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Ref.
2024/EGECISOSDFASP/12374

Job offer type
Experts

Type of contract
Service contract

Activity sectors
Technological Innovation

Deadline date
2025/01/26 23:55

Duration of the assignment
Short term

Contract
Freelancer

Duration
30 man/days over a period of 19 weeks

Mission description

1)      General objective

The consultancy aims to define a practical set of key services, a sourcing of relevant European and LAC service providers, and tender design and evaluation process support, in view to select service providers that will deliver tailored services to innovators and companies supported by the DGI project.

 

2)      Specific objectives

1.     Define a structured set of services, including a categorization of these services, tailored to the needs of businesses in LAC for a program to support the prototyping of EO-based climate solutions in Latin America.

2.    Define technical and operational criteria for service provider selection to provide those services, from Europe and LAC, ensuring relevance to the needs of innovators and companies in LAC region, to the current market and to existing service offers.

3.       Conduct a sourcing and elaborate a practical list of potential European and LAC service providers for each service category.

4.       Collaborate with Expertise France to prepare Terms of Reference for the Tender and support the evaluation and selection of service providers.

 

3)      Anticipated results and deliverables

ü  A set of services including a categorized list of the key services that could be proposed to innovators and companies for the DGI project. This architecture should detail (i) Core services (e.g., EO data access and processing, cloud infrastructure, geospatial analysis tools); and (ii) Ancillary services (e.g., capacity-building workshops, mentorship programs, business plan development, and networking opportunities).

ü  A draft of the Terms of Reference outlining the technical specifications for the Tender, including Technical and operational criteria and an Evaluation matrix for selecting service providers for the support program to innovators and companies within the framework of the DGI project.

ü  A practical list of potential relevant service providers in Europe and LAC, with track records and case studies, detailed descriptions of the proposed services categorized by types and themes, capacity to deliver, estimated prices, and contacts.

ü  Recommendations and evaluation Report summarizing the assessment process and results of the bids received, including scoring, strengths and weaknesses of each proposal, and final recommendations for selected service providers and services deployment.

 

4)      Planned activities

The assigned senior Expert will be responsible for carrying out this mission, and shall undertake the following tasks:

  1. Kick-off meeting:

o   Organize a kick-off meeting with Expertise France to present and discuss the work plan, methodology and selection criteria for the categorization of services and for the sourcing and service providers, to be discussed and validated with Expertise France.

  1. Development of a service framework:

o   Propose a set of services (package) for supporting EO-based prototyping.

o   Develop a categorization of services to be offered (e.g., EO data access, cloud computing, training, technical and business support) to draw up a list of services that could be activated as part of the support actions for the various companies. An initial list (to be completed or amended):

-        Supply of high-resolution images from European service providers (radar, optical, other, etc.)

-        Providing IoT connectivity via satellite

-        Support services for start-ups (structuring, business, development, financing, etc.)

-        Support in using Copernicus data

-        Rental of computing and storage capacity (virtual machines and cloud)

-        Technical support (UX design, technical expertise in space and climate, partnerships, developers, etc.). Note that technical support will be provided using the EF technical platform.

-        Business, financial supports

-        Etc.

  1. Market research and mapping:

o   Identify potential service providers for each service category, both in Europe and in LAC, with a comprehensive description of their services and capacities.

o   Conduct stakeholder mapping to include companies, research institutions, universities Lab, and start-up incubators.

  1. Tender preparation:

o   Draft technical specifications for the Tender, detailing the elementary services to be provided. For example: archive high-resolution image, programmed high-resolution image, archive high-resolution radar image, etc.

o   Define selection criteria, including quality, compliance, expertise, capacity, estimative costs, on-time delivery performance, etc., and relevance to the DGI project objectives.

o   Propose an Evaluation matrix as a framework for scoring and selecting service providers.

  1. Evaluation and selection:

o   Support the evaluators in assessing bids and selecting service providers.

  1. Reporting:

o   Provide a final report detailing the proposed set of key services. This should include also a practical list of potential service providers, detailed technical specifications for the tender, resume of the process and support provided for the selection of service providers, and recommendations for service deployment.

 

5)      Coordination 

The service provider shall designate a single contact person for project implementation purposes.

The Project Leader of the DGI project (Output 1.3) part of the Sustainable and Inclusive Economy Department will be the service provider’s sole contact person for Expertise France. Telephone and e-mail will be mentioned within this assignment’ contract.

A launch meeting shall be held one week after the contract award has been notified.

Close collaboration must take place between the service provider through its designated senior expert and Expertise France’s Project Leader, technical expert and also Project Officer from assignment preparation right up to completion. Furthermore, regular exchanges must take place on assignment progress and any difficulties that may be encountered.

 

         6)      Schedule/programme/deliverables: 

 The provisional programme for assignment implementation is as follows: 30 man/days distributed over approx. a period of 4,5 months. The consultant will work under the supervision of the DGI Project Leader and maintain regular communication. Deliverables will be submitted to Expertise France for review and validation according to the following timeline:

 ·       Week 1 - Kick-off meeting and inception report: work plan, methodology, and initial proposal of service categories and approach to sourcing service providers.

 ·       Week 6 - Preliminary Service Catalogue: detailed list of categorized services and initial list of potential service providers from Europe and LAC.

 ·       Week 10 - Draft Terms of Reference for review: technical specifications for the Tender, including an Evaluation matrix: criteria and framework for scoring and selecting service providers.

 ·       Week 12 - Submission of the final Tender preparation package: including a finalized set of key services; also a categorized, comprehensive and practical list of potential service providers; consolidated technical specifications for the Tender; final recommendations for the evaluation process and service deployment.

 ·       Weeks 16-19 (to be adjusted according to the process and timetable for launching the Tender and receiving bids) - Support provided to Expertise France during the evaluation and selection process, along with recommendations for service deployment.

 

Project or context description

1. EXPERTISE FRANCE 

Expertise France (www.expertisefrance.fr) is the public agency for international technical cooperation. The agency addresses the technical assistance needs of partner countries in the main fields of public action: democratic and financial governance, security, sustainable development, and human development. Through its action in the field, it contributes to the objectives of solidarity and influence of French and European development policy.

With a turnover of 390 million euros, Expertise France (EF) operates in 147 countries and manages more than 350 projects. Expertise France has more than 450 employees at its Paris headquarters and more than 600 partners worldwide. In Latin America, Expertise France primarily intervenes in regional projects, with its office in the region established in Bogota, Colombia, in 2018.

 

 2. THE DIGITAL & GREEN INNOVATION PROJECT

Today, the challenges related to climate change are omnipresent, and the search for innovative solutions to strengthen resilience and foster adaptation has never been more crucial. It is in this context that the “Digital & Green Innovation” (DGI) Action, co-financed by the European Union, BMZ and AFD and implemented by a consortium composed of GIZ, Enabel, ESTDEV, Expertise France and AFD, fits into this context. This program aims to promote digital innovation to foster the “Twin Transition” (digital for climate and digital ecology) by supporting entrepreneurial projects.

To meet the challenges of climate change, decision-makers need reliable and innovative data to orient and to take action in the short and long term. To support the development of solutions that improve resilience and adaptation to climate change, the use of available Earth observation data and services will be essential, especially within the framework of the European Copernicus program. Indeed, only satellite data can provide free, reliable and recurrent climate information on a large geographic scale and over long periods of time.

Expertise France’s activities will focus on identifying and accompanying innovative solutions based on geospatial data for climate in Latin America (Output 1.3: “Improved capacities for the integration of Earth observation (EO) technologies and data (Copernicus) by Business support organizations (BSOs) as well as green and digital innovators in Latin America and the Caribbean” which aims to foster the prototyping of advanced, digital and space-based solutions to face climate change challenges).

The "Digital & Green Innovation" (DGI) project, implemented by Expertise France, focuses on promoting innovative digital and space-based solutions to address climate change challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean (Chile, Panama and Colombia), leveraging Earth Observation (EO) technologies and data use, especially existing relevant digital solutions and the Copernicus program. 

The main objective of this project led by Expertise France is therefore to strengthen resilience to climate change and scale up adaptation efforts by supporting the development of innovative climate space applications in Latin America and the Caribbean, in particular in Chile, Panama and Colombia. Expertise France's operational activities of the DGI project (output 1.3) will be managed by a project Leader based in Bogota, Colombia with the support of its headquarters in Paris. For this purpose, EF will launch a call/Innovation challenge-competition to identify and select 20 companies and innovators based in the 3 target countries, at different stage of maturity interested in using EO data from Copernicus for their business. The applications domains will be in line with the global objective of the project and useful for the countries and the whole LAC region. The selected companies and start-ups will be supported by the providing of a set of tailored services, financed by the project.

To select these services, Expertise France will launch a major Tender to select European and local companies able to offer appropriate services to accompany companies and innovators in the development of their innovative ideas. These provided services could cover all the potential needs of company (technical, business, financial support, access to data, to infrastructures….); This Tender will result in a multi-award contract involving the management of several subsequent markets.

Required profile

1)      Number of experts per assignment: 1 

Application may be submitted by individual consultants or consultancy firms/offices, the firm or consultant must provide in the application the name and profile (CV) of the assigned expert. 

2)      Profile of the designated expert responsible for contract execution:

    Senior Consultant for Geospatial EO-based Climate innovation, set of services definition and Tender design for a support program for Innovators in LAC countries

A.      Qualifications and skills:

- Master’s degree or equivalent (bac+5) in Earth Observation (EO), Geospatial Sciences, Environmental or Climate Sciences, Agronomy, Engineering, Business, or a related discipline.

- Specialized training or certification in Innovative program Management, GIS (Geographic Information Systems), satellite imaging, or other Earth observation tools would be an advantage.

Excellent qualities/capacities in:

·     Communication

·     Teamwork and interpersonal skills

·     Knowledge transfer

·     Analysis and reporting

·     Problem identification and resolution

·     Decision-making and taking initiatives

·     Excellent written and oral communication skills in English, Spanish is an added value.

·     Ability to map, engage and interview key stakeholders from the concerned sector.

  

B.      General professional experience

-      At least 7 years' professional experience in the space and geospatial sector (Earth observation-EO, remote sensing, GIS, or related fields), managing databases, fostering innovation, engaging the private sector, and promoting open data access;

-    Proven experience in developing service frameworks and preparing technical specificities for tenders to select service providers, with a strong focus on innovation, knowledge transfer, and practical implementation;

-       Demonstrated experience in working with start-ups, BSOs and Innovation hubs, and fostering collaboration between stakeholders in Europe and other regions, Latin America is an added value;

-       Familiarity with the Copernicus program and EO applications in climate resilience and related fields;

-     Strong network of regional contacts particularly in European countries, and in LAC region is as an added value, including BSOs, university’ labs, incubators, start-ups & companies, relevant initiatives and services solutions and services in digital, business development and geospatial fields, coupled with the ability to work effectively in multicultural and multilingual contexts.

-        Familiarity with international cooperation agencies is an asset.

Additional information

- Bid composition, a technical and financial proposal including:

                      ·       A CV of the assigned expert highlighting the skills and experience corresponding to those required for this assignment (max. 5 pages), its current individual consultant status or carried by a firm, together with contact details from three professional references of similar missions.

·      A summary note (max. 4 pages) detailing the elements required to understand the mission, the methodology envisaged and an indicative timetable for completion (with the number of days of expertise proposed per activity), and including a financial proposal (daily fees in Euro).

 

Selection criteria for applications

The selection process for candidates will be based on the following criteria :

  • Candidate’s training/skills/experience

Deadline for application : 2025/01/26 23:55

File(s) attached : TORs_Expert Definition Services for Innovators_DGI _Expertise France.pdf

Expertise France is the public agency for designing and implementing international technical cooperation projects. The agency operates around four key priorities :

  • democratic, economic, and financial governance ;
  • peace, stability, and security ;
  • climate, agriculture, and sustainable development ;
  • health and human development ;

In these areas, Expertise France conducts capacity-building initiatives and manages project implementation, leveraging technical expertise and acting as a project coordinator. This involves combining public sector expertise with private sector skills to drive impactful results. 

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