Expression of Interest (EOI)

Consultancy services to Design, Develop and Implement a Smart irrigation solution at Rwanda institute for conservation agriculture (RICA) 

Reference Number: 83443223

0.  Background

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is a federally owned international cooperation enterprise for sustainable development with worldwide operations. The GIZ Office in Kigali covers GIZ’s portfolio in Rwanda and Burundi. GIZ Rwanda/Burundi implements projects on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the European Union and other commissioning authorities in the following priority areas: Sustainable Economic Development; Good Governance; Climate, Energy and Sustainable Urban Development; Digitalization and Digital Economy; and regional projects in the Great Lakes Region. 

The GIZ Rwanda Digital Cluster and the Digital Transformation Center Rwanda 

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The Digital Cluster is a Rwandan-German initiative to develop impact-driven digital solutions at regional and continental levels in Africa. Therefore, it not only provides advisory services and training for government institutions and local tech companies but also a modern space to boost creativity and collaboration. 

The Digital Transformation Center is a space dedicated to delivering impact-driven digital solutions, developing the capacities of the local innovation ecosystem, and replicating and scaling up digital solutions at the regional and continental levels. The implementation of innovation at the Digital Transformation Center is in collaboration with the Ministry of ICT’s implementing agency, the Rwanda Information Society Authority (RISA).  The Digital Transformation Center supports both the public and the private sectors in transferring knowledge and skills and developing organizational, structural, and technological capacities.  

The Digital Transformation Center is now organized in various topics called Verticals for orientation, and proper collaboration with partners and the Rwandan ICT ecosystem and these verticals are collectively known as the GIZ Digital Cluster. Some of these verticals are listed below: 

Public Sector Innovation  

The Public sector innovation vertical is where the government, civil society and private sector all intersect to work together in developing digital solutions and innovation around the challenges experience in the public sector. In this vertical, the demand is set through a series of collaborations from the government, mainly from the Chief Digital Officers of every sector, The Rwanda Information Society Authority RISA and the Ministry of ICT and Innovation and many other implementing agencies to work together. The solutions developed under the Public Sector innovation vertical revolve around digitization, change management, ICT building blocks, UN Sustainable Development Goals, Smart cities, and efficient delivery of Government services.  

Digital Inclusion & Literacy  

The Digital Cluster is actively involved in capacity-building and digital literacy, targeting people in rural areas, women and people with disabilities, ICT professionals, tech startups and employees of political partner agencies. The Digital Inclusion and Literacy vertical works together with several civil society organizations, The Ministry of ICT and Rwanda Information Society Authority RISA to implement joint programs that bridge the skills gap for both public servants and citizens to create an environment conducive to digital transformation and adoption of digital skills for economic development and improved livelihoods.   

Startup Ecosystem Support  

The Digital Cluster supports young entrepreneurs and startups through incubator and accelerator programs to build and expand their businesses. These programs provide access to mentorship, funding, and resources to help young entrepreneurs overcome the challenges of starting a business. By fostering collaboration and innovation, these initiatives are helping to create a thriving ecosystem for young entrepreneurs to succeed in today's competitive marketplace.  

Artificial Intelligence Hub (AI Hub) and data  

Most of the digitalization efforts, both private and public, rely on data and insights into that data. The AI hub vertical works around Improving access to training data and AI technologies for local open innovation, strengthening local technical know-how on AI in Rwanda, Develop Policy Frameworks Ready for AI - Ethical AI, Data Protection and Privacy, and one of the biggest topics in AI under the AI hub is Machine translation. 

1.  Context

Agriculture is an essential sector for Rwanda, providing food and resources for communities. However, agriculture is also one of the most water-intensive sectors, accounting for approximately 70% of the country’s freshwater withdrawals. With the increasing population, the demand for food and resources is also increasing, putting additional pressure on already scarce water resources.

To address this issue, there is a growing interest in implementing smart irrigation systems that use advanced technologies, such as sensors, weather data, and artificial intelligence, to optimize water use in agriculture. Smart irrigation systems can help farmers to conserve water, reduce costs, and increase crop yields by providing precise information on soil moisture levels, weather patterns, and plant water requirements.

However, designing, developing, and implementing a smart irrigation system can be a complex and challenging task. It requires expertise in fields such as agriculture, engineering, and data analytics, as well as an understanding of the local environmental conditions and the specific needs of farmers.

In addition to the benefits that a smart irrigation system can provide for farmers and agricultural businesses, there is also growing interest in using these systems for research purposes. Universities, research institutions, and government agencies are increasingly looking to explore the potential of smart irrigation systems for improving agricultural practices and addressing water scarcity issues.

2.  Purpose of Assignment

In this context, a consultancy firm with a multidisciplinary team of experts will provide valuable support to implement a smart irrigation system at Rwanda Institute of conservation agriculture (RICA). The consultancy firm will offer services ranging from system design, sensor installation and calibration, data analysis, and training, helping to ensure the successful implementation and operation of a smart irrigation system. In close partnership with RICA, the consultant must ensure that the latest technological IOT innovations and expertise are used in the field.

In close partnership with RICA the consultant will install a smart irrigation system that will be mainly used for research purposes, the consultancy firm should provide the following.

The contractor is responsible for providing the following services:

1. System design and installation: The consultancy firm will work with RICA to design and install a smart irrigation system. This will include selecting appropriate sensors, determining optimal irrigation schedules, and configuring the system for data collection and analysis.
2. Data analysis and visualization: The consultancy firm will provide expertise in data analysis and visualization, helping the RICA to interpret the data collected by the smart irrigation system. This can include developing algorithms for optimizing irrigation schedules, identifying trends in water use, and creating visualizations of the data for research purposes.
3. Training and support: The consultancy firm should provide training and ongoing support to designated RICA staff, ensuring that they are equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to operate and maintain the smart irrigation system.

By working with a consultancy firm to design, develop, and implement a smart irrigation system, RICA will benefit from the latest technological innovations and expertise in the field. This can help to advance research in the areas of water conservation, agricultural productivity, and sustainable agriculture practices, while also providing valuable hands-on learning opportunities for students and researchers. 

2.1.  Specific tasks to be performed by the contractor.

This assignment aims to have a competent consulting firm or consultants with experience in designing and implementing smart irrigation solutions to implement a smart irrigation system for RICA. The consulting firm will perform the following tasks: 

1. System design and development
2. Data visualization
3. Maintenance, support, and Training

Work Package 1: System design and development

The consulting firm should develop a detailed design of the Smart Irrigation System including all features and functionalities and hardware components and a detailed description of the system architecture.

With direct supervision from RICA the consulting firm will provide the necessary hardware i.e., solar powered sensors, low powered latching solenoids, water valves, sensor connection boards, etc. that make up a fully functional sensor-based irrigation system.

With direct supervision from RICA, the consulting firm will develop a fully functioning automated sensor-based irrigation and water control management system on RICA’s campus in Gashora - Bugesera District.

Work Package 2: Data visualization and reporting

The consulting firm will

1. Identify the data sources that will be used to create the visualizations, such as soil moisture sensors, weather data, and irrigation schedules,
2. Define the requirements for the visualizations, including the types of charts or graphs that will be used, the data to be displayed, and the level of interactivity required.
3. Select the appropriate visualization tools based on the defined requirements.
4. In collaboration with RICA, develop data models that can be used to structure and organize the data for visualization.
5. Create the visualizations using the selected tools and data models, ensuring that they meet the defined requirements.
6. Validate the visualizations with RICA to ensure that they accurately represent the data and meet the needs of RICA.
7. Integrate the visualizations into the smart irrigation system platform, ensuring that they are accessible to the RICA team, while also testing and debugging the system to ensure they function correctly and are responsive to user interactions.

The consulting firm will also document the entire project, including the design decisions, data sources, and any technical details of the system. This will include.

1. A comprehensive project plan that outlines the project's objectives, scope, timeline, milestones, and resources required.
2. A project documentation, including project charters, project plans, requirements documents, design documents, testing plans, and user manuals.
3. Weekly or bi-weekly progress reports to provide regular updates on the project's status, including milestones achieved, issues encountered, and risks identified.
4. Documentation of the project learnings, including the best practices, lessons learned, and recommendations for future projects.
5. A final report that summarizes the project's outcomes, including the project's goals, scope, achievements, and challenges.

Work Package 3: Maintenance, support, and Training

The consulting firm will provide system support services for the custom-built application and system to RICA’s team running the built system and fix all identified technical issues and bugs.

The consulting firm will provide trainings to RICA team on using the systems.

• Documentation of all modules of the irrigation system for RICA.
• Risk, disaster, and recovery measures, as well as a business continuity plan for the irrigation system for RICA.
• Define formats of the training/ of the training sessions.
• Design of training materials and exercises.
• Timeline of the training.

2.2.  Organization and supervision arrangements:

The consulting firm will work daily with the RICA team under the direct supervision of GIZ.

Reporting Requirements  

The Consulting Firm/Consultant must report directly to the Public Sector Innovation division at GIZ and provide a briefing to RICA.  

The following reports shall be submitted in English: 

Inception Report  

This report shall be given two (2) weeks after the commencement of the assignment, detailing but not limited to the approach and methodology, a proposed work plan for undertaking the assignment, and implementation timeline scheduling of the assignment. It should be submitted in three (2) copies to the assigned Project Manager.  

The Phases Completion Reports  

This report shall constitute a summary of the accomplished work for each phase and shall reveal in detail the milestone achieved and the work plan for the coming phase. The report shall also identify the problems encountered during the implementation of previous phases and the suggested measures and needed help from the Client to facilitate the next phase of work. This report should be submitted after each phase. 

Training Report  

The Training Report will contain all the details about the training conducted to the designated technical team with specific topics done under the Consulting Firm/Consultants Supervision. The report will also contain all the related materials, diagrams and manuals used in training and for future reference. 

The Draft Final Report  

This report will elaborate on all activities undertaken during assignment execution, including all project documentation. This will include all the system and software development documentation and manuals.  

The Final Report  

The final report shall incorporate comments/ feedback from RICA and GIZ on the draft report.  

2.3.  Milestones

The contractor is requested to provide an implementation plan for the project, including the following milestones:

Period of assignment: from 15.08.2023 until 14.11.2023

3.  Concept

Technical-methodological concept 

Strategy (1.1): The tenderer is required to consider the tasks to be performed with reference to the objectives of the services put out to tender (see Chapter 1 Context) (1.1.1). Following this, the tenderer presents and justifies the explicit strategy with which it intends to provide the services for which it is responsible (see Chapter 2 Tasks to be performed) (1.1.2). 

The tenderer is required to present the actors relevant for the services for which it is responsible and describe the cooperation (1.2) with them. 

The tenderer is required to present and explain its approach to steering the measures with the project partners (1.3.1). 

The tenderer is required to describe the key processes for the services for which it is responsible and create an operational plan or schedule (1.4.1) that describes how the services according to Chapter 2 (Tasks to be performed by the contractor) are to be provided. In particular, the tenderer is required to describe the necessary work steps.  

Project management of the contractor (1.6) 

The bidder is required to explain its approach to coordination (1.6.1) with the GIZ project. GIZ will provide one contact person for the contractor. The explanations of the bidder shall consider the following minimum standards to be met by the contractor: 

• The provision of at least one contact person for GIZ 
• The existence of substitution management 
• Daily availability by email and or phone (on workdays) 

• The response to emails within 24 hours 
• Weekly availability for a physical or virtual meeting 
• Weekly progress reporting (written) 
• The submission of quality-assured deliverables at least three workdays before the approval are due to be made (all deliverables need approval from GIZ) 
• The selection, preparation, training and steering of the experts assigned to perform the advisory tasks. 

The management of costs and expenditures, accounting processes and invoicing in line with the requirements of GIZ. 

The tenderer is required to draw up a personnel assignment plan with explanatory notes that lists all the experts proposed in the tender; the plan includes information on assignment dates (duration and expert months) and locations of the individual members of the team complete with the allocation of work steps as set out in the schedule (1.6.2). 

4.  Personnel concept

The tenderer is required to provide personnel who are suited to filling the positions described, based on their CVs (see Chapter 6), the range of tasks involved and the required qualifications.

The below-specified qualifications represent the requirements to reach the maximum number of points in the technical assessment.

Team leader (Project manager)

Tasks of the team leader

• Overall responsibility for the advisory packages of the contractor (quality and deadlines)
• Coordinating and ensuring communication with GIZ, partners and others involved in the project.
• Personnel management, identifying the need for short-term assignments within the available budget, as well as planning and steering assignments and supporting local and international short-term experts.
• Regular reporting in accordance with deadlines

Qualifications of the team leader

• Education/training (2.1.1): University degree (Masters) in Computer science Information Technology or relevant field
• General professional experience (2.1.3): 5 years of professional experience in project management
• Specific professional experience (2.1.4): 3 years of product development for agriculture with remote sensing technology.
• Leadership/management experience (2.1.5): 3 years of management/leadership experience as project team leader or manager in a company

Key expert 1 Irrigation Specialist

Tasks of key expert 1

See the general scope stated in section 2 (the specific tasks will be defined depending on the requirements of each individual project)

Qualifications of key expert 1

• Education/training (2.2.1): University qualification (Bachelor or equivalent) in computer science, engineering or relevant field
• General professional experience (2.2.3): 3 years of experience with smart irrigation systems and their implementation in Rwanda
• Specific professional experience (2.2.4): 3 years of experience in key data collection, analysis and visualization of irrigated field data.

Key expert 2 IoT expert

Tasks of key expert 2

• See the general scope stated in section 2 (the specific tasks will be defined depending on the requirements of each individual project)

Qualifications of key expert 2

• Education/training (2.3.1): University qualification (Bachelor or equivalent) in computer science, engineering or relevant field
• General professional experience (2.3.3): 3 years of experience in designing IOT infrastructure for agriculture application.
• Specific professional experience (2.3.4): 3 years of experience in firmware development in languages like python & numpy.

Soft skills of team members

In addition to their specialist qualifications, the following qualifications are required of team members:

• Team skills
• Initiative
• Communication skills
• Socio-cultural skills
• Efficient, partner- and client-focused working methods
• Interdisciplinary thinking

The tenderer must provide a clear overview of all proposed experts and their individual qualifications.

5.  Costing requirements

Assignment of personnel

Team leader: On-site assignment for 60 expert days

Expert 1: Assignment in country of assignment (Rwanda) for 60 expert days

Expert 2: Assignment in country of assignment (Rwanda) for 60 expert days

Total Number of expert days: 180 Expert days  

Equipment 

The consulting firm should provide a detailed cost of all equipment that will make up the sensor-based irrigation system according to work packages 1 & 2.

Travel

No travel costs are foreseen as this is a local assignment.

6.  Requirements on the format of the tender

The structure of the tender must correspond to the structure of the ToRs. In particular, the detailed structure of the concept (Chapter 3) should be organised in accordance with the positively weighted criteria in the assessment grid (not with zero). The tender must be legible (font size 11 or larger) and clearly formulated. It must be drawn up in English (language).  

The complete tender must not exceed 35 pages (excluding CVs). If one of the maximum page lengths is exceeded, the content appearing after the cut-off point will not be included in the assessment. External content (e.g. links to websites) will also not be considered.  

The CVs of the personnel proposed in accordance with Chapter 4 of the ToRs must be submitted using the format specified in the terms and conditions for application. The CVs shall not exceed 4 pages each. They must clearly show the position and job the proposed person held in the reference project and for how long. The CVs can also be submitted in English (language).  

Please calculate your financial tender based exactly on the parameters specified in Chapter 5 Quantitative requirements. The contractor is not contractually entitled to use up the days, trips, workshops or budgets in full. The number of days, trips and workshops and the budgets will be contractually agreed as maximum limits. The specifications for pricing are defined in the price schedule.  

7.  Submission of offer: The Expression of Interest should contain the following:

Technical Proposal:

• A cover letter expressing your interest in this assignment.
• Technical proposal with a brief description of why you would be considered as the most suitable for the assignment, relevant expertise, and a detailed, clear methodology, on your approach to completing the assignment.
• CVs of experts proposed.
• Company registration certificate (RDB)
• VAT registration certificate
• Latest tax clearance certificate
• Proof of successful completion of related assignments.

Financial Proposal: indicates the all-inclusive total contract price, supported by a breakdown of all costs. The costs must be in RWF and VAT

Please deposit your Expression of Interest in two copies in 2 separated envelops until latest 20^th July 2023 at 4:00PM, at the front desk of GIZ Office Rwanda / KN 41 St. / Nr.17, Kiyovu, P.O. Box 59, Kigali. You must write on each Envelop the following:

• 1^st envelop: “83443223-Technical offer” including (1 original and 1 copy)
• 2^nd envelop: “83443223- Financial offer” including (1 original and 1 copy) 

GIZ reserves all rights.

Annexes:

• Annex 1 Template for the Technical Proposal
• Annex 2 Eligibility Assessment Grid
• Annex 3 Technical Assessment Grid
• Annex 4 Self-declaration of eligibility

List of abbreviations 

DSSD  : Digital Solutions for Sustainable Development

GIZ      : Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit 

RICA   : Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture

ToR     : Terms of Reference