Request for Proposal For Community Engagement, Social Structuring, Governance Development, Capacity Building And Gesi Integration

Request for proposals for Community Engagement, Social Structuring, Governance Development, Capacity Building and GESI Integration for Eight Pilot Energy Communities in Colombia In October 2026, GGGI started the implementation of the project Sustainable Power and Resilience for Colombias Energy Communities", which is funded by the Mitigation Action Facility Fund (MAF, formerly the Nama Facility). This initiative focuses on energy policy, capacity building, and the development of financial instruments for distributed energy systems called Energy Communities (ECs). A central feature of the project is the promotion of an ESCO-led Energy Community model, through which Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) act as project developers, investors, operators, and long-term technical partners of communities. Under this approach, ESCOs identify opportunities, structure projects, mobilize financing, develop and operate renewable energy assets, and establish long-term contractual arrangements with community members and energy users. This model enables communities to access renewable energy services without assuming significant upfront investment costs while providing predictable revenue streams that support private sector participation. During the project design phase, GGGI worked closely with national institutions, financial institutions, ESCOs, community organizations, and other stakeholders to define a market-based implementation model for Energy Communities. These consultations confirmed that the main barriers to scaling Energy Communities are not the lack of community interest or technical solutions, but rather the limited availability of bankable project pipelines, insufficient risk-mitigation instruments, the absence of standardized contractual structures, and remaining regulatory gaps that affect investor confidence. To address these challenges, GGGI designed two complementary financial mechanisms: (i) A Project Preparation Facility (PPF, to be operationalized through the Fondo de Energías no Convencionales y Gestión Eficiente de la Energía - FENOGE), conceived as a structuring fund to take community energy projects to a bankable, ready-to-build stage; and (ii) A Credit Risk Guarantee Mechanism to be operationalized through the Fondo Nacional de Garantías (FNG), designed to reduce commercial banks risk perception and improve access to credit on favorable terms for energy community projects and their promoters. These instruments are intended to catalyze private sector participation, improve project quality and financing readiness, reduce transaction costs, and create a sustainable pipeline of investment-ready Energy Community projects. The project will be implemented through a phased approach designed to establish the institutional, financial, and regulatory conditions required for the large-scale deployment of EC in Colombia. During Implementation Phase 1 (IP1), covering the first twelve months of project implementation, the primary focus will be on operationalizing the projects above-described financial instruments and validating the proposed Energy Community business model through a limited number of pilot initiatives. The project will support four Energy Community (EC) typologies representing different social, economic, and geographic contexts across Colombia: Type 1 Residential Energy Communities are composed primarily of lower-middle-income households located within the National Interconnected System (SIN) that seek to reduce electricity costs through collective self-generation and active participation in community-based energy management. Type 2 Commercial and Industrial Energy Communities include groups of businesses, productive associations, commercial facilities, agribusinesses, and small and medium-sized enterprises interested in improving competitiveness through reduced energy costs and increased adoption of renewable energy solutions. Type 3 Public Building Energy Communities are formed around public entities such as schools, hospitals, administrative buildings, marketplaces, and other municipal facilities that aim to reduce public energy expenditures while promoting sustainability and local climate action. Type 4 Mixed Energy Communities in Non-Interconnected Zones (ZNI) serve rural and remote territories and may include residential users, productive users, public institutions, Indigenous Peoples, Afro-Colombian communities, and other vulnerable populations. These communities seek to improve energy access, reliability, and local development through collective renewable energy generation systems adapted to off-grid or isolated contexts. Together, these four EC typologies provide the opportunity to validate the Energy Community model under different implementation environments and generate lessons learned for large-scale replication throughout Colombia As part of IP1, the Project will support the development and structuring of eight (8) pilot EC projects representing different EC typologies and implementation contexts across Colombia. These pilot projects are intended to validate the operational design of the PPF, support the implementation of the Credit Risk Guarantee Mechanism, demonstrate the bankability of ESCO-led Energy Community models, and generate lessons learned for future scale-up activities during Implementation Phase 2. The pilots will serve as flagship cases to test technical, financial, commercial, legal, social, and institutional approaches before the large-scale deployment phase begins. The objective of this assignment is to provide GGGI with comprehensive community engagement, social structuring, governance development, stakeholder participation, capacity building, and Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) support services for eight pilot Energy Community (EC) projects during Implementation Phase 1 (IP1) of the Sustainable Power and Resilience for Colombias Energy Communities Project. The assignment shall support the validation of the ESCO-led Energy Community model through participatory processes that strengthen community ownership, establish governance structures, facilitate community agreements, support stakeholder engagement, and ensure meaningful participation of Women´s organizations, people with disabilities, youth, Indigenous Peoples, Afro-Colombian communities, and other historically marginalized populations where applicable. The Service Provider shall work closely with the engineering consultancy firm and the legal/regulatory consultancy firm engaged by GGGI to ensure a wholesome approach and that social, governance, financial, legal, and technical dimensions of each pilot Energy Community are effectively integrated and mutually reinforcing. One or two of the eight projects will be located in non-interconnected areas (ZNI). The Service Provider shall tailor its community engagement, governance, capacity-building, and GESI approaches to the specific characteristics and needs of each Energy Community typology, recognizing the significant differences between urban residential communities, business-oriented communities, public sector communities, and vulnerable rural communities in Non-Interconnected Zones. The project will have nationwide coverage; therefore, all regions should be considered when developing the proposal. 2) Implementation approach This Service provider will have to work in alignment with other providers to ensure the overall intervention delivers the institutional, financial, and regulatory conditions required for the large-scale deployment of EC in Colombia. During Implementation Phase 1 (IP1), covering the first twelve months of project implementation, the primary focus will be on operationalizing the projects financial instruments and validating the proposed Energy Community business model through a limited number of pilot initiatives. This TOR refer particularly to the development and structuring of eight pilot EC projects representing different typologies and implementation contexts. These pilot projects are intended to serve as practical demonstration cases to validate the operational design of the PPF, test financing and risk mitigation approaches, assess contractual arrangements, and identify regulatory and institutional barriers that may affect future scale-up. Lessons learned from these pilots will be used to refine the projects financial instruments, operational procedures, contractual frameworks, and implementation methodologies before entering the large-scale deployment phase. GGGI will engage, under separate terms of reference (ToR), a technical consultancy firm to lead the technical, engineering, commercial, environmental, and financial structuring of the pilot projects. Under these ToR, the Service Provider will work closely with the technical consultancy firm to ensure the pilot projects are supported by robust legal, contractual, institutional, and governance frameworks. Particular emphasis will be placed on developing and testing standardized contractual arrangements, including Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), community governance agreements, capacity building, among other requirements. The knowledge generated during IP1 will provide the foundation for Implementation Phase 2, during which the project will focus on scaling the Energy Community model, deploying the PPF and Credit Risk Guarantee mechanisms, supporting project developers and financial institutions, and providing continued technical assistance to the Government of Colombia on any regulatory or institutional improvements identified during the assessment process carried out under IP1. After the delivery of the products described hereby the transformative energy access model through Energy Communities (ECs) will be scalable based on the results regarding environmental, economic, and social benefits through collective renewable energy production, distribution, and management. Tender Link : https://in-tendhost.co.uk/gggi/aspx/Tenders/Current