Attachment_1-_Changes.pdf

CLARIFICATIONS/CHANGES ON SHAHAR – SOL-306-14-000005

Amendment No. 000001

I. Selection of Municipalities –

a. Replace on Page.15:

“By reviewing the contributions of RAMP-UP and KCI, and applying strategic analysis to the design of SHAHAR, the project is applying selectivity by focusing on up to 16 small-to-medium sized provincial capitals where USAID can have the greatest impact.”

With:

“By reviewing the contributions of RAMP-UP and KCI, and applying strategic analysis to the design of SHAHAR, the project is applying selectivity by focusing on up to 16 small-to-medium sized provincial capitals – as well as four regional hub provincial capitals of Kandahar City, Herat, Mazar-e-Sharif, and Jalalabad – where

USAID can have the greatest impact. The regional hubs may also serve ideally as key locations that facilitate program delivery to targeted municipalities.”

b. Replace Section C.2.5 Project Locations

With (italicized is the new language):

C.2.5 Project Locations The program will focus on up to 16 small- and medium-sized provincial capitals located within USAID’s three designated Regional Economic Zones (REZ), as well as the four regional hub provincial capitals of Kandahar City, Herat, Mazar-e-Sharif, and Jalalabad. The selection will be finalized at the work plan stage in close coordination between the contractor, USAID Mission, and IDLG. The draft USAID urban policy on Sustainable Service Delivery in an Increasingly Urbanized World5 recognizes that interventions to strengthen service provision are most effective when urbanization is incipient or intermediate. In these settings, building of capacity and new infrastructure typically has greater impact and is more cost effective. Adequately planning the growth of nascent cities is cost-effective given the higher costs of corrective measures such as infrastructure retrofitting or slum upgrading.

At the same time that SHAHAR will emphasize development of these more nascent areas, USAID recognizes the important role the four hub provincial capitals play in the economic development of their region, USAID will in all likelihood have physical presence in these hubs, which can aid in monitoring and evaluation; opportunities will exist for coordination and collaboration with other major USAID projects in these areas (e.g., ISLA, Stability in Key Areas (SIKA), and the four Regional Agricultural Development Program (RADP)); and USAID seeks to ensure that the important advances made under the RAMP-UP projects in

5 DRAFT: Sustainable Service Delivery in an Increasingly Urbanized World

Kandahar City, Herat, Mazar-e-Sharif, and Jalalabad are sustained. The activities in the nascent areas should be more comprehensive in nature (including such things as new public-private partnerships and new urban service delivery mechanisms), while the activities in the four regional hubs should be narrower and focused on: (a) sustaining the advances made previously under the RAMP-UPs and (b) being fully integrated into the national municipal coordinating/capacity-building activities of GDMA (such as the IFMS expansion, and Mayor’s Conference Network and becoming “learning hubs”).

Beyond the four regional hubs municipalities, IDLG/GDMA has suggested a preliminary list of 16 target municipalities for including: Qala-e-Naw, Farah, Chaghcharan, Lashkar Gah, Qalat, Tirin Kot, Maimana, Sheberghan, Pul-e-Khumri, Asadabad, Ghazni, Pul-e-Alam, Maidan Shar, Mehterlam, Charikar, and Nili. USAID agrees with this recommendation and recognizes the challenges our implementing partners may face in ensuring adequate staff security and mobility for project implementation, monitoring, and evaluation in this transitioning environment. In the event that the Contractor assesses it would not be able to ensure a high-quality program because of staffing issues, transport logistics, or security in one or more of the target municipalities listed above, it may propose alternate provincial municipalities. The proposal should explain the reasons for making the alternate suggestion. In addition, bidders are encouraged to propose “trip-wires” to be monitored during the course of implementation that would signal the need to suspend or terminate assistance in any given provincial capital.

USAID will issue one contract for SHAHAR and the program’s headquarters will be located in Kabul. At least one embedded advisor will be physically located in the offices of GDMA. Activities in target municipalities, including support to MABs, will be managed by embedded advisors who are physically located in municipal government offices. Such an arrangement will allow for a capacity-building approach that uses on-the-job training, coaching, and mentoring as the preferred method for transfer of systems and skills.

Although the primary foci of the SHAHAR project are GDMA and the selected provincial municipalities, development of the municipalities is a national priority and involves coordination of provincial capital-level efforts across multiple municipalities, not just the targeted municipalities. Recognizing this, SHAHAR is designed to permit and support initiatives and activities that take place outside of the selected municipalities but which benefit them. [DELETE: For example, it is anticipated that national-level efforts for the municipalities may involve activities that take place in the largest provincial capital cities, such as Kabul and Kandahar.]

In fact, SHAHAR itself has deliverables – including the National Mayors’ Network

(Deliverable A.1.8), Municipal Conferences (Deliverable A.1.9), and the network of

MABs and advocacy groups (Deliverable C.1.3) – that require cross-municipality activities. The Offeror should plan and propose these kinds of plans activities and deliverables that will strengthen the overall SHAHAR project and include these in their propose budget.

II. Gender Equity –

a. Add to second paragraph of Deliverable B.1.10 on p.36:

“SHAHAR will also use the results of the USAID/Afghanistan Gender Analysis for

SNG programs6 to shape activities to improve gender equity.”

III. Project Management Approach and RAMP-UP overlap (which is no longer likely) –

a. Delete on p.49

“The Contractor will minimize operational expenses but [sic] utilizing equipment that has already been purchased and deployed under the RAMP-UP project.

b. Replace on p.50:

“SHAHAR is expected to overlap with the RAMP-UP project. During this overlap period, the Contractor will closely coordinate with RAMP-UP representatives to obtain project documents, including baseline measurements, and gain exposure to tools, systems, and processes in order to ensure a smooth programmatic transfer.”

With:

“SHAHAR’s start-up is not likely to take place before the end of the RAMP-UP project. However, the Contractor will work with USAID, GDMA, and the municipalities to obtain useful project documents, tools, and other information from the RAMP-UP project in order to promote a smooth programmatic transfer.”