Request for Proposal

**Who we are**

Global Fishing Watch is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing ocean governance through increased transparency of human activity at sea. By creating and publicly sharing map visualizations, data and analysis tools, we aim to enable scientific research and transform the way our ocean is managed. We believe human activity at sea should be public knowledge in order to safeguard the global ocean for the common good of all.

**Context**

Global Fishing Watch has supported Panama to publish their vessel monitoring system data, enhance their administrative sanction process, enhance their implementation of marine protection measures and develop and adopt new policies around fisheries management.

As an expansion of this support, GFW is looking to strengthen the due diligence process for issuance of licences with the consistent use of ultimate beneficial ownership (UBO) data of vessels. GFW is also working to improve public availability and transparency of vessel tracking and ownership information by designing interoperability solutions that could enable countries to automate their data sharing processes.

The Authority of Aquatic Resources of Panama (ARAP) has identified the need to strengthen interoperability, enhance transparency, and ensure the effective use of ultimate beneficial ownership (UBO) information. To achieve these objectives, it is essential to conduct an analysis of the current collection and data sharing landscape and implement best practices in documentation systems and technological platforms. Strengthening these systems will enable ARAP to meet its commitments to Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs), the FAO Global Record of Fishing Vessels, Refrigerated Transport Vessels and Supply Vessels, and improve internal licensing processes.

**Objectives**

The data coordinator will work in close coordination with ARAP and will assist in digitizing, reviewing, and collating vessel ownership and UBO data, making adjustments to the ARAP databases to incorporate this field into the Panama national database and licensing process.

Additionally, the selected data coordinator will be responsible for analyzing the interconnection of the various existing databases of relevant ARAP Directorates and within existing platforms. This analysis will support improved data capture and the generation of reports that facilitate information sharing with RFMOs.

**Scope and timeline**

The Data Coordinator will be responsible for the following deliverables:
**Data Source Mapping Report**Developed in close collaboration with ARAP officials**Comprehensive inventory of data sources relevant to licensing and due diligence process to capture and manage information related to fishing vessels, licensing, ultimate beneficial ownership (UBO), and other relevant regulatory requirements.**
- Analysis of the type of information that ARAP must send to the different RFMOs and where this information is stored, as well as the frequency, format, and channels through which it is transmitted.

**Estimated Delivery: 1 month after contract start date**
**UBO and Vessel Documentation Digitization Package**
- Prepared through joint review and validation with ARAP
- Digitized and organized documentation for the Ultimate Beneficial Owners and vessel records of both the granted licenses and the infringing vessels, as per the Enforcement Department list.
- Estimated Delivery: 2 months after contract start date

**Vessel Database Documentation**
- Developed collaboratively with ARAP and GFW
- Comprehensive database of vessel-related information, including registration details, ownership data, fishing activity records, and compliance status.
- Description of current storage situation regarding RFMOs vessel compliance information databases.
- Includes metadata, data collection methodology, and usage guidelines that describe the structure, format, and types of data stored within the vessel database.
- Implementation of necessary adjustments to the vessel database to incorporate the owner and ultimate beneficial ownership (UBO) field.
- Estimated Delivery: 4 months after contract start date

**Fishing Vessels Data Analysis Report**
- Conducted in coordination with ARAP and Global Fishing Watch (GFW)
- Comprehensive analysis of the available vessel data, including essential information such as vessel identities, ownership details, fishing activity record, compliance history, and other key variables.
- Estimated Delivery: 5 months after contract start date

**Data Governance and Improvement Recommendations Report**
- Co-developed with ARAP officials
- Identifies:
- Current data management processes
- Challenges and gaps in existing systems (i.e. data quality issues, lack of interoperability between different systems and platforms used by ARAP, inconsistencies in reporting to RFMOs and barriers to data accessibility, limited access rights among others).
- Recommended improvements for data exchange and ma