Grassland Management Programme

AI-generated analysis of the documents. Check the official notice and any amendments for current submission details.

1. At a glance

2. Scope of Work

The contractor will design, coordinate, and deliver a practical Grassland Management Programme for young farmers in Ireland. The programme aims to enhance participants' professional development by focusing on grassland management, grazing systems, agricultural education, and practical farmer training. The initiative supports the continuous professional development of individuals in Irish agriculture, responding to evolving industry needs.

The contractor's responsibilities include:

• Programme Design and Content Development: Creating programme content and learning materials aligned with current industry best practices. This involves developing practical, field-based learning methods, innovative approaches, and relevant content specifically for young farmers, farm successors, and new entrants.
• Programme Delivery: Conducting all programme sessions. This includes classroom instruction, practical demonstrations, and field-based learning activities. The programme is structured as a four-day event, delivered annually.
• Coordination and Participant Engagement: Liaising with Macra Agricultural Skillnet throughout the contract period. This also involves managing participant engagement, ensuring active participation, and facilitating peer learning.
• Learning Resources and Materials: Providing appropriate learning resources and producing participant learning materials.
• Administration and Reporting: Managing attendance records, collecting and analysing participant feedback, and submitting attendance reports and an end-of-programme report. This report should summarise participation, outcomes, and recommendations.
• Quality Assurance and Improvement: Ensuring programme materials are technically accurate and up-to-date. Maintaining quality assurance procedures, responding to participant feedback, and continuously improving programme delivery in collaboration with Macra Agricultural Skillnet.

The programme objectives include enabling participants to improve practical grassland management skills, develop confidence in grazing management, enhance grass utilisation and farm profitability, accurately measure and monitor grass growth, develop grass budgeting and feed planning skills, understand soil fertility's impact on grass production, implement sustainable grassland management practices, and improve farm performance.

The programme is scheduled to be delivered annually over four training days, with indicative timings for Day 1 in September, Day 2 in October, Day 3 in January, and Day 4 in April. Each session is expected to run from approximately 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. Practical activities will include farm walks, grass measuring and budgeting exercises, group discussions, seasonal planning, and demonstrations.

3. Background & buyer context

Macra Agricultural Skillnet is the national training network dedicated to the continuous professional development of those in Irish agriculture and the agri-food sector. The organisation works with educational providers, industry experts, and partners to deliver programmes that address the evolving needs of Irish agriculture. This procurement is driven by Macra Agricultural Skillnet's aim to deliver a practical Grassland Management Programme specifically for young farmers, farm successors, and new entrants. The programme is designed to equip participants with the knowledge and skills to manage productive grazing systems, improve grass utilisation, enhance farm profitability, and support environmentally sustainable farming practices. The successful tenderer will collaborate with Macra Agricultural Skillnet to ensure the programme reflects current industry best practices and delivers measurable value.

4. Eligibility & selection criteria

Bidders must meet the following minimum requirements to be considered:

• Turnover requirement: Not specified for this tender.
• Insurance: The successful tenderer must maintain the following minimum insurance levels for the duration of the contract:
• Employers Liability: €13,000,000
• Public Liability: €6,500,000
• Professional Indemnity: €1,500,000 Evidence of insurance is required upon request before contract award.
• Certifications: Not specified for this tender.
• Past experience: Tenderers must demonstrate experience in delivering agricultural education and training programmes, specifically in grassland management and grazing systems. They must also show successful delivery of two comparable programmes within the previous three years, including client references.
• Personnel: Tenderers must detail the relevant expertise of personnel assigned to the programme.
• Geographic / facility constraints: Not specified for this tender.

5. Award criteria & scoring

The contract will be awarded to the tenderer submitting the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT). The evaluation methodology assigns weights to specific criteria:

• Proposed Programme Content and Delivery Methodology (40%): Evaluates understanding of objectives, practical field-based methods, innovative learning, content relevance, participant engagement, and support for young farmers.
• Relevant Experience and Programme Delivery Capability (30%): Assesses experience in agricultural education, grassland management, programme delivery capacity, personnel expertise, and successful delivery of comparable programmes.
• Price and Value for Money (20%): Assesses transparency, competitiveness, and overall value for money based on the submitted pricing schedule.
• Sustainability and Green Procurement Measures (10%): Evaluates how sustainability principles are incorporated into programme delivery, including environmentally responsible practices and promotion of sustainable grassland management.

6. Submission requirements

Tenderers must submit the following electronically via the eTenders platform:

• Organisation profile: Details of the tendering organisation.
• Relevant experience: Information on delivering agricultural education and training programmes, specifically grassland management, grazing, livestock, or farm management programmes.
• Proposed methodology: A description of the approach to programme delivery.
• Proposed content and learning outcomes: Details of the programme's content and intended learning outcomes.
• Personnel summary: Information on the personnel who will deliver the programme and their relevant expertise.
• Comparable programmes: Details of two comparable programmes delivered within the last three years, including client references.
• Pricing Schedule: Completed in accordance with Appendix 2.
• Tenderer's Statement: Signed declaration confirming accuracy, understanding of requirements, capacity, agreement to insurance, compliance with legislation, and acceptance of contract terms.

Late tenders will not be accepted. Tenders must be submitted in English.

7. Key dates & process

8. Contract terms that matter

The initial contract term is one year, with an option for two further one-year extensions. Extension is subject to continued demand, Skillnet Ireland funding availability, satisfactory performance, and ongoing requirements of Macra Agricultural Skillnet. The maximum potential contract duration is three years. The estimated maximum contract value is €120,000 (exclusive of VAT) over the potential three-year period, with a maximum of €40,000 per annum. The successful tenderer will enter into Macra Agricultural Skillnet's standard Services Agreement, which may be amended to reflect specific procurement requirements. Tender validity is for twelve months from the closing date.

9. Risks, red flags & unusuals

The estimated budget of €40,000 per annum, capped at €120,000 over three years, is relatively modest for a programme requiring significant design, delivery, and reporting. This suggests a focus on efficiency and value for money. The contract is conditional on the availability of Skillnet Ireland funding, introducing an element of funding risk for the contractor. The award criteria heavily favour programme content and delivery methodology (40%) and experience (30%), indicating a preference for demonstrated expertise over price alone, although price still holds a significant 20% weighting. The sustainability criterion (10%) requires specific attention to green procurement measures.

10. SME fit assessment

This tender is suitable for small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with specialised expertise in agricultural education and grassland management. A viable bidder would likely be an agricultural training provider, a consultancy firm with a strong focus on practical farming education, or potentially a collaborative partnership of such entities. Consortium bidding is implicitly allowed, as the tender mentions "Collaborative partnerships with appropriate expertise" as eligible tenderers. The bid preparation effort would involve developing a detailed programme proposal, outlining methodologies, and demonstrating past experience, likely requiring several days of focused work. The tender does not explicitly mention an incumbent, but the emphasis on practical, field-based delivery and specific Irish agricultural context might favour a provider with established local networks and knowledge. The €40,000 annual budget suggests a contract size manageable for a focused SME.

11. Where to dig deeper

• Source RFT filename: REQUEST FOR TENDERS - Grassland Management 2026.docx
• eTenders CFT ID: Not specified
• Contact email or clarification portal: eTenders messaging facility
• Most important attachments:
• Appendix 1 – Programme Requirements and Specification
• Appendix 2 – Pricing Schedule
• Appendix 3 – Tenderer's Statement