Tender Description

TERMS OF REFERENCE
Consultancy to Develop the Innovate for Food Security (IFFS) ProgramCurriculum
Reference No. iRise/PROC/TOR/2026/004
Issue Date 24/08/2026
Closing Date 31/08/2026 

Development of the Innovate for Food Security (IFFS) ProgramCurriculumItem Detail
Program Nagaasho - Integrated Solutions for Preventing Displacement and Strengthening Rural
Resilience in Somalia and Somaliland
Domain / Outcome Domain 2 – Resilient Livelihoods & Inclusive Economic Opportunities (Outcome 2)
Lead institution iRise Hub (Economic Domain Lead)
Supporting partners CARE Somalia (Consortium Lead), SaferWorld Somalia, WFP, WAAPO& WARDI. 

Target districts Baardhere, Belet Weyne, Afgooye, Laas Caanood, Erigavo
Curriculum development One (1) month, including field data gathering from project districts and villages
Field-feedback update Three (3) months after the consultancy, following the validation workshop

1. Background
   The Nagaasho Program is a multi-year initiative designed to strengthen the resilience, economic participation, and adaptive capacity of rural and agro-pastoral communities across Baardhere, Belet Weyne, Afgooye, LasAnod, and Erigavo. Operating in regions marked by chronic vulnerability, recurring droughts, limitedmarketlinkages, and increasing climate-related risks that continue to affect agricultural productivity, livestocksystems, market functionality, and livelihood stability, as well as constrained access to essential services, theprogramme recognizes that resilience cannot be achieved without functional local food systems. Central toitstheory of change is Outcome 2, which seeks to empower women and youth who have historicallyfacedsystemic barriers to actively participate in and shape local food systems, thereby creating stable livelihoodsand reducing the economic drivers of displacement. Across the target districts, these food systemsareweakened by persistent post-harvest losses, weak storage and market access, and recurring climateshocksthat limit opportunities for value addition.
   In this regard, please carefully review the Market Value Chain Analysis conducted during the inceptionphase, which provides key insights into the market and value-chain dynamics across the target areas: Market ValueChain Analysis. The Nagaasho program addresses this, alongside two other interlinked drivers of displacement, climateshocksand fragile local governance through three corresponding Thematic Domains, of which Domain 2, “ResilientLivelihoods & Inclusive Economic Opportunities”, targets the economic driver. By expanding economicopportunities and strengthening local value chains, the programme seeks to increase householdresilience, reduce vulnerability to climate and economic shocks, and support durable solutions for at-risk populations. More specifically, this means supporting women and youth to engage in and shape local foodsystems, creating sustainable, climate-smart livelihoods and stronger market linkages that reduce the economicpressures driving displacement.
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   Under Domain 2, Nagaasho operates a structured innovation pipeline built around three connectedstages:
   the Innovation Challenge Sprint, which identifies and develops practical solutions to locally identifiedfoodsystem gaps while contributing to more inclusive, resilient, and market-responsive food systems; theInnovatefor Food Security (IFFS) Program, a three-month incubation process in which promising ideas arerefined, prototyped, tested, and strengthened into viable business models; and the Kobciye Model, whichsupportsselected ventures to access finance and transition into sustainable, growth-oriented enterprises. The IFFS Program is the stage where ideas move from concepts to validated, market-ready solutionsthatrespond to identified market opportunities and strengthen value chain performance through anintensivebootcamp, a prototype testing phase, structured mentorship, and pitch preparation. Its quality dependsonawell-designed, context-grounded curriculum that reflects the food system realities of each target district. Adedicated preparation phase is therefore required to develop and refine the IFFS curriculum, tools, facilitationmaterials, and mentorship approach, building on lessons from previous iRise programs, field assessments, stakeholder consultations, and district-specific food system realities, while adapting the content totheNagaasho context, including its focus on food systems, climate resilience, displacement prevention, andinclusive livelihoods. This consultancy responds to that need. 2. Purpose of the Consultancy
   The purpose of this consultancy is to develop a complete, rural-based IFFS programcurriculumthat isgrounded in field realities, gender-responsive, climate-smart, and fully integrated with the InnovationChallenge Sprint and Kobciye pathways. The curriculum should further enable participants todevelopsolutions that address identified food system challenges and contribute to more resilient, inclusive, andmarket-responsive local food systems. The curriculum must equip iRise Hub, consortiumpartners, anddistrictlevel facilitators to deliver an effective, inclusive, and contextually relevant three-month incubationcycleacross all five target locations. The curriculum should support participants to progress fromearly-stageideasto validated business models with clear pathways toward market engagement, growth, and investmentreadiness. Ultimately, success should mean that every participating team graduates with a viable, context-appropriate business model that directly addresses a verified value chain gap and can withstand climateandmarket shocks; the consultant should propose indicative success criteria at inception for agreement withiRiseHub and the Nagaasho design/review team. A distinctive feature of this assignment is that curriculum development must be evidence-basedandfieldinformed. The consultant is required to gather primary data directly from the project districts andvillages, engaging farmers, traders, producer groups, processors, women- and youth-led enterprises, andlocal
   facilitators, so that all modules, examples, case studies, and exercises reflect the actual value chaingapsandlived realities of Nagaasho target communities. The full curriculum development process is to be completedwithin one month. Following the validation workshop, a three-month field-feedback update phase will allowthe curriculum to be refined based on real implementation experience from the field.

Skills Required

Attachment

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