Request for Proposal: Organization of USAID Wildlife Asia’s Virtual Counter Wildlife Trafficking Partner Forum (closed)

USAID Wildlife Asia is seeking a sub-contractor to organize and facilitate USAID Wildlife Asia’s main close-out Counter Wildlife Trafficking Partner Forum virtual event in July 2021. Proposals are due by May 12, 2021 to hr@usaidwildlifeasia.org.

BACKGROUND

USAID Wildlife Asia seeks to significantly reduce wildlife crime in Southeast Asia and China by employing a comprehensive regional cooperation approach. Specifically, Wildlife Asia will (i) Reduce consumer demand for wildlife and wildlife products in target areas; (ii) Strengthen regional law enforcement capacity and coordination; (iii) Increase commitment to addressing counter wildlife trafficking (CWT); and, (iv) Support the USAID Regional Development Mission for Asia’s (RDMA’s) coordination of regional CWT stakeholders and efforts to strengthen the US Government (USG) interagency CWT initiatives.

USAID Wildlife Asia is based in Bangkok, Thailand and the geographic scope includes all ASEAN countries, with a focus on the Lower Mekong (Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia) and China. The species of primary interest are elephants (ivory), pangolins, rhinos (rhino horn), and Asian big cats. The project is in its fifth and final year of implementation.

POSITION SUMMARY

USAID Wildlife Asia is seeking a sub-contractor to organize and facilitate USAID Wildlife Asia’s main close-out Counter Wildlife Trafficking Partner Forum virtual event in July 2021. The main objectives of the event are to:

  1. Showcase and advance sustainability of USAID Wildlife Asia partnerships, legacy tools, achievements, and lesson learned.
  2. Support and advance partner country (Thailand and ASEAN) CWT leadership.
  3. Provide a forum for partners to present ongoing and forthcoming counter wildlife trafficking programs/funding, discuss CWT issues and advance coordinated action.
  4. Advance coordinated partner Support for Implementation of ASEAN Regional Plan of Action.
  5. Advance coordinated agenda to reduce wildlife trafficking and zoonosis through One Health and other strategies.

The event is currently planned to take place over three successive days with a two-to-three-hour session each day. The sub-contractor will be required to assist USAID Wildlife Asia in finding appropriate ways to make the virtual event and each of the sessions as engaging, interactive, and productive as possible through a range of approaches that encourage participants to share their perspectives and experiences, learn from each other, and create opportunities for connections that are rooted in real-life challenges and opportunities. In summary, USAID Wildlife Asia is looking for a sub-contractor with the ability to guide the creative process to ensure an optimal standard while remaining open to feedback, and to adapt to changing needs as the assignment evolves.

The sub-contractor will work in close collaboration and report to USAID Wildlife Asia’s Chief of Party, Deputy Chief of Party and Senior Technical Advisor, as well as coordinate and communicate with key members of USAID Wildlife Asia senior management and communications team as required. For administrative issues, the sub-contractor will report to Ms. Jiraporn Chotipanich, Operations and Procurement Manager, USAID Wildlife Asia.

TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Before the Event

  • Provide a branded portal to preregister for the event.
  • Collect basic information about the participants, including name, email addresses, gender, organization, organization type, and location.
  • Provide the ability for USAID Wildlife Asia to view advance registrants.
  • Provide the ability for USAID Wildlife Asia to contact/send reminders to those who are registered in advance.
  • Provide and support thought leadership in the development, design and refinement of the event design, the internal agenda script, participant agenda and each of the session briefs
  • Assist with the development of a pre and post event communications plan to expand impact such as identifying quotes for tweets; video clips for social media; event highlights video, etc.
  • Develop or provide materials needed for the interactive process designed for each of the sessions.
  • With USAID Wildlife Asia, prepare a short list of potential high profile and dynamic moderators for the event and help identify and engage the most suitable candidates.
  • Conduct pre-test session(s) with the USAID Wildlife Asia team to assess whether the platform meets the event needs.
  • Provide technical support to the session leads, speakers and/or facilitators by coaching them in advance of their session.
  • Facilitate and conduct regular event planning and coordination sessions with the UWA team, presenters and participating partners.
  • Where appropriate, record presenters remotely prior to the event and be prepared to play the recording if the presenter is unable to present live on the day of the conference.

During the Event

  • Provide technical support and equipment for all sessions starting from the Opening Session to the Closing Session for the event.
  • Provide a stable platform that can host over 200 participants online with no need for participants to download or install additional software via computer or mobile device.
  • Manage simultaneous translation or captioning software/services as needed.
  • Ensure that the platform allows participants to chat with each other, see PowerPoint presentations and video, play video within the platform, mute the audience, and run polls.
  • When appropriate, utilize technologies to capture participant viewpoints and opinions through interactive real-time polling and participant feedback, particularly for group activities.
  • Enable platform integration with social media as required.
  • Ensure that the platform displays presenter name during the presentation and that the chat box can be facilitated by USAID Wildlife Asia or a selected partner.
  • Serve as the Lead Facilitator/Moderator for all sessions starting from the Opening Session to the
  • Closing Session. This will include:
    • Introducing speakers/presenters/panelists;
    • Engage participants with interactive exercises and/or discussions;
    • Ensuring that the presentations/discussions are within the time allocated for each session;
    • Ensuring that discussions are focused and relevant
  • Manage any pre-recording of sessions recorded in advance of the Forum and then manually upload onto the platform during the event as needed.
  • Record the virtual event and provide a file of the recording for posting online.
  • Provide a chat transcript to USAID Wildlife Asia.
  • Assist USAID Wildlife Asia package the outputs of the event into various form usable for a variety of outward facing communications needs such as for the press, social media, campaigns, sharing with partners and for submission to USAID based on the plan developed with USAID Wildlife Asia team.

DELIVERABLES

  • Registration portal with registration list as well as final participant list.
  • Annotated agenda with details of how each session will be run.
  • Post-event communications plan to leverage and maximize event and outcomes (i.e. tweets, quotes, short video clips, etc.)
  • Organization of test runs with organizers, presenters and panelists.
  • Coaching of session leads/speakers as needed.
  • Production and execution of virtual event.
  • Digital copy of event session’s discussions and notes.
  • Event outputs packaged for outward facing communications needs such as for the press, social media, campaigns, sharing with partners and for submission to USAID.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

  • Demonstrated experience in producing online events and/or public-facing communication outputs.
  • Have the software and equipment needed to carry out the assignment.
  • Knowledgeable about current best practice and innovations to share and stream content considering the audio and visual limitations of Zoom.
  • Advanced understanding of Zoom and its functionalities, for example using polls, interpreter mode, chat box and Q&A.
  • Experience and understanding of event streaming to social media platforms.
  • Video editing capacity.
  • Capacity to work under pressure and to meet deadlines.
  • Knowledge and working experience with a broad range of development/conservation stakeholders in the region.
  • Experience supporting USAID programs helpful.
  • Fluent in English written and verbal communication skills.
  • Ability to adapt to changing need as the assignment evolves.
  • Ability to guide the creative process to ensure an optimal standard while remaining open to feedback.

PROCEDURE

USAID Wildlife Asia is requesting the sub-contractors to submit a proposal of maximum 3 pages (excluding CVs, sample work and references). The proposal must include:

  • A succinct, well-documented approach detailing your approach to organizing the event.
  • A rate in USD (ex VAT) with a break-down of Level of Effort (LoE) and rate for each team member.
  • A clear description of the project team, relevant experience of team member(s) and time allocation per team member.
  • CV of the team member(s) and 3 examples from prior work for assessment of capability.

DEADLINE TO APPLY: May 12, 2021

The proposal must be submitted to hr@usaidwildlifeasia.org with the subject line “CWT Partnership Forum Virtual Event Support and Production”. The assignment will be awarded to the consultants with the most economically advantageous proposal, this is determined based on the evaluation criteria of price and quality. Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.

Download the CWT Partner Forum Event Organizer RFP Clarifications here.