REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST
CONSULTING SERVICES-FIRM SELECTION
NIGERIA
NIGERIA ELECTRIFICATION PROJECT
IDA CREDIT NO.: 62910
ASSIGNMENT TITLE: SPECIALIZED CONSULTANCY SERVICES FOR STRATEGIC MEDIA RELATIONS AND ADVOCACY, INCLUDING MULTIMEDIA PRODUCTION AND PROGRAM MANAGEMENT.
REFERENCE NO.: REA-NEP/C/QCBS/181/2024
ISSUED DATE: 18TH NOVEMBER 2024
The Federal Government of Nigeria has received financing from the World Bank for a Credit towards the cost of Distributed Access Through Renewable Energy Scale-Up (DARES) Project and Rural Electrification Agency, the implementation Agency intends to apply part of the proceeds of this credit to procure the contract for the Specialized Consultancy Services for Strategic Media Relations and Advocacy, including Multimedia Production and Program Management.
The consulting services (“the Services”) include:
- Strategic communication and media relations- Assessment and strategy development: Conduct a comprehensive assessment of the current communication and media relations strategies within the DARES initiative. Develop and refine a strategic communication plan that aligns with the project’s goals, phases, and key milestones, ensuring effective media engagement;
- Message crafting and dissemination: Develop clear, consistent, and compelling messaging that effectively communicates the project’s objectives, achievements, and impact to a diverse range of stakeholders, including government entities, NGOs, community leaders, the general public, and the media;
- Media relations management: Establish and maintain strong relationships with key media outlets, journalists, and influencers. Ensure proactive engagement with the media to secure coverage of DARES-related events, milestones, and impact stories through press releases, op-eds, interviews, and media pitches;
- Knowledge capture and organization: Develop systems and processes for capturing, organizing, and storing project-related knowledge, including best practices, lessons learned, and critical data. This will involve creating a centralized repository for easy access by stakeholders;
- Advocacy campaigns: Design and implement advocacy campaigns focused on raising awareness of renewable energy and the DARES initiative’s role in expanding access. These campaigns should target policymakers, influencers, and the general public to build broad-based support;
- Impact assessment: Develop and implement metrics and monitoring mechanisms to assess the effectiveness of all communication, media relations, knowledge management, advocacy, and visibility activities. Use this data to continuously refine and improve strategies;
- Reporting: Provide regular reports to DARES leadership, detailing the successes, challenges, and areas for improvement in communication, media relations, and visibility efforts. Ensure that these reports contribute to the overall learning and adaptation within the project;
- Feedback mechanisms: Establish feedback loops with stakeholders to gather insights and suggestions, ensuring that communication, media engagement, and stakeholder strategies are responsive to their needs and expectations and;
- Capacity Building of REA Staff on Strategic Communications.
The approximate effort level for the assignment is 60 man-months. The implementation period for the assignment is twenty-four (24) months.
The detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) for the assignment can be found at the following website: https://nep.rea.gov.ng/tor-for-the-consultancy-services-for-specialized-strategic-media-relations-advocacy-multimedia-production-and-event-program-management-for-the-distributed-access-through-renewable-energy-scale-up/
The Rural Electrification Agency- Project Management Unit (REA-PMU) now invites eligible consulting firm (“Consultant”) to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have the required qualifications and relevant experience to perform the Services.
The short-listing criteria are:
- The firm should be a top-tier communication firm with a minimum of ten (10) years of operational existence as an organization;
- The firm must have completed a minimum of two (2) similar assignments in the last five (5) years;
- The firm must have demonstrated a strong track record of successfully planning and executing events for large organisations and multinational corporations and;
- The firm should possess in-depth knowledge of the Nigerian renewable energy landscape, including key stakeholders, development partners, regulatory frameworks, and market dynamics.
Please note that only the experience of the firm and not that of the key experts are required at this stage.
The attention of interested Consultant is drawn to Section III, paragraphs, 3.14, 3.16, and 3.17 of the World Bank’s “Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers” September 2023 (“Procurement Regulations”), setting fifth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest.
Consultants may associate with other firms to enhance their qualifications but should indicate clearly whether the association is in the form of a joint venture and/or a sub- consultancy. In the case of a joint venture, all the partners in the joint venture shall be jointly and severally liable for the entire contract, if selected. Each member must be reasonably qualified and meets the stated criteria. For sub-consultancy association, the experience of the sub-consultant shall not be considered in the evaluation.
A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Quality and Cost Based Selection (QCBS) method set out in the Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers” dated Fifth Edition, September 2023, available on www.worldbank.org.
Further information can be obtained at the address below during office hours i.e. 0800 to 1700 hours.
Expressions of interest must be delivered in a written form to the address below (in person, or by mail, or by e-mail) on or before 2nd December, 2024.
Rural Electrification Agency (REA)
Head, Nigerian Electrification Project (NEP)
No. 26, Babatope Ajakaiye Crescent
Jahi District FCT Abuja, Nigeria
Tel: +234-8033252544
E-mail: nep@rea.gov.ng
Website: www.nep.rea.gov.ng