Request for Proposal – Regional Trade for Development Program

Event Organisation and Management for an on-site event on RISP Project “Knowledge Sharing Activity and Research on the Competency Framework of AANZ’s IP Service Human Resources”

About RT4D

The Regional Trade for Development (RT4D) initiative is funded by both the Governments of Australia and New Zealand. It assists ASEAN Member States (AMS) in meeting their commitments and realising the advantages offered by the Agreement establishing the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area, or AANZFTA, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP.

Through the AANZFTA Implementation Support Program (AISP) and the RCEP Implementation Support Program (RISP), RT4D provides tailored support to enhance the capabilities of ASEAN Member States by strengthening skills, building networks, facilitating policy options and ensuring that trade benefits everyone, including Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), women and people with disabilities.

Also operating under RT4D is the Trade and Gender Equality Incubator (TGEI), an initiative funded by the Australian Government. The incubator tests ideas and methods, drawing on promising examples, that integrate gender in trade policy, technical cooperation, and development programming.

The Governments of Australia and New Zealand have committed up to AUD 48.7 million to fund RT4D from 2020-21 to 2027-28.

Project Summary

The RCEP Implementation Support Program (RISP), implemented RT4D Facility, aims to support AMS to realise the full benefits of RCEP through the provision of capacity-building support and access to technical expertise.

The following project is approved under RISP.

• Project Name: Knowledge Sharing Activity and Research on the Competency Framework of AANZ’s IP Service Human Resources
• Project Objective:

o the overall objective of the activity is the successful planning and delivery of the workshop. Technical and subject matters (including workshop agenda, content and structure) will be the main responsibility of the RT4D Facility, relevant technical experts, or workshop facilitator. The technical consultant, namely Atty Daniel Hofilena will facilitate the workshop, with Subject Matter Experts coming from each ASEAN Member States providing technical presentation and contributions.

o the specific objective pertaining to the Event Organiser (EO) is the successful management and delivery of all logistics, event management and organisational matters in the run-up, during and post-event.

Request for Proposal – Regional Trade for Development Program

Technical Consultant on AISP Project “Developing National Policies and Laws Related to GRTKTCE; and Empowering Ethnic Communities through strengthening capacity for GRTKTCE protection for Interested ASEAN Member States (AMSs)”

About RT4D

The Regional Trade for Development (RT4D) initiative is funded by both the Governments of Australia and New Zealand. It assists ASEAN Member States (AMS) in meeting their commitments and realising the advantages offered by the Agreement establishing the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area, or AANZFTA, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP.

Through the AANZFTA Implementation Support Program (AISP) and the RCEP Implementation Support Program (RISP), RT4D provides tailored support to enhance the capabilities of ASEAN Member States by strengthening skills, building networks, facilitating policy options and ensuring that trade benefits everyone, including Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), women and people with disabilities.

Also operating under RT4D is the Trade and Gender Equality Incubator (TGEI), an initiative funded by the Australian Government. The incubator tests ideas and methods, drawing on promising examples, that integrate gender in trade policy, technical cooperation, and development programming.

The Governments of Australia and New Zealand have committed up to AUD 48.7 million to fund RT4D from 2020-21 to 2027-28.

Project Summary

The AISP Implementation Support Program (AISP), implemented RT4D Facility, aims to support AMS to realise the full benefits of AISP through the provision of capacity-building support and access to technical expertise.

The following project is approved under AISP.

• Project Name: Developing National Policies and Laws Related to GRTKTCE; and Empowering Ethnic Communities through strengthening capacity for GRTKTCE protection for Interested ASEAN Member States (AMSs)
• Project Objective:
  • For communities: Increase awareness within indigenous communities of GRTKTCE protections and enhance their capacity to benefit from non-legal and legal frameworks.
  • For institutions: Increase institutional capacity to strengthen non-legal and legal framework for the protection of GRTKTCE and the benefit of indigenous communities.

About the program: GREAT is an innovative, market-oriented program funded by the Australian Government and working in Son La and Lao Cai provinces in northwest Vietnam. The program works with innovative and forward-thinking commercial businesses, as well as government partners, to identify and unlock economic opportunities for ethnic minority women producers and entrepreneurs.

https://equality.aus4vietnam.org/

A strategic opportunity for the right business partner

Objective

The objective of the GREAT program is to work with one or more sector partners to test, develop and operationalise innovative business ideas that seek to transform the medicinal plant commodity sectors from low value conventional production toward GACP-WHO compliance to access potential markets in Son La and Lao Cai and open up mutual opportunities for ethnic minority women producers and pharmaceutical industry business investors. This is an ambitious agenda that seeks to build strong and effective partnerships between sector leaders and ethnic minority women suppliers and requires both innovation and a commitment to the medicinal plant commodity sector in northwest of Vietnam.

The GREAT program is seeking to support business initiative and innovation and would like to hear from those willing and able to try new ways of working with small scale producers and cooperatives and who are prepared to invest in successful models to develop the medicinal plant commodity sector in northwest Vietnam. The right business partner(s) will have the following expertise and interests:

• A track record in the production, supply and/or manufacture of medicinal plant products from northwest Vietnam
• Extensive knowledge, know-how and networks in the medicinal plant commodities sector and supply chains in Vietnam, particularly the northwest
• A track record of working with ethnic minority producers and cooperatives and/or in the development and support of supply chains characterised by large numbers of small scale producers
• Feasible business plans (under implementation or to be implemented) that seek to develop the GACP-WHO medicinal plants production areas Son La and/or Lao Cai
• Willingness and capacity to co-invest in supply chain development and production support

If the above applies to you or your organisation, then GREAT would welcome your Expression of Interest:

Your commitment: partnering with GREAT, provincial stakeholders and ethnic minority producer communities, particularly women, to pilot solutions for the development of the medicinal plant commodities sector in northwest Vietnam, including co-investing in the form of expertise, resources and finance.

GREAT’s commitment: supporting selected partners with critical resources including technical expertise and co-financing mobilise producers, build production and semi-processing capability and develop mutually beneficial production and off-take arrangements to drive quality, growth and resilience in the sector.

Background

Partnerships for Infrastructure (P4I) is an Australian Government initiative partnering with Southeast Asia to foster inclusive growth through sustainable infrastructure. P4I works with and provides services to Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vietnam and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The focus is on infrastructure planning and prioritisation, procurement, and policy and regulation, using either rapid or longer-term infrastructure advisory services, government partnerships, and regional learning and networking. All services include the cross-cutting priorities of gender equality and social inclusion, and disaster risk reduction and climate change.

Delivered through a single cohesive team, the initiative is led by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in collaboration with Ernst & Young, Adam Smith International, The Asia Foundation and Ninti One. P4I has a regional hub in Bangkok, with staff in Canberra and each target country location.