Pre-Solicitation Notice for RFP 72061522R00008 - STAWI.pdf

SUBJECT: PRE-SOLICITATION NOTICE FOR RFP NO. 72061522R00008

ISSUE DATE: THURSDAY, JANUARY 27, 2022

CLOSING DATE: MONDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2022

TITLE: SUSTAINABLE, TRANSFORMATIONAL AND ACCESSIBLE WATER INTERVENTIONS

(STAWI) ACTIVITY

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID)/Kenya and East Africa (KEA) intends to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) in February 2022 for an anticipated five-year cost-plus-fixed-fee Completion type contract with a ceiling of $24.9 million for the STAWI Activity.

Please note this is a pre-solicitation notice and is not a Request for Proposals (RFP). It is not to be construed as a commitment by the U.S. Government or USAID to issue any solicitation, or ultimately award a contract on the basis of this pre-solicitation notice, or to pay for any information voluntarily submitted as a result of this request. USAID is not seeking technical or cost proposals at this time. Do not submit any proposal/application at this time in response to this pre-solicitation notice.

Purpose The purpose of the STAWI Activity is to strengthen resilience and expand economic opportunities in targeted northern and southeastern counties through management of water resources, expansion of sustainable water services, and improved use of water within agriculture and livestock market systems.

The Activity will work at the national and sub-national level and MUST focus on county governments and the private sector including financial institutions, private water service providers and agricultural businesses, as well as community groups such as Water Resources Users Associations (WRUAs) and farmers’ groups. The Activity MUST also require supporting and engaging communities and civil society, particularly women and girls and youth, in developing political will and technical capacities to advance the stated Objectives.

Place of Performance STAWI will be implemented in Kenya at the national level and in the following counties listed in the table below. The Offeror’s MUST work in the following nine counties in addition to working with the Council of Governors relevant Committee secretariats.

Northern Kenya (arid)

● Garissa

● Isiolo

● Marsabit

● Samburu

● Turkana

● Wajir

South-Eastern (semi-arid)

● Kitui

● Makueni

● Taita Taveta

Objectives AND Expected results The main goal of STAWI is to improve water security in areas of recurrent crises. USAID/KEA aims to increase the ability of counties and communities to safeguard sustainable access to adequate quantities and quality of water for sustaining livelihoods, human well-being, and socio-economic development. The Activity shall target two resilience zones within Kenya, where vulnerability to recurrent crises is high. In the targeted arid counties (northern), investments will aim to build resilience to shocks and reduce humanitarian assistance caseloads. In the targeted semi-arid (southeastern) counties, investments will aim to strengthen resilience to avert a return to dependence on humanitarian assistance.

Improving water security will depend on achieving four interrelated objectives.

Objective 1: Improve governance of water resources and services The contractor shall strengthen institutional and governance systems of water resources and services for domestic, agriculture and other productive uses.

Outcome 1.1: Institutional capacity for water resources management improved Expected Results:

● Functional coordination platform with strong communication between relevant national and sub-national sector institutions for promoting water resource management

● Evidence-based plans for equitable allocation of water resources developed and implemented

● Increased leadership and decision-making roles for women and youth in governance of water resources and services

● Increased public financing for water resources management

Outcome 1.2: Policy environment for water services improved at county-level Expected Results:

● Policies that enable climate-aware and efficient water uses for production

● Water bills developed/passed and implemented

● Groundwater protection and watershed policies developed and implemented

Outcome 1.3: Mitigation measures to ensure water security in the context of shocks and stresses are improved Expected Results:

● Effective coordination, collaboration, planning, sequenced actions and accountability by national and county governments.

● Strategies for sustainable water supply and availability to vulnerable communities in times of shocks are developed and enacted at the county levels

● Capacity of the counties to implement the shock-mitigation and responsive water strategies is strengthened.

● Increased financial resources and sustained commitment by the counties to sustainable supply and availability of water to vulnerable communities in times of shock.

● Public-private partnerships that support water supply and availability in times of shocks are developed and implemented.

Objective 2: Increase sustainability of water service delivery

Outcome 2.1: Availability and reliability of rural water services is improved Expected Results:

● Increased availability and capacity of professionalized maintenance services for rural communities

● Increased functionality of water schemes

● Increased percentage of women and youth engaged in professional operations and maintenance

● Increased population with access to water services in rural areas

● Corruption in water supply services reduced

Outcome 2.2: Efficiency and quality of water services supplied by Water and Sanitation Companies (WASCOs) improved Expected Results:

● Continuity of service, system reliability and water quality improved in WASCO service areas

● Reduction in non-revenue water and illegal connections

● Improved profitability of WASCOs

● Institutional performance of WASCOs improved

● Increased number of people with access to safe drinking water in WASCO service areas

Outcome 2.3: Water service delivery is effectively monitored and regulated Expected Results:

● Community-owned accountability mechanisms for quality water service delivery established or strengthened

● Increased capacity of county government to monitor water quality and enforce water schemes compliance with national standards

● Improved coordination between national water regulator and counties for setting water tariffs

● Increased percentage of water service providers that are registered legally

Objective 3: Improved management, efficiency and equitable access to water used for productive purposes

Outcome 3.1: Strategic targeting of water availability for productive and economic use Expected Results:

● Increased private sector participation in last-mile, climate-smart commercial water delivery for productive and economic uses

● Sustainable technologies for water provision and use targeted for specific productive and market systems purposes in Northern and Southeast counties

● Increased efficient utilization of water for productive and economic use by farmers, pastoralists, agro-pastoralists and processors.

● Increased household incomes from diversified sources

Outcome 3.2: Empowered women and youth, managing water resources for productive and economic purposes Expected Results:

● Increased participation of women and youth in community water management structures for productive and economic use, including water catchment protection and conservation.

● Increased number of women and youth owned water-sector businesses, which operate in an efficient and professional manner

Objective 4: Improved collaboration and learning across stakeholders and strengthened capacity of county governments for learning and adaptation

Outcome 4.1 Collaboration across interventions, counties and stakeholders increased Expected Results:

● Unified vision and management of results and actions across stakeholders led by county governments with development partners, communities, NGOs and private sector engaged in water security

● Strategic collaboration to inform decision making, improve coherence and support adaptive management led by county governments with development partners, communities, NGOs and private sector actors engaged in water security

● Learning uptake and knowledge management within and outside of USAID

Outcome 4.2 Learning to inform adaptive management supported Expected Results:

● Co-created vision and strategy for adaptive management based on program experience, evidence and learning

● CLA best practices integrated into operations and programming across stakeholders

● Learning agenda developed and implemented with feedback loops to real time program implementation

Outcome 4.3 Capacity of counties to learn and apply adaptive management practices strengthened Expected Results:

● Learning-by-doing approach applied by county government actors in agriculture, economic planning and water departments

● Feedback loops to inform improved program implementation and decision making used by county governments

● Increased capacity of county staff in adaptive management practices

● Strategic application of adaptive management by county staff to improve the governance and sustainability of water services

In the event of a resultant RFP, USAID/KEA will welcome proposals from any offeror, including Local Organizations to achieve the goals for this program. This also includes proposals that reflect alliances or teaming approaches between different types of organizations. USAID expects that offerors will have equal access to all local organizations needed for this contract, and strongly discourages exclusivity agreements with local organizations.

To qualify as a “local organization” for the purpose of the resultant RFP, an entity must: a) be organized under the laws of the recipient country; b) have its principal place of business in the recipient country; c) be majority owned by individuals who are citizens or lawful permanent residents of the recipient country or be managed by a governing body, the majority of whom are citizens or lawful permanent residents of a recipient country; and d) not be controlled by a foreign entity or by an individual or individuals who are not citizens or permanent residents of the recipient country. The term “controlled by” means a majority ownership or beneficiary interest as defined above, or 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, e.g., ownership, contract, or operation of law. “Foreign entity” means an organization that fails to meet any part of the “local organization” definition. Local offerors interested in applying to this upcoming RFP are encouraged to review the virtual training program on the public USAID website page on "How to Work with USAID" (https://www.usaid.gov/work-usaid/how-to-work-with-usaid) which contains several resources that will help you understand how to work with USAID, such as our online training series “how to work with USAID”, how the grant and contract process works, and how to respond to a solicitation.

Please submit any questions concerning this pre-solicitation notice via email to Sandra Jansen at sjansen@usaid.gov with a copy to Aziz Alibhai at aalibhai@usaid.gov with the subject entitled: “Pre- Solicitation Notice for RFP No. 72061522R00008: STAWI”, no later than the date and time stated above.

This Notice can be viewed and downloaded from the Internet at http://sam.gov Interested parties are advised to monitor this website for solicitation number 72061522R00008 for updates concerning this procurement. Thank you for your interest in the subject pre-solicitation notice.

Sincerely, === S === Ms. Sandra Jansen Contracting Officer, USAID / KEA https://www.usaid.gov/work-usaid/how-to-work-with-usaid mailto:sjansen@usaid.gov mailto:aalibhai@usaid.gov http://sam.gov/