REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS: Baseline Study.

Introduction and Purpose

Global Communities (GC) is soliciting proposals from qualified evaluation firms to conduct the baseline study for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food for Progress (FFPr) Partnership for Productivity (P4P) five-year initiative. The baseline will establish benchmark values for key performance indicators, provide descriptive analysis of core value chain actors, and generate evidence to inform implementation planning and learning.

P4P works in Ethiopia to increase livestock productivity, expand access to improved inputs and services and strengthen market linkages. Current anticipated locations include Oromia, Sidama, and South Ethiopia; locations may be adjusted as needed. Interventions focus on improved agricultural techniques and technologies, expanded input distribution, feed mill efficiency, trade promotion, access to finance and insurance, and policy and regulatory reform. The baseline will capture current conditions across these areas and provide a foundation for future midline and final evaluations.

This Request for Proposals outlines the expected scope of work, minimum methodological requirements, deliverables, and proposal submission guidelines. GC seeks a technically strong and independent evaluator with demonstrated experience in mixed-methods research, large-scale survey management, and livestock/agricultural systems in Ethiopia.

Project Description

The Partnership for Productivity (P4P) is a five-year USDA Food for Progress (FFPr) project implemented by GC to strengthen Ethiopia’s livestock value chain. The project anticipates working across Oromia, Sidama, and South Ethiopia to improve livestock productivity, increase access to quality inputs and services, expand market opportunities, strengthen financial and risk-management tools, and support policy reforms that enable sustainable growth.

P4P focuses on three core livestock systems, dairy, poultry, and cattle: engaging with producers, cooperatives, feed mills, agro-input retailers, service providers, financial institutions, and relevant Government of Ethiopia (GOE) partners. The project aims to increase demand for high-quality livestock inputs, improve the reliability and performance of supply chains, enhance trade linkages, and strengthen institutional and regulatory systems.

Expected Activities and Deliverables

The selected evaluation firm will be responsible for designing and implementing the baseline study and producing all associated deliverables. Activities should be carried out in close coordination with GC’s Monitoring and Evaluation (MEL) team, while maintaining full independence and objectivity.

Expected Activities

At minimum, the evaluator will be expected to:

• Conduct an inception phase, including meetings with GC and partners to refine the study design, confirm sampling strategies, and finalize data collection plans. This should include integrating the market systems diagnostic, incentives analysis, and enabling environment review into the overall methodology.
  • Develop and pre-test data collection tools for all target actor groups, incorporating feedback from GC and USDA as required.
    • Implement quantitative and qualitative data collection across the designated regions, ensuring adherence to ethical standards and high data quality.
    • Supervise field teams, manage data quality checks, and ensure consistent field protocols across locations.
    • Clean, validate, and document all datasets, ensuring transparency and reproducibility of analysis.
    • Analyze quantitative and qualitative data in line with the study objectives, disaggregated as required by USDA performance indicators.
    • Prepare baseline reports and summary materials, incorporating feedback from GC and USDA.
    • Deliver a presentation of findings to GC, USDA, and partners during a validation session.

Offerors may propose additional or alternative activities that strengthen methodological rigor, improve feasibility, or enhance the utility of the baseline findings.

Deliverables

The evaluator will produce the following deliverables:

1. Inception Report, including:
   • Detailed methodology
   • Sampling strategy with justification
   • Draft data collection tools
   • Fieldwork plan and timeline
   • Data quality assurance procedures
   • A brief plan outlining the market systems diagnostic, incentives assessment, and enabling environment review to be integrated into baseline analysis
2. Finalized Tools and Enumerator Materials, including consent scripts, enumerator guidance, and digital data collection project files (if applicable).
3. Cleaned and Fully Documented Datasets, including:
   • Raw and cleaned versions
   • Codebooks
   • Syntax or scripts used in analysis
4. Fieldwork Summary, outlining operational issues, data quality findings, and any deviations from the workplan.
5. Draft Baseline Report, aligned with USDA reporting templates and including baseline values for all indicators.
6. Final Baseline Report, fully incorporating feedback from GC and USDA, with annexes containing tools, analysis notes, and methodological documentation.
7. Two Summary Briefs:
   • A non-technical overview of key findings
   • A technical summary for internal MEL use
8. Presentation of Findings for GC, USDA, and key stakeholders.

GC may request reasonable revisions within the contract period to ensure alignment with USDA standards.

Proposal Requirements

Offerors must submit a Technical Proposal and a Cost Proposal as separate files. Proposals should be concise and focused, following the structure below.

Technical Proposal (maximum 12–14 pages excluding annexes)

1. Understanding of the Assignment
   • Demonstrated understanding of the Ethiopia livestock context and FFPr objectives.
   • Clear articulation of key challenges and considerations relevant to the baseline.
2. Proposed Methodology
   • Overview of the proposed study design.
   • Sampling approach and justification.
   • Data collection strategy, including quality assurance.
   • Proposed approach to data analysis, limitations, and risk mitigation.
   • Ethical compliance and safeguarding measures.
3. Workplan and Timeline
   • Realistic schedule aligned with the anticipated baseline period.
   • Appropriate levels of effort for all key personnel.
4. Organizational Experience and Past Performance
   • Summary of prior work conducting baselines, evaluations, or large-scale surveys in Ethiopia or similar contexts.
   • Experience with USDA or other donor-funded agriculture and market systems projects.
5. Key Personnel
   • Short descriptions of key personnel roles.
   • CVs provided as annexes.
     • Key roles should include, at minimum:
       • Team Lead / Evaluation Specialist
       • Qualitative Research Lead
       • Field/Data Collection Manager
       • Data Analyst
6. Annexes to the Technical Proposal
   • CVs of key staff
   • Past performance references
   • Registration documents (if required)
   • One or two sample evaluation reports (optional but encouraged)

Cost Proposal (no page limit)

• The cost proposal should include:
  • Detailed budget in USD
  • Budget narrative explaining assumptions
  • Breakdown of labor, travel, data collection costs, and overhead
  • Anticipated subcontracting (if applicable)

Costs should be reasonable, allowable, and allocable under U.S. government regulations.

Evaluation and Selection Criteria

Proposals must clearly demonstrate alignment with the scope of work with an adequate level of detail. A Proposal Evaluation Committee designated by GC will review the technical and financial proposals, assess, score, and rank them according to the technical and financial evaluation criteria shown in the tables below. The proposals will be scored according to the points shown for each criterion. The technical proposal will carry 70% weight, and the financial proposal will carry 30% weight. As a part of the evaluation process, the bidder may be interviewed/asked for a presentation on the submitted proposal by the Proposal Evaluation Committee.