Tender Advertisement #1337261

INTRODUCTION

E-commerce is one of the five priorities of the Pacific Aid-for-Trade Strategy (PAfTS), noting its potential to narrow distances and trade costs, and to promote diversification of Pacific economies.
COVID-19 has further accentuated the importance of E-commerce. Electronic sale of good and services is one of the few economic activities that grew exponentially in 2020, driven by the need to implement social distancing measures. Even as lockdowns ease and border closures are lifted, online buying and selling continues to increase and remains well-above pre-pandemic levels, thus signalling a permanent change in purchasing habits. It is therefore essential that Pacific businesses are well-equipped to face this new digital era to avoid the risk of falling behind.

A Pacific E-commerce Initiative was endorsed in 2018 by the Forum Trade Officials Meeting to leverage the potential of E-commerce for Forum Island Countries (FICs). The Initiative is supporting the development of national E-commerce Assessments as Strategies, as well as of a Pacific Regional E-commerce Strategy and Roadmap outlining the Pacific consensus on priority regional actions.
Measure 1.2.1 of the Pacific Regional E-commerce Strategy and Roadmap is to “establish a regional collection, production, compilation and dissemination mechanism for E-commerce statistics”. According to the Strategy, “reliable and updated data is critical to inform policymaking, including on E-commerce and its enabling environment. Robust data will support the planning, monitoring, and evaluation of various ICT and E-commerce initiatives. To achieve this, a regional collection, production, compilation, and dissemination mechanism will be developed, while capacity building activities for National Statistics Offices (NSOs) will be required”.
The Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS), the Pacific Community (SPC), and the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD) are collaborating to improve the availability of E-commerce statistics. This collaboration has been focussing on the following:
• Identification of priority E-commerce data series compiled by international organisations
• Uploading of priority E-commerce data series to the Pacific Data Hub by interfacing the latter with the dataset of relevant international organisations
• Interfacing the Pacific Data Hub with the Pacific E-commerce Portal, to provide a simplified statistical snapshot of the E-commerce landscape
• Search for additional E-commerce data series and related entry points for data collection in selected FICs – Vanuatu, Samoa, Tuvalu, Fiji
The first version of the “regional collection, production, compilation and dissemination mechanism for E-commerce statistics” will be completed by May-June 2022 with the launching of the Pacific E-commerce Portal. The first part of 2023 will require maintenance and upgrading of the existing mechanism with the view of ensuring its accuracy, comprehensiveness, and sustainability.

2. Objective:
The overall objective of the proposed consultancy is to provide technical assistance to the Pacific region to enhance digital trade readiness. The specific objective of the proposed consultancy is to maintain and upgrade the regional collection, production, compilation, dissemination and data update/maintenance mechanism for E-commerce statistics.

HOW TO APPLY

Submissions should be entitled:

OPEN TENDER – Development of the Pacific E-Commerce Statistics

Method of Submissions:

Submissions must be forwarded in PDF format following the instructions at www.tenders.net/forumsec
The electronically submitted documents should be converted to the PDF format.

Deadline for Submissions:
Submissions need to reach the Secretariat by close of business, Wednesday, 25 January 2023.
Late or incomplete tenders will not be considered.

Questions and Answers

All queries or requests 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” Wednesday, 25 January 2023. 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.