USAID/West Africa Local Works

The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to collect written information to identify the challenges, barriers and opportunities for development of private sector associations operating within and across Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Private-sector associations include, but are not limited to, organizations with voluntary private-sector membership such as industry or trade associations, professional associations and associations or alliances focused on addressing specific shared interests. This RFI is published in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 10 and FAR 15.201(e). The information will be used to help make planning decisions and influence activity design to improve future development outcomes. This is an RFI, not a Request for Proposals (RFP), and is not to be construed as a commitment by the U.S. Government to issue any solicitation or ultimately award an agreement on the basis of this RFI, nor to pay for any information submitted as a result of this request, nor does it commit the Government to pay for costs incurred in the preparation and submission of any comments. Any funding proposals submitted in response to this request will not be considered. Responses to this notice must be received by no later than the due date and time stated below in this notice. All information provided will become the property of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), will not be returned, and will not be released publically. USAID reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for USAID's own purposes. Proprietary information must not be sent. Background USAID is committed to helping its partner countries achieve self-reliance and ensuring that U.S. taxpayer investments produce sustainable, long-term development outcomes. Local ownership of the development process is vital to achieving these outcomes and establishing effective and representative private sector associations that can play an active role in achieving development objectives in sectors ranging from agriculture and environment to energy, health and good governance. Locally owned refers to local actors (i.e. new and emerging actors such as social movements and cross-sectoral groups) with the desire to build genuine, mutually beneficial partnerships that connect and facilitate their (locally-owned) development by using their own resources and expertise for activities and programs that are informed by the local (national or regional) context. Over the past decade, USAID/West Africa has worked to establish or support a significant number of private sector associations organized around specific sectors (e.g. health), products/industries (including shea, cashew, apparel, fertilizer, seeds, livestock, mangoe, grains, cotton, water and waste water utilities) or around shared objectives (removal of trade barriers, advancing women entrepreneurs, etc.). An area that was not sufficiently prioritized was structuring and incentivizing private-sector organizations to be locally-owned, member-driven and financially self-reliant versus relying on donor funding to sustain their core operations. In designing USAID/West Africa's next generation of support for private-sector associations, USAID /West Africa is seeking expressions of interest from a broad range of regional and national associations related to the biggest challenges and opportunities for potential support that the associations face in developing effective and self-reliant organizations. Examples of challenges may include, but are not limited to, creation of associations, legal and governance arrangements, financial management, strategy development, membership engagement, effective advocacy, development and delivery of member services and revenue models. In addition to the challenges to be identified, information on specific support that would be beneficial to advance the organizations effectiveness in meeting their mandate is encouraged. Examples of support include, but are not limited to advisory services, trainings and workshops, access to specific types of networks, organizational change management, etc. Submission Instructions Private sector associations or organizations working directly to support private sector organizations, that wish to provide input to USAID must utilize the attached template developed for this purpose. Interested parties are invited to submit a response to this RFI in the form of the attached template no later than November 23, 2018; 5:00 PM Accra, Ghana, Local Time. All responses under this RFI must be submitted through the online form located here: https://goo.gl/forms/2MJhH52SwMXTxcSy2. The issuance of this request will not restrict the US Government's ultimate approach, if any. 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. Not responding to this request does not preclude participation in any future solicitation, if any is issued.