Amendment1_Attachment J.1.Statement of Objectives_GIGA.pdf

Statement of Objectives The Guinea Integrated Governance Activity (GIGA)

1. PURPOSE

The USAID Guinea Integrated Governance Activity (GIGA) seeks to strengthen the social contract between citizens and their local government structures through transparency and accountability relationships in the delivery of critical public goods and services to local communities. This goal will be reached through effectively addressing corruption and capacity deficits in governance structures that make local governments less responsive to their citizens' needs, and engaging civil society, media and the general public to demand public services and hold their local officials accountable. The two major objectives of GIGA are:

(1) More effective and efficient local governments deliver quality public services in a more inclusive, equitable, and transparent way, and are accountable to the citizens; and

(2) Capable and organized local civil society organizations (CSO) and a better-informed citizenry engage in local development, demand quality services, and play a third-party monitoring and a watchdog role on local governments’ effectiveness, transparency, and financial accountability in fulfilling their mandates.

2. BACKGROUND

2.1. Problem Statement and Local Governance Challenges

Despite the wealth generated by mineral resources, mismanagement and corruption by government institutions have prevented the economic benefits from reaching average Guineans or improving the delivery of basic services in health, education and economic growth to the citizens, particularly at the local level. Leaders have been unwilling or ineffective at enabling broad-based development, implementing pro-growth policies, or delivering most basic services to the population. The government investment in municipalities at the local level has remained low despite the recommendations contained in the 2016-2020 National Economic and Social Development Plan (PNDES - Plan National du Développement Économique et Social). The process towards the revision of the PNDES 2021-2025 was launched on March 24, 20211 with the support of IMF and World Bank, and the PNDES was still under development when the Transition Government launched the 2022-2025 PRI (Programme de Référence Intérimaire) that governs the Guinea development plan for the transition period. However, challenges still persist, notably at the local level, in the PRI execution.

Decentralization:The implementation of the decentralization reform process in Guinea including deconcentration and devolution has been slow and incomplete, with many organic laws/decrees yet to be adopted. The country has eight administrative regions (including the special region of Conakry), prefectures and sub-prefectures (deconcentrated level). At the municipality level (devolution level), the rural and urban communes have a deliberative body, the communal council (elected through direct local elections), and an executive, the mayor and his deputies elected by the communal council from among its members.

1 https://mefp.gov.gn/archivemplan/2021/03/26/mpde-atelier-national-de-lancement-du-processus-delaboration-du-pndes-2021-2025/ https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/CR/Issues/2017/12/19/Guinea-Economic-Development-Documents-45493 https://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/gui215096.pdf https://mefp.gov.gn/archivemplan/2021/03/26/mpde-atelier-national-de-lancement-du-processus-delaboration-du-pndes-2021-2025/

The GIGA’s intervention will concentrate at the municipality level and below, the local service delivery level, providing technical support to selected municipalities.

In 2017 the Local Government Services Commission issued the Local Council Human Resource Management Guidelines allowing councils to recruit their own staff. Although local councils were able to recruit new staff, proper hiring procedures were not followed and they often did not have the experience or the requisite qualifications for their positions. Local governance structures in education, healthcare, and agriculture (including forestry and hydropower) underwent varying degrees of devolution described in the decentralization law (Code de Collectivite locale). However, municipalities don’t exercise their full autonomy of decisions or financial independence. Additionally, there is a prevailing lack of awareness among local government authorities and the citizenry of the roles and responsibilities associated with each tier of the Guinean local government structure, and the civil society and citizens’ roles, contributing to overall lackluster revenue performance and limited to non-improvement in service delivery in access, quantity and quality.

Local governance: Local financial management lacks transparency and there is no effective control or audit system to tackle corruption, bribery, and leakage of resources during intragovernmental transfers.

Mining royalties intended to benefit local municipalities don’t have a lasting impact on the municipalities and their citizens. Corporate Social Responsibility funds by mining companies are controlled and managed by the national government entities and the equalization system to promote development in non-mining municipalities is not effective . Local councils and citizens possess a limited understanding of what is meant by “quality services”, and which services should be provided at no charge. Indicators of quality services that could shape their demand for and monitor supply of critical services in health, education and economic development are lacking, caused in part by the lack of local government bodies to monitor, report, and address the inconsistencies. The government agencies2 manage the mining royalties and corporate social responsibilities for the benefit of municipalities plan and execute local development projects in lieu and place of local governments and their local development committees.

Citizens and their local communal councils have a limited grasp of the role played by the municipalities in driving their own development. There are few active third-party observers who are able to monitor local revenue, budget formulation, and development plans. Women, youth, and other marginalized communities (persons with disabilities, persons with albinism and other minorities) do not fully participate in local government management and decision-making processes. Women in particular are trusted by the general population to reduce corruption, improve education, and growth, but are often less able to fully participate due to less education and limited information. When they are included, women are often held to paternalistic gender norms by their male colleagues, such as serving coffee or preparing meals. Municipalities are heavily reliant on government transfers, yet lack comprehension regarding the process. At the municipality level, the mobilization of domestic revenue remains weak.There exists a general paucity of information and awareness concerning the local tax structure and the mechanisms for generating and managing local tax and non tax revenues. Another critical deficiency is the absence of nationally supported electronic systems for data collection and secure financial transactions, both within and when transferring funds to municipalities. Furthermore, there is a gap between the legal framework governing budgeting and the actual practices observed at the municipality level. The absence of fiscal education compounds this issue, the process of resource mobilization lacks transparency, and instances of corruption and bribery further undermine the proper utilization of resources.

2 Agence Nationale de Financement des Collectivités (ANAFIC), Fonds National du Développement Local (FNDL), Fonds de Développement Économique de Conakry (FODECON), http://medd-guinee.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Code-Collectivites-Locales-REVISE-2017.pdf

Healthcare sector: An underperforming healthcare system characterized by inadequate health sector governance, poor health infrastructure, and scarcity of essential healthcare personnel and services contribute to high morbidity and mortality levels, and low life expectancy3. The 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak and the COVID-19 pandemic have exacerbated the already strained capacity of the healthcare system. The government agencies have demonstrated limited improvements to the financial management of the public health sector even after years of intervention by some international donors to expand universal health coverage, improve health infrastructure, and guarantee the salaries of local health agents (relais Communautaire - RECO) and their supervisors. Furthermore, the execution of the health national development plan 2015-2024 (Plan du développement sanitaire) has shown limited improvement.

Economic growth sector: Agriculture is one of Guinea's primary economic assets, representing the country’s largest source of employment and serving a critical role for poverty reduction and rural development. According to World Bank4, Guinean agriculture accounts for 57% of rural household income, and provides employment for 52% of the rural workforce, with many of the most competitive opportunities for diversification lying in products such as fruit, fonio, rice, coffee, and eggs. While natural conditions are favorable for growth in agriculture, Guinea has to improve its agricultural sector governance if it hopes to fully realize this potential and structural transformation. This includes forestry and hydrology sectors. Access to electricity is available to 34% of the population, with a significantly lower rate of 9% in rural communities where massive agricultural products are produced. Limited electricity in Guinea has several adverse effects on agricultural development such as irrigation constraints, post-harvest losses, limitation to adopt modern agricultural technologies, value-added processing challenges, limited access to agricultural information and extension services, disrupted value chains leading to economic losses and reduced market opportunities for farmers. The absence of electricity discourages rural development by hindering the establishment of agribusinesses and other rural enterprises. This limits job creation and overall economic growth in rural areas. Furthermore, the lack of electricity leads to unsustainable farming practices like deforestation, contributing to environmental degradation.

Education sector: According to the Guinea National Statistic Institute, the gross enrollment rate in primary school (2018/2019) was 88.6%, while the rate for the first cycle of secondary education for the same school year was 44.7%, and for the second cycle of secondary education 27.3%.

Among the prominent issues and difficulties experienced in Guinea's education system are the low primary completion rate, inequalities between girls and boys, poor learning outcomes, lack of qualified teachers, and high repetition and dropout rates5. These challenges hinder access to quality education for children, particularly those residing in rural areas, and are primarily attributed to factors such as poor governance, poverty, geographical remoteness from educational institutions, and entrenched cultural norms, all of which contribute to attendance and retention issues. Furthermore, insufficient infrastructure and funding constraints, and the lack of fundamental amenities such as desks, books, and teaching material adversely impacts the quality of education delivered and is exacerbated by a shortage of adequately qualified teachers, particularly in rural regions, resulting in overcrowded classrooms. There is a limited allocation of the national budget to education. This shortage of financial resources adversely affects critical aspects of the education system, including infrastructure development, teacher salaries, and the overall quality of education provision.

3https://www.heardproject.org/wp-content/uploads/Guinea-HSD-Evaluation-Brief_english.pdf 4 The World Bank in Guinea: https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/guinea/overview#1. 2019.

5 Global Partnership for Education 2022-2023.

https://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/docs/ELECTRONIC/111679/139298/F558818545/GIN-111679.pdf https://www.heardproject.org/wp-content/uploads/Guinea-HSD-Evaluation-Brief_english.pdf https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/guinea/overview#1

The Government of Guinea in September 2022 committed to making primary and secondary education free for all by eliminating direct, indirect, and opportunity costs to ensure that all children, including disabled children, girls, and those living in rural areas, complete a quality secondary education and acquire the basic knowledge necessary to fully realize their potential. To achieve this, the Guinea government committed to mobilizing and increasing the national resources allocated to education from 12% in 2022 to 20% in 20256. The Guinea Government also recognizes persistent gender disparities in education resulting in fewer girls receiving formal education in comparison to boys. The enduring gender gap can be attributed to cultural and socio-economic factors, early and forced marriage practices, and household responsibilities, all of which contribute to the difficulties faced by girls in their educational pursuits. Moreover, the health and nutrition issues faced by students further hinder their capacity to learn effectively. Malnutrition and the prevalence of diseases such as neglected tropical illnesses significantly impede children's educational outcomes.

2.3. Linkage with USAID and Mission Strategies

GIGA will directly contribute to the USAID Guinea Mission’s CDCS goal of More participatory governance for a healthier, more prosperous Guinea, supporting activities under both Development Objectives (DO); and to the USAID Strategy on Democracy, Human Rights and Governance ‘s DO 2:

Foster greater accountability of institutions and leaders to citizens and to the law; and DO 4: Improve development outcomes through the integration of DRG principles and practices across USAID’s development portfolio. GIGA will also contribute to the Guinea Integrated Country Strategy goal and State-USAID Joint Regional Strategy (JRS) that seek to strengthen accountability, and good governance.

GIGA will also contribute to the U.S. Global Fragility Act’s Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability (GFA/SPCPS) by promoting decentralization and local governance reforms, the provision of essential public services, improving the mobilization and management of domestic resources, and reducing instances of corruption. In addition, Guinea is selected as a focus country for the African Democratic and Political Transitions (ADAPT) initiative. The GIGA will contribute to the ADAPT initiative, laying the foundation for more robust and inclusive democratic institutions in Guinea.

USAID expects the Offerors to describe in their Performance Work Statement how their proposed interventions, strategies, methods and combined technical capacities and resources will contribute to the success of SPCPS and ADAPT strategies with evidence-based and tangible results and outcomes, while pursuing the GIGA goal and objectives.

2.4. USAID and Other Donors Activities

The successful Offeror must identify and describe the existing integrated governance opportunities, and how they will capitalize on synergies, coordination, and collaboration to leverage USAID and other donors’ existing activities in order to avoid potential duplication of efforts or concentration of efforts in the same sites. The Offeror must stay abreast of any new activities supporting decentralization and local governance and explore collaboration accordingly.

6 https://guinee.un.org/fr/217492-retour-sur-les-engagements-pris-par-la-guin%C3%A9e-lors-du-sommet-sur-la-transformation-de-l https://drive.google.com/file/d/182pTfalFkMJQxe1uXdRzY64yGp4HFTYN/view?ths=true https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/2022-05/USAID-DRG_fina-_6-24-31.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/2022-05/USAID-DRG_fina-_6-24-31.pdf https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/ICS_AF_Guinea_Public.pdf https://www.state.gov/stability-strategy/ https://www.state.gov/stability-strategy/ https://www.state.gov/announcement-on-adapt-initiative-in-guinea/#:%7E:text=At%20the%202022%20U.S.%2DAfrica,Political%20Transitions%20(ADAPT)%20initiative.

https://www.state.gov/announcement-on-adapt-initiative-in-guinea/#:%7E:text=At%20the%202022%20U.S.%2DAfrica,Political%20Transitions%20(ADAPT)%20initiative.

https://guinee.un.org/fr/217492-retour-sur-les-engagements-pris-par-la-guin%C3%A9e-lors-du-sommet-sur-la-transformation-de-l

USAID Activities

The following list is illustrative, and does not include all USAID activities or planned activities. The offerors should anticipate working in tandem with these activities and with other donors' activities to increase public service and goods delivery across sectors based on needs identified by the communities and their local officials in the local development plans.

- USAID invests significantly in programs supporting Global Health initiatives. The most recent is the USAID “Notre Santé” Activity, which aims to improve leadership, management and governance in the health sector, and will engage health sector authorities and service providers to reinforce their leadership and management skills, as well as increase their accountability to their primary stakeholders and clients. The activity also plans to improve stakeholder involvement in health services management at the targeted communities and health facilities.

- USAID also supports the Wakili Femme et Engagement Activity, which aims to promote greater participation of women and youth in peacebuilding mechanisms and decision-making bodies, improve the socioeconomic resilience of women and youth through engaging opinion leaders and local authorities for the inclusion of women and youth in peacebuilding mechanisms, and decision-making bodies, and build the institutional and technical capacities of local organizations including women and youth relay structures.

- Through the Supporting the Transition and Electoral Process (STEP) Activity, USAID is supporting legal reform including decentralization reform in support of the Guinea Transition plan for return to democratic norm.

- USAID supports the Preventing Risks and Occasions of Trafficking and Exploitation in Communities and Township (PROTECT) Activity that focus on combating Trafficking In Person (TIP) through prevention, partnership, and protection mechanisms.

Other Donors Activities

USAID/Guinea expects the offeror to consult with a wide range of international donors and agencies interested in decentralization and local governance in Guinea including the European Union, UNDP, the World Bank, GIZ, and explore potential linkages to any ongoing initiatives in these areas. The World Bank, for example, supported the Government of Guinea to execute the Local Government Support Project (2019-2024)7 aimed at operationalizing the local development fund (Fond National de Developpement Local - FNDL), building institutions and capacity, and supporting the implementation of the decentralization process. The World Bank is planning8 to support the Guinea Government to execute the second phase of the project with the aim of strengthening the capacity of national and local institutions to mobilize and manage resources effectively, with a focus on quality results and climate adaptation measures.

7 https://projects.banquemondiale.org/fr/projects-operations/project-detail/P167884 8 ttps://mefp.gov.gn/2023/04/13/belle-moisson-a-washington-la-banque-mondiale-alloue-81-millions-de-dollars-us-a-la-guinee-pour-le-financement-additionnel-du-projet-dappui-a-la-gouvernance-locale-pagl2/ https://projects.banquemondiale.org/fr/projects-operations/project-detail/P167884 https://mefp.gov.gn/2023/04/13/belle-moisson-a-washington-la-banque-mondiale-alloue-81-millions-de-dollars-us-a-la-guinee-pour-le-financement-additionnel-du-projet-dappui-a-la-gouvernance-locale-pagl2/ https://mefp.gov.gn/2023/04/13/belle-moisson-a-washington-la-banque-mondiale-alloue-81-millions-de-dollars-us-a-la-guinee-pour-le-financement-additionnel-du-projet-dappui-a-la-gouvernance-locale-pagl2/

3. PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES AND RESULTS

3.1. Development Hypothesis

USAID is working with the development hypothesis that If local government officials are better able to support local service delivery in a more transparent, inclusive, and accountable way; and if citizens are enabled to conduct third-party monitoring of the local governments and hold local elected officials accountable, then the local governments will deliver quality services to its citizens in a more equitable, transparent, and sustainable manner, leading to a healthier social contract between the government and citizens, thus contributing to greater stability.

This development hypothesis means that local governments that are more responsive and accountable to the citizens, are likely to deliver quality services to the citizens in a more equitable, transparent, and sustainable manner, in order to improve the social contract between the governments and citizens. With improved social contract, citizens will have fewer incentives to turn towards non-state actors including violent extremist organizations for basic public goods and services. Because trust in government and government’s citizens-focused performance enhance peace and internal stability, citizens who feel supported and empowered by their local governments are likely to promote stability and reduce sympathy for violent and extremist behavior.

Additionally, the GIGA activity will take place within the context of the Global Fragility Act (GFA)’s strategy to prevent conflict and promote stability (SPCPS) implementation in Guinea, as well as within the context of the African Democratic and Political Transitions (ADAPT) initiative. There is a direct connection between GIGA’s development hypothesis and both strategies, including the end state of greater regional stability.

3.2. Description of Objectives

Objective one: More effective and efficient local governments deliver quality public services in a more inclusive, equitable, and transparent way, and are accountable to their citizens.

GIGA will address corruption and capacity deficits in governance structures that make local governments less responsive to their citizens, while simultaneously building the capacity of local governments to provide basic services in health, education, and economic development to their communities. The Offeror is expected to use collective action strategies and approaches to engage various actors interested in decentralization and local governance matters to take joint actions in support of shared objectives while engaging local stakeholders directly to build cohesion, and support them to lead efforts to enact their own local governance and service delivery agendas in a more equitable, transparent, inclusive and accountable way.

The Contractor must reach the results through interventions that:

(a) Improve local government officials’ understanding of the concept of decentralization in Guinea context and their roles and responsibilities.

(b) Promote decentralization and local governance reforms, while fostering a more profound comprehension within local government bodies and civil society organizations of essential https://usaidlearninglab.org/sites/default/files/2022-07/collective_action_practical_guide_for_facilitators_july2022.pdf decentralization components and areas of responsibility devolved to the municipalities with a focus on healthcare, education, and economic development. This includes support for any legal reform in the areas of decentralization and local governance.

(c) Facilitate the transfer of technical expertise, sustainable tools, and best practices to assist municipalities and related government agencies to effectively engage in decentralization and local governance initiatives.

(d) Enhance the capacity of local governments to identify and harness domestic resources (tax and non-tax revenues) in a more transparent, inclusive, and accountable manner, as well as diversify revenue streams for funding local public projects including infrastructure projects contained in their local development plans.

(e) Improve the local governments and CSOs capacity to use tax administration tools to inform domestic resource mobilization.

(f) Mitigate mismanagement, corruption, and bribery within local government institutions to ensure that public investments directly benefit the average citizens at the municipality level in Guinea.

This includes backing accountability laws and regulations and fostering collaboration with the government's accountability agency.

(g) Promote effective use by local municipalities of their mobilized domestic resources to improve social service delivery in healthcare, education, and economic development , and increase inclusiveness in the access to these services, potentially supporting infrastructure in healthcare, education, and economic development.

(h) Promote inclusive and transparent processes for the development and execution of local development plans, while incorporating accountability and anti-bribery strategies and enforcement measures within these plans.

(i) Increase involvement of municipalities’ leadership, including the Mayors, to engage in accountability mechanisms and local development plan processes.

(j) Foster a profound comprehension within the municipalities of the government agencies (FODECON9, ANAFIC10, and FODEL11 and others that might be created) and the process of management and transfer of mining royalties and corporate social responsibilities to local municipalities for their development.

(k) Enhance the responsiveness of the municipality officials to the needs of citizens, and ensure transparent expenditures.

Success in achieving this objective will be measured in accordance with the following illustrative outcomes and targets:

- Increased skills and capacity of local governments to efficiently fulfill their mandates.

- A minimum of 90% of local government personnel and officials in target municipalities have received adequate training.

- Domestic resources in target municipalities are identified and efficiently mobilized in accordance with the principles and techniques of domestic resource mobilization, resulting in a yearly increase of domestic resources mobilized in tax and non-tax revenues.

9 Fonds de Développement Économique de Conakry 10 Agence Nationale de Financement des Collectivités 11 Fonds de développement économique local https://www.anafic-gn.org/

- Increased percentage of people who believe that the local governments and institutions are providing high-quality services in the domains of healthcare, education, and economic development to the citizens.

- Public accountability mechanisms are established through consensus among municipalities’ stakeholders and civil society organizations, and operate effectively within the target municipalities.

- At least three local development plans in total and that includes at least one project per year per sector, encompassing the following sectors: of healthcare, education, and economic development in beneficiary municipalities are successfully designed and executed.

- Local health workers are included in the local civil service structure, budgeted in the local development plans, and receive their salaries through funds mobilized from tax and non-tax domestic resources.

- At least three local service delivery infrastructure activities per year ( in healthcare, education, and/or economic development) are rehabilitated or constructed by local governments using their own locally mobilized resources.

- Annually, up to two public-private partnerships or private sector engagement activities per sector per year, in the following sectors: in healthcare, education, and economic development are implemented in target municipalities.

- Two mechanisms are established to decrease the payment of bribes for administrative services in the target municipalities.

- A minimum of five stringent measures to combat corruption and fraud are developed, enacted, successfully executed, and enforced within the target municipalities.

- Effective local tax policies and compliance mechanisms are established and are operational.

- Mining royalties and social corporate responsibility funds are efficiently and transparently tracked, monitored, collected, and allocated to support public services in the areas of healthcare, education, and economic development in target municipalities.

- Decrease in the instances of absenteeism among health workers.

- 100% of Mayors or Vice-Mayors of the target municipalities effectively engage in project design and local development planning processes in their municipalities.

- 100% of the targeted municipalities are able to make transparent decisions on the execution of their budget and strategic plans.

- At least three community infrastructure (in health, education, and economic development) may be identified for minor fixes that are non-structural and generally cosmetic and are consistent with ADS Reference 303maw USAID Implementation of Construction Activities, through subgrants to local CSOs in target municipalities each year starting by year two of the GIGA activity.

Objective two: Capable and organized local civil society organizations (CSO) and a better-informed citizenry engage in local development, demand quality services, and play a third-party monitoring and a watchdog role on local governments’ effectiveness, transparency, and financial accountability in fulfilling their mandates.

GIGA will engage local civil society, media and the general public to demand public services and hold their local officials accountable for service delivery. USAID looks forward to improved understanding by the population, local CSOs and local government of the political, fiscal and administrative decentralization, increased local government accountability, increased citizens engagement and participation in local governance, and improved local service delivery in health, education and economic development. USAID also expects the Offeror to build the capacity of socio-professional organizations and CSO’s watchdog capability and capacity to conduct public awareness campaigns related to access to services, the fight against corruption, including by increasing focus on corruption’s lesser-understood dimensions. These include the ways that corruption impacts vulnerable groups at a disproportionate rate, the impact of corruption, and addressing behaviors that enable corruption acts.

The Contractor must reach the results through interventions that:

(a) Improve citizens’ understanding of decentralization and local governance.

(b) Educate citizens on their roles, responsibilities, and engagement in local governance, and how to hold the elected local officials accountable, and denounce corruption acts.

(c) Foster the leadership and ownership of local CSOs to support decentralization and local development, as well as the promotion of accountable behavior, and advocate for greater transparency in the collection and use of local revenue.

(d) Gauge the opinions and expectations of ordinary Guineans regarding the quality and quantity of, access to, equitability, accountability and transparency in delivery of key public services and goods in order to orient municipalities’ development projects and plans towards citizens’ understanding of what services, quality, quantity, transparency, and accountability mean to them.

(e) Support local CSOs and media to set a range of workable social accountability tools to hold the local governments accountable for service delivery, and initiatives where the local government interacts with the citizens on various local governance issues of citizens interest.

(f) Facilitate the transfer of technical expertise, sustainable tools, and best practices to local CSOs to engage in advocacy efforts in support for decentralization and local governance.

(g) Improve citizens’ collective capabilities to effectively assess service-delivery needs and performance and constructively engage with their local governments.

(h) Foster an active third-party monitoring by the local CSOs of the local revenue, budget formulation, and development plans.

Success in achieving this objective should be measured in accordance with the following illustrative outcomes:

- Increased skills and capacity of local civil society members to efficiently engage in local development, and advocate for quality service delivery.

- Citizens-led accountability mechanisms are in place and effectively operational in targeted municipalities.

- Increased number of people who report increased trust in local government and a healthier social contract between the citizen and the local government.

- Increased number of people who report that they understand the local tax system and are willing to pay.

- Increased local tax revenue for the municipalities.

- Citizens’ recommendations from opinion polls on availability, access, quality and quantity of services in health, education, and economic growth are gathered and included in local development plans and implemented.

- Increased number of citizens who attest to have understood their rights and responsibility in advancing the decentralization process and local governance.

- Increased number of people who report that they are satisfied with services in healthcare, education and economic growth.

- At least three local CSOs have sufficient capacity by the end of GIGA to be eligible for direct support from USAID or other donors to perform interventions in support for decentralization and local governance.

- Increased demand for quality health care, education, and economic growth.

For each objective, USAID expects the Offeror to draw a causal model that demonstrates how the GIGA Outputs/Outcomes, results, and impacts will be reached.

3.3. Illustrative Indicators

The list below illustrates the USAID performance indicators aligned with the good governance area of programming. Based on the GIGA objectives and expected results, the Offerors are requested to propose additional outcome and custom indicators which will be used as a basis for monitoring activity progress and measuring performance.

1. Number of government officials receiving USG-supported accountability training (DR.2. 4-1.)

1. Number of mechanisms for external oversight of public resource use supported by USG assistance (DR.2. 4-2)

2. Number of accountability measures proposed, adopted or implemented due to USG assistance, to include laws, policies, or procedures (DR.2.4-4)

3. Number of civil society organizations (CSOs) receiving USG assistance engaged in advocacy interventions (DR.4.2-2

4. Number of journalists trained and supported (DR.5.2-2)

5. Number of people affiliated with non-governmental organizations receiving USG-supported accountability training (DR.2.4-3)

3.4. Supplemental Technical Assistance. In addition to the objectives described above, and in accordance with Sections B.5. and B.6. the Offeror must propose a response to unanticipated events impacting on or related to the achievement of the objectives set forth in the Performance Work Statement using the Supplemental Technical Assistance ordered by the Contracting Officer in accordance with Section F.9.

4. CONTRACT PARAMETERS

The Offerors must integrate and address each of the following requirements:

4.1. Geographical coverage: The Offeror should propose and define measurable eligibility criteria for the municipalities selection for the GIGA intervention and assemble a database of municipalities with data on selected eligibility criteria. These criteria should include reasonable municipality coverage in the eight regions of Guinea. USAID anticipates that the Offerors will open a reasonable number of regional offices to support implementation of the activity in the field and offerors will explain how the main office in Conakry will link to the regional offices.

4.2. Assessments and analysis: The offeror is expected to conduct a series of analysis so that implementation is based on evidence. These include:

- A Political Economy Analysis (PEA) to examine the power dynamics that influence decentralization and local governance,

- An After Action Review after each key activity to learn throughout the implementation,

- Opinion surveys throughout the implementation to gauge the change or lack thereof in citizens' understanding of decentralization and local governance, and their expectations regarding access to, quality and quantity of key public services and goods,

- A diagnostic of tax administration to strengthen tax revenue collection, track revenue from source to final project, and enhance the effectiveness of local tax authorities,

- A year-one process evaluation of initial implementation in initial (pre-pilot) municipalities to inform a pause and reflect session and adaptation for subsequent years.

4.3. Impact evaluation: USAID/Guinea intends to conduct an impact evaluation of some or all of the activities under GIGA. The impact evaluation will be conducted by a third-party evaluator managed by USAID. The evaluation questions, design, outcomes, outcome measurements, and methodology will be developed by the evaluator in collaboration with the contractor and USAID at the outset of the period of performance. This will include an impact evaluation planning workshop. An impact evaluation will likely have several implications for the Offeror’s proposed approach.

Selection of municipalities: USAID assumes that eligible municipalities will be randomized into treatment municipalities that will receive the interventions and control municipalities that will not during the period of the evaluation. The Offeror Contractor will should define municipal eligibility criteria for the intervention, in consultation with USAID and the evaluator, and assemble a database of municipalities with data on selected eligibility criteria. At least 100 municipalities should be identified as eligible for treatment and the tested intervention should occur in an expected 50 randomly-selected municipalities during the evaluation period. The evaluation period might run for the remainder of the intervention or for a set period (e.g., Years Two and Three). If the latter occurs, municipalities identified as control could receive interventions in subsequent years. In addition, the Offeror Contractor is not restricted from operating in more than the pre-pilot and 50 treatment locations.

Adaptation and implementation fidelity: The formal impact evaluation is expected to occur by the end of Year Two of the intervention, once the Offeror has had an opportunity to learn from initial implementation in pre-pilot municipalities that are not part of the control or treatment for the evaluation period. It is expected that by the end of Year Two, the implementer will maintain implementation fidelity throughout treatment municipalities for the duration of the impact evaluation, monitor implementation fidelity, and share data with the evaluation team. Implementation fidelity indicators should be developed in cooperation with the evaluation team.

Programmatic focus: The impact evaluation will test the effectiveness of the entire activity or a part of the activity to be determined as part of the evaluation design process. The Offeror should propose areas of focus where the learning from an impact evaluation could be most beneficial including learning on SPCPS and ADAPT initiatives. Activities to be tested should have an adequately robust theory of change and reasonable expectation based on the available evidence to achieve their intended outcomes.

Coordination: The Offeror will be expected to cooperate and coordinate closely with the third-party evaluator. To ensure effective coordination and communication, a point of contact should be identified from among Offeror in-country staff with adequate technical skills in impact evaluation to serve as a member of and point of contact for the evaluation team, including participating in design, monitoring, and evaluation activities. Coordination is also expected to entail regular meetings, regular sharing of draft and final programmatic documents, and sharing of monitoring and cost data for the activities being evaluated. Some elements of the Offeror’s proposed or desired approach may need to be adjusted to allow for a meaningful evaluation.

Costs: While the costs of the third-party evaluator will be borne by USAID via the evaluation partner, the Offeror should recognize that impact evaluations incur additional costs for implementers in coordinating with the evaluator, dedicating staff time to the evaluation, obtaining data on and selecting eligible municipalities, operating in randomly-selected municipalities, and collecting robust monitoring and implementation fidelity data, among other activities.

Evaluation use: The Offeror is expected to develop and implement a plan for how it will use data generated by the evaluation, including baseline data, monitoring data, and the external evaluation findings for the purpose of adaptive management, including learning from pause and reflect to inform decision-making and follow through on decisions reached to manage adaptively.

4.4. Limitation of the scope: USAID does not expect GIGA to enhance the broader health, economic growth, and educational sectors in Guinea, assume the role of delivering services in these sectors to the Guinean populations, or fund the local development plans. USAID expects the contractor to support the argeted local municipalities and the populations to create a more participatory and inclusive local government’s good governance framework that is necessary for improved delivery of key services. The Offerors should describe how they will assist the targeted local governments at the municipality level to mobilize their taxes and non-taxes resources, improve governance and reduce corruption within the sectors of Health, Education, and Economic Growth, while fulfilling their responsibilities of addressing the challenges within these sectors, and delivering high-quality services to their constituents based on citizens' priorities. Henceforth, no direct grants (cash or in-kind) under the GIGA activity should be provided to local governments. However, grants to local CSOs will be used to directly support local communities as provided under section 4.8 Grant Under Contract, below, and in close collaboration with

USAID.

Furthermore, although the bulk of GIGA interventions will concentrate on the local municipal level, USAID expects the Offerors to describe the important linkages with the prefectural, regional, and national levels to improve governance and effectively meet the GIGA objectives and results.

4.5. Leveraging Private Sector Engagement: USAID/Guinea is fully committed to including private sector engagement (PSE) in its decentralization and local governance interventions to stimulate innovation and investment that meet citizens' demand for quality public services. USAID expects the Offerors to outline how they will support the target local governments and CSOs to engage in public-private partnerships (PPPs), leverage corporate social responsibility (CSR) from corporate partners, and to work with the private sector12 in order to amplify service delivery to the citizens. Offerors must show how they will capitalize on any emerging opportunities for innovative, meaningful, and productive PPPs, and any PPP and PSE legislation.

12 Refer to the USAID Private Sector Engagement Strategy https://www.usaid.gov/documents/1865/private-sector-engagement-policy-0

4.6. Gender and Social Inclusion: In Guinea, women, youth, undereducated and uneducated people, persons with disabilities, persons with albinism, gender minorities, rural communities and ethnic minorities are subject to increased marginalization in every domain of public life. A gender analysis for Guinea was conducted as part of its 2021 CDCS, and the GIGA design also takes into account the ADS Chapter 205, USAID Gender Equality and Female Empowerment Policy, USAID Disability Policy Paper, USAID Youth in Development Policy, USAID LGBT Vision for Action, USAID Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Executive Summary, and USAID’s Women Political Participation and Leadership (WPPL) Public Opinion Report on Guinea.

The Offerors must have a plan that articulates and measures meaningful engagement of women, youth, marginalized people and other gender minorities. In addition, the Offerors must align with the principle of “do no harm” to benefit and meet the unique needs of marginalized populations. But “do no harm” should not be interpreted to imply “do nothing”.

4.7. Localization : USAID is currently leaning heavily toward localization. The offeror should describe how the local voices will be at the center of GIGA interventions, supported, utilized, and built to the greatest extent possible in order to promote local ownership of GIGA efforts.

4.8. Grants under Contract (GUC): The offeror may manage up to 50 local grants, which will be issued following open competition procedures, and executed in close collaboration with USAID/Guinea.

The local grants will support the following areas of work:

● Posting of fees for all services provided by assisted local service delivery entities in health, education, and economic growth.

● Advocacy on the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative reports to increase public sector spending.

● Provide civic education on decentralization, local governance to the local communities to increase their participation in local governance, and awareness of their rights and responsibilities in demanding quality services to their local governments.

● Advocacy for equal participation and access to services for women, youth, and other marginalized communities in their entirety.

● Support to local community radio outlets and journalists for information sharing on decentralization and local governance.

● Post the tax schedule for awareness and transparency.

● Provide support to local CSO subgrantees in their efforts to improve select local community infrastructure activities in the health, education, and economic development sectors which respond to the direct needs of the local populations in these areas. The terms of reference for these activities should originate from the local communities after participatory need assessments are completed and are reviewed and approved by USAID.

● No construction will be funded.

The total value of an individual grant to a U.S. NGO must not exceed the simplified acquisition threshold (SAT). USAID/Guinea expects approximately 12% an amount up to $3,000,000 of the overall GIGA budget will be utilized to support Grants under Contract. Additionally, the Offerors are advised to take into consideration that in a political landscape such as that of Guinea, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) may tend to align themselves with political entities. It is important to emphasize that, as per the https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/2022-12/205.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/2022-12/205.pdf https://encompassworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Final_GEFE_ImplementationReport.pdf https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PDABQ631.pdf#:%7E:text=The%20USAID%20policy%20on%20disability%20is%20to%20promote,defined%20as%20a%20physical%20or%20cognitive%20impairment%20that https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PDABQ631.pdf#:%7E:text=The%20USAID%20policy%20on%20disability%20is%20to%20promote,defined%20as%20a%20physical%20or%20cognitive%20impairment%20that https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/2022-12/USAID-Youth-in-Development-Policy-2022-Update-508.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/2022-12/Final_LGBT_Vision_for_Action_PIA_Report_approved_1.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/2022-12/Final_LGBT_Vision_for_Action_PIA_Report_approved_1.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/about-us/diversity-equity-inclusion/strategy-summary https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00ZSHH.pdf https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00ZSHH.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/2022-12/USAIDs_Localization_Vision-508.pdf established USAID protocol, the financial resources made available for GIGA should not be directed towards supporting politically affiliated CSOs.

4.9. Learning, Flexibility and Adaptability: The GIGA Activity will be implemented in a politically changing and unstable environment. Local, legislative and presidential elections are expected to take place sometime during the implementation, creating both risks and opportunities to which GIGA will need to be responsive, recognizing that the implementation of approaches may vary from one region to another. Offerors are required to include enough flexibility, learning and adaptability strategies in order to shift efforts programmatically within the scope and the budget, and in collaboration with USAID when needs arise, so that the path to implementation can be adjusted in response to emerging opportunities and knowledge.

Additionally, unforeseen opportunities or emergencies may entail implementing activities with new locations, objectives, partners, or other emerging stakeholders. The changes in geographical focus, objectives, types of activities, or partners may occur at any time during the award, including within the first year of the award. Therefore, the GIGA will be a hybrid Cost Plus Fixed Fee Completion -Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract to allow for supplemental technical assistance to respond to changing needs. The anticipated percentage for the implementation of the supplemental technical assistance is approximately 10% of the total contract cost.

4.10. Accountability: As described in the Background, corruption and bribery are a pervasive and overwhelming problem that hinders Guinea’s development and prevents citizens from benefiting from the basic services.