Latest Job at Rainforest Alliance (RA)

Objective of the study:

The study will carry out customer journey mapping[1] to capture the current way in which farmers and technical assistants (TAs) experience access to valuable market and production related information, the ability to share this information, current practices used to receive or share information, as well as, thoughts on how this may affects sustainable productivity or other aspects of sustainable farming (particularly to the following thematic areas of the Sector Partnerships program: Farmer Group Strengthening, Gender Equality, Climate Change Adaptation and Water Management)

This will provide RA with the farmers’ and technical assistants valuable perspective, shedding light on the challenges they experience as well as what changes they would like to see in the future. The study will also explore the farmers’ current access to mobile technology (and describe the relevant technical specifications) or use thereof and will provide a brief overview of existing mobile platforms. This information will be used to inform the ideation phase which will produce recommendations for using mobile technology to address the challenges raised.

The objective of this study is therefore to provide RA with a clear understanding of:

• A problem statement based on UTZ certified coffee farmers’ and technical assistants’ experiences in Kenya
• The farmers’ (female and male) and technical assistants’ experiences and challenges relating to access to knowledge and technology through Customer Journey Mapping (i.e. a needs assessment and analysis.
• Current practices that are used by farmers and TAs to share and receive information and remaining gaps.
• The future state that farmers’ and technical assistants would like to see and the potential use of mobile technology for improved access to information
• An overview of existing major mobile platforms that are available both in Kenya and globally. Including, their capabilities, relevant technical description, services, reach (national and international), and key areas of alignment with UTZ Academy’s strategy. Platforms to be explored include: iCow, Rural eMarket, Esoko, Farm Connect, Mshamba and WeFarm.
• Recommended scenarios for integrated solutions that address key challenges and have positive impact on farmers and TAs. These recommendations can include suggestions for the use of existing services or development of new platforms and should highlight the farmers and TAs needs/challenges and possible interventions that could address those challenges.

Approach:

We foresee the following activities:

• Interviews with UTZ Academy didactic team, Utz regional team in Kenya, Technical Assistants (differentiating between independent TAs and TAs that are employed by a company or trader), UTZ certified farmers (including females, males and youth) and RA tech department.

• Desk research of existing mobile technology services and their capabilities.

Expected Expertise:

We seek the following qualification and knowledge:

• A university qualification in a related field
• English fluency and sufficient knowledge of Swahili or other local languages
• Experience working with Design Thinking or Human Centred Design approaches is a must
• A sufficient understanding of IT and mobile technology capabilities in Sub-Saharan Africa
• Exposure to coffee farming in Kenya and Africa in general—more specifically smallholder farming systems is preferred

Deliverables:

We expect the following deliverables:

Report (max. 20 pages excluding annexes) in English including

• Executive summary
• Clearly defined problem statement
• Description of needs assessment and analysis based on Customer Journey Maps from a diverse group of farmers (including females, males, youth) and technical assistants
• Future state vision of farmers and technical assistants
• Overview of existing mobile platforms
• Recommendations for future approaches
• On-going feedback to the RA contact person on the progress with research and interviews (feedback meetings to be scheduled jointly )

UTZ will provide:

• Access to interview subjects where needed within the Kenyan coffee community
• Format for Customer Journey Mapping tools and co-development of other tools used for the study

Budget and time allocation:

• Proposals should include a work plan and specified budget outline, including travel costs, and other costs associated with carrying out interviews in-field. CVs of participating researchers should be annexed to the proposal, if possible with reference to similar assignments.
• Total budget should not exceed EUR 10,000
• Up to 3 months will be allocated for the completion of this study
• Customer journey maps form part of the Design thinking approach.
• The Customer journey maps will be designed by UTZ Academy staff, those applicants who aren’t familiar with Customer Journey mapping, will be briefly oriented.