1. Background
Sara Lee is the single largest coffee roaster in the Netherlands with a market share of over 50% and the 4th largest worldwide. Due to its size, the growth of certified sustainable market share is to a large extent driven by our purchasing strategy. However, Sara Lee is not alone in this and with other peers in the Koninklijke Nederlandse Vereniging voor Koffie en Thee (KNVKT, an industry body), the company has voiced the ambition to have 75% of the Dutch market certified sustainable by 20151.
When certified sustainable supply of coffee took off it was initially a vehicle through which coffee roasting companies could support producers of coffee affected by the global coffee price slump early last decade. Nowadays, certification can also be seen as a potential means to work on the productivity agenda. Certification standards of Utz Certified, Rain Forest Alliance and 4C require that producers are trained in Good Agricultural practices and as such getting farmers certified may lead to the desired improvements in productivity and efficiency of input use.
On the other hand, some argue that what appears to matter when it comes to creating impact on producer level is not so much the certification itself, but more how the certification is obtained. In other words: efficiency and effectiveness of certification are not determined by compliance with a code of conduct per se, but mainly by how (groups of) producers were trained to comply with it and how the required trainings in Good Agricultural Practices were executed.
In order to have an insight into effectiveness and cost-efficiency of training modalities, Sara Lee funds a research on the costs and benefits of using different training intensities and forms of implementation to realize certified sustainable production by coffee growers. The research initially looks at the situation in Vietnam.
Kuit Consultancy (KC), a consulting firm providing development services worldwide is responsible for this research.
They are looking for a company, research institute or (team of) consultant(s) with relevant experience and background to carry out the data collection survey in the Central Highlands (Dak Lak and Gia Lai).
2. Scope of work
- Participate in a data collection and questionnaire usage training for interviewers provided by the research team leader
- Administrating the questionnaires (provided by KC) through individual face-to-face interviews with 500 farmers on 5 different locations in said 2 provinces (exact locations to be determined). Each interview is expected to take 1.5 to 2 hours.
- Log coordinates of each interview location with GPS
- Entering data in MS Excel with format provided by KC, handover each filled out questionnaire
3. Expected outcomes
A comprehensive data set with high accuracy
4. Consultant requirements
- The consulting team should have backgrounds in agricultural economy, economy, or sociology
- Demonstrated experience in conducting research and surveys;
- Demonstrated communication skills in English and Vietnamese
5. Tentative timeframe: Expected start: 2nd half of April. All interviews need to be conducted within a timeframe of 1 month.
6. Location: Dak Lak and Gia Lai provinces
7. Budget and payment
- The total budget for the contract will be agreed upon based on the detailed proposal. The first 40% of contract will be made at commencement and the last 60% of contract will be made upon delivery of the data set and approval from Kuit Consultancy (KC).
- Given the above, the consultant will:
- Provide KC with a detailed proposal with the necessary budget requirements to complete the work
- Provide KC with CVs of the proposed survey team members and/or your company profile
8. Contact details:
Interested consulting firms/team should send a detailed proposal (attached with CVs and/or company profile) with budget to [email protected] [1] and [email protected] [2] before 19 March 2012.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.