This project is funded by the EU

TRIPLE P TOURISM PROJECT

Open Call for Consultancy Services

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR REGIONAL COMPETITION “FUTOURISMO”

TERMS OF REFERENCE: Support to RCC Triple P Tourism Project in the

development of the concept of regional competition in

tourism, provision of expert advice as well as support in

preparation of the event and its execution

Title: Technical assistance in concept development,

organisation and execution of Regional Competition

Futourismo

RCC Department: Programme Department

Project: Triple P Tourism in SEE: Promotion, Policy and

Pilots

Eligible: Consortium of experts/ consulting companies

Reporting to: RCC Secretariat

Duration: 21 December 2020 – 31 March 2021

Expected level of effort (LoE) is indicated in the text

below, along with respective deliverables

Deadline for Application: 17 December at 14.00 CET

Reference number: 111-020

Price ceiling: EUR 20,000

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I BACKGROUND

Purpose

The overall objective of the consultancy is to support RCC Triple P Tourism Project by

providing inputs for developing the concept of regional competition event seeking innovative

solutions in tourism sector, and by providing expert support in preparation of the event and its

launch. The event will help Western Balkan (WB) tourism address the challenges of fast

technological evolution, respond to the crisis and recover from the effects caused by COVID-

19 using smart digital solutions.

This competition will bring together different stakeholders from WB6 with the aim of

working and cooperating together on the identification of smart digital solutions and further

development of digital transformation in the region.

Background information

Triple P Tourism Project is a three-year initiative funded by the EU. It focuses on the 6 IPA

II beneficiaries in the Western Balkans, to include Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina,

Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. The project aims to improve the quality

of the tourism offer by: creating joint offer/product(s) to foster regional integration in the

tourism sector and its joint global promotion; diversifying tourism offer of the region;

alleviating policy barriers to development of tourism industry and easing of administrative

procedures; improving the level of services related to tourism; and supporting small-scale

infrastructure projects to support the development of regional tourism offer/product.

Up to this point the RCC Triple P Tourism project has, in cooperation with the SEEIC

Tourism Expert Group (TEG), identified the below described regional routes and have

developed route concepts, identified core list of sites and locations and developed marketing

strategy and visual systems, as well as business models for the routes. Three themes for

regional cultural routes and one regional adventure route have been selected:

Balkan Monumental Trail (cultural route) – a niche product that focuses on the

attractiveness of the art and design, and architectural value of the WWII monuments as a

unique cultural heritage of this specific period. In the previous phase, a group of 40

monuments have been selected to make the BMT pathway.

Illyricum Trail - archaeological heritage of the Roman period being pursued through

integration of archaeological localities as a sub-route of the existing Council of Europe

certified European cultural route - the Roman Emperors and Danube Wine Route

(https://romanemperorsroute.org/). Total of 9 sites in four economies have been

included in the first phase of the Illyricum Trail development.

Western Balkans Crossroads of Civilisations, developed as a shared, overarching

regional umbrella identity, the concept seeks to integrate and showcase the rich cultural

This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence

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heritage that effectively communicates the diversity of legacies (layers of Classical

Antiquity, Byzantine, Ottoman, Venetian, and/or Austro-Hungarian heritage) present

across the region.

Via Dinarica and other full adventure – spin off programmes developed by the

project. The cultural corridor represented through the Via Dinarica Mega Trail is the

regional adventure travel route that travels across the eight SEE economies: Slovenia,

Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, Kosovo*, Albania and North

Macedonia. Via Dinarica, as the regional mega trail, already enjoys recognition in

international adventure travel market, and serves as a growth generator in remote areas of

the region offering several tourism products. Via Dinarica backbone group of products

includes ski touring, hiking and mountain biking, and the current effort seeks to expand

the adventure offer with new products, ski touring being one of them.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemics at the start of 2020 has not only brought the

tourism industry to a standstill, but has also been redefining the way international travel is to

happen post the outbreak. Depending on the dates when travel will be possible, the UNWTO

predicts 60%-80% (the worst scenario) drop in international arrivals worldwide, translating

into 100-120 millions of jobs directly at risk, highlighting joint effort and regional

cooperation being key in trying to mitigate the negative social and economic impacts of the

crisis.

The disruption caused by COVID-19 outbreak has established a need to refocus tourism

development in the Western Balkans too. The Action will support the region in delivery of

refocused promotional effort with the aim of jump starting the tourism activity within the

region and internationally. The Triple P Tourism Project will launch a Western Balkans

tourism challenge as a measure reaching out directly to the industry in an effort to mitigate

negative impact and support industry recovery. The national tourism challenge will invite

start-ups, entrepreneurs and organisations to bring forward innovative ideas that will have a

positive effect on the sector in terms of creating jobs, maintaining operations and promoting

destinations. The challenge will seek to provide awards to the best innovative ideas with

regard to the key challenges of digital promotion and marketing programme with a focus on

building travellers’ confidence in the Western Balkans as a destination and delivery of digital

applications and online tools with a focus on adventure and culture tourism to assist the

sector in post-COVID-19 recovery. The challenge, including criteria, will be developed,

evaluated and awarded in close coordination with TEG which will allow for further follow-on

support and guidance to wining concepts from responsible ministries and national tourism

promotional boards.

FUTOURISMO is a regional competition that will invite interested start-ups, entrepreneurs,

organisations, etc. to propose and develop innovative technological solutions that will have a

positive effect on the future of tourism in terms of keeping jobs, maintaining operations and

promoting the region as a safe tourism destination. The 10 most impactful and innovative

proposals will be awarded €10.000 each. The awards will be given to solutions whose top

priority is to make our region safe, welcoming and more sustainable for local communities

and visitors.

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II. DESCRIPTION OF RESPONSIBILITIES

Objectives and scope of the assignment:

The overall objective of the consultancy is to support RCC Triple P Tourism Project in the

process of organising regional competition event FUTOURISMO in the area of digital

solutions in tourism industry. This kind of event will help tourism in the WB economies to

adapt quickly, respond to the crisis and recover from the effects of COVID-19. The event will

bring together the digital community, start-ups, and experts from various fields, and citizens

from WB6.

The project proposals which will be sought by FUTOURISMO must contain innovative

technological ideas with clear explanation of the implementation and sustainability in one of

the following areas:

1. Digital Identity solutions which promote WB6 as a safe tourism destination. These will be projects designed to bring visitors back to the region with the focus on

thematic tourism products such as cultural and adventure tourism developed by the

Triple P. Indicatively, such projects could be about: digital market place, one-stop

shops for tourists, joint marketing of national or regional promotion for destinations,

etc.

2. Digital Applications in tourism, which will help the sector during or after the crisis

is over. These will be projects that aim to alleviate problems brought by the COVID-

19 pandemic since it is proven that digitalisation leverages digital technologies and

data to transform business models and practices, and value ecosystems. Indicatively,

such projects could be about: contactless technology in tourism services for

hospitality sector and travellers, data collection about tourist flows, tourism

registration, experiential approach of destination presentations, monitoring &

reporting solutions, creation of digital on-site presentation tools, health & safety

protocols, etc.

A consortium of experts/consulting company will be engaged for the purpose of this

consultancy. This assignment targets all Western Balkan economies.

In general terms, this assignment includes the following:

- Support preparation of the concept and launching of the event, including defining all

necessary preliminary actions to be undertaken for a successful organisation of the

online regional competition event;

- Provide expert advice and support to the RCC Secretariat in the preparation of the

concept of regional competition event, as well as in organisation of the event.

In more concrete terms, this assignment includes the following tasks or Services as referred

in the contract:

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Duties:

The consortium of experts/consulting company is expected to carry out the following

activities:

1. Prepare the concept of regional competition event, in particular define steps required

for RCC Triple P Tourism Project in preparation and organisation of the event, setting

up the competition strategy and detailed implementation plan, as well as instructions

on coordination of the steps among the different stakeholders involved;

2. Create website content and prepare necessary information required for the web page,

and update it regularly;

3. Provide expert support for reaching out to potential community partners, such as

digital hubs, start-ups, communities, organisations across the WB6, etc.;

4. Provide expert advice for defining a list of digital media in WB6 throughout the

competition process;

5. Create and manage the Slack Workspace with all channels and all necessary

information that will help in conversations during the competition, under the oversight

of the RCC;

6. Act as mentors, or engage mentors, and help participants clarify their vision, develop

new skills where needed and gain confidence in the skills they already have;

7. Develop a one-to-one developmental relationship between a mentor with experience

and knowledge in digital technology/solutions and a less experienced partner;

8. Together with the RCC, analyse and review all applications received and provide

expert advice in the selection process and creation of teams;

9. Together with the RCC, identify and create a list of potential mentors and members of

the jury, and engage them;

10. Provide expert advice on directing and managing the live stream of team presentations

and the awards ceremony;

11. Provide any additional support and advice needed in preparation and organisation of

the event.

In all their stages, the deliverables will be developed in close consultation with the RCC

Triple P Tourism in SEE project team.

In the first stage when a detailed outline and methodology of work are to be developed in

cooperation with the RCC Triple P Tourism Project, and in coordination with the selected

Consultant, a preparatory meeting will be held online.

Deliverables:

The following deliverables will be produced and transferred to the RCC Triple P Tourism

project during the course of the assignment, in the following timeline:

Deliverable Tentative Deadlines

Preparatory meeting (online if necessary) 21/12/2020

Work plan and draft concept of the event proposing

concrete actions as well as appropriate timeframe in order 28/12/2020

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to complete the preparations for the organisation of the

regional competition event, including all aspects defined in

these Terms of Reference

Develop the Call for the Regional Competition with the

necessary information required and make it public

Launch and administer FUTOURISMO competition 29/12/2020 – 11/01/2021

Secure mentorship support for candidates

Provide technical support in organisation of evaluation of

received proposals 11/01/2021 - 25/01/2021

Provide follow-up support – monitoring, evaluation – of

awardees of FUTOURISMO 25/01/2020 – 31/03/2021

Submit Final report on the service delivered containing

comprehensive description of the FUTOURISMO

competition, its launch, implementation and outputs

31/03/2020

Methodology

The Contractor(s) is expected to propose the best methodological approach for undertaking

this task.

Lines of Communication

The Contractor(s) will work in close coordination and under guidance of the RCC Triple P

Tourism in SEE project team and RCC Secretariat. Each deliverable will be sent within the

set deadlines. RCC Triple P Tourism in SEE project will conduct a quality assessment and

approval of each deliverable.

Timeframe

The engagement is expected to start on 21 December 2020 and end on 31 March 2021.

III. COMPETENCES

Expert Qualifications-Criteria related to the experts delivering the service:

Education:

Degree in engineering, law, economics, business, or other areas

directly related to the subject of work

Experience:

Minimum of 7 years of relevant experience in organising local and

regional events on topics related to digital transformation;

Proven experience in organising events/competitions in the area of

digital transformation;

Experience in organising events/competitions with similar topics or

area is an advantage;

Experience in working with WB governments and/or WB institutions

is an advantage;

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Proven skills and ability to prepare a concept of competition at the

required level, with clear tasks and ideas;

Excellent knowledge of development of digital transformation in the

economies covered by the assignment is an advantage;

Proven communication and presentation skills and ability to work in

an environment requiring liaison and collaboration with multiple

actors including government representatives, businesses, civil society

institutions, donors and other stakeholders.

Language

requirements:

Fluency in written and spoken English, as the official language of the

RCC.

Other: N/A

Core Values

Demonstrates integrity and fairness by modelling RCC values and ethical standards;

He/she is independent and free from conflicts of interest in the responsibilities defined by

the Terms of Reference;

Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Core Competencies

Demonstrates professional competence to meet responsibilities and post requirements and

is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and

achieving results;

Result-oriented; plans and produces quality results to meet the set goals, generates

innovative and practical solutions to challenging situations;

Communication: Excellent communication skills, including the ability to convey complex

concepts and recommendations clearly;

Team work: Ability to interact, establish and maintain effective working relations in a

culturally diverse team;

Ability to establish and maintain productive partnerships with regional and national

partners and stakeholders.

IV. QUALITY CONTROL

The expert(s) should ensure an internal quality control during the implementing and reporting

phase of the assignment. The quality control should ensure that the draft reports and

deliverables comply with the above requirements and meet adequate quality standards before

sending them to stakeholders for comments. The quality control should ensure consistency

and coherence between findings, conclusions and recommendations. It should also ensure

that findings reported are duly substantiated and that conclusions are supported by relevant

judgment criteria.

The views expressed in the report will be those of the contractor and will not necessarily

reflect those of the Regional Cooperation Council. Therefore, a standard disclaimer reflecting

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this will be included in the reports. In this regard, the expert may or may not accept

comments and/or proposals for changes received during the above consultation process.

However, when comments/proposals for changes are not agreed by the expert, he/she should

clearly explain the reasons for his/her final decision in a comments table.

V. APPLICATION RULES

The application needs to contain the following:

For companies and consortia of individual consultants:

Company profile including a brief description (up to 2 pages) of the company. In case

of a bidding consortium, the team leader should submit the profile of the consortium;

Copy of Company’s Registration Certificate (in case of consulting companies). In

case of a bidding consortium a corresponding written authorisation, power of attorney

is accordingly treated;

Financial records - company’s balance sheet and profit-and-loss statement for the past

2 years (only in case of a bidding of consulting companies);

CV(s) of expert(s), outlining relevant knowledge and experience as described under

the Terms of References, along with contact details (e-mail addresses) of referees;

Concept note of the competition event;

An action plan, up to 1 page, indicating the individual tasks to be undertaken against a

timeframe;

List of references for relevant activities implemented;

Application Submission Form (Annex I);

Financial offer, free format providing lump sum for the work (Annex II);

Signed Statements of Availability (Annex III).

When preparing the financial offer, the applicant should take into account the following:

The proposed budget should be stated as a lump sum and broken down by key tasks;

The fee rates should be broadly consistent with the rates applicable in the region for

these types of professional services for international and national consultants.

VAT amount, if any, needs to be clearly identifiable.

Applications need to be submitted via e-mail to ProcurementforRcc@rcc.int by 17

December 2020, 14.00 CET.

Please make sure that the application is submitted in two separate folders one containing

Technical Offer and the other Financial Offer. The documents should be submitted in a form

of copies of the originals.

When applying, please identify your submission as response to this call by naming the

subject line of your message as:

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RCC Triple P Tourism - Reference Number 111-020

VI. EVALUATION AND SELECTION

The assignments will be awarded to the highest qualified applicant based on the skills,

expertise, and the quality of the concept note(s) and the cost-effectiveness of the financial

offer.

Applications will be evaluated on the basis of the profile and competencies of the candidate

and the responsiveness to the Terms of Reference for Consultancy Services.

The best value for money is established by weighing technical quality against price on a

80/20 basis.

The applications are evaluated following these criteria:

EVALUATION GRID

Maximum Score

A. Technical Offer (A.1+A.2+A.3)

100

A.1. Work experience, references list:

Relevant work experience; evidence of other contracts of

the nature comparable to that of the Call; experience with

clients comparable to the Contracting Authority.

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A.2. Quality and professional capacity of the

consultants:

CVs satisfy the criteria set forth in the ToR, education

and experience demonstrates professional capacity and

experience required.

35

A.3 Quality of the concept note and Action Plan:

Relevance and applicability within the WB6 regional

framework; methodologically sound concept/ plan,

achievable within the defined timeframe

30

B. Financial Proposal/ lowest price has maximum

score

100

Score for offer X =

A: [Total quality score (out of 100) of offer X / 100] * 80

B: [Lowest price / price of offer X] * 20

In addition to the results of the technical and financial evaluation, competency-based

interview may be held with the selected bidder.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for the competency-based interview.

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Information on selection of the most favourable bidder

The RCC Secretariat shall inform candidates and bidders of decisions reached concerning the

award of the contract as soon as possible, including the grounds for any decision not to award

a contract for which there has been competitive tendering or to recommence the procedure.

Standard letter of thanks for participation to unsuccessful bidders shall be sent within 15 days

after the contract is signed with the awarded bidder.

The candidates and bidders wishing to receive a feedback may send a request within 15 days

after receipt of the standard letter of thanks.

The request may be sent to the e-mail address ProcurementforRcc@rcc.int or to the address

of the RCC Secretariat:

Regional Cooperation Council Secretariat

Attention to: Administration Department

Building of the Friendship between Greece and Bosnia and Herzegovina

Trg Bosne i Hercegovine 1/V

71000 Sarajevo

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Appeals procedure

Bidders believing that they have been harmed by an error or irregularity during the award

process may petition the RCC Secretariat directly. The RCC Secretariat must reply within 15

days of receipt of the complaint.

The appeal request may be sent to the e-mail address ProcurementforRcc@rcc.int or to the

address of the RCC Secretariat:

Regional Cooperation Council Secretariat

Attention to: Administration Department

Building of the Friendship between Greece and Bosnia and Herzegovina

Trg Bosne i Hercegovine 1/V

71000 Sarajevo

Bosnia and Herzegovina

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ANNEX I: APPLICATION SUBMISSION FORM

Open Call for Consultancy Services:

Technical assistance in concept development, organisation and execution of Regional

Competition Futourismo

REF: 111-020

One signed copy of this Call for Consultancy Submission Form must be supplied.

1 SUBMITTED by:

Name

Address

Telephone

Fax

e-mail

2. STATEMENT

[Name of the Authorised person representing the Entity] ______________ hereby declares

that we have examined and accepted without reserve or restriction the entire contents of the

Open Call for Experts, Grounds for Exclusions and Conflict of Interest as such:

Grounds for exclusion

Candidates or bidders will be excluded from participation in a procurement procedure if it is

known that:

(a) They are bankrupt or being wound up, are having their affairs administered by the

courts, have entered into an arrangement with creditors, have suspended business

activities, are subject of proceedings concerning those matters, or are in any

analogous situation arising from a similar procedure provided for in national

legislation or regulations;

(b) They have been convicted of an offence concerning their professional conduct by a

judgment which has the force of res judicata;

(c) They have been guilty of grave professional misconduct proven by any means which

the Contracting Officer can justify;

(d) They have not fulfilled obligations relating to the payment of social security

contributions or the payment of taxes in accordance with the legal provisions of the

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country in which they are established or with those of the country of the Contracting

Officer or those of the country where the contract is to be performed;

(e) They have been the subject of a judgment which has the force of res judicata for

fraud, corruption, involvement in a criminal organisation or any other illegal activity.

Contracts may not be awarded to candidates or bidders who, during the procurement

procedure, are:

(a) Subject to a conflict of interest;

(b) Guilty of misrepresentation in supplying the information required by the Contracting

Officer as a condition of participation in the contract procedure or fail to supply this

information.

Conflict of Interest

a) The Contractor shall take all necessary measures to prevent or end any situation that

could compromise the impartial and objective performance of the contract. Such

conflict of interests could arise in particular as a result of economic interest, political

or national affinity, family or emotional ties, or any other relevant connection or

shared interest. Any conflict of interests which could arise during performance of the

contract must be notified in writing to the Contracting Authority without delay.

b) The Contracting Authority reserves the right to verify that such measures are

adequate and may require additional measures to be taken if necessary. The

Consultant shall ensure that their staffs, including its management, are not placed in a

situation which could give rise to conflict of interests. The Consultant shall replace,

immediately and without compensation from the Contracting Authority, any member

of its staff exposed to such a situation.

c) The Contractor shall refrain from any contact which would compromise its

independence or that of its personnel. If the Contractor fails to maintain such

independence, the Contracting Authority may, without prejudice to compensation for

any damage which it may have suffered on this account, terminate the contract

forthwith.

d) The Contractor shall, after the conclusion or termination of the contract, limit its role

in connection with the project to the provision of the services. Except with the

written permission of the Contracting Authority, the Contractor and any other

contractor or supplier with whom the Contractor is associated or affiliated shall be

disqualified from the execution of works, supplies or other services for the project in

any capacity, including tendering for any part of the project.

e) Civil servants and other agents of the public administration of the RCC Participants,

regardless of their administrative situation, shall not be recruited as experts in

contracts financed by the RCC Secretariat.

f) The Contractor and anyone working under its authority or control in the performance

of the contract or on any other activity shall be excluded from access to RCC

Secretariat financing available under the same project unless they can prove to the

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Contracting Authority that the involvement in previous stages of the project does not

constitute unfair competition.

We offer to provide the services requested in the Terms of Reference on the basis of supplied

documentation subject to this Open Call for Consultancy Services, which comprise our

technical offer, and our financial offer.

This Open Call for Consultancy Services is subject to acceptance within the validity period

stipulated in the Terms of Reference.

Name

Signature

Date

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ANNEX II: BUDGET BREAKDOWN

REF: 111-020

N

o

Cost categories Unit

Total Cost

2 TOTAL COSTS

Note:

The proposed budget should be stated as a lump sum and broken down by key tasks;

Costs of travel within the WB6, if planned and proposed, should be budgeted and

borne by the consultant;

The fee rates should be broadly consistent with the rates applicable in the region for

these types of professional services for international and national consultants.

VAT amount, if any, needs to be clearly identifiable.

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ANNEX III: STATEMENT OF AVAILABILITY

REF: 111-020

By representing the Entity_________________________ we agree to participate in the

above-mentioned tender procedure. We further declare that we are able and willing to work

for the period(s) foreseen for the position for which our CVs have been included in the event

that this tender is successful, namely:

Full Name Available from

(Date)

Available until

(Date)

Acceptance by

signature

Number of

man-days

associated to

each task from

the ToR