Consultancy to Conduct Institutional Analysis and Inventory of Change in Selected Organizations in SCARDA Countries

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST
INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANCY SERVICES
FORUM FOR AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH IN AFRICA

Multi Donor Trust Fund for Support to the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA)
MDTF Grant No.: TF095129
Project ID No.: P112684

Title: Consultancy to Conduct Institutional Analysis and Inventory of Change in Selected
Organizations in SCARDA Countries
Assignment Reference Number: NSF4: 4.2.1 b/E/DP/P

Background
This request for expressions of interest follows the general procurement notice for this
project that appeared in dg Market, issue no. 4577029 of November 10, 2009.
The Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) has received a grant from the International
Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) in the amount of US$ 17,244,320 equivalent
toward the cost of implementation of the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development
Program (CAADP) Pillar IV strategy of the African Union’s New Partnership for Africa’s
Development (AU-NEPAD), for revitalizing, expanding and reforming Africa’s agricultural
research, and technology dissemination and adoption efforts and intends to apply part of the
proceeds for the following consultant services :

Consultancy to Conduct Institutional Analysis and Inventory of Change in Selected
Organizations in SCARDA Countries

FARA initiated the programme “Strengthening Capacity for Agricultural Research and
Development in Africa (SCARDA)” in 2008 to improve the capacity and performance of
participating organizations of the NARS in key areas of their agricultural research for
development (AR4D) functions. The programme was coordinated by FARA and implemented by
the sub-regional organizations in selected national agricultural research institutes and
universities (known as focal organizations) in 10 countries of Sub-Saharan Africa namely:
ASARECA (Burundi, Rwanda and Sudan); SADC/FANR (Botswana, Lesotho and Zambia); and
CORAF/WECARD (Congo, Ghana, Gambia and Mali). The programme officially came to an end on
30th June 2010, but the donor granted partial extension into 2011 to enable completion of
pending activities. Congo, Burundi, Rwanda and Sudan were selected because they are countries
trying to rebuild their war-ravaged agricultural research infrastructure.

Programmatic elements of SCARDA were predicated on key capacity gaps identified in organizational analyses conducted for each of the implementing organizations in the design stages of the programme. The ab initio organizational analysis was essentially an endogenous process through which awareness was raised amongst staff and key partners of key issues and that needed to be addressed in the programme. It also identified baseline data against which progress and performance towards achieving objectives would be evaluated.
Further, it is increasingly being realized in development cycles that the institutional aspects of organizations are the main impediments to change. Therefore, a change management strategy was embedded into the SCARDA programme to instigate institutional reforms in the target organizations necessary for sustaining the desired change process. During the donor-commissioned end-of-programme review in early 2010, a cursory elucidation of nascent changes accruing from implementation of the SCARDA change management strategy was elicited from employees of the target organizations using the Most Significant Change method. The responses were captured in the end-of-project report. However, to obtain a mechanistic account of how SCARDA implementation influenced the change dynamics within the target organizations, a structured longitudinal study of the change processes would be imperative. Such a study would provide information on the nature and context of change and provide a basis for future intervention strategies for institutional strengthening of the NARS organizations.

OBJECTIVES
After nearly 3 ½ years of SCARDA implementation, FARA would now like to conduct an institutional analysis to determine the dispositions of selected target organizations upon completion of project activities as well as a longitudinal analysis of the change process that has been registered in the organizations. The objective of this ToR is to enlist a suitable consultant to undertake organizational analysis and longitudinal analysis of the change process in SCARDA implementing countries.

Scope OF WORK
Benefiting from methodologies developed in a previous consultancy (Ref: NSF4 - 4.2.1a/E/P), the consultants will conduct a rigorous organizational analysis of SCARDA implementing organizations in selected countries based on adequate sub-regional representation. The consultant will undertake the assignment in CORAF/WECARD in ASARECA and in CCARDESA sub-regions. In addition, the consultant will concomitantly conduct longitudinal meta-analyses of the change processes in the respective SCARDA implementing organizations.

Deliverables
The associate consultants will each submit a report to the lead consultant within five days of completing the assignment. The lead consultant will then collate, synthesize and produce global reports within eight days as follows:
1. Report on organizational analysis of SCARDA implementing organizations.
2. Report on longitudinal analysis of change in SCARDA implementing organizations.
3. Presentation of the reports and associated recommendations for validation at a FARA-constituted seminar.

DURATION OF THE Assignment
The assignment is will be undertaken within October 2011 and the specific dates will be agreed on during negotiations.

LOCATION OF THE ASSIGNMENT
The consultants will be home-based, but will travel to SCARDA/WAAPP implementing organizations in the three sub-regional organizations of sub-Saharan Africa. Consultant will present the consolidated consultancy report for validation to a FARA-constituted panel at the FARA Secretariat in Accra, Ghana.

FARA’S RESPONSIBILITIES
FARA will provide all necessary information and publications to support the consultant.

QUALIFICATION & EXPERIENCE
The consultant should have the following qualifications:
? Higher degree, preferably a PhD, in agricultural sciences, management sciences, social sciences or related disciplines.
? Familiarity with African agricultural research and development issues.
? Demonstrable experience of at least 10 years in conducting institutional analyses and assessment of organizational change processes
? Demonstrable ability to write technical reports, position papers or policy papers
? Fluency (written and spoken) in English

The FARA now invites eligible individual consultants to indicate their interest in providing the services. Interested individual consultants (NOT FIRMS) must provide information indicating that they are qualified to perform the services with an application and CV.

A consultant will be selected in accordance with the procedures set out in the World Bank’s Selection and Employment of Consultants by the World Bank Borrowers, January 1997, (Revised September 1997, January 1999, May 2002, May 2004, October 2006 May 2010.
Interested consultants may obtain further information at the address below during office hours. 0900 to 1500 hours.

Expressions of interest must be delivered to the address below by September 29, 2011.
Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa
Attn: Dr. Monty Jones, Executive Director
PMB CT 173, Cantonment-Accra, Ghana
Tel.: +233 0302 772823
Fax.: +233 0302 773676
Email: ed@fara-africa.org

Consultants are advised to quote the Assignment Reference Number (NSF4: 4.2.1 b/E/DP/P) in the application.