Tech Advisory Services RFI.pdf

U.S. Department of Agriculture

Technical Advisory Services Supporting the

Transition of Food for Peace to USDA Management

This is a request for information (RFI). This RFI is issued for market research purposes only. It does not constitute a commitment by the Government, nor is it a solicitation or request for quotes or offers. Responses to the RFI are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Responses are voluntary and non-binding. The Government will not pay for any costs incurred in response to this RFI. All costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely the responding party’s expense.

The purpose of this request for information is to improve future solicitations by inviting comments, suggestions, and questions concerning to the government’s interest in supporting a transition of management of the Food for Peace Program from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to the Foreign

Agricultural Service (FAS) within the Department of Agriculture (USDA), recognizing that existing USDA personnel have limited exposure to that program. It is intended to gain knowledge of potential individuals (i.e.

natural persons) and/or firms with qualified facility size classifications (such as other than small business, small business, HUBZone, SDVOSB, or WOSB Programs) relative to the North American Industry

Classification (NAICS) 928120.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), is seeking information from qualified source(s) – including individuals or firms – or other knowledgeable parties for one or more performance-based service contracts, not to exceed an aggregate value of $650,000.00 for several unique areas of expertise for a period not to exceed one year. There is no anticipated follow-on to this contract.

Background & Notional Scope

Although FAS has long expertise in procurement and provision of food and agricultural commodities for international food assistance programs, these programs generally operate in stable, non-emergency environments. The Food for Peace Program operates in emergency, unstable, and otherwise non-traditional environments, and includes operating provisions with which USDA is not experienced.

Accordingly, USDA anticipates the need for approximately 4-5 technical advisors, for a period of NTE 12 months, to assist USDA in understanding the unique requirements of the program's operating environment, and guide USDA in adapting (as needed) its systems, processes, and procedures to bridge the operational and experience gap. These advisors are not to be considered employees of USDA or of the U.S. Government, and there is no expectation of continued retention after the 12-month period expires.

The contractor shall provide technical advisors who have the subject area expertise described in this section, in support of the transition of Food for Peace to USDA management. Although the descriptions below are written as though each requirement has a single advisor assigned (who may be part-time), this is not an inherent requirement; respondents are encouraged to determine the most appropriate mix of personnel and time commitments to achieve a successful transition, while remaining within the program’s resource constraints.

USDA has provisionally identified areas of expertise to be sought as including:

1. Communications

This portfolio shall advise USDA on issues relating to:

• Branding within foreign markets; noting that some destination countries have branding limitations that may be at odds with the program’s desire for promotion.

• Publicity of program activities in foreign countries; noting that there is no “one-size fits all” approach but establishing the differences in program promotion and marketing in environments which may be experiencing emergencies and/or where U.S. branding may be hazardous to project personnel or project success.

• Publicity of program activities in the United States; for which it is envisioned to be especially necessary for the advisor to be familiar with the principles underpinning the America First agenda, and how the program supports that agenda.

2. Prepositioned Commodities

This portfolio shall advise USDA on issues relating to the establishment and maintenance of prepositioned commodities. The advisor must understand the trade-off between the cost of establishing and maintaining prepositioned commodities, the risks of such prepositioning, and the benefits of having shelf-stable commodities in the vicinity when an unforeseen emergency occurs. This includes triangulating Cargo

Preference requirements, domestic manufacturing capacity (especially as it relates to specialty formulated commodities), and timely response to emergency events.

3. Non-Traditional Operating Environments

This portfolio shall advise USDA on considerations for program operation, monitoring, accountability, and oversight in contexts that may be unstable, insecure, or hazardous, as contrasted with the comparatively more stable contexts in which USDA has traditionally administered food assistance programming. This includes best practices for managing contracts with third parties for monitoring ongoing activities, approaches for evaluation, and adjustments needed to ensure safety of implementing partner personnel.

4 Geography and Commodity Prioritization

This portfolio shall advise USDA on key considerations for determining priority geographies and appropriate commodities, noting that although USDA undertakes a comparable process for its established non-emergency food assistance programs, considerations may differ in salience for emergency programming. This includes the most appropriate processes for determining funding allocations, and best practices for keeping funds in reserve for contingent events.

5 Known Unknowns and Unknown Unknowns

This portfolio shall advise USDA on considerations related to any area which USDA should consider in program administration, and offer recommendations on whether, and how, USDA should pursue different approaches. Inherently, not all of these will be known to USDA; but they are, at minimum, thought to include:

• The Food Aid Consultative Group (FACG)

• International Food Relief Partnership (IFRP)

• Food Aid Quality Review

• Non-Emergency Programming

• Title V (the Farmer-to-Farmer program)

• IT Infrastructure and system needs

For information being sought please use the QR code below or this link to the Response Form.

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=5zZb7e4BvE6GfuA8-g1Glxeun6iuQXFHtUZgNE6W7F1UQ1pZSzcyUUVLQ0ZPOVRVME44UkFDQ0pJTC4u