P4P2 RFI-SSN 72DCMM20RFI00001.pdf

NOTICE TYPE: Request for Information (RFI)/Sources Sought Notice

(SSN)

REFERENCE NUMBER: 72DCMM20RFI00001

ISSUANCE DATE: May 12, 2020

CLOSING DATE & TIME: June 9, 2020 at 10:00 AM ET

SUBMIT RESPONSES TO: Leigh Carlson at lcarlson@usaid.gov

To All Interested Parties:

The United States Government, represented by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), hereby issues a Request for Information (RFI)/Sources Sought Notice (SSN) with regard to the concept for a new global mechanism as described in Attachment A -tentatively named Programming for Peacebuilding and Prevention (P4P2). The purpose of this RFI/SSN, as part of market research, is to:

1. Seek feedback via comments, opinions and recommendations to determine the soundness and robustness of the concepts and approaches in the draft statement of work (SOW), and

2. Obtain interest and capability information from industry to gain a better understanding of the number of qualified and interested organizations who may be able to provide the services described in the draft SOW for planning purposes.

USAID’s Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance (USAID/DCHA)1 is designing a new global mechanism to improve development outcomes in fragile, conflict or violence-affected countries through innovative, adaptive, and effective country-specific or regional interventions focused on peacebuilding. Activities conducted under this mechanism may be in response to emerging risks and opportunities or may be designed to address persistent conflict and violence challenges. While USAID is contemplating that the type of mechanism will be an Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract, no determination regarding the selection of instrument has been made.

1 This award will be managed by the future Bureau for Conflict Prevention and Stabilization (CPS).

Request for Information (RFI)/Sources Sought Notice (SSN) No. 72DCMM20RFI00001

The draft SOW describes the currently contemplated requirements and may vary from any final SOW that may be issued. We specifically encourage small business concerns to submit capability statements.

The anticipated NAICS code for this mechanism is 541611– Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services, which has a small business size standard of $16.5 million in annual receipts. Please refer to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) website for information on size standards used to define small businesses: https://www.sba.gov/federal-contracting/contracting-guide/size-standards.

FAR provision 52.215-3 is hereby incorporated into this RFI/SSN:

Request for Information or Solicitation for Planning Purposes (Oct 1997)

(a) The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this solicitation or to otherwise pay for the information solicited except as an allowable cost under other contracts as provided in subsection 31.205-18, Bid and proposal costs, of the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

(b) Although “proposal” and “offeror” are used in this Request for Information, your response will be treated as information only. It shall not be used as a proposal.

(c) This solicitation is issued for the purpose of seeking feedback on the draft SOW and gaining a better understanding of the number of qualified and interested organizations who may be able to provide the services described in the draft SOW.

(End of provision)

Information received in response to this RFI/SSN will be considered by USAID for the purpose of developing the draft SOW and helping to determine the number of contracts planned to be awarded, reasonable small business subcontracting goals for offerors which are not small business concerns, and whether to reserve any of the planned awards for small business concerns.

All information received in response to this RFI/SSN marked “Proprietary” will be protected and handled accordingly. Interested parties are responsible for adequately marking proprietary information contained in their response. Responders are solely responsible for any and all expenses associated with responding to this RFI/SSN. USAID will not pay for information received in response to this RFI/SSN. Responses to this RFI/SSN cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract.

Responses to this RFI/SSN will not be returned and respondents will not be notified of the result of the review. Respondents may receive an electronic confirmation acknowledging receipt of the response, but will not receive individualized feedback or suggestions. No basis for claims against the U.S. Government shall arise as a result of a response to this RFI/SSN or from the U.S.

Government’s use of such information. Issuance of this RFI/SSN does not constitute a commitment on the part of the Government to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) for this proposed activity. If a RFP is subsequently issued, it will be announced on the SAM website:

https://beta.sam.gov/ at a later date, and all interested parties must respond to that RFP separately from any response to this RFI/SSN. This RFI/SSN does not restrict USAID's acquisition approach on a future RFP.

Responding or not responding to this RFI/SSN will not give any advantage or disadvantage to any organization.

INFORMATION REQUESTED:

USAID invites all interested parties to submit a written response as outlined below. Responses to this RFI/SSN are in two (2) parts and include the information below. Organizations may choose to respond to one or both parts.

1. Feedback on Draft SOW (no more than four [4] pages)

a. Please submit your feedback regarding the desired results outlined in the draft

SOW (the “what”) rather than describing how your organization would propose to achieve the results (the “how”).

b. Below are some guiding questions, not all of which need to be answered in your feedback.

i. What do you consider the strengths and weaknesses of the SOW and why?

ii. What major gaps have you identified that are missing within the scope of this SOW?

iii. What additional information related to the draft “Other Issues” section would be helpful to potential Offerors?

iv. Does the draft SOW allow for flexibility, adaptation, and innovation?

v. Are the Goal/Purpose/Objectives in the draft Results section measurable and achievable?

vi. Do you have any suggestions on the Goal/Purpose/Objectives in the draft

Results section?

vii. Do you have any additional suggestions or comments or any new/innovative ideas?

2. Interest and Capability (no more than four [4] pages)

a. Cover Page with Business Information

i. Include the following information on the first page (the cover page):

● Organization name and address

● DUNS number and CAGE code

● Organization point of contact name, telephone number, and email address

● Whether the organization is a:

⮚ U.S. Large Business;

⮚ U.S. Small Business concern (SB);

⮚ U.S. Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) concern ⮚ U.S. SDB concern eligible for participation in the U.S. Small Business

Administration’s (SBA’s) 8(a) program;

⮚ SBA-certified U.S. HUBZone Small Business (HUBZone SB) concern;

⮚ U.S. Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB) concern;

⮚ U.S. Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) concern;

⮚ U.S. Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) concern eligible under

SBA’s WOSB program; and/or ⮚ U.S. Economically-Disadvantaged WOSB (EDWOSB) concern eligible under SBA’s WOSB program.

⮚ Other type of organization (e.g. Non-U.S., non-profit, public or private university, etc.)

● Primary field(s) of work that your organization is engaged in, e.g., program management, capacity-building, prevention, conflict or violence programming, stabilization, etc.;

● Geographic presence, to include:

⮚ Countries in which your organization is currently working;

⮚ Countries in which your organization has previously worked; and ⮚ Countries in which your organization is legally and formally registered to work.

b. Capability Statement

i. Capability Statement of the Respondent. The Respondent may use any format they choose as long as it includes relevant information on the company and brief descriptions of recent (within the past five [5] years) and relevant projects for tasks similar to those described in the attached draft SOW. The capability statement should indicate the Respondent’s experience, expertise, and ability to meet the requirements as stated in the attached draft SOW. If respondents are only able to perform some or one of the components of the SOW, they should indicate this in their response and describe the areas of expertise for which they are capable of performing. The Respondent should further state whether or not it has a current U.S. Government (USG) Facilities Clearance, and if so, what level of clearance.

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS:

Responses must be in writing and must be in English. Submit your response as an e-mail attachment in Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat format. Submission via e-mail is required;

phone calls or hard copy delivery will not be accepted. Submit your response via e-mail to Leigh Carlson at lcarlson@usaid.gov and include the RFI/SSN Reference Number in the subject line of the e-mail to ensure consideration. To expedite USAID’s review and in consideration of your time, please adhere to the page limits specified above. Submissions exceeding the page limits specified above may not be read.

Responses must be received no later than the closing date and time stated above.

ATTACHMENT A

Anticipated Activity Title: Programming for Peacebuilding and Prevention (P4P2)

Anticipated Mechanism Type: Multiple award Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract

Anticipated Total Budget: $600 - $900 million

Anticipated Period of Performance: September 2021 - September 2028 (five [5] year ordering period plus two (2) years of performance beyond the end of the ordering period)

DRAFT SECTION C - DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS/STATEMENT OF WORK

C.1 PURPOSE

The purpose of this contract is to provide USAID with the means to implement programs that assist with the prevention, outbreak, escalation or recurrence of conflict and violence and enable peacebuilding and stabilization.

No country is immune from conflict and violence. The majority of countries where USAID has programs suffer from armed conflict or other forms of violence, often the result of fragility, weak governance and rule of law, exclusion, ethno-sectarian tensions, or unresolved political and socioeconomic grievances. Many of these countries have experienced some type of security, political, economic, or humanitarian crisis in the past decade. Even in comparatively peaceful countries, social contracts are breaking down and identity politics are on the rise. An increasing number of governments place severe restrictions on civil liberties and political rights, attempt to quell the voices of key populations, such as women, youth, or minorities, and even employ force to maintain their access to power and resources.2 In some cases, these repressive regimes are emboldened through alternative development models in ways that may fuel conflict, organized crime, violent extremism (VE), and other threats to peace and security. New stresses resulting from the lasting impact of COVID-19 will further destabilize countries and societies globally.

This mechanism will be available for USAID programming globally and can be used by any USAID Mission or Bureau/Independent Office (B/IO), including in individual countries or for regional programming as well as in non-permissive environments, to prevent, mitigate, manage or recover from conflict, violence and/or to integrate conflict sensitive approaches across any and all USAID development sectors.

C.2 BACKGROUND

The majority of countries where USAID implements programs are considered fragile or vulnerable to conflict. With instability and violent conflicts on the rise, the need for USAID to respond is paramount. Conflict and violence derails development and impedes the ability of countries to become more self-reliant. The human and economic cost of conflict can be

2 See Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2019, Washington, DC, February 2019.

devastating for countries experiencing conflict and violence and places an onerous burden on donors.3 The National Security Strategy, the Department of State-USAID Joint Strategic Plan, and USAID’s Policy Framework all emphasize the need to elevate conflict and violence prevention and stabilization in order to protect American security and prosperity and to help prevent our partners from backsliding or struggling to make progress on the Journey to Self- Reliance (J2SR).

Conflict and violence manifests differently across different settings and responses must be tailored and appropriate to specific risk factors in that context. While global rates of poverty continue to fall, the world’s impoverished population will increasingly be concentrated in fragile, conflict- and violence-affected countries, estimated to reach over 50 percent of the global population by 2030. Roughly 80 percent of current humanitarian assistance is aiding people affected by violence and conflict, with the vast majority of this aid spent on protracted crises.

Nearly 60 million people, half of them children, have been forced from their homes due to conflict and violence. These crises often spread across borders, which in turn, breeds chaos and enables transnational crime and terrorism to flourish. Recognizing the link between conflict, fragility, violence and development outcomes, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development elevated peace as a cross-cutting issue and adopted Goal 16 to promote peace, justice and inclusive societies, including significantly reducing all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere.

The Office of Conflict Management and Mitigation (CMM) is providing this mechanism to assist USAID Missions, Bureaus and Operating Units to prevent, mitigate and respond to conflict and violence, and adhere to a conflict-sensitive development approach across all technical areas.

Who We Are

CMM, in the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance (DCHA), is the technical and analytical lead in the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) for peacebuilding and preventing and mitigating conflict and violence. CMM envisions a world in which societies prevent and peacefully resolve conflict and violence. Its mission is to bring people, programs, and resources to USAID Missions overseas that are engaging in conflict mitigation and peacebuilding. CMM is also a key architect of USAID’s renewed commitment to enabling conflict prevention and stabilization programs that support a country on its journey to self-reliance.

C.3 OBJECTIVE

The objective of this contract is to improve development outcomes in fragile, conflict or violence-affected countries through innovative, adaptive, and effective country-specific or regional interventions focused on peacebuilding. Activities conducted under this mechanism may be in response to emerging risks and opportunities or may be designed to address persistent conflict and violence challenges. The Contractor must expect to provide the range of support and services described below and related support and services in a timely and efficient manner utilizing conflict sensitivity.

3 Institute for Economics and Peace, The EconomicValue of Peace, Sydney, 2018.

C.4 STATEMENT OF WORK

The contractor must be able to provide a range of services across the full program cycle in support of conflict and violence prevention and stabilization as specified by individual USAID operating units in their Task Orders. USAID has designed this award on the premise that countries experiencing or at risk of conflict and violence face unique, complicated and complex challenges that require bespoke interventions. All programming must use conflict-sensitive approaches, and demonstrate methods for identifying, managing and mitigating conflict and violence. In addition, it should adhere to USAID’s Women, Peace and Security (WPS), Countering Violent Extremism (CVE), and youth or other relevant policies or strategies and must adhere to associated Automated Directives System (ADS) and other requirements. In executing Task Orders under this award, contractors must demonstrate and apply their understanding of conflict and violence analysis tools; methodologies; theory and practice, including systems mapping and thinking and working politically; and adaptive management.

USAID recognizes that the environments which breed violence and conflict require conflict sensitive and flexible field programs. Contractors must be prepared to implement cross-sectoral programs that address the root causes, sources and consequences of violence and conflict by addressing conflict drivers, risk factors and stabilizing or mitigating factors.4 In addition, technical assistance may be required on short notice (for example, within 14 days) in response to unanticipated events and/or urgent requests. The Contractor must have the ability to provide services in non-permissive environments and countries affected by conflict and violence. In some situations, the Contractor may need to procure security services for its field personnel.

The Contractor may be required to conduct bridging activities that provide assistance as a transition from one activity to another activity or event. The Contractor must have the capability to rapidly mobilize and initiate the implementation of activities in order to avoid the loss of momentum during any transition between current USAID programs. “Bridge” procurements may be used to test, pilot, sustain, assess, or evaluate activities to inform follow-on Task Orders or procurements. The Contractor may be required to implement a pilot activity to test new or innovative concepts, or implementation methods to assess the feasibility of programs in certain environments, or other pilot activities.

C.4.1 Technical Areas The Contractor must be able to provide technical assistance and direct program implementation in a range of related thematic areas in order to support host country capacity and commitment to peace, security and development. The technical areas include:

C.4.1.1 Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding Peacebuilding and conflict prevention encompass a wide range of efforts to address the causes and consequences of violence before, during, and after violent conflict occurs and to foster reconciliation. It includes efforts by governments, civil society and the private sector to manage, mitigate, resolve, and transform central aspects of conflict. Upstream conflict prevention should

4 Grievances + Key Actors + Triggers = Conflict Drivers (Destabilizing); Resiliencies + Key Actors + Moments = Mitigating Factors (Stabilizing).

be understood as a process of supporting societies to become more cohesive, resilient and able to manage their internal conflicts without resorting to violence.5

Generally speaking, effective interventions result in measurable changes to attitudes, behaviors and institutions -- the rules, procedures and practices that give rise to grievances -- among key people (those whose roles are critical to the conflict) or among large groups of people who can provide the broad support for peace processes. The Contractor should design peacebuilding and conflict prevention programming to avert violence from occurring and/or to strengthen the systems that sustain positive peace6 and reduce fragility. Reconciliation creates opportunities for communities in conflict to build mutual understanding, trust, empathy, and resilient social ties.

C.4.1.2 Citizen Security and Crime and Violence Prevention Many countries outside of conflict zones suffer from high levels of violence, often the result of gangs, organized crime and/or corruption. Violence is “the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment or deprivation.”7 Casualties resulting from non-combat violence (including homicide, terrorism, domestic abuse, sexual and gender-based violence, disappearances and kidnapping) outpace deaths associated with war zones by a three-to-one margin.8 Although the specific settings, targets, motivations, and levels of organization may vary, all types of violence pose a significant challenge to USAID’s partners and to our own national security. Serious crime and associated violence destroy families and communities, impede economic growth, redirect resources from productive use and may generate massive population dislocations.

Violence begets violence: those exposed to violence and trauma are more likely to be victimized further or to become perpetrators. Typologies of violence identify four often interrelated types:

physical; sexual; psychological; and deprivation that may occur on an individual, communal or societal level.9 Violence disproportionately affects young people who might otherwise be productive members of society, subjecting individuals and communities to lifelong repercussions. Globally, one in three women will experience gender-based violence in her lifetime. In some regions experiencing active conflict, the statistics are much higher. Growing evidence also indicates strong links between violent misogyny and violent extremism.10 Ending violence against women and girls requires coordination across multiple sectors with the sustained engagement of men and boys. To address the intersection among types of violence and to ensure programming responds appropriately to risk levels, contractors should therefore apply a public health approach that utilizes problem-solving methodologies to identify risk and protective factors for communities directly at risk of, or already engaged in, violence.11

5 Saferworld, Upstream Conflict Prevention: Addressing the Root Causes of Conflict, London, 2012.

6 Institute for Economics and Peace, Positive Peace Report 2019, Sydney, October 2019.

7 World Health Organization, World Report on Violence and Health, Geneva, 2002.

8 Small Arms Survey, Darkening Horizons: Global Violent Deaths Scenarios, 2018–30, Geneva, May 2019.

9 Violence Prevention Alliance, The Ecological Framework, Geneva, 2020.

10 Monash University and UN Women, Misogyny & Violent Extremism: Implications for Preventing Violent Extremism, Clayton, Australia, October 2019.

11 Violence Prevention Alliance, The Public Health Approach, Geneva, 2020.

The contractor should design programs to enhance citizen security, prevent or interrupt violence, and protect victims. Like peacebuilding, citizen security is more than the absence of violence.

Citizen security is defined as the right of citizens to live free from all forms of violence and crime in times of peace.12 In addition to crime and violence prevention, citizen security also includes activities to build community cohesion, strengthen local governance, improve physical and social infrastructure, and educate and empower youth to address the risk factors that cause young people to become involved in criminal activities. USAID citizen security programming is often multi-sectoral and multi-faceted.

C.4.1.3 Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (PVE and CVE) More countries than ever endure acts of terrorism from a growing array of violent extremist organizations (VEOs). The toll of racially, ethnically and ideologically-motivated violence is an onerous burden that falls heavily on lower and middle-income countries. USAID and its partners have worked to counter violent extremism for more than a decade. New evidence highlighting what works and lessons learned from our past programming have helped USAID to adapt to the changing context. In particular, USAID and its partners now understand that programming designed to strengthen and influence local systems is likely to have a greater effect on radicalization and recruitment to violence than programming designed to address a particular driver. Contractors should employ a systems approach to: 1) Reduce the risk of recruitment into and support for violent extremism and 2) Build the capacity and commitment of our partners in government, civil society, youth organizations and the private sector to prevent and counter the violent extremist threats they face.

Understanding how local actors interact, the roles they play and the relationships that influence them is key to both effective risk reduction and sustainable CVE capacity building. Risk of recruitment or radicalization to violence is a function of vulnerability and exposure to VEOs or messaging. Programs designed to reduce risk should include a focused set of interventions that are derived from a contextual analysis of the violent extremism dynamics and account for complexity and uncertainty. Because violent extremism often occurs in countries affected by conflict, Contractors should design targeted CVE programming to be linked to broader multi-sectoral prevention strategies to address the structural conditions that lead to the spread of violent extremism in the first place. Whether and how radicalization or recruitment to violence occurs also depends on the resilience of individuals, groups, societies and institutions. Contractors should design programs to increase capacity and commitment and focus on creating and sustaining resilient and inclusive local systems through engagement with an array of stakeholders and influencers across multiple levels.

C.4.1.4 Stabilization Building on decades of experience and lessons from post-conflict transitions, the U.S.

Government developed parameters for current and future interventions. Stabilization is now defined as “an inherently political endeavor involving an integrated civilian-military process to create conditions where locally legitimate authorities and systems can peaceably manage conflict

12 USAID, Crime and Violence Prevention Field Guide, Washington, DC, July 2016.

and prevent a resurgence of violence.”13 Within the USG, USAID serves as the lead implementing agency for non-security U.S. stabilization assistance.

Short-term in nature (typically between one and five years), stabilization activities are designed to meet immediate needs and to set the conditions for legitimate governance and political processes. In some contexts, stabilization activities may support or create a foundation for peacebuilding or contribute to longer-term statebuilding. In others, stabilization activities may be conducted in parallel. In all contexts, stabilization activities should strive to reduce violence and increase the protection of civilians while creating the space for political dialogue to take place.

The manner in which stabilization activities are accomplished is critical to their efficacy: project locations should be strategic and interventions must be tailored to the context; designed to build and sustain trust between citizens and government officials; and inclusive. As a rule, stabilization activities should ensure that government institutions and related service delivery are inclusive, responsive, and accountable. Contractors should ensure that proposed stabilization activities are conflict sensitive and must ensure gender issues are incorporated and programming should be aligned with peacebuilding and conflict prevention objectives.

Stabilization activities are decidedly context specific and may take place in any development sector (e.g., agriculture, health, education, governance, etc.) depending on identified needs and opportunities. When conducting stabilization activities, contractors may utilize tools and approaches that span the conflict and violence prevention arena, such as the management of armed actors or transitional justice.

C.4.1.5 Women, Peace and Security (WPS) The Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017 established the United States as the first country in the world with a comprehensive law on WPS designed to promote the meaningful participation of women in preventing and resolving conflict, countering violent extremism (CVE) and terrorism, and building post-conflict peace and stability. Crisis and conflict affect men and women differently. In modern conflicts, where civilians bear the heaviest consequences, women and children suffer disproportionately from hunger, displacement, and disease. Sexual and gender-based violence is deployed frequently as a weapon of war. In the aftermath of conflict, disasters, and complex crises such as COVID-19, breakdowns in security and the rule of law, as well as disruptions to families and livelihoods expose women and girls to continued risks of violence and exploitation. Women’s absence from efforts to resolve conflict and rebuild societies reinforces this destructive cycle.

USAID is investing in gender equality and women’s empowerment in crisis and conflict-affected countries to promote the rights and well-being of women and girls and to foster peaceful, resilient communities that can cope with adversity and pursue development gains.

C.4.1.6 Youth, Peace and Security (YPS)

13 U.S. Departments of State and Defense and USAID, Stabilization Assistance Review: A Framework for Maximizing the Effectiveness of U.S. Government Efforts to Stabilize Conflict-Affected Areas, Washington, DC 2018.

UN Security Council Resolution 2250 on Youth, Peace and Security, identifies five key pillars for action relating to youth, peace and security: participation, protection, prevention, partnerships and disengagement and reintegration. It also urges giving youth a greater voice in decision-making at the local, national, regional and international levels and to consider setting up mechanisms that would enable young people to participate meaningfully in peace processes.

Young people (aged 10-29) represent the largest youth population in history. While they represent a tremendous asset and potential, there is a growing gap in effectively engaging youth and addressing their unique needs.

USAID’s programming related to youth, peace, and security is founded upon, but not limited to the following principles:

● Addressing drivers of violence and peacebuilding;

● Positive youth development and authentic youth engagement;

● Developing market-relevant skills training and opportunities;

● Strengthening access to quality education; and

● Building capacity of local institutions and partners including partnerships with private sector and faith-based groups.

C.4.1.7 Justice, Rights and Security Many conflicts today are triggered, in part or in whole, by injustices, real or perceived or by the failure of governments to live by and uphold the rule of law. Injustice, government repression and abuses, corruption, favoritism or even disputes that could have been adjudicated through a functioning justice system all erode state and society relations and inflame conflict. Meeting post-conflict justice needs is a key aspect of building a durable peace, resolving on-going disputes without prompting a return to violence and building trust across existing divides.

Establishing a secure environment, strengthening justice for all, and enforcing the rule of law are critical components of conflict and violence prevention, stabilization and peacebuilding. USAID defines the rule of law as a principle of governance in which all persons, institutions and entities, public and private, including the State itself, are accountable to laws that are publicly promulgated, equally enforced and independently adjudicated, and which are consistent with international human rights norms and standards.

Justice is an ideal of accountability, certainty and fairness in the protection and vindication of rights and the prevention and punishment of wrongs. It is deeply rooted in history, culture and tradition, and relies on both formal and traditional dispute resolution mechanisms. In peacebuilding or stabilization contexts, transitional justice and the rule of law are foundational not only to reconstituting the government and the economy, but also to knitting the social fabric of a war-torn, traumatized society. Transitional justice describes a range of strategies to respond to a period of systematic or widespread human rights violations, and to promote accountability, reconciliation and, ultimately, peace. Typical transitional justice strategies include criminal prosecutions of perpetrators of human rights violations; truth commissions that investigate past abuses and provide recommendations to address them; reparations to compensate material and moral damage suffered; memorials that preserve public memory of human rights violations and their victims; and institutional reforms designed to address the root causes of abuses.

USAID’s experience with transitional justice highlights the importance of an individualized, rights-based approach to justice and security. Such an approach requires an examination of inequality, exclusion, social structures, and discrimination; it also implicates the importance of finding ways to enable individuals to experience, perceive, and benefit from justice service delivery. Rights-based policing, for example, can be an important course correction in countries where police abuse has triggered past violence.

Activities under this thematic area are not limited to criminal matters. Caseload analysis from a variety of countries suggests that the vast majority of complaints lodged in conflict- and violence-affected countries are civil in nature, not criminal. They are related to land tenure and other property disputes, legal titles, family matters including marriage licenses, divorce or adoption, or basic documentation, such as identification cards or drivers’ licenses.

C.4.1.8 Atrocity Prevention (AP) Mass atrocities and armed conflict are distinct phenomena, but often have the potential to overlap. Although contexts, perpetrators and targeted groups vary, mass atrocities are large-scale and deliberate attacks on civilians. Mass atrocities rarely occur without warning. They are often telegraphed by underlying structural risk factors (e.g. regime type, existence of an armed conflict, impunity for past atrocities, nationalist/exclusionary ideology, increasing restrictions on human rights, political, social or economic instability, etc) as well as early and late warning signs, which signal a shift in the calculus or capabilities of potential perpetrators. Atrocity prevention is a goal to which numerous types of programs can contribute, not necessarily a discrete set or sector of development programs. Atrocity prevention refers to efforts taken in the prevention of, response to, or recovery from various potential phases of a mass atrocity situation.

Atrocity prevention efforts aim to: (1) address the risk factors (e.g. preventing armed conflict, promoting human rights and the rule of law, strengthening civil society, building capacity/legitimacy of weak states, etc.) and any escalation processes, (2) alter the means, motives, or opportunities of potential perpetrators, where possible, and/or (3) increase the self-protection capacity of at-risk civilian groups.

C.4.1.9 Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Security Environmental degradation and climate change will stress the world’s economic, social, and political systems. It can threaten development gains and, at scale, can destabilize nations.

Ecological stress and shocks caused by degradation of a country’s resource base and climate change act as ‘threat multipliers’ and may overburden weak institutions, aggravate existing tensions, and contribute to destabilizing fragile nations. The ecosystems that developing countries depend on -- forests, grasslands, oceans, rivers, lakes, coral reefs, etc. -- are becoming increasingly degraded as a result of over-utilization and pressures from pollution and climate change. As environmental resources critical to sustaining local livelihoods and ensuring human security grow increasingly scarce, competition over resources will increase. In places affected by fragility and conflict, environmental stressors and grievances over inequitable access to and control over land and resources may aggravate existing tensions and spark local or widespread violent conflict. Many of the countries predicted to be worst affected by climate change are plagued by poor governance, insecure land and resource rights, exclusion and inequality and will likely be under additional strain in the aftermath of COVID-19.

C.4.1.10 Natural Resource Crime The illegal exploitation and trade of natural resources, particularly high-value natural resources such as gold, timber and wildlife, often undermines peace and stability. The exploitation of natural resources is a lucrative source of financing for organized crime groups, terrorist organizations, and insurgent groups. In some contexts, natural resources directly finance transnational criminal organizations and armed groups. In other contexts natural resource crimes drives corruption, undermines good governance, weakens institutions, and contributes to fragility. The artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector, for example, is often cited as a factor that sparks, escalates, and sustains conflict, with mineral sales having long been an important source of revenue for governments, militias, and warlords to purchase arms. In several countries in Latin America, illegal gold mining is now estimated to be more valuable than cocaine trafficking. It is also the easiest and most profitable way for criminal groups to launder money. In Afghanistan, extractives are the second-largest source of revenue for the Taliban after narcotics.

OTHER INFORMATION

Each Task Order issued under this award will outline the specific requirements for that program.

Some additional information on expectations for program implementation are listed below.

Conflict Sensitivity

A. To deliver enduring development outcomes, all programming -- regardless of country context or development sector -- should be conflict and gender sensitive. The Contractor should identify opportunities to reduce social division and build connections across communities. The Contractor should assess conflict/context dynamics to mitigate risk and promote local ownership using collaborative learning and adaptive approaches to promote sustainable peace.

B. Conflict sensitivity is the ability of an organization to develop a nuanced understanding of the operating environment (building on a conflict or other political economy analysis), understand the impact of external interventions on that environment and the context’s impact on the interventions and adapt its interventions to ensure programs do not result in negative impacts, but contribute to development and peacebuilding objectives. The Contractor should apply these considerations to development, humanitarian and conflict programs and audit program activities to ensure they include conflict sensitive considerations both in its internal management and ethos, as well as throughout the lifetime of the activity14. The Contractor must consider how gender norms and roles alongside other identities shape the causes and effects of conflict as part of their conflict sensitive approaches.

Adaptive Management As described by USAID’s Learning Lab, adaptive management is an important component to effective programming in complex environments. “USAID’s work takes place in environments

14 See https://www.cdacollaborative.org/publications/conflict-sensitivity-do-no-harm/ and https://www.international-alert.org/publications/conflict-sensitive-approaches-development-humanitarian-assistance-and-peacebuilding and https://gsdrc.org/topic-guides/conflict-sensitivity/approaches-and-tools/peace-and-conflict-impact-assessment/ that are often unstable and in transition. Even in more stable contexts, circumstances evolve and may affect programming in unpredictable ways. For its programs to be effective, USAID will need to be able to adapt in response to changes and new information. The ability to adapt requires an environment that promotes intentional learning and flexible project and activity design, minimizes the obstacles to modifying programming, and creates incentives for managing adaptively.”

A. “Manage adaptively in your day-to-day work. The key concepts pertaining to adaptive management according to the Collaborating, Learning and Adapting (CLA) framework are the following:

i. Analyze learning from implementation and/or pause & reflect opportunities.

ii. Inform decision-making.

iii. Follow through on decisions reached to manage adaptively.”15 B. Contractors must work together with USAID to assess the country and regional context, propose solutions, and adapt as needed to ensure programming remains relevant and impactful. Work Plans and strategies, while important, must be continually re-assessed and adapted to changing circumstances, emerging issues, or shifting priorities.

Management of Grants-Under-Contract (GUCs)

A. Funds may be made available in individual Task Orders for the award and administration of grants. The contractor must solicit, negotiate, award and administer grants under Task Orders. These grants will be secondary or minor to the overall work performed under the task order.

B. USAID must be significantly involved in establishing the selection criteria and must approve the grant recipients. USAID may be less significantly involved when grants are quite small and are incidental to the contractor's technical activities.

C. USAID may terminate the grant activities unilaterally in extraordinary circumstances.

D. The contractor must follow the requirements of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clause 52.203-16, Preventing Personal Conflicts of Interest, in the selection and award of GUCs.

E. The contractor is not authorized to execute or administer cooperative agreements on USAID’s behalf.

F. Under this award, grant management tasks may include, but is not limited to the following: contractor(s) participation in or responsibility for the drafting and publication of Requests for Applications (RFAs), working with local groups to develop grant proposals, evaluation of proposals, establishment of grant agreements, delivery of financial and in-kind assistance and grantee sustainability, monitoring implementation and grant close-out as well as subcontracting as appropriate. The Contractor(s)’s responsibilities may also include screening of potential grantee partners, design of the grant, database entry, monitoring and evaluating the grantee deliverables. However, the program direction, focus, type of grantees and final grant approval will remain with USAID with the tasking Bureau or Mission. The Contractor(s) must review all grant proposals before final approval to assure they are consistent with USAID policies and procedures, grant format and disposition of property. The contractor must coordinate with the Task Order Contracting Officer’s Representative (TOCOR) with the grants

15 https://usaidlearninglab.org/qrg/adaptive-management management tasks that include the following for working with local organizations throughout each phase of the award process:

i. Pre-Solicitation Phase: Develop the solicitation.

ii. Solicitation Phase: Issue/advertise opportunity, hold solicitation conferences.

iii. Evaluation Phase: Screen potential grantee partners, evaluate proposals consistent with USAID policies at ADS 303 and procedures and document the proposed awardee selection. The Task Order Contracting Officer (TOCO) must first approve grants unless otherwise stated in the Task Order. The process for approving grants will be specified in individual Task Orders.

iv. Award Phase: Establish grants in accordance with USAID policies.

v. Post-Award Phase: Monitor implementation and deliverables and grant close-out as directed in the Task Order.

Learning, Assessments and Analytical Services A. The Contractor may be requested to conduct assessments, feasibility studies, surveys and analyses to initiate or enhance programming. Illustrative activities include, but are not limited to:

i. Conduct assessments and diagnostics of conflict and violence prevention and stabilization challenges, including political economy analysis, conflict, fragility, youth, VE and gender assessments.

ii. Country-based or regional empirical research and studies as part of an effort to build.

iii. Workshops related to any best practice studies or findings from assessments.

iv. Conducting rigorous program or impact evaluations using a range of techniques that allow for complexity.

v. Assisting Missions with applying best practices.

Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) A. Programming effectively in complex contexts requires collaboration, adaptation and learning. The Contractor is responsible for developing and managing an appropriate internal monitoring, evaluation and learning and reporting system. This allows for mid-course corrections and adaptations to programming approaches as needed and incorporates best practices, such as participatory M&E, complexity-aware MEL, or developmental evaluation, for monitoring, evaluation, and learning from activities under the award. In addition, the contractor should incorporate conflict sensitive indicators into its MEL plans as well as conflict sensitive considerations for how it gathers information and the resulting impact and burden on target communities and staff.

B. USAID may engage third-party entities to conduct activity- or program-level monitoring and evaluation. This may include regular analysis and evaluations as well as mid- or final evaluations. The Contractor must work in coordination with any such entities or individuals as directed by USAID and provide support and information as required.

Digital Connectivity and Cybersecurity

A. Recognizing the increasingly powerful role that technology plays in inflaming conflict, violence and violent extremism, the Contractor should engage in efficient, effective, and responsible digital initiatives that harness the power of the digital ecosystem to drive development while safeguarding against risks, to the maximum extent possible and as appropriate.

B. The Contractor may be required to support the development and application of state-of-the-art information and communication technology (ICT) to prevent conflict, violence and violent extremism and advance peacebuilding or stabilization objectives. ICT activities may involve the internet, social media and wireless technologies and the use of specialized software, all of which can be used to access, store, transmit or manipulate information and data.

C. The Contractor should ensure that any programming in the digital ecosystem strives to reduce the gender divide, improve the digital literacy of all groups, including minorities and marginalized populations, protects data and protection, and mitigates harm through cybersecurity programming.

Program and Field Operations

A. The work will include operating changing or fluid environments and developing operations and systems to allow for effective operating in these situations. The Contractor is responsible for setting up and maintaining field offices and facilities, potentially in a rapid timeframe, including all relevant equipment and supplies, information technology (IT) and communications equipment. The Contractor is responsible for putting in place effective systems and processes for the procurement of goods and services in support of the overall program and for addressing safety and security issues.

B. The Contractor is responsible for identifying, deploying (often on short notice), and retaining high quality staff to manage overall operations and field programming. Often USAID will require these services on very short notice and with requirements to begin implementation rapidly. The Contractor is responsible for creating and managing appropriate and flexible administrative and management structures to successfully accomplish the requirements of each Task Order. This includes appropriate and adequate resources are in place for staff care due to the environments Task Order performance is expected to take place in.

RESULTS

Activities implemented under this award will expand USAID’s peacebuilding capabilities and contribute to the achievement of the following objectives and sub-objectives.

Objective 1: Provide USAID Missions relevant peacebuilding support and input through the program cycle.

Objective 2: Mobilize technically skilled personnel to support USAID Missions’ peacebuilding programs.

Objective 3: Integrate adaptive and complexity-aware program management techniques to increase the timeliness and relevance of USAID’s interventions.

The results framework is shown below.

GOAL: Improve development outcomes in fragile, conflict or violence-affected countries.

Purpose: Provide USAID with the means to implement programs that assist with: (1) the prevention, outbreak, escalation or recurrence of conflict and violence, and (2) expand

USAID’s peacebuilding and stabilization capabilities.

Objective 1: Provide USAID Missions relevant peacebuilding support and input through the program cycle.

Objective 2: Mobilize technically skilled personnel to support USAID Missions’ peacebuilding programs.

Objective 3: Integrate adaptive and complexity-aware program management techniques to increase the timeliness and relevance of USAID’s interventions.

CMM will support field Missions in the design, implementation, and evaluation of conflict and violence programs to prevent the outbreak, escalation or recurrence of conflict or violence and enable peacebuilding. To achieve these objectives, awards will be structured around the following key components:

● Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding;

● Citizen Security and Crime and Violence Prevention;

● Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism;

● Stabilization;

● Women, Peace and Security;

● Youth, Peace and Security;

● Justice, Rights and Security;

● Atrocity Prevention;

● Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Security; and

● Natural Resource Crime.

This award will utilize or be supported by other…