RFI72061122C000LCD - RFI for the Design of Local Partner Capacity Development Contract.pdf

U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Subdivision 694/Stand 100 Ibex Hill Road PO Box 320373 Lusaka, Zambia – 10101 infozambia@usaid.gov USAID.gov

TO: All Prospective Offerors

ISSUANCE DATE: Thursday, May 26, 2022

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) #: RFI72061122C000LCD

SUBJECT: RFI for the Design of Local Partner Capacity Development Contract

DUE DATE: Thursday, June 16, 2022, at 3:00 pm 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 support the Mission’s local partners holding prime awards. The Mission is releasing this request for information to 1) ascertain the interest and ability of local organizations, inclusive of nonprofit and for-profit organizations, to bid on such a solicitation, and 2) to gather input on the draft activity design.

Given the nature of this work, there are innate conflict of interest considerations for potential offerors to consider. First, local organizations holding current, prime Mission awards are not eligible to apply for this work. Second, the successful offeror, if a local organization, will be ineligible to apply for other Mission awards during the duration of this contract. See the draft purpose and activity components below.

Activity Purpose: The purpose of the Local Partner Capacity Development activity is to support the organizational capacity of current USAID/Zambia local implementing partners to manage, implement, and monitor programs, sustaining quality development outcomes effectively and efficiently for the purpose of greater organizational sustainability and engagement on local development agendas.

Component 1: Increase local partners' capacity for risk identification, mitigation, and compliance to financial and operational best practice. Under component one, the Contractor will conduct a participatory capacity assessment in collaboration with the local partner to collectively identify the financial and operational capacity development needs of the partner. The contractor will select the most appropriate assessment tool given the context.

Subsequently, the contractor in collaboration with the local partner will agree to and implement measures needed to address the identified risks and capacity gaps. This coordinated capacity development between contractor and partner should strengthen the organizational capacity of local partners to align to globally recognized best practices in line with the organization’s priorities and tailored to their unique structures and systems.

Component 2: Enhance local partners' resource mobilization and funding diversification capacity for the purpose of organizational sustainability. Under component two, the Contractor will support local partners in organizational income generation mailto:infozambia@usaid.gov

RFI72061122C000LCD

Local Partner Capacity Development Contract and diversification. The Contractor, in collaboration with the partner, will identify and implement contextually relevant measures needed to strengthen financial viability and sustainability for good stewardship and the ability to deliver, and effectively manage high quality programs.

Component 3: Improve local partners' networking, advocacy, communication capacity. Under component three, the Contractor will be responsible for supporting local organizations to improve their networking, advocacy, and communication capacity. The support provided under this component will follow best practice but also be heavily informed by Zambia’s particular governance and civil society context, making particular use of Zambia’s existing local practitioners and organizations in this space.

Questions:

● How well do the components of this activity align to the interest and needs of local organizations?

● How might USAID increase the inclusion of local organizations in the implementation of this activity?

● Given the conflict of interest implications of this award, are there qualified local organizations interested in implementing it?

Submission Guidelines:

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

• Name of your organization and contact information.

• Responses to the three questions

• Any additional information

Responses to this RFI should not exceed three pages, using 11-point font size minimum. Please send all responses to the attention of Michael Capobianco at mcapobianco@usaid.gov with a copy to Brian LeCuyer at blecuyer@usaid.gov, Doreen Muleya at dmuleya@uisaid.gov, and Charles Nyanoka at cnyanoka@usaid.gov under the title RFI # 72061122C000LCD, USAID Zambia Local Capacity Development Contract by June 16, 2022, at 3:00 pm Lusaka Time.

Sincerely, Michael Capobianco Supervisory Contracting/Agreement Officer Office of Acquisition and Assistance mailto:mcapobianco@usaid.gov mailto:blecuyer@usaid.gov mailto:dmuleya@uisaid.gov mailto:cnyanoka@usaid.gov