NPI Addendum_IDEAS BAA.pdf

Issuance Date: May 15, 2020.

Questions Due: May 30, 2020 at 17:00 Beirut local time.

Expressions of Interest Submission Due: June 30, 2020 at 17:00 Beirut local time.

**New Partnership Initiative**

Addendum to 720268BAA2000001

Broad Agency Announcement for

Initiative to Deliver Essential Assistance and Services (IDEAS)

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) USAID Mission in Lebanon

Office of Local Development Broad Agency Announcement for Initiative to Deliver Essential

Assistance and Services (IDEAS)

I.) Overview

This Addendum # 01 to Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) 720268BAA2000001 seeks

Expressions of Interest on game changing solutions to advance New Partnership Initiative (NPI)1 in the delivery of essential services in Lebanon. This Addendum is restricted to the organizations that meet the requirements of NPI partnership approaches identified below2 in Section VI. All other organizations are eligible to apply through the original Broad Agency Announcement, which is still active and can be located at the following address:

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=325634.

II.) Objective

USAID/Lebanon is issuing this Addendum to seek NPI participants to co-create, co-design, co-invest, and collaborate on research and development3 interventions to improve delivery of

1 https://www.usaid.gov/npi 2 Key definitions related to the NPI are the following:

“Local” partner/entity: An individual or organization that: (1) Is legally organized under the laws of a country that is receiving assistance from USAID; (2) Has as its principal place of business or operations in a country that is receiving assistance from USAID; (3) Is majority owned by individuals who are citizens or lawful permanent residents of a country that is receiving assistance from USAID ; and, (4) Is managed by a governing body, the majority of whom are citizens or lawful permanent residents of the country that is receiving assistance from USAID.

https://www.usaid.gov/npi/npi-key-definitions 3 Research is defined in the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) 2.101 as: "Basic research” means that research directed toward increasing knowledge in science. The primary aim of basic research is a fuller knowledge or understanding of the subject under study, rather than any practical application of that knowledge. And in FAR

35.001: “Applied research” means that effort which (1) normally follows basic research, but may not be severable from the related basic research, (2) attempts to determine and exploit the potential of scientific discoveries or improvements in technology, materials, processes, methods, devices, or techniques, and (3) attempts to advance the state of the art. Applied research does not include efforts whose principal aim is design, development, or test of specific items or services to be considered for sale; these efforts are within the definition of the term “development,” defined in this subsection. FAR 35.001: “Development” as used in this part, means the systematic use of scientific and technical knowledge in the design, development, testing, or evaluation of a potential new product or service (or of an improvement in an existing product or service) to meet specific performance requirements or objectives. It https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=325634 https://www.usaid.gov/npi/npi-key-definitions essential assistance and services at the municipal level. The objective of this effort is to address the challenge of improving delivery of essential services through clusters of municipalities in partnership with NPI participants. USAID/Lebanon and selected NPI participants will co-develop new ways to harness the power of science, technology, innovation, and partnership to design, develop, test, or evaluate new knowledge, tools, and approaches that engage groups of municipalities, the private and non-profit sectors, and other relevant stakeholders to deliver essential services more effectively. USAID seeks to work with selected participants to implement collaborative solutions that are sustainable, scalable, and impactful and that allow communities to lead their own locally-driven development journey towards sustainability of service delivery.

III.) Background/Challenge

In October 2019, widespread public discontent directed at the Lebanese political establishment erupted into nation-wide demonstrations. Two underlying drivers of these protests have been poor delivery of essential services by the Government of Lebanon (GOL) and the lack of available jobs . In the former instance, Lebanon’s dysfunctional political system and fragile economy have led to significantly diminished and, in some cases, a complete absence of essential services in many communities that are supposed to be provided by the central government. In the latter instance, “the Lebanese labor market is mostly characterized by low activity and high unemployment rates. There is low contribution of women in the labor force, a large informal sector, a large mismatch of skills, a high influx of foreign workers and a large number of skilled

Lebanese people seeking and obtaining employment abroad.”4

Unemployment in rural areas remains high as well due to remoteness from economic centers and weak infrastructure. In the absence of reliable public transportation, workers must spend large sums of money to commute, which hinders participation in the labor market. These trends have only worsened under the strain of an acute financial crisis that manifested itself once the protests began. Lebanon’s abundant cultural, historical, and natural patrimony could provide more opportunities than it currently does to help communities generate income, but this requires greater efforts by local governments to nurture a better enabling environment and to increase collaboration with the private sector to exploit opportunities.

The inability of the central government to deliver many essential services has shifted the burden of providing many of these services to municipalities and non-governmental service providers.

The Municipal Act of Lebanon (118/1977) grants municipalities authorities to implement a broad spectrum of public service projects, including infrastructure, kindergartens, public schools, electricity generation, vocational training centers, playgrounds, medical dispensaries, public hospitals, and public housing.5 includes the functions of design engineering, prototyping, and engineering testing; it excludes subcontracted technical effort that is for the sole purpose of developing an additional source for an existing product.

4 Joumana Brihi, Dr. Abir Takieddine, and Myriam Zmeter, Unemployment in Lebanon: Findings and

Recommendations, Analysis for ECOSOC, prepared on behalf of GOPA, March 2019, p. 9.

5 Arts. 49 and 50, Municipal Act, Decree-Law No.118. See English translation at https://www.pseau.org/outils/ouvrages/Ministry_of_interiror_and_municipalities_1977.pdf. Also see The Lebanese

Center for Policy Studies, About Administrative Decentralization in Lebanon, pp. 5,6, 19, 2015.

Although empowered by law to deliver many of these essential services, the vast majority of

Lebanon’s municipalities, particularly those in smaller and rural communities, individually lack the financial and human resources as well as the technical capacity to fulfill this mandate. The continued presence of approximately 1.5 million refugees from the Syria crisis and more recently the adverse impact of the financial crisis have further diminished resources and further strained the ability of local governments to address the needs of their constituents. The central government’s discretionary power over Independent Municipal Fund, one of the main income sources for municipalities,6 and burdensome levers of administrative and financial oversight also prevent municipalities from exercising the legal authorities. Encouraging clusters of municipalities to collaborate may offer a way to overcome some of the aforementioned constraints. For example, municipal unions, which are permitted under the Municipal Act, can undertake joint projects that benefit all or some of its constituent members. They are autonomous legal personalities that can manage their own finances and develop budgets and they can have specialized units that can provide much-needed support to member municipalities.

IV.) Solutions Sought and Guidance for Concepts

AREAS OF INTEREST:

USAID will bring together stakeholders from industry, civil society, research entities, government, implementing partners, and other donors in a co-creation process that will consider assistance interventions that address the Area of Interest indicated below. The EOI must include a proposed R&D intervention to address the Area of Interest listed below with the ultimate goal of increasing livelihoods opportunities. There is no limit on the number of EOIs that may be submitted.

(1) Promoting local livelihoods opportunities: USAID/Lebanon seeks to support municipalities to play a critical role in creating an enabling environment to improve the livelihoods of their residents. Solutions can include, among other things, developing common areas for local markets to flourish, providing spaces for community based organizations as well as small and medium size enterprises to operate, constructing or rehabilitating hiking trails or historical/ cultural sites that encourage tourism, and encouraging income generating activities in partnership with the private sector. USAID/Lebanon encourages partnerships between municipalities and the local private sector to expand income generation opportunities. Under BALADI and CSP (See

Attachment 1), USAID/Lebanon has worked with a number of individual municipalities to support the creation/renovation of agro-processing facilities, hiking trails, historical sites, and common public spaces. USAID/Lebanon seeks to expand the range and scale of municipally-sponsored opportunities to generate income for constituents and to leverage existing assistance interventions to promote job creation and entrepreneurship under the Economic Growth portfolio

(See Attachment 1 to original BAA and Attachment 2 to Amendment 1 of BAA).

V.) Submission Instructions

6 Democracy Reporting International, Reforming Decentralization in Lebanon: The State of Play, Briefing Paper

80, April 2017, p. 1. See www. Democracy-reporting.org.

Please submit your Expression of Interest indicating the research, new approaches, or development idea which will address the challenges and Solutions Sought sections above.

Describe your idea/approach to improve the environment and overall eco-system for innovation driven development and highlight the value your effort would bring. Organizations are encouraged to consider collaborating with peer organizations that bring differing perspectives and/or comparative advantages. In addition to the description of the solution, applicants should describe any cost-share, matching, or leveraging if and as they see fit. Applicants are encouraged to reference the Criteria for reviewing each Expression of Interest. Each Expression of Interest should clearly address one of the two challenge areas listed above. Any applicant may submit more than one Expression of Interest, as along each Expression of Interest addresses only one challenge.

USAID may invite submitters of Expression of Interest(s) to participate in one or more co-creation workshops with other successful applicants to jointly develop basic research, applied research, and/or research and development/pilot activities for potential funding. All applicants are encouraged to read the full announcement closely for guidance on the stages of co-creation.

USAID will not pay for any Expression of Interest preparation costs. If a respondent does not follow the instructions set forth herein, the respondent’s Expression of Interest may be eliminated from further consideration. USAID will not pay for Expression of Interest preparation costs.

VI.) Eligible Organizations

This Addendum requires applicants meet one of the following partnership approaches to be eligible to apply for award consideration:

Type of Partnership Definition Eligibility Requirements

1. Direct Awards to New and

Underutilized Local Entities

New and underutilized partners may apply for direct funding. Applicants are eligible if they have received less than $25 million cumulatively in direct or indirect awards from USAID over the past five (5) years.

Local Entities must:

1. Be legally organized under

Lebanese law;

2. Have its principal place of business or operations in Lebanon;

3. Be majority owned by individuals who are citizens or lawful permanent residents of Lebanon;

and

4. Be managed by a governing body the majority of who are citizens or lawful permanent residents of Lebanon.

2. Direct Awards to New and

Underutilized Locally-

Established Partners (LEP):

LEPs are organizations that generate significant private development assistance and support effective program models through locally led operations that strengthen partner country capacity and commitment for self-reliance.

U.S. based or international partners are eligible if they have (1) received less than

$25 million cumulatively in

USAID funding over the past five (5) years; and (2) currently have additional, non-U.S. Government funding streams that exceed total funding received worldwide from USAID (e.g., if an Applicant has implemented $5 million in

USAID funding, it must demonstrate at least $5 million in funds worldwide from sources other than the

U.S. Government).

LEP must:

● Have maintained continuous operations in-country for at least five years and materially demonstrate a long-term presence in a country through adherence or alignment to the following:

○ Local staff should comprise at least 50% of office personnel,

○ Maintenance of a dedicated local office,

○ Registration with the appropriate local authorities,

○ A local bank account, and

○ A portfolio of locally-implemented programs.

● Have demonstrated links to the local community, including:

○ If the organization has a governing body or board of directors, then it must include a majority of local citizens;

○ A letter of support from a local organization to attest to its work; and

○ Other criteria that an organization proposes to demonstrate its local roots.

3. Mentoring Awards to organizations that provide sub-grants

NPI seeks to shift USAID from viewing successful local capacity building as a local organization’s ability to receive and manage federal funding directly to measuring success by the strengthened performance of local actors and local systems in achieving and sustaining

No additional requirements.

demonstrable results. NPI recognizes the important role and capacity that “established partners”

(defined as those that already have a financial relationship with USAID above the NPI threshold of $25 million in the last five years) play in advancing this vision of effective local capacity development. This modality will empower established partners to build the capacity of local and locally established partners to deliver results for the stakeholders they serve, while also providing these local partners with the direct or indirect support they need to meet the requirements associated with awards from the U.S.

Governments. Established partners will play a support role to build the capacity of new and underutilized partners to improve their performance as development actors in several ways (e.g., through technical oversight, compliance support, and mentoring). The prime will not directly assist program or activity beneficiaries. NPI envisions two modalities of support under this approach:

3a: Local Entity Sub-

Awardees That Move to

Direct Awards: Prime awardees must pass a minimum percentage of the total funding of their awards, to local sub-awardees, with a goal of moving them to qualify for direct awards. In appropriate cases, USAID might pursue prime/mentor awards with a provision for transition awards to some local entities during the life of the award.

b: Local and Locally

Established Partner Sub-

Awardees: Prime awardees must pass a minimum of 50% percentage of the total funding of their awards, only to sub-awardee local partners or locally established partners

(LEPs). An award could also have a structure in which the prime partner receives a declining percentage of the value of the award year-on-year (e.g., from 25 percent in Year 1 to

20 percent in Year 5).

4. Leverage Awards to organizations that co-fund

NPI also seeks to support partnerships with organizations that can leverage their own private (or non-U.S. Government) funding, in recognition of the important dual-role that many established partners have as both implementers and fundraisers. Organizations of all types (non-profit, private sector, etc.) can apply, including organizations that have received more than $25 million in funding through an award or sub-award in the past five (5) years. Awardees must propose additional leveraged funds worth a minimum of 50 percent of the

Concept Notes that propose to leverage Private/Non-U.S.

Government Funding must include a letter of commitment signed from an authorizing official that indicates the amount of leverage that will be directed to the activity. Awardees must propose additional leveraged funds worth a minimum of 50 percent of the total value of the award they seek from USAID; this cannot include in-kind contributions but can include non-Federal grants and external awards.

total value of the award they seek from USAID; this cannot include in-kind contributions but can include non-Federal grants and external awards.

The Eligibility Certification Form in Attachment 1 must be completed and submitted.

VII.) Review of Submissions and Selection Criteria

Stage 1: USAID will review and select Expressions of Interest (EOIs) submitted in accordance with the guidelines and criteria set forth in this Addendum and in Section III The BAA Process of the BAA. USAID reserves the right not to review any Expressions of Interest that do not meet the guidelines and eligibility criteria above.

Stage 2: Selected applicants will be invited to join one or more potential co-creation workshops, either in person or virtually, where USAID, partners, and selected applicants may gather to collaboratively develop activities designed to achieve the objectives articulated in this

Addendum. Organizations may develop short concept papers following these co-creation workshops. The concept paper (generally five to ten pages) will further detail and explain the project as initially provided in the Expression of Interest.

The co-creation workshop(s) are expected to take place in July-August 2020. The specific date(s), time(s), and location(s) of the co-creation workshop(s) will be determined after the deadline for receipt of Expressions of Interest. Travel costs for participants in-person events will not be reimbursed by USAID.

Stage 3: Final concept papers produced after co-creation workshops will be submitted to

USAID’s Peer and Scientific Review Board. Approved concept papers for activities will be further refined and potentially implemented based on a decision at that time whether to proceed to implementation - and based on the availability of funds. A successful Concept Paper will advance to the next stage for a “Request for Proposals or Request for Applications.” Using its technical expertise, the Peer and Scientific Review Board will also suggest revisions/additions to the project, and recommend potential implementing partners and resources.

The following criteria will be applied to all EOIs:

1. Idea/Approach: Soundness of your idea/approach, including appropriate evidence, to fostering systems that address challenges and harness opportunities. USAID will focus on how the applicant contributes fresh, informed, and realistic thinking and uses supporting evidence and analysis to clearly demonstrate how the proposed idea will address the challenge. Equally important are the unique qualities that the applicant would bring to the discussion.

2. Partnership expectations and value: Strengths of the applicant as a partner to USAID, including your ability to make a unique contribution to the critical development challenge.

USAID seeks the ability to connect relevant stakeholders as well as connecting with experts in nontraditional and diverse sectors. EOIs that include the use of teaming agreements with U.S.

small businesses, local entities, and minority-serving institutions are strongly encouraged, particularly those with specialized country and technical knowledge and expertise in the aforementioned areas of interest.

3. Diversity of perspectives and capabilities: USAID seeks to bring together a diverse set of co-creators to enable broader thinking and innovation, which may include organizations and entities with which USAID does not typically partner. Additionally, USAID values experience implementing adaptive and/or iterative activities, managing successful peer-to-peer networks, and catalyzing new ideas effectively. The selection of individual applicants will be made with the goal of achieving this diversity.

4. Impact and goals of the activities: Describe the intended outcomes and goals of the concept and how they relate to USAID’s policies and objectives.

5. Institutional reputation/past performance: USAID will consider the reputation of an organization and its past performance in assessing the ability of the organization to contribute to the co-creation.

USAID is not obligated to issue financial instruments or awards as a result of this BAA. USAID may at its discretion decide not to proceed with any EOI. USAID may invite submitters of EOIs to participate in one or more co-creation workshops with other successful applicants to develop basic research, applied research, and/or research and development/pilot activities jointly for potential funding. All applicants are encouraged to read the full announcement closely for guidance on the stages of co-creation. USAID will not pay for any EOI preparation costs. If a respondent does not follow the instructions set forth herein, the respondent’s EOI may be eliminated from further consideration.

Questions regarding the BAA must be submitted electronically by May 30, 2020 at 17:00

Beirut local time to Contracting/Agreement Officer Amy McQuade at

IDEASBAALebanon@usaid.gov.

EOIs must:

A. Be In English, no more than 2 pages in length, and no smaller than 12 point font;

B. To be considered for participation in the NPI Addendum of the BAA, EOIs must be submitted electronically to Contracting/Agreement Officer Amy McQuade at

IDEASBAALebanon@usaid.gov before June 30, 2020 at 17:00 Beirut local time.

C. Contain a header with the following information (not included in the page count; not to exceed 1 page):

a. Respondent Name/Group and Contact Information;

b. Response Title;

c. BAA Addendum/Number;

d. Optional graphic that fits on an 8.5”x11” or A4 piece of paper (not included in the page limit; not to exceed 1 page);

D. Be in .pdf, .docx, or .odf format mailto:IDEASBAALebanon@usaid.gov

E. The Eligibility Certification Form in Attachment 2 must also be completed and submitted.

Reference Applicants may access 720268BAA2000001 under:

https://beta.sam.gov/opp/33d43f8b91704764a6db43112b7cb4d7/view?keywords=720268BAA2

000001&sort=-relevance&index=&is_active=true&page=1 or (identical file): Grants.gov

Regards, /s/

Amy McQuade

Regional Contracting and Agreement Officer https://beta.sam.gov/opp/33d43f8b91704764a6db43112b7cb4d7/view?keywords=720268BAA2000001&sort=-relevance&index=&is_active=true&page=1 https://beta.sam.gov/opp/33d43f8b91704764a6db43112b7cb4d7/view?keywords=720268BAA2000001&sort=-relevance&index=&is_active=true&page=1

Attachment 1: Eligibility Certification

ELIGIBILITY CERTIFICATION FORM

Please check the appropriate box to certify eligibility for the type of partner that applies:

⃞⃞ (For Partners Applying as New/Underutilized Local Partner) We certify that, in line with the criteria enumerated in Section III, Sub-Section A, our organization has not received more than $25 million in direct or indirect funding from USG over the last five (5) years.

⃞ (For Partners Applying as New/Underutilized Locally Established Partners) We certify that, in line with the criteria enumerated in Section III, Sub-Section A, our organization has not received more than $25 million in direct or indirect funding from USG over the last five (5) years and can demonstrate non-federal funding equal to or greater than the award value of this proposal.

⃞ (For Partners Applying for a Limited Mentorship Award) We certify that, in line with the criteria enumerated in Section III, Sub-Section A, our organization will use Modality 3a or Modality 3b to provide sub-awards.

⃞ (For Partners Applying as Leverage) We certify that, in line with the criteria enumerated in Section III, Sub-Section A, our organization can demonstrate 50% of award value of this proposal using non-federal funds.

⃞ (For Partners Applying as New/Local Partner): We certify that, in line with the Non-US Pre-

Award Survey (NUPAS), our organization will participate in a NUPAS prior to receiving an award. Link to: PROSPECTIVE OFFEROR'S AND APPLICANT'S GUIDE TO THE

NON-US ORGANIZATION PRE-AWARD SURVEY and Non-U.S. Organization Pre-Award

Survey Guidelines and Support https://www.usaid.gov/work-usaid/resources-for-partners/prospective-offerors-and-applicants-guide-non-organization-pre-award-survey-nupas https://www.usaid.gov/work-usaid/resources-for-partners/prospective-offerors-and-applicants-guide-non-organization-pre-award-survey-nupas https://www.usaid.gov/work-usaid/resources-for-partners/prospective-offerors-and-applicants-guide-non-organization-pre-award-survey-nupas https://www.usaid.gov/work-usaid/resources-for-partners/prospective-offerors-and-applicants-guide-non-organization-pre-award-survey-nupas https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1868/303sam.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1868/303sam.pdf