72062125RFI00001 - TCOP Activity.pdf

Reference: USAID/Tanzania - Sources Sought Notice #72062125RFI00001 - Tanzania Competitive and Open Procurement Activity (TCOP) Issuance Date: October 15, 2024 Response Due Date and Time: October 21, 2024, 23:59 EST Response Email Address: cmambo@usaid.gov and hanwar@usaid.gov NAICS CODE: 541990- Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

Dear Interested Parties:

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission in Tanzania posts this Request for Information (RFI) to seek information from capable and interested organizations for an upcoming activity designed to support the Government of Tanzania (GoT), through the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority, to support a more transparent, efficient, and competitive public procurement system in Tanzania. The level of funding allocated for this activity is expected to be approximately $4 million to $5 million over a three year implementation period.

This is a Sources Sought Notice to request Capability Statements from U.S. Small Businesses ONLY, as defined by the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Size Standards, additional information can also be found in Title 13 Part 121 in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), using NAICS code 541990. This is not an invitation for bid, request for proposal or other solicitation; and in no way commits USAID to issue an RFA/RFP or to make an award. The sole intent is to conduct market research to determine the agency’s acquisition strategy and to determine the capability of U.S. Small Businesses, as per FAR 19.

Please note that responding to this RFI will not give any advantage to or preclude any organization or individual from any solicitation that may be subsequently issued, as any/all comments received will be strictly for information gathering purposes only. USAID will not pay for any costs associated with responding to this RFI. No proprietary, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. USAID reserves the right to use information provided by the respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate.

Responses to this RFI must be submitted by email to cmambo@usaid.gov with a copy to hanwar@usaid.gov, no later than the date and time shown above. When responding, please include #72062125RFI00001 in the email subject line. Respondents are advised that USAID is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or to provide feedback to respondents.

Thank you for your interest in USAID/Tanzania programs.

Best Regards, Hiba Arshad Anwar USAID/Tanzania Contracting and Agreement Officer mailto:cmambo@usaid.gov mailto:hanwar@usaid.gov https://www.sba.gov/document/support-table-size-standards mailto:cmambo@usaid.gov

Sources Sought Notification

USAID/Tanzania

Tanzania Competitive and Open Procurement Activity (TCOP) - #72062125RFI00001

SOURCES SOUGHT - RESPONSE REQUIREMENTS

USAID/Tanzania is interested in receiving capability statements from the U.S. Small Businesses on its proposed activity entitled “Tanzania Competitive and Open Procurement (TCOP)” to strengthen Tanzania's public procurement system, fostering greater transparency, efficiency, and competition. By enhancing governance in public systems, the project will promote fair and effective procurement practices, optimize resource allocation, and contribute to sustainable economic growth.

Please do not submit any documents or information beyond what is requested below, and please adhere to the page limits mentioned (total not to exceed seven (7) pages).

1. Include a table that contains the following information (not to exceed one (1) page):

a. Company name, address, and UEI number on sam.gov

b. Company point of contact name, telephone number and email address

c. For NAICS code 541990: the US Small Business size and status of the company ((8(a), veteran owned, service-disabled veteran owned, Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZone), small disadvantaged business, women-owned small business and economically disadvantaged woman owned);

d. Certificates or similar documentation which indicates supports the status above in c.;

corporate structure (corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability partnership, professional corporation, etc.);

e. Teaming arrangements, if any. All teaming arrangements must also include the above-cited information and certifications for each entity on the proposed team.

2. Capability Statement (not to exceed six pages):

a. Organizational Capabilities (not to exceed five (5) pages): Description of the organization’s capacity to work with the Government of Tanzania to implement interventions and / or achieve the results discussed in this activity’s draft Statement of Work below. Specifically, USAID is interested in learning about your organization’s experience on the below issues:

● Experience with software development, training, and conducting cybersecurity needs.

● Government procurement modules relating to e-Registration, e-Tendering, e-Contract, e-Catalogue, e-Auction, and e-Payment.

● Provision of training specifically building capacity in fraud, auditing and investigation skills, system maintenance and updating, and/or other key identified areas of need.

● Support on introducing a Quality Assurance process and creating a price catalog.

● Obtaining a resource waste baseline against which the Government savings of public funds, time and other valuable resources can be measured.

Tanzania Competitive and Open Procurement Activity (TCOP) - #72062125RFI00001

● Establishing a baseline on the composition of winning bidders against which future winning bidders may be measured.

● Increasing efficiency in public procurement through time and cost savings

b. Organizational past performance, not to exceed one (1) page.

● Please provide the following information about relevant projects that your organization has implemented in the past, in the following format:

Donor/Funder Name

Location of Project

Time Period of Project

Brief Description of your activities and results

Tanzania Competitive and Open Procurement Activity (TCOP) - #72062125RFI00001

STATEMENT OF WORK

1 TITLE

USAID Tanzania Competitive and Open Procurement (TCOP) Activity

2 PURPOSE

The TCOP activity aims to strengthen Tanzania's public procurement system, fostering greater transparency, efficiency, and competition. By enhancing governance in public systems, the project will promote fair and effective procurement practices, optimize resource allocation, and contribute to sustainable economic growth in Tanzania.

3 BACKGROUND

USAID/Tanzania has invested for years in strengthening the Government of Tanzania's systems.

Through USAID/Tanzania’s PS3 and PS3+ activities, it has contributed towards planning and budgeting as well as Information Communication Technology systems across PORALG, regional secretariats and LGAs. Through these activities USAID provided local governments authorities and facilities both in education, health and others with functional public financial management systems that are compatible with other government systems. Previously USAID has also worked with PPRA to improve their procurement systems and further fair competition. The Tanzania Competitive and Open Procurement (TCOP) activity will be in line with these efforts by both the USAID and the Government of Tanzania as it will support the development of the new procurement system National e-Procurement System of Tanzania.

3.1 TANZANIA COUNTRY CONTEXT

The Government of Tanzania’s (GoT) Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) has for years used the Tanzanian National e-Procurement System (TANePS) as a digital procurement system that was developed and managed by a third party Greece-based firm. However, TANePS’ functionality was limited to a repository for procurement documents as it did not provide the necessary monitoring and oversight to ensure efficient and transparent procurements. That is, public procurements were still done using paper, after which, procurement agents would (if they chose to) upload .pdf files to the system to mark procurement milestones. As a consequence, TANePS still created many opportunities for opaque and unfair procurements. For example, a procurement agent could share certain information with only certain applicants as there was no public forum in which to post critical information; procurement agents could edit documents and then upload final products without any oversight; and because the system did not require bidders to register, it could not verify legitimate bidders or provide legitimacy to the procurement process. The Tanzanian National e-Procurement System (TANePS) contract expired on December 31, 2023 and is no longer in use.

Tanzania Competitive and Open Procurement Activity (TCOP) - #72062125RFI00001

Recognizing the shortcomings of the TANePS, PPRA took advantage of the opportunity to secure resources from the GoT budget to develop their own Tanzanian designed, built, and managed system - the National e-Procurement System of Tanzania (NeST). The NeST is an end to end procurement system and its use will be required for all public procurements. Unlike TANePS, NeST requires users to input information into the system, through standardized e-forms, that become available to all users - both procurement agents and potential bidders. NeST also tracks all edits and inputs in the system, and ensures fidelity in the procurement process. NeST is also integrated with other GoT systems, including the USAID-supported PlanRep budgeting tool, among more than 15 other systems. This integration reduces the time and effort for procurements, and importantly, provides verifications for bidders - such as licensing and registration that could formerly be forged under the old system. There are six modules designed for NeST, three of which have been fully developed. The six modules are: e-Registration, e-Tendering, e-Contract, e-Catalogue, e-Auction, and e-Payment. The e-Registration and Tendering modules are fully developed and are already in use while the e-contracting module is now in its phase three of being developed. The PPRA is targeting December 2026 to have all six modules in operation.

USAID/Tanzania previously provided support to the PPRA through government-to-government grants under its Pamoja Twajenga (“Together we Build”) activity implemented by Chemonics International from July 2013 through July 2017. Pamoja Twajenga focused on improving constructive citizen/government engagement through ensuring that citizens knew their rights and laws regarding public procurement and increasing awareness and understanding of public procurement procedures.

The need for the Tanzania Competitive and Open Procurement (TCOP) activity was identified through engagement with multiple stakeholders, including the PPRA, the United States Embassy Dar es Salaam and Washington D.C-based interagency team, the World Bank, and the private sector. The Contractor, guided by USAID, will be expected to maintain close communication and coordination with these stakeholders.

3.2 LINKAGES TO USAID/TANZANIA’S CDCS

This activity will help USAID/Tanzania implement its Country Development Cooperation Strategy in the following ways: TCOP falls primarily under Development Objectives DO 3 (Capacity of state and non-state actors strengthened to benefit future generations), and secondarily under DO 2 (Empowerment, Productivity, and Engagement of Tanzanians aged 15 - 25 increased).

Under DO 3, this activity will support Intermediate Results (IR) 3.1 (Capacity of sub-national government to lead sustainable development improved) and 3.2 (Enabling environment for private sector and CSOs enhanced). Secondarily, this activity will support IR 2.2 (economic opportunities increased) under DO2.

Tanzania Competitive and Open Procurement Activity (TCOP) - #72062125RFI00001

Under DO 3, working with the PPRA to develop the NeST will support a state actor to develop and manage a critical state system that benefits the entire country through effective and efficient public service delivery. Per Government of Tanzania’s estimates, the NeST estimates to produce massive savings of $1B for Tanzania that can be reinvested elsewhere in the country to benefit future generations.These savings have been indicated through the data collected by PPRA since NeST has been in full use from January 2024 after the old systems TANePs expired.

PPRA is still in the process of collecting the relevant data and in creating the report to show the progress in savings that has been attributed by NeST. This activity supports a vibrant private sector through building faith in a procurement system that is fair, transparent, and clear. It will in turn, encourage more companies to bid for work and contribute to a better enabling environment for local and international private sector actors.

This activity will help GoT, by supporting the PPRA to fulfill its mandate after replacing its legacy Tanzanian National e-Procurement System (TANePS) which expired on December 31, 2023.

4 SCOPE OF WORK

4.1 THEORY OF CHANGE

For many years, opportunities to enhance transparency in Tanzania's public procurement system have been recognized, offering a chance to reduce corruption and build greater trust in the government procurement processes. In order to create a more transparent system that encourages open competition and efficiency and which is free from corrupt practices, PPRA is developing the NeST. The development of this system requires a team with the necessary technical expertise to build, operationalize, and maintain a secure, end-to-end digital procurement system and to ensure its ongoing use. Currently the NeST team does not have all the expertise needed to effectively complete this task. For example the NeST team is currently faced with a shortage of backend programmers, database administrators, mobile platform developers, and qualified cybersecurity experts. The PPRA team is also working to have the NeST developed and operationalized within a tight timeframe as the old system-TANePS ceased to operate in December 2023.

If PPRA staff working on the development of the NeST have the skills needed to advance the development and functionality of a transparent and secure NeST that meets international standards enabling multilateral institutions to have faith in using the NeST, and if the PPRA has the ability to audit, analyze and investigate allegations of fraud in the public procurement process in Tanzania, and if the local and international private sectors are aware of and able to use NeST, then Tanzania will benefit from:

1) a more transparent, secure, and efficient procurement process,

2) decreased opportunities for corruption, fraud, waste, and abuse in public procurements;

Tanzania Competitive and Open Procurement Activity (TCOP) - #72062125RFI00001

3) a better business enabling environment that benefits all Tanzanians; and

4) service quality improvements and tender cost savings.

Geographic Focus: Support for this activity may mostly be centered in Dodoma, Tanzania at the PPRA offices, but work may also be completed remotely and other locations nationwide as the project’s rapid needs assessment dictates. The impact will be nationwide as this is a national procurement system.

4.1 OBJECTIVE AND EXPECTED RESULTS

Expected Results:

TCOP will be implemented over a period of three years, with results beginning to be realized once the first rounds of training are complete and implementation of NeST is scaled country-wide. The result areas in this activity are integrated and it is expected there will be interrelated activities and that results in each area will contribute to results in other areas.

Intermediate Result 1: A more transparent, secure, and efficient procurement process.

Intermediate Result 2: Decreased opportunities for corruption, fraud, waste, and abuse in public procurements.

Intermediate Result 3: A better business enabling environment that benefits all Tanzanians.

Intermediate Result 4: Service quality improvements and tender cost savings.

Expected Outcomes:

1. The PPRA NeST software development and management team have the skills and capabilities to finalize the development of key modules of the NeST so that they meet and maintain international standards.

2. A secure, transparent NeST system will be designed to meet international standards

3. Key procurement information is readily available to all users of NeST.

4. Use of the NeST system for all Tanzanian procurements.

5. Increased competition for public procurements - in particular, for international firms who will be attracted to bid on procurement opportunities because of the fidelity and standards of the system.

6. Increased diversity in procurement awards.

7. To the extent it is quantifiable, there is less corruption within the procurement system

(measured by cost savings, value based award ratio, and diversity of awards).

8. The PPRA is able to report on cost savings as a result of the introduction of the NeST -particularly through standardized pricing, reduced interest payments due to reduced

Tanzania Competitive and Open Procurement Activity (TCOP) - #72062125RFI00001 delays, and better pricing from bidders given the transparent nature of public procurements.

9. Increased efficiency in public procurement realized through time and cost savings

Tasks:

● (1) In conjunction with USAID/Tanzania, PPRA, World Bank and other key stakeholders, the project will conduct a rapid needs assessment of PPRA and NeST software development, training, and cybersecurity needs as a first step after award to serve as a critical, timely input to work planning and activity workstreams.

○ Develop a project work plan to provide targeted technical assistance and skills building to the NeST team and NeST users. This component will need to be flexible to meet changing needs as development of the NeST continues.

● (2) As determined by the rapid needs assessment, the contractor will provide prioritized technical assistance and support to PPRA to support development, functionality, scalability, and, where necessary, piloting across six modules of the National e-procurement System (NeST).

○ The contractor must provide targeted training of PPRA programmers, database administrators, and software engineers on software development, 3rd party solution identification and integration, and system functionality testing, and/or other key identified areas of need. This may include on-the-job and classroom based training as well as possibly certificate courses.

○ The contractor must provide usage training for the private sector (including US firms) and key GoT entities whose active participation is a critical success factor for NeST.

○ The contractor must provide targeted training of PPRA personnel, specifically building capacity in fraud detection, auditing and investigative skills, system maintenance and updating, and/or other key identified areas of need. PPRA staff are trained as auditors, but not investigators. As such, the contractor may identify e-fraud and procurement investigation certificate courses - available in or outside of Tanzania - which selected PPRA staff could attend and gain the skills needed to carry out this mandate.

○ As PPRA works to do away with the Tender Board, the contractor must provide PPRA with support to introduce a Quality Assurance process and create a price catalog

● (3) Obtaining a resources wasted baseline at the beginning of TCOP against which GoT savings of public funds, time and other valuable resources due to the use of the NeST digital system can be measured. The PPRA estimates that $1B could be saved annually through the NeST.

● (4) Obtaining a baseline on the composition of winning bidders (country of origin, sector, and other key factors) at the beginning of TCOP (and from TANePS) against which future winning bidders may be measured.

○ USAID and TCOP will provide support to local and international firms

Tanzania Competitive and Open Procurement Activity (TCOP) - #72062125RFI00001 seeking to bid on procurements in Tanzania. Success will be measured by the increase in number of local and international firms that compete for and win public tenders as a result of the increased capacity to use the newly competitive system.

Illustrative indicators:

1. Percentage of total Tanzania procurement run through NeST

a. If less than 100% then a breakdown by amount, sector, and winning bidders

2. Number of procurements applied for and won by new bidders

3. Winning bidders by origin country of business HQ

4. # of cases of fraud investigated and prosecuted.

5. Time taken for average procurement

6. # of complaints received and managed

7. User experience quality survey

8. Resources saved against the baseline

9. # of people from special groups trained by GoT on use of the system

10. % of procurements won by disadvantaged populations

(End of Sources Sought Notification)