Support to SADC Secretariat in developing the SADC Regional
Data Strategy and Action Plan
Project number/
cost centre:
19.2045.3-004.00
AG Commissioning party
AN Contractor
AVB General Terms and Conditions of Contract for supplying services and work
FK Expert
FKT Expert days
KZFK Short-term expert
ToRs Terms of reference
The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is a global service provider in the field of international cooperation for sustainable development dedicated to shaping a future worth living around the world. As a public-benefit federal enterprise, GIZ supports the German Government – in particular, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) – and many public and private sector clients in achieving their objectives in international cooperation in around 120 countries.
Since 2004, GIZ has been a reliable and trusted partner of the African Union (AU) to enhance inclusive growth and sustainable development on the African continent in line with the AU’s Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want. With more than 200 staff, GIZ African Union cooperates with the AU Commission, as well as the AU’s specialised institutions and agencies, such as the Development Agency AUDA-NEPAD, at continental, regional and national level in more than 35 member states. Key areas of engagement include Peacebuilding and Conflict Prevention, Governance and Migration, Sustainable Economic Growth and Employment, as well as Health and Social Development.
As a joint initiative by AU, EU and Germany, the regional GIZ Programme ‘DataCipation – Inclusive and harmonised digital and data policies in Africa’ aims to address key governance levers that have a significant impact on an inclusive and harmonized digital and data policy on the African continent: Inclusive multi-stakeholder processes, strategic skills development, coordination among key actors, promotion and scaling of digital innovation, and testing and monitoring of data governance models. Community participation, increasingly also digitally supported, forms an overarching framework for achieving an inclusive design of AU digital policy. In this regard, women's participation in AU digital policy design and monitoring is particularly encouraged.
The programme is commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and co-financed by the European Union (EU). It is part of the GIZ portfolio with the AU and is implemented through a team of diverse backgrounds in Addis Ababa, Nairobi, Pretoria and Berlin. The political partner for the regional programme is the Bureau of the Chairperson at the African Union Commission, demonstrating the high-level political commitment of the AU to the project. Further implementation partners in the AU include, among others, the Department of Infrastructure and Energy (DIE), the Directorate of Information and Communications (DIC), the Directorate for Women, Gender and Youth, the AUDA-NEPAD Coordination Unit, as well as the AU Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD).
At regional level, DataCipation program has been establishing collaboration and tailored technical support to regional economic communities (RECs) and this includes Southern Africa Development Community (SADC). SADC is a Regional Economic Community comprising 16 Member States, namely: Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe. SADC is committed to Regional Integration and poverty eradication within Southern Africa through economic development and ensuring peace and security.
The overarching objective of the SADC ICT Sector is to establish communications systems that are universally accessible through, affordable, efficient, resilient, high quality, modern, ubiquitous and fully integrated to meet the diverse requirements of SADC Citizens and to ensure digital inclusion and attainment of the SADC goal of regional economic integration, poverty alleviation and industrialisation. The sector also seeks to ensure that no one is left behind in terms of ICT services.
All Member States have either transposed the SADC Model E-Commerce/ e-Transaction and Cybercrime Model Laws or have an existing legal framework in place. Thirteen (13) Member States (Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe) have put into place laws on data protection. DRC and Mozambique are without explicit Data Protection legislation nor constitutional protection. Comoros has a draft legislation soon to be enacted. The SADC Data Protection and Cybercrime Model Law have been revised and modernised in line with current international, continent, and regional Data Protection best practices and guidelines. A detailed set of best practice Guidelines and an Implementation Schedule have also been prepared to assist and guide Member States with domestication of these model laws.
Support to SADC is towards development of regional data strategy and action plan in efforts to domesticate the AU Data Policy Framework in the SADC region and member states
The contractor is responsible for providing the following services:
In addition to the reports required by GIZ in accordance with the AVB, the contractor submits the following reports:
SADC as the final beneficiary shall be part of the review/approval process of all the draft documents submitted.
Certain milestones, as laid out in the table below, are to be achieved during the contract term:
Period of assignment: from 09 July 2025 until 15 December 2025.
In the tender, the tenderer is required to show how the objectives defined in Chapter 2 (Tasks to be performed) are to be achieved, if applicable under consideration of further method-related requirements (technical-methodological concept). In addition, the tenderer must describe the project management system for service provision.
Note: The numbers in parentheses correspond to the lines of the technical assessment grid.
Strategy (1.1): The tenderer is required to consider the tasks to be performed with reference to the objectives of the services put out to tender (see Chapter 1 Context) (1.1.1). Following this, the tenderer presents and justifies the explicit strategy with which it intends to provide the services for which it is responsible (see Chapter 2 Tasks to be performed) (1.1.2).
The tenderer is expected to establish a strategy for engaging key stakeholders in the SADC region with a cooperation mechanism to foster collaborative efforts among these actors (1.2.1, 1.2.2), in eventually ensuring that SADC regional data governance practices are harmonized and aligned with the AU Data Policy Framework. Through regular meetings, consultations, and interactive sessions, the contractor will ensure open communication and shared understanding of project objectives and describe the cooperation (1.2) with them.
The tenderer is required to work closely with GIZ and the SADC Secretariat to guide project activities, establishing clear roles and responsibilities. This structured approach includes regular steering meetings to monitor progress, address challenges, and adapt as needed. Additionally, the tenderer will support results monitoring through periodic progress reports. A risk management approach will also be developed to handle potential challenges and ensure flexibility in achieving project goals (1.3.1) and its contribution to the results-based monitoring system (1.3.2).
The tenderer is required to describe the key processes for the services for which it is responsible and create an operational plan or schedule (1.4.1) that describes how the services according to Chapter 2 (Tasks to be performed by the contractor) are to be provided. In particular, the tenderer is required to describe the necessary work steps and, if applicable, take account of the milestones and contributions of other actors (partner contributions) in accordance with Chapter 2 (Tasks to be performed) (1.4.2).
The tenderer is required to describe how they will contribute to knowledge management by documenting key insights, best practices, and lessons learned throughout the project. These resources will be shared with both the SADC Secretariat and GIZ to support future data governance initiatives. Measures to ensure project outcomes are scalable across the SADC region for broader implementation within SADC Member States (1.5.1) and to promote scaling-up effects (1.5.2) under learning and innovation.
The tenderer is required to explain its approach for coordination with the GIZ project and SADC Secretariat (1.6.1). In particular, the project management requirements specified in Chapter 2 (Tasks to be performed by the contractor) must be explained in detail.
The tenderer is required to draw up a personnel assignment plan with explanatory notes that lists all the experts proposed in the tender; the plan includes information on assignment dates (duration and expert days) and locations of the individual members of the team complete with the allocation of work steps as set out in the schedule.
To support project continuity, a backstopping strategy has to be in place, including access to technical and administrative support (1.6.3). CVs of key backstopping personnel are attached, ensuring that the project benefits from additional oversight and assistance in managing unforeseen issues. The following services are part of the standard backstopping package, which (like ancillary personnel costs) must be factored into the fee schedules of the staff listed in the tender in accordance with Section 3.3.1 of the GIZ AVB:
The tenderer is required to describe how certain policy considerations and cross-cutting themes such as data and gender will be addressed in the development process.
The tenderer is required to provide personnel who are suited to filling the positions described, on the basis of their CVs (see Chapter 7), the range of tasks involved and the required qualifications.
The below specified qualifications represent the requirements to reach the maximum number of points in the technical assessment.
Tasks of the team leader
Qualifications of the team leader
Tasks of key expert 1
Qualifications of key expert 1
Tasks of key expert 2
Qualifications of key expert 2
Soft skills of team members
In addition to their specialist qualifications, the following qualifications are required of team members:
Per diem allowances are reimbursed as a lump sum up to the maximum amounts permissible under tax law for each country as set out in the country table in the circular from the German Federal Ministry of Finance on travel expense remuneration (downloadable from the German Federal Ministry of Finance – tax treatment of travel expenses and allowances for international business travel as of 1 January 20242025 (GERMAN ONLY)).
Accommodation allowances are reimbursed as detailed in the specification of inputs below.
With special justification, additional Accommodation costs up to a reasonable amount can be reimbursed against evidence.
All business travel must be agreed in advance by the officer responsible for the project
GIZ has undertaken an obligation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (CO2 emissions) caused by travel. When preparing your tender, please incorporate options for reducing emissions, such as selecting the lowest-emission booking class (economy) and using means of transport, airlines and flight routes with a higher CO2 efficiency. For short distances, travel by train (second class) or e-mobility should be the preferred option.
CO2 emissions caused by air travel must be offset. GIZ specifies a budget for this, through which the carbon offsets can be settled against evidence.
There are many different providers in the market for emissions certificates, and they have different climate impact ambitions. The Development and Climate Alliance (German only) has published a list of standards (German only). GIZ recommends using the standards specified there.
Specification of inputs
A budget is earmarked for travel to the following countries: in SADC region pending confirmation from SADC Secretariat for up to two workshops.
A fixed budget of EUR 12000 is earmarked for settling travel expenses against evidence.
You can find further information on the travel expense budget in the ‘Price schedule’ document. Please use the ‘Explanations’ column in the price schedule to break down the individual items. Settlement is possible only until the budget is depleted.
CO2 compensation for air travel
A budget of EUR 8,757 is foreseen for flexible remuneration. Please incorporate this budget into the price schedule.
Use of the flexible remuneration item requires prior written approval from GIZ.
The contractor implements the following workshops/study trips/training courses:
GIZ and/or other actors are expected to make the following available:
The structure of the tender must correspond to the structure of the ToR. In particular, the detailed structure of the concept (Chapter 3) should be organised in accordance with the positively weighted criteria in the assessment grid (not with zero). The tender must be legible (font size 11 or larger) and clearly formulated. It must be drawn up in English (language).
The complete tender must not exceed 10 pages (excluding CVs). If one of the maximum page lengths is exceeded, the content appearing after the cut-off point will not be included in the assessment. External content (e.g. links to websites) will also not be considered.
The CVs of the personnel proposed in accordance with Chapter 4 of the ToRs must be submitted using the format specified in the terms and conditions for application. The CVs shall not exceed 3 pages each. They must clearly show the position and job the proposed person held in the reference project and for how long. The CVs can also be submitted in English (language).
Please calculate your financial tender based exactly on the parameters specified in Chapter 5 Quantitative requirements. The contractor is not contractually entitled to use up the days, trips, workshops or budgets in full. The number of days, trips and workshops and the budgets will be contractually agreed as maximum limits. The specifications for pricing are defined in the price schedule.
Please request all tender documents via email from au_bidderquestions@giz.de by mentioning 83483535 SADC on your subject email.
Tender documents include: