Consulting Firm

Background

Clickable Impact is a consultancy specialising in sustainable economic development, with a focus on climate, energy, agriculture, food, and tourism. We offer a range of services, including policy advisory, communications, public affairs, innovation, market access, and project development. We are uniquely skilled at leveraging public and private sector relationships to promote private sector engagement and mobilise private capital.

Under the Gender-Responsive, Equitable Agriculture and Tourism (GREAT 2) initiative, funded by the Australian Government, Clickable Impact is implementing the sub-project, Tourism for Ethnic Minority Women (T4EMW), in Son La Province. The sub-project aims to promote gender equality and women's economic empowerment, particularly among ethnic minority women, through inclusive and sustainable tourism development until June 2027. Tourism investment in Sn La is expanding rapidly, with increasing interest from both public and private sectors. While Vietnam's Investment Law 2020 and Environmental Protection Law 2020 (including the Environmental Impact Assessment process) provide a strong foundation for evaluating financial feasibility and environmental safeguards, these processes do not yet systematically incorporate broader social, gender, and cultural dimensions. Social factors, such as community participation, cultural heritage preservation, or gender inclusion, are recognised to a limited extent, but are not consistently embedded in investment appraisal and approval procedures. As a result, tourism investment decisions may not fully account for the social inclusion, cultural integrity, and equitable benefit-sharing necessary for sustainable and responsible tourism growth.

To address this gap, this assignment will develop a set of Responsible Tourism Investment Guidelines (RTIG) that define what responsible tourism investment means in the local context and how it can be embedded within provincial planning, appraisal, and approval processes. The Guidelines will serve as a strategic reference framework for government authorities, investors, and community partners, outlining how tourism investment can deliver environmental protection, cultural preservation, and measurable social and gender outcomes. They will also provide the foundation for future phases, including the design of operational tools and processes to assess and monitor responsible tourism investment in practice.

Objectives of Assignment

The objective is to develop a Responsible Tourism Investment Guideline (RTIG) for Son La Province, offering a clear, evidence-based framework for integrating responsible, inclusive, and sustainable practices into tourism investment planning and management. Specific objectives are to:

1. Map and analyse existing national and provincial frameworks relevant to responsible tourism investment.

2. Identify policy and institutional gaps that limit the integration of environmental, social, and gender inclusion principles.

3. Propose a structured framework and actionable recommendations for provincial authorities to embed responsible tourism principles in investment planning and evaluation.

4. Provide a conceptual basis for developing future tools or appraisal mechanisms derived from these Guidelines.

Scope of Work & Expected Outputs

Task 1. Context and Literature Review

• Review Vietnamese laws, policies, and provincial plans relevant to tourism investment (e.g. Investment Law, Environmental Protection Law / EIA, Tourism Law, Gender Equality Law, Land Law)

• Identify how environmental, social, and gender dimensions are currently addressed

• Examine international good practice (e.g. ESG, IMP, IRIS+, SROI, GRIA, ESMF) to extract insights applicable to the Vietnamese provincial context.

--> Consolidated background analysis summarising current frameworks, challenges, and international reference models

Task 2. Gap Analysis and Framework Development

• Identify policy and procedural gaps that prevent responsible and inclusive investment practices

• Draft a conceptual framework (e.g. environment, socio-cultural, economic and governance dimensions) suitable for provincial application.

--> Draft Responsible Tourism Investment Framework with clear guiding principles and structure

Task 3. Stakeholder Consultation and Validation

• Conduct key informant interviews or focus group discussions with key stakeholders, including DOF, DOCST, DAE, People's Committees, the Women's Union, community representatives, and selected private-sector actors to validate findings and ensure the framework reflects local priorities and institutional feasibility.

--> Validated framework and stakeholder insights synthesised for incorporation into the Guidelines.

Task 4. Drafting of Responsible Tourism Investment Guidelines

Develop the Guidelines incorporating:

• Background and rationale

• Policy and literature synthesis

• Conceptual framework and guiding principles

• Practical recommendations for provincial implementation (including roles, coordination mechanisms, and a next-step roadmap for tool design). Responsible Tourism Investment Guidelines (Version 1) by mid-January

Required Qualifications and Experience

The consultant/consulting firm should demonstrate:

• Minimum eight years of professional experience in sustainable tourism development, investment policy, responsible business advisory, or related fields

• Proven track record in policy analysis, framework design, or guideline development within Viet Nam or the broader Mekong region

• Technical proficiency in impact assessment and measurement frameworks, including ESG standards, SROI analysis, IRIS+, IMP, or similar methodologies.

• Demonstrated experience conducting multi-stakeholder consultations with government agencies, private-sector stakeholders, and community groups, including ethnic minority stakeholders.

• Strong understanding of gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) principles and their application in tourism or investment contexts (optional but recommended) The selected consultant/firm will work closely with Clickable's Strategic Partnerships and Investment Specialist and GREAT's Safeguarding Officer to ensure that safeguarding and GEDSI (Gender Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion) principles are integrated across all project activities and deliverables. The consultant/firm is also expected to participate in bi-weekly progress check-ins to report on key findings, emerging issues, and deliverables. Duration 1.

Duration:

Estimated 6 - 8 weeks 2. Tentative timeline: December 2025 – January 2026

Deadline of Submission

Interested candidates are invited to submit a comprehensive proposal, including:

• Technical proposal (methodology, work plan, and team composition).

• Financial proposal (detailed budget),

• Company profile and relevant project references

Please submit proposals to [Confidential Information] by 8 Dec 2025. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted./.