RFP_SOL-663-14-000014_SIPED_II.pdf

Date Issued: May 2, 2014 Question Deadline: May 14, 2014 Closing Date: June 4, 2014

SUBJECT: Request for Proposal (RFP) SOL-663-14-000014 Strengthening Institutions for Peace and Development II (SIPED II) in Ethiopia

TO ALL PROSPECTIVE OFFERORS:

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Ethiopia conjunction with the Offices of Acquisition and Assistance (OAA) and Democracy and Governance (DG) invites interested and qualified organizations to submit proposals in accordance with the requirements of this RFP. The selected offeror will be required to provide technical assistance services required to implement the program named “Strengthening Institutions for Peace and Development II (SIPED II) in Ethiopia. The overall purpose of SIPED II is to strengthen institutions for peace and development in Ethiopia and to increase communities’ resiliency to dealing with conflict. The details of this program are defined in the Project Statement of Objectives (SOO) located in Section C of the attached Request for Proposal (RFP). This procurement will be conducted under full and open competition procedures pursuant to Part 15 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) (48 CFR Chapter 1).

Offers must be submitted in accordance with the instruction listed in Section L of this RFP. USAID will select the offeror’s proposal that demonstrates the technical understanding required to achieve the project objectives at the most reasonable cost to the United States Government.

The procedures set forth in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 15 shall apply.

USAID/Ethiopia anticipates awarding a cost plus fixed-fee completion-type contract as a result of this solicitation. The period of performance for this award will be for a period of five years (subject to availability of funds and successful performance). The performance period will include four renewable option periods. The Government is not obligated to make an award as a result of issuance of this solicitation. Offerors are requested to submit proposals that are both realistic and reasonable for proposed work. The total estimated cost for performing this activity is between $17.4M - $18.4M.

Offerors are directed to pay particularly close attention to instructions listed in both Section L – Instructions to Offerors and Section M – Evaluation Factor for Award. All submitted proposals must be signed by an authorized official with the authority to bind the Offeror’s organization. Please also pay careful attention to, and complete Section K – Representations, Certifications and Acknowledgements.

It is extremely important that all submissions be made by the designated date and time indicated in Block 9 of the RFP cover page (Standard Form 33). Proposals received after the closing date and time

U.S. Agency for International Development US Embassy, Entoto Street P. O. Box: 1014 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Tel. : 00251-11-1306002 Fax : 00251-11-1242438 Website: www.usaidethiopia.org

USA Address:

2030 Addis Ababa Place Washington, DC 20521-2030 http://www.usaidethiopia.org/

SIPED II RFP SOL-663-14-000014

Contents

PART I - THE SCHEDULE

SECTION B: SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICE/COSTS

B.1 Purpose

B.2 Contract Type

B.3 Estimated Cost, Fixed Fee, and Obligated Amount

B.4 Budget

B.5 Indirect Costs

B.6 Cost Reimbursable

B.7 Payment of Fixed Fee

SECTION C - DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS/STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVE

SECTION D - PACKAGING AND MARKING

D.1 AIDAR 752.7009 Marking (JAN 1993)

D.2 Branding and Marking Policy

D.3 Branding Strategy

SECTION E - INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

E.1 Notices Listing Contract Clauses Incorporated by Reference

E.2 Monitoring and Evaluation of Performance / Performance Standard

SECTION F - DELIVERIES OR PERFORMANCE

F.1 Notice Listing Contract Clauses Incorporated by Reference

F.2 Period of Performance

F.3 Place of Performance

F.4 Technical Direction and Designation of Responsible USAID Officials

F.5 Authorized Work Day / Week

F.6 Reports and Deliverables

F.7 AIDAR 752.7005 Submission Requirements for Development Experience Documents (Jan 2004)

F.8 Key Personnel

SECTION G - CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA

G.1 Administrative Contracting Office

G.2 Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR)

G.3. Technical Directions/Relationship With USAID

G.4 AIDAR 752.7003 Documentation for Payment (Nov 1998)

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G.5 VAT Reimbursement Processes

G.6 Paying Office

G.7 Accounting and Appropriation Data

G.8 Contractor’s Primary Point of Contact

G.9 Contractor’s Payment Address

SECTION H - SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS

H.1 Notice Listing Contract Clauses Incorporated by Reference

H.2 AIDAR 752.211-70 Language and Measurement (JUNE 1992)

H.3 AIDAR 752.225-70 Source, Origin and Nationality Requirements (Feb 2012) (Class Deviation No. OAA-Dev-12-01c)

H.4 AIDAR 752.228-3 Worker’s Compensation Insurance

H.5 AIDAR 752.228-70 Medical Evacuation (Medevac) Services (July 2007)

H.6 Insurance and Services

H.7 AIDAR 752.7001 Biographical Data (July 1997)

H.8 AIDAR 752.7004 Emergency Locator Information (Jul 1997)

H.9 AIDAR 752.7007 Personnel Compensation (July 2007)

H.10 Additional Requirements for Personnel Compensation

H.11 AIDAR 752.7031 Leave and Holidays (Oct 1989)

H.12 AIDAR 752.7032 International Travel Approvals and Notification Requirements and AIDAR 752.7027 Personnel

H.13 AIDAR 752.245-71 Title to and Care of Property (Apr 1984)

H.14 USAID Disability Policy - Acquisition (December 2004)

H.15 Authorized Geographic Code

H.16 Executive Order on Terrorism Financing

H.17 Nonexpendable Property Purchases and Information Technology Resources

H.18 Government Furnished Facilities or Property

H.19 Reporting of Foreign Taxes (July 2007)

H.20 Conflict of Interest

H.21 Environmental Compliance

H.22 Transition of Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

H.23 Prohibition on the Use of Federal Funds to Promote, Support, or Advocate the

Legalization or Practice of Prostitution– Tip Acquisition (May 2007)

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H.24 Personal Identity Verification of Contractor Personnel (July 2007)

H.25 Homeland Security Presidential Directive-12 (Hspd-12) (September 2006)

H.26 Standards of Conduct -- Improper Business Practices

H.27 Foreign Government Delegations to International Conferences

H.28 Consent to Subcontracts

H.29 Grants under Contract

H.30 Reporting on Taxation of U.S. Foreign Assistance

H.31 Logistic Support

SECTION I - CONTRACT CLAUSES

I.1 52.252-2 Clauses Incorporated by Reference (Feb 1998)

I.4 52.216-8 Fixed Fee (Mar 1997)

I.5 52.217-9 Option to Extend the Term of the Contract (Mar 2000)

I.6 52.225-19 Contractor Personnel in Designated Operational Area/Supporting Diplomatic/Consular Mission Outside United States (Mar 2008)

I.7 52.227-23 Rights to Proposal Data (Technical) (Jun 1987)

I.8 52.229-8 Taxes-Foreign Cost-Reimbursement Contracts (Mar 1990)

I.9 Communications Products (Oct 1994)

I.10 International Travel Approval

I.11 AIDAR 752.242-70 Periodic Progress Reports (Oct 2007)

I.12 AIDAR 752.7101 Voluntary Population Planning Activities (June 2008)

SECTION J - LIST OF ATTACHMENTS

PART IV – REPRESENTATIONS AND INSTRUCTIONS

SECTION K - REPRESENTATIONS, CERTIFICATIONS, AND OTHER STATEMENTS OF

BIDDERS

K.1 Notice Listing Solicitation Provisions Incorporated by Reference

K.2 52.204-3 Taxpayer Identification (Oct 1998)

K.3 52.204-8 Annual Representations and Certifications (Oct 2010)

K.4 52.209-5 Certification Regarding Responsibility Matters (Apr 2010)

K.5 52.209-7 – Information Regarding Responsibility Matters (Apr 2010)

K.6 52.223-13 Certification of Toxic Chemical Release Reporting (Aug 2003)

K.7 52.230-1 Cost Accounting Standards Notices and Certification (Oct 2008)

K.8 52.230-7 Proposal Disclosure--Cost Accounting Practice Changes (Apr 2005)

K.9 Insurance - Immunity from Tort Liability

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K.10 Signature

SECTION L - INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS, AND NOTICES TO BIDDERS

L.1 52.252-1 Solicitation Provisions Incorporated by Reference (Feb 1998)

L.2 52.215-1 Instructions to Offerors—Competitive Acquisition (Jan 2004)

L.3 52.215-22 Limitations on Pass-Through Charges—Identification of Subcontract Effort Oct 2009)

L.4 52.216-1 Type Of Contract (Apr 1984)

L.5 52.233-2 Service Of Protest (Sep 2006)

L.6 General Instructions to Offerors

L.7 Delivery Instructions

L.8 Instructions for the Preparation of the Technical Proposal

L.9 Instructions for the Preparation of the Cost/Business Proposal

L.10 Instructions for the Preparation of Branding and Marking Plans

L.11 Late Submissions

SECTION M - EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD

M.1 Clauses Incorporated by Reference (Feb 1998)

M.2 General Information

M.3 Technical Evaluation Criteria

M.4 Determination of Competitive Range

M.5 Source Selection

M.6 Contracting with Small Business Concerns

ATTACHMENT J.1 IDENTIFICATION OF PRINCIPAL GEOGRAPHIC CODE NUMBERS

ATTACHMENT J.2: CONTRACTOR BIOGRAPHICAL DATA SHEETS - SEE NEXT PAGE

ATTACHMENT J.3 SELF DISCLOSURE OF LOBBYING ACTIVITIES

ATTACHMENT J.4: CERTIFICATION OF CURRENT COST OR PRICING DATA

ATTACHMENT J.5 CONTRACTOR PERFORMANCE REPORT-SHORT FORM

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PART I - THE SCHEDULE

SECTION B: SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICE/COSTS

B.1 Purpose

SIPED II program is to increase the resiliency of communities to deal with conflict. The premise is that resilient states – constituted by resilient communities – are capable of absorbing shocks and transforming and channeling radical change or challenges while maintaining political stability and preventing or minimizing violence. The purpose of the Program is to establish and strengthen partnerships between government officials and local communities to better understand and address the issues that may lead to violent conflict and to ensure that all development and adaptation interventions are conflict sensitive. Elevating the voice and positive contribution of women and youth will be at the core of all aspects of SIPED II.

B.2 Contract Type

The U.S. Government contemplates award of a Cost-Plus-Fixed -Fee (CPFF), Compltion Type contract resulting from this solicitation.

B.3 Estimated Cost, Fixed Fee, and Obligated Amount

(a) The estimated cost for the five year period of the performance of the work required hereunder, exclusive of fee is $__________. The fixed fee is $________. The estimated cost plus fixed fee is

(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) for performance hereunder is $___________ The Contractor shall not exceed the aforesaid obligated amount.

(e) Funds obligated hereunder are anticipated to be sufficient for performance through ____________.

B.4 Budget

Cost line item Year 1 18 Months

Year 2 12 Months

Year 3 12 Months

Year 4 12 Months

Year 5 6 Months

Salary and Wages Fringe Benefits Allowances Subcontracts/Consultants

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Other Direct Costs

Travel Transportation

Miscellaneous Cost

Grants Under Contracts

Indirect Costs

Fixed Fee

Total Est. Cost plus Fee

B.5 Indirect Costs

Pending establishment of revised provisional or final indirect cost rates, allowable indirect costs shall be reimbursed on the basis of the following negotiated provisional or predetermined rates and the appropriate bases:

Description Rate Base Type Period

TBD 1/ 1/ 1/

1/Base of Application:

Type of Rate: Predetermined Period:

B.6 Cost Reimbursable

The costs allowable shall 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.

B.7 Payment of Fixed Fee

Payment of fixed fee, subject to FAR 52.216-8, may be made upon receipt of a proper invoice. Subject to FAR 52.216-8, Fixed Fee, shall be allocated based upon the proportion of the labor provided over the period covered by the invoice. In the event that the contractor does not provide the total Level of Effort stipulated in the contract budget, the total amount of fixed fee will be reduced in similar proportion.

[END OF SECTION B]

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SECTION C - DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS/STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVE

I. GOAL and PURPOSE

The goal of the SIPED II program is to increase the resiliency of communities to deal with conflict. The premise is that resilient states – constituted by resilient communities – are capable of absorbing shocks and transforming and channeling radical change or challenges while maintaining political stability and preventing or minimizing violence. The purpose of the Program is to establish and strengthen partnerships between government officials and local communities to better understand and address the issues that may lead to violent conflict and to ensure that all development and adaptation interventions are conflict sensitive. Elevating the voice and positive contribution of women and youth will be at the core of all aspects of SIPED II. The program will focus at the national level with the Ministry of Federal Affairs and the regional state government of Southern Nations, Nationalities and People’s Region (SNNPR) and local levels in Hawassa, South Omo Zone, Konso, Derashe and possibly Arba Minch Zuria; Oromia and its regional state borders, Somali and Gambella regional states and their borders.

II. BACKGROUND

Ethiopia is a key ally of the United States Government (USG) in the troubled Horn of Africa sub-region.

A committed partner of USAID in poverty alleviation, in recent years Ethiopia has made tremendous progress in terms of human development, emergency preparedness, and humanitarian response.

The Government of Ethiopia’s (GOE) five year Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) sets ambitious targets and resource allocations for development in all sectors. In concert with the GTP, USAID/Ethiopia finalized a five year plan of its own, the Country Development Cooperative Strategy (CDCS), to help Ethiopia achieve its development goals and further U.S. trade and investment. The goal of the CDCS is to accelerate Ethiopia’s transformation to a prosperous and resilient country through increased economic growth, health, and learning supported by an improved enabling environment for sustainable development.

The GOE GTP includes commitments to improving accountable governance and promoting conflict-sensitive development. Ethiopia is also a member of the group of self-identified fragile and conflict-affected states known as the g7+ who came together for the Fourth High-Level Forum in Busan to advocate for assistance designed to facilitate transition out of fragility. In recent years, the GOE has made significant advances in strengthening national and regional structures for conflict prevention, management, and reduction (CPMR).

Critical challenges and deficits in relation to Ethiopia’s resilience to conflict remain and could potentially threaten to undermine historic development gains and the attainment of future goals. In addition to being located in a rough and at times unstable Horn of Africa region, Ethiopia continues to suffer from violent inter/intra communal conflict within its own borders. The causes are predominantly due to limited or inappropriately governed natural resources (land, water, forests, etc.), as well as weak or

Strengthening Institutions for Peace and Development II (SIPED II) in Ethiopia | 9 nascent governance and rule of law institutions. These particular challenges are compounded by the remoteness, and, at times, inaccessibility of many Ethiopian citizens further limiting access to public services. In addition, over the past several years, a marked rise in inter-ethnic conflict has occurred within regional states and along common state borders as groups sought to establish identity-based administrative units and thus gain control of state, economic and natural resources under the 1995 ethno-federalist constitution.

Furthermore, in an effort to address many of these concerns the GOE is seeking to accelerate growth in these regions and has put in place ambitious new development projects, including investments in hydropower, commercial agriculture, mineral and fossil fuel extraction, irrigation, improved community policing, and community resettlement. These projects aim to provide new sources of income, security, and access to services for pastoralist communities and the country at large. Yet, without careful attention to principles of conflict management, accountability, and sustainability, these projects risk placing further strains on households, communities, and the state-society relationship.

The Government of Ethiopia (GoE) recognizes that violent conflict and fear of renewed violence or lack of safety constrains development, undermines efforts towards poverty reduction and weakens the social fabric along with physical, economic and human capital. The GoE acknowledges the challenges associated with its own capacity in managing local conflict and has welcomed support for peace building activities. USAID Ethiopia remains committed to supporting the efforts of the GoE in strengthening its peace building, conflict prevention/reduction knowledge, capacities and structures at the federal, state and local level.

Natural resource management, livelihoods/poverty alleviation, and disaster risk reduction constitute key challenges for Ethiopia, and therefore are key aims of USAID/Ethiopia’s development assistance. The DG Office’s experience with local-level governance and conflict management programming also suggests that competition over natural resources (especially rangeland and water), combined with lack of effective governance mechanisms for managing those disputes, is at the root of most conflict. Poor land management has led to radically reduced resource availability in many pastoral areas which, greatly increases resource competition. In some areas in southern Oromia, invasive and indigenous shrubs now dominate over 80% of the land, displacing grass and other edible species needed for grazing.

In the pastoralist regions, conflicts are fundamentally over issues of resource scarcity, which is driven in some respects over the lack of parties’ ability to perceive their resource interests as compatible.

Addressing natural resource management in the context of dispute resolution is a key component of conflict resiliency. Environmental factors have impacts on conflict vulnerabilities and resiliencies and can be expected to contribute much more significantly and directly to risks of local-level conflicts and violence than to national or inter-state conflicts. Therefore, the SIPED II Program will address the conflict management and governance dynamics of natural resource management, livelihoods, and climate resilience.

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The overall development Goal of USAID/Ethiopia is “Ethiopia’s transformation to a prosperous and resilient country.” The Support Objective of the USAID/Ethiopia’s Democracy and Governance Office is the “Improved enabling environment for sustainable development.” This Support Objective is broken into three subsequent sub-intermediate results to guide program design. A key critical assumption about the feasibility of achieving the below mentioned results is the continued commitment of the GoE to support peace building and accountable governance.

The following diagram illustrates the USAID/Ethiopia Democracy and Governance Results Framework:

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Note: Cross-border refers to internal regional state borders only.

USAID’s recent support of improving social and institutional resiliency to conflict in Ethiopia falls under two programs that both ended in September 2012:

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The Culture of Discussion Initiative (formerly known as the Constructive Dialogue Initiative) from 2004 to 2012 promoted enhanced government-civil society collaboration in governance processes and increased effectiveness of national level conflict management policies and practices, emphasizing government-civil society and community partnerships. These initiatives complemented ongoing government led efforts to promote stability and work at the regional and local levels with technical assistance to ensure increased understanding and application of the principals of conflict sensitive development. CDI’s support to the Ministry of Federal Affairs (MOFA) included technical and financial support for 22 federal universities to mediate conflicts between students. The program also included community inclusiveness governance activities in Gambella and South Omo in natural resource management, livelihoods and the promotion of a culture of peace. Officials and staff were provided technical support and training to improve the conflict prevention, management and reduction skills of regional state officials and personnel.

The Strengthening Institutions for Peace and Development (SIPED) (formerly known as the Conflict Prevention and Reduction program) from 2004 to 2012 program worked in the four largest regions of Ethiopia and along inter-regional state boundaries. SIPED was designed to partner with government officials and local communities to better understand and address the under-lying issues that may lead to conflict and to ensure that all development interventions are conflict sensitive. The program helped build ties between communities and local government officials by helping officials develop the tools and skills they need to identify and address tensions before they turn violent. SIPED supported state governments in the region to build a comprehensive conflict early warning system and also helped them reduce violence through the accelerated delivery of social and economic development.

III. STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES

The SIPED II project purpose is to provide tools of peace building and accountable governance to increase the peace building ability and resiliency of households, communities and governing institutions. It is designed as a comprehensive program that encompasses increased resiliency to conflict, good governance and community involvement. The Contractor will provide consulting, training, and other services to governmental and non-governmental organizations to achieve these objectives.

Offerors are required to propose a comprehensive strategy for achieving objectives and ensuring the activities are sustainable. A high level of coordination with other USG-funded initiatives and other donor activities is required. Duplication and redundancies in assistance must be avoided, and a clear effort to build on past achievements and on-going activities in necessary.

While Offerors have flexibility to propose their own solutions, two program components and tasks/performance indicators are described below to guide Offerors in preparing their proposals. Upon award, the Contractor is expected to mobilize personnel and engage the Government of Ethiopia (GOE) and other stakeholders in a consultative and participatory process to develop an implementation/work plan to achieve the objectives.

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a. OBJECTIVE 1: INCREASED RESILIENCY AND ADAPTATION TO MANAGE CONFLICT

Resilience is a dynamic process whereby individuals exhibit positive behavioral adaptation when they encounter significant adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats, or even significant sources of stress. It is necessary to increase the capacity of households, communities, and/or the state-society relationship to recover from a shock, with the understanding that legitimate and effective institutions are most important for preventing, managing, and recovering from violence. Resilience is further operationalized as the capacity of systems to cope with shocks, manage variability, and transform for sustainable adaptation to permanent changes.

Conflict here refers to real or perceived incompatibility of interests or objectives. Conflict occurs naturally and is often a force for positive change and growth. By contrast, violent conflict, insecurity and instability create indirect barriers to development and livelihoods (impacting markets/trade, mobility, governance, health, access to education). Therefore, effective conflict management channels disputes into non-violent processes like negotiation, mediation, democratic competition, or consensus-building.

Institutions, the formal and informal rules and arrangements that govern human interactions, are mechanisms for conflict management and collective action, and are essential to building resilience.

Offerors are encouraged to consult USAID’s revised Conflict Assessment Framework and other conflict-related technical materials for more conceptual reference. These may be found on the USAID website at http://www.usaid.gov/what-we-do/working-crises-and-conflict/technical-publications.

Therefore, the meaning of “resilience and adaptation to manage conflict” may be interpreted to mean “the effectiveness and legitimacy of formal and informal institutions for managing conflicts and change along with preventing violence and insecurity at the level of households, communities, and the state-society relationship.” This includes having mechanisms in place that build adaptive capacity to potential shocks, particularly at the social and inter-communal level, or build the basic resources and assets that create buffers.

Offerors are expected to describe their activities in their proposal.

Expected Results:

• Enhanced legitimacy and effectiveness of the GOE’s architecture for improved resiliency to conflict; building peace, managing conflict, and increasing citizens’ security at the federal, regional state and local (woreda) levels, particularly within the Ministry of Federal Affairs;

• Improved households’ and communities’ capacities for coping with shocks, managing variability, and transitioning to more sustainable development without resorting to violence (this could include fostering use of consensus-building, mediation, customary justice, facilitation, and other techniques for collective decision-making and alternative dispute resolution related to environmental, security, demographic, or economic hazards);

• Improved capacity of beneficiary communities to cope with shocks to livelihoods (measured by percentage change in the coping strategy index of beneficiary communities)

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• Enhanced cooperation between regional state cross-border institutions for enhanced security and cooperation;

• Improved responsiveness of Ethiopian and CEWARN peace committees to inter-communal conflicts over natural resources like rangeland and water;

• Improvements in the accountability, fairness, responsiveness, and effectiveness of GOE Conflict Prevention, Management, and Response (CPMR) mechanisms (measured by perception surveys and demographic/security surveys

b. OBJECTIVE 2: STRENGTHENED ACCOUNTABLE GOVERNANCE

There is a fundamental link with Objective 1, as governance pertains to institutional performance, which in turn affects the grievances and incentives that drive violent conflict. A holistic approach to sustainability, therefore, addresses both governance and conflict resilience in an integrated fashion.

Accountability here is understood to encompass both vertical and horizontal accountability at the level of communities, society, and the state, including the formal and informal actors involved in decision-making and in implementing the decisions, as well as the formal and informal structures that have been set in place to arrive at and implement the decision.

It is important to highlight that for this program to be successful, the “supply side” of accountability must also be addressed, i.e. effective service delivery by the GOE. Social Accountability will be incorporated by engaging with citizens or civil society organizations to assist them in engaging with Government to demand services. Assistance also will be delivered to the GOE in to assist them in providing improved services; feedback from the recipients needs to be taken into account. Working with the Minstry of Federal Affairs, regional state governments and other relevant government institutions, the contractor will assist the GOE to be responsive to community feedback in its service delivery.

Governance is the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented via policies or laws (or not implemented). It is recognized that for good governance to be successful, transparency and the administration, enforcement of formal law, customary law, and conflict management institutions at household, community, and state-society levels (notably encompassing public and private sectors, including industry and business communities) are critical.

Civil society is an important factor in the governance environment as well, albeit instrumentally. Donor evaluations are now recognizing that simply funding civil society for the sake of supporting civil society is not sufficient to address governance problems. Who is supported, how, and how that support is understood all affects outcomes of aid. Program evaluations have also demonstrated that demand-side approaches are effective only if the government is able and willing to respond, and that donors should focus more on strengthening citizen–state relations and accountability processes rather than supporting demand-side actors in isolation.

WASH funds will be used in this program to provide water access to communities in the geographical focus area of the program. Water resources and services, if mismanaged, represent a significant risk factor that could lead to conflict. Water infrastructure and managing/governing institutions should have

Strengthening Institutions for Peace and Development II (SIPED II) in Ethiopia | 15 a platform ensuring that water conditions do not obstruct growth or present unacceptable impacts from shocks/and or unreliable supplies of water for production or livelihoods. Offerors are expected to describe their activities in their proposal.

Expected Results:

• Improved management of natural resources and implementation of adaptation strategies

• Increased perception, among participants, in social accountability/consensus building processes that the processes will address their interests and concerns related to water/land management

• Increased number of participatory rangeland and water resource management plans established

• Increased number of agreements, accords, or structures (i.e. institutions) established among communities and state entities for managing conflicts and decision-making over natural resource usage

• Sustainable access to water-related infrastructure and services scaled up

• Increased community perceptions of the effectiveness of government institutions

• Increase in average water usage of target human beneficiaries in liters per person per day

(meet or exceed WHO or Sphere standards – 20/15 litres per capita/day)

• Increased capacity of village water committees to maintain and manage water facilities

• Increased access to property rights over agricultural resources, including by female-headed households and returning internally displaced persons and refugees.

IV. CROSS-CUTTING PRINCIPLES

The following are cross-cutting principles for all program activities. The Contractor is expected to develop all assistance activities with these principles in mind.

Programmatic Objective 1: Contributing to Host Country Priorities: Demonstrate how the program coordinates with the Millennium Development Goals for Ethiopia as well as Ethiopia’s Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP). Ethiopia’s GTP was formally approved in 2010 based on a participatory process involving civil society and donors. The GTP is the main national strategy (2010/2011 – 2014/15) for reducing poverty and accelerating development. Refer in particular to the GTP’s plans on conflict prevention, management, and resolution.

The program should also incorporate the key elements of the OECD’s 2005 Paris Declaration and follow-on agreements in Accra and Busan (http://www.oecd.org/dac/effectiveness/fourthhighlevelforumonaideffectiveness.html) on enhanced aid effectiveness, which emphasize country ownership, country systems, donor harmonization, a focus on results, and shared accountability.

All activities will be conducted in close cooperation and partnership with Ministry and Regional State counterparts to ensure their full ownership. The assistance, whenever possible, will be designed to

Strengthening Institutions for Peace and Development II (SIPED II) in Ethiopia | 16 favor long-term solutions which could be performed, or later taken over, by the existing GOE institutions and organizations. The contractor will be evaluated not only on meeting the expected results defined by the objectives but also on progress towards ensuring their sustainability.

Programmatic Objective 2: Synergies and Leveraging of Resources: Ideally, the program will complement ongoing USAID and other USG activities, contributing to overall donor aid effectiveness.

The USAID/Ethiopia SIPED II program is committed to building synergies between programs and activities with the goals of substantive coordination with other USAID/USG programs and leveraging of additional non-USAID funds and resources through direct buy-in from others or joint implementation of activities. Special consideration will be given to innovative alliances.

Programmatic Objective 3: Cross Cutting Issues of Gender, Age, and disability: All activities should include attention to gender and youth both in terms of how gender issues affect the design and implementation of activities and also specifically in terms of how the differing needs of Ethiopian men, women, girls, and boys can be incorporated into results achieved. The Offeror should also consider persons with disabilities as an important cross-cutting issue that should be included in all programmatic elements.

Programmatic Objective 4: Environmental Best Practices: In order to identify any potential negative impacts and ensure compliance with USAID and USG environmental procedures, the contractor will be required to develop procedures to assess the environmental impact of proposed assistance and develop mechanisms to address the relevant assessment requirements. The environmental compliance of the award will be guided by the Initial Environmental Examination (IEE). The IEE is attached to the RFP and offerors need to incorporate IEE requirements into their proposals.

V. CROSS-CUTTING MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVES:

Management Objective 1: Telling our Story: Produce quantitative and qualitative indicators that best capture and tell the USAID story in the field. The communication objective is three-fold: 1) to increase awareness of the program among USG and other donor counterparts; 2) to timely provide communication to the general public in the form of telling the story of strengthening resiliency to conflict in Ethiopia, and 3) to promote interaction between local governments and civil society in Ethiopia that leads to improved services and a higher quality of life. While indicators will be determined in the final program design, Applicants can propose additional indicators to be used for communication purposes.

Management Objective 2: Integrating Gender and Youth: Successfully integrate gender assessments as a management tool in activity design and implementation for achieving all results (whether for men, women, or children) and also, to better and explicitly integrate women as beneficiaries of activities under this program. This includes support to activities that directly address the needs of Ethiopian women and girls, especially activities that improve their livelihood and status and role as peace leaders.

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Small Grant Fund – cross-cutting resource:

The contract will have a Small Grant Fund of up to $3.5 Million. The Small Grants Fund will be used for small grants for joint projects to encourage communication and collaboration between conflict-stricken communities to build their capacity in conflict resolution techniques, natural resource management, and organizational management, and integrated conflict and resource management approaches. The selected activities must build common links between communities, i.e. common water sources, markets, schools, public buildings, or create new bonds between communities through the creation of a shared public good. Priority will be given to activities in which both communities also contribute labor and other resources (local building materials such as wood and stone). The communities must also develop and commit to a sustainable management and maintenance plan that outlines how both communities will cooperate to share the jointly rehabilitated or newly built “resource” in the future. By implementing community grants, the participatory planning and execution will contribute to bolstering resiliency, good governance and social accountability in addition to building trust between local government and communities. These small grants may be awarded to support activities under any of the objectives, provided all of the eligibility criteria are met.

The contractor will be required to ensure clear, transparent and competitive procedures for grants funded from the Small Grant Fund with considerations to include but not limited to expected results and cost share.

The contractor will be responsible for administering and overseeing the Small Grant Fund in accordance with USAID requirements.

VI. INSTITUTIONAL OWNERSHIP

As part of this agreement, an Advisory Board will provide guidance to the program and ensure full counterpart ownership. The Contractor must establish an Advisory Board, comprised of a select number of participants, including representatives from USAID and the Ministry of Federal Affairs, with relevant experience and insight into local economic development, natural resource management, conflict management and other relevant areas. The composition of the Advisory Board is subject to USAID approval. The Advisory Board will meet on a regular basis and provide comments and advice to the donor and contractor with the overall goal of improving the Program’s effectiveness. These meetings, in addition to providing guidance to the contractor will be used to inform relevant stakeholders of planned future activities, discuss effects of past activities and coordinate program activities with relevant public sector counterparts.

VII. PERFORMANCE MEASURES

USAID encourages Offerors to propose innovative approaches to create incentives for program success. Offerors will compete to propose solutions which best address the desired objectives of this program. Offerors that have innovative integrated approaches that combine conflict mitigation

Strengthening Institutions for Peace and Development II (SIPED II) in Ethiopia | 18 techniques, natural resource management, and address formal governance questions are highly encouraged. All activities should be oriented towards improving sustainable resiliency to manage conflict through interaction with individuals, households, communities and both formal and informal institutions and to strengthened accountable governance, as identified in the results framework.

Offerors’ submissions should contain a results-oriented program description and performance metrics, targets, and measures based on USAID indicators as well as their own. USAID reserves the right to modify performance standards and/or metrics during the life of this contract, in order to ensure that the right outcomes are being assessed and that the right performance standards are appropriate. When necessary, such changes will be accomplished via a bilateral modification to this award or may be agreed upon through the development and approval of the annual work plan.

Offerors are encouraged to propose a set of benchmarks that can be achieved by 2015 against a set of qualitative and quantitative indicators. It is expected that all indicators, when possible, be disaggregated by gender and that specific attention be paid to strategies for better including women as direct program beneficiaries. Knowledge of data management systems may be included in the Applicant’s submission when discussing the tracking of information.

Illustrative monitoring indicators include:

Illustrative Indicators IR 1: Increased Resiliency and Adaptation to Manage Conflict

• Number of people trained in conflict mitigation/resolution skills with USG assistance;

Change in participant’s knowledge of conflict resolution techniques at federal and in selected states and communities;

• Number of conflict/fragility early warning systems, conflict assessments or response mechanisms supported by USG assistance;

• Number of peace processes that result in inter and intra community agreements in selected areas;

• Change in the responsiveness of peace committees to inter communal conflicts over natural resources;

• Number of local women participating in a substantive role or position in a peace building process supported with USG assistance;

• Number of stakeholders implementing risk-reducing practices/actions to improve resilience to climate change as a result of USG assistance;

• Number of stakeholders with increased capacity to adapt to the impacts of climate variability and change as a result of USG assistance;

• Number of communities receiving information and early warning related to NRM, security and climate change;

• Number of climate mitigation and/or adaptation tools, technologies and methodologies developed, tested and/or adopted as a result of USG assistance;

• Number of formal institutions and organziations strengthened at key regional border areas for

NRM, water rights, mobility and trade.

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Illustrative Indicators IR2: Strengthened Accountable Governance

• Percent of citizens surveyed satisfied with the process used to create the community natural resources management plans;

• Number of consensus building forums (multi-party, civil/security sector, and/or civil/political) held with USG assistance;

• Number of sub-national entities receiving USG assistance that improve their performance (in governance);

• Number of institutional management systems strengthened (e.g. administrative systems, financial management, strategic planning, project cycle management, grant management) with USG assistance.

VIII. PERIOD, PLACE OF PERFORMANCE AND ESTIMATED FUNDING FOR ACTIVITIES

The period of performance shall be a maximum of five years, from March 2014 through February 2019 with estimated funding of U.S. $18.4 million. The program will focus at the national level (MoFA) linked to SNNPR (Hawassa, South Omo Zone, Konso, Derashe and possibly Arba Minch Zuria), Oromia and its regional state borders, Somali and Gambella regional states and their borders. Applicants are encouraged to make suggestions for the best programming and geographical mix within the areas identified.

IX. PERSONNEL

Both local and international technical assistance will be drawn upon in support of existing capacities of the GOE. Offerors should emphasize the use of local expertise whenever possible.

The Offeror must include as part of its proposal a statement signed by each person proposed as key personnel confirming their present intention to serve in the stated position and their present availability to serve for at least the initial two years of the performance period. Key personnel, subject to review of offeror proposals, will include the Chief of Party, Deputy Chief of Party and any other full time resident expatriate advisor(s).

X. ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE

The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended, Section 117 requires that the impact of USAID’s activities on the environment be considered and that USAID include environmental sustainability as a central consideration in designing and carrying out its development programs. This mandate is codified in Federal Regulations (22 CFR 216) and in USAID’s Automated Directives System (ADS) Parts 201.5.10g and 204 (http://www.usaid.gov/policy/ADS/200/), which, in part, require that the potential environmental impacts of USAID-financed activities are identified prior to a final decision to proceed and that appropriate environmental safeguards are adopted for all activities.

The contractor environmental compliance obligations under these regulations and procedures are specified in the following paragraphs of this RFP. In addition, the contractor must comply with host country environmental regulations unless otherwise directed in writing by USAID. In case of conflict between host country and USAID regulations, the latter shall govern.

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No activity funded under this contract will be implemented unless an environmental threshold determination, as defined by 22 CFR 216, has been reached for that activity, as documented in a Request for Categorical Exclusion (RCE), Initial Environmental Examination (IEE), or Environmental Assessment (EA) duly signed by the Bureau Environmental Officer (BEO). (Hereinafter, such documents are described as “approved Regulation 216 environmental documentation.”)

As part of its initial Work Plan, and all Annual Work Plans thereafter, the contractor, in collaboration with the USAID COR/AOR and Mission Environmental Officer or Bureau Environmental Officer, as appropriate, shall review all ongoing and planned activities under this contract to determine if they are within the scope of the approved Regulation 216 environmental documentation.

The contractor is required to (i) Integrate a completed EMMP or M&M Plan into the initial work plan and

(ii) integrate an EMMP or M&M Plan into subsequent Annual Work Plans, making any necessary adjustments to activity implementation in order to minimize adverse impacts to the environment.

If the contractor plans any new activities outside the scope of the approved Regulation 216 environmental documentation, it shall prepare an amendment to the documentation for USAID review and approval. No such new activities shall be undertaken prior to receiving written USAID approval of environmental documentation amendments.

Any ongoing activities found to be outside the scope of the approved Regulation 216 environmental documentation shall be halted until an amendment to the documentation is submitted and written approval is received from USAID.

Unless the approved Regulation 216 documentation contains a complete environmental mitigation and monitoring plan (EMMP) or a project mitigation and monitoring (M&M) plan, the contractor shall prepare an EMMP or M&M Plan describing how the contractor will, in specific terms, implement all IEE and/or EA conditions that apply to proposed project activities within the scope of the award. The EMMP or M&M Plan shall include monitoring the implementation of the conditions and their effectiveness.

USAID/Ethiopia anticipates that environmental compliance and achieving optimal development outcomes for the proposed activities will require environmental management expertise. Respondents to the RFP should therefore include as part of their proposal their approach to achieving environmental compliance and management, to include:

• The contractors’s approach to developing and implementing an IEE or EA and an EMMP or

M&M Plan;

• The contractors’ approach to providing necessary environmental management expertise, including examples of past experience of environmental management of similar activities

• The contractor’s illustrative budget for implementing the environmental compliance activities

[END OF SECTION C]

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SECTION D - PACKAGING AND MARKING

D.1 AIDAR 752.7009 Marking (JAN 1993)

(a) It is USAID policy that USAID-financed commodities and shipping containers, and project construction sites and other project locations be suitably marked with the USAID emblem. Shipping containers are also to be marked with the last five digits of the USAID financing document number. As a general rule, marking is not required for raw materials shipped in bulk (such as coal, grain, etc.), or for semi-finished products which are not packaged.

(b) Specific guidance on marking requirements should be obtained prior to procurement of commodities to be shipped, and as early as possible for project construction sites and other project locations. This guidance will be provided through the cognizant technical office indicated on the cover page of this contract, or by the Mission Director in the Cooperating Country to which commodities are being shipped, or in which the project site is located.

(c) Authority to waive marking requirements is vested with the Regional Assistant Administrators, and with Mission Directors.

(d) A copy of any specific marking instructions or waivers from marking requirements is to be sent to the Contracting Officer; the original should be retained by the Contractor.

D.2 Branding and Marking Policy

In accordance with provision D.2 above, and where applicable, the Contractor shall comply with the requirements of the policy directives and required procedures outlined in USAID Automated Directive System (ADS) 320.3.2 “Branding and Marking in USAID Direct Contracting” (version from January 8, 2007) at http://www.usaid.gov/policy/ads/300/320.pdf; and USAID “Graphic Standards Manual” available at www.usaid.gov/branding, or any successor branding policy.

D.3 Branding Strategy

Objective: To provide Contractor with…