Attachment C_ATTACHMENT J-8 Revised.doc

ATTACHMENT J.8

FEWS NET IQC AID________________

Task Order 0001

SECTION B –

B.1 PURPOSE

This task order orders services under all tasks of the FEWS NET IQC ______________SOW except for Section C.2.2(e) “Implement Surge Activities”, and Section C.2.2(f) “Bureau or USAID Mission funded Task Orders”.

B.2 task order TYPE This task order will be awarded and managed on a Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF) completion basis, and shall be issued for two years. Task Order 0001 will be issued with an estimated cost based solely on the non-field costs. Task Order 0001 will be modified after contract and task order award to adjust the estimated cost to include the direct field costs once the selected firm definitizes these field costs and submits and receives approval on the workplan required under section C.4.1 of the task order SOW.

The authorized geographic code is 935 for goods and services for the African field offices that utilize Development Assistance Funds for Africa. The authorized geographic code for procurement of goods and services for all other non-African offices is 000.

B.3 BUDGET and CEILING PRICE The Total Estimated Cost of Task Order 0001 is

Cost Plus Fixed Fee Ceiling Price

The contractor will not be paid any sum in excess of the ceiling price.

B.4

PAYMENT

The paying office is USAID, M/CFO/CMP, 301 4th Street SW, 4th Floor, Washington D.C. 20547.

SECTION C – TASK ORDER 0001 DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATION/WORK STATEMENT

C.1 BACKGROUND, OBJECTIVES, IMPLEMENTING TEAM STRUCTURE

The United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS NET) comprises a 25-year old set of integrated activities that monitors, assesses, predicts, and informs about environmental (e.g. drought, climate change) and socio-economic and humanitarian (e.g. rising prices, malnutrition) hazards and conditions, and their present or future impacts on food security and vulnerability across the globe. All of these activities as a whole will be hereinafter called “FEWS” or “FEWS NET” or “FEWS Net”. In FEWS NET, and in this document, “early warning”, and “early warnings” are considered broad concepts, including prediction of hazards that may affect food security, food security and vulnerability monitoring and assessment, and other information-gathering, analysis, and dissemination activities related to each of these.

The goal of FEWS NET activity is to help sustainably prevent food insecurity and famine. FEWS NET is an integrated set of activities intended to accomplish regular monitoring and assessment of environmental (e.g. drought) and socio-economic hazards (e.g. rising prices), current food security conditions, and a population’s current or future vulnerability to food insecurity.

The FEWS system was created by USAID in 1985, in response to a need for better food security and response information for emergencies in Africa. The activity was managed from the USAID Africa Bureau, and covered five countries of the Sahel, and Sudan. Since that beginning, and under five different five-year “phases” of activity, FEWS has provided early warnings, implemented, learned from, and further refined its approaches and methods for early warning and food security and vulnerability monitoring and assessment. Many of these have become standard in this field, and both FEWS and FEWS NET have provided skills training for many partner-agency personnel.

In 2000, FEWS became FEWS NET, formally recognizing FEWS’ continuing emphasis on working in partnership and with networks of partners. In 2003, responsibility for implementing the entire suite of FEWS NET activity contracts and agreements was transferred from USAID’s Office of Sustainable Development in the Africa Bureau, to the Policy and Technical Division of the Office of Food for Peace (FFP), in the Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance (DCHA) Bureau of USAID. The intent of the movement of FEWS NET into DCHA/FFP was to allow it to play a more global role in meeting USAID information and decision-making needs in early warning and food security and vulnerability assessment, and in improved humanitarian response. Since that time, FEWS NET has extended its presence by providing coverage of food insecure and vulnerable countries in Central America, the Caribbean and Central Asia.

Every phase of FEWS/FEWS NET has seen substantial evolution in its methods, in response to experience, new technologies, a better understanding of hazards, food security, and vulnerability. Some things, however, have remained relatively constant. From its first days, FEWS and FEWS NET adopted a general orientation of working through national partnerships (or groups of partners – networks) out of technical necessity, as each FEWS office was only staffed by, at most, two professionals. Experience over time has shown that working with partners produces more insightful, information than working alone and this remains a key part of the FEWS NET approach – an approach that has also assumed central importance in the USG strategy.

C.1.2 FEWS NET OBJECTIVES:

FEWS NET goals and objectives support a broader framework of USG food security strategy goals to sustainably reduce chronic hunger, raise the incomes of the rural poor, and reduce the number of children suffering from under-nutrition. To achieve these goals, the USG will work to: 1) support country-led processes; 2) ensure a comprehensive approach to food security; 3) strategically coordinate assistance; 4) support a strong role for multilateral institutions; and 5) sustain a robust commitment of financial resources to these ends. Within this broader national food security strategy goal, the specific goal of the FEWS NET activity is to sustainably prevent food insecurity and famine and achieve the following objectives:

· provide support to USAID to deliver early warnings of actual and potential hazards, food insecurity, vulnerability to food insecurity, and famine to USAID and the US Government, to host-country governments of countries covered by FEWS NET, and to regional, international, and non-governmental organizations, for all countries of FEWS NET coverage;

· improve the quantity, quality, and timeliness of early warning information and predictions, for use in food security response decision-making; and, help build, and/or improve sustainable global -- local, national, regional, international -- capabilities to warn early of, and respond appropriately to, new and continuing threats of food security and vulnerability (to food insecurity/famine).

C.1.3 FEWS NET’s Implementing Team Structure:

FEWS NET is an activity coordinated by USAID's Bureau of Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance, Office of Food for Peace, Policy and Technical Division (DCHA/FFP/PTD). The FEWS NET Implementing Team is comprised of the following:

· USAID FEWS NET Management Unit: The FEWS NET Management Unit in USAID’s Office of Food for Peace, Policy and Technical Division, provides overall management and technical guidance of all FEWS NET activities.

· USAID IQC Contractor (Support provided under this Contract and Task Order): The Contractor manages almost all FEWS NET field/office presence activities (a small number of Implementing Team activities are based in the field/office presence locations as well). The most visible part of FEWS NET is its network of Field Representatives currently working in FEWS NET field offices. The Contractor’s Washington-based headquarters office manages the production of most FEWS NET products and services, and their dissemination into decision-making processes in each field/office presence location, for USAID (in Washington and the field), as well as to a broad range of international partners.

In addition to the above, FEWS NET also includes the following activities which are not managed under this IQC:

· National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center: Under a Participating Agency Service Agreement (PASA), the NASA/FEWS NET team provides a variety of satellite data products for early warning activities, and technical assistance in applying them to a number of early warning uses.

· National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): Under a PASA, the NOAA/FEWS NET team provides a number weather and climate-related products for Africa, Central America and the Caribbean, and Central Asia, and technical support in applying them to early warning uses.

· United States Geological Survey (USGS): Under a PASA, the International Programs office at the USGS/EROS Data Center (EDC)/FEWS NET Team provides a broad range of technical assistance in developing operational early warning applications and products using a variety of satellite and remote sensing data. USGS also maintains the FEWS NET archive of tabular, vector, and raster datasets. Several USGS/FEWS NET Regional Scientists work inside of, or closely with, national and regional institutions in the Sahel, Greater Horn of Africa, Southern Africa, and Central America, providing technical assistance in the use of operational remote sensing products for food security analysis.

· United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)/Foreign Agricultural Service: Under a PASA, the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) provides the USAID FEWS NET management unit with technically-qualified management personnel, as well as access to USDA expertise, data, and information on agriculture, markets, early warning, and crop estimation.

· Technology Support Contract Advisor: A third-party, small business (SB) Contractor will work with all Implementing Team members to develop, test, and pilot new intra-team collaboration tools and methods, and new ways to collect, share, and disseminate FEWS NET information and products.

· Other: Periodically, as special needs arise, USAID may add other Implementing Team members to fill specific technical requirements.

C.1.4 Offices, Personnel, and Functions Washington D. C. Based Office The Contractor shall be available for face-to-face meetings on a regular basis and on short notice at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington D.C. The contractor shall provide all necessary information technology and equipment required to deliver the FEWS NET activity management, decision support, and technical and administrative services. Core activity staff may be required to travel extensively to fulfill Contract requirements. Beyond key personnel positions (see C.4), the Contractor shall provide sufficient qualified technical support to manage the FEWS NET activity’s primary technical tasks of early warning, food security monitoring/assessment, livelihoods and markets and trade analysis, remote monitoring, decision support (reporting) functions, technical support to the field, information technology management, and other necessary technical, administrative and logistic support.

FEWS NET Field Offices The Contractor shall provide all field offices in office-presence countries. In the future, USAID may eventually determine that some existing offices should be closed, and/or new ones may be opened. A FEWS NET national or regional office may vary in its complement of staff and operational resources. Depending upon the number of staff assigned, a typical FEWS NET field office has one or more vehicles (in-town and/or off-road), computers (desktops, laptops, color printers, associated peripheral equipment), and standard office equipment and furnishings (desktop copier, phones, desks, chairs, cabinets, etc.). In most cases, these offices are stand-alone, although an increasing number are shared with Government and/or key non-government partners.

Field Personnel The Contractor shall employ and manage all professional FEWS NET representatives (FNRs): National (NFNR) and Regional representatives (RFNR), Remote Monitoring personnel (RMR), and deputy representatives (where appropriate) for each field office required under Task Order 0001. Listed below is a table of anticipated field offices and associated numbers of field office professional staff.

Table 1: FEWS NET Professional Staff, Offices, Locations

Niamey 1/1

1/1 1 RFNR is TCN

RFNR = Regional FEWS NET Representative, NFNR = National FEWS NET Representative, RMR = Remote Monitoring personnel

In addition to providing professional staff, the Contractor shall also employ field office support staff. Field offices generally include an office manager, a clerk, and a driver. However the field office support staff required varies by location, depending upon the size of the country and/or severity of its food insecurity conditions, the nature and volume of core and special activities undertaken in that office.

C.2. Core Monitoring and Assessment Activities:

Core Task Order 001 activities principally include the early warning, monitoring, assessment, and decision-support tasks that form the basis for FEWS NET’s information and decision-support products. They are generally carried out in all countries and regions that FEWS NET covers with either an office-based capability, or through remote monitoring (see C.2.9 below). There may be substantial differences in the way such activities are carried out between office-based and remote forms of coverage, and in the types of products and deliverables that are expected in either case. A key task for the contractor will be to define an efficient plan for, and then effectively coordinate the use of resources to accomplish core activities in all office-based and remotely-covered countries and regions.

C.2.1 Maintain and provide enhancements to country-specific analytic frameworks and baseline databases.

The Contractor shall regularly update, improve, and archive FEWS NET’s country and region-specific analytical framework and databases by undertaking key tasks as specified below:

· Maintain and manage FEWS NET country-specific data and information baselines.

· Centrally-compile, quality-check, and ensure efficient access to the entire body of baseline information and datasets to make them available for thematic mapping and overlay within geographic information systems (GIS).

· Annually assess country-specific household livelihood frameworks for food security analysis in each country, and identify needs for updating.

C.2.2 Monitor and assess hazards, food security, and vulnerability The Contractor shall monitor and regularly identify the food security impacts of natural hazards and socio-economic factors and conditions on food security conditions in all coverage countries/regions, and deliver early warnings of the timing, type, and potential dimension of imminent or emerging threats to food security. In this work, the Contractor shall maintain a geographic orientation to FEWS NET food security data and information that facilitates systematic data archiving, overlay analyses, data sharing, and presentation to decision-makers. Once a hazard actually occurs, the contractor shall regularly assess and predict the impact such events are likely to have on household food-related livelihood conditions, coping strategies, nutritional conditions, and on the performance of food market and trade systems.

C.2.3 Monthly assessments

In all FEWS NET-monitored countries, the Contractor shall manage a regular collection of key data required to regularly monitor food security conditions. Successful completion of this activity shall be indicated by an expanding baseline of data relative to each livelihood group’s food security processes of concern.

Note that FEWS NET Implementing Team members NOAA, NASA, USDA and USGS will be collaborating with the Contractor in this task by regularly providing information on the weather and crop condition and production information, which will comprise important inputs for identifying potential anomalies.

C.2.4 Monthly early warning reporting:

A monthly report that is based upon the tasks described above is required for each and all FEWS office-covered and remotely-monitored countries. It should succinctly identify the existence and type of threats to food availability, access and utilization conditions (anomaly or no anomaly, causality, implications for response), in specific livelihood zones of each country covered. Where approved by USAID, this function shall be undertaken in conjunction with selected partners.

For office-based coverage, these reports will be of generally the same length and format found currently on www.fews.net, for each country. For remotely-monitored countries, the name, format and exact content of such monthly early warning reports will be formalized in the first 3 months of operation of the Contract. Successful delivery of this element shall be indicated by the regular production of monthly early warning reports.

The level-of-detail, content, and format of these reports will sometimes vary, according to:

· conditions of food security and/or hazards that prevail, and

· additional information needs that may be communicated by USAID.

Additional information or products that might be required include, but are not limited to, special alerts, briefings, or reports on specific food security conditions in FEWS NET-covered countries. The Contractor shall also, when required by USAID, participate in national, regional, and international food aid and food security needs assessment processes.

In all of the above cases, the Contractor shall complete related specialized tasks and provide unique products (e.g. graphs, maps, short analyses of the situation), as identified by USAID.

C.2.5 Anomaly Follow-Up Strategy and Capability:

In any country of FEWS NET coverage, in cases where a significant complex of identified anomalies may indicate an incipient food crisis is arising, the Contractor shall consider constituting and sending a “quick-strike” analytic team to the country of concern. The object of the team’s effort shall be to undertake further assessments that will permit a confirmation or denial of the likely significance of the identified anomaly(ies). The team shall collect and analyze this information and data under relatively severe time constraints, and shall be expected to quickly (to be specified by USAID on a case-by-case basis) provide a report with its conclusions. Such teams shall be sent upon the agreement and request of USAID and may occur in both FEWS NET office-presence and remotely-covered countries.

C.2.6 Decision support, linking assessments with response:

The Contractor’s Washington-based office shall publish and disseminate all FEWS NET information products, and insert them into appropriate decision-making processes. This requires a report production process that supports, sustains, and quality-controls field office and remote monitoring report generation. It also needs to integrate informational inputs from FEWS NET Implementing Team partners, and reflexively inform field office, remote, and Washington analysts of key FFP and USAID information needs. The contractor shall be capable of providing a number of publishing avenues (e.g. web-sites, hand-outs, targeted deliveries), and shall maintain a tangible record of people and organizations served by FEWS NET information products.

The Contractor shall conduct briefings on current and predicted food security conditions, when requested by USAID.

C.2.7 Website:

All FEWS NET products that are not specifically designated by USAID as being for “limited distribution”, shall be published on the FEWS NET web-site. The Contractor shall operate, maintain, regularly update, and periodically revise the structure and functionality of the FEWS NET web-site (www.fews.net). The large volume of existing reporting and archived products of FEWS NET that is delivered through this site, in addition to a regular monthly flow of new products, requires a broad and expert set of web-site management capabilities. Upon commencement of IDIQ and Task Order activities described here, the Contractor shall be prepared to take-over and fully operate the website, with less than 10% downtime in the first month of activity.

C.2.8 Fundamental requirements for all FEWS NET activities:

Scale of severity of food security outcomes The Contractor shall ensure that all FEWS NET assessments of food security and/or vulnerability use the same scale of severity, in order to maintain an inter-country and inter-continental comparability of results. Until decided otherwise by USAID, the Contractor shall promote and use the Integrated Phase Classification (IPC) (see www.ipcinfo.org, and www.fews.net for FEWS NET variations on the IPC) scale of severity in all of its assessments, regardless of location. Contractor shall be responsible for working with various IPC working groups and partners to help others to understand the value of a shared language food insecurity severity, and how it may be used in food security decision-making processes.

Household livelihoods analytic framework for food security analysis In each country or region of FEWS NET coverage, the Contractor shall create (if there is no existing), consolidate, refine, document and extend the use of a household livelihoods analytic framework for food security analysis (see www.fews.net for a description). The FEWS NET household livelihoods analytic framework sub-divides a country into areas of general homogeneity where food and income production, expenditure and consumption, hazard exposure and coping patterns are relatively the same.

The Contractor shall utilize the existing FEWS NET analytic framework and its phased approach to building, improving, and expanding the key analytical structures of this framework for analysis, until an alternate framework is authorized by USAID. Currently, three different levels of functionality have been identified in the FEWS NET framework. They include:

· Zoning: In this initial stage, the country is sub-divided into generally homogenous zones of similar food security livelihood strategies, opportunities, and constraints. A “zoning” is usually accomplished in a few weeks, and is carried out by a FEWS NET livelihoods expert, or experts, using interviews and surveys of key-informants and local populations. Often, staff from partner organizations, who may at the same time be receiving hands-on training from the same FEWS NET expert(s), are used to carry out some interviews and surveys. Livelihood zone maps are produced at the conclusion of this phase.

· Profiling: In ”profiling”, a variety of data and information is gathered and used to validate and quantify food security characteristics of the zone that have been identified in the surveys and interviews. This sometimes leads to substantial modifications of initial zoning decisions since it provides a more concrete definition of the characteristics of food-related strategies and behaviors in the zones. The profiling information provides an initial basis for identifying indicators to be used for monitoring and assessing food security and vulnerability conditions in the zones. Livelihood zone profile reports are produced at the end of this phase of work.

· Scenario Modeling: This third phase of development of a livelihood framework for food security analysis requires a broad and current quantitative baseline of information on specifically identified indicators of livelihood and food security conditions. Using this information, FEWS NET will develop crisis scenarios (e.g. what if there were a severe drought, steeply rising food prices, or a closure of the border?) in order to model impacts and identify appropriate strategies for humanitarian response. A scenario-modeling stage requires regular updating of the datasets and information that have been gathered in it.

The Contractor shall initiate collaboration with partners to complete zoning and profiling for any FEWS NET-covered countries where such does not exist. Most FEWS NET field office presence countries are already zoned to a “profiling” level. Malawi, Ethiopia, parts of Zimbabwe and Mozambique, and several other food-insecure countries in Africa have been brought to a “scenario modeling” phase. At least annually, the Contractor shall assess the need for updates and enhancements in existing livelihood zones in FEWS NET monitored countries, and submit to USAID a plan and budget for the work involved.

The Contractor shall also conduct zoning and profiling activities in countries where remote monitoring activities are initiated. These should be cost-efficiently implemented, and should effectively integrate the weather and agricultural conditions, market and trade data, and livelihood and nutritional information collected by FEWS NET and partners in a remote monitoring country.

Market and trade information for food security monitoring and assessment In most FEWS NET work, household-level dynamics are the unit of its normal food security monitoring and assessment. FEWS NET market and trade activities are different, monitoring the performance of key components of food marketing and trade systems, in order to understand the degree to which markets and trade are operating in accordance with expected patterns, and if not, to provide an explanation of the reason(s) why.

To do this, FEWS NET must understand the structure (e.g. who markets or trades food, what are their characteristics, what structures do they operate through) and the conduct (e.g. what are the normal social, commercial, geographic, etc., patterns of their activity) of markets and trade in a specific area or zone. This may require information about retailers, wholesalers, transporters, importers and exporters, the market policy environment, infrastructure, financial markets, and a variety of other market and trade characteristics.

Among other potential uses, this perspective provides a basis upon which decisions can be made about whether external food or non-food interventions are appropriate responses to food insecurity in a specific food crisis. But this information should also identify the underlying roles that markets and trade are playing in a zone’s household food security.

Note that to an increasing degree, many FEWS NET-covered food insecure countries are relying upon markets and food trade in areas of the world that are not covered by FEWS NET office or remote monitoring coverage (e.g. Europe, China, Australia, Argentina). In addition to other features of a Contractor’s plan for understanding the structure, conduct and performance of a specific livelihood zone’s markets and trade, part of the plan must clarify a vision for how FEWS NET can monitor market and trade information coming from a variety of non-FEWS-monitored markets.

C.2.9 Specific characteristics and requirements of Remote Monitoring-based early warning

Objective of remote monitoring-based early warning:

The purpose of this activity is to be able to identify and predict potentially large and significant changes in key, pre-identified food security conditions in a number of USAID-specified priority countries. This activity differs from FEWS NET’s office presence-based early warning activities, which have more extensive objectives of identifying, understanding the causes of, predicting future outcomes for, and suggesting appropriate responses to, food insecurity in approximately 20 countries.

Nevertheless, remote monitoring-based early warning will be implemented in both remotely monitored countries, and in those countries of existing FEWS NET office presence-based coverage.

The objective of identifying and predicting potentially “large and significant” changes in important food security conditions may be more easily accomplished in countries that currently have a FEWS NET office presence. Nevertheless, some of the countries with office presence may not currently have available all of the elements that are required to accomplish this remote monitoring early warning task. The Contractor shall build and strengthen those elements in all countries of office-presence coverage.

It is expected that the Contractor will not always be able to collect all the data, alone, for successful remote monitoring in any country, much less across all remotely-monitored countries. The Contractor shall have to be inventive, innovative, and skillful in developing, and maintaining, in-country partnerships that will assist in gathering and delivering the required monitoring data on a regular basis, and to sustain it over time. The Contractor may sometimes need to set-up other arrangements for data delivery that go beyond partnership (e.g. remunerated part-time work). In these cases, prior dialogue with USAID is required in order to define an acceptable precedent and assure funding sufficient to accomplish that delivery.

Anticipated remote monitoring inputs:

The largest inputs to the remote monitoring activity will be comprised of labor and travel costs. Labor may include: staff who initiate and regularly follow-up the remote coverage of any country, other local personnel who may be engaged on some basis to provide remote monitoring coverage services to FEWS NET, “quick strike” teams that may periodically be sent to assess the potential significance of anomalies in a FEWS NET-covered country, and the level-of-effort required to convert remote monitoring information into reports and other information products.

Required remote monitoring outputs:

Remote monitoring activities shall result in the following deliverables for each remotely-monitored country:

· An operational, country-specific early warning analytic framework, comprising baseline datasets, monitoring partnerships, and a sub-national household livelihoods-based understanding of how food security is normally gained, maintained, lost, and re-established,

· A plan for monitoring at least the following elements:

1. Household livelihoods information;

2. Weather conditions and crop and pastoral production;

3. Food market and food trade activities, and

4. Health and nutrition conditions.

· Conduct Remote monitoring, and report results ; and

· Analyze any significant anomalies to identify if any further analyses or response actions are required.

Refining an analytic framework for remote monitoring:

The Contractor shall be responsible for gathering the data and information necessary in each of these four technical areas (see paragraph immediately above) to monitor and identify anomalous food availability and food access conditions. Much of the data that are required to do this are already available in countries of existing FEWS NET coverage. In other countries, a large amount of data and information may already be available in the hands of (potential) FEWS NET partners. For many of these new countries, an acceptable initial analytic framework might be developed using only a desktop study and other resources that are already available to members of the FEWS NET Implementing Team. Elsewhere, data and information available from all sources may be insufficient, and multiple FEWS NET efforts in the country may be required to gather the minimum understanding necessary.

Managing established remote monitoring:

FEWS NET analytic frameworks and monthly remote monitoring activities have already been set up and are functioning in 9 countries at the start of this contract. The Contractor shall continue to implement remote monitoring for these countries:

· Burundi

· El Salvador

· Honduras

· Liberia

· Nicaragua

· Rwanda (may be transitioning to office-based coverage)

· Senegal

· Tajikistan

· Yemen

New Remote Monitoring work:

The Contractor shall build the analytic frameworks for, and perform regular remote monitoring in additional countries, as designated by USAID. USAID estimates that remote monitoring may be required in up to a total of approximately fifty (50) countries during the period of this contract. Nine (9) of these are already being remotely monitored. Approximately twenty (20) of them already have a FEWS NET field office, but contractor will need to bring them into “compliance” with remote monitoring requirements. Contractor will institute remote coverage of another 10 countries in the first 2 years of this contract, upon specification of the targeted countries, and approval by USAID.

Current country priorities for FEWS NET remote monitoring:

Given the volatile nature of food insecurity in the world, and changing USAID needs for food security information, remote monitoring priorities will evolve during the contract period of performance. The COTR will direct the contractor where to implement remote monitoring. The table below reflects current priorities, which may change. The current highest priorities for remote coverage are found in the left-most columns. Within each column, no country has a higher priority over any others in that column.

Table 1: Remote Monitoring Priority Countries (equal priority within-column, more priority to leftmost columns)

Highest Priority

Pakistan

Eritrea

Guinea

Bangladesh Nepal

Cambodia

Madagascar Guinea-Bissau

Central African Rep.

Lesotho

Second Highest Priority

Korea, DPR

Côte d'Ivoire

Bolivia Sri Lanka

Angola

Swaziland

Congo (D.R.C.)

Gambia

Kyrgyzstan

Ghana

Third Highest Priority

Indonesia

Benin

Laos

Myanmar

Peru

Ecuador Congo, Rep. of

Mongolia

Timor l’Este

Kazakhstan

C.3 Other Activities

C.3.1 Collaboration with FEWS NET “Partners”:

The Contractor shall manage three important “partner” relationships that are critical to effectively implementing the SOW: 1) the FEWS NET Implementing Team; 2) FEWS NET’s international food security information system partners (e.g. WFP, FAO); and 3) national and regional food security information system (FSIS) organizations.

FEWS NET Implementing Team:

See Section C.1.3. The Contractor shall collaborate with Implementing Team partners as necessary to produce FEWS NET deliverables.

FEWS NET international operational partners;

A second category of partners includes a large number of “international” organizations (WFP, FAO, Oxfam, IPC, EC, etc.) that the contractor shall engage for the purpose of sharing and optimizing the food security and early warning resources of each, without any intention in either party to build operational or technical capacities.

FEWS NET national and regional food security information system partners:

The third category of partners is national and regional food security information systems. USAID’s objective in engaging these partners is to jointly gather and share critical data and information with them, and disseminate it into selected decision-making processes, while at the same time seeking to identify and implement capacity-building initiatives aimed at increasing the partner’s food security assessment and early warning capabilities.

In the past, FEWS NET has had much more success and impact in the training of individual staff members, than in building the capabilities of food security information system institutions to be sustainably capable of efficiently and effectively playing the role they occupy in food security. In part, this lack of success in institution-building may be due to the poor planning and execution of such efforts, and unrealistic expectations about the inherent complexities of building sustainable institutions. But experience also shows that it is very often due to a lack of commitment by the national and regional governments that are supposed to be served by such systems. Both problems must be resolved if such food security information systems are to eventually play their essential roles in helping to attain food security for all.

While the work under this Task Order is primarily oriented at producing good food security and early warning information, creating and strengthening sustainable and effective national and regional food security information system capabilities and institutions is also a key FEWS NET goal here. Its primary objectives are to:

· prioritize the investment of FEWS NET time and resources to build capacities where there is clear evidence of real national or regional engagement of resources for building and sustaining their own food security information systems;

· assist in linking FEWS NET’s national and regional institutional partners to additional resources that may be available for national and regional institution-building efforts; and,

· identify, test, and make available to national and regional institutional partners, already-available and low-cost global data collection and analysis tools and methods, and communication and networking technologies that will diminish the costs, enhance the effectiveness, and increase the potential sustainability of those food security monitoring and assessment systems.

Starting no later than the second year of this contract, the Contractor shall annually identify at least two specific national or regional food security information system partner institutions where the Contractor proposes to implement specifically identified institution-building efforts.

For such USAID-agreed targets, Contractor shall then propose to USAID a time-delimited plan for specific FEWS NET support and training activities to be provided to that partner. Such plans may include not only Contractor resources, but may also identify Contractor initiatives that will advocate for the engagement of other partners in such institution-building efforts. The Contractor shall implement the approved activities and annually evaluate and report on achievements utilizing pre-specified benchmarks for progress.

C.3.2 FEWS NET Nutrition-Related Activities

It has become increasingly apparent to USAID that nutritional information is a part of early warning for food security analytic frameworks that has not been sufficiently developed for operational use in identifying future food security crises. Without its consideration, early warning, and assessments of food security and vulnerability conditions may miss important diagnostic or even predictive features of current or impending “food” or humanitarian crises. This is true even if an absence of food has not been the major direct cause of the emergency; perhaps poor water quality or malaria, for example, is also a key feature of the nutritional side of the crisis.

The Contractor shall therefore work with the COTR and other FEWS NET partners to define an approach for FEWS NET’s use of nutritional information and data for early warning uses, and incorporate approved approaches for this into FEWS Net’s analytic framework and assessments.

C.3.3 Maintain staff skills:

The Contractor shall provide at least one staff training and work planning opportunity of at least 5 days duration, each year, for every professional FEWS NET staff member. These workshops shall generally have a multiple set of goals (up-dating FEWS NET field staff technical skills, defining workplans, ensuring a fundamental similarity in the approach to assessment of food security and vulnerability in all FEWS NET tasks and products). The workshops may include FEWS NET Implementing Team members and other partner personnel if such attendance will help achieve FEWS NET objectives.

C.3.4 Population Explorer web-site:

The FEWS NET Population Explorer tool and web-site, www.populationexplorer.com provides demographic information for use in food security monitoring and assessment. This tool and web-site were developed with USAID funding by third-party Contractor Kimetrica International in 2008 and 2009. The FEWS NET Task Order 001 Contractor shall be provided full access to this tool and shall take over operational responsibility from Kimetrica for integrating this web-site and its functionality into the FEWS NET web-site. To fulfill this requirement, the FEWSNET Contractor will develop and implement a transition plan in coordination with USAID and Kimetrica International (www.kimetrica.org) C.3.5 Implement Surge Activities:

The Contractor shall periodically be required to implement quick deployments of additional resources (more personnel, additional FEWS NET coverage services, or products) to either increase coverage in any country of current coverage or to expand FEWS NET field activities temporarily into other countries of the world, at the request of USAID. A separate task order is planned for these surge activities which will generally be characterized by a quick start-up and often emergency-driven response to fulfilling USAID information needs.

C.4 PERSONNEL RESPONSIBILITIES AND QUALIFICATIONS

C.4.1 Non-Field staff (Washington Office Technical Staff) Key Personnel Responsibilities

· Technical Director: To coordinate critical technical activities/field support and represent the FEWSNET IQC activities with other USAID and partner organizations.

· Deputy Technical Director: To support the Technical Director in coordinating critical technical activities/field support and represent the FEWSNET IQC activities with other USAID and partner organizations.

· Decision and Planning Support Coordinator: includes leading FEWS NET’s Washington-based decision support and reporting processes, facilitating field decision support and reporting processes, and assuring timely and high-quality delivery of the activity’s core information products into decision-making processes;

· Remote Monitoring Coordinator: provides leadership, guidance, and technical support to FEWS NET staff and partners in the area of remote monitoring.

Key Personnel Qualifications

· Technical Director and Deputy Technical Director: Individuals proposed shall have a Bachelors Degree (or equivalent), at least 5 years of senior-level experience in managing a complex activity in multiple countries, at least 10 years of work experience in a closely food security-related field (especially agriculture, agricultural economics, early warning, economics, emergency response, food security assessment, geography, planning, public health, and rural development), and at least 5 years of work experience abroad. A candidate holding a Master’s Degree of educational attainment, and French and/or Spanish language skills of the FS 2+ level or greater is preferred.

· Decision and Planning Support Coordinator and Remote Monitoring Coordinator: Individuals proposed are required to have a Bachelors Degree, at least 5 years of prior work experience in, and training directly relevant to the position in which they will be proposed. Individuals should have at least two years of experience living and working in a region in which FEWS NET field staff work. An advanced ability to use a personal computer and standard software packages (Microsoft word processing, spreadsheets, etc.) is required. Personnel with a Master’s Degree of educational attainment, and French and/or Spanish language skills of the FS 2+ level or greater, are preferred.

Other Technical Staff Responsibilities

· Livelihoods Coordinator: provides leadership, guidance, and technical support to FEWS NET staff and partners in the area of livelihoods monitoring, analysis and reporting

· Markets and Trade Coordinator: provides leadership, guidance, and technical support to FEWS NET staff and partners in the area of markets and trade monitoring, analysis and reporting Other Technical Staff Qualifications Individuals proposed are required to have a Bachelors Degree, at least 5 years of prior work experience in, and training directly relevant to the position in which they will be proposed. Individuals should have at least two years of experience living and working in a region in which FEWS NET field staff work. An advanced ability to use a personal computer and standard software packages (Microsoft word processing, spreadsheets, etc.) is required. Personnel with a Master’s Degree of educational attainment, and French and/or Spanish language skills of the FS 2+ level or greater, are preferred.

C.4.2 Field Staff

Individuals proposed shall have a Bachelors Degree (or its equivalent), at least 3 years of work experience in a closely food security-related field (especially agriculture, agricultural economics, early warning, economics, emergency response, food security assessment, geography, planning, public health, rural development), and an advanced ability to use a personal computer and standard software packages (Microsoft word processing, spreadsheets, etc.). Fluency in speaking and writing in English is required. Candidates holding a Master’s Degree of educational attainment are preferred.

C.5. DELIVERABLES

Under Task Order 0001, Contractor shall provide the following:

C.5.1. Coordination and Implementation Planning Transition Conference:

The Contractor shall submit, for USAID approval, a plan for a post-award, all-professional staff FEWS NET transition conference. Such a conference will occur approximately 4-months from the IQC commencement date. The objectives of the conference are to: 1) achieve a clear and mutual understanding among all Contractor staff of all contract requirements, 2) identify staff and operational issues in need of further resolution; and 3) finalize field work plans to update the budget (see below). Note that the facilities costs for the transition conference do not have to be budgeted as USAID will arrange for the conference facility outside of this contract. The Contractor may request reimbursement for associated conference costs (i.e., lodging and per diem).

FEWS NET Team Implementation meeting The Contractor shall participate in a FEWS NET Implementation Team meeting within 90 days from contract award date. Meeting participants will include Implementing Team members and other individuals/entities as appropriate. The purpose of the meeting is to develop an overall FEWS NET Team Implementation strategy.

Workplan and Updated Budget for Field Operations A 20 to 23 month (depending upon when the conference is held) final Task Order Workplan of field office and remote monitoring activities shall be submitted to USAID at the transition conference, as input into the negotiation of a complete two-year budget for Task Order 0001 for all field office operations and remote monitoring. When the selected Offeror submits their workplan required under Section C.4.1 of this Task Order SOW, they shall propose their estimated FIELD COSTS, adjust those with their approved NICRAs for Years 1 and 2 AND adjust their NON-FIELD costs with their actual approved NICRAs for Years 1 and 2 (as long as they are below the ceiling). NO OTHER ADJUSTMENTS SHALL BE MADE TO THE TASK ORDER ESTIMATED COSTS FOR NON-FIELD COSTS DURING THIS WORK PLAN PROCESS.

C.5.2 Regular and Special Information Products The Contractor’s Washington and field staff shall provide at least monthly monitoring, assessment and reporting of hazards, food availability, food access, and vulnerability in all countries of FEWS NET coverage including remotely-monitored countries, unless prior USAID agreement about deviations to this requirement is sought and received.

Until further notice from USAID, Contractor shall produce the following FEWS NET products:

Table 3: Regular FEWS NET deliverables/publications

As important food security issues are identified during the implementation of this activity, the need for a range of additional products (e.g. reports, graphs, graphics, dataset compilation, etc.) describing a particular hazard, a livelihood problem for a specific group, etc., will arise. Using existing personnel, the Contractor shall produce, alone or in conjunction with others, a variety of these non-reoccurring food security-related products.

As directed by the COTR, the Contractor shall update guidance on all reports and briefings described in this scope of work. In regards to the guidance and briefings, the COTR will specify the following: 1) Schedules and audience/participants for each debriefing, 2) procedures for review and concurrence on reports, 3) suggested content and format for reports, and 4) dissemination lists and methods.

C.5.3. FEWS NET Website The Contractor shall maintain and actively manage the main FEWS NET web-site (www.fews.net). At least annually, USAID, the Contractor, and other Implementing Team members, will jointly update guidance and plans for updates/changes to the structure and services provided by the aforementioned web-site.

C.5.4 Annual Performance Reports Approximately one year from commencement date of this Task Order, or by the end of the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2011, whichever occurs first, the Contractor shall submit an Annual Performance (AP) report economically detailing principal activities undertaken and results achieved. Thereafter, the AP shall be submitted to USAID by the end of the fourth quarter of each fiscal year (September 30). USAID may revise the submission the date if needed.

C.5.5. Procurement and Property Management The Contractor shall procure goods and…