REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST CONSULTANT QUALIFICATION SELECTION (FIRM)
Country: Sierra Leone
Project: Agriculture Value Chain Development Project
ASSIGNMENT: CONSULTANCY SERVICES FOR DEVELOPMENT OF GUIDANCE NOTE ON PLATFORM FACILITATION AND PROGRAMS
Reference No. SLE-2000001544-0004-CS-CQS
The Government of Sierra Leone has received financing from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Adaption Fund (AF), OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) and Toni Blair Institute (TBI) towards the cost of Agriculture Value Chain Development Project and intends to apply part of the proceeds for the recruitment of consultant for the Consultancy Services for Development of Guidance Note on Platform facilitation and Programs
The use of any IFAD financing shall be subject to IFAD’s approval, pursuant to the terms and conditions of the financing agreement, as well as IFAD’s rules, policies and procedures. IFAD and its officials, agents and employees shall be held harmless from and against all suits, proceedings, claims, demands, losses and liability of any kind or nature brought by any party in connection with the Agriculture Value Chain Development Project
The main goal of this consultancy is to provide technical support to project selected farmer groups (FFS, FBOs and SMEs) to increase market linkages among actors along the value chain.
The following are the specific objectives:
Prepare guidance for engaging with indigenous people for dispute settlements, business arrangement and systematic market information flow.
- A model enterprise strategy outlining the standards that enterprises should observe to build responsible agricultural supply chains, thereby improving strategic collaboration, production performance and effective linkages among value chain actors at platforms levels. (Farmers, private sector, state and non-state actors) through more efficient and sustainable organizational practices.
- Develop a pathway for identification of the major risks faced by enterprises and the measures to mitigate these risks, identify organizational and performance gaps (challenges) and develop capacity building plans for the value chain platforms.
- To develop guidance to foster greater knowledge, understanding and consistency in the facilitation and direction of the four (4) value chain platforms on their respective needs, opportunities and interdependencies.
- To develop a frame work for risk-based due diligence describing the five (5) steps that enterprises should follow to identify, assess, mitigate, and account for how they address the adverse impacts of their activities.
The Agriculture Value Chain Development Project, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (“the client”) now invites eligible consulting firms (“consultants”) to indicate their interest in providing the services. Interested consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have the required qualifications and relevant experience to perform the services. Interested firms should fill the template for expressions of interest found at the following link https://bit.ly/EOITemplate or request for the EOI template sending email to
The attention of interested consultants is drawn to IFAD’s Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Policy[1] and the Revised IFAD Policy on Preventing Fraud and Corruption its Activities and Operations[2]. The latter sets forth IFAD’s provisions on prohibited practices. IFAD further strives to ensure a safe working environment free of harassment, including sexual harassment, and free of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) in its activities and operations as detailed in its IFAD Policy to Preventing and Responding to Sexual Harassment, Sexual Exploitation and Abuse.[3]
The consultant shall not have any actual, potential or reasonably perceived conflict of interest. A consultantwith an actual, potential or reasonably perceived conflict of interest shall be disqualified unless otherwise explicitly approved by the Fund. A consultant including their respective personnel and affiliates are considered to have a conflict of interest if they a) have a relationship that provides them with undue or undisclosed information about or influence over the selection process and the execution of the contract, b) participate in more than one EOI under this procurement action, c) have a business or family relationship with a member of the Purchaser’s board of directors or its personnel, the Fund or its personnel, or any other individual that was, has been or might reasonably be directly or indirectly involved in any part of (i) the preparation of this REOI, (ii) the shortlisting or selection process for this procurement, or (iii) execution of the contract. The consultanthas an ongoing obligation to disclose any situation of actual, potential or reasonably perceived conflict of interest during preparation of the EOI, the selection process or the contract execution. Failure to properly disclose any of said situations may lead to appropriate actions, including the disqualification of the consultant, the termination of the contract and any other as appropriate under the IFAD Policy on Preventing Fraud and Corruption in its Projects and Operations.
A consultant will be selected in accordance with the Consultant Qualification Selection CQS method set out in IFAD’ project procurement handbook that can be accessed via the IFAD website at www.ifad.org/project-procurement.
The shortlisting criteria can be found in the template for expressions of interest the aforementioned weblink.
Consultants may associate with other firms in the form of a joint venture or a sub-consultancy to enhance their qualifications.
Any request for clarification on this EOI including the TOR should be sent via e-mail to avdppmu@gmail.comno later than 1st August, 2023. The client will provide responses to all clarification requests by 4th August, 2023.
Expressions of interest must be delivered in written form using the forms provided for this purpose. EOIs shall be uploaded to the link below no later than 11th August, 2023 at 16:00 GMT.
Link to upload EOI: https://bit.ly/EOI-UPLOADPMU
[1] The policy is accessible at https://www.ifad.org/en/document-detail/asset/41942012.
[2] The policy is accessible at www.ifad.org/anticorruption_policy.
[3] The policy is accessible at https://www.ifad.org/en/document-detail/asset/40738506.
