Background

The Ethiopian food systems transformation was conceived as part of the United Nations Food System Summit (UNFSS), which was announced in October 2019 by the UN Secretary-General to address the urgent need for reform in the global food system. This call for action was prompted by the hunger crisis affecting many parts of the world, including Ethiopia. Recognizing the importance of achieving food security and sovereignty, enhancing the well-being of its citizens, and building a sustainable environment, Ethiopia actively participated in the UNFSS event, joining more than 150 countries in the endeavor.

Ethiopia embraced the UNFSS principles and subscribed to the five Action Tracks as a starting point for its own food system transformation. In 2020, a series of dialogue forums were initiated to engage various stakeholders and gather insights and perspectives on the challenges facing Ethiopia's food system. These forums facilitated discussions on key issues such as food production, distribution, consumption patterns, nutrition, and environmental sustainability.

The culmination of these efforts was the National launch of the Ethiopian Food System Transformation and Nutrition (EFSTN) on 15 July 2021. The EFSTN is a comprehensive plan that addresses the multifaceted challenges of Ethiopia's food system and promotes sustainable and nutritious food production and consumption practices. It envisions a future where all Ethiopians have access to safe, affordable, and nutritious food, while ensuring the preservation of the country's natural resources and biodiversity.

The Ethiopian Food System Transformation and Nutrition consists of 24 Game Changers (GC) grouped into seven clusters. These game changers encompass a wide range of interventions, including enhancing agricultural productivity, diversifying food production, improving market access, strengthening nutrition programs, and promoting sustainable farming practices. Each cluster focuses on specific aspects of the food system, such as governance, production, processing, marketing, consumption, and waste management.

A robust governance and coordination framework has been established to implement the EFSTN program effectively. At the federal level, the Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee (IMSC) was formed co-chaired by the Minister of Agriculture and the Minister of Health serving. The IMSC comprises 15 other ministries as members, reflecting the cross-cutting nature of the food system. This coordination mechanism ensures collaboration and coherence in the implementing the EFSTN program across different sectors. The Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Institute (ATI) has been designated as the secretariat of IMSC supported by the Technical Support Unit. 

In addition to the federal level coordination, the EFSTN program follows a multi-tiered approach involving regional governments and partnerships with various stakeholders. 

Significant progress has been made in rolling out the EFSTN. Effective communication to engage the whole of society remains a critical factor in ensuring its success. A well-designed Communication Strategy will play a vital role in creating awareness, garnering support, and fostering engagement among stakeholders. By effectively communicating the goals, principles, and actions of the EFSTN program, the communication strategy will contribute to building a shared vision and mobilizing collective efforts toward transforming Ethiopia's food system. 

Objective of the consultancy

The overall objective of the consultancy is to develop and deliver a comprehensive communication strategy for EFSTN , which promotes awareness, engagement, and collaboration among stakeholders for the period 2025-2027.

Specific objectives of the consultancy service include: 

• Develop a comprehensive communication strategy addressing communication objectives, target audiences, and channels.

• Prepare detailed implementation plans, including timelines, responsibilities, and cost estimations

• Develop monitoring and evaluation tools to measure the effectiveness of communication efforts.

• Conduct a validation workshop to gather feedback from diverse stakeholders at the federal and regional levels.

• Produce starter kits with templates, key messages, and brand guidelines.

Scope of services, tasks (components) and expected deliverables

SCOPE OF WORK 

The successful consultant shall be expected to develop a communication strategy, implementation plan, and communication starter kit as presented below.

Stage 1 Tasks: Reviewing literature and collecting data 

• Conduct desk review of the existing communication strategies of all member ministries within the Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee and other key institutions (including selected development partners) involved in the EFSTN.

• Conduct interviews and focus group discussions with the communication /PR units of all member ministries within the Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee and other key institutions involved in EFSTN.

• Based on the available stakeholder mapping analysis, identify target audiences.

Stage 2 Tasks: Developing the strategy 

• Draft a communication strategy that incorporates the following elements at the minimum:

• Summary of the communication context and gap analysis 

• Analysis and identification of target audiences (primary and secondary audiences)

• Communication objectives 

• Communication channels to disseminate message 

• Key messages tailored for each specific audience and for the proposed channels, and different formats (text, graphics, imageries, infographics, video, printed materials)

• Action plan for the implementation of the strategy with clear roles, responsibilities, and coordination mechanisms for implementing and monitoring the communication strategy, including the potential for a dedicated communication team or working group.

• A monitoring and evaluation framework to assess the effectiveness of the communication strategy.

• Proposed estimation for a costed budget

• Conduct a validation workshop on the draft strategy to gather insights fromall key stakeholders in the EFSTN, including youth, women, the private sector, and civil society, both at the federal and regional levels (max 200 participants).

• Develop a final communication strategy incorporating inputs from the validation workshop

Stage 3 Tasks: Developing a communication starter kit 

• Develop a communication starter kit in English and Amharic. This package should include all basic communication tools, such as

  • Templates for communication materials such as one-pagers, slide decks, roll-ups, factsheets, posters, boilerplates

  • Descriptive videos, short clips 

  • Key messages/talking points outlining EFSTN’S goals, principles and interventions.

  • Basic visual branding guidelines for EFSTN.

Deliverables

The Communication Consultant will be responsible for the following tasks and deliverables:

• Inception report

The consultant will prepare a detailed report outlining the methodology, understanding of the assignment, work plan, and timeline.

The expected deliverable is: 

• Submission of a detailed report

• The consultant shall use one week for this deliverable.

•  Desk review report 

The consultant will review existing communication strategies of all member ministries within the Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee and other key institutions (including selected development partners) involved in the EFSTN. 

The expected deliverable is: 

• Submission of desk review report

• Two weeks for this deliverable

• Report on the analysis of interviews and focus group discussion 

The consultant will conduct interviews and focus group discussions with the communication /PR units of all member ministries within the Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee, along with other key institutions involved in the EFSTN, as well as other relevant key informants.

The expected deliverable is: 

• Submission of a report on analysis of interviews and focus group discussion 

• Two weeks for this deliverable

• Draft communication strategy

The consultant will develop a draft communication strategy that contains situation analysis, communication objectives, target audiences, proposed communication channels, key messages, and a monitoring and evaluation framework. The consultant will also prepare a clear, actionable plan for executing the communication strategy, including roles, responsibilities, and monitoring mechanisms.

The expected deliverable is: 

• Submission of a draft communication strategy 

• Four weeks for this deliverable

• Validation workshop report 

The consultant will organize a validation workshop engaging key stakeholders at the federal and regional levels to review and gather insights on the draft communication strategy.

The expected deliverable is: 

• Submission of a report on the validation workshop capturing stakeholders inputs   

• Two weeks for this deliverable

• Final Communication Strategy

The consultant will develop a revised and finalized version of the communication strategy incorporating feedback from the validation workshop.

The expected deliverable is: 

• Submission of the final version of the communication strategy   

• One week for this deliverable

• Develop communication starter kit

The consultant will develop communication starter kit in English and Amharic. 

The expected deliverable is: 

• Submission of templates for one-pager, slide deck, roll-up, factsheets, posters, and a boilerplate

• Key messages/talking points outlining EFSTN’S goals, principles and interventions.

• A video clip about EFSTN (10 minutes long) and seven short video clips (3 minutes long): one clip for each cluster. 

• Basic visual branding guidelines for EFSTN

• Four weeks for this deliverable

In addition to the deliverables mentioned above, the consultant is expected to provide reports on the progress of the project. The following table summarizes the schedule for the main reports and deliverables.

Interested and eligible firms must meet the following minimum requirements:

• Renewed Trade License
• Valid VAT Registration Certificate
• TIN Certificate
• A minimum of 5 to 7 years of relevant experience
• At least three testimonial letters from clients for directly related work

Team Composition:
The proposed team is expected to include professionals with relevant expertise and experience aligned with the scope of work. Specific roles and qualifications as as follows, The total key professionals' input to be provided by the consultant is estimated at four months. The professionals must be available for the project work whenever needed. Changing these professionals requires written approval from the GAIN or ATI. In addition to the this key professional staff, the consultant shall determine the support and backup staff deemed necessary for the successful completion of the assignment. however, their qualification will not be considered in the evaluation of the proposals.

Evaluation criteria

Proposals will be reviewed by the Selection Team. The following indicate a list of the significant criteria against which proposals will be assessed. 

Applicants are required to submit the following information, conforming to the guidelines given in this section:

• Understanding of the scope of work:
  • Proposal shall demonstrate a clear understanding of the project objective and deliverables as outlined in Section I.
• Demonstrate a clear understanding of the technical requirements of this RFP:
  • Providing detailed technical documentation of the proposed strategy.
  • Evidence of experience delivering solutions using the proposed information technology platform.
• The creative and methodological approaches required to implement each of the parts of the scope of work.
• Comprehensiveness of work plan and reasonableness of proposed time frame:
  • Proposal shall include a feasible work plan to ensure successful completion of deliverables.
  • The work plan details how activities will be coordinated.
• Detailed budget and cost-effectiveness of proposed approach:
  • Evidence of cost-effective approaches to undertaking the scope of work within the proposed budget.
  • Proposal shall identify possible challenges and include creative approaches to addressing them.
• Management and personnel plan:
  • The team members working on this project shall have the relevant qualifications and overall experience required to successfully implement the project.
  • Roles and responsibilities of each team member shall be clearly defined. GAIN shall have one main contact person clearly identified in the proposal.
• A duly completed offer of services.

How To Apply

 Submission

Originals should be submitted as follows: One hard signed copy of the Proposal and an electronic copy containing the documents preferably in MS Word along with all the required information including the fee proposal should reach GAIN at the address mentioned below:

• Interested firms with relevant experience are invited to submit their technical and financial proposals in separate sealed envelopes, in person, to the following address: Bole Sub-City, Woreda 2, 3rd Floor, HGS Offices Behind the Embassy of Rwanda, in front of Ayer Amba High School Application Deadline: April 25, 2025. 

Unacceptable proposals

The following proposals will automatically not be considered or accepted:

• Proposals that are received after the RFP deadline.
• Proposals received by fax.
• Incomplete proposals.
• Proposals that are not signed.
• Proposals that don’t have copies of eligibility certificates such as VAT registration certificates and Trade licences.

Validity period

The offer of services will remain valid for a period of 60 days after the Proposal closing date. In the event of award, the successful applicant will be expected to enter into a contract subject to GAIN’s terms and conditions. intellectual property.