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REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
INDIVIDUALS
Farmer Association Development
1. GENERAL INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR BIDDERS
Purpose of Request for Proposal (RFP):
To select an individual consultant to enter into negotiations with the Agriculture and Agri-food Canada (AAFC) Project Office in Beijing, acting for the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), for a service contract to provide the services described in the Terms of Reference - Appendix A.Type of Services: Farmer Association Development
Closing Date: June 9, 2006
Estimated Contract Value: RMB 540,000
Duration of the contract: 12 months
Proposals, in three copies must be received by delivery to the Beijing Project Office of AAFC before 1200 hrs on June 2, 2006 at the following address: Suite 425-426, Grand Pacific Building A, 8A Guanghua Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100026, PR China. Proposals received after the stated bid closing date and time will be returned to the Consultant unopened. Any proposals sent by e-mail will not be accepted.
1.2
InquiriesQuestions relating to this RFP should be directed, at least five (5) days in advance of the closing date only by E-MAIL to: Ms. Barbara Gao - bjgao@ccag.com.cn
Please indicate the type of service on your e-mail subject header. Where feasible the questions and answers will also be provided to other Consultants who respond to the RFP without identifying the origin of the enquiries.
In addition, background material and reports from the Canadian Centre for Cooperative Studies are available upon request to assist in preparing the proposal.
1.3
Proposal PresentationThe proposal will consist of two parts. A technical component fully described in Section Two (2) and Section Three (3) and a Financial Component described in Section Four (4).
1.4
Rights of Agriculture and Agri-food Canada (AAFC)AAFC reserves the right to: reject any or all proposals received in response to this RFP; enter into negotiations with one or more bidders on any or all aspects of its proposal; accept any proposal in whole or in part; cancel this RFP; re-issue this requirement at any time and; award one or more contracts. The costs, including travel, incurred by the Consultant in the preparation of the proposal and for the negotiation of the resulting contract will not be reimbursed by AAFC.
1.5 Mandatory Requirements
The Consultant must meet the mandatory requirements set out in Appendix "B". Failure to comply with all the mandatory requirements will result in rejection of the proposal. Submission of a bid constitutes acknowledgment that the Consultant has read and complies with these mandatory requirements.
1.6 Verification of Information
The Consultant is aware that the Canadian Embassy/High Commission reserves the right to verify that the consultant meets the mandatory requirements and any information provided in this proposal. Untrue statements may result in the proposal being declared non-compliant, or in any action which AAFC may consider appropriate.
2. TECHNICAL COMPONENT
The Terms of Reference in Appendix A outlines the requirements. The Consultant will be required to demonstrate how he/she meets the evaluation criteria through the following process:
2.1 The Consultant will submit a written proposal of no more than five (5) pages, which demonstrates that the Consultant meets the following criteria:
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Criteria |
Maximum Marks |
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1) Experience with development of farmers’ associations/ in China |
15 |
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2) Fluent mandarin able to function independently |
10 |
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3) Ability/experience working at the county and township level |
15 |
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4) Experience/ability developing networks within institutions/NGOs/government organizations |
10 |
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5) Education and years of experience in China |
10 |
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6) Experience/ability as trainer and knowledge of participatory ToT approaches |
5 |
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7) Familiarity/experience with Canadian cooperative associations/institutions |
5 |
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8) Methodology/approach including estimated scope of work (Appendix A) |
10 |
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Total |
80 |
2.2 The Consultant will make herself/himself available for an interview at the time, date and place named by AAFC, if deemed necessary, to demonstrate and verify how she/he meets the above criteria. Maximum rating for the Technical Component is Eighty (80) points.
3. LEVEL OF EFFORT
The consultant must quote a level of effort (in person days) that he/she will require to carry out the assignment. Failure to quote a level of effort will result in the disqualification of the proposal.
4. FINANCIAL COMPONENT
4.1 Fees / Remuneration:
The Consultant will quote all-inclusive daily fee rate to carry out the assignment based on the level of effort identified in Section Three (3). The all-inclusive daily fee rates will be quoted in RMB, inclusive of inflation and taxes. The all-inclusive daily fee rate will cover the following cost elements including: direct salary, fringe benefits, overhead and profit. The proposed rates are subject to negotiation between the winning Consultant and the AAFC.
AAFC will only pay for actual days worked including approved travel time and will not pay when the individual does not work due to statutory holidays, sickness, vacations, or other leave benefits.
4.2 Reimbursable expenses:
Expenses (such as transportation, travel allowances, printing, communications etc.) normally incurred during the Consultant's mandate
shall not be part of the financial component as these costs if applicable will be negotiated with AAFC prior to the signature of the contract.
5. EVALUATION PROCESS AND CONTRACT AWARD
Technical proposals will be evaluated against the evaluation criteria indicated in Section Two (2) and Section Three (3) and will be awarded a maximum of 80 points. Technical proposals must receive a minimum of 48 points or they will be disqualified. Financial proposals, described in Section Four (4) will be awarded a maximum of 20 marks. The Consultant whose financial component has the lowest rate will be awarded 20 points. Points for all other Consultants will be awarded on a pro-rata basis. The proposal receiving the highest combined technical and financial score represents best value to AAFC and the consultant will be invited to negotiate a service contract for the duration of the assignment. The contract is for the performance of services and the Consultant will provide the services under the contract as an independent contractor. The Consultant will not be an employee, a servant, a partner or an Agent of the Government of Canada.
TERMS OF REFERENCE
Farmers’ Association Development Coordinator
(January 4, 2006)
Overview
AAFC China-Canada Agriculture Development Program (Small Farmers Adapting to Global Markets Project and Sustainable Agriculture Development Project - www.ccag.com.cn) intends to help Chinese small farmers prosper in an evolving Chinese/World context. Farmers’ associations are seen as an important approach to benefit small farmers through improved information and financial access resulting in increased incomes.
A number of locations and sectors under CCADP where there are opportunities to develop farmers’ associations in China have been identified. To capitalize on these opportunities, it is proposed that a locally-engaged consultant be recruited by AAFC as an FA Development Coordinator to coordinate activities in China. The scope of this work is outlined in this document. The ideal candidate for this work should be a Canadian citizen resident in China who meets the following criteria:
5-10 years experience on international development projects in China;
Fluent mandarin speaker and able to function independently in China;
Proven experience with the formation and development of farmers’ associations and/or cooperatives in China;
Proven ability and experience working at the county and township level in rural China to deliver programs;
Experience with or ability to develop network of related resources in institutions, NGOs and government organizations in China;
AAFC program will not pay for travel expenses to or from Canada or for accommodation nor per diem allowances while the FA coordinator is in Beijing.
The farmers’ association coordinator, under contract to AAFC, working
under the supervision of the China Projects Directors and, in
cooperation with the entire program team, will be responsible to:
1) Ensure that the training materials developed by CCS are suitable to
the Chinese context and specifically to the SFAGM and SAD Projects.
2) Develop, as quickly as possible, human resource capacity (i.e. FA
facilitators) in China that is capable of working with and assisting
farmers to form farmer associations particularly in the SFAGM and SAD
pilot project counties.
3) Work closely with the farmers and the SFAGM Project Officer in
Wuchuan County, continue work started there and establish at least an
operational FA by September.
4) Identify the most favorable opportunities, in collaboration with the
BPO, where newly trained FA Developers can begin working with farmers to
form FAs and focusing on ongoing pilot areas in Sichuan, IMAR, Gansu and
Xinjiang.
Workplan
Develop a Workplan in consultation with CCADP management team which includes but is not limited to:
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Rationale to deliver the contract or service and performance indicators;
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Scope of work (activities and schedule);
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Approaches to deliver various activities;
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Budget (consulting fees, expenses) – compliance with CCADP cost sharing table;
Training Materials and Case Studies
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Review the training materials and case studies already developed and suggest edits or amendments to enhance the materials for use in China;
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Review other available cooperatives training materials already developed and suggest approach to integrate into future training program;
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Review MOA publications for FA facilitators and suggest approach to integrate into future training programs.
FA Developer Training
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Contact agencies, line ministries, universities, NGOs and any other organizations engaged in FA development to identify 25-30 suitable candidates for FA Developer training (training of trainers) and especially in focus program provinces;
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Assist in setting the dates, location and training agenda for the FA Developer Training Workshop;
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Participate with Canadian experts in delivering the program for the FA Developer Training Sessions;
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Following the FA Developer Training Workshop, assist in the evaluation and selection of 12-15 candidates most suited to be placed as FA Developers in SFAGM and SAD pilot sites;
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Mentor FA developers as they begin work with farmer groups (12 months post-training).
FA Development
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Work with the farmers and the SFAGM project coordinator in Wuchuan County in all aspects of the formation of an FA;
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Work in other SFAGM or SAD counties that are identified by the BPO and the situation analysis as being suitable for the development of sustainable FAs.
SFAGM:
Ø Pengzhou of Sichuan (vegetable),
Ø Zizhong of Sichuan (pork),
Ø Santai of Sichuan (canola),
Ø Wuchuan of IMAR (potato),
Ø Horinger of IMAR (dairy),
Ø county TBD of Shaanxi province (wheat);
SADP II:
Ø Chenbarhu Banner of IMAR (FA training proposed for Feb-Mar, 06),
Ø Fine wool county in Xinjiang to be determined (FA training proposed for Mar, 06),
Ø Dingxi of Gansu (potential alfalfa producers cooperative, timing for training to be determined);
Ø Herders in Sunnan, Gansu.
Reports
Include but not limited to
:-
Close communication with CCADP management team;
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Weekly updates to brief the progress and constraints of delivering the contract;
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Interim report on overall progress;
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Final report at end of contract.
MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS
A.1 Conditions of Eligibility
The Consultant must be a legal entity established and operating in China for the purpose of providing consulting services.
A.2 Anti-corruption Declaration
The Consultant certifies that it has not been convicted by a court of law in Canada or in any other jurisdiction, for an offence involving bribery or corruption. The Consultant further certifies that it is not currently under sanction for an offence involving bribery or corruption imposed by a government, a governmental organization or a development organization providing development assistance.
A.3 Validity of Facts
The Consultant hereby certifies that each statement made with regard to the proposal is accurate and factual.|
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