SOL-486-13-000004___PROGRESS.pdf

Issuance Date: December 6, 2012

Closing Date: January 24, 2013 Closing Time: 4:00 P.M., Bangkok, local time

Subject: SOL-486-13-000004 ASEAN-U.S. Partnership for Good Governance, Equitable and Sustainable Development and Security

(ASEAN-U.S. PROGRESS)

To All Prospective Offerors:

The United States Government, represented by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is seeking proposals from qualified organizations interested in providing the services as described in the attached solicitation.

USAID plans to award a Cost plus Fixed Fee (CPFF) term type, cost reimbursement contract.

You have received this document through the USAID Internet site. Some of the Attachment/Forms/Appendices/Exhibits in Section J have been supplied to you electronically. Other Attachments/Forms/Appendices/Exhibits, which may not be included electronically in this solicitation, may be found at http://www.USAID.GOV/procurement_bus_opp/procurement/forms/ or by contacting the person in block 10 on page 1 of the SF 33.

If you have received this RFP electronically, then you must notify the contact person listed in block 10 of the original SF33 of the original RFP by fax or e-mail. As the recipient of this solicitation document, you are responsible for ensuring that you have received it from the Internet in its entirety. USAID bears no responsibility for data errors resulting from transmission or conversion processes. Further, please be aware that amendments to solicitations are occasionally issued and will be posted on the same Internet site from which you downloaded the solicitation. Generally, the Contracting Officer will send copies of amendments to all those who have sent in the written confirmation of solicitation receipt.

However, USAID does not guarantee that an amendment will be issued to you directly based upon written confirmation that you have downloaded the solicitation from the Internet. You are therefore advised to regularly check the FedBizOps website (http://www.fedbizops.gov/) for amendments.

Please pay careful attention to Section K - Representations, Certifications and Acknowledgements of the accompanying Request for Proposals. Offerors are now expected to comply with FAR clause 52.204-7, Central Contractor Registration, and complete the annual representations and certifications electronically via the Online Representations and Certifications Application website at http://orca.bpn.gov.

Offerors must carefully adhere to Section L - Instructions to Offerors and Section M - Evaluation Factors for Award.

Sections B through J of the solicitation will become the basis for the contract. Any blanks in Sections B through J will be completed by the Contracting Officer before award.

You are strongly encouraged to submit any comments or questions concerning this RFP by no later than December 21, 2012. These should be directed to Mr. Craig Riegler, Regional Contracting Officer and attention to Ms. Maria Rosario M.

Arenas, Senior Acquisition Specialist, USAID/RDMA, Bangkok, Thailand. Mr. Riegler and Ms. Arenas may be reached at the following e-mail addresses, respectively: criegler@usaid.gov and marenas@usaid.gov.

The Proposal must be prepared in two separate parts: the Technical Proposal must address technical aspects only while the Business (Cost) Proposal must present the costs and address related issues such as responsibility. Offerors must submit one (1) original and five (5) copies of their Technical Proposal in a sealed envelope which is clearly marked as being in response to this RFP. Offerors must submit one (1) original and one (1) copy of their Business Proposal

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

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 handcarried, 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 37 - 52

B SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICES/COSTS 3 -4 PART III - LIST OF DOCUMENTS, EXHIBITS AND OTHER ATTACH.

C DESCRIPTION/SPECS./WORK STATEMENT 5 - 20 J LIST OF ATTACHMENTS 53

D PACKAGING AND MARKING 21 PART IV - REPRESENTATIONS AND INSTRUCTIONS

E INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE 22

F DELIVERIES OR PERFORMANCE 23 -25

G CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA 26 - 28 L INSTR., CONDS., AND NOTICES TO OFFERORS 60 - 76

H SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS 29 - 36 M EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD 77 - 80

K

REPRESENTATIONS, CERTIFICATIONS AND OTHER 54 - 59

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 ________ 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 OFFER15A. 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)

USAID Regional Development Mission Asia (RDMA) Bangkok, Thailand

25. PAYMENT WILL BE MADE BYCODE CODE

26. NAME OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (Type or print) 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

SOLICITATION

OFFER (Must be fully completed by offeror)

AWARD (To be completed by Government)

1 N/A

SOL-486-13-000004 December 6, 2012 X

Regional Office of Procurement USAID Regional Development Mission/Asia USAID Box 47, Bangkok

APO AP 96546

5(for Tech) / 1 (for Cost) Item 7 4:00 pm January 24, 2013

Maria Rosario Arenas 662-257-3004 marenas@usaid.gov

See Attached Table of Contents

$.00

Office of Financial Management

USAID/RDMA

25th Floor Athenee Tower 63 Wireless Road Bangkok, Thailand 10330

Craig Riegler, Regional Contracting Officer

PART I - THE SCHEDULE

SECTION B - SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICE/COSTS

B.1 PURPOSE (CPFF)

The purpose of this contract is to provide services as described in detail in Section C, Statement of Work.

B.2 CONTRACT TYPE AND SERVICES (CPFF)

This is a cost-plus-fixed fee (CPFF) term-type, cost reimbursement contract. For the consideration set forth in the contract, the Contractor must provide the deliverables or outputs described in Section C and 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 fixed fee, if any, is to be determined (TBD). The fixed fee is to be determined (TBD). The estimated cost plus fixed fee is to be determined (TBD).

(b) Within the estimated cost plus fixed fee 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 to be determined (TBD). The Contractor must not exceed the aforesaid obligated amount unless authorized by the Contracting Officer pursuant to the clause of this contract entitled “Limitation of Funds” (FAR 52.232-22). See Section I of this contract.

(c) Funds obligated hereunder are anticipated to be sufficient through to be determined (TBD).

B.4 BUDGET SCHEDULE

(a) Format: to be determined (TBD)

B.5 INDIRECT COSTS (DEC 1997)

The contract clause entitled “Allowable Cost and Payment (MAR 2000)”, FAR 52.216-7, specifies that the indirect cost rates must be established for each of the Contractor’s accounting periods that apply to this contract. Pending establishment of revised provisional or final indirect cost rates, allowable indirect costs must be reimbursed on the basis of the following negotiated provisional or predetermined rates and the appropriate bases:

Description Rate Base Type Period

1/ 1/ 1/

[To be determined]

B.6 ADVANCE UNDERSTANDING ON CEILING INDIRECT COST RATES AND FINAL REIMBURSEMENT FOR

INDIRECT COSTS

(1) Reimbursement for allowable indirect costs must be at final negotiated rates but not in excess of the following ceiling rates:

Description Rate Base Type Period 1/ 1/ 1/

[To be determined]

(2) 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.

(3) The Government must not be obligated to pay any additional amount on account of indirect costs above the ceiling rates established in the contract.

(4) This understanding must not change any monetary ceiling, obligation, cost limitation, or obligation established in the contract.

B.7 COST REIMBURSABLE

The costs allowable must 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, if applicable, and AIDAR 752.7003, Documentation for Payment.

- End of Section B -

SECTION C - STATEMENT OF WORK

C.1 TITLE OF ACTIVITY 1

PROGRESS – ASEAN-U.S. Partnership for Good Governance, Equitable and Sustainable Development and Security

C.2 PURPOSE

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Regional Development Mission for Asia (RDMA) General Development Office (GDO) seeks quality support to establish and manage a flexible mechanism that will provide technical assistance, training, material, planning, organizational and other resources as needed to support and enhance ASEAN’s capacity to advance good governance and regional security, and to promote equitable and sustainable human development in Southeast Asia in line with the ASEAN Political-Security and Socio-Cultural Blueprints2, as well as the ASEAN-U.S. Enhanced Partnership Plan of Action 2011-2015 (PoA).3 The Activity will also provide technical assistance to the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta in areas such as expanding its capacity for outreach and project management, as well as its capacity to productively employ information and communications technology (ICT). The PROGRESS technical support mechanism is part of a bundle of U.S. Government (USG) interventions under the umbrella of the ASEAN-U.S. Partnership Project, which also includes a separate activity focused on promoting implementation of the ASEAN Economic Community.4 The ASEAN-U.S.

Partnership Project aims to help strengthen regional and ASEAN Member State institutions to improve their capacity to implement the ASEAN Community Blueprints.

C.3 BACKGROUND

Southeast Asia is a diverse region, encompassing some of the world’s wealthiest and poorest countries.

ASEAN was established in 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Between 1984 and 1999, Brunei Darussalam, Vietnam, Lao PDR, Burma (Myanmar), and Cambodia joined the association. The original founding document, the ASEAN Declaration, states that the aims and purposes of ASEAN are to: 1) accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region;

and 2) promote regional peace and stability through an abiding respect for justice and the rule of law in the relationship among countries in the region and adherence to the principles of the United Nations Charter. The U.S. has been an official Dialogue Partner with ASEAN since 19775.

In the last 15 years in particular, ASEAN has made steady progress toward achieving the goals laid out in its founding declaration. A sampling of accomplishments in broad terms includes:

1997 Adoption of the ASEAN Vision 2020 to create “a block of Southeast Asian nations, outward looking, living in peace, stability and prosperity, bonded together in partnership in dynamic development and in a community of caring societies.”

1 An “activity” is defined in the USAID ADS Glossary as: “Previous definition of activity no longer valid. An activity is a sub-component of a project that contributes to a project purpose. It typically refers to an award (such as a contract or cooperative agreement), or a component of a project such as policy dialogue that may be undertaken directly by Mission staff.”; http://transition.usaid.gov/policy/ads/glossary.pdf 2 See Roadmap for an ASEAN Community: http://www.meti.go.jp/policy/trade_policy/asean/dl/ASEANblueprint.pdf 3 Plan of Action to Implement the ASEAN-U.S. Enhanced Partnership for Enduring Peace and Prosperity, 2011-2015, July 2011.

http://www.asean.org/images/documents/plan%20of%20action%20to%20implement%20the%20asean-us%20enhanced%20partnership%202011- 2015%20-%20final%20-%20endorsed%20at%20the%20pmc1%20session%20with%20the%20us%20-%2022%20july%202011.pdf 4 The ASEAN Connectivity through Trade and Investment activity (ACTI) will provide technical assistance, training, materials, and other resources as needed to accelerate the implementation of select components of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Community (AEC) Blueprint and the ASEAN-U.S. Enhanced Partnership Plan of Action 2011-2015 (PoA).

5 Dialogue Partner is a formal status designation by ASEAN. Other ASEAN Dialogue Partners are China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, EU, India, Canada, and Russia.

2003 ASEAN leaders resolved that an ASEAN Community would be established according to three pillars; 1) ASEAN Political Security Community; 2) ASEAN Economic Community; and 3) ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community.

2007 ASEAN leaders issued a Declaration on the ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint, which called for advancing the target date for establishing an economically integrated ASEAN Community from 2020 to 2015.

2008 The ASEAN Charter was signed. It provided ASEAN with a legal personality and framework respectively, created the Commitee of Permanent Representatives for its ten Member states, called for the establishment of a human rights body, and strengthened the role of the annual rotating Chairmanship of ASEAN.

2009 ASEAN leaders adopted the Roadmap for an ASEAN Community 2009-2015 which included Blueprints for integration of all three ASEAN Communities.

The 2003 agreement establishing the three pillars or “Communities” was particularly critical to defining the contemporary mandate of the organization:

The goal of the Political-Security Community is to ensure that the peoples and Member States of ASEAN live in peace with one another and with the world at large in a just, democratic and harmonious environment.

The Economic Community seeks to deepen and broaden economic integration through existing and new initiatives with clear timelines and in accordance with the principles of an open, outward-looking, inclusive and market-driven economy.

The primary goal of the Socio-Cultural Community is to promote a people-centered and socially responsible ASEAN by forging a common identity and building a caring and sharing society, which is inclusive and harmonious, and where the wellbeing, livelihood, and welfare of the peoples are enhanced.

Consistent with these three pillars is the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI)6, which was agreed upon and introduced in 2000 as a “…framework for regional cooperation through which the more developed ASEAN members could help those member countries that most need it”, namely Cambodia, Laos, Burma (Myanmar) and Vietnam (CLMV). The IAI’s stated objective is to narrow the development gap (NDG) among member states. The initiative is also intended to assist ASEAN achieve its region-wide targets by helping the less-developed countries fulfill their commitments to the ASEAN Community.

Another key ASEAN initiative is cross-cutting regional connectivity agenda, articulated in the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity7. Connectivity in ASEAN terminology refers to the physical, institutional and people-to-people linkages that comprise the foundational support and facilitative means to achieve the Economic, Political-Security and Socio Cultural pillars towards realizing the vision of an integrated ASEAN Community.

U.S. engagement with ASEAN has progressed over the last six years and a strong relationship has emerged. Due to deepened ASEAN-U.S. cooperation resulting in key achievements to ASEAN’s further regional integration objectives, priorities, structures, architectural systems and platforms, the continued development of this engagement is the logical next step in seeking to further consolidate and build upon the ASEAN-U.S. partnership.

The evolving ASEAN-U.S. partnership was first formalized in 2006 and again in 2011 through two PoAs.

Together, they extend over the uninterrupted period of 2006-2015 and mirror agreements reached at the

6 Part of the Roadmap for an ASEAN Community. See Footnote 2.

7 http://www.aseansec.org/documents/MPAC.pdf first, second and third ASEAN-U.S. Leaders Meetings and in the Joint Vision Statement of the ASEAN- U.S. Enhanced Partnership. They are essential strategic programming guidance documents that underpin U.S. Government support to ASEAN-led initiatives for addressing issues and challenges to achieving ASEAN’s Vision of a peaceful, stable, integrated, prosperous, and caring ASEAN Community by 2015.

Deep and sustained ASEAN-U.S. cooperation is vital to ASEAN’s future and its ability to address new global challenges. U.S.–supported activities also provide opportunities to forge a stronger partnership with a rules-based, integrated, and stable ASEAN. The size and diversity of the Southeast Asian region is such that U.S. regional assistance is unlikely to have a direct measurable impact on poverty. It can, however, help to establish those conditions, which will improve poverty reduction, regional governance, and favor the management of transnational issues.

Current USG-sponsored technical assistance, and other support and services to ASEAN are channeled principally through the USAID-managed ADVANCE project (2007-2013).8 ADVANCE supports all three ASEAN Communities as well as the goals of IAI, and aims at:

1. Designing and implementing regional activities that enhance ASEAN integration and cooperation;

2. Complementing regional programs with single country capacity-building programs in ASEAN member states that are related to their commitments under the ASEAN Blueprints for integration;

3. Strengthening the ASEAN Secretariat;

4. Leveraging the funding and expertise of development partners such as corporations, foundations, ASEAN member states, other donors and NGOs to address jointly-defined development challenges.

A mid-term performance evaluation of ADVANCE was conducted by an independent outside evaluation specialist in 2011. The findings and recommendations were intended to inform management decisions during the ADVANCE Activity’s final period of implementation, as well as guide the strategic programming direction and scope of the ASEAN-U.S. Partnership Project to begin in FY 2013. Highlights of the review findings and recommendations that are of relevance to a deepening of ASEAN-U.S. relations and strengthening regional governance and security, and human development in ASEAN Member States are summarized below:

Findings

ADVANCE provides significant support to U.S.-ASEAN relations through the provision of technical assistance.

The value of ADVANCE as an incubator for ideas that lead to longer-term commitments is even higher than the resource requirements for the project. ADVANCE has provided good value for its cost.

Working across all three ASEAN communities is the correct strategic approach, but the approach needs a tighter focus.

The workshops and meetings conducted by the ASEAN Technical Assistance and Training Facility (TATF) have generally been of high quality in terms of content and logistics, and this could continue to improve with additional quality control over the qualifications of speakers and a stronger ASEAN orientation.

The ASEAN Roadmap for Integration provides a structure for the types of requests ASEAN made for assistance, without it being overly constricting.

Work in human rights is an evolving area within ASEAN and technical assistance must be appropriately matched to current trends in ASEAN; the Human Rights Resource Centre

8 ADVANCE works across key areas of U.S. national interests and foreign assistance, including economic prosperity, democratic institutions, and regional security, and provides access to other federal agencies with overlapping portfolios in those areas to implement and coordinate with their counterparts in Southeast Asia. ADVANCE is a five-year program (2007-2012) managed by USAID/RDMA in conjunction with the Department of State as well as other U.S. government departments and agencies. ADVANCE’s day-to-day operations are located within the ASEAN Secretariat. Efforts under ADVANCE have been critical to fostering the trust and respect that exists in U.S.-ASEAN relations.

represents a promising start in helping to provide technical assistance towards objectives, working alongside the formal ASEAN structure (“Track Two”).

Recommendations

Develop communications templates for key reports that include format, level of detail, and preferred vocabulary and grammar; these should be developed in conjunction with RDMA and the U.S. Mission to ASEAN (USASEAN) and provide content also meeting ASEAN’s needs.

Improve participant tracking in capacity-building events, either through a project or a Secretariat managed database. Having data set up in this fashion will also allow the operator to calculate trends over time in terms of attendance (by country and level of official representation), or other descriptive statistics.

Provide summaries of policies (at meetings) for first-time participants, especially in public/private meetings.

As presentations and meetings are held in English, consider options for translation and recording for subsequent review and better comprehension.

Improve both the quality and dissemination of project communications, especially within the U.S.

government stakeholders.

Future Planned Assistance

Using the lessons learned from the ADVANCE mechanism, USAID/RDMA’s follow-on ASEAN support efforts will be more programmatically focused. One activity, the one addressed in this Statement of Work, will strengthen ASEAN governance as it relates to political security and socio-cultural cooperation. The other activity will focus on ASEAN’s economic integration and competitiveness.

C.4 PROGRAM OBJECTIVES, ILLUSTRATIVE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND EXPECTED

RESULTS

C.4.1 PROGRESS Activity Overview

This Activity seeks to strengthen selected regional and member states’ institutions to support good governance, security and socio-cultural targets outlined by the Political-Security and Socio-Cultural Blueprints in the Roadmap for an ASEAN Community in accordance with select priorities outlined in the ASEAN-U.S. PoA. To this end, USAID/RDMA/GDO will continue to work with ASEAN, non-profits institutions, the private sector, academic institutions, other donors, and all concerned U.S. stakeholders.

This Activity builds upon prior USG development efforts—mainly via ADVANCE—to strengthen ASEAN and promote regional integration. Specifically, PROGRESS will continue USAID’s technical support aimed at:

1. Enhancing ASEAN’s ability to advance good governance and political-security integration;

2. Improving ASEAN’s capacity to promote equitable and sustainable development;

3. Increasing ASEAN Secretariat institutional capacity.

The Contractor must manage the following tasks:

1. Identify and provide technical expertise to promote existing and planned work of ASEAN’s Sectoral Bodies (working groups), ASEAN Member States and the ASEAN Secretariat in their efforts to further regional cooperation and achieve specific targets of ASEAN’s Roadmap for ASEAN Community 2009-2015 relating to good governance, political-security integration and human development.

2. Develop and implement technical assistance and training activities, to improve regional cooperation on transnational issues and build the capacity of ASEAN government officials at the regional and national level.

All activities will be carried out under the technical direction of USAID, the policy guidance of the United States Mission to ASEAN, and the endorsement of the ASEAN Committee of Permanent Representatives.

This Activity is part of a bundle of USG programming designed to fit together to provide comprehensive support to ASEAN across all three ASEAN Community Pillars (ASEAN Political-Security Community, ASEAN Economic Community, and ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community). Specifically, the ASEAN Connectivity through Trade and Investment (ACTI) activity will be the principle means by which USAID supports the ASEAN Economic Community Pillar.

Figure 1 below is the logical framework for PROGRESS, which is part of the overall ASEAN Partnership Project. It encapsulates the logical connections between the required outputs for each project component and the overall purpose and goal of the project.

The Contractor must seek collaborative opportunities between the activities (i.e. Good Governance, Trade and Investment, Human Development, and ASEAN Secretariat capacity building) to allow resources to be channeled for greater development depth and impact. Opportunities include, but are not limited to, bilateral USG assistance in ASEAN Member States, complementary USG regional programs, other donor assistance in ASEAN and Member States, multilateral development banks, and other international organizations. Identifiable collaboration/cross-sectoral opportunities are regarded by USAID as enhancements and the Contractor should use them to bolster the project goals. The Contractor must maintain an element of flexibility to respond to opportunities that may become available in cooperation with other stakeholders or the needs of ASEAN. In addition to the project components, there are also three cross-cutting themes which the Contractor must use as a guide in refining its strategy for achieving the project outputs. They are:

• People-2-People Connectivity: The Contractor must develop initiatives that promote and invest in education and life-long learning, support human resource development, encourage innovation and entrepreneurship, and promote ASEAN cultural exchanges.

• Narrowing of the Development Gap (IAI): The Contractor must implement activities that will narrow the development divide that currently exists between the newer members of ASEAN, namely Cambodia, Lao PDR, Burma (Myanmar), and Vietnam, and the other, more-developed ASEAN Member States.

• Local Capacity Development and Institutional Capacity Building: The Contractor must implement activities with a focus on building local and institutional capacity both within the Member States and at the regional level.

In addition, while there are specific outputs for which the Contractor will implement activities, activity planning will also necessarily address “windows of opportunity” as they arise. In other words, the Contractor must be responsive to requests from various U.S. Government (USG) stakeholders, including USAID, the U.S. Mission to ASEAN (USASEAN), U.S. State Department functional bureaus or ASEAN as needed, so long as these requests are consistent with the goals and objectives of PROGRESS. ASEAN is a large, complex and evolving organization, and it is impossible to fully anticipate in advance the specific types of support that will provide the greatest impact to ASEAN over the life of the project. The Contractor’s management structure must therefore support sufficient flexibility to allow for a certain degree of responsiveness to ASEAN’s and USG’s requests in the future. In addition, the Contractor must set aside a specified amount to be available for such activities in each budget year. The COR will instruct the Contractor as to the relevant program area of funding to be set aside at the time of obligation and will work closely with the Contractor to monitor the use of these funds. If the funds are not fully utilized within a given work plan cycle, the COR will work with the Contractor to determine the appropriate use of the funds within the following work plan cycle of planned activities.

Figure 1: Logical Framework for ASEAN‐U.S. Partnership Project (FY2013‐2017)

Investment in Agriculture & Nutrition-related Activities Increased

Technology (ICT)

Outputs:

skills

Indicators: Progress on specific elements of Blueprints and ASEAN‐U.S. Plan of Action

ASEAN Vision 2020: “A stable, secure, peaceful, economically integrated and globally competitive ASEAN”

development Outputs:

Strengthened science-based policy making in ASEAN

Strengthened capacity of the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance and Emergency Response (AHA Centre)

Strengthened capacity of ASEAN to promote women’s and children’s rights

Development Context/Problem Statements:

Institutional and human capital capacity varies among ASEAN bodies

Transnational constraints

global competitiveness.

Outputs:

Increased trade facilitation integration through the completion of the ASEAN Single Window and ASEAN Trade Repository

Enhanced ASEAN-U.S. economic cooperation and partnership through trade and investment

Increased capacity of selected ASEAN Member States’ officials to implement ASEAN commitments

Enhanced capacity of selected SMEs in human resources, finance and technology to take advantage of the AEC in selected ASEAN priority sectors

Strengthened public-private engagement on ASEAN priority integration sectors

Enhanced capacity to promote clean energy and energy efficiency

Strengthened ASEAN capacity to implement ICT Master Plan

Outputs:

Increased ASEAN engagement with the private sector, civil society and the media

Improved capacity to combat transnational crimes and non-traditional security threats

Strengthened institutional capacity to promote human rights

Strengthened executive, judicial and legislative institutions and networks to promote the rule of law

Assumptions:

U.S.-ASEAN engagements build capacity for ASEAN Integration.

Improved USG coordination on assistance to ASEAN.

Commitment to address constraints in selected areas by ASEAN Member States.

Development Hypothesis:

POLITICAL & SECURITY TRADE AND INVESTMENT HUMAN DEVELOPMENT (SOC-CULT) ASEAN SECRETARIAT

Cross‐cutting Themes:

People-2-People Connectivity

Narrowing of the Development Gap (Initiative for ASEAN Integration - IAI)

Local Capacity Development and Institutional Capacity Building

C.4.2 Objectives and Technical Approach

The Contractor must achieve the following objectives of the PROGRESS Activity:

Good Governance and Political-Security Integration: Enhancing ASEAN’s ability to advance good governance and political and security integration, particularly in the areas of public-private sector dialogue, promotion of human rights, cooperation to combat transnational crimes and non-traditional security threats.

Equitable and Sustainable Human Development: Enhancing ASEAN’s ability to advance socio-cultural integration, particularly in the areas of women’s and children’s rights, disaster management, and the capacity and quality of science-based policy-making.

Increased Capacity of the ASEAN Secretariat: Supporting the ASEAN Secretariat’s function to facilitate and support meetings, agreements and protocols central to the three Pillars, as well as the ASEAN-U.S. Plan of Action, the IAI, and the Master Plan on Connectivity, particularly in the areas of capacity for project management and outreach, and use of ICT in its activities.

C.4.3 Components

Operational Overview Given the changeable and evolving nature of institutional capacity building and technical support, the Contractor must embrace the principles of adaptive management and work to update programmatic management tools, such as the fully integrated Work Plan and Performance Management and Evaluation Plan (PMEP), at strategic intervals. Further, the Contractor must apply scientific-and evidence-based principles and practices, and proven cost-effective technical and management approaches to achieving the target activity outcomes and purposes.

The Contractor must provide targeted technical assistance and training at both the regional and national level in select member states at the request of the ASEAN Member States (AMS) through ASEAN sectoral bodies and the Secretariat, and in cooperation, coordination, and collaboration with relevant USG agencies engaging with ASEAN, and in close coordination with bilateral U.S. Embassies and USAID Missions. The Contractor’s implementation of the component will be under the direction of USAID/RDMA and in close coordination with ASEAN’s Secretariat, relevant sectoral bodies, steering committees, and working groups, and the U.S. Mission to ASEAN.

The Contractor must develop and implement innovative and inclusive approaches to engaging a broad range of stakeholders to deliver technical assistance and to build local capacity, e.g. partnerships with existing institutions, Grants under Contract (GUCs), etc.

For each component below, the Contractor must immediately begin engagement with the relevant ASEAN Secretariat Political-Security and Socio-Cultural leadership and Desk Officers, as well as Working Group Chairs, to assess their needs and develop a life-of-project PROGRESS work plan for COR approval that assists ASEAN in achieving its goals.

USG technical assistance will incorporate donor coordination and public-private partnerships where possible. The Contractor must show clear results starting the first year.

For all of the components below, the Contractor must develop an annual work plan for COR approval. Each of the activities in the work plan will require endorsement by the relevant ASEAN sectoral body through a Concept Note to be circulated to the members of the sectoral body by the relevant ASEAN Desk Officer or by presentation at a meeting of the sectoral body. Once the concept is endorsed by the sectoral body, the Contractor must work with the relevant ASEAN Desk Officer to develop a detailed terms of reference or other agreed documentation, including the expected need for short-term expertise (if any). The draft terms of reference may also be reviewed by the U.S. Mission to ASEAN and other relevant USG agencies as appropriate. The annual work plans will also be subject to endorsement by the ASEAN Committee of Permanent Representatives’ Project Steering Committee.

The Contractor must include the budget estimate of each activity and the specific type of expertise and level of effort to be utilized in the annual work plans.

Under each of the below Components, the Contractor must achieve the identified outputs and use them in developing annual work plans for COR approval. The illustrative inputs should not be viewed as exhaustive and the Contractor should propose additional inputs that contribute to achieving the three objectives of the Activity and the required outputs of each component. The desired outcomes represent a broad development outcome that the Contractor must use as a guide. The Contractor must contribute to realizing the desired outputs but their full achievement is not the sole responsibility of the Contractor.

Component 1: Good Governance and Political-Security Integration

The Contractor must contribute to achieving the desired outcome of an enhanced ASEAN ability to advance good governance and political-security integration. The Contractor must continue USG support to maintain momentum in achieving ASEAN integration in good governance and political-security. To this end, the Contractor must develop and implement a life-of-project PROGRESS work plan and annual work plans for the outputs below, taking into consideration ASEAN goals and objectives and in consultation with ASEAN (keeping in mind ASEAN includes the Committee of Permanent Representatives, the Secretariat, ASEAN Member States, sectoral bodies, etc.).

The United States and ASEAN share the mutual goals of increasing collaborative initiatives between ASEAN and the business community and between ASEAN and CSOs. One of ASEAN’s primary goals under the Political-Security Pillar is to promote a “rules-based community of shared values and norms with the intent of encouraging good governance.”

ASEAN is particularly interested in promoting “dialogue and partnerships among governments, private sectors and other relevant organizations to foster and enable new ideas, concepts and methods with a view to enhance transparency, accountability, participatory and effective governance.”

Over the last decade, particularly since the signing of the ASEAN Charter and creation of the Roadmap for an ASEAN Community, ASEAN has instituted a series of measures to solidify the collaboration between ASEAN Member States and focus on good governance issues. The creation of the ASEAN Committee of Permanent Representatives, comprised of one permanent representative (many with Ambassadorial rank within their home country) per Member State resident in Jakarta, has significantly increased the sophistication of ASEAN’s structures for regional cooperation. The ASEAN Charter also called for the establishment of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR); in addition to AICHR, the ASEAN Commission for the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC), and a migrant labor committee, are new intergovernmental structures to further promote human rights in the region.

Gaps remain, however, in connecting these evolving governmental structures with other key stakeholders in ASEAN that must become part of the regionalization process, namely civil society, the business community, and ASEAN citizens.

Human rights promotion and good governance depends on open and constructive dialogue with the governed. In addition, while structures for cooperation in the executive branch have significantly evolved, ASEAN has not yet invested serious attention to methods and structures for judicial and legislative cooperation. In the area of regional security and combating transnational crime, there is also room to improve implementation of political-security commitments made at the top levels of government through increasing cooperation regionally and building capacity at the national level, for example in line ministries.

Output 1: Increased ASEAN Engagement with Private Sector, Civil Society and the Media At present there are ad hoc exchanges and meetings, but there is significant room for the Contractor to facilitate formalizing these engagements to reap the benefits of joint stakeholder advancement and realization of ASEAN’s integration goals. To support outreach, as well as institutionalization of dialogues and initiatives, the Contractor must pay particular attention to the long-term sustainability of the conversation between ASEAN and the business community and between ASEAN and CSOs.

Illustrative Inputs:

Activities to further the institutionalization of a joint-dialogue that occurs at regular intervals between ASEAN and the business community and between ASEAN and CSOs, including:

o Support for outreach, research, assessments and discussion for good governance and public-private dialogue systems;

o Train officials and relevant stakeholders, such as academia, business community, and citizen groups, on implementing public participation in policy-making

Activities to promote ASEAN-Media engagement towards greater awareness among ASEAN governments, businesses and citizens on ASEAN integration benefits and progress including:

o Promotion of principles of free and independent media within ASEAN;

o Training for media professionals for accurate and responsible ASEAN reporting;

o Increasing capacity for outreach to media and citizens, including use of social media tools, among

ASEAN governmental and non-governmental institutions

Illustrative Indicators:

Number and frequency of initiatives between ASEAN and business community;

Number and frequency of initiatives between ASEAN and CSOs;

Institutionalized joint dialogues between ASEAN and business community;

Institutionalized joint dialogues between ASEAN and CSOs;

Number of trained recipients applying newly-acquired knowledge of ASEAN’s activities

Output 2: Improved capacity to combat transnational crimes and non-traditional security threats This output links directly to ASEAN’s goal of building a cohesive, peaceful and resilient region with shared responsibility for comprehensive security. ASEAN subscribes to the principle of comprehensive security, which takes into account non-traditional aspects vital to regional and national resilience, such as the economic, socio-cultural, and environmental dimensions of development. ASEAN and the United States are also mutually committed to conflict prevention/confidence building measures, preventive diplomacy, and post-conflict peace building, particularly through joint membership in the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).9

This output will improve ASEAN’s ability to combat transnational crimes and non-traditional security threats as defined in the ASEAN-U.S. PoA and as agreed in annual work plans, potentially including, but not limited to actions against human trafficking, financial crimes, and drug trafficking. The Contractor must implement activities in line with the ASEAN Political- Security and Blueprint and the ASEAN-U.S. POA that will contribute to mutual regional security goals. In addition, the Contractor must have a staffing structure that will provide necessary technical support to the proposed activities, as well as consistent responsiveness to priorities as determined in the ARF and ASEAN’s relevant security working groups, such as the Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime (SOM-TC).

Illustrative inputs:

Support public awareness-raising, training and information exchange for government officials for cooperation and among potential victim communities;

Enhance technical assistance and encourage greater exchange of views, expertise, experiences and information on non-traditional security challenges;

Capacity-building on security issues through priorities identified in the ASEAN Regional Forum, such as cyber-security;

Support public and media awareness campaigns on transnational crimes

Illustrative indicators:

Number of participants in workshops, seminars or trainings to share best practices to combat transnational crimes and non-traditional security threats;

Percentage of participants utilizing acquired skills and knowledge to combat transnational crimes and non-traditional security threats

Output 3: Strengthened institutional capacity to promote human rights In order to have a functioning rules-based community of shared values and norms, it is necessary for ASEAN Member States to cooperate on issues aimed at a strengthened democratic region. This includes good governance and respect for the rule of law, observance of human rights and the preservation of fundamental freedoms. The central ASEAN human rights body, the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), was established in the ASEAN Charter.10 The ASEAN Committee on the Implementation of the ASEAN Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers (ACMW) was also recently created to work with the ASEAN Labour Ministers Meeting to focus on the rights of migrant workers in ASEAN.11 Through the guidance of the U.S. Department of State and USAID for specific activities, the Contractor must support agreed activities between these bodies and other working groups as

9 http://aseanregionalforum.asean.org/ 10 AICHR Terms of Reference: http://www.asean.org/resources/publications/asean-publications/item/asean-intergovernmental-commission-on-human-rights 11 http://www.asean.org/communities/asean-socio-cultural-community/category/overview-29# appropriate and the United States as they develop.12 In addition, the Contractor must explore opportunities for support to existing regional networks and CSOs that support ASEAN’s good governance and human rights goals and whose work is complementary to the ASEAN human rights bodies. ASEAN’s human rights institutions will be stronger with a structured approach to engaging CSOs and they will benefit from information and data that CSOs can provide.

Illustrative Activities:

Support the work of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights, in areas such as research, outreach to stakeholders and training for AICHR members, staff and relevant ASEAN Secretariat staff;

Support the work of the ASEAN Labour Ministers Meeting and the ACMW in implementing their work plan and the Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers;

Promote and support the work of existing regional organizations, such as NGOs, academia, advocacy groups, as related to the state goals of ASEAN’s human rights bodies.Illustrative Indicators:

Number of AICHR work plan items supported;

Number of ACMW work plan items supported;

Workshops and seminars on human rights issues in the region and ASEAN institutional responses;

Number of research studies produced and disseminated;

Number of CSOs in ASEAN Member States that are directly engaged with ASEAN human rights bodies;

Number of CSOs engaged in human rights advocacy or representing marginalized constituencies receiving capacity building assistance

Output 4: Strengthened executive, judicial and legislative institutions and networks to promote the rule of law A rules-based ASEAN must incorporate not only strong executive regional institutions with the skills and knowledge to promote good governance, but should also promote legislative and judicial cooperation in the region to help Member States share experiences, discuss commonalities and implement ASEAN executive-branch agreements. Towards this end, the Contractor must implement activities to improve the sharing of experiences and building capacity among ASEAN Member States and regional actors in all branches of inter-governmental cooperation.

Illustrative Activities:

Workshops and seminars on leadership concepts and principles with emphasis on good governance, and on development norms on improving good governance;

Technical assistance to promote judicial cooperation in ASEAN;

Support to ASEAN legal and legislative cooperation, for example through the ASEAN Inter Parliamentary

Association (AIPA)

Illustrative Indicators:

Number of participants in workshops, seminars or trainings to share best practices on good governance;

Percentage of participants utilizing acquired skills and knowledge to influence increased legislative cooperation;

Percentage of participants utilizing acquired skills and knowledge to influence increased judicial cooperation

Component 2: Human Development and Social-Cultural Integration

The Contractor must contribute to achieving the desired outcome of improving ASEAN capacity to promote equitable and sustainable human development. ASEAN’s vision of an economically integrated and socially cohesive community is predicated on: a spirit of cooperation; cultural and religious respect; environmentally-friendly practices; gender equality and equity; and a collective responsibility for human and social development. In several key areas of the Socio-Cultural pillar, ASEAN has made significant advances to create an enabling environment for regional cooperation to promote a common identity and well-being, as well as to address trans-boundary issues and challenges.