DFID, the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation (CAITEC) and the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MofCom) wish to explore the potential for working together to enhance the trade performance of African countries, and its development impact. They have agreed to jointly conduct a country-specific study on the potential and challenges of African trade relations with China and the UK. The first set of studies will focus on 4 countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa. The findings of the research will provide a basis for discussions about how the UK and China can most usefully collaborate on this issue.

As part of this joint assessment, DFID wishes to engage a service provider (SP) over a period of 1 year to conduct a research study to assess how trade, and trade-related cooperation with China and the UK can most effectively support growth, structural transformation and poverty reduction in Kenya and South Africa. In addition, the SP will be required to liaise closely with a Chinese research team under CAITEC carrying out equivalent work on Nigeria and Ethiopia, sharing information on methodologies and data sources as appropriate.

The SP will be responsible for: formulating and agreeing with CAITEC a methodology and workplan for the research; conducting the research in Kenya and South Africa; maintaining close contact with the CAITEC-led research on Nigeria and Ethiopia; and packaging and presenting the analysis and recommendations to key policy makers and practitioners representing the UK, China and the African countries.

For the purposes of this call, applicants can be an individual organisation or a consortium of organisations applying through 1 lead organisation. Applicants will need to demonstrate capability and experience in (i) delivering high quality analysis of trade and trade policy issues; (ii) managing and conducting stakeholder consultations including with the private sector as well as policymakers and government entities; (iii) getting research into use, i.e. delivering and effectively communicating well-grounded policy advice so as to achieve impact. They will also need to demonstrate how they will work with CAITEC in order to ensure coherence and quality across the overall research programme.

The contract will be issued for 1 year. The successful SP will be chosen based on technical and commercial proposals for implementation, as described in the terms of reference. (PDF, 48.5KB, 9 pages)

Potential applicants will be invited to fill in a pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ) which will include 4 technical questions covering experience, approach and process. Up to 5 applicants will be shortlisted and invited to submit full proposals at the invitation to tender (ITT).

Interested parties can register their interest on the DFID Supplier Portal

Please note the following envisaged dates and times for PQQ:

• PQQ intended for publication on 1 October 2013
• PQQ envisaged response deadline: 25 October 2013 at 2.00pm

Additional information and timelines will be provided within the PQQ documentation.

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