SEED RFI 72069624RFI00001.pdf

Attachment 1: How to Submit a Response

Interested parties wishing to participate should submit their responses to the questions listed in Attachment 3 electronically to Mr. Eriazel Bagabo, at ebagabo@usaid.gov. Responses to this RFI will be accepted within the due date stated above. You will receive only an electronic confirmation acknowledging receipt of your response but will not receive individualized feedback or suggestions.

Responses may contribute to upcoming activity design(s). However, this RFI will not be construed as a commitment by the U.S. Government (USG) to issue any solicitation, award any grant, or pay for any information submitted as a result of this request.

No basis for claims against the U.S. Government shall arise as a result of a response to this RFI or from the USG’s use of such information. USAID/Rwanda will not respond to any telephonic or other inquiries regarding this notice.

The submitted response should include:

1. Heading:

● Reference Number: 72069624RFI00001

● Name / Email

● Affiliation/ Organization

● Type of Business (if US Small Business, please specify category and whether 8(a) certified)

● Address

● Point of Contact (name, title, email)

2. Responses to questions presented in Attachment 3 mailto:ebagabo@usaid.gov

Attachment 2: Purpose and Background

This Request for Information (RFI) aims to gather information and industry feedback pertaining to an initiative provisionally titled "Strengthening Equitable Education for the Deaf (SEED)" in Rwanda (i.e. “SEED”). This actively has been revised from its previous design released earlier 2023.

SEED will seek to improve reading outcomes for learners who are deaf and hard of hearing in pre-primary and lower primary schools in Rwanda. USAID/Rwanda seeks feedback from prospective implementing partners, both local (Rwandan) and international. This RFI invites comments/suggestions on the strategies presented in order to enhance local sustainability, and further empower local organizations to take the lead in promoting quality education for these learners beyond the life of this anticipated Activity. This RFI also seeks strategic input regarding community-level promotion of optimal key education behaviors to change the perception of the local population towards persons with disabilities and Rwandan Sign Language (RSL).

The Activity will contribute to improved reading outcomes for children who are deaf and hard of hearing by the end of Primary 3 (P3) within the following three anticipated objectives:

1. Homes & Communities: Improve parental, community, youth, and local organizational capacity to support RSL acquisition and literacy for deaf learners, including:

a. Ensuring parents of young children who are deaf or hard of hearing can support RSL learning in the home and emergent literacy development.

b. Providing pathways for education and employment for deaf youth to support deaf education in homes and in the education system, through accelerated learning programs, enrollment in teacher training colleges, and other training and employment pathways.

c. Utilize a social behavior change (SBC) model to address prevailing stigma and discrimination faced by deaf learners in their homes, schools, and communities.

2. Schools: Improve access to quality, relevant bilingual RSL (Rwandan Sign Language (RSL) to Kinyarwanda) reading instruction in pre-primary and lower primary education including:

a. Direct support to Rwanda’s specialized schools for the deaf to enhance teacher competence, attitudes, and practices in utilizing a bilingual deaf education pedagogy in literacy instruction and other subjects, among other needed supports to these schools.

b. Selected Districts or Sectors: Development, refinement, or scaling up of local school system approaches to serving learners who are deaf and hard of hearing, for families that cannot or do not want to send their children to specialized schools.

c. Enhancing pre-service and in-service teacher training systems to ensure RSL fluency for teachers and their trainers to effectively teach and communicate with deaf learners.

3. Systems: Improve national and decentralized government systems to better serve learners who are deaf and hard of hearing, including:

a. Ensure the adoption of an effective policy for RSL in education.

b. Improve the implementation of all relevant policies at the national and decentralized levels.

c. Lay the foundations for the scaleup of local school system approaches developed in selected districts in sectors (under IR 2.b.)

d. Support the development and usage of relevant data systems including the Disability

Management Information System (DMIS)

The Activity will result in measurable improvement in reading outcomes for deaf learners. The primary outcomes will focus on the acquisition and use of RSL among deaf children, deaf youth, their families, their community members, and their teachers in order to improve reading outcomes for children and youth who are deaf.

Transition Award Process:

The Activity is expected to provide at least one subaward to a local (Rwandan) organization for the implementation of objective 1: Improved parental, community, youth, and local organizational capacity to support RSL literacy for deaf learners. The implementing partner will be expected to identify a sub awardee that has the potential to become eligible for a direct USAID/Rwanda award, i.e. transition award. The implementing partner will be responsible for developing the local subrecipients’ capacity and tracking progress towards meeting the criteria for a transition award. In order to qualify for a direct USAID award, the local organization must demonstrate sufficient technical, organizational and managerial capacity, including sound financial management and internal controls to receive and manage funding from USAID.

Attachment 3: Requested Information and Questions

Your contributions will be invaluable in our mission to advance education and opportunities for the deaf community in Rwanda.

USAID/Rwanda is interested in gathering feedback on the following questions to enrich the activity’s design with global best practices and Rwanda-specific contextual understanding. It is not required to answer all the questions to submit a response:

Objective 1: Parental, community, youth, and local organizational capacity to support RSL literacy for deaf learners

1. What are the best ways to ensure that all children who are born deaf or hard of hearing in Rwanda have the opportunity to develop RSL skills from a young age? What additional strategies would need to be put in place for children who acquire deafness at a later age? Please contextualize your response with reference to specific social, cultural, and economic factors in urban and rural Rwanda.

2. What proven strategies or best practices, which are applicable to the Rwandan context, can be recommended for engaging parents and community members in promoting social behavior change to combat stigma and discrimination against deaf learners?

3. How can USAID/Rwanda effectively co-design and collaborate with local organizations, civil society, and local government entities to strengthen technical and organizational capacity for delivering services and resources to deaf children?

4. What obstacles currently prevent deaf youth from entering the teaching workforce and how could this activity overcome those obstacles?

Objective 2: Access to quality, relevant bilingual RSL reading instruction in pre-primary and lower primary education.

5. Given that learners who are deaf and hard of hearing are dispersed widely throughout the geographical territory of Rwanda, in both rural and urban areas, what are the best and most sustainable ways to ensure that these children are taught by teachers who are fluent in RSL, while also ensuring that all other aspects of these children’s social and educational needs are addressed?

6. What are the primary obstacles that hinder deaf learners' reading abilities in Rwanda, and what effective approaches do you suggest addressing these gaps?

7. What methods and tools would you propose for measuring RSL proficiency among deaf learners and teachers?

8. What strategies would you recommend for strengthening both pre- and in-service teacher training programs to provide better support for the specific needs of deaf learners? What tools and resources currently exist that could be leveraged for this activity?

Objective 3: Improved national and decentralized government systems to better serve learners who are deaf and hard of hearing.

9. What policy, implementation, data, and other system improvements are needed to ensure that national and decentralized government systems are better able to serve learners who are deaf and hard of hearing?

10. The Disability Management Information System (DMIS) is a digital support tool used for the identification and registry of all persons with disability in Rwanda, how can the DMIS best be leveraged and supported in order to support deaf learners?

Level of Industry Interest

11. Could you provide the names and details of 1-3 relevant projects, irrespective of the funding source that you have been involved in, that were related to sign language acquisition and the enhancement of reading outcomes for children and youth who are deaf? Include the following details:

a. Name of project, location, beginning and end dates

b. Funding source and total funding

c. Project objectives and participant population(s)

d. Key results achieved.

12. Has your company ever provided services in Sub-Saharan Africa?

a. Yes

b. No

13. Should this activity be designed as an assistance-type (grant), or acquisition-type (contract), mechanism and why?

14. Does your organization have experience building the capacity of organizations to do business with the United States Government and/or the United States Agency for International Development?

a. Yes

b. No

15. How likely is your organization to consider competing for this activity? Please select one of the below expressions of interest that best represents your organization’s feeling about this opportunity:

● Our organization is strongly interested in this development opportunity.

● Our organization is moderately interested in this development opportunity.

● Our organization is not interested in this development opportunity.

If responding as a US Small Business

16. Does your organization qualify as a small business under NAICS 541990?

a. Yes

b. No

17. Small Business designation/status (must correlate with SAM registration):

a. Small Business

b. Small Disadvantaged Business

c. Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business

d. HUBZone Small Business

e. 8(a) Small Business

f. Women-Owned Small Business

g. Veteran-Owned Small Business

h. Other

i. Not Applicable

18. Is your company eligible to receive awards under the 8(a) Program?

a. Yes

b. No