Engagement of Consultancy Firm to establish an Agricultural Trade and Market Scorecard for the SADC region.

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST

CONSULTING SERVICES - SELECTION BASED ON CONSULTANT QUALIFICATIONS (CQS)

BOTSWANA

Reference No. (as per Procurement Plan): BW-CCARDESA-2024-06-01-CS-CQS

The Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA) is a subsidiary organisation of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). With a mandate to coordinate agricultural research and development and contribute towards enhancing food and nutrition security and livelihoods in the region, CCARDESA was established in 2011 and started its full operations in 2013. In the SADC region, climate change and other related factors have significantly affected agricultural productivity, particularly in the smallholder farming sub-sector. As part of the response, CCARDESA received a grant from the World Bank to coordinate the regional implementation of the Food Systems Resilience Programme (FSRP) whose objective is to increase resilience of food systems and preparedness against food insecurity in Southern Africa.

The programme aims to deal with and resolve the underlying structural challenges of food insecurity and reduce beneficiaries’ sensitivity to unpredictable climate events, crises, and conflicts. Implementation is organized around the following pillars: Pillar 1 - (Re-)Building Resilient Agricultural Production Capacity; Pillar 2 - Supporting the Sustainable Development of Natural Resources for Resilient Agricultural Landscapes; Pillar 3 - Getting to Market; and Pillar 4 - Promoting a Greater Focus on Food Systems Resilience in National and Regional Policymaking. Under Pillar 3, the project aims, among others, to develop a regional trade and market scorecard to assess implementation of policy commitments on agricultural trade and market access in the region by identifying country-level policy gaps and areas for improvement related to intra-regional agricultural and food trade.

The overall objective of the SADC Regional Agricultural Policy (RAP) is to contribute to the region’s sustainable agricultural growth and socio-economic development. To achieve this, the policy has a total of four specific objectives: (i) To enhance sustainable agricultural production, productivity and competitiveness; (ii) Improve regional and international trade and access to markets of agricultural products; (iii) Improve private and public sector engagement and investment in the agricultural value-chains; and (iv) reduce social and economic vulnerability of the region’s population in the context of food and nutrition security and the changing economic and climatic environment.

The specific objective of the assignment is to develop a regional agricultural trade and market scorecard, which will be used to assess the implementation of policy commitments on agricultural trade and market access in the Southern African region by identifying country-level policy gaps and areas for improvement related to intra-regional food and agricultural trade.

The Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA) now invites eligible consulting firms to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Firms should provide information demonstrating that they have the required experts with required qualifications and relevant experience to perform the Services.

The shortlisting criteria are:

QUALIFICATIONS AND WORK EXPERIENCE OF THE CONSULTANT FIRM

The Firm should have at least 10 years of experience in international agricultural trade, policy dialogue, monitoring and evaluation and capacity building. In addition, have adequate facilities to carry out the assignment, including a strong network within Southern Africa.

Key staff qualifications and experience

a) Team Leader – Trade Economist

Education:

PhD in Economics, Development Economics, Agricultural Economics, International Trade, International Relations or a relevant field.

Experience:

(i) Demonstrable knowledge and understanding of international food and agricultural trade, with particularly reference to Southern Africa;

(ii) At least 10 years of experience in international trade analytics, preferably in food and agriculture;

(iii) At least 10 years of experience in developing and supporting scorecards and other metrics in the agricultural sector, preferably agricultural trade;

(iv) At least 10 years of relevant experience in quantitative economic analysis of agricultural markets and knowledge of quantitative techniques, including simulation modelling;

(v) Proven ability and experience in project management and leading consultancy teams;

(vi) Proven ability in organising policy dialogues and producing proceedings reports, technical reports and policy briefs;

(vii) Have a traceable publication record on reputable platforms on food and agricultural marketing and international trade;

(viii) Have traceable experience in conducting capacity building on trade policy analysis and monitoring;

(ix) Experience in trade negotiations will be an advantage.

(x) Experience in working with Regional Economic Communities (RECs) is highly desirable; and

(xi) Knowledge of and involvement in programmes supported by regional and international organizations such as the World Bank Group, EU, and AfDB is also desirable.

b) Trade Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist

Education:

At least a Master’s degree in economics, international trade, statistics or related field.

Experience:

(i) At least 7 years of experience in trade facilitation, international trade economics or international development;

(ii) At least 5 years of experience in the use of a trade and/or market score card and assessment of their use and impact on policy;

(iii) At least 5 years of experience in quantitative, qualitative, and/or mixed methods research and use of Trade Management Information Systems (MIS);

(iv) Knowledge of and skills in applied monitoring and evaluation and statistical techniques, including knowledge of a range of monitoring data collection and analysis methods;

(v) Knowledge of theories of change and logic models and ability to facilitate development of theories of change, indicators, and an indicator reference manual; and

(vi) At least 5 years of experience working for a regional organisation and supporting donor funded programmes.

c) Communication and Knowledge Management Specialist

Education:

At least a Master’s degree in information and knowledge management, or communication technology or related field. Experience

(i) At least 7 years of experience in communication strategy development and implementation; (ii) At least 5 years of experience in knowledge sharing, including e-platforms and designing systems for government, international organizations or NGOs;

(iii) Knowledge of specialized software in communication and knowledge management, including IT knowledge to establish and maintain databases and tracking system; and

(iv) At least 5 years of experience working for a regional organisation and supporting donor funded programmes.

The attention of interested Consultants is drawn to paragraph 1.9 of the World Bank’s Guidelines: Selection and Employment of Consultants under IBRD Loans and IDA Credits & Grants by World Bank Borrowers (“Consultant Guidelines”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest.

Further information (terms of reference) can be obtained at the address below during office hours 0900 to 1630 hours.

Interested Consulting Firms should submit their expressions of interest with comprehensive information that include experience of the firm, similar assignments conducted, comprehensive CVs of the proposed team members to the address below on or before 06th August 2024.

The Procurement Officer

Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research in Southern Africa (CCARDESA)

Ground Floor, Red Brick Building

Plot 4701 Mmaraka Road

Private Bag 00357

Gaborone, Botswana

E-mail: procurement@ccardesa.org

Tel: +267 3914997