Terms of Reference for the Recruitment of a Consulting Firm for the Development of Blueprint for Internet Governance for Smart Africa Member States.

Terms of Reference for the Recruitment of a consulting firm for the development of Blueprint for Internet Governance for Smart Africa Member States.

 Table of Contents:

1. Organisation Background.
2. Internet Governance Project background.
3. Objectives of the Blueprint Development Process
4. Request for Proposals objectives
5. Expected Deliverables
6. Specific Actions to Consider in the Operational Implementation
7. Consultancy arrangements / Methodology
8. Duration of the assignment
9. Firm profile and experience
10. Evaluation Criteria
11. Submission requirements for technical and financial proposals
12. Submission process
13. Rights Reserved
14. Enquieres
15. Anti-corruption

A.Organisation Background.

Smart Africa is a bold and innovative commitment by African heads of state and governments to accelerate sustainable socio-economic development on the continent, propelling Africa towards a knowledge economy through affordable broadband access and the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs).

The Transform Africa Summit, held in Kigali, Rwanda, from October 28 to 31, 2013, resulted in the adoption of the Smart Africa Manifesto by seven (7) African heads of state (Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, Mali, Gabon, Burkina Faso) pledging to provide leadership to accelerate socio-economic development through ICTs.

On January 30 and 31, 2014, the Smart Africa Manifesto was approved by all heads of state and government of the African Union during the 22nd Ordinary Session of the African Union Assembly in Addis Ababa. This development places the Manifesto at the core of the ICT agenda in Africa, beyond the original 7 signatory countries of the Summit, encompassing all African countries. Since then, the Smart Africa Alliance has grown to include 39 African countries representing over one billion people. Smart Africa’s vision is to transform Africa into a single digital market by 2030.

To realize this ambition, the Smart Africa Alliance is committed to implementing a number of initiatives based on the 5 principles outlined in its manifesto. At the heart of its implemented projects, the issue of governance of critical resources is of paramount importance, and it is in this context that since 2020 the initiative to create a flagship project on internet governance has been launched under the leadership of the Republic of Burkina Faso..

B. Internet Governance Project background.

The dimension of Internet governance is often inadequately addressed or not perceived as a force for proposing improvements and advancing the domain name industry and associated components while ensuring a form of sovereignty for African countries in a particularly complex context of economic and geostrategic challenges.

To address the aforementioned shortcomings, the initial focus was on consolidating and strengthening actors in the ecosystem around themes or topics of interest to Africa. This was manifested through efforts to establish a thematic think tank to address the underrepresentation of African actors in international decision-making bodies.

Subsequently, as part of strategic exchanges and considering the current context of Internet governance in Africa, marked by crises within organizations such as AFRINIC, as well as ongoing discussions led by the Secretary-General of the United Nations regarding a new global digital pact, it became opportune to engage in comprehensive reflection aimed at: (1) supporting states and governments in awareness-raising and capacity-building actions, (2) coordinating and facilitating the participation of African stakeholders in discussions on topics of interest to Africa with relevant stakeholders, (3) integrating actions to assist in the deployment, strengthening, and securing of critical infrastructure devices on the continent.

In order to harmonize the approaches of government actors and other stakeholders, the development of a reference document (Blueprint) is timely. This document will support consultative approaches, enhance the identification of continent-specific needs and challenges, and promote resource-sharing for increased effectiveness of Internet governance-related initiatives.

The sought-after roadmap will also serve as a basis for the creation of new collaboration mechanisms and a common approach. It will act as a guide in the development of specific sectoral strategies.

C. Objectives of the Blueprint Development Process 

The objective is to recruit a consulting firm to establish a mapping of the issues, define the roles of stakeholders, and propose a continental roadmap for Internet governance, laying the groundwork for effective implementation.

The development and implementation of this roadmap will primarily focus on addressing the problem of underrepresentation or limited participation of African countries in global decision-making processes related to Internet governance and strengthening initiatives to assist in the deployment, improvement, and security of critical Internet governance-related infrastructures on the continent.

The blueprint will serve as a framework for the development of Internet governance strategies at the continental, regional, and national levels for the benefit of states. It will promote bottom-up and consultative approaches to better understand specific needs and challenges in the African context, ensuring evidence-based representation in Internet governance forums, including multi-stakeholder collaboration methodologies.

Furthermore, this will lay the groundwork for new collaboration mechanisms and a unified approach to resource sharing. It will amplify the voices of African stakeholders within Internet governance institutions and forums.

Specifically :

1. Identify major challenges in internet governance in Africa and establishing a mapping of the challenges in Internet governance:
2. Defining the roles of stakeholders
3. Propose solutions tailored to identified challenges and propose long term vision and continental roadmap for Internet governance and laying the foundations for effective implementation.

This roadmap should Taking into account :

• Political, socio-economic factors, and the pursuit of the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
• The challenge of underrepresentation of countries in governance bodies through mechanisms for continuous mobilization and awareness-raising of states and stakeholders on the continent.
• The support the implementation of regional and continental governance policies.
• Implement adapted collaboration mechanisms

D. Request for Proposals objectives 

General Objectives

The overall objective of this Request for Proposal is to select a consulting firm to provide technical assistance to the Smart Africa Secretariat and the lead country (Burkina Faso) for the development of a reference document on Internet Governance on the continent. The outcomes of the consultancy will be guided by the established working group to provide overall strategic direction with the support of the Smart Africa Secretariat.

Specific Objectives of the RFP

The mission of the consulting firm will specifically consist of providing technical support to the working group and the lead country on the project (Burkina Faso) by drafting, reviewing, and finalizing the Blueprint document. The purpose of these terms of reference is to present the details for recruiting a consulting firm to help achieve the stated objectives.

E. Expected Deliverables  

The expected deliverables of this blueprint are :

• Diagnostic report on Internet Governance in Africa. This report will assess the state of internet governance on the continent by highlighting its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, while defining the political, economic, socio-cultural, technological, ecological, and legal aspects. It will also address the challenges related to internet governance in Africa and showcase best practices from internet governance models on other continents.
• Stakeholders mapping on each rules : This mapping will identify governments, regulatory bodies, private enterprises, civil society organizations, and international institutions involved in decision-making and policy implementation in internet governance. This will be supported also by a comparative analysis of IG initiatives on the continent and elsewhere to identify gaps and derive best practices.
• Clustering guidelines in long term vision report: These guidelines will provide strategic direction for crafting a collective and coherent vision of the future of internet governance on the continent, taking into account political, socio-economic, and technological factors.
• Continental roadmap for Internet governance and laying the foundations for effective implementation :This roadmap will be designed to guide the effective implementation of internet governance policies and initiatives across the continent, emphasizing coordination among countries, institutions, and stakeholders
• Consultation and validation initiatives by the group through workshops/meetings, brainstorming sessions, and validation of intermediate steps.
• Blue Print final report and validation workshop.

F. Specific Actions to Consider in the Operational Implementation 

These include :

• Operationalization of the Internet Governance working group.
• Alignment with the specific directions of the Smart Africa Board of Directors.
• Incorporation of recommendations and guidance from various forums and different stakeholders in the continent.
• Consideration of the dynamics of research/innovation activities and contribute to making Africa a significant contributor to global internet governance standards.

G. Consultancy arrangements / Methodology

The mission shall be carried out according to these terms of reference and according to a contractual framework to be defined between the Smart Africa Secretariat and the consulting firm.

The mission will be carried out by the consulting firm with the support of the Smart Africa Secretariat, the lead country government on the project, and the task force constituted during the brainstorming session in Kigali on the sidelines of the ICANN80 meetings. This task force (hereinafter referred to as the working group) will be composed of representatives from member countries of the group, African and international organizations, private sector partners working on the subject, resource persons, and other stakeholders.

The Smart Africa Secretariat, Burkina Faso as the lead country, and the members of the working group will assist the consulting firm, as far as possible, in seeking contacts and authorizations related to the scope defined in this document. Nonetheless, the consulting firm is expected to submit a proposal which includes, but is not limited to, a detailed project plan and an inception report.

It is expected that the consultancy firm’s work will be in line with the following methodology and rules:

• The consulting  firm will assume primary responsibility for drafting the expected deliverables in English and French. The working language for the working group will be English to cater for the diversity of the members of the secretariat.
• The consulting  firm shall engage the Smart Africa Secretariat, the Government of Burkina Faso, the working group, and other selected stakeholders to discuss the roadmap for the consultancy services leading to the creation of an approved inception report that clearly explains how the project objectives will be achieved.
• The consulting  firm will work closely with the designated staff of Smart Africa, the Government of Burkina Faso, and the working group to carry out the task. The consulting firm will report to the Smart Africa Secretariat, by participating in regular working group meetings (approximately once every two weeks) and by preparing the necessary meeting reports, slideshows, and summaries of documents.
• The consulting  firm shall integrate existing national and international guidelines and recommendations.
• The consulting  firm shall review the existing draft concept note with specific emphasis on the internet governance needs/gaps on the continent.
• The consulting  firm will write an interim draft version of each planned deliverable and provide a presentation of these interim deliverables at workshops organized by Smart Africa in English and French. Every deliverable will be submitted to working group members and discussed during consultations and validation workshops. The consulting  firm will collect comments on each interim deliverable and make consequential revisions in the final version.
• Support and facilitation will be provided from the Smart Africa Secretariat for exchanges with the relevant stakeholders and the collection of documents for the analysis of the existing situations.
• The consulting  firm shall organize and participate in consultation and feedback stakeholder workshops during the duration of the project and incorporate the stakeholders’ comments from the workshops as appropriate and prepare the final report.
• The consulting  firm will guarantee the confidentiality of information shared by the Smart Africa Secretariat and stakeholders participating in the working group and workshops. Publication of content can only take place after validation by the working group.
• The consulting firm shall submit each deliverable in one (1) printed copy and soft copies and all working documents in soft copies, editable files (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.), in English and also in French for the final versions.
• The consulting  firm shall be able to communicate with the Smart Africa Secretariat and the working group in English and cover the costs for necessary translations.
• The consulting  firm shall prepare an executive summary in PowerPoint format (both English and French) for the draft and final Blueprint.
• The consulting  firm shall ensure the final documents are designed according to the branding guidelines of Smart Africa.

H. Duration of the assignment 

The selected consulting firm must carry out the project within Six (06) months from the date of signing the contract unless extended by agreement of both parties with an addendum to the contract.

The indicative timetable is as follows :

T : Time when the contract is signed

I. Firm profile and experience

The ideal firm must meet the following minimum requirements to be considered during the evaluation:

• Must have and demonstrate technical, economic, and regulatory expertise and experience for the development and implementation of ICT related policy frameworks especially in internet governance issues ;
• Have conducted ICT policy development research relating to internet governance in the last five (5) years.
• Demonstrate the ability to design user-friendly, intuitive deliverables blueprints, ;
• Demonstrate a strong understanding of the internet governance ecosystem in Africa;
• Firms should submit signed recommendation letters from previous clients of similar projects (in the field of policy formulation in internet governance or related) with the same magnitude and complexity.
• Ability to work in French and English.

The work shall be carried out by a firm with a lead team of at least (04) four highly qualified consultants/experts with a master’s degree or above in the requested specialties, namely:

Lead Consultant (Expert in Connectivity Infrastructure Policy/Regulation)with the following minimum requirements to be considered for evaluation :

• At least 10 years of experience in formulating connectivity infrastructure regulation policies with masters in computer engineering, ICT, data science and other related fields.
• Demonstrate experience working with regional organizations, including but not limited to ICANN, Internet Society, ITU, AFRINIC, AFTLD, UNECA, IGF, etc., and a comprehensive knowledge of actors in the internet governance ecosystem in Africa.
• Demonstrate active involvement in working groups addressing internet governance challenges.
• Show involvement in managing bilateral or multilateral partnerships related to internet governance issues in Africa.
• Experience working in Africa is essential.
• Proficiency in French and/or English.
• Successfully participated in at least two (2) projects of similar or higher complexity in the last 5 years.

Legal Expert specializing in ICT, and with the minimum requirements below to be considered for the evaluation:

• A Master’s degree in law specializing in internet governance subjects and specifically infrastructure regulation, internet governance, or related fields ;
• Extensive experience in the design, development, implementation of digital transformation policies and strategies ;
• Good knowledge on data regulation ;
• Having participated successfully in at least two (2) projects of similar or higher level of complexity in the last 5 years. ;
• Experience working in Africa.

Digital Transformation Expertwith the minimum requirements below to be considered for evaluation:

• A Master’s degree in computer engineering, ICT, data science and other related fields.
• A minimum of five (5) years of in-depth experience in developing digital governance strategies in the African continent.
• Possess excellent knowledge of the internet governance ecosystem in Africa specially on IP Adresses, DNS, DNSSEC, IXP, etc..
• Have a strong understanding of internet governance bodies through participation in dedicated working groups, forums, etc.
• Have good knowledge of the technical architecture of critical infrastructure supporting internet governance.
• Experience in planning, analysis, design, and the creation of projects tailored to the continent.
• Successfully participated in at least two (2) projects of similar or higher complexity in the last 5 years.
• Experience working in Africa.Africa.

Qualified Information Systems Security Expert with the minimum requirements below to be considered for evaluation:

• A Master’s degree in cybersecurity or data protection, or related fields.
• A minimum of five (5) years of in-depth experience in developing cybersecurity strategies in the African continent.
• Possess excellent knowledge of the internet governance ecosystem in Africa specially on IP Adresses, DNS, DNSSEC, IXP, etc..
• Have a strong understanding of internet governance bodies through participation in cybersecurity working groups.
• Have good knowledge of regulations and personal data protection.
• Successfully participated in at least two (2) projects of similar or higher complexity in the last 5 years.
• Experience working in Africa.

The consulting firm shall propose additional staff as part of the consulting team as necessary with adequate justification towards the realization of study objectives with dedicated roles/positions for evaluation explicitly detailed. The related financial quotation should be included for additional staff.

J.Evaluation Criteria

The following model will be used to evaluate all respondents and proposals submitted:

Technical Evaluation Criteria

The financial proposal of only those firms which secure a minimum score of 70/100 in the technical evaluation will be opened.

St= Score for the Technical Evaluation

Financial Criteria

Once the technical criteria have been evaluated, the costs of all bids will be listed from low to high. Computing the cost criteria score will be accomplished by use of the following formula:

The Applicant getting maximum marks on 70-30 weightage (70% for technical and 30% for financial) will be selected as Consultants for the Client. The weights given to the Technical (T) and Financial Proposals (F) are T = 0.70 and F = 0.30

The Final Score (S) is calculated as follows: S = St*T + Sf*F

K. Submission requirements for technical and financial proposals

All technical and financial proposals must be submitted in English

Mandatory Administrative Documents

• Company Registration Certificate.
• Tax Clearance Certificates/Equivalence
• Joint Venture agreement where applicable.

Technical Requirements

• Firms corporate profile/Executive summary.
• Detailed description of Methodology Approach, plan, and understanding of this assignment.
• Team composition and specific responsibilities per staff/experts.
• Consultancy services performed with references and contacts.
• Detailed updated Curriculum Vitae for the proposed staffs/experts.
• Recommendation letters or certificate of completion from previous assignments. Letters should be provided with the letterhead of the recommending client and must be signed.

Financial Requirements

• Summarized Total Cost VAT Inclusive (Value of tax indicated on final cost)
• Breakdown of a remuneration package
• Breakdown of reimbursable expenses
• Miscellaneous Expenses if any

Notes:

• Indicate your preferred payment terms under financial proposal
• A withholding tax of 15% will be deducted from payments for Firms not VAT-registered with Rwanda Tax Administration (RRA) and 18% VAT will be applicable for registered firms in Rwanda.
• All Financial Proposals/offers should be password protected and Smart Africa will request for it for bidders who have been qualified in the technical evaluation
• All Financial Offers should be quoted and submitted in USD Currency.

Submission process

Soft copies of both Technical and financial proposals must be submitted via email in pdf format showing each the nature of the offer concerned (technical or financial offer); The proposals must be sent to the email: procurement@smartafrica.org  not later than 29^th September 2024 at, 05:00 pm local time (Kigali-Rwanda).

Kindly note that late submissions will be automatically disqualified.

M.Rights Reserved  

• This RFP does not obligate the Smart Africa Secretariat (SAS) to complete the RFP process.
• SAS reserves the right to amend any segment of the RFP prior to the announcement of a selected firm.
• SAS also reserves the right to remove one or more of the services from consideration for this contract should the evaluation show that it is in SAS’s best interest to do so.
• SAS also may, at its discretion, issue a separate contract for any service or groups of services included in this RFP. SAS may negotiate a compensation package and additional provisions to the contract awarded under this RFP.
• The Smart Africa reserves the right to debrief the applicants after the completion of the process due to expected high volume of applications and avoiding the compromise of the process.

N.Enquiries 

Any enquiries will only be received and addressed Five (5) days or more prior to the bid submission deadline. Prospective respondents who may have questions regarding this RFP may submit their enquiries to tenderenquiries@smartafrica.org

O.Anti-corruption  

Smart Africa is committed to preventing and not tolerating any act of corruption and other malpractices and expects that all bidders will adhere to the same ethical principles.