fundraising and partnerships plan.

WRI will provide guidance on:

• WRI Africa Cities team’s existing strategy, pillar narratives and existing partnerships.
• Team members to be consulted.
• WRI editorial style guide, branding and visual style guidelines.

DELIVERABLES :

The consultant is expected to deliver the following:

• An inception report outlining the proposed methodology and work plan within 1 week of signing the contract.
• A comprehensive situational analysis report within one month of signing the contract.
• A draft detailed Fundraising and Partnership Strategy document within one and a half months of signing of the contract.
• A final WRI Africa Cities Partnership and Engagement Plan (2024-2029), (summarized to a maximum of 20 pages), incorporating feedback by September 3o, 2024. This plan should also include a resource toolkit and a monitoring and evaluation framework.
• A 4-page summarized document, and a brief PowerPoint deck that is externally facing (for use in future donor and partnership engagement) by September 30, 2024.
• A report on 1st donors/partners meeting with clear follow up plans by October 2024.

TIMING:

All proposals should be received by July 26th, 2024. WRI will contact potential vendors to clarify any outstanding questions regarding the proposal. A final decision will be made by July 30th, 2024.

BUDGET:

The maximum value of the proposed contract is $12,000.

Please note that WRI is an IRS-registered 501(c)3, tax-exempt organization. WRI is not VAT exempt. All prices or quotes should include VAT and tax, as applicable.

GUIDELINES FOR PROPOSAL SUBMISSION

Requirements:

• The selected vendor should be able to demonstrate the required expertise and the equipment to execute the task.
• The selected vendor should be available for engagements with the WRI teams supervising this assignment during this consultancy period.

Qualifications and Experience:

The selected consultant(s) should have:

• Proven experience in fundraising and partnership development, preferably within the context of urbanization or cities.
• Strong understanding of the funding landscape and donor environment in Africa.
• Excellent research, analytical, and strategic planning skills.
• Experience in capacity building and training.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.

Proposal content:

Prospective vendors should submit:

• A short statement of interest that demonstrates how they are suited for this project based on the requirements.
• Samples of and references for similar previous work.
• A financial proposal for conducting this work.

Expression of Interest, Deadline for Questions, and Proposal

All expressions of interest and questions about this RFP must be received via email to the contact below by 5pm, July 26th, 2024 (Nairobi). Answers to the questions will be shared will all parties who have asked questions or otherwise expressed interest.

Lilian.Nyangweso@wri.org cc hellen.wanjohi@wri.org

EVALUATION AND SELECTION

Evaluation Criteria:

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

• The extent to which the vendor’s proposal fulfills WRI’s stated requirements as set out in the RFP;
• Overall cost of the vendor’s proposal; Pricing should ideally be discounted from published pricing and take into account WRI’s non-profit status.
• Debarment and sanctions – WRI will not consider proposals from vendors that are presently debarred by the U.S. government or named on any restricted parties lists;
• Sustainability – WRI values sustainability and all other factors being equal, will favor a proposal to more sustainably perform the work.

The bidder offering the best overall value will be selected. For this procurement, price and non-price aspects are to be considered, with price to be relatively more important when features are similar.

Selection Process:

No proposal development costs shall be charged to WRI / all expenses are to be borne by the bidders. WRI may award the bidder offering best value without discussion. However, WRI reserves the right to seek bidder clarifications and to negotiate with those bidders deemed to be within a competitive range.

WRI may, at its discretion and without explanation to the prospective vendors, choose to discontinue this RFP without obligation to such prospective vendors or make multiple awards under this RFP. Contracts will not be awarded to vendors debarred by the US government or named on restricted parties lists.