Request for Information - USAID/Evaluate

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) Date Issued: July 28, 2011 Issued by: USAID/Ghana Issued through: Regional Acquisition & Assistance Office, USAID/West Africa Issuing Contracting Officer: Martina Wills accracontract@usaid.gov Closing Date of RFI: August 12, 2011 Closing Time: 10:00 A.M. Accra, Ghana Local Time USAID/Ghana is seeking expressions of interest from local firms engaged in monitoring and evaluation for its planned support of a new initiative under the Education portfolio entitled USAID/Evaluate as outlined in the DRAFT Statement of Work. Responses to this RFI are not binding on the U.S. Government and does not obligate USAID to issue a Solicitation, nor does it commit USAID to pay any cost incurred in the review, response and information exchange process with potential Offerors. I. BACKGROUND Ghana and its education sector benefit from a strong tradition of participation in both national and international survey and assessment programs (DHS, MICS, GLSS, TIMSS-Grade 8, and NEA), membership in the WAEC, a regular population census cycle, and a functioning, decentralized EMIS in the Ministry of Education. It also enjoys a talented and productive education research community, and development partners that are fully engaged to support the Ministry and the GES in producing relevant, timely, and sound data, information, and analysis on the performance of the sector. These partners include USAID, DFID, UNICEF, the World Bank, UNESCO, ADEA, JICA, WFP, and others, and exhibit a refreshing mutual concern to coordinate efforts with each other and in full partnership with the Ministry and the Ghana Education Service. The National Education Sector Annual Review (NESAR), managed by the Planning, Budget, Monitoring and Evaluation (PBME) division of the MOE, serves as an important mechanism to organize, disseminate, and discuss sector performance in light of the current Education Sector Plan's (ESP) objectives and indicators. Other MOE and GES departments also conduct ad hoc data collection to obtain information for specific management questions; however there is little evidence that these collections are sufficiently structured, maintained or preserved to serve beyond very specific and time-limited purposes. The engagement of development partners to support the generation and analysis of information is amply evident in the preparation of the NESAR, through funding of commissioned research studies, and through specific support to the development of information systems. These high levels of engagement by multiple actors have contributed to a sector that is strong and getting stronger in the generation of information and research. II. DRAFT STATEMENT OF WORK Objective/Purpose The anticipated requirement is to provide USAID/Ghana, the Government of Ghana, and its development partners with a systematic, coordinated and responsive monitoring and evaluation mechanism that effectively and efficiently gathers, analyzes and reports on performance measurements on education programs. This will include designing and implementing both quantitative and qualitative evaluation studies and assessments of basic education programs in Ghana; providing evaluation technical assistance to the Ministry of Education (MOE) and Ghana Education Service (GES); and conducting data quality assessments for USAID. Technical/Specialized Services To undertake evaluations at the level of particular education activities and interventions, of the broader education program and strategic objective, and/or at the country levels, as well as for mid-term, final or impact evaluations and other related results-oriented program planning. To build the capacity of the MOE and GES to undertake evaluations of their own. Also to promote the use of findings to make evidence-based decisions for the sector and, based on the results of the evaluations it undertakes, shape policy dialogue with the MOE. Evaluations will be conducted following the guidelines included in the USAID Evaluation Policy (January 2011). This document may be downloaded at http://www.usaid.gov/evaluate. Technical Skills Required Skills in evaluation research design (including quantitative impact evaluation methods, experimental and quasi-experimental design, and qualitative methods); data collection, analysis, and synthesis; report writing, and planning for use and dissemination of evaluation findings. Skills in evaluation and performance monitoring methodology, innovative and state-of-the-art research designs and methods, participatory evaluations, cost-effective evaluation methods, and shall provide capacity building on evaluation. Expressions of Interest should detail relevant skills in the following areas: - Development of a Performance Monitoring Plan (PMP) for USAID/Ghana's education programming; - Support to MOE and GES for the development of a system to facilitate the gathering, management and analysis of education information in conformity with the Education Strategic Plan (ESP) framework; - Advocation of, and support for increased MOE and GES to use evidence-based decision making for the education sector; and - Design and implementation of policy studies and ESP program and project evaluations. Expressions of Interest should also detail consortium or partnering agreements between the local firm and an international organization with expertise in the evaluation of donor-funded education programs. III. EXCHANGES OF INFORMATION All exchanges of information relating to this Request for Information (comments, concerns and /or Expressions of Interest (EoI) must be submitted to Martina Wills and Margot Francis at accracontract@usaid.gov via email, no later than August 12, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. (Accra Local Time). USAID/Ghana expects to receive concerns from Offeror's that will enable us to identify and resolve any issue regarding the acquisition strategy, the feasibility of the requirement, and any other general concerns. Contracting Office Location USAID/Ghana receives contracting services from the Regional Office of Acquisition and Assistance located at USAID/West Africa, No. 24 Fourth Circular Rd, Cantonments, P.O. Box 1630, Accra, Ghana. Comments/Responses and/or Expressions of Interest (EoI) should be addressed to Martina Wills, Regional Contracting Officer and Margot Francis, Senior Acquisition & Assistance Specialist at accracontract@usaid.gov.