Request for Information (RFI) - Burkina Faso Electricity Grid Connection Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT)

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) No. 95332420K0002 Randomized Controlled Trial on Interventions to Increase Electricity Grid Connections in Urban Burkina Faso Description of Anticipated Services The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is requesting information from vendors regarding the attached draft Statement of Work (SOW) for a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) on interventions to increase electricity grid connections in urban Burkina Faso. MCC is a U.S. Government corporation whose mission is to provide assistance that will support economic growth and poverty reduction in carefully selected countries that demonstrate a commitment to just and democratic governance, economic freedom, and investments in their citizenry. For more information on MCC, please visit www.mcc.gov. MCC is committed to learning and generating rigorous data-driven evidence, and having evidence be the basis of its programs. In line with this commitment, MCC is proposing to conduct a RCT as part of its due diligence activities to test possible approaches to increasing urban electricity grid connection rates to be scaled in the Burkina Faso II Compact. The Burkina Faso II Compact is projected to be signed in 2020. This RFI is intended to help MCC determine how to best design the scope of work for this activity. Desired interventions to be tested include: (i) providing credit to cover connection costs; and (ii) reducing the administrative costs of enrolling in connections, for example by providing for agents to go door to door on behalf of the utility to enroll new customers. MCC recognizes that the literature may suggest other interventions that may also be effective in raising connection rates. Subcontracting and teaming arrangements are encouraged for organizations who are not able to fulfill all requirements in-house. For more detailed information on specific tasks and requirements, please see attached draft SOW. Requested Information: (A) Responses to Questions: MCC is looking for responses to the following questions in order to clarify and strengthen the SOW. Please limit your responses to no more than 8 pages in length. MCC is proposing to test two interventions as part of the RCT: provision of credit for connection costs and reductions in administrative barriers to connections, for example by implementing a door-to-door enrollment campaign. Are there other interventions that would be important to propose, if well-justified by the existing literature? Please provide details regarding previous literature justifying any additional proposed interventions. MCC is proposing to track the consumer's decision to connect. Would it be important to track whether physical connections are eventually established by the utility within a given timeframe, say within one year of the household or firm's decision to connect? Should this activity be included in the scope of the evaluation? The current scope of work specifies that there should be both a household and an enterprise sample. Are the proposed sample sizes realistic and likely to yield enough power to detect successful interventions? Is it realistic to propose to include both firms and households within the given timeframe and a reasonable budget? Is the overall period of performance proposed for design and implementation realistic and achievable? If not, please propose a performance period reflecting more realistic assumptions. Is the statement of work clear and without ambiguity regarding the work desired? Is any further information needed to develop the proposal and a realistic cost quotation? Are there any other changes the contractor would propose to the tasks, timeline or deliverables? Are the Key Personnel described sufficient and appropriate to the task? Should additional Key Personnel be added, or qualifications modified? Given the current security risks in Burkina Faso, what actions should MCC take to ensure adequate contract performance? Is there a contingency plan MCC should consider? (B) Brief Descriptions of Relevant Project Experience: Additionally, interested organizations are asked to submit no more than 5 pages with examples of previous and relevant project experience. The final package, including responses to (A) and (B) above, should not exceed 13 pages. Additional Information: - This is an RFI and not a Request for Quotation and is not to be construed as a commitment by MCC to issue a solicitation. - All expenses associated with responding to this RFI are the sole responsibility of respondents. - MCC does not intend to award a contract based on this RFI and responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. - Responding to this RFI will not give any advantage to any firm or organization in any subsequent procurement and will not lead to an organizational conflict of interest. - Responses will strictly be held confidential and will be used for market research purposes only. Questions regarding the RFI may be submitted via email to Cindy Guo (contact@example.gov) and Regina Maxwell (contact@example.gov) by 1:00 pm Eastern Time on Friday, January 17, 2020. MCC will review questions received by the deadline and upload responses to this posting. Please send responses to this RFI via email to contact@example.gov and contact@example.gov with the subject title [Company Name] Response to RFI 95332420K0002 no later than 1:00 pm Eastern Time on Friday, January 31, 2020. You will receive an electronic confirmation acknowledging receipt of your response. After submission of the RFI responses, MCC may request additional information from some or all RFI respondents individually to further clarify the input provided. Please Note: This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any contractor responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be issued. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation. Thank you for your assistance and your interest. We look forward to hearing from you. Attachment: BFII RCT Statement of Work - Draft