The Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) is inviting proposals for the development of an interactive web-based decision support tool (in the form of a web portal). Individuals/agencies are requested to submit a proposal based on the following details.

Context

In 2016, CEEW released a study ‘Critical Non-Fuel Mineral Resources for India’s Manufacturing Sector: A Vision for 2030’. This was a first-of-its-kind of work (read media coverage in Hindu and ET) aimed at assisting policy planners and industry experts in strategising their resource security policies. This study initiated an important discussion around securing critical resources to boost India’s manufacturing economy. Some key stakeholders included Ministry of Mines, Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, National Security Establishment, and NITI Aayog. In 2018, CEEW decided to develop a holistic decision support web-tool to support and strengthen policymaking in an integrated and informed manner.

What is the Objective of the Tool?

We are looking for an agency, keen and competent, to develop a dynamic, data-intensive, user-interactive web-tool on an easy-to-operate platform. The agency should have demonstrated similar experience in developing such data-intensive web-tools in the past. We expect the agency to integrate CEEW databases (mostly in excel or Stata-based) and analytical algorithms into a desired user-driven, scenario-building, web-tool.

The objective of the tool is to evolve one of our research frameworks – Critical Mineral Resource Index of India (CMRINDEX-India) into a dynamic login-based, policy-decision making tool for the government, industry, and other interested stakeholders. The web-tool must have the capacity to drive complex analytical algorithms and to arrive at a result partially guided by pre-defined inputs selected by various users. It should also offer an interface to collect or crowd-source information from willing users in a pre-defined format. The tool should let users create their own scenarios and download curated results into suitable formats – as word/excel/jpeg/pdf files. There should be an option to save a certain scenario through a closed (login-based) system.

The tool will generate output in the form of interactive visuals. These could be choropleth maps, graphics, interactive visuals, etc.

Primary Target Users of the Tool and their Interaction with the Tool

Central and State Ministries

• They would be able to identify various supply risks (domestic or international) associated with selected minerals. These agencies should be able to run various scenarios by controlling certain parameters of selected minerals, such as import dependency, national supply risk (numeric weightage), selecting/de-selecting trade-contract options, price fluctuations, etc.
• They should be able to modify recyclability/substitution potential associated with selected minerals within a pre-defined range allowed by the tool. Such kind of changes should immediately result into a modified visual and associated downloadable information on pre-defined templates.
• Other areas of their interest will be change in global mineral supply position (within a pre-defined bound), etc.

Industries

• They should be able to identify the future requirement of minerals from their industrial sector. They would be interested to run scenarios by selecting one or more industry/product specific parameters.
• They would also have inputs on future domestic production, recyclability, and availability of substitutes for minerals of their interests.

Civil society organisations

• They would be able to run various scenarios using multiple combination of parameters (as identified above) to identify and develop suitable policy recommendations for the future industry.

What are the Key Questions that the Tool will answer?

• Potential impact of raw material (non-fuel minerals) supply risk on the manufacturing ecosystem of the country, which could extend at a micro level of individual sector/firms
• Untapped and unmapped mineral wealth of the country, and optimal utilisation of budgets towards strategic areas
• Global mineral supply position, and strategies for aggressive bidding for overseas trade agreements and mining right acquisition
• Technology development towards mining and mineral processing
• Research and development potential in crucial areas, especially in finding alternative materials as a substitute of critical minerals
• Recycling potential of minerals from the end-of-life objects. Crucial role played by urban mining in minimising country’s import dependency for critical minerals
• Recovery potential of secondary minerals from the primary mineral processing
• The user should be able to compare scenarios for two or more minerals

Where will the Tool be hosted?

CEEW

Basic Visual Character of the Tool

The design should be contemporary and minimalist. It must be interactive and engaging. It should have a user-friendly navigation system. It should have synonymity to the CEEW website in terms of its visual elements.

Menu Bar for the Tool

• We envision that there will be one master menu which will include these sections: About, Tool, Minerals, Publications, Contact etc.
• As the tool will conduct a ranking and clustering exercise for all defined non-fuel minerals consumed by the domestic manufacturing sector, there will be two important categories – 2015 (Base year) and 2020, 2030,2050 (Future year). This will be the second menu/ sub-menu.

Key Pages

Besides the basic pages, some of the critical pages that would involve a high-level of interaction-based development are – Homepage, Minerals page, and the Tool page. These are the three pages where the user will spend the most amount of time. The Tools page is the one where users will play with parameter values and get a scenario-based on the chosen values. Minerals page is the most critical and dynamic page, and every other page should lead the user to the Minerals page. The Homepage is the most interactive landing page that would lead the user to the Tools and Minerals page.

Important Capabilities that the Tool must have

• An interface for login and sign-up for archiving details of the users.
• For returning users, this feature will help them build on their saved scenarios (customised scenarios where the user changes the values of parameters). These inputs should be saved with customised names on the server.
• Users must be able to compare two scenarios. These could be two pre-set scenarios being compared or one pre-set and one customised scenario being compared or two customised scenarios being compared.
• Data visualisation is very important for this tool. There should be focus on presenting data in interactive visuals.
• The tool will have a default setting and in the customised scenario, the user can choose from 30+ parameters. The set of parameters will vary as per the choice of the setting of the scenario by the user.
• The data and meta data for each parameter, approximately 30 parameters in total, for approximately 50 minerals will be provided by CEEW in a .xlsx format.
• There will be provision to change the parameter values, their weights from the default values (within a given range) and to select/remove parameters.
• Based on the pre-set formulae, the tool will enable a background calculation of estimating the economic importance and supply risk score of the minerals. The set of formulae are to be chosen based on a combination of user inputs (a pre-defined algorithm for formula selection would be provided by CEEW).
• On the Homepage, besides other tabs and sections, there will be two essential tabs – Base year (2015) and Future scenarios (2020, 2030, 2050).
• On the Homepage, there may be an interactive visual where 50 minerals will be plotted based on their scores of economic importance and security risks dimensions. On selection of a particular mineral, it will provide the criticality score of that mineral.
• 2015 will be the default setting when a user lands on the homepage and the Tools page.
• On the Homepage, the user can select 2020, 2030, 2050 and will be led to the Tools page where he can change the parameter values, build a scenario, save the scenario, return to the Minerals page and compare the scenarios.
• On the Homepage, there will be an action button to prompt the user to engage with the Tool. The user can go directly into the Tools page. Or learn how to use the tool. There will be a video to guide the user on how to use the tool.
• After clicking on the action button leading to the Tools page, the user will be led to an inside page wherein he/she can choose a mineral, play with the parameter values and get a scenario-based on the chosen values.
• All the defined minerals, for the year 2015 and future-year business-as-usual scenario (2020, 2030, 2050) should have detailed individual pages.
• Each individual Minerals page should have a dropdown for the user to choose from the list of other 49 minerals.
• The Minerals page should also have the capability to present comparisons between two scenarios.
• On every Mineral page, economic importance will be represented by a visual (say an e-Sankey diagram) highlighting the mineral’s consumption in various manufacturing sectors (example – electronics industry, metals industry etc.). The supply risks dimension will be highlighted in a map-like visual highlighting the trade flows, color shades of different country should represent their geo-political risks and bi-lateral trade agreements. The map could be like a pale-colored map which colors the country importing the mineral and the countries the mineral is being imported from.
• User inputs are saved on the server and should be accessible through the admin login with data downloadable (both for the user and admin) in csv format.
• The user must be able to give feedback on the tool.

Branding

The tool should reflect the brand CEEW in terms of color and design. We have recently revamped our website and have rebranded.

Website Security

Security audit of the tool from a government approved agency is a must before or immediately after the launch.

Website Metrics

We need record of all the tool-related data. The admin panel should give an overview and analysis of the user insights of the tool. Currently the information we can easily pull out from the Google Analytics is limited. The developer must provide clarity on how website data will be continuously monitored and used to improve the user experience.

Platform & Design Expectations

The tool needs to be on a web-based platform with a sharable link, compatible with all the commonly used devices (computers, laptops, tablets, mobile phones) as well as browsers (Google Chrome, Mozilla, Safari, IE) on Windows and Mac OS. The link could be hosted on other independent websites. It should also be a mobile responsive web link.

Updatability

The data inputs would be updated frequently, thus the admin panel should have the provision for easy upload of the files. Some sections like Team and Publications will be integrated with the CEEW website.

Deliverables

• A fully- functional web tool as detailed above and deployed at CEEW servers with DNS configurations.]
• A mobile version of the tool.
• An SEO-friendly site.
• An in-person presentation of the beta version before CEEW’s invited set of experts in Delhi.
• Provide complete troubleshooting and maintenance support for the website for 12 months post the formal launch.
• Should also develop ‘How to use the tool’ video to be embedded on the Homepage of the tool.

Expectations from the Developer

• The developer should share their portfolio including similar data-intensive portals and tools that they have developed in the past.
• The team that would work on the CEEW project should have a diverse experience in data visualisations, interactive UI/UX platform design, among other necessary backend coding and development skills.
• The developer should co-work with the CEEW team at every step ranging from brainstorming on the framework and visuals of the tool to the functioning, user experience and providing tutorials to potential users.
• Project costs should include content management training sessions and a complete written instruction manual.
• It is mandatory for the agency to have a Delhi-based team to support us.

Expected Timelines

• Bidding period: 15 working days from the date of release of the RFP i.e 12 February 2019
• Pitch presentation by the bidder: 25 February – 8 March 2019
• Award of contract: Within a week from the pitch presentation
• Development of Beta version: Within two months of the award of contract
• Final tool with all required functionality (as laid out in scope): Within four months of the award of contract

Contact

Interested agencies should reach out to Arsheen Kaur ([email protected]).

About CEEW

The Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) is one of South Asia’s leading not-for-profit policy research institutions. The Council uses data, integrated analysis, and strategic outreach to explain – and change – the use, reuse, and misuse of resources. It prides itself on the independence of its high-quality research, develops partnerships with public and private institutions, and engages with wider public. In 2019, CEEW once again featured extensively across nine categories in the ‘2018 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report’. The Council has also been consistently ranked among the world’s top climate change think tanks.