R--Program Management and Technical Support for the Ambassadors' Girls' Scholarship Program (GSP)

PLEASE READ THIS ENTIRE NOTICE CAREFULLY AS IT CONSTITUTES THE ONLY NOTICE THAT WILL BE ISSUED. This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. Solicitation Number 1435-01-02-RP-70771; the solicitation is issued as a request for proposals (RFP). GovWorks, on behalf the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), AFR/SD/ED (Bureau for Africa, Office of Sustainable Development, Education Division) intends to competitively award multiple contracts (one each for east, west and southern Africa) for technical services to implement a girls' scholarship and mentoring program on a regional basis throughout sub-Saharan Africa. The Education Division, AFR/SD receives proposals to implement educational and mentoring programs throughout sub-Saharan Africa in connection with realizing girls' scholarship program objectives: to provide rural, needy girls with an opportunity for access to higher levels of quality education, particularly in fields relevant to the needs of their communities; and, to mentor girls into economically viable careers and meaningful lives. The primary objective of the Ambassador Girls Scholarship Program is to help females stay in school. The scholarship program covers the costs of tuition, uniforms, transportation, and any associated fees. The scholarships are awarded to girls at the primary and secondary levels to encourage them to stay in school, complete their education, and broaden their economic opportunities. Girls receiving the scholarships have mentors to promote self-development and set examples of the contributions that women can make to a society. There has been a significant bridging of the gender gap through the advancement of female education through these activities. Former efforts of AGSP have helped countries mobilize resources to educate girls and women to foster educational development in 35 African countries. The objective of the Ambassadors' Girls' Scholarship component under this Initiative is to enable disadvantaged girls and young women to pursue their education and to gain valuable life skills through such activities as career camps, mentoring, Take Your Daughters to Work, orientation to the use and application of information and communications technology, internships and related skill-building activities. The underlying principle is that girls are the ultimate beneficiaries of the program and that communities will gain from the benefits of having sent their daughters to school. Therefore, community buy-in/ ownership of this educational support model is critical to its sustainability. Local NGOs will be expected to advocate for sustainability at the local level, and report on results. In addition, the Africa Education Initiative (AEI) requires visibility and management of the overall function of the program to ensure that broader initiatives specific to AEI are being met. The contractor management process must be proactive based on up-front planning and agreements reached with AFR/SD/Education, defined and monitored performance and cost milestones, frequent progress reports to AFR/SD/Education and timely identification and resolution of potential problems. The contractor is expected to perform all necessary administrative services to successfully implement and maintain tailored AGSP programs for countries designated by key decision-makers of the AFR/SD/Education Office. These functions will provide the foundation for performance by an independent evaluator of formative and summative evaluation of individual programs. To this end, services are to include, but may not be limited to: 1. Scholarship and Mentoring Program Management, 2. Scholarship Tracking System, 3. NGO Capacity Building, 4. Design and Maintenance of a Program Web Page, 5. Workforce Skills CONTRACT INFORMATION: The total estimated value of this effort is $8,000,000 for the base period (2 years) and approximately $4,000,000 for each option year. Contract Type: Firm Fixed Price on a Task Order basis. Period of Performance: Two years with three, one year option years. How to respond: An interested party must demonstrate that your organization is qualified to perform the work by providing a technical proposal detailing: 1. Key staff that will work on the contract (those contractor employees that will have primary responsibility for performing and managing the work,) 2. Organizational experience and facilities, and 3. past performance (specific references for similar work that your firm has successfully performed within the past 12-18 months, including number, size, and complexity of similar projects), adherence to schedules and budgets, effectiveness of program management, willingness to cooperate when difficulties arise, general compliance with the terms of the contracts, and acceptability of delivered products. Include contract number or reference title, project name or description, period of performance, dollar amount, client identification with a point of contact and phone number that is current. All references will be checked. If references cannot be contacted, then the information is of no value. A cost proposal shall also be submitted. As this will be an indefinite delivery indefinite quantity (ID/IQ), offerors shall submit fully burdened labor rates and proposed labor categories for this effort. In addition, offerors should indicate any indirect costs that will be applied to issuing scholarships, travel, etc. An original plus five (5) hard copies, and one (1) CD Rom, of the cost and technical proposal are due by January 6, 2002, by 3 PM ET to Procurement Operations, Mail Stop 2510, Second Floor, 381 Elden Street, Herndon, VA, 20170. The page limit for the technical proposal is limited to 20 pages, including resumes. There is no page limit for the cost proposal. If delivery is made in person or by courier, the building has a security check in at the rear of the building, which may delay timely receipt of proposals. Allow extra time for security check in when hand delivering documents. A FAX copy of the proposal is not acceptable. Evaluation Criteria are: 1. Superior Technical Approach, 2. Innovative Solution, 3. Thoroughness of Presentation, 4. Commitment to Schedule, 5. Price Reasonableness. All criteria are equally weighted. Questions should be sent via E-mail by Friday, December 20, 2002 to: contact@example.gov. Please include with your question(s) your full name, the RFP number & title, your organization, complete address with telephone and fax numbers. Telephonic questions will not be accepted. Address for receipt of offers: Minerals Management Service, Procurement Operations Branch, Attention: Susan Benik, 381 Elden Street - MS 2510; Herndon, VA 20170. The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 97-20. The following provisions and clauses apply to this acquisition: 1) 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors-Commercial (OCT 2000); 2) 52.212-3, Offeror, Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items; 3) 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items (APR 1998), with an addendum; and 4) 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders Commercial Items (AUG 2000). The Statement of Work for this effort is as follows: Program Management and Technical Support for the Ambassadors' Girls' Scholarship Program (GSP) INTRODUCTION The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), AFR/SD/ED (Bureau for Africa, Office of Sustainable Development, Education Division) has a requirement for the technical services to implement a girls' scholarship and mentoring program on a regional basis throughout sub-Saharan Africa. II. BACKGROUND The scholarship program has been operational in the following countries: Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Continued successful implementation of the program in 35 countries is measured by the enhanced ability of African institutions to address local education and democracy challenges including higher education levels for girls and women, more informed citizens participating in democracies, and broader access to information and communication technology. Program components are catalytic in nature, brokering new alliances and embedding innovative technologies LONG-TERM STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE The primary objective for AGSP is to strengthen girls' access to educational opportunities within African countries. Recognizing that girls are often not allowed to complete their education for various reasons and thereby, are not fully integrated into the economy or political systems, resources are being dedicated to helping expand the potential roles of girls and women in all aspects of societies. III. AMBASSADORS' GIRLS' SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM (AGSP): SCOPE AND OBJECTIVE Scholarships are awarded to girls at the primary and secondary levels to encourage them to complete their education. Girls receiving the scholarships have mentors to promote self-development and set examples of the contributions that women can make to a society. There has been a significant bridging of the gender gap through the advancement of female education through these activities. Former efforts of AGSP have helped countries mobilize resources to educate girls and women to foster educational development in 35 African countries. The AGSP program's success to date is influenced by several factors. Key among them is the involvement of a valuable, established network of local non-governmental organizations that are focused on addressing the educational needs of African women and girls, and their interrelationships with host government and expatriate entities in their countries. The Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE), faith-based and other local implementing partners, each with specialized needs for internal strengthening as well as approaches to community outreach, constitute a critical network working alongside Peace Corps volunteers for recruitment, selection and support services to our target audience. The management of this network to ensure an uninterrupted flow of information concerning mentoring, appropriate workforce development skills and related resources has proven essential to assuring that funds are reaching our intended beneficiaries - girls and young women who are most disadvantaged economically, socially and physically. Administrative oversight, therefore, is an important element needed to channel funds, gather information from the range of partners, coordinate professional development and other training workshops, and to gather formative and summative data for reporting purposes. The range of duties involved with administrative oversight and ongoing expansion of this flagship program is specified below. IV. TASK DESCRIPTION Objective The objective of the Ambassadors' Girls' Scholarship component under this Initiative is to enable disadvantaged girls and young women to pursue their education and to gain valuable life skills through such activities as career camps, mentoring, Take Your Daughters to Work, orientation to the use and application of information and communications technology, internships and related skill-building activities. The underlying principle supporting this objective is that girls are the ultimate beneficiaries of the program and that the communities will gain from the benefits of having sent their daughters to school. Therefore, community buy-in/ ownership of this educational support model is critical to its sustainability. Local NGOs will be expected to advocate for sustainability at the local level, and report on results The contractor management process must be proactive based on up-front planning and agreements reached with AFR/SD/Education, defined and monitored performance and cost milestones, frequent progress reports to AFR/SD/Education and timely identification and resolution of potential problems. Technical Issues and Acquisition Activities The contractor or contractors is/are expected to perform all necessary administrative services to successfully implement and maintain tailored AGSP programs for designated countries. These functions will provide the foundation for performance by an independent evaluator of formative and summative evaluation of individual programs. To this end, services are to include, but may not be limited to: 1. Scholarship and Mentoring Program Management: The Contractor shall assist Embassy contact and local NGO partners with program planning. As requested by the Embassy or USAID contact, the Contractor shall provide assistance in the conceptualization and development of inaugural activities, press releases, and background papers; shall serve as a resource for development of selection criteria and processes; shall review and approve annual Scopes of Work and budget plans submitted by each NGO partner for program implementation; shall monitor and report on program activities against Scopes of Work submitted by NGO partners; shall create and maintain linkages with private and public sector representatives; shall keep government (mostly Ministry of Education) involved in and informed of program design and progress; shall make field visits to consult with Embassy or USAID contact and local NGO partners on program implementation. The Contractor also shall establish and maintain an inventory of mentors, professional businesses and mentoring networks, especially women's networks, involved in the program as a component of building the mentoring network for program delivery. This inventory will need to be developed and updated as the program expands. The NGOs will work with communities and community representatives at local and regional levels to identify needs and develop sustainable and participatory ways to manage the program locally and regionally. The contractor will work with NGOs to develop private and public sector linkages to ensure support for the programs at the decision-making levels. Scholarship Tracking System: The Contractor shall install and use a scholarship tracking system that provides baseline data and other relevant information that can be used in formative and summative evaluations. The scholarship tracking system consists of a database containing relevant information on each Ambassador's fund; usage and outcome of grants for each country; entry and completion data on each scholarship recipient, including individual contact and post training activity information as appropriate. The tracking system will also contain country profile information, to be updated quarterly; the purpose and amount by award year of each scholarship fund; complete contact information for local entities, including implementing partners (with a designated amount awarded to each); schools involved with educating scholarship recipients, and detailed mentoring contact and activity information. This database is to track expected results, and should reflect extensive grants management, tracking and monitoring. The Contractor shall produce spreadsheets and related fiscal reports that monitor and track at the micro-level. These reports will contain details on each country's receipt of funds; award amount; issuance of funds; amount of receipts for funds; and outstanding pipeline balances not yet issued to each country program, all specified by award year. The Contractor shall produce reports for each country allocation budget by fiscal year. The Contractor will produce country-specific as well as regional lessons learned and recommendations reports at the end of every year. 2. Financial administration: The Contractor shall transfer funds to designated institutions for the purpose of project implementation; shall monitor funds allocated to designated institutions, and shall prepare quarterly reports on program expenditures. 3. NGO Capacity Building The Contractor shall provide capacity-building training to implementing partner entities as a component of the services under this contract award. Such training will include, but may not be limited to: A. Administrative Services Training Topics should include office management, professional communications, budgeting and funds management, program design and administration, data gathering, monitoring and evaluation; lessons learned identification and reporting. Training in participatory community development techniques, including needs assessment, community mobilization and participatory program monitoring. B. Grantsmanship Program design and proposal writing, the budget process, proposal submission strategies, leveraging, and how constructively to include data and lessons learned in proposals are to be topics covered. Also, research skills through use of Internet should be an ongoing service provided to all implementing partners. C. Negotiating Strategies for Business Development Marketing techniques, strategic planning for business, cost-sharing strategies, and in-kind support mechanisms are to be among the topics cover