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 energy efficiency policies. 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, and other important stakeholders 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. In partnership with key national stakeholders, we advance policy compliance, education, and outreach initiatives to foster an ecosystem for resource-efficient appliances and equipment. See our Team Page to learn more about us.

In India, CLASP provides the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) with technical assistance and capacity building support on appliance energy efficiency as required by BEE and in line with their  priorities. CLASP’s technical assistance has enabled BEE to expand appliance energy efficiency policy framework to cover a wide range of residential, commercial, and industrial energy intensive products. This has resulted in reduced energy use, lowered peak electricity demand, reduced consumer energy costs, expanded access to high quality appliances, and resulted in avoided greenhouse gas emissions.

Background

BEE introduced the Standards and Labeling (S&L) program in 2006 to improve the energy efficiency of residential, commercial, and industrial appliances/equipment in the country under the Energy Conservation Act of 2001.

The primary intent of the S&L program at BEE is to minimize the energy consumption of appliances while ensuring equipment performance. The scheme aims to provide information on the energy consumption characteristics of appliances based on their star ratings. The star rating ranges from 1 to 5 in increasing order of energy efficiency. As of date, 38 appliances and equipment are covered under the S&L program, out of which 16 are under the mandatory regime and the remaining are under the voluntary regime (please refer to www.beestarlabel.com). A key requirement of the S&L program is that the products registered under the program should display the correct label and be distinctly visible at the point of sale.

BEE has its monitoring, verification, and evaluation (MV&E) framework for the S&L, which it has recently supplemented with a market surveillance framework. That framework requires state-designated agencies to conduct a survey and report back on the findings using a pre-designed framework and implementation approach.

CLASP is providing BEE with technical assistance and capacity building towards the implementation of that compliance framework, for which CLASP is now seeking a consultant or consulting organization to develop a mobile application that will be used by SDAs to conduct market surveillance of star-labeled appliances. The app will be used to collect and analyze data on the display of labels for the products sold in the market, based on the framework established by BEE. The data collected may include the star label, appliance type, position, and manner of display of the label, amongst others. The app should also have the provision to analyze the data (based on pre-specified methods) for generating state-wise, product-wise, and brand-wise compliance/non-compliance reports and export all the records and analyses in pre-specified Word, PDF, or Excel formats.

The mobile app will help to achieve the following objectives:

• conduct market surveillance more cost-effectively,
• collect and maintain records of compliance intelligence, and
• create a more streamlined collaboration among state-designated agencies engaged in market surveillance and the national government.

The development of the mobile app will rely on and reference BEE’s appliance registration database (available at www.beestarlabel.com).

This mobile application will help all states identify compliant and non-compliant products under BEE’s S&L Program available for sale in the market and report back procedures to BEE for next steps to ensure compliance at the national level.

Timeline

Contract Timeframe: July 2024 – October 2024

Deadline for Application: 18 June 2024 at 23:59 IST

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

Deadline for Questions: 7 June 2024 at 23:59 IST

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

Scope of Work

To assist in the delivery of technical assistance and capacity building to BEE’s S&L program, CLASP is seeking to engage an agency for the development of a mobile application for conducting market surveillance activity. The development process will consider the following;

• Outline the design, development and deployment of mobile application.
• Define the requirements for user interface design and user experience.
• Platform Compatibility for both iOS, Android.
• Creation of application programming interface (API) and Integration of Appliances’ Model Data (available at beestarlabel.com) with the Mobile App.

Further, the agency needs to ensure the following details for developing the mobile app;

Functional Requirements

• User Authentication: Secure login/logout for only BEE and State Designated Agency Officials (SDAs), multi-factor authentication.
• Development of Dashboard: Dashboard to capture state-wise targets for conducting market surveillance, progress of the survey, state-wise, appliance-wise, brand-wise compliance/non-compliance scenario, types of non-compliance scenario, reporting status, Management Information System (MIS), etc.
• Data Collection and Analysis: App for collecting technical information about S&L appliances through optical scanning of the star label stick to the appliance, i.e., the image recognition process, will analyze all technical and market data sets by comparing BEE’s model registration database for reporting.
• Reporting Tools: Features for generating compliance and non-compliance reports for each SDA or state and reporting back the same to BEE through this app.
• Real-Time Alerts: Notifications for market anomalies or compliance breaches.
• Offline Access: Define the requirements for offline functionality, if needed.

Technical Requirements

• Technology Stack: Suggest or request specific technologies (e.g., programming languages, frameworks).
• Scalability: Ensure the app can handle an increasing number of users and data.
• Security Protocols: Define the security standards (encryption, data protection).
• Compliance Standards: Adherence to BEE’s regulatory requirements

Testing & Quality Assurance

• Testing Protocols: Define the types of testing required (unit testing, system testing, etc.).
• Performance Metrics: Establish benchmarks for app performance and reliability.

The consultant will be responsible for the successful development and deployment of the mobile app for carrying out market surveillance studies under BEE’s S&L program.

Task 1: Mobile App Development

The proposed platform should support responsive design and can be extended to other devices like tablets, etc. The selected agency will carry out the following broad activities:

• The development, delivery, and hosting of mobile application
• Graphic design for the application
• Content for the application in consultation with CLASP/BEE
• Design, upload, and updation of the content
• Liaising with BEE and taking responsibility for all documentation and technical support

The mobile application will capture or include the following details through the image recognition process, but not be limited to the following:

• Inclusion of store contact details such as;
  • Store Name
  • Store Type
  • Store Address (City, State, Pincode, etc. to be included)
  • Respondent Name
  • Respondent contact address
  • GPS coordinate
  • Picture of the store using geotagging (outside with name)
• Inclusion of surveyor details
  • Surveyor Name
  • Surveyor Contact Details
  • Employee ID
  • Supervisor Name
  • Supervisor Contact Details
  • Office Address
  • Survey Authorization Letter
• Inclusion of details related to S&L appliances
  • Name of the appliances (drop-down box)
  • Brand
  • Model Number
  • Manufacturing Year
  • Label Validity Period
  • Appliance Specific Technical Specifications as Per Star Label
  • Star Rating
  • Picture of the label
  • A picture of the product with the label attached
  • Picture of the product specification/name plate
• Inclusion of a Label Verification Checklist
  • Label Status: Is the product labeled?
  • Label Condition: Is the label in appropriate condition (not damaged)?
  • Label Information: Is all the required information provided on the label?
  • Validity: Is the label within its validity period?
  • Product-Label Match: Does the product identified on the label match the product to which it is attached?
  • (Based on model number and cooling capacity)
  • Design/Color: Is the overall design, e.g., color scheme and information layout, in accordance with BEE’s requirements based on visual inspection?
  • Dimension: Is the dimension of the label as per the requirement based on visual inspection?
  • Placement: Is it displayed in the required place?
  • Visibility: Is the label visible to the consumer if placed in a showroom or displayed on the packaging?
  • Catalog: Does the store possess any product catalogs or product manuals for the selected sample?
  • Label on catalog: Does the promotional material or manufacturers’ catalog/product manual available at the store display the label information properly?
  • Label on packaging: Does the outer packaging of the product have the label attached to it?
• Inclusion of a Retail Awareness Section for the S&L Program
  • Respondent Category (Retailer, Wholesaler, Dealer, Salesperson, or Others)
  • Are you aware of the BEE Star label for appliances?
  • What do you think is the primary purpose of the BEE Star label on appliances?
  • What information do you think is shown on the BEE Star label on appliances?
  • Are you aware that some appliances are required to have the Star label compulsorily?
  • Which of the following appliances do you think fall under mandatory BEE Star labeling?
  • Have you ever been invited to or come across BEE’s Retailer Training Program on Star Label?
  • Does the store provide training or awareness to its salespersons on BEE’s Star label?
  • In your opinion, on a scale of 1 to 10, how many consumers inquire about the BEE label on the appliance when they are making a decision to purchase a product?
  • In your opinion, on a scale of 1 to 10, how many consumers have no knowledge about the BEE Star label on the appliance?
  • In your opinion, which age group of consumers typically inquire about the Star label on appliances?
  • In your opinion, what are the top 3 factors that influence consumers’ decisions when purchasing a home appliance?
  • In your opinion, does the presence or absence of the Star label influence the purchasing decisions of consumers?
  • Do you make an effort to make consumers aware of the energy and cost savings of a 5-star-rated appliance?
  • Are you aware of BEE’s mobile application on the Star label?
  • Are you aware of the energy and cost-saving calculators on BEE’s mobile application?
  • Have you used the BEE’s mobile application to inform a customer about the energy efficiency of a star-labeled appliance?
  • Do you think financing such as EMIs can play a role in nudging consumers towards more efficient products?
  • Have you ever come across a BEE’s advertisement in a newspaper about check testing failure (failure to hold the star rating or downgrading of the star rating) of any appliance?
    • If yes, what was your reaction to it?
  • Generate a non-compliance report based on the captured information and report back to BEE.
    • Overall Compliant or Non-Compliant Products: If non-compliant, add the reason for the same.
    • E-signature of the report by competent authority
  • Ability for users to rate the app and to add or surf comments.
  • English will be the default and initial language; however, the app should be scalable so as to easily and cost-effectively add other languages at a later time.
  • The mobile app solution should be scalable to allow for easy upgrades in the future.

Note:

1. The agency shall be responsible for hosting the mobile application for BEE on Google Play and the Apple App Store.
2. The agency shall be responsible for the purchase of software and licenses (if any) for the proper functioning of the mobile application. 

Task 2: Pilot the mobile app in 2 retail stores

• Testing of the app in two retail stores is to be planned in consultation with CLASP/BEE.
• Coordinate with identified retailers/stores/ and dealers for conducting market surveillance.
• Capture the S&L appliance data and check the data analysis and report generation process related to compliance/non-compliance with one state.
• Check and verify the report-back procedure to BEE.
• Ensure the saving of captured data and its report to the app.

Task 3: Support BEE/SDA in facilitating the use of the mobile app

• Develop the digital training materials on the process of using mobile app and conduct 1 virtual training for all States.

Key Milestones and Deliverables

1. Develop the mobile app for conducting market surveillance and report back process to BEE.
2. Carry out pilot Market Surveillance Study and report submission through the mobile app for 2 retail stores.
3. Development of digital training materials for the process of using the mobile app and provide virtual training to states.
4. Handover of source code and support with transition of the app to BEE’s server.

Submittal

Register as a Consulting Partner

Interested parties must register as a CLASP Consulting Partner.

Submit Technical and Financial Proposals

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 2024-06-18[CONTRACTOR_NAME] _Financial Proposal_ RFP 2024-06-18

The length of the technical proposal should not exceed 20 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 especially on developing and updating any mobile app, web portal preferably for government agencies or public sector or regulatory bodies.
• Expertise in programming languages, web development, mobile app development frameworks, and database management systems.
• Expertise in conducting comprehensive system assessments and providing technical recommendations for developing any mobile app, web portal etc.
• A summary of qualifications and experience of key personnel that will execute the project.

The financial proposal (in USD) should include a detailed 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 80 percent of the score accorded to the technical proposal, and 20 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:

• Past experience of conducting similar activities especially on development of any web portal, mobile app preferably for government agencies or public sector or regulatory bodies (10).
• Expertise in programming languages, web development, mobile app development frameworks, and database management systems and deployment of the same (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.