Learning Activity RFP 72026322R00001 Amendment 2- signed.pdf

Request for Proposal (RFP) No.: 72026322R00001

Date Issued: March 21, 2022

Deadline for Questions: April 1, 2022, 5:00 pm (Eastern Daylight Time)

Closing Date: May 10, 2022, 5:00 pm (Eastern Daylight Time)

SUBJECT: Request for Proposals (RFP) No.: 72026322R00001 USAID/Egypt Learning Activity

Dear Prospective Offerors:

The United States Government (“USG”) represented by the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Mission in Egypt (USAID/Egypt) hereby amends the above-referenced RFP. The purpose of Amendment 02 is to (a) amend the RFP to correct the NAICS code in the cover letter, and (b) provide a courtesy copy of the full RFP with track changes to reflect the changes made via Amendments 01 and 02. Attachment No. 1 indicates the changes made to the RFP and Attachment No. 2 contains the updated RFP in track changes.

Thank you for your continued interest and participation in USAID/Egypt activities.

Sincerely, Martin Fischer Contracting Officer

RFP # 72026322R00001

USAID/Egypt Learning Activity

Amendment 02

Attachment 02 - Changes to RFP

The solicitation is hereby amended as set forth below:

COVER LETTER

1. Cover Letter Paragraph 1: Delete “541168” and replace with “541618”.

Attachment No. 2 – Updated RFP with Track Changes

Request for Proposal (RFP) No.: 72026322R00001 Date Issued: March 21, 2022 Deadline for Questions: April 1, 2022, 5:00 pm (Eastern Daylight Time) Closing Date: May 10, 2022, 5:00 pm (Eastern Daylight Time)

SUBJECT: Request for Proposals (RFP) No.: 72026322R00001

USAID/Egypt Learning Activity

The United States Government, represented by the U.S. Agency for Development (USAID/Egypt), is seeking proposals to provide services to implement the USAID/Egypt Learning Activity as described in the attached Request for Proposals (RFP). Subject to the availability of funds, USAID/Egypt anticipates awarding a Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee completion-type contract as a result of this solicitation, covering an estimated period of five (5) years. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this activity is 5411618. The authorized geographic code is 937.

All interested and qualified organizations are invited to submit a proposal in accordance with the requirements of the enclosed RFP No. 72026322R00001. This procurement will be conducted under full and open competition procedures, pursuant to Part 15 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) (48 CFR Chapter 1). Proposals must be received by the Government no later than the time and the date stated above and be submitted consistent with the requirements in Section L. Proposals received after the closing date and time will be processed in accordance with FAR 15.208.

Prior to the submission of proposals, amendments to this solicitation will be made available through the Government homepage at SAM.gov. It is the responsibility of the recipient of this solicitation document to ensure that it has been received from the internet in its entirety; USAID bears no responsibility for data errors from transmission or conversion processes. It is the offeror’s responsibility to check this site periodically for official updates and amendments to the solicitation. Issuance of this solicitation does not obligate USAID/Egypt to award a contract, nor does it commit USAID/Egypt to pay for costs incurred in the preparation and submission of a proposal. Furthermore, USAID/Egypt reserves the right to reject any and all offers, if such action is considered to be in the best interest of the U.S. Government.

Offerors should read the entire solicitation, which includes all pertinent technical sections and the terms, conditions and instructions required for submitting a proposal. By email only, please submit all questions regarding this RFP no later than the date and time listed above to Ms. Dina ElMotei at delmotei@usaid.gov with a copy to Ms. Jamie Lewis at jamilewis@usaid.gov and Ms. Lydia Rizkallah at lrizkallah@usaid.gov. Oral instructions or explanations given before the award of the contract resulting from this solicitation will not be binding. Answers to all offerors’ questions will be provided in writing.

Amendment 02

We extend our best wishes to all for a successful competition, and certainly want to thank you for your interest in USAID/Egypt activities.

Sincerely, Martin R. Fischer Contracting Officer

(x)

72026322R00001 x x copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted ; or (c) By separate letter or electronic communication which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BE

RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR

OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment you desire to change an offer already submitted , such change may be made by letter or electronic communication, provided each letter or electronic communication makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

x

11435

720263

New Maadi, 11435, Egypt Off El Laselki St.

1A Ahmed Kamel St.

USAID/Egypt

04/21/20220002

13. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO MODIFICATION OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS. IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA (If required) is not extended.is extended, Items 8 and 15, and returning

Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended , by one of the following methods: (a) By completing

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

FACILITY CODE CODE

10B. DATED (SEE ITEM 13)

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NO.

9B. DATED (SEE ITEM 11)

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NO.

CODE

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR (No., street, county, State and ZIP Code)

7. ADMINISTERED BY (If other than Item 6)CODE 6. ISSUED BY

PAGE OF PAGES

4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NO.3. EFFECTIVE DATE2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NO. 5. PROJECT NO. (If applicable)

1. CONTRACT ID CODE

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

03/21/2022

CHECK ONE A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE CONTRACT

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES (such as changes in paying office, C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER (Specify type of modification and authority) appropriation data, etc.) SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

E. IMPORTANT: Contractor is not is required to sign this document and return __________________ copies to the issuing office.

ORDER NO. IN ITEM 10A.

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION (Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

The purpose of amendment #02 to RFP # 72026322R00001 is to:

(a)Update NAICS code in the RFP cover letter, and (b)Include the changes made to the RFP in

Amendment 1 in a track changes format

16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (Type or print)15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER (Type or print)

15C. DATE SIGNED 16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR 16C. DATE SIGNED

(Signature of person authorized to sign) (Signature of Contracting Officer)

Martin Fischer

STANDARD FORM 30 (REV. 11/2016)

Prescribed by GSA FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

Previous edition unusable

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9 A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect .

SECTION B - SUPPLIES OR SERVICES/PRICES

B.1 PURPOSE

The purpose of this Activity is to provide monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) support services and build the capacity of USAID/Egypt and implementing partner (IP) staff. The objectives of these technical services and capacity building include improved use of Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA), support in implementing MEL aspects of USAID/Egypt’s Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) and enhanced organizational effectiveness.

B.2 CONTRACT TYPE

This is a Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee (CPFF) completion-type contract. For the consideration set forth below, the Contractor must achieve the performance objectives and provide the deliverables as described in Sections C and F and otherwise comply with all contract requirements.

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

(a) The estimated cost for the performance of the work required hereunder, exclusive of fee is: $______. The fixed-fee is $______. The estimated cost-plus fixed-fee is $______.

(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 must not exceed the aforesaid obligated amount in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”) 52.232.22, “Limitation of Funds.” [NOTE: The actual amount to be obligated will be determined at the time of award.]

(c) Funds obligated hereunder are anticipated to be sufficient through {TBD based on the date of award}.

B.4 BUDGET

The budget for the Contract is provided below. The total cost stated for the budget categories specified below may not be adjusted without a modification to the Contract signed by the Contracting Officer (CO). No amounts in excess of the amounts specified for each budget category can be billed to the Contract.

Item Total Personnel $__________ Fringe Benefits & Allowances

Travel $__________ Equipment & Supplies $__________ Other Direct Costs $__________ Contractual $__________ Indirect Cost $__________ Total Cost $__________

B.5 PAYMENT OF FIXED FEE

Payment of the fixed fee will be made as follows. The Contractor’s fixed fee is tied to the accomplishment of performance objectives and deliverables or outputs described in Sections C, D and F that are specified in Table 1 below, subject to inspection and acceptance by USAID/Egypt as specified in section E, and otherwise in compliance with the terms of the contract and in accordance with work planning approved by USAID/Egypt. The Contractor will be paid the amount of fee specified for each denoted performance objective, deliverable or output set forth in the table below upon acceptance by the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR). Because the clauses entitled “Allowable Cost and Payment” (FAR 52.216-7) and “Fixed Fee” (FAR 52.216-8 are incorporated into the RFP and applicable to this order, the terms and conditions of this clause apply after total payments of fixed fee reach eighty-five percent (85%) of the total fixed fee.

Table 1 – Fixed Fee Payment Schedule [Amount of fee to be filled by offerors and results to be filled in by offerors where indicated below and consistent with instructions in Section L.12.a.2]

# Deliverable Reference1 Amount

1 Establishment of an in-country presence and support center C.6 $______

2 Final MEL Plan F.7.a $______

3 First Annual Work Plan F.7.c $______

4 Years 1 and 2 at least 8 Training Sessions on Performance Management and/or CLA and Adaptive Management

Section C, Activity 4

5 Years 1 and 2 Data Quality Assessment Section C, Activity 8

6 Years 1 and 2 Submission of 3 quarterly reports and 1 annual report each year for a total of 6 quarterly reports and 2 annual reports.

F.7.d $______

7 Year 3 Data Quality Assessment Section C, Activity 8

8 Year 3 Conduct or Support at least 3 Workshops or Learning Fairs Section C, Activity 26

9 Year 3 submission of 3 quarterly reports and 1 annual report. F.7.d $______

10 Year 4 Data Quality Assessment Section C, Activity 8

11 Year 4 submission of 3 quarterly reports and 1 annual report. F.7.d $______

12 Closeout Plan F.7.g $______

13 Final Report F.7.h $______

14 All contract requirements met CO Determination

1 All deliverables must meet all of the requirements in the referenced section and be approved by the COR before payment will be made.

B.6 INDIRECT COSTS

Payment of indirect costs shall be reimbursed based on the Contractor’s Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA) with __________________ as updated. Pending establishment of revised provisional or final rates, allowable indirect costs must be reimbursed at the provisional rates, on the bases, and for the periods specified in the NICRA.

B.7 COST REIMBURSEMENT

Allowable costs will be limited to reasonable, allocable and necessary costs determined in accordance with FAR 52.216-7, Allowable Cost and Payment (AUG 2018), FAR 52.216-8 (JUN 2011), Fixed Fee, if applicable, and AIDAR 752.7003 (NOV 1998), Documentation for Payment.

B.8 MULTI-YEAR CONTRACT

The Contract is considered non-severable and therefore may be a multi-year contract as defined in FAR 17.103. Therefore, this RFP may be subject to the requirements of FAR

17.106. However, 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 canceled in accordance with FAR 52.217-2. The cancellation ceiling for each cancellation date is $0 and there is no requirement to include cancellation dates in the contract.

[END OF SECTION B]

SECTION C – STATEMENT OF WORK

C.1 TITLE OF ACTIVITY AND INTRODUCTION

The title of the activity is USAID/Egypt Learning Activity.

C.2 OBJECTIVE

The Contract will provide monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) support services and build the capacity of USAID/Egypt and IP staff. The objectives of these technical services and capacity building include improved use of Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA);

support in implementing MEL aspects of USAID/Egypt’s Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) and enhanced organizational effectiveness. To these ends, the Contractor must:

a. Provide technical support to strengthen reporting and MEL processes, supporting USAID/Egypt and IPs in timely, evidence-based decision-making and learning;

b. Investigate the key development hypotheses underlying CDCS Development Objectives (DOs), to generate learning and enable adaptation for subsequent program designs or updates to the CDCS and PMP;

c. Support evidence-based project and activity design via short and long-term technical consultants to conduct stakeholders consultations, research and analysis, and sectoral and cross-cutting assessments and desk studies.

d. Improve organizational practices, business processes, and capacity for knowledge management, learning and adaptation within USAID/Egypt ’s staff;

e. Deepen coordination, collaboration, knowledge sharing, and synergy within the Mission and with other key Stakeholders and IPs regarding program interventions, M&E, and lessons learned.

f. Provide organizational development services aimed at enhancing the Mission’s collaborating, learning, and adapting (CLA) practices and culture.

C.3 BACKGROUND

USAID/Egypt is a large bilateral USAID Mission, with approximately $125 million in annual assistance in the areas of Democracy & Governance, Economic Growth, Health and Education.

USAID/Egypt developed its first five-year Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS), which was approved on December 30, 2020. The Mission’s CDCS goal is “A More Inclusive and Globally Competitive Economy for the Benefit of all Egyptians.” This goal is supported by three DOs: DO 1: Effectiveness of Reforms of Key GOE Entities Strengthened; DO 2: Enabling Conditions Promoting Social Equity Improved; and DO 3: Inclusive Economic Development Accelerated. These objectives represent the areas identified through an inclusive process as being the interconnected focal points necessary for transformational change.

The Mission is strategically and deliberately shifting towards a CLA-centered approach to programming that will allow teams at all levels to increase impact in an evolving environment by collaborating across the portfolio and managing adaptively. Accordingly, the Mission’s initial Performance Management Plan (PMP), which was approved in April 2021, takes a learning-centered approach to enable and drive adaptive management for improved results. This approach builds on and strategically converges with a more traditional model of results monitoring to enable technical teams and Mission as a whole to monitor results in the context of higher level objectives and goals. Specifically, this approach explains how the Intermediate Results (IRs) and Sub-IRs work together to amplify impact. By layering Learning Priorities (LPs) on top of the traditional monitoring framework, the Mission seeks to understand how integrated and cross-cutting issues affect programming. The Learning Priorities thus drive better, deeper, more sustainable results by highlighting areas of convergence, providing critical contextual information, and facilitating adaptive management.

USAID/Egypt previously entered into a contract (AID-263-I-15- 00001), with a period of performance from July 15, 2015, to July 14, 2020, with the QED Group (QED) and its subcontractors, DevTech Systems, Inc., and North South Consultants Exchange (NSCE), to develop and implement the Services to Improve for Performance Management, Enhance Learning and Evaluation (SIMPLE) activity. SIMPLE provided services to the Mission to improve performance management and to support program and activity design by assisting the Mission in: performance management planning; training implementing partners (IPs) and Mission staff in performance management; field-based monitoring; and evaluations. To support program and activity design, SIMPLE provided short- and long-term technical assistance in collecting baseline data; conducted sectoral and geographic assessments; conducted topical and geographic research; and assisted with other development design tasks as required. SIMPLE operated under an indefinite duration indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract developed with both core and task order functions in performance management. Core functions supported ongoing, routine functions for the Mission such as the development of a PMP and Activity Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Plans (AMELPs). Task orders were leveraged to conduct support functions for IPs such as capacity-building and MEL workshops. Of the total contract value of $24.5, approximately $9.6 million was allocated to core functions and approximately $14.9 million to task order functions.

Over the course of five years, SIMPLE conducted over 15 evaluations, 4 assessments, reviewed over 25 Activity MEL plans and Five Data Quality Assessments of over 150 indicators. SIMPLE also conducted 57 learning events and learning fairs and developed and maintained the Performance Indicator Tracking Tables (PITT) and provided capacity building training and coaching to 350 USAID and IP staff.

C.3.a Operating Context

The internal and external operating contexts are discussed below.

i. Internal

In early FY 2021, USAID completed an end-of-project performance evaluation of SIMPLE. The evaluation concluded that there are promising opportunities and a great need to increase the emphasis on collaboration within the Mission. Equally, there is a need to build Mission capacity in utilizing data and evidence and learning to feed into program and activity designs and in adapting activities in a timely manner. In the later years of the contract, SIMPLE provided facilitation services – of both Mission-centric processes such as CDCS development and a senior management retreat – as well as IP meetings with Mission staff. The evaluation noted that these services were well-received for several reasons; the quality of the facilitation, the pre-existing trust and comfort existing between SIMPLE and Mission staff, and SIMPLE’s ability to encourage frank interaction between IPs and technical offices. The evaluation also identified that sustaining MEL gains beyond basic IP capacity to define indicators and assistance in aligning indicators in AMELPs requires further continued attention. Important gaps continue to exist in terms of understanding of USAID data quality requirements, MEL practices, and collaborating, learning, and adapting (CLA) among some IPs. In addition, the reality of both collecting and accessing data in Egypt continues to be a challenge.

In July 2020, USAID/Egypt awarded a two-year task order to QED under the SIMPLE IDIQ to continue providing MEL, facilitation and evaluation services support to USAID/Egypt building in more emphasis on creating the foundation for more intentional learning, collaborating and adapting.

ii. External

The USAID/Egypt operating context is a delicate non permissive data operating environment which poses challenges for both implementation and data collection for USAID and other donor partners. Obtaining approval for data collection from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) and data transparency is limited in Egypt, and data collection can be cumbersome and time-consuming due to multi-layered government approval processes.)

Obtaining approval for data collection is time-consuming and uncertain, often taking months and sometimes not granted at all. This often results in an inability to conduct quantitative evaluations and baseline data collection in a timely manner needed for decision making.

The challenge around collecting data exacerbates the need for greater collaboration and knowledge sharing of the data that is available among USAID/Egypt stakeholders and IPs.

C.3.b Problem Statement

Currently, the Mission is managing approximately over 38 awards (as of June 2021), outstripping workforce resources available to effectively perform assessments and rigorous analyses, gather baseline data, track results, periodically report on progress, verify data, respond to ad-hoc requests for information, manage recordkeeping, and other project development and program office functions. Moreover, in light of USAID’s New Partnership Initiative, the Mission is directing additional funding to local organizations and mechanisms. Many of these local organizations, however, lack the skills necessary to effectively manage performance and verification activities. Additionally, due to COVID 19 Pandemic, and social distancing measures, there is a stronger need for adapting and continuing to look for innovative ways for remote monitoring and data collection that fits the nature of each activity in line with recent Agency guidelines and directives. Additionally, the priorities of Agency leadership under the new administration will require the Mission to continuously assess and adapt to the priorities and update the CDCS and PMP accordingly. Broadly speaking, many USAID/Egypt staff and IPs lack a full understanding of data quality requirements, MEL practices, and CLA.

The results of a Mission CLA assessment conducted in June, 15 2021 indicate a need for capacity building around CLA and effective collaboration in particular. Although technical teams were positive about their collaboration, and ranked it the highest, they recognized the difficulty and the need for better skills.

There is great need to increase the emphasis on collaboration and learning within the Mission and implement a stronger approach to capacity building in utilizing data and evidence and learning to feed into program and activity designs and in adapting implementation of activities in a timely manner. This activity will continue to support the Mission to build capacity and provide surge support in the areas where a need is identified.

The current number of onboard staff is approximately 170 which includes diverse hiring mechanisms, including direct-hire Americans (30), USPSC (6) and locally-engaged staff (128).

This diversity of staff, including the various educational, cultural, and national backgrounds, introduces a unique and complex organizational culture, with various challenges and opportunities the Mission wishes to fully leverage. The Mission’s eight offices perform technical, support and oversight functions. In order to achieve the organization’s goals, each office must operate effectively both as a team within a highly collaborative, multi-initiative, externally focused, and fast-paced environment while managing a constant high degree of change across offices to ensure overarching Mission goals are met cohesively.

In May 2021, USAID modified the existing Capacity Building task order under the SIMPLE IDIQ, to implement a set of organizational development activities to develop a “Mission of Leaders” ethos that will seek to empower leaders at every level and from every hiring category to lead, build relationships, work collaboratively, learn from one another, manage development processes, and fundamentally drive important development discussions to achieve the desired development results in the strategy. This will decrease stovepiping and increase collaboration between and among teams and is important to achieve the cross-cutting goals articulated in the CDCS and PMP. The capacity building task order was designed to institutionalize collaborating, learning and adapting (CLA) within USAID/Egypt by building the capacity of Mission staff to address common challenges in operationalizing CLA for better adaptive management across the USAID Program Cycle. The Mission has identified the need to include other activities beyond the training curriculum to support the enabling conditions for institutionalizing CLA and to build the leadership and capacity of staff at all levels to achieve this goal.

Beginning the MOL effort was crucial because:

i. COVID-19 has changed the way people work and how they collaborate.

ii. The Mission has a new CDCS that emphasizes the importance of CLA and stakeholder engagement.

iii. The Mission has a new PMP that is learning-driven and its learning agendas require cross-office collaboration.

iv. The Mission results of the CLA assessment indicate a need for capacity building around CLA and effective collaboration in particular. Although technical teams were positive about their collaboration, and ranked it the highest, they recognized the difficulty and the need for better skills.

v. The Mission requires a change management process that strengthens leadership behaviors and builds teams to ensure effective collaboration, innovation and better impact.

Under Phase one of the Mission of Leaders (MoL) efforts implemented by QED/SIMPLE, the Mission expects to administer Insights to all Mission Staff, hold eight office debrief sessions, tailor and adapt an organizational health survey to provide rapid insights into the organizational health of USAID/Egypt, and hold an all staff virtual two day workshop to build the MoL Framework. Additionally, and to ensure sustainability, under MOL Phase 1, the Mission will have seven staff members accredited in administering Insights.

Under this contract, USAID/Egypt is requesting services to continue and build on the MoL efforts. Please see section C “Component 5 for details

C.4 OPERATING CONSTRAINTS AND GUIDANCE

The following operational guidance is provided that will be critical for the successful and sustainable implementation of this Activity and must be applied to all services and deliverables specified in the Contract. These constraints and guidance relate to: a. Private Sector Engagement; b. Collaboration, Learning and Adapting; c. Sustainability; d. Gender and Women’s Empowerment; e. Target Population and Geographical Location; and f. Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning.

C.4.a Private Sector Engagement

Private Sector in Engagement is one of the USAID/Egypt’s main strategic approaches in achieving the CDCS goals because of the private sector’s potential to drive sustainable results at scale across the RF. Egypt has a robust private sector with the potential to employ a significant number of Egyptians. The private sector plays an important role in delivering services, in promoting innovation, and in reaching areas experiencing development gaps. The GOE signaled that it wants to shift to private sector-led economic growth, so understanding the incentives and constraints related to PSE is essential. Analyzing the private sector’s potential to support improved performance will guide the Mission in making strategic decisions to maximize its portfolio results. USAID/Egypt has identified PSE approaches as one of the Learning Priorities for the Mission. Specifically, Learning Questions explore what benefits accrue from working with the private sector, and identify successful approaches that should be scaled up or replicated.

Conversely, the Mission seeks to understand where collaboration is not worth continuing and identify impediments to success that appear consistently.

The Contractor shall work with USAID/Egypt, Program Office, technical teams , IPs, and other stakeholders to facilitate the learning activities identified, propose or identify additional relevant learning activities, and will bring in experts from the academia, private and civil society to explore promising, workable approaches and strategies for expanding results achieved mutual DOs, build the capacity and provide solution to how to measure the outcome of partnering with the private sector in maximizing results and generate and share knowledge around selected technical programmatic areas and facilitate interactions that review these results and provide knowledge to inform strategic decision making.

C.4.b Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting

USAID/Egypt is adopting a strong emphasis on CLA in the CDCS and the PMP. The Mission is strategically and deliberately shifting towards a CLA-centered approach to programming that will allow teams at all levels to manage adaptively. Consistent collaboration opportunities and learning will facilitate teams to find solutions and adapt programming to meet the dynamics of the changing environment or to revisit the development hypothesis.

In addition, the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 are changing the operating context, requiring continuous adaptation. CLA principles support this responsiveness to changing context, evidence, and opportunities. The Contractor must continuously review progress and challenges, integrate and document lessons learned, and adapt interventions according to CLA concepts, as specified in ADS 201.3.4.10 and ADS 201.3.7. CLA objectives include:

i. Generate Knowledge. The Contractor must generate new knowledge and evidence around learning questions identified together with USAID (illustrative questions below) and other stakeholders, as well as questions that emerge during implementation. In filling these knowledge and evidence gaps, the Contractor must provide reporting, data, analysis, and gather mission staff for inclusive reviews of the activity goals and results.

ii. Share Knowledge. The Contractor must increase knowledge sharing with stakeholders, local organizations, Government of Egypt, sectoral experts, donors, regional and international organizations, and others to encourage more widespread learning across teams, mechanisms, and sectors. The Contractor must work together within or establish a learning network to share information with IPs of other USAID activities, such as local stakeholders and other development partners. The Contractor must convene forums to share knowledge and also use existing forums within Egypt.

iii. Incorporate Agile and Adaptive Processes. The Contractor must develop adaptive management and implementation processes and must include an adaptive management plan within the annual work plans to allow course corrections to respond to unintended effects, changing/emerging realities, and priorities.

Together with USAID, the Contractor’s activity work plan, quarterly reports, and periodic progress review meetings must provide a forum for an adaptive approach to change course based on lessons learned and the evolving country context. The Contractor must prioritize activities together with the COR during work planning and review the prioritization during the quarterly reporting period. If circumstances arise, the Contractor may and should alter activity designs with approval from the COR to accommodate the window of opportunity, as long as the reprogramming (i) falls within the scope of work of this Contract, and (ii) does not hold the USG to incurring additional costs, in each case unless otherwise directed by the CO.

As recommended in the ADS 201, in the MEL plan, the Contractor will be proposing a capacity development and learning agenda to determine what types of support and interventions are working or not and the practicality of advancing these. Through means that shall be proposed by the Contractor, this contract ’s research and learning agenda will be undertaken to address key questions like:

● What are the most effective types of monitoring, reporting, learning and collaborating interventions for promoting more adaptive program management and why?

● How is the Contract’s approach to enhanced monitoring and reporting, leadership and staff development contributing to achievement of the CDCS goals, objectives?

● How has the effectiveness and actual use of M&E systems and quality of data produced improved during the program’s implementation?

C.4.c Sustainability

To address sustainability, the Contractor shall develop USAID/Egypt’s institutional and IP capacity for M&E, learning and adaptation through providing several forms of capacity building, structured training and on the job training and coaching. The Contractor must build relationships with local experts, academia and government including CAPMAS. The Contractor (MEL platform) should conduct quarterly capacity-building sessions offering high-quality tailored training for USAID staff and IPs and ensure explicit emphasis on CLA activities. Build capacity of local experts and firms in the provision of specialized services like research, evaluations, communication, and cost benefit / effectiveness analyses and contract management through subcontracting. The Contractor must ensure to subcontract with local organizations who can navigate the complex nature of data collection and access in Egypt.

The Contractor will engage multiple stakeholders including government, civil society, and academia in sharing best practices in development implementation as well as demonstrating various, promising aspects and techniques of CLA. The Contractor is expected to include in the workplan and MEL plan and quarterly reports the planned approach and measures and progress on how aspects of the capacity building components and improvements in MEL and CLA operations will be tracked and possibly sustained.

C.4.d Gender and Women’s Empowerment

All performance management activities, assessments, surveys, studies, and reports must include gender-disaggregated data, where feasible. In conducting field studies or surveys, the Contractor will need to be culturally sensitive and activities may need to be gender-segregated to facilitate participation by women. Facility selection will need to ensure appropriate access and privacy for women. Interviews, workshops, or other activities conducted with women may need to be led by women. As far as practicable in various assignments, the Contractor must undertake specific assessments of perceptions, attitudes, and values of women and the impact of activities on women in target areas.

The Contractor must pay attention to – and highlight – gender-based constraints and issues in connection to the conduct of all deliverables. For example, the Contractor should highlight gender-specific issues that arise from the data collection of IPs. The Contractor must also identify gender trends that materialize from evaluations and assessments. The Contractor must inform USAID of such issues and the measures to be taken to address them. The Contractor is expected to reference the CDCS Learning Priority one in all designs of any learning events, reviews of AMELPs, PMP, and any plans for conducting and designing research, assessments and evaluations.

C.4.e Target Sectors and Geographical Locations

The principal customers for this contract are USAID/Egypt's Front Office, the Program Office, the technical teams and support offices within USAID/Egypt. Other beneficiaries are the IPs who will receive technical assistance and capacity building support from the Contractor as well as certain government representatives, as requested. In addition, the Contractor shall also provide services to other USAID partners and stakeholders from government, civil society, academic institutions, and the private sector as they participate in specific learning forums, after action reviews and reflections and also access analytical reports and other studies produced.

C.4.f Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning

Monitoring and evaluation improves performance and provide feedback loops to inform adaptive planning and management. The Contractor must design and implement a MEL Plan that meets ADS 201 requirements. The MEL Plan will permit the efficient and timely measurement of progress toward activity results, aid in activity management, and provide other data as agreed between USAID/Egypt and the Contractor.

The Contractor must work with USAID/Egypt to plan and implement learning activities during the activity. These learning activities may include midterm or final evaluations, annual learning events with USAID/Egypt Mission Staff and IPs to get their feedback on how the MEL services are perceived and discuss any needs for adaptation.

C.5 SERVICES AND TASKS REQUIRED

The purpose of USAID/Egypt’s Learning Activity is to provide performance management, monitoring, evaluation, assessments and research and learning support services and build capacity of USAID/Egypt to implement USAID’s CLA methodology to strengthen the implementation of USAID/Egypt’s CDCS and enhance USAID’s organizational effectiveness.

The Contractor will provide services and assist the Mission in planning, designing, conducting, dissemination, and learning from high-quality M&E and research activities. The Contractor will also work with the Mission to implement a CLA focused approach and will provide facilitation services and organizational development services to provide the needed operational environment for evidence-based collaborating, learning and adapting. CLA is a building block for adaptive management. When CLA support is resourced, systematic, and intentional as part of the provision of MEL services, a mission can move towards being a more effective learning organization.

The Contractor must provide the services and deliverables specified below. Services and deliverables shall be provided to achieve the objective set forth above, subject to the guidance and limitations specified herein. Specific services, activities and deliverables required will be established in the annual work plans approved by the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) and, when necessary, through modifications to work plans specified in writing by the COR. The activities, services and deliverables described below are subject to reasonable adjustment and modification through the work planning process as long as such adjustments are consistent with the overall objectives of the Contract and fit within the five major components specified below. Such technical direction must be consistent with all of the terms and conditions of the Contract and the determinations of the CO.

The Contract has five major components as outlined below:

a. Performance management and monitoring services, including capacity building and training.

b. Evaluability Assessments Support.

c. Support for evidence-based project and activity design including research services for timely decision making and learning.

d. Support Improved Knowledge Management, Learning, and Collaboration for

Adaptive Management of Mission Programming.

e. Organizational Development and Mission of Leaders (MOL)

For each of these components, the contractor must work closely with the Program Office and other teams, augmenting their MEL capacity but not substituting their overall leadership of MEL and CLA processes. In performing these tasks, the contractor must support the Mission’s efforts to promote cross-technical offices integration and organizational learning.

C.5.a Performance management and monitoring services, including capacity building and training.

The three parts of this component are discussed below.

Component C.5.a.(i) Performance Management Strengthened

Performance management is first and foremost the responsibility of the USAID/Egypt Mission staff, and as such, monitoring of project implementation and reporting on project results is an essential responsibility of AORs/CORs and project managers in the technical offices. These fundamental project management responsibilities cannot be delegated to the Program Office or its contractor. The Mission and AORs/COR use the PMP, and Activity Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Plans (AMELPs) to systematically monitor the results achieved towards the Mission’s DOs and IRs and Sub IRs by collecting and analyzing performance data for each indicator and comparing it with previously established baseline situations and targets. This information is used to monitor whether planned results are being achieved, as defined in the Mission’s CDCS and existing Project Appraisal Documents (PAD), Project Development Document (PDD) and other activity design documents, and the Mission PMP. The Contractor must coordinate with the Program Office to assist technical offices and IPs in developing and updating their AMELPs and the Mission PMPs in line with ADS 201 requirements. The Contractor must assist the Program Office and technical offices in monitoring program results against stated indicators in the Performance Plan and Report (PPR) and Mission results framework. As part of this activity, the contractor must assist Mission technical office and IP staff in ensuring that Data Quality Assessments (DQA) have been conducted for the indicators on which the activities are reporting. Any Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) contracted to do this work will work with IPs, CORs and AORs; and while carrying out their duties must identify themselves as contractors rather than USG representatives.

Activity 1: as per ADS 201.3.2.15, the Contractor must collaborate with the Program Office and Mission technical offices as well as the Senior Management Team (if needed) to facilitate discussion and update, and/or implement the current PMP for the Mission. This may include review and updating the Mission PMPs at the DO, IR, and Sub-IR to respond and adhere to new standard indicators, and other relevant guidance for Egypt as well as the review and update and assisting in the implementation of the Learning Plan/Agenda annex of the PMP. During the review process and meetings (when necessary and requested) the contractor should utilize technologies that allow for on the spot collection of feedback and responses from audience and stakeholders. This will facilitate timely documentation and analyses of discussions when facilitating discussion for the PMP review and update processes. Additionally, this task may be tailored in the fourth or fifth year of the contract implementation towards the end of the current USAID/Egypt CDCS implementation time frame (FY 2021- FY 2026), the contractor must assist the USAID/Egypt in providing the needed analysis, facilitation services and stakeholders consultation services to inform the development of the next CDCS and PMP. This includes how the Mission and partners will continue to use MEL and CLA to understand whether and how approaches are building the capacity and commitment of local actors and institutions and fostering national self-reliance. The contractor must provide technical assistance to the Program Office and technical offices to identify and prioritize any knowledge gaps to address during the next CDCS development phase.

In order to ensure that the Mission is assisting Egypt’s development, the Mission requires a full set of indicators to measure progress against the DO, IRs, and Sub IRs. These indicators will measure outputs, intermediate outcomes, outcomes, and impacts of assistance implemented by the Mission. In addition to these indicators, there is a need for a plan of how and when to evaluate assistance activities in order to identify successes and failures. Additionally, the PMP must include a Learning Agenda that supports CLA Collaborating Learning and Adapting techniques that can benefit decision-making in general at the Mission, as well as advise on what techniques work for what purpose.

To support MEL and PMP planning, operationalization, review and update, the Contractor should:

a) Complete and update performance indicator reference sheets for relevant indicators and new performance indicator reference sheets that define the indicator; provides a rationale for inclusion; identifies units of measure; identifies disaggregation; identifies source; identifies baseline collection time period; and defines any other relevant information.

b) Work with Program Office and technical teams, periodically review and update the Mission PMP that articulates the Mission’s MEL approaches and agenda (see ADS 201.3.2.14.) as needed and requested.

c) Provide technical assistance, rapid desk research, analytical and facultative services to the Program Office and technical teams to implement, review and update the PMP Learning Agenda if and when needed and requested.

Activity 2: The Contractor will coordinate with the Program Office MEL team and Backstops and Mission technical offices to review and finalize project and activity level monitoring evaluation and learning plans as needed and requested. This may include revising AMELPS to respond and adhere to new standard indicators, Agency policy, and other relevant guidance for Egypt with final approval by the Program Office and/or AOR/COR.

The contractor must work with the COR to assess the level of support needed and provide this to IPs, noting that capacity varies widely among IPs and some require more assistance than others.

This support may be offered through a variety of capacity building modalities, including formal training, one on one coaching, or advising on specific issues. Providing coaching, advice, and training to suit the IP needs through a mechanism that is connected to the local context in consultation with their AOR/COR and the Program Office will improve data quality, reporting, and learning across the mission portfolio.

Activity 3: The contractor must build the capacity of USAID/Egypt’s IPs in order to effectively manage performance to ensure that data measured in AMELPs is being captured and reported accurately. This includes providing one-on-one, customized sessions training on performance management systems, data specifications/protocols, data quality management and site visit monitoring, and conducting evaluation.

This will also include providing one on one customized training to IPs who are working in partnership with the private sector to ensure that their AMELPs include adequate performance measures that reflect and measure the results of partnering with the private sectors in sufficient detail to comply with Agency-defined reporting requirements for Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) and PSE.

This capacity building task will also include working with Program Office, AORs/CORs and IPs to identify and incorporate remote monitoring and data collection tools when needed according to the latest Agency guidance and ADS 201.

The contractor must provide AMELP and DQA training and mentoring for new IPs as needed and requested by the Program Office and the technical teams: This will better ensure that IPs understand USAID monitoring requirements before drafting Activity monitoring and Evaluation plans

Activity 4: Organize one hour to two hour training sessions on performance management or CLA and adaptive management and use of monitoring and evaluation data for learning and adaptive management. These may be conducted online or in person (depending on public health considerations) with USAID/Egypt staff, IPs, Egyptian non-governmental organizations, and private sector entities, as necessary, to build the capacity of local partners and AOR/COR, and to coordinate data collection and reporting requirements, and to update the PMP, AMELPs and other reporting data. There will be at least twelve training sessions over five years.

Activity 5: Build on and update the performance monitoring curriculum developed and implemented under SIMPLE activity and conduct half day training sessions with Mission Staff and IPs. The contractor must regularly assess the training needs of Mission Staff, and as part of this conduct an annual needs assessment study and review of changes in capacity to inform capacity-building and training strategies for USAID and IPs. The contractor should conduct quarterly capacity-building sessions offering high-quality tailored joint training sessions for targeted groups of USAID staff and IPs by subject matter specialty. Individual sessions should be planned to coincide with evaluations, assessments, and AMELP reviews in those specialized areas.

Component C.5.a.(ii) Monitoring - Increased frequency and quality of project and activity monitoring for timely decision making and adapting.

Effective performance management calls for the use of performance data by collecting, analyzing, interpreting and communicating results. Data collection includes not only those indicators specified in the Mission’s PMP, but also those which are collected through AMELPs, activity reports, field monitor reports, and secondary data received from other stakeholders.

Monitoring performance during an intervention is critical to understanding how…