Pact seeks to contract marketing vendors to support partners in the placement of partners’ stories in media, including social networks (Facebook, Twitter) and messengers (Telegram).
I. BACKGROUND
Pact is an International NGO with offices throughout the world with a mission to enable systematic solutions that allow those who are poor and marginalized to earn a dignified living, be healthy and take part in the benefits that nature provides. Pact accomplishes this by strengthening local capacity, forging effective governance systems and transforming markets into a force for development. Pact has worked in Ukraine since 2006 in the areas of governance, capacity development, and health. Building on a decade of experience, we address key challenges facing civil society organizations in Ukraine. This Request for Quotation (RFQ) is a part of the Activity to Enhance Non-Governmental Actors and Grassroots Engagement (ENGAGE). The purpose of ENGAGE is to increase citizen awareness of and engagement in civic activities at the national, subnational, and local level. Prior to the war, ENGAGE CSO partners focused their media and citizen outreach campaigns primarily on government reform efforts and their impact on the everyday lives of citizens. Starting from February 24, 2022, partners refocused their media and citizen outreach campaigns on topics related to the war, including highlighting efforts to fight against Russian aggression and providing practical information to Ukrainian citizens on how they can support these efforts. ENGAGE aims to increase production of civil society-sponsored media content on fighting Russia`s aggression by providing support to partners` storytelling. To that end, Pact seeks to contract marketing vendors to support partners in placement of partners’ stories in media, including social networks (Facebook, Twitter) and messengers (Telegram).
SCOPE OF WORK
A. Place of Performance All services required under this solicitation will be performed in Ukraine.
B. Period of Performance All services required under this solicitation will be delivered from 20/06/2023 and will conclude by 1/11/2023.
C. Scope of Work
Objective:
To ensure placement of ENGAGE core partners’ success stories (or other formats of stories that clearly demonstrate the positive impact of the partner’s work on society)
in external media to help extend partners’ outreach and meaningfully contribute to constituency-building efforts.
- Task 1: Conduct individual meetings with ENGAGE core partners to identify stories to be placed and promoted in external media (1 meeting per partner, at least 25 partners)
- Task 2: Develop a communication plan for ENGAGE core partners’ stories including a list of external media platforms for the placement of stories with assigned promo budget.
The platforms and channels could include but are not limited to:
– national media outlets (from 50% to 60% of stories) – NV, Ukrainska Pravda, Liga,
Censor, and others;
– International media (from 5% to 10% of stories) – Guardian, BBC, Deutsche Welle,
and others;
– social media (from 20% to 30% of stories) – Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Telegram, and others;
– Other relevant websites, blogging platforms, and new media;
– Other relevant communication platforms.
- The maximum number of stories that can be placed in one medium should not exceed 20% of the total number. It is advisable not to combine stories into special projects.
Task 3. Provide PR services to ensure the necessary adaptation and publication of selected ENGAGE partners’ stories (up to 50 stories). The consultant is expected to place up tp 2 communication products per partner on various communication platforms and channels to ensure reach to diverse audiences. - Task 4. Conduct performance monitoring of the placed stories. The consultant will track the performance of the partner’s communication products by developing reports including each story`s performance, key metrics, audience insights, tonality, and other information relevant to the communication of ENGAGE partners’ stories.
II. SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS
A. Submission of Questions
All questions or clarifications regarding this RFP must be in writing and submitted to dpavlov@pactworld.org no later than 17:00 hours on 2/06/2023. Questions and requests for clarification, and the responses thereto, will
be circulated to all RFP recipients who have indicated an interest in this RFP.
B. Technical Proposal
The technical proposal in response to this solicitation must address how the offeror intends to carry out the statement of work contained in Section II. It should also contain a clear understanding of the work to be undertaken and the responsibilities of all parties involved. Please note that technical proposals will be evaluated based on the evaluation criteria set forth in Section IV. Offerors shall provide all documentation in English or Ukrainian. The technical proposal should be in font size 12, Times New Roman, single spacing. Proposals should not exceed 15 pages. Please note that technical and cost applications should be separate files.
1. Proposal Cover Sheet. The first page of the proposal must use the Proposal Cover sheet as per Attachment 1. This section does not count against the page limit above.
2. Capability Statement: Provide a short description of offeror’s capabilities that qualify the organization to be chosen to conduct the scope of work. This should be one (1) page. In an annex to the technical proposal, you should provide a copy of registration or incorporation in the public registry, or equivalent document from the government office where the offeror is registered, a copy of company tax registration, or equivalent document (if available).
3. Technical Approach: The technical approach should state clearly the offeror’s understanding of the requirements in Section II as well as the proposed approach to accomplish the contract objectives and achieve results.
Clarity, completeness, and directness are imperative. Elaborate formats are not desirable. This section should be not more than five (5) pages.
4. Management and Staffing Plan. Please describe how the proposed staff will work collaboratively to achieve the offeror’s proposed technical approach to the scope of work. CVs for key personnel may be included in an annex to the
technical proposal and will not count against the page limit. This section should be not more than two (2) pages.
5. Past Performance. Describe the organization’s previous experience within the technical area for projects of the same or similar scope and size. Offerors must include details demonstrating their experience and technical ability,
including those of proposed consortium members, in implementing the technical approach/ methodology and the detailed work plan. This section should be two (2) pages.
6. References. Offeror shall list at least three major contracts its company has held over the past five (5) years for the same or similar work. This section should be one (1) page.
Provide the following information for each contract:
a. Customer’s name, address, and telephone numbers of customer’s lead contact and technical personnel;
b. Contract number and type;
c. Date of the contract, place(s) of performance, and delivery dates or
period of performance;
d. Contract size and dollar value;
e. Brief description of the work, including responsibilities;
f. Comparability to the work required under this solicitation;
g. Brief discussion of any technical problems and their resolutions;
h. Brief discussion of any terminations (partial or complete) and the type
(convenience or default) as well as any show-cause notices or cure
notices (provide explanatory details).
C. Cost Proposal
The cost proposal shall include a detailed budget that clearly reflects the costs necessary to implement the proposed contract and includes all taxes necessary to provide the required services. The service costs shall be calculated in the Ukrainian
Hryvna (UAH), without VAT (services are exempted from VAT according to the Tax Code of Ukraine) No profit, fees, taxes, or additional costs can be added after award.
The cost proposal must be valid for at least 90 days.
1. Proposal Cover Sheet. The first page of the proposal must use the Proposal Cover sheet as per Attachment 1. This section does not count against the page limit above.
2. Summary Budget. The offeror should present a summary budget by line item. Please use the attached template.
3. Detailed Budget. In the detailed budget, the offeror should include a breakdown of line items that they believe are realistic and reasonable for the work in accordance with the technical requirements outlined in Section II.Pact may require additional, more detailed budget information prior to issuing a subcontract.
D. Certifications: Offerors responding to this RFP must include the following disclosures
and certifications as part of the proposal submission in an annex to the cost proposal.
1. Disclose any close, familial, or financial relationships with Pact or project staff. For example, if an offeror’s cousin is employed by the project, the offeror must state this.
2. Disclose any family or financial relationship with other offerors submitting proposals. For example, if the offeror’s father owns a company that is submitting another proposal, the offeror must state this.
3. Certify that the prices in the offer have been arrived at independently, without any consultation, communication, or agreement with any other offeror or competitor for the purpose of restricting competition.
4. Certify that all information in the proposal and all supporting documentation are authentic and accurate.
E. Submission of Proposals: The deadline for submission of proposals is 09/06/2023.
Submissions must be forwarded in electronic format only (either PDF or Microsoft Word and Excel) to dpavlov@pactworld.org. Offeror’s proposals should not contain any unnecessary promotional material or elaborate presentation formats (black and white is preferred). Offerors must not submit zipped files. Those pages requiring original manual signatures should be scanned and sent in PDF format as an email attachment. The technical proposal and cost proposal must be kept separate from each other. Please reference the RFP Number and RFP Name in the e-mail subject line. Offerors are responsible for ensuring that their offers are received in accordance with the instructions stated herein. Late offers may be considered at the discretion of Pact. Pact cannot guarantee that late offers will be considered.
III. EVALUATION CRITERIA
A. Review Process. Pact will establish a selection committee that includes representatives from various company departments and external professionals if necessary. All technical reviewers will be subjected to a screening process to eliminate any conflict of interest. Evaluation will be based on the criteria set forth in Section B. Evaluation Criteria.
B. Evaluation Criteria. The award will be decided on Best Overall Value as determined by a Selection Committee on the basis of the criteria set forth below, as demonstrated in the Offeror’s proposal. Only proposals conforming to the solicitation requirements
will be considered. This RFP will use the tradeoff process to determine best value. That means that each proposal will be evaluated and scored against the evaluation criteria and expectations below, which are stated in the table below.