Request for Services – Project Implementation Services – Nepal

Request for Services – Project Implementation Services – Nepal

World Economic Forum / Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation

1. Background

The Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation (the Alliance) is a public-private partnership for trade led growth jointly hosted by the World Economic Forum, the International Chamber of Commerce and the Center for International Private Enterprise in cooperation with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).

The Alliance’s work is designed to help governments in developing and least developed countries implement the World Trade Organization’s Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). It brings together governments and businesses as equal partners to identify trade facilitation issues such as customs delays and unnecessary red-tape at borders, and design and implement targeted reforms that deliver commercially quantifiable results.

The Alliance is supported by the governments of the United States, Canada, and Germany, and works with private sector partners from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to the world’s largest multinationals.

The services required relate to the implementation of a Project in partnership with UNICEF for the facilitated import of medical supplies into Nepal. The selected consultant will provide in-country implementation services to deliver the project as outlined below.

 

2. The Services

2.1 Introduction

The services will be delivered in 3 stages. The Consultant will liaise with the Alliance Project Manager throughout.

Stage 1 – Preparation

The Consultant will prepare a project implementation plan.

Stage 2 – Implementation

The Consultant will supervise / carry out project tasks in accordance with the agreed project implementation plan (details of expected deliverables are outlined below). This will require ‘in-person’ interactions with stakeholders in a number of locations including Kathmandu, land border posts and Kolkata Port.

Stage 3 – Project Closure

The Consultant will work with the Alliance Monitoring and Evaluation Team to assess project outcomes, complete an end of project report, and develop a Case Study.

It is expected that total effort for this will not exceed 60 person days.

2.2 Deliverables

Deliverable 1: Process Improvement

1. Obtain agreement from relevant government organisations to improve processes for approval of duty tax exemptions on imported medical products for use in the public health system by, for example
   1. Providing trusted partners with an automatic exemption
   2. Decentralising control of exemption from Ministry of Finance to line ministries
   3. Transforming exemption approvals into a batch / annual process
   4. Streamlining any remaining consignment-level confirmations of duty tax exemptions
2. Work with government organisations to:
   1. Define and document new processes
   2. Sensitise and train staff on new processes
   3. Define and agree appropriate KPIs for processing times

Deliverable 2: Process Digitalisation

1. Obtain agreement of relevant government organisations to:
   1. Digitalise improved processes
   2. Connect relevant functions to the Nepal National Single Window (NNSW)
2. Work with the operator of the NNSW to identify hardware requirements of relevant government organisations
3. Facilitate the procurement of required hardware and delivery to relevant government organisations
4. Work with the operator of the NNSW to ensure that configuration requirements of the relevant government organisations are adequately documented and implemented
5. Work with the operator of the NNSW to ensure that user acceptance testing and training is undertaken correctly
6. Liaise with the operator of the NNSW and relevant government organisations to ensure that the system goes live smoothly

Deliverable 3: Project Sustainability

1. Obtain the agreement of relevant stakeholders to create a medical supply working group
2. Support the development of terms of reference for the medical supply working group
3. Support the operation of the medical supply working group throughout the project with the goal of ensuring that it become self-sustaining by the time of project closure.

 

3. Requirements

The Consultant must:

• Have a proven track record in implementing trade facilitation projects.
• Have experience with public-private partnerships.
• Possess strong written communication and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Be based in Kathmandu, Nepal and be available to conduct regular in-person meetings with public, private and humanitarian-sector stakeholders
• Be willing to travel to key locations in the UNICEF supply chain within India and Nepal to conduct in-person meetings as required
• Possess strong written and oral communication skills in English and Nepali.

 

4. Duration of Assignment

The duration of the contract will be approximately 9 months.

The expected start date is: Start of October 2024 (subject to approval of funding by Alliance Steering Group)

 

5. Payments

The services will be delivered on a fixed cost basis payable according to the following milestones:

• Completion of implementation plan – 10%
• Completion of Deliverable 1: Process Improvement – 25%
• Completion of Deliverable 2: Process Digitalisation – 25%
• Completion of Deliverable 3: Working Group – 20%
• Completion of the end project report – 20%

 

6. Submission of Proposals

Interested consultants should submit a proposal in PDF format to: Christopher Holden (christopher.holden@iccwbo.org) with the subject line: “Project Implementation – Nepal [YOURNAME]” by 11:59pm on 17-Sep-24. Please note that submission of a proposal in the manner described above will deem all terms and conditions of this Request for Services have been accepted by the Bidder and incorporated into its proposal unless specifically notified otherwise.