Funding Opportunities

Request for Proposals: Catalytic Finance Accelerator Proposal Writer

Background

The Clean Cooking Alliance (CCA) works with a global network of partners to build an inclusive industry that makes clean cooking accessible to the three billion people who live each day without it. Established in 2010, CCA is driving consumer demand, mobilizing investment to build a pipeline of scalable businesses, and fostering an enabling environment that allows the sector to thrive. Clean cooking transforms lives by improving health, protecting the climate and environment, empowering women, and helping consumers save time and money. In alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals, CCA is working to achieve universal access to clean cooking by 2030.

CCA seeks to make high-impact clean cooking solutions desirable, affordable, and accessible for consumers and viable for businesses to provide sustainably at scale. It supports companies that design, manufacture, distribute, and retail electric, biomass, ethanol, biogas, and LPG-based clean cooking solutions in addition to more efficient wood and charcoal cookstoves. It also supports technology innovation with the aim to commercialize new technologies such as highly energy-efficient electric cookers for off-grid/mini-grid communities.

CCA’s Clean Cooking Systems Strategy highlighted that at least US$10 billion per year is required to achieve universal access to clean cooking, yet the current level of funding lags far behind at about $130 million annually.

The Catalytic Finance Accelerator is part of CCA’s response to solve the financing problem for clean cooking. The Catalytic Finance Accelerator is a coalition of investors and market facilitators in clean cooking, carbon, and financial markets committed to a vision of clean cooking markets that can attract more investors with a diverse range of instruments that meets the needs of companies across the maturity cycle and diverse country contexts, financing the transition to higher tier solutions. It aims to secure at least US$ 100 million of unearmarked commitments by 2026 and invest in targeted programmes of work that, together, result in increasing the willingness and ability of investors to make and grow their exposure in clean cooking and enhance the risk-adjusted financial, environmental, and social returns from investing in clean cooking markets.

The Catalytic Finance Accelerator’s central strategy is to leverage high-growth carbon markets to catalyze large pools of traditional capital (e.g. guarantees, debt, equity, and other forms of blended capital), to make more effective and sustainable traditional forms of non-returnable capital (e.g. grants and technical assistance delivered through input-based and various output-based mechanisms), and lay the groundwork to unlock future pools of capital (e.g. revenue from monetizing impact on SDGs).

The Catalytic Finance Accelerator has four programmatic pillars:

• The Global Policy Pillar focuses on improving global market norms and conduct to create a level playing field and instill greater integrity and fairness in how the market functions and market actors behave. The Global Policy Pillar includes a few multi-stakeholder policy coordination initiatives which the Catalytic Finance Accelerator either convenes and manages (e.g. the Responsible Carbon Finance for Clean Cooking Initiative) and actively draws-on/contributes to (e.g. the Clean Cooking and Climate Consortium, Ad-hoc Results-based Finance Funders Coordination Group, Delivery Unit Network).
• The Market Infrastructure Pillar focuses on improving the access to and use of high-quality market information and innovation infrastructure to reduce the time, cost, or effort in making responsible investments. The Market Infrastructure Pillar includes two transitional market infrastructures to facilitate high quality and actionable information for investors through the Market Information Hub and to challenge private sector investors through the CCA-UNCDF Innovation Challenge Facility.
• The Country and Ventures Pillar focuses on improving the capacity of countries and clean cooking ventures to adopt responsible market norms and innovations needed to lower investment risks and improve the unit economics of clean cooking markets in identified countries and in identified fuel/tool value chains. The Country and Ventures Pillar collaborates with CCA’s Market Strengthening Teams – the Venture Catalyst and Country Transitions – to integrate global norms, innovations, and best practices in their support packages for countries and ventures; selectively respond to the policy, infrastructure, and investment needs of countries and ventures with structured advisory services; and/or selectively draws on country level networks or venture building capability to advance Catalytic Finance Accelerator’s globa policy, market infrastructure, and adjacent sector priorities.
• The Adjacent Market Pillar focuses on making responsive adjacent financial and capital markets to make available greater volume and diversity of financial instruments to clean cooking markets and clean cooking carbon projects. The Adjacent Market Pillar includes the Global Financial Sector Partnership for Clean Cooking, a magnet platform founded by CCA and the African Guarantee Fund to align local and international capital with the financing needs of clean cooking carbon to projects.

Objectives of Proposal Writing

The objectives of the assignment are to create clear proposals for the Catalytic Finance Accelerator and action plan for aligned funding opportunities to support its fundraising efforts.

• Develop and Finalise concept notes (including all supporting documentation) for the overall catalytic finance accelerator as well as two of the key initiatives that form the CFA – Global Financial Partnership for Clean Cooking, Innovation Challenge Facility.
• Develop high quality final documents complete with links, graphics and tables for submission.
• Develop a mapping and action plan of donors and funding opportunities aligned with the Catalytic Finance Accelerator.

Scope of Work and Deliverables

This scope of work is associated with four packages; three concept notes and a mapping of aligned funders.

1. Catalytic Finance Accelerator Concept Note (Expected Level of Effort: 10 Days)

Drawing on a current draft concept note, decks and information drafted the consultant shall bring together a final concept note and associated documentation for the Catalytic Finance Accelerator. Including:

• Review existing literature and research that forms the Catalytic Finance Accelerator
  • Review external research on key topic areas that “make the case” for the Catalytic Finance Accelerator
  • Review internal research for key accomplishments, findings and lessons learned on the same topics; including current drafted concept note, deck and clean cooking systems strategy.
  • Provide key summaries on most important research, highlighting key benefits and risks of the Catalytic Finance Accelerator
  • Maintain references for use in footnotes
  • Build the “case” in one or two paragraphs for key interventions based on research
• Develop standard materials for proposal
  • Develop corporate capability statements
  • Develop summary of examples of current work
  • Develop one page case studies of key projects
  • Update CVS and Staff Tables in standardized format
  • Update Organization charts
  • Update theories of change
  • Update Log frames
  • Develop summaries of key research (both internal and external) that support the interventions
• Finalise Concept Note
  • With team inputs, update and finalise the Catalytic Finance Accelerator Concept Note
  • Assemble all annexes

2. Innovation Challenge Facility Concept Note (Expected Level of Effort: 10 Days)

Building on the concept note created for the Catalytic Finance Accelerator the consultant shall draft a concept note focused on the Innovation Challenge Facility.

• Review of current information and work associated with the Innovation Challenge Facility including but not limited to:
  • RFA for the Digital Innovation Challenge
  • Innovation Challenge Facility Deck
  • Lessons Learned information from Digital Innovation Challenge
  • Video content from webinars and bootcamp
  • Meeting with Innovation Challenge Facility Team
• Draft and Finalise Concept Note
  • Draft a concept note for review and feedback from team members including summaries of current work and case studies
  • Assemble all annexes for the Concept Note including theory of change, log frame, capability statement
  • With team inputs, update and finalise the Catalytic Finance Accelerator Concept Note

3. Global Financial Sector Partnership Concept Note (Expected Level of Effort: 10 Days)

Building on the concept note created for the Catalytic Finance Accelerator the consultant shall draft a concept note focused on the Global Financial Sector Partnership.

• Review of current information and work associated with the Global Financial Sector Partnership and meetings with key team members including but not limited to:
  • Global Financial Sector Partnership Deck
  • Country Scoping Report and Framework
  • Meeting with consultant dedicated to this work and Catalytic Finance Accelerator team members
• Draft and Finalise Concept Note
  • Draft a concept note for review and feedback from team members including summaries of current work and case studies
  • Assemble all annexes for the Concept Note including theory of change, log frame, capability statement
  • With team inputs, update and finalise the Catalytic Finance Accelerator Concept Note

4. Funder Mapping Report (Expected Level of Effort: 5 Days)

• Identification of donors and funding windows and opportunities that align with the Catalytic Finance Accelerator
• Mapping of the above opportunities against the timeline and goals of the Catalytic Finance Accelerator
• Action plan for the Catalytic Accelerator Finance team to access the opportunities identified

Deliverables:

The deliverables for this work are three concept notes and aligned documentation including:

• Catalytic Finance Accelerator Concept Note including Logical framework
  Innovation Challenge Facility Concept Note
• Global Financial Sector Partnership Concept Note
• Funder Mapping Report

Unless specified all reporting is anticipated to be in word documents.

Project Period of Performance

This assignment will be performed between August – September 2023.

Technical Requirements

Individuals or Firms should have the following experience:

• Minimum 5 years of experience in the design, proposal writing, and/or management of  financial sector development programmes for developing countries, including the capacity to prepare logical, coherent, and consistent documents is mandatory.
• Prior demonstrated experience developing proposals for institutional donors is mandatory.
• Demonstrated experience of successful grant applications.
• Ability to work efficiently and effectively with project members in various locations, including remotely writing and revising proposal documents.
• Ability to integrate different experiences, methodologies, and approaches from a diverse range of stakeholders, organisations, and technical experts from multiple sectors.
• Excellent English speaking/writing skills required.
• Working knowledge of concepts in innovative finance and  knowledge and exposure to carbon finance and RBF is preferable.
• Familiarity with the SDGs.

Timeline

• 08/27/2023: Proposals due
• 09/01/2023: Proposal review and scoring
• 09/06/2023: Consultant(s) selected and notified via email
• 09/19/2023: Kickoff meeting with selected Consultant(s)

Budget

A detailed budget in US Dollars must be submitted with the proposal. Budget should include both pre-tax and net of tax values. The budget should include direct costs (Personnel, Fringe Benefits, Travel, Sub-Agreements, Equipment, Supplies, etc.), as well as indirect costs (overhead). For indirect costs, please indicate a list of expenses covered by the indirect rate. For all direct cost, please include assumptions that were made to arrive at line item costs (e.g. 2 trips @ $1,500/trip = $3,000 or 20 staff hours @ $40/hour = $800). The budget should be split to show the work associated with each deliverable.

If a bid has a mathematical discrepancy, CCA may correct the discrepancy and notify the Consultant of the adjustment. In such circumstances, the Consultant may choose to withdraw their bid.

Evaluation process

The Clean Cooking Alliance will review all written proposals and may request a phone or in-person interview and/or updated submission to address questions or provide clarification. CCA will use the following criteria in its evaluation.

Intent and disclaimer

This RFP is made with the intent to identify a Consultant to deliver results as described in this RFP. UNF/the Clean Cooking Alliance will rely on the Consultant’s representations to be truthful and as described.  The Clean Cooking Alliance assumes it can be confident in the Consultant’s ability to deliver the product(s) and/or service(s) proposed in response to this RFP.

If the Clean Cooking Alliance amends the RFP, copies of any such amendments will be sent to all respondents to the proposal.

Proposal Guidelines and Requirements

• This RFP is open to multiple partners and is a competitive process.
• Proposals received after 5 pm EST on August 27, 2023 will not be considered.
• The price provided should be in US dollars, and should contain both pre-tax and net of tax values. If the process excludes certain fees or charges, the applicant must provide a detailed list of excluded fees with a complete explanation of the nature of those fees.
• CCA prefers a single point of contact who manages deliverables. If the execution of work to be performed by the Consultant requires the hiring of sub-contractors, the Consultant must clearly state this in the proposal. Sub-contractors must be identified and the work they will perform must be defined. Subcontractors are subject to vetting and approval of UNF/CCA
• CCA will not refuse a proposal based upon the use of subcontractors; however, we retain the right to refuse the sub-contractors you have selected.
• Provisions of this RFP and the contents of the successful responses are considered available for inclusion in final contractual obligations.

Format for Proposals

Proposals must include applicant signature as well as a signed declaration form. Proposals must include the full legal name of applicant, as well as legal formation and ownership structure (e.g. incorporation certification, tax status and ID, etc.).

Contracting and Compliance

CCA will negotiate contract terms upon selection. A copy of the contract terms and conditions will be provided upon selection. All contracts are subject to review by the UN Foundation’s Business Services and Budget Reporting team. The project will start upon the complete execution of the contract. The contract will outline terms and conditions, scope, budget, and applicable flow down terms. Selected recipient(s) must comply with CCA, United Nations Foundation, and funder compliance requirements. The selected recipient(s) must also undergo detailed legal, financial, and commercial due diligence.

Release

The Consultant understands that the Clean Cooking Alliance has chosen to solicit an RFP for consulting services, and that the Consultant’s response does not guarantee that the Clean Cooking Alliance will enter into a new contract with the Consultant or continue any current contract(s) with the Consultant.

The Consultant agrees that Clean Cooking Alliance may, at its sole discretion:

• Amend or cancel the RFP, in whole or in part, at any time
• Extend the deadline for submitting responses
• Determine whether a response does or does not substantially comply with the requirements of the RFP
• Waive any minor irregularity, informality or nonconformance with the provisions or procedures of the RFP
• Negotiate with all Consultants UNF deems acceptable
• Issue multiple awards
• Photocopy the responses for evaluation/review

This RFP is not an offer to contract. The Clean Cooking Alliance assumes no responsibility for Consultant’s cost to respond to this RFP. All responses become the property of the Clean Cooking Alliance

The Consultant, by submitting a response to this RFP, waives all right to protest or seek any legal remedies whatsoever regarding any aspect of this RFP.

The Consultant represents that it has responded to the RFP with complete honesty and accuracy. If facts provided in the Consultant’s response change, the Consultant agrees to supplement its response in writing with any deletions, additions, or changes within ten (10) days of the changes. The Consultant will do this, as necessary, throughout the selection process.

The Consultant understands it may receive proprietary and confidential information from the Clean Cooking Alliance during the RFP process (“Confidential Information”). The Consultant and CCA agree to not use Confidential Information for any purpose other than the Consultant’s participation in the RFP process, and to not reveal Confidential Information directly or indirectly to any other person, entity, or organization without the prior written consent of the other party. The Consultant and CCA further agree to exercise all reasonable precautions to maintain the proprietary and confidential nature of Confidential Information where it can best demonstrate its value and capacity to delivery ecosystem-wide, meaningful value.

Grounds for Exclusion

Material misrepresentations, including omissions, may disqualify the Consultant from a contract award.

Submissions will be rejected in the Clean Cooking Alliance’s sole discretion if it finds that the Consultant has engaged in any illegal or corrupt practices in connection with the award.

The Consultant will be excluded from participation for the reasons below. By submitting a proposal in response to the RFP, the Consultant confirms that none of the below circumstances apply:

• The Consultant is bankrupt or being wound up, is having their affairs administered by the courts, has entered into an arrangement with creditors, has suspended business activities, is subject of proceedings concerning those matters, or is in any analogous situation arising from a similar procedure provided for in national legislation or regulations.
• The Consultant or persons having powers of representation, decision-making or control over them have been convicted of an offence concerning their professional conduct by a final judgment.
• The Consultant has been found guilty of grave professional misconduct; proven by any means which CCA can justify.
• The Consultant has not fulfilled obligations relating to the payment of social security contributions or taxes in accordance with the legal provisions of the country in which they are established, or within the United States of America, or those of the country where the contract is to be performed.
• The Consultant or persons having powers of representation, decision-making or control over them have been convicted for fraud, corruption, involvement in a criminal organization or money laundering by a final judgment.
• The Consultant makes use of child labor or forced labor and/or practice discrimination, and/or do not respect the right to freedom of association and the right to organize and engage in collective bargaining pursuant to the core conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO).

Principal Point of Contact

Rose Atkinson is the primary point of contact for this assignment. Please reach out to investment@cleancooking.org email address with any questions.

Submission details

Please submit any questions and/or proposal materials related to the Request for Proposals to investment@cleancooking.org with the subject line “Proposals for Outcome Seller Research.”

The deadline for submission is August 27, 2023 at 5 pm EST.