Calls for expressions of interest
AO 231274
Support to strengthen the competitiveness of the agri-food sector (with an emphasis on ACP horticultural sector) and compliance with the regulatory and private requirements of national, regional and international markets through training and technical assistance in the areas of business management, and sustainable commercial and social practices
Post date: 01/02/2023
Please complete the application form below:
Support to strengthen the competitiveness of the agri-food sector (with an emphasis on ACP horticultural sector) and compliance with the regulatory and private requirements of national, regional and international markets through training and technical assistance in the areas of business management, and sustainable commercial and social practices.
Ref: COLEAD/AO/231274
The necessary interventions may require travel within partner countries (with an emphasis on ACP countries). Depending on the case, the experts could be invited to visit the different COLEAD offices if necessary (Brussels, Rungis, Nairobi, etc.).
Agri-food sectors
COLEAD
5 rue de la Corderie
CENTRA 342
94586 RUNGIS Cedex
France
Internet address of the contracting authority:
https://www.colead.link
The publication of this Contract Notice launches the first phase of the procedure and is intended to allow candidates to express their interest in bidding. An initial evaluation based on an analysis of the expressions of interest will result in the establishment of a shortlist of candidates deemed suitable to submit tenders.
Stages of the procedure:
Phase 1
Phase 2
The service providers selected following the consultation will be offered a framework contract, specifying a maximum daily remuneration rate per proposed expert. This rate of remuneration may differ from the financial proposal made by the tenderer.
In general, the services of the successful tenderers may start from the day of the signature of the framework contract. The interventions of the successful tenderers may extend until the full consumption of the budget allocated.
COLEAD
COLEAD is a non-profit interprofessional association created in 1973. Its purpose is to facilitate and implement all actions allowing, directly and/or indirectly, to increase the contribution of the agricultural sector, and horticulture in particular, to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
From an operational perspective, COLEAD is organised into several departments corresponding to COLEAD’s internal areas of expertise: Technical Assistance, Training, Research and Innovation Brokerage, Market Insights, Information and Communication, Regulation and Standards, Access to Finance, and Networking and Alliances.
FFM SPS and FFM Plus programmes
Fit For Market SPS: Strengthening sanitary and phytosanitary systems of the ACP horticultural sector
In December 2018, the EC and COLEAD signed a four-year grant contract, “Fit For Market – Strengthening sanitary and phytosanitary systems of the ACP horticultural sector” (FFM SPS), with a total budget of EUR 15 million funded by the European Union (EU) and the Organisation of the ACP States (OACPS) through the 11th European Development Fund (EDF). It is part of the European support to medium and long-term policies aimed at strengthening productive capacities, stimulating innovation and improving the sustainability and competitiveness of the ACP private sector.
The overall objective of this programme is to contribute to poverty reduction, improve food security and safety, and ensure inclusive and sustainable growth by strengthening the ACP agri-food export sector. The specific objective of the programme is to ensure that small ACP producers, farmers’ groups and organisations and MSMEs have access to international and domestic fruit and vegetable markets within a sustainable framework, by helping them to take account of the requirements of these markets, particularly in terms of food safety.
The implementation of this programme aims to build capacity in horticultural safety and plant health both at the level of private sector actors (small producers, farmer groups and organisations, MSMEs, etc.) and at the level of the competent authorities. To this end, COLEAD assists programme beneficiaries in meeting (regulatory) market requirements, including those related to food safety. In addition, COLEAD studies the destination markets for ACP fruit and vegetables, in particular local and regional ACP markets, with a view to gaining a better understanding of their quality and quantity.
Fit For Market Plus: Mitigating the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic by strengthening the sustainability of the ACP horticultural sector
In November 2021, the EC and COLEAD signed a five-year grant contract, “Fit For Market Plus: Mitigating the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic by strengthening the sustainability of the ACP horticultural sector”, with a total budget of EUR 25 million financed by the 11th EDF.
Both FFM SPS and FFM+ are part of the intra-ACP cooperation programme between the EU and the Organisation of Africa, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OACPS), formerly ACP Group of States. It is part of European support for medium- and long-term policies aimed at strengthening productive capacities, stimulating innovation, and improving the sustainability and competitiveness of the ACP private sector.
The overall objective of FFM+ is to contribute to poverty reduction and improved food security and nutrition, by supporting the building of a fairer, safer and sustainable agri-food sector in member countries of the OACPS. Despite a disruptive landscape, the first specific objective is to support smallholders, farmer groups and MSMEs to maintain and improve access to national, regional, and international horticultural markets while adapting to changes in the operating environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Simultaneously, in a context of accelerated changes and paradigm shift, the second specific objective is to enable smallholders, farmer groups and MSMEs of the horticultural sector to seize new market opportunities through the development and adoption of safe and sustainable practices, skills and technologies.
The expected results of FFM SPS and FFM+ are complementary and integrated into an overall COLEAD implementation framework aimed at building and strengthening capacity at national and regional levels to ensure that effective and efficient national SPS systems are in place for the ACP horticultural industry.
Other programmes managed and implemented by COLEAD (at the time of launching this contract)
As part of the diversification of its funding sources, COLEAD is implementing other national or multinational programmes funded by different donors. Thus, in addition to the FFM Plus and FFM SPS programmes, COLEAD is also currently involved in the implementation of several technical assistance programmes in line with the association’s mission:
The list of other programmes/projects is not exhaustive. Indeed, COLEAD is involved in the implementation of several national and regional technical assistance programmes/projects, in partnership with donors working towards inclusive and sustainable agri-food production and trade. Please refer to the COLEAD website to learn more about its interventions.
Type of contract
This contract concerns the provision of support services for the technical implementation of all ongoing and future COLEAD programmes.
All successful tenderers will be offered a framework contract, which will specify the names of the selected experts and the maximum daily fee per expert. In some cases, and following the evaluation of the proposed CVs, the fees mentioned in the contract may differ from the fees proposed in the tenderer’s financial offer.
The objective of this call for tender is to create a pool of experts with the required expertise, as described in “Type of activities”, who can be mobilised by the COLEAD technical team when needed. The services will therefore be requested on an as-needed basis and through ordering letters specifying the terms of the assignments.
As a result of the above-mentioned, it is important to note that in the context of this tender, although the signing of a framework contract is a prerequisite for working with COLEAD, this does not guarantee that all service providers will be invited to carry out an assignment.
Principles of intervention
In continuity with previous programmes, the intervention logic of COLEAD’s programmes is based on the expression of requests for support from MSMEs or producer groups in partner countries, but also from intermediate support structures – whether public or private – which are actively involved in supporting the development of value chains concerned (service providers, business membership organisations, training centres, inspection services, etc.). It also adopts the following modalities and principles of action that have contributed to their success:
COLEAD will preferentially involve service providers with consultants based in partner-countries1, with a specific emphasis on ACP countries, from which the beneficiaries of the programmes are requesting support, in order to ensure that the characteristics of the operators concerned and their environment are considered rapidly and effectively. This concern for the increasing involvement of local expertise is an integral part of COLEAD’s intervention logic.
Themes covered by the market
Subjects covered by this call for tenders are as follows:
Any other sub-theme, directly or indirectly related to the above-mentioned ones, that could limit the compliance of agri-food production in partner countries, with a particular emphasis on ACP countries with local, regional or international trade regulations and constraints and/or impact on the competitiveness of said agri-food operators is included in this contract.
Tenderers must demonstrate sufficient skills and experience, in at least one of the topics covered by this contract, to enable them to carry out any missions that may be entrusted to them.
Beneficiaries / target groups
The beneficiaries/target groups are the stakeholders of the agricultural industry, including but not limited to, directors and technical managers of companies and farmers organisations, extensionists staff of organisations supporting smallholders, agents of the intermediate structures of the agricultural sector, public and private sector service providers, and public service agents with an emphasis on the competent authority for SPS inspection and certification (the National Plant Protection Organisation – NPPO), Pesticide registration authorities and laboratories, etc.
Type of activities
The planned activities will be carried out considering the process of digital transition at COLEAD and that of the beneficiaries/partners of its programmes. Thus, the planned activities can be carried out either on location, or totally remotely using the digital tools available, or in a hybrid way with a face-to-face part and a remote part.
The actions to be carried out as part of this tender will include the following aspects:
Training
The services sought will contribute to increasing the technical and pedagogical skills of the target audiences on the different themes covered by this market. The various actions to be carried out under this call for tenders will be as follows, according to the category of the beneficiary and his needs:
Illustration – Some examples of actions
Technical Assistance
The services sought will aim to:
Illustration – Some examples of actions
Logistics
The services sought will help to facilitate the logistical organisation of COLEAD’s technical assistance and training activities:
This list is non-exhaustive and some services may be added or removed depending on the logistical needs of the activities to be organised accordingly.
The maximum value of this Contract Notice is € 1,500,000.
Date of publication of this Contract Notice: 01/02/2023
Deadline for receipt of applications (expressions of interest): 03/03/2023
Deadline for publication of the shortlist: 15/03/2023
Expected date for sending invitations to tenders: 16/03/2023
Deadline for submission of tenders: 08/05/2023
Date of notification to the successful bidders: 19/06/2023
Expected start date of the contract: (from) from the date of signature by the 2 contracting parties
The final schedule will be included in the tender documents.
Participation is open, under equal conditions, to all natural persons and legal entities (participating individually or in a consortium of bidders) who are nationals of the ACP and EU States and/or listed in Annex 1 to this document. A consortium may be a permanent group with legal status or an informal group created for the purpose of a specific call for tenders. All the members of a consortium (i.e. the lead partner and all other partners) are jointly and severally liable to the contracting authority.
A check will be carried out to ensure that none of the candidate bidders appears on any of the Financial Sanctions Lists (lists designating persons, groups or entities subject to financial sanctions by the United Nations, the EU and France).
The participation of an ineligible natural person or legal entity will result in the automatic exclusion of the application concerned. If this ineligible person is part of a consortium, the application of the entire consortium will be excluded.
Any tenders received from tenderers allied with firms other than those mentioned in the shortlisted application forms will be excluded from the tender procedure. Shortlisted candidates may neither associate nor conclude mutual subcontracting agreements in the context of the contract in question. No more associations will be allowed after the shortlist has been established.
Selection criteria relating to the technical and professional capacity of the bidder will be applied to candidates. In the case of an application submitted by a consortium, these criteria will apply to the whole consortium.
These criteria ensure that the candidate (or the consortium as a whole) has sufficient skills and experience to perform the contract.
The correct observance of the instructions for sending the application file will also be considered in the evaluation.
The bidder should indicate an interest in participating in the call for tenders by applying. If the candidate is pre-selected, the name of the structure indicated on the application file will be used in the shortlist. No further changes (name, consortium or other) will be allowed.
The form is available in English and French, and should be completed in one of these languages.
It includes the following data:
The application must be received by COLEAD no later than Friday, March 03rd, 2023.
If you have any questions regarding this Contract Notice or your application, please email expert@colead.link
Be sure to include Contract Notice reference COLEAD/AO/231274 in the title of your email when communicating with COLEAD.
Disponible pronto.
Disponível em breve.
Available soon.
Bientôt disponible.
