CONSULTANCY SERVICES FOR ENHANCING FLOOD FORECASTING FOR TANA AND ATHI RIVER BASINS – StERC 211 views0 applications

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

CONSULTANCY SERVICES FOR ENHANCING FLOOD FORECASTING FOR TANA AND ATHI RIVER BASINS – StERC

Document Release Date :10^th February 2020

Last Date for Receipt of proposals : 26^th February 2020

Time : 11:00hrs, Nairobi

Tender Number : ICHAPREQ01111

Full tender document can be downloaded through: https://www.redcross.or.ke/Tenders

Submission Method : Email to [email protected]

Tender Opening Venue and Time : KENYA RED CROSS SOCIETY

HEADQUARTERS BOARDROOM

TIME: 1200HRS

Table of Contents

1. SECTION 1 – REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS. 3

1.1. Introduction. 3

1.2. Aims and Objectives of the StERC project 3

1.3. Scope of the Assignment 4

1.4. Duration of the consultancy. 5

1.5. Reporting. 5

1.6. Format of RFP Response and Other Information for Bidders. 5

1. SECTION 1 – REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

1.1. Introduction

The Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) is the largest humanitarian relief organization created in 1965 through an Act of parliament, cap 256 of the Laws of Kenya. Its vision is to be the most effective, most trusted and self-sustaining humanitarian organization in Kenya. The KRCS Mission is to work with vigor and compassion through our networks and with communities to prevent and alleviate human suffering and save lives of the most vulnerable. KRCS is auxiliary to both National and County Governments in disaster preparedness and response.

This Request for Proposals (RFP) document is intended identify a consultancy firm or a team of consultants who can support work to enhance flood forecasting capacity for Tana and Athi River Basins under the Strengthening Early Response Capacity (StERC) project. The StERC project is funded by the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) and implemented by KRCS with support from the British Red Cross (BRC).

This document constitutes the formal Request for Proposals (RFP) for consultancy to enhance flood forecasting capacity for Tana and Athi River Basins under the Strengthening Early Response Capacity (StERC) project and is being availed on the Kenya Red Cross Society and ReliefWeb websites to bidders interested in submitting a bid.

The consultancy will be awarded to a company or a team of consultants who are able to fulfil the requirements as per the purpose, scope of work and qualifications sought. Bids will be accepted from both local and international companies or team of consultants.

1.2. Aims and Objectives of the StERC project

The StERC project focuses on enhancing disaster preparedness for effective early action and response in Lower Athi and Lower Tana River Basins as well as responding to rapid onset emergencies in Kenya. It aims to improve the capacity of county government institutions, partners and communities along the Tana and Athi River basins to adequately prepare for and respond efficiently and effectively to rapid onset disasters in Garissa, Kilifi and Tana River Counties by 2020. Ultimately, it will help mitigate the impact of rapid onset disasters to vulnerable communities.

KRCS and BRC in collaboration with key stakeholders will seek to support the Counties in disaster preparedness (DP) through Early Warning Early Action (EWEA) and transfer of Early Warning information to the public, by:

i. Strengthening an enabling environment (policy, legislation, structure and systems) of targeted county governments for effective disaster preparedness through advocacy and technical support

ii. Improving systems for EWEA in Lower Tana and Lower Athi sub-basins

iii. KRCS responds to sudden onset emergencies or triggers of sudden onset emergencies effectively (Crisis Modifier)

A major part of this project will be technical and institutional capacity building for county government staff, disaster committees, Red Cross movement in disaster preparedness and response. Furthermore, people from the counties along the two basins, including high-risk wards, will be covered by a functional early warning system and reached through information, communication and public awareness. The target groups will include vulnerable men, women, children, elderly and persons living with disabilities in the wards most at risk.

1.3. Purpose of the consultancy

The purpose of this consultancy is to (1) assess and build capacity of KMD to produce skillful rainfall forecast and (2) assess and build capacity of WRA and KMD to operationalize hydrological modeling for Lower Tana and Lower Athi sub-basins. This will support the development or improvement of systems for Early Warning Early Action (EWEA) in Lower Tana and Lower Athi sub-basins.

1.4. Scope of the Assignment

The scope of work for the consultancy is divided into two parts, as described in parts A and B below.

A. Support capacity building of Kenya Meteorological Department (KMD) to develop required skilful forecasts to be integrated into the hydrological model

The following task will be carried out by the consultant:

i. Assess how KMD currently produces rainfall forecast products, what data and global products go into developing the forecasts, how they use the developed forecasts in flood forecasting. Assess what workflows and tools KMD has in place to evaluate and modify the forecasts developed to support flood forecasting. Based on these assessments, the consultant will define together with KMD existing gaps in acquisition of global products, processes and tools for rainfall forecast product development and gaps in capacity to run a Limited Area Model (LAM) at different forecast lead times. This task will aim to develop a plan to enhance KMD’s capacity to regularly produce better probabilistic rainfall forecasts for flood forecasting.

DELIVERABLE 1: An assessment report, recommendations and plan to enhance KMD’s rainfall forecasting capacity

ii. Evaluate the skill of at least three (3) GPC rainfall forecast products using existing gridded data from KMD. Evaluate the skill of KMD’s LAM generated rainfall forecasts either using archived data or through running the LAM in hind cast. This task will provide expert guidance on the skill of the various GCP products and the skill of the KMD LAM forecasts using the different GPC products. The consultant will also give recommendations on the availability of real time GPC data that can be used in the KMD LAM model.

DELIVERABLE 2: Skill analysis report, recommendations on real time GPC data availability, and guidance notes on conducting forecast skill assessment including relevant codes.

iii. Based on the capacity assessment report (Deliverable 1) and forecast skill analysis report (Deliverable 2), the consultant will build the capacity of KMD to run a LAM model with the most viable GPC forecast identified and carry out data assimilation to produce probabilistic rainfall forecasts for the country at different lead times that are relevant to flood forecasting. The consultant will also build the capacity of KMD to carry out skill assessment of the forecasts produced using the LAM model. After the training, based on a time period agreed by KMD, the consultant and KRCS, the consultant will provide remote support to KMD to continuously produce probabilistic rainfall forecast and evaluate their skill to support flood forecasting for early warning early action.

DELIVERABLE 3: Capacity building report and update the guidance notes in Deliverable 2 as needed

B. Support capacity building of Water Resources Authority (WRA) and Kenya Meteorological Department (KMD) on hydrological modelling

Some initial work has been done towards development of a flood forecasting system for different river basins in Kenya, through the Kenya Water Security and Climate Resilience Project (KWSCRP). This part of the consultancy will build on the work that has already been done WRA and KMD under the KWSCRP. The specific tasks will be:

i. Assess the skill of MIKE Hydro-basin models, developed under the KWSCRP, for flood forecasting in the Tana and Athi River basins and the suitability of rainfall forecasts generated by KMD (in part A) to produce flood forecasts. The flood forecasts generated should capture flood occurrence and flood extent, where possible. The consultant will also give recommendation on data required for flood forecasting.

DELIVERABLE 4: Assessment report on skill of MIKE Hydro-basin model, suitable rainfall forecasts and data required to develop flood forecasts. Guidance notes on developing flood forecasts and conducting skill assessment, including relevant codes

ii. Provide advice on the purchase of a long term licensing required to run the MIKE Hydro-basin models in WRA and KMD. If needed, the consultant will install the MIKE Hydro-basin model in the relevant institution and calibrate it over the two river basins.

DELIVERABLE 5: Recommendations to allow the StERC project to support WRA and KMD to acquire the license needed

iii. Assess the capacity of WRA and KMD to operationalize the use of MIKE Hydro-basin model using probabilistic rainfall forecasts, observed rainfall and river gauge data to generate flood forecasts. Develop a plan for capacity support needed, indicating the short term capacity that can be supported by the StERC project as well as the long term capacity support needed.

DELIVERABLE 6: Capacity assessment report and capacity development plan

iv. Based on the capacity assessment report, build that capacity of WRA and KMD to develop flood forecasts using MIKE Hydro-basin model. The consultant will provide remote support KMD and WRA to continuously produce floods forecasts and evaluate their skill, over a time period that will be agreed with WRA, KMD and KRCS.

DELIVERABLE 7: Capacity building report and update the guidance notes as needed

1.5. Duration of the consultancy

The consultancy is estimated to take 120 working days that will be spread out between February 2020 and November 2020.

1.6. Reporting

The consulting company/firm or team of consultants will report to the StERC Project Manager in KRCS, and work in close collaboration the Climate Research Manager and the larger StERC project team.

1.7. Format of RFP Response and Other Information for Bidders

1.7.1.The overall summary information regarding the StERC is given in section 1.2 –Aims and Objectives. The bidder shall include in their offer any additional services or items considered necessary for the successful completion of the project

1.7.2.Proposals from bidders should be submitted in two distinct parts, namely technical proposal and financial proposal and these should be in two separate folders both of which should then be sent to [email protected] clearly marked “Tender No. ICHAPREQ01111 –* Consultancy services for enhancing flood forecasting for Tana and Athi river basins, under the Strengthening Early Response Capacity (StERC) project”.

Proposals received after the deadline will be rejected.

OPENING DATE 26^th February 2020 at 12:00 noon.

1.7.3.The Technical Proposal should contain the following:

1. Introduction: description of the firm, firm’s qualifications, profile, expertise, number of staff and statutory compliance. Mandatory documents must accompany the proposal and tenders without mandatory documents will not be evaluated.

The mandatory documents are;

a. Company Profile

b. Certificate of Incorporation

c. Company CR12 for (Limited companies only)

d. Certificate from relevant regulatory authority / professional body (where applicable)

e. Company Valid tax compliance certificate and Pin Certificate

f. CVs of proposed key personnel for the assignment and summary of proposed key staff as per the table below;

1. Back ground: Understanding of the engagement requirements, objectives and scope of work
2. Profile/CVs of the personnel to be involved in the work, with emphasis on:

· Academic qualifications: Masters or higher degree in mass media communication, public relations, or a related field

· Knowledge and skills: Demonstrate good knowledge of the Early Warning Early Action (EWEA), disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation and humanitarian emergency context in Kenya; Excellent skills in synthesizing information, report writing, and generating summaries; Fluency in English

· Experience: least 4year’s experience in development of communication strategies, communication material for mass media, communication analysis and planning; facilitating multi-stakeholder participatory discussions and organizing workshops will be essential.

1. Proposed methodology – Indicate approach to the assignment, proposed procedures
2. Firms experience in undertaking assignments of similar nature and experience for other clients (Table with: Name of organization, name of assignment, duration of assignment (Dates), nature of assignment and reference person contacts).
3. References- (Attach at least 3 reference letters from other clients other than KRCS but similar to KRCS)
4. Proposed team composition- Indicate the engagement team members that will be responsible for undertaking the assignment, qualifications and experience in undertaking similar assignments. See table 1 below with the format.
5. Work plan (Gantt chart of activity and week of implementation) and comprehensive time schedule on the basis of the proposed time duration and the scope of this assignment. The work plan will set out the approach to carry out the three parts of the assignment as described in the scope of work.

The Financial proposal shall clearly indicate the total cost of carrying out the Consultancy to develop flood early warning communication strategies for Garissa, Tana River and Kilifi Counties, and should be presented in the financial template as shown below.

The consultant shall only quote for the items below. Note that KRCS is zero rated on goods and services supplied to it.

Item

Unit

# of Units

Unit cost

Total cost (Kshs.)

Consultancy fee

Per day

Other costs – to be itemized e.g. Assistants costs, Administrative costs, logistical costs,

Less VAT (16%)

Grand total

1.1.1. A three stage procedure will be adopted by the KRCS for evaluating the proposals as shown below:

COMPLIANCE WITH MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS

Mandatory documents must accompany the proposal and tenders without which the proposals will not be evaluated. The mandatory documents are;

I. Company Profile

II. Certificate of Incorporation

III. Company CR12 for companies

IV. Certificate from relevant regulatory authority / professional body (where applicable)

V. Valid KRA Tax Compliance certificate and PIN Certificate

VI. CVs of proposed key personnel for the assignment and summary of proposed key staff as per the table below;

Name

Highest educational qualification

Number of days to be involved

Years of experience

related to the task**

Roles in the assignment

STAGE 1 –TECHNICAL EVALUATION – SCORE 50

· Firm’s general experience in the field of assignment

· Firm’s financial capacity

· Understanding of the aims and objectives

· Proposed Methodology

· Proposed work plan

· The qualifications and relevant experience of the personnel.

· Proposals for technical requirements.

· Overall Value proposition/ transfer of knowledge

Technical Proposal Evaluation Criteria

Proposals shall NOT be evaluated and scored where mandatory documents mentioned above in section 6.1.3 (1) are not submitted.

The technical proposal shall be evaluated on the basis of its responsiveness to the TOR. Specifically, the following criteria shall apply:

Assessment Criteria

Maximum Points Possible

Bidders score

Remarks

(1) Introduction:

• Description of the Firm and the Firm’s Qualifications
• Size of firm & capability – Staff, resources

5

(2) Background: Understanding of the engagement requirements, objectives and scope of work

10

(3) Proposed Methodology: The proposed methodology MUST provide an indication of its effectiveness and added value in the proposed assignment.

10

(4) Firms Experience in undertaking assignments of similar nature and experience for other clients

(Table with: Name of organization, name of assignment, duration of assignment (Dates), nature of assignment and reference person contacts).

10

(5) Proposed Team Composition:

• Tabulate the team composition to include the general qualifications, suitability for the specific task to be assigned and overall years of relevant experience to the proposed assignment.
• The proposed team composition should balance effectively with the necessary skills and competencies required to undertake the proposed assignment. Provide detailed CV’s
• Lead Consultant Qualifications – should be as per the TOR

10

(6) Work Plan: A Detailed logical, efficient and weekly work plan for the assignment MUST be provided.

5

TOTAL SCORE

50

Table 3: assessment criteria technical proposal

ORAL PRESENTATION – SCORE 10

Oral presentations will be part of the technical evaluation. Firms may be invited for oral presentations. Oral presentations will be scored using the following criteria;

· Good understanding of the assignment

· Clear logical methodology

· Versed with financial reporting standards

· Expertise of Engagement team members

STAGE 3. FINANCIAL PROPOSAL – SCORE 40

All bidders who score less than 50% on the technical and oral presentation will not be considered for financial bid analysis. Financial bids for all firms who will have scored a total of 50% and above on their technical bids will be scrutinized and adjusted to allow for fair comparison between all the tenderers.

Technical proposal

50

Oral presentations

10

Financial proposal

40

Total

100

1.7.4.Bidders are requested to hold their proposals valid for one twenty (120) days from the closing date for the submission. KRCS will make its best efforts to arrive at a decision within this period.

1.7.5.All costs pertaining to the preparation of a proposal and negotiations of a contract shall be borne by the firms submitting proposals.

1.7.6.Assuming that the Contract can be satisfactorily concluded, the bidders shall be expected to commence the assignment within 1 week after the final agreement is reached.

1.7.7.If a bidding firm does not have all the expertise for the assignment, there is no objection to the firm associating with another firm to enable a full range of expertise to be presented. The request for Joint Venture shall be accompanied with full documented details of the proposed association.

1.7.8.In the case of a Joint Venture or Association, all the firms constituting the Joint Venture or Association will be jointly and severally liable and at least one firm in the Joint Venture or Association shall be financially capable of meeting the contract requirements and potential liabilities on its own and shall assume contracting responsibility and liability for satisfactory execution of the assignment.

1.7.9.The contracting arrangements shall define clearly the responsibilities and the services to be provided by each firm in the case of a joint venture.

1.7.10. The bid documents, shall be addressed to

Tender No. ICHAPREQ01111 – Consultancy services for enhancing flood forecasting for Tana and Athi river basins, under the Strengthening Early Response Capacity (StERC) project”**.

Chairperson-Tender committee

Kenya Red Cross Society

P.O. Box 40712-00100 GPO

Nairobi.

Email: [email protected]

Kindly indicate the title of the project on the envelope

Please read carefully the method of tender submission and comply accordingly.

1.7.11. KRCS reserves the right to accept or to reject any bid, and to annul the bidding process and reject all bids at any time prior to the award of the contract, without thereby incurring any liability to any Bidder or any obligation to inform the Bidder of the grounds for its action.

1.7.12. Cost of bidding

The Bidder shall bear all costs associated with the preparation and submission of its bid, and the Organization will in no case be responsible or liable for those costs, regardless of the conduct or outcome of the bidding process.

1.7.13. Clarification of Bidding Document

All correspondence related to the contract shall be made in English. Any clarification sought by the bidder in respect of the consultancy shall be addressed at least five (5) days before the deadline for submission of bids, in writing to the Administration Coordinator.

The queries and replies thereto shall then be circulated to all other prospective bidders (without divulging the name of the bidder raising the queries) in the form of an addendum, which shall be acknowledged in writing by the prospective bidders.

Enquiries for clarifications should be sent by e-mail to [email protected]

1.7.14. Amendment of Bidding Document

At any time prior to the deadline for submission of bids, KRCS, for any reason, whether at its own initiative or in response to a clarification requested by a prospective Bidder, may modify the bidding documents by amendment.

All prospective Bidders that have received the bidding documents will be notified of the amendment in writing, and it will be binding on them. It is therefore important that bidders give the correct details in the format given on page 1at the time of collecting/receiving the bid document.

To allow prospective Bidders reasonable time to take any amendments into account in preparing their bids, KRCS may at its sole discretion extend the deadline for the submission of bids based on the nature of the amendments.

1.7.15. Deadline for Submission of Bids

Bids sent by mail should reach [email protected] on or before 26^th of February 2020 at 11:00 am. Bids received after the above-specified date and time shall not be considered.

Any bid received by KRCS after this deadline will be rejected.

Bidders should provide a technical and financial proposal in two separate envelopes clearly Marked “Technical Proposal” and “Financial Proposal” and sealed in one plain envelope clearly marked *“**Tender No. ICHAPREQ01111 – Consultancy services for enhancing flood forecasting for Tana and Athi river basins, under the Strengthening Early Response Capacity (StERC) project”*

The Proposal should be addressed as indicated above to reach the under signed by 26^th February 2020 at 11.00 a.m. for the tender to be opened at 12.00 noon:

Any bid received by KRCS after this deadline will be rejected.

1.7.16. Cost Structure and non-escalation

The bidder shall, in their offer (Financial Proposal), detail the proposed costs as per the template provided above.

No price escalation under this contract shall be allowed. KRCS shall not compensate any bidder for costs incurred in the preparation and submission of this RFP, and in any subsequent pre-contract process.

1.7.17. Taxes and Incidental Costs

The prices and rates in the financial offer will be deemed to be inclusive of all taxes and any other incidental costs.

1.7.18. Responsiveness of Proposals

The responsiveness of the proposals to the requirements of this RFP will be determined. A responsive proposal is deemed to contain all documents or information specifically called for in this RFP document. A bid determined not responsive will be rejected by the Organization and may not subsequently be made responsive by the Bidder by correction of the non-conforming item(s).

1.7.19. Currency for Pricing of Tender

All bids in response to this RFP should be expressed in Kenya Shillings. Expressions in other currencies shall not be permitted.

1.7.20. Correction of Errors.

Bids determined to be substantially responsive will be checked by KRCS for any arithmetical errors. Errors will be corrected by KRCS as below:

a. where there is a discrepancy between the amounts in figures and in words, the amount in words will govern, and

b. where there is a discrepancy between the unit rate and the line total resulting from multiplying the unit rate by the quantity, the unit rate as quoted will govern.

The price amount stated in the Bid will be adjusted by KRCS in accordance with the above procedure for the correction of errors.

1.7.21. Evaluation and Comparison of Bids

Technical proposals will be evaluated prior to the evaluation of the financial bids. Financial bids of firms whose technical proposals are found to be non-qualifying in whatever respect may be returned unopened.

1.7.22. Confidentiality

The Bidder shall treat the existence and contents of this RFP, and all information made available in relation to this RFP, as confidential and shall only use the same for the purpose for which it was provided.

The Bidder shall not publish or disclose the same or any particulars thereof to any third party without the written permission of KRCS, unless it is to Bidder’s Contractors for assistance in preparation of this Tender. In any case, the same confidentiality must be entered into between Bidder and his Contractors.

1.7.23. Corrupt or Fraudulent Practices

KRCS requires that tenderers observe the highest standard of ethics during the procurement process and execution of contracts. A tenderer shall sign a declaration that he has not and will not be involved in corrupt or fraudulent practices.

KRCS will reject a proposal for award if it determines that the tenderer recommended for award has engaged in corrupt or fraudulent practices in competing for the contract in question

Further a tenderer who is found to have indulged in corrupt or fraudulent practices risks being debarred from participating

Please report any malpractices to [email protected]