Give Where You Live Foundation is seeking expressions of interest from technology vendors and suppliers to support the pilot of a Digital Voucher Initiative
For several decades the Give Where You Live Foundation has facilitated a paper-based voucher initiative aimed at ensuring the most vulnerable people within the G21 region have access to goods and services during times of need.
The voucher ecosystem consists of the Give Where You Live Foundation, agency partners and approved merchants who together support people-in-need.
The Give Where You Live Foundation has received funding from the Victorian government to support the digitisation of this scheme, in support of their efforts to scale the initiative’s reach in the community, as well as improve operational efficiency.
The Current Voucher Ecosystem
The Give Where You Live Ecosystem is comprised of several participants: The Give Where You Live Foundation; eligible agencies who are granted and then distribute vouchers to beneficiaries; beneficiaries who are given vouchers redeemable for goods and services; and approved merchants who can receive vouchers from beneficiaries and redeem back to Give Where You Live Foundation for cash.
General steps taken to issue and redeem vouchers:
- Ahead of funding round, review and induct agency partner(s) and merchant(s) into the ecosystem
- Budget for voucher funding round and voucher allocation to ecosystem agencies
- Agencies distribute vouchers to people-in-need
- Individuals redeem vouchers for goods and services with participating merchants
- Merchants redeem vouchers for cash from Give Where You Live Foundation
- Give Where You Live collects data about how the vouchers have been used to evaluate need and program effectiveness
Solution Requirements
The digital voucher solution should, at a minimum, fulfill the following use cases:
- Beneficiaries can receive and store digital vouchers or currency on a smartphone or reusable card
- Beneficiaries can redeem digital vouchers for goods and services with approved merchants
- Approved merchants can accept digital vouchers at the point of sale in a convenient manner that respects the dignity of the beneficiary
- Approved merchants can redeem digital vouchers with Give Where You Live Foundation in exchange for cash (Australian dollars)
- Analytics capability provides Give Where You Live Foundation with the ability to evaluate program effectiveness and opportunities for improvement in a manner respectful to individual dignity and privacy considerations
- Give Where You Live Foundation (or delegate) has the ability to administer the ecosystem, with a particular focus on minting new vouchers and managing agencies and merchants.
Supplier Evaluation
Give Where You Live Foundation is strategically focused on scaling participation in the digital voucher program. This will require efficient processes for onboarding new agencies and merchants, along with reporting on program effectiveness to donors. The following criteria will be used when evaluating technology providers:
- Flexibility: Is the solution adaptable to changing needs of the digital voucher program?
- Openness: Is the solution extensible and built on open standards?
- Analytics: Does the solution offer the opportunity for analytics and reporting while maintaining privacy considerations?
- Price: Is the solution good value for money?
- Partnership: Does the supplier have the interest and capacity to work in partnership with the Give Where You Live Foundation?
- Availability: Is the supplier available to implement their solution in a timely manner?
Key Dates
- Applications open from 25 March
- Applications close Sunday 15 April
- Short-list and interviews 21 April to 28 April
- Technology vendor selection by Friday 30 April
- Pilot implementation kick-off 1 May 2021
Expressions-of-Interest
Expressions of interest should be in the form of a deck outlining the following:
- Background of your organisation
- High-level solution capabilities and considerations
- Typical price point
- Availability
Short-listed candidates will be invited to submit a proposal to undertake the initiative with the Give Where You Live Foundation.
Contact
Please direct EOI inquiries and submissions to:
Nick Byrne, nick@typehuman.com, 0408 067 029