Consultant’s Opportunity to Manage the Planning and Hosting of the Regenerative Agriculture Conference in Kisumu – Practical Action

1. Introduction

Practical Action is an international development organization putting ingenious ideas to work so people in poverty can change their world. We help people find solutions to some of the world’s toughest problems. Challenges made worse by catastrophic climate change and persistent gender inequality. We work with communities to develop ingenious, lasting, and locally owned solutions for agriculture, water and waste management, climate resilience and clean energy. And we share what works with others, so answers that start small can grow big. We are a global change-making group.

The group consists of a UK registered charity with community projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America, an independent development publishing company and a technical consulting service. We combine these specialisms to multiply our impact and help shape a world that works better for everyone.

2. Background of the Consultancy Assignment

Regenerative agriculture is globally acknowledged as crucial for long-term health and sustainability in food and farming systems. It involves working with nature at the farm level by integrating biodiversity conservation and ecological processes into food production. This approach optimizes interactions between plants, animals, humans, and the environment, fostering socially equitable food systems that empower individuals to choose what they eat and how and where it is produced.

Practical Action is implementing the Transforming Rural Economies and Youth Livelihoods (TREYL), which is a five-year project (Jan 2019 – Jan 2024) in Kisumu and Homabay Counties. The primary objective of this IKEA funded project is to establish vibrant and inclusive rural economies in Kenya by promoting agricultural livelihoods for the youth underpinned by Agroecological principles and practices. The project aims to break the cycles of low productivity and increasing rural poverty, through a holistic and gendered approach which will enable young men and women to increase their income through agri-business. The project is building a business case to demonstrate that regenerative agriculture can be commercially successful.

To date the project has worked with over 8,000 young men and women to increase farm productivity and income through regenerative agriculture. To promote inclusive markets, the project has been developing markets through a participatory process for poultry, groundnuts, and tomato value chains.

Practical Action through the TREYL project and in collaboration with other partners are planning to host a Regenerative Agriculture conference that will aim at realizing the following objectives:

1. Share achievements of the TREYL project.

2. Share experiences, lessons learned and best practices on regenerative agriculture, youth engagement and private sector engagement approaches in unlocking opportunities in the regenerative agriculture with multiple stakeholders.

3. Generate discussions on existing and needed policy frameworks for sustained impacts from regenerative agriculture interventions.

4. Identify opportunities for future interventions.

3. Consultancy Objective

The consultant will assist Practical Action and partners in planning and hosting the Regenerative Agriculture Conference in Kisumu, Kenya in September 2023.

4. Consultancy scope

This assignment will involve:

a) Preparation (Pre-Conference)

• Coordinate the conference planning in partnership with the Conference Organizing Committee.

• Develop and secure approval for the event’s budget.

• Develop the conference programme.

• Identify and invite participants, including Keynote Speakers, presenters, panelists, and exhibitors.

• Co-ordinate online registration and confirmation of conference participants.

• Identify and book appropriate conference venue for 100 pax (tentative), including plenary, breakout rooms and exhibition area.

• Identify and secure accommodation and transport services for selected participants.

• Coordinate conference publicity, including a dedicated conference page on Practical Action’s website, social media, advertisements, media coverage and other strategies.

b) During the Conference

• Coordinate the logistics of the programme, including but not limited to onsite registration, plenary and breakout sessions, exhibition booths and equipment functionalities.

• Provide conference participants with name tags and branded carrier bag containing relevant branded stationery and information packs.

• Ensure conference décor, branding and signage meet agreed Practical Action’s standards.

• Manage shooting and editing of conference photos and videos.

• Arrange and manage logistics for a field excursion for select conference participants.

• Co-ordinate relevant reimbursements and allowances for conference participants.

• Co-ordinate a mocktail and dinner for conference participants.

c) After the Conference

• Schedule a meeting with Practical Action’s Conference organizing committee within two weeks post-conference to evaluate the outcomes and learnings from the event.

• Hand over conference videos, photos, final report, and other relevant materials.

5. Time Frame and Key Deliverables

This consultancy will take approximately 45 working days (24th July 2023- 15th September 2023). The consultant will be expected to:

• Prepare and submit a technical and financial proposal.

• If selected, prepare an inception report detailing the plan for preparation, execution, and completion of the conference.

• Coordinate and deliver the conference in line with the contract.

• Organize planning meetings in close liaison with the organizing committee.

• Deliver final conference report, photos, videos, and other materials.

6. Administrative and logistical support

The Consultant will be accountable to the conference organizing committee and will receive day to day support from Practical Action’s Communication’s Unit during the assignment.

7. Required Competences and Experiences

• Proven record of accomplishment in organizing events of a similar nature (references and contact persons will be required).

• Must be a fully registered company and must be willing to show documentation of the same.

8. Terms of Engagement

Payment for the assignment shall be done in two tranches as indicated below.

Tranche 1 (25% of the total cost): Upon successful submission of the inception report.

Tranche 2 (75% of the total cost): Upon submission and acceptance of the final conference report, photos, videos, and other materials. Note that the payments will be done subject to the consulting entity meeting quality and timely delivery of stated task.

A detailed TOR can be accessed through this link: https://practicalaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/TOR-Regenerative-Agriculture-Conference-Consultant.pdf