Request for Proposals – Stakeholder Mapping in Argentina

Deadline for Submission of Proposals: Thursday, December 12, 2024, 5:00 pm (Eastern Standard Time)

Revised proposal posted on November 18, 2024.

RFP # VPSHR220-1

The complete RFP and instructions for submitting are available here (English) and a Spanish version is available here (Spanish).

Questions related to this RFP will be accepted until Monday, November 25, 2024. Answers will be posted below.

The Voluntary Principles Initiative issued a Request for Proposals to develop a stakeholder mapping report in Argentina.

Purpose of Consultancy

The purpose of this consultancy is to:

Identify the appropriate national and local stakeholders from all levels of governments, companies, and civil society that have significant activities in the extractives and harvesting sectors in Argentina or are involved in addressing human rights issues related to business operations in the extractives and harvesting sectors in the country.
Research recent human rights incidents and systemic problems relating to the provision of private and public security.

Identify local civil society organizations with the organizational capacity, activities, and mandate to potentially serve as Secretariat of a new In-Country Working Group.
Identify potential partnerships with other multi-stakeholder initiatives operating in the country relating to business and human rights or the extractives and harvesting sectors, including the Extractives Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) in-country multi-stakeholder groups.

Eligibility Requirements

Bidders must meet the following eligibility requirement:

Any individual, civil society organization (CSO) or consultancy firm is eligible to bid, so long as the consulting team lead is a resident of Argentina, or a majority level of effort is provided by residents of Argentina (with residence in Argentina during the time of consultancy). 
High degree of fluency in English. 
Proven ability to draft documents and communicate in English, with a high degree of proficiency.

Proposals must be submitted by e-mail no later than December 12, 2024, 5:00 pm (Eastern Standard Time), to tenders@voluntaryprinciples.org.

Background

The Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights (VPSHR or simply Voluntary Principles) are an internationally recognized set of principles that guide companies on how to conduct their security operations while ensuring respect for human rights.

The Voluntary Principles were created in 2000 when companies, governments, and NGOs committed to work together to address security-related human rights abuses and violations in the extractive sector. Today, the Principles help companies in various industries.

To promote the implementation of the Principles, the Voluntary Principles Initiative (VPI) was created. The Initiative is comprised of over 75 members including companies, governments, and non-governmental organizations that share best practices and mutually support the implementation of the Principles. For additional information, please visit: http://www.voluntaryprinciples.org/.

Questions and Answers

1. (Original question posed in Spanish) En cuanto al término “industrias extractivas”, en particular sobre el concepto de “energía”. ¿Cuál es el alcance del sector de energía previsto? ¿Esto incluye principalmente Oil and Gas, o están considerando también incluir otras industrias como por ejemplo represas hidroeléctricas?

The term “extractives and harvesting sectors” in this document refers to, at a minimum, the energy, mining, and agriculture sectors in Argentina. The scope of the “energy sector” includes oil and gas and the renewable energy industry (such as biofuels, wind and solar farms, but not hydroelectric dams).

The research should at a minimum cover energy, mining and agriculture sectors, however if relevant, could also include other sectors, as per the recommendation of the consulting team, such as forestry and fisheries for example.
2. (Original question posed in Spanish) En relación al objetivo ” Investigar incidentes recientes de derechos humanos y problemas sistémicos relacionados con la provisión de seguridad privada y pública”. Por favor, precisar el alcance de la investigación esperada, ¿se trata sólo de una enumeración de situaciones o refiere a algún tipo de caracterización adicional?

“To review recent human rights incidents and systemic issues related to the provision of private and public security” refers to analyzing and seeking trends and patterns in the recent, recurring and relevant human rights incidents and issues related to the provision of private and public security. Examples of incidents could include excessive use of force by private and public security forces against unarmed civilians, police lethality, threats to human rights defenders, etc.
3. (Original question posed in Spanish) En relación al objetivo “Identificar las organizaciones locales de la sociedad civil con la capacidad organizativa, las actividades y el mandato necesarios para servir potencialmente como Secretaría de un nuevo ICWG.” Por favor, si los hubiere, precisar los criterios de selección requeridos. 

The objective is to identify local well-established NGOs or civil society organizations that have demonstrated capacity to potentially serve as a Secretariat for the In-Country Working Groups.

The role of the Secretariat of the In-Country Working Group will be essential to provide leadership in facilitating multistakeholder collaboration and coordination; as well as thought leadership in advancing the security and human rights problem-solving and policy work of the Working Group. The Secretariat is also responsible for facilitating the group’s activities, which include organizing meetings, documenting minutes, reaching out to new members, implementing awareness-raising initiatives, ensuring the In-Country Working Group develops a workplan and progress towards the group’s objectives.

Ideally, organizations acting as Secretariat will have leadership skills, organizational skills and expertise in one of the following: the VPSHR; or the extractive sector; or security and human rights; or business and human rights; or multistakeholder dialogues.
4. (Original question posed in Spanish) ¿Está previsto algún plazo máximo o estimado para la elaboración del informe?

The timeframe for completion of the stakeholder mapping may vary depending on factors such as the proposed methodology, expected availability of stakeholders (due to national holidays and other important social/cultural events), the number of stakeholders and sectors being mapped and their relevance to the local economy, and size of the country. Typically, previous mappings have taken approximately 90 days for completion, including submission of final reports.
5. (Original question posed in English) Can the methodology involve listening to the country’s main stakeholders so that they can indicate who else should be part of it?

At minimum, a desk review should be conducted to map the existing stakeholders. However, the methodology can include interviewing to main stakeholders for additional recommendations.
6. (Original question posed in English) Can the estimated timescale for implementation be 60 days?

Yes. Please see additional information on answer to question 4.