Call for EOI: Value Chain Analysis Consultant(s) for the Nature-based Solutions for Adaptation in Agriculture

CALL FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST (EOI):

VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS CONSULTANT(S) FOR THE NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS
FOR ADAPTATION IN AGRICULTURE
(VN-ADAPT PROJECT IN VIETNAM) SECTOR

SNV is a not-for-profit international development organisation driven by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Founded in the Netherlands in 1965, we have built a long-term country presence in over 20 countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Our global team of local and international advisors works with local partners to equip communities, businesses, and organizations with the tools, knowledge, and connections they need to increase their incomes and gain access to markets and basic services - empowering them to break the cycle of poverty and guide their own development. Our work focuses on three sectors - Agrifood, Energy, and Water.

SNV has been working in Viet Nam since 1995, and currently has over 40 national and international staff. SNV Viet Nam’s team works hand-in-hand with communities, government agencies, and businesses in about 40 provinces, including the most remote and poorest areas of the country. We operate from a country head office in Hanoi and regional offices in Ho Chi Minh City, Dak Lak, Dalat, and Tra Vinh.

SNV Viet Nam’s Agrifood programme today is strongly focused around promoting socially inclusive climate resilient agriculture. In recent years, SNV Viet Nam has implemented a wide range of projects promoting climate smart approaches and inclusive value-chain development throughout the country in numerous sub-sectors, including rice, shrimp, coffee, fruits, vegetables, and spices. Many of our interventions support vulnerable groups such as ethnic minorities in rural uplands access markets and opportunities and women’s economic empowerment (WEE) in agricultural value chains.

For more information on SNV, please refer to our website: www.snv.org

About the VN-ADAPT project

Viet Nam Nature-based Solutions for Adaptation in Agriculture through Private Sector Transformation (VN-ADAPT) is a 5-year, €15m national programme in Viet Nam to be implemented from 2023 to 2028. The programme is funded by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV). SNV Viet Nam is the prime recipient of the funding and leads the preparation and implementation of the programme in consortium with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the International Centre for Environmental Management (ICEM). The Ministry of Environments and Natural Resources (MoNRE) is the national partner for this undertaking. The VN-ADAPT programme design has been approved by the IKI. The Programme currently undergoes a final review lead by MoNRE to secure support by relevant ministries and provinces.

VN-ADAPT focusses on two key climate-vulnerable landscapes in Viet Nam – the Central Highlands and Mekong Delta. The project, starting in June 2023, aims to improve institutional capacity and strengthen partnerships to channel private innovation and investment towards accelerated adoption of nature-based solutions in the agriculture sector with a focus on these two regions of Vietnam.

This will be realised through four inter-related work packages, namely:

1. Building multi-stakeholder consensus for Nature-based Solutions for adaptation in Agriculture (NbSA);
2. Strengthening the enabling legal and policy framework for NbSA and the conservation of biodiversity in production landscapes (including the development of legal guidance for the establishment and implementation of Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs);
3. Mobilising public and private innovation and investment in NbSA;
4. Communications, knowledge management and monitoring and evaluation.

SNV Viet Nam is implementing the programme in a consortium with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the ICEM Vietnam Company Ltd.

OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSIGNMENT

SNV is working on the analysis of market systems and value chains for key agricultural commodities relevant to the priority agro-ecological sub zones that VN ADAPT will target (upper Mekong Delta, coastal Mekong Delta, and Central Highlands). The overall objective of this analysis is to inform the final design of project activities, particularly those working with the private sector, including an accelerator programme for small enterprises, partnerships with larger companies, and activities supporting the development of cooperatives.

Against this background, the Objective of the assignment is to conduct a scoping study to identify promising and viable value chains to be enhanced in the two key climate-vulnerable landscapes in Viet Nam – the Central Highlands and Mekong Delta and identify farmers, entrepreneurs, and community-based organizations already engaged in various natural resource-based livelihood systems.

The analysis should refine the VN-ADAPT consortium’s understanding of the likely technical assistance and support needs of these different companies and identify any general issues that could be tackled at an industry-wide level through support to public-private dialogues and knowledge management. The analysis will also support initial identification of potential companies to partner with. The output of the analysis will be an internal report which will also be summarized into a public report on developing the market systems and value chains for nature-based solutions in Viet Nam’s agriculture sector.

SNV seeks qualified, experienced short-term consultants/consultancy group to support the SNV team assigned to this activity. The consultants/consultancy group is expected to conduct value chain and market assessments and analysis adopting various research and analytic tools, including SNV Value Chain Analysis approach to identify and verify potential NbSA value chains for further co-design and co-investment in agreement with local authorities, private sector and local community. The consultants/consultancy group will be supported by SNV value chain advisors with the key outcomes focus on commercial viability and market trends and opportunities of NbSA products.

SNV wishes the consultants/consultancy group to apply the Value Chain Approach[1] (VCA) as developed by SNV for this assignment. Details of SNV’s assessment and VCD tools should be referenced in the short technical note and will be discussed at the onset of the consultancy service.

The consultants/consultancy group is expected to use various methods of carrying out this assignment including, but not limited to:

• Develop a theoretical framework for the study.
• Desk review – a literature review from previous value chain studies and other critical documents from the counties and other sources
• Develop the sampling methodology to be used in the study.
• Interviews with selected officials (local and national government officials and other key actors from the private sector)
• Interviews with private sector actors (companies, intermediaries, collectors) participating in the selected value chains.
• Interviews of farmers organizations, agricultural cooperatives, and trader's associations, among others participating in value chain activities
• Participatory interactions with project consortium partners (IUCN, etc.) on the assignment
• Focus group discussions with farmers participating in the selected value chains.

OBJECTIVES, RESPONSIBILITIES, AND TASKS WITHIN THE ASSIGNMENT

The Consultants/Group of Consultants are tasked to carry out a Value Chain Analysis of natural resources-based value chains to identify promising and viable ones for scaling up and provide evidence-based information for programme intervention development.

The consultants/group of consultants is expected to conduct the following activities:

• Desk review of the project and requirements, background information and related reports (existing relevant VCA reports, provincial/district government reports and statistics, etc.) on NbSA and EbA models in the project sites in Mekong Delta and Central Highlands. The desk-review will help enable the formulation of ideas and questions for further discussion with local authorities, communities, and other stakeholders during the inception visit. The project baseline study reveals a number of NbSA models such as lotus, rice-lotus, rice-fish, rice-shrimp or deep-water rice in the upper MD; rice-shrimp, mangrove-shrimp in the lower MD; and coffee-fruit intercropping or coffee-timber intercropping in the CHs. Further and more detailed document review is expected to produce the long list of potentially suitable NbSA models in each project site for further refinement during the assignment.
• Conduct (at least) one inception visit to each province to meet relevant government departments and stakeholders to obtain an overview of the local agriculture development (i.e. agricultural production situation, local development and orientation plans and programs) in relation to potential NbSA product chains, identify and meet potential private companies and buyers, develop a list of relevant contact points for each targeted project site (including relevant local authorities, value chain actors) to be in-depth surveyed. The inception phase will help the consultants/consultancy group refine the key NbSA product chains and design detailed field surveys and questionnaires.
• Conduct field surveys and data collection of key NbSA product value chains in the project areas with special attention to the analysis of chain weaknesses and strengths on on-farm practices and off-farm side such as planting, harvesting and postharvest processing knowledge/practices, commercial viability for potential value chain upgrading. The surveys are expected to conduct benefit-cost analysis (BCA)/profit margin of chosen products, market potential and demand assessment (levels of domestic and global consumption, capacity to absorb additional supply, demand trend and requirements for local and global market access for small-holders, etc.), and recommendation of initial Market-based Solutions (MBSs) for project interventions.
• Produce Market and Value Chain Assessment Report for the key NbSA product chains in the three subregions.
• Participate and present key identifications and recommendations at the consultation workshop to get feedback and improve the assessment report.
• Finalize the VCA reports detailing all analysis, findings and recommendations and action plan.
  

The work specified above is expected to be completed within 4 months, commencing March 2024 and completed by June 2024. The timeframe for the deliverables will be discussed based on a submitted workplan with the successful bidder. The expected deliverables are:

1. Detailed and phased workplan not later than a week after signing the contract.
2. Inception report two weeks after the signing of the engagement contract
3. Values chain analysis report on most viable value chains with complete value chain maps; chain actors, stakeholders, supporters, and influencers accompanied by a description of stakeholders' relationships: how many they are, roles & responsibility, values and volumes handled.
4. Conduct, in close cooperation with SNV and consortia partners, a validation workshop with stakeholders to validate the findings of the study.
5. Final report with incorporated comments from IUCN, consortium partners and key stakeholders from the validation workshop.
6. The final report will be submitted in hard and soft copies, specifically 3 bound hard copies and a soft copy of the report, written in English and Vietnamese after the report submission and approval to SNV.
7. Prepare and deliver a PowerPoint Presentation of the report.

For more details on the Expression of Interest process, submission requirements, and evaluation details, please see corresponding sections below:

Selection Process

SNV will review all Expressions of Interest received in accordance with the guidelines and criteria in this solicitation. SNV reserves the right to exclude any EOIs that do not meet the guidelines. Please note that SNV is unable to provide detailed feedback to those EOIs that are not selected.

• Step 1: SNV will shortlist selected EOIs, and unsuccessful respondents will be notified. Successful applicants will be contacted by SNV.
• Step 2: SNV will release Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for the specific activities and contract with the selected organizations/ consultants.

Protection of Information

We request that Expressions of Interest responses be free of any intellectual property that the applicant wishes to protect. Should offerors wish to include proprietary intellectual property that they believe would be helpful for SNV, please note the proprietary nature of such information. Costing information will be kept confidential and will not be shared beyond SNV.

Issuance of this EOI does not constitute a commitment, award, or engagement on the part of SNV nor does it commit SNV to any future commitment or engagement.

Note: SNV reserves the right to change or cancel this requirement in the EOI/or solicitation process at any time.