Low Emissions Intensity Farming Systems (LEIFS) Initiative: Program Office

Reference number: PROC-9177056

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Release date:: Friday 19 July 2024
Closing time:: Friday 30 August 2024, at 05:00 PM ACT local time
Enquiry deadline:: Wednesday 23 August 2023, at 05:00 PM ACT local time

Summary

This program will oversee the establishment and coordination of activities geared towards facilitating effective LEIFS delivery, providing capability support and promoting knowledge sharing across the five LEIFS programs and connections with other external initiatives.

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: Genavieve Jurd
Grains Research and Development Corporation
Email: northern@grdc.com.au

All requests for further information or clarification in relation to this investment should be made in writing (email) prior to Wednesday 23rd of August 2023, 05:00 PM ACT local time.

All requests and responses to requests will be published on the GRDC website under Questions and Answers at the bottom of this webpage.

Consortia response

GRDC will not accept Tenders from Consortia.

Lodgement

Tenderers must submit their responses electronically through the Grains Investment Portal (GIP). Please read this entire page before lodging an application in the Grains Investment Portal.

AusTender

https://www.tenders.gov.au/Advert/Show/43b9b2cf-f00c-4d45-b80a-da47e1751544

Description

Program Office

The Program Office will oversee consistent data governance and stewardship, as well as monitor and evaluate the impact of LEIFS. It will also facilitate connectivity and knowledge exchange between programs: Capturing Grower Value, National Data Analytics and Insights, Accessible Greenhouse Gas monitoring, and Action Research Networks. This ensures that activities contribute to purpose-driven outcomes.

In collaboration with the Management Committee, the Program Office partner will develop a data governance framework, including minimum datasets and their standards, and specifications for each program. This framework emphasises data security and lifecycle considerations, producing trusted and interoperable data sources beyond the lifespan of LEIFS. Collating and curating a measurement catalogue will enable a distributed data model, fostering data sharing among partners.

The Program Office partner will ensure that insights from various programs inform purpose-driven outcomes, enabling accessible GHG monitoring and accounting. Additionally, the Program Office will establish and coordinate a communication plan, as well as a monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) framework. These plans will include metrics suited to both participatory and traditional research outcomes. Approaches will be developed to assess the adoption of existing and emerging sustainability practices, both ex-ante and measured, as well as reductions in GHG intensity, to support the adoption of low emissions intensity farming systems.

Outcome

Outputs

Output	Description
Output 1: LEIFS Terms of reference	By January 2025, agree on the Terms of Reference for the Program Office, including its required constituents and operating procedures.
Output 2: Partnership principles	By February 2025, collaborate with LEIFS program partners to establish and agree on collaborating teams and partnership principles, define common goals and boundaries, and ensure transparency of workplans and timelines. Facilitate connections to relevant aligned GHG mitigation initiatives.
Output 3: Data and ethics agreements	By March 2025, establish minimum data requirements and stewardship, create an intellectual property (IP) registry, and define ethics and privacy approaches with the goal of enhancing program consistency and efficiency where appropriate.
Output 4: Monitoring, evaluation and learning and communication, engagement and marketing plan	By April 2025, develop (i) a MEL framework to capture and report LEIFS Initiative impact, including standardised elements for annual reporting requirements, and (ii) develop and coordinate a whole of LEIFS Initiative communication, engagement and marketing plan, including all program strategies, program branding for low emissions agriculture, a communications log and pathways for internal and external knowledge exchange.
Output 5: LEIFS measurement catalogue and lexicon	By May 2025, create a measurement catalogue and lexicon, co-designed with partners, for curating technologies, indicators and metrics, as well as technical terms used in monitoring, managing, verifying and reporting emissions intensity across scales (paddock, enterprise, region) within the grains sector.
Output 6: LEIFS reporting and directional review	By September 2025 (and annually thereafter), coordinate and provide an annual report that incorporates the MEL framework, reviews the consistency and efficiency of data collection, influences incentive schemes, informs policy and engages in cross program activities. The Program Office oversees continued development of new opportunities and partnerships.
Output 7: Discussion forum	By December 2025 (and annually thereafter), coordinate a discussion forum with internal and external stakeholders to identify and discuss key developments and opportunities in research, development, extension and adoption (RDE&A) for enabling low emissions intensity farming systems in Australian grain production.

Proposed Budget

Proposed Contract & Term

GRDC will contract the Project under the terms of the Project Agreement.

It is anticipated that this Project will be delivered over a period of 5 years.

The schedule(s) which form part of the Project Agreement will detail the Project details: the outcomes, outputs, milestones, budget, participating personnel and required intellectual property.

In addition to the Project Agreement, GRDC will require the Program Office partner to enter the Collaboration Agreement which governs maters including the governance of the LEIFS Initiative and the management of intellectual property and data associated with the LEIFS Initiative.

The template Project Agreement and Collaboration Agreement containing the proposed terms and conditions of each agreement is supplied as an attachment.

Please read and make yourself familiar with the terms and conditions of the Project Agreement and the Collaboration Agreement. You must specify any non-compliance with the terms of each agreement in your Tender. Please note that GRDC will not consider changes to the terms and conditions of the agreements that have not been identified in your Tender. GRDC reserves the right to negotiate the terms and conditions of the agreements as it deems appropriate.

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.
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 Shadow Economy Procurement Connected Policy, a Tenderer must also include as part of its application a satisfactory and valid Statement of Tax Records (STR) and, if the total value of all work under any proposed subcontract is expected be equal to or above $1 million (inclusive of GST), a 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 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, and experience.
1a	Project Plan A comprehensive plan outlining the delivery of Program Office outputs and LEIFS’s outcomes and should include the following details: Specific information and services to be delivered. Key tasks, milestones, responsible parties and indicative timeframes. The structure of the project team and collaborations with other LEIFS programs as well as other organisations, commercial companies and/or other relevant projects.	30%
1b	Track Record Evidence of the ability and experience to deliver similar investment outcomes and outputs, including details of previous relevant project(s) where the organisation has: Met contractual obligations. Managed and designed multidisciplinary projects. Managed and coordinated multiple agencies to achieve program outcomes. Collaborated with and built relevant networks, both national and international. Achieved and demonstrated impact at an industry level.	30%
1c	Personnel Capability A list of all key personnel, detailing relevant: Demonstrated experience and skill, knowledge, and organisational resources. Achievements of the project lead in providing effective leadership, management, co-ordination, and timely delivery of high-quality outputs.	20%
1d	Co-investment and Leverage List the types and level of co-investment that the applicant will contribute to deliver the tendered work. List existing and proposed linkages to related activities and programs and value to LEIFS program.	20%
2	Price - The tendered budget.
3	Risk - Risks inherent in the application including the degree of compliance with the draft contract and any actual or perceived conflict of interest.

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