Packaging Research and Innovation Award RFI.docx

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

Request for Information Number: 7200AA24RFI00020 Issuance Date: May 21, 2024 Questions Due: June 3, 2024 Response Date: June 10, 2024, by 5:00 p.m. EST Activity Title: Sustainable Food Packaging Research and Innovation Award

Eligibility: All interested parties

Dear Partners, The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) and the Bureau for Resilience, Environment and Food Security (REFS) are seeking feedback, information, partnerships and recommendations on approaches to bolster ongoing initiatives on sustainable food packaging improvement, aiming to address USAID’s humanitarian and development key challenges while fostering expertise in this highly technical and crucial field.

To advance a sustainable food packaging agenda that benefits both humanitarian and development programs, the agency has been carrying out joint work with international implementing partners such as the United Nations World Food Program (WFP), food assistance commodity suppliers, packaging technology vendors and academics. Jointly with these partners, the agency has managed to assemble packaging working groups around key areas and organize annual packaging workshops to address pressing packaging and supply chain challenges. These efforts have led to improvements in packaging quality, functionalities, and performance throughout the supply chain.

The main and specific objectives of the associated Request For Information (RFI) are contained in Attachment 1.

This RFI seeks the following from interested parties:

1. Provide capability statements with information about organizations (for-profit and not-for profit) that have the skills and capabilities necessary to perform the work sought (Capability statements are an optional addition to insights in reference to the RFI objectives, and RFI# 7200AA24RFI00020

2. Provide information, feedback, and recommendations on the upcoming activity and its scope as presented in Attachment 1.

3. Provide recommendation as to how USAID can best continue investing in efforts to ensure the safety and nutritional quality food while minimizing carbon footprint, food, and packaging waste.

4. Recommend innovative approaches to bolster ongoing initiatives on sustainable food packaging improvement.

5. Insights into how work already being done by others (e.g., the private sector, other donors, national governments, and/or academic institutions) can be complemented or leveraged for greatest impact.

Only organizations with capability to perform the work sought are encouraged to submit capability statements. Responses to the RFI are welcomed from all organizations with relevant knowledge and expertise, regardless of capability to perform the work sought.)

This RFI is issued solely for information, market research and planning purposes and does not constitute a Request for Proposals (RFP) or a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). Responding to this RFI will not give any advantage to or preclude any organization or individual in any subsequently issued solicitation or NOFO. Any future funding and development activities related to this activity will be announced separately, depending the funding mechanism the Agency chooses to apply, on https://sam.govn/ and/or https://grants.gov . This RFI does not represent any award commitment on the part of the Government, nor does it obligate the Government to pay for costs incurred in the preparation and submission of any responses.

Information received as part of this RFI shall become the property of USAID, therefore, proprietary information that cannot be shared should not be sent. This RFI can be downloaded from https://sam.gov and https://grants.gov . If you have any issues downloading the RFI, please contact Lisa Chang at lchang@usaid.gov to receive a copy. Responses should be submitted to USAID via email only to lchang@usaid.gov no later than the date and time shown above. See Attachment 2 for additional submission instructions.

Thank you for your interest in USAID’s activities.

Sincerely, Prince Boateng Contracting & Agreement Officer M/OAA/Transportation USAID

Attachments:

#1 – Activity Background, draft program objectives, #2 – Instructions for Submitting Responses/Comments #3 – The 2023 FASPA Report on USAID Sustainable Packaging Agenda image1.png