(CLOSED) Request for Proposal – Study on Living Income Gap in Global Natural Rubber Value Chains – Ivory Coast

The Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber 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 strategy and objectives.

Through GPSNR’s Working Groups and the Executive Committee, the Platform is developing an Assurance Model that is intended to be credible and smoothly functioning. Underlying this Assurance Model, and to ensure its effective implementation, is the need for a mechanism by which Members and non-members may take grievances they have against a Member for non-conformance with the Platform’s requirements, which may arise from non-conformance with standards, the Code of Conduct, Conflict of Interest Policy, or other requirements of Members and allow those complainants to have their grievance be heard and resolved (“Grievance Mechanism”).

Under its authority and duty to create a Compliance System for the Platform under Section 10.d. of the Platform’s statutes, the Executive Committee seeks recommendations on the organization and process for such a Grievance Mechanism that allows for the intake, an initial, professionally mediated resolution process, and, finally, the process by which it is submitted to a formal Complaints Panel for resolution in the case that mediation does not work. That recommendation would be in accordance with the engagement outline below and based on a comparative study of best practices in grievance mechanisms for similar multi-stakeholder initiatives.

Understanding that the Platform is in its early stages, and therefore has limited resources, the recommendation should strive for a lean model while maintaining consistency with the policies of the Platform (e.g., Conflict of Interest Policy). Although lean, the Platform also recognizes the need for a process that is accessible, impartial, timely, transparent, and affords protections, such as anonymity, to the complainant (where needed). Developing the Grievance Mechanism is expected to be an iterative process.

The consultant is to develop, in consultation with the GPSNR Executive Committee and Secretariat, a Grievance Mechanism in the form of a process flowchart and a set of rules governing the process for receiving, assessing, processing, and escalating grievances through a series of steps to find an agreeable and just solution. The consultant should adhere to the following phased, iterative approach:

• Phase I – Comparative Review of Grievance Mechanisms for Similar Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives
• Phase II – Process Flowchart/Outline
• Phase III – Final Recommendation

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 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.
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 the 13th of December to be considered. Proposals should be submitted to stefano.savi@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.
8. 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

Attachement A -will be shared upon submission

Attachement B- will be shared upon submission

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:

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.