Request for Proposal – Drafting of a Shared Responsibility Framework (GPSNR-RFP-A02-015)

Background

The Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR) brings together companies, smallholders, academia, and civil society to transform the natural rubber supply chain into one that is sustainable, equitable, and fair.

Since its launch in 2018, GPSNR has grown into a truly global platform, now representing over half of the world’s natural rubber demand. Over the years, the platform has moved from building alignment and collaboration to establishing the systems that make collective impact possible.

2025 marks a pivotal shift in GPSNR’s journey.
This is the year in which the platform redefined what impact means, moving from engagement and small-scale contributions to systemic change through:

• the approval and launch of an industry-wide sustainability assurance system

   

• the mobilisation of funding through the Shared Investment Mechanism (SIM)

   

• and a strategic focus on scaling impact in emerging markets 

The 2025 Annual Report will tell this story of growing ambition of a platform that has moved decisively into an era of assured, financed, and delivered impact.

 

Scope

GPSNR is seeking a creative consultancy or production partner to develop:

1. A short-form Annual Report video (5 minutes)

    

2. An accompanying Annual Report that can be published online and downloaded as a PDF

The video and report should work together as a cohesive storytelling package, communicating GPSNR’s strategic evolution and impact to members, partners, donors, policymakers, and the wider sustainability community.

All core content, messaging, and data will be provided by the GPSNR Secretariat. The consultant will be responsible for shaping this content into compelling visual narratives across both formats.

Core tasks

Working closely with the GPSNR secretariat, the consultant will: 

• Propose 2–3 creative concepts for the overall narrative and visual direction of the Annual Report (video + PDF) for the GPSNR team to choose from 
• The consultant will be responsible for scriptwriting and storyboarding, content production, video editing and post-production, and final delivery of a complete video package suitable for digital, event, and member communications.
• Liaise with GPSNR’s Communications Manager to ensure the draft cuts are feasible. 

Terms 

• The engagement will take place for a period of six weeks, from 26 January to 9 March. Interim dates for and approvals will be mutually agreed upon after confirmation. 

Necessary Competencies:

• Proven experience producing annual reports or impact communications in video and digital formats
• Strong capabilities in visual storytelling and narrative development
• Experience working with:
  • sustainability, ESG, or multi-stakeholder initiatives
  • complex technical content and policy-related themes
• High-level design and production skills, including:
  • motion graphics and video editing
  • layout and publication design
• Ability to manage iterative feedback processes with multiple stakeholders
• Strong attention to detail and quality control

Submission Guidelines:

The following submission guidelines & requirements apply to this Request for Proposal:

• Proposals will only be accepted from individuals or firms with experience relevant to this project.
• Submissions must include 1) a portfolio of previous work 2) a paragraph describing how the consultant would approach such a project 3) a financial proposal with a breakdown of how much each work would cost.
• Proposals must be signed by a representative that is authorised to commit to the bidder’s company.
• Proposals must be received by 19 January 2025 to be considered. Proposals should be submitted to bani.bains@gpsnr.org for consideration.
  
• To receive a copy of the draft content, applicants can email bani.bains@gpsnr.org

RFP and Project Timelines

Submission of Proposal	19/01/2026
Selection of top bidders and further conversations	21/01/2026
Contract award/notification to unsuccessful bidders	22/01/2026
Work commences no later than	26/01/2026

Budget

The Platform anticipates that a total budget of no more than 4,000 Singapore Dollars (SGD) will be allocated to this engagement.

    

Payment terms shall be:

20% at the signing of the contract

30% at the midpoint date to be agreed upon and memorialised in the contract based on the submitted work plan

50% on delivery of the final report

 

Evaluation Factors

GPSNR will rate proposals based on the following factors:

• Responsiveness to the requirements outlined in this Request for Proposals
• Relevant past performance/experience and / or any samples of past work
• Cost, including an assessment of the total cost of ownership.
• Technical expertise/experience of the bidder and the bidder’s staff

GPSNR reserves the right to award to the bidder that presents the best value to GPSNR as determined solely by GPSNR in its absolute discretion.

 

View RFP Document here

Introduction & Background

 

The Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR) is an international, multi-stakeholder, voluntary membership initiative seeking to lead improvements in the socioeconomic and environmental performance of the natural rubber value chain. Members of the platform include rubber products manufacturers, natural rubber producers and processors,  end users, smallholders and NGOs.

In 2021, GPSNR members approved Reporting Requirements that would allow member companies to report on their progress implementing their commitments under the Policy Framework. With the approval of the Reporting Requirements, ordinary member companies now report annually on the questions included in the Reporting Matrix, which is organized by member category. Many of the questions in the matrix require qualitative responses.  While qualitative information is helpful to understand a company’s progress in implementing its policy, it makes data analysis either to evaluate its progress year to year or to assess progress within a particular stakeholder category difficult.

GPSNR Policy Toolbox Working Group is seeking a consultant to review the GPSNR Reporting Matrix and revise the questions to generate quantitative responses wherever possible.  The consultant should review the following GPSNR documents to inform these proposed revisions: draft GPSNR Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), GPSNR risk assessment guidance documents, feedback from member survey on Year 1 reporting. The consultant should also do a crosswalk with other credible reporting frameworks commonly used by members (e.g., Global Reporting Initiative – GRI, CDP Forest and ZSL SPOTT) to inform proposed changes.

Objectives and Scope of Work

 

1. Review GPSNR’s Reporting Matrix to  identify questions that currently generate qualitative responses that could generate quantitative responses and propose revisions (this may not be feasible in all cases).
2. Do a crosswalk of the draft category specific KPIs to determine if they can replace any questions with qualitative responses in the reporting matrix.
3. Do a crosswalk of the Reporting Matrix questions with GRI, CDP Forest and ZSL-SPOTT reporting questionnaires to identify gaps between the GPSNR Reporting Matrix and the identified reporting schemes and propose equivalent questions from the identified reporting schemes to be integrated into the Reporting Matrix.
4. Review the recommendations for clarifying reporting questions and responses in the Reporting Matrix that were made by the consortium of consultants that prepared the GPSNR Reporting Guidance (Proforest, Are We There Yet, and Hevea Connect), and propose revisions to reporting questions/responses accordingly.

The consultant can also reference other GPSNR work, such as the risk assessment matrix and the draft Due Diligence Manual.

 

Expected Deliverables

GPSNR expects the consultant to:

Review and revise questions in the GPSNR Reporting Matrix that require a qualitative/narrative response that could be modified to generate a quantitative response. To support the process, the consultants should do the following:

1. Crosswalk the GPSNR Reporting matrix with reporting frameworks such as GRI, CDP Forest, and ZSL-SPOTT
2. Use feedback from members’ survey and report from consultants that prepared the reporting guidance to revise reporting questions/responses that have been flagged as unclear and in need of rewording.
3. Reference the below-listed GPSNR work and determine if any of the work could be used in place of the existing questions in the Reporting Matrix to obtain quantitative responses.
   1. Draft stakeholder category KPIs document
   2. Draft risk assessment guidance framework
   3. Draft due diligence guidance document

Proposal Format and Contents

The proposal should include the following:

1. A workplan that outlines the key activities towards the deliverables outlined in Expected Deliverables above

2. The timeline and key stages of operations based on Project Timeline below

3. Budget, including detailed breakdown of expected manpower, logistics, and costs based on Budget below

4. Description of past work and technical expertise that is relevant to this RFP

A list of project team members with their roles in the project and associated qualifications.

 

Submission Guidelines & Requirements

 

The following submission guidelines & requirements apply to this Request for Proposal:

1. Proposals will only be accepted from individuals or firms with experience relevant to this project.
2. Examples of previous relevant work should be provided as well.
3. A technical proposal must be provided that is not more than 4 pages. This technical proposal must provide an overview of the proposed solution as well as resumes of all key personnel performing the work. In addition, the technical proposal should provide a proposed schedule and milestones, as applicable.
4. A price proposal must be provided that is not more than 1 pages. This price proposal should indicate the overall fixed price for the project as well as hourly rates and an estimated total number of days.
5. Proposals must be signed by a representative that is authorized to commit bidder’s company.
6. Proposals must be received prior to the 14 Apr 2023 to be considered. Proposals should be submitted to savi@gpsnr.org for consideration.
7. GPSNR reserves the right to amend the scope and budget of this RFP in order to get the most suitable consultant for each topic.

 

Project Timelines

 

Proposal Publishing date	17 Mar 2023
Proposals submitted by consultant to stefano.savi@gpsnr.org	14 Apr 2023
Selection of Top Bidders / Notification to Unsuccessful Bidders	21 Apr 2023
Contract Award / Notification to Unsuccessful Bidders	28 April 2023
First consultation with Policy Toolbox Working Group	3 May  2023
Final Report + Deliverable submission	16 June 2023
(if needed) Closing meeting with the Working Group	18 June 2023

 

Budget

The Platform is anticipating that a total budget of no more than $10,000 USD be allocated to this engagement with an additional amount available to support approved travel, if
necessary.

Payment terms shall be:

·        20% at the signing of the contract

·        30% at the midpoint date to be agreed upon and memorialized in the contract based on the submitted work plan.

·        50% on delivery of the final report

The allocation of the payment shall be based on the net amount after travel
expenses, if deemed necessary by both the consultant and Secretariat, are
incurred and documented.

 

 

Evaluation Factors

 GPSNR will rate proposals based on the following factors, with cost being the most important factor:

1.        Responsiveness to the requirements set forth in this Request for Proposal

2.      Relevant past performance/ experience

3.      Samples of work

4.     Cost, including an assessment of total cost of ownership.

5.      Technical expertise/experience of bidder and bidder’s staff

GPSNR reserves the right to award to the bidder that presents the best value to GPSNR as determined solely by GPSNR in its absolute discretion.eforestation Regulation consolidated text 20-12-22

 

View RFP Document here