Consultancy Service for VietGAP logo design in Vietnam

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Introduction

Alinea International Ltd. (Canada) provides management and technical expertise to developing and transitional country partners on projects that promote sustainable growth and meaningful opportunities for people to improve their lives. The Safe Food for Growth project (SAFEGRO) which is funded by the Government of Canada through Global Affairs Canada (GAC) for the period from 2019 to 2024, with extension to 2026, is being supported technically by the Canadian Executing Agency (CEA), led by Alinea in partnership with the University of Guelph and other leading food safety organizations.

The SAFEGRO is designed to support the Government of Vietnam to ensure better access to safe and competitive agri-food products, with an aim to improve the well-being of female and male consumers as well as other beneficiaries (including poor farmers) in Vietnam. The project operates across the agri-food value chains by engaging and building the capacity of three main target groups: the public sector (enabling environment), the private sector (supply side), and the consumer (demand side). 

The SAFEGRO technical team works with national and sub-national governments to enforce food safety regulations, private sector suppliers to increase the competitiveness of Vietnamese food products domestically and internationally, and consumers to improve demand for safe food in Vietnam. Key partners on this project include The Ministry of Agriculture Rural Development (MARD), the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT), the Ministry of Health (MOH), Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh city agencies, and other Vietnamese Academic Institutes.

Given the request from Department of Crop Production (DCD) and Department of Fishery (DF) under MARD for revising TCVN VietGAP General, there is demand of one unified VietGAP logo for all fishery, livestock, and crops sectors in Vietnam under which producers and operators with be “credibly” audited and certified for safe food for sale. In 2024-2025, SAFEGRO has committed to support this request. At the same time new legislation is being put in place to support the new, re-vitalized VietGAP certification program aligned with international standards. The new brand logo is expected to represent the scope of this effort.  

The Vietnam Good Agricultural Practice (VietGAP) program being supported by MARD aims to ensure safe, sustainable, and high-quality agricultural production. An official single unified VietGAP logo and brand is essential to promote recognition and trust among consumers, producers, and stakeholders. Alinea International is inviting qualified vendors to submit proposals for the design of a VietGAP trademarked logo to support MARD agencies. This Request for Proposal (RFP) aims to identify vendors who can fulfill specific roles and meet the assignment requirements. The purpose of this document is to provide a comprehensive overview of MARD agencies’ needs and expectations in designing a common VietGAP logo that will represent all agricultural sectors in Vietnam. We also recognize that the VietGAP brand has been diluted by multiple organizations trying to adopt their own versions of a VietGAP brand logo creating significant confusion in the marketplace.  The proposed new VietGAP brand logo is expected to be trademarked for Intellectual Property (IP) rights with MARD alone.

Assignment Overview

The assignment involves designing a brand logo with slogans that encapsulate the principles of a revitalized VietGAP across all agricultural sectors, including crops, livestock, aquaculture, and probably forestry. The logo and slogan should be recognizable and unique by international and domestic markets, and able to be used in various marketing materials and product packaging.

Purpose of VietGAP Logo

The primary goal is to create a unified logo across agricultural sectors with slogan that:

• Represents the core values of VietGAP: safety, quality, sustainability, and traceability.
• Enhances consumer trust and recognition as the only “official” accepted VietGAP brand logo.
• Can be easily identified and associated with all VietGAP-certified products.
• Is adaptable for various uses across different media and packaging types.

Responsibilities

We require the following consulting service to be completed:

• Graphic design: be responsible for creating the logo and slogan.
• Quality assurance: oversee the assignment ensuring timelines, objectives and the design meets all specific requirements and standards.
• Stakeholder liaison: actively communicate with MARD agencies including the DF, DCP and DLP and/or focal point of VietGAP revision in MARD to define their expectation for logo and slogan as well as their comments/inputs to various drafts.

Target Audience

The target users for this VietGAP Logo include:

• Value chain actors (e.g. farmers, cooperatives, processors, distributors, and buyers) who are certified to produce agri-food products according to VietGAP Standard.
• Accredited certification bodies (public and private) which will conduct VietGAP audits and “issue” the authorized VietGAP certificates to qualified recipients; these are the presumed licensees
• Government agencies who are directly involved in managing VietGAP certification and standards in Vietnam.
• End-consumers. It is expected that the common VietGAP logo once implemented, will help consumers to differentiate the standard VietGAP products from the uncertified VietGAP ones in the markets.

Scope of Work

The service provider will report to the Project Director and work closely with Project Officer and MARD agencies, as our clients, during designing the VietGAP logo during the contract period. The assignment scope of work includes:

• Research and Concept Development:

1. Understand the VietGAP principles and target audience.
2. Conduct a competitive analysis of existing agricultural certification logos.
3. Develop initial logo concepts.
4. Develop initial slogan.

• Design and Refinement:

1. Create multiple logo drafts with slogans.  
2. Incorporate feedback from stakeholders and refine the designs.
3. Ensure the logo works in different sizes and formats.

• Finalization and Delivery:

1. Finalize the selected logo-slogan design.
2. Create logo guidelines detailing usage, colors, and typography.
3. Provide the final logo in various formats (e.g., vector, PNG, JPG).
4. Report on implementation of logo with recommendations

Deliverables

The Consultant(s) will provide the following deliverables in this package.

• Initial Concepts: A minimum of three distinct logo concepts with attached slogan.
• Refined Designs: Refined versions of the selected concept(s) based on feedback.
• Final Logo: The final logo design with attached slogan in high-resolution and vector formats.
• Logo Guidelines: A comprehensive guide on how to use the logo across different platforms and materials written both in Vietnamese and English including but not limited to

1. Trademarking
2. Branding and communication
3. Governance and management if possible

• Presentation Materials: Visual aids for presenting the logo to stakeholders.

Work schedule

The assignment will take one month for design and consultation, and one month for refining the design after consultation. Consultant(s) will coordinate with SAFEGRO Project Officer and MARD’s focal point to carry out the work. Tentative schedule is given in table 1: 

Table 1: Tentative schedule of task implementation

Application Evaluation Criteria

The applicant will be evaluated based on technical capacities (80%) and financial proposals (20%). The evaluation process includes a thorough examination of the supplier’s capabilities, guided by the criteria outlined below:

1. Experience and Portfolio:

• Proven track record in logo design, particularly logo designing experience in the agricultural or certification sectors as an advantage.
• Strong portfolio showcasing previous logo designs and related work.

2. Creativity and Conceptual Skills:

• Ability to create a logo with slogan that is both visually appealing and conceptually aligned with VietGAP values.
• Innovative approach to design that distinguishes the logo from other certification marks.

3. Technical Expertise:

• Proficiency in graphic design software.
• Ability to produce high-quality designs that can be scaled and adapted for various uses.

4. Communication and Collaboration:

• Effective communication skills for liaising with stakeholders.
• Willingness to incorporate feedback and work collaboratively.

5. Understanding of VietGAP Principles:

• Demonstrated understanding of the core values and goals of the VietGAP program.
• Ability to translate these principles into a visual identity.

The successful candidate or firm will be selected based on their ability to meet these criteria and deliver a logo that effectively represents the VietGAP certification across all agricultural sectors in Vietnam.

Details of Submission and Point of Contact

Interested Applicant(s) is invited to send electronic application package by 5pm 30^th May 2024, Hanoi time zone with email subject “VietGAP logo design” to vanta@alineainternational.com and copy it to ngochungnguyen@alineainternational.com 

The package can be written either in Vietnamese or English, includes:

• Technical proposal
• CV of team members with short and relevant experiences
• Vendors’ portfolio/Company profile listing products that are similar to the requirements.
• The cost estimates

Only qualified applicants will be notified of interviews. Selected candidates will be informed via email.

Confidentiality

All submitted proposals will be treated as confidential and used solely for the purpose of evaluating responses to this TOR.

The issuance of this TOR does not oblige Alinea to award a contract or to pay any costs incurred by respondents in the preparation and submission of proposals.

Thank you for your interest in supporting the improvement of the agricultural value chains in Vietnam. We look forward to receiving your proposals. We welcome all applications, regardless of ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression; candidates that belong to underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply. The recruitment process is based on fair standards.

Level of Effort:                 Part-time – up to 10 days/ month.

Alinea International Ltd. (Canada) provides management and technical expertise to developing and transitional country partners on projects that promote sustainable growth and meaningful opportunities for people to improve their lives. The Safe Food for Growth project (SAFEGRO) which is funded by the Government of Canada through Global Affairs Canada (GAC) for the period from 2019 to 2024, with extension to 2026, is being supported technically by the Canadian Executing Agency (CEA), led by Alinea in partnership with the University of Guelph and other leading food safety organizations.

The SAFEGRO is designed to support the Government of Vietnam to ensure better access to safe and competitive agri-food products, with an aim to improve the well-being of female and male consumers as well as other beneficiaries (including poor farmers) in Vietnam. The project operates across the agri-food value chains by engaging and building the capacity of three main target groups: the public sector (enabling environment), the private sector (supply side), and the consumer (demand side) to achieve 3 inter-related component outcomes:

• Intermediate Outcome (1100) – Enabling environment: “Improved performance of national and sub-national governments in food safety regulation enforcement along the value chain to meet international standards”.
• Intermediate Outcome (1200) – Supply side: “Increased competitiveness of poor farmers and other actors, particularly women, supplying safe agri-food products to domestic and international markets”.
• Intermediate Outcome (1300) – Demand side: “Increased consumer demand for safe and affordable agri-food in Vietnam”.

The SAFEGRO technical team works with national and sub-national governments to enforce food safety regulations, private sector suppliers to increase the competitiveness of Vietnamese food products domestically and internationally, and consumers to improve demand for safe food in Vietnam. Key partners on this project include The Ministry of Agriculture Rural Development (MARD), the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT), the Ministry of Health (MOH), Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh city agencies, and other Vietnamese Academic Institutes.

The government of Vietnam has committed to promote environmentally friendly agricultural technology and practices and gender equality by making these as cross-cutting issues in all political, economic, and cultural and social spheres. Therefore, within scope of SAFEGRO project, gender equality shall be integrated across all activities in the TORs to ensure: (i) collection of gender-disaggregated data for reporting and MEL; (ii) gender-sensitivity languages, photos, images, messages, etc.; (iii) equal participation in decision-making and benefit of women and men from activities and services; (iv) gender analysis before any intervention, decisions, or outlining plans and; (v) Gender equality mainstreaming shall be discussed at all meetings and consultations with government counterparts, regardless of the topics, technical or otherwise.

The Project mobilizes international and national consultants to provide high quality technical assistance and capacity building activities to the government agencies and chain actors. To implement the project activities, Alinea International is seeking a part-time Local Communication Officer for the SAFEGRO project.

Scope of Work

The Local Communication Officer (LCO) will be based in Hanoi and work in a team with international consultants and national consultants under the supervision of the Project Director (PD) and Project Manager (PM). The LCO will handle internalcommunications activities for the SAFEGRO project, focusing on the project’s social media and website. S/he will ensure project compliance with Alinea and Global Affairs Canada rules and requirements related to branding and marking photo consent policies as well. The LCO will ensure that all communication products are designed and developed with gender sensitive and environmentally responsive messaging on food safety. The position requires fieldwork for collecting information and pictures as inputs to the work.

Detail responsibilities/tasks, deliverable, and level of efforts per month.

The Local Communication Officer will perform the main tasks but not limited as bellow:

Required qualification:

The Local Communication Officer must possess the following minimum qualifications and experience:

• At least anundergraduate degree (i.e. University bachelor’s degree) in a relevant discipline such as communication, business communication, journalism, speech communication, technical communication across digital, written, and visual platforms.
• Having good knowledge and experience of gender equality and women empowerment. Have solid experience in designing and developing communication products with gender sensitivity and gender responsibility approach.  
• Level 4 – Advanced Professional Proficiency in English and in Vietnamese (oral, reading and writing).
• 60 months of combined professional experience in (i) communicating scientific and technical information to diverse audiences; (ii) providing advice and making decisions regarding the most appropriate and effective means to communicate specific information to target audiences; (iii) developing communication plans and budgets; and (iv) working on visual/design platforms/software.

We welcome all applications, regardless of ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression; candidates that belong to underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply. The recruitment process is based on fair standards.

Compensation: Alinea offers competitive salaries and an excellent benefits package. Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.

For those who are interested in applying for the Local Communication Officer position, please send your application (letter of interest and CV with details on relevant qualifications and experiences) with at least 3 referees by email to ngochungnguyen@alineainternational.com by 17h00 on 20 May 2024.

Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted, no telephone enquiries, please. Please include the job title in your email subject line.