Deadline

The purpose of the Call for Expression of Interest is to solicit interest from existing or prospective Implementing Partners that wish to participate in UN-Habitat operation and contribute complementary resources (human resources, knowledge, funds, in-kind contributions, supplies and/or equipment) to achieving common objectives as outlined below and subsequently agreed in an Agreement of Cooperation

Size of grant: 25,000

Purpose of Call for proposal:

The purpose of the CFP is to support the SDG12 Resource Efficient Housing Programme, within the Land Housing and Shelter section, UN-Habitat, with the technical revision and structuring of the project’s draft “Housing Value Assessment Methodology VAM, which is intended to guide housing programmes and projects to shift towards sustainable practices grounded on resource efficiency, circularity, and sustainability.  

The CFP is intended to seek out implementing partners that can bring added technical value to the assessment; correlate the current draft VAM with a multiple array of indicators, technical feedback, and further resources; as well as to generate an automated data base tool that can provide automated feedback based on the questionnaire and recommendations, create visualisations, charts and figures for future VAM users.

Submission Start Date: (as soon as possible)

Submission Deadline Date and time: 8th of April

Programme Key Information

  • UN-Habitat Project title: SDG12 Resource Efficient Housing Programme
  • Locations: Global, with specific activities in Sri Lanka and Burkina Faso
  • Start date: October 2020
  • Estimated duration of project in calendar months: 30 months
  • Total programme value: 500,000
  • Maximum CFP value in US$: 25,000
  • Lead Organization Unit: Land Housing and Shelter Section

Brief Background of the Project

ORGANIZATIONAL SETTING

UN-Habitat, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, is mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal of providing adequate and affordable housing for all. It works with organisations at every level, including all spheres of government, civil society and the private sector, to help build, manage, plan and finance sustainable urban development.

UN-Habitat, through the Land Housing and Shelter section, supports New Urban Agenda partners and governments at all levels in formulating and implementing progressive housing sector reforms, policies, programmes and legislation which contribute to the creation of inclusive and sustainable cities, and comply with international law relating to the right to adequate housing. It provides expertise to support sound analysis of the housing sector and, in particular, the review of key legislation and elements affecting affordable housing provisions. UN-Habitat assists governments to formulate and implement policies and strategies designed to maximise the impact of housing in national socio-economic development and employment generation, as well as in sustainable urban development. It helps with in-depth local diagnosis of the state of the housing sector and provides technical support to the formulation of sustainable housing and construction sector related policies and programmes, as well as subsequent implementation strategies.

The Resource Efficient Housing Joint Programme:

Through an emphasis on resource efficiency (SDG12) in the building’s life cycle - planning, design, procurement, construction, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning - with a specific focus on housing and construction materials, UN-Habitat, UNEP, and UNOPS have established a Joint Programme that aims for a strategic advance on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, as well as the national commitments made under the Paris Agreement.

The aim of this Joint Programme proposal is to offer a strategic approach for the UN to help countries in addressing resource efficiency by focusing on improving the sustainability of buildings and their impact on the environment, with a focus on materials and housing. This will be achieved through fostering the transformation of the buildings and construction sector; being one of the sectors with the biggest potentials to strive for sustainable consumption and production, along with food production.

In particular, the Implementing Partner will provide direct support to the implementation of the Housing Value Assessment Methodology (VAM), which has the main objective of providing a technical analysis and feedback on shifting into more sustainable, resource efficient, and circular approaches for housing sector programmes and projects.

Main activities and outputs

The Implementing Partner will be undertaking main activities as follows:

Main activities:

  • Assess the investment value in sustainable building and construction approaches, with an emphasis on housing sector related programmes.
  • Revise and correlate data and create an interactive database with the objective of highlighting the value of shifting into resource efficient, circular, and sustainable building practices in the housing sector.
  • Analyse and extract data to create figures, charts, and visualisations that can illustrate the project activities and findings.
  • Participate in workshops, seminars, meetings, and other events related to the project´s objectives and provide support in their organization.
  • The IP will receive a draft VAM that has been prepared by the Land Housing and Shelter project team. It consists of a questionnaire and the set of recommendations and feedback to be provided after filling in the questionnaire.

Outputs:

Output 1 Re-structuring of the Value Assessment Methodology tool:

Revised data base assessment structure, synergies between questions, sustainability criteria, indicators, and any other activity related to the technical components of the tool.

Plan and structuring of the tool and analysis using an interactive data base software such as Excel.

Output 2: Technical draft of the Value Assessment Methodology tool’s content and feedback

Draft technical components of the feedback given by the tool and strengthen the synergies between the overall tool matrix, and international development agenda indicators such as SDGs, NUA, Paris Agreement, etc.

Include an estimation of CO2 reductions calculation within the overall VAM assessment and within the technical feedback.

Output 3: Data base automation and functionalities

Programming of questionnaire, answers, macros, and other necessary functionalities.

Adding user functionalities to the data base with the objective of achieving automated feedback in terms of figures, charts, and visualisations. Main areas for figures and charts should include: resource efficiency, circularity, CO2 emissions, and sustainability.

Output 4: Capacity building and preparation of tool for piloting exercise:

Analyse a selected housing or construction project and provide any necessary edits to the tool before piloting.

Supported by the Land Housing and Shelter programme team, conduct workshop sessions with country teams to provide an overview of the functionalities of the tool.

The housing programme or project will be selected by UN-Habitat and its information provided to the implementing partners; the workshop will be organized by UN-Habitat, and the implementing partners will be invited to conduct the session virtually.

Output 5: Piloting of tool in two different country teams:

Guide the piloting of the first usage of the tool.

Oversee the quality control and data verification of all charts, figures, and visualizations produced by the tool to be included in the report. 

UN-Habitat will provide the IP with a government-led housing programme or project that will serve as a basis for the pilot assessment. The assessment is to be conducted virtually.

Use the feedback from the piloting sessions to improve the final tool.

Output 6: Produce final feedback reports

Produce a feedback report for each of the two selected country project pilots which integrates all aforementioned outputs into a succinct report which has technical feedback that aims at shifting projects and programmes into more sustainable, resource efficient, low-carbon, circular economy-based approaches. This report should preferably be an automated function of the tool.

Eligibility Criteria

 

 

 

Criteria

 

 

Submission Details/ Documents Required

 

Legal Status
  • Certificate of registration/incorporation i.e.,
  • Proof of registration in Country of Origin.
  • Proof of registration of Country of operation
  • Proof of country operational presence

Organization profile and details
  • Clear organization profile and structure of the organization indicating:
    • Organization’s vision, mission and objectives
    • Management structure
    • Members of the Governing Board and their Designations duly certified by the Corporate Secretary, or its equivalent document
    • Proof of membership to professional associations if any.

Financial Capacity
  • Audited company financial statements (balance sheet and income statement) and auditors report for the last two years

Exclusive bank account
  • Is the organization willing and able to have a separate bank account for the funds provided by UN-Habitat?

 

 

 

Integrity and Governance
  • The organization should complete and submit a signed Partner Declaration Form
  • Provide the profiles of the Chairperson of the Board of Directors, Head of the Organization and Chief of Finance

 

Selection Criteria

 

 

Criteria

 

Submission Details/ Documents Required

 

Weighting

1.   Technical capacity

 

25%

1.1 Does the organization have the relevant experience and proven track record in implementing activities in the areas of the project?

Has it managed in the past projects of similar technical complexities and financial size?

Is the project linked with the core business of the IP?
  • List of projects executed in the last 2 years (value, location, donors, nature of projects, execution stage – completed or ongoing).
  • Demonstrate how the experiences in past projects are relevant in the execution of the current proposal
  • References from past donors

 

1.2 Does the organization have qualified technical staff with the experience and the technical skills required by the project?

What is the staff size, type, qualification and education background?
  • CVs of key management staff, technical and non-technical staff that will be involved on the project
  • How many technical staff do you have in the concerned Country for implementing the project? Is there reasonable assurance that such technical staff required by the project will continue to be available as needed in the Project?

 

1.3 Does the organization have adequate capacity to undertake analysis related to the key areas/regions where the proposed field activities will be implemented?
  • Demonstrate, describe and provide proof of adequate capacity to undertake analysis in the key areas proposed.

 

1.4 Does the organization have previous working experience with the United Nations, UN-Habitat, or the One Planet Network, or an international organisation?
  • Provide description of previous work undertaken.

 

1.5 Does the organization have formal procedures to monitor project execution (e.g. milestones, outputs, expenditures…)
  • Provide formal project monitoring policies and procedures

 

 

2.   Financial and administrative capacity

 

15%

2.1 Has the organization been in operation over a period of at least 2 years to demonstrate its financial sustainability and relevance?
  • State the years of operation
  • Financial statements for the last 2 years

 

2.2 Does the organization have qualified staff in Finance? Is the current accounting system computerized and does have the capacity to collect and provide separate financial reports on the activities executed under the Agreement of Cooperation?

Does it have systems and practices to monitor and report whether the project deliverables and expenditures are within agreed time and budget?

Does it have minimum segregation of duties in place (separation between project management, finance/accounting and executive office)

 
  • CVs of key finance and accounting staff
  • Description and key features and controls of the accounting system used
  • Organization structure/ Organogram

 

2.3 Does the organization have the capacity to procure goods and services on a transparent and competitive basis?
  • Copies of procurement policies and procedures. The procedures should show how you procure locally and internationally.

 

2.4 Does the organization have formal procedures and controls to mitigate fraud such as multiple signature signatories on bank accounts, reporting and prosecution of incidences of fraud?
  • Describe anti-fraud controls and provide formal procedures

 

2.5 Does the organization have capacity to provide in-kind, financial, personnel contribution as UN-Habitat Implementing Partner in this present project? Please give details of contribution nature and size.
  • Describe nature and value of contribution (in-kind or cash)

 

 

3.   Financial Proposal

 

 

30%

3.1 Is the budget for each component of the activity to be performed by the Implementing Partner

(i) cost-effective (i.e. the cost should be economical and prudently estimated to avoid any under/over estimation)

(ii) justifiable/well supported and

(iii) accurate and complete

 

Budget Proposal <provide link>

  • Other supporting documents

 

 

4.   Technical Proposal

 

 

30%

4.1 The technical proposal is sound and responds adequately to the specifications and requirements?

Technical Proposal document <provide link>

 

 

Cumulative score for ratios

 

100%

 

How to Apply

  1. Address the call for proposal response by email to the attention of Jesus Salcedo and Alicia Regodon
  2. Proposals received after the above deadline will not be considered.
  3. Proposals and accompanying documents submitted to a different email address will not be considered. Any clarification queries and correspondences should also be sent by email.
  4. Proposals failing to provide the requested information will be disregarded.
  5. Applicant’s proposal and accompanying documents must clearly indicate the CFP reference: Resource Efficient Housing Programme CFP

 

Notes:

  1. Interested Organizations must provide information indicating that they are qualified to perform the services (brochure, description of similar assignments, experience in similar conditions, availability of appropriate skills among staff, etc).
  2. The RFP and accompanying documents must be received in accordance with instructions provided.
  3. RFP from applicants failing to provide the complete information to fulfil the basic eligibility criteria will be considered non-responsive.
  4. RFP received after the above deadline will not be considered
  5. Organizations will be selected in accordance with the procedure set out in the UN-Habitat IP Management policy and Standard Operating Procedures.
  6. RFP from applicants failing to provide the requested information will be disregarded.
  7. This RFP does not entail any commitment on the part of UN-Habitat, either financial or otherwise. UN-Habitat reserves the right to accept or reject any or all EOI without incurring any obligation to inform the affected applicant(s) of the grounds.
  8. All prices must be in USD