Request for Proposal: Value Chain Coordination Specialist Consultant

Job DescriptionJob Description:

Description: Oregon Farm to Institution Collaborative (OFIC) Deadline for Application: August 30, 2024 Term of Project: September 2024 - September 2025 Organization Description Health Care Without Harm (the fiscal agent for the grant that funds the Oregon Farm to Institution Collaborative) seeks to transform health care worldwide so the sector reduces its environmental footprint and becomes a community anchor for sustainability and leader in the global movement for environmental health and justice. Working closely with Health Care Without Harm, Practice Greenhealth is the leading sustainable health care organization, delivering environmental solutions to more than 1,700 hospitals and health systems in the United States and Canada. Health Care Without Harm’s Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) and Practice Greenhealth are committed to seeking and sustaining culturally and ethnically diverse organizations, and to the principles that promote inclusive practices. We are dedicated to not only building a diverse staff, but also a diverse set of consultants and partners with expertise and interest in serving the mission of the organizations in respectful ways. Health Care Without Harm believes that our work can only be transformed when a diversity of voices, perspectives, and lived experiences are a part of the movement for change. We strongly encourage consultants and organizations that represent BIPOC and LGBTQ communities to apply. Background For more than a decade, the Farm to Institution (F2I) movement in Oregon has made significant strides engaging and coordinating efforts of institutional purchasers, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and supply chain producers and processors. While successes have helped create lasting change in many institutions, the impact of these resources and partnerships has largely been focused on the Portland Metro Region and tremendous opportunities exist to implement replicable procurement strategies in rural and peri-urban areas of Oregon. In October 2022, Health Care Without Harm was awarded a USDA Regional Food System Partnership Grant (RFSP) to leverage existing proofs of concept in farm to institution (F2I) and take them to scale at a state level. As part of this effort, a state-wide multi-sectoral collaborative, the Oregon Farm to Institution Collaborative (OFIC), was established to create: A shared vision for increasing local sourcing and farm to institution efforts in the state;Actionable strategies to create and sustain change within institutional purchasing systems; and Shared metrics to evaluate our collective efforts towards establishing transparency and fairness in the local and regional supply chain. A key piece of this is building the knowledge base, systems, and capacity of Value Chain Coordinators (or those working in similar roles) throughout the food supply chain in Oregon. Overarching Goal & Project Description To support the USDA RFSP grant deliverable to increase Oregon’s capacity to facilitate Value Chain Coordination (VCC) of Farm to Institution relationships and institutional sales of Oregon products, we are seeking a consultant to complete the following activities and deliverables over the last year of the three-year project (September 2024 - September 2025). (Note: Oregon products are defined as any food product grown, raised, caught or harvested in Oregon and processed within the state.) Information gathering and work planning (Sept/October 2024) Activities: Review summary documents and assess outcomes from VCC trainings delivered by Kitchen Sync Strategies. Meet with the OFIC Coordinator and the individual OFIC work groups (Value Chain Coordination, Institutional Community of Practice, Producer Engagement, and Land Access & Shared Assets) to learn about completed work, as well as how the work groups can support in the pilot projects. Assess statewide farm / food hub and institutional readiness for a pilot(s) through these meetings. Review stakeholder interviews from Regenerate Change (consultants who supported the development of OFIC) for a more in-depth understanding of the regional food system. Review resources from aligned efforts (such as, mapping, case studies, list of brokers/value chain specialists in this region, etc.). Deliverable: A work plan that details the approach to VCC capacity building and F2I pilot project(s) in Oregon over the project year (September 2024 - September 2025), including: detailed timeline, project activities and outcomes, sub-awardees, and related budget expenses. Pilot project(s) Activities: Design and implement 1-2 pilot projects over the course of the project. The overarching goal is to demonstrate the effectiveness in relationship building and brokerage to bring F2I projects to fruition and result in sales of Oregon products. (OFIC prioritizes providing funding to those involved in pilot projects who would not otherwise be compensated for their time. Provide detail in the proposed budget on subawards/subcontracts that will be provided through the course of this pilot project. Note that the selected candidate will support the design of subawards/subcontracts and will have a role in working directly with the subcontracted entities. Health Care Without Harm would administer any funds.)Assess needs of producers wanting to sell into institutional markets, including:Producers of color and/or organizations representing producers of color (ex. local CBO’s, collectives, and food banks).Rural producers and distributors (ex. Food Hub Club, OFIC Producer Engagement work group, etc.). Assess the interest and needs of institutions to purchase from Oregon farmers/producers, including: Health systems that have a track record for values-based purchasing and/or have internal policies that prioritize local, sustainable, equitable purchasing (ex. Legacy, Kaiser, or Providence). Schools that receive Oregon F2S funds. Review Oregon F2S Procurement Claims by region to determine school demand for Oregon foods and develop a calendar of seasonal sourcing.Other institutions as needed to aggregate demand (ex. universities, corrections, municipalities, etc.) Develop plans to identify local sourcing specifications (ex. product volume, type, frequency of purchasing, etc.), tailored to the different institutional settings.Identify procurement tools to facilitate sales of Oregon products (ex. Masafresh, Local Food Marketplace, Permanent) and try out the platform for transactions between institutions and groups of farmers. Provide subcontract(s) to entities that manage procurement tools.Broker sales between producers and institutions identified at the onset of the pilot. Identify opportunities to promote and market the pilot with relevant audiences. Deliverables: Market matchmaking - report on the following metrics: Gross sales generated by pilot project(s), disaggregated by race/ethnicity of producersNumber of new partners/customersProducer and supplier satisfaction with relationshipsFostering and maintaining relationships - report on the following metrics: Number of new partners recruited through pilot project(s)Long-term partners participating in VCC Capacity building (throughout the project) Activities: Share outcomes and findings from the pilot(s) with OFIC membership Work with the VCC work group to build knowledge base and ensure a shared understanding of value chain coordination Compile resources and materials created during the project Deliverables: A repository of open source materials/resources related to VCC (ex: templates, contract examples, tools for production planning and inventory management, etc.) A minimum of 1-2 presentations to OFIC membership on progress during the course of the project Project wrap-up (Sept 2025) Activities: Evaluation of pilot project(s) impact Presentation of findings, resources, and recommendations for how best continue the work Deliverables: Final report, including a summary of pilot project findings Final presentation to full OFIC membership, and relevant partners Reporting & Check-InsThe OFIC Organizing Team will serve as the primary point of contact, including members from Health Care Without Harm, Oregon Department of Agriculture, Feed’em Freedom Foundation/Mudbone Grown, and Oregon Farm to School and School Garden Network. The consultant/firm will also actively engage with the Value Chain Coordination and Aggregation Work Group, and others as identified. This will include a series of virtual calls including but not limited to: Orientation to the project and work done to dateDiscussing approach to project and timelineRegular check-in calls with OFIC Organizing Team, OFIC work groups, and aligned initiativesFinal deliverable review callRequirements: Process, Timeline, and Budget The consultant will work with a core team from OFIC to complete the project by September 30, 2025. The consultant will manage all sub-awardees directly. The allocated budget for the project is up to $135,000. Note, other expenses such as creative assets that may need to be purchased, travel time, printing, subawards to other consultants, etc. will not be covered by Health Care Without Harm separately and will be discussed prior to any purchases. Please include potential costs in the proposed project budget. Qualifications The ideal consultant will have the following qualifications:Familiarity with Oregon food systems. Experience working with farmers and food producers; specifically BIPOC farmers/producers and varying scales of producers (small- to mid-sized producers). Experience working with buyers and institutions; preferably with existing contacts in Oregon institutions. Sales and data management experience. Excellent writing and verbal communication skills.Ability and experience with facilitating outreach and meaningful connections among community-based organizations, producers, food businesses, and anchor institutions. Submission Guidelines Please submit your proposal no later than August 30th, 2024 to contracts@hcwh.org. Your submission must include:Names and curriculum vitae of individuals who will be involved in completing the services.Qualifications – why and how you are best-suited to meet the deliverables. This should include an explanation of your qualifications for this work, past examples of similar work (including a list of former clients for similar services if able), and qualifications of key personnel who will be involved. Please include any relevant licenses, certifications, etc.A completed conflict of interest form.A written declaration that you can agree to the general terms and conditions included in this RFP.Health Care Without Harm supports positive efforts to utilize small businesses, minority-owned firms, women’s business enterprises, and Labor Surplus Area firms. Please indicate whether or not you fall within one or more of these categories.A proposed methodology and timeline for how you plan to meet the deliverables, with documentation of the development process, milestones, assumptions and expectations of HCWH staff.A cost breakdown of this work, including a list of any staff that would be assigned to the project, their roles, and any subcontractors you plan to employ.A timeframe of validity of your proposal (must be at least 60 days). Criteria for the Assessment of ProposalThe expertise of the proposal and experience of the organization or consultant and key personnel indicated in the proposal.Methodology, its appropriateness to the conditions and timeline set forth in the RFP.Financial considerations.HCWH is willing to award the contract to more than one service provider. Inquiries Inquiries can be made to Aliza McHugh, amchugh@hcwh.org, and Amber Hansen, ahansen@hcwh.org. General Terms and Conditions for Bidders Other terms and conditions will be included in an awarded contract 1. Contracts shall be made only with responsible contractors who possess the potential ability to perform successfully under the terms and conditions of the proposed procurement. Consideration shall be given to such matters as contractor integrity, record of past performance, financial and technical resources or accessibility to other necessary resources. In certain circumstances, contracts with certain parties are restricted by agencies' implementation of United States Executive Orders 12549 and 12689, “Debarment and Suspension.” 2. Awards shall be made to the bidder or the offeror whose bid or offer is responsive to the solicitation and is most advantageous to the recipient, price, quality and other factors considered. Solicitations shall clearly set forth all requirements that the bidder or the offeror shall fulfill in order for the bid or offer to be evaluated by the recipient. Any and all bids or offers may be rejected when it is in Health Care Without Harm’s interest to do so. 3. Health Care Without Harm suppliers and contractors must demonstrate compliance with the following ethical principles. Any breach of these provisions shall disqualify the supplier or entitle Health Care Without Harm to terminate any agreements with the supplier immediately upon notice without any liability for the termination or any other liability of any kind.Contractors shall not directly or indirectly provide material support or resources, including financial support, in-kind support, technical or organizational assistance, or any other form of support or service, to individuals that are terrorists, that are associated with acts of terrorism, or that pose a significant risk of committing acts of terrorism.Contractors must comply with all applicable anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws in the countries where it does business. Additionally, contractors understand and agree to comply with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, as revised, which generally prohibits the offer, promise, payment or giving of anything of value either directly or indirectly to any government official for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business or any improper advantage. Contractors shall not engage in any practice inconsistent with the rights set forth in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, including Article 32 thereof, which, inter alia, requires that a child shall be protected from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child’s education, or to be harmful to the child’s health or physical mental, spiritual, moral or social development. Additionally, Contractor warrants that the Contractor is not engaged in the sale or manufacture of anti-personnel mines or components utilized in the manufacture of anti-personnel mines.Health Care Without Harm takes all appropriate measures to prevent sexual exploitation or abuse of anyone through its work. For these purposes, sexual activity with any person less than eighteen years of age, regardless of any laws relating to consent, shall constitute sexual exploitation and abuse of such pers

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