USAID-Indonesia_BUKA_RFI.pdf

Request for Information (RFI) BUKA Page 1

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

BUKA

(Bukti Untuk Kebijakan dan Advokasi)

Subject: Request for Information (RFI)

Date of issuance: May 18 , 2016

Response due: June 7, 2016 (2:00 p.m., Jakarta time)

Response to: proposals-indo@usaid.gov

This is a Request for Information (RFI). This is not a Request for Proposals (RFP) or Request For Applications (RFA) and is not to be construed as a commitment by the U.S Government to issue any solicitation or Notice of Funding Opportunity (NFO), or ultimately award a contract or assistance agreement on the basis of this RFI, or to pay for any cost incurred in the preparation and submission of comments on this RFI. USAID posts its competitive business opportunities on www.fbo.gov or www.grants.gov. It is the potential offeror’s/applicants responsibility to monitor these sites for announcement of new opportunities.

It should be noted that responding to this RFI will not give any advantage to any firm or organization in the subsequent procurement. Responses will be held confidential.

Proprietary information should not be sent.

This RFI intends to obtain information about interests, capabilities, and market information related to the enclosed draft statement of work or program description in order to inform the design of a future mechanism. USAID may revise the concept based on comments received, but it is not obligated to do so. This RFI is open for comments from any interested parties.

mailto:proposals-indo@usaid.gov http://www.fbo.gov/

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Responses should be sent using the cover page as Attachment No. 2 to this RFI.

USAID values concise, issue-specific responses. Please ensure submitted comments make specific reference to page and section numbers. Respondents may also include self/organization information, including past experiences working in this subject area, experience working with other stakeholders, including implementing partners on the ground or host country government officials, or capacity information.

Responses should be no more than 5 (five) pages in length (not including the cover page/Response Form – Attachment 2). Responses to the RFI must be written in English, shall use only 8 ½” x 11” paper, single spaced, Arial 11pt font. Number each page consecutively.

Send responses to this RFI via email to proposal-indo@usaid.gov with the subject title “Request for Information (RFI): USAID/Indonesia BUKA”, no later than the date/time stated above. You will only receive an electronic confirmation acknowledging receipt of your response, but will not receive individualized feedback on any suggestions.

Thank you for your assistance and interest in USAID/Indonesia’s programs.

/s/ Sandra Savage Contracting Officer USAID/Indonesia Attachment:

1. Draft SOW/PD

2. Response Form mailto:proposal-indo@usaid.gov

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Attachment 1

USAID/INDONESIA

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)

BUKA (Bukti Untuk Kebijakan dan Advokasi)

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BUKA - PURPOSE OF THE RFI

USAID/Indonesia is soliciting comments from individuals, companies, and organizations with regard to the activity statement of work or program description (SOW/PD).

USAID/Indonesia welcomes input and comments in response to any or all of the following questions. Please ensure comments are concise and specific to information included within the activity SOW/PD and refer to the core operating principles, approach and technical areas of interest to USAID/Indonesia.

Questions to Consider for All respondents:

1. Do you have any general feedback on the SOW/PD?

2. What is unclear in the SOW/PD?

3. What do you view as more appropriate for such potential activities: acquisition/contract or assistance/grant agreement, and why?

4. What, if anything, can be changed to improve the SOW/PD?

5. What do you think about the appropriateness of engaging the private sector for the development and implementation of the activity?

6. What other factors do you feel are important for USAID/Indonesia to consider related to this SOW/PD?

Respondents are free to address any or all of the above items, as well as provide additional information that they think is relevant to the SOW/PD.

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BUKA Request for Information

1. Overview

The primary objective of BUKA (Bukti Untuk Kebijakan dan Advokasi or Evidence for Policy and Advocacy) is to simultaneously bolster the use of evidence in decision-making in the policy and public spheres in Indonesia. BUKA builds on multiple USAID-funded programs that seek to improve the research ecosystem within Indonesia and strengthen the production of high-quality scientific research in the country. Prior USAID-supported programs have supported the specific use of evidence in policy, but have not focused on the overall evidence-to-policy ecosystem.

BUKA is designed to build the capacity of targeted Indonesian organizations to strengthen that ecosystem in Indonesia. BUKA is planned as a five year activity. The activity is divided into two parts that will enhance the capacity within Indonesia to produce scientific evidence and increase the demand for evidence-based decision making by the Indonesian public by:

1. Improving the ability of Indonesian researchers, especially women, to analyze and synthesize research in response to policy needs by: a) creating pathways between researchers and policymakers; b) producing and making evidence available and accessible to decision makers and the public; and c) creating opportunities for the scientific, government, CSO, and business communities to identify policy-driven data needs and increase their ability to incorporate evidence into decision making.

2. Creating increased demand for science information among the public and policymakers, and close the science-policy-media divide so as to enable better communication and dissemination of science and science policy.

BUKA will support the supply of high quality evidence through support of organizations that can act as conveners of government and academics and synthesize the current state of knowledge in policy-relevant fields. This supply of evidence should include both national-level cross-disciplinary CSOs that can act as advocates for use of evidence in decision-making, and also the support for a recognized advisor to the Indonesian government and people. No nationally-recognized credible organization has filled the role of a traditional national science academy when there is need for evidence-based policy advice in Indonesia. Scientific academies are a critical component in evidence-to-policy ecosystems, as authoritative synthesizers and communicators of knowledge to both governments and the broader public. This role is based on the independence of the organization from government or commercial interests, the election of members based on their scientific contributions, the cross-disciplinary nature of their membership, and the ability of each academy to network with academies of science around the globe. The Indonesian Academy of Sciences (Akademi Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia, AIPI) is the organization best-positioned to fulfill this role. AIPI was formed in 1990 as an independent body to provide opinions, suggestions, and advice to the government on the acquisition, development and application of science and technology. AIPI’s elected members are internationally respected for their individual contributions to their fields, the organization has created links with other science academies, and the academy is now ready to act as a

BUKA Page 6 respected convener, synthesizer and communicator of scientific knowledge within Indonesia.

AIPI has produced one major consensus report on maternal and child health, in partnership with the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and has expressed a desire to produce additional reports to assist the government with policy decisions and expand its role as advisors to the Indonesian government. AIPI has reached a stage where it is well-positioned for this change, based on the scientific background of its members and the receptivity of the Indonesian government, to expand its role within Indonesia. In the last year, AIPI has launched two new subsidiary organizations, establishing a fund (Dana Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia, DIPI) to support scientific research and establishing the Indonesian Young Academy of Sciences (Akademi Ilmuwan Musa Indonesia, ALMI) to focus on the expansion of science education and the development of the next generation of Indonesian scientific leaders. AIPI has a strong interest in playing a much larger role in meeting the Indonesian government's evidence-to-policy needs.

BUKA aims to support both the supply and demand side of an evidence-to-policy ecosystem in Indonesia through the development of relationships and networks that work individually and in concert to support the generation of evidence, evidence-to-policy processes, and communication of the results of these processes. BUKA will improve collaborative thinking, planning and interpretation on scientific topics between the government, academic researchers, and advocacy groups; enable syntheses of data; and improve translation and/or communication of scientific and technological data and related policies. BUKA will respond to the needs of the public, including the GOI, CSOs and other potential end-users of scientific and technological data.

2. Challenges Specific to Evidence-to-Policy Activities in the Indonesian Context.

Challenge: Minimal current demand for evidence to policy products in Indonesia.

Indonesia’s evidence-to-policy capacity is still relatively low, with only a few CSOs translating evidence into policy in very specific fields. In addition, few direct academia-to-government partnerships that transfer evidence between the two exist. AIPI has been underutilized within the Indonesian academic and policy communities. This has generally been attributed to the lack of AIPI's visibility within Indonesia.

Challenge: Indonesia has historically had low levels of science funding and scientific output. Indonesia allocates less than 0.08% of its GDP for R&D investment and scores relatively poorly on international indices for ST&I and knowledge sector performance. There is also an insufficient number of Indonesian researchers: 38,000 against a targeted 200,000, and only 7% of higher education teaching staff hold doctoral degrees.

Challenge: The ST&I “ecosystem” in Indonesia is young and evolving. The ecosystem includes all of the factors that directly contribute to a country’s ability to make evidence-based decisions about development policy, including the ability to undertake and disseminate internationally-competitive research and make effective evidence-based decisions. The ecosystem spans all disciplines, not just the sciences, and is made up of researchers, academics, government, the private sector, civil society organizations (CSOs), innovators and entrepreneurs, media, and members of the public.

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Challenge: Indonesia has historically had low scientific literacy rates. Indonesia has low scientific literacy (score of 382 against an average OECD score of 501 on the Program for International Student Assessment). Outside of professional settings, Indonesia has had minimal mass-consumed science media, such as magazines or television. Informal networks and personal communications are the dominant ways that people seek information in Indonesia, as this information is perceived as more reliable and can be accessed faster. Whether producing research and analyses itself, or seeking knowledge from external sources (including NGOs, universities, donors, and international actors), Indonesia’s government requires strengthened mechanisms to improve the quality, efficiency, and usefulness of this evidence, as well as incentives to incorporate it into the decision making process.

3. Desired outcomes.

BUKA will pursue the following outcomes:

1. Increased ability to use objective scientific data (existing and newly generated) in decision making;

2. Increased demand for scientific data among key actors in the evidence-to-policy continuum;

3. Increased ability to understand and increased capacity to work with scientific data among key actors in the evidence-to-policy continuum;

4. Increased socialization of best available evidence that is understood and used by decision makers and the public;

5. Increased capacity of scientists to communicate evidence to non-scientists;

6. Increased long-term organizational stability of AIPI;

7. Increased visibility of AIPI within Indonesia as source of evidence-based information;

and

8. Increased visibility and use of scientific evidence in Indonesia.

In order to achieve the outcomes outlined above, BUKA will strengthen Indonesian organizations that will lead to a stronger science-to-policy ecosystem. There are two parts to this activity, and it is anticipated they will feed into each other in an iterative, evolving process.

Goal 1- Mechanisms for influence of data analysis on policy and programs strengthened, and analytical capacity improved. Goal 1 is divided into two parts, the first (1a) focuses on strengthening the capacity of AIPI and the second (1b) focuses on strengthening the capacity of advocacy CSOs.

Goal 1a. Goal 1a is intended to leverage previous efforts of USAID and other donors to enhance AIPI’s capacity to act as a synthesizer and communicator of scientific evidence. BUKA should work to position AIPI to be the first choice for the GOI and other policy-making institutions when evidence-to-policy syntheses and related information are needed.

Goal1b. For Indonesia’s evidence-to-policy system to function well, it also needs vibrant advocacy CSOs that can support information sharing, advocacy, training, and other evidence-to-policy efforts to help the GOI in decision making and to complement the work of the sectoral CSOs. Therefore the second part of Goal 1 should include capacity-building of at least 3

BUKA Page 8 additional organizations to facilitate inter-disciplinary scientific and policy dialogue where scientists, policymakers, and others (CSOs and the private sector) can share information and engage in research and policy planning in development relevant areas.

Goal 2- Advocacy and demand for data analysis strengthened For evidence-to-policy activities to ultimately be successful and sustainable, the processes and the results must be communicated to stakeholders (decision-makers) and disseminated more widely to the public. Goal 2 seeks to improve the scientific literacy of the public and key decision-makers, by improving evidence-based communication. Activities under Goal 2 will work to strengthen the use of data and findings from science in media and communications, train communicators, and promote better communication tools and processes for dissemination and application of scientific knowledge. To do so, Goal 2 targets the relationship between scientists and the media.

Results under Goal 1:

1. Capacity of AIPI to engage the GOI on policy issues, convene expert groups, set priorities and deadlines, manage report writing and produce scientific assessment reports improved.

2. Ability of targeted Indonesian scientists and decision-makers to jointly analyze and produce data-driven policy recommendations on development issues increased.

3. Ability of targeted researchers to understand and engage in the evidence-policy processes increased.

4. Number of reports and related products resulting from AIPI activities that address development-relevant and Indonesia-relevant science-policy needs increased.

5. Number of people who are aware of AIPI and its capacity to produce scientific assessments among GOI institutions, advocacy CSOs and the Indonesian academic community increased.

6. Connections between researchers and key policy- and decision-makers in Indonesia in ways that promote a shared understanding of priorities, activities, and interests increased.

7. Interaction between academia, private sector, press, governmental, and CSOs on matters related to Indonesia’s development increased.

8. Understanding of evidence that supports decision-making among targeted policy- and decision-makers increased.

9. Number of organizations that seek to be leaders in evidence-policy processes in Indonesia beyond the life of BUKA increased.

Results under Goal 2:

1. Ability of scientific producers to engage in and talk about science-to-policy issues to non-scientists enhanced.

2. Amount of news coverage that cites AIPI reports and related products increased.

3. Opportunities for engagement between scientists and science communicators improved.

4. Ability of targeted organizations to communicate effectively about scientific evidence in order to change attitudes or influence public officials and the public increased.

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5. Reporting on science and technological issues among the Indonesian print, online, radio and television media enhanced.

4. Coordination with USAID, GOI, the Private Sector, and Other Stakeholders

The BUKA project will need to coordinate closely with USAID, Indonesia’s Ministry of Research and Higher Education, and other relevant GOI agencies. Coordination includes, but is not limited to, initiating and engaging in communication with stakeholders, collecting and analyzing necessary data related to technical areas, and sharing information to promote BUKA. Other USAID programs may engage some of the same partners and will implement activities that might complement, support or otherwise be an asset to work under the BUKA activity. Other donors, such as the Australian Government’s Knowledge Sector Initiative (KSI) are supporting programs to strengthen evidence-to-policy infrastructure in Indonesia. It is expected that BUKA will seek to leverage those efforts, as appropriate. The development and implementation of BUKA should consider, if appropriate, engagement with the private sector. This includes consideration of how private sector engagement and collaboration can increase the reach, efficiency, effectiveness and sustainable outcomes and results of the proposed program activities.

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Attachment 2

Response Form

Request for Information (RFI) No. 497-16-00002

GENERAL INFORMATION

Name of the Organization:_______________________________

Address:______________________________________________

Contact Person Name:________________________________________ Position Title:__________________________________ Telephone:____________________________________ E-mail address:_________________________________

Signature of the Authorized Representative:_________________

Type of Organization:

US Organization (Profit / Non-profit) International Organization Non-US Organization (Profit / Non-profit)