Opportunities

Request for Proposal: Child Labor & Forced Labor – Gap Analysis

WCF is requesting proposals from qualified groups or individuals to carry out a detailed GAP analysis of current and recent efforts being carried out by industry, governments and / or stakeholders to address the issues of child labor and forced labor in the cocoa sectors of the countries noted.

These Terms of Reference detail the purpose of the work that is proposed and the information required within any submitted proposal. The processing of these Terms of Reference, as well as the performance of the expected assignment is expected to be carried out with respect for strict confidentiality.

While the name of the group or individual that is selected to carry out the proposed work may be announced publicly, the names of those groups / individuals that are not selected will not be divulged.

Background

WCF’s new strategy was approved on October 24, 2022, by the WCF Board of Directors, establishing a clearly stated ambition for 2030, as follows: “To be recognized as having played a leading role throughout the cocoa supply chain in:

• achieving zero deforestation and promoting reforestation,
• removing forced labor and significantly reducing child labor, and
• significantly increasing the net household income of farmers.”

To achieve the ambition set out in the strategy, WCF will focus on three key areas:

• Convening the industry to promote collaboration between WCF’s members to share best practices, adapt quickly and maximize and scale their impact affordably.
• Co-creating and leading collaborative programs that address systemic issues
and enable our members to deliver more impact at scale; and
• Delivering membership services with measurable objectives that support members’ sustainability programs.

This goes with priorities that will guide the action of the Foundation, especially those related to the need to launch/manage new collaborative programs by the end of 2025, in each of the impact areas of WCF’s ambition that are industry and externally funded, targeting systemic reforms, and delivering measurable impact.

Specifically, WCF intends to develop, deliver, and execute a collaborative program on Child Labor and Forced Labor (CL/FL) by the end of 2024 that will be based on a clear theory of change and be implemented to achieve impact. For this to happen, WCF’s engagement in CL/FL will be focused on forging a relevant mix of process and contents and facilitating thought leadership.

In this respect, WCF will catalyze the collection and evaluation of relevant information and leverage the expertise of key stakeholders to achieve a collaborative program that is deliverable.

Purpose

The purpose of this consultancy is to perform a gap analysis of current and recent programming to tackle CL/FL in the cocoa sectors of the four largest cocoa producing countries in West Africa: Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon. The initiation of the WCF-led CocoaAction Strategy (2015) will be the departure point of the time frame to consider for this assignment.

The completed gap analysis must provide separate recommendations for the cocoa sectors of Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, and Cameroon, consisting of 3 well defined areas that a future CL/FL collaborative program (“CP”) could target in order to contribute to systemic change that achieves a significant reduction of CL and removal of FL. The consultant must recognize that any future CP would have to meet the following criteria:

Institutional criteria:

• The CP requires WCF member companies’ engagement with defined roles and contributions that target systemic changes that cannot be performed by a single company.
• The CP must be aligned with government policy and priorities (especially National Action Plans when relevant) and include partnership with other relevant stakeholders (communities, farmers organizations, civil society organizations, development partners, etc.).

Contents criteria:

• The CP must address root causes in order to significantly reduce CL and remove FL.
• The CP must avoid duplicating efforts already being undertaken by other stakeholders unless there is a partnership with the other stakeholders to scale and / or enhance such efforts.
• The CP aims to achieve a systemic change relative to the respective current situations of the cocoa sector of each listed country.
• The impact of the CP must be measurable and documentable.

Funding criteria:

• The CP will include a high-level assessment and justification of the likelihood of obtaining the needed funding from WCF members and external donors (public – including government, private).

No contact is expected with donors regarding future funding potential during this assignment. Based on the recommendations made through this assignment, WCF will then lead the process and facilitate the discussion of the recommended options to select the most relevant to be further developed into an executable program, on a country-specific and prioritized basis. It is noted that while recommendations are requested for each country, WCF reserves the right to select which recommendations it will pursue and whether a program will be initiated in each
country. This fact must be conveyed when the consultant corresponds with any stakeholders involved in the gap analysis.

Scope of Work:

The consultancy will produce options that are based on an in-depth gap analysis of
current and recent CL/FL programming in the countries noted.

The analysis will utilize relevant methodology based on an appropriate mix of desk research, stakeholder consultation, analysis, and document production, and using the criteria set out above.

The gap analysis will help determine which systemic changes a collaborative program aimed at CL/FL within the cocoa sector should strive to achieve and, especially, those where WCF can most effectively leverage its unique position in the supply chain to deliver change.

In recommending the areas for systemic change, the consultancy is also encouraged to consider new types of interventions that can be carried out in the most innovative manner (including thinking beyond the narrow field of the cocoa sector).

The sought gap analysis must cover recent and current industry and other stakeholder activities, starting in 2015 when WCF launched the CocoaAction Strategy. Minimally, the analysis will describe promising approaches to address CL/FL that have not been pursued, whether the scope of current or recent programs has been adequate, whether relevant stakeholders have been appropriately involved, and whether best practices have been followed in the process of
organizing the collaborations that have taken place.

To maximize the capitalization of previous or ongoing efforts, the programming experience to be analyzed will include (but not limited to):

• WCF’s own activities.
• Member companies’ activities.
• ICI’s current strategy and programming.
• Government’s priorities and initiatives.
• Recent companies’ CL workshops outcomes (Rome and Brussels).
• Any other stakeholder’s (multilateral and bilateral development partners, local and international CSO, etc.) current work focused on CL/FL.

WCF will share any document related to the above-mentioned areas in its possession and can suggest additional avenues of inquiry if requested.

It is also necessary to minimize any potential overlap with ICI’s current scope of work and action plan when identifying recommendations and suitable options for future collaborative work.

However, if a particular programmatic approach carried out or supported by ICI deserves additional support or further consideration as a collaborative effort, this should be highlighted within the report.

The analysis may inform options that are either genuinely new and unprecedented or describe an existing activity that can achieve measurable impact due to a recommended change of level of alignment, scale and/or funding, provided it addresses root causes.

Deliverables and Duration of the consultancy:

Two deliverables are expected from this assignment.

Firstly, within 3 weeks after the signing of the contract, the consultant will submit a workplan outlining the different steps of execution, including the set of stakeholders to be consulted. The workplan will receive comments and suggestions from WCF and the CL/FL Collaborative Program Advisory Panel within 3 weeks.

Based on the final agreed workplan and the completed GAP analysis, the consultant will produce, develop and submit a Word version of the draft consultancy report that will consist of:
• Details of the analysis conducted, in language targeted at an audience of technical representatives of WCF and member companies as well as technical experts within potential partner
organizations as well as government level experts.
• An executive summary of the completed work and recommendations in the form of a PowerPoint presentation that is targeted at senior company executives, senior executives of NGO’s or implementing agencies as well as senior government officials.
• For Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon, the presentation of 3 recommended areas of systemic collaborative programs in each country, to consider for further discussion. For each recommendation, the specific government institutions that are to be engaged must be clearly identified.

It is desired for the consultancy to be completed within 60 working days following the approval of the workplan. The proposal can suggest a different timeline with adequate justification, for consideration.

The consultant will propose the relevant breakdown of the allocated time between development of workplan, data collection, processing and analysis, writing a first draft, integration of comments, and finalization of the report.

Consultant’s Profile and Qualifications

The gap analysis will be conducted by an individual senior consultant or organization meeting the following criteria (individual consultant or assigned consultant of a consulting firm):

Minimal qualifications (for the individual or senior group leader):
• University degree of at least master’s level in legal or social sciences, agriculture, rural development or any relevant field or its equivalent based on documented work history.
• Proven experience working on development policies and systems in West Africa.
• Proven experience working with governmental partners.
• Proven experience in multi-stakeholder group assessment and reporting through remote interviews techniques.

Preferred qualifications
• Documented experience in programming gap analysis.
• Knowledge of the challenges faced by multi-stakeholder groups, including public-private
partnerships in working collectively on major development projects.
• Very good analytical and synthesis skills.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, with command of the English language and excellent knowledge of French.

Evaluation Criteria	Maximum Score
Technical Approach – Overall understanding of TOR– Scope, tasks, deliverables (10 points) Methodology	25
Management Approach – Overall management approach, timing, and plan for coordinating with WCF, WCF member companies, stakeholders (including governments, development donors and partners, communities, and farmers)	25
Organizational Capacity/Previous Experience – Requisite skills, capacity, knowledge, and partners (if needed)	10
Qualifications, experience, level of effort of team – Technical skillsets (including language), professional qualifications, adequate staffing model	15
Past Performance/References – Conducted similar assignments in the past, excellent references	10
Cost – Reasonableness of cost proposal and overall value for the price	15

Proposal Submission:

Deadline: July 3rd

Interested and eligible contractors are requested to submit technical and financial proposals. The proposal will include:
• A brief narrative indicating a clear understanding of TORs
• A methodological note on the conduct of the assignment that defines the approach to information collection, analysis, and the formulation of recommendations.
• A resume of the persons who will carry out the assignment.
• A proposed timeline for conducting the assignment.
• Any other supporting documents necessary to verify the profile and qualifications required (reference of previous experience, etc.)
• A proposed budget and payment schedule for the entirety of the work.
• A point of contact that can be used by WCF to direct questions or inquiries regarding the TOR.

Anyone who receives the RFP shall express their interest in submitting a full proposal by sending an email to contracts@worldcocoa.org. The subject of the submission email must be “WCF CL FL Gap Analysis Proposal”.

During the submission period, any questions for clarification should be addressed to the same email address. Answers to these questions will be shared with all the individuals or groups having acknowledged receipt of the request for proposals and expressed interest in submitting a proposal.

The individual or group selected to carry out this activity will be expected to execute a service and non-disclosure agreement with WCF.

Download PDF for reference:

ToR Gap Analysis for CL FL coll Prog Options_final advisory panel 05302023 (003)