(CLOSED) Request for Proposal – GPSNR Assurance Models Review

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The Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR), is an international Multi-Stakeholder, voluntary membership initiative seeking to lead improvements in the socioeconomic and environmental performance of the natural rubber value chain. Development of the GPSNR was initiated by the CEOs of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) Tire Industry Project (TIP) in 2018. Members of the platform include tire manufacturers, rubber suppliers and processors, vehicle makers and NGOs. Representatives from each of these stakeholder groups have contributed to the development of the Singapore-based platform and the wide-reaching set of priorities that will define GPSNR strategy and objectives.

Through a process led by the Strategy and Objectives Working Group the Platform has developed stated goals that support a strong focus on developing a framework that supports and sustains sustainability claim in the supply chain.  Important among the tools to do this is development of an Assurance Model that is credible and smoothly functioning.

In order to achieve this, the Platform is seeking a fixed term consultancy to develop a robust review of the options for various Assurance Models that will support the desired outcomes of the Platform. 

The Working Group considers the discussion regarding options for an Assurance Model shall include review and discussion of the structure that will provide a credible claim of participation and progress toward the goals of the organization.  It may also provide required activities, methodologies and time frames along with options for verification models.  Another important component of an assurance model focuses on the discussion of disclosure of progress and results to support transparency in actions that will allow credible claims of progress.

The following submission guidelines & requirements apply to this Request for Proposal:

Proposals will only be accepted from individuals or firms with experience relevant to this project.

Examples of previous relevant work should be provided as well.

A technical proposal must be provided that is not more than 4 pages. This technical proposal must provide an overview of the proposed solution as well as resumes of all key personnel performing the work. In addition, the technical proposal should provide a proposed schedule and milestones, as applicable.

A price proposal must be provided that is not more than 1 pages. This price proposal should indicate the overall fixed price for the project as well as hourly rates and an estimated total number of days.

Proposals must be signed by a representative that is authorized to commit bidder’s company.

Proposals must be received prior to 15th September to be considered. Proposals should be submitted to stefano.savi@gpsnr.org for consideration.

GPSNR anticipates shortlisting at least two individuals or firms to have more in-depth discussions with, and will make an award to one of these “down-selected” individuals or firms.

GPSNR reserves the right to amend the scope and budget of this RFP in order to get the most suitable consultant for each topic.

Download full Request for Proposal here: GPSNR-RFP-A02-001

More To Explore

(Closed) Request For Proposal – GPSNR-RFP-A02-019 Guidance and Tools for GPSNR’s Reporting Requirements

Introduction & Background

The Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR) is an international multi-stakeholder, voluntary membership initiative seeking to lead improvements in the socioeconomic and environmental performance of the natural rubber value chain. Members of the platform include tire manufacturers, rubber producers and processors, vehicle makers and NGOs.

In December 2021, GPSNR members approved Reporting Requirements that would allow member companies to report on their progress implementing their commitments under the Policy Framework. With the approval of the reporting requirements, ordinary member companies shall report annually on the questions included in the Reporting Requirements for the member’s reporting category.

GPSNR members are required to submit data for the previous year according to the following reporting timelines:
• Category A and Category B: Industrial Producers or Processors and Traders of Raw Materials: on or before 30 June
• Category C: Manufacturers and Traders of Processed Material: on or before 30 September
• Category D: OEMs and End Users: on or before 31 December.

To support GPSNR members in fulfilling their obligations under the Reporting Requirements, the platform is calling for consultants to develop a systemic view of the reporting process, inclusive of developing supporting documents and reporting templates for members to facilitate reporting, and exploring the potential user interface and portal design for data submission to ease the integration and consolidation of reported information from various GPSNR member categories.

Reporting scope and materiality are topics for consultant’s review and suggestion based on the GPSNR reporting requirement.

The reporting process should cover the following scenarios (non-exhaustive list):
(i) tier-1 supplier is disclosed to GPSNR
(ii) tier-1 supplier is not disclosed to GPSNR
(iii) members with suppliers across different category groups that are not GPSNR members
(iv) members with external reports that may substantiate the GPSNR reporting requirement
(v) how the information is consolidated at GPSNR level at the end of each category reporting cycle

Figure below is taking one example of tire maker category member reporting on NR supply chain scope to illustrate the potential complexity of the reporting process.

The expected documents to be developed should include:

  • A guidance document for each reporting category outlining the appropriate methodology and reporting format for each question, with reference to necessary definitions. One example of reporting segment that requires guidance is Policy Component 2.5 and 2.6 for member categories C and D.
  • Standardized reporting templates which may utilize word documents, excel spreadsheets, or other appropriate reporting formats.

The documents developed should ensure that data can be consolidated easily across the supply chain with an understanding that the information will be passed downstream. Where appropriate, the requested data should align with data gathered by other reporting schemes to reduce the reporting burden (including, but not limited to, CDP, Ecovadis, ZSL SPOTT, GRI, FSC, PEFC, SNR-i).

The reporting user interface which includes ability for member to upload supporting evidence (e.g., documents, photos etc) and portal design should also enable easy intake by the Secretariat for data analysis, verification and reporting. The ability to design integration with Salesforce is a plus.

Submission Guidelines & Requirements

The following submission guidelines & requirements apply to this Request for Proposal:

  1. Proposals will only be accepted from individuals or firms with experience relevant to this project.
  2. Examples of previous relevant work should be provided as well.
  3. A technical proposal must be provided that should be around 6 pages in length. This technical proposal must provide an overview of the proposed methodology as well as resumes of all key personnel performing the work. In addition, the technical proposal should provide a proposed schedule and milestones, as applicable.
  4. A price proposal must be provided that is not more than 1 page. This price proposal should indicate the overall fixed price for the project as well as daily rates and an estimated total number of days.
  5. Proposals must be signed by a representative that is authorized to commit bidder’s company.
  6. Proposals must be received prior to 14th of March to be considered. Proposals should be submitted to stefano.savi@gpsnr.org and aidan@gpsnr.org for consideration.
  7. GPSNR anticipates shortlisting at least two individuals or firms to have more in-depth discussions with, and will make an award to one of these “down-selected” individuals or firms.


Project Timelines

The Request for Proposal timeline is as follows:

Request for Proposal Issuance   4 Mar 2022
Proposal submitted by consultant to stefano.savi@gpsnr.org   14 Mar 2022
Selection of Consultant /
Notification to Unsuccessful Bidders
18 Mar 2022
Contract Award 22 Mar 2022
Work to commence no later than   23 Mar 2022
Specific work-plan agreed upon with GPSNR’s Policy Toolbox Working Group (WG1) 24 Mar 2022
1st deliverable: first draft of guidance on GPSNR Reporting Requirement content and reporting template for PPTs (category A & B), both GPSNR and non-GPSNR. 18 Apr
2022
Final draft of guidance on content for PPTs 25 Apr 2022
2nd deliverable: first draft of guidance on GPSNR Reporting Requirement and reporting template for category C & D, both GPSNR and non-GPSNR. 13 May 2022
Final draft of guidance on content for category C & D 20 May 2022
3rd deliverable: first draft proposal for a streamline reporting process, user interface and portal design to integrate and consolidate the reporting information from all GPSNR member categories 24 Jun
2022
The final draft proposal submitted to WG1 7 Jul 2022

Budget

The Platform is anticipating that a total budget of no more than 30,000 SGD. If the consultant deems that travel plans are required to execute this project, these should be included in the proposal (along with any additional budgetary requirements).

Payment terms shall be:

●       20% at the signing of the contract
●       30% at the midpoint date to be agreed upon and memorialized in the contract based on the submitted work plan
●       50% on delivery of the final report

Evaluation Factors

GPSNR will rate proposals based on the following factors, with cost being the most important factor:

  1. Cost
  2. Responsiveness to the requirements set forth in this Request for Proposals
  3. Relevant past performance/experience
  4. Technical expertise/experience of bidder and bidder’s staff
  5. The ability to collect relevant information at the global and local level

GPSNR reserves the right to award to the bidder that presents the best value to GPSNR as determined solely by GPSNR in its absolute discretion.

Tender

(CLOSED) Request for Proposal – GPSNR Baseline reporting requirements pilot

The Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR), is an international multi-stakeholder, voluntary membership initiative seeking to lead improvements in the socioeconomic and environmental performance of the natural rubber value chain. Development of GPSNR was initiated by the CEOs of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) Tire Industry Project (TIP) in 2018. Members of the platform include tire manufacturers, rubber suppliers and processors, vehicle makers and NGOs. Representatives from each of these stakeholder groups have contributed to the development of the Singapore-based platform and the wide-reaching set of priorities that will define GPSNR strategy and objectives.

GPSNR’s Policy Toolbox Working Group is developing for approval two key documents that will form GPSNR member requirements. First is a set of Policy Components, which outlines specific commitments that GPSNR company members should include in their sustainable natural rubber policies. Second are the Baseline Reporting Requirements, which indicates qualitative and quantitative sustainability data to be reported to the GPSNR Secretariat for year 1 (2020). To finalize these Baseline Reporting Requirements, the Working Group is conducting a pilot test with volunteer companies. The aim of the pilot is to understand any constraints companies may have in obtaining or sharing certain information, with the goal to refine and finalize the Baseline Reporting Requirements based on company feedback.

In order to achieve this, GPSNR is seeking a fixed term consultancy firm who will be responsible for gathering the responses from pilot participants, ensuring data security and confidentiality, and providing a short aggregated summary of data, including recommendations to GPSNR to inform the revision of the reporting requirements and questionnaire.

Scope of Engagement

The consultancy firm shall provide:

A system to collect data that must:

  1. Provide a secure and unique login for pilot participants to access data submission form  
  2. Ensure data security during transmission and storage of data (as some data will have commercial sensitivity)
  3. Possess, at minimum, the following:
    Ability to export data collected into CSV, XML or PDF formats for data analysis
    Salesforce integration
    Ability to accept file attachments
  4. Allow pilot participants to identify the preferred type of disclosure for each data point, according to the following categories:
    Public Disclosure
    Disclose only to GPSNR Secretariat
    Disclose only to consultant (for aggregate reporting)
    Not for disclosure

A review of all data received, including:

  1. A summary of aggregate data as reported, with highlights of any major anomalies in answers
  2. A short report for internal GPSNR use (Secretariat and members), aimed at informing GPSNR in the revision of the questionnaire/ process

The consultancy firm might be required to conduct limited interviews with pilot participants (if necessary) around the sensitive data (to be quoted separately as addendum based on hourly cost).

GPSNR Secretariat will be able to assist in certain areas of the project, including development of an online submission form, if necessary. For a detailed list of the support from GPSNR, see page 6.

Submission Guidelines & Requirements

The following submission guidelines & requirements apply to this Request for Proposal:

  1. Proposals will only be accepted from firms or organisations with experience relevant to this project.
  2. Examples of previous relevant work should be provided as well.
  3. A technical proposal must be provided that is not more than 3 pages. This technical proposal must provide an overview of the proposed solution as well as resumes of all key personnel performing the work. In addition, the technical proposal should provide a proposed schedule and milestones, as applicable.
  4. A price proposal must be provided that is not more than 1 pages. This price proposal should indicate the overall fixed price for the project as well as hourly rates and an estimated total number of days.
  5. Proposals must be signed by a representative that is authorized to commit bidder’s company.
  6. Proposals must be received prior to 26 June to be considered. Proposals should be submitted to stefano.savi@gpsnr.org for consideration.
  7. GPSNR reserves the right to amend the scope and budget of this RFP in order to get the most suitable consultant for each topic.

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