Request for Proposals (RFP)

IMPACT STUDY OF THE ASSESS-AND-ADDRESS (A&A) SYSTEM - TEA SECTOR, KENYA AND MALAWI

Summary Information

RA Department: Impact Programs

Location(s): Kenya, Malawi

Commitment: 50-60 days over a period of 12 weeks

Desired start date and duration: ASAP, 12 weeks.

Under direction of: Director of Livelihoods & Human Rights Team

About the Rainforest Alliance

The Rainforest Alliance (RA) is an international nonprofit organization working at the intersection of business, agriculture, and forests to make responsible business the new normal. We are building an alliance to protect forests, improve the livelihoods of farmers and forest communities, promote their human rights, and help them mitigate and adapt to the climate crisis. We envision a world where people and nature thrive in harmony.

The Rainforest Alliance is creating a more sustainable world by using social and market forces to protect nature and improve the lives of farmers and forest communities.

For more information, please visit .

Overview

The Rainforest Alliance (RA) designed the Assess-and-Address (A&A) System as a tool embedded in the RA Sustainable Agriculture Standard (RA SAS 2020) to support certificate holders (CHs) in identifying, preventing, and remediating human rights risks, including child labor, forced labor, discrimination, and workplace violence and harassment.

RA seeks to assess the effectiveness and impact of the A&A System both at system level, by examining how the system functions overall, and at implementation level, by analyzing how it is applied in practice in the specific tea-sector contexts of Kenya and Malawi. The study will also develop a practical framework for capturing, monitoring, and tracking impact over time. Its results will serve as a baseline for future measurement, helping Rainforest Alliance assess progress over time and strengthen the A&A system across contexts.

The assessment should cover the period 2020–2025, corresponding to the operationalization of the Assess and Address system.

This study will function as a structured exercise to assess what is working, what is not working, and why, and to generate actionable recommendations to strengthen and refine the global A&A system across commodities and geographies. A particular focus of the study is to understand the extent and drivers of underreporting within the A&A system. This includes distinguishing between gaps in case detection, underreporting of identified cases, and limitations in data reliability (how data is collected, interpreted and verified by auditors), and assessing how these factors affect the system’s overall effectiveness.

In this context, "effectiveness" refers to the extent to which the A&A system, including both quantitative and qualitative dimensions:

• Enables identification of human rights risks and cases;

• Ensures appropriate remediation and follow-up;

• Improves management practices over time;

• Generates reliable data for assurance, performance monitoring, and decision-making;

• Contributes to reduced underreporting and improved transparency;

• Builds the confidence and capacity of both management and workers to report, manage, and remediate cases.

Consultancy Scope of Work

Main Objectives

The consultancy will:

• Assess the effectiveness of the A&A System at system level, including whether its design, requirements, tools, and assurance model are fit for purpose.

• Assess the effectiveness and impact of A&A at implementation level in the tea sectors of Kenya and Malawi, including how it is applied in practice, what issues arise in the field, and what impact it is and is not having.

• Identify strengths, gaps and contextual factors affecting both the system and its implementation, including underreporting patterns, barriers to disclosure, reporting incentives and the extent to which reported remediation actions reflect reality in practice.

• Provide actionable recommendations to strengthen the effectiveness, auditability, and scalability of the A&A System, including lessons from Kenya and Malawi that may be relevant across regions and crops.

• Develop a simple and practical impact monitoring framework, using the Kenya and Malawi case studies as a baseline, to support monitoring of system effectiveness and longer-term impact over time across regions and crops.

Activities

The consultant will carry out the study through system-level analysis, desk review, stakeholder consultation, case studies in Kenya and Malawi, and the development of a practical impact monitoring framework.

The consultant will:

• Analyze the A&A System itself, including its design, requirements, tools, and assurance relevance, to assess whether it is fit for purpose.

• Review relevant Rainforest Alliance documentation, tea-sector data, country context, and certification- and assurance-related materials.

• Assess how A&A is implemented in practice across tea estates and smallholder supply chains in Kenya and Malawi.

• Consult relevant stakeholders, including RA staff, certification bodies, certificate holders, worker and community representatives, committee members, those responsible for monitoring under Requirement 5.1.3, and sector experts.

• Examine how risks and cases are identified and reported in practice.

• Analyze patterns of underreporting, barriers to disclosure, and reporting incentives.

• Assess remediation and preventive actions, and whether actions recorded reflect reality in practice.

• Review a range of implementation situations, including stronger and weaker examples, as well as relevant media allegations, court cases, and, where useful, comparable due diligence or grievance systems.

• Assess available evidence of changes in awareness, behavior, management practice, and other relevant outcomes over time, as a basis for future impact measurement.

• Assess whether the audit process is strong enough to generate reliable and verifiable A&A data, in line with the objectives of the certification scheme.

• Develop a simple and practical impact monitoring framework, using the Kenya and Malawi case studies as a baseline, for broader application across regions and crops.

Deliverables

The timeline is indicative and negotiable and may be refined with RA during the inception phase.

Deliverable	Estimated submission date/timeline
1. Inception Report - Methodology, stakeholder engagement plan, detailed workplan, and a clear description of how the study will assess the A&A System at system level and implementation level through the Kenya and Malawi case studies. It should also set out the proposed approach for using the study as a baseline for future impact measurement and framework development.	Week 2
2. Interim Findings Brief – Preliminary findings and emerging insights, including early observations on system-level effectiveness, implementation in practice, and key issues requiring further analysis, to be discussed in a validation workshop with RA.	Week 6
3. Final Impact Study Report Key findings at system level and from the Kenya and Malawi case studies; Analysis of strengths, gaps, and contextual factors affecting implementation; Analysis of discrepancies between reported data and field-level realities, including worker perspectives and system usage in practice; Assessment of auditability, reporting credibility, and the reliability of A&A data; Prioritized recommendations to strengthen the effectiveness, auditability, and scalability of the A&A System; Guidance on which lessons may be applicable more broadly across regions, crops, and the certification scheme.	Week 10
4. Impact Monitoring Framework – A simple, practical, and user-friendly framework that uses the Kenya and Malawi case studies as a baseline and provides indicators, data sources, and guidance for monitoring system effectiveness and longer-term impact over time across regions and crops.	Week 10
5. Presentation and Validation Session – Debrief with RA teams on the study findings, recommendations, and proposed impact monitoring framework	Week 12

General Terms and Conditions for Request for Proposal

• Applicants must provide all requisite information under this RFP and clearly and concisely respond to all points set out in this RFP. Any proposal, which does not fully and comprehensively address this RFP, may be rejected.

• Proposals and/or any additional information received after the submission time and date are subject to rejection by RA.

• Incomplete proposals may be rejected by RA at its discretion.

• RA reserves the right to request additional information at any time during the procurement process.

• RA is at liberty to make multiple or no selections as part of the proposal process. RA also reserves the right to cancel the procurement.

• All proposal costs shall be borne by the applicant and will not be reimbursed by RA.

• It is the responsibility of every bidder to identify any information of a confidential or proprietary nature contained in its proposal so that it may be handled accordingly. However, RA cannot guarantee confidentiality.

Selection Criteria and qualifications

The consultant or consultant firm should comply with the following minimum qualifications:

• Proven experience in assessments, evaluations, or applied research related to human rights, responsible sourcing, or sustainability systems in agricultural supply chains.

• Strong understanding of human rights due diligence, certification systems, and audit / assurance processes.

• Demonstrated ability to assess both system design and implementation in practice, including the links between standards, auditing, data, and field-level outcomes.

• Experience conducting field-based research involving workers or community-level stakeholders is strongly preferred.

• Experience in Sub-Saharan Africa required; experience in Kenya, Malawi, and/or the tea sector strongly preferred.

• Demonstrated capacity to design practical monitoring or evaluation frameworks using mixed methods.

• Strong analytical skills and experience assessing issues such as underreporting, remediation effectiveness, and data credibility.

• Excellent writing and communication skills in English.

• Social audit and/or broader assurance experience, with sufficient familiarity to assess how A&A functions within the RA Standard and certification scheme.

Selection of the consultant or consultant firm is based on the following criteria:

Criteria	Weight (%)	What it assesses
Technical proposal	10%	Understanding of the assignment and overall quality of the proposal, including clarity, coherence, alignment with objectives, and awareness of key challenges (e.g. system vs field-level assessment, data limitations).
Methodology	30%	Rigor and feasibility of the proposed approach, including a clear analytical framework, ability to assess outcomes/impact, robust data collection and sampling strategy, use of mixed methods and triangulation, and linkage between system-level and field-level analysis.
Team composition and expertise	15%	Extent to which the team has the appropriate expertise and structure to deliver the assignment, including experience in impact evaluation (beyond audits/compliance), knowledge of human rights / Assess & Address / due diligence, strong local expertise (Kenya/Malawi), clear roles, and meaningful senior involvement.
Previous experience	15%	Relevance of past work, including experience with impact assessments of complex systems, certification or due diligence frameworks, and work in similar regions or sectors.
Availability	10%	Ability to deliver within the required timeframe, including realistic timeline, availability of key team members, and capacity to conduct fieldwork in the target countries.
Financial proposal / budget	20%	Value for money and budget realism, including alignment of costs with the proposed methodology, adequate resourcing of key activities, and overall cost-effectiveness (not solely lowest price).

Proposal Process and Format

Interested consultants or consultant firms should submit their proposal including the following:

1. Statutory Requirements: Upon request, the consultant should supply all required legal documents as may be required by RA and/or local law, e.g. work permit, bank details, registration details, tax documents etc. When opportunity is restricted to a specific location, only candidates authorized to work in the location will be considered.

1. Technical proposal requirements:

1. Understanding of the Assignment: brief description demonstrating understanding of the objectives, scope, and key challenges, including system-level and field-level assessment considerations.

1. Methodology and Approach: clear and detailed description of the proposed approach, including:

• Methodology and analytical framework

• Approach to assessing outcomes and impact

• Data collection methods and sampling strategy

• Stakeholder engagement approach

• Key limitations and mitigation measures

1. Workplan and Timeline

• Detailed workplan with key activities and deliverables

• Timeline aligned with expected outputs

1. Team Composition and Roles (for consultant firms)

• Brief profile of the firm

• Team structure, roles, and responsibilities

• Indication of level of effort and seniority

1. Relevant Experience

• List of relevant assignments of similar nature

• Brief description of scope, role, and results

1. CVs: CVs of all key proposed team members

1. References: contact details of at least two recent professional references (name, organization, email, phone number

Maximum length of the technical proposal: 10-12 (excluding CVs). CVs should be concise and limited to relevant experience.

1. Financial proposal requirements

1) Total Price (USD$). A single all-inclusive amount covering the full delivery of the assignment.
2) A breakdown of the total cost by key components, such as:

• professional fees (by team member and/or level of effort)

• travel and fieldwork costs

• any other relevant cost categories
  3) A clear statement of any assumptions underlying the financial proposal (e.g. number of field visits, locations, stakeholder interviews, etc.).
  4) Clear indication of whether taxes are included or excluded, and specification of any applicable taxes.

All proposals must be submitted to smonti@ra.org with the subject IMPACT STUDY OF THE ASSESS-AND-ADDRESS (A&A) SYSTEM - TEA SECTOR, KENYA AND MALAWI.

Proposals received after the deadline stated above will not be evaluated.

Finalists will be notified of their selection by week of May 25th 2026

Contact person for questions	Sara Monti Smonti@ra.org
Deadline for submission of proposals	May 17th 2026

Thank you for your interest in working with the Rainforest Alliance