Terms of Reference to Recruit a Consultant (Individual/firm) to Profiling, Scoping and Capacity Development of Food Basket Sites (FOBAISI) 

PROJECT: Strengthening Local Voice and Accountability in Rwanda’s Agricultural Governance TWIYUBAKIRE-ENGAGE

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Terms of reference to recruit a consultant (individual/firm) to Profiling, Scoping and Capacity Development of Food Basket Sites (FoBaSi) 

1. Background

The Conseil de Concertation des Organisations d’Appui aux Initiatives de Base (CCOAIB) is partnering with TROCAIRE for the implementation of an advocacy project called Strengthening Local Voice and Accountability in Rwanda Agricultural Governance “Twiyubakire-Engage”, funded by the United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

Twiyubakire-Engage is timely and directly aligned with Rwanda’s policy and legal framework. It operationalizes national strategies by translating broad goals into local practice. For example, PSTA5 (2024–2029) explicitly targets sustainable, climate-resilient agriculture, inclusive markets, and economic opportunities for women and youth. By introducing participatory tools such as community scorecards, budgeting forums, and inclusive planning workshops, the project brings PSTA5’s call for responsive institutions and multi-stakeholder collaboration to life at the district level. The project also advances compliance with the Prime Minister’s 2024 Order on sectoral decentralization, which legally mandates citizen involvement in sectoral planning. In effect, Twiyubakire-Engage turns high-level policy aspirations (transparency, accountability, citizen engagement) into concrete local actions, reinforcing Rwanda’s policy coherence agenda and Vision 2050 aspirations.

The Twiyubakire-Engage project pilot phase (October 2025-March 2026), targets 4 districts, Nyamagabe, Nyaruguru and Muhanga in the Southern Province and Gatsibo in the Eastern Province. In these Districts, 23 Sectors were selected for Twiyubakire Engage project: 5 in Muhanga, 5 in Nyamagabe, 7 in Nyaruguru and 6 in Gatsibo; to contribute to improved and inclusive agriculture services delivery, increased citizen satisfaction and poverty reduction.

Twiyubakire-Engage project theory of change interventions assure that improving agriculture service delivery aligned with smallholder farmers’ needs will improve service satisfaction and contribute to poverty reduction among farming households.

2. Purpose and Objectives of the Consultancy 

Purpose of this consultancy is to strengthen the governance and leadership of Food Basket Sites (FoBaSi) smallholder-managed agricultural clusters through systematic profiling, scoping, and capacity development. The process begins with a comprehensive assessment of FoBaSi across the four project districts zones. In each district at least five sectors were selected for piloting. The profiling exercise will document the number of sites, land area, membership composition, crop and existing management structures, and key governance gaps. Special attention will be given to identifying weaknesses in leadership, accountability, and inclusiveness, while highlighting opportunities for capacity development.

Building on the preliminary mapping of potential FoBaSi conducted by MINAGRI/RAB and NISR, the following sites have been identified as a foundation for piloting in the selected Districts:

From these, pilot sites will be validated through a stakeholder workshop, where identified governance gaps and proposed capacity development plans will be reviewed and agreed upon. The project will then support targeted interventions to equip FoBaSi governance bodies with the skills and systems needed for effective, transparent, and sustainable management, while enhancing their role as platforms for dialogue among farmers to amplify their voices and priorities and needs to be addressed by leaders at different levels.

As part of this assignment, in each of the 23 selected sectors in the four project districts, a reasonable number of Food Basket Sites (FoBaSi) will be selected and considered for piloting in profiling, scoping, and governance capacity development. This approach will ensure a representative and manageable sample to guide the pilot implementation. Frequently, this means that committee members at the sector level (one representative from each FoBaSi) will then be selected for capacity strengthening on various aspects, including governance and leadership. These representatives will also support targeted interventions to equip FoBaSi representatives—considered as facilitators or Trainers of Trainers (ToTs) with the skills and systems needed for effective, transparent, and sustainable management.

In this framework of Twiyubakire-Engage project, CCOAIB is looking for a qualified consultant, team/firm, to conduct a Scoping, Profiling and capacity development of FoBaSi in the district of Gatsibo, Muhanga, Nyamagabe and Nyaruguru.

2.1. Objectives 

2.2.1. Overall objective

The overall objective of the consultancy services is to conduct the Profiling, Scoping, and Governance Capacity Development of the Food Basket Sites (FoBaSi) in the four targeted districts by TWIYUBAKIRE-ENGAGE Project.

2.2.2. The specific objectives of this consultancy are to : 

• Conduct comprehensive profiling of selected FoBaSi across four project districts including mapping the site;
• Identify governance, leadership, and management strengths and weaknesses, gaps and challenges but also opportunities;
• Perform a governance-focused capacity needs assessment and develop a tailored capacity development plan focusing on governance, leadership, and participatory management.

3. Main Tasks of the Consultant

The consultant will undertake the following activities:

a. Profiling of FoBaSi

• Conduct field visits and collect primary data in collaboration with CCOAIB district field officers and ensure accuracy, consistency, and timeliness of collected data.
• Document key information: number of sites, land area, membership composition, crops, existing management structures, and governance gaps.
• The profiling will include not only data collection, but also the structure and content analysis, relationship, quality assessment, metadata extraction (distribution frequency, correlations…) risk and anomaly identification
• The consultant will perform the existing data quality improvement, integration and governance by helping the project to define approaches and procedures to maintain data standards and consistency across the FOBASIs.

b. Scoping and Data Analysis

Under this section, the collected data in profiling will be analyzed to realize the comprehensive boundaries and define specific subset of data to be used by FOBASIs.

FOBASIs data will be analyzed to identify the FOBASIs related problems and propose the potential analytical solutions and assess if the right data is available to resolve the FOBASIs challenges and gaps.

The scoping will define a view of the data model including the key performance indicators using diagrams, graphs, statistical

• Map existing FoBaSi based on preliminary data from MINAGRI/RAB, NISR and Districts data.

c. Governance Capacity Needs Assessment

• Identify weaknesses in leadership, accountability, and inclusiveness, and highlight capacity development opportunities.
• Assess governance, leadership, participatory decision-making, transparency, and inclusiveness within each site.
• Identify capacity gaps and key areas for targeted development.

d. Development of Capacity Building Plans

• Prepare tailored capacity development plans for each district’s FoBaSi. Status
• Outline specific training modules and capacity building activities focused on governance and leadership.
• Recommend strategies to strengthen internal management and promote transparent, inclusive practices.

4. EXPECTED DELIVERABLES

Expected deliverables for this consultancy are:

• Inception report outlining a detailed methodology, work plan, data collection tools and report structure/ outline (within one week after the contract is signed)
• Profiling reports for each selected District, including District maps and primary data.
• Governance capacity needs assessment report, andtailored capacity development plans per District
• Final report consolidating evidence-based findings generated from data collection and analysis, recommendations, and proposed follow-up activities.

5. Methodology 

The consultant or consultancy firm is expected to propose a sound methodology as part of the technical proposal which clearly outlines:

• Approaches for profiling FoBaSi sites and mapping key stakeholders.
• Methods and tools for collecting and analyzing both qualitative and quantitative data.
• How FoBaSi organizational structures will be assessed to identify strengths, gaps, challenges, and opportunities, providing a comprehensive understanding of capacity needs.
• Strategies to ensure credible and reliable data collection, including the use of data triangulation to enhance the validity and accuracy of findings.

6. Duration and Timeline 

The assignment is expected to last for three weeks beginning start date at the signature of the contract with deliverables submitted according to the agreed timeline:

• Inception report: 1 week after start.
• Data collection: 1 week
• Draft profiling and assessment reports: one week after data collection
• Final capacity development plans and final report: one week after the presentation inputs and comments on the draft report.

7. Consultant Profile 

The consultant or the main consultant from a firm will have:

• A Post Graduate degree in Social Sciences , Governance, Community development Studies, agriculture and or other related fields;

• Proven experience more than five years in agricultural policies, strategies and development projects, rural governance, and capacity building.
• Demonstrated expertise in conducting site profiling, assessments, and participatory training design.
• Strong analytical, report-writing, and stakeholder facilitation skills.
• At least two certificates of good completion of similar performed works and recommendations
• Knowledge of the local context, with FoBaSi familiarity or similar structures is an advantage.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English and Kinyarwanda

8. Application

Interested applicants who fulfill the requirements set here-in should present an operationalised Scope of Work of this ToR addressed to the Executive Secretary of CCOAIB. While submitting, the applicant shall, in particular, ensure to attach the following:

1) A profile of the consultant/firm explaining why he/she is the most suitable for the work demonstrating their relevant experience along with an RDB registration certificate, VAT and EBM compliance certificates, and a Certificate of Domestic Company Registration for the firm; a recent ( last 3 months) certificate of VAT payment clearance

2) A technical operationalization of the Terms of Referece including a detailed methodology and work plan ( Technical offer)

3) Recent Curriculum Vitae of the consultant or consulting firm/team

4) The financial proposal specifying the total costs and including a detailed breakdown of costs including fees of working days.

9. Selection Procedures 

To select the best consultanct/firm, the Qaulity Based Selection ( QBS) method will be used.

NB: Applications should be submitted in two separate enveloppes: one for the technical offer with the mention technical offer and another one for the financial offer with the mention financial offer, both sealed in big envelopped @ CCOAIB office with the only subject title“Consultancy toScoping, Profiling and Capacity Development of FoBaSi to CCOAIB Executive Secretary not later than 17th of December 2025 at 3:00 PM Kigali Time (GMT+2)

For any querry, contact 0788536011 or procurement@ccoaib.rw

Applications that fail to meet the above application process requirements will be disqualified. A more comprehensive methodology, timeline and plan will be required and negotiated upon selection. Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted. After the final selection, successful consultant/team will be required to participate in a preliminary meeting with the CCOAIB team before starting the work.

Done at Kigali, on November 26, 2025

NGENDANDUMWE Jean Claude

Executive Secretary of CCOAIB