ToR: Consultancy Services on Campaigns on Energy Efficiency, Thermal Comfort, Energy-Water-Food Nexus in India

1. Background

Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) is an international organization working with leaders in government, the private sector and civil society to drive further, faster action toward achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7), which calls for universal access to sustainable energy by 2030, and the Paris Agreement, which calls for reducing greenhouse gas emissions to limit climate warming to below 2° Celsius. Achieving these goals will require a radical rethink of the way we produce, distribute, and consume energy. SEforALL is at the heart of this foundational shift to ensure no one is left behind. Drawing on data and evidence, we identify a critical path to success in achieving SDG7.

Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched the Sustainable Energy for All initiative in 2011. Now an independent organization, we maintain close links with the UN, including through a relationship agreement, partnerships with UN agencies and with SEforALL's CEO acting as the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Sustainable Energy for All and Co-Chair of UN-Energy. These roles include advising the UN Secretary General and his staff on issues relating to sustainable energy and the implementation of SDG7 and supporting the coordination of sustainable energy issues in the United Nations system.

The ambitions of SDG7 are extraordinary. Aiming to achieve them in the context of the Paris Agreement on climate change involves transformation at a scale never undertaken before. Swift action must be taken by Leaders in governments, private sector companies, institutions, financiers, development banks, unions, communities, entrepreneurs, and civil society. As we enter the final decade to achieve SDG7, SEforALL has strategically chosen to strengthen global agenda-setting while expanding its activities to an engagement model that prioritizes data-driven decision-making, partnerships with high-impact countries and implementation on the ground. The new SEforALL three-year business plan outlines “results offers” that scope out our planned interventions and demonstrate to our funding partners the impact of their support. 

2. Context

India, in its updated Nationally Determined Commitment (NDC) in 2022, has committed to meet 50 percent of India’s cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil sources by 2030; reduce the emission intensity of GDP by 45 percent below 2005 levels by 2030; and propagate a healthy and sustainable way of living through a mass movement for Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE) to combat climate change. Such a target requires transformative changes and deep cuts in emissions across all sectors. Among them, two critical sectors present a special challenge – urban emissions in cities and agricultural systems for sustainable food systems. In both these sectors mitigation and adaptation challenges are deeply inter-wined and require a more integrated approach for co-benefits.

India Cooling Action Plan 2019 included the idea of thermal comfort for all. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change predicts cooling demand in buildings to grow 11-fold by 2037–38. The policy approach includes the implementation of the Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) 2017 and Eco Niwas Samhita (ENS) 2018 by states and urban local bodies. Greenhouse gas emissions from Indian agriculture – and to some extent cooling - are linked to essential, non-luxury services. As compared with other countries, India’s agricultural sector is less resource-intensive and remains largely subsistence-based, directly or indirectly supporting 47% of the country’s population. Still, as the country’s second-largest emitter of greenhouse gasses (13.4 per cent, according to the Third National Communication and Initial Adaptation Communication, submitted by the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change to the UNFCCC) there is increasing concern and push for meaningful emissions reduction, coupled with mainstreaming adaptation in production as well as food consumption practices.

SEforALL is convening the Mission Efficiency India initiative over the next two years, focused on:
• Elevating energy efficiency in India, both in institutional and individual agendas, including through innovative outreach and engagement campaigns that showcase people-focused benefits of an “Energy Efficient LiFE”, including through thermal comfort and energy-water-food nexus solutions.
• Supporting energy efficiency in India, to harness India’s national aspirations by supporting energy efficiency strategies and implementation.
• Investing in energy efficiency in India, including with strategic assistance at the state and utility level to demonstrate and scale up energy efficiency and demand flexibility implementation that leads to tripling of renewable energy and doubling of energy efficiency progress.

The component on Campaigns for Thermal Comfort, Energy-Water-Food Nexus focuses on people-centric approach that support market and decision-making changes. To make implementation scalable, a well- designed communication strategy is intended to bring valuable information to people that support purchasing decisions and behaviour changes across the larger community.

3. Objective

The objective of this TOR is to engage one or more firms to deliver communication and outreach campaigns that will accelerate the adoption of (i) energy efficiency and thermal comfort in the rapidly growing buildings sector and (ii) sustainable and efficient practices at the nexus of energy, water and food.
The assignment will have a duration of 18 months (July 2024-December 2025). All activities under this assignment are to be conducted in close collaboration and alignment with SEforALL and the Mission Efficiency India initiative.

The main workstreams this assignment is expected to contribute towards are:

Workstream 1: Campaign on thermal comfort for mass, affordable housing

This campaign will target the community of practitioners, homeowners, architects, planners, developers, and other stakeholders to disseminate know-how of thermal comfort through a variety of campaign collateral. The campaign will promote simple solutions for existing buildings such as ventilation, shading, cool roofs, nature- based solutions, super-efficient fans, de-humidification, and energy efficient appliances and ACs, etc. 

The campaign should also look to develop web tools for practitioners and homebuyers, and to engage high profile personalities and influencers via social media to share learning, sharing success stories, and motivate change.

Workstream 2: Campaign on renewable energy and cooling in residential, commercial and institutional buildings

This campaign will target a rapid uptake of renewable energy powered technologies and cooling systems in residential and commercial/institutional buildings. This will involve outreach and awareness activities and engagement with high-profile citizens and market players such as energy service companies (ESCOs), empanelled vendors, solar power developers, and others. This campaign will also target urban planners and designers to promote nature-based solutions for urban communities.

Workstream 3: Campaign on energy-water-food nexus

This campaign intends to promote better informed consumer choices supportive of sustainable products that reduce greenhouse gas emissions through efficient energy-water-food nexus approaches. This also includes engagement with schools to raise awareness, and engagement with decision makers to strengthen public discourse in support of favourable policies, including state-level policies & regulations.

4. Scope of Work

To deliver on the above stated objectives and workstreams, the selected firm will undertake the following tasks:

4.1 Workplan, Kick-off Meetings and Inception Report

1. Propose a project workplan for delivery; identify target engagement groups in each workstream and produce a campaign strategy tailored to each group. Finalize a workplan that includes the overall project approach, proposed activities, outreach targets, and a monitoring and reporting plan to track progress with all target stakeholders.
2.  Prepare inception workshop, in coordination with SEforALL and the Mission Efficiency India team, organize an inception meeting. Present the campaign goals and strategies and gather feedback on alignment with broader Mission Efficiency India programmatic objectives and synergies. Develop an inception report based on the outcomes and information captured in the initial kick-off meetings.

4.2 Campaign on thermal comfort for mass, affordable housing

1. Stakeholder Engagement and Strategic Collaboration: Convene key actors, decision makers, and stakeholders through roundtables and meetings to identify synergies and specific collaboration avenues. This will lay the groundwork for promoting thermal comfort in mass and affordable housing by fostering cooperation and developing strategic action plans for integrating energy efficiency and thermal comfort requirements into state building by-laws.
2. Knowledge Dissemination and Community Building: Launch and promote knowledge support collateral on thermal comfort solutions for mass and affordable housing. Create an online community for sharing best practices and disseminating knowledge products. Utilize various media channels for webinars, banner campaigns, and social media outreach to drive traffic and engagement.
3. Advocacy for Policy Integration: Assist at least two identified states to work on an action plan/strategy to integrate the Energy Conservation Building Code and ENS with building by-laws. Advocate for inclusion of thermal comfort in policies during national conferences and workshops.
    

4.3 Campaign on renewable energy and cooling in residential, commercial and institutional buildings

1. Stakeholder Engagement and Outreach Planning: Conduct scoping meetings and map stakeholders along with engagement opportunities to plan scaled outreach effectively. Engage key provider groups, including ESCOs, empanelled vendors by distribution companies (DISCOMs), Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), and developers to identify avenues for renewable energy integration at the city scale, including procurement models.
2. Knowledge Dissemination and Institutional Campaigns: Launch a web campaign on renewable- powered based cooling systems. Target institutional campuses to amplify design and technology solutions for thermal comfort, energy saving tips, and nature-based solutions intervention to reduce the heat island effects.
3. Practical Tools and Documentation: Document good practice on how renewable energy is being incorporated into residential and institutional buildings. Develop and disseminate web tools and a knowledge repository for practitioners, developers, homebuyers, and other stakeholders, and advocate in large events to spread knowledge on the benefits of efficient cooling solutions. 

4.4 Campaign on energy-water-food nexus

1. Educational Campaigns and Youth Engagement: Develop and disseminate a web series to educate on the innovations in efficient and sustainable energy-water food nexus practices. Support state initiatives and best practices in efficient and climate-resilient agriculture. Engage youth and schools, promoting awareness on diverse and sustainable food practices.
2. Awareness and Community Engagement: Develop and launch collateral to raise awareness about climate-food links, including multimedia content, collaborations with influencers, web-tools, and awareness programs to amplify messages and promote efficient, sustainable practices in agriculture and food systems.

5. Approach, Timeline and Deliverables

Approach: The selected firm(s) will maintain close contact with a designated SEforALL contact(s) throughout the assignment to facilitate access to documentation, relevant SEforALL staff, and other partners as and if needed. All draft reports will be reviewed by SEforALL.

The selected firm(s) should make a concerted effort to mainstream gender considerations throughout this assignment. This includes following gender parity when looking for candidates. Furthermore, the firm is encouraged to implement a 40:60 female to male ratio in their team and submit a copy of gender policies followed by the firm(s).

Deliverables and Timeline:
The deliverables for the Mission Efficiency India Campaigns for Thermal Comfort, Energy-Water-Food Nexus are placed below. The timelines are indicative, but the overall objective is to ensure that improved decision- making on thermal comfort and energy-water-food nexus can result in better investments and actions. The reports must be provided in English.

Bidders are required to submit a proposal encompassing all activities. Please note that funding is currently available for activities 1-4 and 6, while activity 5 will proceed contingent upon securing additional funding.
 

6. Travel

Travel to the selected target states may be required, depending on the company's location, with the travel schedule to be agreed upon during the work planning phase.

7. Eligibility Criteria and Qualification Requirements 

7.1 Eligibility Criteria

• Registered company/legal entity with a minimum of 5 years’ experience in the subject area (scanned copy of the Certificate of Incorporation to be submitted), eligible to work in India.
• Bank Details Form.
• Statement of Confirmation.
• Audited Financial Statements for the last 2-3 years.
  • Profitability: Profit Margin Ratio or Return on Assets Ratio should be preferably positive. In case of negative profit margin ratio, SEforALL may request additional documents and/or adapt payment terms and conditions.
  • Solvency: A solvency ratio should be preferably more than one (1). In case of negative solvency, SEforALL may request additional documents and/or adapt payment terms and condition
  • Turnover: The average annual turnover for the past three (3) years (or for the period the bidder has been in business if it has not yet reached three (3) years) should be at least 1 time more than anticipated value of the contract.

Any direct or indirect work related to this assignment must comply with the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (2010). The bidders are solely responsible for assessing the applicability of FCRA regulations to their activities. SEforALL assumes no liability for any violations of FCRA regulations by the bidders or their subcontractors engaged in this assignment.

7.2 Qualification, Requirements, and Expertise:

The applying firm(s) must demonstrate the following criteria: 

• Proven Track Record:  
  • Demonstrated success in managing and implementing large-scale communication and outreach campaigns in India, particularly in the fields of energy efficiency, thermal comfort, renewable energy, and/or efficient agriculture and food practices. 
• Technical Expertise:  
  • Extensive knowledge and experience in thermal comfort principles, energy efficiency in buildings, renewable energy systems, and/or the energy-water-food nexus in India.  
  • Demonstrated ability to produce high-quality educational and advocacy materials and engagement in a variety of platforms, including multimedia, social media campaigns, high-profile publications, public events, webinars, media and others. 
• Reach:  
  • Proven ability to engage with a wide range of stakeholders in India, including state governments, influencers, high-profile citizens, community groups, industry professionals, and the general public.  
  • Demonstrated large-scale reach and engagement across multiple media channels.  
• Project Management:  
  • Strong project management skills with a track record of delivering projects on time and within budget. Proficiency in coordinating multidisciplinary teams and managing complex workflows 

The applying firm(s) must demonstrate that it has a capability to deploy experienced professional staff to address the scope of work outlined and address potential staffing/team membership contingencies that may arise during the implementation of the project. For the implementation of all the deliverables, the following experts may be needed from the firm: team leader and experts on thermal comfort, energy-water-food nexus, engagement and communication. 

The roles of the experts may be combined, provided experts should have demonstrable experience in more than one of the above fields of work. In particular, this provision applies to the roles of team leader, modelling, and regulations experts. The team leader will be responsible for managing all the activities envisaged under this contract, assessing the quality of the submitted reports and drafts, and communicating progress achieved during the implementation of the activities on a regular basis. All experts must be excellent in English skills, and additional knowledge of Hindi or other relevant languages are considered as an asset. All experts engaged are expected to conduct as per ethics, standards and values of UN agencies and International Organizations. The team leader should consult and report on each workstream directly to the designated project lead from SEforALL. 

The qualifications and experience of the team required are as below, but the applying firm(s) are welcome to provide CVs/information of additional experts or local experts that could be closely involved in the project.

7.3 Qualification and Experience Requirements for the Team:

i. Team Leader

• Advanced degree in environmental science, urban planning, sustainable development, communications, journalism or a related field.
• Minimum of 10 years in leading large-scale communications and engagement campaigns in fields related to energy and sustainability in India.
• Proven leadership skills and experience in stakeholder engagement, partnerships management and strategic collaboration

ii. Thermal Comfort Expert

• Advanced degree in architecture, urban planning, environmental engineering, or a related field.
• Minimum of 7 years of experience in expert consulting and/or coordinating projects in the field of thermal comfort, built environment, renewable energy or energy efficiency in India. 
• Advance knowledge of energy-efficient, climate-responsive building design and sustainable urban planning principles.

iii. Energy-Water-Food Nexus Expert:

• Advanced degree in environmental science, agriculture, engineering or a related field.
• Minimum of 7 years of experience in consulting and/or coordinating projects in the field of agriculture, renewable energy systems, and water managementt.

iv. Engagement Communications Expert:

• Advanced degree in Sustainability Studies, Communications, or a related field. 
• At least 7 years of experience in stakeholder engagement and communication related to sustainable energy, environment or climate in India.
• Proven experience in organizing and facilitating stakeholder meetings and workshops, project planning, budgeting and experience in developing and executing communication strategies.
• Excellent communication and facilitation skills to ensure effective collaboration among diverse groups.

8. Bidding Process

Proposals can also be submitted as a single entity and consortia. Interested and qualified bidders must submit one Technical Proposal and one Financial Proposal as separate documents. Proposals must be submitted either in PDF of PPT format and should include the following:

Technical Proposal

• Brief background about your organization.
• The organization’s experience in carrying out similar work including relevant skills, qualifications, and
  knowledge.
• Your understanding of the assignment, approach/methodology as well as proposed workplan. Any
  deviations from the Terms of Reference should be clearly indicated
• Three (3) relevant organizational/client references from the last three years.
• CVs of key personnel

Financial Proposal, outlining the costs associated with carrying out the scope of work, including:

• Labour costs (personnel, daily rates, LOE).
• Equipment costs (if any).
• Other costs.
• Activity-based cost breakdown.

All costs must be in USD and inclusive of all taxes.

9. Evaluation and Conflict of Interest

Statement of Confirmation:

• Confirmation of no conflict of interest (e.g., none of the bidder’s key personnel, including individuals directly involved in project implementation, management, or decision-making, is associated - financially, personally, or employment-wise - with concerned SEforALL staff, SEforALL experts/consultants recruited under this project).
• Confirmationthatnofees,gratuities,rebates,gifts,commissions,orotherpayments,otherthan those explicitly stated in the offer, have been given, received, or promised in connection with the selection process or in contract execution.
• Confirmation of satisfactory past performance, including adherence to contractual obligations, timely delivery of services, and compliance with relevant regulations, and confirmation that the bidder is not debarred from conducting business in the country where the procurement is taking place.
• Confirmation that the bidder did not participate directly or indirectly in the preparation of the concerned procurement process or the bidding documents, including the terms of reference, being subsequently used by SEforALL.
• Confirmation of no conflict of interest between or among bidders, and a commitment to disclose any potential conflicts of interest to SEforALL for resolution prior to the submission of bids.

The evaluation of proposals will be based on an 80 – 20 split for technical proposal and financial proposal, respectively. Details of the evaluation criteria are attached as Annex I.

SEforALL reserves the right to split an award between any firms in any combination, as it may deem appropriate.

10. Submissions of Proposals

Please submit your proposal to procurement@seforall.org by 15 July 2024, 17:00 Central European Summer Time (CEST). In case of questions or queries please contact SEforALL at procurement@seforall.org
 

Annex I – Evaluation Criteria

1. Compliance with eligibility criteria: Pass/Fail
2. Technical Evaluation Criteria
Technical Capacity: 25 points
Expertise of the organization as per 7.2:

• How much knowledge and experience does the firm have in developing and implementing
  communications and engagement campaigns related to energy efficiency, thermal comfort, energy-
  water-food nexus, and related topics? (5 points)
• How well can the firm demonstrate its ability to engage public and private stakeholders and obtain
  buy-in for the proposed campaigns in India? (5 points)
• Does the bidder have sufficient project management, organizational structure, adequate staff, local
  presence and sufficient sources of technical expertise to deliver all work streams of this project for
  SEforALL and India? (5 points)
• How much expertise does the firm have on conducting successful communications and engagement
  campaigns in India, such as: (5 points)
  • Expert knowledge of policies and solutions for sustainable energy, energy efficiency, thermal comfort, and/or energy-water-food nexus
  • Experience in producing high-quality educational and advocacy materials
  • Experience in engaging a wide range of public, private and civil society stakeholders, influencers, high-profile citizens
  • Ability to demonstrate large-scale reach across multiple media channels
• How much experience does the firm have on producing and rolling out high-quality knowledge products and campaign collateral? (5 points)

Approach and Methodology: 30 points

Methodology and Approach of the assignment with detailed description of carrying out activities as per workstreams and scope of work referred in section 2 and 3 in India. The approach that indicates ability to enhance country and stakeholder buy-in for the project would be an advantage. Bidders should include a proposed workplan with proposed activities and timelines.

• How coherent is the overall approach and methodology of the proposal and how will it meet some of the key principals of the workstreams and the scope of work, such as: (20 points)
  • Technical and policy expertise
  • Campaigndesignandroll-out
  • Stakeholderengagementandbuy-in
  • Production of high-quality written, graphic, video, audio collateral, web tools
• Are the activities proposed appropriate, practical, and consistent with the objectives and expected results? (5 points)
• Is the action plan clear and feasible, with a clear flow and sequence to activities? Bidders are encouraged to present accelerated timelines. (5 points)

Team Composition: 25 points
Qualification and Expertise of personnel as per section 7.3:

• Does the team meet the minimum requirements for each respective team member? (10 points)
• Expertise offered by the overall team and its structure in line with the scope of work and workstreams
  (5 points)
• Are roles and responsibilities effectively defined? (5 points)
• Does the team have a balanced gender ratio? Firms are encouraged to ensure at least 40% female
  representation in the team. (5 points)

Minimum technical passing score is 60 points. Firms who pass the min. passing score will be considered for the commercial evaluation.

3. Commercial Evaluation Criteria 

Budget and Cost-effectiveness: 20 points

• Is the proposal cost-effective and efficient?