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GLOBAL COMMUNITIES

TO Prospective Offerors

DATE May 13, 2021

SUBJECT RFP NO. FY21-P2-031

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR BASELINE SURVEY AND GENDER ASSESSMENT

The Cooperative Housing Foundation, doing business as Global Communities, has
been selected by the United States Agency for International Development
(USAID) to serve as the Prime Recipient for the Zambia Emerging Farmers
Partnership Program. Global Communities is inviting qualified firms with
experience in activities described in the Scope of Work to submit their
proposals for the subject activity based on this Request for Proposals.

Interested organizations should submit their proposals, in hard copy or
electronic format in accordance with the language of the solicitation to the
address specified. The proposals must be received no later than June 4, 2021
at 400 PM Central Africa Time.

Responding firms are advised that this solicitation does not in any way
obligate Global Communities to make a contract award or compensate the
responding firms for any costs associated with the preparation and submission
of their proposals.

Any questions or requests for information should be addressed by no later than
May 19, 2021 at 400 PM Central Africa Time to Tamara Kumwenda via email at
kumwenda@globalcommunities.org. Any information given to one prospective
offeror concerning this solicitation will be furnished to all such offerors as
an amendment of the solicitation.

Please e-mail Global Communities at tkumwenda@globalcommunities.org of your
intent to propose at the earliest practicable date, so that we may anticipate
the number of proposals to be evaluated.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP)
RFP NUMBER
RFP No. FY21-P2-031 ISSUE DATE
May 13, 2021
CLIENT
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) PROGRAM
Zambia Emerging Farmers Partnership
BASELINE SURVEY AND GENDER ASSESSMENT

ISSUED BY
Cooperative Housing Foundation,
doing business as Global Communities
8601 Georgia Avenue, Suite 300
Silver Spring, MD 20910-3440

Attention Tamara Kumwenda
Procurement Officer
PROPOSAL DUE DATE
June 4, 2021 at 400 PM EST

QUESTIONS DEADLINE
May 19, 2021 at 400 p.m. Central Africa Time
This Request for Proposal contains the following sections
Part 1 Instructions to Offerors
Part 2 Evaluation Factors for Award
Part 3 Statement of Work
Part 4 Annexes Annex A – Evidence of Responsibility
Annex B – Budget
Annex C – Biographical Data Sheet

Part 1 Instructions to Offerors

I. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS

A. The Offeror is requested to submit a proposal directly responsive to the
terms, conditions, and clauses of this RFP. Proposals not conforming to this
solicitation may be categorized as unacceptable, thereby eliminating them from
further consideration.

B. Proposals must be received no later than June 4, 2021 at 400 PM Central
Africa Time. Proposals must remain valid for a minimum of sixty (60) days. The
Offeror may submit its proposal by the following means

1\. Electronically – Internet email with up to 2 attachments (2MB limit) per
email compatible with MS WORD, Excel, and Adobe Acrobat in a MS Windows
environment to

tkumwenda@globalcommunities.org

2 The overall proposal shall consist of two (2) physically separated parts, as
follows Volume I – Technical Proposal; and Volume II – Cost Proposal.
Technical Proposals must not make reference to pricing.

C. Alternative proposals will not be considered.

D. Any proposal received in response to this solicitation will be reviewed
strictly as submitted and in accordance with the evaluation criteria specified
in Part 2, Evaluation Factors for Award.

E. The person signing the Offeror’s proposal must have the authority to commit
the Offeror to all the provisions of the Offeror’s proposal.

F. Global Communities is not obligated to make an award or to pay for any
costs incurred by the Offeror in preparation of a proposal in response hereto.

G. Global Communities reserves the right to accept or reject any proposal, and
to cancel the bidding process and reject all proposals, at any time prior to
award, without thereby incurring any liability to Offerors or any obligation
to inform Offerors of the grounds for Global Communities action.

H. The Offeror should submit its best proposal initially as Global Communities
intends to evaluate proposals and make an award without discussions. However,
Global Communities reserves the right to conduct discussions should Global
Communities deem it necessary.

I. Proposals must be clearly and concisely written and must describe and
define the Offeror’s understanding and compliance with the requirements
contained in Statement of Work, which can be found in Part 3 of this RFP. The
proposal should clearly address each of the evaluation factors set forth in
Part 2. All pages of each volume (cost and technical) must be sequentially
numbered and identified with the name of the Offeror and the RFP number.

II. SPECIAL RFP CONSIDERATIONS

A. The authorized geographic code for this procurement is Code 935 which
includes all countries except for prohibited sources. The list of USAID-
approved developing countries can be obtained from this internet address
https//www.usaid.gov/ads/policy/300/310mac
B. The anticipated type of contract to be awarded under this solicitation is
firm-fixed price. The Ceiling Price for this procurement is $75,000. Offers in
excess of the Ceiling Price will not be considered for award. For the purposes
of cost analysis, Offerors must prepare a detailed budget in accordance with
Subpart IV below “Instructions for the Preparation of the Cost Proposal.”

C. Unnecessarily elaborate brochures or other presentations beyond those
sufficient to present a complete and effective response to this solicitation
are not desired and may be construed as an indication of the Offeror’s lack of
cost consciousness. Elaborate art work, expensive paper and bindings, and
expensive visual and other presentation aids are neither necessary nor
desired.

D. (i) Offerors are informed that Global Communities complies with U.S.
Sanctions and Embargo laws and Regulations including Executive Order 13224 on
Terrorist Financing, which effectively prohibit transactions with persons or
entities that commit, threaten to commit or support terrorism. Any person or
entity that participates in this bidding process, either as a prime or sub to
the prime, must certify as part of the bid that he or it is not on the U.S.
Department of Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Specially
Designated Nationals (SDN) List and is eligible to participate. Global
Communities shall disqualify any bid received from a person or entity that is
found to be on the List or otherwise ineligible.

(ii) Firms or individuals that have an active exclusion on the System for
Award Management (www.sam.gov) shall not be eligible for financing and shall
not be used to provide any commodities or services contemplated by this RFP.

III. INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE PREPARATION OF THE TECHNICAL PROPOSAL

A. The Technical Proposal should provide a straightforward, concise
delineation of how the Offeror intends to carry out and satisfy the
requirements of the STATEMENT OF WORK described in Part 3 of this RFP. No
contractual price information is to be included in the Offeror’s technical
proposal in order that it will be evaluated strictly on its technical merit.

B. Technical proposals shall be limited to 20 pages in total. Pages in excess
of 20 will not be read or evaluated. Page limitations for each subpart of the
Technical Proposal are indicated below. The front and back of a single page
shall be counted as two pages when information is provided on both the front
and back sides of a single sheet. Detailed information should be presented
only when required by specific RFP instructions. Items such as graphs, charts,
tables may be used as appropriate but will be considered part of the page
limitation. Key personnel resumes, bio-data sheets, dividers, and past
performance report forms are not included in the page limitation. No material
may be incorporated in the proposal by reference, attachment, appendix, etc.
to circumvent the page limitation.

C. Technical Proposals shall be written in English, typed on standard 8 1/2 x
11 paper, single spaced, only 12 font type may be used, with each page
numbered consecutively. Page margins shall be a minimum of one inch at the
top, bottom and each side.

D. The technical proposal must include the following

1\. Technical Approach – limit 12 pages

The Offeror shall demonstrate its understanding, ability and overall approach
to performing the requirements described in the STATEMENT OF WORK

2\. Personnel Qualifications and Expertise – limit 5 pages

The Offeror shall identify in summary format the names and anticipated
positions of the individuals proposed to performing the requirements described
in the STATEMENT OF WORK. The Offeror shall indicate the level of effort for
each proposed person who will perform under the contract. The Offeror shall
submit a complete and current resume for each proposed professional employee
(not exceeding 2 pages each) who will be utilized if award is made. These
resumes must clearly describe the individuals’ education, experience, and
professional credentials. Resumes do not count against page limits.

The integrated baseline survey and gender assessment will be carried out by a
multi-disciplinary team of experts with a good understanding of the
agriculture sector in Zambia with extensive experience in conducting baseline
studies in agriculture, agribusiness, and/or agricultural value chain
development. The team should also include a gender expert to assess the gender
dimensions of the program.

The qualifications and expertise required of the proposed personnel include

> Minimum Master’s degree level preferably in agriculture, agricultural economics, agribusiness, and/or development studies including gender studies.
> Minimum least seven years’ experience in leading and conducting complex baseline studies and program evaluations in development or other international organizations.
> Substantial experience in conducting qualitative and quantitative research and data analysis from household and community surveys with a focus on the agriculture sector.
> Expertise and knowledge of the thematic areas relevant to the EFP program.
> Knowledgeable about gender mainstreaming and advancing gender equality in the agricultural value chains (i.e., production, post-harvesting, processing, marketing, etc.)
> Excellent analytical, writing, and communication skills.

3\. Capabilities and Experience of Organization – limit 3 pages

The Offeror shall demonstrate the following

a) The specialized competence the organization possesses with regard to the
requirements described in the STATEMENT OF WORK, including knowledge of and
experience working in Zambia.

b) Capabilities in the timely mobilization of short-term technical assistance
experts and teams.

c) Organizational systems and procedures are adequate related to project
management; contract administration; progress reporting; and other areas in
order to successfully comply with contract requirements and accomplish the
expected results

4\. Past Performance of the Organization

The Offeror shall submit a list of all current contracts and subcontracts and
those completed within the last five (5) years that are similar in size, scope
and complexity to the STATEMENT OF WORK in this RFP. Additionally, for the
three most recent similar contracts, the Offeror shall provide the customer’s
name, contract number, contract value, current postal and e-mail addresses,
telephone number for a currently available point of contact.

These lists shall be attached as an annex to the Technical Proposal, which
will not count against the page limit.

IV. INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE PREPARATION OF THE COST PROPOSAL

A. The Offeror must propose costs that it believes are realistic and
reasonable for the work in accordance with the Offeror’s technical approach.
The Offeror shall provide a complete budget by the cost elements described
below using Annex B Budget.
B. All cost and financial data should be fully supported, complete in every
detail, and organized in a manner that facilitates review and permits cost
analysis. The costs should be presented in both USD and ZMW. The cost and
financial data shall include the following information/data

1\. Direct Employee Salaries – List employee name (when identified),
functional position and duration of assignment (in terms of person days). The
annual salary of an employee is that individual’s basic compensation exclusive
of fringe benefits, travel incentives, housing allowances, differentials,
and/or other bonuses.

2\. Fringe Benefits – Describe the allocation method and base used. Provide a
copy of the latest Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA) with any
Government agency. Fringe Benefits, if not set forth in the Offeror’s NICRA,
shall be expressed as a percentage(s) of salaries, and the proposal shall
present the total fringe benefit costs.

3\. Indirect Costs – Describe the allocation method and base used. Provide a
copy of the latest Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA) with any
Government agency. The detailed budget breakdown shall be structured and
formatted to clearly and easily identify the rate(s) applied, and the
resulting dollar amount. If the Offeror has both home office and off-
site/field rates, and/or if the Offeror has more than one type of rate (e.g.,
overhead, G&A) the detailed budget breakdown shall be structured so as to
permit easy identification of the bases to which the rates apply.

4\. Travel and Transportation – International and local travel costs should be
budgeted in accordance with the Offeror’s technical approach.

5\. Per Diem – Offerors shall budget per diem associated with travel and
transportation in accordance with the U.S. Department of State Standardized
Regulations for per diem, which may be accessed electronically at the
following internet address

http//aoprals.state.gov/Web920/allowance.aspmenuid=95

6\. Allowances – Describe by employee/position

7\. Other Direct Costs – Itemize and provide complete details of other direct
costs, including unit prices that may be incurred.

8\. Fixed Fee (if applicable) – The detailed budget breakdown must indicate
the fixed fee in dollars, and indicate the percentage which the base fee
dollars is to the total estimated costs.

9\. The offeror shall submit fully completed and signed Contractor Employee
Biodata Sheets (Annex C) to support daily rates of consultants and employees
who are identified in the budget by name

C. If the Offeror intends to work under a joint venture or partnership, the
Offeror must include a copy of the agreement between the parties to the joint
venture/partnership. The agreement will include a full discussion of the
relationship between the firms including identification of the firm which will
have responsibility for negotiation of the contract; which firm will have
accounting responsibility; how work will be allocated, overhead calculated,
and profit shared; and the express agreement of the principals thereto to be
held jointly and severally liable for the acts or omissions of the other.

D. The Offeror shall submit as part of its Cost Proposal the following
Financial Data

1\. Evidence of Responsibility, completed and signed. See Part 4 of this RFP –
Annex A.

2\. In the absence of a Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA) or
other evidence that substantiates the Offeror’s indirect rates—audited
financial statements (Profit/Loss) for the past three years.

Part 2 Evaluation Factors for Award

I. GENERAL – PROPOSAL EVALUATION

A. Part 1 provides guidance to offerors concerning the documentation necessary
to conduct an informed evaluation of each proposal. The Offeror must furnish
adequate and specific information in its proposal. A proposal may be
eliminated from further consideration before a detailed evaluation is
performed if the proposal is considered obviously deficient as to be totally
unacceptable on its face or which prices are inordinately high or
unrealistically low. In the event a proposal is rejected, the Offeror will be
sent a notice stating the reason(s) that the proposal will not be considered
for further evaluation.

B. In conducting its evaluation of proposals, Global Communities may seek
information from any source it deems appropriate to obtain or validate
information regarding an Offeror’s proposal.

C. Competitive Range If Global Communities determines that discussions are
necessary, Global Communities may establish a Competitive Range composed of
only the most highly rated proposals. Global Communities may exclude an offer
from the competitive range if it is so deficient as to essentially require a
new technical proposal. Global Communities may exclude an offer from the
competitive range so unreasonably priced, in relation to more competitive
offers, as to appear that there will be little or no chance of becoming
competitive. Global Communities may exclude an offer from the competitive
range requiring extensive discussions, a complete re-write, or major revisions
such as to allow an Offeror unfair advantage over those more competitive
offers.

D. Global Communities reserves the right to award one or more contracts under
this RFP on the basis of initial offers without discussions or without
establishing a competitive range.

II. BASIS FOR CONTRACT AWARD

A. The evaluation factors presented below will serve as the basis upon which
proposals will be evaluated. The relative weight accorded to each factor is
expressed in points with 100 points possible.

B. Offerors are reminded that Global Communities is not obliged to award a
contract on the basis of lowest proposed cost or highest technical evaluation
score. Although for this procurement technical proposal merits are considered
more important than cost relative to deciding who might best perform the work,
cost factors and Global Communities prime recipient budget must also be
considered. Therefore, after the final evaluation of proposals, Global
Communities will make the award to the Offeror whose proposal offers the best
value to Global Communities and USAID, considering both technical and cost
factors.

III. EVALUATION CRITERIA

A. Technical Approach (20 points) – The extent that the Offeror’s proposal
demonstrates a clear and effective overall technical approach to performing
the requirements described in the STATEMENT OF WORK.

B. Personnel Qualifications and Expertise (25 points) – Demonstrated
expertise, experience, and availability of personnel to meet the requirements
of the STATEMENT OF WORK.

C. Capabilities and Relevant Experience of the Organization (10 points) –
Demonstrated organizational capabilities and experience as follows

> Organizational competence relative to the STATEMENT OF WORK, including knowledge of and experience working in Zambia
> Capabilities mobilizing short-term technical assistance experts and teams.
> Organizational systems and procedures

D. Past Performance of the Organization (10 points) – Quality of product or
service, including cost control, timeliness of performance, and meeting goals
and targets, and customer satisfaction with performance.

E. Cost Proposal (35 points) – The lowest price cost proposal will receive the
highest score for cost. Higher priced cost proposals will receive a
correspondingly lower score. To assist in evaluation and comparison of cost
proposals, Global Communities may ask an Offeror for clarification or further
breakdown of the Offeror’s price.

Part 3 Statement of Work

I. INTRODUCTION

A. Background on Global Communities

Global Communities (GC) is an international non-profit organization that works
closely with communities worldwide to bring about sustainable changes that
improve the lives of vulnerable people. We envision a world where everyone has
the freedom, means, and ability to live and prosper with dignity by creating a
long-lasting, positive, and community-led change that improves the livelihood
of vulnerable people worldwide.

Global Communities believes that the people who understand their needs best
are the people of the community itself. We make a difference by engaging with
communities, governments, the private sector, and NGOs as partners for good,
bringing together complementary strengths and shared responsibilities to work
toward common goals.
Global Communities has existed for more than 60 years. Until 2012, we were
known as CHF International and, before that, the Cooperative Housing
Foundation. For more details on Global Communities and its work, see
https//www.globalcommunities.org/aboutus

B. The Emerging Farmers Partnership Program Background

The EFP Zambia program is funded by the United States Agency for International
Development (USAID) for a period of three years starting in October 2020 and
ending in October 2023, with a total budget of $2,999,890.00. The Emerging
Farmers Partnership (EFP) program is an innovative partnership with private
sector companies which uses a market-based approach to catalyze agriculture
transformation by supporting the commercialization of emerging farmers in the
selected districts. The EFP partners include two private partners. John Deere
is supporting business advisors to work with the emerging farmers to develop
business plans to fully utilize the potential for tractors, participate in
field demonstrations and trainings, extend credit for purchasing of tractors
and other implements to qualified emerging farmers to drive commercialization
of the sector. Corteva Agriscience with its market best-in-class agricultural
technologies, will conduct demonstration plots and field days of the said
technologies, provide trial seed and crop protection products to farmers,
improve agronomic practices through extension services, and extend
input/supplier credit in the form of seed and inputs to qualified emerging
farmers.
The program is being implemented in Central province (Mumbwa, Chibombo,
Kapiri, and Luano), Southern province (Chikankata, Mazabuka, Monze, Kalomo,
and Choma), Copperbelt province (Mpongwe, Lufwanyama, and Masaiti), Eastern
province (Petauke) and North-Western province (Kasempa and Solwezi).
The Overall Objective of the EFP program is to catalyze the transformation of
Zambia’s agriculture sector through improving the sustainable farming
practices and commercialization of emerging farmers in the selected districts.

The EFP program’s overall objective is expected to be achieved through three
intermediate objectives

1) Increased capacity of emerging farmers to plan and manage risks in the
targeted districts
2) Increased emerging farmers’ adoption of improved inputs and technologies;
and
3) Increased emerging farmers’ ownership and use of productive assets in the
targeted districts.

The EFP Program contributes to USAID/Zambia’s development in the below ways

> Leveraging the vision, assets, and expertise of private sector companies to support USAID’s Private Sector Engagement Strategy which aims to drive economic growth in Zambia. In particular, the EFP will increase the provision of inputs and services from the private sector and increase the number of viable emerging farmer enterprises. The EFP project will strengthen the role of the private sector in input and credit markets targeting the vulnerable populations, which is needed to sustainably grow the sector.
> Implementing the vision of USAID’s Journey to Self-Reliance, resulting in a more sustainable outcome after the project ends, because the approach is driven by the private sector and represents market solutions to the challenges of limited commercial orientation in the agriculture sector.
> Supporting the USG’s Feed the Future strategy to improve food security, including through more-resilient technical and market solutions to climate change, which impacts Zambia’s agriculture. EFP builds on USAID MOUs with Corteva Agriscience and John Deere to leverage U.S. technology, investment, and expertise to find private-sector solutions to improve global food security.

The EFP program will address key constraints to the commercialization of the
agriculture
sector by increasing the capacity to plan and manage risks, adopting improved
agricultural
technologies and sustainable practices by adopting improved inputs and
acquisition of
productive assets. These interventions will enable emerging farmers to operate
their farming
enterprises as commercial agro-enterprises. The EFP program will also aim to
mainstream
gender by promoting gender equality and empowering women and youth (up to the
age of 35 years) to increase their incomes during the implementation of these
planned interventions. The program will, therefore, focus on mutually
reinforcing measurable indicators that relate to the overall goal and
objectives in order to successfully realize its goal and achieve the intended
outcomes.

II. BASE-LINE EVALUATION

A. Purpose and Objectives of the Consultancy

The purpose of the consultancy is to undertake an integrated baseline survey
and gender assessment for the Emerging Farmers Partnership Program in the
above indicated 15 selected districts of Zambia. The assignment is divided
into two (2) components being the Baseline survey and the Gender and Social
Inclusion (GSI) which will focus on integrating the baseline information and
gender analysis of the program. The consultant(s) shall carry out consultancy
services which include leading the baseline survey and gender analysis process
in each of the selected districts.

The EFP baseline assessment will be used to inform the monitoring, evaluation
and learning agenda of the program. Results will be used to establish baseline
values for key performance indicators and help in setting realistic
performance indicator targets against which progress would be measured over
time. Additionally, EFP baseline trend information will inform target setting
and predicting how the data might behave and be used to guide learning and
adaptive management throughout implementation. Baselines and baseline trends
will also serve an important comparison function for both impact and
performance evaluations by providing a point of comparison for future data
collection.

A comprehensive gender and social inclusion analysis (GSI) will be used to

1) understand the social and cultural norms and practices and how they impact
the full participation of women, youth (male and female) and other
marginalized groups in productive agricultural value chains
2) provide sex and age disaggregated data related to gender and youth dynamics
at the community level;
3) provide an accurate distribution of men, women, youth, and members of
marginalized groups in target communities to ensure that opportunities and
benefits of EFP-related outcomes are equally distributed;
4) provide the framework for an inclusive MEL System that will be used
throughout program implementation to guide learning and adaptation.

Based on findings from the GSI analysis, additional indicators may be
considered to track progress made towards increased representation of women in
historically under-represented spaces, reduced gender inequality or
unintentionally exacerbated inequalities, and to better understand how
attention to gender issues within the EFP program have contributed to more
equitable and sustainable outcomes. The consultant(s) shall work closely with
the Operations Manager and Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning Coordinator and
report to the Chief of Party.

B. Scope of Work

The integrated baseline survey and gender assessment shall be conducted in the
above indicated 15 selected districts of Zambia and the consultant(s) will be
responsible for undertaking the following tasks;

a) Identify and establish the current status of the project indicators related
to project outcomes and outputs as outlined in the project results framework.
b) Set benchmarks for project indicators at the start of implementation to
provide the basis for performance evaluation of project interventions at the
end-line.
c) Analyze whether the proposed interventions contribute to the set indicators
and targets and suggest appropriate interventions and modifications in the
indicators, where necessary.
d) Assess private sector involvement and participation in the maize value
chain and their current levels of support to emerging farmers in the targeted
districts. EFP project’s primary agriculture value chain is maize while
encouraging diversification among farmers.
e) Assess the training needs and capacity gaps and key opportunities among
emerging farmers in accessing inputs, profitable markets, equipment,
information and finance/credit.
f) What are the current farming (including improved) technologies and
sustainable farming practices (e.g. conservation farming, improved seed etc.)
among emerging farmers and what constraints hinder the adoption of these
practices

The baseline survey and gender assessment shall also assess Cross Cutting
issues relating to Gender and Social Inclusion (GSI) in the project areas to
include the following
g) Explore the extent to which norms, atti