For Various Strategic Partnerships & New Ventures Support Services
Land O’Lakes Venture37
Land O’Lakes Venture37 invites proposals from qualified consultants and firms to provide various services to the Venture37 Strategic Partnerships & New Ventures team. We seek vendors to undertake services in one or more of the following areas:
- Technical writing
- Budget development
- Capture
Each area will be evaluated separately based on the criteria described in this RFP and its attachments. This document includes background information on Venture37, a description of the types of services requested in each area, information about the expertise that Venture37 seeks and guidance on how to submit a proposal. Questions on this RFP must be submitted by December 4, 2020. Final proposals are due by Friday, December 18, 2020. Venture37 intends to finalize service provider selections by December 31, 2020 and will notify all successful and unsuccessful offerors thereafter.
Venture37 will issue an RFP for Strategic Partnerships & New Ventures services on a quarterly basis, with anticipated future closing dates of March 31, 2021, June 30, 2021 and September 30, 2021. All of these solicitations will be based on an open, competitive selection process. Successful offerors will be placed on Venture37’s preferred provider list. Selection as a preferred provider does not guarantee issuance of a contract. The preferred provider list shall be valid for a period of two years. Contracts will be issued to preferred providers on an as-needed basis, and will be negotiated based on assignment needs, offeror qualifications and availability, and will incorporate the offeror’s proposed rates. Venture37 reserves the right to select any or none of the proposals. Venture37 reserves the right to issue contracts to individuals and firms outside of those on the preferred provider list.
Background
Venture37 (www.landolakesventure37.org/) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that is striving to help communities thrive through agriculture as we seek to fulfill our vision of abundant food, unlimited potential. We implement agricultural development and economic growth activities in partnership with foundation, corporate and government entities. Since our start in 1981, we have leveraged nearly 100 years of expertise in crop inputs, agricultural insights, dairy and animal nutrition from our close affiliate, Land O’Lakes, Inc. (www.landolakes.com), a farmer-owned agribusiness committed to fulfilling its purpose of feeding human progress.
Our team is made up of nearly 350 employees who are committed to market-led approaches, and passionate about collaborating locally to create lasting inclusive economic growth. By unlocking the potential of agribusiness market systems for 40 years, the lives of more than 3 million people have been transformed through nearly 300 programs in more than 70 countries.
Proposal Process
Venture37 will consider all consultants or personnel of all nationalities and domiciles; excluding individuals who appear on the SDN, OFAC or United Nations Security Council’s sanction lists. Venture37 will not consider services from entities or consultants sourced from prohibited source countries under U.S. law. The selected consultants, firms, or universities will provide services such as those listed in Attachments A-C. Offerors are welcome to apply for work under more than one area. The attachments to this document are as listed below. The attachments specify the typical tasks involved, the minimum and desired qualifications of candidates, the submission requirements and the criteria used to evaluate all submissions received as well as the relative weight of the criteria.
- Attachment A – Technical writing
- Attachment B – Budget development
- Attachment C – Capture
Offerors will complete and include a Proposal Checklist (found in Annex 1) as the first page of their submission which will indicate the areas for which they would like to be considered. The Proposal Checklist also indicates what supporting attachments must be included. Offerors interested in multiple service areas may submit one set of documents for the “Required Documents (all services)” which can apply to all services. However for each individual service area, please submit the “Supplemental Documents (by service)”. The proposal may be submitted as a single PDF with both technical and cost information in the same file. Please note that email attachments larger than 25MBs may be rejected by MS Outlook. If you need to send multiple emails, please label the emails clearly indicating the total number of emails that will be sent. Example: “Proposal from ABC Company in response to RFP 20- NBD-PROC-0101, Email 1 of 3.”
Q&A and Submission Due Date
If you intend to submit a proposal, please notify us of your intent via email by December 4, 2020. All subsequent communications regarding this RFP will be made to those who have expressed an intent to submit a proposal. If you neglect to state your intention to submit a proposal by the deadline, you may not receive answers to the questions submitted by intended offerors. Questions on this request for proposals are also due on December 4, 2020. All questions and answers will be provided in a consolidated format and sent to all offerors that indicate an intent to submit a proposal. Your full proposal must be submitted electronically by December 18, 2020. All communications should be sent to Procurement.V37@landolakes.org.
Appendix 1: Proposal Checklist
Name of entity or individual submitting proposal and contact information (email, phone number, address):
Click or tap here to enter text.
Please select the role(s) for which you wish to be considered:
☐Technical Writing ☐Budget Development ☐Capture
Required Documents (all services):
☐ Proposal checklist (Appendix 1)
☐ Curriculum Vitae (CV) for staff proposed to perform work
☐ At least 2 references, with contact information – bidders who are submitting a proposal as an entity should supply references for the entity. For those submitting a proposal as an individual, the references should be for the individual. V37 reserves the right to contact provided references on an as-needed basis.
☐ Inclusive, fully-loaded cost rate in USD*
*Budgeting may be listed as an hourly rate or daily rate. For the purposes of comparison all daily rates will be converted to an hourly rate assuming an 8-hour work day. All other services must be listed as a daily rate. An inclusive, fully-loaded daily rate includes all taxes, overhead, or other miscellaneous fees. If providing labor category rates, please limit the number of categories to 3 with detailed descriptions of the determination of the labor categories. When conducting price analysis, we will assume an equally blended rate across all categories unless cost proposals specify otherwise; but please note that a cost proposal with poorly supported junior staff will not be ranked favorably.
Supplemental Documents (by service):
Budgeting Writing
☐ Capability statement ☐ Capability statement
☐ Writing Work sample
Capture ☐ Technical Competencies checklist
☐ Capability statement (Appendix 2)
☐ Technical Competencies checklist (Appendix 2)
Business Designation
If you are registered as a business, please check any that apply. Note that business designation does not weigh into the proposal evaluation criteria.
- HUBZone small business entity
- Small disadvantage business
Appendix 2: Technical Competencies Checklist
This checklist is required only for offerors seeking to provider Technical Writing services or Capture Services. Demonstrating experience in these technical areas, when required for the type of service provided, may result in a higher evaluation score. Please check the technical areas in which you have experience:
☐ Access to finance
☐ Banking sector (formal)
☐ Blended finance
☐ Fintech
☐ Microfinance
☐ Savings and Loans Groups
☐ Agriculture
☐ Crops (grains and legumes)
☐ Dairy
☐ Horticulture (all crops besides grains and legumes)
☐ Livestock
☐ Large ruminants
☐ Small ruminants
☐ Poultry
☐ Swine
☐ Aquaculture
☐ Veterinary Medicine
☐ Pastoralist systems
☐Animal Nutrition
☐ Agribusiness
☐ Agroprocessing
☐ Input supply
☐ Distribution
☐ Market Access
☐ Behavior Change Communication
☐ Business Enabling Environment
☐Advocacy
☐Associations
☐Policy analysis and development
☐ Cooperative Development
☐ Enterprise acceleration
☐ Business Development Services
☐ Entrepreneurship
☐ Industrial Engineering
☐ SME Development
☐ Food Science
☐ Food Safety and Quality
☐ Nutrition
☐ R&D
☐ Gender equality and social inclusion
☐ Women’s economic empowerment
☐Women’s household empowerment
☐Women’s community empowerment
☐Women’s policy
☐ ICT
☐ International trade & policy
☐ Macroeconomic policy
☐ Free Trade Agreements
☐ Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures
☐ Pay for Results Mechanisms
☐ Resilience
☐ Agriculture (Food Security)
☐ Energy
☐ Insurance and Social Safety Nets
☐ Water
☐ Youth engagement and inclusion
Attachment A: Technical Writing
Land O’Lakes Venture37 Strategic Partnerships & New Ventures Preferred Providers
__________________________________________________________________________________
Land O’Lakes Venture37 invites proposals from qualified firms and individuals to lead the technical writing of proposals, applications and pitch presentations to various foundation, corporate and non-USG bilateral donors (“customers”).
This solicitation is based on an open, competitive selection process. Successful offerors will be placed on Venture37’s preferred provider list. Selection as a preferred provider does not guarantee issuance of a contract. The preferred provider list shall be valid for a period of two years. Contracts will be issued to preferred providers on an as-needed basis, and will be negotiated based on assignment needs, offeror qualifications and availability, and will incorporate the offeror’s proposed rates. Venture37 reserves the right to select any or none of the proposals. Venture37 reserves the right to issue contracts to individuals and firms outside of those on the preferred provider list.
Background
Venture37 (www.landolakesventure37.org/) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that is striving to help communities thrive through agriculture as we seek to fulfill our vision of abundant food, unlimited potential. We implement agricultural development and economic growth activities in partnership with foundation, corporate and government entities. Since our start in 1981, we have leveraged nearly 100 years of expertise in crop inputs, agricultural insights, dairy and animal nutrition from our close affiliate, Land O’Lakes, Inc. (www.landolakes.com), a farmer-owned agribusiness committed to fulfilling its purpose of feeding human progress.
Our team is made up of nearly 350 employees who are committed to market-led approaches, and passionate about collaborating locally to create lasting inclusive economic growth. By unlocking the potential of agribusiness market systems for more than 38 years, the lives of more than 3 million people have been transformed through nearly 300 programs in more than 70 countries.
Scope of Work
Venture37 is in the midst of a period of growth, and seeks to expand its new business and partnerships portfolio through submission of technical proposals and applications, and delivery of pitch presentations to foundation, corporate and non-USG bilateral customers. Venture37 seeks technical writing services to support the development of new technical proposals, applications and pitch presentation content. Typical tasks may include:
- Collaborate with Venture37 teams to develop proposal/application/pitch strategies, conduct design, translate strategy and design into compelling written narrative, and participate in review sessions to strengthen technical design and content;
- Conduct background research and data analysis, and work with internal/external subject matter experts to prepare materials for proposals/applications/pitch presentations, including interviewing experts and/or reviewing and revising text prepared by experts;
- As needed, travel internationally for in-country technical design sessions and/or gathering data to strengthen technical design and narrative;
- Draft content outlines and write technical content for proposals, applications and pitch presentations, meeting all stated deadlines; and
- Support other technical writing tasks which may include marketing pieces, project success stories, talking points, country reports/briefing books, etc. as required.
- Offerors that fail to meet minimum qualifications may not be considered.)
- Bachelor’s degree and at least 2 years’ experience in international relations, international development, journalism, international policy or related field;
- 6 years’ experience technical proposal/application writing to foundation, corporate and/or non-USG bilateral donors;
- Proven success writing proposals/applications and/or pitch presentations to foundations, corporates and/or non-USG bilaterals funding global agriculture development work; and
- Fluency in written and spoken English
Other Qualifications
- Master’s degree preferred;
- Prior experience in or work focusing on Africa, Middle East and Asia; and
- Technical familiarity with agriculture, including crop/dairy and livestock development, agroprocessing, enterprise development, market systems, trade, gender equality and social inclusion
Proposal Submission Requirements
All interested candidates will submit the following materials:
- Proposal checklist.
- Curriculum Vitae (CV). Firms should submit CV(s) for individuals proposed to work on Venture37 assignments.
- One representative work sample, redacted if needed.
- At least two references with phone and email contact information.
Criteria for Evaluation
Proposals will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
|
Criterion |
Weight |
|
Qualifications to carry out work Suitability of education, capabilities and technical knowledge in relevant fields. |
30% |
|
Past experience & work sample Relevance, quantity and quality of experience writing technical proposals, applications and pitch presentations to foundations, corporates and non-USG bilateral customers. Demonstrated experience in relevant technical fields in targeted geographies. |
40% |
|
Cost Price competitiveness and value to Venture37 |
30% |
Questions on this request for proposals are also due on December 4, 2020. All questions and answers will be provided in a consolidated format and sent to all offerors that indicate an intent to bid. Your full proposal must be submitted electronically by December 18, 2020. All communications should be sent to Procurement.V37@landolakes.org.
Attachment B: Proposal Budgeting
Land O’Lakes Venture37 Strategic Partnerships & New Ventures Preferred Providers
_________________________________________________________________________________
Land O’Lakes Venture37 invites proposals from qualified firms and individuals to lead the development of budgets and cost proposals as part of proposal and application packages to various foundation, corporate and non-USG bilateral donors (“customers”).
This solicitation is based on an open, competitive selection process. Successful offerors will be placed on Venture37’s preferred provider list. Selection as a preferred provider does not guarantee issuance of a contract. The preferred provider list shall be valid for a period of two years. Contracts will be issued to preferred providers on an as-needed basis, and will be negotiated based on assignment needs, offeror qualifications and availability, and will incorporate the offeror’s proposed rates. Venture37 reserves the right to select any or none of the proposals. Venture37 reserves the right to issue contracts to individuals and firms outside of those on the preferred provider list.
Background
Venture37 (www.landolakesventure37.org/) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that is striving to help communities thrive through agriculture as we seek to fulfill our vision of abundant food, unlimited potential. We implement agricultural development and economic growth activities in partnership with foundation, corporate and government entities. Since our start in 1981, we have leveraged nearly 100 years of expertise in crop inputs, agricultural insights, dairy and animal nutrition from our close affiliate, Land O’Lakes, Inc. (www.landolakes.com), a farmer-owned agribusiness committed to fulfilling its purpose of feeding human progress.
Our team is made up of nearly 350 employees who are committed to market-led approaches, and passionate about collaborating locally to create lasting inclusive economic growth. By unlocking the potential of agribusiness market systems for more than 38 years, the lives of more than 3 million people have been transformed through nearly 300 programs in more than 70 countries.
Scope of Work
Venture37 is in the midst of a period of growth, and seeks to expand its new business and partnerships portfolio through submission of technical proposals and applications, and delivery of pitch presentations to foundation, corporate and non-USG bilateral customers. Venture37 seeks budget preparation services to support the development of new cost proposals, applications and pitch presentation content. Typical tasks may include:
- Collaborate with Venture37 teams to understand proposed technical approaches and their implications on the proposal/application budget, and participate in review sessions to refine the budget and budget narrative;
- Conduct background research and data analysis, and work with internal/external subject matter experts to determine realistic project costs;
- As needed, travel internationally for in-country technical design sessions and/or gathering cost data;
- Prepare draft budgets and budget narratives by stated deadlines using approved Venture37 Excel budget and Word budget narrative templates, incorporating changes in multiple revisions in step with technical reviews; and
- Participate in budget review meetings and incorporate all changes as directed.
- Offerors that fail to meet minimum qualifications may not be considered.)
- Bachelor’s degree in accounting, business or other relevant area;
- 5 years’ experience in a senior accounting role or higher;
- 3 years’ experience preparing budgets;
- Proven success developing cost proposals/applications to foundations, corporates and/or non-USG bilaterals for NGO programs;
- Fluency in written and spoken English; and
- Excellent MS Excel and MS Word skills
Other Qualifications
- CPA qualification desired, but not required; and
- Ability to work independently, manage a high-volume work flow with minimal supervision and consistently meet deadlines
Proposal Submission Requirements
All interested candidates will submit the following materials:
- Proposal checklist.
- Curriculum Vitae (CV). Firms should submit CV(s) for individuals proposed to work on Venture37 assignments.
- At least two references with phone and email contact information.
Criteria for Evaluation
Proposals will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
|
Criterion |
Weight |
|
Qualifications to carry out work Suitability of education, capabilities and technical knowledge in relevant fields. |
30% |
|
Past experience Relevance, quantity and quality of budgeting experience, particularly for foundation, corporate and/or non-USG bilateral funding proposals and applications. |
40% |
|
Cost Price competitiveness and value to Venture37 |
30% |
Questions on this request for proposals are also due on December 4, 2020. All questions and answers will be provided in a consolidated format and sent to all offerors that indicate an intent to bid. Your full proposal must be submitted electronically by December 18, 2020. All communications should be sent to Procurement.V37@landolakes.org.
Attachment C: Proposal Capture
Land O’Lakes Venture37 Strategic Partnerships & New Ventures Preferred Providers
_________________________________________________________________________________
Land O’Lakes Venture37 invites proposals from qualified firms and individuals to undertake capture and reconnaissance that informs the design of proposals and applications to various foundation, corporate and non-USG bilateral donors (“customers”).
This solicitation is based on an open, competitive selection process. Successful offerors will be placed on Venture37’s preferred provider list. Selection as a preferred provider does not guarantee issuance of a contract. The preferred provider list shall be valid for a period of two years. Contracts will be issued to preferred providers on an as-needed basis, and will be negotiated based on assignment needs, offeror qualifications and availability, and will incorporate the offeror’s proposed rates. Venture37 reserves the right to select any or none of the proposals. Venture37 reserves the right to issue contracts to individuals and firms outside of those on the preferred provider list.
Background
Venture37 (www.landolakesventure37.org/) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that is striving to help communities thrive through agriculture as we seek to fulfill our vision of abundant food, unlimited potential. We implement agricultural development and economic growth activities in partnership with foundation, corporate and government entities. Since our start in 1981, we have leveraged nearly 100 years of expertise in crop inputs, agricultural insights, dairy and animal nutrition from our close affiliate, Land O’Lakes, Inc. (www.landolakes.com), a farmer-owned agribusiness committed to fulfilling its purpose of feeding human progress.
Our team is made up of nearly 350 employees who are committed to market-led approaches, and passionate about collaborating locally to create lasting inclusive economic growth. By unlocking the potential of agribusiness market systems for more than 38 years, the lives of more than 3 million people have been transformed through nearly 300 programs in more than 70 countries.
Scope of Work
Venture37 is in the midst of a period of growth, and seeks to expand its new business and partnerships portfolio through submission of technical proposals and applications, and delivery of pitch presentations to foundation, corporate and non-USG bilateral customers. Venture37 seeks capture support for these efforts. Typical tasks may include:
- Conduct background desk research and data analysis to understand the operating context;
- Collaborate with the Venture37 Capture Manager and/or Proposal Lead and other technical experts to develop data synthesis tools to analyze information; plan and schedule meetings in advance of travel; develop questions for key informant interviews; and ensure that information gaps are identified;
- Leverage existing contact networks and contact new informants (local and international) prior to and during international travel, including but not limited to customer(s), implementing organizations and other key public and private stakeholders, to gather information on the development context, and strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in the market system.
- Travel to countries identified by Venture37 to gather further qualitative and quantitative information in support of future proposal, application or pitch development;
- Record content of meetings in an organized and articulate fashion, clearly highlighting key takeaways and new avenues for inquiry; and
- Participate in design discussions with the Venture37 team to present data findings that help inform and shape program design
- Offerors that fail to meet minimum qualifications may not be considered.)
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in international relations, development, economics, agriculture or related;
- Five (5) years’ experience in proposal development or program implementation funded by foundation, corporate and/or non-USG bilateral customers; and
- Fluency in written and spoken English
Other Qualifications
- Excellent interpersonal skills;
- Demonstrated experience in at least one of the following technical areas: Access to Finance, Agriculture, Agribusiness, Behavior Change Communication, Business Enabling Environment, Cooperative Development, Enterprise Acceleration, Food Science, Gender Equality and Social Inclusion, ICT, International Trade & Policy, Pay for Results Mechanisms, Resilience and Youth Engagement and Inclusion;
- Demonstrated experience in targeted geographies: Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and/or Central Asia;
- Excellent organizational skills, with ability to prioritize and juggle multiple demands;
- Excellent communication, oral and written; and
- Fluency in French, Arabic, or Portuguese desired.
Proposal Submission Requirements
All interested candidates will submit the following materials:
- Proposal checklist.
- Curriculum Vitae (CV). Firms should submit CV(s) for individuals proposed to work on Venture37 assignments.
- Completed technical competency checklist (attached as Appendix 2)
- At least two references with phone and email contact information.
Criteria for Evaluation
Proposals will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
|
Criterion |
Weight |
|
Qualifications to carry out work Suitability of education, capabilities, language skills and technical knowledge in relevant fields. |
30% |
|
Past experience Relevance, quantity and quality of previous work in targeted sectors and geographies. |
40% |
|
Cost Price competitiveness and value to Venture37. |
30% |
Questions on this request for proposals are also due on December 4, 2020. All questions and answers will be provided in a consolidated format and sent to all offerors that indicate an intent to bid. Your full proposal must be submitted electronically by December 18, 2020. All communications should be sent to Procurement.V37@landolakes.org.