Key Tender Details

Important Dates and Deadlines

Scope of Work

The consultant will establish and operate a Policy Implementation Support Unit (PISU) for AISF. The assignment is designed as an embedded delivery support unit and not merely as a transactional advisory assignment.

The broad scope includes:

1. Policy Implementation and Programme Management

The consultant will support AISF and DIIS in preparing Annual Implementation Plans, operational guidelines, standard operating procedures, implementation calendars, process templates, governance meeting documents, progress reports and action-tracking systems.

2. Governance, Approvals and Fund-Flow Support

The PISU will provide coordination and documentation support for governance structures, including meetings of DIIS, AISF, Empowered Committee and the State-level Startup Advisory Council. It will support preparation of agendas, minutes, decision notes and action follow-up.

3. Procurement and Contract Management Support

The consultant will support procurement planning, preparation of RFPs and EoIs, compliance with Government of Assam procurement processes, evaluation support, contract records and audit trails.

4. Financial Monitoring and Compliance Support

The consultant will assist in budgeting, financial reporting, grant utilisation tracking, audit coordination, fund disbursement monitoring and financial compliance documentation.

5. Startup Ecosystem Development

The consultant will support incubation and acceleration programmes, startup grants, seed support, partner incubation centres, satellite centres, Entrepreneurship Development Cells, Maker Labs and ecosystem capacity-building initiatives.

6. Partnerships, Market Access and Capital Mobilisation

The PISU will support AISF in building partnerships with corporates, investors, venture funds, PSUs, academic institutions, accelerators, industry associations and development partners. The work includes Corporate Connect, Investor Connect, pitch days, demo days, market access and investment facilitation.

7. Communication, Branding and Outreach

The consultant will develop and implement communication and branding strategy for the Assam startup ecosystem. This includes media outreach, social media, newsletters, annual reports, press briefs, presentations, event notes, success stories and stakeholder communication.

8. Data, Monitoring and Evaluation

The consultant will develop dashboards, KPI data acquisition plans, monitoring systems, monthly dashboards, quarterly performance reports, impact analysis and management briefs for data-driven decision-making.

9. Policy Research and Advocacy

The consultant will conduct research on startup policies, innovation financing, incubation models, sectoral opportunities and best practices. It will prepare policy briefs, research notes and recommendations for AISF, DIIS and relevant government agencies.

10. Institutional Strengthening and Hand-over

The consultant will support AISF’s operational systems, compliance, knowledge repository, SOPs, scheme guidelines, evaluation precedents and final structured hand-over at the end of the assignment.

Pre-Qualification and Eligibility Criteria

The RFP is restricted to consultants who were shortlisted at the EOI stage. Transfer of invitation to any non-shortlisted firm is not permitted.

Eligible consultants must be legally competent entities and must meet the following broad requirements:

1. Must be a legally established consultant, private entity, government-owned entity or valid joint venture.
2. Must be registered under applicable laws and competent to enter into a contract.
3. Must not have any conflict of interest affecting fair competition.
4. Must have fulfilled applicable tax obligations.
5. Must not be insolvent, bankrupt, under receivership, being wound up or under business suspension.
6. Directors and officers must not have been convicted for professional misconduct, false statements or misrepresentation within the relevant period.
7. Must not be debarred by any State Government, Central Government, autonomous body or authority.
8. Must submit an affidavit confirming continued fulfilment of eligibility requirements.

Technical Qualification Criteria

The technical proposal will be evaluated out of 100 marks, with a minimum qualifying score of 70 marks.

Relevant Experience Areas

The consultant’s experience will be evaluated on:

• Experience in establishing or managing policy implementation / monitoring units for Central or State Governments.
• Experience in startup, innovation or entrepreneurship development programmes with Central or State Startup Missions.

Key Expert Requirements

The consultant must deploy a multidisciplinary team at AISF’s premises in Guwahati. Key experts include:

Financial Criteria

No separate minimum average annual turnover or net worth requirement is explicitly specified in the provided RFP document. The key financial provisions include:

1. Estimated total assignment cost: ₹6,91,20,000 excluding GST.
2. Financial proposal must be submitted with the technical proposal.
3. Financial proposal must be in Indian Rupees only.
4. GST will be excluded for evaluation purposes and paid / reimbursed as applicable.
5. Financial forms include summary of cost, remuneration breakdown and reimbursable expenses.
6. The successful consultant must submit Performance Security equal to 5% of the contract price before signing the contract.

Submission Guidelines

The consultant must submit both the Technical Proposal and Financial Proposal online through the Assam e-Procurement portal. In addition, original key documents must be submitted in hardcopy to the client.

The proposal must be complete, signed by the authorised representative and supported by a valid Power of Attorney. In the case of a joint venture, the proposal must be signed in a manner legally binding on all members.

Technical proposals must not contain financial information. Any technical proposal containing material financial information may be treated as non-responsive.

Document Checklist

Technical Proposal Documents

Financial Proposal Documents

Hardcopy / Original Key Documents