Attachment_1_Statement_of_Objectives.pdf

Attachment 1: Statement of Objectives

TITLE OF ACTIVITY

The title of the activity is USAID Learns.

PURPOSE

The purpose of the USAID Learns contract is to support USAID/Vietnam staff and our partners to be more efficient, effective and transparent in achieving program results through the use of evidence, performance management techniques, and Collaborating Learning and Adapting practices.

PERIOD AND PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

This activity will take place in Vietnam over five years from 2019-2024.

BACKGROUND

The USAID/Vietnam Mission seeks to implement a robust learning support mechanism that will help us be more effective in achieving our goals and implementing the USAID Program Cycle, by tracking and adapting our programs, generating and feeding learning back into programs, and strengthening our partnerships with local stakeholders in order to achieve our Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) development objectives.

Vietnam has undergone a dramatic economic transformation to become a lower middle-income country. However, a variety of challenges undermine the country’s global integration and inclusive growth. Under USAID/Vietnam’s current 2013-2019 CDCS, USAID’s programs in Vietnam help fight the HIV/AIDS and avian and pandemic influenza, facilitate trade and economic development, promote good governance and higher education, address war legacies such as agent orange/dioxin, provide support for vulnerable populations, and promote biodiversity and reduce climate change impacts.

USAID has developed a new strategic approach that seeks to more systematically orient its programming toward building countries’ capacity to plan, finance, and manage their own development and essentially work USAID out of a job. This mandate requires defining clear outcomes for development assistance, routinely measuring and tracking our progress, having staff and partners that can efficiently adapt our programs to reflect new information and findings, and developing strong partnerships with local stakeholders. As the Mission approaches the end of its current CDCS period, plans are underway to prepare a new strategy that supports this strategic mandate, and positions the Mission and its implementing partners to implement it.

The USAID Learns mechanism will play an important role in supporting the strategic intent of the current CDCS, as well as design and implementation of the new CDCS. It will support all Mission technical and support offices in order to help the Mission better understand the development environment and adapt our current and future activities to achieve key results, as well as employ a systemic and facilitative approach to support USAID, its implementing partners and other stakeholders to learn, adapt and collaborate in meaningful ways to affect development change. The USAID Learns contract will be managed out of the USAID/Vietnam Program Development Office.

PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES

The USAID Learns mechanism has three key performance objectives:

● Strengthen USAID/Vietnam, implementing partners, and local entities’(GVN, local organizations) institutional capacity, particularly in monitoring, evaluation, learning, collaboration and adaptive management, to achieve expected results;

● Deepen use of monitoring, evaluation and other types of data to support learning and improve performance at all levels; and

● Improve coordination, collaboration and learning between USAID/Vietnam staff, Government of Vietnam (GVN), our IPs, and key stakeholders.

It is critical that the Contractor use flexible and adaptable systems and work plans in case of unanticipated changes, and an approach that allows for flexibility as new priorities arise during the course of this contract. It is expected that the nature of services required will likely change over time as capacity is strengthened, the Mission progresses through various stages of the Program Cycle, and maturity in implementing CLA deepens. It is expected that the Contractor will work with Implementing Partners and other local stakeholders, including the Government of Vietnam, non-governmental organizations, and/or other public or private organizations. In addition to providing core M&E and CLA services to the Mission, the Contractor will also support Participant Training coordination for the Mission. Strong meeting and event facilitation capabilities will be required to support the Mission’s objectives and capacity building / development will also be a core capability required. The contract will be structured with a set of deliverables identified as core work and specific assignments assigned through a job order system.

OPERATING CONSTRAINTS

1. Given its diverse portfolio, it may take time for the Contractor to understand the context and needs of the Mission. The Mission is currently developing its new five year Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) and the Contractor will be expected to support that process and implementation of the new strategy.

2. This contract will be structured using a job order system. Requirements and process for the job order system must be clearly detailed with the Contracting Officer having sole authority to approve job orders and with USAID not being liable for any amounts exceeding the approved job order amounts. Sample language for offerors’ reference is included as Attachment 6.