SOW_TransformingMarketSystems-TaskOrder1.pdf

Transforming Market Systems - Task Order #1

Section C. Performance Work Statement

SUMMARY

Task Order #1 of the Transforming Market Systems activity will be awarded simultaneously with the overall Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) award. Task Order #1 covers the development of the ME&L Plan for the life of the IDIQ, execution of the actions under this ME&L Plan, and execution of all CLA actions throughout the life of the IDIQ, which is why its duration is for the same five year period as the IDIQ.

Specifically, the CLA actions throughout the life of Transforming Market Systems include all studies and pilots, including but not limited to the Inception Phase at the beginning of the Activity. In addition to CLA activities, Task Order #1 will also fund pilots that will deliver small-scale interventions informed by the studies and analyses throughout the life of the IDIQ.

C.1 EXPECTED RESULTS

The Transforming Market System IDIQ will prioritize investments based on U.S. Government strategic interests, objectives, and investments, as currently defined in the USAID/Honduras CDCS and as based on continuing learning being undertaken on U.S. Government efforts to counter illicit migration to the United States. Task Order #1 solicits offerors to design and implement an initial 6 month Inception Phase during which assessments on the business enabling environment and key value chains where USAID can have a competitive advantage will be carried out and specific priority value chain interventions can be recommended based on those findings. Additionally, Task Order #1 will also start piloting interventions that can be scaled-up through subsequent task orders in this IDIQ, and monitor and report on performance and outcomes throughout the five-year life of the activity. Subsequent Task Orders will serve to contract the key interventions identified in the Inception Phase and ongoing studies.

The actions implemented under Task Order #1 are expected to contribute to both of the two main results under this Activity:

1. Market systems strengthened

2. Select value chains strengthened

Achievements under Task Order #1 must be measured through indicators of both: 1) tangible economic benefits, and 2) market systems that are growing more competitive, resilient, and inclusive, as illustrated by the following illustrative indicators:

● USD sales of firms receiving USG-funded assistance

● Number of new employment opportunities generated as a result of USG assistance (disaggregated by target populations)

● Value of new private and public sector investment leveraged as a result of USG assistance

● Trust among key value chain actors

● Grassroots groups’ perceptions of participation and inclusion in market systems

It is understood that many of the results achieved under Task Order #1 will be related to processes and deliverables, and that the above indicators will be moved more by subsequent Task Orders. Nevertheless, it is important for the Activity to begin measuring these and other outcome-type indicators from the beginning of Task Order #1. During the critical initial phase of the Activity covered by the Inception Phase under Task Order #1, the Contractor must conduct assessments and analysis to select the priority value chains and the key BEE intervention areas, which will correspond with the Intermediate Results described in the IDIQ’s Section C.5.

Under this Task Order, the Contractor must start by analyzing and understanding system dynamics, and where the Activity might best intervene, via a facilitative approach, to create systemic change. Then the Contractor will undergo collaborative planning (with USAID and key stakeholders) to appropriately design, scale, and sequence these interventions to create maximum impact, while employing an iterative and adaptive approach.

C.2 PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

Task Order #1 consists of the Inception Phase and other studies and analyses that will occur over the five-year life of the Activity, as well as the pilot actions that will follow from the Inception Phase and other studies. Subsequent Task Orders will serve to contract the key interventions identified in the Inception Phase and ongoing studies. The pilot actions included in Task Order #1 will serve to begin and continue implementation of concrete interventions in the time period that occurs between the reception and review of the Inception Phase and subsequent study findings, and the issuance of subsequent Task Orders, in order to avoid gaps in implementation or “dead time” between finishing a study and acting on it. Task Order #1 must thus include the core staff structure that will be needed to oversee learning and pilots throughout the life of the Activity. Subsequent Task Orders may use the existing core staff to carry out their actions, in addition to any additional staff as necessary.

The Inception Phase, will span for the first six months after the award has been made. In order to achieve the objective, USAID will require the Contractor to finalize and complete the Inception Phase as outlined below. While these steps are sequential, they will interrelate with one another at various times throughout the process. For example, implementation of actions will catalyze improvements within and across the value chains, and continuous learning drives the refinement of interventions toward those that are most effective in strengthening the selected value chains. As market systems evolve and develop, interventions under the entire Activity will need to account for and adjust to these changes in a dynamic manner, and Task Order #1 will be key to informing such adjustments.

Step 1: Initial analysis to identify 8-10 priority Value Chains and the interventions necessary to improve each Value Chain (including Business Enabling Environment actions) Simultaneous analyses will be conducted to identify the priority value chains, as well as the specific actions needed to achieve intended results in these value chains. Business Enabling Environment actions should be included in these analyses, both those that have the potential to improve economic growth and investment across sectors, and those that are specific to a given value chain.

The analysis to identify potential value chains must consider the following issues:

● the firms and actors that operate within the value chain;

● the nature of relationships between these actors, including their levels of cooperation and competition;

● the state of institutions, technology, service providers, and other production conditions;

● policy constraints limiting development;

● the financial and non-financial resources available, including technical, business and financial services; and

● the formal and informal rules, which drive the behaviors of these actors.

The criteria for initial selection of these value chains, as well as guidance on the geographic focus and target populations will be taken from Section C.6 of the IDIQ.

USAID/Honduras’ initial assessments suggest that among those value chains that may well meet these criteria include tourism and value-added agriculture. Therefore, as part of the Inception Phase the contractor will include these two sectors, as further defined below, as at least two of the initial 8-10 value chains to be assessed. are the following:

1. Tourism - This sector often requires a holistic, country-wide system approach beyond support to individual businesses or sites of interest, in order so as to promote a national brand and destination. USAID/Honduras believes this value chain represents particularly strong growth and job-creation potential, as well as potential for private sector investment. Additionally, as part of a Portfolio Approach, strengthening national and local tourism value chains in coordination with a focus on ancillary value chains such as transportation, construction, and food service, may provide synergies that magnify results and create more systemic change. Finally, growth in responsible tourism may benefit from, as well as contribute to, USAID and GOH environmental objectives and existing USAID-funding activities. already in place.

2. Value-added agriculture - Value-added agriculture provides particular opportunities to reach the DO2 Zone of Influence (ZOI) and target populations. Additionally, facilitating change in these value chains offers a particular opportunity to leverage USAID’s ongoing Feed the Future investments for a more transformative approach to the sector at large.

Partnerships with processors, wholesale buyers, and exporters located outside the DO1 and DO2 ZOIs will be analyzed for the purpose of pursued in order to integrate other beneficiaries into these value chains.

In addition to the value chains above, the contractor should explore will Cross-sector value chains - As noted above, USAID believes cross-cutting complementary value chains during the inception phase, such as logistics, transportation, and business services that enhance growth, productivity, and inclusion across multiple other sectors, which USAID/Honduras believes is critical for achieving transformative, systemic change.

The contractor must also identify and propose other value chains that meet the above criteria, for a total of 8-10 value chains analyzed in the inception phase. Additional references and findings from this initial assessment process are included in the annexes.

Step 2: Recommend 4-5 target Value Chains and their corresponding priority areas for intervention for USAID approval Based upon this initial analysis, the Contractor must narrow its selection down, with USAID approval, to 4-5 priority value chains with the greatest potential impact on sustainable and inclusive growth, and the specific actions required to improve resilience, productivity, business enabling environment, and market access in these value chains. When selecting these BEE intervention areas and value chains, the Contractor will take into account complementarity and the ability to leverage investments and to mitigate risks that come from a portfolio approach to the management of the IDIQ.

The selection process and evaluation criteria for selecting value chains will be guided by USAID. The USAID/COR will approve the final selection of value chain interventions. Other USG partners, Government of Honduras partners, and private sector partners may be included in the selection and approval process of the 4-5 value chains.

Step 3: Baseline Assessment of Selected Value Chains and intervention areas The Contractor must develop a method and conduct baseline assessments of the selected BEE and value chains intervention areas, including proposed targets. A baseline survey collects quantitative and qualitative data that presents an analysis of the situation prior to the Activity’s interventions, which permits an analysis of the changes in the baseline situation and the impact of the Activity in subsequent years.

Step 4: Develop Life of Project Action Plan with Targets The Contractor must develop an Action Plan that includes the proposed implementation approach for each BEE intervention area and value chain. The Contractor must include analysis (including a more in-depth theory of change), proposed interventions, and expected results and targets that will be achieved, plans for stakeholder collaboration (that is otherwise not captured in the interventions as outlined), as well as an accompanying (updated) Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning plan that captures any pertinent shifts in the MEL approach required to adequately track progress - including pivots in implementation prompted by that tracking - over the life of the Activity. The Action Plan with targets must be approved by USAID prior to starting any major interventions and, as noted below, will be updated on a periodic basis to reflect adjustments throughout the life of the IDIQ award.

Grants under Contract The Contractor will devote $2 million under this Task Order to administer a small grants fund throughout the life of the Activity to carry out studies, pilot interventions, or any other CLA actions covered by Task Order #1 to support the achievement of Results 1 and 2. The pilot investments included in Task Order #1 will serve to begin and continue implementation of concrete interventions in the time period that occurs between the initial assessments and subsequent study findings, and the issuance of subsequent Task Orders, in order to avoid gaps in implementation or “dead time” between finishing a study and acting on it.

Task Order #1 must also include the core staff structure that will be needed to oversee learning and pilots throughout the life of the Activity. Core staff under Task order #1 may also contribute to the implementation of subsequent task orders, in which case their LOE shall be allocated correspondingly to each task order.

C.3 CLA, MONITORING, AND EVALUATION

Collaboration, Learning, and Adapting (CLA) The Contractor is expected to actively foster an enabling environment for CLA throughout inception, implementation, and periodic iteration, including a culture of openness, incorporating CLA into decision-making processes, and allocating resources to CLA actions. For this IDIQ, the Contractor will be expected to incorporate CLA throughout the Activity’s monitoring, evaluation, learning, human resource management, business processes and other practices, while identifying specific opportunities to tailor and enhance CLA practices that most enhance development results as defined in the Activity purpose and intended outcomes. Task Order #1 is focused on CLA, as it encompasses the studies and pilots throughout the life of the Activity that will enable learning and adaptive management.

As part of the holistic systems approach to market development, the Activity will collaborate strategically and intentionally with other USAID-funded activities as well as GOH and other development partners programs.

Monitoring Monitoring and reporting of results is a key element of USAID programs. The Agency seeks data and information to improve performance and effectiveness as well as to inform planning and management decisions. The Contractor must conduct baseline and endline surveys and data sets from these surveys will be made available to USAID along with the baseline and final reports, respectively. All of these monitoring actions, for the 5 year life of the IDIQ, will be planned and funded under Task Order #1. Accurate and timely monitoring, including cost benefit analyses and short evaluative actions for learning, will enable the program to develop the most suitable interventions for the context, adapt to changing conditions, and make mid-course corrections as necessary. Data must also be available to demonstrate program impact, as well as capturing and communicating progress along the causal pathway to achieving that impact.

Given both the purpose and approach of the Activity as outlined, USAID anticipates the need for identifying and applying a range of context and performance monitoring approaches that together will respond to the need for ongoing measurements of progress, with gauging the degree of sustainable transformation underway. The Contractor is encouraged to utilize innovative as well as proven approaches to monitor change across a variety of interventions and inter-related value chains, across different dimensions of systemic change intended, varying time horizons, and from the perspective of both qualitative and quantitative measures.

The Contractor is also encouraged to consider tools such as those presented in USAID’s Discussion Note on Complexity Aware Monitoring approaches and Guidelines for Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning in Market Systems Development as well as emerging tools and practices from the field of Market Systems Development (See also the DCED Standards materials, which seek to provide specific ideas around linking, for example, logic models (via results chains, etc) to learning feedback loops http://www.enterprise-development.org/measuring-results-the-dced-standard/implementing-the-dced-standard/). More specifically, the Contractor will need to use system and value chain mapping as part of monitoring to analyze market system relationships and to update the initial systems analysis conducted during the inception phase.

USAID recognizes that a facilitation approach typically reaches target beneficiaries through other system actors, generating slower paced and less predictable outcomes. As such, the Contractor will be expected to develop “early progress” indicators or to identify alternative signs of progress that show early indications of systemic change. In addition, however, the Contractor will be asked to collaborate with USAID, USAID’s Monitoring and Evaluation Support for Collaboration, Learning, and Adapting (MESCLA) activity, and other USAID M&E activities to explore additional methods for gauging longer-term, systemic change attributable to the Activity, and linked to its theory of change.

The Contractor must have an approved Activity Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (ME&L) Plan in place before major implementation actions begin. This ME&L Plan will be finalized and approved as part of the Task Order #1 actions, such that subsequent Task Orders may focus on the aforementioned major implementation actions. Key components of a ME&L Plan include:

● Activity’s learning strategy that will include processes and actions designed to: (1) identify and fill knowledge gaps through research, knowledge sharing, and outside technical assistance and training; (2) facilitate application of learning from assessments, evaluations and periodic monitoring and reflection processes; and (3) through networking and collaboration build sustained knowledge capture and sharing, across https://www.microlinks.org/good-practice-center/value-chain-wiki/risk-youth https://www.microlinks.org/sites/default/files/resource/files/Report20No.205120-20Guidelines20for20MEL20in20MSD.pdf https://www.microlinks.org/good-practice-center/value-chain-wiki/risk-youth https://www.microlinks.org/good-practice-center/value-chain-wiki/risk-youth https://www.microlinks.org/good-practice-center/value-chain-wiki/risk-youth https://www.microlinks.org/sites/default/files/resource/files/Report20No.205120-20Guidelines20for20MEL20in20MSD.pdf https://www.microlinks.org/good-practice-center/value-chain-wiki/risk-youth https://www.microlinks.org/good-practice-center/value-chain-wiki/risk-youth https://www.microlinks.org/sites/default/files/resource/files/Report20No.205120-20Guidelines20for20MEL20in20MSD.pdf activities, partners, and sectors, and with key stakeholders from the USAID Mission, host country government, and other donor funded activities;

● The Activity’s monitoring approach, including relevant performance indicators of its outputs and outcomes;

● Plans for collaborating with USAID’s MESCLA activity. The Contractor must interface effectively with MESCLA to provide information and collaborate for project-level evaluation and activity-level monitoring and evaluation without superseding the Contractor’s responsibility for monitoring and performance under the IDIQ;

● Any proposed internal evaluations;

● Learning actions, including knowledge capture at Activity close out; learning actions are expected to engage and be useful not only to USAID, but to involve and inform market system actors and Activity beneficiaries

● Estimated resources for these monitoring, evaluation, and learning actions that are a part of the implementing partner’s budget; and

● Roles and responsibilities for all proposed monitoring, evaluation, and learning actions.

The ME&L Plan should be revised as needed in response to changes in context that occur during the life of the Activity.

Evaluation USAID may conduct an external mid-term performance evaluation of the Activity 24-30 months after the contract is awarded and an external final evaluation prior to closeout. The Contractor is expected to cooperate fully with the evaluators. The Contractor is also expected to collaborate and interface with the MESCLA activity to identify additional opportunities for evaluative (and associated learning) approaches throughout the inception and implementation phases.