OPEN CALL FOR TENDER

Tender for the selection of a promotion agency for the development of a multi European Programme REA EU 1144/2014
for the promotion of poultry

PROMOTION PROGRAMME IN BELGIUM, FRANCE, SPAIN AND GERMANY

1/ CONTEXT

The Partnership:

AVEC (Coordinator)- Association of poultry processors and poultry trade in the EU countries
AVEC is the voice of the European poultry meat sector. AVEC facilitates communication between international organisations and decision-makers and focus on key areas such as animal health and welfare, food safety and quality, trade, and sustainable development. AVEC’s members are national associations from 16 EU member States + 1 associate member from UK.

AVIANZA – the Spanish Poultry Meat Association (formerly called Propollo)
The Spanish Poultry Meat Association –AVIANZA– has more than 65 companies associated, integrating more than 95% of the poultry meat market. In this sense, we count on more than 5000 farms, 281 slaughter houses and cutting plants, as well as more than 40.000 employees working for the meat poultry industry in Spain.

BVG – Bundesverband der Geflügelschlachtereien e. V.
The BVG – Bundesverband der Geflügelschlachtereien e. V. is the professional organisation and sole representative body for the German poultry slaughter and processing industry. Its 33 members – mainly poultry slaughterhouses, poultry meat processors and marketers – represent more than 93% of the German poultry processing sector. As a specialized branch focusing on the topics of the poultry processing industry, BVG is a member of the umbrella and topmost organisation of the German poultry industry, the ZDG – Zentralverband der Deutschen Geflügelwirtschaft e. V. (German Poultry Association).

CIPC – French Interprofessional Committee for Broiler Chickens
Since its origins in 2007, CIPC is a French Poultry association representing 85% of the broiler sector and each of its fields: hatchery, farmers, animal nutrition, slaughterhouses. Based in Rennes, close to major poultry production areas, it develops its network and experience to offer a variety of services available from professionals to scientists and closely linked to administration. CIPC allocates its means and resources to broiler production, with a dedicated board member and study activities. The volume of French production in 2019 is estimated at 1.754 thousand tec of poultry including 222 Mtec of ducks, 326 MTec of turkeys and 1.173 MTec of broiler.

SUST EU POULTRY – the Programme:

This programme aims at raising awareness and promoting the European poultry meat and production methods highlighting its commitment to create the most sustainable and environmentally friendly European agri-food sector. The programme is focused on all three factors of a sustainability: environment, economy, and society. The proposing organizations cover four different European markets providing the programme with an ambitious European dimension and they will be focused on four different target markets: Belgium, Spain, Germany, and France.

While the efforts and measures from the European poultry sector when the new Biodiversity and Farm to Fork^[1] strategies were released as part of the Green Deal^[2] have been a great impulse, there is still a tendency to identify the sector as not having a beneficial role for climate action and the environment. For this reason, this programme aims to highlight the sustainability of EU agriculture for consumers, stressing its commitment to climate change mitigation and emphasizing how the consumption of European poultry meat is beneficial for a sustainable European environment, society, and economy.

With an overall budget of over €3 mill and many promotion and information activities in Belgium, Spain, Germany and France, the partnership will not only use online and offline channels to communicate the message but will also organize different events, tasting days and workshops to reach the highest number of consumers possible. The impact that this programme will have for the European poultry sector will also encourage other industry key players to work on their sustainable products and production methods.

General objectives:

“Highlight the specific features of agricultural production methods in the Union, particularly in terms of food safety, traceability, authenticity, labelling, nutritional and health aspects, animal welfare, respect for the environment and sustainability, and the characteristics of agricultural and food products, particularly in terms of their quality, taste, diversity or traditions” is the general aim of this programme.

If consumers are aware of the sustainable characteristics of the European poultry sector compared to the same products from third countries, they may prioritise EU produced poultry and make an informed choice. Within this program we aim at promoting European poultry meat products, more specifically those products originating mainly from chicken and turkey.

Contribution to the environment

This program, based on the sustainability of European products and production methods, aims to support the European poultry meat sector through communication activities based on the strategies that the proposing organisations and all its partners are pursuing to make their production processes and their environmental impact more sustainable. These strategies are in line with the European Farm to Fork and Green Deal strategies, both based on achieving greener and more sustainable production systems, among other aims.

This programme also aims to adapt to new market trends in poultry meat consumption, as well as to the environmental demands that people are increasingly placing on producers.

2/ CALL FOR TENDER

The recruitment of a specialized executive agency is necessary, to plan and execute the actions covered in this program once AVEC and its partners will have signed the Grant Agreement. The partners expect a sustainable partnership with the implementing agency, based on high mutual confidence, considering the budgets involved and the need to sustain the partners’ confidence via the proposed program.

The agency will interact with AVEC as Coordinator, but also with all the partners individually to implement the program in their respective target countries.

The program will have an overall budget of over 3 million EUR and has a total duration of 2 years. It focuses on three main target audience: young people, family decision makers (both of which would form the end consumer section) and key opinion leaders, in Germany, France, Belgium and Spain.

Open Tender Conditions:

1. The objective of this tender is the application for a promotion programme co-financed by the EU REA agency. If the European funds are not guaranteed, the tender will be considered void.
2. This tender is not remunerated. Unsuccessful Applicants will not receive any economic compensation.
3. All the information sent to the selected applicants shall be treated as strictly confidential, and due to the institutional character of the data, it cannot be used for other clients.
4. AVEC will send applicants on demand a briefing including technical information related to the selection of the target markets and the programme’s objectives for the preparation of their proposals.
5. The selection criteria will ensure the best value for money in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 1144/2014 of the European Parliament
6. Once the creative work by the applicant has been sent, it becomes property of the contracting entities without limitations of time and space, and this includes its use for all communication methods and media.
7. The contracting entities reserve the right to use creative concepts (images, logos, slogans and domain names) within the context of other campaigns of their own and without limitation of time.
8. The selected agency shall sign a contract with the contracting entities.
9. Expenses will not be incurred before a framework agreement has been signed between the contracting entities and the European Commission, and a framework agreement between the contracting entities and the implementing body.

Mandatory elements to be submitted by the applicants:

The candidates should propose a strategic plan for the development of a multi promotion REA programme in the above-mentioned markets with the objective of improving the image of Poultry products and boosting their consumption.

The detailed proposition (PowerPoint format preferred) should be sent imperatively in English to Ms. Birthe Steenberg (bs@avec-poultry.eu) and should include:

1. An Application letter dated and signed accepting the tender conditions.

2. A Presentation of the agency including the proof of being up to date with tax payment, information on its financial viability, on its competences for accompanying the partnership with these missions and on its knowledge on rules concerning EU-funded promotion programs

1. A Proposal based on the knowledge of the target countries regarding production, consumption, and consumer habits of poultry meat. The agency should be able to propose a range of actions based on the different criteria set in the proposal.
2. The agency should describe the objectives, the target audience, as well as the expected deliverables and should include a budgetary proposition for each action within the general frame defined for that campaign.

5. Sworn declaration duly dated and signed by the applicant which declares any possible conflict of interest derived from the works done by an institution in the Poultry sector in any of the markets covered by the campaign.

The proposal should consider the compulsory EU signature and other graphic elements as stipulated in Regulation EC/1144/2014 and related legislation. The selected executive agency will need to strictly adhere to these criteria for all actions planned and carried out, as non-compliance with these EU rules would lead to non-eligibility of the actions and loss of funding. In case our application would not reach the signature of the grant agreement, the implementation of the campaign should of course have no purpose and this tender would be null and void.

3/ SUPPORT ACTIONS

The selected Implementing agency will support the beneficiaries in implementing the following actions foreseen in this program:

• public relations activities (PR office & press releases)
• digital communication (social media campaign, online advertising, digital events, etc.
• organisation of events such exhibitions/conferences/ /webinars
• advertising in different media (press, online, television, outdoor,…)
• …

The agency will have to propose how to articulate and adapt all these actions to the different target countries, as well as demonstrate their experience in the different fields of activities.

The agency will have to propose how to articulate and adapt all these actions to the different target countries. AVEC will send applicants on demand a briefing including technical information related to the selection of the target markets and the programme’s objectives for the preparation of their proposals.

An evaluation agency will also be selected to audit the program. The selected body will be expected to facilitate the work of the evaluation agency as required throughout the project, e.g. provide information requested by the evaluation agency, participate in occasional meetings and take on board its recommendations.

4/ SELECTION CRITERIA

The selection will be done by a jury composed of AVEC team as well as the 3 other partners from France, Germany, and Spain which are involved in the project.

Selection criteria:

1. Quality and coherence of the strategy, argumentation of proposed actions (30 points)
2. Value for money (20 points)
3. Comprehension and strict respect of EU promotion rules (20 points)
4. Experience in EU promotion projects/communication actions particularly on sustainability aspects, as well as quality of the information provided on financial viability of the agency (20 points)

5. Qualifications of the project management team and experience in the 4 target countries (10 points)

5/ PROPOSED PLANNING

• 15 November by 18h00:  Deadline for sending application to the tender
• 29 November by 18h00: notification of the chosen agency and detailed notification to the other agencies of non-selection

6/ CONTACTS

Ms. Birthe Steenberg, Secretary General of AVEC (bs@avec-poultry.eu) is available to answer any questions candidates might have (tel: + 32 (0) 492 10 75 71).

^[1] European Commission – https://ec.europa.eu/food/farm2fork_en

^[2] European Commission – https://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/eu-climate-action_en