RFI No.72038824RFI00002_Urban DRR Activity signed.pdf

U.S. Agency for International Development U.S. Embassy Madani Avenue, Baridhara Dhaka-1212, Bangladesh

Tel: (880-2) 5566 2000 Fax: (880-2) 5566 2909 www.usaid.gov/bd

Posting Date: May 16, 2024 Issued by: USAID/Bangladesh Issued Through: Office of Acquisition and Assistance Reference Number: 72038824RFI00002 Response Due Date: June 17, 2024 Closing time: 16:30 Hours Local Bangladesh Time Notice Type: Request for Information (RFI)

Subject: USAID/Bangladesh Request for Information (RFI) on USAID Urban Disaster Risk Reduction and Earthquake Resilience in Bangladesh Activity.

To: All Interested Respondents/Parties

Pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) part 15.201(e), the United States Government, represented by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Bangladesh, is publishing this Request for Information (RFI) to offer the opportunity for all interested organizations and individuals to support strengthening the capacity of Government agencies, institutions, local government, communities and private sector in managing rapid onset disasters in densely populated urban centers highly vulnerable to earthquakes and fire. The proposed activity targets to capacitate GOB departments, community volunteers and private sectors to manage urban disasters and save lives and assets.

This RFI is issued solely for gathering information and innovative ideas for new design planning purposes and does not constitute a Request for Applications (RFA)/Request for Proposals (RFP).

Responses to this RFI are not applications/proposals; and will not in any way be deemed to form any binding agreement with the RFI issuing authority. Responses to this RFI are strictly voluntary, and USAID will not pay respondents for information provided in response to this RFI. Responses to this RFI will not be returned, and respondents will not be notified of the result of the review. This RFI will not be construed as a commitment by the U.S. Government to issue any solicitation and/or award any other instruments. Respondents are solely responsible for bearing all expenses associated with preparation and submission of a response to this RFI.

It is a potential applicant’s responsibility to monitor the government point of entry, i.e.

https://beta.sam.gov and/or https://www.grants.gov/ for the release of any further information related to this activity. It should be noted that responding to this RFI will not give any advantage to any organization in any subsequent procurement. USAID/Bangladesh will not provide answers to any questions submitted in response to this RFI.

Overview

The purpose of this RFI is to offer the opportunity for interested organizations and individuals to provide recommendations on approaches to support strengthening the capacity of Government

Request for Information (RFI) No. 72038824RFI00002 Urban Disaster Risk Reduction Activity

Page | 2 agencies, institutions, local government, communities and private sector in managing rapid onset disasters in densely populated urban centers highly vulnerable to earthquakes and related hazards.

This activity aims to capacitate the target agencies, institutions, communities, private sectors through training, equipment, awareness and engagement. This preparedness activity will prepare all concerned and contribute to disaster risk reduction. This RFI is also intended to inform USAID about overall market dynamics and interests and capabilities of potential organizations and individuals active in the sector.

RFI Submission:

All interested organizations and individuals are strongly encouraged to provide information or comments by the closing date and time noted on page 1. Submission via email is required; phone calls or hard copy delivery will not be accepted. E-mail submission shall be sent to schang@usaid.gov and sadiahumayun@usaid.gov. The email subject line should read: “Response to Request for Information No. 72038824RFI00002.”

Respondents shall use only size 12 Calibri, 8.5 by 11-inch paper, and single-spaced pages for all narrative documents, with each page numbered consecutively. Respondents must limit submissions to no more than 7 pages. If the respondent cares to include relevant reports, those reports may be included, preferably as embedded links. The submission language should be in English. Please do not submit applications, proposals, or resumes as they will be discarded. All information provided will become the property of USAID, will not be returned, and will not be released publicly. Submissions will not be acknowledged, nor will a response to information or comments be made. USAID reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for USAID’s own purposes. Proprietary information must not be sent.

As a reminder, USAID/Bangladesh is not requesting applications at this time. A solicitation may or may not be issued at a later date. In preparing a formal solicitation, USAID/Bangladesh reserves the right to incorporate, or not to incorporate, any and all comments into the RFA/RFP.

Thank you for your interest in USAID/Bangladesh activities, and we look forward to your interest.

Sincerely, Solomon Chang Contracting and Agreement Officer USAID/Bangladesh mailto:%20jerrobinson@usaid.gov mailto:schang@usaid.gov

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OTHER INFORMATION

The place of performance for this activity will be Bangladesh. The envisioned length of the activity is five years. USAID/Bangladesh has not yet made a determination as to whether any follow-on announcement will be in the form of a Request for Proposals (RFP), indicating a contract vehicle, or a Request for Applications (RFA), indicating a cooperative agreement or grant. The estimated budget for any potential activity will be $4 million dollars.

This is a Request for Information (RFI) only and is issued solely for information and planning purposes. It does not constitute a request for proposal/application/quotation, an invitation for bids or solicitation, and any proposals/applications submitted in response to this request will not be considered. The information provided in the RFI is subject to change and is not binding on the United States Government.

This RFI does not constitute an award commitment on the part of USAID, nor does it commit USAID to pay for any costs incurred in the preparation of responses to the RFI. Responses to this RFI are strictly voluntary. Responding to this RFI will not give any advantage to any organization in any subsequent procurements.

RESPONSES SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

All comments and recommendations to the questions presented above must be submitted electronically to schang@usaid.gov and sadiahumayun@usaid.gov with the subject title “RFI: USAID Urban Disaster Risk Reduction and Earthquake Resilience in Bangladesh Activity” no later than June 17, 2024. Questions regarding this announcement will not be answered. After USAID reviews and considers any responses, a decision will be made regarding whether and how to proceed with a potential activity.

FAR Clause 52.215-3 REQUEST FOR INFORMATION OR SOLICITATION FOR PLANNING PURPOSES (OCT 1997) is attached and made part of this RFI.

(a) The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this solicitation or to otherwise pay for the information solicited except as an allowable cost under other contracts as provided in subsection 31.205-18, Bid and proposal costs, of the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

(b) Although "proposal" and "offeror" are used in this Request for Information, your response will be treated as information only. It shall not be used as a proposal.

(c) This solicitation is issued for the purpose of: "Requesting Comments" to the concept for a new program.

[End of provision]

▪ ATTACHMENT 1: BACKGROUND

▪ ATTACHMENT 2: INFORMATION REQUESTED

mailto:schang@usaid.gov

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ATTACHMENT 1: BACKGROUND

BACKGROUND:

Bangladesh is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world due to its geographic and topographic position on the earth. Flooding, cyclones, landslides, river erosion, lightning, industrial fire bring havoc to the nation and cause massive destruction to lives, properties, assets etc. in each year. The destruction gets multi-folded because of very high population density and the very poor segment of the people are destined to live in the disaster vulnerable locations both in urban cities and rural villages.

The country sits where three tectonic plates i.e. the Indian Plate, the Eurasian Plate and the Burmese Plate meet; and is considered as one of most tectonically active regions in the globe. The Indian Plate is slowly colliding with the Eurasian Plate as it is moving towards the northeast.

Dauki, Modhupur and Chattogram-Mayanmar faults are active and numerous massive earthquakes have been well-recognized around Bangladesh (Alam Citation 2019; Tabassum and Ansary Citation 2020).

Although the country has not experienced a mass destruction earthquake in recent decades, the probability of a major earthquake cannot be underestimated (Haque et al. Citation 2020; Kamal et al.

Citation 2021). Scientists anticipate possible earthquakes in and around Bangladesh by interpreting the global occurrence of earthquakes, particularly at the plate margins of India and Eurasia, next to Bangladesh (Steckler et al. Citation 2008; Kayal et al. Citation 2012; Rahman et al. Citation 2018). A large earthquake can devastate the country, considering its dense population and poor infrastructure especially in the major urban centers.

Frequency and intensity of earthquakes in Bangladesh are rising. Per the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Bangladesh experienced five earthquakes in 2023 with Richter scale 5.0 and above magnitude.

This figure was three in 2022. A statistical study by Comprehensive Disaster Management Program (CDMP) predicted that a 7.0 magnitude earthquake occurring at Modhupur, Tangail fault which is approximately 130 km north of Dhaka could result in a death toll of 125,000 in Dhaka city. In reality, due to the population density and fragile infrastructure in major cities Bangladesh would experience a huge destruction in the history of humanity from such an earthquake. No doubt major urban centers are the most vulnerable to rapid onset disasters such as earthquake, fire, building collapse etc. Therefore, the proposed activity targets to capacitate GOB departments, community volunteers and private sectors to manage urban disasters and save lives and assets. Below are the illustrative list of interventions to be covered under the proposed urban disaster risk reduction and resilience

Urban population has been growing at a geometric rate because of internal rural to urban migration resulting from the loss of livelihood and property after major natural disasters aggravated by climatic shocks. Major cities in Bangladesh experience flooding each year from drainage congestion during monsoon bringing sufferings and huge damage to assets. However, the fire incidents in the industrial and commercial areas of Dhaka and surrounding cities cause severe damages to lives and properties each year.

The frequency and intensity of fire incidents is rising alarmingly in recent years. Also, the slum dwellers in Dhaka city are the most vulnerable population group to fire incidents due to fragile living conditions and https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19475705.2023.2247138 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19475705.2023.2247138 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19475705.2023.2247138 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19475705.2023.2247138 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19475705.2023.2247138 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19475705.2023.2247138 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19475705.2023.2247138 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19475705.2023.2247138

Page | 5 lack of firefighting measures. In the recent past, a number of major slum fires occurred that caused lives from small children to adults.

Nonetheless, the world has not forgotten the tragic incident of Rana Plaza garment factory collapse on April 24, 2013, in the outskirts of Dhaka. One single building incident took the lives of over 1,100 people, mostly garment workers. Many more were injured, and the survivors faced a very uncertain future. Faulty construction practices bypassing regulatory compliance was considered the major reason for this shocking incident. But the Rana Plaza incident is not the only case; more cases of building collapse are witnessed in the dense urban cities like Dhaka, Narayanganj and Chattogram.

The Government of Bangladesh has dedicated Ministries and departments; and has achieved a lot in managing slow onset disasters. However, managing rapid onset disaster from earthquake, fire, building collapse, chemical hazard, tsunami remains as a major challenge to tackle. Multilateral Development Bank (MDB), major bilateral donors and UN agencies are supporting Bangladesh to enhance its capacity to manage rapid onset disasters along with the slow onset disasters. World Bank financed Urban Resilience Project has been working with the Government of Bangladesh especially Dhaka South City Corporation, Dhaka North City Corporation and Department of Disaster Management (DDM) to strengthen seismic capacity of GOB key facilities by necessary retrofitting to make them fit for use as Emergency Operations Center (EOC). UNDRR has been conducting a detailed study to assess earthquake vulnerability of Bangladesh reaching up to upazila level. USAID worked with hospitals and Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defense (FSCD) and capacitated hospitals and FSCD volunteers providing training and equipment for managing mass casualties after rapid onset disasters from earthquake and fire in the heavily populated urban cities.

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ATTACHMENT 2: INFORMATION REQUESTED

INFORMATION REQUESTED

This RFI provides an opportunity to review, comment on, and contribute to the design of a proposed urban DRR activity with particular focus on earthquakes. USAID is specifically interested in feedback and comments on the following questions:

1. What are the most pressing risks/threats from an earthquake in Bangladesh particularly in urban cities with the extent of damage to lives, properties, environment, infrastructures etc.? Please respond briefly using bullet points.

2. What are the cities mostly vulnerable to earthquake risk/hazard? Please rank them based on your knowledge and secondary sources. Please provide the links and or attachments of the resources/evidence like research reports, assessment reports etc.

3. What segment of the population group are mostly vulnerable to earthquake hazards and other rapid urban hazards?

4. Please enlist urban DRR programs currently being implemented by various donors and development organizations with specific intervention.

5. What is your organization currently doing for earthquake related programs?

6. What are the areas international donors should focus on through urban DRR programs? What do you think about earthquake early warning? Any windows to work on it? If yes, how?

7. Who are the stakeholders for the urban DRR program with particular focus on earthquakes? Please specify relevant policy making bodies, regulatory agencies, private sector actors and other key stakeholders.

8. How can the private sector be engaged in urban earthquake disaster risk mitigation and management? What role can the private sector play in earthquake related disasters along with the government?

9. How can gender disparity be addressed in DRR programming in urban cities? Please respond briefly using bullet points.

10. What support can government agencies /expert professionals provide regarding urban disaster /earthquake? Please respond briefly using bullet points.

11. What specific recommendations for USAID in designing urban DRR/earthquake programs in thematic areas, geographical areas and target population/stakeholder etc?

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12. What are the existing coordination structures in urban settings particularly for large cities in Bangladesh (could be by type of hazards/disasters)? Do you see any gaps in coordination? Please provide concrete examples. What would be your suggestions/recommendations if there are significant gaps? How could these be improved (legal framework, strategy, plans and policies)?

13. What are the other pressing risks/threats from other urban hazards/disasters than earthquakes e.g.

fire, road accident, uncontrolled & unplanned transport services, unplanned life-lines like gas, electricity, water etc.? Could you please provide analytical and evidence-based information on these (not exhaustive) issues? What kind of interventions do you suggest based on your experience, evidence and so on and why?

14. What proportion of healthcare facilities can withstand earthquakes in disaster prone urban cities in Bangladesh? What linkages exist between Disaster risk management and public health? What role can urban planning play in Disaster Risk reduction? What strategies can be implemented to reduce health impact after an event of earthquake in the urban cities?

15. What do you think about the existing industries in the big cities? Impacts on urban dwellers because of it? Any suggestions on how to improve it?

16. What are opportunities to engage private sectors regarding the preparedness of urban disasters, especially earthquakes? Please specify the how and the extent of engagement.

[End of RFI Questions]

[End of Request for Information No. 72038824RFI00002]