Sources Sought SB LGHS FOR SAM.pdf

To: Sources Sought (Attachment B)– Small Business Only Reference Number: SS-SB-7200AA-22-LGHS Release Date: 7/28/2022 Response Date: 8/8/2022, 12 PM EDT

Subject: Sources Sought- Small Business Only - Localize Global Health Security (LGHS)

PURPOSE:

Referring to FAR Part 10, FAR 15.201(e) the United States Government, represented by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), is publishing the subject Sources Sought for the Localize Global Health Security (LGHS) Activity. The estimated range for this activity is 80-90 million dollars over 5-year period.

As permitted by FAR Part 10, this is a market research tool being utilized for informational and planning purposes. Your responses will assist the Government in the development of its acquisition strategy for a possible Request for Proposal (RFP), to be issued at a later date, and in determining whether any type of small business set-aside is possible for this procurement or whether full and open or other competitive procedures should be utilized. If full and open or other competition is ultimately pursued, responses to this synopsis will be used to aid in establishing small business subcontracting goals.

USAID is conducting this Sources Sought to identify small business contractors who possess the capabilities to provide services as specified in the Attachment A: DRAFT SECTION C - DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS/STATEMENT OF WORK and to determine their availability, capability, and adequacy. If your firm may be interested in this requirement, is a qualified small business for the NAICS code 541990 (Size Standard in Millions of Dollars is $17.0 according to SBA Table of Small Business Size), and has performed similar projects, we request the information specified in the Attachment B: Sources Sought Information. An organization that is not considered a small business under the applicable NAICS code should not submit a response to the Attachment B of this notice.

SUBMISSION INFORMATION:

Please submit your response to requested information in the Attachment B electronically to Anna Nelson annelson@usaid.gov and Natalia Kornilova, at nkornilova@usaid.gov, with a copy to Patricia Bradley at pbradley@usaid.gov no later than August 8th, 12 PM EDT. Please indicate Sources Sought reference number provided above in the subject of the email. You will receive only an electronic confirmation acknowledging receipt of your response. No individualized feedback or suggestions will be sent to responders. Your responses may contribute to upcoming activity design(s). However, this Sources Sought will not be construed as a commitment by the U.S. Government (USG) to issue any solicitation or pay for any information submitted in response to this request. Responders are responsible for adequately marking proprietary or restricted information contained in their responses. No basis for claims against the U.S.

Government shall arise because of a response to this Sources Sought or from the USG’s use of such information. Specific questions about this Sources Sought should be directed only to the email addresses identified above. This office will not respond to any telephonic or other inquiries regarding this notice.

https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/2022-07/Table%20of%20Size%20Standards_Effective%20July%2014%202022_Final-508.pdf https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/2022-07/Table%20of%20Size%20Standards_Effective%20July%2014%202022_Final-508.pdf mailto:annelson@usaid.govM mailto:nkornilova@usaid.gov

Please note USAID is not seeking technical or cost proposals currently. Do not submit any proposal in response to this Sources Sought. Only the information as requested in Attachment B as applicable will be considered.

CONTENT:

Attachment A – DRAFT SECTION C - DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS/STATEMENT OF WORK Attachment B – Sources Sought Information

Sincerely, Anna Nelson, Contracting Officer, M/OAA/GH

Attachment A: DRAFT SECTION C - DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS/STATEMENT OF

WORK

SECTION C - DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS/STATEMENT OF WORK

LOCALIZE GLOBAL HEALTH SECURITY (LGHS)

C.1 PURPOSE

The purpose of the Localize Global Health Security (LGHS) contract is to work with local entities, as defined in ADS 302 Local Competition Authority Pilot Program, to address prioritized critical health security gaps at the sub-national level.

C.2 BACKGROUND

New and re-emerging diseases spread quickly across the globe, resulting in outbreaks that overwhelm health systems, upend lives and economies. Many factors continue to drive opportunities for pathogens to spread and become global health security threats. Increased population growth and urbanization promote the spread of zoonotic diseases. Climate change continues to alter and increase the distribution of disease vectors. Political and social instability undermine health systems and abilities to prevent, detect, and respond to public health threats. The misuse of antibiotics and emergence of pathogens with antimicrobial resistance (AMR) affect the human, animal, and agricultural health.

The International Health Regulations (IHR). The World Health Assembly adopted the International Health Regulations (IHR (2005) in May 2005 requiring all States Parties to develop core public health capacities “ to detect, assess, notify and report events” (Article 5) and “the capacity to respond to promptly and effectively to public health risks and public health emergencies of international concern” (Article 13). The United States, along with other Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO) are signatories to IHR (2005) and are committed to the requirements set forth for WHO and the global health community to coordinate capacity strengthening for over 196 States Parties to develop the core capacities required to detect, assess, report, and respond to potential public health emergencies of international concern. As the United States Government has redoubled its commitment toward full implementation of the International Health Regulations (IHR) through the Global Health Security Agenda, USAID accordingly has expanded its efforts to coordinate, collaborate and make sustainable contributions to this multilateral effort.

The Global Health Security Agenda. USAID’s Global Health Security program is inclusive of our contributions to the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA). GHSA is a multilateral, multisectoral effort designed to accelerate progress toward full implementation of the IHR by elevating health security as a priority and coordinating action to prevent, detect, and rapidly respond to infectious disease threats. The GHSA was first launched in 2014 and has grown to include a coalition of more than 70 member nations, international organizations, and the private sector. In 2018, GHSA member countries launched the second five-year phase known as ‘GHSA 2024’ with an overarching target of strengthening at least five health-security related technical areas to a level of “demonstrated capacity across at least 100 countries.

https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1868/302mbe_0.pdf https://ghsagenda.org/

In 2020, the United States partnered with over 40 countries, including 19 intensively supported countries, to provide operational and technical assistance to build their health security capacities incrementally through targeted health security actions defined in World Health Organizations’ Joint External Evaluation (JEE) tool. The JEE (version 3.0) currently includes 19 core health security technical areas, and USAID has prioritized strengthening the following seven: antimicrobial resistance (AMR), zoonotic disease, national laboratory systems, surveillance, human resources/workforce development, emergency preparedness and risk communications. USAID’s GHS programs support implementing partners to address one or more of these technical areas, and promote coordination and engagement across the human, animal and environmental health sectors.

USAID’s Local Partnerships Initiative. As USAID continues to prioritize Global Health Security, the Agency is also placing a renewed emphasis on local partnerships as a core aspect of the long-term sustainability of our development work. In November 2021, Administrator Power set two targets for increasing the Agency’s localization efforts in her New Vision for Global Development speech:

● 25% of USAID’s assistance going to local partners within the next four years.

● 50% of our programming will need to place local communities in the lead to either co-design a project, set priorities, drive implementation, or evaluate the impact of our programs by the end of the decade.

Progress towards these targets are being aided by ongoing initiatives such as USAID’s New Partnerships Initiative (NPI) and Local Works. The targets further fueled strategic visioning and planning around the technical and operational needs to support progress towards targets. The Agency drafted a Localization Vision and accompanying list of Priority Actions to move the vision forward. Additionally, the Agency’s forthcoming Local Capacity Strengthening Policy establishes core principles of effective local capacity strengthening and an overarching framework to support greater consistency and coherence towards local capacity strengthening across countries, contexts, and sectors.

The Localize Global Health Security (LGHS) Contract. Substantial progress has been made in improving priority health security capacities and reaching the GHSA 2024 target, but capacity gains and remaining gaps vary by country and region. Moreover, recent Ebola outbreaks and the current COVID-19 pandemic have highlighted the criticality of political will and community trust for the acceptance, uptake and sustainability of global health security interventions. These gaps beg consideration of not only “what” our USAID GHSA programs are supporting but “how” we do it. They indicate a need to augment our current approaches to prioritize engaging subnational bodies and local actors, delve closer to affected communities, utilize established in-country partners and organizations to implement this work and remain flexible to support country-specific technical priorities. The purpose of the Localize Global Health Security (LGHS) contract is to work with local entities to address critical health security gaps, as prioritized in a countries’ National Action Plan for Health Security (NAPHS), Joint External Evaluation (JEE) reports, State Parties Self-Assessment Annual Reporting (SPAR) Tool reports and other health security planning documents. The LGHS contract will complement the multisectoral, cross-technical approaches of other GHS programs to move focus countries closer to achieving the GHSA 2024 target.

Progress towards the GHSA 2024 target is critical to strengthen and sustain global pandemic preparedness.

The LGHS contract will also advance the USAID's prioritization of local partnerships as a core aspect of the long-term sustainability of our development work. USAID’s goals for localization have been outlined in key strategies and policies such as USAID’s Acquisition and Assistance Strategy, and the New Partnerships Initiative. The Contractor will advance these goals by issuing grants to local entities for interventions that address critical gaps in the country’s health security. This locally led approach will strengthen the implementation capacity and sustainability needed for lasting gains in global health security, and will represent a key component of USAID’s contribution to IHR capacity strengthening through the Global Health Security Agenda.

https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240051980 https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240051980 https://www.usaid.gov/news-information/speeches/nov-4-2021-administrator-samantha-power-new-vision-global-development https://www.usaid.gov/npi https://www.usaid.gov/npi https://www.usaid.gov/local-faith-and-transformative-partnerships/local-works https://extranet.who.int/sph/naphs?region=All&country=1274 https://extranet.who.int/sph/jee https://extranet.who.int/sph/jee https://extranet.who.int/e-spar https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1868/AA-Strategy-02-04-19.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/npi https://www.usaid.gov/npi

C.3 OBJECTIVES

The three objectives of this contract are as follows:

Objective 1: Address critical gaps in health security through grants and technical assistance in prioritized technical areas

Objective 2: Strengthen the administrative and financial organizational capacity of local entities to effectively manage the implementation of health security technical interventions

Objective 3: Expand global knowledge base on approaches and best practices for local entities conducting global health security interventions

C.4 STATEMENT OF WORK

a. General The Contractor will utilize local entities to strengthen country capacities to prevent, detect and respond to infectious disease threats. This will require the Contractor to have technical expertise in the core public health capacities delineated in IHR and the technical leadership required to engage with multilateral stakeholders in the global public health community. The Contractor will require such technical leadership to support implementation of interventions and for the application of WHO’s IHR Monitoring and Evaluation frameworks such as the SPAR, the JEE

3.0 and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) Performance of Veterinary Services (PVS) Pathway to monitoring the sub-national interventions of local entities.

b. Contractor’s Roles It is expected that the Contractor will work in collaboration with a range of global health security stakeholders, including but not limited to host country governments, United States Government Interagency partners such as the Centers for Disease Control, regional stakeholders such as the Africa Centers for Disease Control and multilateral partners such as WHO and OIE to address gaps in global health security at the sub-national level through small grants and technical assistance to local entities.

c. Description of Functional Activities and Tasks

USAID’s global health security programs have and will continue to prioritize 6 of the GHSA technical areas as noted above. These six technical areas align with USAID’s strategic and comparative areas of expertise, with particular engagement across the human, animal and environmental health sectors. The USAID COR, LGHS management team, and USAID Missions will pre-identify 2 to 3 technical areas for each country. Their determinations will be based on health security capacity assessments such as the country’s JEE Report, National Action Plans for Health Security and the annual reviews of country progress as reflected in their Global Health Security annual reports and annual SPAR scores. The Contractor will be provided the results of these annual reviews and their corresponding limited technical focus areas for each country on a yearly basis. The limited technical focus areas will serve as the basis of the program descriptions used in country-specific RFAs for response and resulting program descriptions and associated activities to be implemented primarily through local entities. The descriptions below are the 6 technical focus areas that USAID will prioritize for the LGHS contract and examples of activities that may be conducted in those areas. The aim of these illustrative activities are to improve JEEs scores and advance global health security in those countries.

● Risk Communication, Social Behavioral Change, Community Engagement: JEE capacity score is based on a country’s ability to use multilevel, multisectoral and multifaceted risk communication for public health emergencies. It also includes risk communication systems for unusual/unexpected events and emergencies, internal and partner coordination for emergency risk communication, public communication for emergencies, communication engagement with affected communities, and addressing perceptions, risky behaviors and misinformation.

Illustrative country activities may include, but are not limited to:

○ Risk communication trainings on priority zoonotic diseases for province/county level multi-sector partners

○ Design and implement social and behavior change campaigns on priority zoonotic diseases at sub-national and community levels

○ Develop risk communication capacities through cascade training and/or mentorship at the subnational level on information sharing among key stakeholders, including through the media, social media and direct interaction with affected communities.

○ Develop a mechanism for systematically collecting feedback from the community in local languages (such as through telephone hotline, social media forums, direct engagement).

○ Develop a mechanism to conduct baseline surveys on knowledge, attitudes and practices on priority zoonotic diseases, health threats and on health seeking practices.

● Diagnostic and Laboratory systems support: JEE capacity score is based on a country’s ability to detect priority diseases through national laboratory systems, including all relevant sectors, particularly human and animal health, and effective modern point-of-care and laboratory-based diagnostics. It also includes: laboratory testing for detection of priority diseases, specimen referral and transport system, effective national diagnostic network, and national quality standards for licensing laboratory systems.

○ Support the development of county-specific operational frameworks for implementation of Integrated Specimen Transport in the supported countries.

○ Support training and mentorship to build capacity of laboratory staff at the district level on specimen management and shipping of priority pathogen specimens.

○ Provide assistance to sub-national to establish integrated specimen referral system technical working groups (TWGs) and to develop a plan for an integrated specimen referral system in their respective counties

● Zoonotic Disease: JEE capacity score is based on a country’s ability to have functional multisectoral, multidisciplinary mechanisms, policies, systems and practices in place to minimize transmission of zoonotic disease from animals to human populations. It also includes: coordinated surveillance of priority and emerging zoonotic diseases between animal health, public health and environment sectors; multisectoral operational mechanism for the response to outbreaks of endemic, emerging or re-emerging zoonotic diseases; and implementation of good practices in animal breeding and production of animal products, including sanitary practices across all major animal value chains is ensured and prevent transmission of zoonotic diseases.

Illustrative country activities may include, but are not limited to:

• Strengthen animal health specimen referral networks and transport systems via formal organization, guidelines, SOPs, and monitoring activities;

• Stakeholder engagement including animal health staff and courier staff to discuss the financial plan to pilot animal SRS at subnational levels;

• Provide technical assistance on the performance of animal SRS activities in three provinces;

• Develop and/or help optimize digital tools to manage specimen referral data and test results;

• Support the development and implementation of a sational plan for good practices in animal breeding and production of animal products, including sanitary practices, based on international standards.

JEE capacity score is based on a country’s ability to have functional multisectoral, multidisciplinary mechanisms, policies, systems and practices in place to minimize transmission of zoonotic disease from animals to human populations. It also includes: coordinated surveillance systems in animal health and public health sectors for identification of zoonotic diseases/pathogens and mechanisms for responding to infectious and potential zoonotic diseases established and functional.

○ Strengthen animal health specimen referral networks and transport systems via formal organization, guidelines, SOPs, and monitoring activities;

○ Stakeholder engagement including animal health staff and courier staff to discuss the financial plan to pilot animal SRS at subnational levels;

○ Provide technical assistance on the performance of animal SRS activities in three provinces;

○ Develop and/or help optimize digital tools to manage specimen referral data and test results;

● Infectious Disease Prevention and Control (IPC): The JEE capacity score is based on a country’s ability to have strong, effective Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) programs that enables safe health care and essential services delivery and prevention and control of health care acquired infections (HCAI). Over the last decade, major outbreaks such as those due to the Ebola virus disease and the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have demonstrated how epidemic-prone pathogens can spread rapidly through health care settings. In 2021–2022, a detailed global survey showed that an active IPC program existed in 54.7% (58/106) of countries; with only four of the participating countries (3.8%) meeting all minimum requirements. Strengthening national and institutional IPC has been a cornerstone of COVID-19 response; the next five years afford an exceptional opportunity to build on/transform these COVID-19 investments into long-term capacity gains in IPC (elevating country capacity to the JEE level of demonstrated).

Illustrative country activities include, but are not limited to:

• Leveraging national, subnational, and facility investments in IPC (including WASH and waste management) in healthcare facilities to achieve sustainable political will (at each level), resources and practices for steady-state and emergency scale up, to include establishment/strengthening/ and routine use of IPC committees

• IPC improvement at all healthcare facilities, including through the use of the infection prevention and control assessment framework (IPCAF) and the WASH fit tool.

Infectious Disease Prevention and Control (IPC): The JEE capacity score is based on a country’s ability to have strong, effective Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) programs that enables safe health care and essential services delivery and prevention and control of health care acquired infections (HCAI). Additional JEE capacity scores focus on sanitary animal production practices and management and hygiene practices in food processing. These JEE technical areas are exceptional opportunities to build on/transform COVID-19 investments into long-term capacity gains.

○ Leveraging national, subnational, and facility investments in IPC (including WASH and waste management) in healthcare facilities to achieve sustainable political will (at each level), resources and practices for steady-state and emergency scale up, to include establishment/strengthening/ and routine use of IPC committees and

● Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR):: JEE capacity score is based on a country’s ability to have effective multi-sectoral coordination and a national plan on AMR in place spanning human, animal, crops, food safety, and environmental aspects. It also includes surveillance for AMR and antimicrobial use at the national level; and practices in place to ensure appropriate use of antimicrobials, including assuring quality of available medicines. The COVID-19 outbreak continues to set back efforts throughout the world to address the emergence spread and impact of AMR. Mainstreaming strengthening AMR capacities into COVID-19 response and recovery efforts affords the opportunity

Illustrative country activities include, but are not limited to:

• Promoting regular meetings of the multisectoral AMR governance committee whose activities includes monitoring and evaluation of progress made on the national AMR action plan.

• Implementation of antimicrobial stewardship programmes, including monitoring of antimicrobial use, education/communication, and other interventions to improve antibiotic use.

• Quality, safety and efficacy assurance of antimicrobial products and the antimicrobial supply chain.

• Establishment of SOPs, protocols and databases for surveillance data and training laboratory and epidemiologic teams on AMR surveillance, diagnosis and data analysis for human and animal health sectors.

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR): JEE capacity score is based on a country’s ability to have effective multi-sectoral coordination and a national plan on AMR in place spanning human, animal, crops, food safety, and environmental aspects. It also includes surveillance for AMR and antimicrobial use at the national level; IPC programs in health care facilities, food production, and the community; and practices in place to ensure appropriate use of antimicrobials. The

COVID-19 outbreak is poised to negatively impact efforts throughout the world to address the emergence spread and impact on AMR through deprioritization or diversion of capacities and resources from AMR to COVID-19 response and the increased appropriate and inappropriate use of antimicrobials. Mainstreaming strengthening AMR capacities into COVID-19 response

○ Stewardship including standard treatment guidelines

○ Quality assurance and antimicrobial supply chain

○ Training laboratory and epidemiologic teams on AMR surveillance, diagnosis and data analysis (SOPs, protocols, algorithms in order to generate data on AMR)

● Human Resources: JEE capacity score is based on a country’s ability to have skilled and competent health personnel for sustainable and functional public health surveillance and response at all levels of the health system and the effective implementation of the International Health Regulations. There is a corresponding workforce in the animal sector of veterinarians, animal health professionals, para-veterinarians, epidemiologists and IT specialists. It also includes an up-to-date multisectoral workforce strategy, human resources available to effectively implement IHR, in-service training, and training programs in field epidemiology or other applied epidemiology.

○ Strengthen the workforce by engaging in-service professionals in online training and peer-to-peer learning opportunities through a regional Virtual Community of Practice (VCoP)

Other priority areas :

• Outbreak Preparedness and Response: JEE capacity score is based on a country’s ability to be in “emergency preparedness” which is a combination of planning, allocation of resources, training, exercising, and organizing to build, sustain and improve operational capabilities at national, intermediate and local or primary response levels based on strategic risk assessments.

• Community-based zoonotic disease surveillance: JEE capacity scores for surveillance are based on a country’s ability to collect, analyze and report potential events of concern for health security. Community -based surveillance structures contribute to these efforts by applying indicator based surveillance (IBS) and event based surveillance (EBS) to provide real time information using secure, integrated electronic surveillance tools.

Objective 1: Address critical gaps in health security through grants and technical assistance in prioritized technical areas

Tasks shall include, but are not limited to:

A. Working in partnership with the USAID Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), the LGHS Management Team and USAID Missions, the Contractor will design and manage a competitive grants program to local entities to strengthen their country’s global health security capacity. The grants program will cover the entire lifecycle of the grants process, including (at a minimum): 1. Conceptualization 2. Pre-Solicitation 3. Solicitation 4.

Selection and Screening 5. Award 6. Administration 7. Close Out. The Contractor should include provisions for cost reimbursable, fixed price, and in-kind grants to provide the greatest flexibility and adaptability to country needs.

The Contractor is expected to award two to three rounds of grants (approximately one round each year plus time allotted for set-up and closeout over the 5-year period of the contract). Each round of grants will aim to award 15-30 grants for a total of 60-90 grants awarded by the end of the third year of the project. The sizes of grants will vary ranging in size from approximately $200,000-$400,000. The Contractor must ensure the maximum amount of funds are provided to local entities capable of adequately managing the funds and implementing results-oriented health security programs.

The Contractor will prioritize but not be limited to intensive focus countries for LGHS grants.

During the first year of implementation, USAID anticipates that focus countries will include Guinea, Kenya, Mali, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Uganda and Vietnam. However, additional countries will be added, based on availability of funds, but not anticipated to exceed 20 countries total and at any given time. The implementation of grants in selected countries will be phased-in based on an implementation plan in consultation with and approved by USAID..

o Develop Grant Selection, Award, and Management Process and Procedures: A comprehensive Grants-Under-Contract’s (GUC) Process Manual (hereinafter referred to as ―The Manual) must be developed in accordance with USAID guidelines. The Manual will describe the process by which the organization plans to award and administer the grants awarded under LGHS. A finalized version of the completed Manual must be reviewed and approved by the Contracting Officer (CO) in order for the Contractor to award the first LGHS grant. The Manual must describe, in detail, the Contractor’s grant management processes from pre-award to award close-out.

The draft Manual must be submitted to the CO for review no later than 90 calendar days after the contract is awarded. The final Manual must be submitted within 30 calendar days of receiving USAID’s final comments on the draft. At a minimum, the Manual must provide the following key steps in the grant process:

1. Conceptualization

2. Solicitation (including selection criteria) and dissemination plan

3. Applicant Selection, and Screening and Evaluation process

4. Award

5. Administration and grants management

6. Close Out o Award USAID Approved Grants According to the procedures established in the USAID-approved Manual: The Contractor must issue the first round of RFAs within the first year of the award. Subsequent RFAs must be published in accordance with the grant cycles as established in the Grants Manual. COR approval is required for the following components: 1) the Request for Applications, 2) the roster of potential local partners, 3) the pre-solicitation meeting agenda, 4) the final selected grantees proposed activities and budgets, including the rationale for selection (the Selection Memo), 5)

Modifications to work plans, budgets, and grant period of performance , 6) grant recipients. The Contractor will contribute to building the capacity of local organizations to administer these interventions. Therefore, the Contractor will provide organizational capacity support to the local organizations in countries where grants are implemented. As part of the pre-solicitation process for each country, the Contractor will conduct market research of local partners who could potentially bid for subgrants and provide this information to USAID.

o c. Conduct organizational capacity assessments and provide various packages of support (low, medium or high) based on the existing capacity. The Contractor will develop a planned package of support that can be delivered to each local entity in person and remotely. The organizational support plans for each entity, including annual assessments of progress, must be shared with USAID no later than 90 days after awarding a grant to a local entity. Where possible, the Contractor will identify local and regional consultants and entities within the countries that can deliver organizational capacity building support. The Contractor will maintain a roster of these entities and consultants to share with USAID.

B. USAID-approved Technical Assistance

The Contractor will support programmatic objectives primarily through grants to local entities. Upon the request of USAID, the Contractor may be required to provide technical assistance in GHS technical areas as referenced in section C.4(c). The COR must review and approve any technical Assistance. Review by the COR will commence after a request outlining relevant information including but not limited to scope of work, timeline, target beneficiaries and budget.

Objective 2: Strengthen the administrative and financial organizational capacity of local entities to effectively manage the implementation of health security technical interventions

A. Provide New Grantee Orientation for all LGHS Grantees Based on procedures outlined in the approved Manual, the Contractor must develop and provide an orientation to all grant recipients, detailing the following:

• financial reporting requirements;

• deadlines;

• forms;

• evaluation and reporting requirements;

• relevant resources and references;

• guidance on rules and regulations, and

• guidance for procurement of commodities (i.e. screening equipment, medical and general supplies, applicable waivers, etc.).

The Contractor may provide orientation materials in electronic or hard copy and may present them using innovative presentation techniques (teleconference, videoconference, etc.).

B. Provide technical support to grant recipients. The Contractor will be responsible for ensuring the global health security activities implemented by grantees are in accordance with appropriate international and/or national standards, incorporate the most up-to-date and technically sound principles, and are technically appropriate and feasible. The Contractor will provide trainings, resources and refreshers to grantees and as needed augment the technical capacity of grantees to implement global health security activities.

Required tasks include, but are not limited to:

• Orientation to USAID’s Global Health Security programming and approaches

• Technical support for assessing and monitoring JEE 3.0 technical areas/indicators at subnational level

C. Provide Organizational Capacity Support: The Contractor will contribute to building the capacity of local entities to administer global health security interventions. Therefore, the Contractor will provide organizational capacity support to the local entites in countries where grants are implemented. As part of the pre-solicitation process for each country, the Contractor will conduct market research of local partners who could potentially bid for grants and provide this information to USAID. Grant recipients may have limited experience with USG processes such but not limited to financial reporting and procurement requirements and regulations. Therefore, it is the Contractor’s responsibility to play a key role in orienting recipients on applicable rules and regulations to ensure compliance and effective use of USG funds.

Required tasks include, but are not limited to:

• Conduct organizational capacity assessments and provide various packages of support (low, medium or high) based on the existing capacity. The Contractor will develop a planned package of support that can be delivered to each local entity in person and remotely. The organizational support plans for each entity, including annual assessments of progress, must be shared with USAID no later than 90 days after awarding a grant to a local entity. Where possible, the Contractor will identify local and regional consultants and entities within the countries that can deliver organizational capacity building support. The Contractor will maintain a roster of these entities and consultants to share with USAID.

• The Contractor must offer various forms of organizational capacity support, on an as needed basis. New grantees may need assistance fulfilling reporting, financial management, and other grant requirements; while other grantees may identify a specific technical need not previously envisioned in their application. Assistance may be provided in the following forms: telephone communication, email-based support, site visits, and virtual or in-person trainings. Therefore, in order to ensure all programs stay on track, the Contractor must be prepared and is obligated to offer a variety of technical assistance to all grantees, if required. Short Term Technical Assistance (STTA) consultants may be utilized if needed, in accordance with the Contractor‘s approved staffing plan, in order to help fulfill this requirement.

Required tasks include, but are not limited to:

• Technical support to improve technical, management and operational capabilities

• Support to improve financial management capabilities

• Technical support for monitoring, evaluation and learning from interventions

• Leveraging communication and networking platforms for local partners working on global health security

• Technical support and training to improve coordination between local partners and government

Objective 3: Expand global knowledge base on approaches and best practices for local entities conducting global health security interventions

A core component of the LGHS contract is to create pathways to ensure local entities contributing to the advancing health security in their countries are connected to wider national, regional and global efforts. This connection is expected to contribute to the evidence base for locally-led health security interventions and serve as a gateway for potential organizations to learn and connect. In order to achieve this, the Contractor will support world-wide knowledge sharing, communication, and networking events among local entities implementing grants under the project. The Contractor must identify and implement low-cost and innovative approaches for sharing grantee tools, resources, and overall program experiences to organizations working in global health security around the world.

A. Develop a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system for measuring sub-national capacities, in alignment with Joint External Evaluation (JEE 3.0). Although considerable efforts have been dedicated to establishing global health security monitoring tools such as the SPAR, JEE Monitoring tool and WHO Benchmarks, these tools focus on tracking national level progress. As a result, few countries have implemented standardized sub-national level assessments. However, USAID recognizes the crucial link between sub-national capacities and national level success and prioritizes the development of best practices for establishing these links. The Contractor will contribute to best practices for establishing links between national and sub-national health security capacity strengthening by utilizing existing tools to develop processes and outcome indicators to track sub-national progress of prioritized technical areas.

This will include supporting the establishment of a limited number of locally relevant indicators for semi-annual reporting in consultation with stakeholders. The indicators will align with both the SPAR and JEE

3.0 as appropriate. The information obtained through these assessments will serve as a baseline for measuring achievement at the sub-national level as well as a basis for reporting data-based best practices and success stories across countries contributing to the global knowledge on the potential role of local entities in global health security.

Required activities include, but are not limited to:

• Developing and continuously refining a framework for the translation of JEE national indicators to subnational indicators

• Gathering the necessary documentation to establish baseline JEE scores for each indicator, and provide technical reviewers to conduct external assessments.

• Identifying and establishing subnational baseline equivalents of national level JEE scores to the geographically defined area of implementation

• Supporting local entities to develop subnational action plans, similar to the national action plans (NAPS) which are developed at the national level.

B. Develop and implement LGHS communication and networking plan for grantees and stakeholders. The Contractor must develop a communication and networking plan for grantees and other stakeholders. This plan may include virtual and in-person events to promote direct connection and knowledge sharing. The objective of the plan is to strengthen the ability for organizations working in the global health security field as well as other stakeholders, to network and share information on a global level, thereby enhancing the impact of their efforts. In addition, the Contractor must maximize opportunities for collaboration with other related USAID Global Health Security projects such as UN’s Food and Agricultural Organizations’s ECTAD projects, Breakthrough Action and the Infectious Disease Detection and Surveillance (IDDS) to improve programming, foster cross-sectoral knowledge sharing, and promote USAID’s global technical leadership. The Contractor must research, select and implement innovative approaches for sharing grantees tools, resources, and overall program experiences with organizations working in health around the world.

The Contractor must implement the plan detailing activities to strengthen and promote LGHS grantee and stakeholder communication and networking opportunities. The draft plan must be submitted to the COR for approval no later than one yearsixty (60) calendar days after the contract is awarded. The final plan must be submitted within two weeks of receiving USAID’s final comments on the draft. It will be subsequently updated annually.

C. Maintain updated content on a USAID LGHS webpage. The Contractor must provide regular, updated content for the web page 1) Resource portal that provides grantees, and other global health security organizations, with new and beneficial information related to GHSA materials. 2) Communication and networking platform for sharing experiences, innovative approaches, challenges, and lessons learned. 3) Information center and interface for facilitation of the RFA notification and grant submission and selection process. Components of the initial web page must include:

o LGHS overview;

o Program priorities;

o Useful resources/tools; and o RFA and grant process information and updated notifications.

Subsequent webpage updates must include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Profiles of grant recipients;

• Geographic coverage of where grantees are working; and

• Examples of best practices that will help increase global knowledge base in the key LGHS technical areas of implementation.

• Examples of best practices organizational capacity strengthening .

Within one year of award, the Contractor must complete the initial design and launch of the webpage, with subsequent updates every six months or more frequently as indicated by timely emerging data or messaging needs. The Contractor must regularly update this page to ensure that it functions as a reliable and timely resource center for applicants, grantees, and other stakeholders in the field.

D. Convene LGHS Capacity Building Workshops (Partners Meetings). The Contractor must coordinate two LGHS Capacity Building Workshops (Partners Meetings) for grant recipients, and other stakeholders, to review program progress and share program related experiences. The Partners Meetings must be held regionally and will invite representatives from each LGHS grant project, to convene and share best practices and lessons learned. The Contractor must financially support and coordinate all activities related to the meetings.

C.5 RESULTS

The Contractor must plan, implement and document a monitoring and evaluation component which will establish the effectiveness of the activity and document the results achieved. Required Indicators include, but are not limited to the following:

• Number of grants issued per year

• Number of local entities receiving grant orientation training

• Number of local grant recipients that are able to pass a pre-award survey, Nupas or equivalent

(evidence of minimal organizational and financial management systems to receive USAID funding).

• Number of sub-national M&E JEE assessments conducted

• Number of knowledge sharing events conducted

In accordance with ADS 201.2.5, the Contractor will include a comprehensive monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) system that aligns with USAID priorities, including global health security and strengthening local partners’ organizational capacity. The MEL plan will include qualitative and quantitative indicators to illustrate progress against activity-specific objectives and relevant technical areas within the Joint External Evaluation (JEE). A standard indicator for gender should be included in the MEL to capture the number of activities that were informed by the required gender analysis.

Indicators must be developed, along with targets, during the work planning process. Routine monitoring and reporting should document progress against these indicators and targets, highlight any expected or unexpected deviations, and layout any necessary adjustments to targets and/or activities. As appropriate, indicators should be culturally sensitive and responsive, and relevant program data should be disaggregated by age and sex when collected and reported. The MEL plan should also include data sources, methods and frequency of data collection, quality assurance procedures, and how data will be analyzed, disseminated and used to inform activity planning, implementation, and improvement. The MEL plan should be a living document that is regularly referenced, revisited, and used to guide work planning, activity implementation, and improvement.

Learning will be a key component of LGHS and a learning agenda must be developed to identify and address specific knowledge gaps related to addressing global health security gaps and partner with local organizations to address these gaps. The learning agenda should include a set of questions that will be addressed during the activity, a process for addressing each of these questions, and a plan to disseminate and use findings to improve activity implementation and strengthen global health security.

[END OF SECTION C]

Attachment B: Sources Sought Information (For Small Business Respondents ONLY):

I. Cover Page with Business Information – does not count in page limit

1. Company/organization name and website

2. Affiliate information: parent company, joint venture partners, and potential teaming partners

3. Year the firm was established and number of employees

4. Two points of contact (names, titles, phone numbers and email addresses)

5. UEI / SAM number and CAGE Code, as registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) at http://www.sam.gov/

6. Has your company ever provided services internationally?

a. Yes

b. No

7. Does your company qualify as a Small Business under NAICS 541990?

a. Yes

b. No

8. Small Business designation/status (must correlate with SAM registration):

a. Small Business

b. Small Disadvantaged Business

c. Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business

d. HUBZone Small Business

e. 8(a) Small Business

f. Women-Owned Small Business

g. Veteran-Owned Small Business

h. Other:

i. Not Applicable

9. Is your company eligible to receive awards under the 8(a) Program?

a. Yes

b. No

10. After careful review of the size and scope of this activity described in Attachment A of this document, do you intend to submit an offer if this solicitation is posted?

a. Yes, as a Prime

b. Yes, as a Sub-contractor

c. No

II. Organizational Capacity Questions (Please limit responses to 2 pages)

Provide a brief summary (two pages) describing your organizational core technical and structural capabilities by providing examples of the relevant projects within last 5 years describing:

A. Past experience and expertise in Global Health Security, including the U.S.

Government’s Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA)

B. Past experience and achievements issuing Grants Under Contracts (GUC) to local organizations based in Africa and Asia

C. Past experience and achievements working in middle- and low-income countries

The above examples should include the following information:

http://www.sam.gov/

• Populations served

• Geographic locations

• Models of implementation

• Financial management

• Organizational capacity

• Staffing

• Monitoring programmatic performance

• Strengthening the capacity of local entities

• Experience with USG funding including size, lengths and type of awards, and relationship (sub or prime awardee)

Firms are encouraged to closely review the draft SOW in the Attachment A and provide information with examples of past experience related to all areas described above.

The Government will not review any information, including attachments, more than two (2) pages.

Attachment B: Sources Sought Information (For Small Business Respondents ONLY):