1. Background and Justification
1.1. The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) was founded in 1959 and serves as the leading source of development financing for Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC). It provides loans, grants, guarantees, policy advice and technical assistance to the public and private sectors of its borrowing countries. Since the foundation, the infrastructure and energy sector has been considered vital for economic growth and development in the region. Infrastructure is essential to modern daily life, and the provision of basic services would be impossible without reliable roads, water, and electricity. The IDBG has a large portfolio of operations in the water and sanitation, energy and transportation sectors across the region. Its reputation as an effective partner in the delivery of both infrastructure projects and a source for technical capacity at the sector level allows the IDBG to have a permanent and trustworthy dialogue with the Guyanese authorities.
1.2. The IDB has worked both regionally and at a country level for many years on issues directly and indirectly related to the extractives sector, in recognition of the critical role of oil, gas and mining-related industries as drivers of economic and industrial development. More recently, Bank beneficiaries have requested that the institution engages more strategically and directly in support of investments in the sector, while continuing to emphasize, in parallel, the need for promoting broad-based economic development, transparency and accountability, benefit sharing, environmental sustainability, and community consultation, among other issues. These calls are part of a coalescing global movement, supported by civil society, investors and donors in favor of a broader good governance agenda in the sector: an agenda that draws from lessons-learned and knowledge exchanges and contributes to smarter and sustainable sector policies and practices.
1.3. The development of natural resources has played a significant role in the performance of many regional economies. Extractive industries – when they are adequately managed – contribute to long term socioeconomic development (Venables, 2016). In the absence of sufficient legal and institutional capacity, however, the activities in the oil, gas and mining sector can trigger major social, environmental and economic risks for all stakeholders, including government, industry and civil society (Balza and Espinasa 2015; Kemp, Worden and Owen 2017; Brereton and Parmenter 2006).
1.4. Oil, gas and mining in LAC account for approximately 4% of regional GDP and approximately 50% of total exports, but conditions for natural resource development remain imperfect: countries continue exploring opportunities to strengthen the sector’s socioeconomic contribution and to mitigate potential negative socioenvironmental impacts.
1.5. LAC is the world’s leading source of metals and its second most important source of oil. The development of LAC natural resources plays a significant role in the performance of the regional economies. Still, experts and decision-makers know surprisingly little about the precise channels through which extractive industries impact development outcomes (Manzano, 2014).
1.6. The Cooperative Republic of Guyana has never been an oil producer, but in recent years ExxonMobil successfully drilled several deep-water exploration wells. The seafloor beneath Guyana’s coastal waters contains one of the largest oil discoveries in recent years, and these discoveries place Guyana among the top 40 reserve holders in the world. This has profound implications for the country’s economic development. If handled well, it could boost the overall standard of living for the country. If handled badly, it could make the current situation worse.
1.8 Being new to the Oil and Gas (O&G) industry, Guyana is unprepared for the complexities and risks that lie ahead. This situation is understandable considering the novelty of the O&G industry in Guyana, and the consequent lack of experience. Therefore, much needs to be achieved rapidly to increase the chances of optimal outcomes for Guyana.
1.9 The Government recently formed the Department of Energy (DOE) within the Ministry of the Presidency to overlook the Government’s interest in the O&G industry. This newly formed department requires support as it improves its communication both internally and externally.
2. Objectives
The main objective of this consultancy is to apply a multi-disciplinary approach, with a multi-disciplinary team to design and implement public relations and public education strategies in order to highlight the benefits expected to accrue to Guyana from the oil and gas sector, including the proceeds. The strategy must be well-structured, considering, inter alia, Guyana’s education levels, gender and cultural diversity, and vulnerable groups, while meeting all communication and branding requirements.
3. Key Activities
3.1 Work closely with the DOE to determine their communication requirements and to provide strategic advice on communications.
3.2 Support the design and development of DOE’s communications strategy for internal and external communications and outreach.
3.3 Conceptualize, design, develop, and maintain communication products, printed materials, social media campaigns and other communication tools for the DOE to effectively communicate key messages to specific stakeholders.
3.4 Provide feedback to inform ongoing public relations activities and future programmes.
3.5 Maintaining a calendar of events in close coordination with the Department of Energy Team and support institutions, including those in the private sector, academia and civil society.
3.6 Produce bi-annual reports highlighting developments in the Sector, achievements and success stories. Also assist in the preparation of schedules, briefing materials, scene setters, briefings with the Department and partners.
3.7 Provide internal media and communications related training.
3.8 Design and conduct baseline surveys for project monitoring and evaluation purposes on user awareness levels and effectiveness of the campaigns/public relations activities as well as local and international press coverage.
3.9 Any other communications activities which may be required by the DOE, such as, coordinating with the Department of Information and the President’s Press Office, press events for the Sector, such as inaugurations, ribbon-cutting, and completion of specific and targeted accomplishments expected to bring greater benefit to Guyana and Guyanese. Following up with media to ensure coverage of public events.
4. Expected Deliverables
In close coordination with the DOE and IDBG team, the consultancy firm shall prepare the following structure of deliverables.
4.1 Work plan which must include a detailed overview of key milestones as outlined in section 3.
4.2 An initial report which would include an analysis of the communication needs of the DOE and a detailed communications strategy identifying target groups, messages and media and timeframe for implementation.
4.3 Bi-annual reports outlining executed activities.
4.4 A final report.
The DOE will provide existing documentation regarding the assignment and facilitate the exchange of information between the Consultant and various stakeholders. The Consultant will be responsible for obtaining all the necessary public information required to perform the tasks included in this TOR
5. Expected Experience and required qualifications
The Communications/Public Relations Firm should have:
• Qualified staff at bachelors or master’s degree level in the field of public relations, journalism or marketing, and who would have worked in Guyana previously.
• A minimum of ten years of professional experience in development communications, public relations, journalism, marketing or a related field.
• Capability and proven experience in crafting and implementing public relations strategies in oil and gas sector.
• Capability and proven experience crafting messages and products in various formats (press releases, websites, success stories, audio, video, blog entries, tweets, etc.) targeting a variety of audiences, similar to those found in Guyana.
• Ability and proven experience in multi-tasking, in taking initiative and working effectively under pressure.
• Familiarity with branding compliance requirements.
• Excellent written, oral and interpersonal skills.
• Familiarity with website development and social media platforms is preferred.
It is anticipated that for firms to fully participate, they will have to establish joint ventures in order to satisfy all the expected experience requirements. Communications Firms are encouraged to form joint venture with companies/individuals who can provide the complimentary oil and gas sector knowledge. Furthermore, the Communications/Public Relations Firm is expected to be available throughout the duration of the project to produce and make available the various deliverables as per an established 2-year communications/public relations strategy. The selected Firm will be required to submit a detailed proposal and full Curriculum Vitae of each person who will form part of the team that will be responsible for delivery of the approved Strategy.
6. Supervision and Reporting
6.1. This consultancy will be under the supervision of Natascha Nunes da Cuhna (nataschan@iadb.org), Lenin H. Balza (leninb@iadb.org) , and Carlos Sucre (csucre@iadb.org)
7. Schedule of Payments
7.1. Payment terms will be based on project milestones or deliverables. The Bank does not expect to make advance payments under The Bank wishes to receive the most competitive cost proposal for the services described herein. All product must be deliverable
Payment Schedule
Deliverable %
1. Work Plan 15%
2. Initial report 20%
3. Bi-annual report (#1) 15%
4. Bi-annual report (#2) 15%
5. Bi-annual report (#3) 15%
6. Bi-annual report (#4) 15%
7. Final Report 5%
TOTAL 100%
7.2. All deliverables shall be submitted to the IDBG.
7.3. Every report must be submitted to the Bank in an electronic file. The report should include cover, main document, and all annexes. Zip files will not be accepted as final reports, due to Records Management Section regulations.
The deadline for submission has been extended to Wednesday, February 27, 2019.
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