Attachment J.1 Statement of Objectives (SOO) clean Amendment 1.docx

ATTACHMENT J.1 STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES (SOO)

USAID/Bangladesh RFP # 72038824R00001: Feed the Future (FtF) Bangladesh Sustainable Aquaculture Activity

SECTION C – DESCRIPTION/STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES (SOO)

C.1. PURPOSE

The purpose of the activity is to enhance inclusive and sustainable aquaculture sector growth in Bangladesh through a market system approach to improve rural household income and nutrition.

C.2 SCOPE

The activity will sustainably increase aquaculture production by improving access to quality inputs and services, and increasing adoption of improved and environmentally sound technologies and management practices. The activity will strengthen aquaculture market systems by supporting governmental regulatory bodies to improve standards and compliance, facilitating linkages with broader markets, enhancing value-addition of fish products for domestic and international markets, promoting product diversification, and reducing post-harvest loss. Furthermore, the activity will increase the consumption and safe handling of nutrient-rich fish products by engaging in behavior change campaigns to raise awareness of how fish consumption integrates into a healthy lifestyle. The Offerors should also submit realistic targets, and the methodology through which it derived those targets. The Offerors should submit an exit strategy for the activity, and the long-term plans for the proposed activities after the five years are over. With additional funding streams, the activity’s target sectors could be expanded to address broader Mission needs.

C. 3 PERIOD AND PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID)/Bangladesh mission seeks to award a five-year contract with a ceiling of $24.6 million for the Feed the Future (FtF) Bangladesh Sustainable Aquaculture activity (hereafter known as “the activity”) to be implemented in the targeted regions of Bangladesh. The intended geographic coverage for the Aquaculture activity is the Feed the Future Zone of Influence, while noting that the Mission is in the process of finalizing an updated Global Food Security Strategy Country Plan, which may entail adjusting the Zone of Influence. Areas Deals located outside the Zone of Influence should have a link to the Zone of Influence (i.e., a processor who purchases commodities from farmers in the Zone of Influence).

C.4. BACKGROUND/PROBLEM STATEMENT

A. General Background Information and Country Context

Bangladesh is one of the world's leading fish producing countries with a total production of 4.62 million MT in 2020-2021[footnoteRef:1]. The aquaculture sector contributes 3.57% to the national GDP and more than 12% of the total population is directly or indirectly engaged in the sector for their livelihood[footnoteRef:2]. The sector holds huge potential for improving household income and food security, alleviating protein deficiency and malnutrition, generating employment and foreign exchange earnings in the economy. [1: Yearbook of Fisheries Statistics of Bangladesh 2020-21, Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock.] [2: Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies, 2015 (http://bilsbd.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Labour-in-Fishing-Sector-of-Bangladesh.pdf)]

B. Problem Statement

Insufficient availability of quality inputs at an affordable price, adoption of improved technologies, climatic shocks and stressors, weak market linkages, post-harvest loss, food safety and hygiene practices and lack of awareness on nutritional benefits of fish are some of the challenges for the development of the aquaculture sector. Additionally, safe and quality production, processing and value addition, and marketing remain critical areas for improvement to maximize domestic demand and international exports. The activity will follow a market systems approach by strengthening vertical and horizontal linkages between actors across the value chain, for example input suppliers, producers, traders, processors, wholesalers, and service providers. The activity will expand the involvement and influence of women and youth in aquaculture value-chains and prioritize locally led solutions to address the challenges and develop the aquaculture sector.

C. Relationship to the Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) This activity will advance progress toward achieving three of the proposed CDCS Development Objectives (DO): DO 2: Sustainable Economic Growth Fostered; DO 3: Human Capital Development Advanced; and DO 4: Strengthened Resilience to Climate Change and Other Shocks.

Under DO 2, the proposed activity will primarily advance IR 2.1: Food Security and Systems Improved and IR 2.2: Business Enabling Environment Improved. To advance CDCS DO 3, the proposed activity will be linked to IR 3.2: Utilization of Quality Essential Health Services Expanded. Moreover, to achieve CDCS DO 4, the activity will be linked to IR 4.1: Actions to Confront the Climate Change Crisis Catalyzed.

D. Relationship to Other USAID Activities and Other Donor or Host-Government Funded Programs

USAID Activities USAID supports the emergence of the aquaculture sector in Bangladesh through a number of assistance activities, most recently with the Feed the Future (Ft F) Bangladesh Aquaculture and Nutrition activity, which ended November 2023. These activities drive improvements in aquaculture productivity, sustainability, efficiency, product quality and differentiation, seed and feed quality, traceability and food safety compliance. Despite the impressive gains, there remains plenty of room for sustained and inclusive growth of the aquaculture sector in Bangladesh. In particular, processing and marketing remain critical areas for improvement to maximize domestic demand and international exports. This activity is part of a portfolio of USAID/Bangladesh activities that are intended to complement one another and work at different levels to achieve the objectives outlined in the Bangladesh Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) and U.S. Government Global Food Security Strategy (GFSS).[footnoteRef:3] [3: The USAID/Bangladesh CDCS is available here. The revised GFSS is available here.]

Other Donor Activities The table below provides a brief summary of other international donors’ work in the aquaculture sector in Bangladesh.

Table: Summary of non-USG international donors’ work in Bangladesh’s aquaculture sector

The Sustainable and Marine Fisheries Project will help improve fisheries management systems, infrastructure, value chain investments, and encourage private sector investment to increase the availability and quality of sea fish.

C.3. CONTRACT OBJECTIVES AND EXPECTED RESULTS

This Statement of Objectives (SOO) describes the objectives of the United States Agency for International Development in Bangladesh (USAID/Bangladesh) for the USAID/Feed the Future (FtF) Bangladesh Sustainable Aquaculture activity and provides Offerors with the flexibility to propose cost-effective solutions and innovative approaches to meet the stated objectives. In response to this SOO, Offerors are requested to submit a proposed Performance Work Statement (PWS) as to how they will meet the stated objectives.

The following describes the objectives and the results that the Contractor must accomplish under the contract.

a). Objectives

Objective One: Sustainably increase aquaculture production

Objective Two: Increased sales and private sector investment in the aquaculture sector to enhance supply in domestic and international markets.

Objective Three: Increase the consumption and safe and hygienic handling of nutrient-rich fish products

The PWS must address how the activity will work to reach the targets detailed under each objective above, as well as other efforts to contribute to and measure success in accordance with the indicators noted above. Beyond the indicators detailed under the objectives above, offerors may identify and propose additional indicators in their proposal. The Offeror is required to include at least one standardized “F” indicator from the Bureau for Foreign Assistance (F). The offeror will provide their targets for all indicators identified in their proposal and/or describe how they will work to positively impact these indicators to meet the objectives of the PWS. Additional indicators may be identified post-award in consultation with USAID and be integrated into the Activity’s AMELP.

C.4. ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS

In addition to addressing the challenges and achieving performance objectives, the PWS must address and integrate each of the following cross-cutting requirements and key principles below:

Localization and sustainability The activity will prioritize locally led development through which local actors set their own agendas, develop solutions, and bring the capacity, leadership, and resources to make those solutions a reality. In order to successfully accomplish the goal of this activity, it will be essential for the prime implementer to work through local organizations.

The activity aims to achieve its objectives and promote long-term sustainability and resilience through interventions that support local institutional and human capacity development, utilize local technical capacity, draw on and strengthen the resources of private and public sector institutions, and facilitate collaboration among different stakeholders. For long-term impact, the activity should facilitate partnerships with business associations, centers of excellence, and similar institutions, which should define the problems and generate solutions, and identify the best financial opportunities for co-funding or investments. The activity should also foster long-term sustainable partnerships between value chain actors and financial and business development service providers to strengthen business relationships and provide lasting and sustainable results that are locally led.

Integration and coordination The activity will focus primarily on improving income and nutritional status for aquaculture families and their service providers. Aligning with the Mission Integration Framework, this activity will use a co-location approach, where a new activity should operate depending upon other activities of different technical offices in that area to have synergies, best use of resources and broader outcomes. This activity will also implement coordination or collaboration approaches with other technical offices such as Environment (ECOFISH II); Health and Nutrition (Community Health and Nutrition activity); and Humanitarian Assistance (Nobo Jatra Plus) to achieve the common goal and to track progress through collaboration and allow access to relevant data across stakeholders.

Developmental Impact and Leverage It is incumbent upon the successful Offeror to ensure that transactions facilitated are necessary to accomplish USAID developmental objectives, that the cost of facilitating the targeted transactions is minimized and that the amount of funds used to facilitate transactions achieves maximum impact (not necessarily maximum leverage). In order to ensure lasting impact, bidders may propose an approach to ensuring that learning from this activity (particularly with regard to government aquaculture policies in Bangladesh) are communicated to policy makers. This could include some form of public/private advisory council which would meet periodically to provide input to and learn from project activities.

Market Distortion and Sustainability This activity must avoid market distortion, promote competition, and avoid favoritism. The activity will ensure that the funding is used where it is most required and to the greatest extent possible is facilitating commercially viable solutions for the development of the sector. The activity should use funding in such a way that it catalyzes systemic and sustainable improvements in terms of increasing production, processing and marketing.

Inclusive Development Inclusive development is a key priority for Bangladesh. The activity will follow a no one is left behind approach and engage all related stakeholders including people with disabilities, indigenous people, youth, ethnic minorities and disadvantaged and LGBTIQ+ communities in different segments of the value chain to develop the aquaculture sector.

Per ADS Chapter 205, all USAID activities are required to take into account not only the different roles of men and women, but also the relationship between and among men and women, as well as the broader institutional and social structures that support them. The analysis must not focus only on numbers but also how interventions are likely to impact individuals differently based on gender roles and cultural norms. The contractor must consider how and where it implements a differential approach.

Digital As noted in the GFSS (CC IR 10), digital technology should play an integral role in the implementation of the activity, as appropriate. This activity should seek opportunities to responsibly leverage digital technologies to improve the activity’s measurable development outcomes, consistent with USAID’s Digital Strategy and in line with the Principles for Digital Development.

Environmental Guidelines and Climate Risk Management.

The Contractor must ensure compliance with all USAID and Government of Bangladesh environmental policies and regulations, including those governing the use, handling, transport, storage, and disposition of agricultural inputs such as seeds, crop protection products, and fertilizer. This is inclusive of all implementation partners such as sub-grantees. The contractor also must integrate efforts to strengthen the sector’s resilience to climate change and reduce climate emissions, in line with USAID’s climate strategy.

Cost Effectiveness USAID requires the use of cost-effectiveness analysis to ensure the best value for money of its investments. The activity shall incorporate collection of detailed, disaggregated cost data so that cost-effectiveness and other types of cost analyses can be conducted. The activity will conduct analyses of program costs, including the overall cost of implementing and sustaining the activity, costs for specific program activities, and costs per beneficiary. The COR will approve the categorization of these interventions for accounting purposes in annual work plans.

Collaborative Learning and Adapting (CLA) USAID has defined CLA as a guiding framework for and component of the implementation of its activities throughout the Program Cycle. The activity will have a CLA Plan that is fit-for-purpose to enable evidence-driven adaptation. The CLA Plan outlines the approaches and resources for learning opportunities for adaptation, measuring results and achievements of activity, collaborating, and adapting. Traditional monitoring and evaluation (M&E) approaches including indicator monitoring are included under the CLA umbrella, specifically the learning section. The activity will apply other complexity-aware monitoring and learning approaches (e.g. outcome harvesting, most significant change) as appropriate.

Adaptive Management Given the experimental nature of many of the approaches that will be used under this activity, Offerors should build adequate flexibility into the performance work statement to allow for sufficient adaptation in response to new data or evidence regarding the efficacy and sustainability of tested interventions. This award will be managed adaptively, which means that USAID will work with the contractor to periodically review, if needed and —based on experience, progress, and learning—make changes to the workplan and/or the Contractor’s overall approach. Therefore, performance work statements must incorporate technical and budgetary flexibility such that the Contractor is able to pivot in response to new data, evidence, and opportunities in coordination with the USAID COR. In the interest of adaptive management, targets are expected to be modified periodically (at least annually) based upon learning and evidence to ensure that targets are realistic but aggressive.

Private Sector The private sector will have the key role in the implementation of the activity , and as such it will adhere to the principles set by the Agency’s Private Sector Engagement policy. USAID expects that by redefining and elevating the role of the private sector engagement (PSE), by building the capacity and leveraging sustainable partnerships with business associations, centers of excellence, and similar institutions and individual firms, and improving their financial and performance capacities, they will become sustainable partners for the future.

See USAID’s Private Sector Engagement Policy:

https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/2022-05/usaid_psepolicy_final.pdf Innovation and Communications Innovation refers to new technologies and approaches, new ways of delivering or financing goods and services, most cost-effective adaptations to existing solutions, new ways of increasing implementation of existing proven solutions, policy changes, shifts, or nudges based on insights from behavioral economics and social or behavioral innovations. The Offeror must address innovation in its approach and engage private sector entities to scale innovations that are related to their core business.

Moreover, the aquaculture sector offers interesting case studies and contents for communications. In the past, USAID/Bangladesh supported media and communication strategies for outreach; however, there is also an opportunity for learning and behavior change. In addition, social media has proven to be a vehicle for storytelling, scale, and citizen mobilization. There is an opportunity to support local communication organizations, but also to partner, leverage, and co-finance with national media companies to increase impact.

There will be a robust communication strategy for this activity, which will be aligned with the mission’s communication strategy.

[END OF ATTCAHMENT J.1]