LSA_Amendment_02-_final_RFP-04222015.pdf

7. ISSUED BY CODE

NOTE: In sealed bid solicitations "offer" and "offeror" mean "bid" and "bidder".

SOLICITATION

9. Sealed offers in original and copies for furnishings the supplies or services in the Schedule will be received at the place specified in item 8, or if hand carried, in the depository located in See Cover Letter and Section L until local time

(Hour) (Date) CAUTION - LATE Submissions, Modifications, and Withdrawals: See Section L, Provision No. 52.214-7 or 52.215-1. All offers are subject to all terms and conditions contained in this solicitation.

11. TABLE OF CONTENTS

(X) SEC. DESCRIPTION PAGE(S) (X) SEC. DESCRIPTION PAGE(S)

PART I - THE SCHEDULE PART II - CONTRACT CLAUSES

A SOLICITATION/CONTRACT FORM 1 I CONTRACT CLAUSES 57

B SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICES/COSTS 6 PART III - LIST OF DOCUMENTS, EXHIBITS AND OTHER ATTACH.

C DESCRIPTION/SPECS./WORK STATEMENT 10 J LIST OF ATTACHMENTS 75

D PACKAGING AND MARKING 25 PART IV - REPRESENTATIONS AND INSTRUCTIONS

E INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE 27

K REPRESENTATIONS, CERTIFICATIONS AND OTHER

STATEMENTS OF OFFERORS 117

F DELIVERIES OR PERFORMANCE 28

G CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA 35 L INSTRS., CONDS., AND NOTICES TO OFFERORS 129

H SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS 40 M EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD 147

OFFER (Must be fully completed by offeror)

NOTE: Item 12 does not apply if the solicitation includes the provisions at 52.214-16, Minimum Bid Acceptance Period.

12. In compliance with the above, the undersigned agrees, if this offer is accepted within 1 5 0 calendar days (60 calendar days unless a different period is inserted by the offeror) from the date for receipt of offers specified above, to furnish any or all items upon which prices are offered at the set opposite each item, delivered at the designated point(s), within the time specified in the schedule.

13. DISCOUNT FOR PROMPT PAYMENT

(See Section I, Clause No. 52.232-8)

10 CALENDAR DAYS (%) 20 CALENDAR DAYS (%) 30 CALENDAR DAYS (%) CALENDAR DAYS(%)

14. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF AMENDMENTS

(The offeror acknowledges receipt of amendments to the SOLICITATION for offerors and related documents numbered and dated):

AMENDMENT NO. DATE AMENDMENT NO. DATE

15A. NAME AND

ADDRESS

OF OFFER-

OR

CODE FACILITY 16. NAME AND THE TITLE OF PERSON AUTHORIZED TO SIGN OFFER

(Type or print)

15B. TELEPHONE NUMBER 15C. CHECK IF REMITTANCE ADDRESS IS

DIFFERENT FROM ABOVE - ENTER SUCH

ADDRESS IN SCHEDULE.

17. SIGNATURE 18. OFFER DATE

AREA CODE NUMBER EXT.

AWARD (To be completed by Government)

19. ACCEPTED AS TO ITEMS 20. AMOUNT 21. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION

22. AUTHORITY FOR USING OTHER THAN FULL OPEN COMPETITION:

10 U.S.C. 2304 (c) 41 U.S.C. 253 (c)

23. SUBMIT INVOICES TO ADDRESS SHOWN IN

(4 copies unless otherwise specified) ITEM

G.7

24. ADMINISTERED BY (If other than Item 7) 25. PAYMENT WILL BE MADE BY CODE

Controller’s Office USAID/Liberia, c/o US Embassy 502 Benson Street, 1000 Monrovia 10, Liberia

26. NAME OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (Type or print)

Gerald T. Smith

27. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Sign copy in file

(Signature of Contracting Officer)

28. AWARD DATE

IMPORTANT - Award will be made on this Form, or on Standard Form 26, or by other authorized official written notice.

AUTHORIZED FOR LOCAL REPRODUCTION

Previous edition is unusable

STANDARD FORM 33 (REV,. 9-97)

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

U.S. Agency for International Development c/o US Embassy Monrovia , 502 Benson St.

1000 Monrovia, 10 Liberia

SOLICITATION, OFFER AND AWARD 1. THIS CONTRACT IS A RATED ORDER

UNDER DPAS (15 CFR 7900)

RATING PAGE OF PAGES

1 151

2. CONTRACT NUMBER 3. SOLICITATION NUMBER

SOL-669-15-000017

4. TYPE OF SOLICITATION

SEALED BID (IFB)

NEGOTIATED (RFP)

5. DATE ISSUED

03/18/2015

6. REQUISITION/PURCHASE NUMBER

8. ADDRESS OFFER TO (If other than item 7)

10. FOR

INFORMATION

CALL:

A. NAME

Edward S. Lamin

B. TELEPHONE (NO COLLECT CALLS) C. E-MAIL ADDRESS

elamin@usaid.gov

AREA CODE

NUMBER

776777000

EXT.

SOL-669-15-000017 LSA

PART I - THE SCHEDULE

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. CEILING ON INDIRECT COSTS

B.7. COST REIMBURSABLE

B.8. PAYMENT OF FIXED FEE

B.9. MULTI-YEAR CONTRACT

SECTION C – STATEMENT OF WORK

LIBERIA STRATEGIC ANALYSIS (LSA)

C.1 INTRODUCTION

C.2 BACKGROUND

C.3 THE DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGE

C.4 PROGRAM OBJECTIVES AND OUTPUTS

C.5 PROPOSED IMPLEMENTATION APPROACH

C.6 KEY PERSONNEL AND STAFFING

C.7 FACILITIES

SECTION D - PACKAGING AND MARKING

D.1. 752.7009 MARKING (JAN 1993)

D.2. BRANDING POLICY

D.3. MARKING AND BRANDING STRATEGY

D.4 BRANDING IMPLEMENTATION AND MARKING PLAN

SECTION E - INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

E.1. NOTICE LISTING CONTRACT CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

E.2. INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

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. REPORTS AND DELIVERABLES

F.5. PERFORMANCE STANDARDS

F.6. 752.242-70 PERIODIC PROGRESS REPORTS (OCT 2007)

F.7. 752.7005 SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS FOR DEVELOPMENT EXPERIENCE

DOCUMENTS (SEPTEMBER 2013)

SECTION G - CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA

G.1. ADMINISTRATIVE CONTRACTING OFFICE

G.2. CONTRACTING OFFICER’S AUTHORITY

G.3. CONTRACTING OFFICER’S REPRESENTATIVE (COR)

G.4. TECHNICAL DIRECTIONS/RELATIONSHIP WITH USAID

G.5. CONTRACTOR’S PRIMARY POINT OF CONTACT

G.6. 752.7003 DOCUMENTATION FOR PAYMENT (NOV 1998)

G.7. PAYING OFFICE

G.8. INVOICING INSTRUCTIONS

G.9. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA

SECTION H - SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS

NOTICE LISTING CONTRACT CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

H.1. AIDAR 752.7007 PERSONNEL COMPENSATION (JULY 2007)

H.2. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR PERSONNEL COMPENSATION

H.3. 752.225-70 SOURCE AND NATIONALITY REQUIREMENTS (FEB 2012) (CLASS

DEVIATION NO. OAA-DEV-12-01C)

H.4. 752.7004 EMERGENCY LOCATOR INFORMATION (JUL 1997)

H.5. SUBCONTRACTING

H.6. REQUESTS FOR CONSENT TO SUBCONTRACT

H.7. INSURANCE AND SERVICES

H.8. 752.228-70 MEDICAL EVACUATION (MEDEVAC) SERVICES (JULY 2007)

H.9. GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY

H.10. AUTHORIZED GEOGRAPHIC CODE

H.11. LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS

H.12. AUTHORIZED WORK WEEK

H.13. CONFIDENTIALITY AND OWNERSHIP OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

H.14. 752.7034 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND DISCLAIMER (DEC 1991)

H.15. 752.231-71 SALARY SUPPLEMENTS FOR HG EMPLOYEES (OCT 1998)

H.16. EXECUTIVE ORDER ON TERRORISM FINANCING

H.17. FOREIGN GOVERNMENT DELEGATIONS TO INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES

(JAN 2002)

H.18. REPORTING OF FOREIGN TAXES (July 2007)

H.19. USAID DISABILITY POLICY - ACQUISITION (DEC 2004)

H.20. ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST

H.21. CONFLICT OF INTEREST

H.22. STANDARDS OF CONDUCT – IMPROPER BUSINESS PRACTICES

H.23. AIDAR 752.7032 INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL APPROVAL AND NOTIFICATION

REQUIREMENTS (APR 2014)

H.24. BUSINESS CLASS TRAVEL

H.25. ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE

H.26. CONTRACTOR’S USE OF PROJECT VEHICLES AND LIABILITY INSURANCE

REQUIREMENTS FOR PRIVATELY OWNED VEHICLES

H.27. DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION

H.28. NONDISCRIMINATION (JUNE 2012)

H.29. PROHIBITION ON THE PROMOTION OR ADVOCACY OF THE LEGALIZATION

OR PRACTICE OF PROSTITUTION OR SEX TRAFFICKING (ACQUISITION) (JUNE

2005)

H.30. COMPLIANCE WITH THE TRAFFICKING VICTIMS PROTECTION

REAUTHORIZATION ACT

H.31. SPECIAL CONDITIONS

H.32. LOGISTIC SUPPORT

H.33. ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS SYSTEM

H.34. USAID IMPLEMENTING PARTNER NOTICES (IPN) PORTAL FOR ACQUISITION

(JUL 2014)

PART II - CONTRACT CLAUSES SECTION I - CONTRACT CLAUSES

I.1. NOTICE LISTING CONTRACT CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

AIDAR CLAUSES (48 CFR CHAPTER7)

I.2. 52.203-7 ANTI-KICKBACK PROCEDURES (MAY 2014)

I.3. 52.203-13 CONTRACTOR CODE OF BUSINESS ETHICS AND CONDUCT (APR

2010)

I.4. 52.209-9 UPDATES OF PUBLICLY AVAILABLE INFORMATION REGARDING

RESPONSIBILITY MATTERS (JUL 2013)

I.5. 52.215-23 LIMITATIONS ON PASS-THROUGH CHARGES (OCT 2009)

I.6. 52.217-2 CANCELLATION UNDER MULTIYEAR CONTRACTS (OCT 1997)

I.7. 52.217-8 OPTION TO EXTEND SERVICES (NOV 1999)

I.8. 52.232-40 PROVIDING ACCELARATED PAYMENT TO SMALL BUSINESS -

SUBCONTRACTORS (DEC 2013)

I.9. 52.243-7 NOTIFICATION OF CHANGES (APR 1984)

I.10. 52.247-67 SUBMISSION OF TRANSPORTATION DOCUMENTS FOR AUDIT (FEB

2006)

I.11. 752.219-70 USAID MENTOR- PROTÉGÉ PROGRAM (JUL 2007)

PART III LIST OF ATTACHMENTS

SECTION J - LIST OF ATTACHMENTS

PART IV REPRESENTATIONS AND INSTRUCTIONS

SECTION K - REPRESENTATIONS, CERTIFICATIONS, AND OTHER STATEMENTS

K.1. NOTICE LISTING SOLICITATION PROVISIONS INCORPORATED BY

REFERENCE

K.2. 52.204-8 ANNUAL REPRESENTATIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS (MAY 2014) ... 117

K.3. 52.209-7 INFORMATION REGARDING RESPONSIBILITY MATTERS (JUL 2013)

K.4. 52.219-22 SMALL DISADVANTAGED BUSINESS STATUS (OCT 1999)

K.5. INSURANCE ‐ IMMUNITY FROM TORT LIABILITY

K.6. AGREEMENT ON, OR EXCEPTIONS TO, TERMS AND CONDITIONS

K.7. 52.230-1 COST ACCOUNTING STANDARDS NOTICES AND CERTIFICATION

(MAY 2012)

K.8. 52.230-7 PROPOSAL DISCLOSURE – COST ACCOUNTING PRACTICE CHANGES

(APR 2005)

K.9. FAR 52.209-XX REPRESENTATION BY CORPORATION REGARDING A

DELINQUENT TAX LIABILITY OR A FELONY CRIMINAL CONVICTION

(Deviation OAA-DEV-14-02c) (AUG 2014)

K.10. SIGNATURE

SECTION L - INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS, AND NOTICES TO OFFERORS

L.1 NOTICE LISTING SOLICITATION PROVISIONS INCORPORATED BY

REFERENCE

L.2 INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS—COMPETITIVE ACQUISITION

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

L.4 52. 233-2 SERVICE OF PROTEST (SEP 2006)

L.5 GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS

L.6 SUBMISSION/DELIVERY INSTRUCTIONS

L.7 INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE PREPARATION OF THE TECHNICAL PROPOSAL ... 132

L.8 COST/BUSINESS PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS

L.9 ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS

L.10 INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE PREPARATION OF BRANDING AND MARKING

PLANS

SECTION M - EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD

M.1 NOTICE LISTING SOLICITATION PROVISIONS INCORPORATED BY

REFERENCE

M.2 GENERAL INFORMATION

M.3 EVALUATION CRITERIA

M.4 COST PROPOSAL EVALUATION

M.5 DETERMINATION OF THE COMPETITVE RANGE, DISCUSSIONS & ORAL

M.6 SOURCE SELECTION

M.7 CONTRACTING WITH SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND DISADVANTAGED

PART I - THE SCHEDULE

SECTION B - SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICE/COSTS

B.1. PURPOSE

The purpose of this five year contract is to implement the Liberia Strategic Analysis project in Liberia. The contractor will provide analytical and advisory services to USAID/Liberia’s Office of Program and Project Development (PPD) and to the Development Objective (DO) teams in support of the Mission’s project design, performance monitoring and evaluation, and operational learning and adapting as described in detail in Section C - Statement of Work.

B.2. CONTRACT TYPE

This is a Cost plus Fixed Fee (CPFF) /Level of Effort type contract. For the consideration set forth in the contract, the Contractor shall provide all reports, deliverables or outputs as described in Section F.4 and comply with all contract requirements.

B.3. ESTIMATED COST, FIXED FEE, AND OBLIGATED AMOUNT

(a) The estimated cost for the performance of the work required hereunder, exclusive of fixed fee, if any, is $TBD. The fixed fee, if any, is $TBD. The estimated cost plus fixed fee, if any, is $TBD.

(b) Within the estimated cost plus fixed fee, if any, specified in paragraph (a) above, the amount currently obligated and available for reimbursement of allowable costs incurred by the Contractor (and payment of fee, if any) for performance hereunder is $TBD. The Contractor shall not exceed the aforesaid obligated amount.

B.4. BUDGET

The following budget table captures the final negotiated cost elements for the performance of the work required hereunder.

CLINS ITEM Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Total

CLIN 001

TOTAL COSTS

FIXED FEE

CLIN 002

TOTALCOSTS

FIXED FEE

CLIN 001 &

CLIN 002

TOTAL COSTS PLUS

FIXED 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 for the prime contractor and its major subcontractors (“major subcontractors” are those subcontractors expected to perform at least 20% or more of the technical effort):

Prime:

Description

TBD

Rate

TBD

Base 1/

Type 1/

Period 1/

TBD TBD 2/ 2/ 2/

1/ Base of Application:

TBD Type of Rate: TBD Period: TBD

2/ Base of Application:

Major Subcontractor(s):

Description

TBD

Rate

TBD

Base 1/

Type 1/

Period 1/

TBD TBD 2/ 2/ 2/

1/ Base of Application:

2/ Base of Application:

The Contractor is allowed to recover applicable indirect costs (i.e., overhead, G&A, etc.) on other direct costs (ODCs), if it is part of the Contractor’s usual accounting procedures, consistent with FAR Part 31, and Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA). Indirect costs shall not be allowed for organizations that do not have a NICRA.

B.6. CEILING ON INDIRECT COSTS

Reimbursement for allowable indirect costs shall be at final negotiated rates but not in excess of the following ceiling rates:

Contractor Overhead

Rate % Overhead Ceiling Rate%

G&A Rate

G&A Ceiling Rate %

PRIME

MAJOR

SUBCONTRACTOR(S)

NOTE 1: Insert additional indirect rates as needed for all primes and major subcontractors in the above table.

NOTE 2: If the Contractor does not have a NICRA, all costs must be budgeted and billed as direct costs, and this clause is not applicable.

(1) The Government will not be obligated to pay any additional amount should the final indirect cost rates exceed the negotiated ceiling rates. If the final indirect cost rates are less than the negotiated ceiling rates, the negotiated rates will be reduced to conform to the lower rates.

(2) This understanding shall not change any monetary ceiling, obligation, or specific cost allowance or disallowance. Any changes in classifying or allocating indirect costs require the prior written approval of the Contracting Officer.

B.7. COST REIMBURSABLE

The U.S. dollar 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.8. PAYMENT OF FIXED FEE

Pursuant to FAR 16.306 (d), payment of fixed fee shall be based on completion of the deliverables described in Section F, subject to inspection and acceptance by USAID as specified in Section E, and otherwise in compliance with the terms of the contract. Upon acceptance by USAID and receipt of approval from the Contracting Officer, the Contractor shall submit an invoice for the amount of the fee associated with the deliverable.

Pursuant to FAR 52.216-8, Fixed Fee, after payment of 85 percent of the fixed fee, further payment of the fee will be withheld until a reserve is set aside not to exceed 15% of the total fixed fee or $100,000.00, whichever is less.

The Contractor shall propose a fee distribution schedule for review and approval by USAID.

B.9. MULTI-YEAR CONTRACT

This contract is subject to the requirements of FAR 17.106.

Cancellation Dates: Cancellation Ceiling:

Contract Year 2: TBD, 2016 TBD Contract Year 3: TBD, 2017 TBD

Contract Year 4: TBD, 2018 TBD Contract Year 5: TBD, 2019 TBD

Cancellation Ceiling:

This is a CPFF type contract where the contractor is authorized to be reimbursed for all costs which are allowable in accordance with FAR 52.216-7, “Allowable Costs and Payment”.

Therefore, the contractor will not incur any costs which would have been amortized over the life of the contract should the contract be cancelled in accordance with FAR 52.217-2.

SECTION C – STATEMENT OF WORK

LIBERIA STRATEGIC ANALYSIS (LSA)

C.1 INTRODUCTION

This contract is designed to implement a five-year Liberia Strategic Analysis project in Liberia.

The contractor will provide analytical and advisory services to USAID/Liberia’s Office of Program and Project Development (PPD) and Development Objective (DO) teams in support of the Mission’s project design, performance monitoring and evaluation, and operational learning and adapting. These services will play a key role in achieving the successful implementation of: 1) the Mission’s overall 2013-2017 Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS); 2) systematic inclusion of USAID’s new strategic planning and research collection goals centered around the Agency’s Collaborating, Learning and Adapting agenda; and 3) Mission’s Performance Management Plan.

The contractor is required to independently manage and complete assigned assessment, analytical, learning, knowledge mobilization, and knowledge management tasks and deliverables. A top strategic priority for the Mission is to ensure that all its programmatic activities are grounded in a deep and nuanced understanding of Liberia’s geography, climate, historical experience, culture, values, political economy, social capital, human and institutional capacity. The Contractor will be required to develop relationships and maintain regular communications with a broad range of Liberian stakeholders of USAID programs, and to deliver high quality analysis and advice on how those programs can be tailored to fit the local context in order to produce the greatest possible development impacts.

The Contractor will deploy researchers and analysts with expertise on Liberian or other relevant regional cultural, social and political institutions and systems, drawing on a wide range of local, regional and international experts and experiences to help the Mission achieve the best results from programming and planning decisions.

C.2 BACKGROUND

The goal of the USAID/Liberia CDCS is “Strengthened Liberian institutions positioned to drive inclusive economic growth and poverty reduction.” The Mission’s project portfolio covers a wide range of activities under the following Development Objectives (DOs):

● More effective, accountable and inclusive governance;

● Sustained market-driven economic growth to reduce poverty;

● Improved health status of Liberians; and

● Better educated Liberians.

The governance objective focuses on long-term capacity building to: mobilize and effectively and transparently manage public resources; increase access to justice; facilitate the use of alternative dispute resolution in the settlement of disputes over land and other issues; foster constructive, inclusive and participatory political intercourse particularly through strengthened engagement of the media and civil society; and strengthen the electoral process.

The economic growth objective targets assistance in the Government of Liberia’s designated priority development corridors. The six priority counties are Bong, Grand Bassa, Lofa, Margibi, Montserrado, and Nimba which collectively account for 75% of all Liberian households. The goal is to strengthen select agricultural commodity value chains and dietary and income diversification of select food and forest-base products; improve availability, access and utilization of more and better quality food through investments in marketing and behavior change; promote effective governance and sustained economic use of renewable forest and soil resources; rehabilitate rural infrastructure to facilitate transport and access to markets; provide accessible and affordable energy; expand credit for micro-, small- and medium-scale enterprises; and expand knowledge and build skills among youth to support private sector-led agricultural production, processing and marketing, road construction and rural energy.

The health objective invests in two Global Health Initiative focus areas: health service delivery and health systems strengthening. Service delivery interventions will scale up high impact interventions and best practices in areas of maternal, newborn and child health; malaria; nutrition; water, sanitation, and hygiene; and family planning. Support will be provided for capacity building, system strengthening and institutional development activities by working through the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to improve the national health system and support decentralization of service delivery.

The education objective supports direct interventions to boost educational access and outcomes and build the capacity of the Ministry of Education and the educational system in general to deliver more effective and efficient educational services on a sustained basis over the longer-term. The education program will work primarily to improve basic education opportunities and provide targeted support for higher education.

Systems Strengthening (SS), Human and Institutional Capacity Development (HICD), gender, and youth are key cross-cutting elements of the CDCS, which the Mission seeks to fully integrate into all aspects of its program. The Mission considers SS and HICD to be critical to its foremost strategic goal, which is to strengthen Liberian institutions so that they are able to sustain the impacts of USAID assistance and support Liberia’s broader development progress. The Mission wishes to consistently integrate SS and HICD best practices into all of its project designs. It recognizes that effective SS and HICD cannot be linear and “solutions-driven”, and must be based on organic “problem-driven iterative adaptation” that is owned and led by Liberian change agents and takes into account pre-existing Liberian perspectives, value systems, social institutions, political economy, and other local development context.

The Mission also recognizes that, since the impact and sustainability of programmatic assistance depends on Liberian institutions, norms and behaviors, linear logical frameworks are unlikely to be sufficient to effectively monitor the results of the Mission’s project interventions. Therefore, project performance monitoring and in some cases, complexity aware monitoring, will need to continuously test the Mission’s initial development hypotheses to identify whether they took into account all relevant factors and to test whether the expected causal relationships between project inputs and outcomes are verified. The Mission also expects “evaluative monitoring” processes to be fully integrated into its regular portfolio review process to inform evaluation planning.

Since 2003, USAID/Liberia’s program budget has increased 500 percent. The Mission’s management responsibilities have increased at an even greater pace, driven for example by Liberia’s inclusion in Presidential initiatives, including Feed the Future, Presidential Malaria Initiative, and Power Africa – and by USAID’s new project design guidance and evaluation policies incorporated in Agency Directives Systems (ADS) 201, 202 and 203. The new ADS provisions require the Mission to significantly increase its analytic, learning, and adapting efforts.

C.3 THE DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGE

In recent years and particularly since the outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), key USAID/Liberia program activities have encountered a wide range of unanticipated challenges in their operating environments, requiring major mid-course corrections involving significant additional costs and delays. These problems and challenges have included project beneficiaries’ weak technical and managerial capacity, weak or counter-productive incentive structures, and uneven political commitment to implementation of critical reforms. To ensure the effectiveness and sustainability of its programs, the Mission needs to better understand this complex operational environment, how its projects can better respond and adapt to the environment, and how it can better track project results. This award is intended to help the Mission to promote more rigorous monitoring, evaluation, and learning to more effectively implement assistance programs.

C.4 PROGRAM OBJECTIVES AND OUTPUTS

Objectives The Mission has determined that the developmental impact, sustainability, and cost efficiency of its assistance can be improved if the Mission is able to: (a) identify the lessons learned from past experience; (b) better understand the complex Liberian development context (including institutional norms and behaviors affecting project results) through advanced research, surveys, data collection and analysis; and (c) adapt its programs to this information and analysis. To this end, the successful Offeror will establish an office in Monrovia to assist the Mission in strengthening its management of key aspects of the programming cycle, specifically strategic planning; project design;

performance monitoring and evaluation; and institutionalized learning and adaptation.

Anticipated Outputs Anticipated Outputs of the LSA program will include:

1. Management tools such as planning guidelines, schedules, templates, and checklists, for ensuring consistently rigorous, empirically and analytically rigorous and locally relevant project designs in conformance with ADS 200 and ADS 300.

2. Analyses and assessments conducted around USAID/Liberia projects and activities, using a range of mixed methods including but not limited to quantitative and qualitative analysis, perception surveys, stakeholder analysis, and data collection.

3. Project and activity performance evaluations.

4. High quality performance data readily accessible for activity and project management, design, and decision making.

5. Detailed mapping of other donors’ activities in priority program areas of each of the Mission’s four development objective sectors: Democracy, Rights, and Governance;

Economic Growth; Health; and Education.

6. Annotated lists of key individuals and organizations in the program’s specified sector communities of practice, including curricula vitae and brief organization descriptions. The communities of practice will be specified by the Mission, and are likely to include those associated with youth, gender, land, environmental protection, and other cross-cutting issues that are critical to the Mission’s portfolio.

7. A complete, well-organized and searchable electronic library, which is easily accessible to all Mission staff, containing all management tools, research studies, survey results, workshop notes, analytical reports, evaluations, presentations and other written deliverables created or collected by the Contractor under the LSA program.

8. Regular monitoring and annual reflection exercises and stakeholder analysis of LSA performance and direction.

C.4.1 Project Components / Description

CLIN 001: Project Planning Support, Learning and Adapting

Component 1.1: Project Planning and Analysis

As needed and requested by the Mission, the Contractor will provide and our teams with short term technical advice and assistance, management resources and tools to help the Mission organize and plan its project design work. This support may be provided by the Contractor’s home office staff, in-country staff, or short term consultants with specialized expertise relating to the Mission’s needs.

The Contractor will provide planning and organizational support to Mission Project Design Teams (PDTs) to help them identify tasks, develop timelines, assign roles, and otherwise manage their project design processes efficiently. In addition, the Contractor will facilitate, as required by the Mission, PDTs’ initial conceptual analysis, including detailed “root problem” analysis, and review of the full range of options for effectively addressing the identified problems. The Contractor will also assist with Mission strategic planning, specifically around the facilitation of creating a new Mission CDCS, expected to be developed in 2018.

Examples of services include:

● Facilitating planning and conceptualization sessions, drafting logical frameworks (log frames) drafting project design work plans and schedules, including identification of data collection and analysis needed to support the design process;

● Developing scopes of work for surveys, analysis, and other inputs in the design process;

● Encouraging and facilitating use of innovative surveying techniques and open source technologies where appropriate.

● Creating project design tools, such as templates, illustrative examples, and reference materials for problem analysis and log frames;

● Drafting checklists and resources to facilitate compliance with ADS requirements;

● Organizing professionally-facilitated conceptualizing, analyzing, and planning workshops with Mission staff, their Liberian counterparts, stakeholders, and other partners;

● Drafting problem analysis reports and related materials;

● Facilitating stakeholder consultations around 2018 CDCS; and

● Assisting in the translation of the 2018 CDCS, from strategy to operations by creating associated products that will enable it to remain a living document for USAID staff, implementing partners and other stakeholders.

Expected Program Results:

● PDTs spend less time on process and data collection, allowing them to focus more on substance and to produce high quality project designs more rapidly than would be the case without this support.

● PDTs apply consistent, efficient management processes and practices in project design.

● Mission is able to develop strategy with high-quality information, analysis, and stakeholder consultations.

● Mission projects are clearly conceptualized through strong problem analysis and careful evaluation of potential alternative interventions, manageable interest, and efficient divisions of labor.

Component 1.2: Collaborating, Learning and Adapting

As needed and requested by the Mission, the Contractor will organize and facilitate knowledge-sharing events both within the Mission and with host country counterparts, Implementing Partners (IPs), and other stakeholders outside the Mission. In preparation for such events, the Contractor will research, review, synthesize and summarize relevant information and format it in presentation platforms that facilitate efficient learning.

Examples of the services include:

● Providing technical advice and support to PPD in organizing and managing the Mission’s portfolio review process (see Section J for USAID/Liberia Portfolio Review Mission Order) to ensure that performance issues are identified and addressed;

● Identifying and maintaining a searchable database of leaders and members of Liberian communities of practice relating to USAID programs;

● Reviewing, synthesizing and summarizing relevant information in community of practice reports; and

● Organizing and facilitating up to 6 knowledge sharing workshops per year with Liberian communities of practice using cutting-edge presentation and learning technologies and platforms, as required and demanded by the Mission.

● Mission activity managers and their Liberian partners’ understanding of theory, research, best practice, and empirical evidence relating to USAID assistance activities is improved.

● Performance issues identified in site visits, quarterly reports, and mid-term evaluations are made available for Mission portfolio reviews and appropriate adaptive measures taken.

● Through systems strengthening and HICD workshops, deliver outreach products using up-to-date empirical evidence and best practices for local stakeholders including USAID staff and representatives from IPs, the GOL, and other interested parties, Where appropriate, organize dissemination events in partnership with the Liberia Institute of Public Administration (LIPA), Governance Commission, or other Liberian partners.

● Contractor developed state-of-the-art knowledge sharing and learning process that is aligned with best practices and CLA methodology. With this high-quality information, the mission is able to adapt current activities and inform project design.

Liberian universities, think tanks, firms, and qualified individuals identified by the Mission will, as appropriate, actively contribute to and participate in Mission knowledge management activities.

Component 1.3: Human Capacity Development / Youth Internship

With the aim of helping Liberia to develop the human capacity it needs to sustain high quality project design, management and evaluation in the future, the Contractor will be required to develop and manage a paid internship program in which up to ten (10) Liberian students or young professionals annually will have the opportunity to “learn by doing” through participation in the full range of LSA activities. The Contractor shall draw upon practices by established institutions to design an innovative approach for the Liberian context. The Contractor must attempt to implement this program based on Mission’s gender inclusiveness goals to guarantee a well-balanced level of participation by men, women and youth, and where appropriate, ensure hands-on experience embedded in ongoing USAID/Liberia activities.

The intent of this component is to produce a new cadre of qualified M&E (monitoring and evaluation) professionals within the Liberian workforce who have the skills required to contribute to future Liberian development programs. To ensure that this program does not compete with the M&E recruiting needs of the Liberian government, US government, or other development partners, the candidates will be expected to have limited M&E skills when they enter the program and the compensation package will be commensurate with an entry level of professional development in the Liberian context.

The Contractor will be required to evaluate interns’ relevant skills and capabilities at the beginning of the internship program and annually thereafter for the duration of the LSA activity. The Contractor shall provide baseline and targets for gauging internship program success. The Contractor, in consultation with the Mission, will determine the length of individual intern’s tenure and the total number to be recruited over the lifetime of the project, but does not expect LSA to employ more than ten interns in any one year. The Contractor must ensure that the program follows all Liberian labor laws and regulations. The Contractor may also suggest potential follow-on support to the interns after the conclusion of the internship program, including but not limited to job placement assistance, an alumni organization, a website or other social media presence.

Expected Program Results:

● A fully developed and executed internship program aimed at building project design, management and evaluation skills for select Liberian youth through a “learning by doing” approach;

● Liberian university students or other entry-level professionals are identified and hired as paid interns on a competitive and transparent basis;

● Interns learn high quality project design and management and monitoring and evaluation skills through mentoring and on the job experience;

● Through participation in a wide range of LSA activities, selected Liberian youth gain direct exposure to the LSA and other activities and learn about USG assistance, particularly in the Liberian development context;

● USG and USAID/Liberia participate in training a small number of Liberian development leaders who acquire the skills needed to assume a major role in the development of their country;

● Development of a sustainable learning platform for young M&E, and project development professionals to maximize skills obtained through the internship program for future career development; and

● Liberians see USAID/Liberia as a committed partner in youth development.

Examples of the services include:

● Development of selection criteria for intern recruitment;

● Management of the selection process;

● Impartation of skills relevant for project design, management, monitoring and evaluation using various approaches such as mentoring, workshops, and learning by facilitating direct exposure to LSA activities; and

● Preparation and implementation of an assessment methodology for monitoring interns’ professional knowledge and skills.

CLIN 002: Analytic, Evaluation and Performance Support

Component 2.1: Information and Data Collection

As needed and requested by the Mission, the Contractor will assist PPD and DO teams in identifying baseline data and other information needed to effectively design programs and implement the Mission’s PMP. The Contractor will design and implement desk studies, surveys, assessments and other data collection exercises to meet these and other needs identified by the Mission.

Examples of the services include:

● Surveying the Development Experience Clearinghouse, the World Bank’s Projects and Operations Database, specialized technical knowledge management databases, and other resources as determined by the Contractor in consultation with USAID to identify and analyze approaches that USAID and other donors have taken to address emerging issues in new Liberian development projects;

● Mapping of other donors’ assistance activities related to specific aspects of the Mission’s project portfolio in Liberia;

● Investigating and leveraging existing data from USAID/Liberia activities, other donors, GOL, and other data sources, to inform Mission planning, design, and decision-making.

● Collecting data on a wide range of relevant topics and leading the preparation of scientifically rigorous studies and sampling protocols. Designing survey instruments and assessment strategies and implementing those designs to acquire accurate and unbiased data on key characteristics of the Liberian development context, such as:

o stakeholder perspectives, values, interests, behaviors, and other aspects of the Liberian development context (for example, perspectives on the practice of buying and selling school grades and certificates);

o market supply and demand conditions primarily in agricultural value chain sectors supported by USAID;

o the purposes, extent and effectiveness of formal and informal Liberian business networks and associations;

o education and health outcomes not measured by existing surveys;

o the capacity of Liberian organizations, institutions, and systems to sustainably perform their intended functions;

o the socio-cultural values, perceptions and behaviors of potential change agents and other stakeholders; and o the comparative impact of alternative policies, programs and assistance interventions on society as reflected in linguistics, religion, etc., as well as on women, youth, ethnic groups, and other targeted Liberian populations.

● As requested, conduct analysis of collected data using a wide range of sophisticated analytical techniques which may include the following types of analyses:

o gender;

o youth;

o human and institutional capacity building;

o science, technology, and innovation;

o political economy analysis;

o stakeholder and/or citizen perception analysis;

o social soundness analysis;

o systems, process, outcome , and collaboration mapping;

o agent-based systems modeling;

o cost-benefit, domestic resource cost, growth diagnostics, and other economic analysis;

o financial and fiscal sustainability analysis;

o environmental impact analysis in accordance with 22 CFR 216;

o conflict and fragility analysis;

o geographic analysis of USAID and other donor activities in Liberia;

o geographic analysis of commercial value chains and other economic data;

o attribution and contribution analysis; and o benchmark studies comparing Liberia to similar countries/ contexts to identify strengths and weaknesses relative to similar economies.

● Creation of well-organized databases containing the results of LSA data collection and analysis in formats that can be easily and flexibly queried by Mission and LSA staff.

● Assist the Mission Data Steward in adherence to USAID Development Data policies as outlined by ADS 579.

In addition, LSA will continue to gather data through the Mission’s existing Performance Indicators Data System (PIDS) and an integrated GIS-based web mapping system. These systems are currently managed by the Liberia Monitoring and Evaluation Project (LMEP) under a Mission contract. When the LMEP contract ends (on or about August 2015), the LSA Contractor will be required to assume responsibility for maintaining and managing these systems. The Contractor will receive full operating instructions and manual to effectively transition the maintenance of PIDS. In addition, the Mission anticipates that, at some point during the lifetime of the LSA contract, it will be required to migrate data from the PIDS into a centralized USAID performance indicator database platform. In that event and subject to the Mission’s specific request, the Contractor will assist the Mission in efficiently migrating its performance indicator data to the new platform in a manner that ensures that the integrity of the data is preserved and that the Mission has continuous access to the data throughout the transition.

• The Mission has robust, credible, high quality and timely information about the Liberian development context to support productive analysis for project design, and monitoring and evaluation of project results.

● The Mission has detailed, accurate data on:

o Topics relevant to DO teams such as the sources of different Liberian households’ incomes and livelihoods, and education and health outcomes;

o Liberian perceptions, behaviors and values that may positively or negatively impact the success of new or ongoing USAID assistance activities; and o The capacity of Liberian organizations, institutions, and systems.

• The Mission can easily and sustainably identify and access available research, data and other information relevant to project design, management, learning, and adapting.

• The Mission obtains baseline data and other information required for effective monitoring and evaluation.

• The Mission has available information and data (including real-time data systems where appropriate) contributing to the growth and development of a sound Mission-based knowledge management system.

Component 2.2: Analysis and Reports

As needed and requested by the Mission, the Contractor will conduct rigorous empirical analysis on issues identified as being critical to project design and performance. This analysis will draw on survey data and other information collected under this contract, as well as a wide range of information drawn from other sources, such as Mission project site visits, implementing partner (IP) progress reports, internal and external evaluations, and third party data, surveys or statistics.

The Contractor will submit high quality, professional reports that clearly communicate the results of this analysis, explain the operational implications for planned or ongoing USAID assistance activities and, as needed, provide actionable recommendations.

Examples of the services include:

● Well-organized and well-written analytical reports on Liberian development issues, local economic conditions, environmental policy and gender studies and other research or analysis as mentioned in Component 2.1, above.

● PowerPoint presentations, interactive maps, graphics and other briefing materials that clearly and concisely convey the results of empirical analysis;

● Oral briefings and presentations on analytical results; and

● The use of innovative online and social media database tools to expand how USAID disseminates information on the results of its programs and interventions.

Expected Program Results:

● Mission project design, strategies, and other operational decisions are supported by conceptual and empirical analysis.

● Mandatory environmental, gender, and sustainability analyses for project design and other operational decisions reflect the unique characteristics of the Liberian development context.

● The Mission receives a clear and detailed presentation of the root causes of the development challenges its assistance projects are seeking to address.

Empirical analysis will be presented to the Mission in formats that: (a) give activity managers the level of detail they need to maximize program results while allowing Mission management to absorb key strategic issues and recommendations.

Component 2.3: Evaluation Services

As needed and requested by the Mission, the Contractor will help the Mission develop effective evaluation strategies and plans, and conduct performance evaluations of selected projects and activities. As requested by the Mission, the Contractor may include Mission personnel, Liberian counterparts, or representatives of other donor agencies on its evaluation teams.

The evaluation teams that are formed will comprise a combination of technical skills and expertise on Liberian development. The Contractor will develop schedules, support logistics, quality control and associated reports as needed. Requests for evaluations will be processed by the Contractor.

Examples of the services to be provided include:

● Design rigorous evaluability assessment tools, and conduct evaluability assessments of projects as needed. Evaluability assessments will normally take place in conjunction with Component 1.1 as project design is often the optimal time to undertake evaluability assessment work;

● Design and conduct approximately 30 project performance evaluations, in conformance with the ADS, USAID’s Evaluation Policy, USAID/Liberia’s Evaluation Mission Order (see Section J), and international best practices;

● Design and conduct evaluations with actionable recommendations that feed into the management (and course correction, where necessary) of current activities, design of subsequent projects and activities, and into the overall program cycle and strategy of USAID/Liberia;

● Design impact evaluations (IEs) where appropriate. Note: Contractor will not be required to conduct impact evaluations but may be required to design IEs, as appropriate.

● Prepare evaluations for submission to the Development Experience Clearinghouse (DEC) in a timely manner.

Component 2.4: Performance Monitoring and Reporting The Contractor will assist USAID/Liberia and its IPs in complying with ADS 203 guidelines and USAID/Liberia’s Performance Monitoring Mission Order (see Section J) on performance monitoring including: reviewing and revising of the Mission-wide Performance Management Plan (PMP) and individual activity M&E plans; verifying the quality of performance data collected by IPs; updating Performance Indicator Reference Sheets included in PMP/ Activity level M&E plans;

conducting performance analysis and providing reports in support of the Mission’s regular portfolio reviews; and maintaining the Mission’s performance indicator database systems. Specific tasks will include:

● Conducting data quality assessments for Mission performance monitoring systems and recommending actions to improve data quality;

● Maintaining a flexible and efficient database of all Mission performance indicators (both standard and custom);

● Maintaining a monitoring system which captures evidence from surveys, real time operating environment data, evaluations and after action reviews. This system should synthesize lessons in easy to understand reports and presentations for internal and external (where appropriate) use;

● Generating database reports requested by the Mission, including maps and geo-spatial formats;

● Developing a timetable around USAID/Liberia planning and reporting requirements to collect and compile results;

● Reviewing and reporting on the accomplishment of meeting targets for Mission and IP performance indicators;

● Reviewing and recommending updates and revisions to the Mission’s performance monitoring system as outlined in the Performance Monitoring Mission Order (see Section J);

● Reviewing and providing recommendations on IP activity M&E plans;

● Providing capacity building as requested for USAID staff on performance management principles and best practices, and working with IPs to ensure the use of common definitions, comparable methods of data collection, and compatible reporting formats; and

● Supporting the Mission in developing a high quality PMP for the Mission’s second five-year Country Development Cooperation Strategy, which will come into effect in 2018.

According to the Agency guidelines, the PMP should be developed within six months of the approval of the CDCS.

In support of the Mission’s efforts to ensure consistent performance and data quality management in the field, the Contractor will be required to deploy performance management specialists on short-term travel in the Mission’s six focus counties. The Mission manages approximately ten major field activities outside the greater Monrovia area that may require this support. These visits will be on an on-demand basis, but the Mission expects that LSA personnel will participate in at least five site visits per year, in addition to site visits related to data quality assessments, evaluations, or other activity-related travel. Where appropriate, the Contractor should seek to combine visits to maximize the cost-effectiveness of time out of Monrovia.

Expected Program Results:

● The Mission will consistently and proactively receive evidence of how its programs and projects are performing and will be able to make management and program decisions geared towards improved development results.

● The Mission receives well developed and comprehensive evaluability assessment plans, monitoring methodology, and evaluation plans.

● To meet the Mission’s needs on the foregoing outcomes, the Contractor will engage the services of an M&E specialist who understands both project and high level issues such as how best to monitor and evaluate projects, as this area is of critical concern for USAID/Liberia.

● The Mission will have high-quality monitoring data with which to support the portfolio review process (see Section J for USAID/Liberia Portfolio Review Mission Order), after action reviews, and the regular update and maintenance of the Mission-level PMP.

● DO teams, Government of Liberia (GOL) officials, and IPs regularly receive and share consistent and accurate performance data to promote synergies and avoid duplication of efforts.

● The Mission uses high quality data for empirical decision-making.

Overall Expected Program Results

A systematic, institutionalized approach to effective program planning, monitoring, evaluation, learning and adapting will be established within the Mission’s PPD and DO teams. Empirical information and technical analysis, monitoring and assessment tools, high quality impact evaluation design, rigorous and state-of-the–art performance evaluations, and adaptation to lessons learned will lead to improved long-term planning, more targeted and effective development-oriented strategy and significant results at all levels of the CDCS Results Framework.

Strategic linkages will be developed in the following ways:

● The Contractor’s services will free up the time of the…