Terms of Reference on Supermarket Industry and Policy Research for Oxfam Supermarket Scorecard Assessment (Year 2 Update)

Transcription

1 Terms of Reference on Supermarket Industry and Policy Research for Oxfam Supermarket Scorecard Assessment (Year 2 Update) Terms of Reference (TOR) are written by the report s commissioning manager. They should be used as a way of getting consensus among key stakeholders (e.g. Asia regional staff, OI affiliates, or partners) about the campaign report s purpose, content, and tone as early as possible in the process, and therefore a draft should be shared with others for feedback or comments. Writing of the report should not begin until the TOR is signed off. INFORMATION REQUIRED TO BE COMPLETED Project title: Supermarket Industry and Policy Research for Oxfam Scorecard Assessment - Year 2 Update Purpose: Why is this being commissioned, and why now? Please include an overview of the campaign strategy and how this report fits into it. This should include launch events, key dates, and events at which the report will be used months after publication. Also, if known, how the report and summary will be used as a basis for other campaigning materials. This Supermarket Industry and Policy Research for Oxfam Supermarket Scorecard Assessment (Year 2 Update) will be undertaken to support Thailand in engaging supermarkets and retails chains towards adopting/improving responsible sourcing practices and addressing inequalities in supply chains. This research is commissioned to update supermarket s policy and public information, focusing on sourcing and procurement policy and practice, reflecting any change or improvement in policy transparency from last round of assessment Proposition: What is the campaign report s core argument and policy recommendation(s)? What impact will this have on poverty? (Summarise in one paragraph). Oxfam engages supermarkets and their consumers and stakeholders as one strategy to promote sustainable supply chains and responsible business practices. This has been proven useful especially in northern markets where supermarkets and other retail chains are sensitive to pressure from consumers and other stakeholders. In Asia, supermarkets are beginning to play an important role in bridging producers and consumers. Rapid urbanization saw the increasing spread as well as importance of retail chains and supermarkets. Supermarkets and retail chains in Thailand have broad consumer bases, carry a wide breadth of products, including those produced by small scale farmers, fishers and workers, and are generally conscious about their brand image. These factors that make these supermarkets and retail chains viable targets for advocacy and campaigning. This paper asserts that it is possible to influence supermarkets and retail chains in Thailand towards addressing inequalities and sustainability issues in value chains. This can be done by developing campaign and advocacy strategies that understand the power dynamics as well as decision making structures and considerations of supermarkets and companies, taking into account the specific social economic and cultural context of the 1

2 country, including the evolution and current sourcing policy/practice in relation to sustainability and inequality. Audience: For whom is it being written? Who are we trying to influence? What kind of tone/style will the paper adopt? Please list primary and secondary audiences. What are your plans to launch to these audiences? Which are the key target countries? Primary audience: This paper will be internal to Oxfam for development of supermarket scorecard analysis. However, the data and analysis generated by the study could be used in developing public materials. Contents: List the contents of the campaign report in detail, including estimated page extents for each section. Include killer facts where possible, and identify how you will incorporate gender justice issues. 1. Introduction This section of the paper will discuss the emerging importance of supermarkets and retail chains in Thailand, together with their policy. 2. The Supermarkets / Retail Chains in Thailand The goal of this section is to present an overview of the supermarkets/retail chain sector. This section should provide solid information to identify leading players in this industry. This section should include, but not be limited to the following information: 2.1 Overview Time-series data on retail revenues, number of consumers, branches and geographical spread Ranking of top supermarkets in country in terms of sales/gross revenue, market share, number of branches and/or geographical spread 2.2 Industry analysis Political, Economic, Social, and Technology factors that affect supermarket business in Thailand Market structure and share Overall picture of supply chain for fresh food product of leading supermarket 3. Policy analysis of leading supermarket/retail chains. This section should provide information relevant for the assessment of supermarket policy in the Oxfam Scorecard (on inequality). Outputs from this process will be developed using a participatory approach. Research information should be based on publicly available data, which is accessible to consumers. This section should cover following topics: 2

3 Overview of supermarket public policies an information related to transparency and accountability, workers in food supply chains, small-scale farmers, and women Sourcing policy, with emphasis on fresh food Supermarket policies, initiatives or practices on promoting women empowerment in food supply chains Supermarkets policy and initiatives with local smallscale producers and communities Scoring results of supermarket/retail policy following the Oxfam Scorecard (with regards to transparency & accountability, workers, small-scale producers and women) Description underlying the scoring results to support and substantiate the score Other relevant information important for company assessment 4. Conclusion and recommendations Methodology The study will gather quantitative and qualitative data using the following methods: 1. Review of supermarket polices and information that has been made available in the public domain, which is accessible by consumers 2. Interviews with some key stakeholders (if needed) 3. Participatory consultation and workshops to fine-tune scoring and discuss on the results with Oxfam and allies Expected Outputs Given the above methodologies and contents, key deliverables of this research should cover: 1. Industry Analysis Supermarket industry structure and business landscape, revenues, number of consumers and growth of leading supermarkets in Thailand 2. Policy Analysis Information relevant and sufficient for assessment of leading supermarket/retail in the Oxfam Scorecard Scoring of company policy and performance against the Oxfam Scorecard (on transparency & accountability, workers, small-scale producers, and women themes) Descriptive explanation underlying results for each indicator assessment to substantiate the scoring results 3. Workshops Two workshops aimed to gather opinions from relevant stakeholders on the scorecard development etc. (one for preliminary assessment, and another for final assessment) Note: Key milestones and outputs are summarized in the Annex I of this TOR. 3

4 Gender: How does this campaign report look at either the power relations between men and women, and/or the disproportionate impact of unjust policy on women? The research is designed to ensure that it generates and provides information on the gender-specific manifestation as well as impacts of inequalities on the food supply chains. The research team shall ensure that gender aspect is used in reflected and applied in policy assessment Look and feel: What images and graphics will be included? How will they meet the needs of the target audiences? (Include information on the key countries and concepts). (A full design brief should be completed, following discussion with the Publishing team Designer). The research is based on primary and secondary data, which is publicly available and accessible by consumers. The tone should be constructive, fact-based, and provide insights for future policy development Translation requirements: Specify whether the full text needs translating into Oxfam s core languages (French, Spanish, English). List any other languages needed, explain how they will be used, and confirm that there are funds allocated for this. Please note: if the full text is to be translated, all language versions must publish together. English language papers will not be made publicly available in advance of the others, but will be held until all versions are complete. Report, scoring results and descriptive explanation must be written in Thai language Project Schedule December 1st, April 30th, 2019 Research, policy development, writing December 1st, April 30th, 2019 First Draft due by: January 7th, 2019 (First-draft scoring results is based on policy available to public by November 30th, 2018) Presentation findings to Oxfam and Allies (Round 1) January 8th-18th,

5 Comments required from: Please list names and groups, including: - Gender advisor - Joss Saunders if a libel check is required he will require 2.5 weeks prior to sign-off in order to contact companies. If your paper contains new policy, the commissioning manager should clear it with the Policy Sign-Off Group (PSG). Oxfam in Thailand and local campaign alliances Revisions by authors after presentation: January 21st - 30th, 2019 **And submit back the report and assessment after revision by January 31st, 2018 Second Draft due by: April 19th, 2019 Presentation findings to Oxfam and Allies (Final) April 22rd 26th, 2019 Final Output due by: April 30th, 2019 Budget Total cost of the study is to be proposed by the external consultant during application process (incl. VAT), which is all inclusive of research team compensation and other expenses related to this study. Payments are expected to be made into 3 instalments as: First payment: 30% upon first-draft submission, presentation, and feedback revision by January 31st, 2019 Second payment: 30% upon second-draft submission by April 19th, 2019 Final payment: 40% upon the final report submission, presentation and approval by Commissioning Manager 5

6 Annex I: Summary of Milestones and Outputs Delivered 6