The National Cooperative Business Association CLUSA International (NCBA CLUSA) is the primary voice for people who use cooperative businesses to build a better world and a more inclusive economy. NCBA CLUSA provides cross-sector education, technical assistance, and advocacy that helps co-ops thrive. For over 100 years, NCBA CLUSA has sought to advance and protect cooperative enterprises, highlighting the impact that cooperatives have in bettering the lives of individuals and families. In the last 60 years, NCBA CLUSA has worked in over 85 countries in the areas of food security, agricultural development, strengthening of communities and farmer organizations, community-based health, natural resources management, and empowerment of smallholder farmers, women, and youth. We currently work in in Africa, Latin America, and Asia.

NCBA CLUSA’s USAID-funded Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) program sends American farmers and agribusiness professionals on 2-4 week agricultural development assignments, promoting sustainable growth and agricultural development worldwide.  Volunteer technical assistance from U.S. farmers, agribusinesses, cooperatives and universities helps smallholder farmers in developing countries improve productivity, access new markets and conserve environmental and natural resources.

The Cooperative Development Program (CDP) is a global initiative that is strengthening the capacity of cooperative businesses, credit unions and cooperative ecosystems.  NCBA CLUSA CDP is strengthening capacities in several ways, including governance, member equity and capitalization, financial management, market performance, legal and regulatory reform, gender inclusion, and youth engagement.

The consultant/firm shall submit a proposal, including estimated time of completion, budget with a daily rate for ongoing maintenance, adaptation, and revisions of F2F and Cooperative Development Project systems. See anticipated changes listed below which include testing and debugging of updates/changes to systems and optimization plan; data collection and management system maintenance plan including information on data security (protecting identities of farmers, ownership of data, long-term storage of data, confidentiality, etc), as well as capabilities and instructions for adaptation for future F2F and CDP projects.

The consultant/firm will be responsible for reviewing and updating all monitoring and evaluation tools.  The consultant/firm will also be responsible for analyzing the tools and data collection methodology, updating the existing ones or develop new ones. The consultant/firm will then be expected to take the primary lead in providing local expertise in the implementation, testing, debugging, and optimization of the database system plan. 

The selected firm will implement the following activities:

Planning – NCBA CLUSA and the contractor will collectively plan maintenance of the existing data collection and management system A consultative strategic planning phase will be conducted to ensure that the contractor and project staff are in agreement of the overall needs for the system updates, to create an efficient workflow, and provide meaningful outputs.

Testing – The contractor and NCBA CLUSA staff will test the data management system in the field and provide feedback to the contractor based on updates completed. Concurrent with the implementation phase, NCBA CLUSA staff will conduct test runs in the field and provide feedback to the contractor. Field tests will be conducted for every aspect of data collection that NCBA CLUSA will carry out throughout the project.

Implementation/Training – The contractor will train NCBA CLUSA staff, different types of users based at HQ and in the field on any changes to the data management system. Furthermore, the revised user manual will be provided to all staff for quick reference on all features of the monitoring platform, if necessary. The contractor will train key groups of NCBA CLUSA staff to use the data management system.

Debugging & Optimization – The contractor will repair any issues discovered during the testing, training, and implementation phases and make any improvements desired by NCBA CLUSA. Using feedback gathered during the testing phase the contractor will identify issues and improve on the data management workflow and platform in the following areas. 

Expected Deliverables

Deliverables under this assignment will include the following:

A.    Farmer-to-Farmer:

• Maintenance of Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) Open Data Kit (open-source software for collecting, managing, and using data in resource-constrained environments) and website
• Establish cut-off date for volunteer submission of semi-annual (April 5th) and annual (October 5th) volunteer surveys
• Add option to collect Prior F2F Service responses in the indicator tables per volunteer and assignment as opposed to just the assignment.
• Correct server authentication settings for data collectors*
• Add geographical locations to internal database.*
• Update indicator tables to comply with USAID regulations
• Correction of conflicting assignment letters when a volunteer has accepted multiple assignments.*
• Periodic trainings for HQ or Field staff to answer questions or train on new features
• Troubleshooting via email, Microsoft Teams, phone, etc. If a problem is not resolved via email instructions the consultant is expected to schedule a call
• Retainer services for other issues that arise

B. CDP

• Maintenance and technical support for CDP ODK Collect and website
• Update the ODK form and online system for annual indicator collection to allow for the member equity indicator to disaggregate the field for reserves into mandatory and voluntary reserves.
• Add a checkbox in ODK form and online system to indicate when trainings are over 3 hours long
• Add a field to trainings indicator to indicate what project partners supported the training
• Retainer services for other issues and needed adaptations that arise, such as:
  • Developing and/or improving data tracking and collecting tools in ODK and the website for current and potentially new output and impact level indicators;
  • Designing new and/or improving existing ODK tools and the website to improve assessment of project activities;
  • Designing new and/or improving existing data collection and activity monitoring tools in the case of expansion into new countries;
• Periodic trainings for HQ or Field staff to answer questions or train on new features.

Time Frame

For purposes of the proposal, the consultant/firm should present a proposed timeline for completion of the activities within approximately 2 months for immediate needs (see asterisks above). It is anticipated that the assignment will commence on or around September 13, 2021.

Audience for the System

The database management system will be shared with the following audiences:

1. USAID Washington DC and Field Offices;
2. NCBA CLUSA home office and other field offices;
3. Key stakeholders including farmers, POs and cooperatives, local and national government counterparts, related private sector partners and other non-governmental organizations

The purpose of sharing the findings will allow all partners to work towards strengthening implementation activities in their different roles.

Submission Requirements

Candidates interested in implementing this assignment are requested to submit the following (typed no smaller than 12-point font) in the specific order below to be considered for this contract:

1. Technical Proposal

The technical proposal, (not exceeding 10 pages), should reflect how the offeror will undertake all the tasks in the SOW. The bidding consultants/firms will provide a detailed plan of specific activities, timetable for carrying out the assignment (estimate time of completion for each phase), data collection and analysis activities.   The following technology stacks are being used with this legacy system:

• Hosting: Heroku is the platform that hosts the app and database
• File storage: AWS
• Framework: Ruby on Rails 5.2
• Database: PostgreSQL
• Emails: SAAS to send emails, Mailchimp

     2.  Budget and Timeframe

The bidding consultant/firm shall propose a realistic cost estimate for this assignment, including a breakdown of the budget and justification of expenses based on the expected deliverables and timeframe mentioned above. The budget shall include only those costs that can be directly attributed to the activities proposed with explanation of line items.

      3. Organization and Demonstration of Experience

The bidding consultant/firm shall list and briefly describe the history, vision/objectives of the organization, its legal status, and type of ownership and management. Bidding consultants/firms must also demonstrate experience in carrying out similar assignments by listing all contracts and grants involving similar work in the last five years. The bidding firm must provide contact information for at least three client references.

      4. Personnel

The bidding consultant/firm shall list and briefly describe the name and qualifications of the key staff proposed to work on the assignment. (CVs of proposed personnel must be included in the annex) The proposed team composition must be multi-disciplinary preferably including at minimum a) Software developers; b) Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist with data collection and analysis experience; c) Data base system manager

Bidding consultants/firms have the option of providing copies of business registration, accreditation, or any other documents they feel will strengthen their proposal.

Profile of the Consultant or Firm Personnel

In order to successfully perform the work, the consultant or key personnel of the firm must possess the following skills and/or experience:

1. Knowledge of US Government projects including USAID, USDA, or others.
2. Experience designing, managing, working on M&E data management software and tools.
3. Experience in quantitative and qualitative data collection, processing, and analysis.
4. Minimum of five years experience, in a leadership role, designing data base management software of monitoring and evaluation systems and processes in agricultural development and capacity building projects.
5. Fluent English, and proficient Spanish and French language skills.

Proposal Evaluation Criteria

All proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

1. Technical Proposal: technical approach and methodologies (40%)
2. Budget and timeframe: cost realism, budget justification, and efficiency (20%)
3. Organization and Demonstration of Experience: Organizational capacity to successfully complete the work (on time, on budget, quality deliverables) outlined in the scope of work with demonstrated experience with USAID, USDA, or other international development donors or organizations (25%)
4. Personnel: demonstrated experience and technical competence of the proposal team (15%)

Submission Due Date

Submissions must be in English and typed single-spaced. All pages must be numbered and include the RFP reference number and name of organization on each page. Proposals must be emailed to NCBA CLUSA at the following address: [email protected]

Please include the name of the person in your organization who is submitting the application as well as the current telephone, mobile phone, and email contacts. Submissions made after September 13, 2021 at 5 PM EST will NOT be considered.

NCBA CLUSA reserves the right to fund any or none of the applications submitted and/or make changes to the terms of reference/geographic areas before work commences.

All application materials must be submitted in English.

Only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted. No phone calls, please.

NCBA CLUSA is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer with a commitment to diversity.  All individuals, regardless of personal characteristics, are encouraged to apply; all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, age, and legally protected characteristics for non-merit factors.