Request for Quote: Economic Impact Assessment AgriFutures Export Fodder RD&E Plan 2021-2026

⁠⁠⁠Background

AgriFutures Australia invests industry levy and Australian Government matching funds to support the productivity, profitability and sustainability of the Australian export fodder industry through the Export Fodder Program.

The Export Fodder Program is guided by the Export Fodder RD&E Plan 2021–2026, which sets out four priority areas for investment:

• Production of high‑quality export grade fodder
• Continued access to export markets
• Supporting innovation across the supply chain
• Increased adoption of R&D outputs by industry

As the RD&E Plan period concludes, AgriFutures Australia is seeking to commission an independent, CRRDC‑compliant economic impact assessment of investments delivered under the Plan. The assessment will support RD&E Plan renewal, future investment prioritisation and transparent reporting of outcomes and value to levy payers, stakeholders and government.

Project requirements

The successful applicant will be expected to:

• Define the investment population
•  Identify and document RD&E projects funded under the Export Fodder Program within the assessment period
• Align projects to RD&E Plan priorities and clearly document inclusion and exclusion criteria
• Quantify investment costs
• Quantify total investment costs, including AgriFutures RD&E investment, overheads and partner contributions
• Convert costs to real terms and discount in line with CRRDC guidelines
• Develop impact pathways
• Develop logical frameworks mapping activities, outputs, outcomes and economic impacts
• Clearly articulate adoption pathways, attribution logic and counterfactual scenarios
• Stakeholder consultation
• Undertake structured consultation with relevant stakeholders (e.g. Advisory Panel members, exporters, levy payers, researchers) to validate assumptions and impact pathways
• Qualitative and quantitative assessment
• Undertake a qualitative assessment to identify projects suitable for quantitative valuation (noting that not all projects will have measurable metrics for economic benefit)
• For selected projects, undertake cost benefit analysis consistent with CRRDC guidelines
• Estimate NPV, BCR, IRR and/or MIRR, as appropriate
• Sensitivity and risk analysis
• Conduct sensitivity analysis on key assumptions
• Clearly document uncertainty, data limitations and risk drivers

Project deliverables

Project deliverables should include:

• An inception report outlining scope, methodology and stakeholder engagement approach
• A concise technical report detailing methodology, assumptions, results and implications
• A clear synthesis of economic impacts aligned to the Export Fodder RD&E Plan priorities
• Practical insights to inform future RD&E priorities and investment decisions
• A short plain‑English summary suitable for communication to levy payers, stakeholders and government

AgriFutures will provide access to relevant background documentation and program information to support delivery of the assessment.