INVITATION TO SUBMIT A

PROPOSAL

for:

Private veterinary unit capacity building component

to support new animal services

 

 

 

 

 

ISSUED ON: 10 April 2024

CLOSINGDATE: 24 April2024

12:00hrs Ulaanbaatar time

 

 

 

 

 

 

Project:UTF/MON/021/MON “Strengthening animal health and food safety systems”

 

 

 

 

 

FAO Office:

FAOMongolia,UN House, United Nations street – 14 Sukhbaatar district

Ulaanbaatar14201, Mongolia

Tel: +976 11 310248 (ext: 4613)

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (“FAO” or “Organization”) is an intergovernmental organization with more than 196 member nations. Since its inception, FAO has worked to alleviate poverty and hunger by promoting agricultural development, improved nutrition and the pursuit of food security - defined as the access of all people at all times to the food they need for an active and healthy life.

 

Further and more detailed information on FAO can be found on the internet site: http://www.fao.org. This invitation is for the provision of non-commercial services under the FAO rules that govern Letters of Agreement (hereinafter referred to as “Agreement” or “LoA”). Under these rules only non-profit, intergovernmental, and governmental organizations are eligible to sign LoAs with FAO.

 

Background Information

To promote improved animal health and production in Mongolia, it is necessary to provide the required national policies, legislation and program support and this is being led by GAVS. Effective delivery of these policies and programs requires the capability and capacity to provide field services to herders. The most appropriate service-delivers are the private veterinarians. These are organized per Soum, often in so-called Private Veterinary Units or PVUs.

 

PVUs are the frontline of the animal health services as they have the most direct interface with livestock owners/herders. However, with reference to a number of international reviews (WOAH, FAO, WHO and others), it is apparent that the current capabilities and capacity of the PVUs are insufficient to deliver timely, effective and cost-efficient animal health and production programs.

 

This limitation is a critical weakness in Mongolia’s animal health services and must be addressed. PVUs are the primary service deliverers to improve animal health and welfare, improve food safety and reduce the risks from zoonotic diseases and AMR. In addition, through PVU services, higher value of livestock products such as meat, milk, hides, skins and thus export-trade opportunities are to be realized while concurrently improved efficiency of livestock production is one of the key solutions to reduce the pressure on the environment from overgrazing.

 

The main goal of the animal health component of the Livestock Commercialization Project (LCP-AH) is to strengthen the human and institutional capacity of animal health service delivery, both for the private and public sectors. In the first two-and-a-half years (2020-2022), the focus has been on the public sector at national and sub-national levels. This was the result of priorities set by the General Authority for the Veterinary Services (GAVS) through the Technical Working Group and the Professional Committee, based on the recommendations of the PVS evaluation mission of the World Organization on Animal Health (WOAH) in 2019 and supported by the leadership of the LCP management.

 

In 2023, LCP supported strengthening the capabilities and capacities of PVUs in different ways.

1. LCP has supported the development and delivery of continuous professional development (CPD) program after outlining 8 veterinary tracks for CPD including Transboundary Animal Diseases, Business Management and Diagnostics. A Training Committee was set up at GAVS to institutionalize CPD. This allows participants of CPD, to gain credits that are needed for re-licensing their professional license every five years. In 2023, CPD training is made delivered to all private vets in the 12 LCP-target aimags. Sofar, around 840 private vets have participated. It is imperative that the CPD program is continued and enhanced with a broader range of modules that supports both the national veterinary services and the PVUs;
2. Supporting GAVS to re-define the PVU Standards. Currently, the PVU Standards are primarily focused on assessing infra-structure, equipment and materials of the veterinary clinics with little focus on PVU competencies and quality of services.
3. Definition of "Model for the Private Veterinarian 2030" Strategic Plan. This Strategic Plan focuses on the current situation (gaps in the quantity and quality provision of animal health services) and addresses the rapid changes that are happening in livestock production and consequently future demands of private and public clients. In this Strategy, the conditions for delivery of sustained services is addressed by recommending private vets to organize themselves in “One Soum, One Veterinary Unit” by organizing themselves into partnerships;
4. Piloting of the Healthy Herder Certification in 5 soums in Uvurkhangai aimag. In this pilot, 5 PVUs were trained and equipped to provide services on:

a)    Brucellosis testing in pooled cattle milk samples using the milk-ring test (MRT)

b)    Testing for residues of antimicrobials (Tetracycline, Ivermectine, …) in milk sold for consumption in schools, government canteens and local hospitals

c)    Fecal examinations for presence of gastro-intestinal parasites in sheep, goats and cattle

d)    Clinical examination of livestock (sheep, goats, cattle, yaks) for the presence of clinical signs of known transboundary animal diseases (TADs) as a critical component of the Early Warning and Response (EWAR) system. Upon testing negative to all tests conducted, the herder received a certificate stating that his/her herd is unsuspected of disease and that products were considered healthy for consumption.

 

For its workplan 2024, the project aims to extend its support for PVUs through a combination of equipment and materials support under the PIU budget and capacity building for specific additional animal health services through the FAO-LCP budget.

 

Servicesrequired

The project seeks to commission the following services:

• Develop the training activity implementation plan;
• Develop tailored training programs to address identified gaps in technical skills and knowledge, see Annex 1 for the six modules with defined competencies and learning objectives per module.
• Organize and conduct training in the field for 40 PVUs in 6 aimags;
• Organize pre- and post-tests of the training to monitor participants' uptake of the learning content;

 

More specifically,the Service Provider takes note of the following

For each of the six services, one module needs to be prepared and trained about.  A module is a series of lessons that aim to have private vets be capable to perform any of these services in a professional, feasible and sustainable way.

Per module, a number of competencies are defined see Annex 1. A competency refers to a specific skill (communicate, test, organize) necessary for performing a service. For training development purposes, a single competency may be considered a single lesson. Such lesson should take on average around 50 minutes with elements of 4Es (engagement, explanation, exercise, evaluation) to account for an Adult-learning approach.

Per competency, a number of learning objectives are defined. Learning objectives guide trainers to structure the training on a competency. As such, learning objectives are the backbone for development of a training materials and the lesson. It defines what the participant of the training should be able to understand, explain, describe or perform, by the end of that lesson. A lesson can thus have one or more learning objectives. 

 

In developing the competencies and learning objectives, the following structure was applied

-          Private vet is able to communicate with clients (herders and farmers) about the service

-          Private vet can perform (organize) the service.

-          Private vet is able to interpret the outcome of the service (related to modules 3, 4 and 5)

-          Private vet understand in what situations to contact the soum and/or aimag veterinary department

-          Private vet is capable to develop a business model on the new services.

-          Ideally, orange shaded competencies are practical lessons, out of the classroom.

 

Desiredoutputs:	Keyperformance indicators per output	Timelineforthe delivery of the outputs:
The training implementation plan has been developed	The approved training implementation plan by GAVS	1 month after signing of LoA
Customized training materials and curricula designed to meet the specific requirements of PVU personnel, as detailed in Annex 1 1	Training manual including training program, lesson materials, exercises, list of references (for further reading)	1,5 months after signing LoA
Field training sessions conducted successfully to the selected PVUs	List of participants' attendance per training session	3 months after signing LoA
Report on uptake of training by PVUs	Comparison of pre- and post-test results per module per participant	3 months after signing LoA
Preparation of a comprehensive training report outlining key details and outcomes of the training activities	- Key details and outcomes of training; - Recommendations for monitoring PVUs providing these additional services and evaluation of impact of training; - Training materials/training tests/reference materials to training as annexes to report;	4 months after signing LoA

I.      ProceduresandConditions:

FAO hereby invites you to submit a Proposal in connection with the above-described services. Your Proposal should be based on the requirements included herewith; it is subject to the following procedures and conditions which you deemed to have accepted by submitting a Proposal.

 

In submitting your Proposal you are supposed to have considered all aspects relevant to the performance of the proposed Agreement and to have obtained all necessary information and data as to risks, contingencies and other circumstances which may influence or affect your Proposal;

 

It is understood that all documents, calculations, etc. which may form part of your Proposal will become the property of FAO, who will not be required to return them to your organisation;

 

FAO may decide to make a partial award or no award at all should it consider that the results of this invitation for Proposal and/or any other related circumstance so require;

 

FAO shall have no obligation to purchase any minimum quantities of goods or services from your organisation, and shall have no limitation on its right to obtain goods or services of the same kind, quality and quantity as described in this Proposal from any other source at any time;

 

All costs incurred to prepare your Proposal have to be borne by you; FAO will not be liable to reimburse any or all of such cost;

 

FAO reserves the right to publish the details of awards, including the Service Provider’s name and country, total value of the Agreement and a brief description of the services.

 

FAO has a zero tolerance approach to fraud, and it prohibits any entities from engaging in corrupt, fraudulent, collusive, coercive, unethical and obstructive practices when participating in procurement activities. As provided by the Vendor Sanctions Procedures (http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/procurement/docs/FAO_Vendors_Sanctions_Policy_

-_Procedures.pdf), if the Organization determines that an entity has engaged in such conduct, it will impose sanctions and may share information on sanctioned entities with other Intergovernmental or UN Organizations;

 

An entity and its affiliates, agents and subcontractors should not be suspended, debarred, or otherwise identified as ineligible by any Intergovernmental or UN Organization, including any organization within the World Bank Group or any multi-lateral development bank, or by the institutions and bodies of economic integration organizations (e.g., the European Union). You are therefore required to disclose to the Organization whether your organisation, or any of your affiliates, agents or subcontractors, is subject to any sanction or temporary suspension imposed by any such organization or National Authority at any time during the three years prior to the Agreement or at any time throughout the execution of the Agreement. You acknowledge that a breach of this provision will entitle FAO to terminate its Agreement with your organisation, without any liability for termination charges or any other liability of any kind of FAO, and that material misrepresentations on your status constitute a fraudulent practice;

 

Bidders must certify that their organisation is not associated, directly or indirectly, with entities or individuals (i) that are associated with terrorism, as in the list maintained by the Security Council Committee established pursuant to its Resolutions 1267 (1999) and 1989 (2011), or (ii) that are the subject of sanctions or other enforcement measures promulgated by the United NationsSecurity Council. Selected bidders also agree to undertake all reasonable efforts to ensure that none of the funds received from FAO under the awarded Agreement are used to provide support to individuals or entities associated with terrorism or that are the subject of Security Council sanctions. This provision must be included in any subcontracts, sub-agreements or assignments entered into under the awarded Agreement. The Bidder acknowledges and agrees that this provision is an essential term of the awarded Agreement and any breach of these obligations and warranties shall entitle FAO to terminate the Agreement immediately upon notice to the Service Provider, without any liability for termination charges or any liability of any kind of FAO;

 

Bidders must certify that their organisation and/or subcontractors are not associated, directly or indirectly, with the Service Provider or any other entity who prepared the terms of reference or other bidding documents for this tender;

 

Please note that Bidders who use an independent Service Provider to assist in the preparation of Proposals may risk engaging in unacceptable practices if the same Service Provider assists another Bidder to prepare a Proposal for the same tender. Bidders are reminded that they are fully responsible for the conduct of any Service Provider who may be used to prepare Proposals for FAO tenders and they should take all measures to ensure that any independent Service Provider engaged to assist in the preparation of a Proposal for an FAO tender has not and will not be involved in the preparation of a Proposal for another Bidder for the same tender process.

 

Bidders are kindly requested to disclose to the best of their knowledge whether their organisation has any personal or professional relationships with FAO. The disclosure shall include all relevant details and should include, but not be limited to:

-  ANY current or past employment relationship with FAO of your organisation’s

representatives and employees;

-  ANY current or past relationship with any FAO staff member (family members, spouses, etc.) of your organisation's representatives and employees.

 

ClosingDate

Your Proposal should reach the FAO office not later than the date and time indicated in the first page of this notice.

We would appreciate your acknowledging receipt of this invitation and indicating your intention as to whether or not you will submit a Proposal by email to FAOMN-Procurement FAOMN-  [email protected]

 

CommunicationsConcerningthisProposal

 

Allcommunicationsconcerning this Proposal should be submitted uniquely through the following channel of communication:

FAOMN-Procurement [email protected]

If your Proposal is submitted by email it should be in pdf format.

 

The Proposal should consist of two parts: a Technical Part and Financial Part which should be prepared as follows:

 

TheTechnicalPartshould include:

1. The description and number of years of experience in the field of the required services and the area of intervention as applicable;
2. The proposed methods and processes suitable and feasible to achieve the outputs mentioned above within the required timeline (to be described in Appendix A “Workplan”) and in conformity with the performance indicators;
3. The description of the reports, documents and other outputs to be provided during and after implementation of the required services;
4. The  full  name,  address,  fax  and/or  email  address  and  telephone  numbers  of  your organisation (association, institute, etc.) and contact persons;
5. The banking details (name and location of bank, account number).

 

Please note that FAO will make the relevant LoA payments to the bank account indicated by the selected Service Provider. The bank account holder name must be the name of Service Provider.

 

FinancialPart

A detailed cost estimate (i.e. a budget in accordance with Appendix B) based on a workplan including all the costs for the delivery of the required services / implementation of the Agreement. The budget should be broken down by the inputs that are required to carry out the activities avoiding the use of activity-based lumpsums. Budget items and the corresponding objective units of measurement should be well defined, and should be calculated by multiplying the quantity (i.e. the number of units)  by the unit cost (i.e. the estimated cost per unit) .

 

All assumptions should be documented. The financial part should specify clearly the currency used (the local currency in which the majority of the expenses will be incurred, or the United States Dollar for multi-country operations).

 

Proposalswillonlybeconsiderediftheycontain alloftheaboveinformationanddocumentsandobservetheprovisionsoftheenclosedagreement(seeAnnexI).

 

II.             Evaluation

The Proposals received will be evaluated by applying the mandatory requirements and the qualitative evaluation criteria indicated below. The Pass/Fail methodology will be used for the mandatory requirements, whilst the qualitative evaluation criteria will be rated.

 

FAO reserves the right to consider and disqualify organisations based on documented prior poor performance, including but not limited to poor quality of services provided, late delivery and unsatisfactory performance. FAO also reserves the right to have further discussions/negotiations with the Bidder prior to issuance of an Agreement.

 

Mandatory Minimum Requirements

Your Proposal will only be considered if the Proposal and your organisation meet the following minimum requirements:

 

1. The organization should provide an explicit written acceptance of the terms and conditions applicable to FAO Letters of Agreement as laid out in the LoA template in the Annex I;
2. The organization should provide evidence of the legal status of your organisation to demonstrate the eligibility to sign Letters of Agreement with FAO, including the registration certificate with the relevant country authorities;
3. Minimum of 3 years’ experiences with implementing veterinary training programs at field level;
4. The organization should employ qualified veterinary professionals with expertise in various specialties;
5. The organization should develop and maintain up-to-date curriculum and training materials that align with current best practices and advancements in veterinary medicine;
6. The organization should ensure the availability of sufficient infrastructure and equipment to facilitate effective training delivery;
   1. Ability to work in a gender-conscious manner, ability to travel to the field.

 

Weighted Evaluation Criteria

Your Proposal will be further evaluated based on the following criteria and relevant weights listed in the table below:

 

Criteria	Weights/points
Years of relevant experience in the subject matter and/or the area of operations	10
Adequacy of resources and financial and operational capacity of the organisation	5
Technical quality of the proposed methodology	20
Depth of detail of proposed workplan	15
Conformity and feasibility of proposed schedule	10
Qualifications of the key personnel proposed	15
TotalTechnicalcriteria	75
Financial Proposal*	25
Total score (technical + financial)	100

 

Technical Proposals will be evaluated first and ranked accordingly to the above criteria. Please note that the Technical Proposal will comprise 75 percentage weights/points of the overall evaluation.

 

 

Please note that for the financial offer, Bidders must stay within the range of USD 19,000 to USD 22,000.

 

Totalscorecalculation:TechnicalScore*+ Financial Score**

*e.g. maximum 75 points

** e.g. maximum 25 points

 

I take this opportunity of expressing my appreciation of your interest in assisting FAO in its implementation of this undertaking.

 

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

 

Vinod Ahuja, FAO Representative in Mongolia FAO Budget Holder

APPENDIX A: Workplan

Activity sequence #	Activity description	Start date	End date

APPENDIX B: Budget

SPECIFY CURRENCY:
Cat. No.	Items Description (ITEMISE IN DETAIL)	Unit of measurement	Qty (no. of units)	Unit Cost	Total Cost
1	HUMAN RESOURCE INPUTS (Staff time and Service Providers...)
1.1
1.2
1.3
…
2	EXPENDABLE EQUIPMENT ANCILARY TO SERVICES
2.1
2.2
2.3
…
3	TRAVEL (Flights, inland travel...)
3.1
3.2
…
4	ACCOMMODATION (board and lodging costs…)
4.1
4.2
4.3
5	GENERAL OPERATING AND MAINTENANCE EXPENSES
5.1
5.2
5.3
6	------OTHER CATEGORY (Specify)-----------------------
6.1
6.2
6.3
…
	TOTAL COSTS