Review of AATF 2014-2018 Business Plan

Terms of Reference

For

 

The Review of AATF 2014-2018 Business Plan

 

 

 

Background and rationale

 

The African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) is a not-for profit organisation, registered in the United Kingdom and in Kenya. Established in 2003 and officially launched in June 2004, the Foundation is mandated to facilitate access and delivery of appropriate agricultural technologies for use by smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This is in recognition of the critical role that scientific innovations can play in uplifting agricultural productivity in Africa. This, in turn, will positively impact incomes and livelihoods of farmers, leading to food security and poverty reduction.

 

Agricultural technologies hold considerable promise to improving food security and reducing poverty in SSA. There are a number of agricultural technologies that could increase farm productivity in SSA. However, some of these technologies are not available in Africa due to complexities related to intellectual property rights, stewardship, regulatory environment and related issues that hinder their access. There are three major challenges related to use of such technologies in Africa. First is the identification of appropriate technologies that not only correspond with regional priorities but that is also adaptable and fit the unique constraints and farming practices of smallholders. Second is the negotiation of access to these technologies on a royalty free basis that will contribute to affordability by farmers while ensuring access to relevant know-how to support product development. The third challenge relates to sustainable use by farmers that requires stewardship along the production and delivery stages (or value chain), and extension and training of farmers and African-based agri-businesses.

 

The majority of new technologies are developed by international private companies, with an eye on earning large profits. These companies concentrate on large markets and the needs of the smallholder farmers in SSA are simply not central to their technological development process. This greatly limits the access by public researchers to new ideas and tools and therefore severely constrains farmers’ adoption of promising technologies. AATF is purposefully designed to be an all-inclusive agricultural technology hub that not only helps farmers to access agricultural technologies but also assists in adapting them for use by African farmers thereby ensuring a sustainable business-based approach to deployment. In this regard, AATF works across agricultural systems with researchers, agricultural policy advisors, regional organisations, agribusinesses and farmers. This is in realisation that, whilst agricultural technologies provide an opportunity to catalyse and improve productivity, there is also need to have conducive policies coupled with the creation of viable market linkages to ensure that agriculture is sustainable.

 

AATF evolved from the realisation by donors and stakeholders in SSA that there are some technology owners in developed countries willing to donate them for use by resource-constrained smallholder farmers, but there lacked appropriate mechanisms to handle and manage the transfer of proprietary technology as Africa’s experience in these area was not yet developed. AATF was therefore created with the mandate to bridge the gap between owners of technologies willing to donate them for use by SSA smallholder farmers and those that need them. In undertaking its mandate, AATF creates partnerships and assumes certain stewardship responsibilities, becoming the bridge that allows SSA scientists and development experts access the new tools that they need, and through them get the final product into the hands of farmers. The initial donors of the Foundation comprised the Rockefeller Foundation, the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Other donors have since come on board. These are the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Howard G. Buffet Foundation, Pepsico, Syngenta Foundation and Feed the Future Partnering for Innovation.

Objective of the assignment

 

AATF is celebrating its 10^th anniversary this year having partnered with other institutions  to  implement10 projects in 10 countries targeted at ensuring food security and poverty reduction in SSA. One of the most important strategic documents for AATF is the Business Plan as it provides the overall plan on how the organisation is to conduct its business during a defined window of time. AATF is in the final year of implementation of its 2009-2013 Business Plan and has drafted the 2014-2018 Business Plan. In order to have an external review and imput on the draft 2014-2018 Business Plan, we are seeking a consultant to carry out an independent review of the draft plan to ensure it is in tandem with the organisation’s long term strategy, vision and mandate as well as ensure that it clarifies our business niche and growth potential during the envisaged time. .  

Specifically the Terms of References for this assignment are:

1.   In line with the mandate of AATF, and the 2012 AATF Strategy, review the Draft 2014 – 2018 Business Plan to ensure that it is coherent and articulates AATF vision, goals, objectives and milestones to achieve these.

2.   Review the Draft Business Plan Implementation schedule by comparing the proposals outlined in the Business Plan with the AATF strategy recommendations, value addition, project offering, service improvements and supporting strategies, which are articulated in the plan.

3.     Review and advise on ways to better leverage AATF’s unique value proposition in its products and services paying attention to policy environment for technology testing and diffusion in SSA.

4.     Review options for alternative business lines and/or models for existing projects, make an argument for each and project the future of AATF strategic development in next 5 years, – including potential market, demand, risks, cost structure, potential revenue, organizational needs, etc.

5.   Provide the business analysis through use of SWOT, BSC and other tools for business analysis in order to identify where the current business stands in relation to other players by reviewing Key Performance Indicators, M&E milestones, outputs, targets and outcomes and align them to ensure that AATF is an impact driven organisation.

6.   Review the structure, the contents and implementation of the Business Plan and on the value addition of AATF, delivery and impact, sustainability and exit issues raised in the Business Plan.

7.   Conduct a gaps analysis with an aim of identifying new business opportunities and models.

8.   Provide a synthesis of distinct recommendations that can be used to finalize the AATF 2014-2018 Business Plan

Deliverables

•        A draft business plan for AATF management inputs

•         A final revised 5 year AATF Business Plan for 2014-2018 after inputs from AATF management

•        Produce a comprehensive process report containing all other information which may be useful to further AATF business.

Qualifications

The skills needed for the Review of the Business Plan are:
• The lead consultant should hold a minimum of a Masters Degree in Strategic Planning, Business Administration, Economics, Agricultural Economics or any other relevant qualification.
• Extensive experience and understanding of the African agricultural sector especially related to technology access and delivery
• Experience in in business planning and organization change management
• Demonstrable evidence of having successfully completed similar assignments for international organizations or reputable national organizations
• The ability to learn and conceptualise new organisations quickly
• Good presentation,  writing and communication skills
• Ability to work and deliver within strict deadlines 

In addition, consultants should have demonstrated skills and experience in:
• Economic cost-benefit appraisal—particularly related to the costs and benefits of different service modalities, and of implementing institutional and policy changes;
• Monitoring and evaluation—particularly with respect to appreciating the effectiveness of the Business Plan thus far, and developing non-resource-intensive approaches for regular monitoring and reporting in the future;
• Regional agricultural strategy development—showing an ability to integrate agricultural  needs and priorities and to reflect global contexts, and an understanding of existing regional agricultural contexts
• Designing modalities for project delivery and impact—including developing sustainable commercialisation plans, incorporating innovative methods for impact driven agriculture
• Developing implementation plans—including identifying regional and national agents best placed to implement recommendations, and setting realistic timeframes for change. 

Duration

This assignment is expected to last 30 days and the consultant(s) will start work on the 2^nd of December 2013 with the first draft expected by 2^nd of January 2014. The final draft will be expected 15 days after receipt of Management comments. The consultant should complete the work within the stipulated time and keep the Business Development Manager and Business Plan Committee informed of the progress on a regular basis.

 

Application criteria

Interested applicants should submit their detailed proposals outlining their suitability to conduct this review via email to the undersigned by COB 22^nd November 2013;

 

Human Resources and Administration

African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF)

Email:   aatf-hr@aatf-africa.org

Tel:       + 254 20 422 3740 /3700

Cell:      + 254 735 99 22 09