With more than 35 years of experience, Cowater International is Canada’s global leader in management consulting services specialising in international development. We have managed the implementation of over 2500 projects in more than 95 countries around the globe for clients such as FCDO UK, DFAT Australia, the European Union, the World Bank and Global Affairs Canada. We work with governments, partner organisations, communities and civil society to design and implement sustainable solutions that generate lasting social, economic and environmental impacts.

GREAT is a flagship initiative of the Australian aid program. The Program promotes women’s economic empowerment (WEE) in the ethnically diverse north-west region of Vietnam, through the integration of a market systems development (MSD) approach.
The primary beneficiaries are women living in the provinces of Son La and Lao Cai, while an overarching emphasis is placed on the inclusion of women from ethnic minority communities as these provinces are home to twelve and twenty-six ethnic groups respectively.

The objectives of the GREAT 2 Program are:
Objective 1 – Women, particularly ethnic minority women living in Son La and Lao Cai, have improved economic benefits.

Objective 2 – Women, particularly ethnic minority women living in Son La and Lao Cai, have increased confidence and social status, including more balanced workloads and greater decision-making within the home, workplace, and community.

Objective 3 – Women, particularly ethnic minority women and household members living in Son La and Lao Cai benefit from more gender-responsive, inclusive, and effective provincial and national policies, plans, strategies, and programs.

The Program is in its second five-year phase and GREAT 2, continuing its focus on agriculture and tourism, identifying specific sectors that lend themselves to opportunities for women’s economic empowerment and work with multiple stakeholders to address constraints, generate opportunities, drive market growth and increase productive value of the sector. A limited number of agriculture sectors are being targeted including bamboo shoots and cinnamon.

CONTEXT
Many of Vietnam’s 14 million ethnic minority women and men live and work in mountainous areas, including 1.7 million in Son La and Lao Cai provinces. The majority rely on small scale agricultural production for their livelihoods, working in mountainous environments characterised by their relative distance and/or inaccessibility from product buyers and markets.

Cost effective product aggregation and supply is a persistent and common constraint for many different products and crops grown in mountainous areas. Whilst many innovations and solutions have emerged to address the problems facing product aggregation and supply chain management in mountainous regions their relative efficacy, inclusivity and sustainability is not well understood.

This concept note outlines a proposal that builds on the experience of GREAT 1 and 2 to identify and support innovative, inclusive supply chain solutions, and to supply wider learning and dissemination of inclusive supply chain best practices to encourage lesson sharing and replication to other EMW producer-oriented value chains. This will include informing production support initiatives and investment through NTP production support activities.

THE TASK

GREAT 2 is seeking the support of a qualified service provider to support an action-oriented project to identify and invest in inclusive supply chain innovations with the aim of learning, disseminating lessons and replicating good practices in effective and inclusive supply chain management targeting ethnic minority women and men producers in mountainous areas in northwest Vietnam. The task will entail three phases:

1. Identification and assessment of high-potential, inclusive supply chain innovations

A rapid review, mapping and analysis of inclusive supply chain good practices and innovations from both GREAT experience In Lao Cai and Son La and beyond, relevant to EMW agricultural production conditions in northwest Vietnam. This will support identification and better understand of the success factors – in terms of both inclusion / outreach and sustainability – driving emerging and effective inclusive supply chain models. Analysis will be based on a simple analytical framework designed to assess the key success features (and risks) associated with prevailing inclusive supply chain models.

The consultant will develop a practical analytical framework to support supply chain model comparison and assessment, including a working typology (e.g. Cooperative-led producer group models; Lead firm contract models; Independent trader / middleman models; logistics service models etc.).

2. Monitoring and extracting lessons from GREAT 2 investment(s) in the development and expansion of innovative inclusive supply chain models

Building on the mapping process, GREAT 2 will identify a number of effective and successful inclusive supply chain models and partnerships with potential for further development and outreach to ethnic minority women agricultural producers. The consultant will support these investments in the form of monitoring, learning and lesson extraction, identifying the features and factors underpinning their success and synthesising good practices to support model and/or practice replication and scale-up.

3. Extracting, documenting and disseminating inclusive supply chain lessons and good practices to support replication and policy decision making

The project goal is to support the assessment and dissemination of lessons learned in effective and inclusive supply chain management in mountainous areas. The consultant will build on the initial research and learning from GREAT 2 innovation investments to generate improved understanding of how to better integrate small scale ethnic minority women agricultural producers operating in mountainous regions into sustainable supply chains. Learning outcomes and dissemination in the form of both written and workshop/conference formats will target both agricultural supply chain actors including cooperatives, lead firms, processors and agricultural traders, as well as policy makers designing future production support initiatives and investment.

Learning and dissemination outputs may include:

• Summary reports and think pieces on key supply chain model innovation analysis and findings targeting public and private sector audiences
• Learning event(s) to share and discuss lessons learned amongst both private and public sector audiences
• Policy implication policy briefs and workshop(s) to contribute to NTP and other relevant program strategies and policy formulation targeting provincial and national public sector stakeholders

SERVICE PROVIDER REQUIREMENTS

Firms, consortia and/or individuals are welcome to apply. Key personnel should offer the following scope of expertise:

Education:

• Degree / Master’s Degree in agriculture, environment or another relevant field.

Minimum Experience:

• A minimum 10 years relevant work experience in agricultural and/or agri-business or related fields including 3 years’ experience in agriculture / agri-business in mountainous areas;
• Practical experience in inclusive supply chain management and/or operation, especially in ethnic minority and mountainous areas;
• Demonstrated professional experience in high quality evidence-based research, analysis, and facilitating effective lesson learning and dissemination;
• Networks among private agriculture sector stakeholders in Vietnam and/or ODA initiatives supporting inclusive supply chain innovations

Essential Skills

• Ability to produce rapid, high quality research and analysis
• Critical thinking skills and conceptualisation
• Excellent written and verbal skills in Vietnamese and English
• Proven experience and expertise in monitoring and extracting learning from project implementation activities on-the-ground

Desirable

• Extensive knowledge of inclusive supply chain models and innovation currently in operation in mountainous areas of Vietnam
• Working experience with ethnic minorities is a strong advantage
• Experience in advocacy with provincial DARD and MARD is an advantage

TIMELINE
The project is expected to commence no later than March 2025 and be completed by May 2027.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST
Interested parties should develop and submit a brief Expression of Interest (EOI) as follows:

1. Cover Letter
The EOI cover letter should be signed by an authorised representative.

2. Expression of Interest
The EOI must be written in English and be a maximum of 10 pages to include the following:

a. Firm Information

• Provide the name, address and firm contact
• Summary of firm/business expertise and credentials in inclusive supply chain research and lesson learning, including lesson sharing and dissemination. The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate the following expertise:
  • Knowledge and understanding of inclusive supply chain models on mountainous areas in Vietnam
  • Knowledge and experience of research, analysis and action-research monitoring and appraisal
  • Networks with agricultural supply chain partners working in mountainous areas, including northwest Vietnam

b. Technical approach

• Proposed approach to the three tasks which may include, but not necessarily be limited to:
  o Your approach to developing a working, practical research framework to categorise and define distinctive forms of supply chain management according to key features. A working framework / categorisation of supply chain models as part of the EOI would be welcomed.
• • Your approach to supporting supply chain partners involved in testing or developing supply chain models/practices to monitor supply chain performance, inclusion and sustainability in support of wider lesson learning
  • Your approach and experience of report and policy brief writing and in facilitating learning events and dialogue with both private and public sector stakeholders

c. Project management capability

• Overview of the experience and expertise of the firm / key staff in the management and operation, monitoring and quality assurance, and reporting requirements of a research and learning oriented project of this nature in collaboration with a development partner and/or other supply chain stakeholders.

d. Project and personnel resourcing

• Proposed core team and respective expertise to support the task.
• Indicative staff Levels of Effort and daily fee rates (Note: a detailed budget will be negotiated with the successful candidate as part of the co-design process).

APPLICATION PROCESS
Further enquires about this call can be made, in writing, to recruitment@aus4equalityvn.org no later than 25th November 2024.

Interested firms organisations are invited to send EOIs to recruitment@aus4equalityvn.org no later than 5 pm Hanoi time, Tuesday 10th December 2024. Please indicate in the subject “Inclusive supply chain development EOI”.

EOIs will be assessed as they are received. We thank all applicants, however, only those making the shortlist will be contacted.

Cowater International is an equal opportunity employer, basing employment on merit and qualifications as they relate to professional experience and position expectations. Cowater does not discriminate against any employee or applicant on the basis of race, religion, sex, gender identity, disability, age, or any other basis protected by law.