RFI-114-23-00008 - USAID_Georgia Green Economy Program.pdf

SUBJECT: Request for Information - USAID/Georgia Green Economy Program

ISSUANCE DATE: Tuesday, August 22, 2023

CLOSING DATE: Tuesday, September 5, 2023

CLOSING TIME: 10 a.m. Tbilisi Time (UTC+4)

REFERENCE: RFI-114-23-00008 – USAID/Georgia Green Economy Program

TO: General Public

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is seeking comments and responses from interested parties to questions regarding a potential new activity as described in the following pages. The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to conduct market research, determine the interest of capable organizations to provide USAID/Georgia with technical and advisory services, and request comments and recommendations from stakeholders to identify ways we can work together to enhance the competitiveness and capacity of target Georgian economic sectors to integrate with Western markets in order to create remunerative employment opportunities and reduce those sectors’ environmental footprint.

This is an RFI, not a Solicitation or Request for Proposals. It is not a commitment by the US Government to issue any solicitation or ultimately award a contract on the basis of this RFI nor does it commit the Government to pay for any costs incurred in the preparation or submission of any comments.

Any funding proposals submitted in response to this request will not be considered.

Responses to this notice must be submitted to the Regional Contracting Office (RCO) at TbilisiRCO@usaid.gov no later than the due date and time stated above in this notice. Please carefully review instructions provided on the following page when preparing submissions. All materials submitted will become the property of USAID and will not be returned. USAID reserves the right to use any/all information provided by respondents for USAID’s own purposes. While it is not the intention to make public any response to this RFI, proprietary and sensitive information should not be sent.

Further note that responding to this RFI will not give any advantage to any organization in any subsequent procurement.

Sincerely, Samuel Kraegel Regional Contracting Officer, USAID/Caucasus

29, Georgian-American Friendship Avenue Tbilisi 0131, Georgia Tel: (995 32) 254 4000 Fax: (995 32) 254 4145 georgia.usaid.gov mailto:TbilisiRCO@usaid.gov

Submission Instructions

All responses to this notice must be in English and should include the following:

1. Cover page not to exceed one (1) page including:

a. Organization name and address;

b. Point of contact name, telephone number and e-mail address;

c. Organization Business type and status – US-based, International, Local

(Georgian); For-Profit/Not-For-Profit; Small, Medium, Large; etc.

2. Responses to Questions/other comments and suggestions (no page limit)

a. Organizations are invited to respond to the additional information provided in

“Attachment 1 - Green Economy Program background” and any/all questions listed in “Attachment 2 - Questions” and provide any other comments or suggestions they may have pertaining to the information included in this notice.

Additional Notes/ Instructions

All correspondence regarding this notice must be addressed to RCO using the provided email address.

Responses to this RFI should be provided in Word or PDF format via email to:

TbilisiRCO@usaid.gov no later than the due date and time stated above. Please include the RFI number, RFI-114-23-00008 and your organization’s name in the email subject line.

mailto:TbilisiRCO@usaid.gov

Attachment 1 - Green Economy Program background

Description

The USAID/Georgia Green Economy Program will enhance the competitiveness and capacity to integrate with Western markets of target Georgian economic sectors in order to create remunerative employment opportunities and reduce those sectors’ environmental footprint.

Special emphasis is placed on the transformative employment capacity of target sectors;

requirements of the EU Association Agreement; adapting to the anticipated impacts of global climate change; and, reducing the environmental impact of the targeted sectors. All must be conducted with close collaboration and integration of the private sector, the Government of Georgia, and other relevant stakeholders, including international donors.

Draft Problem Statement

Georgia’s economy has demonstrated significant resilience in the face of global economic challenges, including but not limited to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the COVID-19 epidemic, and the manipulation of key economic sectors by Russia and its allies for political gain.

However, while Georgia’s economy has grown, it has not benefited all citizens equally, leading to a shortage of high value employment opportunities. USAID has identified the following sectors as most likely to contribute to inclusive, employment generating economic growth for Georgia: tourism and hospitality; light manufacturing; digital industries, including Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), e-commerce, and innovation; and solid waste management, including recycling.

This Program is intended to support activities in Georgia nationwide. The Program will contribute to USAID/Georgia’s CDCS Strategic Development Objective 3 - Inclusive High Value Employment Opportunities Provided Through Expanded Access to Diverse, High-Value Markets (found at https://www.usaid.gov/georgia/cdcs), as well as USAID’s Agency Wide Climate Strategy 2022-2030 (found at https://www.usaid.gov/climate/strategy).

Working Objectives: The following are USAID’s working objectives for this Program, which are intended to be mutually reinforcing:

1. Improving the capacity, productivity and export sophistication of individual Georgian enterprises to sustainably compete in the global marketplace, including the introduction of environmentally sound technologies and best practices;

2. Improving the ability of the Georgian economic ecosystem, including the GoG, business associations, financial institutions, and related entities, to meet the needs of Georgian enterprises in the target sectors in an environmentally- and socially-conscious manner.

https://www.usaid.gov/georgia/cdcs https://www.usaid.gov/climate/strategy

Attachment 2 - Questions

USAID seeks input, comments, and recommendations for the questions below. Interested parties may respond to any or all of the following and/or provide any additional feedback on program design or implementation they consider useful for USAID’s consideration. This is not a formal question period and USAID will not provide responses. USAID will review all submissions received and use them to inform the further design and development of the activity.

1. USAID is considering using the Statement of Objectives (SOO) approach for this procurement to encourage innovation and creative approaches to achieving the stated objectives. What potential benefits and/or drawbacks to using an SOO should USAID consider and why?

2. Do you have any recommendations for refining the high level objectives?

3. Are there sectors should USAID target for support in addition to those identified above? Are there any sectors that USAID should not support? If so, why or why not?

4. Where do you see the biggest challenges in Georgia’s economy preventing it from expanding high value employment? What activities could the Program include to address these?

5. How can long-term private sector partnerships be built into Program activities? What is the level of interest from the Georgian private sector in playing a central role in Program activities?

6. What approaches and incentives could be used to leverage significant co-investments from the private sector, international financial institutions, and public sources? What amount of investment would you expect to see mobilized from these approaches?

7. Addressing climate change and reduction of environmental footprint are seen as crucial to the program’s success. What are the biggest obstacles to transitioning to a clean, green economy? Where in Georgia have low emissions solutions been implemented in the target sectors and what specific actions can USAID take to scale up those existing solutions?

8. What specific actions should USAID consider to enable the introduction of low emissions, environmentally sustainable solutions in Georgia as they relate to the two objectives listed above? Are there examples for other development contexts that would inform a strategy for those solutions in Georgia?

9. What indicators would you recommend for tracking impact, high-level results, and outcomes?

10. How could established and emerging technologies be leveraged to accelerate achievement of the stated objectives and to amplify program impact? What are the current technology and digital transformation gaps?