Attachment J.7 - BPA Call - RFQ.pdf

BPA Call Proposal Request No. 72039124Q00010 Assessment of SBEP

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SECTION A – REQUEST FOR QUOTATION (RFQ)/BPA CALL FORM

SECTION B – SUPPLIES OR SERVICES/PRICE

B.1 PURPOSE

B.2 CONTRACT TYPE

B.3 PRICE

B.4 PAYMENT SCHEDULE

SECTION C – DESCRIPTION /SPECIFICATION

C.1 PURPOSE

C.2 INTERVENTION BACKGROUND

C.3 ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS

C.4 DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

C.5 ASSESSMENT MANAGEMENT

SECTION D – BRANDING AND MARKING

SECTION E - INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

SECTION F – DELIVERIES OR PERFORMANCE

F.1 DELIVERABLES

F.2 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

F.3 DISCLOSURES

F.4 VETTING REQUIREMENT

SECTION G – CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA

In addition to the Section G of the main BPA, following are applicable to this BPA Call

G.1 CONTRACTING OFFICER’S REPRESENTATIVE

G.2 CONTRACTOR’S PRIMARY POINT OF CONTACT

G.3 ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA

SECTION H – SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS

H.1 ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST: EVALUATION, DEFINITE QUANTITY Ordering (September 2018)

SECTION I – CONTRACT CLAUSES

SECTION J – LIST OF DOCUMENTS, EXHIBITS AND OTHER ATTACHMENTS

K – REPRESENTATIONS, CERTIFICATIONS, AND OTHER STATEMENTS OF OFFERORS

SECTION L – INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS, AND NOTICES TO OFFERORS

L.1 GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

SECTION M – EVALUATION CRITERIA – FACTORS FOR AWARD

M.1 SELECTION PROCESS

SOLICITATION, OFFER AND AWARD

4. TYPE OF SOLICITATION2. CONTRACT NUMBER 3. SOLICITATION NUMBER

72039124Q00010

7. ISSUED BY CODE 8. ADDRESS OFFER TO (If other than Item 7)

System (DPAS) - Code of Federal Regulations - at 15 CFR 700.

6. REQUISITION/PURCHASE NUMBER

NOTE: In sealed bid solicitations "offer" and "offeror" mean "bid" and "bidder".

NEGOTIATED (RFP) REQUEST FOR

SEALED BID (IFB) INVITATION FOR BID

5. DATE ISSUED

1. This Contract is a Rated Order under the Defense Priorities and Allocations RATING PAGE OF PAGES

2 24

C. E-MAIL ADDRESS

EXT.NUMBERAREA CODE

B. TELEPHONE (NO COLLECT CALLS)A. NAME

10. FOR

INFORMATION

CALL:

CAUTION: LATE Submissions, Modifications, and Withdrawals: See Section L, Provision No. 52.214-7 or 52.215-1. All offers are subject to all terms and conditions contained in this solicitation.

(Date)(Hour) local timeuntildepository located in copies for furnishing the supplies or services in the Schedule will be received at the place specified in Item 8, or if hand carried, in the

SOLICITATION

9. Sealed offers in original and

PART IV - REPRESENTATIONS AND INSTRUCTIONS

OTHER STATEMENTS OF OFFERORS

EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD

INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS, AND NOTICES TO OFFERORS

REPRESENTATIONS, CERTIFICATIONS AND

LIST OF ATTACHMENTS

CONTRACT CLAUSES

PART III - LIST OF DOCUMENTS, EXHIBITS AND OTHER ATTACHMENTS

I

J

K

L

M SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS

CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA

DELIVERIES OR PERFORMANCE

INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

PACKAGING AND MARKING

DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS/WORK STATEMENT

SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICES/COSTS

SOLICITATION/CONTRACT FORM

PART II - CONTRACT CLAUSESPART I - THE SCHEDULE

H

G

F

E

D

C

B

A

SEC. DESCRIPTION PAGE(S) (X) DESCRIPTION SEC. (X)

11. TABLE OF CONTENTS

18. OFFER DATE17. SIGNATURE

SUCH ADDRESS IN SCHEDULE.

IS DIFFERENT FROM ABOVE - ENTER

15C. CHECK IF REMITTANCE ADDRESS

EXTENSIONNUMBERAREA CODE

15B. TELEPHONE NUMBER

(Type or print)AND

ADDRESS

OF

OFFEROR

CODE FACILITY

16. NAME AND TITLE OF PERSON AUTHORIZED TO SIGN OFFER15A. NAME

DATEAMENDMENT NO.DATEAMENDMENT NO.

and related documents numbered and dated):

amendments to the SOLICITATION for offerors

(The offeror acknowledges receipt of

14. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF AMENDMENTS

CALENDAR DAYS (%)30 CALENDAR DAYS (%)20 CALENDAR DAYS (%)10 CALENDAR DAYS (%)

(See Section I, Clause No. 52.232.8)

13. DISCOUNT FOR PROMPT PAYMENT

designated point(s), within the time specified in the schedule.

by the offeror) from the date for receipt of offers specified above, to furnish any or all items upon which prices are offered at the price set opposite each item, delivered at the

NOTE: Item 12 does not apply if the solicitation includes the provisions at 52.214-16, Minimum Bid Acceptance Period.

OFFER (Must be fully completed by offeror)

IMPORTANT - Award will be made on this Form, or on Standard Form 26, or by other authorized official written notice.

28. AWARD DATE

(Signature of Contracting Officer)

27. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

25. PAYMENT WILL BE MADE BY

26. NAME OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (Type or print)

CODE 24. ADMINISTERED BY (If other than Item 7)

ITEM

(4 copies unless otherwise specified)

23. SUBMIT INVOICES TO ADDRESS SHOWN IN

41 U.S.C. 3304 (a) ( 10 U.S.C. 3204 (a) (

22. AUTHORITY FOR USING OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION UNDER THE

21. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION20. AMOUNT19. ACCEPTED AS TO ITEMS NUMBERED

AWARD (To be completed by government)

CODE

REQ-391-20-000050

720391

USAID/Pakistan

U.S. Embassy Diplomatic Enclave, Ramna 5 Islamabad, 44000 Pakistan

Adnan Khurshid akhurshid@usaid.gov

PAGE(S)

Sandro Carrillo

AUTHORIZED FOR LOCAL REPRODUCTION

Previous edition is unusable

STANDARD FORM 33 (REV. 12/2022)

Prescribed by GSA - FAR (48 CFR) 53.214(c)

12. In compliance with the above, the undersigned agrees, if this offer is accepted within ______________ calendar days (60 calendar days unless a different period is inserted

PROPOSAL

UNITED STATES CODE AT:

19 24

SECTION B – SUPPLIES OR SERVICES/PRICE

B.1 PURPOSE

The Contractor will provide the services described in Section C of this BPA Call.

B.2 CONTRACT TYPE

This is a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) BPA Call.

B.3 PRICE

The total price for the performance of the work required for the BPA Call is [TO BE INSERTED AT THE TIME OF AWARD]. USAID will not pay the Contractor any sum in excess of the total price.

B.4 PAYMENT SCHEDULE

Payments will be made upon the successful completion of each Milestone as given in the table below:

Milestones Price

Assessment Design & Work Plan PKR TBD

Data Collection Instruments and Testing Protocol PKR TBD

Draft Assessment Report PKR TBD

First Learning Event PKR TBD

Optional - Second Learning Event PKR TBD

Final Assessment Report, Submission of Data to DDL and Upload Final Report to DEC

PKR TBD

TOTAL PKR TBD

[End of Section B]

Item Number Item Total

001 Assessment of SBEP PKR TBD

002 Optional - Second Learning Event PKR TBD

Total Price PKR TBD

SECTION C – DESCRIPTION /SPECIFICATION

STATEMENT OF WORK

Assessment of the Education Management Organization Reform initiated through the Sindh Basic Education Program (SBEP)

C.1 PURPOSE

This assessment examines the extent to which the public schools managed by private sector Education Management Organizations (EMOs) contributed to improved student learning outcomes. The assessment will compare students’ learning gains, students’ enrollment and attendance, and community engagement at EMO-managed public schools and non-EMO-managed public schools.

The findings of this assessment will inform current and future activities using public-private partnerships (PPPs) to improve basic education. The findings will enhance the Mission’s knowledge about the private sector’s capacity to manage schools and improve learning outcomes.

The assessment will add to the existing body of evidence and data from monitoring, Sindh Standardized Achievement Tests, the mid-term evaluation of the Sindh Community Mobilization Program (SCMP), and sector-wide assessments conducted for PPPs in Sindh.

The primary audience of the assessment is USAID/Pakistan and its Office of Education. The secondary audience includes the Government of Pakistan (including the Government of Sindh’s School Education and Literacy Department, the Public Private Partnership Node for Education, and the Public Private Partnership Unit in the Finance Department), development partners, local communities, and the private sector. The secondary audience includes other donors and provinces who are replicating this model, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that is piloting a similar PPP approach to school management.

C.2 INTERVENTION BACKGROUND

Pakistan has the world’s second-largest population of out-of-school children. Barriers to education access include long distances to schools, inadequate school facilities, and restrictive social norms.

With 39 percent of students out of school, Pakistan’s youth cannot reach their potential. Of the children who are in school, 64 percent of primary-grade students are not proficient in reading. If current trends persist, youth will not have the foundational skills to contribute to and benefit from Pakistan’s economic growth (see Attachment A for details).

Despite its relatively strong economic position and growth performance, Sindh performs poorly on socioeconomic indicators, including education. Sindh’s education system faces long-standing challenges, including low learning outcomes, teacher absenteeism, low student retention (especially for girls), and deteriorating public trust in the government education system. Sindh has more than 40,000 government schools. Around 90 percent are primary schools (first through fifth grade), and half of all primary schools are just one or two classrooms. Access to quality education remains challenging for marginalized children, particularly in rural areas.

The Government of Sindh is responding to these challenges with multi-prong strategies. One government priority is to improve the management and performance of public schools. Public private partnerships is an initiative to improve basic education service delivery and solve the challenge of out-of-school children in the country.

Sindh Basic Education Program (SBEP) On September 21, 2011, USAID signed an Activity Agreement with the Government of Sindh (GoS) to implement a suite of activities called the Sindh Basic Education Program (SBEP). The activities’ goal was to improve the quality and access to basic education for children in Sindh by increasing and sustaining student enrollment at primary and secondary levels. Through an $81 million Government-to-Government (G2G) mechanism, the program constructed 106 state-of-the-art schools (see Attachment B for details). USAID procured complementary activities to mobilize communities to demand education, improve early grade reading, and enhance the government’s capacity to implement education policy reforms, including a public private partnership reform called the Education Management Organization (EMO) policy reform.

Education Management Organization (EMO) Reform With support from USAID through the Sindh Basic Education Program, the Sindh School Education and Literacy Department (SELD) initiated an Education Management Organization (EMO) policy reform. The goal of the reform was to leverage private sector efficiencies to manage public sector schools to improve school management, student retention, and student learning outcomes.

Following the passage of the Sindh Public Private Partnership Act of 2010, the SELD and the Government of Sindh established a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Node, which is the government office responsible for the procuring, managing, and monitoring Concession Agreements with EMOs.

This EMO model uses private sector partners (for-profit, not-for-profit, and/or consortium of both) to manage public schools. The Government of Sindh selects them through a competitive bidding process with a defined Scope of Work for 10 years through a Concession Agreement. The EMO model’s hypothesis is: “If the private sector operates public schools to achieve Key Performance Indicators, then the learning environment and students’ learning outcomes, enrollment, and attendance will be improved in the target schools.”

The SELD measures performance of EMOs and pays them quarterly based on their progress towards the following Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) (see Attachment C for details) in the concession agreements:

● School management and organization

● Improved staff availability and attendance

● Improved student enrollment, attendance, and retention

● Quality of learning and teaching leading to improved student learning outcomes

● Staff continuous professional development https://www.pppunitsindh.gov.pk/downloads_others.php

● School repair and maintenance

● Improved school community engagement

● Improved health and hygiene practices and sporting activities

With the approval of the government, the EMO appoints an Independent Expert and Independent Auditor according to the criteria in the concession agreement. These two experts monitor the program and financial progress, targets, and deliverables and send quarterly reports to the SELD.

A list of Independent Experts and Independent Auditors will be shared with the successful offeror/research firm.

USAID’s Technical Support for EMO reform under SBEP USAID funded the Sindh Community Mobilization Program (August 2013-August 2022) to provide technical assistance to the Government of Sindh to initiate and implement this EMO reform in 106 USAID-constructed schools. The Sindh Community Mobilization Program assisted the Government of Sindh to facilitate the solicitation and selection of EMOs through seven procurement cycles between 2016 to 2023.

The EMO model in the 106 USAID-constructed schools was so successful that the Government of Sindh independently expanded the model to 105 neighboring government schools. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Japan’s International Cooperation Agency (JICA) also partner with the Government of Sindh to expand this model in Sindh government schools (see Attachment D for more details). USAID is also expanding this model to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province through the Improving Girls Education Activity ($3.8 million; 2022-2026).

As this model continues to expand across Sindh province and the nation, USAID is interested in assessing whether the EMO-managed schools are delivering equal or better outcomes than regular government schools.

C.3 ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS

This assessment will address the following key questions. USAID seeks the assistance of the Contractor to further refine these research questions and to recommend appropriate research approaches to answering the questions.

Question 1: How do students’ learning outcomes in EMO-managed schools compare to learning outcomes in similar government-managed public schools?

Improved learning outcomes are central to the Sindh EMO Policy Reform. This question examines the extent to which the EMO-managed public schools achieve student learning outcomes as compared to non-EMO managed public schools. The Contractor should provide insight on why there are, or are not, differences in learning outcomes between EMO-managed and regular public schools. The answer to this question should also include recommendations for the private sector and government for further improvement.

The contractor will use primary and multiple sources of secondary data. The contractor should explore whether there are existing, sufficiently robust secondary learning assessments to answer https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1RV8BpOqeQi2CQAZ0ljnAZbo9vjejUF_J this question, or whether primary data collection through a learning assessment is necessary.

Primary data collection may include, but is not limited to: key informant interviews, focus group discussions with EMO coordinators, school administrators, and teachers, and the PPP Node, and possibly sample-based student assessments for both EMO and non-EMO schools. Secondary data sources include: school records, Sindh Standardized Achievement Test results, and existing student assessments. USAID is working with government partners and other donors to determine what secondary data is currently available from student level learning assessments at both EMO and non-EMO schools. If the contractor must collect primary data through a learning assessment, it could use government-approved reading assessment tools from the Pakistan Reading Project (2015-2021).

Note: When selecting the learning outcomes (grades/subjects) for the SOW, the contractor will work with USAID staff and the government’s PPP Node to determine what secondary data sources are most relevant for both EMO and non-EMO managed schools.

Question 2: Have EMO-managed schools increased enrollment, attendance, and retention of1 students against their baselines as compared to non-EMO managed schools?

Student enrollment, attendance, and retention are key performance indicators in EMO concession agreements. Concession agreements require EMOS to increase enrollment and meet enrollment targets, with a focus on girls. Non-EMO schools do not have this mandate.

This question examines the extent to which EMO-managed public schools improved students’ access, attendance, and retention. Under this question, USAID seeks to understand to what extent EMO schools increased access, attendance, and retention, and what strategies EMO-managed schools used to achieve these outcomes. To what extent have schools reduced gender disparities in students’ enrollment? If increases have not been realized, what are the reasons, and what are recommendations to address this challenge? USAID recognizes that increased enrollment and reduced drop out do not necessarily correlate with increased quality of education or improved learning outcomes.

No primary data collection is envisioned under this research question. The question should utilize baseline data available for EMO-managed schools and comparable public schools. Current and historical enrollment data should be available through records maintained by schools, EMOs, and School Education and Literacy Department.

Question 3: How and to what extent are the School Management Committees of EMO-managed schools engaged compared to non-EMO government schools? Do schools with more effective and engaged School Management Committees have better learning outcomes?

Research suggests that parental involvement in children’s education may lead to improved2 https://www.povertyactionlab.org/policy-insight/providing-information-students-and-parents-improve-learning-outc omes;

https://plhr.org.pk/issues/v5/2/psychodynamics-of-parental-involvement-and-education-of-elementary-school-stude nts-evidence-from-pakistan.pdf; https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590291123002565

1 Retention in Pakistan’s context refers to students remaining in school and not dropping out. It does not refer to holding students back a grade.

https://www.povertyactionlab.org/policy-insight/providing-information-students-and-parents-improve-learning-outcomes https://www.povertyactionlab.org/policy-insight/providing-information-students-and-parents-improve-learning-outcomes https://www.povertyactionlab.org/policy-insight/providing-information-students-and-parents-improve-learning-outcomes https://plhr.org.pk/issues/v5/2/psychodynamics-of-parental-involvement-and-education-of-elementary-school-students-evidence-from-pakistan.pdf https://plhr.org.pk/issues/v5/2/psychodynamics-of-parental-involvement-and-education-of-elementary-school-students-evidence-from-pakistan.pdf https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590291123002565 learning outcomes, regardless of parents’ educational attainment level. Thus, community engagement is a key performance indicator for EMOs. Concession agreements define school community engagement as conducting a quarterly School Management Committee meeting.

School management committees comprising parents, community members, and teachers are one approach to engaging parents and community members. Some research has been conducted on3 the efficacy of School Management Committees in Pakistan.

For this question, USAID is interested in investigating if there is a correlation between the engagement and effectiveness of School Management Committees and improved learning outcomes. Areas of interest include: What factors make School Management Committees effective? Are School Management Committees active? Do they meet regularly? Are they engaged in school events? What types of contributions (time, monetary/kind) do School Management Committees make to schools? What types of advocacy and outreach do School Management Committees initiate with community members and other parents?

The contractor will use primary and multiple sources of secondary data. The contractor should conduct focus group discussions and/or interviews of key informants actively engaged with SMCs.

Secondary data sources may include but are not limited to SMC ToRS, SMC school records, School Improvement Plans, and research studies and reports on SMCs in Sindh/Pakistan, if available.

General Considerations across all questions:

● For all research questions, the Contractor should report sex-disaggregated data, where applicable.

● For all research questions, the Contractor should consider differences between schools located in rural and urban settings.

● USAID envisions that the contractor will focus this research on a statistically significant sample of 68 of the 106 USAID-supported schools that have had operational EMOs for five or more years and comparable non-EMO government schools.

C.4 DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

This is an assessment of one specific intervention of the Sindh Basic Education Program (SBEP) - Education Management Organizations (EMOs), which worked with the government’s education reform to improve basic education service delivery and student learning outcomes through private sector engagement.

The assessment will examine EMOs’ effect on student learning outcomes, student enrollment and retention, and community engagement. USAID Sindh Community Mobilization Program’s documents relevant to this study are available at the Development Experience Clearinghouse under the award number 391-C-13-00006. Other documents related to the EMO assessment are available in this folder for potential offerers. After the award, USAID will share other project documents, including monitoring reports, site visit reports, baseline data, assessments or analysis conducted, and indicator-level data.

3 https://sujo.usindh.edu.pk/index.php/IRJAH/article/view/1031;

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/345554450_School_Management_Committees_-A_Policy_Failure_in_Paki stan_Sajjad_Ismail https://sujo.usindh.edu.pk/index.php/IRJAH/article/view/1031;%20https://www.researchgate.net/publication/345554450_School_Management_Committees_-A_Policy_Failure_in_Pakistan_Sajjad_Ismail https://dec.usaid.gov/dec/ https://dec.usaid.gov/dec/search/FusionSearchResults.aspx?q=391-C-13-00006 https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1RV8BpOqeQi2CQAZ0ljnAZbo9vjejUF_J https://sujo.usindh.edu.pk/index.php/IRJAH/article/view/1031 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/345554450_School_Management_Committees_-A_Policy_Failure_in_Pakistan_Sajjad_Ismail https://www.researchgate.net/publication/345554450_School_Management_Committees_-A_Policy_Failure_in_Pakistan_Sajjad_Ismail

In response to this SOW, the prospective Contractor will propose a preliminary assessment design incorporating innovative and appropriate primary and secondary data collection and analysis methods to answer each question, while taking into consideration time, budget, scale, feasibility, and other practical considerations. The Contractor will suggest both qualitative and quantitative methods, including appropriate sample size, specific to each assessment question. The proposed design must describe how the design and method will affect the ability of the Contractor to address gender questions. The Contractor will also provide an explanation of limitations and risks associated with the proposed assessment design. The design will include “Getting to Answers Matrix” based on an illustrative matrix given below:

Assessment Questions

Suggested Data Sources

Suggested Data Collection Methods

Suggested Data Analysis

Methods

Limitatio ns, risks

1. How do students’ learning outcomes in EMO-managed schools compare to learning outcomes in similar government-managed public schools?

*Sindh Standardized Achievement Test Records *Sample-based Student Assessment records *School and EMO Records *National and Provincial Studies on Learning outcomes

* Key informant interviews *Focus group discussions

2. Have EMO-managed schools increased enrollment, attendance, and retention of students against their baselines as compared to non-EMO managed schools?

*School and EMO records *Government of Sindh’s EMIS records *School Enrollment surveys and studies

*Desk review of records and data

3. How and to what extent are the School Management Committees of EMO-managed schools engaged compared to non-EMO government schools? Do schools with more effective and engaged School Management Committees have better learning outcomes?

*School and EMO records *School Management Committee records

* Government’s Notification and TORs for SMC

* Key informant interviews *Focus group discussions

Given the complex nature of the assessment, the research design, including the final set of questions and methodology will be further refined and finalized in collaboration with USAID after the award of the contract.

C.5 ASSESSMENT MANAGEMENT

The assessment must be conducted by individuals with appropriate training and experience, including but not limited to, qualified researchers. All team members should be familiar with USAID monitoring and evaluation guidelines provided in ADS 201.

The Contractor will work closely with the COR on each task and will also frequently interact with USAID/Pakistan staff (through the COR) and relevant Pakistani government counterparts and stakeholders throughout implementation. Consequently, the contractor must work with the COR and government stakeholders to establish a coordinated system of communication and information sharing. The system should include several consultative sessions, both in person and/or virtually, with USAID staff throughout the period of performance, as and when required by the COR, including upon award of the call to discuss the overall assessment approach and other issues.

[End of Section C] https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/2024-07/201_071624.pdf

SECTION D – BRANDING AND MARKING

In accordance with ADS 320.3.2.1, the Contractor will prepare and submit a Branding Implementation Plan (BIP) and Marking Plan (MP) to address the Branding Strategy for the BPA call as per Section D of the main BPA.

[End of Section D]

SECTION E - INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

Please refer to Section E of the main BPA for inspection and acceptance.

[End of Section E]

SECTION F – DELIVERIES OR PERFORMANCE

The following deliverables are required under this BPA Call.

F.1 DELIVERABLES

a. Assessment Design

The contractor and the COR will work together to further refine and finalize the assessment design. This process may include a thorough desk review of existing data, consultations with USAID staff, local partners, and other stakeholders, and mapping of EMO and non-EMO managed schools in Sindh Province. The final assessment design will include:

○ Summary of desk review;

○ A final set of assessment questions;

○ Detailed methodology including data collection methods, data sources, selection criteria and sampling plan;

○ A description of data collection instruments;

○ A data analysis plan;

○ An assessment Getting to Answers matrix linking each question to relevant data4 source, data type, and data analysis, and

○ A discussion of potential risk and limitations of the proposed approach and mitigation strategies.

No data collection will start without prior approval from the COR.

b. Work Plan

The Contractor must prepare a detailed work plan which will show how to operationalize the methodologies described in the assessment design. It must include:

○ Draft schedule and logistical arrangements;

○ Assessment milestones (including, but not limited to, the deliverables listed in this

SOW);

○ Anticipated schedule of assessment team data collection efforts;

○ Dates and arrangements for piloting data collection instruments.

○ Members of the Contractor’s team, delineated by roles and responsibilities.

○ Description of dissemination products, including the assessment report, presentation slides, infographics and briefs.

○ Dissemination plan (designed in collaboration with USAID, see “dissemination” and

“learning events” below).

○ The contractor will submit a detailed timeline including type of task, location, deliverable and tentative schedule in the work plan. The contractor will be responsible

4 Link: https://www.usaid.gov/document/getting-answers-template-pdf for all the scheduling, logistics, and security requirements related to the assessment.

c. Data collection instruments and testing protocol

The Contractor must submit draft data collection instruments to USAID. The instruments must match the Assessment Design and include questionnaires, forms, and/or guides for data collectors as appropriate. Before data collection begins:

○ Data collection instruments and protocols must meet USAID technical requirements and secure USAID’s approval;

○ Data collection instruments/tools must be translated into local languages, if required by USAID;

○ Data collection instruments must be tested empirically (pilot interview with interviewer and interviewee debrief afterwards, cognitive testing, or other best practices for instrument testing);

○ Results of data collection tests must be shared with USAID;

○ Revised data collection tools must be approved by USAID;

○ Data collectors must be trained in methods appropriate to the qualitative or quantitative approaches chosen.

d. Findings presentation with USAID and stakeholders (if required by USAID)

After completing the data collection and analysis and before beginning to draft the assessment report, the Contractor must provide an oral briefing to the mission about the key findings. This findings presentation allows the Contractor to demonstrate the reliability of its data collection and analysis and get USAID approval to begin drafting the assessment report and conduct a recommendations workshop. Note that these are not the preliminary findings, but the complete findings based on the analysis.

e. Summary Report

The Contractor must provide to the COR a draft ‘summary report’ not more than four pages with infographics and topline findings and recommendations.

f. Draft Assessment Report

The Contractor must provide a draft of the full report with infographics and topline findings and recommendations to USAID. The draft must include all the required components listed below and must be properly copy edited. USAID and the Contractor may agree to submit and review the draft in sections if they jointly prefer an iterative process (for example, the Assessment Purpose and Questions, the Project Background, and the Methods sections might be cleared first, as they should be easier to draft).

The draft assessment report must meet the requirements listed below:

○ The assessment report should represent a thoughtful, well-researched, and well-organized effort to objectively assess the intervention.

○ The assessment report should be readily understood and should identify key points clearly, distinctly, and succinctly.

○ The Executive Summary of the assessment report should present a concise and accurate statement of the most critical elements of the report.

○ The report should adequately address all questions included in the SOW, or the questions subsequently revised and documented in consultation and agreement with

USAID.

○ The methodology should be explained in detail and sources of information properly identified.

○ The limitations to the assessment should be adequately disclosed in the report, with particular attention to the limitations associated with the methodology.

○ The findings should be presented as analyzed facts, evidence, and data and not based on anecdotes or simply the compilation of people’s opinions.

○ The findings and conclusions should be specific, concise, and supported by strong quantitative or qualitative evidence.

○ If findings assess person-level outcomes or impact, they should be separately assessed for both males and females.

○ If recommendations are included, they should be supported by a specific set of findings and should be action-oriented, practical, and specific.

The report should include the following annexes:

○ Assessment SOW. If the SOW was revised over the course of the work, the report should include the updated SOW as an Annex rather than the original SOW. The COR must agree in writing to all modifications to the SOW, whether in technical requirements, questions, Contractor’s team composition, methodology, or timeline.

○ A description of assessment methods (if not described in full in the main body of the report).

○ All data collection and analysis tools used, such as questionnaires, checklists, survey instruments, and discussion guides.

○ All sources of information—properly identified and listed.

○ Any “statements of difference” regarding significant unresolved differences of opinion by funders, implementers, and/or members of the research team.

○ Signed disclosures of conflicts of interest from Contractor’s team members.

○ Summary information about Contractor’s team members, including qualifications, experience, and role on the team.

The report should include enough information on the cover of the report so that a reader can immediately understand that it is an assessment and what was assessed. The assessment cover must:

○ Use the “USAID Letter Publication” template available online at https://www.usaid.gov/branding/resources#templates

○ Include the following statement across the bottom of the cover page: “This publication was produced at the request of the United States Agency for International Development. It was prepared independently by [list authors and organizations involved in the preparation of the report].”

○ Feature one high-quality photograph representative of the project being assessed and https://www.usaid.gov/branding/resources#templates include a brief caption on the inside front cover describing the image with photographer credit.

○ State the month and year when USAID approved the final report.

○ State the individual authors of the report and identify the Contractor’s team leader.

The draft report should be no more than 25 pages, excluding annexes. The draft report will be submitted to the COR for USAID/Pakistan review and comments. USAID will share feedback on the report within three weeks.

g. Final Report

The final report will address all USAID and stakeholder comments provided in the draft report.

The final report should be no more than 25 pages, excluding annexes, and should be written for a policy making audience, practitioners, and the private sector. All technical details about the methodology should be included in the annexes. The annex will also include a comment log containing all the comments submitted by USAID on the draft report and explain how they were addressed in the final report. The Contractor will finalize the report and submit it to the COR for approval within two weeks of receiving USAID comments.

h. Dissemination materials

The Contractor must provide a draft of the dissemination materials, as listed in the dissemination plan, to USAID. The draft must include all the final materials and must be properly copy edited.

USAID will share the feedback on the materials within two weeks. Subsequently, the Contractor should submit the final version within one week.

i. Learning Event(s) for Assessment Utilization

If required by USAID, the Contractor must plan for at least 1-2 learning events (with a maximum four hour duration for each event) for USAID key stakeholders (around 40-50 people) in Islamabad and Karachi. The learning event(s) should aim to disseminate assessment findings and explore good practices related to school management through EMOs and learning outcomes.

j. Raw Data

Per ADS 579 - USAID Development Data – all quantitative data collected for this assessment will be submitted to USAID/Pakistan in electronic format within 30 days of data collection completion.

The contractor will submit the data in a format requested by USAID/Pakistan for internal archiving and also in formats specified in ADS 579 for uploading to the Data Development Library (DDL).

Qualitative data will be delivered as 1) the coded segments used in analysis extracted from MAXQDA in an excel format or 2) tally sheets, as applicable to the analysis. The contractor will be responsible for submitting the data to DDL.

k. Development Experience Clearinghouse (DEC)

Prior to public dissemination, assessment reports must be adjusted to remove information that falls under one of the “principled exceptions to the presumption in favor of openness” as described in ADS 201mae, Limitations to Disclosure and Exemptions to Public Dissemination of http://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/2024-05/579_050824.pdf

USAID Evaluation Reports. Accordingly, once the report is finalized, USAID/Pakistan may conduct a DEC review of the report. The COR will share the DEC version of the report with the contractor for final editing, formatting, and uploading to the DEC. The Contractor will be responsible for submitting the approved, public-version of the report to the DEC.

l. Branding Implementation Plan (BIP) and Marking Plan (MP)

The Contractor must submit a Branding Implementation Plan and Marking Plan within 30 days of the BPA Call award. All Branding Plans must comply with ADS 320 https://www.usaid.gov/about-us/agency-policy/series-300/320, AIDAR 752.7009, the USAID “Graphic Standards Manual” available at www.usaid.gov/branding , and Section D of the main BPA. See Attachment E for Branding Implementation Plan and Attachment F for Marking Plan templates.

F.2 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The period of performance for this BPA Call is six months commencing on [TO BE INSERTED AT TIME OF AWARD] and concluding on [TO BE INSERTED AT TIME OF AWARD].

F.3 ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

In accordance with FAR 9.505-4, the Contractor shall provide to the Contracting Officer a Non-Disclosure Agreement and a Conflicts of Interest Certification before beginning implementation of services under this BPA Call.

F.4 VETTING REQUIREMENT

This BPA Call is subject to vetting. The Contractor must submit its vetting clearance package as per the instructions provided in Sections I.3 and I.4 of the main BPA.

[End of Section F] https://www.usaid.gov/about-us/agency-policy/series-300/320 http://www.usaid.gov/branding

SECTION G – CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA

In addition to the Section G of the main BPA, following are applicable to this BPA Call.

G.1 CONTRACTING OFFICER’S REPRESENTATIVE

The Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) for this BPA Call will be appointed by the Contracting Officer through a COR Designation Letter, a copy of which will be provided to the Contractor.

G.2 CONTRACTOR’S PRIMARY POINT OF CONTACT

[To be Inserted at the time of BPA Call Award] [The contractor’s primary point of contact for this BPA Call will be provided by the offeror along with a phone number and an email address.]

G.3 ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA

[to be inserted at the time of award]

[End of Section G]

SECTION H – SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS

In addition to the Section H of the main BPA, following Special Contract Requirement is applicable to this BPA Call.

H.1 ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST: EVALUATION, DEFINITE QUANTITY

Ordering (September 2018)

Organizational Conflicts of Interest: Preclusion from Furnishing Certain Services and Restriction on Use of Information (September 2018)

(a) This contract requires the Contractor to furnish important services in support of Contractors or of specific activities during the evaluation of USAID/Pakistan Sindh Basic Education Program (SBEP). In accordance with the principles of FAR Subpart 9.5 and USAID policy, the Contractor will be ineligible to furnish, as a Prime or Subcontractor or otherwise, implementation services under any contract or task order that results in response to findings, proposals, or recommendations in the evaluation report within 18 months of USAID accepting the report, unless the Head of the Contracting Activity authorizes a waiver (in accordance FAR 9.503) determining that preclusion of the Contractor from the implementation work would not be in the Government's interest.

(b) In addition, by accepting this contract, the Contractor agrees that it will not use or make available any information obtained about another organization under the contract in the preparation of proposals or other documents in response to any solicitation for a contract or task order.

(c) If the Contractor gains access to proprietary information of other company(ies) in performing this evaluation, the Contractor must agree with the other company(ies) to protect their information from unauthorized use or disclosure for as long as it remains proprietary, and must refrain from using the information for any purpose other than that for which it was furnished. The Contractor must provide a properly executed copy of all such agreements to the CO.

[END OF PROVISION]

[END OF SECTION H]

SECTION I – CONTRACT CLAUSES

All clauses from Section I of the main BPA are applicable to this BPA Call.

[End of Section I]

SECTION J – LIST OF DOCUMENTS, EXHIBITS AND OTHER ATTACHMENTS

Attachment A SCMP Final Report

Attachment B SCMP’s Mid-term Evaluation conducted third-party firm - MSI

Attachment C Sindh EMO Policy Reform Document

Attachment D Sindh Public Private Partnership Act 2010

Attachment E Branding Implementation Plan Template

Attachment F Marking Plan Template

[End of Section J] https://www.pppunitsindh.gov.pk/downloads_others.php

K – REPRESENTATIONS, CERTIFICATIONS, AND OTHER STATEMENTS OF OFFERORS

The Representations, Certifications, and Other Statements provided by the offeror for the BPA award are applicable to this BPA Call. It is the responsibility of all BPA holders to resubmit updated Representations and Certifications in the event of any significant changes

[End of Section K]

SECTION L – INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS, AND NOTICES TO OFFERORS

L.1 GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

The U. S. Government anticipates awarding one BPA Call as a result of this BPA Call Proposal Request.

The Government may determine an offer to be unacceptable if the Offeror does not comply with all of the terms and conditions of this BPA Call Proposal Request including:

1) Completion of Standard Form 33, Blocks 12 through 18;

2) Completion of Section B.3 and B.4 of this BPA Call Proposal Request.

The Price Quote must be clearly marked on the email as follows:

Price Quote for BPA Call No. 72039124Q00010 - [Name of Offeror]

[End of Section L]

SECTION M – EVALUATION CRITERIA – FACTORS FOR AWARD

M.1 SELECTION PROCESS

The Government intends to evaluate quotations and award a BPA Call without discussions (except clarifications). Therefore, the offeror’s initial quotation should contain the offeror’s best price. The Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if the Contracting Officer later determines them to be necessary.

USAID will evaluate responsive quotations in accordance with this section of the BPA Call Proposal Request and will award the BPA Call to the offeror that provides the lowest price.

[End of Section M]