RFI Higher Ed - deadline extention.pdf

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) -

Subject RFI: Higher Education System Transformation –

RFA#72016721RFI00001

Issuance Date: January 15, 2021

Closing Date: January 22, 2021

Closing Time: 5pm, Central European Time

The United States Government, represented by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Kosovo, is seeking input from interested organizations and individuals who may provide comments, opinions and recommendations in response to the questions outlined in this Request for Information (RFI) announcement.

This RFI is issued in accordance with FAR 15.201(e) solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP nor a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) in the future. Responses to this RFI are not offers and cannot be accepted by USAID to form a binding contract; only the information requested in this RFI will be reviewed. Further, USAID is not seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals.

Respondents are advised that USAID will not be responsible for any costs incurred in response to this RFI.

Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP/NOFO, if any is issued. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized at https://beta.sam.gov/ and/or https://www.grants.gov/.

It is the responsibility of the potential offerors to monitor https://beta.sam.gov/ or https://www.grants.gov/ for additional information or updates pertaining to this RFI.

Submission is strictly voluntary. USAID will not provide feedback or responses to questions submitted in response to this RFI and no proposals or resumes will be accepted or considered.

Respondents are not required to respond to all questions but may choose to do so.

Thank you for your feedback.

Regards, Patricia Siaso Contracting Officer USAID/Kosovo https://beta.sam.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/ https://beta.sam.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/

Section I - FAR Clause

52.215-3 REQUEST FOR INFORMATION OR SOLICITATION FOR PLANNING PURPOSES

(OCT 1997)

a. The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this solicitation or to otherwise pay for the information solicited except as an allowable cost under other contracts as provided in subsection 31.205-18, Bid and proposal costs, of the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

b. Although “proposal” and “offeror” are used in this Request for Information, your response will be treated as information only. It shall not be used as a proposal.

c. This solicitation is issued for the purpose of requesting comments for a proposed program.

[End of Section I]

Section II - Request for Information

A. Background

Under the Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) FY 2020-2025 for Kosovo, USAID/Kosovo defines Development Objective 2 (DO 2) as: “Opportunities for democratic and economic participation increased.” Falling under that is Intermediate Result 2 (IR) 2.1): “citizen contribution to democracy and the economy increased.” By actively engaging all citizens, especially youth, Kosovo has a strong potential to reap greater democratic and economic dividends.

The preliminary purpose within this IR is to increase citizen contribution to Kosovo’s democracy and economy. From the democracy perspective, the project focuses on Kosovo citizens organizing around their interests, and taking action to contribute to decision-making processes at local and national levels that affect their lives. This goal goes beyond government oversight and public policy implementation and includes greater cooperation between citizens, civil society, the private sector and diaspora to address barriers to Kosovo’s self-reliance.

Our focus is to expand opportunities for economic participation, in particular for young Kosovo citizens. Our activities will contribute to a more inclusive broad-based growth of Kosovo’s economy by enhancing alignment of youth skills with market needs. In addition, these activities will help create the space for active and meaningful youth engagement in the democratic processes and for contribution to social cohesion in Kosovo.

While this encompasses all Kosovo citizens, it will include a strong focus on youth. Cross-sectoral success is critical to its design and implementation.

This RFI seeks to understand the challenges and opportunities that exist. This RFI is looking at the unique intersection of academia, the private sector, government, non-profits, diaspora, and other underutilized sectors in order to discover unique and innovative solutions.

B. Questions to be addressed (respond to any for which your organization has experience, knowledge or ideas)

1. (Systemic Change) How can linkages between academia, government, non-profit and the private sector be supported to help transform the higher education system into a driver of economic growth in Kosovo? How can these relationships be fostered to enrich the educational experiences of the students to ensure a higher level of skills to meet the demands of the market and in order to maximize job placement and job creation in the private sector.

https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1870/CDCS-Kosovo-May-2025_External.pdf

2. (Access to Higher Education) What major barriers impede access to higher education for vulnerable Kosovo youth, women and people with disabilities? What existing mechanisms could be enhanced or developed to overcome those barriers?

3. (Transition to Careers) What major challenges or issues prevent Kosovo students from graduating and/or successfully launching a career? What existing mechanisms could be enhanced or developed to overcome those challenges?

4. (Prioritizing Quality Improvement) What aspects of the higher education institution (HEI) teaching and learning environment should be prioritized for quality improvement efforts? Please list in order of priority and explain your rationale.

5. (Policy Considerations) Which parts of higher education should USAID focus on from a policy standpoint? For example: updating curricula; new pedagogy competencies for faculty; student academic performance; number of faculty with masters and doctoral degrees; HEI management capacity; scientific research programs; scientific researchers; patent management; facilities;

equipment; and HEI academic capacity to forecast and adapt curricula to industry high-demand needs; foster the academia-enterprise cooperation; and enable an innovation-led environment; In order to promote an innovative education system in Kosovo, enhance the quality of HEIs, increase graduation rates and create opportunities for employment?

6. (Areas of Study) Which degree programs are most important to help people in Kosovo enrolled in local HEIs gain formal employment in the short-term (5 years) or create a viable path to entrepreneurship, considering current gaps in workforce preparation? What consideration might be given to developing vocational degrees or recognized two-year degrees from universities to help prepare them?

7. (Research Priorities) Which private sector areas or industries are most likely to partner or co-invest with USAID to upgrade the teaching and applied research capabilities of local HEIs, and why? How can applied research capabilities be developed in Kosovo HEIs to respond to productive sector demands such as developing products for the market? Should basic science-based research training be strengthened first and/or separately? If not, how can applied research activities targeted to solving private sector problems be incorporated directly in STEM-related degree programs in a sustainable way?

8. (Solutions) What innovative approaches to form a stronger, collaborative relationship between the private sector have not been tried and which the solutions will help increase employment rates among youth? Please outline what ideas USAID should pursue, and if provide examples from Kosovo or other countries which may be pertinent.

9. (Kosovo-specific) What existing relationships does Kosovo already have that may be leveraged for the biggest impact in the workforce space?

12. (Private Sector) How can the private sector in Kosovo contribute to academic solutions. Give specific examples of how Corporate Social Responsibility can work to help HEIs. How can private industry help HEIs determine the best relevant curriculum that will help ensure alumni jobs and help industry grow.

13. (Diaspora) What are unique ways that the diaspora can engage with HEIs and the Kosovo workforce? Examples could include online collaboration, specific industry engagement, and funds that could help empower HEIs through a passionate diaspora.

14. (Sustainability) What characteristics of an HEI partnership are necessary to develop the sustainability of local institutions and systems that are less reliant on donor funding?

15. (Co-creation) USAID/Kosovo is considering pursuing a co-creation design process with selected applicants. Co-creation is defined as a collaborative process that brings together people in a workshop session to create solutions to specific development challenges. When using co-creation, USAID teams work alongside partners, stakeholders, potential implementers, and end users to collaboratively define the problem, identify new and existing solutions, build consensus around areas for action, and/ or refine plans to move forward with programs and projects. Co-creation relies on collaboration with a diverse set of actors, allowing for a more equitable distribution of both the responsibility and ownership of outputs across all partners. Please explain your experience (if any), recommendations for best practices, and interest in co-creation.

[End of Section II]

Section III - Submission Instructions

General. All comments must be submitted electronically in English to uabdyli@usaid.gov and ejeter@usaid.gov.

with the subject line: RFI # 72016721RFI00001 Higher Education System Transformation by the date listed on the cover letter. All documents submitted must be .pdf or .doc format. The submitted information must not exceed 15 pages, including annexes/attachments. Do not send zip files.

Respondents are not required to answer all questions but are encouraged to respond to any and all question(s) for which they have knowledge, experience, or ideas. Please number your responses to correspond with the questions in this RFI.

The submitted response must include the following information:

Reference Number: 72016721RFI00001

Date:

Affiliation/ Organization:

Business Address:

Representative Name / Email:

A short technical narrative that includes:

● responses to some or all of the questions in the RFI; and

● documents, if any, that support the answers to the RFI Questions as attachments.

Disclaimer. The submitted documentation and content thereof becomes the property of USAID and will not be returned. This announcement is not to be construed as a formal solicitation. It does not commit USAID to reply to information received, or to later publish a solicitation, or to award a contract based on this information. Furthermore, it does not commit USAID to pay for any costs incurred in response to this RFI. Only the information requested above will be considered.

Proprietary Information. This notice is part of USAID market research. Information received as a result of this request will be considered as sensitive and will be protected as such.

Any company or industry proprietary information contained in responses should be clearly marked as such, by paragraph, such that publicly releasable and proprietary information are mailto:uabdyli@usaid.gov mailto:ejeter@usaid.gov clearly distinguished. Any proprietary information received in response to this request will be properly protected from unauthorized disclosure. USAID will not use proprietary information submitted from any one source to establish the capability and requirements for any future acquisition, so as to inadvertently restrict competition.

[End of Section III]

[End of RFI]