About CLASP

CLASP serves at the epicenter of collaborative, ambitious efforts to mitigate climate change and in the global movement for clean energy access, through appliance efficiency. Our mission is to improve the energy and environmental performance of the appliances & equipment we use every day, accelerating our transition to a more sustainable world. We work hand-in-hand with governments, experts, industry, consumers, donor organizations and others to propel policies and markets toward the highest quality, lowest resource-intensive appliances possible.

CLASP has worked in more than 100 countries since inception in 1999. CLASP is headquartered in Washington, DC, with teams in China, Europe and the United Kingdom, India, Indonesia, and Kenya. We are mission-driven and committed to a culture of diversity, transparency, collaboration, and impactful work. See our Team Page to learn more about us.

The Low-Energy Inclusive Appliances (LEIA) programme is Efficiency for Access’ flagship initiative. It is an innovative research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) programme. It seeks to improve the efficiency, performance, availability, and affordability of a range of household, community, and productive use electrical appliances and solar-powered technologies. The LEIA programme is funded by UK aid, from the UK government via the Transforming Energy Access platform and the IKEA Foundation and is co-led by CLASP and Energy Saving Trust.

Introduction

CLASP seeks a consultant/consultancy to help us build a Roadmap for increasing access to Carbon Finance in the Productive Use Appliance sector. This Roadmap will feed into future efforts to generate public goods that increase access to carbon finance in Productive Use Appliance markets.

Background

Long-term, sustainable growth in solar powered appliance and equipment markets will require a significant increase in the total amount of financing available to market actors, and a more diverse suite of financial instruments to close the affordability gap. Carbon offsets and carbon credit financing can play a major role in the scale-up of certain Product Use Appliance (PUA) product markets based on their direct mitigation potential.  The Off-Grid Solar Market Trends Report 2022: Outlook report¹ highlights carbon credits as an essential non-customer revenue required to address appliance affordability gaps whilst increasing capital access for start-ups and nascent markets. Solar powered PUA offer a wide range of impacts beyond carbon mitigation such as gender empowerment, improved air quality, increased food security and could allow for the development of a new, more holistic credit financing tool that considers both emissions reductions and broader developmental impacts.

Timeline

Contract Timeframe: June 1, 2024 – August 31, 2024

Deadline for Application: May 24th, 2024 at 23:59 ET

Application includes registering as a Consulting Partner and submitting the technical and financial proposals per the instructions below.

Deadline for Questions: May 22nd, 2024 at 23:59 ET

All questions must be addressed in English to Sam Grant at sgrant@clasp.ngo. We request all inquiries be made to this e-mail address and not by phone.

Scope of Work

CLASP seeks a consultant/consultancy to support the development of a Roadmap: Carbon Credit Financing for Productive Use Appliance Markets which will:

• Provide high level guidance to governments, companies, and project developers on what is needed to generate carbon credits through the use of solar-powered appliances and equipment – with a specific focus on irrigation, cold chain and processing equipment.

Specifically, the consultant/consultancy will:

• Conduct a methodology literature review and key informant interviews applicable to PUA Carbon Offset projects.
  • Identify the weaknesses and strengths of the existing methodological framework and develop subset of recommendations for improvement.
• Develop a subset of recommendations for improving PUA project monitoring reporting and verification (MRV) protocols.
• Develop a framework for integrating social safeguards into the PUA carbon project lifecycle.
• Validate and propose methodology deviation where appropriate or design a new methodology.
• Explore through national workshops with the Kenyan government and the respective ministry technical teams how to integrate appropriate PUA methodologies into national validation and verification frameworks under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement
• The Roadmap will provide recommendations for the further development of public goods with might include but are not limited to the following:
  • Baseline modules
  • Pre-feasibility templates – Mitigation Activity Idea Note (MAIN)
  • Proposed Feasibility templates
  • Project Design Documents or Mitigation Activity Description Document (MADD)
  • Validation and Verification frameworks
  • Issuance of the mitigation outcomes

Key Milestones & Deliverables

1. Key informant workshop
2. Roadmap

Key Qualifications

• Knowledgeable of both voluntary and compliance carbon offset markets.
• Understanding of solar powered productive use appliance sector.

Submittal

Register as a Consulting Partner

Interested parties must register as a CLASP Consulting Partner.

Submit Technical and Financial Proposals

The consultant/consultancy will submit a proposal of no longer than four pages which provides:

• Understanding of the Scope of Work
• Qualifications
• High level budget

Interested parties should submit separate technical and financial proposals electronically, in English, via this form link (preferably in PDF format). The files should be named as per the following example:

[CONTRACTOR_NAME] _Technical Proposal_ RFP 2024-05-24[CONTRACTOR_NAME] _Financial Proposal_ RFP 2024-05-24

The length of the technical proposal should not exceed 5 pages and should include:

• Detailed approach and methodology for the design, implementation, and management of the project
• Detailed timeline for all project activities, tasks, milestones, and deliverables for the project within the time frame indicated above
• Background and experience of conducting similar activities
• A summary of qualifications and experience of key personnel that will execute the project

The financial proposal (in USD) should include a budget with all direct and indirect cost estimates for executing the project, including a breakdown (in days) of the level of effort and costs associated with each team member that will be engaged in the project.

CVs and related summaries of experience and qualifications of proposed project team staff should be included in an Annex and should not exceed 10 pages.

Optional At This Stage – Fill Out Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ)

All contractors must fill out the PQQ before working with CLASP. This can be voluntarily completed at the RFP stage but will be mandatory if a contract is awarded.

The PQQ is a thorough due diligence screening aimed at gathering legal and financial information on prospective partners/vendors. Contract awards are conditional upon passing the due diligence screening. Organizations that have already completed the PQQ do not need to complete it again unless the structure of the business has changed. If you are unsure, please email Andrea Testa (atesta@clasp.ngo) to determine next steps.

Evaluation Procedure

A committee appointed by CLASP will evaluate proposals received. Selection of qualified companies or organizations will be based upon the following criteria:

• Technical Evaluation Factors
• Financial Evaluation Factors

All bids will be evaluated and ranked using Quality and Cost Based Selection (QCBS), with 70 percent of the score accorded to the technical proposal, and 30 percent to the financial proposal. The detailed evaluation criteria can be found in Annex A.

ANNEX A: EVALUATION CRITERIA

Technical Approach (35 points): The technical approach described in the proposals will be evaluated on:

• The demonstrated understanding of the overall project context (15).
• The detailed work plan and approach clearly defining the target objectives and the strategy to achieve the objectives as outlined in the scope of work (20).

Management Structure and Staff Qualification (25 points): The proposed management structure and staff will be evaluated on:

• The professional qualifications and the extent to which the requisite expertise and experience of the key personnel will directly contribute to the completion of the tasks (25).

Past Performance and Corporate Experience (20 points): The experience and capacities of the contractor will be evaluated based on:

• The past performance, familiarity, and experience in understanding policies and program related to standards and labelling (10).
• Extent of local expertise including experience, qualifications, and track record in implementation of similar programs (10).

Cost Evaluation Factors (20 points): While the overall Technical Evaluation is the key factor in reviewing the proposal, the cost evaluation will be an essential factor in determining the final contract award and ability to remain in the competitive range and will be evaluated for feasibility, completeness, and practicality.

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CLASP looks forward to reviewing your responses and would like to thank you in advance for your participation in this Request for Proposals. CLASP will notify all respondents who submit proposals when a decision has been made.

CLASP is an equal opportunity employer that celebrates diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. CLASP’s goal is to be a diverse workforce that is representative, at all job levels, of the citizens we serve. CLASP complies with all federal, state and local employment law in the countries we operate and is committed to providing equal opportunity for all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, disability, political affiliation, personal appearance, family responsibilities, matriculation, genetic information, military or protected veteran status, credit information or any other characteristic protected under federal, state or local law.

Each person is evaluated based on personal skill and merit. CLASP’s policy regarding equal employment opportunity applies to all aspects of employment, including recruitment, hiring, job assignments, promotions, working conditions, scheduling, benefits, wage and salary administration, disciplinary action, termination, and social, educational and recreational programs.