Request for Proposals Consultancy services

Background

TechnoServe Rwanda, with support from Sida, is implementing a multi-year program ReGenerate Rwanda, aimed at breaking the cycle of vulnerability, poverty, and gender inequality in some of Rwanda’s poorest and most environmentally fragile districts in the Western and Southern Provinces. The program employs a market systems approach to catalyze systemic changes, resulting in sustainable, increased incomes for tens of thousands of poor people, particularly women and youth, in these regions.

To achieve this goal, ReGenerate Rwanda collaborates with a diverse spectrum of private sector actors to support a portfolio of interventions within priority sectors and cross-cutting market functions. Within this context, TechnoServe, under the ReGenerate project, is partnering with Uzima Chicken Rwanda Ltd to conduct a gender and youth needs assessment. This comprehensive evaluation aims to identify the specific challenges, gaps, and opportunities that limit the participation of women and youth in Uzima's operations.

Uzima Chicken Rwanda is a leading poultry enterprise focused on improving livelihoods through poultry farming. The company recognizes the importance of addressing gender and youth considerations to enhance inclusivity, productivity, and community impact. Thus, the comprehensive gender and youth needs assessment will help identify gaps, challenges, and opportunities to better increase women’s participation and performance in Uzima’s operations.

Scope of Work

The primary objective of this consultancy is to conduct a thorough gender and youth needs assessment within Uzima Chicken-Rwanda's operations. Specifically, this assessment aims to:

1. Identify specific needs, challenges, and opportunities for women and youth participation in Uzima operations.
2. Provide actionable recommendations to better integrate gender and youth considerations into Uzima Chicken-Rwanda's policies, programs, and practices.
3. Identify business cases in terms of the incentives to invest in the opportunities to reach and benefit more women and youth.

The consultant will conduct a comprehensive needs assessment focusing on gender and youth, analyzing the opportunities and constraints faced by women. This assessment will include mapping current practices and proposing actionable strategies for achieving sustainable gender outcomes. Additionally, the consultant will provide clear recommendations to Uzima Chicken Rwanda Ltd. to enhance the participation of women and youth in their operations. Specifically, the consultant will:

Conduct the gender and youth analysis to understand the specific constraints and opportunities to increase the participation of women and youth and eventually their incomes.

Document current practices within Uzima’s operations that impact gender and youth participation.

Analyze Uzima Chicken-Rwanda’s existing documentation, including strategic plans, operational guidelines, and previous assessments to identify the good practices and missing functions required to support women and youth participation.

Identify the cultural norms and gendered barriers that would inhibit women and youth from fully benefiting from the current Uzima business and outline efforts to leverage these and ensure the increased incomes of women and youth.

Assess how the findings align with the objectives of the ReGenerate Rwanda program to ensure that the recommendations support the broader goals of breaking the cycle of poverty, gender equality and enhancing climate resilience.

Prepare a comprehensive report detailing findings from the needs assessment with clear and evidence-based recommendations for increasing the participation and performance of women and youth in Uzima's operations.

Deliverables

The consultant is expected to deliver the following:

• An inception report with a detailed methodology, clear work plan, and timeline of the assessment to be approved by Uzima.
• Develop and submit data collection tools, interview guides, and focus group discussion guides for approval.
• Present preliminary findings report and recommendations for feedback from Uzima.
• Submit a final comprehensive report with detailed findings, analysis, and actionable recommendations from the assessment. Conduct a presentation of the final report to Uzima Chicken-Rwanda’s management team.

Anticipated Start Date

10/01/2025

Performance Location

Kigali and expected field visits.

Additional Information

Duration of the Assignment

The assignment is expected to be completed within three months, starting the date of contract signing.

Qualifications and Experience

1. At the minimum, the consultant must possess the following:
2. Advanced degree in development studies, social sciences, and other fields that may be relevant.
3. Minimum of 7 years of working experience in social research and strong experience in livelihoods research.
4. Experience in the design and use of participatory methods for assessment and evaluation.
5. Proven and practical experience in conducting value chains analysis.
6. Strong knowledge of the Rwandan context, especially in relation to rural development and poultry farming
7. Recent similar studies conducted.
8. Strong skills in quantitative and qualitative data collection tools, data analysis and report writing,
9. Experience of working with private actors and non-governmental organizations 10. Excellent research, analytical, and report-writing skills
10. Fluency in English and Kinyarwanda.

General condition of the consultancy

The consultant and Uzima will agree on the remuneration and mode of payment prior to the start of the work. Charges related to taxes, mission allowances for field work and secretarial fees are to be borne by the consultant. As part of this negotiation process, the consultant should propose the fee s/he wishes to charge, noting that Uzima will cover the transportation costs to and from the field during the field exercise.

The proposal should contain:

• A letter of interest addressed to Technoserve Country Manager
• A Technical proposal showing the interpretation of the ToR and indicating a detailed proposed methodology.
• A detailed financial proposal (expressed in Rwandan Francs indicating the cost required for the undertaking of the work required) and specifying payment terms and conditions.
• A CV of the consultant (s) and any supporting team members showing previous relevant experience including at least 3 references for similar research with a description of the work done and the dates performed.
• Valid business full registration form certificate.
• Valid RRA tax clearance certificate and proof of using EBM.
• Proof of last year’s Corporate Income Taxes(CIT) Certificate.
• Bank Information signed & stamped by bank
• VAT registration certificate

Response Instructions

To ensure consideration, all responses must be submitted no later than 09/20/2024, written in English with prices stated in RWF.

All responses must:

• Contain a detailed cost with applicable taxes and other charges clearly identified.
• Provide requested payment terms and conditions.
• Include a contact name, email address, and telephone number.
• For quotes from a firm, provide a brief outline of the company and services offered, including the company's full legal name and address, the jurisdiction of incorporation, the full legal name and country of citizenship of the company's owners/principal officers, and the year the business was established.
• If a consortium of firms or a team of consultants submits a quote jointly, the above information should be provided for each member of the team.
• Only include attached files that are 10 MB or smaller in size. Do not include compressed (ZIP, RAR), executable, or other unusual file formats as these will be rejected.

Submit responses to: buy+RQ5218@tns.org

Note: DO NOT email your response to any employee of TechnoServe or deliver your response in hard copy to a TechnoServe office. Failing to adhere to these instructions may make your response ineligible for consideration.

Terms and Conditions

• This solicitation shall not be construed as an offer by TechnoServe.
• Responses must be submitted on or before the date indicated.
• Any quotes that are unresponsive will be summarily rejected.
• Responses to this solicitation shall be deemed binding offers and must remain valid for acceptance for no less than 90 days from the closing date of this solicitation.
• Any purchases resulting from this solicitation will be governed by TechnoServe's contractual terms and conditions, and may be subject to additional terms as required by donors funding the purchase.
• TechnoServe expressly reserves the right to accept or reject any quote or to cancel the solicitation process at any time without explanation, with no liability to any respondent.
• TechnoServe may, at its discretion, accept all or part of a respondent's offer.
• All information provided by TechnoServe in this solicitation is given in good faith; however, details are subject to change.
• TechnoServe may require respondents to enter into a non-disclosure agreement as a prerequisite for consideration.
• Respondents bear sole responsibility for all costs incurred in connection with the preparation of their response, including any thirdparty expenses.
• All responses shall become the property of TechnoServe.
• Respondents must fully disclose any conflicts of interest pertaining to this solicitation. Failure to comply may result in disqualification.

Request Files

The following attached files, if any, represent an important part of this solicitation.

No Request Files Found

Selection Criteria

Submissions will be evaluated based on the following criteria and rating methodology.

Selection Criteria Max Points