TAF-RFP No. TAF-WEP-JAN-2015-004 TAF-RFP No. TAF-WEP-JAN-2015-004 The Asia Foundation - Afghanistan Program Office: Funding Opportunity Title: Baseline Survey under WEP projects Announcement Type: Funding Opportunity Number: Deadline for Applications: February 15, 2015 (03:30 p.m., Kabul time) Please Note that Applicants / potential bidders arriving at the TAF /AG premises after the given time (03:30 pm) will not be entertained. CONTACT INFORMATION For further queries regarding the project please contact [email protected]. And for all administrative queries please contact [email protected] or [email protected] . No personal visits or telephone calls shall be entertained. THE PROCUREMENT UNIT The Asia Foundation House # 861, Street # 1 Shirpour, District-10, (Sub Street of Shirpour Project) Kabul, Afghanistan. The Foundation will not be responsible for proposals left at the main gate, reception, guard offices, or handed over to any Foundation employee other than the procurement unit staff. CHECKLIST OF DOCUMENTS TO BE INCLUDED IN PROPOSAL Documents / Content to be included in the RFP Technical Proposal CVs of Key Staff and Core Personnel Summary Table of Similar Projects Letters of Recommendation Implementation Plan Risk Assessment Plan Budget and Budget Narrative Gender Equity Policy Copies Annual Audit Reports (last two years) Bidder’s Declaration Yes No Please explain if “No” has been checked. € € € € € € € € € € € € € € € € € € Not Required Not Required € € 1 TAF-RFP No. TAF-WEP-JAN-2015-004 Contents I. BACKGROUND SUMMARY............................................................................................................. 3 II. STATEMENT OF WORK AND EXPECTED DELIVERABLES ...................................................... 4 III. GENDER .............................................................................................................................................. 4 IV. BUDGET GUIDELINES: .................................................................................................................... 5 V. INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMISSION OF PROPOSAL: ................................................................... 5 VI. TIMEFRAME ....................................................................................................................................... 7 VII. EVALUATION CRITERIA ................................................................................................................. 7 VIII. TYPE OF AWARD INSTRUMENT ................................................................................................... 8 IX. OTHER TERMS AND CONDITIONS ................................................................................................ 8 2 TAF-RFP No. TAF-WEP-JAN-2015-004 I. BACKGROUND SUMMARY The Asia Foundation (the Foundation) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization committed to the development of a peaceful, prosperous, just, and open Asia-Pacific region. Drawing on 60 years of experience, the Foundation supports initiatives to improve governance, law, and civil society; women's empowerment; economic reform and development; sustainable development and the environment; and international relations. With a network of 19 offices throughout Asia, an office in Washington, D.C., and its headquarters in San Francisco, the Foundation addresses these issues on both a country and regional level. In Afghanistan, the Foundation supports five primary themes: Governance, Women's Empowerment, Education, Islam and Development, and the Annual Survey of the Afghan People. Project Goals: The Support for Non-State Justice Providers and Advocates for Peace in Afghanistan project will contribute to the long-term goal of stabilizing Afghanistan through enhanced access to justice and the promotion of inclusive and meaningful peacebuilding strategies. The project contains two distinct yet complementary components focusing on: 1) enhancing the efficacy and responsiveness of the informal justice sector within Kunduz province by building the capacity of non-state justice providers and strengthening coordination between State and non-State justice mechanisms; and 2) establishing community-based groups in four provinces across Afghanistan (Bamiyan, Kunduz, Balkh and Parwan) committed to resolving local-level conflicts and promoting inclusive and participatory strategies to promote peace and social reconciliation. The relevant objectives of the project include: 1) Establishing community-based Advocates for Peace Groups and building their capacity to resolve local-level disputes and promoting social reconciliation and sustainable peace; and 2) Fostering linkages between relevant stakeholders to promote synergy in peacebuilding and social reconciliation efforts. Expected Results: The expected results under Component Two of the project include: • • Increased stability within communities through the promotion of reactive, proactive and participatory strategies to manage conflict and mitigate its consequences at the local level; and Strengthened linkages among relevant stakeholders committed to peacebuilding and social reconciliation initiatives. 3 TAF-RFP No. TAF-WEP-JAN-2015-004 Please note: This RFP only concerns Component Two of the project (as outlined above) and is limited to the specific activity listed below. Methodology and Approach: II. STATEMENT OF WORK AND EXPECTED DELIVERABLES The purpose of this RFP is to engage a suitably qualified organization to complete the following activity on behalf of the Foundation: Activity 1: Conduct a baseline assessment to map conflict in target areas. An initial baseline assessment will be conducted to map conflict within the project’s target provinces – Bamiyan, Kunduz, Balkh and Parwan. This mapping exercise will generate a thorough contextual analysis that will be used to inform and guide the implementation of future activities, ensuring that interventions are implemented with a thorough understanding of the drivers of conflict at the local level and those organizations and actors currently working to address it. Specifically, this mapping exercise will seek to uncover and evaluate both ‘structural’ and ‘proximate’ causes of conflict. The deliverable under this activity will be a comprehensive report that aims to build knowledge around drivers of conflict and discord at the community level throughout Afghanistan. The report will also examine local level conflict from a ‘gendered’ perspective to aid in the development of an understanding of how community-level conflict affects women and girls. It is anticipated that the baseline assessment will take approximately two months in total to complete. III. GENDER The Foundation considers gender equality to be a critical cross-cutting theme and is committed to incorporating strategies to protect and promote the rights of women and girls into all aspects of organizational programming. Recognizing that discrimination can take a multitude of forms, the Foundation is committed to dismantling barriers that reinforce the marginalization of women and girls. The Foundation’s approach to programming is consistent with the relevant provisions of the Constitution of Afghanistan (2004) and relevant national laws such as the law on the Elimination of Violence against Women (2009), in promoting gender equality, gender justice and women’s rights. Further, the integration of gender considerations into all aspects of programming reinforces The Asia Foundation’s commitment to upholding the three pillars of development as outlined in the National Action Plan for the Women of Afghanistan (NAPWA), which include 1) Security; 2) Governance, Rule of Law, and Human Rights; and 3) Economic and Social Development. The Foundation therefore requires all implementing partners and sub-grantees to identify and integrate gender considerations into all aspects of project development, planning and 4 TAF-RFP No. TAF-WEP-JAN-2015-004 implementation. Implementing partners and sub-grantees are also required to establish systems to evaluate the measurable impact of project interventions against gender-sensitive indicators (where relevant) to ensure that project activities comply with the Foundation’s commitment to protecting and promoting the rights of women and girls and preventing discrimination. IV. BUDGET GUIDELINES Please refer to the attached budget template in designing budget. Size of grants Any grant awarded under this program must not exceed the following amount: • Maximum Cost: USD $80,000 The financial/cost of partners will be evaluated according to the below criteria laid down in this document. V. INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMISSION OF PROPOSAL Rules of this call for proposals: These guidelines set out the rules for the submission, selection and implementation of actions financed under the program. Eligibility of applicants: Who may apply? In order to be eligible for a grant, applicants must be: • • • • • • • • Organizations registered with the government of Afghanistan National organizations with proven experience undertaking similar (research/survey) projects for international organizations or the government of Afghanistan Experience working in challenging districts and provinces Have a strong management team Have team members with strong written and verbal skills in English, Dari and Pashtu Have extensive experience in conducting/implementing survey tools, i.e., in a transparent and accountable manner Have good relationships with related governmental institutions, policy makers and civil society organizations Be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action (not acting as intermediary). Applicants are excluded from participation in calls for proposals or the award of grants if, at the time of the call for proposals, they: • Are subject to a conflict of interest 5 TAF-RFP No. TAF-WEP-JAN-2015-004 • • Are guilty of misrepresentation in supplying the information required by the contracting authority as a condition of participation in the call for proposals or fail to supply this information Have attempted to obtain confidential information or influence the evaluation committee or the contracting authority during the evaluation process of current or previous calls for proposals. It is important to mention in your proposal technical details regarding scope of operation. Number of proposals and grants per applicant: Applicants may submit only one proposal for this particular action. How to apply and procedures to follow: A separate cover letter including the name, address, and telephone number of the applicant organization, and signed by the person or persons authorized to represent the agency should accompany the proposal submission. Financial proposal and technical proposal envelopes MUST BE COMPLETELY SEPARATE and each must be clearly marked on the outside as either “TECHNICAL PROPOSAL” or “FINANCIAL PROPOSAL” when submitted. Applications must be in English and accompanied by the following documents: 1. Technical proposal (not to exceed 20 pages) - please use 12 point Times New Roman font, single-spaced, and with appropriate margins; 2. CVs of key staff and core personnel - please limit individual CVs to three pages; 3. A summary table explaining when, where, and how the applicant has undertaken similar projects; 4. Letters of recommendation from previous projects from donors and international organizations; 5. Implementation plan showing detailed schedule of activities. 6. Risk assessment plan; 7. Detailed budget along with budget narrative - please use the budget format provided, do not use your own format; 8. Gender equity policy; 9. Copies of the agency’s annual audit reports (last two years, or if new organization written explanation); 10. Bidder’s Declaration - potential bidders must disclose any relationships e.g. friends, family, business etc. with Foundation staff Applicants are to submit: Four (4) hard copies of the technical proposal in a sealed envelope and one (1) original hard copy of the financial proposal in sealed envelope marked in the upper left-hand corner with the name and address of the applicant and the RFP title. 6 TAF-RFP No. TAF-WEP-JAN-2015-004 All interested applicants bidding for a project through this RFP are required to mention their DUNS # (in bold) on first page of the proposal. The supporting documents requested must be supplied in the form of originals or photocopies. Where such documents are in a language other than English, a faithful translation into English must be attached and will be used to evaluate the proposal. All proposals should be signed only by an authorized representative of the applicant. The deadline for the receipt of applications is February15, 2015 at 03:30 PM, Kabul time. VI. TIME FRAME Announcement of RFP Pre-Bid Conference Responses to pre-bid questions published Last date for submission of Proposal Evaluation of proposals and identification of agency Agreement with selected agency Jan 28, 2015 Feb 05, 2015 – 10:00 -11:00am Feb 05, 2015 Feb 15, 2015 Feb 16, 2015 TBD NB: Those attending pre-bid conference will not be admitted after 10:05 am. Late bids/proposals will not be accepted under any circumstances. Any Proposal received by the Foundation after the deadline for submission of proposals shall be declared late, rejected, and returned unopened to the proposer. Any correction or resubmission done by the Proposer will not extend the submittal due date. Once submitted, proposals cannot be altered without the prior written consent of the Foundation’s proposal review committee. All short-listed bidders will be informed following the selection process their status with regard to selection and shortlisting. VII. EVALUATION CRITERIA How proposals will be evaluated and selected: All applications/proposals will be examined and evaluated by a committee constituted by the contracting authority comprising of members from the relevant program team, PMO (Program Management Office) and Grants, who will evaluate proposals from both a technical and financial standpoint. Applications/proposals submitted by applicants will be assessed according to the following criteria: 7 TAF-RFP No. TAF-WEP-JAN-2015-004 VIII. TYPE OF AWARD INSTRUMENT Area Comments Score Technical Approach Clarity and appropriateness of scope in the proposed technical 30 approach with demonstrated understanding of project goals and component tasks. Simple and clear approach to project implementation and delivery of services. Project serves beneficiaries and engages relevant stakeholders. Organizational Institutional profile, background, expertise, clientage, experience 20 Capacity with similar projects, and operational and financial capacity. The Foundation reserves the right to visit organizations for due diligence purposes. Personnel/ Key Relevant experience and technical knowledge of team leader and 15 Staff proposed staff, including CVs and professional references. Cost/Budget Reasonableness and appropriateness of cost. Clear budget 35 alignment between level of effort, technical approach, and deliverables. The Foundation will issue a Service Agreement to the selected agency, which will be as per the Foundation’s internal policies and will be governed by the Foundation’s Rules, Regulations and Guidelines. Payments to the NGO will be made as per the payment schedule, which will be negotiable and finalized while signing the agreement. IX. OTHER TERMS AND CONDITIONS The Foundation’s project-specific marking and branding regulations may apply to all deliverables produced from this assignment. The Foundation is not bound to select any of the agencies submitting proposals. As quality is the principal selection criterion, the Foundation also does not bind itself in any way to select the agency offering the lowest price. The cost for preparing a proposal and of negotiating an award including visits to the Foundation’s office, is not reimbursable as a direct cost of the assignment. Both for-profit and not–for-profit agencies may apply for this RFP, interested not-for-profit agencies should provide a copy of their registration certificate as a not-for-profit agency. Important Note: The Foundation encourages proposals from both new implementing partners (IPs) and those with existing projects, but partners currently implementing two projects with the Foundation will be considered only if their current project completion date precedes the starting date specified in the current RFP. Finally, this RFP does not obligate the Foundation to award a contract nor does it commit the Foundation to pay any cost incurred in the preparation and submission of a proposal. The award of a contract under this RFP is subject to availability of funds and other internal Foundation approvals. 8 TAF-RFP No. TAF-WEP-JAN-2015-004 Annexes: 1- ANNEX I -Proposal Budget Template with sample budget worksheet 2- ANNEX II -CV template - for Proposed Staff 3- ANNEX III - Office Address Direction 9