RFP - Hiring of competent agency for developing Knowledge Management System for GEF UNEP ILM INDIA PROJECT led by Rainforest Alliance in Andhra Pradesh

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About the Organization

Rainforest Alliance, a New York-based 501(c)3, and UTZ, an Amsterdam-based foundation, merged in 2018. Together, the new Rainforest Alliance is now a $70 million per year organization with offices in 17 countries (and growing) and over 5000 staff. The merged organization has two main offices—one in Amsterdam and one in New York City.

The Rainforest Alliance is creating a more sustainable world by using social and market forces to protect nature and improve the lives of farmers and forest communities.

We work towards making responsible business the new normal through our certification program, tailored supply chain services, landscape and community work and advocacy.

Rythu Sadhikara Samstha (RySS), a partner executing organization to this project, established in 2014 under Section 8 of the Companies Act, is a not-for-profit organization that steers farmers away from chemical farming and toward adopting natural farming practices. RySS is implementing APCNF across the state. APCNF is farmer-centric, follows farmer-to- farmer extension system, and is driven by their innovations. RySS’s vision is to saturate AP through APCNF by 2030-31. The Government of Andhra Pradesh has adopted Natural Farming as it is environment friendly and enhances climate change resilience, soil organic matter, soil fertility, water holding capacity of soils, and enhances biodiversity (above ground and below ground).

This consultancy is focused on the project´s aim to promote the adoption of APCNF in AP, where the project aims to technically support 7,00,000 farmers, so that, at the end of the project, they apply at least 50% of the APCNF´s practices Core Requirements, and at least 80% of those that do so find practice adoption profitable (i.e., have a positive benefit-cost).

About the Proposal

Project Overview:

The project seeks to address two critical challenges that have a negative impact on India’s environmental health and the well-being of its people: land degradation and the loss of biodiversity. Land degradation, defined as the deterioration or loss of the productive capacity of the soil, leads to food insecurity, higher food prices, climate change, environmental hazards, and the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services. It is estimated that 27.77% of India’s total geographical area has been degraded as of 2015-16. Biological diversity underpins the ecosystem goods and services that sustain human societies and generates considerable socio-economic value through the provision of goods such as food, water, and services such as climate regulation, pollination, disaster protection, and nutrient cycling. The Government of India is a signatory to all the major biodiversity and land degradation treaties and conventions. It is committed to restoring twenty-six million hectares of degraded land by 2030, including through sustainable agriculture. The project aims at enabling sustainable agricultural production systems, participatory land use management, and responsible supply chains to reverse the process of land degradation and conserve biodiversity. In addition to building the skills and knowledge of small farmers, it will harness policy development, market demand, and public-private investment to make sustainable land management (SLM) economically viable. At the farm level, there are two main SLM practices endorsed under this project: The first is based on the RA-SAS in Karnataka (KA). The second is based on the Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming (APCNF).

Main Objectives:

Consultancy Objective

The scope of the work is to develop a Knowledge Management System for RySS/ IGGAARL to promote Natural Farming. The selected firm is expected to review Knowledge Management System (KMS) landscape and develop a dynamic system for

• information management,
• knowledge sharing,
• active learning management system,
• managing research and data,
• digital library
• forums for generating discussions and exchange of ideas.

Project Component Description and Outcomes:

The following are the key components of this assignment –

• Assess the needs of RySS/ IGGAARL pertaining to a KMS through interaction with different thematic teams in the organization who will be using the KMS. This exercise needs to be completed through at most 3 full day workshops with the thematic teams within a period of 2 weeks of start of assignment.
• Assess the different KMS solutions (at least 5) available under open source, SAAS and licensed versions, and assess the feasibility of developing entirely a new KMS for RySS
• Prepare a report showcasing.
• comparative analysis of the above solutions,
• their conformity with requirements of RySS listed in point # 2 above.
• pros and cons of each of the solution
• tentative cost of implementation
• Recommendation of three solution from the above
• This exercise needs to be completed within 2 weeks after need assessment above.
• Develop an appropriate architecture that can meet the requirements with clear specifications for a KMS in consultation with RySS/ IGGAARL. This exercise needs to be completed as per mutually agreed timelines.
• Implementation Services - Manage & deploy KMS application.
• Build, operate, own, manage, support and transfer KMS applications as per requirements agreed upon with RySS.
• Contractor Services at a minimum, must include:

Deliverables:

• Recommending an action plan to address the needs identified by the above review.
• Drafting of design, technical, functional, and non-functional requirements as per requirements
• Lead and perform technical and architectural solution discussions.
• Execute procurement for chosen solutions / as required to support implementation of chosen solution(s) and perform contracting procedures and processes to be followed for the project.
• Verify technical compliance and ascertain existence and utilization of Assets.
• To make sure procurement planning, implementation, and monitoring and documentation are maintained per required standards including records management, complaints handling and grievance redress systems, etc.
• Identify remedies to correct identified deficiencies throughout the lifecycle of implementation.
• Perform any other job /tasks as required to support KMS implementation, decided in mutual agreement with RySS.
• Build internal capacities to perform daily and/or routine technical jobs in line with solutions deployed.
• Develop Standard Operating Procedures / detailed user manual.
• Transfer the functional system management to RySS/ IGGAARL to integrate and institutionalize KMS into its program operations.

Workforce deployed:

• The selected agency shall deploy competent resource(s) as required, on behalf of RySS, to support the implementation of the KMS solution as decided in mutual agreement.
• The selected agency shall provide CVs of proposed resources before deployment for review and validation.
• In case of separation of resources for whatsoever reason, competent resources shall be deployed on the assignment making sure there is no impact on ongoing delivery.
• Upon the end of engagement, the selected agency shall transfer the workforce to RySS to carry on the tasks pertaining to development, operation, and maintenance of the systems.

Tenure of Engagement:

• The tenure of engagement shall be 6 months from the start of contract term.
• The contract shall be extended for further duration depending upon mutual agreement between parties.

How to Apply

The letter of interest, technical, and financial proposal should be sent by email to Aniruddha Brahmachari at abrahmachari@ra.org copy to Samik Ghosh at sghosh.consultant@ra.org, Praveen Sriramsetty praveen@ryss.ap.gov.in and Kishore Kumar Illa at killa@ra.org, with the subject line “Knowledge Management System for GEF UNEP ILM INDIA PROJECT in Andhra Pradesh (AP) ”, by 10th May  2024 (IST).

Any questions and clarifications related to the assessment should be sent to the email mentioned above.

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Tags Environment and Sustainability Food, Agriculture and Nutrition Rural Development Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Others