Development of Twinning & Diaspora Strategy

Request for Proposals 

Proposals must be received not later than 12:00 (noon)

on

27^th October 2016 

 Proposals that are received late WILL NOT be considered.

Introduction:

In recent times, initiatives such as The Gathering have demonstrated how local communities can make global connections and tap into the diaspora’s strong attachment to county, town and local community. Global Irish: Ireland’s National Diaspora Strategy recognised the important role the diaspora can play in terms of economic, social and cultural development. As well as reaching out to the diaspora at national level, there is huge potential for local communities and counties to reach out to their own Diasporas to build new relationships to benefit local development as part of the Twinning Programme. In order to realise this potential, the development and implementation of a Diaspora & Twinning Engagement Strategy for County Carlow is required.

Invitation to Tender:

This is an invitation for proposals for the development of a Diaspora Engagement & Twinning Strategy for County Carlow. It is envisaged that the completed Diaspora Engagement Strategy, which will run from 2017 to 2021, will be an action focused document clearly informed by broad ranging consultations with stakeholders; including the diaspora, the business community, local communities.

From documentation currently available and information collated over the years in County Carlow, we are aware that we have a widely spread diaspora who feel a strong connection to County Carlow. County Carlow also has a variety of Twinning arrangements historically in place.  It is also likely that connections are made on an ongoing basis at a local level that are occurring in isolation and in an ad-hoc fashion. There is also a wealth of local knowledge, particularly among local historians which has not been tapped into previously.

Similarly, there has never been a concerted or co-ordinated effort to engage specifically with the Carlow Diaspora or to set out a plan with an overall strategic vision for engaging with the diaspora.

Therefore, a key aim of developing a Diaspora & Twinning Engagement Strategy is to harness and build on existing connections as well as building new relationships and learning from best practices elsewhere, guided by an overarching strategic vision.

Objectives of the Diaspora & Twinning Engagement Strategy:

The primary objective is to develop an action focused strategy comprising a number of SMART objectives which will help to strengthen current diaspora and twinning engagement initiatives and encourage the development of new connections with a focus on economic, social and cultural development.

The main elements of the Diaspora & Twinning Engagement Strategy should include (but not be limited to) the following:

• An analysis of existing forms of engagement with the diaspora;
• An analysis of the current knowledge on the Carlow Diaspora & Twinning and the identification of how to enhance and further develop this knowledge base;
• A clear pathway on how to identify the Carlow Diaspora;
• Identification of how to engage communities in an imaginative way with the diaspora;
• Identification of ways to build relationships with and harness the power of the diaspora and twinning arrangements in an economic, social and cultural context;
• Identification of how diaspora engagement can be built into existing strategic corporate plans – pushing it to the forefront of our thinking and tying into key priorities
• Identification of particular clusters and niche areas to focus on;
• Finding ways of ensuring that people who identify with Carlow can stay connected to Carlow;
• Development of a communications plan for the strategy;
• Setting out a methodology for the creation of networks which build on existing Carlow Associations and Twinning arrangements.
• Identification of ways to foster and assist local communities through diaspora grant scheme in order to co-ordinate efforts; and
• Examination of creative ways of linking with the diaspora particularly through social media and other innovative digital channels.

A robust implementation plan should be included as an integral part of the strategy detailing how it will be resourced and detail potential funding streams which will support its implementation.

Scope of Tender: To facilitate and develop a Diaspora & Twinning Engagement Strategy for County Carlow.

Carlow County Council welcomes suggestions on how best to develop and achieve the objectives of the strategy but expect the inclusion of the following:

• An overall plan to manage the engagement process of the key national and local stakeholders in the County
• Proposals as to how the strategy will be innovative and unique to Carlow and deliver the greatest potential from our diaspora
• The final strategy should include a series of short, medium and long term actions to be implemented over the lifetime of the strategy
• The strategy may also identify who the lead partner and associate partners are in terms of the delivery of the actions.

The tender should include a detailed Gantt chart detailing a programme of work for the preparation of the strategy and should make provision for 2 formal updates to Carlow County Council. This is in addition to ongoing communication with the designated County Council liaison person.

Budget:

The budget for this project is between €6,000-€8,000

The Strategy must be complete within 12 weeks of date of appointment of the successful tenderer

For the purpose of the proposal the work programme should commence on 21^st November 2016.

Key Guidelines:

1. Submission Date for proposals is 27^th October 2016.

2. Please submit a detailed proposal including the following:

         a. Relevant CV’s of project management

         b. Profile of individuals within the company/organisation who may be assisting with the project

         c. Approach and methodology to achieving the objectives outlined

         d. Details of proposed activities including timelines

3. Total fee including VAT
4. Essential requirements (eligibility to tender)

         a. Current Tax Clearance Certificate

Award Criteria

The contract will be awarded on the basis of the most economically advantageous tender in accordance with the award criteria set out below:

• Approach and proposed methodology (25)
• Qualifications of key personnel to be involved on this project (20)
• Examples of similar projects (15)
• Range of Services and resources (10)
• Price (30)

The lowest or any tender will not necessarily be accepted and the successful tenderer will be required to produce a current tax clearance certificate before the contract is awarded.

Before the contract is awarded the successful tenderer will be required to produce a valid current Professional Indemnity, Employers and Public Liability Insurance

Contract period: The contract will commence immediately on the award of contract.

Timescale for queries

Receipt of queries and responses to queries will be by email only.

All queries relating to any aspect of this Competition or of this RFT must be directed to the messaging facility on www.etenders.gov.ie  Queries will be accepted no later than 2pm on Thursday 25^th October 2016 unless otherwise published by the Contracting Authority. For the avoidance of doubt, Tenderers may not contact the Contracting Authority directly regarding any aspect of this Competition.

All responses to queries will be issued by the Contracting Authority via the messaging facility on www.etenders.gov.ie  Where appropriate, queries may be amalgamated. Tenderers should note that the Contracting Authority will not respond to individual Tenderers privately. 

All tenders must be submitted in writing and marked: Carlow County Diaspora & Twinning Engagement Strategy and addressed to:

Carlow County Council

Athy Road

Carlow

by 12 noon on 27^th October 2016. Tenders which are delivered late will not be considered.