SOL-641-12-000005.pdf

RFP Issuance Date : September 27, 2012 RFP Closing Date : November 15, 2012 RFP Closing Time : 04:00 p.m. GMT Questions Closing Date : October 15, 2012; 4:00 p.m. GMT

Subject: Request for Proposals No. SOL-641-12-000005

Resiliency in Northern Ghana Project

To All Prospective Offerors:

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

This procurement is being conducted through full and open competition for which the procedures for "contracting by negotiation, trade-off process”, as described in Part 15 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), will apply.

Proposals will be accepted from US and Non-US private, for-profit and non-profit organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) including universities, research organizations, professional associations, and relevant special interest associations. Faith-based and community organizations are also eligible for award. In support of implementation and procurement reforms USAID is interested in expanding the number and sustainability of development partners, USAID/Ghana encourages proposals from potential new and/or local partners.

USAID/Ghana plans to award a cost-plus-fixed-fee completion type contract. The maximum amount of the contract (costs and fee) is in the range of $30 - $32 million, covering a period of performance of five years. However, Offerors should not necessarily strive to equal this amount. Cost-effective approaches to achieving the results stated in the government requirement are highly encouraged. Offerors must propose costs that they believe are realistic and reasonable for the work. Cost proposals will be evaluated as part of the best value procedure in determining the contract award.

Dissemination of this solicitation is through the internet via www.fbo.gov. It is the responsibility of the recipient of this solicitation document to ensure that it has been received in its entirety, including subsequent solicitation amendments, if any. USAID bears no responsibility for data errors resulting from transmission or conversion processes.

Issuance of this solicitation and the submittal of a proposal do not constitute a commitment on the part of the U.S. Government nor USAID to make an award; neither does it constitute an obligation for any costs incurred in the preparation and submission of a proposal. Award will be subject to funds availability following the proper completion of required USAID internal processes and other internal USAID approvals.

USAID/Ghana SOL-641-12-000005 – Cover Letter

Further, the U.S. Government reserves the right to reject any or all proposals received. This RFP is being issued and consists of this cover letter and the text of the attached request for proposals (RFP). All Offerors are cautioned to carefully review this cover letter and the contents of the RFP.

The details associated with the submission requirements for Offerors’ proposals are outlined in Section L of this solicitation. Proposals must be signed by an official who is authorized to bind the organization and are to be submitted to USAID no later than the closing date stated above. Late proposals will be handled in accordance with FAR 15.208. Facsimile submissions are not authorized and will not be accepted as valid.

Offerors are instructed to 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.

An interested vendors list is not included in this solicitation. Offerors can register and use the interested vendors list found at the Federal Business Opportunities (www.FBO.gov) webpage created for this solicitation so that interested firms and individuals can contact one another for consideration of teaming arrangements and/or small business subcontracting opportunities arising from this solicitation.

Offerors must submit any comments or questions concerning this RFP by the closing date specified above. These must be directed by email to accracontract@usaid.gov with a copy to USAID Senior A&A Specialist Frederique Rakotoarivelo frakotoarivelo@usaid.gov. Oral explanations or instructions given before the award of the contract will not be binding.

Point of required receipt of proposal is USAID/Ghana located in Accra, Republic of Ghana and not USAID offices in Washington, D.C. or any other location. Offerors must take account of the expected delivery time required by the proposal transmission and are responsible to ensure that proposals are received at USAID/Ghana by the due date and time specified above.

Thank you for your interest in working with USAID/Ghana.

Sincerely, /S/

Yves B. Kore Supervisory Regional Contracting Officer USAID/West Africa

SOLICITATION, OFFER AND AWARD

CONTRACT NUMBER

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STANDARD FORM 33 (REV. 9-97)

Prescribed by GSA - FAR (48 CFR) 53.214(c)

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THIS CONTRACT IS A RATED ORDER

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CODE ADDRESS OFFER TO (if other than Item 7)

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SOLICITATION NUMBER

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11. TABLE OF CONTENTS

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PART I - THE SCHEDULE

A SOLICITATION/CONTRACT FORM

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D PACKAGING AND MARKING

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SOL-641-12-000005 X 09/27/2012

USAID/WA/RAAO

No. 24, Fourth Circular Road, Cantonments Accra, Ghana refer to Section L.4 1600 GMT November 15, 2012

Frederique Rakotoarivelo 1272 frakotoarivelo@usaid.gov x 1 x 5 x 8 x 39 x 41 x 42 x 51 x 55 x 76 x 83 x 84 x 94 x 108

Yves B. Kore

1 111

USAID/Ghana SOL-641-12-000005

Contents

PART I – THE SCHEDULE

SECTION B ‐ SERVICES AND PRICE/COSTS

B.1 PURPOSE

The purpose of this contract is to provide expert technical assistance and services as described in detail in Section C, Statement of Work for the implementation of “USAID/Ghana’s Resiliency in Northern Ghana (RING) Project.

B.2 CONTRACT TYPE AND CONTRACT SERVICES

This is a cost-plus-fixed-fee (CPFF) completion-type contract. For the consideration set forth below, the Contractor must achieve the performance objectives and deliverables or outputs described in Section C and F in accordance with the performance standards specified herein.

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, is $TBD. The fixed fee, if any, for the contract period is $TBD. The total estimated cost plus fixed fee is

$TBD.

b) Within the estimated cost plus fixed fee (if any) 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 of the contract period hereunder is $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 TBD. Funding for this contract will be on an incremental basis, subject to availability of funds.

B.4 CONTRACT BUDGET AND CEILINGS

a) The contract budget found herein is based on the contractor’s original proposal and/or final proposal revision, which was accepted by USAID through award of this contract.

(b)Without the prior written approval of the contracting officer, the contractor may not exceed the total estimated costs set forth in the budget hereunder or the total obligated amount, whichever is less.

c) The following itemized budget sets forth the estimates for reimbursement of dollar costs for individual line items of cost, and the fixed fee (if any).

Contract Period of Performance Yr 1 Yr 2 Yr 3 Yr 4 Yr 5 Total I. Estimated Cost Direct Costs Indirect Costs Subtotal Contract Estimated Cost II. Fixed Fee III. Total Estimated Contract Cost Plus Fixed Fee

B.5 PAYMENT OF FIXED FEE

The Government must pay the Contractor for performing this contract the fixed fee specified in the Schedule.

The fee must be paid in installments at the time of each payment on account of allowable cost. The amount of each such installment being determined by applying to the amount payable as allowable cost a percentage reflecting the ratio of total contract fee to total contract estimated costs.

In the event of discontinuance of the work in accordance with the clause of the contract entitled “Termination (Cost Reimbursement)” (FAR 52.249-6), the fee must be re-determined by mutual agreement equitably to reflect the reduction in the work actually performed. The amount by which such fee is less than, or exceeds, payments previously made on account of the fee must be paid to, or repaid by the Contractor, as applicable.

B.6 INDIRECT COSTS

The contract clause entitled “Allowable Cost and Payment (DEC 2002)”, FAR52.216-7, 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.7 ADVANCE UNDERSTANDING ON CEILING INDIRECT COST RATES AND FINAL

REIMBURSEMENT FOR INDIRECT COSTS

(a) 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]

(b) The Contractor must make no change in its established method of classifying or allocating indirect costs without the prior written approval of the Contracting Officer.

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

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

B.8 REIMBURSABLE COSTS

The US dollar costs allowable must be limited to reasonable, allocable and necessary costs determined in accordance with FAR 31 (Contract Cost Principles), A-21 (Cost Principles for Educational Institutions), A-122 (Cost Principles for Non-Profit Organizations), FAR 52.216-7 (Allowable Cost and Payment), FAR 52.216-8 (Fixed Fee), if applicable, and AIDAR 752.7003 (Documentation for Payment), in order to be reimbursable under this contract.

[END OF SECTION B]

SECTION C ‐ SPECIFICATIONS

STATEMENT OF WORK

RESILIENCY IN NORTHERN GHANA (RING)PROJECT

C.1 INTRODUCTION

The United States Agency for International Development’s Ghana Mission (USAID/Ghana) contemplates the award of a five year contract to provide technical assistance to USAID’s Resiliency in Northern Ghana (RING) Project. RING is an integrated project and partnership effort under USAID’s Feed the Future (FtF) Initiative designed to contribute to Government of Ghana (GoG) efforts to sustainably reduce poverty and improve the nutritional status of vulnerable populations.

C.2 OBJECTIVES

The goal of RING is improved livelihoods and nutritional status of households in Ghana. This goal directly aligns with IR 2 of the FtF Multi-Year Strategy for Ghana.

In support of the above goal, the purpose of the RING project is to improve livelihood and nutritional status of vulnerable households in targeted communities in Northern Region.

Consistent with USAID Forward principles of direct support to host governments to the maximum extent possible, this project will be decentralized and employ mixed modalities for implementation. RING’s interventions will be implemented through a collaborative approach with the District Assemblies (DAs) in Northern Region and with the Northern Region Coordinating Council (NRCC). For eligible DAs, USAID support and funding for district management requirements and the implementation of interventions at the community level will go directly to the DAs. For DAs not yet eligible for direct funding, the Contractor must provide technical assistance for the achievement of RING objectives while building the capacity of the DA.

The overall RING project will be led by a Project Steering Committee which will include representatives from USAID, the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD), Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MOFEP), Ministry of Health (MOH), Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) and the Contractor.

The primary responsibilities of the steering committee will be to provide overall policy direction at the central level. The steering committee will meet semi-annually to discuss overall policy issues affecting project implementation, to review project progress, and discuss and resolve implementation challenges.

The anticipated overall budget for RING interventions is approximately $60 million over five years which would include the following (the costs for external M&E services and the impact evaluator expenses are not included in these estimates):

An estimated cost in the range of $24 and $27 million for technical assistance provided by the Contractor to DAs and the NRCC;

An estimated $1 million for grants to local NGOs including the private sector under a GUC mechanism, managed by the Contractor in districts in which DAs are not yet eligible for direct funding from USAID;

An estimated $1 million for sub-contracts to DAs that do not yet qualify for direct USAID funding, managed by the Contractor;

An estimated $3 million for innovative Contractor-developed and implemented/coordinated activities in support of RING objectives, as approved by USAID;

An estimated $28 million in direct funding from USAID to qualified DAs and the NRCC.

C.3 BACKGROUND

A. Context

Situation of food insecurity and under-nutrition in Ghana and Northern Region In aggregate, Ghana is considered to be generally food secure, with only 5 percent of the population deemed food insecure and another 9 percent vulnerable to food insecurity. However, this nationwide perspective masks important regional dynamics and disparities. Persistent food insecurity is concentrated in the poorest regions of Ghana: Northern with 10 per cent of the population food insecure, Upper West with 34 per cent, and Upper East with 15 per cent. About 453,000 people are food insecure in Northern Region of Ghana, more than the rest of the rural areas nationwide combined. Further, regional disparity is a key characteristic of poverty trends in Ghana. A recently released World Bank report found that between 1992 and 2006, the number of the poor declined by 2.5 million in the south and increased by 0.9 million in the north. Low population density in Northern Region means that distances between communities and households can be considerable. In addition, poor infrastructure connecting towns and villages isolates rural communities, prevents access to markets, and exacerbates food insecurity during lean periods.

Indicators of poor nutrition status The 2008 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) found greater rates of under nutrition in these areas as well with one in three children stunted (32%) in Northern Region and rates of wasting creeping toward the emergency threshold of 15 per cent. Wasting among young children is a result of failure to receive adequate nutrition during a specific period and is likely a consequence of recent illness or of seasonal variations in food availability. The most severe micronutrient deficiency among Ghanaian mothers and children is iron deficiency, with 81% of children under five in Northern Region burdened by anemia. In addition to impairing mental and physical development of children, anemia is also particularly serious for pregnant women, as it contributes to premature delivery and low birth weight. In Ghana malnutrition is estimated to be the underlying cause of 55% of mortality cases in children under the age of five years, in addition to poor care and feeding practices, lack of quality health facilities, limited access to safe drinking water.

Awareness of these issues, however, is limited. Districts and communities need to develop awareness of and responses to the needs in their communities of households most vulnerable to under-nutrition and food insecurity. They need packages of services and an enabling environment (i.e., community support) to step out of extreme poverty.

Food security in northern Ghana is affected by a combination of underlying factors (availability, access, utilization, and, stability), leading to reduced resiliency among households.

Causes of Under-Nutrition: Poor Availability of Food.

More than half of Ghana’s work force is directly engaged in agricultural activities. However, more than 90% of farm holdings are less than 2 hectares in size and are subsistence farms, yet they contribute 80% to Ghana’s total agricultural output. In the northern savannah, the smaller the farm holding, the less diverse is the variety of crops cultivated, usually staple crops. While Ghana remains food secure in most staples, it has a significant deficit of nearly 70% of its rice needs and 15% of its maize needs. The GoG has identified several problems within the agricultural sector, such as: reliance on rain-fed agriculture;

high post-harvest losses; poor extension services; inadequate livestock and husbandry management; and lack of ready markets.

In the northern regions, natural hazards, such as floods and droughts, disproportionately impact on the poorer households. Floods have destroyed large areas of cultivated land at crucial times during past cropping seasons, leaving the farming population with reduced harvests to sustain them throughout the year and a damaged asset base that takes a long time to replenish, if at all. Reduced resilience is likely to trigger a chain reaction, the outcome of which has been found to be limited access to sufficient and nutritious food. To address fully food insecurity and under-nutrition, GoG pro-growth policy reform and strategies and investments in improving agricultural productivity will need to be complemented by deliberate efforts to also address access and utilization constraints, especially in regards to diverse foods.

Analysis of the evidence underscores the need for Ghana to address its economic and nutrition disparities in an integrated approach with complementary investments in health and education investments and targeted nutrition and hygiene education in order to achieve its overall development goals.

Causes of Under-Nutrition: Poor Access and Affordability of Food Seventy percent of the Ghanaians living in extreme poverty live in the three northernmost, largely rural regions of the country. The majority of households are farming households, with almost half (46%) falling below the poverty line; of those, Northern Region, the largest of the three regions, accounts for over half. The food price increases of 2008 also disproportionately affected households in the northern regions. Markets are a significant source of food in Ghana, with 80% of all households purchasing food during the period immediately following the main harvest. Although variations do occur, this phenomenon is remarkably consistent across income segments and livelihood groups. Even among those pursuing agricultural livelihoods (cash crops, food crops, and agro-pastoralists), only about 30% of households get all their food from their own production, which is remarkably low, especially during the harvest period.

In this context, limited household purchasing power is a clear barrier to food access and improved food security. Poor asset wealth is strongly correlated with stunting and other nutritional status indicators.

Asset wealth is a proxy for household purchasing power, and stunting was attributed to a lack of food access leading to poor and borderline food consumption. For poor farmers, their main source of income is likely to come from sales of staple crops following the main harvest in September-November.

Although these households may have other income sources from other economic activities or sales of stored crops, their challenge is to finance household consumption – with food purchases as a major expense – throughout the year.

To reduce food insecurity and under-nutrition, cash flow among vulnerable households must be improved, so they have cash (or cash-equivalent assets) available to purchase food, especially during periods of the year when household food stocks are low or exhausted. They also need to adopt income generating activities, i.e., value-chains, such as horticulture and small animal husbandry, in which women play predominant roles throughout the value chain. While women may participate in the trading and marketing of staple crops (rice, maize), these value chains are principally within the domain of men.

Causes of Under-Nutrition: Poor Utilization/Consumption Food utilization refers to a household’s use of foods they can access and the ability of all members to properly absorb the nutrients needed from those foods. Possible reasons for poor food utilization include a lack of dietary diversity, poor quality food, and poor food choices and insufficient feeding frequency for young children. The percentage of children who are fed appropriately (frequency and recommended number of food groups) is lowest in the Northern Region (22%) and there are particularly low levels of dietary diversity among women. .

Optimal utilization of available food is also affected by the health and hygiene environment. Childhood illnesses such as diarrhea and acute respiratory infections are most common in the northern region with 33% and 9% respectively. Malaria affects all children in Ghana and has been estimated to account for 22% of under-five mortality and 9% of maternal deaths. The President’s Malaria Initiative is supporting the GoG to increase support to the Northern Region to improve overall utilization rates of insecticide treated nets, which was only 11% in the Northern Region in 2008.

Although access to improved water sources has increased over the past five years, coverage for sanitation remains low in Ghana at 18% for urban and 7% for rural regions. In the rural areas of the Northern Region, more than 80% of households use unsafe sanitation facilities. Food consumption has been found to be strongly related to the types of sanitation facilities the household uses; 70 per cent of households with poor food consumption use open pit latrines, buckets, or no facilities at all while those with acceptable consumption, only 29% of households use these types of sanitation facilities.

As families build resources to access a more diverse diet, they will need, at the same time, to gain knowledge to effectively use those diverse foods. Therefore, nutrition and hygiene education should be combined with livelihoods interventions. Socio-cultural practices and gender dynamics in northern Ghana have significant implications on nutrition and care practices, in addition to intra-household allocation of resources. These factors must be carefully addressed by an integrated program approach.

Given the importance of illness on nutrition status, effective linkages with maternal and child health services are needed in target areas to respond to the needs of vulnerable households.

Causes of Under-nutrition: Lack of Stability in Availability/Access to Food Stability means that a population should not be at risk of losing availability or access to food as a consequence of sudden economic or climatic shocks or cyclical events (e.g. seasonal food insecurity).

Vulnerable households in northern Ghana must regularly cope with changes in weather and rainfall patterns and climatic shocks such as floods and droughts. Unlike the rest of the country, the northern part of the country has one rainy season between April to September, followed by a long dry season, which lowers food availability during some seasons and raises prices. Added to these environmental challenges are poor post-harvest management and storage practices, with losses estimated at 20-50% for most crops.

Due to insufficient storage and drying facilities, many farmers sell their products at post-harvest time when prices are low and re-buy during the lean season when prices are high. These factors exacerbate food insecurity for already vulnerable families and communities.

Other factors affecting food security:

In addition to the standard parameters of food security, lack of coordination among implementing partners is a key issue in Northern Region. Numerous Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and development partners now target the three northern regions under a variety of development initiatives, including multiple efforts to improve food security. For example, the World Bank, DFID, CIDA, the EU, and the GoG have all recently announced that they will be focusing programs in northern Ghana. Thus far, there has been little success in coordinating food security activities, resulting in duplication, competing objectives, and ineffective targeting. Local authorities complain that development partners have not adequately coordinated with the local government bodies, which has hindered their ability to ensure effective development programming. Lack of consultation sidelines local government in understanding the extent of food security issues and programs in their regions and districts and weakens these officials’ leadership within the district. As a result, the impact and sustainability of food security interventions are undermined.

Given the number of actors in northern Ghana, coordination with relevant line Ministries, DAs, LNGOs, and other local actors is vital to ensure adequate coverage of communities and reduce duplication. The capacities of the DAs and the NRCC should be supported to enable them to fulfill their mandate of coordinating local actors and to increase sustainability of efforts to meet the long-term needs of vulnerable communities.

Alignment with USAID and USG Strategies RING is consistent with the present USAID/Ghana Country Strategy, the Health Sector Strategy, and its Integrated Nutrition Investment Framework, and directly responds to the objectives and principles of Feed the Future (FtF) and the Global Health Initiative (GHI). These initiatives support country-led efforts to achieve food security, poverty reduction, and improvements in health status. RING will be jointly funded by Economic Growth,Health, and Water funds.

Ghana Mission and Health Sector and Nutrition Strategies USAID/Ghana is presently developing its Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS), which is due for submission by the first quarter of FY 2012. As part of this process, the USAID Health Sector Strategy will be updated. USAID/Ghana also has an Integrated Nutrition Investment Framework that lays out priority areas for USAID attention and resource allocation for nutrition interventions. To date, RING is well-aligned with these strategic processes and documents.

Feed the Future (FtF) Approved in February 2011, the FtF Multi-Year Strategy for Ghana outlines three Intermediate Results to achieve the high level of objectives of the FtF Results Framework. These include:

IR 1: Increased Competitiveness of Major Food Value Chains (rice, maize, soya, fisheries)

IR 2: Improved Resilience of Vulnerable Communities

IR 3: Improved Nutritional Status of Women and Children

RING will be the principal project for achieving IR 2 and an important complementary effort to both IR 1 and IR 3. RING targets the most vulnerable households in the Northern Region where poverty and under-nutrition are concentrated. Due to constrained household resources and diminished capacity to take on risks, these households may not be ready to participate and/or immediately benefit from the larger, commercially oriented value chain approaches of IR 1, focused on staple crops. RING will accelerate the participation of the most vulnerable households in rural growth. RING will align also with other health investments (USAID and non-USAID) to increase access to quality maternal and child health services, as well as improved water and sanitation, as indicated for IR 3. RING will build upon the potential synergies between IR 1 and IR 2, as appropriate, to meet community needs and priorities. (See Section J for other USAID activities and partners supporting FtF IRs and activities.)

Global Health Initiative (GHI) GHI is the cornerstone of coordinating action in health across US government agencies. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the State Department, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, Peace Corps, and the Department for Defense all implement activities that are directly or indirectly related to health, in Ghana. These USG agencies are in the process of elaborating Ghana’s GHI strategy, which was timed to coincide and align with CDCS strategy development in Ghana. It is anticipated that many of the areas that will be highlighted under GHI will be in the area of governance and systems strengthening; the experience of RING’s project partners in these areas is a potential resource for the GHI implementation plan. Every effort will be made to ensure coordination across projects with the same goals and/or in the same geographic area.

USAID Forward Under RING, USAID/Ghana intends to use GoG systems to fund regional, district and community level activities to the maximum extent feasible and is reflective of its commitment to USAID Forward principles and objectives.