RFI - Partner Liaison Security Operations (PLSO) II

Dear Interested Parties: The United States Agency for International Development's Mission to Ethiopia (USAID/Ethiopia), hereby issues a Request for Information (RFI) solely for planning purposes. USAID seeks public comment/feedback to enhance its project design. The purpose of this RFI is to solicit feedback on the Partner Liaison Security Operation (PLSO) project proposed in the Draft Statement of Work below and allow stakeholders and interested organizations to provide information and suggestions on the upcoming activity. To maximize potential, USAID is seeking to receive feedback on the project implementation, including opportunities and potential pitfalls, and individual or institutional perspectives on activities, data, and/or approaches that might be useful for the PLSO project design, including past successes and failures, opportunities to leverage existing efforts and resources, and gaps that need to be addressed. The attached Draft Statement of Work presents the background, intended results, and key elements of the activity. USAID/Ethiopia may use feedback and comments from this RFI to refine the approach and focus areas for future Requests for Proposals. If a Request For Proposals is issued, USAID/Ethiopia intends to make one award with an estimated duration of five years in length. It is anticipated the type of award will be a contract. This is not an invitation for bid, request for proposal, or other solicitation; and in no way obligates USAID to award a contract. Any applications and/or proposals submitted in response to this request will not be considered. Please do not submit applications, proposals, resumes, or promotional materials, as they will be discarded, and not considered. USAID reserves the right to use the information provided by respondents for its purposes. Proprietary information must not be sent. The issuance of this request will not restrict the Government's ultimate approach. Respondents are advised that USAID is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information, answer questions or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. Any information submitted in response to this notice is voluntary. Responding to this RFI does not give an advantage or preclude any organization from any solicitation that may be subsequently issued. Responses to this RFI should be submitted to USAID via email to wzeleke@usaid.gov with a copy to caddis@usaid.gov with the subject line - RFI- USAID/Ethiopia PLSO 2.0 Response, no later than the date and time stated above. Only electronic submissions will be accepted. I. Cover Page with Business Information (1 page) Organization/firm: name, address, contact information. Point of Contact(s): name, title, phone number, address, e-mail address. II. Comments/Questions (2 Page Limit) Comments and Questions not to exceed two (2) pages will be accepted from all interested parties regarding the Draft Statement of Work and possible forthcoming solicitation. This is not a formal solicitation Q&A period; therefore, the government will not be responding. All comments and questions will merely serve to inform the government on current needs and further refine the Statement of Work. Comments may include but are not limited to feedback on the Draft Statement of Work requirements, recommendations on anticipated demand, other considerations, etc. Please ensure that comments are concise and specific to the information within this RFI. In the Comments/Questions section, USAID seeks information from the industry on the following items: What is your overall reaction to the SOW? If a Solicitation including this SOW were to be issued, which sections of the SOW would you want to be clarified or need more information about? If you have past experience managing similar contracts, what, if any, would be your concerns about managing a contract of this breadth? What additional lessons learned could you share with USAID that would help inform the design of such an award? Taking into account your organization's experience, what do you think an appropriate organizational structure and management plan would look like? Consider, for example, managing a diverse number of task requests, ensuring adequate technical knowledge and expertise is available, knowledge management and learning, etc. The page limitation includes any attachments. The Government will not review any information, including attachments, more than three (3) pages unless otherwise stated in this section. Thank you for your assistance and interest in USAID/Ethiopia programming. We look forward to your responses to this Request for Information. Sincerely, //signed (original signature on file)// Alula Abera Contracting Officer USAID/Ethiopia