Eastern Provinces Monitoring Task Order 3 under MSP

Added: Aug 03, 2015 2:31 am The overall objective of this Task Order (Eastern Province Monitoring) is to provide USAID/Afghanistan with additional data on project implementation, allowing technical offices to compare information from their own monitoring efforts with additional sources of monitoring data, and make evidence-based management decisions on the performance of their projects. The Task Order will provide the Mission with sufficient, accurate, and verified information on the progress of projects within the geographic, programmatic, and temporal scope.

Specifically the Contractor will perform the following functions:
 
 A. Perform Project Verification for USAID/Afghanistan’s Technical Projects


The Contractor will initially perform verification and monitoring activities of select outputs and outcomes for approximately 56 active projects across Afghanistan. The exact number of projects for which the Contractor will provide supplemental verification and monitoring data will vary as some projects conclude and others begin implementation. For a given project, the Contractor also will provide supplementary verification and monitoring data for only a select set of outputs and outcomes, rather than all of the indicators in the project PMP.
 
 B. Build the Capacity of Local Organizations to Monitor Projects


The Contractor is required to work with local Afghan organizations, including civil society organizations, non-governmental organizations, private Afghan firms, and other entities in the Eastern Provinces to build their capacity in monitoring. These organizations shall be those the Contractor intends to rely on to conduct the verification and monitoring activities of USAID projects in the Eastern Provinces.
 
 C. Conduct Environmental Compliance Monitoring

The purpose of this component is to ensure that all USAID projects in Afghanistan either have no adverse effects on the environment, or mitigate any potential impacts. All USAID/Afghanistan projects have one of four environmental threshold decisions (ETD): (a) Categorical Exclusion (CE), (b) Negative Determination (ND), (c) Negative Determination with Conditions (NDC), and/or (d) Positive Determination (PD). A PD requires an Environmental Assessment (this will be the responsibility of the technical project implementing partner, not the MSP Contractor), which will identify mitigating measures to reduce impact to acceptable levels, or in case the impact is too great will recommend that the activity is not implemented.