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To: Ford Foundation

From: Tawana Jacobs, Fenton Communications

Re: Final recommendations for Foundation program in Indonesia

Date: April 30, 2012

SUMMARY

Fenton Communications completed the final phase of its work this month for the Ford Foundation, Indonesia. After initially vetting five communications firms to gauge their qualifications and skills to assist the Foundation with a development program, we reduced the list of firms to three. To conduct the final phase of work and recommend the two most qualified firms, Fenton sent InterMatrix Communications, Klirkom and MACS909 revised scopes of work and asked each to submit updated proposals with detailed estimated budgets to include their monthly retainer fees, and references.

Upon receipt of the proposals, Fenton carefully reviewed and compared each using the following criteria:

Communications skills and services

Understanding the Foundation program’s issue

Adherence to the scope of work

Budget References

In our view, Klirkom is the most qualified to assist the Foundation with this project.

Their creative thinking on how to improve the Foundation program’s position in the issue space surrounding the pulp and paper sectors ranked them higher than the other firms being considered. Our confidence in their ability to deliver only grew during the vetting process because of their consistency in presenting themselves as the most dedicated to meeting a client’s expectations. For example, their final proposal included an unsolicited situational analysis of the issue space that demonstrated their understanding of the Foundation’s program. The proposal also provided additional ideas for the project. Their budget was the most reasonable of the three, and their references were glowing.

InterMatrix Communications is the second firm we recommend for an in-person interview. They are a known entity to the Foundation through their work with the Climate and Land Use Alliance, and have a clear understanding of the issues surrounding the pulp and paper sectors. They did an exceptional job of sharing their extensive experience with communicating on social issue campaigns during the interview portion of the vetting process, and they presented a respectable proposal that proved them to be more than competent.

We believe MACS909 should be eliminated from consideration at this time. They fell short of demonstrating an understanding of the Foundation’s communications or issue management needs in the final proposal, and their estimated budget, which was not detailed, was significantly higher than the other two firms.

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The process used to make our recommendations is detailed below, and proposals from the two best firms accompany this memo for your review.

CRITERIA

Communications skills and services

Klirkom demonstrated their communications skills and issue management experience most consistently. They were the only firm to address specific deliverables in the scope of work during in-depth interviews. In their final proposal, they addressed each deliverable and included additional ideas for consideration. For example, they suggested using the Expanding Community Rights Initiative as a way to highlight the Foundation’s development efforts in the country to attract partners and develop a greater understanding of the Foundation’s work and its impact among target audiences.

InterMatrix showcased their good communications skills and a solid issue management experience most effectively during the in-depth interviews when they shared their creative thinking on how to meet the program’s communications needs. That is when they mentioned a need for public opinion polling to better understand public perceptions of the Foundation project and talked about audience mapping. Their final proposal only revealed them to be competent communicators. The firm’s established connections in media, along with their experience with democracy, environmental and governance issues overrode our concerns about their uneven presentation.

Understanding the Fo und ati on’s pr ogr am goal

Klirkom had the most complete understanding of the Foundation’s program goal. We came to that conclusion because in the final proposal, they used their previous experience with managing politically sensitive issues to suggest how they would advance the Foundation program’s policy goals. This presentation, coupled with their knowledge of the history surrounding the pulp and paper sectors shared during in-depth interviews, helped build their case for final consideration. Additionally, the firm’s managing director dedicated himself to lead his team on this project and limit other firm work during its duration.

InterMatrix also clearly understood the Foundation’s program goal. Their knowledge of the history associated with this issue space, and their work with the Foundation in the Climate and Land Use Alliance gave them additional insight into the program.

Adherence to the scope of work

Klirkom and InterMatrix both addressed all of the components included in the scope of work in the proper order. Klirkom, however, used the scope of work as the basis on which to develop a more inspired approach to the project. InterMatrix followed the scope of work as provided.

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Budget

Klirkom’s proposed budget for an initial six month period was $55,367 (USD). It included their monthly retainer fee of $4,223, implementation for the first phase of the communications strategy, and provided a detailed explanation for each line item.

InterMatrix proposed a budget of $53,944.44 (USD) over a three month period. This budget included their monthly retainer fee of $11,500, but excluded implementation of the communications strategy. The fee for that work, which they estimated would begin in July, increased monthly fees to $14,000 per month (USD), but excluded any operational costs.

References

Klirkom’s clients were the most enthusiastic about their work. Their contact at the World Bank explained how Klirkom’s scope of work with them had grown during their nine year relationship, and how Klirkom has consistently delivered top quality work on schedule and within budget despite it’s small size. The World Bank, Coca Cola and the other client reference all praised Klirkom’s managing director, and said he and the Klirkom team were extremely responsive and always exhibited a high level of professionalism.

Clients of InterMatrix were not as responsive to our multiple requests for information. However, the information received was very positive and consistent with the Foundation’s experience in working with them.

CONCLUSION

Throughout the entire vetting process, Klirkom presented themselves as the most energetic and best prepared firm to take on the Foundation project. Our initial concerns about the firm’s size were overridden by client references and the quality of their final proposal. Unlike the others, their final proposal took an expansive approach in addressing the needs of the Foundation program. InterMatrix also presented well and demonstrated they had the skills to succeed with this project. However, their established relationship with the Foundation, which they brought up on several occasions, made them overly confident about being selected for this project.

PROPOSED NEXT STEPS

Week of May 7: Ford Foundation will interview the final two firms before making a selection. Week of May 14: Fenton is available for consultation on the final selection, if the Foundation deems it

necessary.