NATURE CONSERVANCY INDIA SOLUTIONS PRIVATE LIMITED

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) FOR: Requirement of Agency/Consultant for Pilot Impact Assessment, Policy Recommendation, and Farmer Adoption Trends under the Combine Harvester mounted Super SMS Incentive Pilot in Punjab

Date of Issue of RFP	28-11-2025
Last date for seeking clarifications	4-12-2025
Date of Pre-Proposal Meeting (Via VC)	8-12-2025
Last date for Submission of RFP	12-12-2025

INTRODUCTION

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a leading conservation organization working to make a positive impact around the world in 76 countries and territories. Founded in 1951, TNC’s mission is to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends. With our core values of integrity beyond reproach, respect for people communities and culture, and commitment to diversity we aim at environmental conservation through lasting tangible results.

Nature Conservancy India Solutions Private Limited (NCIS) is a Private Limited Company incorporated under The Companies Act, 2013. It is a subsidiary of The Nature Conservancy, one of the largest not-for-profit conservation organisations in the world. NCIS was incorporated with the objective of providing research, consulting, technical support, and advisory services to various stakeholders in and outside India relating to conservation of nature, environment, biodiversity, and climate change.

TNC launched PRANA (Promoting Regenerative and No-Burn Agriculture) in 2021 to eliminate crop residue burning, advance regenerative agriculture systems, and improve groundwater management. Since its inception, PRANA has broadened its scope to include Improved Rice Management (IRM) through climate-smart, water-saving practices such as Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) and Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD), alongside in-situ crop residue management (CRM). Today PRANA operates across 6,286 villages in 18 districts of Punjab.

Punjab's agricultural landscape is dominated by the rice-wheat cropping system, leading to severe air pollution, soil degradation, and nutrient depletion due to crop residue burning. The Super SMS Incentive Pilot is designed to test the effectiveness of compensating Service Providers (SPs) for the additional operating costs of combine harvester mounted Super SMS (Straw Management System), hence increasing its adoption among farmers and evaluating its impacts on crop residue burning. This year, 75 service providers (SPs) have been onboarded under the incentive-based model to deliver services supporting use of Super SMS practices across the project area.

PURPOSE

NCIS seeks to engage a qualified agency or consultant to conduct a Pilot Impact Assessment, Policy Recommendation, and Farmer Adoption Trends under the Combine Harvester mounted Super SMS Incentive Pilot in Punjab. The assessment will evaluate the effectiveness, scalability, cost-efficiency, and behavioural impact of the model on:

• Service Providers participating in the program
• Farmers accessing services
• Adoption patterns of practices
• Environmental and livelihood outcomes resulting from the model

Findings will guide strategic refinements, potential scale-up, and long-term integration within regenerative agriculture programs in Punjab.

Key Objectives/Scope of work

The agency/consultant will be responsible for:

• Desk Review: Review program documents, baseline studies, monitoring data, and SMS pilot operational guidelines.
• Sampling Framework and Survey Design: Develop a robust sampling strategy and create data collection tools (quantitative + qualitative).
• Primary Data Collection: Conduct field surveys with farmers, interview SPs, block-level facilitators (field teams), and other relevant stakeholders (Farmers), and facilitate FGDs, KIIs, and case studies. A minimum of 75 of Service Providers, 15% of farmers, 10% of block level facilitators/field teams to be surveyed.
• Data Analysis: Analyse quantitative data for adoption trends, performance metrics, and outcome indicators. Interpret qualitative insights to contextualize farmer and SP behaviour. Preferred digital tools for data collection and analysis (Kobo Collect/Survey CTO)
• Reporting: Draft interim findings report, submit a comprehensive final report, and provide cleaned datasets and data collection tools used. Provide executive summery and presentations to TNC India. Provide policy recommendation document on the pilot and scale up pathways.

PRE-BID QUERIES AND CLARIFICATIONS ON RFP

To clarify technical queries (excluding cost and fee) on RFP, Bidders must submit questions via email to manoj.singh@tnc.org; bhaskar.rattan@tnc.org; and any query relating to cost, bid price, etc. must be submitted to rajeeb.dash@tnc.org; praveen.thakur@tnc.org by no later than 11:59pm IST, 04/12/2025. All the queries received through submitted questions will be addressed during scheduled pre-proposal meeting on 08/12/2025.

SUBMISSION OF PROPOSAL

Last date for submission of proposal is 12/12/2025., by 11:59pm IST.

Technical and Financial Proposals are required in soft copy only. The subject line of the email submission should state “Technical/Financial bid against RFP on Impact assessment of Combine SMS Pilot” and will be shared at:

• Financial Bid: rajeeb.dash@tnc.org; praveen.thakur@tnc.org
• Technical Bid: manoj.singh@tnc.org; bhaskar.rattan@tnc.org

To download the full RFP, click here: RFP Combine SMS

Tags Education and Education Technology (edtech) Others