Stability Peace and Reconciliation in Northern Uganda (SPRING) Program Invitation for Bids: SPRING Stabilization-Driven Value Chain

Assessment
I. Request for Proposals The Stability Peace and Reconciliation in Northern Uganda (SPRING) Project, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), is seeking proposals from qualified Ugandan firms or organizations to conduct the technical assignment described in this solicitation. Under this solicitation, SPRING is requesting proposals, based on a competitive selection process, and will award a fixed price contract with deliverables for a value of an agreed upon amount. If organizations decide to submit a proposal, it must be submitted in accordance with the below solicitation and received no later than the date and time indicated. II. Background SPRING is a three-year stabilization project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) that began in January of 2008. The goal of the consequences of the conflict in northern Uganda. To achieve this goal SPRING is programming activities in three core component areas:

project is to mitigate the causes and

As the map illustrates a range of justice and peace activities will take place across northern Uganda while more intensive economic activities will be piloted in the fifteen sub-counties indicated in red, where the opportunities for effective interventions in key value chains is greatest. The break-down of sub-counties by district is as follows: Amuru: Pabbo, Atiak

Peace-building and Reconciliation Economic Security and Social Inclusion Access to Justice

Pader: Puranga, Patango, Acholibur SPRINGs economic security component will support the transition from the present Lira: Okwang, Adwari, Orum dominance of relief operations to longer term Oyam: Ngai, Minakulu, Otwal sustainable development through interventions that catalyze commercially Gulu: Lalogi, Lakwana sustainable activities and relationships in key sub-sectors. The primary mechanism for Kitgum: Lokung, Agoro SPRING is the $3.6 million STABILITY Grant Fund. This fund will support activities such as capacity building for marketing cooperatives, brokering relationships among value-chain actors, facilitating commercial credit and business service opportunities. In order to

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maximize the impact of SPRING resources and improve overall economic security in the fifteen selected sub-counties in northern Uganda, the project intends to focus on strategic economic sub-sectors and value chains that provide adequate incomes and diverse market opportunities for long-term equitable growth and broad participation1. After recently completing a geographic assessment and selection of specific sub-counties where economic security interventions will take place; SPRING is currently in the process of determining which economic sub-sectors and value chains it will focus on during year one. In order to maximize the impact of the Stability Fund, SPRING intends to focus on three primary agricultural value chains in its first year of implementation. While SPRING interventions will focus on rural communities in the targeted 15 sub-counties, it intends to work with higher level value chain actors at the regional and national levels.

III. Objectives: 1) To assist the SPRING project in selecting three agricultural sub-sectors (from a short-list of six) capable of providing strong economic security and conflict mitigation and stabilization benefits for large groups of rural households in the short to medium term. 2) To conduct a comprehensive assessment of three pre-selected agricultural sub-sectors that will accomplish the following: i) provide a general overview of the sub-sector ii) provide a situational assessment, mapping and quantitative profit-loss analysis of each market channel in respective value chains within each sub-sector, iii) assess the subsectors stabilization and conflict mitigation potential and iv) identify primary value chain constraints and corresponding program interventions.

IV. Sub-sector Profile Review and Edits The SPRING project recently held a Sub-sector/Value Chain Selection Workshop on May 29th. The purpose of the meeting was to gather a diverse group of key agriculture stakeholders to assist in the selection of sub-sectors where the SPRING project will work. After a rapid analysis of 21 sub-sectors, a pre-shortlist of 6 agricultural sub-sectors were ranked among the following seven criteria: stability impact, profitability, end-market demand, input supply, broad participation, value addition and geographic spread. The results of the sub-sector rankings are seen in the below table:

1) 2) 3) 4) 5)
1

Sub-sector Selection Workshop Rankings Groundnuts Rice Cattle* (to be replaced by sim sim)2 Maize Sunflower

The selected sub-counties are subject to change as SPRING is currently in negotiations with district officials and formal MOUs have yet to be signed.
2

Because of the long-term time commitment required by the cattle sector and SPRINGs short-term implementation time line (2 2.5 years) it was decided that sim sim would replace livestock in the pre-short list.

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In order to gain more in depth analysis of the pre-shortlisted sub-sectors, SPRING economic security staff are currently developing sub-sector profiles (3-5 pages each) providing analysis of world and domestic market information, an overview of the value chains within each sub-sector and conflict mitigation and SWOT analyses. To ensure sub-sector profiles are as accurate as possible, the contractor will be expected to review and edit drafts of all six sub-sectors. The final three sub-sectors will be chosen upon completion and review of the profiles.

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Schedule Activity Review Six Sub-sector Summary Profiles Week Week 1 LOE 6 days Team Member Sub-Sector Specialists

Ideally, SPRING would like the profile review to take place on the week of July 7 th. Applicants should state in their proposals how closely they can fit within this timing. V. Sub-sector Assessments After selection of the final three sub-sectors, the contractor will work closely with SPRING staff to complete a comprehensive stabilization-driven assessment of each of the three subsectors and their respective value chains. The assessment reports will build on the subsector profiles by mapping and characterizing value chain market channels, providing quantitative cost-break downs and profit margin analyses and assessing primary value chain constraints and corresponding program interventions while integrating the conflict risks and mitigation potentials throughout the assessment. Illustrative Sub-sector Key Personnel Team Member Assessment Team Leader Responsibility Lead sub-sector planning and assessment design Coordination of Assessment Activities and Reporting Lead technical writer on one subsector assessment Preferred Background Previous Value Chain Assessment Work Specialist (marketing or production) in one or more SPRING Subsectors Experience with Agribusiness in N. Uganda Skilled report writer. Specialist (marketing or production) in one or more SPRING subsectors Skilled report writer. Experience conducting conflict assessments. Integration of conflict

Sub-sector Team Leaders (2)

Conflict Mitigation Consultant

Conduct secondary research Design primary field research tools (surveys and database) Analysis of research findings Production of final report Facilitation of Stakeholder Vetting Workshop Integration of conflict mitigation and stabilization content into field research design and final

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reporting. Facilitation of Stakeholder Vetting Workshop

mainstreaming across diverse programming. In-depth knowledge of conflict environment in N. Uganda.

The contractor is welcome to propose additional changes to the above staffing matrix. If needed, SPRING will recruit several Gulu University students to act as research assistants responsible for note taking, data entry and logistics. SPRING will consider proposals from contractors which argue for providing internal assessment support staff, however, it is SPRINGs preference to build local professional capacity as well as retain cost savings where possible. Field Research Teams SPRING envisions deploying 2-3 research teams during the assessment. All field research teams will consist of an 1) Economic Security Facilitator 2) Conflict Mitigation Facilitator and a 3) Note Taker. SPRING Assessment Team Team Member Hayden Aaronson & Florence Ringe, Economic Security Advisors (ESA) Mathew Waterfield, Conflict Mitigation Advisor (CMA) Francesca Olivia, Economic Security Advisor (ESA -Kitgum) Responsibility Provide oversight and guidance Review field research tools. Attend all field visits when possible. Provide feedback on final draft Assist with Stakeholder Vetting Workshop Review assessment design & field research tools Review of final draft. Assist with Stakeholder Vetting Workshop Assist with planning and logistics for field visits Participate in field visits in Kitgum and Pader. Review field research tools and final draft. Participate in Stakeholder Vetting Workshop

Illustrative Sub-Sector/Value Chain Assessment Schedule Activity Additional Secondary Research (if needed) Develop Action Plan and Schedule Design Field Research Tools & Schedule Meetings Informational Interviews in Kampala and Nimule/Juba Travel to Gulu and Write-up of Kampala Interviews Field Visits to Sub-Counties in Gulu-Oyam Field Visits to Sub-Counties in Lira-Pader Week Week 1 Week 1 Week 1 Weeks 2 Week 2 Week 3 Week 3 Team Members Sub-Sector Consultants Sub-sector Consultants, ES & CM Team Leaders Consultant, ES & CMA Team Leaders Consultant, ES & CMA Team Leaders Consultant, ES & CMA Team Leaders Field Survey Teams Field Survey Teams

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Field Visits to Sub-Counties in Amuru-Kitgum Writing & Submission of Final Draft Report Stakeholder Vetting Workshop Integration of SPRING and Stakeholder Vetting Comments into the Final Report

Week 4 Weeks 4&5 Week 6 Week 6

Field Survey Teams Sub-sector Consultants Consultant, ES & CMA Team Leaders, USAID Sub-sector Consultants

Ideally, SPRING would like the assessment to commence on the week of July 14 th. Applicants should state in their proposals how closely they can fit within this timing. Summary of Sub-sector Assessment Activities Additional Desk Study/Secondary Research If additional secondary research is needed after the sub-sector profiles the sub-sector team leaders will review and compile all remaining SPRING meeting notes, government statistics, donor reports and production census data. Develop Action Plan and Schedule After completion of the desk study the sub-sector team leaders will determine where informational gaps or outdated information exists and from which sources it can be collected. In consultation with the Economic Security Team, Conflict Mitigation Consultant and Conflict Mitigation Advisor, the SOW will be further developed into a detailed action plan. This meeting will either take place in Gulu or in Kampala, depending on where the consultant is based. Design Field Research Tools & Schedule Meetings The sub-sector team leaders and conflict mitigation consultant will then design field research tools tailored to the various value-chain actors targeted for field interviews such as interview questionnaires, data coding and database design. Scheduling of meetings for the first week of field interviews in Kampala and Southern Sudan will also take place. Informational Interviews in Kampala Sub-sector Team Leaders and the Economic Security and Conflict Mitigation Advisor will hold four days of meetings in Kampala during the second week of the assessment with relevant end-market actors such as exporters, domestic wholesalers, and processors as well as industry trade associations and relevant government and NGO officials. The fifth day of the second week will be used for writing up meeting notes and for traveling to Gulu to begin field research activities in SPRINGs six sub-counties. Southern Sudan Market Research While meetings are being held in Kampala, one of the three sub-sector consultants and the Conflict Mitigation Consultant will travel to Nimule and Juba to do a rapid market and conflict mitigation assessment by conducting meetings with traders and other relevant stakeholders. Field Visits to SPRING Sub-Counties The assessment team and SRPING staff will conduct field interviews during the third and fourth weeks of the assessment with select value-chain actors such as input suppliers, farmer groups, traders, processors, as well as financial and sector specific providers such as commercial banks, MFIs, NGOs and district agricultural production officers. As SPRING has adequate information on the constraints faced by many farmer groups, the majority of interviews will be held with other value chain actors. The assessment will likely deploy two to three field research teams comprised of an economic security facilitator, conflict mitigation facilitator and note-taker to cover more ground during the field research stage.

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Writing and Submission of Final Draft The sub-sector team leaders will be given 7 days to synthesize all findings into a final draft report covering each of the three selected sub-sectors. The sub-sector assessments will follow closely the outline from the original scope of work. Stakeholder Vetting Workshop Once the final draft has been approved, the sub-sector team leaders will work with SPRING staff to facilitate and conduct a sub-sector stakeholder vetting workshop where a summarized version of the assessment of the three sub-sectors will be presented to key value chain actors and USAID for feedback in order to test the validity and fine tune the major findings of the report. Integration of SPRING and Stakeholder Vetting Comments into the Final Report The sub-sector consultants will work to integrate any remaining adjustments to the final report as well as write-up major findings from the vetting workshop. Note: The above is only an illustrative assessment schedule and description of activities. SPRING will welcome changes that add value or cost savings in the contractors final proposals.

VI. Deliverables 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Review of Six Sub-sector Summary Profiles Assessment Action Plan and Schedule Field Research Tools Final Assessment Report for 3 Sub-sectors Stakeholder Vetting Workshop Presentation and Facilitation

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