OPEN CALL FOR EVALUATION BODY:

Tender for the selection of an Evaluation Agency for the assessment of a multi-Programme REA EU 1144/2014 for the promotion of poultry

EURSPO: PROMOTION PROGRAMME IN FRANCE, POLAND, GERMANY AND SPAIN

1/ CONTEXT

The Partnership:

CIPC – French Interprofessional Committee for Broiler Chickens (Coordinator)

Since its origins in 2007, CIPC is a French Poultry association representing 85% of the broiler sector and each of its fields: hatchery, farmers, animal nutrition, slaughterhouses. CIPC allocates its means and resources to broiler production, with a dedicated board member and study activities. Based in Rennes, close to major poultry production areas, CIPC represents the interests of its members on a wide range of topics as animal welfare, sustainable production, food safety, exports and social affairs, therefore its employees actively participate in various working groups and consult with, for example, members, ministries, The French Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (DGCCRF), universities and others. CIPC also contributes to disseminating all innovative results to foster investments in the poultry sector. At EU level, CIPC follows the works of the AVEC, the voice of the European poultry sector. At National level, CIPC developed an Observatory on the reasoned use of antibiotics in poultry and contributes to the valorial cluster on Agri-food who is one of the 3 leading agribusiness clusters and is engaged in Avipole Formation (the national training center for poultry).

KRD-IG – The National Poultry Council – Chamber of Commerce

KRD-IG is a leading poultry sector organization in Poland, based in Warsaw, aiming at protecting the interests of poultry farmers, producers and processors. Currently KRD consists of 110 members of various specializations from the poultry industry. KRD members include agricultural universities, associations of poultry farmers and producers, poultry meat processing plants, feed production plants and individual poultry farmers and producers. They represent every field of the Polish poultry business sector. KRD members produce approximately 70% of the total slaughter poultry production volume and approximately 80% of Polish exported poultry products. The organization actively stimulates Polish poultry sector growth and modernization and represents the poultry industry in relations with the Polish government, administration and non-public organizations. KRD coordinates promotional and communication projects for the poultry industry and maintains a wide range of educational and informational initiatives. KRD actively represents the Polish poultry industry in Europe and worldwide.

BVH – Bundesverband bäuerlicher Hähnchenerzeuger e.V.

The BVH is the Federal Association of Farmer Chicken Producers and it is responsible for the agricultural operations at all stages of production of German chicken meat. The task of the association is bundling information about broiler production, providing competent information to all those involved, as well as authorities and institutions, and thus making the German broiler industry internationally competitive. With currently around 1000 members, 95% of the German chicken industry is organized in the BVH. As a specialized branch focusing on the topics of the poultry processing industry, BVH is a member of the umbrella and topmost organization of the German poultry industry, the ZDG – Zentralverband der Deutschen Geflügelwirtschaft e. V. (German Poultry Association). On an EU and international level, BVH is a member organization of AVEC and the International Poultry Council. BVH is the acknowledged contact for Germany’s Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture on all issues regarding poultry meat production. BVH’s tasks cover a wide variety of topics representing the interests of its member companies, such as animal welfare, food safety, promotion of export activities and marketing standards.

AVIANZA – the Spanish Poultry Meat Association

The Spanish Poultry Meat Association AVIANZA has 43 companies associated, integrating more than 95% of the poultry meat market, with currently more than 5000 farms, 281 slaughterhouses and cutting plants, as well as more than 40.000 employees working for the meat poultry industry in Spain. AVIANZA’s commitment is developing innovation and market access to associates looking for equal promotion activities, enabling them to develop in a constantly changing world. Avianza focuses on the promotion of all poultry meat products, specifically on quality, environmental and sustainable consumption measures. Poultry meat production in Spain is technologically advanced and fully integrated, representing the 23% of the national meat production. Around 80% of Spain’s total poultry meat comes from chicken.

EURSPO – the Programme:

The EURSPO Programme focuses on the promotion and information of European sustainable poultry products and the benefits of the consumption of European poultry meat with a strong emphasis on the efforts of the industry towards more sustainable European production systems and more sustainable consumption trends (zero food waste).

The market analysis identifies and justifies the need for such an important programme, both for the European Union and the proposing organizations alike (CIPC, BVH, AVIANZA, KRD) and it is aligned with the Farm to Fork and Green Deal strategies and Work Plan 2023 and complies with FBDG (Food Based Dietary Guidelines), reinforcing all efforts made by the European Commission itself.

The programme’s main goal is to provide general information and to raise awareness on the sustainability strategies that the European poultry meat industry has been and will continue to be implementing, most significantly in terms of the negative impact of food waste on the environment, the economy and the society.

The general objectives of this proposal are:

1. to highlight the specificities of the European Unions, in particular in terms of environmental friendliness and sustainability in order to highlight the sustainable strategies that the European poultry meat industry has been implementing for many years;
2. to increase the awareness of the benefits of choosing EU products in order to promote a healthy lifestyle;
3. to increase the competitiveness and consumption of European poultry products, thereby increasing the European market share in Germany, France, Spain and Poland.

This proposal has a pan-European identity with a unified European image in all target markets, adapting the message to the individual challenges that they are facing and inspiring and motivating action all stakeholders.

EURSPO programme focuses on three main target audience: young people, family decision makers (both of which would form the end consumer section) and key opinion leaders, in France, Poland, Germany, and Spain. By selecting these segments, the promotion campaigns plan on targeting the generations who are seeking information, learning about food choices and making their mind; those who make food decisions for themselves and their families, shaping our consumer trends; and those who can spread our sustainability message.

With an overall budget of over €4 mill and many promotion and information activities in France, Poland, Germany, and Spain the partnership will not only use online and offline channels to communicate the message but will also organize different events, tasting days and workshops to reach the highest number of consumers possible. The impact that this programme will have for the European poultry sector will also encourage other industry key players to work on their sustainability and approach to food waste.

2/ OBJECTIVE OF THE CALL: SELECTION OF AN EVALUATION AGENCY FOR THE CAMPAIGN

In accordance with the EU regulations, the promotion programme must be assessed by an external Evaluation Body, in order to guarantee the respect of planned deliverables, costs and objectives.

The agency will determine a methodology to evaluate the correct implementation and effectiveness of the activities, as well as will evaluate the effectiveness of the campaign, especially on the targeted groups determined by the objectives and strategy. The selected evaluation body will have to consider for each planned action the output, result and impact indicator. They will gather data using appropriate means and use the data collected during the campaign to reach an appropriate level of information.

The evaluation body will have to be mindful of:

• Output indicators: deliverables of the campaign (number of press ads, number of press releases, number of social media posts…)
• Result indicators: measuring the reach of each action (viewership of videos, readership of press releases and of social media posts…)
• Impact indicators: measure of how the campaign has increased awareness / image of the product and created a tangible economic return thanks to its various promotion actions, compared to the situation before the campaign and a baseline scenario without the campaign being implemented.

3/ BUDGET AND ACTIONS EXPECTED:

The budget of the evaluation of the campaign including fees is 66 000 € (VAT incl.) over a total of 2 year-campaign. The repartition of the total evaluation budget per year is the following:

• Year 1 (01/01/2024 – 31/12/2024): 15 400 €;
• Year 2 (01/01/2025 – 31/12/2025): 50 600 €.

The Evaluation Agency will be in charge of the following activities, for a total budget of 66 000€ (VAT incl.):

Extract from Plan B – below.

Work Package 8.  Evaluation of results

Activity 1: Awareness Level Survey. In order to calculate the evolution of consumer awareness, it is necessary to carry out yearly surveys regarding the level of awareness of sustainability values of the European poultry sector in target countries at the beginning of the programme and at the end of its implementation period. This survey will be carried out by an independent third party which through a series of surveys will report on the status and measurement of indicators established necessary to correctly evaluate the achievement of the target values set for the impact indicators, the persons reached by this survey will be 150 per target country.  Evaluation of results. KPI Study As with the activity 1, the study of KPIs is necessary to better estimate the real impact of the programme. The evaluation of the KPIs will include and allow all four beneficiaries to better understand information such as the increase of the recognition towards the EU sustainable poultry and the increase of its consumption and market share in target countries. Data will be extracted from the KPI monitoring to evaluate the results, level of impact and tendences. Study on Perception of Poultry Sustainability. As with the activities 1 and 2, since there is not that much information available for consumer habits and consumer behavior towards sustainability, we aim to develop a study by survey methodology  on how consumer behaviors are embracing sustainability regarding the poultry industry. This study is intended to reveal the growing influence of sustainability of the post-pandemic target market’s consumers, the insights into the level of engagement between different age groups, the importance of sustainability in the decision-making process, the barriers to sustainable poultry shopping and the key aspects of consumers trends towards sustainable poultry meat and production methods. The persons reached by this survey will be 175 per target country. Thanks to this information and insights, the sustainability and continuity of the programme is ensured and guaranteed.The Survey will be set up following the regulations and expectations following Annex III.

Duration: M12– M24

Lead Beneficiary: CIPC

Objectives: This work package activity is linked to Objectives 1, 2 and 3.

CIPC will send applicants on demand a briefing including technical information related to the selection of the target markets and the programme’s objectives, as well as activities foreseen and KPIs for the preparation of their applications.

4/ RULES OF THE COMPETITION
1.    This call for proposals concerns the promotion programme for agricultural products co-financed by the European Union.
2.    Agencies wishing to apply must have English-speaking contact people, as all exchanges with CIPC and REA will be in English.
3.    The application file will include the following elements:
·       A presentation of the evaluation methodology;
·       A reverse planning for the evaluation of the campaign;
·       A detailed quote presented in Euro’s, all taxes included, respecting the broad budgetary framework.
4.    The Evaluation Agency will have to bring guarantees on the absence of conflict of interests to take part in this call.
5.     Once the Evaluation Agency’s work has been paid, the creations of the selected agency will become property of the announcers with no limit of time or location, for use through all communication techniques and media.
6.    The announcers will reserve the right to use concepts and creations in all their campaigns and the campaigns of their collective structures with no limit in time.
7.    Expenses can only be put forward after a detailed quote and a framework contract have been signed between the announcers and the selected agency.
 
5/ DOCUMENTS TO BE PROVIDED BY THE APPLICANTS

The detailed proposition should be sent imperatively in English to Mr Yann Brice (Executive Officer of CIDEF-CIPC-CICAR-ATM Avicole) by email at [email protected] and [email protected]. It should include:

–      A dated and signed motivation letter accepting the conditions of the competition, as described in the call for proposals.
–      The presentation of the agency and its internal organisation.
–      The name and experience level of the team in charge of the project.
–      Justification of knowledge of European markets, and in particular the markets targeted by the programme.
–      The presentation of local offices/relay structures who could play a role in the project for all countries concerned by the programme.

These elements will help the announcers decide how adequate the agency’s offer is compared to the needs of the campaign.

The selection will be done by a jury composed of the 4 national poultry associations (CIPC, KRD-IG, BVH, AVIANZA) which are involved in the project.

6/ SELECTION CRITERIA

Selection criteria:
1.      Quality and coherence of the proposal (20 points)
2.      Quality and pertinence of the suggested methodology (20 points)
3.      Qualifications of the Evaluation Agency’s team (15 points)
4.      Agency’s experience with EU programmes (15 points)
5.      Respect of the budget and best value for money (20 points)
6.      Financial viability of the agency (10 points)
 
7/ PROPOSED PLANNING
·       31 January 2024 by 18h00: Deadline for sending application to the tender. (all applications sent after this date will not be considered).
·       15 February by 18h00: Notification of the chosen agency and detailed notification to the other agencies of non-selection
After the selection, the Coordinator will sign a bilateral agreement with the selected Evaluation Agency. The contract will stipulate everyone’s tasks and responsibilities.

–      The list of principal references of the past 2 years for similar actions over several countries (evaluation of agricultural sector, collective or institutional communication campaign) and providing the aim, budget and length of services.

8/ CONTACTS

The Coordination Team and Mr Yann Brice (Executive Officer of CIDEF-CIPC-CICAR-ATM Avicole) are available to answer any questions candidates might have by email at [email protected] and [email protected]. Each email written in the framework of this Call for Tender shall be in English and mention “EURSPO: Call for Tender – Evaluation Agency” in the email subject.
Date of publication: 18/12/2023.