SOL-663-15-000016_9.24.2015.pdf

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 - STATEMENT OF WORK

C.1 TITLE OF ACTIVITY

C.2 PURPOSE

C.3 BACKGROUND

C.4 PROJECT OBJECTIVES

C.5 STATEMENT OF WORK

C.6 EXPECTED RESULTS

C.7 EXPECTED STANDARDS

SECTION D - PACKAGING AND MARKING

D.1 AIDAR 752.7009 MARKING (JAN 1993)

D.2 BRANDING POLICY

SECTION E - INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

E.1 NOTICE LISTING CONTRACT CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

E.2 INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

E.3 MONITORING AND EVALUATION PLAN

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 PERFORMANCE STANDARDS

F.5 DELIVERY SCHEDULE

F.6 REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

F.7 SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS FOR DEVELOPMENT EXPERIENCE DOCUMENTS

(JAN 2004)

F.8 KEY PERSONNEL

F.9 AUTHORIZED WORK DAY / WEEK

SECTION G - CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA

G.1 CONTRACTING OFFICER'S AUTHORITY

G.2 AIDAR 752.7003 DOCUMENTATION FOR PAYMENT (NOV 1998)

G.3 ADMINISTRATIVE CONTRACTING OFFICE

G.4 CONTRACTING OFFICER’S REPRESENTATIVE (COR)

G.5 TECHNICAL DIRECTIONS/RELATIONSHIP WITH USAID

G.6 PAYING OFFICE

G.7 INVOICING INSTRUCTIONS:

G.8 ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA

SECTION H - SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS

H.1 NOTICE LISTING CONTRACT CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

H.2 AIDAR 752.225-70 SOURCE, ORIGIN AND NATIONALITY REQUIREMENTS (FEB 1997)

H.3 AIDAR 752.7004 EMERGENCY LOCATOR INFORMATION (JUL 1997)

H.4 AIDAR 752.228-70 MEDICAL EVACUATION (MEDEVAC) SERVICES (JUL 2007)

H.5 AUTHORIZED GEOGRAPHIC CODE

H.6 NONEXPENDABLE PROPERTY PURCHASES AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

RESOURCES

H.7 LOGISTIC SUPPORT

H.8 LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS

H.9 AIDAR PERSONNEL COMPENSATION (JUL 2007)

H.10 AIDAR 722.170 EMPLOYMENT OF THIRD COUNTRY NATIONALS (TCN'S) AND

COOPERATING COUNTRY NATIONALS (CCN'S)

H.11 EXECUTIVE ORDER ON TERRORISM FINANCING (FEB 2002)

H.12 FOREIGN GOVERNMENT DELEGATIONS TO INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES

(JAN 2002)

H.13 REPORTING OF FOREIGN TAXES (March 2006)

H.14 USAID DISABILITY POLICY - (DEC 2004)

H.15 AIDAR 752.7032 INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL APPROVAL AND NOTIFICATION

REQUIREMENTS (APR 2014)

H.16 AIDAR 752.245.71 TITLE TO AND CARE OF PROPERTY

H.17 CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

H.18 ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE

H.19 PROHIBITION ON THE USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS TO PROMOTE, SUPPORT, OR

ADVOCATE THE LEGALIZATION OR PRACTICE OF PROSTITUTION– TIP ACQUISITION

(MAY 2007)

H.20 AIDAR 752.7013 CONTRACTOR-MISSION RELATIONSHIPS (OCT 1989)

H.21 DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION

H.22 CONSENT TO SUBCONTRACT:

PART II - CONTRACT CLAUSES

SECTION I - NOTICE LISTING CONTRACT CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

I.1 AIDAR 752.219-8 UTILIZATION OF SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND SMALL

DISADVANTAGED BUSINESS CONCERNS

I.2 AIDAR 752.219-8 USAID Mentor-Protégé Program (JULY 13, 2007)

I.3 52.227-23 RIGHTS TO PROPOSAL DATA (TECHNICAL) (JUN 1987)

I.4 52.229-8 TAXES—FOREIGN COST-REIMBURSEMENT CONTRACTS (MAR 1990)

SECTION J - LIST OF DOCUMENTS, EXHIBITS AND OTHER ATTACHMENTS

J.1 IDENTIFICATION OF PRINCIPAL GEOGRAPHIC CODE NUMBERS

J.2 SELF DISCLOSURE OF LOBBYING ACTIVITIES

J.3 CONTRACTOR PERFORMANCE REPORT

SECTION K - REPRESENTATIONS, CERTIFICATIONS AND OTHER STATEMENTS OF OFFERORS

K.1 NOTICE LISTING SOLICITATION PROVISIONS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

K.2 52.237-8 RESTRICTION ON SEVERANCE PAYMENTS TO FOREIGN NATIONALS (AUG 2003) 57

K.3 52.204-3 TAXPAYER IDENTIFICATION (OCT 1998)

K.4 52.204-8 ANNUAL REPRESENTATIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS (OCT 2010)

K.5 52.209-5 CERTIFICATION REGARDING RESPONSIBILITY MATTERS (APR 2010)

K.6 52.209-7 – INFORMATION REGARDING RESPONSIBILITY MATTERS (APR 2010)

K.7 52.223-13 CERTIFICATION OF TOXIC CHEMICAL RELEASE REPORTING (AUG 2003)

K.8 52.225-25 -- PROHIBITION ON CONTRACTING WITH ENTITIES ENGAGING IN CERTAIN

ACTIVITIES OR TRANSACTIONS RELATING TO IRAN— REPRESENTATION AND

CERTIFICATIONS (DEC 2012)

K.9 52.230-1 COST ACCOUNTING STANDARDS NOTICES AND CERTIFICATION (OCT 2008)

K.10 52.230-7 PROPOSAL DISCLOSURE--COST ACCOUNTING PRACTICE CHANGES

(APR 2005)

K.11 INSURANCE - IMMUNITY FROM TORT LIABILITY

K.12 SIGNATURE

SECTION L - INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS

L.1 NOTICE LISTING SOLICITATION PROVISIONS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

L.2 52.215-1 -- INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS -- COMPETITIVE ACQUISITION (JAN 2004)

L.3 FAR 52.216-1 TYPE OF CONTRACT (APR 1984)

L.4. FAR 52.233-2 SERVICE OF PROTEST (SEP 2006)

L.5. QUESTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS

L.6 GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS

L.7 INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE PREPARATION OF THE TECHNICAL PROPOSAL

L.8 INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE PREPARATION OF THE COST PROPOSAL

L.9 INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE PREPARATION OF THE BRANDING IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

(BIP) AND THE MARKING PLAN

SECTION M - EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD

M.1 GENERAL INFORMATION

M.2 BASIS OF AWARD

M.3 TECHNICAL PROPOSAL EVALUATION FACTORS

M.4 COST PROPOSAL EVALUATION FACTORS

M.5 DETERMINATION OF THE COMPETITIVE RANGE AND CONTRACT AWARD

M.6 SOURCE SELECTION

M.7 CONTRACTING WITH SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND IS ADVANTAGED

ENTERPRISES

PART I - THE SCHEDULE

SECTION B - SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICE/COSTS

B.1 PURPOSE

The purpose of this contract is to provide technical assistance and services as described in Section C, Statement of

Work for implementation of the Ethiopia Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Service (EPMES) activity

B.2 CONTRACT TYPE

The U.S. Government contemplates award of a Cost-Plus-Fixed -Fee (CPFF) completion contract resulting from this solicitation For the consideration set forth below, the Contractor will provide the deliverables or outputs described in Section F in accordance with the performance standards specified in Section E based on the

Statement of Work (SOW) found in Section C of this solicitation document.

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

. The fixed fee is _ . The total 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 will not exceed the aforesaid obligated amount.

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

B.4 BUDGET

The Total Estimated Cost of this acquisition is TBD

The contractor will not be paid any sum in excess of the total estimated cost plus fixed fee.

CLIN

Description

Base Period

Option Years

Total Estimated Cost

Plus Fixed Fee

Year 1-5

Base

Period year 1

Base

Period year 2

Year 3

Option

Year 4

Option

Year 5

Option

CLIN 1 Objective 1: Evaluation Technical

Services

CLIN 2 Objective 2: Performance

Monitoring and Technical Support

Services

CLIN 3 Objective 3: Improved Capacity for

Learning and Adapting within

USAID/Ethiopia throughout the

Program Cycle;

CLIN 4 Objective 4: Host Country M&E

Capacity Strengthening - ensure sustainability, and practices related to M&E

TOTAL

B.5 INDIRECT COSTS

Pending establishment of revised provisional or final indirect cost rates, allowable indirect costs will 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/

2/ 2/ 2/

3/ 3/ 3/

1/Base of Application:

Type of Rate: Period:

2/Base of Application:

3/Base of Application:

B.6 COST REIMBURSABLE

The U.S. dollar costs allowable will 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, and 52.232-20 and 52-

232-22 Limitations of Cost and Limitations of Funds, if applicable, and AIDAR 752.7003, Documentation for

Payment.

B.7 PAYMENT OF FIXED FEE

Payment of fixed fee will be handled in accordance with FAR 52.216-8. FAR 52.216-8 is incorporated in Section I by reference.

[END OF SECTION B]

SECTION C - STATEMENT OF WORK

ETHIOPIA PERFORMANCE MONITORING AND EVALUATION

SERVICE (EPMES) ACTIVITY

C.1 TITLE OF ACTIVITY

Ethiopia Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Service (EPMES) for USAID/Ethiopia.

C.2 PURPOSE

The Ethiopia Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Service (EPMES) activity is a 5-year contract (two year base plus three one year options) that will provide USAID/Ethiopia with project/activity external evaluation, performance monitoring, and performance management support services in alignment with the USAID Automated Directives System (ADS) and

Evaluation Policy. It is anticipated that this contract will assist USAID/Ethiopia and its partners to generate empirical data on project/activity implementation as well as foster learning and knowledge management to improve evidence-based project design and development programming in support of the Country Development and Cooperation Strategy (CDCS).

The Contractor will provide support services at all stages of USAID’s program cycle. Specific services to be provided under this contract include implementation of external evaluations, as directed by the Mission’s Program Office and Development

Objective Teams/Technical Offices; management and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) technical capacity building for implementing partners (IPs), select local organizations, and Mission staff on M&E best practices, data collection, data analysis and data quality assurance practices; support to technical offices to analyze geo-referenced data and produce maps with geographic information system (GIS) tools; and support to IPs and Mission staff for the ongoing use of the Agency’s portfolio management system(s), including AID tracker Plus (AT+), for active performance management.

C.3 BACKGROUND

Despite substantial progress in recent years, real development challenges still remain in Ethiopia. Ten percent of Ethiopians are chronically food insecure, rising to over fifteen percent during frequent drought years. Eighty-two percent of the population remains dependent on subsistence agriculture and, with over 90 million people, Ethiopia has one of Africa’s highest rural and overall population growth rates. The sheer size and diversity of Ethiopia presents a challenge. The

Government of Ethiopia (GOE)’s five-year Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) sets very ambitious targets for growth in all sectors, allocating significant resources to promote development. These ambitious but achievable goals (if the right policies are put into practice), reflect the GOE’s sincere efforts to provide health, education and economic growth opportunities to its people.

USAID’s five-year Cooperative Development Country Strategy (CDCS) for Ethiopia builds on the GTP to help the country achieve its development goals while furthering U.S. trade and investment objectives. The overall goal of the CDCS is

“Ethiopia’s Transformation to a Prosperous and Resilient Country Accelerated”, with three Development Objectives (DOs) and a Support Objective (SO) in economic growth, health, education, and democracy and governance. With an annual budget of over $575 million in development and humanitarian assistance, the Ethiopia portfolio is one of the United States’ largest and most complex in Africa. The Mission is a focus for seven Presidential Initiatives—Feed the Future, Global Health, PEPFAR, Malaria, Global Climate Change, Power Africa, and the Young African Leadership Initiative.

To view and download a copy of the USAID/Ethiopia CDCS, go to the following website:

http://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1860/Ethiopia_CDCS.pdf.

USAID recognizes that performance monitoring and evaluation are the means through which it can obtain systematic and meaningful data and feedback on both the successes and shortcomings of its endeavors. The USAID Evaluation Policy

(2011), as well as recent revisions made to the ADS Chapter 203 demonstrate the Agency’s desire to establish a strong monitoring and evaluation system across missions in order to apply learning gained from evidence and analysis. In Ethiopia, USAID collects performance indicator data to monitor whether implementation is on track with the stated goals and objectives, and IPs are managing for results.

To support an active performance management agenda, USAID/Ethiopia is one of 8 pilot missions to adopt AT+, which will be used for performance monitoring of activities across all sectors, as well as to inform portfolio reviews and annual reporting

(e.g., the Performance Plan and Report). The Mission is also implementing a robust evaluation plan for select projects/activities to determine the validity of our development hypotheses and whether desired results are being achieved.

Critical to this process is the follow-up on results and recommendations from performance monitoring and evaluation activities in order to create an active learning environment and that the Agency’s multiple stakeholders gain an understanding of the return on investment in development activities.

USAID/Ethiopia has six technical offices, which are: Health, AIDS, Population and Nutrition (HAPN), Basic Education

Services (BES), Economic Growth and Transformation (EG&T), Assets, Livelihoods and Transitions (ALT), Office of

Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) and Democracy and Governance (DG). This contract is intended to provide performance monitoring and evaluation support across the entire Mission.

C.4 PROJECT OBJECTIVES

The expected results of this contract are to build internal and external M&E capacities of USAID staff and IPs to improve accountability and the use of empirical evidence for programming, learning and adapting at every stage of the project cycle. The four key objectives of this contract are described below:

1) To provide external evaluation services—including impact and performance evaluations, as well as assessments

(i.e., gender assessments, sustainability assessments)—to USAID at the project design stage (Project Appraisal

Document development) and multiple implementation levels (e.g., activity, project, etc.) and in all sectors in which the Mission works;

2) To provide performance monitoring technical support services to the Mission to strengthen evidence-based decision-making for project design and implementation of development programming;

3) To improve and enhance the capacity for learning and adaptation within USAID/Ethiopia throughout the program cycle;

4) To strengthen local partners’ technical and management capacities, ensure sustainability, and improve knowledge of USAID policies, regulations, and practices related to M&E in order to increase the pool of potential M&E service providers for USAID and other donors in Ethiopia.

C.5 STATEMENT OF WORK

The ability to engage across all technical and support offices for USAID/Ethiopia, including IPs and other stakeholders, is critical for the success of this contract. This engagement will provide an opportunity for the Contractor to develop a comprehensive understanding of challenges and opportunities in the M&E area across the entire USAID/Ethiopia portfolio and foster a more collaborative working relationship with both USAID staff and external partners. This approach will help USAID to focus on long-term goals and accomplishments and facilitate the development of a vibrant and sustainable community of M&E service providers throughout Ethiopia.

The Contractor must provide direct services and operational support to fulfill all potential requirements for the four (4) objectives as illustrated below. When implementing M&E activities, the Contractor will abide by USAID principles and requirements, including those within USAID’s Evaluation Policy and the 200 series of the ADS. In addition to sector-specific expertise, the Contractor will offer services to reflect the most recent and innovative techniques and approaches in M&E design, including rigorous impact evaluation methods.

C.5.1 Expected Contract Service

(a) Evaluation Technical Services (Objective 1)

The Contractor will provide high-quality, timely, and useful performance and impact evaluations of USAID/Ethiopia’s development projects and activities, in accordance with the Mission’s evaluation plan. The results, findings, and recommendations from these evaluations will allow the Mission to actively manage these projects and activities—as well as plan future projects and activities—using evidence as a basis for decision-making. High-quality performance and impact evaluations of USAID/Ethiopia projects and activities will support the achievement of the results defined in the CDCS. Other assessments/studies may also be requested as needed. USAID/Ethiopia estimates the need for five (5) performance evaluations and per year for the next five years and a total of two (2) impact evaluations over the next five years. The estimated number of evaluations is illustrative and meant to inform the bidding process; the final number of evaluations and assessments may vary, depending on the needs of the Mission.

At the Mission’s request, the Contractor will propose evaluation team members with the necessary skills and experience and provide the CVs of these staff for USAID/Ethiopia concurrence by the EPMES Contracting Officer’s

Representative (COR) and relevant Development Objective Team/Technical Office; provide logistical support and quality control; facilitate presentations to the Mission, Government of Ethiopia (GOE), and other donors and partners on the findings, and solicit feedback on recommendations; and finalize the report in coordination with the Program Office and the appropriate Development Objective Team/Technical Office.

All evaluations to be implemented under this contract are meant to inform specific management decisions at the

Mission. As such, any recommendations resulting from evaluation activities need to be actionable by USAID. The

Mission will internally track these recommendations, and document related decisions regarding their implementation, including timelines for action and resolution. The Contractor must provide clear and actionable recommendations to

USAID as part of final evaluation reports.

The Contractor’s evaluations of government-to-government (G2G) awards may utilize specialized approaches. G2G activities require a close working partnership with government officials; therefore, evaluations of these activities must support rather than hinder this relationship. Further, the Contractor must consider the use of host government systems for data collection, but remain prepared to supplement this data to ensure that systems yield high-quality information.

USAID/Ethiopia anticipates the need for the following evaluation-related tasks:

1) Establish a variety of mechanisms to recruit qualified experts and firms/organizations/institutions with expertise in USAID’s programmatic areas in Ethiopia including health, economic growth, education, agriculture, environment, governance, vulnerable populations, resilience, conflict prevention/mitigation, human rights, rule of law and priority policies such as gender equality and female empowerment. When appropriate, sourcing should prioritize national expertise and may require a specific gender profile for the evaluation team, depending on the focus of the evaluation;

2) Develop and regularly update a database of qualified international, regional, and national experts and firms/organizations/institutions that can be engaged for M&E technical assistance. The Contractor should prioritize inclusion of regional and national experts in the database. The database is to be made available to

USAID/Ethiopia and U.S. Government counterparts;

3) Manage the evaluation process including screening, scheduling, deployment and all logistics for the services, while ensuring the quality and timeliness of the services delivered;

4) Develop and regularly update a database to record the Contract’s deliverables such as the number and types of evaluations/assessments, their status; and their findings;

5) Share all raw data sets resulting from evaluations, studies and assessments conducted under this award with

USAID in machine readable format according to the guidelines available in ADS 579;

6) Provide oversight for all evaluation services delivered under this Contract; and

7) Regularly consult with the EPMES COR to share challenges faced and ways to mitigate them, as well as report progress and results of evaluations performed under this Contract.

The EPMES contract will operate independently of other new or on-going stand-alone M&E support and assistance mechanisms managed by USAID/Ethiopia Development Objective Teams/Technical Offices. Information sharing between EPMES and other Technical Office M&E support contracts is encouraged however, the EPMES Contractor is solely responsible for providing the deliverables described in this SOW. All Technical Offices may elect to use the services provided by the EPMES contract, based on the needs identified in their respective evaluation plans.

The EPMES Contractor will be expected to provide support on the following different types of evaluation activities.

(i) Baseline Data Collection

As part of the Mission’s overall performance management approach, including the evaluation plan, it will be necessary to ensure that all performance indicators within the Mission Performance Management Plan (PMP) have baseline values. This baseline data will be used both for routine performance monitoring and for evaluation purposes. In some cases, implementing partners for activities within different sectors will collect this baseline data. However, there will also be instances where the EPMES Contractor will be asked to support the Mission to collect baseline data for certain indicators.

(ii) Performance Evaluation

ADS Chapter 203 generally requires that performance evaluations focus on descriptive and normative questions, such as what a particular project has achieved (either at an intermediate point in execution or at the conclusion of an implementation period); how it is being implemented; how it is perceived and valued; whether expected results are occurring; and other questions that are pertinent to program design, management and operational decision making.

Performance evaluations often incorporate before-after comparisons, but generally lack a rigorously defined counterfactual.

In practice, performance evaluations will typically be planned at the mid-way point or at the end of activities, to inform either the ongoing implementation of the activity or the design of new projects/activities, respectively. In the case of mid-term performance evaluations, the Contractor will be expected to provide actionable short-term recommendations to make decisions on the management and performance of on-going project/activity and long-term recommendations that can help design similar projects or activities in the future. For performance evaluations that take place towards the end of an activity, recommendations should mainly focus on informing decisions such as designing a follow-on project/activity, new strategy, and/or making a strategic decision.

The majority of evaluations to be conducted under this contract will be performance evaluations.

(iii) Impact evaluation

Impact evaluations measure the change in a development outcome attributable to a defined intervention and inputs; thus, impact evaluations are based on models of cause and effect and require a credible and rigorously defined counterfactual to control for factors other than the intervention that might account for the observed change. Impact evaluations in which comparisons are made between beneficiaries that are randomly assigned to either a treatment or control groups provide the strongest evidence of a relationship between the intervention under study and the outcome measured. The

Contractor will advise on the appropriateness of when or whether to conduct impact evaluations and compare the advantages of impact evaluations for different interventions.

The Contractor will support the design and implementation of impact evaluations using experimental or quasi-experimental designs. Experimental design will generate treatment and control groups by randomly allocating intervention among eligible participants. Quasi-experimental designs will generate a comparison that emulates the randomization of treatment. Examples of expected approaches include propensity score matching, difference-in-difference, and regression discontinuity. The Contractor will coordinate impact evaluation planning, design, and implementation with development assistance implementers—especially incorporating planning and the collection of baseline data from the very beginning of the project design stage.

(iv) Special Study/Assessments

In collaboration with, and as required by the Program Office and the Mission’s Development Objective

Teams/Technical Offices, the Contractor will implement select sectoral specific and/or geographic assessments within

Ethiopia for the purpose of informing and supporting project/program design or re-design efforts. Such assessments can include research using secondary data such as Mission evaluations already conducted, surveys conducted by the GoE

(DHS, Household Income and Expenditure Survey, Welfare Monitoring Survey, Agriculture Census Survey, etc), and other data sources. Selected themes may include gender analyses; sustainability analyses, cost-benefit analyses; youth-and-women-engagements in Mission interventions; inclusiveness of disability in Mission development practice;

environmental analyses, sector assessment of conflict programming, etc. The Contractor will identify and propose to

USAID for approval, personnel with the necessary technical expertise for a given study/assessment.

(b) Performance Monitoring Technical Support Services (Objective 2)

Effective systems for managing monitoring information are necessary to translate data into knowledge. Organizing data collection efforts and analyzing monitoring data will satisfy USAID’s desire to (1) identify projects with implementation challenges, improve and adapt projects and activities during implementation and (2) to inform new project designs.

The Contractor will provide the following services, including, but not limited to:

Technical assistance in M&E design, planning, and implementation:

1) Strengthen the internal M&E capacity of USAID and its IPs through classroom trainings and on-the-job mentoring tailored to the needs of the Mission staff and IPs;

2) Provide GIS and Global Positioning System (GPS) support to USAID/Ethiopia in terms of (1) training for select

Mission staff to use these tools, (2) conducting spatial analysis using data from USAID and other sources, (3) producing different map products for use in programming, and (4) maintain and update Geo/Meta databases for use by USAID and its partners;

3) Assist with on-going training of Mission staff and IPs in using the Mission’s portfolio management system(s), including AIDtracker Plus, to capture and analyze performance indicator data;

4) Provide focused trainings for IP and Mission staff to improve their data collection and analysis skills using different software tools, including, but not limited to, MS Excel and MS Access;

5) Assist in the periodic review and refinement of the Mission-Wide Performance Management Plan (PMP) and

M&E plans at project and/or activity levels. This may also include assisting in the selection and/or development of appropriate indicators, as well as the collection, verification and analysis of PMP data especially those obtained from sources other than USAID-funded activities;

6) When appropriate, support the Mission to use creative and innovative, low-cost performance monitoring techniques—most notably crowd-sourcing—to supplement USAID’s own monitoring efforts;

7) Support other monitoring efforts led by USAID staff such as Data Quality Assessments, as required and deemed appropriate provide technical assistance to partner on data quality assurance efforts;

8) Support data collection of cross-cutting indicators including but not limited to gender, local capacity building, and science and technology; and

9) The Contractor will establish standard templates and data transfer procedures and define methods of storing and verifying data that cannot be stored in AIDtracker Plus.

Strengthen Knowledge Management:

1) In line with policy established by the ADS and Mission Orders, further develop protocols for quality data collection on various development sectors in diverse environmental, cultural, and political settings;

2) Support the collection of information that will lead to a better understanding of challenges and opportunities in the

M&E arena across USAID portfolios, as well as cross-cutting program areas such as gender equality and female empowerment and the employment of science and technology in development projects and M&E efforts; and

3) Assist in the tracking and/or evaluating the progress of USAID/Ethiopia toward achieving Development

Objectives and Intermediate Results as measured by indicators in the Mission’s Results Frameworks and

Performance Management Plans (PMP), and recommend revisions of the Results Frameworks and/or the PMP as appropriate.

(c) Improved Capacity for Learning and Adapting (Objective 3)

The Contractor will support USAID/Ethiopia to become a more effective development organization by providing services that will establish the necessary foundation for learning and adaptive programming. Specifically, the contract will support the development and implementation of organizational and technical learning agendas, which incorporate both performance monitoring and evaluation activities;

The Contractor will provide the following services, including, but not limited to:

1) Support an iterative process (by Development Objective, Cross Cutting Objective, geographic focus, or key topic) of analyzing performance monitoring or evaluation findings; identifying the best approach for applying

A tool to plan and manage the process of monitoring, evaluating, and analyzing progress toward achieving results identified in the

USAID Missions’ overall strategies (CDCS/RDCS) in order to inform decision-making, resource allocation, learning, and adapting projects and programs. It serves as an umbrella framework for M&E plan designed for project and/or activity levels. (Adapted from

ADS 203.3)

learning; reassessing learning agenda questions; and integrating this learning into programming, monitoring, and evaluating plans, as needed;

2) Support collaboration with implementing partners and other stakeholders to discuss findings from monitoring data, evaluations, and/or assessments; and identify how USAID/Ethiopia must accordingly adapt program implementation;

3) Support, and periodically organize, learning events (e.g., internal portfolio reviews, joint portfolio reviews with the GOE, themed evaluation summits) and platforms as requested to strengthen USAID/Ethiopia’s analytical processes;

4) Identify relevant local knowledge sources and making this knowledge available in a useful form;

5) Document and in accordance with ADS 579, make available in useful form analytic results, studies and evaluation reports, meeting notes, decisions made and follow up from learning engagements;

6) Assist in the dissemination of evaluation findings, good practices, and lessons learned from studies tasked by

USAID/Ethiopia to promote good practices and lessons learned from M&E practices, in close consultation with relevant Development Objective Teams/Technical Offices, implementing partners, and Development Outreach and Communication (DOC) team; and

7) Compile findings and recommendations on key priority areas such as gender equality and female empowerment, environment, resilience, conflict prevention/mitigation, etc., identify common trends/issues; present recommendations on how to improve project design, management, and M&E in future programming; and support the Mission in incorporating and adapting recommendations.

(d) Host-country M&E Capacity Strengthening (Objective 4)

The Contractor will propose and implement a plan to strengthen the M&E capacity of select local organizations so that they are able to provide quality M&E services both to USAID and throughout the country. Interventions to strengthen

M&E capacity will not be limited to improving data collection and analysis skills, but will also enhance the design, planning, and administration of M&E activities as well as expand the understanding of relevant USAID policies, regulations, and practices. Requirements for this objective could be varied and will be specified in individual tasks, depending on the needs of the Missions and the existing capacity of local partners.

The Contractor will provide the following services, including but not limited to:

1) Draft selection criteria, for USAID/Ethiopia consideration, to identify and recommend local M&E consultants/firms/organizations/institutions with the potential to provide quality M&E services to USAID and other donors in Ethiopia;

2) Assess and document the capacities of these select local M&E firms/organizations/institutions through the use of assessment tools, such as the Organizational Capacity Assessment (OCA) tool;

3) Determine milestones in close consultation with USAID to determine at what point a local M&E consultant/firm/organization/institution possesses sufficient capacity to independently provide quality M&E services, and document the progress of each organization based on these milestones;

4) Develop a strategy and a roadmap at the country level for local capacity development in M&E. The Contractor will discuss with EPMES COR at the mid-point of the Contract or during specific tasks on specific opportunities to demonstrate leadership by local organizations on M&E aspects. The EPMES COR will document the outcome of these discussions and work with the Contractor to develop a joint plan of action;

5) Provide technical assistance to strengthen M&E technical capacity as well as improve understanding of

USAID’s policies and regulations related to both the implementation and management of M&E activities through formal and informal approaches such as training and virtual technical advice; and

6) As required, work in close collaboration with other IPs, most notably the Local Capacity Development (LCD) contractor, and the Mission to strengthen organizational administration and management capacity of the selected firms/organizations/institutions.

The EPMES contract will operate independently of other new or on-going stand-alone M&E support and assistance mechanisms for local and host-country organizations managed by USAID/Ethiopia Development Objective

Teams/Technical Offices. Information sharing between EPMES and other Technical Office M&E support contracts is encouraged however, the EPMES Contractor is solely responsible for providing the deliverables described in this SOW.

C.5.2 Mobilization of Support Services

The EPMES COR will provide prioritized activities, activity-specific requirements, and related documentation (e.g., activity work statements) based on Mission need and demand, which the Annual Work Plan will document. Each discrete activity will align with one or more of the above components, depending on the final product required. The

Contractor’s services are not intended to directly address every project and activity in USAID/Ethiopia’s portfolio;

however, those services will remain available for the entire portfolio if USAID/Ethiopia requires supplementary assistance.

USAID/Ethiopia will determine the needed evaluations and assessments through an internal Mission process based on the development and revision of the USAID/Ethiopia’s Development Objectives PMP, which includes monitoring, evaluation, and assessment plans by Development Objective Team/Technical Office. The results data summarized in the PMP, along with M&E plans for individual projects and activities, will help the EPMES COR determine the specific yearly activities (i.e., activity-specific monitoring, evaluations, assessments, and trainings).

The Contractor will work with the EPMES COR to develop templates for routine activities, such as performance management technical assistance, trainings, and maps. The EPMES COR will bundle similar activities into one request or summary document, when possible. USAID/Ethiopia will document each activity’s alignment with the Annual Work

Plan.

The EPMES COR will base their determination on the activities to be included in the detailed EPMES work plan based on the following criteria:

Alignment with the Mission’s evaluation plan;

Supports the Learning Agenda including but not limited to the services detailed under Objective 3 above;

Well-defined, clearly stated purpose (e.g., to inform new projects, test a development hypothesis, meet current administration priorities, global lessons, etc.) and supports learning on Mission-identified cross-cutting themes and special issues;

Achievable within the expected timeframe, geographic location, and budget, with sufficient quality and comprehensiveness that will provide useful, quality results;

Supports clarity for programs/projects/activities that have more complex monitoring needs or are in difficult to reach geographic locations;

Aligns its timing with the appropriate program/project/activity phase;

Achieves a sufficient degree of cost benefit (including factors such as location, level of effort, potential replication, etc.) given the size and importance of the program/project/activity;

Balances support to all interested technical offices and Development Objectives; and

Responds to or follows up from audit findings.

The regular information gathering that the Contractor will conduct throughout Ethiopia will generate a large amount of data on the achievement of the CDCS goal and Development Objectives, as well as the performance of projects and activities in USAID/Ethiopia’s portfolio. The Contractor must make this data readily available to USAID personnel in an easily accessible and understandable format so that USAID/Ethiopia can make strategic decisions about the direction of projects/activities and inform the Agency of trial and error of changing approaches in response to evolving circumstances.

The Contactor must work closely with the EPMES COR to ensure that appropriate data transfer methods are in place between implementing partners, USAID/Ethiopia, and other stakeholders. The EPMES COR will facilitate discussions between the Contractor and other USAID/Ethiopia Technical Office Representatives about modalities of this data exchange.

Occasionally, disagreements over the findings of the Contractor’s monitoring or evaluation tasks may arise. At

USAID/Ethiopia’s request, the Contractor will appear for meetings with USAID staff and/or technical project implementing partners to discuss discrepancies between the findings of each organization. At such meetings, the

Program Office and relevant Development Objective Team/Technical Office staff will discuss how the discrepancy will be resolved.

C.6 EXPECTED RESULTS

The ultimate expected results of this Contract are to help USAID/Ethiopia accomplish high-quality and cost-effective performance monitoring and evaluation activities, as well as to provide sustainable M&E capacity-building through internal and external M&E system strengthening, including data use. Specifically, it is anticipated that the Contract will achieve the overall results as listed below:

a) All services successfully supplied in a technically sound and timely manner, which in turn will generate more demands for quality M&E;

b) USAID/Ethiopia received satisfactory assistance and/or support for M&E services according to its needs;

c) M&E resources (e.g. expert rosters, M&E networks, tools/protocols, etc.) developed, updated, and made available to USAID;

d) M&E capacity of local M&E consultants/firms/organizations/institutions strengthened; and

e) Learning agenda for USAID/Ethiopia enhanced.

The Contractor will work with the EPMES COR to develop a set of indicators to measure the expected results in consultations with relevant stakeholders. Illustrative indicators may include but not be limited to the following:

Percentage of EPMES activity requests from USAID fulfilled in a technically sound and timely manner;

Number of studies conducted, disaggregated by type (assessment, evaluation, survey, special study, etc.);

Number of USAID Development Objective Teams/Technical Offices, partners and other stakeholders received

M&E technical and management support;

Percentage of identified local partners who increased their M&E capacity by at least 20%, as evidenced by OCA tool;

Number of local consultants identified who successfully implemented an evaluation task;

Number of organization and technical learning events facilitated;

Percentage of evaluation recommendations with a documented action plan;;

Number of technical briefs of innovative M&E methods and/or good practices produced and disseminated to other USAID Missions;

Percentage of USAID/Ethiopia activities utilizing M&E results to adjust/inform programming disaggregated by types of organizations (e.g. USAID, IPs, stakeholders) and topic areas; and

Other relevant indicators related to M&E, learning, gender equality and female empowerment, and local capacity development will be identified as required by the Foreign Assistance Standardized Program Structure and USAID Forward.

Stronger capacity building indicators for staff, IPs, and local organizations may be required as well. As this was identified as among the key objective of the Contract, this should be much more of the focus in indicator tracking.

C.7 EXPECTED STANDARDS

All of the work performed under this Contract will be in full compliance with all USAID Policies and Automated

Directive System (ADS) that are current at the time of award and issuance of up-coming TOs, including but not limited to the following:

a) ADS Series 200 to 205 (http://www.usaid.gov/who-we-are/agency-policy/series-200) and 302

(http://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1868/302.pdf);

http://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1868/302.pdf

b) USAID Evaluation Policy

(http://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1868/USAIDEvaluationPolicy.pdf); and

Other internationally recognized standard and ethical practices in developing and conducting research. In particular, the

Contractor must ensure that informed consent and personal information of all respondents/participants for any types of studies (including evaluations) performed are appropriately obtained, collected, and stored in accordance with international standards.

TECHNICAL DIRECTION

Technical direction for the activity will be provided by a Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) from

USAID/Ethiopia. The COR will be responsible for monitoring the quality and effectiveness of the Contractor's performance by maintaining close contact with the Contractor's key personnel, the government and other key counterparts and by reviewing accomplishments against annual work plans, quarterly reports, etc. The COR will participate in periodic progress meetings with the Contractor's team. At frequent intervals, the Contractor will be requested to coordinate with and brief USAID on activity implementation and progress toward achieving performance targets and contract results.

GENDER CONSIDERATION

The contractor will include both men and women in all aspects of this Program, including participation and leadership in e.g., meetings, training, etc. The Contractor will collect, analyze and submit to USAID sex-disaggregated data and proposed actions that will address any identified gender-related issues.

In order to ensure that USAID assistance makes the maximum optimal contribution to gender equality, performance management systems and evaluations must include gender-sensitive indicators and sex- disaggregated data when the technical analyses supporting the Task Order demonstrates that:

a. The different roles and status of women and men affect the activities to be undertaken; and

b. The anticipated results of the work would affect women and men differently.

[END OF SECTION C]

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 COR 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 POLICY

USAID policy is to require exclusive branding and marking in USAID direct acquisitions using any source of funding (ADS 320.3.2 Branding and marking in USAID Direct Contracts).

"Exclusive Branding" means that the program is positioned as USAID’s, as showcased by the program name

(Ethiopia Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Services [EPMES]).

"Exclusive Marking" means contractors may only mark USAID-funded programs, projects, activities, public communications, and commodities with the USAID Standard Graphic Identity and where applicable, the host-country government or ministry symbol or another U.S. Government logo (see ADS 320.4.1 and 320.3.4.2).

The Contractor will comply with the requirements of the USAID “Graphic Standards Manual” available at www.usaid.gov/branding, or any successor branding policy.

The program under this contract will be known as the Ethiopia Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Services

[EPMES] Project. The contractor’s branding strategy and marking plan must be submitted within 30 days of

Contract Award.

[END OF SECTION D]

SECTION E - INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

E.1 NOTICE LISTING CONTRACT CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

The following contract clause pertinent to this section is hereby incorporated by reference (by Citation Number, Title, and Date) in accordance with the clause at FAR "52.252-2 CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY

REFERENCE" in Section I of this contract. See FAR 52.252-2 for an internet address (if specified) for electronic access to the full text of a clause.

NUMBER TITLE DATE

1. FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION (48 CFR Chapter 1)

2. 52.246-5 INSPECTION SERVICES--COST-REIMBURSEMENT APR 1984

E.2 INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

USAID inspection and acceptance of all services, reports and other required deliverables or outputs under this proposed contract will take place at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia or at any other location where the services are performed and reports and deliverables or outputs are produced or submitted. The COR has been delegated the authority to inspect and accept all services, reports and required deliverables or outputs.

E.3 MONITORING AND EVALUATION PLAN

Monitoring and evaluation programs should be utilized in order to assess the impact of the program and whether or not objectives are being achieved and if they should be adjusted.

[END OF SECTION E]

SECTION F - DELIVERIES OR PERFORMANCE

F.1 NOTICE LISTING CONTRACT CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

The following contract clauses pertinent to this section are hereby incorporated by reference (by Citation Number, Title, and Date) in accordance with the clause at FAR "52.252-2 CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY

REFERENCE" in Section I of this contract. See FAR 52.252-2 for an internet address (if specified) for electronic access to the full text of a clause.

NUMBER TITLE DATE

1. FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION (48 CFR Chapter 1)

2. 52.242-15 STOP-WORK ORDER AUG 1989 ALTERNATE I (APR 1984)

3. 52.243-2 Changes—Cost-Reimbursement Aug 1987

F.2 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The contract will be awarded for a base period of 2 years with 3 one year option periods.

(a) It is the contractor's responsibility to ensure that the COR-approved adjustments to the original estimated completion date do not result in costs incurred that exceed the ceiling price of this Contract. Under no circumstances will such adjustments authorize the contractor to be paid any sum in excess of the Contract amount.

(b) Adjustments that will cause the elapsed time for completion of the work to exceed the original estimated completion date by more than 15 calendar days must be approved in advance by the Contract Contracting Officer

(CCO).

F.3 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

The contract place of performance will be in Ethiopia.

F.4 PERFORMANCE STANDARDS

Evaluation of the Contractor's overall performance in accordance with the performance standards set forth below, will be conducted jointly by the COR and the Contracting Officer, and will form the basis of the Contractor's permanent performance record with regard to this contract.

a) Quality

Quality and effectiveness of the Contractor's long-term key personnel, other non-key long-term professionals, and short-term specialists.

Qualitative improvements in district government performance measures related to the intermediate Results expected.

Quality and effectiveness of Technical Assistance given to GoE Entities and other partner organizations.

Extent to which open, transparent relations are established between USAID, GoE, donors and partners.

b) Cost Control/Effectiveness

Actual costs incurred against the Contractor's cost proposal.

Relative percentage of program delivered as income/wages directly to beneficiaries.

c) Timeliness of Performance

Long Term and Short-term technical assistance are identified and fielded in a timely manner.

Ability of the Contractor to take corrective action to compensate for…