USAID/Afghanistan Online Learning Education

USAID/Afghanistan intends to issue a sole source firm-fixed-price contract under the authority of FAR 6.302-1 Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies of Services will Satisfy Agency Requirements, on or about February 2018 to the online learning platform edX. The period of performance will be a base period of twelve months and four one year option periods. The activity will be implemented entirely in Kabul, Afghanistan. The estimated period of performance is late February 2018 through late February 2023. The base year will admit Afghanistan select group of higher education institutions as a member of the edX platform while the option periods will provide maintenance and support. In 2015, The Afghanistan Ministry of Higher Education finalized its e-Learning policy. The policy outlines the Ministry's approach to e-Learning and appropriate integration of online educational tools by faculties in universities and other higher education institutions. The Ministry's plan to achieve its e-Learning objective by working in specific areas of Academic, ICT infrastructure, and regulatory. In 2016, the first e-Learning bylaw was drafted by the Ministry with the support of public and private universities. This anticipated sole source award will support the Afghan Government's desire to modernize the Country's higher education curriculum and incorporate the e-Learning platform. Throughout its preparation, the Ministry has been focusing on edX as the platform of choice and has conducted numerous training events and other workshops to ensure the universities that will participate in the e-Learning initiative have the requisite experience and skill sets to support the implementation. Choosing any other online platform will lead to cost duplication and unacceptable delays. The online platform, specifically edX, will enable the Ministry to achieve the following objectives: 1. Promote integration of technology into learning environment in public universities of Afghanistan; 2. Promote and utilize the edx.org platform for Afghanistan higher education 3. Adopt virtual education didactics and foster learning 4. Develop a pool of committed and dedicated cadre in Afghanistan to contribute to the global knowledge community 5. Empower learners and professionals of Afghanistan with access to high-quality education from the world's best institutions and universities. 6. Provide a learning experience with the potential to help students complete and thrive in online programs in places where online education is less established 7. Expand access to high-quality, career-relevant education at a fraction of the price. 8. Provide learners with deep, on-demand learning that will help them advance in rapidly growing fields. The Government has determined that only one responsible offeror will meet it needs and no other offer will be acceptable. However, all responsible sources may submit a capability statement, which shall be considered by the agency. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this requirement is 541990. This notice of intent is not a request for proposals or quotes; however, all responsible sources may submit technical capabilities, which, if received within five calendar days of publication of this notice, shall be considered by USAID/Afghanistan. All responses must be submitted to the Government point of contact at the email address maburgos@usaid.gov. A determination by the Government to open the requirement to competition based upon the responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government.