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CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

COMPREHENSIVE INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF THE PACIFIC ISLAND PRIVATE SECTOR ORGANISATION (PIPSO)

Background

The Pacific Islands Private Sector Organisation (PIPSO) was established in 2007 following a collective call to action by Forum Economic Ministers in 2005 who recognised the need for a private sector body to represent pacific businesses' interests. The National Chambers of Commerce, referred to as the National Private Sector Organisations (NPSOs) are members of PIPSO with a large base of micro enterprise members. The key role of the NPSOs is to advocate for the interests of the private sector at the country level.

2. PIPSO receives annual funding from the Government of Australia and is supplemented by project funding through partnerships with Brussels-based agencies. The current funding arrangement has proved somewhat unsustainable which has impacted on its abilities to deliver on its core mandates. The organization is currently managed by an Acting CEO, supported by three staff. PIPSO is housed at the Forum Secretariat Headquarters in Suva, Fiji. PIPSO offers three types of Membership: Regular Members which are defined as national private sector organisations representing 17 Pacific island countries and territories; Associate Members defined as Chambers/NPSOs from other countries and Territories. The third category is Affiliate Members , described as businesses that operate in three or more countries in the region.

3. During their Meeting in 2018, the Forum Economic Ministers noted the difficulties Governments faced in their interactions with the private sector where one or more representative body exists. The Ministers also noted for the record that NPSOs in Smaller Island States relied heavily on government's support for their existence.

Purpose

4. The main purpose of the review is to:

(i) Provide insights and recommend options for organizational structures befitting a regional private sector body;
(ii) Explore sustainable financing options that are best suited to support a strong and vibrant organsiation going forward and is responsive to members' needs;
(iii) Examine PIPSO's performance measures and offer recommendations based on its findings;
(iv) Asses PIPSO's business model and general fit for purpose role and consider how it should adapt to the private sector development landscape in the Pacific given resourcing realities;
(v) Provide insights and recommend strategic directions to better enable PIPSO to respond to its members; and
(vi) Examine the strengths and weaknesses of PIPSO's current arrangements against programme versus project long term delivery and effectiveness. This would include examples and illustrations of comparable actors and networks both within and outside the region and identify ways and means of making existing cooperation and collaboration more effective.

Scope of Work

5. To carry out a comprehensive review of PIPSO as per specifications set out under the Terms of Reference (TOR) document which can be downloaded from www.tenders.net/forumsec.

Academic Qualifications

As per specifications on the TOR.

HOW TO APPLY

Submissions should be entitled:

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS - COMPREHENSIVE INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF THE PACIFIC ISLAND PRIVATE SECTOR ORGANISATION (PIPSO)

Method of Submissions:

Submissions must be forwarded in PDF format following the instructions at www.tenders.net/forumsec
Note: Tenders must be submitted with clear labelling of the technical offer and the financial offer. The Technical Offer documents must be saved and submitted clearly labelled "A. Technical Offer". Financial Offer documents must be saved and submitted clearly labelled "B. Financial Offer".

The electronically submitted documents should be converted to the PDF format.

Deadline for Submissions:

Submissions need to reach the Secretariat by 5pm on Friday 28th June (Fiji Time)

Late or incomplete tenders will not be considered.

Questions and Answers

All queries or request for information must be submitted via the Question and Answer Forum at www.tenders.net/forumsec . Tenderers may submit questions in writing to the mentioned Question and Answer Forum before the stated "deadline for requesting clarifications" Friday 21st June 2019. The Secretariat has no obligation to provide clarification after this date.

Note: The Secretariat will not be responsible for non-receipt/non-delivery of the Bid documents due to any reason whatsoever.

Any complaints regarding the Secretariat's tender must be directed to the following email: Tender.Complaints@forumsec.org. This email address will forward your complaint to a person that is independent and removed from the tender process. Complaints must be well founded and should not be used as a mechanism for notifying displeasure with the outcome of a tender award. Further information on making a complaint can be found on the Policies & Information page at http://tenders.forumsec.org.

In the event that further information is required by the Secretariat in relation to the tender for consultancy, the Secretariat reserves the right to seek the required information without the need for calling for resubmission of proposals.