Consultant(s) for building capacity of producer organizations

Terms of Reference (TOR) of Consultant(s) for building capacity of producer organizations

1. Project Background

Value Chain Development of Fruit and Vegetables project (VCDP) is the joint initiative of Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development (MoALD) with the support from Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) aimed to increase income of 10,000 smallholder farmers of 39 rural/municipalities aside BP highway and Prithvi highway extending to Syangja and Hetauda-Dumkibas section of the East-West highway. The project has three major outcome areas (1) improve agricultural productivity through increased capacity of government agencies and better access to production technologies by farmers, (2) reduce postharvest losses of selected fruit and vegetables by postharvest technology development, and (3) better market linkages at the local level. VCDP considers agriculture producer organizations (including cooperatives, committees, networks, and market centres) as the most potential business vehicle for sustainable value chain development at the local level. So VCDP has the plan to strengthen these producer organizations as the ‘business hub’ at the local level to provide a wide range of business development services and perform their services business based on their member’s needs and products.

VCDP has recently conducted a rapid assessment of potential cooperatives from the project areas and found that cooperative management is fairly at low level than expected. Similar is the situation of agriculture producer networks and other committees. Their current management practices, governance structure, business plan, available operational guidelines, and procedures, capacity to cater to the need of their fellow members were found substantially poor. Apart from this, there is a poor linkage between these producer organizations and their member’s business. On this backdrop, VCDP has planned to mobilize different experts to deliver the following services.

2. Required consultant services

Aiming to strengthen the capacity of selected producer organizations so they can perform better business and business development services to the members, VCDP is planning to hire the following consultant positions to deliver the below-mentioned responsibilities. VCDP will sign a Long Term Agreement (LTA) that will be effective for one year with the possibility of renewal, if needed, the service provider(s)^[Note-1] but individual assignments will be offered on an event basis.

 ^Note-1 It could be an individual consultant or consulting firm or Non-Government Organization (NGO) 

2.1 Consultant: Cooperative Management Training [Basic Level]   

The consultant will design/update the training content in consultation with the project team and deliver the agreed number of training events to the selected cooperatives. The primary objective of the training are to support the board of director, staffs and the committees of the selected cooperatives to develop their cooperative management knowledge and skills by enhancing their understanding on local cooperative act, develop/revisit relevant required policy, procedures and guidelines, review current cooperative services as the stated in their bylaws and ways to promote them.

Key responsibilities of the consultant

• Draft training of content (TOC) using earlier developed guidelines and handouts for 3 days’ cooperative management training to deliver for primary cooperative at the local level or Palika level, incorporate feedback from the project team and finalize.
• Review of national, regional and global practices of agricultural cooperative management and incorporate in this training design,
• Coordinate with respective rural municipality/municipality while conducting those training and acknowledge their potential contribution,  
• Deliver an agreed number of cooperative management training for primary cooperatives
• Prepare a brief event completion report of each slot of training and submit within 10 days of the completion of the training,
• Provide critical feedback on the capacity gap of cooperatives observed during the training and special recommendation for the betterment.
• Update the specific section of the training content and guideline where necessary,

Duration of the work

There will be about 15-20 training slots in 2020. This assignment will be given to one or more consultants or consulting firms as a service contract. The consultant(s) needs to submit the event completion report in the prescribed format within 10 days of the event.

Table 1: Workdays distribution for different activities for cooperative management training

^Note-2 The consultant needs to manage three days of training independently. VCDP will provide a training assistant for logistic support during the training. The consultant can invite/mobilize guest trainer or co-trainer on her/his own cost where VCDP will cover the transportation and DSA for guest trainer/co-trainer. 

Qualifications of the consultant

The consultants should have the following qualifications and competencies:

• At least a Bachelor’s degree in a related field,
• Proven experience of successfully facilitating cooperative management training for agricultural cooperatives (at least 2 in last 1 years), 
• Sound knowledge on relevant policy provision relating to the cooperative sector in Nepal,
• Experience of designing training content, manual and guideline,
• Have basic computer literacy, and good command on both English and Nepali language in speaking and writing,
• Priority will be given to women, Dalit, Janajati and ethnic communities.  
• Physical output/deliverables 
• Detailed table of content, schedule, presentations, and handouts
• Event facilitation
• Event completion report

2.2 Consultant: Cooperative Management Training [Advanced Level]

The consultant will design/update the training content in consultation with the project team and deliver the agreed number of training events. The primary objective of the training is to support the board of director, staffs and the committees of the selected cooperatives to develop their cooperative management knowledge and skills by enhancing their understanding on local and national level cooperative act, policy provisions, develop/revisit relevant required policy, procedures and guidelines, review current cooperative services as the stated in their bylaws and ways to promote them.

Key responsibilities of the consultant

• Draft training of content (TOC) using earlier developed guidelines and handouts for 5 days’ cooperative management training, incorporate feedback from the project team and finalize.
• Review of national, regional and global practices of agricultural cooperative management and incorporate in this training design,
• Coordinate with respective rural municipality/municipality while conducting those training and acknowledge their potential contribution,
• Deliver an agreed number of cooperative management training for primary cooperatives
• Prepare a brief event completion report of each slot of training and submit within 10 days of the completion of the training,
• Provide critical feedback on the capacity gap of cooperatives observed during the training and special recommendation for the betterment.
• Update the specific section of the training content and guideline where necessary,

Duration of the work

There will be about 3-5 training slots in 2020. This assignment will be given to one or more consultants or consulting firms as a service contract. The consultant(s) needs to submit the event completion report in the prescribed format within 10 days of the event.

Table 2: Workdays distribution for different activities for cooperative management training ^[Note-3] 

^Note-3 The project may deploy staff/intern/volunteers/coop-staff for the logistic support 

^Note-4 The actual number of days/sessions and costs for the guest trainer or co-trainer will be finalized based on mutual understanding between the consultant and the project. 

Qualifications of the consultant

• The consultants should have the following qualifications and competencies:
• At least a Bachelor’s degree in a related field, Master’s degree preferred for the lead trainer,  
• Proven experience of successfully facilitating cooperative management training for agricultural cooperatives (at least 2 in last 1 years), 
• Sound knowledge on relevant policy provision relating to the cooperative sector in Nepal,
• Experience of designing training content, manual and guideline,
• Have basic computer literacy, and good command on both English and Nepali language in speaking and writing,
• Priority will be given to women, Dalit, Janajati and ethnic communities.  

Physical output/deliverables 

• Detailed table of content, schedule, presentations, and handouts
• Event facilitation
• Event completion report

2.3 Consultant: Cooperative Accounting and Financial Management Training

A good cooperative should comply with different standards as per the prevailing act and guidelines. For the same, the accounting system and financial management of every cooperative should be intact, clear and transparent so the risk can be minimized. But many of the agriculture cooperatives do have limited knowledge, skill and practice on proper accounting and financial management which may lead the cooperative into conflict and negative reputations. Therefore, VCDP is planning to support the partner cooperatives to strengthen their accounting system and financial management. The incumbent(s) will support selected cooperatives to maintain proper accounting records and financial management systems including financial reporting, financial health checks, cash and asset management, ledgers and internal audits of the organization.

Key responsibilities of the consultant

• Conduct meeting with VCDP team to get acquainted with the project objective, geographical area, and brief information about the selected cooperatives,
• Review to gather updates on cooperative accounting and financial management related policy, guidelines and directives from the central, provincial and local governments.
• Design the 3-5 days’ training schedule, and detail content and relevant reference documents incorporating the input/feedback from the project team.
• Coordinate with respective rural municipality/municipality while conducting those training and acknowledge their potential contribution,  
• Deliver an agreed number of training for primary cooperatives
• Prepare a brief event completion report of each slot of training and submit within 7 days of the completion of the training,
• Provide critical feedback on the capacity gap of cooperatives observed during the training and special recommendation for the betterment.
• Update the specific section of the training content and guideline where necessary,

Duration of the work

There will be about 5 training events in 2020. This assignment will be given to one or more consultants or consulting firms as a service contract. The consultant(s) needs to submit the event completion report within 10 days of the event.

Table 3: Workdays distribution for different activities for cooperative management training

 ^Note-5 In the case of advance level financial management training, the duration will be 5 days per slot. 

 ^Note-6 The project may also deploy staff/intern/volunteers/coop-staff for the logistic support 

Qualifications of the consultant

The consultants should have the following qualifications and competencies:

• At least a Bachelor’s degree in a related field, Masters’ degree preferred for the lead trainer,   
• Proven experience of successfully facilitating similar training (at least 3 in last 1 year), preference will be given for those who facilitated training for agricultural cooperatives,
• Sound knowledge on relevant policy provision relating to the cooperative sector in Nepal,
• Experience of designing training content, manual and guideline,
• Have basic computer literacy, and good command on both English and Nepali language in speaking and writing,
• Priority will be given to women, Dalit, Janajati and ethnic communities.  

Physical output/deliverables 

• Detailed table of content, schedule, guideline, and handouts
• Event facilitation
• Event completion report 

2.4 Consultant: Cooperative Business Plan Preparation

As many cooperatives in Nepal lack a doable business plan, very few agricultural cooperatives have such a document. Therefore, VCDP wants to support those partner/beneficiary agricultural cooperatives who have a robust business plan with a set of action points and strategies to achieve the targets. Thus, the selected consultant will support selected cooperatives to develop their business plan by detailing business profile, services, marketing plan, operations plan, management plan, and financial plan.

Key responsibilities of the consultant

• A quick review of national, regional and global experiences of cooperative business management on fruit and vegetables and design our local context relevant business planning template,
• Conduct meeting with VCDP team to get acquainted with the project objective, geographical area, and brief information about the selected cooperatives,
• Design the business planning workshop schedule (3-days), detailed content, defined template and guidelines to prepare/facilitate the business planning incorporating the input/feedback from the project team. It also includes the pre- and post-workshop activities, document review, synthesis, and business plan finalization,
• Consult with the project team and/or respective cooperative to gather basic information about the cooperatives, and plan for the business planning workshop,
• Coordinate with respective rural municipality/municipality while conducting those training and acknowledge their potential contribution,  
• Facilitate business planning workshops (3 days each) as per agreed plan, document the discussion points, plans and strategies to meet the set targets, and translate them into a concrete business plan,
• Ensure the business plan has addressed all the business/service sectors of the cooperative,
• Share the draft business plan to the project team and cooperative for review and feedback
• Finalize the business plan incorporating feedback,
• Prepare and submit an event-wise brief report in the prescribed format within 10 days of each event completion.

Duration of the work

In 2020, VCDP is planning to support a minimum of 10 cooperatives to develop its business plan. Therefore, VCDP may hire multiple consultants and offer individual contracts at different points of time depending on the demand from the cooperative, availability of the consultant and work plan of the project.

Table 4: Workdays distribution for different sub-activities for business plan preparation

^Note-7 The number of days can be less (or sometimes high) depending on the level of cooperative business 

^Note-8The consultant needs to manage three days’ workshop independently. VCDP will provide assistant/intern/facilitator for the logistic support during the training. The consultant can invite/mobilize guest trainer or co-trainer or training assistant on her/his own cost where VCDP will cover the transportation and DSA for guest trainer/co-trainer/assistant.

Qualifications of the Consultant

The consultants should have the following qualifications and competencies:

• At least a Bachelor’s degree (Master’s degree preferred) in agricultural economics, economics, business management, business administration or in a related field,
• Proven experience of successfully facilitating cooperative business planning workshop and develop a business plan (at least 2 in last 1 years), preference will be given to those consultants prepared a business plan of agricultural cooperatives,
• Experience of designing training content and preparation of manuals/guidelines,
• Sound knowledge on relevant policy provision and practices relating to agriculture cooperative sector in Nepal,
• Have basic computer literacy, and good command on both English and Nepali language in speaking and writing,
• Priority will be given to women, Dalit, Janajati and ethnic communities,
• Physical output/deliverables 
• Detailed table of content, schedule, guideline, and template
• Event facilitation
• Finalized business plan(s) including working sheets, raw data, and related documents,   
• Event completion report

2.5 Consultant: Value Chain Facilitator

Many agricultural producer organizations including cooperatives are not aware of the recent policy changes, minimum compliances, regulatory frameworks and opportunities for strengthening their role in the value chain. Few numbers of training to limited participants from any producer organization are not enough, they need intensive and regular backstopping on these aspects until they are self-sustainable. So, VCDP has the plan to provide continuous backstopping support to the partnering producer organizations (producer’s committees, networks, cooperatives, and market centres) to make them able to address their need and opportunities. The primary role of the value chain facilitator will be one or more of the followings.

Key responsibilities of the consultant

• Review of the national, regional and global experiences of agricultural technology, cooperative, markets, strategies, good practices and document the best cases,
• Conduct meeting with VCDP team to get acquainted with the project objective, geographical area, and brief information about the selected cooperatives, market centers, and project pocket areas, 
• Conduct a capacity gap and need assessment of the selected producer organizations and market centers,
• Support the cooperative/producer organization/market centers to develop/update policy documents, guidelines, plans, proposals, reports, and other relevant documents
• Support the project team and selected cooperatives to organize training, workshops, exposure visits, and other capacity building events as per the plan,
• Conduct field visit for monitoring of the ongoing activities
• Prepare field visit reports, case studies, progress reports, fact sheets or other documentation as needed,
• Support the project team, local government and cooperatives to develop progress reports, project database and document the case, 
• Engage in project-related studies such as (not limited to) value chain, feasibility study, impact assessments, review, or other related assignments,
• Support the project team to collect field-level data for different studies including value chain study, gross margin study, and others, 
• Work according to the need of the project or assigned by the supervisor.

Duration of the work

• This will be a continuous and need-based assignment. The number of value chain facilitators and the length of engagement varies depending on the need and nature of the assignment. VCDP will prepare a roster of VCF and mobilize them as per need.

Qualifications of the Consultant

The consultants should have the following qualifications and competencies:

• At least a Bachelor’s degree in agricultural, business management, business administration or in a related field,
• Preference will be given to those having work experience with/for agricultural cooperatives,
• Have basic computer literacy, and good command on both English and Nepali language in speaking and writing,
• Priority will be given to women, Dalit, Janajati and ethnic communities,
• Physical output/deliverables 
• Work plan,
• Assignment/event facilitation
• Finalized output documents,   
• Monthly timesheet
• Assignment completion report (for individual assignment)

3. Institutional arrangements and reporting

Under the overall supervision of the National Project Manager, the Consultant(s) will work in close collaboration and guidance of the Marketing and Value Chain Specialist of the Project. It will be intermittent service consultancy based at Project Management Unit (PMU), Hariharbhawan, Lalitpur, and requires extensive field visits and an extended stay in the field. The VCDP will organize an induction meeting for all consultants to brief the project and the job description. The project team will coordinate with the cooperative/market committee/Palika for the logistics part, where needed. The physical output and field delivery by the consultant(s) will undergo review for verification and acceptance. VCDP has rights to all the outputs of this assignment. In some cases, the consultant will be hired via the project Palika/cooperatives and payment will be made from there, however, the strategic guidance and collaboration with the project is the must. The selected consultant(s) will be in VCDP’s roster of experts and contacted in future events.  

4. Consultancy fee, benefits, and payments

• The daily consultancy fee is based on expertise and experience. Interested candidates should quote his/her rate in the application cover letter. The mentioned consultancy fee will be applicable tax as per prevailing rule,  
• To cover the food and accommodation expenses during the travel days and fieldwork, a consultant is eligible to claim DSA at the rate of Rs 2500/day. The consultant shouldn’t claim the DSA if the food and accommodation are covered by the organizer. Similarly, DSA for returning day is not provided,
• There should be clear and specific field travel plan duly approved by the concerned point person (Marketing and Value Chain Specialist) of the project,
• Unless stated otherwise, Kathmandu will be considered as the base station to address the travel and DSA for the consultant,
• The project will reimburse the transportation cost (via public vehicle) to and from the event venue. However, the project may manage alternative means of transport depending upon the need and valid justification,
• Payment to consultant shall be upon submission of assignment/event completion report and acceptance by the project. Payment shall be made via bank transfer,  
• The consultant should have PAN/VAT registered. In the case of VAT registered, copy of registration document and recent year’s tax clearance certificate need to submit during the application,

5. How to apply?

Interested and eligible candidates are requested to submit an updated CV highlighting the relevant competency, expertise, and experience along with an application letter and summary of application (Annex 1). Incomplete applications will not be considered. The application can be submitted via email to info@vcdp.org.np. The deadline to submit the application is 31st January 2020 for the first phase of screening. Applications received after this deadline will be reviewed later and updated in the roster. The sharing of past work outputs is appreciated. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. 

Annex 1: Summary of Application (Applicant applying for multiple positions should submit this summary application separately). 

2. Relevant experience: List of assignment completed (only related to the position applied)