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Request for Proposal:
Balkan Environmental Defenders Support
Table of Contents
Bid Timetable [2]
1.0 General Bid Information [2]
2.0 Proposal Requirements [5]
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3.0 Criteria for Selection [5]
4.0 Specifications and Work Statement [6]
Appendix A: Bidder Response Sheet [7]
Appendix B: Evaluative Questionnaire [8]
Appendix C: Price Submittal [9]
Bid Timetable
The ABA will make every effort to adhere to the following schedule:
Activity
Responsibility
Date
RFP submitted for posting on the ABA website and distributed via e-mail to selected bidders.
ABA
December 23 2020
Deadline for unsolicited bidders who located this RFP on the ABA website to submit clarifying questions to Lian Najjar
Lian.najjar@americanbar.org
Unsolicited Bidders
Jan 8 2020
Deadline to submit clarifying questions via e-mail to Lian Najjar
Lian.najjar@americanbar.org
Bidders
Jan 13 2020
Deadline to answer clarifying questions.
ABA
Jan 15 2020
Proposals must be submitted electronically to lian Najjar
Lian.najjar@americanbar.org
Bidders
Jan 18 2020
Review is completed and finalists are notified.
ABA
Jan 21 2020
1.0 General Information
1.1 Purpose. The Justice Defenders Program of the American Bar Association Center for Human Rights (CHR), under the ABA’s Fund for Justice and Education, provides assistance to human rights defenders that face retaliation for their work. ABA CHR seeks to provide mentoring and coordinate technical assistance to lawyers defending environmental defenders and associations in the Balkan region.
This request for proposal (RFP) is to establish a preferred provider for a SPECIFY TYPE AND $AMOUNT contract. The goal is to provide to those companies interested in submitting proposals (“Bidders”) sufficient information to answer the RFP questions.
1.2 Issuing Department. The Center for Human Rights has issued this RFP on behalf of the American Bar Association. The sole point of contact in the ABA for this RFP shall be:
Lian Najjar
1050 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington DC, 20036.
Lian.najjar@americanbar.org
Please refer all inquiries to Lian Najjar.
1.3 Problem Statement or Type of Goods Required.
The ABA Center for Human Rights is seeking proposals from organizations to provide mentoring and coordinate technical assistance to lawyers defending environmental defenders and associations in the Balkan region. The ideal contractor will have significant experience litigating human rights, in particular the right to public participation in decision-making, access to justice, and the right to receive and impart information, among other related rights, in their local jurisdiction. They will have experience in both domestic civil and criminal law and relevant regional and international standards, including, but not limited to, the European Convention on Human Rights. They will have the technical capacity to convene virtual workshops and consultations, as needed, and to identify and work closely with vulnerable communities and lawyers at risk.
Contractor will identify lawyers defending environmental defenders, communities at risk of environmental degradation, and environmental associations in at least one Balkan country. It will conduct a preliminary needs assessment and mapping of the cases that will identify any common legal issues or intimidation tactics. It will conduct at least one, and up to four, litigation workshops in which it will provide and facilitate sharing of strategies to counter frivolous litigation and to increase resilience among legal practitioners and environmental defenders facing frivolous legal actions. Example topics include but are not limited to:
a. defense of defendants in proceedings that raise questions of binding regional and domestic human rights law in their respective jurisdiction;
b. freedom of information and the right to access information relevant domestic law;
c. identification of the most common procedural pitfalls and opportunities to achieve early dismissal of a frivolous case; and
d. strategies for resilience and to mitigate the risk of retaliation and/or future frivolous cases against environmental defenders and their legal counsel.
In addition, Contractor may be asked to produce short reports on key findings from the workshops and additional materials based upon discussion and agreement with the ABA, including, but not limited to example motions and legal pleadings.
1.4 Type of Contract. The contract needs to comply with the ABA Contract Policy and will be reviewed by the ABA’s General Counsel’s Office. ABA entities do not have separate legal standing to enter into oral or written contracts in their own names. All contracts are entered into on behalf of the American Bar Association. ABA CHR, in its sole discretion, may undertake negotiations with Bidders whose proposal, in its’ judgment, show them to be qualified, responsible and capable of performing the project or providing the goods. ABA CHR has the right to select the number of final bidders and the right to use one or more companies to meet its requirements. Only staff authorized by the ABA Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer has authority to execute contractual agreements on behalf of the ABA. **
1.5 Rejection of Proposals. The American Bar Association reserves the right, in their sole and complete discretion, to reject any proposal received because of this RFP. ABA reserves the right to reject all offers, to waive technicalities, and to pursue procurement in a manner that is in the best interests of the organization.
1.6 Incurring Costs. The ABA is not liable for any costs the Bidder incurs in preparation and submission of its proposal, in participating in the RFP process or in anticipation of the award of the contract.
1.7 Pre-proposal Conference. There will be no pre-proposal conference.
1.8 Questions & Answers. If a Bidder has any questions regarding this RFP, the Bidder must submit the questions by email to the issuing employee named in Section 1.2 of the RFP. Questions should be submitted no later than the date indicated on the Bid Timetable. The Bidder shall not attempt to contact the issuing employee by any other means.
1.9 Response Date. To be considered for selection, electronic submissions must arrive to the issuing employee on the date specified in the RFP Bid Timetable. Bidders who send proposals by mail or other delivery service should allow sufficient delivery time to ensure timely receipt of their proposals.
1.10 Proposals. To be considered, Bidders should submit a complete electronic response to this RFP, using the format provided in Section 2.0. In addition to any paper copies of the proposal, Bidders must submit one complete and exact electronic copy of the proposal via e-mail. The Bidder shall make no other distribution of its proposal to any other Bidder or ABA employee or ABA consultant. An official authorized to bind the Bidder to its provisions must sign the proposal in Appendix A. For this RFP, the proposal must remain valid for 120 days taking into consideration time required for evaluation of proposals and processing of the contract or until a contract is fully executed. If the Issuing employee selects the Bidder’s proposal for award, the contents of the selected Bidder’s proposal will become, except to the extent the contents are changed through Best and Final Offers or negotiations, contractual obligations.
1.11 Minority, Women and Disadvantaged Business Information: The ABA encourages participation by minority, women, and small disadvantaged and disabled veteran businesses as prime contractors, joint ventures, and subcontractors/suppliers. MWBE Businesses are businesses that are owned or controlled by a Minority and Women owned business that have a 51% ownership. The Bidder must provide documentation from a certifying agency, state and federal certification that they are a certified minority or women owned business.
1.12 Discussions for Clarification. Bidders may be required to make an oral or written clarification of their proposals to the issuing employee to ensure thorough mutual understanding and Bidder responsiveness to the solicitation requirements. The issuing employee will initiate requests for clarification.
1.13 Prime Contractor Responsibilities. The contract will require the selected Bidder to assume responsibility for all services offered in its proposal whether it produces them itself or by subcontract. The issuing employee will consider the selected Bidder to be the sole point of contact with regard to contractual matters.
1.14 Proposal Contents. Bidders should not label proposal submissions as confidential or proprietary. The issuing employee will hold all proposals in confidence and will not reveal or discuss any proposal with competitors for the contract, unless disclosure is required:**
a. Under the provisions of any State or United States statute or regulation; or
b. By rule or order of any court of competent jurisdiction.
All material submitted with the proposal becomes the property of the ABA and may be returned only at the issuing employee’s option. The issuing employee, in its sole discretion, may include any person other than competing Bidders on its proposal evaluation committee. The issuing employee has the right to use any or all ideas presented in any proposal regardless of whether the proposal becomes part of a contract.
1.15 Best and Final Offers. The issuing employee reserves the right to conduct discussions with Bidders for obtaining “best and final offers.” To obtain best and final offers from Bidders, the issuing department may do one or more of the following: enter into pre-selection negotiations, including schedule oral presentations and request revised proposals.
1.16 Term of Contract. The term of the contract will be 4-5 months. The final contract MAY contain language extending the agreement by one year with mutual agreement of the parties. The issuing employee will fix the effective date after the contract has been fully executed by the selected Bidder and by the ABA. The selected Bidder shall not start the performance of any work prior to the effective date of the executed contract and the ABA shall not be liable to pay the selected Bidder for any service or work performed or expenses incurred before the effective date of the contract.
The contract is not considered approved until the terms have been reviewed and approved by the Office of General Counsel. An “American Bar Association Office of General Counsel” approval seal will appear on the contract with the signature of the attorney approving the terms of the contract.
1.17 Use of Electronic Versions of this RFP. This RFP is being made available by electronic means. If a Bidder electronically accepts the RFP, the Bidder acknowledges and accepts full responsibility to insure that no changes are made to the RFP.
2.0 Proposal Requirements
Bidders must submit their proposals in the format outlined below in Appendixes A - C. To be considered, the proposal must respond to every requirement in this part of the RFP. Bidders should provide any extraneous information only as a separate attachment to their proposal.
2.1 Statement of the Problem or Goods Required. Briefly state your understanding of the problem presented, services required by this RFP and any unique capabilities that your company has to deliver these services
2.2 Proposed Solution and Approach. Describe your solution in detail for accomplishing the work as specified in Section 4.0 of this document.
2.3 Evaluative Questionnaire (See Appendix B). Bidders must fully answer all questions listed in Appendix B.
2.4 Price Submittal (See Appendix C).** Bidders must not include any assumptions in their price submittals. If the Bidder includes assumptions in its price submittal, the Issuing employee may reject the proposal. All direct pricing information must be submitted in C.
3.0 Criteria for Selection
3.1 Mandatory Responsiveness Requirements. To be eligible for selection, a proposal must:
a. Be received according to dates set in the Bid Timetable;
b. Be properly signed by a representative of the Bidder who is eligible to bind them in contract with the ABA;
c. Be in accordance with all instructions as set forth in Sections 1 and 2.
3.2 Technical Nonconforming Proposals. The Issuing employee reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to waive technical or immaterial nonconformities in a Bidder’s proposal.
3.3 Evaluative Questionnaire, See Appendix B.
The Evaluative questionnaire consists of five questions – bidders should complete all questions.
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3.4 Criteria for Selection. The following criteria will be used, in no particular order, in evaluating each proposal: **
a. Project cost
b. Project timeline
c. Capability of working with sensitive and confidential work project
d. Expertise, including prior experience working with environmental defenders in the Balkans
e. Stature in the region, including ability to identify local partners
4.0 Specifications and Work Statement
4.1 Objectives.
The ABA Center for Human Rights is seeking proposals from organizations to provide mentoring and coordinate technical assistance to lawyers defending environmental defenders and associations in the Balkan region. The ideal contractor will have significant experience litigating human rights, in particular the right to public participation in decision-making, access to justice, and the right to receive and impart information, among other related rights, in their local jurisdiction. They will have experience in both domestic civil and criminal law and relevant regional and international standards, including, but not limited to, the European Convention on Human Rights. They will have the technical capacity to convene virtual workshops and consultations, as needed, and to identify and work closely with vulnerable communities and lawyers at risk.
Contractor will identify lawyers defending environmental defenders, communities at risk of environmental degradation, and environmental associations in at least one Balkan country. It will conduct a preliminary needs assessment and mapping of the cases that will identify any common legal issues or intimidation tactics and then generate an agenda and conduct at least one, and up to four, litigation workshops in which it will provide and facilitate sharing of strategies to end frivolous litigation and to increase resilience among legal practitioners and environmental defenders facing frivolous legal actions. Example topics include but are not limited to:
a. defense of defendants in proceedings that raise questions of binding domestic and regional human rights law in their respective jurisdiction;
b. freedom of information and the right to access information under relevant domestic law;
c. identification of the most common procedural pitfalls and opportunities to achieve early dismissal of a frivolous case; and
d. strategies for resilience and to mitigate the risk of retaliation and/or future frivolous cases against environmental defenders and their legal counsel.
In addition, Contractor may be asked to produce short reports on key findings from the workshops and additional materials based upon discussion and agreement with the ABA, including, but not limited to, example motions and legal pleadings.
4.2 Nature and Scope of the Work needed by the ABA. The ABA requests bidders to describe their process for enter any processes.**
4.3 Requirements. As described in Section 3.4 Criteria for Selection, the Association is focused on the following characteristics of the successful Bidder:
· Project cost
· Project timeline
· Capability of working with sensitive and confidential work project
· Expertise, including prior experience working with environmental defenders in the Balkans
· Stature in the region, including ability to identify local partners
4.4 Reports and Project Control. The ABA seeks bidders with a demonstrated ability to maintain timelines and regular contact with the program staff at ABA CHR.
Thank you for your interest in working with the American Bar Association.
Appendix A – Bidder Response Sheet
Bidder Information:
Bidder Name
Bidder Mailing Address
Bidder Website
Bidder Contact Person
Contact Person’s Phone Number
Contact Person’s Email Address
Bidder Federal ID Number If DBA in the U.S.
Signature
Signature of an official authorized to bind the Bidder to the provisions contained in the Bidder’s proposal:
Printed Name
Title
Failure to complete, sign, and return this form with the bidder’s proposal may result in the rejection of the bidder’s proposal.
Appendix B – Evaluative Questionnaire
Statement of the Problem or Goods Required. Briefly state your understanding of the problem presented, services required by this RFP and any unique capabilities that your company has to deliver these services.
Proposed Solution and Approach. Describe your solution in detail for accomplishing the work as specified in Section 4.0 of this document.
Please respond to each question below. **
1. Please describe in detail your (your organization) prior experience working in and/or in the Balkans region working to support environmental defenders.
2. H**ow will you (your organization) identify lawyers defending environmental defenders, communities at risk of environmental degradation, and environmental associations in at least one Balkan country.**
3. How does your company handle confidential work product?
4. Please describe your process for receiving orders, proofing orders, processing orders, and invoicing orders.
5. Are you a certified Minority, Women or Disadvantaged Business?
Appendix C – Price Submittal
QUESTION REQUESTING COST DESCRIPTIONS.**
How to apply:
Proposals must be submitted electronically to lian Najjar at Lian.najjar@americanbar.org