Request for Proposal: Innovations for soil, nutrient, and water productivity
Request for Proposal: Innovations for soil, nutrient, and water productivity
- Release date:
- Thursday 05 September 2024
- Closing time:
- Friday 18 October 2024, at 05:00 PM ACT local time
- Enquiry deadline:
- Friday 11 October 2024, at 05:00 PM ACT local time
- Industry Briefing
- Monday, 16 September 2024 at 11:30am (Canberra Local Time). Please email etcontract.administrator@grdc.com.au to request the calendar invite for the Industry Briefing.
Summary
GRDC is calling for innovative RD&E proposals in soils, nutrient, and water productivity spanning two of the Focus Areas (Optimise crop nutrition and improve soils and Step-changes in soil and water productivity) identified in GRDC’s Research, Development & Extension Plan 2023-28. GRDC welcomes all innovative proposals that fall within the Focus Area scopes and offer step-change improvements over current industry practice.
Offer period
Offers will remain open for acceptance by the GRDC for a period of 6 months after the Closing Time.
Document Contact and Enquiries
Attention: Contract Administrator, Enabling Technologies
Grains Research and Development Corporation
Email: etcontract.administrator@grdc.com.au
Make all requests for further information or clarification in relation to this procurement in writing (email) prior to 11 October 2024.
GRDC will publish all requests and responses to requests on the GRDC website under Questions and Answers at the bottom of this webpage.
Consortia responses
GRDC will accept Tenders from Consortia.
Lodgement of Proposal
Submit your Tender response electronically through the Grains Investment Portal.
Applicants are invited to submit their proposal to the Grains Investment Portal using the Proposal template provided (max 10 pages). The template requires applicants to address evaluation criteria which proposals will be evaluated by.
For the avoidance of doubt, any references to Request for Tender (RFT) Terms and Conditions on the GRDC Website and the Grains Investment Portal should be taken as the Terms and Conditions for this Request for Proposal (RFP).
AusTender
https://www.tenders.gov.au/Advert/Show/add7bac6-cfef-45c7-96ab-728a0594dce6
Description
Background
Why is GRDC seeking innovation that optimises crop nutrition and improves soils and/or delivers step-changes in water and soil productivity and farm profitability?
In Australia, the primary constraint on broadacre agriculture crop yields is water availability. Nutrition also plays a crucial role in achieving higher yields and represents one of the most significant variable expenses for growers. Optimising crop nutrition and efficiency of nutrient and water use are critical for profitability and environmental outcomes.
Groundbreaking innovations that either enhance the availability of water for crops or unlock the chemical, biological and physical productivity of soils, have the potential to benefit Australian grain growers’ profitability. The scale of this potential benefit presents an opportunity for partnership and innovation. Australia’s gross value of grain production would increase by more than $1B annually from just a 3% gain in crop nutrition productivity – achievable through more efficient application. GRDC conservatively estimates that overcoming major soil constraints to crop nutrient and water use e.g., sodicity, salinity, low pH, and aluminium and other nutrient toxicities, would lead to a net increase in grain production value of over $0.5B annually. Improvements in crop nutrition and efficiency of nutrient and water use would also have broader economic, food security, and environmental benefits.
Rainfed agriculture in Australia requires decision-making amidst substantial uncertainty regarding seasonal conditions. It involves committing resources upfront for a season whose outcomes are unpredictable, with some unavoidable risks. While in some years well-informed decisions may lead to suboptimal results, growers are increasingly utilising formal analysis and decision support tools along with their intuition to navigate these uncertainties. Nevertheless, without marked enhancements in seasonal climate predictions—and greater acceptance and adeptness at using these probabilistic forecasts—the uncertainty in cropping decisions will persist significantly.
Compounding the impact of seasonal variations on crop yield and financial success are spatially diverse soil constraints that demand custom solutions. Consequently, the economic benefit of addressing these constraints fluctuates within paddocks and across different seasons. In certain situations, investment in these solutions might even detract from profitability. This fluctuation constitutes an obstacle for growers considering the adoption of management strategies for these constraints. Many of these strategies entail substantial capital outlay and may not appeal to growers with limited funds or immediate financial goals.
Moreover, spatially variable soil constraints require tailored solutions, making the economic benefits inconsistent. High costs and risks deter many growers from adopting management strategies, especially those requiring substantial capital. While technology can help, better access to farm-specific data is crucial, but current data collection methods, like soil sampling, are too expensive and labour-intensive for most farmers
Focus of GRDC’s current and past investment
GRDC has a substantial past and current portfolio of RD&E investment in crop nutrition, soil, and water productivity. There has been extensive crop nutrition management research and development considering the ‘4 Rs’: right rate, right source, right placement and right timing. Investment has created a wealth of data describing how crop yield responds to varying the ‘4 Rs’ across different soil types and environments reaffirming the large influence on short and long-term profitability. GRDC has also significantly invested in soil constraints that affect crop nutrient and water use efficiency, including identification, diagnosis and management options to mitigate impacts. Project details of past and current investments are listed on the GRDC website.
Opportunities for innovation
Despite GRDC’s significant investment with positive industry outcomes, GRDC expects there are more opportunities for innovation in nutrient and water use efficiency, soil productivity, and farm profitability. GRDC is thus calling for innovative RD&E proposals in soils, nutrient, and water productivity spanning two of the Focus Areas identified in GRDC’s Research, Development & Extension Plan 2023-28. GRDC welcomes all innovative proposals that fall within the Focus Area scopes and offer step-change improvements over current industry practice. Based on our knowledge of industry need, technology, and market trends, several prospects for innovation have been outlined.
Focus Area: Optimise crop nutrition and improve soils
Nutrition is critical in building crop yield and remains one of the highest variable costs for growers, so optimising crop nutrition and efficiency of nutrient use is critical for profitability. Responsible nutrient management also has important implications for sustainability, particularly off-site environmental impacts including gaseous losses (e.g., nitrous oxide emissions), and leaching or surface runoff (e.g., eutrophication and reduced water quality). Within this focus area, GRDC will invest in:
- Foundational knowledge to inform soil and nutrient management
- Information that informs decision making about nutrition source, rate, timing, and placement
- Adoption of existing soil amelioration, mitigation, or tolerance solutions
- New fertiliser technologies
In this Focus Area, GRDC sees opportunities in creating and implementing new methods and tools, new technologies or products for identifying and/or managing soil constraints and tracking soil and crop nutrition, including using new sensing and automation technologies to make soil sampling/testing cheaper, faster, and/or less labour-intensive. There are also opportunities to customise soil and nutrient advice based on farm-specific data and conditions. Growers could also benefit from new, comprehensive, approaches to account for profitability and risk outcomes of nutrient management strategies at both field and farm scales, improving biological nitrogen fixation, and balancing nutrient availability and demand dynamics in different cropping systems.
Focus Area: Step-changes in soil and water productivity
Water is a finite resource and widely accepted as the most universally limiting determinant of crop yield in Australia. In the face of climate change, and in one of the driest and most variable environments on the planet, unproductive water use through evaporation, run-off and deep drainage frequently present an opportunity lost. New approaches to transform the capture, storage, and availability of water for crops have the potential to deliver step change yield improvements and sustainability benefits. Investment to dramatically reduce unproductive water losses and unlock the chemical, biological, and physical productivity of soils will be a focus. This could include discoveries that overcome constraints currently beyond our control, unlock soil nutrient reserves, reduce or eliminate nutrient losses to the environment or enhance beneficial biological activity in our soils. Within this focus area, GRDC will invest in new approaches to:
- Improve soil water capture and plant uptake
- Overcome chemical, physical, and biological constraints.
- Unlock soil nutrient reserves
In this Focus Area, GRDC sees opportunities to explore new and innovative inputs (e.g., biologicals), crop genetic traits, new farm practices and technology, along with integrative approaches which mitigate soil constraints. There is particular need for low-cost management options that improve capture and use of rainfall on soils constrained by single or multiple chemical, physical, and/or biological constraints to crop production.
Leverage opportunity through Analytics for the Australian Grains Industry
Analytics for the Australian Grains Industry (AAGI) is a GRDC strategic partnership with Curtin University, the University of Queensland, and Adelaide University. AAGI has capabilities across the breadth of analytics applied to grains RD&E, including biometry, bioinformatics, machine learning and artificial intelligence, mathematical and biophysical modelling, and geo-spatial statistics. AAGI involvement is available as an in-kind GRDC contribution to these investments. To explore options for AAGI involvement, applicants must make enquiries to AAGI during this RFT period and identify potential areas of collaboration as part of their application. Successful applicants will be required to complete an Analytical Collaboration Plan to specify the data to be provided to AAGI and the analytics AAGI will provide. A sample Plan template is available from AAGI. Applicants must make enquiries to the AAGI Director, Dr Nathan O'Callaghan, nathan.ocallaghan@curtin.edu.au. Please note, applicants that request funding for analytics readily available through AAGI must provide a technical and/or value-for-money rationale for not using in-kind AAGI capabilities.
This Procurement
Guiding Principles
- The work must comprise RD&E activities with an identified outcome for the benefit of Australian grain growers. GRDC is unable to invest in infrastructure.
- The benefit to growers must be quantifiable.
- for proposals that will result in a commercial product or service, respondents should address GRDC’s commercialisation principles.
- GRDC can do research and informs policy but does not author industry policy. Proposed policy work must have a clear path to impact.
- Projects will be categorised into three stages:
- Discovery (Technology Readiness Levels 1-3), which explores early-stage ideas and technologies;
- Development (Technology Readiness Levels 4-5), which focuses on refining and piloting new technologies; and
- Accelerated Commercialisation (Technology Readiness Levels 6-8), which aims to fast-track the market readiness of developed technologies.
In Scope
Innovation RFP Project Categories and Types
Categories:
# | Category | Description |
---|---|---|
A | Technology | Projects where the innovation is new agricultural technology hardware or software. This includes all aspects of digital agriculture, precision agriculture, and agricultural engineering. It also includes new applications of sensing, automation, and robotics technology, for example to soil sampling/testing. This technology could be a product that growers buy or a service they subscribe to. |
B | Practices and Inputs | Projects where the innovation is expected to be a new on-farm practice or input developed through applied R&D. Growers must purchase the input (where applicable) and adopt the practice to obtain benefit. NB: growers may need to purchase new hardware to adopt the innovation. |
C | Extension/Adoption | Projects where existing information is extended to create step-change in nutrient and soil management. |
D | Other | Projects that do not fit in the categories above. |
Types:
# | Types | Description |
---|---|---|
1 | Discovery | Early-stage Projects aimed at exploring new ideas, technologies, and methodologies. Technology Readiness Levels 1-3. Examples:
|
2 | Development | Projects that develop and refine technologies moving from concept to application and practice. Technology Readiness Levels 4-5. Examples:
|
3 | Accelerated Commercialisation | Projects aimed at fast-tracking the market-readiness and widespread adoption of developed or proven technologies. Technology Readiness Levels 6-8. Examples:
|
Out of Scope:
- Pure evaluation of commercial products: Projects focussed solely on the evaluation of one or more commercial products -- readily available in the Australian market – are out of scope.
- Pre-breeding for genetic tolerance to soil constraints without a clear path to market/breeder adoption.
Helpful resources for applicants
Outcome
Australian grain growers access innovations for soil, nutrient, and water productivity that offer step-change improvements over current industry practice.
Outputs
This is a Request for Proposal (RFP) process designed to attract market-driven thinking on how to deliver the desired outcomes in each of the 2 focus areas listed for this open call. As such, there are no prescribed outputs.
Proposed Contract & Term
GRDC anticipates contracting under the terms of the GRDC Standard Two-Party Research Contract.
The schedule(s) attached to the contract will detail the project details: the outcomes, outputs, milestones, budget, participating personnel and required intellectual property.
The template Contract containing the proposed terms and conditions is available on the Application resources page on the GRDC website.
It is anticipated that any resultant contract in relation to this procurement will commence with a proposed term of one to five years, depending on the application and its merits.
Conditions for Participation
The following are mandatory conditions with which a Tenderer must comply to participate in this procurement process:
- The Tenderer must be a single legal entity or recognised firm of partners except where the Tender is submitted by a consortium and the Tender specifies that each member of the proposed consortium will be party to the contract.
- The Tenderer and any proposed subcontractor must be compliant with the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012, the Modern Slavery Act 2018 and any other applicable labour laws and standards in the jurisdiction in which they operate.
- The Tenderer and any subcontractor must not have a judicial decision against it (not including decisions under appeal) relating to employee entitlements and who have not paid the claim.
- The Tenderer and any subcontractor must not be named on the Consolidated List, being the list of persons and entities who are subject to targeted financial sanctions or travel bans under Australian sanction laws, as maintained by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
- In accordance with the Black Economy Procurement Connected Policy, a Tenderer must include a satisfactory and valid Statement of Tax Records (STR). If the total value of all work under any proposed subcontract is expected to be equal to or above $1 million (inclusive of GST), also include a separate satisfactory and valid STR of that proposed subcontractor.
Minimum Form and Content Requirements
The following are the mandatory content and format requirements that the Tenderer must complete and provide to participate in this procurement process:
- Submit Tenders (Word template provided below) using the Grains Investment Portal.
- Write Tenders in English and express any measurements in Australian legal units of measurement.
- Budget details must be submitted on the ‘GRDC Budget Template’ provided in the Grains Investment Portal.
Evaluation Criteria
In the table below are the Evaluation Criteria that the Tender Evaluation Team will use to assess the value for money of all Tenders.
Number | Evaluation Criteria | Weighting |
---|---|---|
1. | Value Proposition The proposal clearly demonstrates a compelling value proposition, addressing a significant market need or opportunity. It should articulate the unique benefits of the innovation, including the potential for profitability and scalability within the target market. Evidence-based estimates for each of the following:
| 40.00 |
2. | Description of the project and plan The proposal outlines a comprehensive, realistic, and well-structured plan, including clear objectives, timelines, resource allocation, and risk management strategies. The plan should demonstrate a logical approach to achieving stated deliverables. Outline the following:
| 30.00 |
3. | Personnel and Team Competence Capability of the project team, including:
| 30.00 |
4. | Risk – risks inherent in the application including the degree of compliance with the draft contract and any actual or perceived conflict of interest. | 0.00 |
5. | Price – the tendered budget, detailed using the GRDC budget template provided. | 0.00 |
Lodging a Proposal
Submit your Proposal through the Grains Investment Portal by 5:00pm Canberra local time on Friday, 18 October 2024.
For the avoidance of doubt, any references to Request for Tender (RFT) Terms and Conditions on the GRDC Website and the Grains Investment Portal should be taken as the Terms and Conditions for this Request for Proposal (RFP).
Attachments
Questions and Answers
Q1. When does GRDC anticipate the projects commencing?
A1. There is no specific date in mind at this point, however we are expecting contracting to commence early in the new year (2025).
Q2. Is GRDC looking for an innovative product to increase efficiency, a management practice to improve productivity, or both?
A2. The Proposal notes we are looking for both, but an application can be for one or a combination of both.
It is assumed that if you have an innovative product there will be an aspect of management associated with it. The important thing will be for GRDC to see the value proposition of this product for the Australian grain growers, the pathway to adoption and timeline for adoption.
It is important that GRDC’s commercialisation principles are adhered to in any proposal submitted. These commercialisation principles are available on GRDC’s website.
Q3. There are a lot of large investments in this area, already. Would it fit into the scope of this project to support a smaller, targeted gap area to accelerate adoption of impact?
A3. GRDC understand proposals may leverage and/or complement existing investment and is not opposed to proposals of this nature. Proposals however must demonstrate value and align to one or more focus area scopes. It comes down to a matter of opportunity, innovation, and value proposition. If, after evaluation, it appears that there would be a better path to propping up a proposal, such as through other GRDC automation/innovation projects, then feedback will be provided to the applicant to that effect.
Q4. Does GRDC aim to target a particular soil nutrient or product?
A4. Particular products or nutrients being targeted by this open innovation call are those that have value to Australian grain growers.
Q5. Is GRDC interested in large national proposals or regional scale proposals?
A5. National and regional proposals are welcome.
GRDC is also open to proposals bringing in international partners, provided there is a value proposition (and clear opportunity for adoption) for Australian grain growers.
Q6. The RFP speaks to low-cost options. Is this referring to a low-cost option for investment and development from the innovation through the TRL levels, or low-cost options at the grower level?
A6. This is referring to a low-cost option for grain growers.
Q7. The RFP reads very technology focused. Is there room to focus more broadly on human connection for adoption and translation, and the social science aspect?
A7. The RFP focuses on innovation, and innovative paths to adoption. There is scope around extension and for innovative ways to approach the social research side aspect to drive step changes and advances in productivity.
Focus Area 3 is largely around giving growers the confidence and ability to make informed decisions around nutrient and soil management.
Q8. Can you clarify the term 'Offer Period'? It states that 'Offers will remain open for acceptance by the GRDC for a period of 6 months after the Closing Time.' Does this mean we have until 18th April to submit the application?
A8. The ‘Offer Period’ refers to GRDC having six months from the close of the Request for Proposal to accept any application that was submitted by the closing date. Applications must be in before the deadline of 18 October 2024 or they will not be accepted.
Q9. There appear to be significant differences between the proposal template available on your website and the application form provided on the GRDC portal. For instance, the portal allows for a 10,000-character response under each selection criteria (e.g value proposition), while the Word template provided via the website breaks down this section into individual spaces for responses to 1A-7A and refers to a total 10 pages limit. Additionally, the GRDC portal does not seem to have an option to specify the proposed innovation and project category, whereas the Word template includes additional fields for this. Could you please clarify which template should be used for the final submission, and how best to address these discrepancies?
A9. As per the Request for Proposal, the Proposal Template should be used for the detailed application submitted, however this Proposal Template should be attached to an application via the Grains Investment Portal. For the mandatory fields of the Portal where you are required to write a response, you can just add ‘refer to Proposal Template attached’ or something to that effect. We have chosen to proceed with a Proposal Template because of limitations within the Portal to alter fields.
Q10. I can’t see a budget envelope for this call. How much funding can be requested please?
A10. No budget is being disclosed for this Request for Proposal. We are looking for market-driven responses and will assess for value for money once the approach to market closes.
Q11. At what point in the application process do we specify any non-compliance or deviation from the terms of the standard contract? We intend to apply as a single party with subcontractors using a two-way agreement. One of the subcontractors will be another Australian university. As a publicly funded research institution, the continuation of knowledge and application of research outputs in their areas of expertise are imperative to their operation. As a core business activity and as standard practice for any university, they would require an upfront licence to use the project outputs of this project for internal research and education purposes. Can clause 9.9(d) in the two-party contract be amended accordingly?
A11. When completing an application through the Grains Investment Portal you will be required to identify any possible non-compliance/partial compliance issues with our contract template. That is where you will identify what clauses you would be requesting to be edited if you were successful in your submission; keeping in mind that we are not obligated to amend our contract template.
Q12. Can funding be allocated to non-Australian subcontractors where the capability does not exist or is insufficient within Australia? I.e specialised hyperspectral satellite data providers.
A12. The GRDC standard two-party contract, does not limit subcontracting to Australian organisations only. However, in addition to the Conditions for Participation (as outlined in the Tender page), the subcontractor will be subject to clause 4.2 of the aforementioned contract. Please refer to GRDC Application Resources webpage for more information about standard GRDC contracts and IP management.
Q13. Could you please provide a bit more detail on the post-application process? In particular how engagement terms with GRDC are determined (IP, etc)
A13. As per tender page (under “Proposed contract and Terms”), GRDC anticipates contracting under the terms of the GRDC Standard Two-Party Research Contract (which included the terms that will govern IPs). Please refer to GRDC Application Resources webpage for more information about standard GRDC contracts and IP management.
Q14. Is there a preferred contribution % (both cash and in-kind) from the lead research organisation?
A14. This tender does not specify a preferred contribution %.
Q15. Can you please provide more detail on how lead research organisation cash contribution is to be managed?
A15. Please refer to clause 4.2 Sub-contracting in the GRDC Standard Two-party contract.
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