Water RFI RH signed.pdf

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION AND SOURCES SOUGHT

Agency: U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Requiring Office: USAID/ El Salvador Office of Democracy Rights and Governance Project Title: Bilateral Water Activities Estimated Period of Performance: Five years Location: El Salvador Notice Type: Sources Sought and Request for Information RFI Number: RFI-USAID-ES-22-02 Issued Date: May 2, 2022 Responses Due Date: 30 business days after the issue date

Purpose of the Notice and Overview of the Requirement:

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is contemplating a set of activities as described within the document. The purpose of this notice is to solicit information from industry on the water and sanitation context in El Salvador and on promising approaches to be implemented in the sector. USAID is posting this Request for Information (RFI) on www.sam.gov and grants.gov. USAID is seeking responses from all interested parties.

This is not an invitation for bid, request for proposal, or other solicitation; in no way does it obligate USAID to make a procurement. Respondents are advised that the U.S. Government (USG) will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI. All costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the responding party's expense. Responding to or providing comment on this RFI will not give any advantage to any organization in any subsequent procurement.

USAID/El Salvador will not provide answers to any questions submitted in response to this request. All information received in response to this RFI that is marked PROPRIETARY will be handled accordingly.

The USG shall not be liable for or suffer any consequential damages for any proprietary information not properly identified. Proprietary information will be safeguarded in accordance with the applicable USG regulations. Proprietary information or trade secrets should be clearly identified. Responses to the RFI will not be returned.

Introduction:

USAID/El Salvador has invested in water as far back as 2005 when it supported actors outside of the formal water authority, Administración Nacional de Acueductos y Alcantarillados (ANDA), to improve water distribution to rural areas of the country, and supported the development of a previous draft water law. Most recently, the new water law (Annex 1) was approved by El Salvador’s National Assembly on December 21, 20211.

1 The Legislative Assembly approved the General Water Resources Law with 65 votes from the deputies of Nuevas Ideas, GANA, PCN, PDC and Nuestro Tiempo. The law creates the Salvadoran Water Authority (ASA), will grant permits to use or take advantage of water for a maximum of 15 years, and will define the base price of water every

In 2021, USAID/El Salvador conducted a political economy analysis literature review of the water sector.

Based on this review and after consultation with key Government of El Salvador representatives, donors, and implementing entities, the mission is exploring procuring at least two activities in the water sector.

The overall goal of the water portfolio is to increase by 25 percent the number of people in El Salvador who can safely access reliable and clean water, particularly targeting areas of high irregular out migration.

Increasing safe water access in El Salvador will require work in both urban and rural areas. Potential future urban work in this sector may cover areas serviced by ANDA and those municipalities that provide services without ANDA’s support. The rural work is expected to focus on the important service provision completed by the juntas de agua.

This RFI aims to gather information from implementing entities in the water sector, as well as interested donors and institutions in the three key areas of focus:

● Urban-ANDA

● Semi-Urban, non-ANDA

● Rural

RFI Questions:

General Questions for Urban, Semi-Urban and Rural Populations:

● What is the populations’ capacity and willingness to pay for water access?

● What factors impact citizens’ experience with the delivery of water services? Why does the provision of quality water services vary as it relates to different groups of the society?

● What women-led community governance structures exist that could be leveraged?

● How do gangs influence security, operations, and maintenance in the water sector?

● What is the perception of the population around corruption around water services access?

● What are the needs and opportunities to increase water access in urban, semi-urban, and rural areas in El Salvador? Which approaches would you recommend?

● Is there a link between (lack of) access to water and migration?

● What challenges do you foresee in the implementation of the recently approved water law?

● What are the impediments to private sector involvement in the provision of water access and services?

Questions around Urban Water Management (ANDA-serviced and non-ANDA serviced):

● What are the impediments to improved governance and service accountability in urban areas?

● What are the “rules of the game” around coordination between ANDA managed municipalities and unmanaged municipalities?

● What influences the level of public involvement in the governance over water access and services?

● What are the impediments for increased access in the municipalities that are not serviced by

ANDA?

● Are there any distinctions among municipalities that ANDA serves? Do certain municipalities get better quality of service than others; if so, why?

● What service delivery options are used in municipalities not serviced by ANDA?

Questions around Rural Water Management:

● What are the different modalities used in rural water supply? What groups are involved?

● What are the impediments to rural water service providers' ability and interest to successfully manage water services?

three years. The base price of water will range between $ 0.03 to $ 0.20, per cubic meter. News articles: Diario El Mundo, La Prensa Gráfica El Diario de Hoy El Diario de Hoy 2 La Prensa Gráfica 2 Diario El Salvador Co Latino.

● What groups are working in the rural water and sanitation space (specific NGOs, donors, etc.)?

What and where is their focus (geographic and approach)?

● What coordination exists between ANDA and the juntas de agua? Are there impediments to this coordination?

● Are there cases of violence and crimes that occur while fetching water or sanitation, or within the household? If so, what are they?

● What are the impacts climate change has on communities’ ability to obtain water services?

● What political challenges are foreseen to implementing the new water law?

RFI Responses:

USAID invites interested parties to respond to the above questions. Please provide a maximum of 10 (ten) pages, size 12 font, standard one inch margins. Responses can be either in English or in Spanish.

Organizations are encouraged to respond to those questions that are relevant to their work. Organizations may respond to all or some of the above questions. Please send your responses in PDF. Responses should be structured in the following way:

Section 1: Responses to the RFI Questions

Please address your responses, either in English or Spanish, to Renata Suarez and send them to rerodriguez@usaid.gov, with a copy to Ross Hicks at rhicks@usaid.gov, no later than the closing date shown above. Please include the title: “Bilateral Water Activities” in the subject of your email.

Sincerely, Ross Hicks Contracting and Agreement Officer Regional Office of Acquisition and Assistance USAID/El Salvador

Ross Hicks Digitally signed by Ross Hicks Date: 2022.04.28 12:55:07 -06'00'