USAIDPakistan-NPI-RFI-2020-001.pdf

1. SUMMARY

A. NOTICE TYPE: REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)

B. RFI TITLE: NEW PARTNERSHIPS INITIATIVE –

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

C. RFI NUMBER: USAIDPakistan-NPI-RFI-2020-001

D. ISSUANCE DATE: August 13, 2020

E. QUESTION DUE DATE: August 31, 2020

F. USAID ANTICIPATED

RESPONSE DATE: September 15, 2020

G. RFI RESPONSE DUE DATE: September 15, 2021

2. OVERVIEW

The United States Government, represented by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the Mission in Pakistan, is issuing this Request for Information (RFI) under New Partnerships Initiative (NPI) to solicit information and potential interest from organizations to diversify USAID’s partner base. The goal of the New Partnerships Initiative (NPI) is to diversify USAID’s partner base by creating avenues for new and underutilized partners to work with USAID.

To increase the pool of New and Underutilized Partners (NUPs) and local partners, the Mission intends to conduct an information gathering exercise to identify and better understand the current status of organizations, covered under this NPI, to implement projects of varying sizes and types.

USAID/Pakistan also desires to gather information on the number and type of New and Underutilized Partners operating in different geographic locations of Pakistan to consider eligible organizations for future solicitations/partnership opportunities. Responses received from this Request for Information (RFI) will help the Mission identify organizations interested in working with USAID/Pakistan and potential partners for future co-creation opportunities.

3. BACKGROUND:

EFFECTIVE PARTNERING AND PROCUREMENT REFORM (EPPR):

In the fall of 2017 USAID embarked on an ambitious Transformation to shape the USAID of tomorrow and work towards ending the need for foreign assistance. Vital to the success of Transformation and advancing countries on their Journey to Self-Reliance was rethinking how the Agency’s core functions of partnering and procurement take place. The goal of Effective Partnering and Procurement Reform (EPPR) was to develop and implement a series of reforms to the Agency’s program design and procurement processes aimed at fostering self-reliance.

https://www.usaid.gov/eppr

New Partnerships Initiative – Request for Information (RFI) RFI Number: USAIDPakistan-NPI-RFI-2020-001

To articulate the overall vision of the EPPR, USAID developed an Acquisition and Assistance Strategy (A&A), the first ever strategy for the Agency, which was released in December 2018.

The A&A Strategy outlines a series of guiding principles for how to do business.

USAID’S A&A STRATEGY:

USAID’s A&A Strategy provides guiding principles for partnering and procurement that will support individual countries in achieving the Journey to Self-Reliance. The Agency is moving beyond traditional partnering approaches toward greater collaboration, co-design, and co-financing.

THE NEW PARTNERSHIPS INITIATIVE (NPI):

NPI is an initiative supporting the Agency’s goals of diversifying the partner base and changing how we partner to support self-reliance - which is highlighted in the first-ever USAID A&A Strategy issued in December 2018. Additionally, NPI will also help to reduce barriers to entry for organizations that are not familiar with USAID by providing a streamlined process that allows partner organizations to collaborate and co-create with USAID.

The NPI will initially prioritize three channels to attract a diverse range of potential applicants.

Each is intended to offer different entry points for the Agency to invest in new, underutilized, or established partner organizations to advance the NPI vision:

1. New and underutilized entrants: The heart of the NPI is to reach organizations that have limited or no recent experience in working with, or receiving funds from, USAID, which can include U.S. and local community based and faith-based partners.

2. Existing partners that direct a majority of funds from a USAID award to new or local partners and play a mentorship role: Recognizing that the bar for qualifying for direct awards can be quite high for many new or local actors, this channel will allow an established recipient of funding from USAID to provide mentoring and capacity-building to new or local organizations; however, the bulk of the funds under an NPI activity must go to those actors via sub-awards actively supported by the prime partner.

3. New or existing partners that demonstrate significant investments of private development assistance: This approach aims to incentivize private voluntary organizations—including, but not limited to, faith-based organizations—to co-finance shared priorities with USAID. While the partner’s private resources should be monetary, rather than in-kind, USAID will consider this money leveraged funding instead of a cost-share.

Please refer to Attachment B & C for additional information.

4. HOW TO SUBMIT A RESPONSE

Interested organizations must submit completed NPI - REQUEST FOR INFORMATION FORM (See Attachment- A) electronically to NPIPakistan@usaid.gov with RFI number and name of the organization in the subject line of the email. Please note that organizations responding to this RFI will not receive individual feedback or suggestions on the submission.

https://www.usaid.gov/work-usaid/how-to-work-with-usaid/acquisition-and-assistance-strategy https://www.usaid.gov/work-usaid/how-to-work-with-usaid/acquisition-and-assistance-strategy https://www.usaid.gov/work-usaid/how-to-work-with-usaid/acquisition-and-assistance-strategy https://www.usaid.gov/selfreliance https://www.usaid.gov/npi/new-partnerships-initiative-frequently-asked-questions mailto:NPIPakistan@usaid.gov

Please note that responses may contribute to USAID/Pakistan NPI Indicators and Mission Targets; however, this RFI will not be construed as a commitment by the U.S. Government to issue any solicitation, award any grant, or pay for any information submitted as a result of this request. USAID/Pakistan will use the information provided against this Request for Information (RFI) for further sharing with USAID current and potential contractors, recipients and may include this information as part of future solicitations, informing the prospective offerors of the type of local entities available in the market. USAID/Pakistan, its current contractors and potential offerors may approach the Point of Contact (POC) of your organizations for future partnership opportunities.

Responding to this RFI does not give any advantage to any firm or organization in any subsequent competition. This RFI does NOT restrict the Government's acquisition approach on future solicitations. No phone calls related to this RFI will be accepted. All correspondence shall be via email. Proprietary information or trade secrets should be clearly identified. All information received in response to this RFI that is marked PROPRIETARY will be handled accordingly, and proprietary information will be safeguarded in accordance with the applicable Government regulations. The Government shall not be liable for or suffer any consequential damages for any proprietary information not properly identified as such. USAID reserves the right to respond to any, all, or none of the comments and questions submitted. USAID’s responses (if any) will be posted on https://beta.sam.gov/ and disseminated as widely as possible.

Please note USAID is not seeking a technical or cost proposal for any partnerships at this time.

Do not submit any proposal or application in response to this RFI. Only the information requested in Attachment-A will be considered. Issuance of this notice does not constitute an award commitment on the part of the U.S. Government, nor does it commit the U.S. Government to pay for any costs incurred in the preparation of responses. Questions regarding this notice can be directed to NPIPakistan@usaid.gov by the due date mentioned above.

This notice can be viewed and downloaded from the internet at https://beta.sam.gov/

Thank you for interest in the subject matter and USAID.

Sincerely, Kathlyn Bryant Contracting Officer USAID/Pakistan

Attachment – A : NPI-Request for Information Form Attachment – B : New Partnerships Initiative Key Definitions Attachment – C : Additional Resources mailto:NPIPakistan@usaid.gov https://beta.sam.gov/

Attachment-A

NPI - REQUEST FOR INFORMATION FORM

A. ORGANIZATIONAL INFORMATION:

Name of Organization: _________________________________________________

Office Address: _________________________________________________

City: _________________________________________________

Province/Postal Code: _________________________________________________

Telephone Number: _________________________________________________

E-mail Address: _________________________________________________

Website address (if any): _________________________________________________

Authorized Person / Point of Contact (Name): ________________________________

Contact Number: _________________________________________________

Title: _________________________________________________

E-mail Address: _________________________________________________

B. REGISTRATION INFORMATION:

a. Type of Organization:

Profit: ____________ Non-for-profit: _________________

b. Category of Organization as per NPI definitions (Please see Attachment-B for the definitions)

New Partner: _____________ Underutilized Partner: _____________

Local Entity: _____________ Locally Established Partner: _____________

c. Registration Authority: ____________________________________________________

Address of Registration Authority: ____________________________________________

Validity Period of Registration: ____________

If registration is only valid to operate in certain geographical locations in Pakistan, please specify those geographical locations.

(Note: Please attach copy of your organization’s registration documents)

C. GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION

9. Geographical Location of Organizational Head Office:

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Province: __________________________ Newly Merged Districts (Former FATA): __________________________ Balochistan Province: __________________________ Sindh Province: __________________________ Punjab Province: __________________________ Any Other: __________________________

10. Geographical Location of Field Offices (if any):

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Province: __________________________ Newly Merged Districts (Former FATA): __________________________ Balochistan Province: __________________________ Sindh Province: __________________________ Punjab Province: __________________________ Any Other: __________________________

D. FUNDING INFORMATION:

Please list the ongoing / completed projects during the last five (05) years (if applicable).

S.

No

Project Name

Geograp- -hical Focus

Duration Funding Source (Donor)

Implemented project as

Prime/Subco ntractor/Subr ecipient?

Amount

(PKR)

Amount (USD) From

(d/m/y) To

(d/m/y)

Note: If the above space is not enough to list down all the requested information, please attach a separate list of your projects with the same level of details requested in the above table.

E. FIELD OF EXPERTISE

Please check all that apply.

Health: ______________________________ Education: ______________________________ Agriculture: ______________________________ Energy: ______________________________ Economic Growth: ______________________________ Stabilization and Governance: ______________________________ Any Other (please specify): ______________________________

Name: ____________________

Signature: ____________________

Authorized Representative of the Organization

Attachment - B

NEW PARTNERSHIPS INITIATIVE KEY DEFINITIONS

https://www.usaid.gov/npi/npi-key-definitions

Following are the key definitions of words used in NPI.

New Partner: An individual or organization that has not received any funding from USAID as a prime partner over the last five years.

Underutilized Partner: An organization that has received less than $25 million in direct or indirect awards from USAID over the past five years.

Local Entity: An individual or organization that:

1. Is legally organized under the laws of a country that is receiving assistance from

USAID;

2. Has its principal place of business or operations in a country that is receiving assistance from USAID;

3. Is majority-owned by individuals who are citizens or lawful permanent residents of a country that is receiving assistance from USAID; and,

4. Is managed by a governing body, the majority of whom are citizens or lawful permanent residents of the country that is receiving assistance from USAID.

Locally Established Partner: A U.S. or international organization that works through locally-led operations and programming models. LEPs:

1. Have maintained continuous operations in-country for at least five years and materially demonstrate a long-term presence in a country through adherence or alignment to the following:

● Local staff should comprise at least

50% of office personnel,

● Maintenance of a dedicated local office,

● Registration with the appropriate local authorities,

● A local bank account, and

● A portfolio of locally-implemented programs.

2. Have demonstrated links to the local community, including:

● If the organization has a governing body or board of directors, then it must include a majority of local citizens (i.e. in the host country, this is not required);

● A letter of support from a local organization to attest to its work; and

● Other criteria that an organization proposes to demonstrate its local roots.

Leverage: Significant resources mobilized from non-U.S. Government sources. USAID seeks the mobilization of resources of other actors on a 1:2 or greater basis (i.e., 1- USAID contribution and 2 or great - Partner contribution). Leveraged resources may include grants/awards from non-U.S.

Government organizations or other donor governments.

Evergreening: If USAID identifies opportunities to strengthen or fund a Concept Note or application by connecting it with other USAID mechanisms, other potential funders, and/or external partners, USAID may make that Concept Note or application available, internally or externally, for appropriate consideration.

https://www.usaid.gov/npi/npi-key-definitions

Attachment - C

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Please see the following additional response that may help organizations in understanding USAID work and priorities in Pakistan, Agency strategy, business opportunities and forecast.

USAID/Pakistan Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) -https://www.usaid.gov/pakistan/cdcs This Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) defines USAID’s development assistance priorities for the Islamic Republic of Pakistan for five years (2018-2023) and directly supports the U.S. President’s South Asia Strategy.

U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (USAID)

NEW PARTNERSHIPS INITIATIVE (NPI) - https://www.usaid.gov/npi NPI is an initiative supporting the Agency’s goals of diversifying the partner base and changing how we partner to support self-reliance -- which is highlighted in the first-ever USAID Acquisition and Assistance Strategy issued in December 2018.

U. S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ACQUISITION AND

ASSISTANCE STRATEGY - https://www.usaid.gov/work-usaid/how-to-work-with-usaid/acquisition-and-assistance-strategy USAID’s Acquisition and Assistance (A&A) Strategy, announced in December 2018, provides guiding principles for partnering and procurement that will support the Journey to Self-Reliance by meeting individual countries on their own terms and by empowering USAID’s partners to produce results-driven solutions. Building on the many creative and entrepreneurial approaches we are developing, the Agency is moving beyond our traditional partnering approaches toward greater collaboration, co-design, and co-financing.

BUSINESS FORECAST - https://www.usaid.gov/business-forecast The Business Forecast is an informational resource on potential funding and partnership opportunities at USAID. Organizations interested in working with USAID can use this Forecast to plan for proposal or application submissions. This tool can also be used to engage early in the procurement process, to encourage the creation of new partnerships, and to provide maximum opportunities for small business set-asides.

It is important to note that because the Business Forecast is issued while activities are in the design and planning phase, information is subject to change.

For the latest solicitations, please visit beta.SAM.gov and Grants.gov.

SAM-Beta Site - https://beta.sam.gov/ https://www.usaid.gov/pakistan/cdcs https://www.usaid.gov/npi https://www.usaid.gov/work-usaid/how-to-work-with-usaid/acquisition-and-assistance-strategy https://www.usaid.gov/work-usaid/how-to-work-with-usaid/acquisition-and-assistance-strategy https://www.usaid.gov/business-forecast https://beta.sam.gov/