Request for Proposal – Virtual Learning Database Platform for Social Learning

I. IPARD PROGRAM INFORMATION

a) BACKGROUND

The Indigenous Peoples Alliance for Rights and Development (IPARD) is a five-year United States Agency of International Development (USAID) Global Development Alliance (GDA) with a grant that runs from July August 12, 2020, through August 11, 2025. The IPARD will be implemented through Indigenous National Development (IND) Programs aimed to secure rights, enhance capabilities, and create economic opportunities for Indigenous Peoples in targeted countries worldwide. With an award of $6,500,000 with a Private Sector match of $6,500,000, the FSC Indigenous Foundation will be Implementing Agency convening multi-sectoral alliance including Indigenous Peoples organizations.

The goal of the IPARD Global Partnership is to empower Indigenous Peoples’ organizations and catalyze an enabling environment where Indigenous Peoples can manage and develop, and their land based on the principles of sustainable development, traditional practices, natural resource management, and respect for their customary rights.

According to the Technical Approach contained in the Program Description, IPARD Life-of- Program will focus its activities around three key objectives:

Objective 1: Organize and convene a Capacity Development Program for Indigenous Peoples’ organizations and stakeholders (Institutional Strengthening): This objective seeks to strengthen the capacities of Indigenous Peoples’ organizations, primarily through the development of monitoring, leadership, management, organizational, technical, and negotiation skills.

Objective 2: Foster an enabling environment for Indigenous Peoples’ recognition, effective participation, and joint decision-making in matters affecting them. (Political Incidence, rights, and Inclusion): Creating an enabling social, political, and institutional environment will encourage collaborative decision-making efforts, social coalitions and partnerships, and mobilization of resources to support self-determined Indigenous initiatives. Indigenous Peoples’ organizations will more effectively influence policy-making decisions with this enabling environment through an Indigenous Peoples Governance Forum. These organizations will also be able to better engage with governments to promote, develop, and implement agreements and policies that support responsible businesses and investments and protect Indigenous Peoples’ rights.

Objective 3: Promote Indigenous Peoples’ sustainable development based on self-determined economic models (Business Partnerships and Indigenous Economies): Through this objective, the Partnership will create business linkages with the private, public, and civil society sectors, and will also improve the institutional, technical, and financial sustainability of Indigenous Peoples self-determined development strategies. First, it will strengthen Indigenous Peoples’ organizations through activities to improve capacities for business development. Second, it will identify improvements and innovations to Indigenous value chain systems and opportunities for private sector engagement. Third, it will promote the development of Indigenous-led economic models for self-reliant and sustainable economic development of Indigenous communities.

The IPARD Program will be managed by the FSC Indigenous Foundation at the Panama City Headquarters office. IPARD will be led by the Program Director, three Technical Leads, one for each Objective, a Finance and Administrative Manager, a Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Lead, and Regional and Country managers for the main countries of influence.

Given the size of the operation worldwide, IPARD will need to implement some programmatic activities through strategic partners and consulting firms in each country, by contracting specific portions of the technical scope, to reinforce the work conducted and supervised by Program’s staff. These contracting activities will need to be published and compete openly under the USAID rules and regulations, following also FSC-Indigenous Foundation administrative and acquisition procedures, to ensure the transparency of the processes.

For additional information related to IPARD, please consult the Program Technical Description, provided as an annex of this Request for Proposal.

b) OBJECTIVE OF THIS ACTIVITY

The objective of this solicitation is to hire an established information technology company to design, develop and launch a user-friendly, active and meaningful Virtual Learning Database (VLD) Platform as a global platform developed by IPARD to strengthen and position the FSC-IF which will:

a) Become a one-stop for information about Indigenous Peoples and initiatives around the world.

b) Improve and increase knowledge sharing of Indigenous Peoples Organizations (IPO) amongst the target audience.

c) Create linkages amongst Indigenous Peoples and stakeholders at sub-national, national, regional and global levels.

d) Make reports, publications, trainings, GIS data, lessons learned and documents generated by the IPARD Program and FSC-IF and other organizations at the global level widely available to IPO, stakeholders and general public.

The primary target audience/users of the Virtual Learning Database Platform are Indigenous Peoples and their organizations, national level government officials, civil society and donor organizations, development agencies, private sector, academia/university researchers, media/journalists and general public who are interested in Indigenous Peoples wellbeing. The Virtual Learning Database would be a Web-based online platform. The platform would be developed in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese. The most crucial role of the Virtual Learning Database Platform is to attract the target audience/users in effective, efficient and meaningful ways.

The VLD will serve as:

• Toolbox
• Knowledge Systematization and Sharing
• Global Indigenous Peoples Data Repository
• Collaboration and Interaction
• Business Intelligence for decision making
• Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning
• Accountability
• IP’s Networks Data Repository on Capacity Development Approaches
• Connections to Forest, Ecosystems and sustainable production certifications
• Sharing of Geographical Spatial Information (GIS) on IP territories in the world, projects, forest and agricultural certification
• Business Opportunities and Partnerships
• Research and Development
• Project Management Support and Certification
• Connections to other networks, Web portals and organizations dedicated to Indigenous Peoples worldwide.
• Other

Requirements and Description:

• Visually and aesthetically appealing, with cohesive, engaging, varied and dynamic content: Content is high quality, timely, useful and relevant to IPO and stakeholders with a mechanism to gather new information and timely “front page” information. Photography, diagrams, maps and illustrations presented are appealing to the target audience, are relevant and truly add value to the content. Elements of the site and other supporting media are visually connected and balanced.

• Management analytics and statistics for web based platform: Statistical information and analysis that measures how visitors use and interact within the VLD Platform. Ability to see trends user traffic and platform usage patterns, where they go on a platform, where they drop off.

• Ownership and management of platform and related elements, it should be easily managed and updated: Ability to add or change content (menus, tabs, pages, links text, images, social media feeds, etc.) Can be managed by content manager (with unique password protected access) to ensure continuity.

• Security and Backups: The platform/integrated tools are backed up in a secure fashion. Platform integrated tools are regularly updated with the required security patches and levels of security required.

• Compliance with Anti-Spam legislation: Platform email communications, newsletter, and publicity notices require compliance with Anti-Spam legislation

• Provides for ability to pay online for memberships, workshops or other events in a secure way: Platform has the ability to easily add, delete or change “item availability for sale”. Information gathered in the process includes user’s registration details, all done in a secure ecommerce platform.

• Mobile version application (app): Develop the mobile version app of the VLD designed to run onmobile devices such as smartphones and tablet computers.

• Open source engine – most preferably Moodle: The VLD app should be posted and located in Apple and Play store for free. Application should be user friendly and easy to navigate. Preferable open-source engine provides the rights to study, exchange, and distribute the knowledge to anyone and for any purpose. Open-source may be developed in a collaborative public manner. When VLD communities are formed in the platform and have a common purpose, users bring together diverse ideas and share their work. Together, a global VLD community can create beyond the capabilities of any one individual. It multiplies effort and shares the work.

• Additional options:

  Languages: The VLD Platform should be operated in English, Spanish, French and Portuguese. The content of reports, studies, will be in the original languaes.

  Social media: VLD Platform connected to all meaningful social media platforms.

  Linkages to other websites: Platform should be linked with other Indigenous Peoples relevant international and national websites.

The VLD should include information as data, reports, and other knowledge assets available in any of the Indigenous Peoples languages.

Maintenance and Support:

In addition, the vendor must provide a technical proposal for maintenance and 24/7 support, to cover proper operation, and updating any version of the platform. This service will be provided until the end of IPARD Program (August 11, 2025) and include it also in the cost proposal, as estimated domain and hosting costs if applicable. Highly qualified, certified and accredited personnel credentials for this activity must be included in the proposal.

The website maintenance and support services should include checking the platform for issues and mistakes, and keeping it updated and relevant. This should be done on a consistent basis in order to keep the website healthy, encourage continued traffic growth, and strengthen the SEO and Google rankings.

The technical support will be valid from the development starting, until the end of the platform use, on August 11, 2025, consisting of 24/7 support covering the following types of service:

• Preventive support, including coverage and technical support throughout the warranty period at no additional cost.
• Support for level 1 incidents, by phone or digital means, through a ticket system.
• Immediate adjustments in the functionalities of the platform that present failures.
• Other that the vendor consider necessary to the proper operation and updating.

Communication channels and levels for the support implementation:

Level 1: The supplier must assign a work team to provide support in the development and implementation phase, as in the full production phase, with which they can have permanent contact for any consultation or support management due to failures in the system, which will be done by digital means (email, Chat or SMS) or by phone. If the problem cannot be solved by these means, it goes to level 2.

Level 2: Given an incident that does not resolve in level 1, the supplier must commit to attend it by means of an immediate virtual intervention to the server, conducted by authorized technical personnel, which must be resolved within a period of no more than 2 hours from the start of the technical visit.

ILLUSTRATIVE MODULES FOR THE VIRTUAL LEARNING DATABASE

1. Learning Module for open online courses (MOOC) and educational resources, including multi-language learning.

2. Geoportal Module (Maps and Analytics based on GIS technologies mapping indigenous territories, certified forests, forest cover and other agricultural areas).

3. IP-HUBS materials, tools and approaches.

4. Business / Commercial Module including information relevant for/from IPO, and PIBS (Private Indigenous Business Services)

5. Data Library: Books, articles, studies, evaluation, diagnostics), legal information, procedures, Lessons Learned), multimedia resources (audiobooks, videos, documentaries), other.

6. Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Analysis and Dashboards.

7. Project Management Module (PM Specialization and courses, PMI certification, software for Program and Project Management).

8. Governance module for two audiences: IPO´s and decision makers and other stakeholders including studies, methodologies, best practices, guides, manuals and e-learning to support.

9. Indigenous Peoples Planet Module (All about IP’s in the World – Info of World Indigenous Peoples’ population, location, ecosystems, updated contacts, cultural issues, language, coalitions, regional and global governance structures, links to other IPs networks)

10. SOW, available resources, past initiatives, current initiatives -programs and projects-, business models, International Agencies, private investments, trends)

11. Other

CHARACTERISTICS

• Self-sustainable (Support from international organizations, business and partners)
• Free for users (No fees for accessing information; free access to a number of training modules and support)
• Technology-driven (Cloud base and OpenSource Technologies)
• App in Android and iOS for IP VLP
• Other

STRATEGIC ALLIANCES FOR THE VLD-P

• Indigenous Peoples Organizations (Global and local) and other International Organizations Network
• IP-HUBS capacity development strategies, tools, lessons learned
• International Organizations (USAID, United Nations, Humanitarian, Health and Development Organizations)
• International Academic Partners and Research Institutes
• Responsible Investment initiatives (Technological corporations, Industries, investment funds, other)
• Regional and Country sectors
• Other

Deliverables

The project will be considered complete on:

• Successful launch of the web platform which satisfies the FSC Indigenous Foundation and IPARD team.
• Hand over the developed user- friendly VLD mobile version application (app) with all instalments and located in stores.
• Transfer of all user rights and installation to the FSC-IF IPARD team
• Submission of all required documents such as reports in English.
• The Offeror ensures that the web platform is secure through various tests.
• Developing of all technical and user manuals.
• Providing training and guidance to the IPARD team on using the platform.
• A maintenance and support plan, for the period after the platform full deployment to the end of the Life-of-Program implementation of IPARD.

General Timeline

VLD platform development is envisioned to occur in a period of 8 months covering the whole process until it is fully operational, including but no limited to Planning, Analysis, Design, Implementation, Testing and Deployment.

Below a proposed timeline is presented. However, a detailed chronogram and action plan should be presented by the offeror backed up by the technical approach proposed.

• Product 1: Planning Phase

Description: Development of main ideas and first steps. Compilation of business requirements by all project development rightholders and stakeholders

Due date: 1 week after signing contract.

Outputs: Planning Document

• Product 2: Platform Analysis

Description: Make a list of everything the development team needs in order to develop the best system, taking into account the available resources, risks, user and security needs.

Due date: 2 weeks after delivery of product 1

Outputs: Feasibility Analysis Document

• Product 3: Design

Description: Create architecture, platforms and components, security, housing, user interfaces, communication, Apps and programming steps and instructions

Due date: 2 months after delivery of product 2

Outputs: Advanced Design Document

• Product 4: Implementation

Description: Developing of modules and Web resources. Software engineers write the code and adjust the technologies involved in the project.

Due date: 4 months

Outputs: Draft platform and modules, Web interfaces, Databases in place, Cloud settings, Security and users

• Product 5: Testing

Description: In this phase, the system must undergo a thorough inspection in different scenarios. If errors or problems are found, the development team should line up to resolve them without disrupting the rest of the system. First data must be loaded. The platform will be tested by external users from different regions of the world.

Due date: 1 month

Output: Final version of platforms and software in testing phase

• Product 6: Deployment

Description: First launch of the system. The platform must be completely functional with no errors. In this phase, the users should add complementary data.

Due date: 3 weeks

Output: Final Version full deployed and available for users.

• Product 7: Manteinance and Support

Description: After after successful delivery of the platform and deployment, the vendor company should provide 24/7 support and maintenance for the platform.

Due date: IPARD Life-of-Program. Up to August 2,025

Output: A separate maintenance and support plan.

Eligibility and minimum qualifications

• The contracted firm must be a reputable company with extensive and proven knowledge and experience in the field for more than 5 years.
• Proven experience in development of Knowledge Management systems or platforms.
• Previous experience with international and donor organizations would be an advantage.
• The Offeror should be able to provide support services on a timely basis.
• The firm should assign a design and development relationship manager responsible for understanding IPARD´s needs in detail and establish a communication line between the firm and the IPARD team.
• The firm must have sufficient expert staff on board with full-time availability from the time of signing.

Selection process

The IPARD Team expects to shortlist three companies based on quality of submitted documents which will be focused on the right understanding of scope, objectives and completeness of responses, quality of the proposed approach, methodology, and implementation and maintenance plans and costs to consider a subsequent contract. The shortlisted companies will then be invited to a meeting with the IPARD team and an IT Specialist from FSC-IF. At this meeting, all shortlisted firms will be able to hear more about VLD, what the IPARD team wants and expects from the technical and business sides.

Shortlisted firms will then be invited to make a presentation and go through an interview with the IPARD team and technical experts. The IPARD team expects to name a successful company within 10 days of the last interview.

Reporting

For the duration of the assignment, the vendor will report to the Capacity Development & Inclusion Program Leader who will share the lead of this project with the Monitoring and Evaluation Leader. During and at the end of the development of the web platform, the firm will be asked to present to key stakeholders including IF, the Steering Committee of the IPARD program and USAID as needed. A final electronic report in English will be submitted upon completion of the project.

Monitoring

The IPARD team will regularly monitor performance of the contractor and development of the platform. Regular bi-weekly meetings will be conducted between the IPARD team and the contractor to monitor the progress, consult necessary steps and provide advices in addition to daily communications with the company and relevant stakeholders, and the other IPARD leaders and the IF Director.

Reference documents

• IPARD Program Description
• IPARD Logframe