Notice of Intent to Award a Contract Modification Using Other than Full and Open Competition

The United States Agency for International Development's Mission to the Philippines (USAID/Philippines) intends to award a contract modification to the Education Development Center to extend the Basa Pilipinas Project contract for a period of seventeen (17) months from January 2017 to May 2018 to expand activities to ensure the institutionalization and sustainability of the project's gains in the advancement of early grade literacy in the Philippines. The proposed modification is estimated at an additional $15 million and will increase the total estimated contract cost to $39,680,000. The additional funds will be used to carry out activities that will continue to provide technical assistance to the Philippines Department of Education (DepEd) particularly in the scale up of effective literacy instruction approaches and materials, provide additional resources to improve reading comprehension and provide additional investments at the Kindergarten level. This will be achieved through the following activities: 1. Develop and deliver two cycles of training to all Kindergarten teachers in the existing project sites. The training will focus on the implementation of effective reading strategies, and the use of project-developed materials for Kindergarten. 2. Develop, procure and distribute developmentally-appropriate teaching and learning materials for the Kindergarten level. Each Kindergarten student in all the existing project sites will be provided with these high-quality learning materials. 3. Provide a refresher training for Grade 3 teachers in existing project sites to reinforce the appropriate use of leveled readers, pupil assessment and management of guided reading sessions. 4. Respond to DepEd's request to facilitate the leveling of supplementary readers in the early grades for classroom libraries. Procure and distribute a complete set of supplementary readers for each classroom from Kindergarten to Grade 3 in all project sites. 5. Pilot an intervention to assist teachers in providing targeted support to students with reading challenges. This will include training teachers on how to tailor instruction for struggling readers using the full range of existing project-developed materials and supplementary reading materials available in the school. 6. Respond to DepEd's request to institutionalize the effective literacy online induction course for new teachers of the Kindergarten to Grade 3 levels. 7. Develop and deliver an online blended learning course on continuing professional development support for early grades teachers referred to as Learning Action Cells (LACs) intended for school heads, master teachers and DepEd officials in selected divisions outside of the existing project sites. 8. Respond to DepEd's request to provide training for the Curriculum and Instruction Division Chiefs on Effective Literacy Instruction to institutionalize the project's interventions. 9. Design a simplified classroom observation literacy tool in a tablet format for school heads and division supervisors to assess classroom teaching practices of teachers in the early grades. Provide tablets to the school administrators. Train school heads, supervisors and other DepEd officials on classroom observation assessment and data analysis. 10. Conduct advocacy activities for early grade reading at the national and local levels. 11. Conduct an Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) data collection and analysis in Filipino and English at Grades 2 and 3 to track the progress in student learning outcomes in the project's existing school divisions. 12. Conduct periodic monitoring visits to check on the availability and use of the project-developed teaching and learning materials in the classrooms. 13. Build DepEd's capacity to conduct monitoring of the Learning Action Cells through joint monitoring activities and structured reflection and analysis. 14. Conduct a quasi-experimental evaluation to determine the impact of the project's interventions at the Kindergarten level. Develop and pilot an assessment tool specific for the Kindergarten level. Pre- and post-assessment data will be collected on learning gains in a sample of schools in project sites. 15. Conduct the Time 3 data collection for the project's research study on pupils' developmental trajectories and teacher practices in both Basa and non-Basa classrooms through accessing and tracking Grades 1 to 3 pupils' reading performance in Mother Tongue, Filipino and English. 16. Finally, conduct an exploratory research to better understand the trajectory of reading achievement by gender and develop interventions to address the gender gap. The Authority for permitting Other than Full and Open Competition is AIDAR 706.302-70(b)(5): "An award for the continued provision of highly specialized services when award to another resource would result in substantial additional costs to the government or would result in unacceptable delays." The award of this contract modification is planned on or before July 30, 2016. Interested organizations may signify interest and capability to respond to the requirements or may submit proposals. However, this notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals. A determination not to compete this proposed contract modification based on responses to this notice of intent is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement for this proposed modification. The United States Agency for International Development's Mission to the Philippines (USAID/Philippines) intends to award a contract modification to the Education Development Center to extend the Basa Pilipinas Project contract for a period of seventeen (17) months from January 2017 to May 2018 to ensure the institutionalization and sustainability of the project's gains in the advancement of early grade literacy in the Philippines. The proposed modification is estimated at an additional $15 million and will increase the total estimated contract cost to $39,680,000. The additional funds will be used to carry out activities that will provide technical assistance to the Philippines Department of Education (DepEd) in the scale up of effective literacy instruction approaches and materials, provide additional resources to improve reading comprehension and provide additional investments at the Kindergarten level. This will be achieved through the following activities: 1. Develop and deliver two cycles of training to all Kindergarten teachers in the existing project sites. The training will focus on the implementation of effective reading strategies, and the use of project-developed materials for Kindergarten. 2. Develop, procure and distribute developmentally-appropriate teaching and learning materials for the Kindergarten level. Each Kindergarten student in all the existing project sites will be provided with these high-quality learning materials. 3. Provide a refresher training for Grade 3 teachers in existing project sites to reinforce the appropriate use of leveled readers, pupil assessment and management of guided reading sessions. 4. Respond to DepEd's request to facilitate the leveling of supplementary readers in the early grades for classroom libraries. Procure and distribute a complete set of supplementary readers for each classroom from Kindergarten to Grade 3 in all project sites. 5. Pilot an intervention to assist teachers in providing targeted support to students with reading challenges. This will include training teachers on how to tailor instruction for struggling readers using the full range of existing project-developed materials and supplementary reading materials available in the school. 6. Respond to DepEd's request to institutionalize the effective literacy online induction course for new teachers of the Kindergarten to Grade 3 levels. 7. Develop and deliver an online blended learning course on continuing professional development support for early grades teachers referred to as Learning Action Cells (LACs) intended for school heads, master teachers and DepEd officials in selected divisions outside of the existing project sites. 8. Respond to DepEd's request to provide training for the Curriculum and Instruction Division Chiefs on Effective Literacy Instruction to institutionalize the project's interventions. 9. Design a simplified classroom observation literacy tool in a tablet format for school heads and division supervisors to assess classroom teaching practices of teachers in the early grades. Provide tablets to the school administrators. Train school heads, supervisors and other DepEd officials on classroom observation assessment and data analysis. 10. Conduct advocacy activities for early grade reading at the national and local levels. 11. Conduct an Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) data collection and analysis in Filipino and English at Grades 2 and 3 to track the progress in student learning outcomes in the project's existing school divisions. 12. Conduct periodic monitoring visits to check on the availability and use of the project-developed teaching and learning materials in the classrooms. 13. Build DepEd's capacity to conduct monitoring of the Learning Action Cells through joint monitoring activities and structured reflection and analysis. 14. Conduct a quasi-experimental evaluation to determine the impact of the project's interventions at the Kindergarten level. Develop and pilot an assessment tool specific for the Kindergarten level. Pre- and post-assessment data will be collected on learning gains in a sample of schools in project sites. 15. Conduct the Time 3 data collection for the project's research study on pupils' developmental trajectories and teacher practices in both Basa and non-Basa classrooms through accessing and tracking Grades 1 to 3 pupils' reading performance in Mother Tongue, Filipino and English. 16. Finally, conduct an exploratory research to better understand the trajectory of reading achievement by gender and develop interventions to address the gender gap. The Authority for permitting Other than Full and Open Competition is AIDAR 706.302-70(b)(5): "An award for the continued provision of highly specialized services when award to another resource would result in substantial additional costs to the government or would result in unacceptable delays." The award of this contract modification is planned on or before July 30, 2016. Interested organizations may signify interest and capability to respond to the requirements or may submit proposals. However, this notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals. A determination not to compete this proposed contract modification based on responses to this notice of intent is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement for this proposed modification.