Amendment No 2 - Climate Action Partnership for Education - Broad Agency Announcement.pdf

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Issuance Date: March 16, 2023 Questions Due Date/Time: Friday, March 24, 2023, at 5:00PM EDT Expressions of Interest Due Date/Time: Friday, April 28, 2023, at 5:00 PM EDT Amendment No. 1 March 30, 2023 Amendment No. 2 April 3, 2023

The USAID Broad Agency Announcement for

Climate Action Partnership for Education (CAPE)

I. Overview

This Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) seeks opportunities to co-create, co-design, co-invest and collaborate in the research, development, piloting, testing, and scaling of innovative and cost-effective solutions that will advance climate action in and through education with a focus on girls' education. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) invites organizations, companies, foundations, community-based enterprises and other public and private entities1, academic and research institutions, partner country government agencies, and investors to propose novel or creative approaches that: 1) demonstrate how international education policy and programming can directly, intentionally, and effectively advance climate action; and 2) reduce the impact of climate-related barriers on girls' education.

The Climate Action Partnership for Education (CAPE) BAA will facilitate USAID’s interest in bringing together diverse expertise from two sectors that, until recently, have been largely disparate: education and climate. While there has been more activity at the intersection of education and climate in recent years, including in USAID’s own development policies, we are far from exhausting all the opportunities at the nexus with gender. USAID will work closely with the United Kingdom's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) throughout this process, utilizing basic research published by FCDO on the relationship between education, girls’ education, and climate change. Partners participating in this process will work with USAID to develop and test innovative solutions that apply this and other research to deliver assistance at the intersection of education, climate, and gender. Bold ideas championed by local and global leaders will have the potential to inspire transformational change across sectors and broaden the ways in which education, climate, and gender programming may intersect and connect in contexts where we seek to advance cross-sectoral goals.

USAID anticipates making one to three awards (type of award to be determined), totaling between four to five million USD (inclusive of FCDO funding) over two to three years, 1 Public International Organizations (PIOs) can be part of a consortium as a sub-recipient.

pg. 2 contingent on funding availability from USAID and FCDO and with potential for additional funding and/or timeline. USAID invites organizations and companies to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI), as provided below. USAID seeks solutions that are relevant to sub-Saharan Africa and/or Southeast Asia.

A. Federal Agency Name:

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

B Opportunity Title:

Climate Action Partnership for Education (CAPE)

C. Opportunity Number:

DDI-OAA-EDUC-2023

D. Authority:

This BAA is issued under Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Part 35.016 (c). This is not a FAR Part 15 Procurement.

E Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number:

98.01 USAID Foreign Assistance Programs for Overseas

II. Problem and Challenge Statements

Basic research presented in the report Education, Girls’ Education and Climate Change increased global knowledge and understanding of the relationship between gender, climate and education. This basic research illustrated complex challenges at this nexus, including:

“It is estimated that environmental threats, which include weather-related disasters, disrupt the education of approximately 37.5 million learners across the globe each year (Theirworld, 2018). There are several ways in which climate change can disrupt – and is disrupting – education. Damage to infrastructure and transport links or displacement can disrupt learners’ physical access to education facilities (Education Cannot Wait, 2020; IDMC, 2020b). And there are negative effects of disasters – including weather-related ones – on children’s physical and mental health and wellbeing, which can impact children’s physical and neurological development and ability to concentrate (Kousky, 2016; Peek et al., 2018). The consequences for livelihoods, food security and household income can be particularly destabilizing in low-income contexts and influence decisions on schooling (Nordstrom & Cotton, 2020). These decisions include withdrawing children from education to support household chores, finding alternative income or arranging marriages. If children are not withdrawn from school, their learning and progress may still be negatively impacted by increases in household responsibilities and less time available to study (Chuang et al., 2018; Kousky, 2016).

Extreme weather events, such as floods and tropical cyclones, can disrupt learning in a variety of ways. The direct and immediate impacts of extreme weather include damage and/or https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/20.500.12413/16523/EIR_29_Education_Girls%27_Education_and_Climate_Change.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

pg. 3 destruction to education infrastructure; however, indirect and secondary impacts can last much longer (Kousky, 2016; Anderson, 2019). These include, but are not limited to: damage to road and transport links, obstructing access to school and learning; adolescent girls’ unwillingness to attend school if water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities are not quickly rehabilitated;

inability to pay for school fees and/or learning materials; displacement of families; and reduced capacity for learning because of malnutrition or trauma (Kousky, 2016; Anderson, 2019;

Nordstrom & Cotton, 2020; Chuang et al., 2018; Siriwardhana et al., 2013).

Climate change’s direct and indirect impacts therefore threaten to reverse developmental gains made in access to education over the past couple of decades, which is a growing risk as its effects become increasingly unpredictable and severe. The impact on children could potentially be long lasting.

Further, girls’ educational access, attendance and learning outcomes risk being undone by climate change and environmental degradation (Chigwanda, 2016). Although research highlights an impact on all children, there seems to be a disproportionate impact on girls as barriers to their education are multiplied by the effects of climate change and environmental degradation, which can have long-lasting negative consequences (Chigwanda, 2016; Plan International, 2019a). A variety of factors can influence this, including an increase in household chores and responsibilities, which are typically allocated to girls in contexts where there are gendered norms; decisions to withdraw girls from education, prioritizing their male siblings’ education; and, in some contexts, difficulties in managing menstrual hygiene (Chigwanda, 2016;

Le Masson et al., 2016; Atkinson & Bruce, 2015).”

Sims, K. (2021). Education, Girls’ Education and Climate Change. K4D Emerging Issues Report

29. Institute of Development Studies. DOI: 10.19088/K4D.2021.044

PROBLEMS

USAID recognizes that climate action is often viewed in isolation from girls’ education.

Research and development is critical for understanding how these priority issues can be addressed with integrated solutions. Through this BAA, we want to address the following problems:

1. International education policy and programming are under-utilized for advancing climate action.

USAID’s Climate Strategy acknowledges that strong education systems can implement proactive measures to reduce climate shocks and stressors, and that education equips learners with the knowledge, skills, and opportunities to adapt to and overcome climate challenges. However, as of yet, relatively few international education programs are directly, intentionally, and effectively advancing climate action. Innovative solutions are needed to demonstrate how education policy and programs can advance climate action while maintaining focus on the achievement of sustained measurable improvements in learning outcomes and skills development.

https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/20.500.12413/16523/EIR_29_Education_Girls%27_Education_and_Climate_Change.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/20.500.12413/16523/EIR_29_Education_Girls%27_Education_and_Climate_Change.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y https://www.usaid.gov/policy/climate-strategy https://www.usaid.gov/policy/climate-strategy

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2. There is a scarcity of available evidence on how to effectively reduce the impact of climate-related barriers on girls’ education.

USAID’s Education Policy elevates the principles of inclusion and equity across its education investments and acknowledges that extending services to reach the most marginalized often requires additional resources and specialized expertise. Extensive research exists on the effectiveness of interventions for improving girls’ education, generally. However, there is scarce evidence of interventions that apply that research to reduce the impacts of climate-related barriers on girls’ education, specifically. The evidence gap limits donors’ ability to make strategic investments at the intersection of gender, climate, and education.

CHALLENGE STATEMENTS

Objective:

In accordance with the definition of applied research in FAR 35.001, apply the fuller understanding of problems at the nexus of education, girls’ education and climate change gained through this research2 to develop creative solutions to pilot and understand under CAPE. Solutions will integrate evidence for advancing climate action, education outcomes, and gender equality, to stimulate broader cross-sectoral collaboration, funding and integrated implementation. The applied research solutions will generate theoretical as well as practical evidence of how local stakeholders, international and regional funders and researchers can come together at the nexus of education, gender and climate to address the above problems, going forward.

Illustrative examples of solutions sought:

● Integrate appropriate climate and environment themes in education curriculum

● Support educators to deliver education instruction with climate and environment themes

● Support education planners and leaders to plan for climate resilience and safe and/or green infrastructure

● Engage youth leaders to advocate for improved environmental practices and attitudes in their communities

● Identify ways for broader stakeholder engagement at the nexus of education, climate and gender across several divides: public and private actors, state and non-state stakeholders and global, regional and local levels

III. Instructions for the Submission of Expressions of Interest: USAID will review Expressions of Interest (EOI) in accordance with the instructions and evaluation criteria set forth in this Addendum. Organizations are encouraged to collaborate with peer organizations that bring

2 Sims, K. (2021). Education, Girls’ Education and Climate Change. K4D Emerging Issues Report 29. Institute of Development Studies. DOI: 10.19088/K4D.2021.044 https://www.usaid.gov/policy/education https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/handle/20.500.12413/16523

pg. 5 differing perspectives and/or comparative advantages. USAID supports approaches that value collaboration as a component of the co-creation process.

A. Submission Instructions

Please submit an Expression of Interest that clearly describes how your approach contributes to the need(s) outlined above. The Expression of Interest must be submitted no later than 5:00 PM EST on April 28, 2023. No late Expressions of Interest will be considered.

Submissions of Expressions of Interest will:

● Be in English

● Be submitted electronically to baa-cape@usaid.gov

● Be up to two (2) pages in length. Any additional pages will not be reviewed.

● Be in .pdf or .docx format

● Be A4 (8-1/4 x 11-3/4 in) page, single spaced, Calibri 11-point font, and have margins no less than one inch on the top, bottom, and both sides. Each page must be consecutively numbered.

● Contain a header with the following information (not included in the page count):

○ Respondent Name/Group and Contact Information

○ Title

○ BAA Addendum Name/Number

● Inclusion of any graphic, chart or table will be included in the page limit; and

● Be in .pdf or .docx format.

Questions in regard to this Addendum must be submitted via email only to baa-cape@usaid.gov with the subject “CAPE Questions”. The deadline for submission of questions is 5:00 PM EDT on Friday, March 24, 2023. USAID will respond to all questions received by the deadline through an amendment to this BAA Addendum.

B. Content of the EOI

1. EOIs must describe the applied research solution(s) being proposed at the nexus of education, climate and gender, how it advances the research and evidence currently available.

2. How the proposed solution(s) increase knowledge and understanding of potential solutions, leverage scientific discoveries or improvements in technology, materials, processes, methods, devices, or techniques, advance the state of the art, and/or use scientific and technical knowledge in new ways to design, develop, test, and/or evaluate new (or improved) product(s) or service(s).

3. EOIs must describe how solutions will enable and empower Indigenous Peoples, local communities, women, and/or youth to lead climate action.

4. EOIs must describe the potential of the solution to have a significant impact (e.g.

breakthroughs, not incremental improvements), that ultimately could achieve even greater impact at scale.

mailto:baa-cape@usaid.gov

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C. EOI Evaluation Criteria

The following criteria will be applied in selecting EOIs. Criteria are of equal importance and are not intentionally listed in any specific order.

1. Innovation: EOIs will be evaluated based on the extent to which the applied research solution or development idea offers a creative cross-sectoral approach to the problems outlined in the challenge.

2. Localization: Extent to which applied research solution or development ideas will support, enable and empower Indigenous Peoples, local communities, women, and/or youth to lead climate action.

3. Long-Term Solutioning: Extent to which the applied research solution or development idea has the potential to be scaled and/or presents a transformative solution at the nexus.

D. Additional Considerations

A. EOIs are not evaluated against other EOIs, but solely whether USAID believes that the offeror will be a valuable contributor to the co-creation process. Organizations submitting EOIs may be invited to participate in co-creation.

B. Concept Papers are not evaluated against other Concept Papers but solely based on USAID’s determination that the Concept Paper will successfully address the CAPE challenge set forth herein. USAID does not guarantee funding to organizations/companies that submit a Concept Paper.

C. USAID seeks solutions that are relevant to sub-Saharan Africa and/or Southeast Asia.

EOIs may include illustrative contexts where the proposed solutions would be best applied based on the proposer's understanding of the context and solution(s). USAID will determine in future stages of the process to identify countries or contexts for implementation alongside development of the applied research solution(s).

D. Decisions regarding USAID’s pursuit of a particular project, technology, or relationship are based on all available information, evidence, data, and resulting analysis.

E. Eligibility Information. Public, private, for-profit, and nonprofit organizations, as well as institutions of higher education, public international organizations, non-governmental organizations, U.S. and non-U.S. governmental organizations, and multilateral organizations are eligible under this BAA. All organizations/companies must be determined to be responsive to the BAA and sufficiently responsible to perform or participate in the final award type.

IV. The BAA Process

This section outlines the process that will be followed under this BAA. The amount of resources made available under this BAA will depend on the concepts received and the availability of funds from USAID and other resource partners. Some award types may not include any funding. The award process under this BAA has the following steps:

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STAGE 1 - SUBMISSION OF EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST (EOIs)

EOIs will be evaluated in accordance with the criteria above and will select EOIs to participate in Stage 2 (Co-Creation). USAID reserves the right to disregard any EOIs that do not meet the guidelines and is not obligated to issue a detailed justification for those not selected to move forward. Organizations/companies may submit more than one EOI.

STAGE 2 - CO-CREATION OF THE CONCEPT PAPER

During Stage 2, participants will engage in a virtual workshop to co-create innovative solutions.

This workshop will potentially lead to the development of concept papers that will be considered for funding.

Co-Creation of Innovative Solutions and Concept Papers Selected groups will be invited to join the co-creation process, which will consist of a virtual co-creation workshop (which USAID anticipates will commence in May - final dates to be determined). During the co-creation workshop, selected participants, USAID, and other leaders in education, climate and/or gender, will convene to share their knowledge, experiences, and ideas, and develop new, innovative solutions.

Following the co-creation workshop one or more concept papers of up to 5-10 pages will be co-designed with staff from USAID. Concept papers will outline the programmatic plan, focus areas, goals, timelines, etc. Concept Papers may identify and include additional implementing and co-investment partners to complement the innovation, including reasonable cost sharing, leverage, or other exchange of resource arrangements.

Organizations/companies that participate in the co-creation workshop may have the opportunity to submit a Concept Paper for review by the Peer and Scientific Review Board.

Submission of a Concept Paper does not guarantee funding to any organization.

STAGE 3 - REVIEW BY THE PEER AND SCIENTIFIC REVIEW BOARD

Final Concept Papers produced after the co-creation event will be submitted to USAID’s Peer and Scientific Review Board (PSRB). Approved Concept Papers for activities will be further refined and potentially implemented based on a decision at that time whether to proceed - and based on the availability of funds.

USAID is not obligated to issue a detailed justification regarding why an individual Concept Note was not selected to move forward.

STAGE 4 - AWARD DETERMINATION

USAID will review the PSRB’s recommendations and consider other information, such as resource availability and Agency priorities, and will make a determination whether to move

pg. 8 forward with the Approved Concept Papers. For Approved Concept Papers that demonstrate a valid innovation that address the CAPE challenges identified above, USAID will work with the partner to determine the appropriate mechanism (i.e., contract, grant, cooperative agreement, etc.), and proceed with associated negotiations. USAID is not obligated to issue a financial instrument or award as a result of this BAA.

If funds are not available and an award is not made within a year of the closing date of the BAA, the solicitation will be closed and proposals will not be available for later award unless resubmitted in response to a subsequent funding opportunity.

V. Specific Rights Reserved for the Government under this BAA

The Government reserves specific rights, in addition to rights described elsewhere in this document or by law or regulation, including:

1. The right to award multiple awards, a single award, or no awards.

2. The right to make an award without discussions, or to conduct discussions and/or negotiations, whichever is determined to be in the Government’s interest.

3. The right to accept proposals in their entirety or to select only portions of proposals for award or co-investment.

4. The right to select an instrument type that is appropriate to the specific development context, partner relationship, and proposal selected for award. Instrument types include, but are not limited to, contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, public-private partnerships, Inter-Agency Agreements, Government to Government Agreements, Donor to Donor Agreements, and Memoranda of Understanding. In addition, the Government may craft a new instrument type to meet the needs of a specific relationship.

5. The right to co-create projects with one or more proposers under the BAA, when it is in the best interest of the Government.

6. The right to request any additional, necessary documentation upon initial review. Such additional information may include, but is not limited to, a further detailed proposal, budget, and representations and certifications.

7. The right to fund or co-invest in proposals in phases, with options for continued work at the end of one or more of the phases.

8. The right to award instruments under this BAA that do not commit or exchange monetary resources.

9. The right to remove organizations/companies from the BAA process if USAID determines it is no longer in the best interests of the Government to proceed with the organization/company.

VI. Information Protection

USAID’s goal is to facilitate research and development that will lead to innovative, and potentially commercially viable, solutions. Understanding the sensitive nature of submitters’

pg. 9 information, USAID will work with organizations/companies to protect intellectual property.

Expressions of interest should be free of any intellectual property that the submitter wishes to protect, as the expressions of interest will be shared with USAID partners as part of the selection process. However, once submitters have been invited to advance beyond co-creation, submitters can work with USAID to identify proprietary information that requires protection.

Therefore, organizations/companies making submissions under this BAA grant to USAID a royalty-free, nonexclusive, and irrevocable right to use, disclose, reproduce, and prepare derivative works, and to have or permit others to do so to any information contained in the Expressions of Interest submitted under the BAA. If USAID further engages with the organization/company regarding its submission, the parties can negotiate further intellectual property protection for the organization’s/company’s intellectual property.

Organizations/companies must ensure that any submissions under this BAA are free of any third-party proprietary data rights that would impact the license granted to USAID herein.

(End of Amendment No. 2 to DDI-OAA-EDUC-2023)