Background
The TRANSITIONS Digital Tools (ATDT) project, under the umbrella of CGIAR’s Program on Agroecological Transitions for Building Resilient, Inclusive, Agricultural and Food Systems (TRANSITIONS), promote innovations related to digital tools that enhance inclusiveness, integrate climate change resilience and mitigation with agroecological aims, and enable farmers to develop new practices. The ATDT project is currently taking place in Vietnam (Mekong River Delta) with rice systems and in Brazil in livestock landscapes along the Amazon agriculture frontier of the state of Pará.
In Brazil, the ATDT project is coordinated by the Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and implemented by Solidaridad, an international civil society organization with a 50-year proven track record fostering socially responsible, ecologically sound and profitable supply chains. Solidaridad has been working in the region of Novo Repartimento (State of Pará) for over 10 years, focusing on developing and implementing together with farmers a production model that promotes an increase in family income, while ensuring a reduction in carbon emissions and deforestation.
In the context of the ATDT project, Solidaridad team has engaged with farmers and local technical staff in a process of co-creation to improve existing digital tools and design new features to increase farmers´agency and encourage sharing of knowledge for the adoption of climate-smart practices. One of these digital tools, called Solis, empowers smallholder farmers to identify and prioritize the necessary steps to improve their management and production practices towards agroecological outcomes, while facilitating seamless communication with extension staff. Another pivotal feature of this tool is to enable users to share valuable content about agroecological practices in diverse formats, fostering the exchange of experiences and promoting widespread engagement with the application.
Objective of the consultancy
The overall objective of this consultancy is to support direct outreach of Solis to farmers with the aim of engaging them in the co-creation of knowledge and fostering the adoption of more sustainable practices at scale. To that end, the consultant will develop a comprehensive activation plan for Solis, aiming at creating awareness, generating interest and facilitating a seamless onboarding process for smallholder farmers. Priority activation activities will be selected by the consultant and Solidaridad´s team to be piloted by the end of 2024.
Scope of work
- Develop a robust activation strategy that outlines online and offline activities to promote awareness and understanding of Solis among three categories of users: smallholder farmers, extension workers and researchers, primarily in the states of Pará and Mato Grosso. This activation strategy could include, for example, marketing campaigns on social media, ads on local radios, community meetings, participation in local events as well as the introduction of incentive programmes or gamification elements. The strategy will integrate a gender lens to encourage women’s participation, when possible, and establish ways to reduce potential gender biases and gender stereotypes. It should also include the definition of measurable milestones to track the progress and success of the activation strategy
- Develop core messages tailored to resonate with each targeted audience, supporting the promotion of Solis and onboarding of each category of users;
- Pilot priority activation activities to test the format and messaging´s resonance with each category of users;
- Evaluate the effectiveness of these activities to drive user uptake and engagement
Deliverables
The deliverables include:
- Comprehensive activation strategy document;
- Boilerplate on Solis for each of the three targeted audiences: farmers, extension staff, researchers;
- Report on the pilot’s results, incorporating key metrics on downloads and user engagement following the activation
- All deliverables must be in Portuguese
Required skills
- Educational background in agricultural extension, marketing, behavior science, or closely related fields
- Proven experience in developing activation strategies for digital tools, preferably in the agriculture sector, or proven experience in designing and implementing successful outreach campaigns in rural communities;
- Proven experience in creation of knowledge and information products, promotional strategies, capacity building and outreach
- In-depth knowledge of smallholder farming communities and their dynamics. Work experience in the livestock supply chain is a differential.
- Native Portuguese speaker or Proficiency in Portuguese with advanced command of speaking and writing;
Duration of Work and timeline
The assignment is for up to 40 days of work over a period of 7 months from May to November 2024:
Budget
Institutional arrangements
- The contractor will be CIAT in Colombia;
- The contract will be coordinated and overseen by CIAT, and the consultant will liaise regularly with staff members at Solidaridad;
- Payments will be made upon submission of activity reports and confirmation by the Supervisor on outputs delivered;
- The proposal should include an estimate of travel costs
Application Process
Interested candidates are invited to submit the following documents:
- A detailed resume outlining relevant experience and qualifications.
- A proposed work plan outlining how the consultant intends to achieve the objectives outlined in this ToR.
- A detailed budget including staff costs for the execution of the scope of work and an estimate of travel costs
Applications should be sent to Violaine Laurens at [email protected] by 04/30/2024.
