Questions and Answers NOFO 72038621RFA00003.pdf

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

NOFO#: 72038621RFA00003: USAID Support to Coalition for

Disaster Resilient Infrastructure

1. Is it expected to carry out capacity building activities/ research through CDRI in member countries under this budget?

USAID Response: Indirectly. The goal of Component 2 is to “provide technical support to the CDRI Secretariat to improve its ability to build the capacities of member countries in the technical area of disaster resilient infrastructure.” The direct capacity building/technical support will be to the Secretariat in order to strengthen their ability to build the capacity of member countries.

2. Is the CDRI Secretariat’s preference that all experts be located in New Delhi, or is there interest in a more global network placed throughout the member countries?

USAID Response: The CDRI Secretariat prefers that all experts be located in New Delhi so that it is able to use their services as and when needed.

3. It is our understanding that roles of other CDRI donors and/or partners are still being defined, is USAID able to share any further information on areas that other donors have committed to or prioritized for the next five years?

USAID Response: The roles of CDRI donors and/or partners are not yet fully defined.

The support extended by the member countries and multilateral agencies is as per CDRI’s requirements.

The commitment from other member countries as of January 2021 is as follows:

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom has allocated an initial amount of GBP 1.0 million over two years.

● The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) in India is supporting the CDRI to develop the Secretariat’s organizational policies for HR & administration, finance, and procurement.

● Nominated one member to the Core Committee for Odisha Power study

● Exploring secondment to the secretariat

● Nominate technical expert to evaluate Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) proposal

United States

● USAID have made full time secondments to the Secretariat.

Australia

● Is exploring to support the CDRI Secretariat by deploying technical experts.

Multilateral Agencies

● The United Nations Development Programme and the World Bank have made full or part time secondments to the Secretariat.

4. Is it possible to share the CDRI Secretariat current organogram so that we may better understand how key technical experts will integrate into the existing team/structure?

USAID Response: Below is the CDRI Secretariat organogram that was approved in the first Governing Council meeting held in New Delhi on March 20, 2020.

5. To what extent is the expectation that the successful applicant will implement the capacity building actions (e.g. provide IT to build the knowledge platform) versus providing advisory services to increase the Secretariat’s success at implementing the same activities?

USAID Response: The applicant is expected to provide advisory services as well as capacity building action depending on the needs of the Secretariat.

6. Kindly provide information on the implementation status of the CDRI Work Plan.

We would like to build on efforts underway or already completed.

USAID Response: Information on the activities/programs initiated by the CDRI Secretariat is available at the CDRI Website https://www.cdri.world/projects

7. We understand the priorities to be supporting resilience of electric power, telecommunications, and transport systems. How much interest is there in maintaining consistent approaches across additional types of infrastructure?

USAID Response: The interest of this Funding Opportunity is in these areas and it is aligned with interest to put forth by the member countries as well.

8. Which types of transport systems are the highest priority for CDRI in the next five years?

USAID Response: The study on airports was initiated in June 2020. CDRI Secretariat will focus on the other type of transport systems in the next five years depending on the member countries’ requests to the Secretariat.

9. Does the electric power system focus include generation facilities, and if so, which types are of primary interest?

USAID Response: The details of the power system study is available in https://www.cdri.world/power-sector-resilience-study-odisha

10. Do Objectives 1, 2 and 3 on page 13 correspond directly to Components 1, 2 and 3 on page 8?

USAID Response: Yes, this is as stated in your question.

11. With reference to the above mentioned NOFO, just wanted to clarify if the above grant will be governed under the Government of India’s FCRA laws for Non Profit organizations?

USAID Response: Yes, all local organizations should abide by local laws.

https://www.cdri.world/projects https://www.cdri.world/power-sector-resilience-study-odisha

12. Can the consortium have both Indian and international agencies?

USAID Response: This is a full and open competition; any organization can participate.

13. For organizations that do not have Past Performance Questionnaires available, can

USAID please clarify what other type of past performance information will be accepted by USAID in lieu of Annex 5, Past Performance Questionnaire.

USAID Response: As stated in the NOFO, the applicants are required to provide past performance information in the Past Performance Questionnaire (refer Annex 5 of NOFO). If required, additional pages can be included to provide the information.