ToR

Developing a Desk Review and a Challenge Statement for the Social Innovation Lab (SIL): Agriculture Production, and Agri-tech in Yemen

INTRODUCTION:

ROWAD is a not-for-profit Foundation that was officially registered in 2013. Since its establishment, it has been working on achieving economic development by supporting entrepreneurial activity in Yemen with the aim to address major challenges such as youth unemployment, food insecurity, and access to education and health through entrepreneurship and business creation. 

ROWAD Foundation is launching Yemen’s first Social Innovation. We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced consultant to develop a desk review and challenge statement for the social innovation lab and hackathon focused on agriculture food production, and agri-tech in Yemen. The goal of the SIL is to develop and identify innovative solutions to the most pressing challenges facing the agricultural sector in Yemen, particularly in the context of the ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis.

The Social Innovation lab/ Hackathons aim to support Economic and Private Sector Development in Yemen by linking Yemeni talent to the challenges facing key social and economic sectors and leveraging innovation and collaboration among relevant stakeholders. 

The intervention will facilitate a process through which different stakeholders of predefined key social and economic sectors can develop a deeper understanding of the challenges they face, and work collaboratively to develop and implement innovative solutions and policies to address these challenges.

CONSULTANCY OBJECTIVES

The primary goal of this consultancy is to conduct a desk review and work closely with stakeholders to identify and articulate a challenge statement that addresses significant issues and gaps in the agriculture, food production, and agritech sectors in Yemen. The challenge statement should inspire innovation and collaboration among participants in the Social Innovation Lab.

The objectives of the consultancy are as follows:

1.    Conduct desk research to understand the current state of the agricultural sector in Yemen, including the major challenges faced by farmers, producers, and traders.
2.    Analyze the findings of the desk research to identify the most pressing challenges facing the agricultural sector in Yemen.
3.    Develop a comprehensive challenges statement that captures the key issues and opportunities for innovation in the agricultural sector in Yemen.
4.    Validate the challenge statement with stakeholders in the agricultural sector, including farmers, producers, traders, government officials, and local and international NGO representatives.
5.    Provide recommendations for how the challenge statement can be used to inform the design of the social innovation lab and the selection of participating teams.
6.    Support content development for various formats such as infographics, short video clips, webinars, and podcasts to bring more attention to the sector and the gaps and challenges, excite innovators to start thinking of ideas to address challenges, and engage Yemeni talent and a wider audience.
7.    Support the project team and the communication office on ways to launch a call for teams of entrepreneurs, experts, designers, coders, and activists to apply to participate in the Social Innovation Hackathons that will take place to share their ideas on how to deal with the identified challenges.

SCOPE OF WORK:

The consultant will be responsible for the following tasks:

Task 1: Desk Research

• Develop data collection methods including both qualitative and quantitative tools. 
• Conduct thorough literature and desk research to understand the current state of the agricultural sector in Yemen, including the significant challenges faced by farmers, producers, and traders that limit agricultural productivity in Yemen. 
• Execute key informant interviews, and fieldwork as needed to develop reports on the current state of the sectors. 
• Analyze the desk research findings to identify the most pressing challenges facing the agricultural sector in Yemen, and develop a desk research report.

Task 2: Stakeholder Engagement

• Map and engage with the diverse groups of stakeholders in the agricultural sector, including farmers, experts, producers, traders, government officials, NGO representatives, entrepreneurs, and other potential lab participants to 
• Develop data collection tools to validate the findings of the desk review report, and inform the development of the challenge statement

Task 3: Developing the Challenge Statement

• Develop a clear, concise, and compelling challenge statement that captures the key challenges, gaps, and opportunities for innovation in the agricultural sector in Yemen.
• Ensure that the identified challenges align with the lab's objectives and the broader development goals of the country.

EXPECTED DELIVERABLES:

The consultant is expected to deliver the following in both Arabic and English:

• Desk Review Report describing the current state of agriculture in Yemen, and the main challenges facing agriculture development and Yemeni farmers. The desk review report will also include a key stakeholders map.
• Challenges Statements that identify the main challenges and barriers that innovators should work on with other stakeholders to help improve agriculture productivity in Yemen. Each challenge would be described in a simple and concise way along with relevant and key data points available, key stakeholders, and manifestations of the challenge at the local level.

TIMELINE:

The consultant is expected to complete the assignment within [3 weeks], starting from the date of contract signing.

QUALIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS:

The ideal consultant should possess the following qualifications:

• Master's degree in a relevant field such as agriculture, economics, business administration, or a related field.
• At least 5 years of experience in conducting research and analysis on agricultural development, entrepreneurship, innovation, food production, agritech, or related fields.
• Proven experience in developing similar reports.
• Familiarity with the Yemeni context and agricultural challenges.
• Ability to work collaboratively with diverse stakeholders.
• Relevant experience conducting research in Agri-Tech / Food Production fields or sectors, with experience in social innovation or entrepreneurship being an added advantage.
• Strong research skills, including the ability to conduct a thorough desk/literature review, key informant interviews, and fieldwork.
• Strong analytical thinking skills to identify relevant stakeholders and the main challenges, as well as potential areas of collaboration in the sector.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and oral, to present research findings to different stakeholders and help translate reports into various formats such as infographics, short video clips, webinars, and podcasts.
• Collaborative mindset and willingness to work with other stakeholders to develop an effective research strategy and engage in multi-stakeholder discussions and workshops.
• Results-oriented and a track record of delivering high-quality research outputs, leading to actionable insights and impact in the field.

REPORTING:

The consultant will report to the SIL Manager at the ROWAD Foundation.

EVALUATION CRITERIA

Proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

• Relevance of experience and qualifications.
• Quality and relevance of the sample work provided.
• Proposed methodology and approach.
• Budget and technical proposal.

NOTE: 

Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for an interview. Thank you for considering this opportunity. We look forward to receiving your application.