SIGNED Amendment 01_NOFO 720-696-21-RFA-00005_ H&C.pdf

Reference: Notice of Funding Opportunity 720-696-21-RFA-00005 Homes and Communities Activity

Subject: Amendment 01

Date: July 15, 2021

Dear Prospective Applicants:

The U.S. Agency for International Development (“USAID”) amends the above-referenced Notice of Funding Opportunity (“NOFO”), originally issued June 29, 2021.

Amendment 01 revises the NOFO in response to questions from prospective applicants as detailed in the attachment.

Sincerely, Justin Troy DiVenanzo Supervisory Contracting and Agreement Officer Director, Office of Acquisition and Assistance USAID/Rwanda and USAID/Burundi

Enclosures

Attachment 1_Amendment 01 to NOFO 720-696-21-RFA-00005

Attachment 2_USAID Answers to Prospective Applicant Questions

Attachment 1: Amendment 01 to NOFO

The NOFO is hereby amended as set forth below:

1. Section D.6. f, first paragraph, delete and replace with the following:

“The applicant must submit information for all subawards that it wishes to have approved. However, the Agreement Officer’s Representative will only review and consider approval after award.”

2. Section D.6.(d)(1) delete and replace with the following:

“1) Salary and Allowances (Personnel) – Must be proposed consistent with 2 CFR 200.430 Compensation - Personal Services. The applicant’s budget must include position title, salary rate, level of effort, and salary escalation factors for each position. Allowances, when proposed, must be broken down by specific type and by position. Applicants must explain all assumptions in the Budget Narrative. The Budget Narrative must demonstrate that the proposed compensation is reasonable for the services rendered and consistent with what is paid for similar work in other activities of the applicant. The Budget Narrative must describe the rationale used and supporting market research.”

Attachment 2: USAID Answers to Prospective Applicant Questions

Question 1

Given the two national holidays in Rwanda and the US national holiday in July, would USAID kindly consider extending the application deadline by two weeks?

Answer 1

No.

Question 2

Page 5: “The applicant will propose criteria for geographic targeting and/or if applicable, one criterion will be consideration of USAID Hubs districts.” Could USAID kindly provide further information on USAID’s Hubs Approach? In which districts will Hubs be located? Will USAID please include the referenced briefer document as an attachment when responding to questions?

Answer 2

The Hubs briefer is not yet available publicly so Applicants should propose their own criteria for geographic targeting, if desired. USAID Hubs districts will be factored in at a later time.

Question 3

Page 17: “File size must not exceed 25MB.” Can USAID please confirm if each file should not exceed 25MB or if the attachment size per email is limited to 25MB?

Answer 3

Attachment size per email is limited to 25MB.

Question 4

Page 20: “The Applicant must describe no more than five projects/activities from within the last five years…” Would USAID kindly consider removing the five-project limit from the Institutional Experience and Capability section?

Answer 4

USAID will not remove the five-project limit.

Question 5

Page 24: “The applicant must submit information for all subawards that it wishes to have approved at the time of award. However, the Agreement Officer’s Representative will only review and consider approval after award.” Could USAID kindly clarify whether or not applicants should submit information for approval of subawards at the application stage?

Answer 5

Amendment #1 to the NOFO revised the language to clarify that the Applicant must submit the required information with the application. However, the AOR will provide approvals after award.

Question 6

Can USAID confirm that applicants may submit the cost application (budget narrative and accompanying annexes) in a PDF format?

Answer 6

The budget narrative may be a searchable PDF format as appropriate.

Question 7

Will USAID consider allowing applicants to submit technical applications in a PDF format?

Answer 7

The technical application must be a searchable and editable Microsoft Word format.

Question 8

How long does USAID envision the inception period of the project?

Answer 8

The timeline for the inception period should be in line with the Applicant's Technical Approach, and the inception period should not exceed six months.

Question 9

Could USAID please provide budget allocations for the intermediate results?

Answer 9

No

Question 10

Could USAID clarify its expectations around the kinds of home-community-school partnerships it envisions under Sub-IR 2.3 and Sub-IR 3.3?

Answer 10

No

Question 11

Could USAID please confirm that the Institutional Experience and Capability section is a separate section from the Organizational Management, Staffing and Key Personnel section.

Answer 11

Yes.

Question 12

Could USAID please confirm that all documents, including the CVs and Letters of Commitment for proposed Key Personnel, must be included in the technical narrative document and will be counted toward the total page limit set forth on Page 17, Section D.5 Technical Application Format. If this is correct, would USAID kindly consider having the Key Personnel CVs and Letters of Commitment included in an Annex, separate from the technical narrative document and not counted toward the total page limit.

Answer 12

USAID confirms that CVs and Letters of Commitment for proposed Key Personnel must be included in the technical narrative body and will be counted towards the technical application 50-page limit.

Question 13

Could USAID please confirm if applicants should budget for baseline and end line evaluations.

Answer 13

Yes. While the Applicant and USAID will work together during the inception period and development of the MEL plan to identify and use data that already exists, the Applicant should also plan an evaluation to collect necessary data at baseline and endline.

Question 14

Could USAID please confirm that a separate draft MEAL plan is not required, but that a written description of how the applicant will monitor the project and their learning agenda must be included in the technical narrative.

Answer 14

Yes.

Question 15

Page 17, Section D.5 Technical Application Format, e) Technical Application Body, 1. Technical Approach, paragraph 2 references “…timeline required to achieve set targets/results”. Can USAID kindly confirm if this reference to ‘timeline’ is requiring a draft visual implementation plan (Gantt Chart), or a narrative description.

Answer 15

No. Applicants are free to use whatever form that seems appropriate for them.

Question 16

Is USAID’s Reading MATTERS Conceptual Framework applicable to this NOFO and the expected activities?

Answer 16 Yes.

Question 17

Is the applicant expected to improve the skills of caregivers/parents to help them care for CWD?

Answer 17

Yes.

Question 18

On page 6 of the NOFO, it states: The activity will develop the social and emotional skills of children, parents/caregivers and community literacy providers, providing scaffolding for these adults to help build children’s skills. These enhanced social and emotional skills will lead to the enhanced ability of children to learn and to thrive, which in turn works to maximise children’s reading outcomes. Is the applicant expected to direct interventions to adults to improve their SEL outcomes? Is the applicant expected to measure SEL outcomes for adults?

Answer 18

The applicant will direct interventions to adults and children. However, the applicant will focus on measuring the effects of these interventions on SEL of children.

Question 19

In reference to 6.3 Learning on page 10 of the NOFO: Does USAID want the applicant to select at least one standard indicator? Is the applicant limited on the amount of supplemental or custom indicators they can select if relevant?

Answer 19

The applicants should propose the indicator(s) necessary to implement their proposed monitoring, evaluation and learning plan, including standard indicators as applicable. The final selection of indicators will be negotiated after award, with the AOR in finalization of the MEL plan.

Question 20

On page 2 of the NOFO, it mentions a focus on Kinyarwanda literacy, yet the language of instruction, even for primary school, changed to English.Can USAID clarify if both English and Kinyarwanda literacy interventions are expected and/or if the school instruction will be in English how will community and home literacy skills in the local language help boost overall reading scores?

Answer 20

Kinyarwanda is a subject throughout primary school, and children gain foundational literacy skills best in the language that children and parents speak and understand. The recent shift in language of instruction presents an opportunity to support the transfer of foundational Kinyarwanda language skills gained to English. See page 5 of the NOFO for more information.

Question 21

On page 5 of the NOFO, it mentions that the target age group is 4-9. Since the project targets in and out of school children will there be a focus on English literacy for those in school and Kinyarwanda for pre-primary or should the Kinyarwanda literacy focus span in and out of school participants?

Answer 21

See Answer 20.

Question 22

On page 6 of the NOFO, it describes an Inception Period. Please provide additional clarity and details on the Inception Period. What is the timeline proposed and what if any activities should be planned for this time since it talks of co-creation?

Answer 22

The Applicant should propose how they recommend to use the co-creation inception period. The timeline for the inception period should be in line with the Applicant's Technical Approach, and the inception period should not exceed six months.

Question 23

On page 6 of the NOFO, it mentions: “The exact indicators and measures of these results will be finalized during the activity’s inception period”: Does the applicant have to submit a MEL Plan with the proposal submission?

Answer 23

No.

Question 24

On page 28 of the NOFO, it mentions how no large-scale construction is permitted, however earlier in the NOFO there is mention of “children have access to community structures such as early childhood development facilities, community libraries.” Where facilities do not exist, will minor construction be permitted?

Answer 24

No.

Question 25

On page 34 of the NOFO, it discusses the need for a draft MEL plan within 60 days of award start date.

Does this 60 days timeframe take into consideration the inception and co-creation timeline as well or will the draft MEL need to be submitted 60 days post inception phase?

Answer 25

Drafting the MEL plan is part of the inception phase and co-creation phases, and a draft is due to the AOR within 60 days of the award start date.

Question 26

On page 22 of the NOFO, it states: Applicants must provide their established written policies on personnel compensation. If the applicant’s written policies do not address a specific element of compensation that is being proposed, the Budget Narrative must describe the rationale used and support market research. To satisfy this requirement, would an explanation of personnel policy in the budget narrative suffice or do actual policies need to be submitted with the application?

Answer 26

Amendment #1 to the NOFO eliminates this requirement.

Question 27

The NOFO states on page 39 that “A Request for Categorical Exclusion (RCE) has been approved for the Program funding this NOFO. It will cover program activities through March 30, 2026. USAID has determined that a Categorical Exclusion applies to all activities discussed in the Section A, Program Description, of this NOFO.” On the other hand, the NOFO also stated on page 22 that “ the applicant should also include illustrative costs for environmental compliance implementation and monitoring as stated in Section F.5 of the NOFO under Other Direct Costs.” Please clarify if environmental compliance implementation and monitoring are needed for this project?

Answer 27

The applicant should include illustrative costs for environmental compliance implementation and monitoring, as necessary, based on the specifics of this activity. Please see paragraphs 5), 6) and 7) in Section F.5 for further clarification.

Question 28

The NOFO states on page 22 that “Applicants must provide their established written policies on personnel compensation.” Please clarify if a copy of the personnel compensation policy needs to be submitted with the application or an explanation of personnel policy in the budget narrative for determining staff costs will be sufficient. Please also provide the regulatory basis for the request and explain what USAID’s mechanism is to protect such business sensitive information remains confidential and not widely distribute.

Answer 28

See Answer 26