RFI No. 72061123RFI00001- Building Sustainable Learning Communities for Local Governance _COAO Signed.pdf

TO: All Prospective Offerors

ISSUANCE DATE: Friday, June 2, 2023

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) #: 72061123RFI00001

SUBJECT: Building Sustainable Learning Communities for Local Governance Concept

DUE DATE: Tuesday, June 20, 2023, at 10:00 am Lusaka Time

Dear Prospective Offerors:

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), represented by its Mission in Zambia, is exploring the design of an award to strengthen local analytical capacity and knowledge basis through the development of a ‘knowledge network’ and to support the Government of Zambia (GRZ)’s policy making through demand driven short-term technical assistance.

The Mission is releasing this request for information to; 1) ascertain the interest and ability of local, regional, and international organizations, inclusive of nonprofit and for-profit organizations, to bid on such a solicitation, and; 2) to gather input on the draft activity design.

Please make sure to read the full concept note before responding to the questions. Please also note that this is not a draft statement of work or program description.

Questions:

● How much interest is there locally, regionally, and internationally for this kind of mechanism?

● What partnerships and modalities do you envision?

● How best can we build over time i.e., addressing immediate needs vs building long-term capacities?

● How can we define appropriate research, so it feeds into policy?

● How can we best engage with students under this kind of mechanism?

● Are there competent local entities championing local analytical capacity work in support of decentralization and local governance initiatives? If yes, what is their comparative advantage?

● What would be the pros and cons of a local award with a regional/international partnership arrangement?

● What would be the pros and cons of an international prime transitioning to a local partner? What timeline would be most effective for such a transition?

● Do you have any other comments on this concept?

Submission Guidelines:

Organizations interested in responding to this RFI should provide the following information:

● Name of your organization and contact information.

● Responses to the nine questions

Responses to this RFI should not exceed three pages and must be in Microsoft Word format with a 11-point font size minimum. Please send all responses to the attention of Jameson Hutton at jhutton@usaid.gov with a copy to Alfred Kapambwe at akapambwe@usaid.gov under the title RFI # 72061123RFI00001Building Sustainable Learning Communities for Local Governance., The release of this RFI in no way obligates the United States Government or USAID to release a solicitation for this proposed activity, nor does it commit the U.S Government or USAID any costs incurred in the preparation and submission of responses to this RFI.

Thank you for your interest in the subject request for information.

Sincerely, Jameson Hutton Contracting/Agreement Officer Office of Acquisition and Assistance

Attachment - Concept Note mailto:jhutton@usaid.gov mailto:akapambwe@usaid.gov

RFI #: 72061123RFI00001

Building Sustainable Learning Communities for Local Governance Concept

BUILDING SUSTAINABLE LEARNING COMMUNITIES FOR LOCAL GOVERNANCE:

CONCEPT NOTE

A1. INTRODUCTION

Under USAID’s Partnership for Democratic Development (PDD), USAID/Zambia and its partners are working to establish a mechanism aimed at informing policy analysis and research on democratic principles and good governance issues in Zambia. The creation of this mechanism aims to address evident gaps in analytical capacity and in the evidence base around democracy, decentralization, and local governance in Zambia. The proposed PDD Activity will serve as a platform through which the Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ) can make on-demand requests for research and policy support on pertinent democracy and development issues. Additionally, the activity will help to facilitate and invigorate a ‘’knowledge network’’ of academics and research institutions by funding research that will produce independent analysis on an array of issues that inform improved democratic practice in Zambia. Through this work it is intended that the proposed activity will ultimately contribute to enhancing the institutional framework for inclusive, effective, and sustainable local public services and local economic development in meeting the democratically expressed priorities of local communities and citizens.

A2. ACTIVITY OBJECTIVES

This activity aims to strengthen the analytical and knowledge base for public policies and governmental development strategies related to decentralization and local governance in Zambia.

Its short-term objective is to provide decision-relevant socio-economic, institutional, and legal analyses leading to recommendations for government decisions regarding relevant laws, regulations, and systems supporting decentralized governance and local development in Zambia.

Its medium-term objective is to strengthen Zambian capacity to investigate and analyze the social, economic, environmental, political, institutional, and other aspects related to decentralization and local governance, including their links to inclusive and sustainable local development in Zambia. This investment will strengthen the empirical and analytical foundations for evidence-based policy analysis, debate, and deliberation supporting future decentralization and local governance initiatives. The project also aims to institutionalize a locally managed funding mechanism that will provide the financial base for sustaining the intellectual capital supporting local research in these domains.

Through meeting these objectives, the activity will contribute to the USAID/Zambia CDCS overall Development Objective 1 - “Citizen and National Self-Reliance Advanced by More Effective, Accountable Governance”. The PDD supported activity will also support the other USAID/Zambia CDCS DOs by enhancing decentralized capacity and accountability for local public service delivery and local economic development in other sectors.

A3. ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

a. Problem Statement

This PDD supported project has been designed biased on the diagnosis that Zambia faces an “intellectual capital deficit” among the critical challenges to the success of its decentralization process and local governance improvement initiatives. In the short run, GRZ continues to rely on external consultants to provide policy analysis and to design the legal and institutional instruments required to define and implement decentralization policies. Some of these consultants are Zambian academics and independent private contractors financed by GRZ and its cooperating partners, while others are non-Zambian experts financed by external sources. As the decentralization reform process accelerates, the need for this sort of technical assistance is expected to increase for policy analysis, formulation, and implementation monitoring as well as for the drafting of legal instruments and methodological/procedural guidelines.

To further exacerbate this high-level capacity challenge, many of the Zambian experts on decentralization and local governance are veterans of the earlier phases of decentralization reforms, most of which took place during the 1960s-70s and during the period 1995-2005. One consequence of this historical legacy is that much of the higher-level Zambian expertise, i.e., the country’s relevant intellectual capital, is aging out of the active workforce. There are relatively few younger scholars and researchers of decentralization who gained experience during the last 20 years; thus, the analytical capacity to support this already begun long-term change process is limited. In addition, the complex, multi-disciplinary nature of decentralization and local governance reforms—which encompass legal, social, economic, political, institutional, geographic, and environmental dimensions—requires a variety of disciplinary specialists sharing interest, expertise, and experience in multi-level change processes linking local, regional, and national dimensions.

To address these institutional challenges and capacity constraints, a program of investment in both short term technical assistance and medium-term capacity strengthening is needed. The proposed approach to be funded by PDD will provide support to the existing and planned government policy and implementation strategy for democratic decentralization and local governance reform. At the same time, a PDD funded investment in establishment of a Zambian Knowledge Development Program supporting decentralization and local governance will gradually cultivate the strengthened intellectual capital in the various disciplinary specialties required to provide home-grown research and analysis supporting subsequent phases of decentralization and local governance reforms. These knowledge development activities will enable learning from the differentiated change processes taking place in the various regions of Zambia. Evidence-based analysis will provide the foundation for subsequent cycles of reform to address emergent challenges and to sustain the development of location-specific solutions to local governance and local development challenges. Locally centered analyses will support the effectiveness of decentralization processes in heterogeneous contexts characteristics of national systems implemented in diverse contexts, And by undertaking such research and subsequent professional debates informed by locally collected evidence, Zambian disciplinary specialists will develop the knowledge and expertise required to support and sustain the continuing change processes required to implement ongoing democratic decentralization and local governance reforms linked to inclusive and sustainable local development over the medium and long terms

b. Theory of Change

The activity design is predicated on the overall theory of change that IF Zambian policymakers and stakeholders have more opportunities to make evidence informed decisions based on high-quality empirical and analytical research, THEN they are more likely to develop effective policies and strategies that address institutional constraints to addressing key development challenges such as poverty, inequality, and weakly accountable governance AND to achieve resulting improvements in the well-being of Zambian citizens through improved access to better quality basic services and increased economic growth at community level..

To contribute to this outcome, the specific Theory of Change for this PDD funded activity entails the following causal logic:

IF policy analysis and technical assistance to central-level decision-makers is provided in the short term AND IF Zambian intellectual capital is sustainably strengthened through funding and capacity building for support to research and knowledge management on Zambian democracy, decentralization, local governance, and local development issues in the mid-term, THEN Zambian policy makers and stakeholders will have increased access to evidence-based information and analysis on critical topics related to democratic decentralization and local governance enabling more informed policy decision making.

c. Objectives, Anticipated Results, and Illustrative Activities

PDD funded support to improve policy analysis and policy-relevant knowledge supporting decentralization and local governance in Zambia is planned for approximately five years. An introductory phase lasting two to three years will focus on providing short-term technical assistance and on developing an institutional framework for a Zambian grant-making program supporting knowledge development and dissemination related to decentralization and local governance linked to equitable and sustainable local development. In the second phase, the focus of PDD support will transition to institutionalization of the Knowledge Development Program through enhanced local organizational capacity and development of a medium-term financing strategy. Initial PDD funding for this activity over the 4-5 year period is estimated at 3-4 million

USD.

Objective 1:

To strengthen the quality and relevance of policy analysis available to the GRZ in support of continuing, broadening and deepening the decentralization process.

By achieving this objective this activity will contribute to enhancing the institutional framework for inclusive, effective, and sustainable local public services and local economic development in meeting the democratically expressed priorities of local communities and citizens.

Anticipated Results:

● Improved policy analysis related to decentralization and local governance.

○ The project will fund consultancies proposed by Zambian central government agencies who formulate and oversee policies and reform initiatives related to Democratic Decentralization and Local Governance linked to inclusive and sustainable local development. These agencies include the Cabinet Office and its Decentralization Secretariat as well as the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and the Ministry of Finance and National Planning. Among these a lead agency will be selected to coordinate this activity; this agency will provide initial vetting of proposals from other partner agencies and facilitate the drafting of Terms of Reference for resulting consultancies. The proposing/beneficiary agencies will participate in the selection among candidate consultants during the procurement process.

● Improved legislation, regulations, and public sector systems supporting decentralization and local governance.

○ In addition to the definition of guiding policies, GRZ agencies may require assistance in the development of technical and administrative elements which comprise systems, guidelines and procedures required for local level implementation of approved legislation and regulations. The same institutional framework and procedures as defined for policy support will be used to vet, formulate, and manage government -proposed technical assistance to support development of these implementation instruments to support decentralization and local governance linked to inclusive, sustainable local development.

Illustrative Activities

● Mechanisms established for supporting the planning and implementation of externally provided technical assistance for public sector institutions related to eligible topics linked to program objectives, including:

○ solicitation and vetting of proposals;

○ evaluation, selection, and approval by GRZ and USAID representatives;

○ administration, financial tracking, and financial reporting; and

○ quality assurance, progress monitoring, and reporting of technical assistance activities and outputs.

● Implementation of an annual cycle of external technical assistance to GRZ via PDD project funded consultancies, with an associated quality assurance mechanism.

● Support for dissemination of policy analysis and draft legislation, regulations, and systems design/guidelines by GRZ to relevant stakeholders in order to facilitate their understanding, adoption, and implementation.

Objective 2:

To strengthen the analytical capacity and evidence/knowledge basis among Zambian specialists for deepening democratic decentralization and local governance reforms, with a focus on delivering equitable and sustainable developmental benefits to Zambia’s communities.

Anticipated Results:

● A Knowledge Development Program related to Democratic Decentralization and Local Governance established through an annual grant-making process for funding research related to decentralization and local governance.

○ The project will fund technical assistance and organizational investment for the design and establishment of a transparently governed and administered Knowledge Development Program based on a grant-making mechanism. This mechanism, headed by a Program Secretariat, will establish the criteria, rules, and procedures for the evaluation and selection of research projects which will investigate the social, economic, environmental, political, institutional, or other aspects of decentralization and local governance in Zambia. These criteria rules and procedures will be approved and supervised by a Governing Board including GRZ and USAID. Empirical research requiring local level data collection in Zambia will be a priority. Grantees may be students or established academics as well as independent researchers or those affiliated with public sector, private sector, or civil society/non-profit organizations. Researchers based outside Zambia but whose research would be done within Zambia may be funded, with preference for those working in partnership with Zambian researchers. Criteria for eligibility and for selection of proposed research projects will be clearly defined and transparently published so that any interested researchers may submit proposals for consideration. A peer-review mechanism will be employed to evaluate and select grantees based on the quality and viability of their proposals, with results available for public review to ensure fairness.

● Annual cycle of research projects which contribute to Knowledge Development for Democratic Decentralization and Local Governance

○ Employing the above-described mechanism with well-publicized criteria for eligibility and evaluation of proposals and a transparent selection process, research grants will be awarded on an annual cycle. Grant funds will be administered and disbursed to researchers by the Program Secretariat, who will monitor and report on status to the Governing Board, which includes GRZ and USAID.

Locally based researchers will be funded to conduct relevant research, some of which may be related to specific themes defined as priorities by the Program’s Governing Board. Peer review bodies will not only evaluate the proposals based on agreed disciplinary and professional criteria but will also provide quality assurance of research outputs. The resulting research reports/papers will be made available by the Secretariat so that the broader academic/research community may benefit from access to these data and analyses.

● Knowledge and knowledge management capacity developed through Program funded research and related activities that contribute to public understanding and dialogue concerning decentralization and local governance.

○ The Program will both generate research and develop the capacity to manage and disseminate knowledge related to decentralization and local governance with a focus on links to inclusive and sustainable local development. Grant-funded research papers will be vetted by the Peer Review Body and then made available to the public, including academic, professional, governmental, and civic audiences. A web-based Knowledge Repository, which will include links to the broader literature related to decentralization and local governance not only in Zambia but also in Africa and in other developing countries, will also be established and managed by a local institutional partner based on a grant from the Program Secretariat. Selected grant-funded papers will also be presented at the Program’s annual conference; this will provide a venue for public access and debate concerning subject matter related to decentralization and local governance, with a focus on links to local development in Zambia.

● Development and institutionalization of a Zambian institution to sustainably mobilize funding and manage the ongoing research grant program for decentralization and local governance.

○ The Knowledge Development Program will initially be implemented by a USAID-contracted

Implementing Partner which brings the required technical expertise as well as resource management and fiduciary compliance capacities. One of the stipulated results of this initial financing agreement will be to establish the Program Secretariat as a Zambian entity capable of sustaining the management of the Knowledge Development Program for Democratic Decentralization and Local Governance beyond the initial period of the PDD funding. This may be as a unit within an existing Zambian institution such as a university or an NGO/civil society organization, or the Secretariat may be established as a new autonomous legal entity to be chartered during project implementation with the support of USAID’s implementing partner. In either case, the Implementing Partner will be responsible to ensure at by the end of the initial project period, the Secretariat is appropriately established and is sufficiently institutionalized to assume lead responsibility for the ongoing Knowledge Development Program for Democratic Decentralization and Local Governance, potentially with ongoing technical assistance from an outside partner. It is expected that the governance arrangements established during the initial period of project implementation will continue to guide the Program after the transition to the institutionalized Zambian Secretariat in any potential subsequent phase.

Illustrative Activities

● Illustrative Examples of Knowledge Development Activities:

○ Grants for research on priority themes related to LAs such as: local service delivery, local economic development, sustainable development planning and climate resiliency, PPPs, local authority governance and management, poverty, and social inclusion interventions, etc.

○ Grants may support small one-off single site student case study projects or more ambitious 1–2-year grants for post-docs/lecturers to do higher level empirical/field research projects involving data collection from multiple-sites or large data sets.

○ Grants may also fund mentorships facilitating collaboration and sharing of expertise between Zambian and external researchers from regional or US universities or institutes.

○ Grants may fund participation in short training courses for experts in specialized DD&LG related topics such as fiscal aspects, social inclusion, climate resiliency, etc.

● Illustrative Year 1 Activities

○ Organizational assistance for the establishment of the institutional framework for the Democratic

Decentralization and Local Governance Knowledge Development Program including: a Governing Board convened by GRZ and USAID, a Peer Review Body comprised of academic and other independent subject matter experts, and a Program Secretariat to oversee and administer the Program.

○ Technical assistance to support the establishment of policies and procedures for grant-making to support Knowledge Development related to decentralization and local governance, including their links to local development, in Zambia.

○ Outreach to Zambia’s academic/research community for dissemination of initial call-for-proposals providing opportunities for researchers to present proposals for initial grant-making cycle related to Democratic Decentralization and Local Governance.

○ First cycle of grants selected for research related to decentralization and local governance with links to local development.

● Illustrative Year 2 Activities

○ Implementation of initial/pilot grant-funded research related to decentralization and local governance.

○ Monitoring of initial/pilot grant funded activities supported by the Program.

○ Quality assurance reviews of reports/papers produced by researchers funded by the Knowledge

Development Program.

○ First annual Program-organized Conference for Knowledge Sharing on Democratic Decentralization and Local Governance.

○ Second call-for-proposals for Grant Cycle 2 supporting research related to decentralization and local governance with links to local development.

○ Identification of candidate Zambian institutions to assume the role of Secretariat for the Democratic Decentralization and Local Governance Knowledge Development Program.

● Illustrative Year 3 Activities

○ Dissemination of research products resulting from the first grant cycle via website and other media.

○ Selection process for Zambian institution to host the Program Secretariat for the Knowledge

Management Program for Decentralization and Local Development under the supervision of the Governance Board convened by GRZ and USAID.

○ Formulation and initial implementation of an Organizational Capacity Development Process for the Program Secretariat with a focus on sustainability and fiduciary compliance under the supervision of the Governance Board led by GRZ and USAID.

○ Implementation of Cycle 2 of grant-funded research related to decentralization and local governance.

○ Monitoring of Grant Cycle 2 funded activities supported by the Program.

○ Quality assurance reviews of reports/papers produced by researchers funded by the Knowledge

Development Program under Grant Cycle 2.

○ Second annual Program-organized Conference for Knowledge Sharing on Democratic

Decentralization and Local Governance.

○ Third call-for-proposals for Grant Cycle 3 supporting research related to decentralization and local governance with links to local development.

● Illustrative Subsequent (Year 4-5) Activities

○ Continuing Program Governance activities through the Governing Board convened by GRZ and

USAID.

○ Continuing grant cycle activities overseen the Peer Review Body.

○ Continuing knowledge dissemination activities including publication of sponsored work on the

Program website and via other media; the management of the Knowledge Repository supported by the Program Secretariat; and Annual Knowledge Sharing Conferences.

○ Continuing technical assistance and organizational capacity development support to the Program Secretariat as established in the Zambian host institution.

○ Continuing strategic support to the Program Governing Board and Program Secretariat for the formulation and implementation of a Financial Sustainability Strategy in order to facilitate the diversification of funding sources beyond exclusive reliance on USAID support.

d. Implementation and Governance The project will engage an Implementing Partner to establish the mechanisms required to finance and manage knowledge support for democratic decentralization and local governance in Zambia. This Implementing Partner will fully manage all PDD funded project resources and activities during the first two years of implementation, while Zambian institutions are selected and strengthened by the USAID Implementing Partner to gradually assume operational responsibility for management of the Knowledge Development Program, i.e. the research grant-making mechanism, It is expected that throughout the project period, the IP will continue to manage the consultancy funds that will provide technical assistance to GRZ agencies under Activity 1. During Year 3 the strategic focus of Activity 2 will be on organizational capacity building and gradual preparation for handover to the Zambian managed Knowledge Development Program Secretariat including formulation of a subsidiary funding agreement between the Secretariat and the IP. By Year 4 it is expected that the role of USAID’s Implementing Partner will shift to technical and management support as well as fiduciary oversight of the Zambian Program Secretariat as it gradually assumes full responsibility for Knowledge Development Program resource and activity management.

The governance and management arrangements for Activity 1, Technical Assistance to Government, involve bilateral coordination between USAID and GRZ. Priorities for technical assistance proposed as Concept Notes by GRZ agencies will be jointly vetted based on agreed criteria. Those proposals approved by this initial vetting will be developed into draft TORs with the support of the Implementing Partner and for final review by GRZ and USAID. Approved TORs will be the basis for procurement processes administered by the USAID Implementing Partner, with the final selection of consultants to be agreed between GRZ and USAID focal points. Contracts will be administered by the IP, with technical supervision by GRZ and periodic monitoring reports as well as work products shared with USAID.

The governance and management arrangements for Activity 2, Knowledge Development for Democratic Decentralization and Local Governance, are more complex for several reasons. First, it is important to provide safeguards for the intellectual independence of research that may at times challenge commonly held assumptions regarding governance, institutional or socioeconomic development challenges. This requires the separation of the Program’s policy governance arrangements from technical decision-making arrangements which will assess the merits of specific research proposals or analyses. Secondly, unlike Activity 1 which is expected to expire at the end of PDD project funding, Activity 2 is expected to transition to a sustainable Zambian organizational model after the end of PDD project funding, with a diversified revenue base and self-governing institutional model.

As such, the institutional arrangement for Activity 2 involves three constituent elements: (1) a Program Governing Board, (2) a Program Secretariat, and (3) a Program Peer Review Body. Detailed Terms of reference for these three bodies will be drafted by the IP during the project’s inception phase for preliminary approval by USAID and GRZ and subsequent definitive ratification by the Governing Board, once constituted.

(1) The Program Governing Board will be convened by USAID and GRZ to oversee the Knowledge Development Program. It will define the policies and procedures for the grant-making process, including approval of the eligibility criteria for potential grantees and the selection criteria for eligible proposals as well as the definition of priority subject matter areas as selection preferences in each annual grant cycle.

The Governing Board will approve the Program’s annual plans and budgets, the Secretariat’s Strategic Organizational Capacity Development Plan, and the selection of the Executive Director of the Secretariat the Governing Board will not vet individual candidate grantees or grant proposals; these technical decisions will be delegated to the Program Peer Review Body. Members of the Program Governing Board will include, in addition to USAID and GRZ focal points, institutional representatives of leading Zambian universities and other academic and research institutions as well as other well respected intellectual or social leaders.

(2) The Program Secretariat will be an executive body tasked with all operational management, inter-agency coordination, and resource management and fiduciary assurance, and implementation monitoring and reporting functions. Its Executive Director, who will initially be selected by the IP in consultation with USAID and GRZ, will be ratified by the Board. The ED will select and supervise other members of the Secretariat’s limited staff, designed to be very small and flexible, The Secretariat is expected to outsource or contract in for nearly all services beyond general management, financial administration, and coordination functions. The ED will propose to the Governing Board for approval:

policies and procedures, plans and budgets, and other organizational instruments required for Program operations. The ED will also provide administrative and logistical support to the Peer Review Body by organizing the dossier of proposals and other draft documents for their review and creating the working conditions for them to fulfill their approved roles and functions.

(3) The Peer Review Body will be composed of volunteer subject matter specialists representing a variety of institutions and a variety of disciplinary specializations so that they are collectively in a position to assess the eligibility, the viability, and the priority of proposals based on criteria approved by the Governing Board. The Peer Review Body will vet these proposals for the eligibility of their proponents as well as their subject matter. Those passing this preliminary vetting will then be reviewed for the technical coherence, validity, and viability of their research design as well as the relevance and priority of the subject matter proposed as the object of the research project.

These descriptions are preliminary and indicative. Full institutional designs and scopes of work for these three bodies will be drafted by USAID’s Implementing Partner in consultation with USAID and GRZ’s focal point during the Inception Phase of this project.

e. USAID’s Assumptions Assumptions:

1. The Zambian government is willing to consider evidence-based policy analysis in their decision-making processes.

2. The provision of rapid policy analysis and research grants will be perceived as valuable resources by the Zambian government and employed to contribute to the policy process.

3. The deployment of experienced consultants and the provision of research grants will result in higher-quality and more relevant policy analysis and research.

4. There will be an adequate level of demand for research grants and research funding opportunities, including increased demand resulting from promotion of these opportunities among the specialist community.

5. The availability of evidence-based policy analysis and research will result in increased use of evidence-based policy analysis in decision-making processes by the Zambian government.

6. Engagement of Zambian specialists in the Knowledge Development Program for Decentralization and Local Governance will increase the capacity, availability, and commitment of qualified Zambian specialists to continue relevant research and policy analysis activities beyond the project implementation period.

Risks and Mitigation Strategies:

1. Limited government buy-in: Engage with government officials to build trust and demonstrate the value of evidence-based policy analysis.

2. Political interference with policy analysis and research findings: Separate peer review processes and decisions from Program Governance and from direct intervention by GRZ officials.

3. Low demand for research grants: Conduct extensive outreach and promotion efforts to raise awareness of the research grant program and its benefits among relevant academic and specialist communities.

4. Low-quality policy analysis or research: Provide capacity building and training opportunities for academics, consultants, and relevant independent researchers to ensure higher quality work.

5. Limited dissemination of findings: Collaborate with key stakeholders to ensure effective dissemination of findings and use of evidence in decision-making processes.

f. Coordination with other Activities, Donors, and Implementers:

There are several opportunities for coordination with other donors and implementers in the sector. One key area where coordination could be beneficial is in the provision of technical assistance to the government. USAID could work with other donors and implementers to identify areas where technical assistance needs overlap with existing programming and strategies and to develop a coordinated approach to providing this assistance. A prime example of this opportunity is coordination with the World Bank and its Devolution Support Project, which includes a number of policy-related disbursement-linked triggers which create incentives for GRZ to undertake specific policy reforms. The GRZ has expressed interest in obtaining additional technical assistance to enable most systematic evidence-based policy analysis supporting these reforms: PDD funded consultancies and research activities can enhance already agreed GRZ efforts.

Additional coordination opportunities include working with other donors and implementers active in in the decentralization and local governance domain to identify key technical assistance needs and longer term research themes and to inform priorities for the grant-making program, Ongoing dialogue with both relevant Zambian institutions, including government agencies, universities and other academic and research institutes, and Coopering Partners, will help to identify promising researchers or research institutions, identify areas in need of field work funding and coordinating with donors and implementers on annual information dissemination events. This should include sharing best practices and lessons learned, as well as coordinating the allocation and deployment of resources to provide more comprehensive technical assistance.

g. Sustainability The sustainability of the activity is a key priority for USAID, and the activity will be designed to develop a sustainable funding model that will ensure its continued success beyond the end of the USAID funding period. Starting in year 3, the program governance board and operations team will be focused on soliciting outside funding sources. The Activity will develop a business development plan and pipeline with specific outside funding targets.

This approach will enable the program to identify potential funding sources and develop relationships with potential donors, investors, and other stakeholders. The program governance board and operations team will work to leverage these relationships to secure the necessary funding to sustain the program beyond the end of the USAID funding period.

By creating a sustainable funding model, the program will be able to continue its operations and impact beyond the initial five-year period, achieving lasting change and improving the lives of Zambians.

[END OF CONCEPT NOTE]

[END OF RFI #: 72061123RFI00001]