Consulting Firm for undertaking primary survey for an ongoing project - Inclusive Agriculture Transformation in Odisha

1. Context & Background

The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), under the Development Strategy and Governance Division, New Delhi (IFPRI-SAR), is implementing the Food and Agricultural System Transformation (FASTR) Project – Inclusive Agriculture Transformation (IAT) in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment (DAFE), Government of Odisha. IFPRI’s work on IAT is focused on developing indicators, data systems, and diagnostic tools to track changes in farmers' economic conditions. This initiative has influenced policymakers to shift their focus towards digitization and granular data collection. The primary survey will help in supplementing information for indicators where secondary data is limited or missing, it will validate trends observed in secondary data, it will help in triangulating findings from secondary data to enhance accuracy and depth by providing ground-level insights that enhance the accuracy and relevance of the IAT indicators.

2. Objective:

The primary objective of this engagement is to hire a competent consulting firm to conduct a primary survey under the ongoing FASTR project in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment (DAFE), Government of Odisha. IFPRI requests proposals from qualified survey agencies in India to undertake primary survey in selected districts of Odisha. The services of the survey agency shall include but are not limited to training of enumerators, digitizing of questionnaire, data collection, data monitoring and preliminary data cleaning for the assigned sample.

3. Period of Assignment: The contract period will be from Aug 01, 2025 to November 30, 2025.

Supervisor: The agency will be responsible for its work and will report to Dr. Mamata Pradhan (Research Coordinator) and Dr Devesh Roy (Senior Research Fellow) or their designees. The agency shall carry out the assigned tasks in accordance with the attached scope of work

3. Service Fee:

Indian Income Tax: Please note that payment of Resource Fee will be subject to deduction of prescribed Indian Taxes, as applicable, at source by IFPRI-SAR.

Notice Period: This service agreement may be terminated by either side (IFPRI or staff) by providing advance written notice.

4. Key Responsibilities/Activities:

Team Deployment and Training: Deploy a competent survey team- enumerators and supervisors. In collaboration with IFRPI, provide training to the enumerators on survey instruments, data collection on tablets using CAPI interface

Primary Data Collection: Conduct household listings across selected villages covering selected districts in the state, representations from all geographical locations- the Coastal Plain, the Central Mountainous and Highlands Region, the Central Plateaus, the Western Rolling Uplands, and the major flood plains. Undertake primary surveys covering approximately 1000-1200 households.

The survey questionnaire will be provided by the IFPRI team and digitization will be done by the survey agency in consultation with IFPRI researchers. A survey agency to use tablets or Android phone for data collection. Survey Agency will be responsible for integrating the survey instrument in CAPI programming and build monitoring mechanism in the tools

Agency to manage the logistics of all the assigned enumerators – accommodation, travel and timely submission of the data points. Agency to supervise the data collection process to ensure sample is covered within the stipulated time.

Quality Assurance and Monitoring: Implement regular monitoring mechanisms for the survey team to ensure both the qualitative and quantitative targets of data collection are met in a timely manner. The survey agency's monitoring team should report to IFPRI researchers on a daily basis and maintain a monitoring sheet or log that tracks sample data. This log should capture key information from the modules, ensure data consistency, and document any reasons for missing or incomplete responses.

Progress Reporting and Collaboration: Conduct regular progress update meetings with IFPRI's researchers and incorporate suggestions and feedback throughout the survey process.

Ensure all ethical code of conduct are followed and data privacy and confidentiality are maintained.

5. Eligibility Criteria

Criteria

Required Qualifications

Company Registration

The firm must be legally registered and operational in India for a minimum of 5 years, providing evidence of incorporation/registration.

Experience in Similar Projects

Demonstrated experience in conducting large-scale household surveys in at least 5 projects of similar scope or larger in the past 3 years).

The familiarity with the state of Odisha in terms of managing the local language/dialects and sound understanding of the culture will be an added advantage.

Required Experience

Proven experience in survey design, data collection (including CAPI/ODK tools if preferred), data cleaning, quality control, and data validation.

Experience of working with government and international organization

Experience working with government departments or international research organizations (like IFPRI) is an added advantage.

Financial capacity

The firm should have a average turnover of minimum 1 crore in the past 3 financial years. Audited financial statements for the last 3 years to be produced.

Deliverables and Payment Schedules:

S. No.

Broad Activities

Associated/Sub-Activities

Time Frame

% Budget Allocated

1.

At the time of signing of the contract

20 %

Completed primary survey data for 1000 -1200 households including 50 FGDs across the specified selected districts (4 districts with 1 from each region).

October, 2025

30%

Progress reports and Raw Datasets.

November, 2025

20%

A final dataset (format to be agreed upon with IFPRI) that has undergone quality checks and validation.

Post acceptance of the final dataset

30%

Duration: August 01, 2025 to November 30, 2025

Interested firms are invited to apply within 15 days of the publication of this advertisement, submitting complete company details as per the eligibility criteria, along with a detailed budget proposal and the CV of the lead consultant.