Assessment of the Performance and Effectiveness of Farmer Cooperatives and Farmer Groups in the Cocoa Sectors of Ghana and Ivory Coast

The contract duration is for a maximum of 12 months, including time for the JRC to comment on interim deliverables. The contract begins on the date it enters into force (T0).

Key milestones and deliverables are scheduled as follows:

• Kick-off meeting: T0 + 0.5 months (within two weeks of the official start date).
• Methodological Report (D1): T0 + 3 months.
• Raw data set from pre-tests (D2): T0 + 4 months.
• Interim meeting: T0 + 4 months (before Month 4 from the official start date).
• Enumerator manual (D3): T0 + 6 months.
• Raw data set from the pilot survey (D4): T0 + 7 months.
• Raw and cleaned data set from final survey (D5): T0 + 10 months.
• Final meeting: T0 + 11.5 months (before Month 11.5 from the official start date).
• Final Report (D6): T0 + 12 months.

The core scope of work involves the provision of services by the contractor to the contracting authority, as defined by the tender specifications (Annex I). The overall service requires close coordination with the JRC.D4 Unit and aims to produce work of high quality suitable for policy making and direct publication by the European Commission. The contract duration is a maximum of 12 months, with all deliverables and communications in English and French.

The key deliverables and their summaries include:

• D1: Methodological Report – A comprehensive report outlining the methodology, sampling and weighting strategy, and a sampling identification plan for selecting cocoa cooperatives, farmer groups, their members, and spouses. It also details the replacement strategy for cooperatives and members, and all steps of the study implementation.
• D2: Raw data set from the pre-tests – Data provided in Stata format or another compatible format.
• D3: Enumerator manual – A manual covering various modules, main concepts, and individual questions for respondents.
• D4: Raw data set from the pilot survey – Data provided in Stata format or another compatible format.
• D5: Raw and cleaned data set from the final survey – This includes raw data, a fully cleaned and structured dataset according to JRC specifications, and cleaning scripts, all in Stata or a compatible format.
• D6: Final Report – An in-depth report detailing the study implementation, including the selection and training of field supervisors and enumerators, the pilot and final survey (implementation schedule, logistics, team composition, itinerary), difficulties encountered, and sampling, replacement, and weighting strategies.

Three key meetings will be organized: a kick-off meeting to refine the scope and discuss the work plan, an interim meeting to present pre-test results and propose solutions, and a final meeting to present conclusions and discuss the draft final report.