Eng. Vers. ADD RFI _DRG - January 2025.pdf

RFI No. 72052725RFI00001

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

ISSUANCE DATE: January 3, 2025

CLOSING DATE: January 26, 2025, 17:00 PM (Lima Local Time)

SUBJECT: Request for Information (RFI) – Capability Statements: “Advancing Digital

Democracy (ADD) Activity.”

The United States Government, represented by the United States Agency for International Development

(USAID) in the Republic of Peru hereby request Capability Statements from interested, capable, experienced and legally registered local Peruvian entities intervening in any or all of the following sectors:

1. Digital Democracy1

2. Democratic Digital Governance

3. Promoting Democratic Values in Digital Development

4. Information and Communication Technologies on Digital Governance

5. Cybersecurity

6. Cybersecurity in governance

7. Rights Respecting Digital Technology2

8. Digital rights3

9. Digital Security4

10. Digital Innovation: Incubators, Startups and Academic Institutions

A courtesy version in Spanish is also attached as Annex II to this RFI.

Carefully review the details contained in the instructions section.

Sincerely, Joseph Terrazas Contracting/Agreement Officer

USAID/Peru

1 A “digital democracy” is a context where stakeholders design, develop, deploy, govern, and use digital technologies in line with democratic values and respect for human rights, including women’s rights.

2 Efforts undertaken by software engineers, tech companies, and researchers to embed respect for human rights and democratic values into technology development, design, and deployment.

3 Digital rights are the human and legal rights to use, access, create, and publish content online, along with accessing and using telecommunications networks and other electronic devices. The primary use for this term is in the protection and translation of existing rights into a digital space, such as the right to privacy and the freedom of expression.

4 Refers to measures and technologies aimed at protecting civil society actors from digital repression, including training, technology support, network strengthening, and rapid response to cyberattacks.

SECTION I. PURPOSE

This RFI´s has two purposes, first collect information from LOCAL organizations with knowledge and experience in:

1. Digital Democracy

2. Democratic Digital Governance

3. Promoting Democratic Values in Digital Development

4. Information and Communication Technologies on Digital Governance

5. Cybersecurity

6. Cybersecurity in Governance

7. Rights Respecting Digital Technology

8. Digital rights

9. Digital Security

10. Digital Innovation: Incubators, Startups and Academic Institutions

Second, gather information about the relevance of the Program Description through these four questions:

1. Do you consider the problem statement, theory of change and result framework to be adequate and relevant for achieving the Program's Description objective?

2. What additional activities, related to the intermediate results, would you suggest to ensure a better response to the theory of change?

3. What key elements of the digital environment in Peru might we be overlooking or leaving out of our analysis of the problem?

4. What specific recommendations do you have to improve the program description and its alignment with the proposed objectives?

The final goal is to obtain an overview of organizations currently active in these areas and to gather information about the relevance of the Program Description. USAID/Peru intends to use the information gathered through this RFI to map these organizations in the country as part of the Advancing Digital Democracy (ADD) activity.

This is not a request for applications or proposals. USAID/Peru is interested in assessing the capacities of stakeholders to implement a potential activity.

SECTION II. INSTRUCTIONS

Responses to the RFI must be submitted to limasolicitations@usaid.gov no later than January 26, 2025.

Electronic submission must have the subject: "Response to RFI No. 72052725RFI00001

- Advancing Digital Democracy (ADD) Capability Statement".

mailto:limasolicitations@usaid.gov mailto:limasolicitations@usaid.gov

Submissions of the Capability Statements must be succinct, drafted in Microsoft Word, Calibri font, size 12. Responses may be submitted in English or Spanish.

Answers cannot exceed more than three pages.

USAID is particularly interested in:

- Local entities (Companies, NGOs, Academic institutions, Startups and other organizations) working in digital democracy, democratic digital governance, promoting democratic values in technology development, information and communication technologies on digital governance, cybersecurity in governance, rights respecting digital technology and digital rights.

Note: This RFI is addressed to legally registered local entities operating in Peru, including startups. Thus, ONLY local entities may submit capability statements in response to this notice.

A local entity is defined as “An individual, a corporation, a nonprofit organization, or another body of persons that— (1) is legally organized under the laws of; (2) has as its principal place of business or operations in; (3) is majority owned by individuals who are citizens or lawful permanent residents of; and (4) managed by a governing body the majority of who are citizens or lawful permanent residents of a country receiving assistance from funds appropriated under title III of this Act. (c) For purposes of this section, “majority-owned’ and “-managed by” include, without limitation, beneficiary interests and the power, either directly or indirectly, whether exercised or exercisable, to control the election, appointment, or tenure of the organization's managers or a majority of the organization's governing body by any means.”

A capability statement is a short and succinct snapshot of an organization’s core business and strengths. USAID is not seeking technical or cost proposals at this time. Submissions will not be acknowledged, nor will responses be returned. Information provided in response to this RFI must be submitted in writing via email; telephone calls will not be accepted.

SECTION III. DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTIVITY

Introduction

The Advancing Digital Democracy Program aims to “foster open, secure, and inclusive digital democracies in which data-driven technologies advance, rather than undermine, democratic values and respect for human rights”. The ADD activity in Peru aligns with this central purpose.

Peru has a growing digital ecosystem with substantial opportunities for investment and development, though challenges remain, including concentrated digital capacity in Lima and a need to strengthen regulations in emerging sectors. Therefore, ADD seeks to promote digital democracy and uphold human rights by fostering an inclusive, well-regulated digital environment in Peru.

Objectives:

Objective 1: Peru’s Government implements legal and regulatory frameworks related to technology, data and information that align with and fulfills their international human rights and democratic commitments.

Objective 2: Respect for human rights and democratic values are embedded in the development and design of digital technology and data management.

Objective 3: Multi-stakeholder coalitions and platforms are established or strengthened to empower all digital stakeholders and to advance common goals.

The English version of the Program Description is attached as Annex I to this RFI, the Spanish version of the Program Description is attached as Annex III.

SECTION IV. INFORMATION TO PROVIDE

Capability Statements should include the following categories of information:

1. Company name/ organization or other.

2. Contact name, title and email address.

3. Past, present and future activities/projects managed in the sector of digital democracy, democratic digital governance, promoting democratic values in technology development, information and communication technologies on digital governance, cybersecurity in governance, rights respecting digital technology and digital rights.

4. Description of the organization's experience managing bilateral/multilateral or other donor funding and the amounts (if any).

5. Brief financial overview of your organization. This section should cover the last five years and include overall budget, sources of funding, and list of any independently conducted financial audits.

6. Overall management capability and leadership structure in the areas of operations, procurement, personnel, etc.

7. Organizational capacity to implement activities related to any of the sectors above.

Include a description of technical expertise, certifications, any relevant national or international alliances, and presence or capacity to deploy or establish operations throughout Peru.

8. Specific experience with collaborations or strategic alliances in similar projects: describe successful examples of collaborations with other local, regional, or international entities on projects related to the aforementioned topics.

9. The entity’s capacity and/or experience in establishing partnerships with other potentially relevant organizations or firms, including in the public and private sectors.

10. Confirm if your organization is registered or not in www.sam.gov.

11. Identified organizational capacity areas that can be further strengthened.

12. Answer to the four questions listed in “Section I: Purpose” in this RFI (optional).

http://www.sam.gov/

DISCLAIMER:

This RFI is issued solely for gathering information and market research for design planning purposes and does not constitute a Notice Of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). Responses to this RFI are not applications and will not in any way be deemed to form any binding agreement with the RFI issuing authority. This RFI will not be construed as the U.S. Government commitment to issue any solicitation, award any other instrument, or pay for any information submitted in response to this RFI request. Respondents are directly and fully responsible for bearing all incurred expenses associated with preparation and submission of their RFI responses. Any funding applications submitted in response to this request will not be considered. Responses to this notice should be received no later than the due date and time stated in this notice. The RFI submission will not be returned.

USAID reserves the right to use any, all, or none of the information submitted in response to this RFI in a future solicitation/funding opportunity. Thus, respondents must clearly mark or label all proprietary information contained in their submission. USAID will not disclose proprietary information. Failure to properly mark or label proprietary information may result in an inappropriate use of such information.

If a solicitation/funding opportunity is issued, it will be announced on www.sam.gov and/or www.grants.gov at a later date, and all interested parties must respond to that Solicitation/funding opportunity announcement separately from any response to this announcement.

SECTION V: Annexes

● Annex I: Program Description (English version)

● Annex II: RFI (Spanish version).

● Annex III: Program Description (Spanish version)

[END OF RFI No. 72052725RFI00001] http://www.sam.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/