Digital Community Hubs services

What We’re Looking For:

Before going into the lot details, here is a sample use case for Digital Community Hubs (DCH) in Lebanon:

NRC Lebanon has set up a WhatsApp channel to collect feedback and provide information for NRC project participants.

User view: A project participant sends a message through the WhatsApp channel using their mobile phone, and then they enter an automated response message to collect some information about the issue they are contacting NRC about and what services are requested. If the participant’s request is not addressed the case is referred to an NRC agent that will provide the answer and close the case. Project participants are also able to send a voice note through the WhatsApp channel.

Agent view: An agent will log in to Flex (Twilio user interface), change their status to available and start receiving new “tasks” which are the requests received through the WhatsApp channel. Agents will go through WhatsApp conversation history and understand the request of the participant, then will address it based on the provided information, this is done either through sending a message or calling the participant.

System: The WhatsApp set-up and phone number are provisioned through Twilio, and the automated messages in WhatsApp are configured through a flow using Twilio’s studio. 4 agents and one supervisor connect to Twilio Flex concurrently and handle incoming requests through the WhatsApp channel. Twilio logs are extracted every night to a SharePoint location where they are connected with PowerBI or any other CRM systems.

In 2023, Lebanon alone had over 77,000 interactions through WhatsApp and voice channels. NRC globally, had a total of over 173M messages (SMS and WhatsApp), 92K calls, and 157K USSD requests in 2023.

Scope of Work:

This Invitation to Bid (ITB) covers three distinct Lots, outlined in the attached document. These Lots include:

1. Global Connectivity: Providing global communication services, including SMS messaging, voice, video, email, chat (including Whatsapp, Facebook and other social platform). Supporting seamless integration of these features into existing applications including the CRM system (EspoCRM) through simple APIs. Details to be provided in Annex 1 under sheet Lot1,2.
   The provider should also be able to provision phone numbers to be used in NRC countries of operation, especially countries with emergency crises such as (Sudan, Palestine, Somalia,…etc)
2. Platform to Connect with Local Mobile Network Operators (MNOs): A platform for managing and automating mobile messaging services to enhance our communication capabilities. The ideal solution should support the sending and receiving of SMS, MMS, and voice messages on a global scale either by integrating with the local MNO using their provided sim cards or by using the services of global communication suppliers. We are looking for features like bulk messaging, interactive SMS campaigns, automated workflows, and comprehensive tools for analytics, reporting, and contact management. A user-friendly web interface and API access are essential for seamless integration and ease of use. We invite providers who can offer a scalable and efficient solution to our diverse communication needs to submit their proposals. Details to be provided in Annex 1 under sheet Lot1,2.
   Suppliers that can also connect with local MNOs and provide voice calling features through their platforms will receive extra preference..
3. Software Development Support: The software development service provider should have the required expertise to deploy the DCH product to new NRC country offices. Currently, the product uses Telerivet, Twilio as communication platforms and EspoCRM as the underlying CRM system.

The supplier should have the expertise to maintain old and new product instances and troubleshoot them when they fail due to unexpected errors. Details to be provided in Annex 1 under sheet Team Lot3 and sheet Support Lot 3.

The supplier should be able to add new features to the product to improve its functionality, this can be based on NRC’s request or change of need or context or based on the supplier’s recommendation for a smoother user experience.