NUTRITION INTERNATIONAL

(Formerly known as “The Micronutrient Initiative”)

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

RFP No: 10-2169

Study to Assess the Market Share of small scale and large-scale producers of Wheat
Flour Milling Industry

DEADLINE FOR RECEIPT OF PROPOSALS AT NUTRITION INTERNATIONAL:

July 12, 2022 (BY 17:00 HRS, PST)

1.0 Scope

Nutrition International has been working in Pakistan since 2001 to improve the health
of people in need, especially women and children, through better nutrition. Working in
partnership with national and provincial government, Nutrition International focuses on
improving access to much needed micronutrients for the most disadvantaged through
existing health systems.

Large Scale Food Fortification (LSFF) is one of the most cost-effective and successfully
proven interventions to reduce micronutrient deficiencies and associated health risks.
Nutrition International (NI) works across Pakistan to support establishment and
strengthening of enabling environment for the introduction and implementation of staple
foods fortification at national and provincial levels. Under the UK Government’s
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) funded Food Fortification
Program (FFP), the capacity of oil producers and government regulatory bodies has
been improved to ensure adequate edible oil fortification and improved QAQC as a
result of which most Pakistanis can now access oil that is adequately fortified with
Vitamins A and D.

According to the NNS- 2018, Pakistan faces a high burden of malnutrition. About 27.3%
of women of reproductive age are vitamin A deficient, 18.2% suffer from iron deficiency
anemia, 22.1% are deficient in zinc and as many as 80% are vitamin D deficient.
Similarly, 51.5% of under-5 children suffer from vitamin A deficiency, 28.6% have iron
deficiency anemia, 18.6% are zinc deficient and 63% have vitamin D deficiency.

The Government of Pakistan has identified food fortification among important & cost-
effective options to control micronutrient deficiencies. In connection with this, NI has
launched FFP 2.0: Scaling and sustaining the Food Fortification program in Pakistan.
Under the new phase of food fortification program, NI is providing support to the
government to implement its food fortification activities in all provinces of Pakistan.

2.0 Service Requirements

Consultants/Firms should refer to TOR under Annexure 1.

3.0 General Instructions and Considerations

3.1 Consultants/Firms must provide all the information requested below. Proposal that
does not provide the required information, or do not follow the submission requirements
may not be reviewed.
3.2 Consultants/Firms are responsible for all costs associated with quotation preparation
and sample submission.
3.3 Requests for further information must be sent by July 4th, 2022 (By 17:00 HRS, PST)
on: Email: [email protected]
3.4 NI reserves the right to accept or reject any proposal in whole or in part and to reject all
proposals at any time without assigning any reason whatsoever before award of
Contract.

4.0 Submission of Proposals

4.1 The Closing Date for submission of proposals is on or before July 12, 2022 by 17:00
HRS, PST. Late or incomplete quotations will not be considered. The Technical and
Financial Proposals must be submitted by e-mail in English at the following Email
address: [email protected] with the reference of “RFP No. 10-2169

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 Study to Assess the Market Share of small scale and large scale producers of
Wheat Flour Milling Industry” in the subject line.
4.2 For any clarification required, please write an email at
[email protected]
4.3 Only email bids will be accepted. Only those short-listed will receive an
acknowledgment and will be called for a personal interaction (if required), at their own
cost. The interaction will be held at the NI office in Islamabad or online. Proposals
received after the due date and time will not be considered under any circumstances.

5.0 RECEIPT, EVALUATION AND HANDLING OF PROPOSALS

5.1 Once a proposal is received within the due date and time, NI will:
a) log the receipt of the proposals and record the business information
b) review all proposals and disqualify any non-responsive ones (that fail to meet the terms
set out in these instructions), and retain the business details on file with a note indicating
disqualification
c) evaluate all responsive proposals objectively in line with the criteria specified below
d) Inform Respondents within 10 business days of the evaluation decision being made.

5.2 NI reserves the right:

5.2.1 To accept or reject any and all proposals and/or to annul the RFP process prior
to award, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected Respondents or any
obligation to inform the affected Respondents of the grounds for NI's actions prior
to contract award, and
5.2.2 To negotiate - with Respondent(s) invited to negotiate - the proposed technical
approach and methodology, and the proposed price (management fee) based on
the Respondent’s proposals.
5.2.3 Amend this RFP at any time.
6 SELECTION CRITERIA
6.1 Following criteria will be adopted to short list the proposals and identify suitable
consultant/firms for the assignment. Out of the total scores 50% weights to be assigned to
technical and 50% to the financial proposal.

Scoring of Proposals: Selection of Agency

Assessment Category: Technical Proposal Weights
Consultants/Firms previous experience on undertaking similar assignments 60%
Proposal including methodology, plan, tools etc. 40%
Total Score - Technical Proposal 100%
Overall weightage – Technical – 50%
Assessment Category: Financial Proposal
Takes into consideration all potential expenses (i.e. no obvious omissions) 50%
Reasonable estimate for each of the component/activity 50%
Total Score - Financial Proposal 100%
Overall weightage – Financial – 50%
Total Weighted Score (Technical – Financial) 100%

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6.2 The Evaluation Team may, in its sole discretion, establish a short-list of Respondents
based on the Technical Scores of the Respondents (the “Short-listed Respondents”) for the
purpose of conducting interviews. If NI short-lists the Respondents, it will short-list the
Respondents with the highest scores.

6.3 Only the Short-listed Respondents will be interviewed. The number of Respondents short-
listed for an interview is in the sole discretion of NI.

6.4 Only top 3 highest technically qualified proposals or as decided by NI would be financially
evaluated.

6.5 Interviews of Short-listed Respondents will be carried out by the Evaluation Team or a
sub-group of the Evaluation Team. The Evaluation Team will score each Short-listed
Respondent based on the quality of the Respondent’s interview (the “Interview Score”).

6.6 The successful Respondent will be expected to enter into a Contract with NI for the
duration of the Work. In the event of a Contract award, all the terms and conditions of the RFP,
including the Respondent’s response, will normally form part of the Contract.

7 GUIDELINES FOR PREPARING PROPOSALS

7.1 Language: Proposals must be submitted in English.

7.2 Structure: Proposals must be set out in three main parts:

Part 1: Covering Letter and Declaration

Part 2: General and Technical Proposal
Part 3: Financial Proposal

Part 1: Covering Letter and Declaration

Proposals must be accompanied by a covering letter showing the name(s) of the consultant,
address and contact number of the Respondent. The letter must be signed by a person of
suitable authority to commit the Respondent to a binding contract. It must quote the RFP
number and title, and include the following declarations:

I. I/we have examined the information provided in your Request for Proposals (RFP) and
offer to undertake the work described in accordance with requirements as set out in the
RFP. This proposal is valid for acceptance for 6 months and we confirm that this
proposal will remain binding upon us and may be accepted by you at any time before
this expiry date.
II. I/we accept that any contract that may result will comprise the contract documents
issued with the RFP and be based upon the documents submitted as part of our
proposal.
III. Our proposal (Technical and Financial) has been arrived at independently and without
consultation, communication, agreement or understanding (for the purpose of
restricting competition) with any other Respondent to or recipient of this RFP from NI.
IV. All statements and responses to this RFP are true and accurate.
V. I/we understand the obligations regarding Disclosure as described in the RFP
Guidelines and have included any necessary declarations.
VI. I/we confirm that the personnel named in the proposal will be available to undertake
the services.
VII. I/we agree to bear all costs incurred by me/us in connection with the preparation and
submission of this proposal and to bear any further pre-contract costs.

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VIII. I/we confirm that I have the authority to submit this proposal and to clarify any details
on its behalf.

Part 2: General and Technical Proposal

The General and Technical section should be structured as follows:

Section 1: Your understanding of the TOR provided with this RFP as Annexure A. You may
also propose qualifications to the TOR that you consider may enhance the value of the
outcome to NI.

Section 2: Technical Response: a concise description of the methodology, tools and

approach that are proposed for the delivery of the TOR and an implementation plan in the form
of a work breakdown analysis. This should describe the activities to be undertaken, the
deliverables / outputs and the milestone and completion dates (grouped by phase where
appropriate). The dependency of any activities and associated results on earlier results needs
to be clearly indicated.

Section 3: Consultant/Firm Profile: name of consultant/Firm, designation and Curricula

Vitae (CV) (not exceed 3 pages), but must include:
o a brief summary of the professional competencies of the individual relevant to
the Scope of Work/TOR
o a chronological list of relevant professional experience starting with the most
recent and showing key achievements / responsibilities
o brief details of educational, technical and professional qualifications.
o language competencies other than English (if required to undertake the ToR).

Section 4: Personnel Inputs: include name of personnel, and person days with reference to
activity to be undertaken. Do not include any reference to fees. This will constitute a
confirmation that all personnel will be available to provide the required services for the duration
of the contract.

Section 5: Profile: Previous experience: documentation demonstrating the respondent’s

experience in the proposed area of work. This should include contact details for key clients
who may be contacted in respect of the respondent’s relevant prior work.

Section 6: Required Qualifications of Consultants/Firms:

• At least postgraduate degree in Food Technology/ Food Engineering/ Food and

Nutrition / relevant Engineering degree from a recognized university.
• At least 10 years of technical experience in the fields of: Industry assessment and
mapping (presenting evidence of the same with the proposal is essential) nutrition/ food
fortification and/or public health policy and/or program review, planning, designing and
implementation/ monitoring and evaluations.
• Knowledge on wheat flour/fortification related programs would be an added advantage.
• Agency/ consultant(s) ability to travel in Pakistan and understand local language like
Urdu, Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi, Balochi etc., would be an added advantage.
• Prior experience of working with development sector
• Registered as per national laws
• Having valid National Tax Number

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Part 3: Financial Proposal

I. The Financial proposal must contain the expected budget for accomplishing the
complete work with detailed breakup. All amounts quoted must be in Pakistani
Rupees.

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 Terms of Reference
A. Study to Assess the Market Share of small scale and large-scale producers of
Wheat Flour Milling Industry

B. Background
Nearly 37.5 million1 people in Pakistan experience malnutrition – and its consequences – every
day. Young children especially suffer the effects of malnutrition, with more than 40% of children
under the age of five classified as underweight2. According to the National Nutrition Survey
(NNS) 2018, an estimated 40.2% children under the age of five years are stunted and nearly
17.7% are wasted. NNS 2018 also revealed continued high rates of micronutrient deficiencies
in children and women. A total of 54% children are anemic, 52% are vitamin A and 63% are
vitamin D deficient, 28.6% having Iron deficiency anemia and 18.6% are Zinc deficient.
Similarly, 42% mothers are anemic, 27% suffer from Vitamin A, 80% from Vitamin D, 22% from
Zinc deficiency and 18% are Iron deficient. Majority of the women of childbearing age and
children are not getting enough micronutrients, the vitamins, and minerals the body requires in
small amounts to survive and thrive. The consequences of micronutrient malnutrition are
extensive, including devastating birth defects for babies, impaired brain development in young
children, and reduced work capacity among adults that stunts lives and economies. Since
2001, Nutrition International (NI), a Canada based international organization, has been working
in Pakistan to improve the health of vulnerable people, especially women and children, through
better nutrition.
NI is implementing large scale Food Fortification Program focusing on fortification of wheat
flour with iron, zinc, vitamin B12 and folic acid - that has made considerable progress in
improving technical and human resource capacity of public and private sector stakeholders in
implementing food fortification. In collaboration with National and Provincial Fortification
Alliances facilitated to revise the fortification standards for wheat flour that were approved by
PSQCA and adopted by all the four provincial food authorities in 2017/2018. NI technical
assistance has also resulted in mandatory food fortification legislation in Sindh, Balochistan &
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces of Pakistan during 2021-22. Additionally, capacity building of
flour industry was carried out through installation of 2,333 micro feeders in around 1,000 wheat
flour mills and providing trainings in flour fortification and QAQC to 1200 millers and to nearly
700 Government officials. In addition, the Food Fortification Program has also provided state
of the art laboratory equipment to the public laboratories and trained relevant
government officers to do quantitative testing of fortified samples in all four provinces of
Pakistan. As per the recently verified data by NI, 1377 out of the total 1533 (including GB &
AJK) Roller wheat flour mills are functional in Pakistan but there is limited knowledge available
on small, medium and large scale Chakkis. Therefore, NI is planning to conduct an assessment
of the wheat flour industry and proportion of coverage by different scales of wheat flour
production sector according to the below mentioned objectives.

C. Objective of the assignment

NI is looking to engage a consultancy firm/consultant to find out the proportion of coverage of
wheat flour produced by Chakki’s Vs Roller Flour mills3
This study has the following objectives:
• To estimate the population coverage and understand the distribution of wheat flour
produced by Roller Flour mills Vs. Chakkis.
• To determine the province wise distribution of Roller Flour mills and Registered (with
food authorities, cantonment board or food department) & Non-Registered Chakkis and
their production capacity.

1
United Nations and FAO estimates
2
http://scalingupnutrition.org/news/sun-experiences-lessons-from-pakistan
3
Formal sector includes the large-scale roller flour mills and Chakkis registered with the Government. Informal
Chakkis are mostly sporadic, unregistered, small scale Chakkis and are primarily located in peripheral areas

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 i. To estimate the number of both registered and non-registered small scale
chakkis vis-à-vis large/medium scale flour mills by geography
ii. Understand the production capacity vis-à-vis actual production (e.g.in the last
three years) by different types i.e. small scale, medium & large scale Chakkis by
geography
iii. Identify their market share
iv. Understand the Role & interest of Ministry of Industry in regulating and possible
consolidation of wheat flour industry

D. Target Areas:

The study will be conducted in all the four provinces of Pakistan and also in Azad Jammu and
Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan.

E. Study Plan
The firm shall provide the methodology to conduct this study. The firm shall also provide an
explanation based on which they considered to suggest interviews, desk review and analysis
of secondary data, In Depth Interviews & Focus Group Discussions etc.

F. Study Duration
The Research study shall start in August 2022 and end in October 2022.

G. Scope of work
Under the terms of this assignment, the consultancy firm/ consultant will carry out the
following activities in consultation with NI Country Office (CO), Pakistan:
(i) Review relevant documents to understand background and context of the assignment;
(ii) Develop the protocol and stakeholder-wise data collection tools including
questionnaires and focus group discussion guides/ in-depth interview guides.
(iii) Conduct necessary field visits to significant Roller flour mills & Chakki producing
pockets to meet selected public & private stakeholders to gain field-based
understanding of the context;
(iv) Meet wheat flour & fortification related stakeholders with pre-approved information
collection tool to understand their perspective/knowledge on this assignment;
(v) Participate in team planning (kick-off) meeting with NI to review and discuss nuances
of the assessment, share preliminary observations from the field visit, agree on
modalities of coordination etc.;
(vi) Develop detailed study design outlining the methods and intermediate timelines (design
to be included in the inception report);
(vii) Develop study protocol, tools, submit them and obtain ethical approval
(viii) Conduct extensive field visit, stakeholder consultation, focus group discussion etc.;
(ix) Analysis of the data;
(x) Present top line findings of the diagnostic and mapping and recommendations to
Nutrition International;
(xi) Draft report incorporating comments and observations from Nutrition International and
submit the same, meeting international quality standards to enable wider review by the
country level stakeholders;
(xii) Incorporate comments and suggestions as appropriate to finalize the draft report
consisting of a detailed inventory and mapping of small and large scale flour milling;
(xiii) Finalize the report along with abridged version of the same (within two pages) and a
power point presentation on the report;
(xiv) Develop a four pager Learning Document to be shared with external actors.

H. Expected tasks
Task 1: Desk review and inception report
Task 2: Development of tools and their approval

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Task 3: Conduct field visit
Task 4. Stakeholder consultation
Task 5: Kick off meeting with country office team
Task 6: Submission of assignment inception report
Task 7: In Depth Interview/Key Informant Interview/Focused group discussion with
stakeholders
Task 8: Finalization of the report
Task 9: Data analysis
Task 10: PPT with top line findings
Task 11: Draft report
Task 12: Final report

I. Deliverables
(xv) Inception report with findings from desk review;
(xvi) Tools to be used for information collection for NI’s review and approval;
(xvii) Work plan report;
(xviii) Draft report for NI’s review and comments
(xix) Final report

J. Qualifications of the agency/ consultant(s)

(i) At least postgraduate degree in Food Technology/ Food Engineering/ Food and
Nutrition / relevant Engineering degree from a recognized university;
(ii) At least 10 years of technical experience in the fields of: Industry assessment and
mapping (presenting evidence of the same with the proposal is essential) nutrition/ food
fortification and/or public health policy and/or program review, planning, designing and
implementation/ monitoring and evaluations;
(iii) Knowledge on wheat flour/fortification related programs would be an added
advantage;
(iv) Agency/ consultant(s) ability to travel in Pakistan and understand local language like
Urdu, Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi, Balochi etc., would be an added advantage;

K. Role of NI:
(i) Agency selection and contracting;
(ii) Introduction to the stakeholders;
(iii) Review of tools;
(iv) Participate in stakeholder consultations as requested by the Agency/ consultant(s);
(v) Review the inception report and work plan submitted by the Agency/ consultant(s);
(vi) Review draft and final report
(vii) Release advance & payments as per the contract

L. Application process:
Interested agency/ consultant(s) are invited to submit the following by email to
[email protected] by 12 July 2022.

M. Technical proposal:
I. Up to date Agency profile/ Curriculum Vitae not exceeding 10 pages, describing the
agency/ consultant’s understanding of the tasks and suitability to the position;
II. Gantt chart: specifying the required no. of days in this consultancy and the timeline for
all the objectives listed above.

N. Financial proposal:
(i) Include per day fee rate, suggested no. of trips required;
(ii) Any other expenses required to fulfill the terms of the consultancy (meetings, hands
on training, conduct KII/ID/ FGD, materials, etc.);

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(iii) All travels required under this consultancy will be provided for actual;
(iv) Per-diems are based on standard rates of the organization;
(v) Any air travel will require specific prior approval from the organization.

Notes
▪ Consultants are advised to mention ‘Application to conduct A Study to Assess the
Market Share of small scale and large-scale producers of Wheat Flour Milling
industry.’ in the subject line of the email and email address is
[email protected]
▪ Only email bids will be accepted.
▪ Late and incomplete proposals will not be accepted in any circumstances.
▪ For any clarifications required, please write email to
[email protected]

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O. Budget:

ANNEXURE I
BUDGET TEMPLATE (Please amend it as required)
Duration/ Unit Total
Sr. No Description Unit cost
Frequency/Days Price (PKR)
I DIRECT COST
A Fee for Professional (positions
are only indicative)
A.1 Coordinators person Person
A.2 facilitators person days
Person -
A.3 Admin staff person days
Person -
days
Sub-total (A) -
B Expenses
B.1 Field travel for information
B.1.1 collection
Training Coordinators person -
B.1.2 Training facilitators person -
B.1.4 Admin staff person -
B.1.5 Local transport expense persons -
B2 Training -
B.2.1 Training kits person
B.2.2 Training Package (2 full day person -
B.2.3 venue etc.)
Training Covid-19 rapid test person -
B3. Air fair -
Air fare and airport transfer for the
B.3.1 person
participants -
B.3.4 Local transport for the participants person
B.4 Accommodation for Participant person -
B.5 Allowance/per diem for person -
Participant Sub-total (B) -
C Other
C.1 Report writing 1 1
C.2 Communication 1 3 -
C.3 Administration and documentation 1 3 -
C.4 Office supplies 1 1 -
Sub-total (C) -
Total direct cost (I)
II INDIRECT COST
GRAND Total (I+II)
-

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