RFP 72012121R00001 J4A UKRAINE.pdf

Issuance Date: March 10, 2021 Questions Due Date and Time: March 22, 2021, 16:00 Kyiv Local Time Closing Date and Time: April 30, 2021, 16:00 Kyiv Local Time

SUBJECT: Request for Proposal (RFP) No.: 72012121R00001 USAID Justice for All (J4A) Activity

The United States Government, represented by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Regional Mission for Ukraine and Belarus, is seeking proposals from qualified and eligible organizations to implement the USAID Justice for All (J4A) Activity as fully described in the attached RFP.

USAID/Ukraine anticipates awarding one five (5) year, cost plus fixed fee, completion type contract as a result of this solicitation. The estimated range for the required services detailed in Section C of this RFP is between $22 and $24 million.

Proposals will be accepted from eligible organizations. The geographic codes for this procurement are 110 and 937. USAID will conduct this procurement through full and open competition under which any type of organization (including large or small commercial [for profit] firms, educational institutions or non-profit organizations) is eligible to compete. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 541990 (All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services).

Offerors are encouraged to read the entire solicitation. Special attention must be paid to Section L - Instructions, Conditions, and Notices to Offerors or Respondents, and Section M - Evaluation Criteria. Any questions related to this RFP must be submitted in writing via email to Ms. Marina Orlova at morlova@usaid.gov and me at dharter@usaid.gov by the time and date specified above. No questions will be accepted after the specified date. If questions are received, the responses to which affect the solicitation, or if any changes are made to the RFP, this solicitation will be amended. This RFP and any amendments to this solicitation will be issued and published on beta.SAM.gov. Offerors are encouraged to check this website periodically. USAID bears no responsibility for data errors resulting from transmission or conversion processes. Only electronic proposals will be accepted. Proposals must be sent to morlova@usaid.gov and dharter@usaid.gov by the due date and time specified above. No other forms of submission will be accepted.

The Government reserves the right to award a contract without discussions based upon the evaluation of an Offeror's technical and cost proposal in accordance with this RFP. Therefore, an Offeror's initial technical and cost proposal should contain its best terms to meet requirements and the objectives of the Statement of Work.

The RFP does not obligate the United States Government to award a contract nor does it commit the Government to pay any cost incurred in preparing and submitting a proposal. In addition, the Government reserves the right to reject any and all offers, if such action is considered to be in the best interest of the Government. Award of a contract under this RFP is subject to the availability of funds and other approvals.

Thank you for your interest in USAID programs.

Sincerely, /s/

Daniel E. Harter Regional Contracting Officer mailto:morlova@usaid.gov mailto:dharter@usaid.gov http://beta.sam.gov/ mailto:modlova@usaid.gov mailto:dharter@usaid.gov

1. THIS CONTRACT IS A RATED ORDER RATING PAGE OF PAGES

UNDER DPAS (15 CFR 700)

2. CONTRACT NUMBER 3. SOLICITATION NUMBER 4. TYPE OF SOLICITATION 5. DATE ISSUED 6. REQUISITION/PURCHASE NUMBER

SEALED BID (IFB)

NEGOTIATED (RFP)

7. ISSUED BY CODE 8. ADDRESS OFFER TO (If other than Item 7)

NOTE: In sealed bid solicitations "offer" and "Offeror" mean "bid" and "bidder".

9. Sealed offers in original and _____________________________ copies for furnishing the supplies or services in the Schedule will be received at the place specified in Item 8, or if hand carried, in the depository located in until local time _______________________ (Hour) (Date)

CAUTION - LATE Submissions, Modifications, and Withdrawals: See Section L, Provision No. 52.214-7 or 52.215-1. All Offers are subject to all terms and conditions contained in this solicitation.

A. NAME B. TELEPHONE (NO COLLECT CALLS) C. E-MAIL ADDRESS

AREA CODE NUMBER EXT.

(X) SEC. DESCRIPTION PAGE(S) (X) SEC. DESCRIPTION PAGE(S)

PART I - THE SCHEDULE PART II - CONTRACT CLAUSES

A SOLICITATION/CONTRACT FORM I CONTRACT CLAUSES

B SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICES/COSTS PART III - LIST OF DOCUMENTS, EXHIBITS AND OTHER ATTACH.

C DESCRIPTION/SPECS./WORK STATEMENT J LIST OF ATTACHMENTS

D PACKAGING AND MARKING PART IV - REPRESENTATIONS AND INSTRUCTIONS

E INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

F DELIVERIES OR PERFORMANCE

G CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA L INSTR., CONDS., AND NOTICES TO OFFERORS

H SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS M EVALUATION FACOTRRS FOR AWARD

K REPRESENTATIONS, CERTIFICATIONS AND OTHER

STATEMENTS OF OFFERORS

NOTE: Item 12 does not apply if the solicitation includes the provisions at 52.214-16, Minimum Bid Acceptance Period.

12. In compliance with the above, the undersigned agrees, if this offer is accepted within _210_ calendar days (60 calendar days unless a different period is inserted by the Offeror) from the date for receipt of offers specified above, to furnish any or all items upon which prices are offered at the price set opposite each item, delivered at the designated point(s), within the time specified in the schedule.

13. DISCOUNT FOR PROMPT PAYMENT 10 CALENDAR DAYS (%) 20 CALENDAR DAYS (%) 30 CALENDAR DAYS (%) CALENDAR DAYS (%) (See Section I, Clause No. 52-232-8)

14. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF AMENDMENTS AMENDMENT NO. DATE AMENDMENT NO. DATE

(The offeror acknowledges receipt of amendments to the SOLICITATION for offerors and related documents numbered and dated:

CODE FACILITY 16. NAME AND TITLE OF PERSON AUTHORIZED TO SIGN OFFER 15A. NAME AND

ADDRESS OF

OFFEROR

(Type or print)

15B. TELEPHONE NUMBER 17. SIGNATURE 18. OFFER DATE

AREA CODE NUMBER EXT. 15C. CHECK IF REMITTANCE ADDRESS IS DIFFERENT FROM

ABOVE - ENTER SUCH ADDRESS IN SCHEDULE

19. ACCEPTED AS TO ITEMS NUMBERED 20. AMOUNT 21. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION

22. AUTHORITY FOR USING OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION: 23. SUBMIT INVOICES TO ADDRESS SHOWN IN ITEM (4 copies unless otherwise specified)

10 U.S.C. 2304(a) ( ) 41 U.S.C. 253(c) ( )

24. ADMINISTERED BY (If other than Item 7) 25. PAYMENT WILL BE MADE BY CODE CODE

26. NAME OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (Type or print)

Daniel E. Harter

27. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 28. AWARD DATE

IMPORTANT - Award will be made on this Form, or on Standard Form 26, or by other authorized official written notice.

(Signature of Contracting Officer)

(REV. 9-97)

10. FOR INFORMATION CALL:

11. TABLE OF CONTENTS

STANDARD FORM 33

SOLICITATION, OFFER AND AWARD N/A

SOLICITATION

OFFER (Must be fully completed by Offeror)

AWARD (To be completed by Government)

72012121R00001 X

03/10/2021 TBD

USAID/Ukraine/Regional Contract Office Department of State 5850 Kyiv Pl.

Washington D.C. 20521-5850

16:00 (Kyiv LT) 04/30/2021

Ms. Marina Orlova Administrative CO morlova@usaid.gov

See Attached Table of Contents

X 1

X 3-5

X 6-23

X 24-25

X 26-27

X 28-45

X 46-50

X 51-86

X 87-118

X 119

X 120-128

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X 150-154

USAID/Ukraine/Regional Contract Office

USAID/Ukraine/Office of Financial Management

Request for Proposal 72012121R00001 USAID Justice for All (J4A) Activity

PART I - THE SCHEDULE

SECTION B - SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICE/COSTS

B.1 PURPOSE

The purpose of this contract is to advance justice for all Ukrainians by strengthening justice systems, services, and societal engagement to deliver responsive solutions to Ukrainians’ legal problems and justice needs through the “USAID Justice for All (J4A) Activity” in Ukraine as described in detail in Section C. STATEMENT OF WORK.

B.2 CONTRACT TYPE

This is a cost plus fixed fee (CPFF) completion contract. For the consideration set forth in the contract, the Contractor must provide the results and deliverables described in Section C and Section F of this contract. The Contractor must also comply with all other contract requirements.

B.3 ESTIMATED COST, CEILING PRICE, FIXED FEE, AND OBLIGATED AMOUNT

(a) The estimated cost for the performance of the work required hereunder, exclusive of fixed fee, if any, is __________ [ TBD ]. The fixed fee, if any, is _________ [ TBD ]. The estimated cost plus fixed fee, if any, is ___________ [ TBD ].

(b) Within the estimated cost plus fixed fee (if any) specified in paragraph (a) above, the amount currently obligated and available for reimbursement of allowable costs incurred by the Contractor (and payment of fee, if any) for performance hereunder is _________ [ TBD ]. The Contractor shall not exceed the aforesaid obligated amount.

(c) Funds obligated hereunder are anticipated to be sufficient through _________ [ TBD ].

B.4 CONTRACT BUDGET

(a) Cost Category Amount Total Estimated Cost TBD Fixed Fee TBD

Total Estimated Cost Plus Fixed-Fee TBD

(b) The inclusion of any costs in the above cost categories does not obviate the requirement for prior approval by the Contracting Officer of cost items designated as requiring prior approval by any of the terms and conditions of this contract, including the applicable cost principles (see FAR § 52.216-07, “Allowable Cost and Payment”); nor does it constitute a determination of allowability by the Contracting Officer of any item of cost, unless specifically stated elsewhere in this contract. Also, these amounts may not be adjusted without a written modification signed by the Contracting Officer. The Contractor must not bill any amounts against this contract in excess of the amounts specified for each line item.

(c) The Contractor agrees to furnish data that the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) may request on costs expended or accrued under this contract.

B.5 INDIRECT COSTS

(a) Pending establishment of revised provisional or final indirect costs, USAID will reimburse allowable indirect costs on the basis of the following negotiated provisional or predetermined rates and the appropriate bases pursuant to the Contractor’s current executed Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement:

(b)

Description Rate Base Type Period % 1/ 1/ 1/

1/Base of Application:

Type of Rate:

Period:

(c) The Contractor will make no change in its established method of classifying or allocating indirect costs without the prior written approval of the Contracting Officer.

B.6 COST REIMBURSABLE

The U.S. dollar costs allowable will be limited to reasonable, allocable, and necessary costs determined in accordance with FAR § 52.216-7, “Allowable Cost and Payment,” FAR § 52.216-8, “Fixed Fee,” FAR § 52.232-20, “Limitation of Cost,” and FAR § 52-232-22, “Limitation of Funds,” if applicable, and AIDAR 752.7003, “Documentation for Payment.”

In addition, the requirement and conditions concerning estimated cost and funding apply as detailed in FAR § 52.232-22, Limitation of Funds, incorporated by reference in Section I of this contract.

B.7 PAYMENT OF FIXED FEE

USAID will pay a proportion of the contractor’s fixed fee each month pursuant to FAR 52.216-8, Fixed Fee, upon the receipt of a proper invoice by the Office Financial Management (OFM) located in USAID/Ukraine.

B.8 MULTI-YEAR CONTRACT AND CANCELLATION CEILING

This contract is considered non-severable, and is therefore a multi-year contract as defined in FAR

17.103. Therefore, this contract is subject to the requirements of FAR 17.106.

a. Performance under this contract during the second and subsequent program years is contingent upon the appropriation of funds. All program years except the first are subject to cancellation. Cancellation shall occur by the dates specified below if the Contracting Officer:

1. Notifies the Contractor that funds are not available for contract performance for any subsequent program year; or

2. Fails to notify the Contractor that funds are available for performance of the succeeding program year.

b. Cancellation Ceiling:

This is a CPFF type contract where the Contractor is authorized to be reimbursed for all costs which are allowable in accordance with FAR 52.216-7, “Allowable Costs and Payment.”

Therefore, the Contractor will not incur any costs which would have been amortized over the life of the contract should the contract be cancelled in accordance with FAR 52.217-2.

The Government's liability for cancellation charges shall not exceed $0. This amount will be reduced in accordance with FAR 17.106-1(c)(1) at the conclusion of each program year, as follows:

Program Year Cancellation Date Cancellation Ceiling Year 1: 2021/2022 N/A N/A Year 2: 2022/2023 MONTH TBD, 2022 TBD Year 3: 2023/2024 MONTH TBD, 2023 TBD Year 4: 2024/2025 MONTH TBD, 2024 TBD Year 5: 2025/2026 MONTH TBD, 2025 TBD

[END OF SECTION B]

SECTION C – DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS/STATEMENT OF WORK

USAID JUSTICE FOR ALL (J4A) ACTIVITY

C.1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE

Activity Purpose: Advance justice for all by strengthening justice systems, services, and societal engagement to deliver responsive solutions to Ukrainians’ legal problems and justice needs.

Activity Objectives:

Objective 1: Strengthen the independence, accountability, and effectiveness of justice systems and institutions.

Objective 2: Enhance the accessibility and quality of people-centered justice services and multiple pathways to justice.

Objective 3: Equip and empower civil society and active citizens to hold the justice system and justice services accountable and drive demand for meaningful judicial reform.

C.2 BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

Strengthening the rule of law, establishing an independent judiciary, and combating corruption, particularly political, have been the priorities of many Ukrainians since the country’s independence in 1991. Owing to Soviet legacies and also post-independence policies and practices, the level of public trust in state institutions, especially justice institutions (i.e. courts, public prosecution, law enforcement), has been extremely low in independent Ukraine.

Following the Euromaidan and Revolution of Dignity in 2014, the political situation in Ukraine changed significantly and with it the possibilities to strengthen the rule of law, establish a genuinely independent judiciary, and effectively combat corruption. A strong and active civil society that advocated and supported comprehensive judicial reform, unprecedented political will of the Ukrainian president and government in 2015 and 2016, and the commitment of international donors to intensify assistance to Ukrainian reforms all worked in tandem to create a window of opportunity for profound judicial reforms in the country. As a result, in the period 2015-2019, a number of important results were achieved, including the establishment of new judicial bodies and the reform of existing institutions.

Nevertheless, despite these achievements, the judiciary did not produce the results expected by society1. Most notably, the judiciary did not become an agent of fundamental change for addressing Ukrainians’ justice needs, rooting out corruption, and consolidating Ukraine’s young democracy. This is due in large part to the inability of the High Qualification Commission of Judges (HCCJ) and the High Council of Justice (HCJ) to effectively guarantee the institutional independence and integrity of the judiciary and that of individual judges.

When President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was elected and assumed office in May 2019, he committed to a new wave of judicial reform. However, the first 1.5 years of the Zelenskyy Administration have recorded little progress. Despite proactive early steps, the government’s judicial reform policy has proven largely unsystematic, ineffective, and unpredictable as legislative reform efforts have been met by Constitutional Court (CCU) challenges, requests for Venice Commission intervention, significant resistance from factions within the ruling Servant of the People party, and other delays.

Nevertheless, efforts toward a new wave of judicial reform were recently reinvigorated with the reconstitution of the Legal Reform Commission (LRC), which was tasked by the President to develop and implement a comprehensive judicial reform strategy, including for priority reforms aimed at expanding access to justice for all.

1 2020, Justice Sector Brief for the Ukraine Reform Conference 2020-2021 in Vilnius by UAReform initiative, https://uareforms.org/en/reforms/judicial-reforms https://uareforms.org/en/reforms/judicial-reforms

C.3 DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGE

Ukraine’s justice sector faces many pressing challenges that hinder self-reliant development and the promotion of the rule of law. Of these many challenges, the Justice for All activity focuses on addressing those that weaken judicial independence, impede a people-centered justice orientation, and limit universal access to basic justice.

Justice remains elusive for many Ukrainians in their everyday lives, while the rule of law continues in a precarious state. At a systems level, insufficient leadership, communication, coordination, and collaboration across institutions and actors impedes coherence and efficiency. Challenged by weak institutional capacity, corruption, and political interference, the judiciary remains an ineffective check on executive power and lacks public trust and confidence. According to the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Index’s Judicial Independence metric, Ukraine remains far from the level of its Europe and Central Asia peers on judicial independence2. Weak judicial independence and integrity impedes democratic and economic growth and undermines Ukraine’s international commitments and Euro-Atlantic aspirations.

According to recent USAID/New Justice polling, just 16 percent of the public express some degree of trust in the judiciary3 and, according to recent National Democratic Institute (NDI) polling, just 11 percent express trust in courts4. The lack of confidence in the judicial system deters public engagement in the judicial processes and use of justice services. Notably, it disempowers victims and the aggrieved to pursue justice and resolve disputes. Moreover, the lack of public trust in the judiciary discourages domestic and foreign investment in Ukraine. In fact, according to a recent European Business Association survey, mistrust in the judiciary is the number one obstacle to investment in Ukraine ahead of corruption, monopolization, and others5.

At a services level, persistent barriers to basic universal justice, including ineffective, inefficient, and limited access to justice services, leave Ukrainians unable to fully exercise their rights and fully engage in society and the economy. Justice and legal services, including those provided by courts, the bar, and civil society organizations, remain overly complicated, not always focused on the needs of justice seekers, and inaccessible to many. As a result, Ukraine faces a considerable justice gap, or the difference between the justice people want and need and the justice they receive.

According to the World Justice Project’s Global Insights on Access to Justice, 2019, 43 percent of the Ukrainian population has experienced a legal problem in the recent past (most of which are civil in nature), of which, some 37 percent experienced a significant hardship related to resolving the problem6. Similarly, according to a 2018 International Renaissance Foundation (IRF) survey on legal needs in four major regional cities in Ukraine, 50 percent of the population admitted a legal problem in the past three years, of which, 32 percent did not try to solve the problem for various reasons, including lack of confidence that a formal legal process would change anything, because of expected financial costs, and because they did not know how to engage the legal system, among other reasons. For the 68 percent who tried to solve the issue, few thought to engage the legal system or a legal professional. Among those that tried, 80 percent admitted not receiving a

2 2017, World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Index:

https://govdata360.worldbank.org/indicators/hce0ad5fa?country=UKR&indicator=670&viz=line_chart&years=2007,2017 3 2018, USAID New Justice Program, National Public Survey Regarding Trust in the Judiciary, Judicial Reform and Perception of Corruption: https://newjustice.org.ua/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/1_NJ_October_2018_SurveyPublic_Results_ENG.pdf 4 2020, NDI survey “Opportunities And Challenges Facing Ukraine’s Democratic Transition”:

https://www.ndi.org/sites/default/files/August%202020%20Political%20Survey%20-%20Public%20ENG_%20vf.pdf 5 2020, European Business Association’s Foreign Investor Survey 2020 https://eba.com.ua/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/2020_ForeignInvestorSurvey_Presentation_en.pdf 6 2017, WJP, Access to Justice, Ukraine profile http://data.worldjusticeproject.org/accesstojustice/#/country/UKR https://govdata360.worldbank.org/indicators/hce0ad5fa?country=UKR&indicator=670&viz=line_chart&years=2007,2017 https://newjustice.org.ua/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/1_NJ_October_2018_SurveyPublic_Results_ENG.pdf https://newjustice.org.ua/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/1_NJ_October_2018_SurveyPublic_Results_ENG.pdf https://www.ndi.org/sites/default/files/August%202020%20Political%20Survey%20-%20Public%20ENG_%20vf.pdf https://eba.com.ua/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/2020_ForeignInvestorSurvey_Presentation_en.pdf https://eba.com.ua/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/2020_ForeignInvestorSurvey_Presentation_en.pdf http://data.worldjusticeproject.org/accesstojustice/#/country/UKR satisfactory outcome7. According to the IRF survey, the most common justice problems faced were related to consumer rights, housing and communal services, social benefits and privileges, medical care, and labor relations. Moreover, the justice gap grows as no prevention strategies are aligned with such recurring justice problems to prevent them arising in the first place or growing in complication.

Finally, at a society level, citizens and civil society, especially in the regions, are insufficiently engaged to be effective advocates for reform and hold justice institutions and actors accountable for delivering people-centered justice. According to the same USAID/New Justice polling, just 16 percent of the national population acknowledge understanding justice issues and judicial reform.

This share is smaller in the regions. Insufficient engagement remains a lost opportunity for holding public justice service providers accountable for delivering justice solutions to the public. Within the civic space, legal education has improved but a large number of justice sector professionals, including judges, prosecutors, and lawyers graduate without adequate knowledge and skills and are not sufficiently prepared to practice. In addition, a lack of legal literacy disempowers many Ukrainians and impedes the development of a culture of lawfulness.

Many of these challenges and shortcomings acknowledged above have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, in terms of institutional performance and continuity of operations and also in terms of new legal problems and justice needs associated with the public health emergency and its socio-economic and human rights implications.

C.4 RELATIONSHIP TO USAID STRATEGY

This activity will contribute to the following Development Objective (DO) and Intermediate Results (IRs) under USAID/Ukraine’s Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) for 2019-2024.

This activity is part of USAID/Ukraine’s Democratic Governance Project, which encompasses activities whose primary purpose is to contribute to CDCS DO 3.

DO 3: Democratic Governance Strengthened IR 3.1: Citizens engaged in good governance Sub-IR 3.1.1: Increased citizen advocacy, oversight, and awareness of reform processes IR 3.2: Government more responsive and accountable to citizens Sub-IR 3.2.1: Strengthened capacity of state institutions to represent citizens, uphold the rule of law, and protect human rights

DO1: Corruption Reduced in Target Sectors IR 1.3: Strengthened Anti-Corruption Systems and Practices Sub-IR 1.3.2: Judicial Anti-Corruption Mechanisms Strengthened

C.5 COLLABORATION

C.5.1 Collaboration with Other USAID Activities USAID is a leading international donor in Ukraine and has supported reforms to strengthen democracy, rights, and governance, including the rule of law, since the country’s independence.

USAID’s current rule of law program, New Justice, has, since 2016, worked with Ukraine’s judiciary, government, Verkhovna Rada, bar, law schools, civil society, media, and citizens to create the conditions for an independent, accountable, transparent, and effective justice system that upholds the rule of law and fights corruption in Ukraine. The program has piloted a number of innovative initiatives in building the self-reliance of judicial processes and institutions, engaging the private sector, advancing e-justice and similar innovative solutions; as well as gained substantial lessons learned in strengthening judicial independence, integrity, and anti-corruption processes, among

7 2018, Internationa Renaissance Foundation’s survey of Legal Needs in Ukraine’s regions https://www.irf.ua/sotsiologichne_doslidzhennya_viyavilo_pravovi_potrebi_ta_problemi_v_regionakh_ukraini/ https://www.irf.ua/sotsiologichne_doslidzhennya_viyavilo_pravovi_potrebi_ta_problemi_v_regionakh_ukraini/ others. The Contractor must substantially collaborate with and/or expand tools/approaches successfully used by New Justice.

The Contractor must collaborate with the Mission’s portfolio of programs in economic growth, health, and democratic governance. Current and/or planned activities requiring collaboration include:

Support to Anti-Corruption Champion Institutions (SACCI), Transparency and Accountability in Public Administration and Services (TAPAS), Human Rights in Action, Enhance Non-Governmental Actors and Grassroots Engagements (ENGAGE), Ukraine Civil Society Sectoral Support Activity, USAID Transformation Communications, Ukraine National Identity Through Youth (UNITY) Activity, and Financial Sector Transformation (FST).

C.5.2 Collaboration with Other Development Partners USAID will continue to prioritize effective donor coordination and collaboration with partner institutions and intends this new rule of law program will play a leading role in strengthening coordination and collaboration and in ensuring that USAID and other international donors are able to anticipate as well as respond to new issues and opportunities for justice system reform.

The Contractor must coordinate extensively with relevant efforts funded by other donors and must propose to the USAID contracting officer’s representative (COR) how to adapt contract activities over time to match with the changing character of these projects.

The Contractor must also coordinate, as appropriate, with U.S. government agencies engaged in justice sector strengthening including programming by the State Department’s International Narcotics and Legal Affairs (INL) and the Department of Justice. The depth of coordination will depend on the relevancy of the project in question. However, given the multitude of donors and international interest in the justice sector, the Contractor must conduct a broad range of coordination efforts, from leading regular rule of law coordination meetings, to ad-hoc consultations on emerging issues, to joint planning of relevant interventions. The Contractor must coordinate appropriately and report on that coordination on a quarterly basis.

C.5.3 Collaboration with Host Country Governmental Partners Active coordination with representatives of judicial and other state institutions has historically resulted in numerous opportunities for collaboration such as joint events on judicial selection and discipline, training, access to justice, and civil society engagement in judicial reform.

The Contractor must actively coordinate with the following host country entities: the Supreme Court, High Anti-Corruption Court, High Council of Justice, Council of Judges, High Qualifications Commission of Judges, Public Integrity Council, State Judicial Administration, National School of Judges, President’s Office, National Investment Council, National Reform Council, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry of Digital Transformation, and Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture, among others.

C.5.4 Collaboration with Host Country Non-Governmental Partners Non-governmental partners from law schools to legal profession organizations, civil society justice advocacy, watchdog, and service delivery organizations, and others, make profound contributions to strengthening the justice sector and rule of law in Ukraine. The Contractor must, therefore, collaborate with non-governmental justice sector stakeholders to complement their efforts embracing local systems, ownership, and leadership principles.

C.6 TECHNICAL APPROACH

The Justice for All activity (heretofore “the Activity”) will advance Ukraine’s self-reliance by building the commitment and capacity of the government and other justice system stakeholders to lead judicial reform and deliver people-centered justice. In this regard, the Activity looks to support the justice system to refocus its approach to deliver meaningful progress towards justice for all8 by improving justice journeys from problem to resolution, empowering people and communities so they can act when legal problems and justice needs arise, expanding access to responsive justice services, offering alternative pathways to justice, and ensuring fair outcomes that are appropriate and meet human rights standards.

C.6.1 Theory of change IF justice system institutions and actors become more independent, accountable, and effective; AND IF justice services become more accessible, higher quality, and more responsive; AND IF civil society and active citizens hold the justice system and services accountable and drive demand for meaningful judicial reform; THEN Ukraine’s justice system will be better positioned to close the justice gap and deliver justice for all Ukrainians as a means to advancing the nation’s self-reliance, democratic and economic development, and Euro-Atlantic integration.

C.6.2 Objectives and Illustrative Outcomes The Activity is guided by an Overarching Purpose and three supporting Objectives. The below section details the objectives, expected results (ER), and illustrative activities, based on which Offerors should propose programmatic interventions.

Overarching Purpose

Advance justice for all by strengthening justice systems, services, and societal engagement to deliver responsive solutions to Ukrainians’ legal problems and justice needs.

The Justice for All activity aims to build the commitment and capacity of Ukraine’s justice system to deliver people-centered justice9 and expand universal access to justice as a means to reduce the justice gap, or the difference between the justice people want and need and the justice they recieve, and better ensure Ukrainians can fully contribute to and benefit from the economic, social, and democratic development of their community and country. Through this Activity, the Contractor must advance a justice for all approach at the systems, services, and societal engagement levels to ensure a comprehensive and holistic response for strengthening the justice system, including an independent judiciary, as an integral element for Ukraine’s democratic advancement and Euro- Atlantic aspirations.

Objective 1 Strengthen the independence, accountability, and effectiveness of justice systems and institutions.

ER 1.1 Justice sector legal and regulatory frameworks, policies, and strategies to ensure judicial independence, accountability, and effectiveness strengthened and implemented.

ER 1.2 Commitment and capacity of justice institutions to operate independently, accountably, and effectively increased.

ER 1.3 Judicial accountability and internal disciplinary mechanisms, and the role of the judiciary in combating corruption in society, strengthened.

ER 1.4 Efficiency, effectiveness, and integrity of judicial administration and self-governance, including through open justice approaches, enhanced.

8 2019, Task Force on Justice, Justice for All – Final Report (New York: Center on International Cooperation) https://bf889554- 6857-4cfe-8d55-8770007b8841.filesusr.com/ugd/90b3d6_746fc8e4f9404abeb994928d3fe85c9e.pdf 9 2019, Overseas Development Institute, Working paper “Universal access to basic justice - Costing Sustainable Development Goal 16.3 https://www.odi.org/sites/odi.org.uk/files/resource-documents/12681.pdf https://bf889554-6857-4cfe-8d55-8770007b8841.filesusr.com/ugd/90b3d6_746fc8e4f9404abeb994928d3fe85c9e.pdf https://bf889554-6857-4cfe-8d55-8770007b8841.filesusr.com/ugd/90b3d6_746fc8e4f9404abeb994928d3fe85c9e.pdf https://www.odi.org/sites/odi.org.uk/files/resource-documents/12681.pdf

ER 1.5 Development and implementation of prevention strategies to ensure prevalent legal problems are less likely to arise or escalate supported.

Objective 1_Objective Description:

Through the first objective, the Contractor must partner with local institutions and actors to strengthen the Ukrainian justice system to become more independent, accountable, and effective as a means to respond to society’s broad spectrum of justice needs, ensure fair and equitable outcomes for all justice seekers, and, ultimately, strengthen public trust in Ukraine’s justice system as a stepping stone to greater confidence in Ukraine’s democratic development and the rule of law.

Toward these ends, the Contractor must support justice stakeholder efforts to advance judicial reform, integrity-based judicial selection, judicial accountability and anti-corruption measures, and judicial administration and self-governance.

Judicial independence and accountability are the cornerstone of Ukraine’s fight against corruption and, therefore, the Contractor must strengthen internal judicial accountability and disciplinary measures while promoting the role of the judiciary in combating corruption in society, including through the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC). The Contractor must also facilitate and foster greater coherence, coordination, and communication among judicial self-governance and administrative bodies, the courts, justice associations, and legal professions to be effective advocates for and leaders of a people-centered justice agenda and to deliver the reforms most demanded and needed by society. In support of this approach, the Contractor must promote the systematic collection and use of data to steer justice reform, increase awareness of unmet needs, provide open data access as a platform for partnerships and accountability, and to inform judicial self-governance and administration policies, management decision-making, and innovation based on the evidence of what works.

Furthermore, the Contractor must work with justice system stakeholders to strengthen financing for justice by supporting efforts to expand and diversify the resource base and more efficiently manage and better target existing resources and revenues to ensure that finite justice resources can have the greatest impact in reducing the justice gap. To strengthen transparency and accountability in the judiciary and to ensure direct citizen participation in the judicial process, the Contractor must also support efforts to implement a jury trial system. Finally, under this objective, the Contractor must support the development and implementation of prevention strategies that tackle the root causes of injustice, promote trust in justice systems and processes, and strengthen legislative and regulatory frameworks and their implementation at the source of prevalent legal problems as a means to reduce Ukraine’s justice gap and prevent common problems from arising in the first place or escalating.

Objective 1_Illustrative Activities:

• Provide technical expertise to improve legal and regulatory frameworks in line with international and European standards.

• Support multi-stakeholder implementation of the forthcoming judicial reform strategy.

• Build stakeholder commitment to an inclusive justice system that increases diversity and representation of women and underrepresented groups at all levels of the justice system and increasingly in management and decision making roles.

• Strengthen anti-corruption measures within the judiciary, and the role of the judiciary in Ukraine’s larger anti-corruption agenda, including through support to the HACC.

• Improve the legal and regulatory framework for jury trials and build public support for jury service.

• Enhance justice sector transparency and citizen engagement by ensuring open justice principles and practices are integrated in judicial self-governance and administration processes.

Objective 2 Enhance the accessibility and quality of people-centered justice services and multiple pathways to justice.

ER 2.1 Capacity of justice institutions and courts to provide efficient, effective, and responsive services, based on evidence and user data, strengthened.

ER 2.2 Use of e-justice tools by justice sector institutions and actors increased.

ER 2.3 Enforcement of judgements within a reasonable time strengthened.

ER 2.4 Accessibility and quality of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, including commercial arbitration improved.

Objective 2_Description Through the second objective, the Contractor must encourage and support national and local governments and relevant civic organizations, service providers, and professions to deliver expanded and improved people-centered justice services that guarantee fundamental rights and freedoms, resolve disputes, and meet the diverse justice needs of Ukrainian society. To achieve this, the Contractor must explore opportunities to accelerate and simplify processes and remove barriers to access to justice through digitalization and automation efforts and innovation initiatives.

The Contractor must also support alternative pathways to justice and dispute resolution, including civil mediation and through restorative justice approaches, and must explore possibilities for an expansion of the one-stop-shop approach whereby a range of justice services are provided in one online and/or physical venue (e.g. single portal, justice house, community justice centers, etc.). The Contractor’s support must also include technical assistance regarding the enforcement of judgments to ensure proper completion of the justice journey and improve satisfaction of the justice process.

Particular attention will be given to improving the quality and accessibility of services, affording greater flexibility and means for solving legal problems, and enhancing the experience and ensuring fairer outcomes for justice seekers. This includes community-level engagement and developing localized strategies to provide justice and legal services to underserved populations in order to narrow Ukraine’s justice gap, including through support to service provision CSOs. In order to best ensure the efficiency, responsiveness, and effectiveness of justice service delivery in meeting justice needs, the Contractor must build the commitment and capacity of justice service providers to systematically collect and use service delivery data. Relevant to institutionalizing an evidence-based approach to justice service delivery, the Contractor must facilitate citizen engagement in social accountability mechanisms to ensure routine user feedback on service provision and performance of courts and other justice institutions and actors.

Importantly, the Contractor must prioritize engagement of the private sector both as justice service providers and justice service users. In this regard, the Contractor must support the justice system to expand partnerships with local private sector entities to deliver quality and low-cost services and solutions to legal problems as well as support the system to understand the justice needs of the private sector and then deliver responsive justice services to address those needs. Interventions underpinning the second objective must be implemented at the national and sub-national level, particularly in those regions and communities which demonstrate significant need and potential for reducing the justice gap.

Objective 2_Illustrative Activities

• Support governmental and non-governmental partners to develop and deliver a continuum of legal and justice services, including free legal aid, to ensure equal access to justice for all.

• Assist partners to assess and develop solutions to barriers in access to courts and other justice services.

• Support the expansion and sustainability of community-based justice centers.

• Support the integration of justice and legal services with other public and private services (e.g.

health, employment, housing) to provide more holistic and comprehensive responses to legal problems and justice needs.

• Develop and deploy interventions alongside partners to increase the use of alternative legal service providers and dispute resolution mechanisms, including online dispute resolution, and Do-It-Yourself (DIY) legal tools.

• Strengthen investor/private sector confidence in commercial dispute resolution and/or international arbitration.

• Support partners to improve justice data collection systems to identify justice needs and user satisfaction as a means to improve practices and services for more people-centered justice.

• Establish social accountability mechanisms with local partners to ensure citizen feedback loops for improved justice and legal service delivery.

• Support the development and deployment of the transformative power of innovation to bring new players into the justice sector, including through private sector partnerships, and to provide justice at scale to accelerate the narrowing of the justice gap.

Objective 3 Equip and empower civil society and active citizens to hold the justice system and justice services accountable and drive demand for meaningful judicial reform.

ER 3.1 Opportunities for citizen inclusion and participation in judicial processes and policy making broadened.

ER 3.2 Legal literacy among the general public expanded.

ER 3.3 Quality and accessibility of legal education improved.

ER 3.4 Citizen oversight of judicial institutions, actors, and services, including facilitating justice service user feedback models, strengthened.

Objective 3_Description Through the third objective, the Contractor must empower civil society and active citizens, including the private sector, and equip them with the capacity and means to effectively drive justice sector accountability and advance meaningful judicial reform. Toward this goal, the Contractor must engage national and local organizations and actors that best understand local needs and enjoy the public’s trust to lead citizen oversight of justice systems and services to ensure they are accountable to the communities they serve. This includes building community and public awareness of justice issues and rule of law principles and keeping them informed of developments related to their ability to exercise their rights. Additionally, the Contractor must support civil society participation in the co-production of justice policies, processes, and practices that affect Ukrainians’ daily lives and strengthen the rule of law. The Contractor must, inter alia, ensure the public has access to justice data and legal information and is equipped to evaluate the performance of justice institutions and actors and collaborate to solve justice and rule of law problems.

The Contractor must also engage local partners to improve the quality of legal education as a means to enhance professional standards across the justice system. Toward this objective, the Contractor must work with legal education governance bodies and law schools to ensure merit-based admissions and achievement and the strengthening of curricula and instruction methods to better prepare graduates to provide quality legal services and strengthen the legal profession and its independence and integrity.

Objective 3_Illustrative Activities

● Increase public awareness of justice issues and rule of law principles to build a culture of lawfulness.

● Empower citizens to know, use, and shape the law and policy to solve legal problems, affect change, and combat corruption.

● Civil society collaborates with justice institutions to facilitate compliance with open government commitments of Ukraine.

● Strengthen skills-based legal education curricula and instruction methods to prepare graduates to enter their professions.

● Strengthen legal education quality assurance frameworks, mechanisms, and oversight.

C.7.0 CROSS-CUTTING CONSIDERATIONS

The Contractor must have the capacity to bring high caliber technical assistance, institutional support, and comparative expertise to strengthen justice and the rule of law in Ukraine. The following cross-cutting principles must be integrated throughout the Contractor’s approach to achieve Activity objectives.

C.7.1 Journey to Self-Reliance and Financing Self-Reliance USAID has chosen to support judicial reform and people-centered justice as a means to advance Ukraine’s Journey to Self-Reliance10 in the justice sector. In this regard, building the commitment and capacity underpinning self-reliance will be deeply embedded in USAID’s approach to this activity. The Contractor must, therefore, strengthen the capacity of the government, private sector, civil society, and active citizens to administer, advocate for, and deliver justice. Simultaneously and in close coordination with USAID and the U.S. Embassy, the Contractor must advance host country commitment to the rule of law and people-centered justice by further engaging citizens and the civic sectors partners in reforms that meet international and EU standards, Ukraine’s international commitments, and the expectations of its citizens. Recognizing that more and better utilized resources are needed to achieve justice for all and improve the self-reliance metrics as presented in the Ukraine Country Roadmap11, the Contractor must advance relevant Financing Self-Reliance12 opportunities within the justice sector on behalf of the justice sector resource base. At the end of the Activity, USAID will leave behind a self-sustaining ecosystem of proven partnerships and relationships among these actors, who will be able to further define, develop, and finance initiatives that advance judicial integrity, accountability, and independence in the future.

C.7.2 People-Centered Justice The Contractor must adopt and integrate a people-centered approach to justice reform and rule of law promotion. This means it must work with justice institutions and actors to: put people and their legal needs at the center of the system by investing in data collection and analysis of people’s legal problems and needs, transform these institutions and actors and the services they provide in order to solve these problems, and improve the experience of justice seekers as well as their outcomes. In addition, it must seek to prevent legal problems and justice needs from arising and reduce the harm and burden on the individual if and when they do by facilitating collaboration amongst a broad spectrum of stakeholders and beneficiaries both internal and external to the justice sector.

C.7.4 Open Justice The Contractor must promote open justice principles of transparency, civic participation, inclusion, and public accountability with regards to the justice system and its constituent institutions and actors.

It must engage stakeholders and facilitate collaboration between justice institutions and actors, the executive and legislative branches, civil society, and the private sector to undertake meaningful reforms and introduce new practices to improve performance and ultimately build public trust in the justice system and rule of law. Open justice initiatives include, inter alia, those in support of facilitating greater disclosure of justice data, information, and decisions, increasing public engagement and participation in justice policy and budgetary processes, and strengthening the role of the judiciary in supporting democratic governance and ensuring compliance with open government commitments.

10 USAID Journey to Self-Reliance Policy https://www.usaid.gov/selfreliance 11 USAID/Ukraine Country Roadmap https://selfreliance.usaid.gov/country/ukraine 12 USAID Financing Self Reliance Policy https://www.usaid.gov/open/financing-self-reliance https://www.usaid.gov/selfreliance https://selfreliance.usaid.gov/country/ukraine https://www.usaid.gov/open/financing-self-reliance

C.7.4 COVID-19 Adaptation The Contractor must support the justice system in responding to and remedying the immediate institutional, social, and economic implications of COVID-19 and strengthen its role in the country’s longer term recovery and reform efforts. It must identify and learn from how COVID-19 related public emergency, lockdowns, and social distancing measures affected the operations of the justice system institutions and essential justice and legal services and personnel. It must identify good practices and innovations in responding to the pandemic and take them to scale where applicable and feasible. Similarly, it must identify weaknesses and gaps in the response and propose solutions to build back better and strengthen the overall resiliency of the justice system and the judiciary to deal with future emergencies.

C.7.5 Innovative Justice Solutions The Contractor must embrace innovation in the rule of law space, including automation and digitization as well as regulatory and procedural reforms, as an important means by which it will assist institutions and actors achieve their goals and meet the needs of the individuals and communities they are mandated to serve.