Request for Proposal:
Ayutthaya High-Speed Rail Community Economic Resilience Program
RFP No.: PR-MSP-2023-01-03
January 23
Background
The USAID and Australia Mekong Safeguards Program (“the Program”) supports policymakers, government regulators, major financiers, developers, contractors, and communities with technical assistance, knowledge, and tools to foster consistent application of strengthened environmental and social governance standards, particularly for the energy, transport, and water sectors. While recognizing the economic-growth imperative of this underdeveloped region and the role of infrastructure in contributing to growth, the Program promotes profitable economic growth supported by sustainable infrastructure that causes less harm to the environment, biodiversity, and people. The Program is implemented by The Asia Foundation and funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Australia Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).
Description
The Asia Foundation (TAF) Thailand Office will implement a community outreach and economic resilience program in several cities in Thailand to support and empower women-owned and run small and micro businesses and commuters with greater market access, safety, and inclusivity as part of the Bangkok-to-Nakhon Ratchasima high-speed rail development in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, in communities immediately surrounding and affected by the rail development. The stakeholders are:
Women and other marginalized commuter populations who will depend on rail for economic livelihoods and trade.
Women-run and/or owned small and micro-businesses.
Scope of Work
For this engagement, TAF is seeking a team or individuals to conduct stakeholder and community outreach in Ayutthaya province, Thailand. The awarded applicant will be responsible for convening a target group of community stakeholders to participate in project activities including focus group discussions, capacity building, and communications and media development. Also, the team will lead the outreach and partnership building to other key stakeholders to support actualization of the program’s objectives as listed below.
Objective 1: Stakeholder engagement and identification and media content collection:
To identify key stakeholder individuals in Ayutthaya including that, as recipients of support, will maximize progress toward impacts, including:
Women-run and/or owned small and micro-businesses.
Working women and other marginalized population high-speed rail commuters.
To identify key organizations, institutions, and groups in Ayutthaya that, as recipients of support, will maximize dispersion and collection of information, media content, training and capacity building, community events, and focus groups, contributing to the impacts below. These key organizations might include:
Local government officials related to rail development and operations.
Existing community organizing groups and local civil society organizations working on inclusivity and empowerment of women in Ayutthaya.
Local One Tambon One Product (OTOP) organizations.
To engage stakeholder groups to participate in activities listed below.
To collect data and information on training and capacity building needs through focus groups to maximize progress towards impacts below.
To collect video and audio media content, directly (focus groups and interviews) and indirectly (stakeholder-populated and delivered content), that humanizes and presents stakeholder perspectives of opportunities and challenges of women commuters and women-owned and run businesses. Perspectives should relate to community opportunities and impacts related to the high-speed rail development, climate change, and similar USAID and Australia development priorities.
To acquire buy-in, public support and testimonials from local leaders, policymakers, and representatives, including the Office of the Mayor and other relevant district officials and industry association representatives, will be collected. Partners might also include commuter rights organizations, women’s safety organizations, and other existing advocacy organizations involved in supporting small and micro-businesses and women’s economic resilience, transport, and safety.
Objective II: Capacity building, event organization, and data collection:
To assess needs regarding access to high-speed rail and related facilities for vulnerable population groups including women, the aged, and people with disabilities.
To collect information regarding gaps in knowledge and understanding for women-owned and run small and micro businesses in Ayutthaya to enter markets around the high-speed rail.
To build relationships with community groups for participation in the planned project implementation.
To ensure local authorities are kept informed and engaged throughout the project.
To collect information and develop a plan on logistical feasibility for upcoming project activities on the ground in Ayutthaya.
To organize and implement several multi-day community events to include capacity building, community outreach, focus groups and opportunities for surveys, data collection, and stakeholder engagement.
These events should be 3-5 days in length, involving 100-150 stakeholder small and/or micro businesses and vendors, awareness raising and data collection activities, and engagement with local leaders and policymakers. The aim of these events is to contribute directly to the impacts below.
Events can also be platform opportunities for incorporating capacity building and training on high-speed rail commuter markets, market access, advertising, and sales.
Where possible, events should be in collaboration with existing economic resilience and opportunity platforms for women-owned and run small/micro businesses, such as One Tambon One Product and local offices of vocational training, small business support or similar government, and quasi-government organizations/institutions.
Impacts
The impacts expected of this outreach program are as follows (in sequence):
Strengthen accessibility and safety for women and other marginalized commuters to the high-speed rail development.
Create opportunities and enhanced market knowledge and accessibility for small and micro-businesses that are owned and run by women, related to new primary and secondary markets of the high-speed rail development.
Build awareness of activities through collection and development of media content of stakeholder perspectives, specifically, perspectives of women-run and/or owned small and micro businesses, local officials, and representatives of other marginalized populations related to the high-speed rail development.
Timeline and Deliverables
The duration of the work under this RFP is estimated to be six (6) months (tentatively from March 2023 – August 2023) including training activities. The contractor is expected to immediately start work within one (1) week of contract execution and to participate in biweekly progress meetings to be arranged at date and time under consultation with TAF and HSR Ayutthaya Outreach representatives. The table below provides an indicative timeframe for principal activities and deliverables.
|
Activity/Deliverable |
Milestone and Completion Date1 |
Suggested % of total contract |
|
Activity: 1 Initial kickoff meeting for requirements gathering and planning Deliverables:
|
1 week after selection |
10% |
|
Activity: 2 Stakeholder engagement, Identification, media content collection Deliverables:
|
8 weeks after kickoff |
30% |
|
Activity: 3 Capacity building, event organization, and data collection Deliverables:
|
16-20 weeks after kick-off (after actual event being held) |
40% |
|
Activity: 4 Support in feedback collection from community stakeholders Deliverables:
|
24 weeks after kick-off |
20% |
Contract Length: Six (6) months (tentatively March 2023 to August 2023).
Contract Cost: To be proposed by the consultant/contractor
Preferred Qualifications:
Organization/individual with community outreach experience, and experience working with diverse groups in Ayutthaya Province.
Extensive knowledge of local context and strong communication skills in Thai and English with high-level authorities and stakeholders.
How to apply:
Qualified service providers must submit proposals (including technical qualifications and financial proposal) in electronic format only to Mekong.Safeguards@asiafoundation.org by February 22, 2023 at 9.00 am Bangkok time. The email subject title should include “Submission of RFP No.: PR-MSP-2023-01-03
Contact : Mekong.Safeguards@asiafoundation.org
