Request for Proposal (RFP) For: Mapping and Needs Analysis for Social and Solidarity Economy in Greece Date: Monday 9 January 2017 1 Overview of the British Council The British Council is the United Kingdom s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. Its purpose is to build engagement and trust for the UK through the exchange of knowledge and ideas between people worldwide. It seeks to achieve its aims by working in education, science, governance, English and the arts. The British Council was established in 1934 and incorporated by Royal Charter in 1940. It is registered as a charity in England and Wales (charity no. 209131) and Scotland (charity no. SCO37733). It is also an executive non-departmental public body, with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as its sponsoring department. Its primary charitable objects are set out in the Charter and are stated to be:- Promote cultural relationships and the understanding of different cultures between people and peoples of the United Kingdom and other countries; Promote a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom; Develop a wider knowledge of the English language; Encourage cultural, scientific, technological and other educational co-operation between the United Kingdom and other countries; Otherwise promote the advancement of education. The British Council works in more than 110 countries around the world and employs over 7000 staff worldwide. It has its headquarters in the UK, with offices in London, Manchester, Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh. Further information can be found at www.britishcouncil.org 1
2 Introduction and background The British Council has been awarded a grant contract to manage the EU-funded Technical Assistance for the development of Social and Solidarity Economy in Greece project. The overall objective of current TA project is as follows: The capacity of Greek stakeholders is strengthened in order to put in place the effective support structures needed to foster an enlarged and thriving Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) sector. The beneficiary is the Greek Ministry of Labour, Social Security and Social Solidarity (MOLSSSS). Social Economy in Greece Due to the long-lasting economic crisis, public spending and the welfare budget in Greece has been increasingly reduced, resulting in social degradation. In addition, the increasing public debt and the disintegration of the private business sector led to the expansion of high rates of unemployment. While structural and market changes (promoted through the Economic Adjustment Program of the Memorandum of Understanding for the Financial Assistance to Greece) 1 will help the economic recovery, Greece has a great opportunity to support economic and business activity as well as social cohesion through the development of social economy. Indeed, as the Council of the European Union stated Social enterprises may be regarded as vehicles for social and economic cohesion across Europe as they help build a pluralistic and resilient social market economy. Acting in the general interest, social economy enterprises create jobs, provide socially innovative services and goods, facilitate social inclusions and promote a more sustainable and locally anchored economy. 2 If Greece manages to develop the sector of social economy, it will succeed in alleviating the social and economic complications of the current crisis. Relative to the rest of Europe, where conducting dialogue on social innovation has been continuing for up to 30 years, the social economy sector in Greece is still emerging. In September 2011, a law for Social Economy and Social Entrepreneurship was passed by the Greek parliament. This was the first formal acknowledgment of social enterprise in the Greek economy, with three forms of social enterprise receiving legal status in Greece: women s agro-tourist cooperatives; cooperatives of limited liability for people with mental health problems; and social cooperative enterprises, the last of which was set up under the 2011 law. Following the introduction of the 2011 law, the Greek government has started to make efforts to promote the development of the social enterprise sector and public policy has focused on trying to create an eco-system for social enterprises to operate and thrive in. To date, only a small number of actions have been completed; although the law was intended to provide SEs with opportunities for formal registration, support and access to finance, it has since been scrutinised amid reports that it creates more issues than it solves. For example, the strict categorisation of what constitutes a social enterprise and the many formalities and obligations that the law imposes, including the requirement to have a minimum of 5 members, has created barriers to SEs registering and receiving support. In addition, the strict approach originally considered necessary because of the funding opportunities to be given to social entrepreneurs, has since been deemed redundant. Currently, social economy in Greece represents the 2% of the GDP while in other European countries it represents more than 10% of the national GDP. Indeed, almost 1000 enterprises are active in the National Register with the majority of them operating in Attika region. Recently a new law for Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) has been signed. 3 Conditions and contractual requirements The Contracting Authority is the British Council which includes any subsidiary companies and other organisations that control or are controlled by the British Council from time to time. The appointed provider should be based in Greece. During the contracting period some time at British Council s premises might be required. 1 http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/assistance_eu_ms/greek_loan_facility/index_en.htm 2 http://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/st-15071-2015-init/en/pdf, page 3 2
The contract awarded will be for approximately 45 days within a four-month period starting in January 2017. Based on project requirements, the contract may be extended for a further month. The appointed provider will only process personal data accessed in performance of the services in accordance with the British Council s instructions and will not use such data for any other purpose. The contracted provider will undertake to process any personal data on the British Council s behalf in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998 and ensure appropriate and legislative consent is acquired where necessary. The provider will comply with all applicable legislation and codes of practice, including, where applicable, all legislation and statutory guidance relevant to the safeguarding and protection of children and vulnerable adults and with the British Council s Child Protection Policy; in addition the provider will ensure that where it engages any other party to supply any of the services under this agreement that that party will also comply with the same requirements as if they were a party to this agreement. All relevant policies that providers are expected to adhere to can be found on the British Council website http://www.britishcouncil.org/about/policies. The list of policies includes (but it is not limited to): - Anti-Fraud and Corruption - Child Protection Policy - Equal Opportunities Policy - Fair Trading - Health and Safety Policy - Environmental Policy - Records Management - Privacy This document does not constitute an offer to provide goods and/or services to the British Council. All costs incurred in the preparation of the proposal are the provider s responsibility. The British Council reserves the right to request reference information. The British Council is not obliged to award a contract for these services and reserves the right to withdraw from the procurement process at any stage. 4 Scope of Work/Specification/Outputs The Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) mapping and needs analysis is part of the EU-funded project Technical Assistance for the development of Social and Solidarity Economy in Greece. Mapping and analysis will be based on a solid academic methodology that has been developed with the support of international experts. It will map the current size of the sector as well as the barriers and challenges faced by SSE organisations as they attempt to grow, including issues around regulation and legislation. It will focus specifically on the services that SSE need to grow and support structures that need to be in place. It will also investigate areas for possible development of social economy. The mapping will also explore how governments, the private sector and civil society could work together to establish a fertile environment for SSE. This will include an analysis of the legal and regulatory framework that SSEs can operate under and recommendations and a strategy for change. The mapping study will also offer an analysis in what sectors SSE activity can have the greatest impact i.e. where the existing market is failing to provide adequate goods and services. The provider is expected to i) collaborate with international experts on relevant international practice and ii) build, on existing studies, evaluation reports from relevant SSE programmes as well 3
as data from the Ministry of Labour, Social Security and Social Solidarity (MLSSSS), relevant EC publications etc. The goal is to amend current inaccuracies, complete missing data, and expand research into areas that have not been covered by existing studies. The provider should carry out a SSE Sector Needs Analysis, identify the opportunities, challenges and priorities at national and regional level and compile them into a series of recommendations that will be included in the Final Report on the Social and Solidarity Economy Mapping and Needs Analysis. Mapping will be completed through the use of desk-based research and reviews, data collections, online surveys and questionnaires, consultation and workshops with key stakeholders, focus groups and semi-structured interviews. Frequent updates and interim reports will be required during the implementation of the contract. Please note that the local provider will be supported and will work in close collaboration with international experts also commissioned by the British Council and the Project team in Athens. The graphic below shows the overall workflow. It is expected that work will be conducted broadly in this order, but that desk-based research will start prior to stakeholder engagement, and continue during outreach and data collection. Stakeholder engagement Desk based research Outreach and data collection Analysis and write-up The provider should aim at ensuring successful delivery of the project s outputs to client satisfaction and in line with British Council standards. Intellectual Property Rights Any pre-existing materials provided to the provider by the British Council and any reports, materials, and documents produced by the provider for the contract, the intellectual property rights will be owned by the British Council. 5 Instructions for Responding Detailed Response: Please submit proposal to Anastasia.Andritsou@britishcouncil.gr no later than 17:00 local time, Monday 16 January 2017. Essential Requirements: All proposals should include the following: Detailed analysis of recent experience (within the last five years) in the relevant field (mapping and needs analysis) Proven knowledge in the field of social economy In order to justify experience and knowledge, the provider should include relevant references, previous projects, publications, etc. CV (s) of involved personnel 4
Evaluation Criteria: All proposals will be evaluated against the following criteria: i) Knowledge and Experience ii) Methodology and Approach iii) Timing and Staffing iv) Cost In addition, the following key points must be considered when responding to this RFP: Providers can be freelancers or private institutes/organizations/companies or public bodies constituting a formal legal entity. Please ensure that you send your submission in good time to prevent issues with technology - late submissions may not be considered. Do not submit any additional documentation with your RFP response except where specifically requested. Supporting evidence (PDF, JPG, PPT, Word and Excel formats only - other formats should not be used) can be provided to substantiate your response please ensure that all attachments/supporting evidence is clearly labelled with the appropriate question number. Total size of submitted files should not be higher than 10 Mb. It is not acceptable to submit a generic policy in answer to a question. If you submit a generic policy you must indicate the page and paragraph reference to the appropriate content. Where supporting evidence is requested as 'or equivalent' - it is the Tenderers responsibility to prove the relevant equivalence. Completion and submission of your response does not guarantee award of any contract from the British Council. 5