Invitation to Tender for Consultancy to conduct a Capacity Building Assessment of Testing Institutions for Clean Cooking Technologies in Uganda
TENDER REFERENCE NO: 83473049
Strengthening the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem for Clean Cooking-SEE Clean Cooking: Higher Tier Cooking Component (HTCC) Uganda
Background
The Strengthening the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem for the Clean Cooking Sector (SEE-Clean Cooking) programme is a five-year programme that was commissioned in 2020 to strengthen the supply side of the clean cooking sector by supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to improve their business operations and access to finance for upscaling and innovation. The Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) oversees the programme’s implementation on behalf of the European Commission, the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark. The programme consists of two main components, namely; the African Biodigester Component (ABC) and the Higher Tier Cooking Component (HTCC) which are implemented across seven different countries including (Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso) in Africa, and (Cambodia and Bangladesh) in Asia. In Uganda, the ABC project is implemented by a consortium of SNV Uganda, GIZ Uganda, and Biogas Solutions Uganda Limited (BSUL), while the HTCC project is implemented by GIZ Uganda and CLASP. The two projects work closely in cooperation with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development (MEMD), alongside key global Thematic Implementers (TI’s) Energia, and Energy Enterprise Coach (EEC).
HTCC is working to support the enabling environment for the higher-tier cooking market. Therefore, it is assisting supporting MEMD and Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) in conducting an inventory of the available capacity – technical, operational, human resource- of testing and knowledge centers. This includes performing a gap analysis of their ability to implement quality, sustainable management systems and apply testing protocols in line with national standards on clean cooking. The assignment will also involve an assessment of the management and technical capacity of the human resources, as well as the adequacy of the testing equipment to provide comparable test results based on internationally recognized standards and protocols.
Objectives
The main objective of this assignment is to conduct a capacity needs assessment of MEMD’s proposed knowledge and testing centers, evaluating their ability to conduct testing, research, and development in clean cooking, and identifying areas for improvement. This scope is limited to higher-tier cooking technologies, with a specification for electric pressure cookers, induction stoves, and rice cookers for e-cooking technologies and advanced biomass stoves. The specific objectives of this capacity needs assessment are:
• Identify the available testing laboratories and their capabilities (both personnel, test methods acceptable to UNBS or IEC & ISO and equipment.
• Assess the testing capacity development process and determine where the laboratories stand in terms of recognition from the National Standards Body and accreditation bodies.
• Assess the quality and laboratory management systems of the testing institutions in line with UNBS requirements and ISO 9001 and ISO 27000 respectively.
• Provide benchmarking technical support to local testing institutions and build their knowledge, competence, and expertise for testing higher-tier cooking technologies to run a sustainable business model and offer quality service to the private sector.
• Provide detailed recommendations to MEMD, UNBS, and the National Renewable Energy Platform (NREP), on how NREP’s platform can facilitate knowledge sharing between the selected labs with MEMD and UNBS.
• Identify the gap in capacity in human capital and equipment, with pricing for both software, hardware and propose indicative staff/human resource costs fill the capacity gaps identified.
To Apply
Interested applicants can obtain relevant information about this call for applications through this link.
Application deadline
All applications must be submitted electronically by 10th October 2024 at 4:00 PM (EAT)/ (2:00PM CET). Ensure that you include the tender reference number “83473049” and the title: SEE Clean Cooking: Higher Tier Cooking Component (HTCC) Uganda Capacity Building Assessment of Testing Institutions for Clean Cooking Technologies in Uganda in the subject line of your email.
