Sharing grower stories of farm safety for awareness to aid behaviour change on farm

Reference number: PROC-9177174

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Release date:: Friday 06 December 2024
Closing time:: Friday 31 January 2025, at 05:00 PM ACT local time
Enquiry deadline:: Friday 24 January 2025, at 05:00 PM ACT local time

Summary

Work conducted by the National Centre for Farmer Health has identified that growers sharing stories of farm safety incidents and the consequent mitigation strategies is more effective in raising awareness and helping growers implement practice change compared to ‘experts’ sharing information on how to improve OH&S on farm. Improving farm safety culture is not easy and will require an ongoing program of work to have major impact. Changing growers’ behaviour to encourage implementation of interventions that support farm safety outcomes is a challenging process as there are demographic and regional differences in attitudes and practices.

This investment starts the conversation on farm safety through raising awareness and will prime farm businesses to be receptive to forthcoming investments. It will assist in the delivery of 15 stories of grower’s safety incidents, and the cost-effective and practical interventions they have implemented on farm to mitigate risks. Leveraging existing GRDC service providers, the stories will be captured across multiple media forms and rolled out across three years to reinforce a culture of safety within farm businesses. Case studies, podcasts and videos will offer growers simple tips and will offer a lasting resource for future reference and to inform larger forthcoming investments in this space. This procurement is looking for a business or individual with skills in storytelling and project management with an understanding of the grains sector and farm safety.

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: Laura Baugh
Grains Research and Development Corporation
Email: western@grdc.com.au

Make all requests for further information or clarification in relation to this procurement in writing (email) prior to 24 January 2025.

GRDC will publish all requests and responses to requests on the GRDC website under Questions and Answers at the bottom of this webpage.

Consortia response

GRDC will not accept Tenders from Consortia.

Lodgement of Tender

Submit your Tender response electronically through the Grains Investment Portal.

AusTender

TBC.

Description

It is noted that safety awareness is only one aspect of long-term practice change. To create meaningful change on farm, there needs to be an ongoing program of work that addresses each of the three factors of farm culture listed above. This small investment forms one component of a wider program to help address the broader aim of decreasing fatality and injury on farm.

Outcome

Outputs

Output 1: Development of stories of farm safety improvement

By July 2026 (and annually thereafter), deliver a target of 5 grower stories (5 per region, 15 stories in total) in various formats covering personal grower stories of safety incidents and practical measures they’ve implemented to avoid or mitigate farm risks.

Development of an operating plan for the investment detailing the target audience, potential grain grower talent, content development, timelines for delivery and how the investment is working towards completing the deliverables.
Stories will be developed in three forms (video, podcast and case study) utilising preferred GRDC service providers, rolled out over three years. Cost of production for the podcasts, videos and case studies will be covered by existing GRDC service contracts. Content will be aggregated within a dedicated landing page within the MyGRDC website. Case studies are to be shared through GroundCover.
The talent for the 15 grower stories will be sourced and managed by the service provider with approval from the GRDC Investment Manager. It is expected there will be a geographic and demographic spread in talent, a range of farm sizes and farming systems, and a number of interventions covering farm risks. Interventions are to focus on cost effective, simple and practical measures that have positively influenced farm safety behaviour on farm.
The provider will create a communication plan to be approved by the GRDC Investment Manager detailing story content, talent and interventions.
The provider will engage the National Centre for Farmer Health to ensure the stories are fit for purpose and impactful.
Content will focus on growers talking to growers to emphasis the personal impact of safety incidents.
An annual review of the communication program and operating plan will ensure the messaging has impact and is reaching the target audience.
A final report will summarise the investment impact including recommendations for RD&E investment going forward.

Proposed Budget

Proposed Contract & Term

GRDC will contract under the terms of the Services 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 3 years or 36 months.

Conditions for Participation

The following are mandatory conditions with which a Tenderer must comply to participate in this procurement process:

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.
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 must be a single legal entity or recognised firm of partners
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.

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 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.

No	Type	Weighting
1	Technical – Qualitative evaluation criteria related to non-price factors such as methodology, project plan, track record, experience.
1a	A clear and thorough plan to achieve the project outputs, specifying: a) specific information, products and/or services to be deliveres with an outline of delivery approach b) proposed milestones c) budget (defining the funds sought in each year of the project and the potential investment from all parties) d) project structure and management arrangements	60%
1b	Demonstrated track record of the project team, including: a) relevant achievements of the project leader in providing leadership, co-ordination, management, monitoring and evaluation and the timely delivery of high quality outputs b) relevant technical knowledge and experience of all key personnel (including proposed subcontractors) in the area c) ability of the project team to collaborate with the relevant organisations and industry personnel to build on the delivery already undertaken in this area	40%
2	Price - The tendered budget.	N/A
3	Risk - Risks inherent in the application including the degree of compliance with the draft contract and any actual or perceived conflict of interest.	N/A
4	Australian economy - The economic benefit of the procurement to the Australian economy.	N/A

Lodging a Tender

Questions and answers

Part 1

Q1. Is the successful Tenderer solely responsible for identifying grain growers to participate in the case studies, or will GRDC assist in this process?

A1. It is the primary responsibility of the successful tenderer to identify growers for the case studies, GRDC can assist if needed.

Q2. In the application planning document, it states that: Stories will be developed in three forms (video, podcast and case study) utilising preferred GRDC service providers, and that Cost of production for the podcasts, videos and case studies will be covered by existing GRDC service contracts.

Does this mean that only existing, contracted GRDC service providers will be considered for the project?

A2. GRDC has a service provider who is contracted to produce video and podcast content. Additionally, GRDC has a service provider who manages final edit and publication of written material. The successful applicant will be required to work with these service providers to produce the required content under this tender.

Q3. The tender doc indicates that the costs will be covered by existing contractors, can you please clarify the role of the service provider for this project. We are assuming it includes the production of written case studies (or does GRDC have an existing contactor in place), coordination of the videos and podcasts (working with the existing contractor), identification of case study talent; project management/coordination role.

A3. It will be the responsibility of the successful applicant to write case studies, co-ordinate the recording of videos and podcasts (with GRDC media contractor), identify talent, coordinate and project manage the investment. The cost of video and podcast production, and publication of written case studies, will be covered under existing GRDC service provider contracts.

Q4. We are assuming that each case study is shared across the 3 channels/platforms (i.e. each case study has a written and video format and a podcast) or could there be different case studies for different channels?

A4. Each case study is to be shared across multiple channels/platforms to maximise reach and impact. A communication strategy for each story captured is also expected as some may suit different channels better than others.

Q5. We are happy to work alongside GRDC's existing contracted service providers, but is the successful RFT applicant able to provide the video and podcasting production services, (including filming and editing the content), and include this cost in the RFT?

A5. The successful applicant is required to use our preferred provider for the production of podcast and video outputs. This will ensure it meets GRDC style and quality standards and is consistent with the other outputs on our channels.

Q6. We note that the costing for video, podcast and case study production will be covered by GRDC. Are we required to include costs of engaging the National Centre for Farmer Health in the tender budget or will this cost also be covered by GRDC?

A6. Any costs additional to the video, podcast and case study production should be included in the GRDC budget template submitted with the tender. This includes any engagement with other professionals or organisations.

Q7. Could you please confirm the three factors of farm culture that are referred to in the description?

A7. The three factors that heavily influence farm safety culture are a farmer's attitude to safety, the farmer's social environment and the broader societal/global environment in which they operate. More details can be found in a report from the National Centre for Farmer Health, Influencing a Culture of Safety on Farms (Cotton, et al., 2021), with an outline on page 8 of the report.

Q8. Are you able to provide information on the other components of the wider program to address the broader aim of decreasing fatality and injury on farm?

A8. The wider program is still in development. The program of work under this tender is designed to raise grower awareness and support thinking around farm safety.

Q9. Will GRDC be responsible for loading the case studies to the dedicated landing page on the GRDC website and for creating the landing page?

A9. Correct – this will be managed by the GRDC publications and digital teams.

Q10. I have a couple of businesses in mind that I’d love to work with, and I know they’ve done work with the GRDC before now - is there any way of knowing who GRDC’s service providers are prior to submitting an application?

A10. GRDC is not at liberty to disclose the current service providers. The current video and podcast contract is only up to end of 2025 so it is uncertain who will be the service provider for the full duration of this investment.

Q11. Has the GRDC got any evidence to quantify the reach/uptake and success of case studies, podcasts and/or videos with their target audience, and if so, am I able to take a look?

A11. GRDC tracks insights on the visits/downloads/listens/views of case study, podcast and video content and will be happy to share this information with the successful applicant.

Q12. How does the GRDC define an ‘incident’, and/or can this work explore near misses as well?

A12. Incident in this case is the event that took place to trigger a change in behaviour or practice on farm relating to safety. This can include a number of different events such as near miss, damage to machinery or equipment or injury to a person.

Q13. What specific expectations does the GRDC have around the development of an ‘operating plan’?

A13. An operating plan should cover a timeline and tasks or actions relating to the delivery of the program of work, including what is planned and progress against that plan.

Q14. What is GroundCover, and is there scope to extend the reach of this content on social media?

A14. GRDC's GroundCover is a periodical magazine publication and much of the content is already extended over social media.

Q15. What criteria will the Investment Manager use to qualify whether the talent is approved or not?

A15. The Investment Manager will approve talent using their discretion, based on their personal experience, knowledge and networks.

Q16. What criteria will the National Centre for Farmer Health use to qualify whether the stories are fit for purpose and impactful?

A16. Criteria should be developed by the successful applicant as part of initiating this service agreement.

Q17. What specific expectations does the GRDC have around the development of a communications plan?

A17. A communications plan should include how these stories will be extended and delivered to the intended audience and may consider goals, key communications stakeholders and responsibility for outputs, timing of release, quotes for social media, and measurement of insights.

Q18. How much creative license does the successful applicant have around the focus of these stories, if the applicant is required to use existing GRDC service providers?

A18. Use of the GRDC service providers is intended to deliver the look and feel of GRDC content. Working with the service providers to deliver impactful stories of practice change is expected. While certain brand and style guidelines are in place, the format, scope and focus of the stories can be collaboratively designed by the successful applicant and the service provider. Innovation is encouraged.

Q19. Are you in a position to help me understand who informed the design of the tender?

A19. The tender was designed by engaging a broad variety of industry stakeholders working in this area.

Q20. Is there an opportunity to amplify the success of this project via channels outside of GroundCover and the GRDC website e.g. in collaboration with other parties? Amplification through GRDC social media channels will occur. Sharin and/or promotion of the stories through other parties is encouraged after obtaining GRDC approval.

A20. While the primary publishing platform for this content would be GRDC channels, collaboration and amplification with relevant external organisations is encouraged and would be highly beneficial.

Part 2

Q21. Could you please confirm the three factors of farm culture that are referred to in the description?

A21. The three factors that heavily influence farm safety culture are a farmer's attitude to safety, the farmer's social environment and the broader societal/global environment in which they operate. More details can be found in a report from the National Centre for Farmer Health, Influencing a Culture of Safety on Farms (Cotton, et al., 2021), with an outline on page 8 of the report.

Q22. Are you able to provide information on the other components of the wider program to address the broader aim of decreasing fatality and injury on farm?

A22. The wider program is still in development. The program of work under this tender is designed to raise grower awareness and support thinking around farm safety.

Q23. Will GRDC be responsible for loading the case studies to the dedicated landing page on the GRDC website and for creating the landing page?

A23. Correct – this will be managed by the GRDC publications and digital teams.

Q24. The extent to which GRDC would like the tenderer to work with the provider - ensuring we are clear with providers who may approach us in the coming weeks.

A24. The successful applicant will be required to work with GRDC service providers (media and publications providers) to produce the required content under this tender.

Q25. Available resourcing to support tenderer involvement (or does this need to be considered in each tender budget submission?)

A25. The successful applicant will need to include all their proposed costs to write case studies, identify talent, co-ordinate the recording of videos and podcasts (in conjunction with the GRDC media contractor) and project manage the investment. The costs associated with recording, editing and producing the video and podcast content will be covered by an existing GRDC media contract. Similarly, the costs of final edit and publication of written case studies will be covered under an existing GRDC service provider contract.

Q26. Whether the prescribed engagement with tenderer excludes us from submitting a tender (as a provider)?

A26. Applications will be assessed on their merits against the proposed scope and evaluation criteria. Any potential conflict of interest should be declared and will be assessed by GRDC.

Q27. Is there any expectation that the successful tenderer would help to distribute the case studies? If so, does GRDC have any targets for engagement for this project (e.g. number of views, readership, media coverage etc)?

A27. GRDC channels will be the primary distribution pathway for the case studies, videos and podcasts however GRDC is open to suggestions via the successful applicant’s promotion/communications plan.

Q28. For the written case studies, is it your expectation that these would be written by the contractor, or by the GroundCover team?

A28. It is GRDC’s expectation that the successful applicant will write the case studies, the GRDC publications team will assist with final editing and publication of the case studies via appropriate GRDC channels.

Q29. A promotion/communications plan for the resources appears to be out of scope. Is that a correct interpretation? Will that be undertaken by GRDC comms?

A29. The successful applicant will be responsible for creating a high-level promotion and communications plan, which will be reviewed in conjunction with the GRDC Communications team and GRDC investment manager. For example: timing of publication for specific case studies - fatigue management would be best delivered prior to and during seeding or harvest.

Q30. Are all 15 stories, in all three formats, required to be completed by the service provider by July 2026 for GRDC suppliers to produce and distribute annually until 2028, or is the service provider expected to deliver five stories per region, per year, through to 2028?

A30. The service provider will deliver five stories per year with GRDC preferred suppliers, with a total of 15 stories total to be developed by 2028 when the contract finishes. There will be five stories per region developed.

Part 3

Q31. Confirming the successful tenderer will be developing the communication plan, containing the story content and talent, and hand this across to your list of providers to develop the podcast, video and written content? Ie the tenderer will not be developing the physical assets.

A31. Correct, the successful tenderer will not be developing the physical assets, but it is expected that they will work with the providers to ensure messaging and content developed is fit for purpose.

Q32. Should the scripting / message development sit with the successful tenderer? Noting that the filming will be with real people, hence scripting would be loose but provide some direction in terms of key territories to be covered.

A32. Correct.

Q33. Within the RFT you indicate the communication plan should contain: story content, talent and interventions. What do you mean by interventions? Does this refer to practical interventions i.e. key tips / mitigation strategies?

A33. Interventions in this case refer to practices or behaviours that have changed to limit or reduce the risk of a similar incident happening again on farm.

Q34. Should the communication plan also contain an eventual distribution strategy for the target audiences of materials? I.e. Media / social media etc.

A34. Yes, the communication plan should assist in guiding the distribution of the stories.

Q35. Could we get you to articulate the three farm culture factors that need to be addressed?

A35. The three factors that heavily influence farm safety culture are a farmer's attitude to safety, the farmer's social environment and the broader societal/global environment in which they operate. More details can be found in a report from the National Centre for Farmer Health, Influencing a Culture of Safety on Farms (Cotton, et al., 2021), with an outline on page 8 of the report.

Q36. In relation to developing a messaging matrix for the assets, who would the successful consultancy work with from a GRDC perspective, I.e. to refine messaging ?

A36. The successful tenderer will work with the communications team and the investment manager to refine and manage the messaging.

Q37. Have you previously included Indigenous and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse components to your communication - given these groups may fall into vulnerable audiences.

A37. The focus of this investment is growers speaking to other growers on the incidents that have happened on their farms and the practices that have changed after the incident. All GRDC communications are in English only.

Q38. You've indicated the contracts with suppliers from a production perspective end in 2025. Will there be a separate tender for the production work? Or should we include this within the remit of our roll-out post 2025 (i.e. Storytelling, project management + production in 2026)?

A38. The GRDC current service provider contracts including production work will be separate to the work in this tender post 2025.

Q39. Under the evaluation criteria 1a indicates:

c) budget (defining the funds sought in each year of the project and the potential investment from all parties)

Do these refer to the funds the successful supplier would be charging? And would we also need to stipulate the funds required for the GRDC production suppliers (i.e. Video and podcast)?

A39. Budget refers to the funds required for the successful tenderer to supply the services asked. The funds for preferred GRDC suppliers (video and podcasting) will be allocated from existing agreements.

Q40. In addition, there is a reference to milestones under the evaluation criteria, are you referring to budget milestones?

A40. The milestones are suggested/preferred milestones supplied by the tenderer. This is to assist in understanding the timelines for delivery and expectations for payment.