RFI for MECLA Activity.pdf

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)

RFI NUMBER: 72049725RFI00003

ISSUANCE DATE: December 13, 2024

RESPONSE DUE DATE & TIME: COB January 7, 2025, Jakarta Time

RESPONSE EMAIL ADDRESS: indonesia.oaa@usaid.gov

PROJECT TITLE: Monitoring, Evaluation, Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (MECLA)

The United States Agency for International Development Mission in Indonesia (USAID/Indonesia) posts this Request for Information (RFI) to inform interested parties of an upcoming MECLA Activity.

This Request for Information (RFI) is issued solely for information gathering purposes and is published in accordance with FAR Part 10 and FAR Part 15.201(e).

Through this RFI, USAID/Indonesia seeks information from capable organizations that are implementing or have implemented MECLA Activity and may be interested to partner with USAID in achieving the goals of this future Activity. All capable organizations are encouraged to respond.

This is not a Request for Proposals (RFP) and is not to be construed as a commitment by the U.S. Government to issue any solicitation or ultimately make one or multiple awards based on this RFI, or to pay for any cost incurred in the preparation and submission of comments on this RFI.

If USAID/Indonesia issues any future solicitation, it will be posted on www.sam.gov. It is the potential offeror’s responsibility to monitor this site for the release of any solicitation.

Responding to this RFI will not provide any advantage to or preclude any firm or organization if USAID issues a subsequent solicitation or funding opportunity.

Information received in response to this RFI will become the property of USAID. All proprietary information should be marked as such. Please note that respondents that provide submissions in response to this RFI will not be notified of the results of the review. USAID/Indonesia will not provide individualized feedback in response to any submitted.

No basis for claims against the U.S. Government shall arise as a result of a response to this RFI

U.S. AG1ENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

U.S. Embassy Jakarta Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan 3-5 Jakarta 10110, Indonesia USAID.gov

Request for Information (RFI) No. 72049725RFI00003 Monitoring, Evaluation, Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (MECLA) Activity or from the Government’s use of such information.

All responses must be submitted via email to indonesia.oaa@usaid.gov, with the subject line:

"Response to 72049724RFI00003 - USAID/Indonesia MECLA", no later than the date and time shown above.

We appreciate your contribution and look forward to receiving your comments.

Sincerely, Mohib Ahmed Supervisory Contracting and Agreement Officer Director, Office of Acquisition and Assistance

Attachment: Draft Statement of Objective

Mohib Ahmed

Digitally signed by Mohib Ahmed Date: 2024.12.12 13:29:34 +07'00'

ATTACHMENT: DRAFT STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVE (SOO)

USAID/Indonesia seeks to collect feedback on the following draft SOO. When preparing your response, please ensure comments are concise and specific within four (4) pages.

A. Response format:

1. Cover page (1 page):

a. Organization name and address, including point of contact name and contact information;

b. Organization type (e.g., non-governmental organization, social enterprise, civil society organization, U.S. small business, local organization );

c. Legal registration status in Indonesia if you are a local organization;

d. Unique Entity Identifier (if applicable);

e. Please briefly describe your technical expertise in working in MECLA.

2. Comments on the Draft SOO (max. 3 pages)

B. Submission Instructions:

Please send responses to this RFI via email to the addresses listed on the cover page by the closing date listed. Please keep your responses to no more than four (4) pages in length, 12 pt, Calibri font. Please number each page consecutively.

Please be reminded that you will only receive an electronic confirmation acknowledging receipt of your response. No feedback or debrief will be provided on comments received. Phone calls or hard copy responses will not be accepted.

STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVE (SOO) OF MECLA ACTIVITY

I. PURPOSE

This activity aims to enhance the efficiency, effectiveness, and transparency of the United States

Agency of International Development (USAID) Mission in Indonesia, its implementing partners

(IPs), and stakeholders in achieving and reporting results through the use of empirical data/information and adaptive management.

II. BACKGROUND

In order to effectively measure and strengthen the outcomes and impact of U.S. development assistance, USAID/Indonesia seeks to enhance the design, Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E), Knowledge Management (KM), and Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA) capacity of its staff, Implementing Partners (IPs), and stakeholders in Indonesia. It requires an integrated approach that enables USAID to systematically track and evaluate intervention outcomes and impact, identifying both successes and areas for improvement. By adopting an evidence-based approach to decision-making, USAID can optimize resource allocation, thereby enhancing its contribution to sustainable development outcomes. Furthermore, robust M&E, KM, and CLA processes foster accountability and transparency, ensuring alignment with strategic objectives and demonstrating responsible stewardship of taxpayer funds. By systematically collecting and analyzing data, these processes also support compliance with USAID policies and federal regulations, promote transparency and accountability throughout the program cycle, and provide a basis for sound documentation and reporting.

III. THEORY OF CHANGE

“If robust monitoring and evaluation systems are established; if collaboration and knowledge sharing are facilitated among USAID staff, IPs, and stakeholders; and if knowledge management is utilized to centralize resources and improve access to information; then USAID/Indonesia will meet its Country Development Cooperation Strategies (CDCS) goals and USAID/Indonesia and its partners will enhance capacity for learning and continuous improvement, fostering a culture of learning within the organization and among its stakeholders.”

IV. SCOPE

A strong Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) system will be crucial to facilitate activity management, develop effective and sustainable interventions, and accurately account for results and impacts. USAID/Indonesia plans to use MEL to demonstrate the extent to which activities are fulfilling their specific objectives. The Contractor will support USAID/Indonesia on assessing the performance of activities to better understand the outcome. The Contractor will develop and sustain an MEL system that fosters critical reflection, knowledge sharing, and learning to achieve the development objectives. This activity will support the implementation of the current CDCS and the design and implementation of the next one by providing technical, capacity building, consulting, and advisory services related to MECLA to the Mission.

The activity objectives are described below:

Objective 1 - Evaluations

The Contractor will deliver high-quality, timely, and actionable performance and impact evaluations of USAID/Indonesia’s development activities. The evaluations conducted by the

Contractor will facilitate the Mission to analyze outcomes for effectively implementing ongoing activities and strategically plan future initiatives, and enhance the broader learning agenda thereby supporting the achievement of results outlined in the CDCS.

The Contractor is expected to employ rigorous evaluation methods that meet both international and USAID standards, as specified in USAID’s evaluation policy and relevant international guidelines. The Contractor will provide a comprehensive range of professional evaluation services.

All acquiring evaluations must adhere to quality standards, including ADS 201, ADS 205, USAID’s Evaluation Policy, Evaluation Toolkit, and international social science research ethics, particularly the "Do No Harm" principle. The Contractor must follow the research ethics of host country governments and USAID/Indonesia. Additionally, the Contractor cannot perform both internal and external monitoring and evaluation for the same activity.

USAID/Indonesia expects the Contractor to conduct an average of two evaluations per year.

At the minimum, the Contractor will conduct the required evaluations in adherence to the

ADS 201.3.6.5:

○ Mission must conduct at least one evaluation per IR defined in the CDCS.

○ Mission must conduct at least one evaluation per activity (e.g., contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements) with a Total Estimated Cost/Amount (TEC/TEA) expected to be $20 million or more.

○ Mission must conduct an impact evaluation with cost analysis to compare the cost effectiveness of the interventions, including any new, untested approach that is anticipated to be expanded in scale or scope through the U.S. Government foreign assistance or other funding sources (i.e., a pilot intervention). OUs should identify pilot interventions subject to an impact evaluation during the activity design phase and must integrate the impact evaluation into their design. If it is not feasible to effectively undertake an impact evaluation with cost analysis, Mission must conduct a performance evaluation and document why an impact evaluation was not feasible.

Objective 2 - Assessment

The Contractor will provide high-quality, timely, and actionable assessments to support the

Mission in refining its implementation strategy and enhancing the broader learning agenda outlined in the CDCS (current and future). These assessments are demand based and very specific in topic and purpose.

Objective 3 - Monitoring

The Contractor will continue strengthening USAID/Indonesia’s monitoring capabilities, enabling the Mission to make well informed decisions through comprehensive performance and context monitoring support, tracking the progress against the targets under each IR and supporting the collection and the analysis of activity location and site visit data.

Objective 4 - Knowledge Management

The Mission’s current knowledge management system is an internal, cloud based Google

Sites platform that hosts learning products and interactive Tableau dashboards. The contractor is expected to refine the existing system and enhance its accessibility to better serve Mission staff and implementing partners.

Objective 5 - Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting

The activity will facilitate collaboration and learning by fully organizing a series of events and/or workshops among USAID, IPs, Government of Indonesia (GOI), Civil Society

Organizations (CSOs), program participants, and other development stakeholders. These events will serve as platforms for sharing best practices, summarizing lessons learned from

USAID activities implementation and monitoring, evaluations, and analyses. The activity will organize logistics for at least two events annually, providing a venue, facilitating, and soliciting and organizing content (such as presentations, round table discussions, technical discussions, contests, networking opportunities etc.) from participating stakeholders.

The activity will also conduct at least two series of training sessions annually for development stakeholders, including USAID, IP staff, GOI representatives, to build their capacity in monitoring, learning, and evaluation. The training will be tailored to assist IPs, particularly local organizations, with the design, planning, and execution of MEL activities in accordance with USAID’s policies and regulations.

The activity will also respond to the specific needs of varying organizations to build their

MEL capacity or create a comprehensive strengthening plan/roadmap, while providing ongoing support to accomplish these plans. The activity will coordinate closely with USAID

BANTU II to avoid duplication of efforts in providing M&E-related capacity building and technical assistance, specifically for local IPs in the Health Office. USAID BANTU II is a five year contract awarded to Integra, with capacity building services managed under the

Health Office.

The activity will provide short-, medium-, and long-term technical expertise and consultancy services to support advancing USAID/Indonesia’s CLA efforts and achieving its development objectives.

Objective 6 - Resource Allocation

This activity uses funding from across the Mission. One area to help communicate to the technical team is how much services cost. While ideally, the mechanism would be able to conduct task-based budgeting, that may not be possible. The objective is to come up with a budget/tracking approach that helps the Program Office be able to articulate to varying

Mission teams how their streams of funding are used. Understanding that there are common costs that have to be covered and additional costs that may be directly linked to varying tasks. This activity has to be able to help articulate how funding from varying offices is allocated through the life of the activity.

V. CONTRACT LENGTH AND PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The estimated period of performance for this award is five years.

VI. RESULTS

The ultimate expected results of this Contract are to assist USAID/Indonesia to maintain and exceed

USAID requirements while obtaining the greatest value for money in executing the objectives above.

VII. ORDERING PROCEDURE

Below is an envisioned ordering procedure to facilitate the process of executing the Objectives above:

USAID suggests the use of the above process flow, and welcomes an alternative methodology in order to ensure that TOR’s are organized, numerically identifiable, budgeted, reviewed, obtain feedback on performance, and completed. USAID will provide a sample TOR. USAID also welcomes the suggestion and use of collaborative platforms to streamline and centralize the

TOR process.

VIII. CONTRACT PARAMETERS

Geographic focus.

USAID is seeking innovative and cost effective staffing structures. The contractor may establish an office in-country or propose an alternative approach. The geographic focus for this activity is

Indonesia. There is no specific province or district identified at this time.

Gender and inclusive development consideration.

As part of USAID’s global commitment to gender equality and inclusive development, the

Contractor will support USAID/Indonesia’s efforts to advance equality and empowerment across all segments of society, including women, men, marginalized communities, people with disabilities, youth, LGBTQI+ individuals, and other underrepresented groups. The Contractor will ensure that

USAID investments contribute to a more equitable society where all individuals can participate fully in, and benefit from, development activities.

The Contractor will assist USAID/Indonesia in operationalizing gender and inclusive development principles across its programming, monitoring, evaluation, and learning activities. This includes:

1. Data Collection and Analysis:

○ For all people-level indicators, collect and analyze disaggregated data not only by sex but also by other relevant factors such as age, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and social or ethnic group.

○ Use appropriate qualitative and quantitative methodologies to gather gender-sensitive data and ensure that all performance management activities, assessments, surveys, studies, and reports include comprehensive disaggregation and analysis to understand the differential impacts on diverse groups.

2. Evaluation Design and Implementation

○ Ensure that statements of work for all evaluations include questions addressing the impacts on gender, disability, youth, LGBTQ+ individuals, and other marginalized groups, designing the evaluations accordingly to meet Agency requirements for inclusive monitoring, evaluation, and learning.

○ To apply “Nothing about Us Without Us” and “Do No Harm” principles, the

Activity will ensure to use culturally and contextually appropriate methodologies that ensure the voices of all groups are heard and represented. This may include separate focus groups, employing data collectors from the communities being studied, and using technology to facilitate participation.

3. Capacity Building and Support:

○ Provide support to USAID/Indonesia and its IPs to enhance their capacity for gender-sensitive and inclusive monitoring and reporting. This includes training and guidance on measuring progress on gender integration through aligning the

Activity MEL Plan (AMELP) with Gender and Inclusive Development Action Plan

(GIDAP), collecting and analyzing data that reflects the experiences and needs of all segments of the population, especially marginalized communities.

○ Identify and address any constraints or barriers that may prevent full participation or equitable outcomes for these groups, mitigating gender risk and offering corrective measures where necessary.

The Contractor will ensure that its core team, as well as any additional consultants engaged during the contract, reflect the principles of inclusivity and diversity. This includes:

○ Construct teams with diverse backgrounds and expertise, ensuring that individuals from marginalized communities are represented.

○ Field additional short-term consultants with relevant experience in gender, disability, youth, and LGBTQI+ issues as needed throughout the life of the contract.

Climate sustainability and environmental considerations.

The Contractor is required to adhere to rigorous climate sustainability and environmental safeguards throughout the duration of the activity. Given the low-risk nature of this activity, there are no anticipated adverse effects on the environment or climate. However, the Contractor must remain vigilant in ensuring that all objectives align with environmental best practices, including minimizing carbon emissions, reducing waste, and promoting resource efficiency. All operations should be conducted with minimal environmental footprint. Any activities that could potentially impact the climate and environment, even indirectly, must be carefully assessed and mitigated to prevent harm.

Social impact.

This activity is designed to avoid any negative social consequences, and the Contractor must ensure that all operations are conducted in a manner that does not result in any adverse social effects. The

Contractor is expected to engage with stakeholders transparently and inclusively, ensuring that their voices are heard and their needs are met without causing any unintended harm. This involves maintaining positive relations with local communities, avoiding disruption to their livelihoods, and ensuring that all stakeholders benefit equitably from the activity.

Local capacity development.

The activity aims to strengthen the MEL technical capacities of local partners. The Contractor will conduct a series of tailored training sessions for development stakeholders, including USAID staff, IPs, and GOI representatives, to strengthen their capabilities in MEL. These training sessions will align with USAID’s policies and regulations and will be designed to assist IPs, in particular local organizations, in the design, planning, and administration of MEL activities.

Collaboration with other implementing mechanisms and stakeholders.

Ensuring that respective USAID/Indonesia’s A/COR/Activity Managers are aware of salient communication and reporting relationships, the Contractor shall work collegially with

USAID/Indonesia’s IPs to gather information and provide training and support as needed to achieve the Contract deliverables.

IX. OPERATION CONSTRAINTS

To safeguard the integrity of the evaluations, assessments, and/or other assigned tasks, the

Contractor must ensure that there are no conflicts of interest in the execution of their tasks. This includes both actual conflicts and situations that could be perceived as conflicts by external parties.

The Contractor will not be eligible to conduct any evaluations that include examinations of awards for which they are the IP, whether as a prime contractor or subcontractor. The Contractor must conduct thorough internal checks to identify and mitigate any potential conflicts before commencing any evaluation or assessment activities. If a conflict of interest is identified, the

Contractor must recuse themselves from the evaluation of the relevant activity and notify USAID immediately. With regard to potential disqualifying conflicts on other procurements or awards under the USAID/Indonesia CDCS, determinations of potential conflicts will be made by the

Contracting Officer in consultation with the Resident Legal Officer at the time potential conflict arises. To further ensure impartiality and protect sensitive information, the Contractor may be required to sign Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) and other necessary confidentiality documents. These agreements will be binding on all personnel involved in the evaluations and assessments, preventing the sharing of proprietary or sensitive information between activities or with external parties. The Contractor must handle all data and insights obtained during the course of their work with the utmost confidentiality, in compliance with USAID guidelines and ethical standards.

(End of Draft SOO)