RECRUITMENT OF A CONSULTANT OR CONSULTANT TEAM FOR THE REDESIGN OF THE ECOWREX PLATFORM

As in many other Sahelian countries, universal access to clean, sustainable, and affordable energy in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger remains a major challenge, especially for the most vulnerable populations. In 2019, 45 million people, or 72% of the population of these three countries, still did not have access to electricity. Clean cooking has even worse indicators with 88% of the population without access.

To support the efforts of the three governments towards the provision of sustainable energy services to the most vulnerable populations and to capitalize on the very significant potential of solar energy in the region, UNDP and UNOPS in partnership with the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) are implementing, with SIDA funding and under the institutional anchorage of the Liptako-Gourma Authority (ALG), the "Rural Electrification Project through Renewable Energy Systems in the Liptako-Gourma Region - Pilot Phase", for a

duration of 3 years (2021 - 2023). This project aims to (i) provide institutional support in the field of rural electrification to ALG and relevant national institutions; (ii) install six photovoltaic mini-grids with batteries in the Liptako-Gourma region (cross-border region between Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger); (iii) support the revision of the regulatory frameworks of the three countries to promote investment in renewable energy; (iv) support the private sector engaged in the development of solar PV mini-grids; (v) support the development of income-generating activities through the provision of clean cooking in the Liptako-Gourma region. The success of this project will condition the implementation of a second phase aiming at intensifying and scaling up these activities, with the contribution of a larger number of partners mobilized to sustainably address the energy crisis in the Liptako-Gourma region.

Under the first component of the project on institutional support for access to clean energy, UNDP, in partnership with ECREEE, is seeking to provide support to the governments in the region for more informed decision-making in the energy planning process, through improved access to reliable, accurate and up-to-date data. To this end, the project aims to upgrade the datasets included in the online regional energy information system managed by ECREEE, the ECOWAS Observatory for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECOWREX), to make them more instrumental and useful for energy sector planning and coordination both at national and regional levels, in particular with respect to the deployment of renewable energy mini-grids.

As such, ECREEE is seeking for the services of a qualified individual consultant or consultant team to update the ECOWREX website in order to:

• Improve the data gathering process to make it easier to keep information up-to-date;
• Update the user experience and using a redesigned interface, make it easier for different types of user to find the information they need and for Administrators to show/hide subsets of data;
• Allow integrations with specific National and Regional data platforms, for example:
  • Uploading data from the UNDP Africa Mini-grids Program (AMP) National and Regional data platforms;
  • Sharing data from the ECOWAS Energy Information Systems under development in each member state;
  • Providing API access so that member countries can present ECOWREX data/modules on their own national platforms.
• Add specific, freely available datasets to the site. These include GIS layers and data on, for example national demographics and on-going mini-grid programs;
• Improve site security including Transfer Protocols and access privileges.

Required Experience:

• The team leader should possess a minimum of seven (7) years' experience in the design and implementation of technical websites, coupled with organizing related training sessions.
• Experience in service provision within the energy sector would be an additional asset.
• The team should demonstrate proven experience with GIS systems, managing various data layers, and conducting cartographic analyses.
• Experience working with regional organizations such as ECOWAS and/or international organizations in West Africa would be advantageous.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMISSION OF EOI

1. The expression of interest must be submitted by email to ONLY data@ecreee.org.   
2. Clearly state in the subject line “RECRUITMENT OF A CONSULTANT OR CONSULTANT TEAM FOR THE REDESIGN OF THE ECOWREX PLATFORM" 
3. The deadline for submission is no later than 18:00 GMT on the 23^th January 2024.
4. Further information/clarification can be obtained at the following email addresses: abinazon@ecreee.org and jabdulrahman@ecreee.org.  Please do not copy any of these two email addresses when submitting your documents.