The CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality (CROSQ) was created as an Inter-Governmental Organisation by the signing of an Agreement between the fifteen Member States of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in 2002. The organisation's headquarters was established in Barbados in April 2003. The 15 National Bureau of Standards (NSBs) of CARICOM Member States are CROSQ’s principal shareholder group and beneficiary base.
The primary objective of CROSQ is the development, implementation and promotion of an internationally recognized regional quality infrastructure (QI) for the enhanced efficiency and improved quality in the production of goods and services in the Community, thereby facilitating consumer and environmental protection and improved trade within the Community and with third states.
The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) is the specialized agency of the United Nations that promotes Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development (ISID) for poverty reduction, inclusive globalization and environmental sustainability. The mandate of UNIDO is to promote and accelerate inclusive and sustainable industrial development in developing countries and economies in transition. UNIDO's vision is a world where economic development is sustainable and economic progress is equitable.
One of the priorities of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of countries (ACP), as developing economies, is to stimulate economic growth beyond the natural resource sectors through diversification, generating higher added value by moving up the value chains in productive activities, and enhancing linkages between sectors in the economy. This requires local industry not only to be able to meet international standards, technical regulations and other market requirements, but also to be able to DEMONSTRATE to export partners that they meet these requirements. For such an initiative to upgrade local industry to be successful it is essential, therefore, that it is coupled with an articulated technical assistance programme aimed at enhancing the capacity and governance of the various regions’ quality infrastructure institutions, and specifically their associated quality systems and conformity assessment services.
The Project recently entrusted to UNIDO as the Project Implementation Agency and CROSQ as one of the Project Implementation Partners, represents the meso-level component of a larger Programme “Supporting business-friendly and inclusive national and regional policies, strengthening productive capabilities and value chains” which is funded by the European Union and the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (Delegation Agreement FED/2018/403- 924); and as managed by a Programme Steering Committee (PSC).
The Project component on which this Consultancy is based is titled “Supporting quality and regulatory infrastructure, value chain-specific quality infrastructure services and quality culture promotion in the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States” and will contribute to the overarching objectives of the main Project, namely to increase the economic and social impact from ACP participation in the multi-lateral trading system. This will be achieved through increased competitiveness of SMEs and their products on local, regional and international markets, increased ACP consumer safety, and increased contribution of OACPS to the operation of the multi-lateral trading system.
This specific Project component is designed to contribute to the larger Programme objective by achieving three key outputs:
- Enhancing regional quality and regulatory infrastructure (Q&RI) governance
- Strengthening the availability of value chain specific quality infrastructure (QI) Services and;
- Promoting Quality Culture and Practices.
The Objective of the required services is to engage a Consultant to conduct a QI Baseline Analysis in the 15 CARICOM Member States under the ACP Quality Infrastructure component of the "Supporting business-friendly and inclusive national and regional policies, strengthening productive capabilities and value chains" Programme, titled "Supporting quality and regulatory infrastructure, value chain-specific quality infrastructure services and quality culture promotion in the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States"
The specific aim of the intervention is to define for the CARICOM Region, the four-year demand-driven programmatic contours of a QI Project (i.e. Project Identification) and prepare an appropriate Workplan, Logical Framework and indicative high-level Budget (i.e. Project Formulation) for the technical assistance to be provided for Project Implementation and then Project Evaluation.
To conduct this assignment, the consultant must display an in-depth knowledge, experience and understanding of quality infrastructure development, and more so in the CARICOM regional environment.
A CROSQ Secretariat official will be assigned to inter alia guide the Consultant at various stages of the project and provide networking and thought partnership services where necessary.
All activities are expected to be conducted online, however, at least two five-day working sessions with the consultant are expected to be held at the CROSQ Secretariat office in Barbados, the logistics (travel, per diem, accommodation) of which will be paid for separately and directly by the project.
For efficient NSB inclusion, transparency, consensus building, demand-driven assessments, reflection and digestion of information, the consultant will at least be required to:
Project Identification Phase
i. Host an Inception Meeting
An initial meeting is to be held online with the CROSQ Secretariat to discuss and agree on, inter alia, the Objective/s, Scope, Methodology, Workplan, and Schedule of Deliverables etc.
At this meeting, the need for interim reports, if any, will be also discussed e.g. If CROSQ and or UNIDO has to present at any time to the overarching PSC.
Submit an Inception Report to the CROSQ Secretariat for approval within one week of the inception meeting
ii. Conduct a Regional Survey of Member State Demand-Driven QI Needs
Develop an online questionnaire to survey the top three demand-driven QI needs per CARICOM Member State as determined by each of the 15 National Standards Bureaux (NSB); each need to be identified and structured in the form of a Project. Sample Form attached at Annex 1 for the Consultant’s consideration/changes etc.
Conduct interviews with NSBs as appropriate on their responses to seek clarity, explore evolutions of concepts etc.; all with the intent to finalize the three submissions per NSB.
Create a database e.g., using Excel, Access etc. to store the Member State data in a readily accessible and searchable form and include in this dbase, ongoing relevant CROSQ projects, with future potential.
Submit a Demand-Driven QI Needs Research Report to the CROSQ Secretariat for approval
iii. Analyze and Synthesize Member State Demand-Driven QI Needs
Analyze the projectized demand-driven QI needs per Member State looking for commonalities, areas of convergence, trends, innovations, and other such factors etc., in each QI component (SMAQ, QP) that can have a cohesive region-wide impact and consolidate the projectized ideas, pure or appropriately modified, into a classified summary of potential prioritized demand-driven regional QI intervention opportunities i.e., opportunities that can be executed for the QI benefit of all or the majority of CARICOM Member States simultaneously and that is necessarily coherent with the ongoing QI developmental agenda of CROSQ.
Map this classified summary to the ACP - UNIDO - CARIFORUM Project Document listing of Outputs (Q&RI, VC & QI Services, QC) and Sub-outputs.
Submit a Demand-Driven Regional QI Intervention Opportunities Report to the CROSQ Secretariat for approval.
iv. Assess Regional QI Value Chain Intervention Opportunities
Interview CARICOM ITC and 11th EDF Programme Managers and other regional partners with value chain projects in progress and create a dbase of appropriate findings – contextual and QI related.
Analyze the findings and determine any value chain specific QI Services that could be pragmatically strengthened from the ACP - UNIDO - CARIFORUM Project Document listing of Outputs (Q&RI, VC & QI Services, QC) and Sub-outputs and that is necessarily coherent with the ongoing QI developmental agenda of CROSQ.
Submit a Regional QI Value Chain Intervention Opportunities Report to the CROSQ Secretariat for approval.
v. Assess CARIFORUM/ARSO/PIFS - UNIDO QI Intervention Opportunities
Interview CROSQ, INDOCAL, ARSO, PIFS and UNIDO to recommend for CROSQ - CARICOM’s consideration, ACP intraregional QI linkage projects and ACP intraregional – international QI beneficial interest projects.
Submit an ACP Intraregional - International QI Intervention Opportunities Report to the CROSQ Secretariat for approval.
vi. Host Regional NSB Validation Online Meeting of QI Intervention Opportunities
Host an online CARICOM NSB and special stakeholders validation workshop from the CROSQ Secretariat Office on the classified summary of potential prioritized demand-driven regional QI intervention opportunities and regional QI value chain intervention opportunities to rationalize and consolidate, an agreed prioritized listing of a few focused, relevant, time phased and efficiently implementable region-wide QI intervention opportunities and that are aligned to the ACP - UNIDO - CARIFORUM Project Document listing of Outputs (Q&RI, VC & QI Services, QC) and Sub-outputs.
Also identify and justify for agreement, any special QI national project or small group-of-nations projects that might be of interest for pilot testing a potentially high impact regional QI initiative.
At said meeting, also present on the ACP Intraregional - international Intervention Opportunities Report to finalize agreement on opportunities and priorities for the CROSQ Secretariat’s participation.
Submit a Project Profile in the form of a Regional QI ACP - UNIDO - CARIFORUM Intervention Opportunities Report to the CROSQ Secretariat for approval.
Thereafter, the CROSQ Secretariat will move to officially present the Project Profile to UNIDO for discussion to harmonization. The consultant may be invited.
Project Formulation Phase
vii. Prepare a CARICOM Project Proposal
At the request of the CROSQ Secretariat, the Consultant will be expected to develop a draft:
- Multilevel Workplan per intervention opportunity and overall
- Logical Framework
- Indicative Budget per intervention opportunity
Circulate the draft Project Proposal to NSBs for feedback and preparation of draft final documents
Host an online CARICOM NSB and special stakeholders validation workshop from the CROSQ Secretariat Office on the draft final Project Proposal (Multilevel Workplan, Logical Framework and Indicative Budget) to secure agreement.
Submit the CROSQ - CARICOM Project Proposal to the CROSQ Secretariat for approval.
Thereafter, the CROSQ Secretariat will move to officially present to UNIDO so that there can then be final discussions between CROSQ and UNIDO to eventual joint harmonization. The Consultant may be invited to such a meeting.
Project Identification Phase
i. Inception Report
ii. QI Demand-Driven Needs Research Report
iii. Demand-Driven Regional QI Intervention Opportunities Report
iv. Regional QI Value Chain Intervention Opportunities Report
v. ACP Intraregional - International QI Intervention Opportunities Report
vi. Project Profile - Regional QI ACP - UNIDO - CARIFORUM Intervention Opportunities Report
Project Formulation Phase
vii. CROSQ - CARICOM Project Proposal - Multilevel Workplan, Logical Framework, Indicative Budget
Note: All Reports as they arise, will be shared by the CROSQ Secretariat for comment/discussion with the NSBs and Project Donors - UNIDO, before final approval by the CROSQ Secretariat on behalf of CROSQ as described in the Scope of Works.
Four months consecutive duration is expected.
A suggested planning guide could be :
2 Months: Steps i, ii, iv, v
- Assuming at least 8 weeks; NSBs need at least 2 to 3 weeks from experience because they will need to contact and discuss demand-driven needs with their stakeholders, etc. Also from experience, after the NSB project concepts are submitted, there will be a need to finalize them through discussions with each NSB.
1 Month: Steps iii, vi
- Assuming there is no delay in the programming of the online Workshop
1 Month: Step vii
- Assuming quality feedback is received and in a timely manner on the draft documents so that good quality draft final documents can be discussed at the online Workshop
The Consultant shall assign for this contract, a minimum number of experts to work on the deliverables out of which one shall be an experienced Team Leader for the required services.
The professional level experts assigned by the Consultant must possess the following skills and minimal qualifications:
- A university degree in any of the following: Trade Policy, Engineering, Natural Sciences, Quality Management, or an equivalent discipline.
- At least 5-year experience in quality infrastructure development, implementation, and promotion
- Proven record of accomplishment of similar assignments and demonstrated experience.
- Demonstrated experience in Research Methods.
- Experience working in the African, Caribbean and Pacific (CP) region on quality infrastructure Projects is highly desirable.
- Proficiency in the use of information technology tools.
- Fluency in oral and written English.
- Excellent communication and writing skills and ability to establish and maintain good working relationships with private sector, government and other organizations;
The Team Leader is required to have a postgraduate degree, and at least 10-years’ experience in the fields aforesaid. Project management experience and training will be an asset.
The Consultant is expected to provide CVs of the assigned personnel to be made available for this consultancy and their planned role and responsibility. The Consultant is also to indicate where the assigned personnel will be based.
A technical and a financial proposal are required in English; The deadline for submission of both the technical and financial proposals is no later than 1:00 pm on Monday September 19, 2022 and sent by email to crosq.caricom@crosq.org and B.BAU@unido.org. Any proposals received after this deadline will not be considered.
Selection of consultant will be based on demonstrated (i) Competence, (ii) Methodology and (iii) Workplan.
All proposals will be reviewed and scored using the above-mentioned criteria. Proposals obtaining a minimum technical score of 75 will be short-listed for further consideration.
The Technical Proposal is weighted at 80% of the overall score
9.0 EVALUATION OF FINANCIAL PROPOSAL
In preparing the Financial Proposal, consultants are expected to list all costs associated with the assignment and which is envisaged to be professional fees and reimbursable costs. Consultants are required to express the price of their services in United States Dollars (USD). Fees are not subject to taxes, and which is for the account of the Consultant. CROSQ will directly pay for any travel expenses that may be required as previously explained – travel, per diem, accommodation.
The Financial Proposal should be submitted separately, but at the same time, as the Technical Proposal.
The Financial Proposal is weighted at 20% of the overall score.
10.0 EVALUATION OF TECHNICAL – FINANCIAL PROPOSAL
CROSQ reserves the right to negotiate methodology and rates with the candidate achieving the highest weighted score on the combined technical and financial proposal and then negotiate with others in rank order, if the preceding negotiation is not fruitful.
The working language of this consultancy is English
11.0 COPYRIGHT AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
All information pertaining to this consultancy (documents etc.) belong to and remain the property of CROSQ as the sole owner of all content and material, and exclusive rights over its use developed under this TOR. Thus, must be availed to CROSQ upon completion and/or request at any time.
Deryck Omar
Chief Executive Officer, CROSQ Secretariat
September 8, 2022
Annex 1 to TOR - Sample Format - Consultant to Decide
Offer ended on September 19, 2022
