Deadline for submission of Request for Proposal extended to 10th November 2021
1. Background
The Alliance of Indian Waste-pickers (AIW) is setting up a national database of waste-pickers in India. The database is needed to strengthen organizing work. Further, it will serve as a platform to measure the outreach of the Alliance and its members and to follow up the inclusion of waste-pickers in various social and livelihood protection measures. It will also function as a resource for future advocacy programmes.
At the time of national lockdowns to reduce the spread of COVID 19, many member organizations of the Alliance of Indian Waste Pickers were engaged in the relief work. Most of the organizations used their internal database (maintained in Google Spreadsheet or MS Excel or any other dynamic system) for providing relief to the waste-pickers and enrolling them in various ration distribution programmes of the state and local governments. The different internal databases helped the members reach out to waste-pickers, keep a track of relief distribution, enrolment in government schemes and assess the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic and lockdowns on the lives of waste-pickers and their families. The learning of the relief work was to set up a national database, a central repository of information about the waste-pickers in India.
2. Scope of the work
The Alliance of Indian Waste Pickers seeks the services of an established firm (or startup) to develop a web-based database and dashboard to fulfill the data management and reporting needs of the National Database project. The purpose of this database is to manage source data (i.e., the ongoing monitoring data, collected in the field using electronic/paper-based forms). The source data will be entered into the project level database from regional areas across India and will be centrally managed in the database server. The database will enable the AIW to organize all project data in one centralized relational database and generate aggregated (and disaggregated) data summaries for periodic progress reporting, and inform decision making.
The firm will closely work with relevant project staff to understand the technical requirements, existing datasets, workflow, end-users, access levels, and available technology infrastructure to manage the online database and related operations. The project team will help the consultant firm to produce a conceptual data model reflecting the input of performance data, the relational schema of the database, data quality checks, and the retrieval, aggregation, and visualization of information on the dashboard.
Within the scope of the database conceptual model, the consultant will be responsible for physical development, testing, and implementation of the following integrated modules;
- User Management Module – to register users of the database, approve and assign access levels and manage audit trails or log of user actions across the database.
- Participant Training Programs Module – to manage participants for the training, workshops, orientation session and other capacity building events.
- Giving inputs for the preparation of privacy and data protection policy.
- Merging of the existing databases of the member organizations with the national database
- Dashboard and Self-Service Reporting Module – to provide aggregated data summaries and graph-based on available performance datasets in a relational database. The dashboard interface will allow users to generate reports, visualize and summarize data based on drill-down or roll-up features and multi-dimensional filters such as time, geography, gender etc.
3. The consultant firm will:
- Review existing documents, data instruments, and consult the AIW team to understand the conceptual model and chalk out a physical development plan for each milestone.
- Embed data quality controls including on-screen validation checks, duplication prevention, confidentiality layers, and other alerts to inform users of the database on the day to day operations and ongoing data submission.
- Develop a central dashboard to analyse, visualize, and summarize aggregated data for informational decision-making, reporting, and presentations.
- Develop security and backup features to safeguard the system from unauthorized access, intrusion, and other cyber vulnerabilities.
- Test, deploy, and launch the final database.
- Prepare technical documentation and end-user guide.
AIW will be responsible for working closely with the consulting firm during the requirement analysis phase and regularly monitor the database development progress throughout the contract period. Specifically, the AIW team will be responsible for:
- participating in all technical meetings related to database development;
- leading the technical review of deliverables and related quality assurance;
- ensuring that database modules are developed as per the requirement;
4. Deliverables
- Presentation on a conceptual model of the database
- Module-specific deliverables:
- Physical database relational structures
- Physical development and pre-test run of database fronts for all modules with complete CRUD operations
- Physical development and pre-test run of the dashboard
- Deployment and rollout
- Post-implementation technical support and training
5. Timeline
The contractual period will be nine months, beginning on the day when the contract is signed.
6. Instructions to Applicants
- Interested and eligible applicants having relevant qualifications and experience are invited to submit their Technical and Financial proposals.
- The scope of work of the assignment is included as part of this RFP.
- The applicant must strictly adhere to all the requirements stated in this RFP. No changes, substitutions, or other alterations to the rules and provisions stipulated in this RFP may be made or assumed unless it is instructed or approved in writing by AIW in the form of Supplemental Information to the RFP. Any proposal submitted will be regarded as an offer by the applicant and does not constitute or imply the acceptance of any Proposal. This RFP does not obligate AIW to accept or contract for any expressed or implied services, nor does it obligate the vendor to accept or contract for any expressed or implied services. AIW reserves the right to reject any or all quotes, select multiple providers, and waive irregularities in the submission process.
- AIW reserves the right to accept or reject any proposal, to render any or all of the proposals as non-responsive, and to reject all proposals at any time before award of contract, without incurring any liability, or obligation to inform the applicant of the grounds for this action.
- Eligible applicants shall submit Technical and Financial proposals in separate files via email to aiw@globalrec.org no later than 1700hrs (IST) on November 1st, 2021.
- Incomplete or late applications/proposals will not be entertained.
- The applicant must respond to all questions and provide complete information as advised in this RFP. Any failure to provide essential information may result in the disqualification of the applicant.
- The Proposal and all documents/correspondence relating to the Proposal shall be submitted in the English language.
- All prices shall be quoted in INR.
7. Applicants should submit the following documentation:
- Description of the management structure of the organization, organizational expertise and capabilities, and projects/contracts (both completed and ongoing) which are similar to the requirements of this RFP
- Complete address and contact information for the applicant
- Curriculum vitae of lead consultant and any other key contributors
- Names of three references who can attest to the quality of past work on database development
- Technical proposal including detailed work breakdown structure showing how and when all deliverables mentioned in the scope of work will be completed.
- The technical proposal should show how the proposed methodology meets or exceeds the specifications while ensuring quality and appropriate sequence at all stages (i.e., initiation, design/development, testing, and deployment). This plan must be laid out in an implementation timetable that is within the duration of this contract.
- Financial proposal for the entire assignment, with a breakdown per module (inclusive of taxes)
- Calendar showing the availability of the lead consultant and other key contributors, and planned number of working hours for each day during the work plan
8. Eligibility Criteria
- Registered IT/consulting firms or startups authorized to operate in India
- Essential Requirements of the team:
- At least 3 years of experience in web-based database development
- Excellent knowledge of dashboard, visualization of data, and business intelligence.
- Previous experience in developing Database/Information systems for NGOs/INGOs
- Previous experience in database development for waste management or labour welfare-related areas
9. Withdrawal, Substitution, and Modification of Proposals
The applicants are expected to have sole responsibility for taking steps to carefully examine in detail the full consistency of its proposals to the requirements of the RFP, keeping in mind that material deficiencies in providing the information requested by AIW, or lack of clarity in the description of services to be provided, may result in the rejection of the proposal. The applicant shall assume the responsibility regarding erroneous interpretations or conclusions made by the applicant in the course of understanding the RFP. An applicant may withdraw or substitute its proposal after it has been submitted by cancelling or substituting its bid before the deadline for submission of proposals.
10. Validity Period
The term of the programme will be valid for 9 months, starting from the day contract is signed.
11. Confidentiality
Information relating to the examination and evaluation of proposals, and the recommendation of contract award, shall not be disclosed to the applicant(s) or any other persons not officially concerned with such process, even after publication of the contract award.
12. Evaluation of Proposals
AIW shall review and evaluate the Technical and Financial Proposals based on their responsiveness to the Scope of Work other requirements mentioned in this RFP. Criteria, sub-criteria, and the point system for the evaluation of the Full Proposal are described in the table below.
13. Description of Criteria / Weighting
1. Technical Proposal (70%)
- Portfolio/Relevant experience of the firm (5 points)
- Profile/Relevant experience & skills of relevant personnel (20 points)
- Depth and details of development, testing, and deployment plan (work breakdown structure) and overall technical approach including methodology, technology choice (25 points)
- Proposed delivery schedule and quality control measures (20 points)
Note: the minimum requirement for consideration is 50(out of 70)
2. Financial Proposal (30%)
- Cost for each module or other line items/expenses (30 points)
Note: The Financial Proposal shall be inclusive of all taxes
14. About the Alliance of Indian Waste-pickers
The Alliance of Indian Wastepickers is a decade-old national coalition of organizations working with waste-pickers and other informal waste collectors. The alliance was created to have coordinated efforts to ensure the inclusion of waste pickers in various national-level programmes. Organizations/members of the alliance represent more than 100,000 waste-pickers and other informal waste-pickers in India. The Secretariat of the alliance has been rotating amongst member organizations starting from Kagad Kach Patra Kashtakari Panchayat (KKPKP), Pune. After that, the Bangalore based organization of waste pickers- Hasiru Dala hosted the secretariat for 3 years, followed by Stree Mukti Sanghatana, Mumbai for 3 years. From April 2019, Dalit Bahujan Resource Centre (DBRC) is hosting the secretariat of the Alliance.
15. Area of work of the Alliance
- Policy analysis and recommending policy measures to all levels of governments- Union, state and urban and rural local governments, different departments within each level of three-tier governments, for the inclusion of waste pickers and informal waste collectors in solid waste management and social protection measures.
- Capacity building of member organizations and municipal authorities to facilitate the integration of waste-pickers by undertaking training sessions on social entitlements, financial literacy, organic and dry waste management.
- Research focusing on waste management techniques, informal waste chains and status of waste-pickers and informal waste collectors.
- Awareness generation about the role played by waste-pickers and informal waste collectors in keeping the cities clean, mitigating climate change and contributing to manufacturing.
- Helping member organizations to strengthen themselves by providing a networking platform to learn from each other.
- Relief distribution to waste-pickers across India during the last two lock downs.
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