Historique

The UNDP Global Centre for Technology, Innovation and Sustainable Development (UNDP GC-TISD; the ‘Global Centre’) aims to identify, co-design and share innovative and technological solutions for sustainable development through catalysing new insights, partnerships, and action on the ground in the countries where UNDP works. Our areas of focus are: Sustainable and Digital Agriculture, Sustainable Finance, and Smart Cities and Digitalisation. We aim to leverage expertise in Singapore, as well as across our global network of UNDP Country Offices and UNDP Accelerator Labs, and from experts and partners around the globe.

The Global Centre is a joint initiative of the Singapore Government and UNDP, currently being led by a small team that is focused on programme and partnership development – both with the public and private sector in Singapore and international partners, including the above UNDP network. Singapore Government partners include the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE), the Economic Development Board (EDB), and the Public Service Division (PSD).

By 2050, the world’s population will grow to about 10 billion and feeding it will require increasing food production by up to 98 percent. The Sustainable and Digital Agriculture team is focusing on supporting developing countries all around the world to adopt cutting edge technologies aiming at improving productivity, efficiency, resilience and sustainability of the agriculture and food sector, resulting in improving food security.

Digital technologies hold great potential in transforming agriculture. Precision agriculture is a data-driven approach to farm management that caters to the needs of individual farms and farmers. It can improve productivity and yields, reduce the need for inputs like water, fertilisers, and pesticides, enhance farming profitability and reduce the environmental impact of agriculture. Similarly, initiatives such as blockchain technology can bring transparency and traceability into entire agri-food value chains -making them efficient, resilient, and equitable for smallholder farmers.

The adoption of various technologies was traditionally limited to large farms in developed countries. However, with advances in digital technologies like remote sensing using satellites and drones, Internet of things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), and cloud computing as well as the growing accessibility of mobile phones and the Internet, digital tools are becoming increasingly accessible even to smallholder farmers in developing countries. Still, there are several challenges that limit their widespread adoption including lack of affordability, lack of literacy and digital skills, absence of viable business models as well as a lack of enabling policy environments.  

The Global Centre is looking to hire an Individual Contractor (IC) to help develop a prototype digital solution for precision agriculture using above technologies that could enhance livelihoods of smallholder farmers in developing countries.

Devoirs et responsabilités

The IC (Individulal Consultant) will be responsible for developing a prototype solution that can demonstrate the potential of digital technologies to improve the lives and livelihoods of smallholder farmers around the world.

The scope of work will include:

1. Development and testing of a prototype

The Consultant will develop a prototype of a digital solution that will offer precision agriculture applications for smallholder farming in developing countries. This will include:

1. Identifying appropriate technologies to be used (e.g., mobile phones, satellite imagery, cloud computing, blockchain, IoT, etc.);
2. Identifying relevant actors for its deployment and use (e.g., farmers, project managers, policymakers);
3. Shaping a potential solution, drawing on best practice in digital development (e.g., the Principles for Digital Development, Human-Centred Design, etc.);
4. Developing a plan for its testing through UNDP’s network (including the country/region for testing, actors involved, number of users and their characteristics, outcome reporting including lessons learned and directions for the future);
5. Working with UNDP staff in testing the prototype in an identified country or setting and produce a summary report detailing the development and piloting of the solution.

1. Ad-hoc technical assistance

The Consultant provide technical guidance to UNDP GC-TISD staff on various aspects of digital technologies and their application in agriculture. This may include reviewing of technical documents, concept notes, terms of reference, project proposals, etc.

The Consultant work closely with UNDP staff and partners for this assignment.

1. Expected Outputs/Deliverables and Payment Scheme

Compétences

Corporate Competencies:

1. Demonstrates integrity and fairness, by modelling the UN/UNDP's values and ethical standards;
2. Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of UNDP;
3. Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Functional/Technical:

Knowledge of technologies relevant to precision agriculture like remote sensing, AI, IoT, and/or cloud computing is essential. Good knowledge of Python and blockchain technology is desirable

Qualifications et expériences requises

1. Academic Qualifications: Master’s degree in engineering or technology is required;
2. Work experience: At least two years of demonstrated experience in developing digital solutions for agriculture and/or development is required;
3. Language: Excellent English writing and presentation skills are required. Working knowledge of another UN language is considered an asset;

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1. Recommended Presentation of Offer

Offerors must submit the following documents with their application:

1. Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP (pls see below).
2. Personal CV or P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references.
3. Brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment and a methodology on how they will approach and complete the assignment.
4. Financial Proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total lumpsum price in US dollars, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided.  If an Offeror is employed by an organization/company/institution, and he/she expects his/her employer to charge a management fee in the process of releasing him/her to UNDP under Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA), the Offeror must indicate at this point, and ensure that all such costs are duly incorporated in the financial proposal submitted to UNDP. 

Important Note: Please group them into one (1) single PDF document as the application only allows to upload maximum one document

How to Apply:

• Kindly download the Letter of Confirmation of interest and availability, Financial Proposal Template and General Terms & Conditions mentioned below;
• Read and agree to the General Terms & Conditions;
• Click the ‘apply’ icon and complete what is required;
• Scan all documents into 1 pdf folder and then upload;
• If an applicant is employed by an organization/company/institution, and he/she expects his/her employer to charge a management fee in the process of releasing him/her to UNDP under Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA), the applicant must indicate at this point, and ensure that all such costs are duly incorporated in the financial proposal submitted to UNDP.
• For clarification question, please email to procurement.sg@undp.org. The clarification question deadline is three (3) days before the closing. When emailing for clarification questions, please put "Consultant, Digital Agriculture Solutions" as the subject matter.

Forms and General terms & conditions to be downloaded:

• The Letter of Confirmation Interest with Financial Proposal template at:  Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability with Financial proposal template
• General Conditions of Contract is available here: GENERAL CONDITIONS OF CONTRACT
• The General Terms & Conditions for Reimbursement Loan Agreement is available at: General Conditions to RLA

Incomplete proposals may not be considered. The shortlisted candidates may be contacted, and the successful candidate will be notified.

1. Criteria for Selection of the Best Offer

Applicants are reviewed based on Required Skills and Experience stated above and based on the technical evaluation criteria outlined below.Applicants will be evaluated based on cumulative scoring.When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

• Being responsive/compliant/acceptable; and
• Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation where technical criteria weigh 70% and Financial criteria/ Proposal weighs 30%.

1. Technical evaluation – Total 70% (70 points):

The technical evaluation will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

1. Relevant work experience in developing digital solutions for agriculture and/or development (35 points)
2. Knowledge of technologies relevant to precision agriculture like remote sensing, AI, IoT, or cloud computing (25 points)
3. Relevant educational qualification (10 points)

Candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% (49 points) of the maximum obtainable points for the technical criteria (70 points) shall be considered for the financial evaluation.

1. Financial evaluation – Total 30% (30 points)

The following formula will be used to evaluate financial proposal:

p = y (µ/z), where

• p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated
• y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal
• µ = price of the lowest priced proposal
• z = price of the proposal being evaluated

Contract Award

Candidate obtaining the highest combined scores in the combined score of Technical and Financial evaluation will be considered technically qualified and will be offered to enter into a contract with UNDP.