Hire a Consultant to Develop Business and Sustainability Plan for Sierra Leon…

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

(Consultant – Individual Selection)

Sierra Leone Land Administration Project (SLLAP)

Grant No.: E0600-SL

Project Id: P177031

Issue date: 26th June 2026

Assignment Title: Hiring an Individual Consultant - Development of a Business and Sustainability Plan for the National GNSS CORS Network of Sierra Leone

Reference No: SL-MLHCP-557139-CS-INDV

The Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL), through the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Country Planning (MLHCP) and the National Land Commission (NLC), is implementing the Sierra Leone Land Administration Project (SLLAP) (Project No. P177031). The Project Development Objective is to establish an efficient, accessible, and sustainable land administration system.

Under Component 2 of SLLAP, the Government has established a modern national geodetic infrastructure, including a nationwide Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Continuously Operating Reference Station (CORS) Network comprising thirteen (13) stations and a Network Control Centre (NCC).

The CORS Network has been constructed and is currently in technical operation. The CORS Contractor who designed and built the system is contractually obligated to provide technical operation and maintenance (O&M) services for a period of three (3) years from system commissioning. This arrangement provides a critical transition period during which the Government must establish a sustainable long-term business model, governance structure, and operational framework to ensure continuity of services beyond the contractor's O&M period.

A separate technical assessment of the CORS system is being conducted to evaluate system performance, document technical architecture, and establish operational baselines. The findings from that technical assessment will inform this Business and Sustainability Plan.

The GNSS CORS Network constitutes a Critical National Strategic Asset underpinning land administration, surveying and mapping, infrastructure development, agriculture, disaster risk management, aviation, maritime navigation, national security, and the digital economy. Ensuring its long-term operational, financial, and institutional sustainability is therefore a matter of national interest.

Objective of the Assignment

The objective of this assignment is to prepare a comprehensive, bankable, and implementable Business and Sustainability Plan for the National GNSS CORS Network of Sierra Leone. The Plan shall define an optimal governance, operational, financial, and legal framework to ensure the Network's long-term sustainability, reliability, and strategic value beyond the initial three-year contractor-managed O&M period.

The Business Plan shall:

• Utilize the findings from the separate technical assessment of the CORS system.
• Leverage the existing operational system and the technical expertise of the CORS Contractor during the three-year O&M period.
• Define a transition strategy from contractor-managed operations to long-term sustainable operations.
• Explicitly assess and compare public, private, and hybrid (public-private partnership) governance and operating models.
• Safeguard the Network's status as a sovereign national geodetic infrastructure.
• Ensure knowledge transfer and capacity building during the contractor O&M period.
• Identify funding source for each business and operating model considered. Scope of Services

Review of Technical Assessment Findings

Review and incorporate the findings from the separate Technical Assessment of the CORS Network, including:

• System architecture, performance metrics, and operational baseline data
• Technical standards, maintenance requirements, and operational costs
• Identified technical risks, vendor dependencies, and technology constraints
• Documentation quality and knowledge transfer readiness The Business Plan shall be grounded in the technical realities documented in the Technical Assessment

Organizational Structure, Governance and Internal Administration

Assess and recommend institutional and governance arrangements for the CORS Network, including fully public, semi-autonomous, and public-private partnership models. Define ownership, oversight, decision-making structures, inter-ministerial coordination mechanisms, and internal administrative procedures.

The analysis shall specifically:

• Consider options for extending or transitioning the CORS Contractor's role beyond the initial 3-year O&M period
• Evaluate governance models that leverage the Contractor's technical expertise while building Government capacity
• Define transition milestones and decision points during the 3-year O&M period
• Recommend phased knowledge transfer and capacity building arrangements
• Assess institutional capacity requirements and organisational placement options (within MLHCP, NLC, as autonomous agency, or PPP entity)
• Define roles and responsibilities for network oversight, operations, user services, and quality assurance Finance and Accounting

Prepare detailed multi-year (minimum 5-10 years) financial projections, including CAPEX, OPEX, asset replacement cycles, and lifecycle costing. Develop revenue models, pricing strategies, subsidy requirements, accounting, billing, audit, and financial control mechanisms.

Financial modeling shall:

• Use actual operational costs from the CORS Contractor and Technical Assessment as the baseline
• Project cost evolution under different governance and operating scenarios (direct Government operation, continued contractor management, hybrid PPP model)
• Account for technology refresh cycles based on actual equipment specifications and industry standards
• Model the financial implications of alternative transition strategies at the end of Year 3
• Assess the cost-effectiveness of various service delivery options
• Identify potential cost savings or efficiencies relative to the contractor-managed baseline
• Develop pricing models for different user categories (Government, commercial surveyors, academic, agriculture, telecommunications)
• Project revenue potential under different market penetration scenarios
• Calculate break-even analysis and identify subsidy requirements Marketing and Market Development

Identify and segment potential users across public and private sectors. Assess demand, willingness to pay, competitive environment, and partnership opportunities. Develop a marketing, outreach, and customer onboarding strategy consistent with the public-good nature of the infrastructure.

The market analysis shall:

• Document current user base and service uptake during the contractor-managed period
• Conduct demand assessment across key user sectors (surveying professionals, agriculture precision farming, construction and infrastructure, telecommunications network planning, academic research, government mapping agencies)
• Assess willingness to pay through stakeholder consultations and comparative pricing analysis
• Identify barriers to adoption (awareness, technical capacity, cost, accessibility) and strategies to overcome them
• Benchmark against CORS pricing models in comparable countries and regional contexts
• Develop marketing and outreach strategy, including awareness campaigns, demonstration projects, and user training programs
• Recommend strategies to grow the user base and revenue potential before the end of Year 3
• Identify potential anchor clients and partnership opportunities Technical Operations and Maintenance Strategy

Define a long-term technical operations and maintenance strategy that ensures continuity of high-quality GNSS services beyond the contractor O&M period, informed by the findings of the Technical Assessment.

The strategy shall:

• Adopt the technical standards, protocols, and service level requirements documented in the Technical Assessment
• Assess options for post-Year 3 technical support, including: continued contractor engagement (extended contract or retainer), in-house Government technical capacity, hybrid models with contractor backstopping, or third-party service provider arrangements
• Evaluate the operational feasibility and cost implications of each technical support option
• Define vendor management strategies to minimize technology lock-in and ensure competitive procurement
• Establish decision criteria for selecting the optimal technical operations model
• Recommend contractual frameworks for ongoing technical support arrangements Knowledge Transfer and Capacity Building

Develop a comprehensive knowledge transfer and capacity building plan to enable sustainable Government management of the CORS Network.

The plan shall:

• Identify critical technical, operational, and administrative competencies required for long-term network management (informed by Technical Assessment findings)
• Define a phased training and knowledge transfer program to be implemented during the 3-year contractor O&M period
• Specify training modules, documentation requirements, and hands-on operational exposure for Government staff
• Recommend staffing levels, organizational placement, and reporting structures for the Government CORS operations team
• Establish benchmarks and milestones for measuring capacity development progress
• Propose mechanisms to retain institutional knowledge and prevent staff turnover
• Estimate training costs and recommend funding sources
• Define roles for the CORS Contractor in delivering training and mentoring Human Resources Management

Define required staffing structure, roles, qualifications, training needs, remuneration benchmarks, and succession planning arrangements necessary for sustainable operation after the transition from contractor management.

HR planning shall:

• Specify job descriptions and technical competency requirements for CORS operations staff
• Recommend organizational structure (technical operations, user services, administration, finance)
• Benchmark salaries against comparable technical positions in Sierra Leone public sector, telecommunications