Appel d’offres [MEDUSA] – WWF NA Retour vers les opportunités

1. INFORMATION ON SUBMISSION OF TENDERS

Subject of the contract:
The subject of this tender is:

• Provision of services, as indicated in the technical information in point 2 of this section

Deadline for submission of the tenders:
The deadline for submission of tenders is 15 January 2021 until 17:00h GMT. Any tender received after this deadline will be automatically rejected.
Address and means of submission of the tenders:
The tenderers will submit their tenders using the standard submission form available in Part B of this tender dossier. The tender will be submitted in 1 (one) original. In case of e-mail submission, the tenderer may provide a scanned original. Any tenders not using the prescribed form shall be rejected by the contracting authority.
If delivery by post or courier, the tenders will be submitted in two separate envelopes:

• Envelope one for the tenderer’s information, the tenderer’s statement and the technical offer and
• Envelope two for the financial information.

An envelope including both envelopes will contain the following information at the external part:
Name and address of the contracting authority
Contact person
Title of the tender
Reference number
Name and address of the tenderer
If delivery by e-mail, the message will clearly indicate:
Title of the tender
Reference number
Name and address of the tenderer
The tender submission form and any supporting documentation will be provided as attachment to the e-mail.

2. TECHNICAL INFORMATION

The tenderers are required to provide services as indicated below. In the technical offer, the tenderers will indicate more details on the deliveries, referring back to the below terms of reference:
Background
The Mediterranean (MED) region is one of the world’s leading tourist destinations, which makes tourism a key driver for socio-economic progress & a key income source for many of its countries. Faced by growing competition & a deterioration of the political & security situation in the region, the destination has demonstrated symptoms of a slowdown, which makes the recovery of the sector an economic priority. This downturn may also present an opportunity to transform the tourism model into a sustainable & competitive one, addressing current sectorial challenges as the predominance of mass seaside tourism, dependence on the European market & territorial imbalances.
The hereby proposed initiative (MEDUSA project) is led by a mix of public/private/non-governmental organizations across the region with proven track record in the tourism & business development field. MEDUSA will tackle these joint challenges via targeted & inter-related capacity building & cross-border interventions to develop & promote Adventure Tourism (AT) in the region. Between 2010 & 2014, this tourism niche grew by 195%. The MED has every opportunity to become part of this international trend, which properly managed can make tourism more sustainable, providing a strong incentive for conservation, while creating jobs & more income for local communities. These major expected changes will occur in the medium/long-term. Also, the multiplier effect will be higher in comparison to other forms of tourism. The main results of the project are cross-border routes & itineraries, in the form of new and/or improved AT products, revealing lesser-known destinations & attracting tourists throughout the year. A long-term (LT) strategy is envisaged for the promotion & management of these destinations in a sustainable way with the participation of a wide array of stakeholders. The main beneficiaries are SMEs (Tourism Service Providers, Tour Operators (TOs), Travel Agencies, etc.), public authorities & the communities.
MEDUSA project is co-financed by the European Union under the European Neighbourhood Instrument cross-border cooperation program “Mediterranean Sea Basin” 2014-2020 (ENI CBC MED). It started on 1st September 2019 and has duration of 36 months (until 31st August 2022). It counts on an overall budget of 3,317,314 EUR, which are co-financed at a 90% rate by the ENI CBC Med program.
It includes the following project partners:

• Barcelona Chamber of Commerce (Spain) – Lead Beneficiary
• Rene Moawad Foundation (Lebanon)
• Association of the Mediterranean Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Spain)
• Jordan Inbound Tour Operators Association – JITOA (Jordan)
• Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature – RSCN (Jordan)
• Puglia Region – Department of tourism, economy of culture and valorization of territory (Italy)
• WWF Mediterranean North Africa (Tunisia)

More information is available at: http://www.enicbcmed.eu/projects/medusa
Objective, purpose and expected results
The overall objective is to support key stakeholders working on Sustainable Adventure Tourism in the establishment of strategic alliances and stewardship; the expert will facilitate bilateral / multilateral meetings, dialogue, webinars, design thinking activities and workshops, and multi-stakeholders meetings, support on the elaboration of the alliance agreements and rules, in order to implement the local Action Plan. He / she will deliver the framework including values, principles, vision and mission of the Sustainable Adventure Tourism strategic council and the structure of the stewardship (standards and rules).
The expert facilitator will be in charge to identify, organize meetings, lead brainstorming sessions and capitalize discussions outcomes.
The expected deliverables are:

• Detailed Action Plan and road map: to explain and design the steps to be implemented to establish the strategic tourism alliance and stewardship. At the end of the project it will be added an annex to the Plan, which will contain the list of meetings and events organized, its agendas and minutes, in addition to other evidences of these meetings and events.
• Agreements, Memorandum of Understanding / Memorandum of Collaboration with multi-stakeholders approach.
• Vision, Mission, Strategy, Rules, Action and Fundraising Plan for the alliance (to be applied during the implementation of the MEDUSA project, with the intention to keep using it when the project finalizes).

In specific, the purpose is as follows:

• To elaborate an Action Plan, explaining the steps to take for the establishment of the strategic council, including the approach of stakeholders engagement and the harmonisation with the national touristic strategies and politics.
• To implement the Action Plan together with the partners of the MEDUSA project and the key stakeholders of each destination selected (pilot areas).

The results to be achieved by the Consultant are:

• RESULT Nº1: The establishment of Sustainable Adventure Tourism Councils in the selected destinations (pilot areas) and its dynamization.
• Result N°2: The elaboration of a (local) Action Plan to be followed by the tenderer and the partnership of the MEDUSA project, for the establishment of the strategic alliances in the selected destinations.
• Result N°3: Agreements and Memorandum of Collaboration / understanding will be established and validated by the members of the strategic council.

Description of the assignment
The Consultants’ service is expected to facilitate and conduct (with an inclusive and participatory approach) the designing and establishment of a Strategic Sustainable AT Council and stewardship with the key stakeholders and tourism players. The consultant will be supported by the project partners in his /her country (including the preparation and the organizational support for meetings, workshops or any other activities).
The approach followed is based, first, on the development of an adequate methodology to bring, commit and convince key AT stakeholders for creating together a strategic Sustainable AT council and stewardship.
The consultant should be able to demonstrate the relevance and the need for such a strategic alliance, which aims to manage in good way adventure tourism and enhance economic incomes and recognition of this new trend.
Concretely, the consultant (by facilitating dialogue and discussions between stakeholders) should provide the necessary documents to ensure a functional, active and sustainable AT structure.

Specific work
The Consultant’s services will include but not necessarily be limited to the following:

To achieve RESULT Nº1:

1. Check the state of already existing sustainable adventure tourism alliances in the selected destinations (pilot areas).
2. Contact key stakeholders to check their needs in their destination.
3. Work together with partners of the project.
4. Agree decisions with partners and key stakeholders.

To achieve RESULT Nº2:

1. The (local) Action Plan will have to include a calendar, roles and actions to be carried out by all parties (facilitator, partners and key stakeholders).
2. By the end of the services of the facilitator, it will be included as annex a list of meetings, workshops, and other actions or events carried out, including its agendas and minutes, in addition to other evidences (such as list of participants, photos, etc.).

To achieve RESULT Nº3:

1. The typology and formality of the documents signed between key stakeholders and project partners will be decided case by case (considering the context, needs, etc. of each agreement).
2. The facilitator will ensure that the agreements are respected and applied by all parties during the implementation of MEDUSA project.

In addition, the Consultants will:

1. Prepare all the reports as specified under the section on ‘’Reporting requirements’’.

In undertaking the tasks described under this section, the Consultants must comply with the latest Communication and Visibility Manual for EU External Actions concerning acknowledgement of EU financing of the project. See https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/communication-and-visibility-manual-eu-external-actions_en.
Start date and period of implementation of the tasks
The intended start date is 20^th January, 2021, and the contract period will finish when the MEDUSA project finalises (expected to be at the end of August, 2022).
Duration of the work:
30 working days in 19 months (From January 2021 until August 2022)
Reporting requirements
The contractor will submit the following reports in Electronic format:
·     A (local) Action Plan, containing detailed methodology and work plan to be applied, of maximum 10 pages to be produced and presented before the organization of the first meeting with the local stakeholders. The contractor shall describe the updated organisation and methodology proposed according to the technical offer. The contractor should precede with his/her work unless the contracting authority sends comments on the inception report. At the end of the project, it will be added to the (local) Action Plan an annex with the list of the meetings and other activities carried out in each destination selected (including agendas, minutes, and other evidences).
·     Draft of the Final Report in the format given in annex 1. This report shall be submitted no later than two weeks before the end of the period of implementation of tasks. The document will clearly reflect the state of the alliances established in each destination selected, and recommendations to maintain the existing alliances.
·     Final report with the same specifications as the draft final report, incorporating any comments received from the parties on the draft report. The deadline for sending the final report is 7 days after receipt of comments on the draft final report. The report shall contain a sufficiently detailed description of the different steps (guidebook) to support local stakeholders in the management of the strategic councils including (in annex) the mentioned documents (Rules, MoU, legal statute, graphic charter, action and fundraising plan). The final report must be provided along with the corresponding invoice.
Special requirements

The Contractor should place special emphasis on how strategic council members could sustain a functional and feasible structure. The contractor must be included a part describing the approach to guarantee a resilient adventure tourism with a special focus on the recommendations addressed to the Mediterranean region and context.

The Contractor must ensure that adequate visibility of the EU under the programme of which the project is part through its implementation.

3. FINANCIAL INFORMATION

The maximum available value of the contract is 12.580,05 euros (including taxes): the exchange rate is followed the payment transfer received from the ENI CBC Program.

4. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The selection criteria are:
Economic and financial standing:

• The operating profit of the candidate must not have been negative over the past year;
• The candidate must have at least one year of existence.
• Experts from state function should present the legal authorization.

Technical Capacity:

• At least 1 contract of similar nature undertaken in the past 3 years;
• At least 5years of professional experience in sustainable adventure tourism (international experience)
• At least 5 years of experience in alliances, councils and multi-stakeholders structures creation and establishment: conducting dialogue, conflict management, coordination and capitalization, experience in building alliances and/or communication, among others.
• Excellent knowledge in tourism strategy (national and international context), politics and programs.
• Excellent knowledge in legal and institutional framework related to sustainable adventure tourism.
• Graduated Studies infields related to the development of the tourism industry, advisor services, evaluation / assessment and strategy planning for tourism sector development or similar.

5. COPYRIGHT

All rights of copyright concerning the material produced by consultant will remain the property of the partner and can only be used by the expert with appropriate attribution by the project partnership.

6. PAYMENT TERMS:

Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR. Payments will be issued upon certification of partner Programme Manager following the contract.
The amount includes all taxes and all withholding tax. The schedule of payment and the amount of payment will be upon, presentation of the deliverable and validation by the project officer and after receiving an invoice duly signed by the consultant with the stamp of the consultant or the consultancy firm.