COMMON MARKET FOR EASTERN AND
SOUTHERN AFRICA
|
السوق المشتركة للشرق والجنوب الأفريقى |
|
MARCHE COMMUN |
REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST
(FIRM SELECTION)
NAME OF PROJECT: REGIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE FINANCE FACILITY
(RIFF) PROJECT
GRANT NO: D6780-3A
ASSIGNMENT TITLE: PROCUREMENT OF A PLANNING & BUDGETING SYSTEM
ISD No. REFERENCE No. ZM-COMESA -394071-CS-LCS
ISSUED ON : 21 MARCH 2024
The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) received a grant from the World Bank towards the implementation of the Regional Infrastructure Finance Facility project and intends to apply a portion of the proceeds of this grant to eligible payments under the contract for the procurement of a planning and budgeting system.
The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is a regional grouping of 21 African States which have agreed to promote regional integration through trade development and transport facilitation. COMESA's objectives include sustainable economic development through economic and social progress in all Member States through increased co-operation and integration in all fields of development particularly in Trade, Customs and Monetary Affairs, Transport, Communication and Information Technology, Industry and Agriculture, Energy, Environment and Natural Resources including Gender and Social Development. The Secretariat is based in Lusaka, Zambia.
COMESA Secretariat prepares and submits an annual work programme and budget for consideration and approval of the COMESA Council of Ministers. The annual budget incorporates the approved Member States contributions and grants for implementation of the annual work programme and is analyzed based on various cost centers. The work programme incorporates the activities, budget, expected results and timeline for a particular focus area. Each division and unit are required to prepare and submit a costed work programme in line with its mandate, following which the work programmes and budget proposals are consolidated.
The current Planning and Budgeting process at COMESA is manual. Ms-Excel templates are provided to programme and budget holders to capture planning and budgeting information, which are then submitted to Budget and Finance Division for rationalization and consolidation.
The COMESA wish to procure a digital Planning and Budgeting system to digitize the current manual preparation and consolidation of the work programme and budget by various Units and Divisions of the Secretariat
It is expected that a digital Planning and Budgeting system at COMESA Secretariat will resolve the following:
- Processes: Manual processes should be automated to achieve effectiveness and efficiency
- Accessibility: Staff should be able to access the planning and budgeting system anytime and from anywhere.
- Integration: The application should be able to fully integrate with current and future relevant application systems.
- Data Integrity and Security: Data Integrity and Security should be enhanced through proper access controls and other electronic means. The manual system does not adequately protect information assets.
- Scalability: All applications/systems at COMESA should be able to accommodate new features/modules to meet the changing organization needs
- Currency: the system shall support multi-currency budgeting and reporting. It should be able to provide consolidated reports in the base currency.
vii Reports: Current manual system does not address all stakeholders reporting needs.
The detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) for the assignment are attached to this request for Expressions of Interest (EOI).
The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa now invites eligible consultants (firms) to indicate their interest in providing these services. Interested consultants must provide information indicating that they are qualified to perform the services (brochures, description of similar assignments, core business and not less than 10 years in business, experience in similar conditions, relevant experience, technical and managerial capability of the firm, etc). Consultants may constitute joint ventures to enhance their chances of qualification. In the case of a joint venture, all the partners in the joint venture shall be jointly and severally liable for the entire contract, if selected.
The attention of interested Consultants is drawn to Section III, paragraphs, 3.14, 3.16, and 3.17 of the World Bank’s “Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers” November 2020 setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest.
SUBMISSION
Expressions of interest must be submitted in written to the following email address;
Tenders@comesa.int copy procurement@comesa.int
ASSIGNMENT TITLE:PROCUREMENT OF A PLANNING & BUDGETING SYSTEM
REFERENCE No. ZM-COMESA -394071-CS-LCS
ATT:THE HEAD OF PROCUREMENT,COMESA SECRETARIAT,BEN BELLA ROAD,LUSAKA, ZAMBIA
CLOSING DATE FOR SUBMISSION
The Closing date for receipt of Expression of Interest is 19th April 2024 at 10:00 hours Central Africa Time (CAT)
Further information can be obtained at the address below during office hours, 09 00 - 1700hours Central Africa Time (CAT) to the following address.
COMESA Secretariat,Ben Bella Road Lusaka, Zambia
Email address: Procurement comesa.int.
NB: Physical submission of EOIs shall not be accepted.
ATTACHMENT 1: TERMS OF REFERENCE
- Background
The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is a regional grouping of 21 African States which have agreed to promote regional integration through trade development and transport facilitation. COMESA's objectives include sustainable economic development through economic and social progress in all Member States through increased co-operation and integration in all fields of development particularly in Trade, Customs and Monetary Affairs, Transport, Communication and Information Technology, Industry and Agriculture, Energy, Environment and Natural Resources including Gender and Social Development. The Secretariat is based in Lusaka, Zambia.
COMESA Secretariat prepares and submits an annual work programme and budget for consideration and approval of the COMESA Council of Ministers. The annual budget incorporates the approved Member States contributions and grants for implementation of the annual work programme and is analyzed based on various cost centres. The work programme incorporates the activities, budget, expected results and timeline for a particular focus area. Each division and unit are required to prepare and submit a costed work programme in line with its mandate, following which the work programmes and budget proposals are consolidated.
The current Planning and Budgeting process at COMESA is manual. Ms Excel templates are provided to programme and budget holders to capture planning and budgeting information, which are then submitted to Budget and Finance Division for rationalization and consolidation.
The COMESA wish to procure a digital Planning and Budgeting system to digitize the current manual preparation and consolidation of the work programme and budget by various Units and Divisions of the Secretariat
It is expected that a digital Planning and Budgeting system at COMESA Secretariat will resolve the following:
- Processes: Manual processes should be automated to achieve effectiveness and efficiency
- Accessibility: Staff should be able to access the planning and budgeting system anytime and from anywhere.
- Integration: The application should be able to fully integrate with current and future relevant application systems.
- Data Integrity and Security: Data Integrity and Security should be enhanced through proper access controls and other electronic means. The manual system does not adequately protect information assets.
- Scalability: All applications/systems at COMESA should be able to accommodate new features/modules to meet the changing organization needs
- Currency: the system shall support multi-currency budgeting and reporting. It should be able to provide consolidated reports in the base currency.
- Reports: Current manual system does not address all stakeholders reporting needs.
- Objectives of the System
The main objectives of the project are to:
- To implement an integrated planning and budgeting system to automate and optimize planning and budgeting processes.
- To improve data visibility, accuracy, and accessibility for all stakeholders.
- To enhance decision-making capabilities through the availability of real-time Planning and Budgeting analytics and reporting.
- To increase stakeholders’ satisfaction and engagement through self-service functionalities and improved communication channels.
- To ensure compliance with relevant organizational policies.
- To enhance efficiency and reduce back-office interventions thus increasing COMESA’s performance and reducing costs.
- To facilitate remote work ensuring system accessibility at anytime and anywhere. In addition, all relevant stakeholders should be able to access planning and budgeting information via a friendly self-service portal.
- To fortify security measures, ensuring the confidential protection and control of planning & budgeting data and information consistently
- Scope of Work
The scope of work of the project is as follows:
- Design, Development, and Implementation of a new Planning and Budgeting System: The vendor is expected to design, develop, and implement a comprehensive suite of tools for the management of Planning and Budgeting activities, including reporting functionalities.
- Integration: The application should be fully integrated with the Sun Accounting System version 6.4, Monitoring & Evaluation System, E-Procurement system, Human Resource Management System, Document Management System, workflow management system any future application systems developed by COMESA.
- Migration of Data: The vendor should provide an effective and efficient data migration approach of all existing data from the current manual system to the configured environment. The successful vendor will be expected to provide full support to the COMESA during the data migration phases, including the identification and resolution of data quality issues.
- Training & Knowledge Transfer: The vendor shall provide a detailed training and change management plan to ensure proper knowledge transfer to the business users as well as the IT Administrators. The vendor shall provide specific training programme for:
- Business users to continue operational responsibility for the delivered solution.
- IT staff to enable first line support to users and for the proper administration of the delivered solution.
- Business users and IT staff to create and eventually customize reports/dashboards using the proposed reporting tools.
- Business users and IT staff who perform basic administration tasks like creating users, assign roles to users and de-activate users.
- Business users to adopt operational changes that may arise due to the implementation of the new system for seamless uptake.
- Documentation: The successful vendor will be required to provide a comprehensive set of documentation regarding the application system including the solution blueprint, system manual, installation manual and user manual.
- Post implementation support: The Vendor should provide a minimum of three (3) months on-site post implementation support after successful Go-Live of the system.
- Warranty: The warranty period should be for a period of 12 months, effective immediately after the expiry of the on-site post implementation support period. The warranty shall cover all configurations and functions as stated in the scope of work for corrective maintenance.
- Support and Maintenance after warranty period: The vendor shall submit their support and maintenance costs related to support over the next two (2) years after the warranty period, based on an agreed Service Level Agreement (SLA) (8x5). The support shall cover among others: troubleshooting/bug fixing, patch management, fine-tuning and health checks. The vendor should also provide the response time to blocking/non-blocking issues as well as their rates on an hourly basis for any intervention that is not covered under SLA. COMESA reserves the right to proceed with award and renewal of the Maintenance agreement.
- Functional Requirements
An Integrated Planning & Budgeting Application software should provide the COMESA Secretariat with a single window platform and a repository for an up-to-date consolidated version of information concerning organisation performance. It will give all users an access to planning & budgeting information and enhance the budget performance reporting. It is expected to significantly improve the way of managing planning and budgeting, sharing of information to different stakeholders, automated budget performance reporting, and statistical data within a secured environment.
The proposed system architecture for an integrated Planning and Budgeting system is as below:
The software will comprise of the following modules:
- Informative Portal
The informative portal will be accessible to COMESA staff and other stakeholders and will be a single source of information for all COMESA internal policies, guidelines, procedures and processes with regard to planning, budgeting, procurement, monitoring and evaluation. Staff will be able to access information for current and past years. The informative portal should include Online Helpdesk/ Customer Support facilities like Chatbots (AI features) for Frequently Asked Question (FAQ).
- Core Planning and Budgeting Software
The core Planning and Budgeting software will cater for the following activities:
- Divisions and Units – Identify and plan activities that will be undertaken each year based on the Medium strategic plan, past performance, Council decisions and emerging economic trends.
- Strategic Planning – aligns Divisional and Unit work plans to the approved medium term strategic plan, Council decisions, emerging economic trends, Monitoring and Evaluation Indicators.
- Assistant Secretary General (Programme) – to validate the activities and programmes and to recommend for costing. During work programme implementation, approve quarterly and individual aide memoires.
- Budget and Finance – undertake costing and rationalization of the planned activities and programmes on the basis of actual pricing standard costing rates and budget ceiling as provided by council and/or guided by organization. During budget implementation, recommend for approval of budgets at activity level and also recommend for approval quarterly and individual aide memoires for Units and Divisions.
- Assistant Secretary General (Admin & Finance) - to review and recommends approval of the budget. During budget implementation, approve budgets at activity level quarterly and individual aide memoires for Units and Divisions under supervision.
- Secretary General – reviews and approves the organization wide work programme and budget for submission to Council upon the recommendations of the Assistant Secretary General (Admin & Finance). During work programme implementation, approve quarterly and individual aide memoires for Units and Divisions under supervision.
- Council – Approves the organization wide work programme and budget after the review and recommendation of the Audit and Budget Committee, Administrative and Budgetary Committee and the Inter-Governmental Committee.
The system should internal stakeholders namely authorized users from Divisions/Units and executive management to undertake the above outlined tasks in a consistent and standardized manner while accommodating the following limitations:
- Member States annual contributions: year-on-year increase is capped at 5%; and
- Cooperating Partner contributions are set within the agreements with COMESA.
During budget implementation the system should allow budget reallocation, reassignment based on the organisation requirements and also allow budget rollover for extra budgetary resources and budget savings for member states. Provision should be given for budgeting and reporting on in kind contribution.
The system should include a module that will capture staff budget for consolidation in the overall budget.
- Workflow
The automated workflow will allow COMESA users to have a single view of planning and budgeting. Assignment of tasks will be automated to streamline processes. The system will also automatically generate mails to convey the assigner and assignee of the assignment operation.
- Integration
- Integration with sun accounting system
The financial management of the Secretariat is undertaken through the sun accounting system version 6.4. The planning and budgeting system should therefore integrate with the accounting system for mining of expenditures for reporting of budget performance and controlling budget spent as per the approved budget items.
- Integration with the Monitoring and Evaluation System
The Planning and Budgeting System should be integrated with the Monitoring and Evaluation System which will assist in the implementation of the annual work programme.
- Integration with the Document Management System
The system will be integrated with the Document Management System for the tracking and approvals of documents related to planning and budgeting.
- Integration with E-Signature
The system will be integrated E-Signature for the signature of documents related to planning and budgeting.
-
- Integration of Procurement
The system shall automatically generate the annual procurement plan and update the E- Procurement system.
-
- Integration with HR System
The system shall be integrated with the HR system to provide up-to-date employee management information.
- Reports and Business Intelligence
The planning and budgeting system should be integrated with a flexible management reporting tool with data extraction in various formats such as MS Word, PDF or MS Excel and includes drilling capabilities. It should include interactive dashboards and highly formatted reporting. Users should be able to design their own reports and generate them in a wide range of formats including listing, charts, and pivot tables. Users should be able to access data at different levels of granularity in a single report itself.
The objective of the Business Intelligence module is to facilitate decision-making by the Head of the Division and Executive Management.
- Non-functional Requirements
The non-functional requirements for the Planning and Budgeting system are as follows:
- User interface
The user interface is key to application usability. The System should include content presentation, application navigation, and user assistance.
- Role-based User Groups
The system must provide users with screens focusing on their roles (minimizing clutter).
- Dynamic content presentation
Users should be provided with in data presentation. The system should allow users to select appropriate settings and property values on display options that fits their preferences, e.g., choice of whether data appears in a grid, a chart, or a grid/chart combination.
- User assistance
The system should provide online help that includes comprehensive instructions on using each feature. The users should be provided with default mechanisms for accessing help pages e.g., by clicking the question mark icon across all the screens or a distinct menu Help > Help... menu option in the menu bar. A link to a comprehensive help resource should be provided in various formats e.g., Wiki, PDF etc.
- User navigation
The system should provide a simple traceable navigation of the entire system with options clearly showing the users where they are and how they can navigate away from the current screens and consequences of doing so.
- Saving users’ work
The system should provide users performing data manipulation tasks to save their work at a certain point or make a particular view of the data available to other users.
- Branding guide
The system interface design will adhere to the COMESA branding guide which shall be provided.
- Hardware Requirements
The supplier shall provide the hardware appropriate for the proper running of the application.
- Hardware interface requirements
All server-side components must execute on server-class computers. All client-side components must execute on workstation-class and personal-class computers.
- Communication interface requirements
- Web browser: The system must provide an option to be accessed via the internet using the latest browsers e.g., Chrome, Edge, Mozilla, Safari with backward compatibility support to 2 versions of the browsers.
Note: in a scenario where the system uses third party plugins to run, this must be stated in advance for information security tests and clearance.
- Communication standards and Network server communications protocols: All communications between the server components and user interactions must be encrypted to safeguard user and data privacy. Only secure protocols shall be permitted e.g., HTTPS, FTPS with appropriate authentication and authorization mechanisms.
- Electronic forms: the system must provide interfaces using electronic forms either on the browser or client application. The forms must be secured.
- Data transfer rates: The system must provide appropriate data transfer rates that shall be agreed upon meeting performance requirements.
- E-mail: the system must provide communication mechanisms with various stakeholders or user groups within the system. This can be achieved via forms that create support tickets or defined emails on the COMESA (comesa.int) domain.
- Communication security or encryption
End to end encryption must be provided in all the interactions in the system e.g., chat facilities, web browsers, mobile apps etc.
- Performance
The system should be responsive and perform efficiently, even with many users and data. It should have acceptable response times for tasks such as employee data retrieval, report generation, and system updates. System performance is the most important quality in non-functional requirements and affects almost all the other preceding ones. A stress test is to be performed by the vendor once the system is commissioned.
- Availability
The system should be designed to minimize downtime through robust error handling, fault tolerance, and backup and recovery mechanisms. It should also have appropriate monitoring and alerting capabilities to identify and address potential issues proactively.
- Recoverability
The system should be designed to recover quickly from a crash or a failure in the system and return to full operation.
- Security
The system shall provide security measures based on best practices and international standards. Some security features may include encryption of data on database and web services, implementation using HTTPS, only authorized users are able to access the system via an authentication mechanism and Role based access.
- Interoperability
All system components must follow a common and standard set of exchange formats to exchange data.
- Scalability
The design should be scalable to provide for future business needs.
- Seamless Integration
The system should also be able to integrate with other systems such as Sun Financial system, M& E system, document management systems, workflow and Business Intelligence. It should provide standardized interfaces (APIs) or support industry-standard integration protocols to facilitate data exchange and interoperability.
- Compliance
The system should adhere to relevant legal and regulatory requirements, such as data protection and privacy regulations (e.g., GDPR) and employment law. It should support features and controls to ensure compliance, such as data retention policies, audit trails, and consent management.
- Mobile Compatibility
The system should be accessible and functional on mobile devices, allowing users to perform essential tasks on smartphones or tablets. The user interface should be responsive and optimized for mobile screens, enabling employees and managers to access information on the go.
- Technology
The system shall be developed/customize on the latest version of technology stack. The supplier shall provide the system architecture and development platform of the proposed solution.
- Project Team
A project committee will be setup to provide governance, oversight, and strategic guidance for the project. The committee serves as a central decision-making body, ensuring that the project aligns with the overall goals and objectives of the organization. The project committee will comprise of the following members:
- Director - Budget and Finance
- Director – Human Resource and Administration
- Director - Information Communications Technology (ICT)
- Project Manager
- Finance Officer
- Head of M&E
- Head of Strategic Planning
- Organisational Development Expert
- Functional Leads (Planning and Budgeting)
- Planning and Budgeting Implementation Consultants
- End-users representatives from various departments
- Timeline
The Planning & Budgeting system implementation project is anticipated to span for 18 months after the vendor selection and contract negotiation, which will cover a period of 3 months. The actual Project implementation timelines are as follows:
|
SN |
Activity |
Timeline |
|
1 |
Planning and requirements gathering |
01/06/2024 to 15/07/2024 |
|
2 |
System customization and configuration |
16/07/2024 to 31/10/2024 |
|
3 |
Data migration and testing |
01/11/2024 to 13/12/2024 |
|
4 |
Training and user acceptance testing |
01/03/2025 to 31/05/2025 |
|
5 |
Rollout and post-implementation support |
01/06/2025 to 20/09/2025 |
- Implementation Plan
The vendor shall provide a project Grant chart detailing the project schedule, phase, task and subtask duration, proposed phasing for roll-out of proposed system and highlight key milestone dates that illustrates the duration of tasks listed in the scope of work and identifies results and deliverable milestone. The proposed Grant chart should be based upon the proposed project approach and timeline.
- Project Approach, Methodology and Governance
The vendor is expected to describe how the firm intends to manage all aspects of the work to be performed, including schedules for completion of tasks/subtasks, procedures for scheduling and cost control.
9.1 Testing and UAT
The vendor should commit to submit Unit Test Plans, System Test Plans, Integration Test Plans, Load and Stress Test Plan. The Test Results should be submitted to COMESA as evidence of full-fledged testing carried out prior to UAT.
The vendor should submit UAT test scripts to ensure that the UAT scenarios cater for all the requirements expressed by the users. A comprehensive user manual should be made available before the training.
The UAT exercise should consist of different rounds of testing as follows:
- Round 1 should consist of executing all the test scenarios business flow wise and identifying list of issues if any by the users;
- Vendor should commit to ensure that issues identified in Round 1 are fully addressed to the satisfaction of the users prior to starting the next round (Round 2);
- Vendor should also commit to producing evidence that that non-regression testing has been performed prior to starting next round and
- Subsequent rounds are conducted until no further issues are identified.
9.2 Quality Assurance Plan
The vendor shall provide a proper Quality Assurance plan to ensure the success of the project. The vendor should ensure that all work products are evaluated, and that evidence is provided to the fact that:
- It conforms to specified requirements.
- It has been produced according to the project standards and processes.
- Change Management
Change management strategies will be employed to ensure smooth transition and adoption of the new Planning & Budgeting system. As the implementation and adoption of business process changes will be vital to the success of the project, the consultant should be able to explain and communicate business process changes and their associated requirements to individuals throughout the COMESA including to executive managers, division heads, subject matter experts, and end-users. The consultant shall provide guidance and mentor the project core team to successfully implement the overall business transformation and system changes for the COMESA. The change management plan will include amongst others:
- Communication plan (regular updates, town hall meetings, FAQ);
- Change impact assessment and Resistance management;
- Training and Development plan for staffs affected by the change;
- Feedback mechanisms, and
- Contingency plan.
- Project Deliverables
The following mandatory deliverables should be provided:
|
SN |
Deliverable |
Details |
|
1. |
Project Management Plan and Project Documents |
The project management plan shall cover the following aspects:
The vendor shall update the project plan at the end of each project phases. Furthermore, the vendor is expected to provide regular weekly progress reports or as specified by COMESA project steering committee. |
|
2. |
Solution Blueprint |
The solution blueprint shall cover all the functional, technical, migration and security requirements as well as the system architecture of the proposed solution. |
|
3. |
Training |
Training for business users as well as Administration training for IT department and IT Auditor. A comprehensive user manuals and Administrator manual for each module configured shall be delivered. |
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4. |
User Acceptance Test Document |
Vendor should submit the UAT test scripts and ensure that all the UAT scenarios are catered for the requirements expressed by the users. The UAT exercise should consist of different rounds of testing. The vendor should ensure that a full-fledged testing has been carried out prior to UAT. |
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5. |
A fully operational and bug free efficient system as per requirement |
The vendor shall provide a fully operational and bug free system prior to Go-Live. The following will have to be addressed to the satisfaction of the users prior to Go-Live of the system:
|
|
6. |
Commissioning report |
The commissioning report shall include among others:
The sign-off shall be done at the end of the operational acceptance. |
|
6. |
Warranty Plan |
The vendor shall provide all the terms and condition of the warranty. |
|
7. |
Support Agreement |
The vendor shall provide all the terms and condition of the support. Furthermore, the vendor should provide a monthly progress report on maintenance & support activities and a periodic SLA performance report. |
- Training, Knowledge transfer and Support
Comprehensive training will be provided to end-users and administrators to ensure proper knowledge transfer and proficiency in using the Planning & Budgeting system. The training programme shall be designed for:
- Business users to continue operational responsibility for the delivered solution.
- IT staff to enable first line support to users and for the proper administration of the delivered solution.
- Business users and IT staff create and eventually customize reports/dashboards using the proposed reporting tools.
- Business users and IT staff perform basic administration tasks like create users, assign roles to users and de-activate users.
- Business users adopt to operational changes that may arise due to the implementation of the new system for seamless uptake.
A minimum of three (3) months on-site post implementation support will be provided. Additionally, the selected consultant shall provide ongoing support will be available through:
- Helpdesk support,
- Online resources (knowledge base, FAQs), and
- Periodic refresher training sessions
- Evaluation and Monitoring
The success of the Planning & Budgeting implementation project will be evaluated based on predefined success criteria, including:
- Achievement of project milestones and deliverables within the established timeline and budget,
- User satisfaction with the system functionality and usability,
- Improvement in Planning and Budgeting process efficiency and accuracy,
- Seamless integration with other systems (Sun Finance System, E-Procurement, M&E system, HRMS, Document Management System), and
- Reduction in manual tasks and administrative overhead.
The project committee through regular project status meetings and reports will monitor progress.
- Other Requirements
- The vendor is required to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA).
- The system should support multilingual.
- The Planning & Budgeting system shall be developed using the latest and most up-to-date technologies and frameworks.
- The security features of the system shall meet industry standards and best practices.
- Payment Terms
The structure of payment shall be as follows:
- Implementation Services
|
S.N |
Deliverable |
Payment |
|
1 |
Inception Report with agreed project implementation plan |
10% |
|
2 |
Detailed Software Requirements Specifications |
30% |
|
3 |
Solution Prototype based on the Solution Blueprint |
20% |
|
4 |
Go-live |
20% |
|
5 |
Retention Money- 12 months after Go-Live |
20% |
- Support Services
|
S.N |
Deliverable |
Payment |
|
1 |
12 Months post go-live Warranty |
0% |
|
2 |
Annual Maintenance Contract |
Annually |
- Company Profile and Profile of Consultants
A company profile of the Vendor as well as a list of staff that would be involved in the project and their respective qualifications and experience should be provided.
The Consultant shall determine the number and nature of experts they will require to achieve the objectives of the assignment, in accordance with their proposed approach and methodology. Nonetheless, the Consultant’s team shall be composed of at least four (4) experts with extensive demonstrable experience/knowledge as follows:
- Project Manager
|
Education |
Requisite Experience |
|
Bsc in Computer Science or related discipline
Master’s degree in Computer Science, business administration, project management or related discipline, or 5 years relevant professional experience in project management.
Professional certification in project/programme management. (Desirable) |
A minimum of 5 years’ experience in managing IT projects preferably with a focus on Planning & Budgeting system implementations, specifically within the African region.
Professional certifications in Finance or Change Management are desirable. Strong communication, leadership, and problem-solving skills are essential for effective project execution. |
- Solution Architect
|
Education |
Requisite Experience |
|
Bsc in Computer Science or related discipline
|
A minimum of 5 years of experience in solution architecture, with a focus on Finance/ Planning & Budgeting system implementations.
Relevant certifications in solution architecture, enterprise architecture, or Finance/ Planning & Budgeting technologies (e.g., TOGAF, AWS Certified Solutions Architect, Finance/ Planning & Budging platform-specific certifications) is desirable.
Strong communication, leadership, and problem-solving skills are essential for effective project execution. |
- Functional Expert
|
Education |
Requisite Experience |
|
Bsc in Computer Science or related discipline
|
A minimum of 5 years of hands-on experience working with Finance/ Planning & Budgeting system functionalities and implementation.
Proficiency in Finance / Planning & Budgeting system platforms and related technologies, with specific expertise in implementation, customization, and maintenance.
In-depth knowledge of Finance /Planning & Budgeting system platforms.
Proficiency in mapping Finance/Planning & Budgeting processes and aligning them with IT system capabilities to optimize workflows.
Proven ability to gather and document detailed requirements from Finance/ Planning & Budgeting system and other stakeholders for Finance/ Planning & Budgeting system configurations and customizations.
Hands-on experience in configuring and customizing Finance/ Planning & Budgeting systems to meet organizational needs.
Experience in conducting comprehensive testing of Finance/ Planning & Budgeting solutions to ensure functionality, accuracy, and compliance. |
- Technical Expert
|
Education |
Requisite Experience |
|
Bsc in Computer Science or related discipline
|
A minimum of 5 years of hands-on experience working with Finance/ Planning & Budgeting technologies.
Proficiency in Finance/ Planning & Budgeting platforms and related technologies, with specific expertise in implementation, customization, and maintenance.
Hands-on experience with Finance/ Planning & Budgeting.
Strong programming skills in languages relevant to Finance/ Planning & Budgeting system customization (e.g., Java, Python, SQL).
Proficiency in scripting languages for automation and integration purposes.
Expertise in database management systems, particularly those used in Finance/ Planning & Budgeting system (e.g., MySQL, Oracle, SQL Server)
|
A Project Team Composition Template clearly indicating the manpower input months should be provided as per format in Annex 3.
In this respect, Vendors are required to submit information on reference sites and staff profiles as per format at Annex 4.
COMESA shall be notified in writing of any change or replacement of staff being assigned on the project as per their response of the bidding document. Respective qualifications and experience of any new staff joining the implementation team should be provided. COMESA reserves the right to approve any such change.
- Customer References
To be eligible for this exercise, vendors should have at least three (3) reference sites where they have successfully implemented a similar project.
Annexes
Annex 1: Process Steps for Planning and Budgeting
|
Step |
Who |
Performs what |
Systems |
|
1 |
Director/Unit Head/ Officers |
|
M&E – Plan of activities from MTSP for current year |
|
2 |
Strategic Planning |
|
Planning |
|
3 |
Assistant Secretary General (Programme) |
|
Planning |
|
4 |
Finance Director |
|
Planning |
|
5 |
Assigned Finance Expert |
|
Budgeting |
|
6 |
Finance Officer/ Grant Accountant |
|
Budgeting |
|
7 |
Director of Finance |
|
Budgeting |
|
8 |
Assistant Secretary General (Admin & Finance) |
|
Budgeting |
|
9 |
Secretary General |
|
Budgeting |
|
10 |
M&E |
|
M&E |
|
11 |
Procurement |
|
E-Procurement |
Annex 2: Proposed Process Flow Diagram
Annex 3: Project Team Composition Template
|
SN |
Name of Expert |
Designation |
Manpower Input in Months |
||
|
Remote |
On-Site |
Total |
|||
|
1 |
Name |
Project Manager |
2 |
4 |
6 |
|
2 |
Jane Doe |
Solution Architect |
0 |
6 |
6 |
|
3 |
Expert III |
Designation III |
2 |
4 |
6 |
|
4 |
Expert IV |
Designation IV |
3 |
3 |
6 |
|
5 |
Expert V |
Designation V |
5 |
1 |
6 |
|
6 |
Expert VI |
Designation VI |
2 |
4 |
6 |
|
7 |
Expert VII |
Designation VII |
2 |
4 |
6 |
|
8 |
Expert VIII |
Designation VIII |
1 |
5 |
6 |
Annex 4: Individual Team Profiles
|
Curriculum Vitae: Expert 1 |
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|
Role in the Project |
Role X |
|||||
|
Name of Expert |
Expert 1 |
|||||
|
Date of Birth |
Dd/mm/yyyy |
|||||
|
Nationality |
XXXX |
|||||
|
Education |
||||||
|
No. |
Degree |
College |
Year |
|||
|
1 |
Bachelor of Science XXX |
College Name |
2002 |
|||
|
2 |
Master of Science XXX |
College Name |
2010 |
|||
|
Professional Certifications |
||||||
|
No. |
Certification |
Body and Number |
Status |
|||
|
1 |
Certified XXX |
Body X Certificate # |
Active |
|||
|
2 |
Certified XXX |
Body X Certificate # |
Expired |
|||
|
Expert Profile Summary
|
||||||
|
Work Experience |
||||||
|
No |
Employer |
From |
To |
Designation |
||
|
1 |
Employer X |
00/00/0000 |
00/00/0000 |
Designation x |
||
|
2 |
Employer X |
00/00/0000 |
00/00/0000 |
Designation x |
||
|
3 |
Employer X |
00/00/0000 |
00/00/0000 |
Designation x |
||
|
Project Experience Related to Current Assignment |
||||||
|
Project Client |
Client Name |
|||||
|
Project Summary
|
||||||
|
Responsibilities in the project
|
||||||
|
Technologies Used |
Technology 1, Technology 2, Technology N |
|||||
|
Sign |
Expert Signature |
Date |
00/00/00 |
|||