RFP invited for Baseline Survey of Andhra Pradesh Farmer Market Readiness Program 2

Summary

Tanager, a US-based non-profit organization with significant operations in India, seeks a firm to conduct a baseline analysis for its Andhra Pradesh Farmer Market Readiness Program 2 (APFMRP 2).

About Tanager

Tanager, an ACDI/VOCA affiliate, is an international nonprofit that brings people together at the table, on the ground, and across supply chains to co-create economic and social opportunities that change lives. Working closely with our partners, we align interests to expand market access and unlock the full potential of shared market opportunities that result in reliable supply chains, stable incomes, healthy families, and resilient communities. Established in 1993, we work with the ACDI/VOCA family of companies to make agriculture work better for people. We offer a focused and diligent team of locally based experts and international advisors who work with our partners to reach common goals.

For more information, please visit http://www.tanagerintl.org/

About the Andhra Pradesh Farmer Market Readiness Program 2 (APFMRP 2)

The Andhra Pradesh Farmer Market Readiness Project 2 (APFMRP 2) is a two-year Walmart Foundation funded project that is designed to (1) develop Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) into sustainable, viable businesses with the capacity to operate independently, grow consistently, and provide inputs and services to their members; (2) increase farmer productivity and profitability; (3) strengthen the overall ecosystem to ensure it is engaged with and respondent to the needs of FPOs and their producers; (4) increase opportunities for women’s market engagement; and (5) increase consumption of nutritious foods in FPO households in pilot areas. There are 17,000 project farmers, including 5,000 women. Nutrition activities will be piloted with 1,000 farmers.

Tanager works to increase the productivity of farmers by building strong Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) so they have the capacity to provide farmers with the knowledge, resources, and services they need to be market ready. Tanager also works with FPOs and buyers to establish equitable sourcing relationships that allow farmers to diversify markets for their produce, and buyers to reliably source products. Additionally, we leverage investment from the private sector, enabling farmers to understand how to access subsidies from the government and credit from financial institutions.

Assignment Summary

The purpose of this RFP is to identify a consultant (individual, firm, or group) to conduct a baseline study for the APFMRP 2 project to establish baseline values and targets for project indicators, including the impact and outcome indicators. The results will be utilized to establish the foundation for understanding project impact and to determine whether the project has contributed to realization of its goals and objectives. The baseline study will also as gather relevant production and sales information from the project beneficiaries. Finally, the baseline study will include demographic information of farming households and other information that will guide the strategy for implementation of the APFMRP 2 project.

Project indicators are outlined in Attachment B.

Scope Of Work

Responsibilities/Tasks

The consultant/service provider will be responsible for the following tasks:

• Prepare a detailed methodology in consultation with Tanager whose scope and sample size are enough to ensure statistically valid results.
• Develop and review of data collection tools both quantitative and qualitative which directly address the indicators laid out in AttachmentB.
• Pretest the survey tools in consultation with Tanager to ensure the robustness of the developed tools
• Hiring and training of enumerators on survey instruments
• Conduct qualitative and quantitative research as per decided methodology
• Cleaning the collected data and producing a report detailing the results of the findings for review and approval by Tanager

Tanager will be responsible for the following tasks:

• Provision of detailed information on the project areas/FPOs/villages and criteria of respondent selection
• The team will review the collected data to ensure accuracy and efficacy
• The team will participate in the training of the selected enumerators
• Tanager will review the draft summary report and provide input for finalizing the report 

Period of Performance

Research will be conducted over a 6-week period with preliminary results available by the end of March 2020.

Deliverables

The following deliverables are expected from the offeror:

• Activity plan with dates for implementation of the baseline
• Methodology for conducting household surveys, focus groups, network analysis, and key informant interviews
• Methodology for selecting the regions and sample sizes for the household surveys
• Survey and data collection tools
• Raw and cleaned data set and transcribed & translated discussion
• Draft baseline study report
• Final baseline study report

Please note that all reports and other written deliverables must be written entirely in English and submitted electronically in Microsoft Word, Excel or PowerPoint format. All references to secondary data must be appropriately cited using Modern Language Association, Chicago Manual of Style, or another format that is approved by Tanager.

Contract Mechanism & Terms Of Payment

Tanager will issue fixed payment(s) based on submission and Tanager acceptance of deliverables. Once an award is issued, it will include a fixed price payment schedule with deliverables specified above. A copy of the purchase order terms and conditions are attached to this RFP as Attachment A for informational purposes. Statutory withholding tax as applicable will be deducted from the total amount of the contract.

Proposal Preparation And Submission Requirements

Proposal Preparation

The selection committee will evaluate the Offerors based upon their written technical and financial proposals. Each section will be evaluated according to the criteria for evaluations in Section V. Offerors are expected to examine the specifications and all instructions in the RFP. Failure to do so is at the Offerors’ risk. Interested Offerors must provide the following:

1) Technical Proposal Submission Sheet (Attachment C)

2) Capability and Technical Experience Statement

• Capabilities Statement: Provide a comprehensive discussion of the Offeror’s capabilities, experiences, resources, support and any current/recent experience for conducting similar scopes of work as described above.
• Project Approach: Give a description of methodologies, sample design, timeline of activities and reporting plan you are recommending to achieve the described scope of work.
• Evidence of proper registration (for firms only)

3) Project Staffing

The contracted party will recruit enumerators sufficient to complete the data collection. The contract party will identify the project staffing and the percentage of the time each will spend on this activity. Include the detailed CV of all staff considered essential to the completion of the assignment and a summary of their role in the research.

4) References

Please include three client references and contact information. References should have worked with your organization within the past two years in connection with the countries or regions (and if possible, subject matter) applicable to this RFP.

5) Financial Proposal

Offerors will submit a proposed budget in their Financial proposal. The proposed budget will have sufficient detail to allow evaluation of elements of costs proposed. Budgets should be submitted in Indian Rupees or in US Dollars. Tanager reserves the right to request any additional information to support detailed cost and price. Offerors should also indicate the inclusion or exclusion of any applicable taxes.

Instructions for Submission of Proposals

Proposals must be submitted by 20:00 IST on 29-Feb-2020 to ksunny@tanagerintl.org with the subject line “Response to Baseline RFP.”

Tanager is not responsible for failure of transmission by any applicant. Applicants will be informed in writing of the decision made regarding their proposal.

Instructions for Queries

Any queries regarding the proposed baseline survey assignment may be sent via email to Himanshu Mangal (hmangal@tanagerintl.org ) and carbon copied to Karthik Sunny (ksunny@tanagerintl.org) and Mary Devlin (mdevlin@tanagerintl.org ). All the queries will be responded to in a satisfactory and prompt manner.

Tanager will not compensate offerors for their preparation of responses to this RFP.

Criteria For Evaluation

Tanager will evaluate proposals based on a best-value determination. The successful Offeror will be selected based on the proposal that represents the best value to Tanager. Superior weight will be given to the technical services than to price, but price remains an important determinant for selection. Evaluation of the proposals may include the following criteria (not in any order):

• Technical Approach/Specifications
• Experience working in similar baseline studies
• Price or Cost Proposal

The evaluation committee will review the technical proposal based upon the technical criteria listed above and suitability to meet the tasks listed in Section 2 (Scope of Work).  The cost proposals will be reviewed to ensure they are complete and free of computational errors. The committee will also assess the reasonableness of costs and the cost-effectiveness of the budget and will determine whether the costs reflect a clear understanding of project requirements. A contract will be offered to the responsible Offeror whose proposal follows the RFP instructions and is judged to be the most advantageous to Tanager.

6. Selection Process

Once the RFP is released, the Offeror must submit a formal proposal to be sent to the contact person at Tanager as indicated in Section 4. The submitted proposals will be reviewed against the criteria for evaluation defined in Section 5 above and rated on their ability to satisfy the requirements stated in this RFP document.  A preferred Offeror will be chosen and formally notified.  A formal contract will be negotiated with the selected Offeror and, if endorsed, the Offeror will begin work on the project. 

 Minimum Offeror Qualifications

• Offerors submitting proposals must (1) be officially licensed to do such business in India, (2) not have been identified as a terrorist. In addition, Offeror may be required to provide the following information:
• All firms should provide documentation to verify licensure (e.g., TIN number/PAN, registration certificate, etc.)
• Demonstration of adequate management and financial resources to perform the contract
• Satisfactory records of performance history, integrity and business ethics

To download the full ToR, click here

Tags Food, Agriculture and Nutrition Others