Request for Proposals

Market Research and Strategic Support – Latin America and the

Spanish-Speaking Caribbean

RFP Release Date: July 23, 2020

Proposal Due Date: August 6, 2020
Context
NEIA and its partners have been engaged in a sustained program of international business development
activities related to the Caribbean region since 2014.

To date, NEIA’s Caribbean programming has been focused exclusively on English speaking Caribbean
markets. However, as our initiatives evolve and mature, it is prudent to widen our geographic focus to
explore and analyze market opportunities within the broader Caribbean Basin to include Spanish-
speaking markets.

The project will be overseen be a Steering Committee composed of representatives from NEIA, ACOA
and TCII. NEIA is the project proponent and NEIA’s Manager of International Business Development will
serve as point of contact for ongoing administration.

Overview and Objectives

NEIA intends to engage a consultancy to analyze and qualify opportunities within Latin America and the
Spanish-speaking Caribbean and produce a report highlighting these opportunities as well as strategic
guidance on how NEIA can best support firms looking to diversify and internationalize their business
throughout the region.

Additionally, consultant(s) will work with five-six individual firms or organizations to conduct market
research and provide strategic guidance particular to the selected firms.

The results of the overview study aggregated with the results of the company-specific strategies will
enable NEIA to make an informed decision whether to expand it’s current Caribbean program and/or
introduce a new program to pursue opportunities in Latin America and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean.

Scope
1) Market Analysis Report.
Production of a comprehensive overview report highlighting opportunities in the Spanish-
speaking countries of the Caribbean Basin.
Report shall include:

 Jurisdictional Snapshots/one-pagers on each market

 Opportunity identification for key sectors (Clean Tech, Ocean Tech, Training, etc.)
 Overview of IFI/Financing mechanisms relevant to the region
 Identification of regional groupings/relevant organizations
 Analysis of COVID related challenges and opportunities
 Strategic recommendations/Next Steps

2) Firm-level Market Research and Opportunity Identification.

The selected consultant(s) will work closely with five to six firms/organizations to identify and
pre-qualify relevant opportunities and contacts and to recommend targeted business

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 development strategies specific to each participating firm.

Individual company reports shall comprise:

 Capability and Capacity Assessment – Consult with participant firms in order to clearly
understand interests, objectives and areas of experience and expertise.
 Scope of opportunity – Opportunities should be as detailed as possible with clear objectives
such as sales, partnership development, technology acquisition, etc. and include specific
reference to procurement strategies, tender documents, discussions with
banks/governments/firm officials or other applicable research. Where applicable,
company/organization synopsis, websites, and key contact(s) may also be included.
 Budgets/required resources, high-level timelines, key dates and required quality standards
 Classification of Opportunities – Short-term/long-term, requiring local partnership,
contingent on funding, etc.
 Supporting documents – List any documents on file relating to the opportunity that could
aid in better describing the initiative, its goals, outputs, requirements, or intended
outcomes. Typical background documents may include meeting notes, funding proposals,
tender documents, government reports, research or related correspondence.

3) Project Reporting – Consultant(s) to provide progress updates through weekly (or as required) e-
mail submissions or other means deemed acceptable.
Additionally, a project summary report shall be submitted within thirty days of completion of
project, reporting on the individual company results, overall project outcomes and
recommendation of next steps.

Deliverables and Timing

August Project commences; NEIA and proponent to finalize project scope and outcomes
Aug – Oct. Iterative project work with companies and Steering Committee; Submission of draft
deliverables for feedback and review; ongoing progress reporting
November Deliverables presented to participant companies/Steering Committee in final form.
Preparation and submission of Final Report and official project debrief

Budgetary Guidelines and Payment Schedule

The total project cost should not exceed $45,000 CAD (tax excl.). Payment will be made upon the
proponent submitting invoices with supporting documentation in a form satisfactory to NEIA.

The payment schedule is as follows:

 25% upon execution of contract

 50% upon submission of deliverables excluding Final Report
 25% holdback paid upon satisfactory completion of the project

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Proposal Requirements
The proposal should be no longer than five (5) pages in length (excluding CV and other supporting
material), and be concisely worded with clearly described objectives, methods, timelines and outcomes.

The proposal should include a brief description of the Respondent’s company and its relevant
experience with similar projects. The Respondent must also describe the relevant work experience of
the staff assigned to this project and their roles on the project.

Selection Criteria

The successful contractor will be determined based on the following:

 The extent of knowledge and experience in relation to the work

 Demonstrated experience and/or network of contacts within the region of focus
 Demonstrated knowledge of Atlantic Canadian companies
 Understanding of the scope and objectives of the proposal
 Proposed approach, work plan and schedule
 Cost* (in Canadian dollars) *Determination of best value may not result in the lower cost
being accepted.

RFP Submission
The contracting organization for this RFP is NEIA. A single electronic document is sufficient. Please
include:

 One (1) Cover Letter –signed by an officer or equivalent with signing authority to bind the
Respondent to the statements made in the proposal.
 One (1) Proposal– As described above.

The electronic copy in WORD and/or PDF format to be sent via email to abbie@neia.org no later than
Thursday, August 6. Questions from interested applicants can be directed to the same address no later
than 48 hours prior to the bid deadline.