REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

RFP Number: 2025-AIDI-ZAM-PROC-0032 Endline Rapid Assessment

Subject: Request for Proposals for AIDI Rapid Assessment

Issuance Date:  March 17, 2025

Offer Deadline:  April 4, 2025

Land O’Lakes Venture37 (Venture37) is soliciting proposals from qualified and experienced firms or individuals to conduct an Endline Rapid Assessment as described in this Request for Proposals (RFP). These services are required for the Zambia Accelerated Innovative Delivery Initiative (AIDI) – Livestock for services to be performed in Zambia.

Firms and individuals invited by Venture37 (hereinafter “Bidders”) to submit offers for the services described in this RFP are under no obligation to do so. The Bidder shall bear all costs associated with the preparation and submission of the Proposal; Venture37 will in no case be liable for those costs, regardless of the conduct or outcome of the solicitation.

This Request for Proposal includes the following sections:

1. Technical Specifications
2. Instructions to Bidders

Submission of offers must be completed in accordance with the Instructions to Bidders and complete offers must be received by the date and time indicated.

All correspondence and/or inquiries regarding this RFP must be requested in accordance with the enclosed Instructions to Bidders.

SECTION 1: TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

1. Project Overview

The Southern Africa Accelerated Innovation Delivery Initiative (AIDI) is program to take immediate action to help cushion the blow of high fuel and fertilizer prices on farmers in Zambia, Tanzania and Malawi. AIDI is providing multiple grants across these three countries that connect farmers to innovative tools and information in crops and livestock they need to manage the Ukraine war-induced high costs and input supply disruptions over the next couple years.

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) with partner, Land O’Lakes Venture37 (Venture37) are implementing an AIDI-Livestock partnership in Zambia from August 1, 2023 – September 30, 2025 focused on the poultry system with the goal of increased production and access to poultry meat and eggs in Central, Lusaka and Copperbelt Provinces in Zambia. The project will reach this goal through three interrelated objectives:

Objective 1: Expand access to improved breeds of dual-purpose backyard village chickens, and commercial broilers and layers (where appropriate) through private sector agribusiness providing bundled advisory services and inputs. AIDI-L strengthens the capacity of 15,000 small-scale poultry producers (SSPs) to improve their poultry husbandry practices through a variety of methods, including direct trainings, learning exchange visits to model family farmers,village savings and loan associations, embedded advisory services of input providers, and a media campaign to increase awareness of the importance of improve poultry husbandry. AIDI-L will also link SSPs to input providers that will provide improved breeds through four-week chicks and day-old chicks.

Objective 2: Support cost-share of start-ups and scale-ups in poultry production and marketing of locally produced poultry meat and eggs. AIDI-L supports poultry input providers to improve and expand their businesses. The project will do this by providing cost share financing and business technical assistance to about 150 enterprises, including 1) brooders to provide four-week old chicks to smallholder farmers and 2) agri-entrepreneurs providing bundled advisory services. The project will also develop and implement a nutrition social behavior change campaign to increase demand for chicken meat and egg consumption to improve nutrition outcomes.

Objective 3: Reduce morbidity and mortality of poultry by facilitating access to and vaccination of poultry against key economically impactful poultry diseases using media advisory campaigns for vaccine, health, hygiene, and promotion.  AIDI-L works to increase adoption of vaccinations and recommended poultry husbandry practices through media advisories reaching 375,000 households.  The project will build the capacity of private sector actors to provide extension messaging and bundled advisory services for existing poultry producers.

2. Endline Rapid Assessment

Purpose

The endline rapid assessment will assess the appropriateness, effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability of AIDI-Livestock’s approach and implementation.  Specifically, the final evaluation will meet the following objectives:

• Assess the appropriateness of the strategies employed by Land O’Lakes Ventur37 and ILRI in the program given the goal and beneficiary needs;
• Assess the degree to which the project has met its projected goals, objectives, outcomes and targets and explain deviations( See list of performance indicator in Annex 2);
• Provide an objective description of the overall effectiveness and sustainability of the program and its various activities;
• Identify key strengths and weaknesses of the program, including specific activities around facilitating partnerships, and the matching grants to agribusiness;
• Identify key lessons learned and recommendations which should be adopted by Venture37 and ILRI for similar programs in Zambia or elsewhere in Africa.

Methodology

The selected firm will conduct a mixed-methods study. The quantitative data will include surveys with poultry SSPs, commercial poultry producers,  and brooders. The qualitative data will be collected through focus group discussions (FGDs) with poultry SSPs and key informant interviews (KIIs) with key stakeholders, such as hatcheries, government officials and project staff.  The firm will also conduct a desk review of available documents from Venture37 and ILRI to better understand the program.

Poultry producers: The firm will utilize primary data collected through a survey with targeted poultry producers, including a sample of SSPs and a sample of commercial producers. The survey will collect information on demographics, poultry husbandry practices, yield, mortality, linkages with input providers, access to  finance, access to markets markets, and sales of poultry and poultry products.  The participants will be selected randomly at a statistically relevant level from the list of project participants in the three target provinces.

The firm will also conduct primary qualitative data collection, including FGD and other relevant approaches as suggested by the firm. These qualitative data will explore poultry producers’ uptake of and views about poultry husbandry practices and technologies. Additionally, qualitative data collection will explore differences in needs, practices, and priorities of men, women and youth, including their access and control over poultry resources and services, as well as how they allocate time to different activities.

Sample Frame: As of the end of February 2025, AIDI – Livestock has supported   12,000 dual purpose and 88 commercial poultry farmers.

Brooders: The endline rapid assessment will also collect quantitative information from brooders the AIDI has trained and have received inputs. The survey will assess their practices,mortality of chickens and sales.

Sample Frame: As of the end of February 2025, AIDI-Livestock has supported 147 brooders.

Other Key Stakeholders: The endline rapid assessment will also collect key informant interviews from hatcheries, government officials, and project staff.

Sample Frame:  During the implementation of the AIDI-L project, two hatcheries were engaged to supply Day-Old Chicks to brooders and commercial producers. Key informants will include staff from the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock. Additionally, from the project, the key informants will comprise the Project Advisor, ILRI Field Facilitator, and Poultry Promotions Specialist.

Key Tasks

Review of Documents: Undertake a review of the AIDI-Livestock project documents and other relevant documents that are available at the time, including but not limited to, the following:

• AIDI Background information
• AIDI-Livestock workplan
• AIDI-Livestock Performance Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Plan
• Baseline Rapid assessment report, surveys and data
• AIDI-Livestock quarterly reports to the donor
• Any other program documents which will enable the evaluator to get acquainted with the project progress

Development of methodology and data collection tools: The evaluator, in close collaboration with Venture37, should do the following:

• Develop a finalized methodology, including a sampling frame, sampling technique and sample sizes for both quantitative and qualitative data collection that is consistent with the desired methodology in this RFP.
• Develop/revise data collection tools for both quantitative and qualitative primary data collection informed by the baseline (though not restrictively), that align with the methodology and ensure all objectives of the study are met.
• Submit an inception report to Venture37, including methodology and tools.

Field Data Collection

• Plan and coordinate the necessary logistics to collect the data in accordance with the selected methodology.
• Understand and submit the necessary protocol to legally conduct data collection in Zambia.
• Pre-test, edit, translate (into all necessary languages), finalize and reproduce the data collection tools.
• Train and orient enumerators and data collection team.
• Carry out the fieldwork using own transportation, including surveys, FGDs and KIIs.

Data entry, analysis and reporting

• Enter, clean, synthesize, analyze, and interpret data from both the quantitative surveys and the qualitative protocols using approved statistical packages.
• Prepare a draft rapid assessment report addressing the objectives and evaluation questions outlined in this RFP.
• Prepare a rapid assessment report that includes revisions based on feedback on the draft report and presentation. Report should be concise – no more than 30-35 pages.

3. Suggested Timeline

The anticipated endline rapid assessment timeline is provided below. Any anticipated deviations from this timeline should be discussed within the proposal. The rapid assessment is expected to commence in late April 2025.

4. Expected Deliverables

The deliverables under this contract are listed below.

SECTION 2: INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDERS

1. Eligibility

• Minimum of 8-10 years of work experience on assessments of development projects;
• Team has expertise in poultry value chain and evaluations;
• Strong program assessment experience, including evidence of success in completing similar assessments in terms of size, design, and rigor;
• Strong qualitative and quantitative research and analytical skills;
• Previous experience in evaluations of development programs funded by international sources;
• Experience in conducting evaluations in Zambia;
• Ability to hire experienced enumerators that know applicable Zambian languages in the target provinces;
• Proven record of excellent management, leadership, decision-making and interpersonal skills;
• High capacity for writing in English and preparing quality written products in respect of deadlines;
• This RFP is open to firms that can work in Zambia. Small and/or disadvantaged businesses, minority-owned, and women-owned businesses are encouraged to submit proposals;
• A bidder will be considered ineligible if it has been suspended, debarred, or deemed ineligible, as indicated on (1) the “List of Parties Excluded from Federal Procurement and Non-procurement Programs” and/or (2) the “Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List”.

2. Content of Offers

All interested candidates will submit their proposals in English with two separate documents as explained below:

• Technical Proposal (not to exceed 10 pages)
  • A detailed methodology, including approach, sampling plan, analysis plan, and fieldwork plan, aligning with the technical specifications in Section 1.
  • Proposed workplan, outlining the major activities and time schedule
  • List and briefly describe the proposed personnel and their responsibilities on the assignment.
  • Organizational capacity statement, past experiences relevant to the technical specifications, highlighting experience from similar work. Reference information must include the location and brief description of the work performance.

• Financial Proposal (total funding Venture37 is a maximum of $35,000)
  • Detailed budget outlining Bidder’s Price Offer, in Microsoft Excel, unlocked, and with formulas intact.
  • Budget must give a detailed unit price breakdown and the total price of the services being offered in response to this RFP.
  • All prices should be indicated in Zambian Kwacha and United States Dollar, with the exchange rate specified.
  • Short budget narrative explaining calculations and necessity of costs, displaying attributions to the activities proposed. Narratives may be included in the Excel budget or as a separate Word document.
  • Supporting Documentation
  • Curriculae Vitae of proposed personnel on the projects
  • Two references including contact names, e-mail addresses, and telephone numbers of persons who can be contacted regarding the Bidder’s prior performance for similar work within the past 3 years.

Only complete offers will be accepted and evaluated; incomplete offers will not be considered.

3. Offer Validity Period

Offers shall remain valid for a minimum of sixty (60) days after the offer deadline. An offer valid for a shorter period shall be rejected as non-responsive. Bidders shall clearly indicate their offer’s validity period within the proposal documents.

4. Clarification of RFP

Bidders may ask questions and clarifications about this RFP by submitting them to zambiaprocurements@landolakes.com prior to Wednesday, March 26^th, 2025 Questions will be responded to by Friday, March 28^th , 2025.

5. Offer Deadline and Submission of Bids

• All offers must be submitted to Venture37 by Friday, April 4, 2025 at 5pm Zambia Time. Please submit electronic proposals to zambiaprocurements@landolakes.com  with the RFP Number referenced in the subject line.  Late proposals will not be accepted. Only electronic submission will be accepted.
• Ensuring successful transmissions and receipt of the bids is the responsibility of the Bidder. It is recommended that no email exceed the size of 10MB, inclusive of attachments.

6. Amendment of Bidding Documents

Venture37 may, at its discretion and for any reason, modify bidding documents by amendment. All prospective Bidders that have received bidding documents will be notified of the amendment by e-mail and such amendments will be binding on them.

7. Modification of Offers

Any Bidder has the right to withdraw, modify, or correct its offer after it has been delivered to Venture37, provided the request for such a withdrawal, modification, or correction together with full details of such modification or correction is received by Venture37 at the submission point of contact above before the Offer Deadline.

Venture37 may ask any Bidder for a clarification of its offer or conduct negotiations with the apparent winner after evaluation of offers; nevertheless, no Bidder will be permitted to alter its price or make any other material modification to its offer after the deadline unless the RFP has been amended or the deadline extended. Clarifications which do not change the price or other material aspects of the offer may be accepted.

8. Criteria for Award and Evaluation

Venture37 will award the contract to that Bidder whose offer is deemed acceptable and which offers the best value based upon the evaluation criteria. All complete, eligible offers will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

• Technical approach and methodology (40%)
• Past experience with evaluations of similar size and scope (25%)
• Proposed personnel’s ability to address all components of the assignment (20%)
• Budget justification, cost realism, and value (15%)

9. Venture37’s Right to Accept Any Offer and to Reject Any or All Offers

Venture37 will reject any offer that it deems nonresponsive. Further, Venture37 reserves the right to waive any minor errors in any offer received if it is in Venture37’s best interests to do so, to reject the offer of any Bidder if, in Venture37’s judgment, the Bidder is not fully qualified to provide the services as specified in the contract, or to reject all bids.

10. Notification of Award

Before the expiration of the period of offer validity, Venture37 will notify the successful Bidder in writing that its offer has been accepted.  Venture37 may negotiate with the successful bidder on any details and terms of the contract which do not materially change the scope or specifications of the services to be provided.

Upon contracting of the successful, Venture37 will promptly notify each unsuccessful Bidder that their bids were rejected. If, after notification of award, a Bidder wishes to ascertain the grounds on which its offer was not selected, it should address its request to Venture37 in writing.

11. Acceptance of Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions

By submitting a proposal to Venture37, Bidder consents to and provides Venture37 with permission to process the Bidder’s personal data specifically for the performance of, and purposes identified in, this solicitation document and in compliance with Venture37’s legal obligations under applicable United States and European Union laws, data protection and regulations, and any other applicable legal requirements. The bidder may withdraw their consent at any time by contacting zambiaprocurements@landolakes.com. If consent is withdrawn, Venture37 reserves the right to either accept or reject the offer.

Annex 1: Results Framewor

Annex 2: Performance Indicators