SECTION C.doc

Guyana HIV/AIDS Management and Capacity Building Project FEDBIZOPPS Pre-Solicitation Scope of Work

SECTION C – DESCRIPTION / SPECIFICATIONS/STATEMENT OF WORK

The Guyana HIV/AIDS Management and Capacity Building Project will provide technical assistance through formal workshops, on-site visits/training and mentoring. Partner organizations will be assisted in strengthening all aspects of their Human Resources policies and practices; improving their internal management and administrative systems and practices; developing the skills of NGO staff in areas of project management and administration, including conflict management; ensuring that each NGO has the governance structure appropriate to meet its objectives and ensuring the governance function is clearly understood and operational; and improving the monitoring and evaluation reporting procedures and quality of data maintained.

C.1

BACKGROUND

Guyana is one of the countries in the Western Hemisphere that is affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic with an estimated HIV prevalence of 1.82%, with heterosexual contact accounting for 80% of cases. In addition, the Guyana Ministry of Health (MOH) 2009 estimates for Guyana suggest that at the end of 2008, there were approximately 9,400 people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and over 500 AIDS-attributable deaths annually. Groups with higher prevalence include commercial sex workers (CSWs) - 16.6%, men who have sex with men (MSM) - 19.4% and miners (4%). However, the considerably higher prevalence rates among these most-at-risk-populations and the high levels of stigma and discrimination indicate that the epidemic is positioned to spread rapidly, as it has in other, now high-prevalence, countries around the world.

The Government of Guyana (GoG) recognizes the severity of the HIV/AIDS crisis as a growing national concern and has created a national response with assistance from bilateral and multilateral donors. A comprehensive strategy (2007-2011) is being implemented that encompasses all aspects of HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and treatment.

Through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) initiative, USAID/Guyana is assisting the Government of Guyana (GoG) to address the HIV/AIDS crisis. USAID, through its flagship project, the Guyana HIV/AIDS Reduction and Prevention (GHARP II) Project is implementing a comprehensive strategy that encompasses all aspects of HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and support while working closely with organizations that provide care and treatment.

USAID recognizes that in order to scale up its response and achieve its goals, non-governmental and faith-based organizations have become important partners in the national response. USAID sees these community organizations as key to getting prevention messages to communities, especially to its members most at risk of HIV. They are also key partners to help link communities and their individual members to care and support services and providing necessary follow up and community support. Partnering with these organizations is critical to ensuring comprehensive programming for HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and treatment in Guyana.

Currently, USAID works with eighteen (18) NGOs, of which three (3) are FBOs. While the NGOs are essential to USAID’s strategy to extend the delivery of HIV/AIDS prevention, care and support services throughout the country, many lack the fundamental skills to efficiently manage their organizations and effectively manage U.S. Government funds. Observed weaknesses vary significantly by organization, but include difficulties in establishing effective governance systems, providing effective leadership, communicating internally and externally, developing project proposals, hiring and supervising staff, recruiting and managing volunteers, implementing project work plans, monitoring and reporting on project activities, as well as mobilizing resources and managing project funds. The 18 NGOs are located in regions 2, 3, 4, 6, 7 and 10, with region 4 having the majority of NGOs. Although there are some regions (1, 5, 8 & 9) that do not have an NGO presence, they all receive services through mobile outreach services. (See Table 1).

C.2.

STATEMENT OF NEED

A key aspect of the PEPFAR Reauthorization Act of 2008 is the mandate to promote sustainability with partner countries by strengthening country capacity and ownership. In light of this, USAID’s strategic approach in the battle against HIV/AIDS is to strengthen the effectiveness of non-governmental organizations to provide quality, cost-effective services to bolster the national HIV/AIDS program. However, there are difficulties that are consistently encountered as the strategy is rolled out.

Firstly, although there are a number of NGOs involved in HIV/AIDS work, they do not possess the experience in implementing HIV/AIDS programs, resulting in a deficiency in expertise and frequent problems of authenticity, long term commitment and motivation. The second major issue is the limited capacity of established NGOs to effectively utilize donor funds. The primary challenges here relate to the limited technical and financial capabilities, managerial abilities, and number and level of personnel to effectively scale up services. Thirdly, the sustainability of these NGOs without donor support is uncertain. It is therefore critical to build the organizational capacity of the local system for resource mobilization to ensure continuity long after USAID/Guyana’s assistance ends.

Experience in Guyana has shown that meaningful progress in the development of NGO capacity is a labor intensive endeavor. Less mature NGOs require intensive support.

In many areas traditional training is indispensable, but must be complemented with field visits to reinforce the concepts imparted and help with identification and resolution of problems on the ground as they arise. The advantages of doing this include: individualized response catering directly to the specific needs of each NGO, mutual respect developed as real problems are faced head on.

Hence, some issues to be considered in implementing a traditional training based model include:

• NGOs are unable to effectively utilize the information provided for pragmatic ends.

• The wide disparities of experience and abilities between NGOs render the understanding and absorption of intensive training sessions somewhat problematic.

• Frequently, a very small and sometimes inappropriately selected group of personnel attend numerous trainings and receive training in multiple program and technical areas, thus concentrating expertise in a very small number of individuals. As many of these individual acquire skills they leave the NGOs for more lucrative employment.

• A large number of training sessions can result in many of the lead personnel being away for extended periods. The cost of doing this is lost time in the field, inappropriate people being trained, overdependence on a few individuals.

Also of concern is the ability of NGOs to maintain audit-ready data collection systems, submit timely and accurate reporting that is useful for internal program planning. Efforts to ensure that high quality data is generated require consistent field level support to these organizations.

Consequently, it has become increasingly necessary to identify a sustainable cost effective solution to institutional capacity building. This requires a local Contractor that understands the environment and can work with the NGOs in the field and maintain regular, even daily contact, to respond to emergency needs and monitor progress. The Contractor would also fill the gaps in the institutional memory created by the high turnover of key staff in these local NGOs.

Another advantage of reinforcing this local Contractor is its potential to create career opportunities to the highest level of NGO talent thus reducing the attrition rate. The NGO community will benefit enormously from the retention of some of these individuals; their experience and local knowledge are invaluable and the significant resources invested in their professional development will be retained in Guyana. Their institutional memory will also remain in country to the benefit of their original NGO employers.

C.3

OBJECTIVES

To help achieve USAID/Guyana’s HIV/AIDS Strategic Objective by providing capacity building in the areas of financial and administrative management to a network of USAID-supported non-governmental organizations (NGOs), faith-based organizations (FBOs), and the NGO Coordinating Committee. This contract will provide technical assistance through formal workshops, on-site visits/training and mentoring. Partner organizations will be assisted in strengthening all aspects of their Human Resources policies and practices; improving their internal management and administrative systems and practices; developing the skills of NGO staff in areas of project management and administration, including conflict management; ensuring that each NGO has the governance structure appropriate to meet its objectives and ensuring the governance function is clearly understood and operational; and improving the monitoring and evaluation reporting procedures and quality of data maintained. This contract will also disburse and manage sub-grants and provide financial training, technical assistance, and equipment/technology needed to strengthen financial management and control systems of the USAID-supported NGOs, as well as public-private partnerships, and other special projects selected by USAID/Guyana . This assistance should result in the strengthening of the financial management and administrative capacity of USAID partner organizations.

C.4

SCOPE OF WORK

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

Guyana HIV/AIDS Civil Society Support Project The Contractor will focus activities in management and administrative systems, organizational development, financial management and monitoring and evaluation technical assistance to sub-grantees over a three (3) year period, with an option for an additional year, depending on the availability of funds. This assistance shall include training, capacity development, disbursement and management of grants, and the provision of equipment needed by partner organizations as agreed upon by the Contractor and USAID/Guyana. Support to be provided must build on previous capacity building efforts and be compatible with existing systems and procedures. Organization-specific capacity building must be guided by a tailored plan that responds to uniquely identified strengths and areas requiring improvement for each local partner.

The Contractor shall use the following guidance as the basis for these technical services. These steps shall not be considered all-inclusive or restrictive in nature and will not constitute relief from existing due professional care and judgment. They shall be modified, with USAID’s approval, to fit local conditions, PEPFAR’s guidance and specific project design and implementation procedures. It will also collaborate on selected activities with USAID and GHARP II. Any limitation in the scope of work shall be communicated as soon as possible to USAID/Santo Domingo Contracting Officer.

Activities to be carried out by the local capacity building organization include:

Task 1: Conduct a needs assessment of the management and organizational development assistance needed and prepare institutional development plans

· Conduct a needs assessment and prepare an institutional development plan for each NGO in the USAID network detailing the management and organizational development assistance to be provided within the first three months of the project.

Task 2: Provide management and organizational development assistance

· Prepare a plan to provide management technical assistance to all 18 NGOs, using resources effectively and efficiently and targeting those most in need of assistance within the first three months of project implementation. It is estimated that 10 NGOs will need systematic, intensive technical assistance and 8 will need periodic, ad hoc assistance. Of the 10 requiring intensive assistance, seven are in Region 4 and the remainder is in Regions 2 and 6. Although this may change, these estimates should be used for planning and budgeting.

· Provide management and organizational development assistance to the NGOs, based on their institutional development plans. Technical assistance should include but not limited to governance, human resources management and quality assurance.

· Examine and introduce strategies/mechanisms to reduce dependence on donor funds. The Contractor must propose a phased approach with a clear exit strategy built-in from inception. This is to ensure a clear understanding with grantees about the time-limited nature of this support and the need for prioritizing how to sustain activities after the life of the project.

· In collaboration with USAID, establish a salary range system designed to ensure that NGO compensation is similar among organizations within the first month of the project.

Task 3: Facilitate NGO training workshops

Collaborate with GHARP II and conduct specific training sessions for the NGOs in the areas of governance, project planning and proposal development, and project management.

Task 4: Coordinate and monitor with GHARP II

· Consult monthly with GHARP Program staff regarding findings from monthly NGO monitoring reports. Findings should inform subsequent individualized technical support to the NGOs, seeking to remove operational roadblocks to service delivery.

· Participate in quarterly GHARP site visits to the NGOs by the GHARP NGO Support Team.

· Participate in monthly meetings with USAID and GHARP staff to keep all partners informed of NGO capacity building progress.

· Attend monthly NGO Coordinating Committee (NCC) meetings (as required) and provide assistance as requested by USAID, GHARP and the NCC.

Task 5: Participate in future planning of USAID support to NGOs

· Assist USAID in the growth of civil society by participating in developing selection criteria for new NGOs (not yet funded) based on product, market, geography and emerging needs.

Task 6: Information sharing

· Identify, gather and distribute key reference materials (books, manuals, videos) to serve as a small, but focused, resource center for NGOs on management and leadership of civil society organizations.

Task 7: Provide financial management assistance to Grantees, Public-Private Partnerships, the NGO Co-ordination Committee, and special projects selected by USAID/Guyana

· Establish a suitable accounting plan and propose an appropriate accounting system to meet the varying needs of the diverse organizational goals and capacities within the first month of project implementation, after thorough analysis and evaluation of the NGO/CBO/FBO operations.

· Establish administrative and financial procedures and adequate internal control structures within the administrative units of partnering organizations in the first month of project implementation.

· Develop/update a financial management and procurement practices manual and conduct annual trainings on its implementation.

· Review the current payment verification process and update/establish a payment verification program in order to ascertain adequate control and management capability from the sub-grantees to manage US government funds in the first week of project implementation.

· Maintain files, data bases, receipts and other documentation in strict conformity with CPA requirements and generally accepted accounting principles

· Submit monthly financial reports to USAID/Guyana

· Conduct quarterly financial management and operations evaluations for submission to USAID/Guyana.

· Open a bank account with two authorized signatories for each of the sub grantees, and disburse funds to sub-grantees

· Provide necessary financial and logistical backstopping;

· Conduct yearly financial training;

· Manage funds for the NGO Coordinating Committee lending no technical assistance to the committee on financial management and accounting; and

· Delegate two or three experienced financial specialists to:

· Hold an entrance and exit conference with each sub-grantee, including a financial management overview session for private-public partnership projects;

· Routinely work on-site with partners organizations, paying particular attention to the individual support needs of each organization and the designated accounting staff;

· Work with partner organizations to ensure that monthly budgets are prepared and submitted to the CPA firm for approval before incurring expenditures; and

· Disburse funds, upon request, for procurement of goods and services, payrolls and all expenses pre-approved in the monthly budget.

Task 8: Ensure reliable and accurate program Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) at the NGO level and within Contractor’s M&E systems.

· Develop a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) plan, to measure the results achieved individually and collectively by the NGOs as well as to track the progress of capacity building activities of the organization within the first month of project implementation.

· Develop a data quality assurance plan to monitor the NGOs program monitoring systems and ensure uniform M&E systems and processes across NGOs, and the generation of high quality data within the first month of project implementation.

· Conduct monthly supervisory visits and quarterly data quality assurance reviews at each NGO, in order to monitor the utilization of the monitoring system, provide on-site guidance and mentoring and validate the accuracy of the data collected.

· Conduct quarterly M&E workshops to share current M&E guidance, receive feedback and ensure uniform understanding of guidance across NGOs.

· Ensure NGO utilization of standardized data collection forms for each program area during M&E monitoring visits.

· Compile the achievements reported by the NGOs in one database and compare to program area targets.

· Monitor and report on progress against the total program area targets and those individually set by the NGOs/FBOs, in their annual Monitoring and Evaluation Plans.

· Prepare quarterly, semi-annual and annual reports on achievements for submission to USAID.

· Disseminate and provide technical assistance for the use of, a NGO level program database.

· Maintain central M&E database for management of program data in order to prepare program reports to USAID.

Task 9: Ensure compliance with USAID Environmental management policies and procedures

· Ensure that each sub-grantee completes an Environmental Mitigation Plan (EMP/R) and prepares annual reports on the progress in ensuring compliance, through annual environmental mitigation reports and maintenance of a chart on each sub-grantee EMP/R.

Task 10: Award grants

· Contractor will award grants to a network of local non-governmental organizations (NGOs), faith-based organizations (FBOs), and the NGO Coordinating Committee in support of U.S Government PEPFAR objective, to reduce transmission of HIV and AIDS, and mitigate the impact of the disease on Guyanese.

· Contractor will be responsible for the cradle to grave grant making process.

· The Contractor shall assure that funds are available as needed by partner organizations and that funds will not be subject to administrative delays.

· The Contractor shall ensure that each sub-grantee has a special bank account to facilitate the inflows and outflows of funds approved in their program budgets.

· The Contractor shall facilitate the transmission of advances, to each NGO in cycles of thirty (30) days immediate cash needs and in keeping with USAID disbursement regulations.

· The Contractor shall ensure that monthly liquidation of advances is conducted by the 10th day of each month by each NGO.

· The Contractor shall only disburse funds based on documentation submitted by partners, for purchases that are allowable, reasonable and allocable and in accordance with this scope of work. It shall be the responsibility of the Contractor to ensure that appropriate procurement practices are followed and that documented evidence, demonstrating the use of competitive procurement process, is maintained.

C.5 DELIVERABLES

The Contractor will achieve the objective below and produce the following deliverables.

Objective:

Strengthen the financial and management (including governance) capacity of NGOs in the USAID network to enable them to immediately expand HIV/AIDS services while simultaneously enhancing their quality and sustainability.

Deliverables:

1. Needs assessments and institutional development plans prepared for each HIV/AIDS NGO supported by USAID.

2. Management and organizational development assistance provided to USAID-supported NGOs through direct, one-on-one support. (Of the 18 NGOs currently being supported, 10 receive systematic, intensive technical assistance and 8 receive periodic, ad hoc assistance).

3. Financial assistance provided to USAID-supported NGOs through regular on-site training and mentoring.

4. Training provided in financial management and procurement practices, proposal development, governance and project management to staff of all USAID-supported NGOs.

5. Manuals prepared on two NGO management components and/or systems that can be adopted, and adapted, for use by the NGOs supported by USAID.

6. Monitoring and Evaluation training provided to all USAID-supported NGOs.

7. NGO level databases in use at all USAID-supported NGOs and generating data for program planning and decision making.

8. Monitoring and Evaluation systems institutionalized and functional within all USAID-supported NGOs.

9. NGO partners generating high quality data with margins of error less than +/- 3%.

END OF SECTION C

� USAID and its implementing program, the Guyana HIV/AIDS Reduction and Prevention (GHARP II) Project will coordinate and determine the selection process.

� USAID reserves the right to freeze sub-grant funding based on inadequate technical performance or not meeting reporting requirements set out by USAID. The mission will communicate with the Capacity Building Agency and sub-grantees these concerns and funding will temporarily cease until the sub-grantee rectifies the situation. The Mission will communicate with the Capacity Building Agency when funding can resume. The Capacity Building Agency can withhold funds due to non-compliance with accounting principles that govern the project and the non-acquittal of funds for two consecutive advances, but this action must be taken in consultation with USAID. The Capacity Building Agency must however work with the defaulting organization (s) to ensure that the problem is rectified.