Education and Youth Policy Project

The United States Government, represented by the Agency for International Development (USAID) in Guatemala, is seeking comments on a draft Statement of Work (SOW) for a planned new activity, Education and Youth Policy Project. USAID plans to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) within the next few months, subject to availability of funds. The draft SOW presents the current objectives and key elements of the activity. This procurement will be conducted as a total small business set-aside in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 19.502-1. Issuance of this RFI and posting the draft SOW for comments does not constitute a request for proposals, which will come later through a separate process. The RFI does not represent any award commitment on the part of the Government, nor does it obligate the Government to pay for costs incurred in the preparation and submission of any comments or questions. This RFI can be downloaded from http://www.fbo.gov. Interested parties who are not able to retrieve the RFI from the Internet can request a copy by contacting the Office of Acquisition and Assistance via email to Fabiola Loy at guatemalaproposals@usaid.gov. The subject line of the email must read: RFI Education and Youth Policy Project - [name of your organization] Comments on the draft SOW should be submitted to USAID via email to Fabiola Loy at guatemalaproposals@usaid.gov no later than Monday, December 14, 2018, 5:00 pm Guatemala Time. Interested parties may submit more than one set of comments, if appropriate. On the subject line of your email, kindly state the following: RFI Education and Youth Policy Project - [name of your organization]. This draft SOW is distributed for industry comments on the content of the attached document USAID/Guatemala welcomes general comments to the draft Statement of Work. In particular, please consider in your review the following: 1. Given pre-primary teachers are still trained in "normal schools", is support to these institutions (or their governing bodies) a strategic approach or should USAID focus on advocating that all teachers should be trained at the university level and continue strengthening teacher training at that level? 2. The new USG International Basic Education Strategy and USAID Education Policy discuss strengthening non-state education institutions as a opportunity to expand access to quality education. Can USAID integrate support for non-state schools in ways that are not currently addressed in this SOW? Page 2 of 2 3. Implementation of the new national workforce development system will require contributions and interaction from many entities. What should USAID prioritize in support of this new system? Are there ways the system can better integrate support to returned migrants? 4. Given USAID expects these activities will be accomplished with external partners, are there other ways to integrate private sector engagement not currently addressed in the SOW? Are there specific private sector entities that USAID should work with under each objective which are not currently indicated in the SOW? To assist in the efficiency of this process please ensure that comments are concise and specific to information included within the draft SOW; and submitted comments make specific reference to page and section numbers. USAID does not seek questions at this time, only comments. USAID is not obligated to provide any response to the comments submitted. POINT OF CONTACT: Fabiola Loy, USAID/Guatemala Acquisition and Assistance Specialist guatemalaproposals@usaid.gov Please note that USAID is not seeking technical or cost proposals at this time. Do not submit any proposal. Only the information requested above will be considered. Thank you for your interest in this USAID initiative and we look forward to receiving your comments.