Tender Advertisement #1450479

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS (Open tender)
SHORT-TERM CONSULTANCY FOR DEVELOPMENT OF A PROJECT FICHE FOR THE PROVISION OF MEDIUM TO LONG-TERM SUPPORT PROJECTS TO INCREASE THE LEVEL OF EXPORT READINESS AND COMPETITIVENESS OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR FOR THE EU MARKET

Background
The Pacific-ACP States (PACPS) refer to the fourteen member states of the Pacific Islands Forum plus Timor Leste, which are parties to the Georgetown Agreement establishing the Group of African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) States in 1975. The ACP consists of 79 countries with over 1.5 billion people. The PACPS comprise the following states: Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
Additional information can be accessed via these links:
https://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2020/october/tradoc_158988.pdf
https://policy.trade.ec.europa.eu/eu-trade-relationships-country-and-region/countries-and-regions/pacific_en .
In 2018, Tonga officially requested its accession to the EU-Pacific (interim) Economic Partnership Agreement (IEPA), currently applied between the EU and Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, and the Solomon Islands. The IEPA would give Tonga’s products duty-free, quota-free access to the EU market — the world’s largest single market. The accession process is still in progress, with the domestic internal processes expected to conclude in 2024. Tonga’s Market Access Offer (MAO) to the EU was submitted for their consideration in [November/December] 2023.
In anticipation of Tonga’s accession to the IEPA, this project is intended to provide targeted support to facilitate Tonga’s private sector engagement with the EU market in preparation for the Agreement's implementation.
The development of the private sector is an important component of Tonga’s strategic development pathway towards “a more progressive Tonga, supporting a higher quality of life for all. However, despite important progress in some areas, the development of Tonga’s formal private sector continues to be slow, and overall activity remains low.
Based on discussions with private sector entities in Tonga and the review of analytical documents, including the Tradecom report on Trade Development and Private Sector Capacity Review in May 2019, it is evident that opportunities exist in the EU market, especially for exotic products. Still, Tonga’s export readiness is low due to limited knowledge of EU market opportunities, EU-specific product standards, and entry requirements.
In the Pacific Regional Integration Support Programme (PRISE) of the 11th European Development Fund (11th EDF), component 1.3 on Strengthening Pacific Intra-Regional and International Trade (SPIRIT) is being implemented by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS) as the Pillar Assessed Entity (PAE).
The Specific Objective of SPIRIT is to strengthen Pacific Intra-Regional and International Trade, and this will be achieved through a coherent, multi-track engagement process at the national, sub-regional and regional levels.
Purpose
The purpose of this contract is to provide technical assistance to formulate a Project Fiche for the provision of medium to long-term support projects; to develop and implement export readiness and competitiveness indices for the private sector to take advantage of the market access created under the IEPA, which has been identified as a national priority activity on 16 January 2023.
Scope of Work
The Consultant will deliver the following:
• Key Result Area 1 (KRA1): Prepare and submit an Inception Report of a maximum of 7 pages within four business days after the inception meeting based on the clarifications provided, including a detailed timetable for implementing the Contract.

• Key Result Area 2 (KRA2): Prepare and clear for dissemination a questionnaire template for the online consultations with the approved list of stakeholders.
• Key Result Area 3 (KRA3): Report on questionnaire findings from the online questionnaire consultations with approved list of stakeholders.
• Key Result Area 4 (KRA4): Prepare a Project Summary Fiche after determining:
o A project description for each identified project, including objectives, target groups, components (activities), deadlines, results, indicators to measure results, and risks involved; and
o Institutional arrangements, technical and administrative provisions for each project and financing.
• Key Result Area 5 (KRA5): Prepare a draft project fiche and financing (including a logical framework).
• Key Result Area 6 (KRA6): Prepare and submit Final Report for validation (stakeholder) and endorsement by the Ministry of Trade and Economic Development. Final Report must incorporate a sufficiently detailed description of the activities undertaken, the key deliverables, key objectives, and recommendations on way forward no later than seven days before the conclusion of the assignment.
Academic Qualifications
The Consultant shall be an Expert in International Trade and Development with at least eight (8) years of experience and should possess the following qualifications and experience:
a) Master or Postgraduate degree in economics, law, international trade, or a related field;
b) At least eight years of post-graduate experience in developing economic and/or trade policy and/or regulatory/administrative practices;
c) Expert knowledge of national economic/trade and related policies, regulatory and/or legislative reforms, and their implementation;
d) Expertise in conducting situation analysis and needs assessments related to international trade, private sector development or similar;
e) Experience in providing policy advice on best practices in developing international trade policy and development of private sector solutions;
f) Experience with international trade policy design and/or regulatory frameworks, including leveraging MSMEs in national economic development, will be an advantage; and
g) Experience and knowledge of European Development Fund programme documents and the Project Cycle Management approach (or similar) will be an advantage.

HOW TO APPLY

Submissions should be entitled:
[OPEN TENDER] – [SHORT-TERM CONSULTANCY FOR DEVELOPMENT OF A PROJECT FICHE FOR THE PROVISION OF MEDIUM TO LONG-TERM SUPPORT PROJECTS TO INCREASE THE LEVEL OF EXPORT READINESS AND COMPETITIVENESS OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR FOR THE EU MARKET]
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 4.00pm, Friday, 31st of May, 2024
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, 24th of May, 2024. 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.