REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

Transcription

1 Program: mstar, Accelerating Data-Driven Agriculture Development in Cambodia and Nepal Solicitation No.: Authority: USAID Award No. AID-OAA-A Date of Issuance: Wednesday, April 5, 2017 Due Date for Questions: 5:00 PM US EDT Wednesday, April 12, 2017 Response to Questions Posted: Tuesday, April 18, 2017 Closing Date: 5:00 PM US EDT Friday, May 5, 2017 Estimated Award Date: June

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS PURPOSE STATEMENT OBJECTIVE & PROGRAM DESCRIPTION INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS Offerors Eligibility Funding and estimated period of performance Proposal Submission Deadline Submission Method for Questions and Proposals Review Process Proposal Contents Evaluation Criteria AWARD AND NOTIFICATION OF SELECTED PROPOSALS TERMS AND CONDITIONS Source of Funding and Geographic Code Withdrawal of proposals Right to Select/Reject Disclaimer Offer Verification False Statements in Offer Conflict of Interest Reserved Rights Governing Law and Language Certification of Independent Price Determination ATTACHMENTS

3 1 PURPOSE STATEMENT Background The purpose of this Request for Proposals (RFP) is to solicit proposals for funding from prospective subcontractors to support FHI 360 s implementation of the Mobile Solutions Technical Assistance and Research Program (mstar), funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Award No. AID-OAA-A mstar is a strategic investment by USAID to advance mobile solutions and close the gaps that hold back access and uptake of mobile technology. The project supports broadbased coordinated action by a range of market stakeholders including governments, donors, mobile service providers, and their customers. mstar is supporting the Digital Development for Feed the Future (D2FTF) team within USAID s Center for Digital Development, USAID/Cambodia, and USAID/Nepal to implement the Accelerating Data-Driven Agriculture Development in Cambodia and Nepal activity. The activity will support researchers, program implementers, and development partners engaged in Feed the Future programming to begin to leverage the full potential of open data for agriculture development in Cambodia and Nepal. The work developed and released under this activity will primarily be intended for development actors (including the US government) and research institutions. FHI 360 s mstar program is issuing this request for proposals to interested international development consulting firms or any other organization with expertise in open data or interoperability, data systems engineering, data analysis and collection, and a rich network of contacts within the agriculture and open data community. The proposed personnel who will carry out this work should have deep experience in the area of open data initiatives, a strong professional reputation supported by a record of enhancing data systems structure, storage, and governance, as well as an extensive network of thought leaders and practitioners working in open data. In addition to the ability to perform the required tasks successfully, offerors should also have the relevant skills and experience to convene and facilitate a workshop and train researchers on electronic data collection. This RFP is issued as a public notice to ensure that all interested, qualified, and eligible organizations have a fair opportunity to submit proposals for funding. 2 OBJECTIVE & ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION Objective New forms of data and data analytical tools are transforming industrial agriculture and being leveraged by a broad set of public, private and nonprofit efforts to advance smallholder agricultural production, adaptability, and poverty alleviation in developing agricultural regions. Multiple actors are developing strategies to streamline and standardize data on agricultural trials; data scientists are piloting new methods to estimate yields, growing areas, and even poverty; and research institutions are demonstrating what can be gained by analyzing large amounts of data on crop management, yield, soils, and weather conditions in local farming systems. 3

4 USAID is well positioned to help accelerate this data-driven agriculture development. The Agency funds research and programs that generate a diverse array of alphanumeric and geospatial datasets related to poverty, markets, agronomic research, natural resource management, climate, and much more. Bringing the array and diversity of types of data together stands to unlock significant potential for analysis of relevance to agriculture development programming. To this end, Cambodia and Nepal present a unique opportunity to leverage open data in service of agriculture development. USAID/Cambodia and the Royal University of Agriculture recently launched the Center of Excellence for Sustainable Agricultural Intensification and Nutrition (CE-SAIN) in Phnom Penh, with satellite sites around the country. The CE-SAIN is currently developing guidelines for data collection, storage, governance and sharing that will have wide-ranging impact on agronomic research and agriculture development overall in the country. In Nepal, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is evaluating potential investments supporting multi-stakeholder data systems related to the National Seed and Fertilizer project as well as the Cereals Systems Initiative for South Asia (which serves a coordinating function for the network of several USAID-funded innovation labs in Nepal). With this in mind, this activity seeks to enhance electronic data collection conducted by Feed the Future (FtF) researchers in Cambodia and Nepal; improve the data structure, storage, and governance of Feed the Future researchers to facilitate analysis across the Cambodia and Nepal FtF portfolios; ensure that USAID/Cambodia, USAID/Nepal, FtF researchers, and FtF implementing partners are leveraging new access to digital data for relevant analysis at different scales and levels of strategic purview; and identify open collaborations for data sharing, analysis, research and learning across the two FtF portfolios. Tasks In order to accelerate data driven agricultural development in Cambodia and Nepal mstar seeks a highly qualified organization to perform the following tasks: Task 1: Enhance Electronic Data Collection Conducted by FtF Researchers and Partners The selected organization will work to ensure that FtF-funded researchers and implementing partners active in Cambodia and Nepal are able to conduct electronic data collection and have begun to examine how to leverage these tools for deeper analysis and collaboration across the FtF portfolios in Cambodia and Nepal. Sub-Task 1.1: The selected organization will develop a simple survey instrument and use it, via calls and in-person meetings, to survey the current use of electronic data collection tools and capabilities of university based researchers funded through the Feed the Future Innovation Labs and Feed the Future implementing partners active in Cambodia and Nepal. 1 This survey tool will focus on, but will not be limited to identifying: 1 Currently, there are seven different Feed the Future Innovation Labs operating in Cambodia and Nepal, each with their own set of researchers: the Innovation Lab for Aquaculture and Fisheries, the Innovation Lab for Assets and Market Access, the Innovation Lab for Nutrition, the Innovation Lab for Horticulture, the Innovation Lab for Integrated Pest Management, the Innovation Lab for Livestock Systems, and the Innovation Lab for Sustainable Intensification. All of these Labs are coordinated via the Sustainable Intensification Innovation Lab (SIIL) at Kansas State University in Cambodia and the Ceral Systems Initiative for South Asia in Nepal, who will be the key point of contact for this effort on the U.S. side. In 4

5 electronic data collection software and tools currently in use, key internal or external public good data sets being leveraged by interviewees that may be relevant to wider food security or nutrition analyses in Cambodia, current capabilities to store, organize, and leverage electronic data for analysis, procedures in place for responsibly collecting, managing and sharing electronic data, including mitigating any potential harm from the handling of sensitive and personally identifiable information. This survey can be conducted remotely or over the phone, with some travel potentially required for inperson meetings. Sub-Task 1.2: The selected organization will build upon the data collected in Task 1.1 to produce a Capacity Assessment Report, which 1) appraises the current capacity of FtF-funded researchers and implementing partners in Cambodia and Nepal, existing capabilities and procedures. and 2) provides recommendations and opportunities for capacity building. This report will recommend essential tools for nutrition and food security analysis, including, but not limited to, statistical computing software such as R, geographic information system software, and data visualization software. The report will also detail the specific competencies needed to fully utilize these tools so that they may inform recruiting plans, training plans, position descriptions or statements of work for FtF implementing partners. This report will also capture the minimum system requirements for a computer workstation to run geospatial analysis in terms of: RAM, processing power, graphics, display, and internal storage in order to influence FtF implementing partners decision making and procurement planning. Finally, this report will identify training opportunities in-country, online, and through USAID networks to build the capabilities of the expanded FtF team for data analysis across the portfolio, and recommend appropriate training approaches for implementers, researchers, and USAID personnel. Sub-Task 1.3: the selected organization will provide short-term technical assistance to FtF-funded researchers and implementing partners needing advisory assistance with, but not limited to, the following areas: Data collection tool selection, configuration, and operation Responsible data practices, balancing privacy, performance, and transparency needs Good practice in database design Good practice in data storage and good governance practices Any other required need to build in-house capacity for electronic data collection, storage, and governance Note: We are expecting that the selected organization provides technical assistance for 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3. We anticipate that this activity will take up to a maximum total of 60 days of LOE across three key personnel in Nepal and 60 days of LOE across three key personnel in Cambodia: Senior Data Scientist, Enterprise Data Specialist, and Data Collection and Analysis Specialist. Task 2: Advance Open Data Management and Governance among FtF Researchers and Implementing Partners across the FtF Portfolio in Cambodia and Nepal addition, there are two active Feed the Future implementing partners in Cambodia (WorldFish and Save the Children) and one more may become active during the period of performance of this work and four active Feed the Future implementing partners in Nepal (Mercy Corps, Winrock International, Save the Children, and Helen Keller International). 5

6 The selected organization will work to improve the data structure, storage, and governance of FtF-funded researchers and implementing partners through the development of a Requirement Needs, Analysis and Design report that proposes the data structure, storage, data access hierarchy, policies, and procedures associated with a common data structure endorsed by FtF-funded researchers and other stakeholders in Cambodia and Nepal with descriptive details. This includes, but is not limited to, any structures, diagrams, Unified Modeling Language, such as data flows and use cases. The elements of this report and associated tasks are detailed below. Sub-Task 2.1: The selected organization will work to draft a common data structure among FtF-funded researchers and implementers. The purpose of this task is to develop a proposed structure or ontology that will be easily understandable and useful for FtF researchers and implementing partners, achieving greater comparability and availability of Feed the Future-funded data across programs and research environments, contributing to open data assets that will be of interest to researchers, program evaluators, and others. To accomplish this, the selected organization will: Identify the most important data sets collected and used by USAID-funded researchers that could be relevant to analyses of food security, nutrition, economic growth, and natural resource management. Identify important data sets generated or used by key stakeholders in sustainable agricultural intensification and nutrition in Cambodia and Nepal, which may include such actors as the Ministry of Agriculture of Cambodia, the Ministry of Agriculture of Nepal, USAID/Nepal s GIS unit, other researchers at the Royal University of Agriculture of Cambodia, or centers of the Consultative Group for International Agriculture Research active in Cambodia and Nepal Review data structures and processes observed in the network of Consultative Group for International Agriculture Research (CGIAR) centers and USAID Bureau of Food Security (BFS)- funded Innovation Labs, including the Sustainable Intensification Indicators Framework. Propose a common structure for organization of data to be observed by FtF-funded researchers and implementing partners in light of in-country needs and emerging global good practice. In doing so, the selected organization will also describe the challenges identified in migrating to a common structure and potential solutions to overcoming those challenges. Sub-Task 2.2: The selected organization will evaluate and recommend data storage options for an open data repository that are appropriate to the needs of FtF Cambodia researchers and implementing partners. These options will make data more available for analysis across the portfolio. The selected organization will detail recommendations for creating an open, cross-domain, multi-stakeholder data repository for sustainable agriculture intensification and nutrition. The ideal owner of that open data repository would be CE-SAIN. The selected organization will need to recommend how to balance recommendations for quality data capture, including sensitive data, and data sharing/open data as it relates to storage. The selected organization will review and recommend, as appropriate: Existing storage options among FtF-funded research partners, implementing partners, CE-SAIN, USAID/Cambodia, CIMMYT, and USAID/Nepal GIS unit External databases (e.g. the USAID GeoCenter) Accessible cloud storage services in Cambodia and Nepal External platforms that may facilitate greater analysis (e.g. the International Center for Tropical Agriculture big data platform, CKAN, Harvard University Dataverse) The selected organization will recommend a storage solution addressing, at a minimum: 6

7 Where data will be hosted Persistence of the data and data access for use in Cambodia and Nepal Total cost of operation or use of the data storage solution Sustainability of the repository over the long term in terms of institutional roles, governance and operating costs The selected organization will estimate the total cost of ownership of the recommended data storage solutions and include this in their analysis. This analysis will also include a summary of the barriers that partners cite and potential solutions. Recommendations will take into account USAID open data policy, USAID/CIO restrictions on new data systems, ethical issues in data collection and storage, good practices when dealing with sensitive or personally identifiable information, and the emergent guidelines on responsible data for USAID-funded data. (This task may or may not lead directly to the creation of an open data repository for food security and nutrition programming.) Sub-Task 2.3: The selected organization will develop draft governance structure and practices for the open data repository. The selected organization will provide recommendations to CE-SAIN, CIMMYT and key stakeholders on common governance for shared data among Feed the Future implementing partners and researchers. The purpose of this task is to begin to define the roles, responsibilities, and key procedures for an open data repository for sustainable agriculture intensification and nutrition in Cambodia and recommend data governance structure and guidelines that may be adopted by CE-SAIN, CIMMYT, and key stakeholders. The selected organization will recommend data governance among the FtF researchers and implementing partners to enable them to leverage data across the portfolio. The recommendation shall include, at a minimum: Processes for type, periodicity, and quality of data to be shared Consensus guidelines on collecting managing and analyzing potentially sensitive data Roles and responsibilities of partners, research institutions, USAID/Cambodia, and USAID/Nepal Structure, role, and function of a data governance working group Recommendations will take into account the USAID open data policy, USAID/CIO restrictions on new data systems, ethical issues in data collection sharing and storage, good practice when dealing with sensitive or personally identifiable information, and the emergent guidelines on responsible data practice for USAIDfunded data. Sub-Task 2.4: The selected organization will design and deliver two workshops in Nepal and Cambodia for FtF-funded researchers, implementing partners and key stakeholders on open data for agriculture development. The purpose of this sub-task is to build and, if possible, secure a common, multi-stakeholder consensus on an effort to fully leverage open data for sustainable agricultural development in Cambodia and Nepal The Contractor shall, in close coordination with USAID and CE-SAIN in Cambodia and USAID and CIMMYT in Nepal, design and deliver a workshop customized to the current needs of Feed the Future implementing partners, researchers, and stakeholders in Cambodia and Nepal. Both workshops will focus on enabling these stakeholders to leverage the full potential of electronic data collection tools, and on examining how 7

8 to leverage these tools for deeper analysis and collaboration. Both workshops will include content, at a minimum, on: Findings of the survey of public good data sets used by FtF researchers. Key factors to consider when choosing a data collection platform for food security and nutrition analysis and reporting, balancing interoperability with a specific organization s needs. Responsible data practices that recognize the inherent tension between data privacy and security, leveraging data for better program performance, and promoting more transparency and accountability through open data. Building and, if possible, confirming consensus across the array of stakeholders on structure/ontology, storage, governance, and data quality for an open data repository for sustainable agricultural intensification and nutrition. Identifying 2-3 common research questions for deeper analysis across multiple domains and actors that will leverage open data. Both workshops will be interactive, fostering dialog and discussion among FTF stakeholders and subject matter experts, with the goal of identifying common interests, goals, and strategies for leveraging digital data across the portfolio in a responsible, ethical manner that is suitable to the Cambodian and Nepalian context. Sub-Task 2.5: The selected organization will provide short term technical assistance to assist FtF partners and researchers to understand how to extract, transform and load (ETL) relevant data sets for food security and nutrition programming. This assumes that existing technical systems are in place and functional to support this ETL process. The purpose of this task is to ensure that FtF researchers and IPs understand how to extract, transform, and load relevant data sets for food security and nutrition analysis into an open data repository. The selected organization will evaluate the most appropriate format for storing data in among identified storage options. The selected organization will ensure that FtF partners and researchers understand: Procedures for data extraction, transformation, and loading of desired data sets Procedures for automating ingestion of desired data sets from other sources The skills and capabilities required to continue data capture and loading of desired data sets We anticipate that Task 2.5 will take up to a maximum total of 12 days of LOE in Cambodia and 12 days of LOE in Nepal across two key personnel: Enterprise Data Specialist and Data Collection and Analysis Specialist. Task 3: Share and Collaborate The purpose of this task is to support the expanded team of Feed the Future implementers, researchers, and Mission personnel to leverage open data for new collaborations across the portfolio and with a wider community of public, private, and nonprofit actors seeking to make the agriculture development enterprise as a whole more data-driven. For example, anonymized FTF field data would be very valuable to interagency researchers and scientists developing digital models and analytical tools of direct interest to USAID s development programs, to private firms investing in big data predictive analytics, to agriculture advisory services, and to research networks such as the CGIAR centers or the wider network of BFS innovation labs. 8

9 Sub-Task 3.1: The selected organization, in close collaboration with FtF-funded researchers, implementers, researchers, USAID/Cambodia personnel, and USAID/Nepal personnel will identify collaborations for fostering more data-driven agriculture development in Cambodia and Nepal. The selected organization will engage these actors on the potential for data sharing and analysis. Potential partners contacted should include, at a minimum: SERVIR The CGIAR Network Bureau for Food Security Innovation Labs working in Cambodia and Nepal Sub-Task 3.2: The selected organization will design and deliver a white boarding session or workshop to support FtF implementing partners and researchers with identifying collaborative research questions and opportunities that leverage open data. The selected organization, in collaboration with USAID/Cambodia, USAID/Nepal and FtF implementing partners and researchers, will identify 2 to 3 research questions of relevance to agriculture and nutrition development in both Cambodia and Nepal that can leverage open data and the capabilities of a wider set of actors. The selected organization will assist with designing these questions and will not conduct the research themselves. These analytic questions may include, for example: Comparing program data with relatively static data such as topography and soil quality. Examining total land under cultivation in light of dynamic environmental attributes such as rainfall, temperatures, and markets. Examining FTF field projects and value chains in light of long-term projections of drought and flood risk. Examining FTF value chains in light of projected soil degradation. Mapping poverty in relation to FTF value chains and FTF zones of influence. Sub-Task 3.3: The selected organization will design and deliver a presentation to USAID/Cambodia and USAID/Nepal personnel that includes summarized lessons learned and recommendations on how to fully leverage digital data analytics in Mission programming and continue to foster more data-driven agriculture development in Cambodia and Nepal. To accomplish this, the selected organization should track progress to date to fully inform lessons learned and recommendations. Sub-Task 3.4: The selected organization will work to deliver communication collaterals that present early insights and lessons learned during the implementation of this activity in order to expand the learning, discussion, and potential impact of pursuing more data-driven agricultural development in Cambodia and Nepal. USAID channels for dissemination will be utilized, including Global Learning Evidence Exchange events, AgriLinks blogs, and seminars and/or webinars. Some early indicators of success to highlight may include, but are not limited to: Cost-savings and efficacy of electronic data collection. Opportunities for building quicker feedback and adaptiveness on program and research effectiveness. Any new kinds of research made possible through open data collaboration. We anticipate that Task 3.4 will take up to 30 days of LOE in Cambodia and 30 days of LOE in Nepal of a communications specialist with support from other technical personnel. Deliverables 9

10 The selected firm will provide the following deliverables: Cross-cutting Activity Workplan, including a proposed timeline for implementation of all tasks and deliverables Monitoring and Evaluation Plan, Quarterly reports, to include indicators and details of technical assistance provided, including but not limited to Tasks 1.4 and 2.4, and lessons learned to date Presentation to USAID/Cambodia and USAID/Nepal personnel that includes summarized lessons learned and recommendations on how to fully leverage digital data analytics in Mission programming and continue to foster more data-driven agriculture development in Cambodia and Nepal Two final reports one focused on Cambodia, one focused on Nepal - that captures a summary of lessons learned and recommendations to USAID/Cambodia and USAID/Nepal personnel, implementing partners and FtF-funded researchers on how to fully leverage digital data analytics in USAID/Cambodia and USAID/Nepal programming and continue to foster more data driven agriculture development in Cambodia and Nepal Task 1 Task 2 Task 3 Two Capacity Assessment Reports one focused on Cambodia, one focused on Nepal--that appraises the current capacity of FtF-funded researchers in Cambodia and Nepal, and existing capabilities and procedures, including, but not limited to, an analysis of electronic data collection software and tools currently in use, key internal or external data sets that may be relevant to food security or nutrition analyses in Cambodia and Nepal, current capabilities to store, organize, and leverage electronic data for analysis, procedures in place for responsibly collecting, managing, and sharing electronic data, including mitigating any potential harm from the handling of sensitive and personally identifiable information. This report will also capture the data analysis capabilities of FtFfunded researchers, available digital tools for their use, such as statistical computing software such as R, geographic information system software, and data visualization software, and identify opportunities for them to access these tools and learning opportunities. Two Requirement Needs, Analysis, and Design Reports one focused on Cambodia, one focused on Nepal--that proposes the data structure, storage, data access hierarchy, policies, and procedures associated with a common data structure endorsed by FtF-funded researchers and other stakeholders in Cambodia and Nepal with descriptive details. This includes, but not limited to, any structures, diagrams, Unified Modeling Language, such as data flows and use cases. Implementation of a workshop for FtF-funded researchers, implementers, and key stakeholders on open data-enabled agriculture development. A final workshop report will capture an overview of the workshop, key lessons learned, and overall findings and recommendations. Implementation of two white boarding sessions or workshops one in Cambodia, one in Nepal-- that bring together FtF-funded researchers, implementing partners, USAID/Cambodia staff, USAID/Nepal staff to identify collaborative research questions and opportunities that leverage open data. 10

11 Communication collaterals that highlight early insights and lessons learned during the implementation of this activity in order to expand the learning, discussion and potential impact of pursuing more data driven agriculture development in Cambodia Nepal The work developed and released under these deliverables will be used for future programmatic interventions of USAID, planning to invest resources in open data. This will lead to and succeed other anticipated activities for the theory of change including: convening USAID missions for buy-in, scoping trips and demonstrating the practical implementation of open data underpinned by best practices and guidelines of the deliverables. The table below provides an illustrative timeline for implementation. Applicants may propose their own timelines. No. Deliverable Estimated Due Date 1 Activity Workplan, including a proposed timeline for implementation of all tasks and deliverables 2 Monitoring and Evaluation Plan, that captures the activity s results framework, to measure progress towards achieving its strategic objective 4 weeks after project start 4 weeks after project start 3 Capacity Assessment Reports 8 weeks after project start 4 Requirement Needs, Analysis and Design Reports 24 weeks after project start 5 Open Data for Agricultural Development Workshops 30 weeks after project start 6 Open Data for Agricultural Development Workshop Reports 32 weeks after project start 7 White Boarding Session/Workshops for Collaborative Research on Open Data in Cambodia and Nepal 9 Presentations to USAID/Cambodia and USAID/Nepal personnel that includes summarized lessons learned and recommendations on how to fully leverage digital data analytics in Mission programming and continue to foster more data-driven agriculture development in Cambodia and Nepal 9 Final Reports, including summary of lessons learned and recommendations to USAID/Cambodia and USAID/Nepal personnel, implementing partners and FtF-funded researchers on how to fully leverage digital data analytics in USAID/Cambodia and USAID/Nepal programming and continue to foster more data driven agriculture development in Cambodia and Nepal 40 weeks after project start 44 weeks after project start 48 weeks after project start 11

12 10 Knowledge Sharing and Communications products, 6 8 blog posts, 1 2 webinars, 1 panel discussion, 11 Quarterly Reports, to include indicators and details of technical assistance provided, including but not limited to Task 1.3, and lessons learned to date 48 weeks after project start Quarterly (4 Quarters) Location The selected organization will work over a period of 12 months in Cambodia, Nepal or the United States, as appropriate to the task. Local travel in Cambodia and Nepal may be required to field sites in Siem Reap and/or Battambang in Cambodia, and Nepalgunj in Nepal. 3 INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS 3.1 OFFERORS ELIGIBILITY This competition is open to any non-governmental, non-profit or for-profit entity. To be minimally eligible for funding, offerors must comply with the following conditions: Organizations must be legally registered or otherwise authorized to conduct business in their country or countries of operation. Organizations must have a DUNS number and must be registered in SAM. Organizations must submit their proposal in English. 3.2 FUNDING AND ESTIMATED PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE The mechanism for funding will be a Cost-Reimbursable Subcontract with an expected ceiling of US$400, FHI 360 will issue reimbursement payment(s) based on submission and FHI 360 acceptance of invoices for allowable costs that are reasonable, allocable and necessary for performance of this activity. Once a subcontract is issued, it will include a Subcontractor Financial Report that will serve as the subcontractor s invoice. The subcontract is anticipated to commence in June 2017 and final deliverables are anticipated to be submitted in June PROPOSAL SUBMISSION DEADLINE Proposals may be submitted at any time before 5:00 PM EDT on the date specified on the cover page of this RFP. Submissions received after the deadline will not be considered. 3.4 SUBMISSION METHOD FOR QUESTIONS AND PROPOSALS Submit questions and proposals electronically to: Patrick Malone (pmalone@fhi360.org) and Paul Gostomski (PGostomski@fhi360.org). FHI 360 will not accept paper applications for this RFP. All questions and answers will be shared with all interested offerors. 12

13 Technical proposals and attachments may be submitted in Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF format. Budgets must be submitted in Microsoft Excel format using the template provided. The subject line should read Accelerating Data Driven Development in Cambodia and Nepal [Name of organization submitting proposal]. 3.5 REVIEW PROCESS Proposals will be reviewed and awarded by an evaluation panel. FHI 360 will lead and coordinate the evaluation panel. A technical evaluation committee will review all technical proposals using the Evaluation Criteria detailed in section 3.7 below. It is anticipated that the award will be made within 4-6 weeks after the submission deadline, as stated on the cover of this RFP. Final negotiations and award will be managed by FHI PROPOSAL CONTENTS Offerors will develop their proposals based on their understanding of needs and their prior institutional experience within the context provided above. Proposals must not exceed 15 pages, not including CVs and other attachments. Complete proposals must include the following sections: 1. Technical Approach The evaluation methodology must provide comprehensive details of how the offeror intends to conduct the tasks for this activity, including a preliminary methodology. In addition to the methodology, the offeror should include a proposed implementation plan and accompanying timeline for the project. While the evaluation methodology focuses exclusively on the research aspects of the project, the implementation plan should outline the offeror s approach to executing the entirety of the activity. 2. Personnel Statement The personnel statement must include: A statement demonstrating the proposed personnel s relevant skills and past experience to successfully complete this assignment. It should highlight past experience with open data, data collection tool selection, configuration, and operation, responsible data practices, balancing privacy, performance, and transparency, database design, data storage and good governance practice, as well as experience convening trainings and working with the international open data community. The personnel statement should also indicate written and oral proficiency in English. As an annex, CVs of the proposed personnel who will conduct the work (maximum 2 pages per CV). We anticipate these may require three main types of expertise, including: senior data scientist, enterprise data specialist, and data collection and analysis specialist who will work collaboratively to achieve all those tasks outlined above. As an annex, a biodata form (Attachment B) for each proposed personnel who will conduct the work 13

14 3. Corporate Capabilities and Past Experience The corporate capabilities and past experience must include: A detailed explanation of the organization s previous experience with open data initiatives, particularly in the developing country context, as well as experience with electronic data collection practices, data governance, data storage and data system development. The proposed management structure for the implementation of this activity. Demonstration of adequate resources to successfully complete this assignment. Three organizational references from previous funders/investors, clients, or partners including contact information (names, company or organization, phone number and ). 4. Budget The budget must be presented in the format included as Attachment A and must contain detailed line item costs in US Dollars, or Cambodian Riel, or Nepalese rupee, a budget narrative, and any supporting documentation that clearly show how the budgeted amounts were calculated. When preparing their budgets and budget narrative, offeror must follow these instructions: 1. Budgets must be accompanied by a brief narrative explanation and justification for each line item. The budget narrative must include data to support actual costs and/or methodologies to support cost estimates. The budget narrative should be presented in such a way as to be easily referenced from the budget and should provide sufficient information so that FHI 360 may review a proposed budget for reasonableness. All projected costs must be in accordance with the organization s standard practices and policies. 2. Budgets must be sufficiently detailed to demonstrate reasonableness and completeness. Offerors including budget information determined to be unreasonable, incomplete, unnecessary for the completion of the proposed project, or based on a methodology that is not adequately supported may be deemed unacceptable. 3. Budgets must be submitted in USD or Cambodian Riel. 4. If the budget includes an indirect rate, offerors must attach a Negotiated Indirect Rate Cost Agreement (NICRA), or an independent auditor-certified indirect rate based upon the last 3 years of audited financial statements. If the offeror does not have a copy of this to support the indirect rate proposed, they must break out the costs and charge the costs as fixed amounts and must be shown as separate line items in the budget and charge the costs as direct expenses shown via line items in the budget. If the costs are charged as fixed amounts, in the budget narrative please explain the methodology and calculation behind the estimated fixed amounts. 5. Other Attachments 1. Certifications (Attachment C); Certifications are required by FHI 360 and USAID and must be signed by the authorized official, dated and included in the proposal. Recipients will be required to comply with the content of the certifications as part of the contractual agreement when/if funding is approved. 2. Registration certificate for the organization. 14

15 3.7 EVALUATION CRITERIA The criteria presented below have been tailored to the requirements of this RFP. A total of 100 points are possible for the complete proposal. The relative importance of each criterion is indicated by approximate weight by points. Evaluation Criteria Technical Approach Understanding of the subject matter and issues. Comprehensiveness of proposed approach and technical soundness of technical approach and reasoning why the technical approach was chosen. Implementation plan and proposed timeline are realistic and include all proposed elements of the activity. Personnel Statement Personnel proposed for this work must have a proven track record in open data, data collection tool selection, configuration, and operation, responsible data practices, balancing privacy, performance, and transparency, database design, data storage and good governance practice, as well as experience convening trainings and working with the international open data community. Personnel should also be familiar with and, ideally, have experience working with the international open data community. Proposed staff person(s) who will be responsible for implementation have the relevant skills and past experience to successfully complete the assignment, both in terms of conducting the electronic data collection, analysis and training and also in designing a comprehensive common data structure that meets of needs of stakeholders. Personnel should have excellent written and oral communication skills in English. Corporate Capabilities and Past Experience Experience and capacity of the organization(s) and adequacy of resources. The proposed management structure is reasonable and sufficient to implement this work. The organization shows past experience and credible reputation in the area of international development research and/or open data initiatives (networks, publications, presentations, etc. should be referenced). Budget Proposed budget represents the best value, and all costs included in it are allocable to this activity, reasonable and allowable under USAID rules and regulations. TOTAL Points 20 points 40 points 20 points 20 points 100 points a) FHI 360 intends to evaluate offerors in accordance with the stated evaluation criteria and make a contract award to the responsible offeror(s) whose proposal(s) meets the requirements of this RFP and scored the highest proposal. 15

16 (b) The submitted technical information will be evaluated by a technical evaluation committee using the stated technical criteria. (c) If FHI 360 determines that discussions are necessary, FHI 360 may establish a Competitive Range composed of only the most highly rated proposals. FHI 360 may exclude an offer from the competitive range if it is so deficient as to essentially require a new technical proposal. FHI 360 may exclude an offer from the competitive range if it so unreasonably priced, in relation to more competitive offers, as to appear that there will be little or no chance of becoming competitive. FHI 360 may exclude an offer that would require extensive discussions, a complete re-write, or major revisions such as to allow an Offeror unfair advantage over those more competitive offers. FHI 360 reserves the right to award one or more contracts under this RFP on the basis of initial offers without discussions or without establishing a competitive range. 3.8 AWARD AND NOTIFICATION OF SELECTED PROPOSALS 1. Prior to the expiration period of proposal validity, FHI 360 will notify the successful offeror who submitted the highest scoring proposal in writing by and invite it to negotiate the contract. 2. The aim will be to reach agreement on all points, and draft an initial contract by the conclusion of negotiations. 3. Negotiations will commence with a discussion of the offeror s technical proposal, schedule of activities, staffing and any suggestions you may have made to improve upon the Scope of Work. Agreement must then be reached on the final deliverables, staffing, logistics and reporting. Special attention will be paid to define clearly the inputs required from FHI 360 to ensure satisfactory implementation of the assignment. 4. Changes agreed upon will then be reflected in the financial proposal, using proposed unit rates. 5. Having selected the Subcontractor on the basis of the stated evaluation criteria, FHI 360 expects to negotiate a contract on the basis of the staff named in the proposal and, prior to contract negotiations, will require assurance that these staff will be actually available. FHI 360 will not consider substitutions during contract negotiations except in cases of unexpected delays in the starting date or incapacity of key professional staff for reasons of health. 6. The negotiations will be concluded with a review of the draft form of the contract. FHI 360 and the offeror shall finalize the contract to conclude negotiations. 7. The contract will be awarded after successful negotiations with the selected offeror. If negotiations fail, FHI 360 will invite the offeror having obtained the second highest score to contract negotiations. 8. Any selected firm will be required to complete a Financial Pre-Award Assessment in order for FHI 360 to ascertain that the organization has the capacity to perform successfully under the terms and conditions of the proposed award. As part of the Pre-Award Assessment process the firm will also be requested to submit a financial audit report from the previous fiscal year. In addition, payroll records and other financial information may be requested to support budgeted costs. 9. Issuance of this Request for Proposal does not constitute an award commitment on the part of FHI 360 nor does it commit FHI 360 to pay for the costs incurred in the submission of a proposal to the RPP. Furthermore, FHI 360 reserves the right to reject any or all offers received and to negotiate separately with an offeror, if such action is considered to be in the best interest of FHI 360 s client organization, the U.S. Agency for International Development. 10. FHI 360 may evaluate offers in response to this solicitation without discussions and will award a contract to the responsible offeror whose offer, conforming to the solicitation, is scored the highest according to the stated evaluation criteria. 16

17 FHI 360 reserves the right to: (a) Reject any or all offers; (b) Accept other than the lowest-price offer; and/or (c) Waive informalities or minor irregularities in offers received. 4 TERMS AND CONDITIONS Offerors are responsible for review of the terms and conditions described below and in the award budget template attached. If relevant, particular attention should be paid to clauses regarding USAID geographic code, marking and branding requirements and equipment and commodity purchases. 4.1 SOURCE OF FUNDING AND GEOGRAPHIC CODE Any award issued under this RFP will be financed by USAID funding and will be subject to U.S. Government and USAID regulations. The authorized USAID geographic code for this RFP and any resulting award is Code 937. All commodities and services supplied under any subcontract resulting from this RFP must meet this geographic code in accordance with the US Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), 22 CFR WITHDRAWAL OF PROPOSALS Offerors may withdraw proposals by written notice via received at any time before award. 4.3 RIGHT TO SELECT/REJECT FHI 360 reserves the right to select and negotiate with those firms/individuals it determines, in its sole discretion, to be qualified for competitive proposals and to terminate negotiations without incurring any liability. FHI 360 also reserves the right to reject any or all proposals received without explanation. 4.4 JOINT VENTURES If the offeror does not have all the expertise for the assignment, they may associate with another firm to enable a full range of expertise to be presented. The request for a joint venture must be presented at the time of the initial proposal and must be accompanied with full details of the proposed association. 4.5 DISCLAIMER 1. Offerors will not be reimbursed for the cost incurred in preparation and submission of a proposal. All preparation and submission costs are at the offeror s expense 2. This RFP represents only a definition of requirements. It is merely an invitation for submission of proposals and does not legally obligate FHI 360 to accept any of the submitted proposals in whole or in part, nor is FHI 360 obligated to select the lowest priced proposal. 3. FHI 360 reserves the right to negotiate with any or all firms, both with respect to price, cost and/or scope of services. 4. FHI 360 reserves the right to independently negotiate with any offeror, or to make an award without conducting discussion based solely on the written proposals if it decides it is in its best interest to do so. FHI 360 reserves the right to fund any or none of the proposals received. 5. FHI 360 reserves the right to disqualify any offer based on offeror failure to follow solicitation instructions. 6. FHI 360 may choose to award only part of the activities in the solicitation, or issue multiple award based on the solicitation activities. 17

18 7. FHI 360 reserves the right to waive minor proposal deficiencies that can be corrected prior to award determination to promote competition 8. FHI 360 reserves the right to check applicant s donor reference 4.6 OFFER VERIFICATION FHI 360 may contact offerors to confirm contact person, address, bid amount and to confirm that the bid was submitted for this solicitation. 4.7 FALSE STATEMENTS IN OFFER Offerors must provide full, accurate and complete information as required by this solicitation and its attachments. Failure to submit correct, complete and accurate information shall lead to automatic disqualification. 4.8 CONFLICT OF INTEREST Offerors must provide disclosure of any past, present or future relationships with any parties associated with the issuance, review or management of this solicitation and anticipated award. Failure to provide full and open disclosure may result in FHI 360 having to re-evaluate selection of a potential offeror. 4.9 RESERVED RIGHTS All RFP responses become the property of FHI 360 and FHI 360 reserves the right in its sole discretion to: o Disqualify any offer based on offeror failure to follow solicitation instructions; o Waive any deviations by offerors from the requirements of this solicitation that in FHI 360's opinion are considered not to be material defects requiring rejection or disqualification; or where such a waiver will promote increased competition; o Extend the time for submission of all RFP responses after notification to all offerors; o Terminate or modify the RFP process at any time and re-issue the RFP to whomever FHI 360 deems appropriate; o Issue an award based on the initial evaluation of offers without discussion; o Award only part of the activities in the solicitation or issue multiple awards based on solicitation activities GOVERNING LAW AND LANGUAGE This solicitation and any resulting contract shall be interpreted in accordance with the laws of the U.S. Government. The English language version of this solicitation and any resulting contract shall govern, and all notices pursuant to the provisions of this solicitation and any resulting contract shall be in English CERTIFICATION OF INDEPENDENT PRICE DETERMINATION (a) The offeror certifies that (1) The prices in this offer have been arrived at independently, without, for the purpose of restricting competition, any consultation, communication, or agreement with any other offeror, including but not limited to subsidiaries or other entities in which offeror has any ownership or other interests, or any competitor relating to (i) those prices, (ii) the intention to submit an offer, or (iii) the methods or factors used to calculate the prices offered; 18