RFP - Onboarding a consulting agency to Conduct a Baseline Study for “Project Dhenu Dhara – Foraging pathways to improving livestock health and dairy

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

RFP Title

Onboarding a consulting agency to Conduct a Baseline Study for “Project Dhenu Dhara – Foraging pathways to improving livestock health and dairy incomes in Bihar, India

Reference No

AKFINDIA/2026/SERVICE/12

Bid Validity

60 Days

Date of Publishing

Tuesday , 1 5 th September 202 6

Deadline for request for

clarification

Thursday, 24 th September 202 6

Date of Written Response to bidders’ queries

Friday, 25 th September 202 6

Deadline for Submission

Monday, 28 th September 202 6

Email ID for Submission

[contact details removed]

1. Instructions

All proposals must be in writing, in the English language, and signed and dated by an authorized person of the bidder. Bidders must use the forms provided in Annexures of this RFP.

2. Validity

The proposal validity period should be at ( 60 ) days following the bid deadline. This should be clearly mentioned in both the technical and financial proposal.

3. Costs of preparing bid

No costs incurred by the bidder in preparing and submitting the bid shall be reimbursable. All such costs shall be borne by the bidder. If proposed experts were interviewed or called for presentation, all costs shall be borne by the bidder.

4. Ownership of bid

The Aga Khan Foundation retains ownership of all bids received under this bid procedure. Consequently, bidders have no right to have their bid returned to them.

5. Alteration or withdrawal of bids

Bidders may alter or withdraw their bids by written notification prior to the stated deadline for submission of bids. No bids may be altered after this deadline. Withdrawals must be unconditional and will end all participation in the bid procedure.

6. Opening of bid

The bid will be opened by the Aga Khan Foundation within 15 days from the deadline for the submission of the bid.

Any attempt by a bidder to influence the evaluation committee in the process of examination, clarification, evaluation and comparison of bids, to obtain information on how the procedure is progressing or to influence the contracting authority in its decision concerning the award of the contract will result in immediate rejection of its bid.

7. Submission of bids

The bid has to be submitted in the prescribed format on or before Monday, 28 th September 202 6 by 5 p.m. Indian

Standard Time to [contact details removed]

Technical and financial proposals should be submitted simultaneously, but in separate emails , with the RFP reference and the clear description of the proposal (technical or financial) by the date and time stipulated in this document. If the emails and email attachments are not marked as instructed, AKF will assume no responsibility for the misplacement or premature opening of the proposals submitted.

Both email text bodies should indicate the name and address of the bidder and the description of the proposal (technical or financial). The technical email should not contain any pricing information, nor should the financial email contain any component of the technical proposal.

Technical proposals should be submitted in one (1) email accompanied by the forms prescribed in this RFP, clearly marked as “technical proposal” - in the email subject line and corresponding attachment should read: (RFP Reference No.) – (name of bidder) – TECHNICAL PROPOSAL

The technical proposal should not contain any details of the financial proposal / budget. Any financial information contained in the technical proposal will invalidate the proposal.

Financial proposals should be submitted in one (1) email with the email subject line as ‘FINANCIAL PROPOSAL’ and corresponding email attachment should read: (RFP Reference No.) – (name of bidder) – FINANCIAL PROPOSAL.

The Financial Proposal should contain the budget in a password protected file (excel and/or pdf), which can be opened only with the password. The bidder should not mention any financial amounts in the email text body, or the password. Passwords should be made available only at a later date, when requested for by AKF.

Proposals should be received by the date, time and means of submission stipulated in this RFP. Bidders are responsible for ensuring that AKF receives their proposal by the due date and time. Proposals received by AKF after the due date and time may be rejected. When receiving proposals by email (as is required for the RFP), the receipt time stamp shall be the date and time when the submission has been received in the dedicated AKF inbox. AKF shall not be responsible for any delays caused by network problems, etc. It is the sole responsibility of bidders to ensure that their proposal is received by AKF in the dedicated inbox on or before the prescribed RFP deadline.

Proposals following a Consortium Model for undertaking the given assignment are encouraged to apply .

8. Request for Clarification

All questions regarding the preparation of proposals must be submitted in writing (by e-mail) to [contact details removed] by Thursday , 24 th September 202 6 . Responses will be provided to all interested organizations by Friday, 25 th September 202 6 , through email. Aga Khan Foundation is under no obligation to consider or respond to questions that are not received in a timely manner.

For detailed information, please check the complete version of the RFP attached below.