REVISED AFTER PRE-BID MEETING Expression of Interest for Partner/ Operator/ Agency for implementation of the programme, Empowering Fishermen through mobile advisory services for fisheries extension service for fisheries sector of Odisha 1 Background: The scheme envisages providing information and other extension services to the existing and prospective fish farmers through setting up of one call center at state level in Odisha. Rs 3.60 Crore will be required for implementing the following scheme. out of which Rs. 3.60 Crore for providing around 100000 ( one lakh) SIM card through a agency to extend information through their existing helpline to the SIM cardholder Fishers. This cost includes the cost required towards unforeseen expenses, contingencies, supervision, administrative cost and other miscellaneous expenses of Department of Fisheries, Odisha. 2 Empowering fishermen and Toll free call centre: The active fishermen dwelling in Odisha are mostly illiterate and don t have access to the prevailing plans and programmes of Government to avail the benefit. The scheme envisages empowerment of fishermen through latest information on weather, potential fishing zones (PFZ), fish conservation and cultivation etc for understanding and adopting best fisheries/agricultural practices, improving their income, reducing costs and enhancing the quality output by the way of voice messages through mobile phone. Towards this, the Department of Fisheries with assistance from an expertise agencies propose to work together to develop an information advisory services model for collation and dissemination of latest and timely information to fishermen. The scheme proposes to leverage the mobile phones for updating the farmers with experts inputs on fisheries, agriculture, animal husbandry and other related areas with a strong helpline facility for improving the quality of decision making. The scheme would provide information and other extension services to the existing and prospective fish farmers through setting up of one call center at state 1
level in Odisha. To improve the extension services of the Department, it is essential to introduce toll free call centre to address the queries of fish farmers. Either separate toll free numbers may be allotted or existing kisan call centers may be tagged to handle the fisheries sector by availing the expertise of retired and existing technical experts of State Fisheries as well as Govt. of India. For running the toll free number and also a call centre with experts to provide the information with back-up from OUAT, Fisheries colleges and other expert institutions in the Odiya language and also locally spoken vernacular languages. 3 Major objectives of the assignment. I. Empowerment of fishermen through latest information on weather, potential fishing zones (PFZ), fish conservation and cultivation etc for understanding and adopting best fisheries/agricultural practices, improving their income, reducing costs and enhancing the quality output by the way of voice messages through mobile phone. Illiterate / semi-literate fishermen can benefit from advisories from experts in the form of voice messages. They get an automated mobile telephone call which they can hear. This is a convenient means of hearing as against having to read as SMS with the help of others. I Expert advisories come to fishermen as voice messages and they need not go anywhere to get information. IV. Information and advisories would be provided to fishermen in the form of brief one minute capsules which are focused on an area of local and contextual importance which is easy to remember. They need not travel long distances to attend meetings conducted by experts. V. Weather alerts, Tsunami Alerts and Cyclone Alerts will help the fishermen by saving life and costs. VI. Access to latest information on availability of fish in sea, fish culture technology, weather warning, market information, alternate livelihoods, 2
Government schemes, financial literacy etc. to the last mile of the village through mobile phone V Facility to listen to the voice messages again in a day which frees them from time and space. 4 Essential qualification of the Partner/ Operator I. Should have turnover more than Rs 20 crore during the last three years during the last three years or a Government undertaking organization Past experience in similar services will be preferred I Should have adequate infrastructure for the services IV. Should have adequate qualified Staff strength V. Should have field presence in rural India, in particular in rural Odisha VI. Should have core activity of mobile based value added services with focus on rural India 5 Preferred Experience I. The organization /National or state level Federation or consortium must have demonstrated experience of rendering services in rural India in Agriculture, Fisheries, etc. for at least five years The organization /National or state level Federation or consortium must have demonstrated experience of using voice based advisory services on mobile phone services for rural India for at least five years I The organization /National or state level Federation or consortium must have the experience of voice based advisory services on mobile phone in Oriya for at least five years IV. The organization /National or state level Federation or consortium must have experience of managing Call Center based services for rural India in Agriculture, Fisheries or any allied services 3
V. The organization /National or state level Federation or consortium must be possessing existing infrastructure including in-house experts for managing mobile based advisory services and Call Center Services VI. The organization /National or state level Federation or consortium must have national / international recognition in terms of Awards and Appreciation. 6 Intended Benefit for Stake Holders A Fishers I. Illiterate / semi-literate Fishers can benefit from advisories from experts in the form of voice messages. They get an automated mobile telephone call which they can hear. This is a convenient means of hearing as against having to read as SMS with the help of others. Expert advisories come to Fishers as voice messages and they need not go anywhere to get information. I Information and advisories are provided to Fishers in the form of brief one minute capsules which are focused on an area of local and contextual importance which is easy to remember. They need not travel long distances to attend meetings conducted by experts. IV. Weather alerts, Tsunami Alerts and Cyclone Alerts will help the Fishers by saving life and costs. V. Access to latest information on fisheries, agriculture, animal husbandry, market information, weather, livelihoods, government schemes, financial literacy etc. to the last mile of the village through mobile phone VI. Facility to listen to the voice messages again in a day which frees them from time and space. VOption of calling a dedicated Helpline 4
VI Opportunity to interact with Specialists through Phone-in Programs to receive more specialized input. Availability of Technical enquiries and the technical advices from technical experts. IX. Opportunity to participate in mobile based quizzes based on the voice messages to sharpen knowledge. X. Active engagement with Fishers to take feedback for further improvisation of the system. Opportunity to share personal experience on Helpline. XI. Dedicated manpower for intensive focus on the services offered. XIn general, a greater exposure to the world at large. XI There are no conditions on Fishers of any nature except he/she should be using the services regularly. B. Fisheries Department I. Better realization of organizational mission to improve economic welfare of the Fishers in the State Continuous engagement with Fishers by reaching out through mobile phone I Faster dissemination of content of relevance to Fishers IV. Popularizing the State Government Schemes and Benefits relating to all departments V. Taking expert advisory directly to Fishers ears. VI. Attaining scale with greater ease. VAbility to monitor usage behavior of the Fishers. VI Improve effectiveness of services by leveraging technology IX. Ability to involve more number of experts 5
X. Alternate platform to manage disasters XI. Mass education and training XEnabling communication and ruling out communication gaps XI Empowered Fishers 7 Infrastructure for the Services Offered The Agency should have adequate infrastructure for the operation of the services. The details need to be furnished in the Technical bid. 8 Voice Messages I. 5 free Voice messages (in Odia) are to be sent through Outbound Voice Dialer to the Fishers everyday. Each voice message may be a capsule of one minute duration on topics of immediate relevance to Fishers. (All messages need to be validated by the Fisheries Department or Nodal Officer(s) appointed by the Government.) I Separate messages flow will be ensured by formation of Communities and Sub Communities. The five messages will be constituted from the following key categories. A Marine Fisheries. a) Potential Fishing Zone ( PFZ) b) Weather Alerts and Warning for Fishers c) Ocean State Forecast ( Wave height and direction) d) Fish Market Price e) Fish Conservation. f) Government Regulatory. g) Government Schemes. h) KCC and Financial Literacy i) Eco tourism 6
B Inland and Brackish Water Fisheries. a) Fish Culture b) Fish feed c) Seasonal Diseases and control d) Pond preparation e) Care and Management. f) Market Price g) Government Schemes. h) KCC and Financial Literacy i) Alternate livelihoods 9 Option to Re-listen the Advisories Facility should be provided to retrieve missed out messages for the day by calling, at the convenience of the Fishers. 10 Access to Helpline All the Fishers enrolled should have access to a Helpline. The other fishers holding mobile phone will also be allowed to have access to the Helpline Services. The Helpline provides a facility to clarify on the voice messages and get Expert help. If necessary, the Helpline Experts may connect to Specialists on a conference call if required. The toll free number of Kissan Call Center should be incorporated in the SIM software. A separate fisheries helpline number be also provided in the SIM card. 11 Phone-in Programs Special Programs may be conducted with Subject Matter Specialists. These programs need to be announced in advance and any Fishers requiring specialized service can call to discuss the problem directly. 12 Mobile Quiz 7
Periodically mobile quizzes may be conducted as a part of questions asked on subjects covered in voice messages. A few of the Fishers who answer correctly may be given a Prize as a token of appreciation. 13 Implementation process The following steps shall be involved: I. The scheme shall be monitored by the following empowered committee: Project Steering Committee which will finalize initial plan of action and meet once in every 3 months for mid-course review. Project Management Group consisting of a team of officer from Directorate of Fisheries, and Partnering agency and any other stake holder, empowered to manage day-to day management of the activities of the project. This Group shall meet at least once in a month. I Finalization of selection of the Partner/ Operator by Director of Fisheries for implementation of the programme. IV. Execution of the Agreement/Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) V. Performance guarantee of 5% of the approved bid amount with13 months validity to be furnished during execution of Agreement VI. Formation of a Special Community of Fishermen in the State of Odisha. VThese Fishers shall be enrolled over a period of maximum 12 months. However, actual enrolment shall be based on voluntary adoption and interest from the Fishers. VI 5 free voice messages every day, helpline, Phone-In programmes, Quizzes. Message Mix to cover various areas of interest in Odia language. IX. Dissemination of special content shared by Directorate of Fisheries and other Government Departments. X. On-ground programmes in association with Fisheries Department XI. Taking feedback from a sample of Fishers on a regular basis 8
XMonitor usage statistics. XI Impact study report on a sample of Fishers after 6 months of launch of the programme either by the Department or through an External agency. 14 Support from Government of Odisha I. To support first time enrolment of Fishers by providing a SIM card. About 100000 interested Fishers shall be targeted across the State. The actual enrolment may be based on voluntary adoption and interest exhibited by the Fishers. 50% of the enrollment cost as per the quarterly enrollment target set by the Government may be paid in advance to the agency. Remaining 50% enrollment cost of Fishers may be reimbursed on basis of actual enrollment on monthly basis by Government. I The monthly minimum recharge cost per enrolled Fishers per month or any other amount as finalized towards the talk time recharge of beneficiaries may be paid in one month advance to the agency to ensure talk time recharges. IV. All new information required for the purpose will be provided by Deptt. 15 Responsibility of Partner/ Operator I. Will bear the Project Management cost for setting up the necessary infrastructure and for the visits of experts for the purpose Will endeavor to enroll 100000 Fishers. However, the actual enrolment will be based on the interest and voluntary participation of the beneficiary Fishers. Consequently, the utilization of services provided to the Fishers is the sole prerogative of the Fishers. I Will bear the expenses related to managing the IT platforms for managing content for advisory systems, delivery systems including helpline, expenses towards running Phone In Expert Programmes, 9
mobile quizzes, tele-calling etc. for feedbacks, experts required for the project, cost on end project assessment of sample Fishers and submission of project learning to Government of Odisha. IV. Will continue to extend the voice call and helpline services to Fishers after the Project Period with content based on the learnings during the Project as well as the outcome of the end project impact analysis. Continuation of such services to the Fishers will be as per the mutually agreed service cost. V. Will abide by the stipulation laid under the aggrement/ MOU. VI. The distribution of SIM card to users and awareness camps will be the responsibility of the partner/ operator. The Partner/ Operator will furnish the modality of card distribution. VList of the user will only be supplied by District Fisheries Officer/ Ad FO VI All necessary manpower required for the massage and interactive Fishermen helpline for clarification of basic quarries will be provided by the Partner/ Operator 16 Project Period The total Project Period considered is 12 months. This may be extended by Government of Odisha basing on the impact study. The potential 100000 Fishers will be enrolled over a period of 12 months and further enrollment to be decided basing on the impact study and budget provision. 17 Monitoring and supervision I. The finalization of tender/ selection will be finalized by a committee to be formed by Director, consisting 4 technical staff of Directorate, representative of OCAC, Rep of Govt in F& ARD including finance representative etc, Rep of BSNL and any members as felt required. 10
The scheme will be monitored by the following empowered committee: Project Steering Committee which will finalise initial plan of action and meet once in every 3 months for mid-course review I Project Management Group empowered to manage day-to day management of the activities of the project. This Group will meet at least once in a month. IV. Members of the teams will be finalized in consultation with Fisheries Department and other stake holders in the kick-start meeting for the Project. 18 Impact Study A study of sample Fishers who have actively availed the services will be conducted after 6 months of initial launch. The learning will be submitted to Government of Odisha as a Report. However feedbacks relating to immediate changes will be accepted from competent and proper authorities. If felt necessary one outside agency may also be engaged for the study. 19 Documents to be furnished by the Partner/ Operator A. Technical Bid: a) Organization profile b) Expertise of the organization c) Past performance details d) Present activities e) Similar activities if done earlier on the service sought for in the EOI f) Broad plan of action with organizational chart with details of key members of the project management for the current project. g) Details of the activities to be taken up under the programme, if selected h) Approach and methodology to be adopted. i) Deliverables and time line. 11
j) Written undertaking that the scheme will be managed by Organisation/ National or state level federation or consortium directly. k) Audited reports/ Annual report for the last three years. l) Any other matters to be brought notice B. Financial bid a) Total bid document for implementation of the project in Rs in the first year ( 12 calendar months) b) Component wise break up of above bid amount. c) Proposed bid amount for each year for implementing the project and subsequent three years. d) Details regarding cost of SIM. e) Details regarding talk time to be provided to each fishermen for the entire project period. f) Mode of payment g) Any other matter or requirement related to the activities. 12