Context/Background of the Assignment:

In April 2018, the implementation of EU/Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC) funded Project: “Increasing the competitiveness of the agri-food sector through integration to domestic and global value chains in particular in the soya sector” started. The three years (April 2018- April 2021) project is implemented by Donau Soja - together with its consortium partner the Moldovan NGO Pro Didactica and aims to improve existing quality standards and to strengthen capacities in vocational education and training in agriculture. The project further complements the Moldova-component of the regionally organized Strategic Partnership between ADA and Donau Soja, which supports the building of sustainable and inclusive value-chains for GMO-free and organic soya in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Moldova and the Ukraine.

The project is focused on the following four components:

• Component 1: Enhancing capacities for innovation and education in agriculture in Moldova
• Component 2: Increasing access to market and advancing the demand for certified and organic agri-food products on national and foreign markets.
• Component 3: Use of standards and certification to raise the performance of value chains
• Component 4: Promoting an enabling environment for ensuring quality standards in the agri-food sector (including organic agriculture and products) and alignment of Moldova’s legal framework and policy documents to EU quality standards.

The objectives of the assignment

In the context of those mentioned above, a consulting company or a consortium of companies are invited to submit their offers with the view to implement the project’s activities aimed at enhancing the beneficiaries’ access to finance, addressing three main areas as described on the link: 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1o4whmIdOomRaNb4NaXN-NVEGKXDTh2WS/view?usp=sharing

Submission of Offers

Proposals must be submitted electronically only.

Separate technical and cost proposals must be submitted by email no later than 08 April 2020.

The Offeror must submit the proposal electronically with up to 3 attachments (5 MB limit) per email compatible with MX Word, MS Excel, readable format, or Adobe Portable Document (PDF) format in a Microsoft XP environment. Offerors must not submit zipped files. Those pages requiring original manual signatures should be scanned and sent in PDF format as an email attachment.

The technical proposal and cost proposal must be kept separate from each other.

Required Proposal Documents

Cover Letter

The offeror’s cover letter shall include the following information:

• Official bank account information
• Taxpayer Identification Number
• E-mail
• Fax
• Telephone
• Address
• Type of company or organization
• Name of the company or organization
• Other required documents, as for example: copy of registration or incorporation in the public registry, or equivalent document from the government office where the offeror is registered shall be included as attachments to the cover letter
• Brief description of similar assignments undertaken by the company previously.
• Technical Proposal

The technical proposal shall comprise the following parts:

• Part 1: Technical Approach, Methodology and Detailed Work Plan. The Technical Approach should describe the offeror’s general approach to deriving the scope of work. Offerors rationale for proposing specific activities must be clear and persuasive.

• Part 2: CVs of the consultant/consultants.

Cost Proposal

The cost proposal is used to determine which proposals represent the best value and serves as a basis of negotiation before award of a subcontract.

The price of the subcontract to be awarded will be an all-inclusive fixed price. No profit, fees, taxes, or additional costs can be added after award. Nevertheless, for the purpose of the proposal, offerors must provide a detailed budget showing major line items, e.g. salaries, allowances, travel costs, other direct costs, indirect rates, etc., as well as individual line items, e.g. salaries or rates for individuals, different types of allowances, rent, utilities, insurance, etc. Offers must show unit prices, quantities, and total price. All items, services, etc. must be clearly labelled and included in the total offered price. All cost information must be expressed in MDL or EUR.

The current assignment is conducted in the framework of the Part I of the EU’s Programme Development of Rural Areas in the Republic of Moldova, implemented based on the Framework Agreement between RM and the European Commission regarding foreign assistance, signed in Brussels on 11 May 2006, ratified through the Law no. 426-XVI from 26 December 2006. Hence, the offerors must not include VAT and customs duties in their cost proposal.

The cost proposal shall also include a budget narrative that explains the basis for the estimate of every cost element or line item. Supporting information must be provided in sufficient detail to allow for a complete analysis of each cost element or line item.

Offer Deadline

Offerors shall submit their offers electronically only, by 08 April 2020 to the following address:

Elena Anghel, Project Financial Manager

moldova@donausoja.org

Offerors are responsible for ensuring that their offers are received in accordance with the instructions stated herein.