REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) DRG LEARNING, EVALUATION AND RESEARCH (LER) ACTIVITY TASKING N069 DRG MEASUREMENT ACTIVITY

Transcription

1 REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) DRG LEARNING, EVALUATION AND RESEARCH (LER) ACTIVITY TASKING N069 DRG MEASUREMENT ACTIVITY Funded by: U.S. Agency for International Development Contract No. GS-10F-003M, Task Order No. AID-OAA-M NORC at the University of Chicago 55 Monroe Street Chicago, IL Key Contact for Questions and Responses: Abdul Jabbar Ghayoor, Operations Coordinator +1 (301) RFP Release Date: November 15, 2017 Performance Period: December 15, 2017 September 29, 2018 Proposal Submission Deadline: December 6, 2017, 5:00 pm EST Question/ Inquiry Submission Deadline: November 20, 2017, 5:00 pm EST

2 A. BACKGROUND A.1 Company Background NORC at the University of Chicago is an objective, non-partisan research institution that delivers reliable data and rigorous analysis to guide critical programmatic, business, and policy decisions. Since 1941, NORC has conducted groundbreaking studies, created and applied innovative methods and tools, and advanced principles of scientific integrity and collaboration. Today, government, corporate, and nonprofit clients around the world partner with NORC to transform increasingly complex information into useful knowledge. NORC conducts research in five main areas: Economics, Markets, and the Workforce; Education, Training, and Learning; Global Development; Health and Well-Being; and Society, Media, and Public Affairs. We provide comprehensive and integrated services that span the research cycle, and offer solutions that anticipate and address critical needs in research and data science. We approach all work with deep technical expertise, a spirit of collaboration, and a commitment to scientific integrity. A.2 RFP Overview On behalf of the USAID Center of Excellence on Democracy, Human Rights and Governance (DRG Center), NORC is seeking to engage an organization with a demonstrated history of providing statistical analyses of cross-national datasets that measure various dimensions of democracy. The expertise required of this organization includes: index construction; hypothesis testing using multivariate statistical models; statistical modeling based on social science theory; and deep familiarity with academic literature on democracy, human rights, and governance. In addition, the organization must present evidence of its ability to produce a variety of analytical products that meet the needs of a practitioner audience. The organization will not be expected to produce original data, but rather will use publicly available datasets such as those provided by Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem), USAID Economic Analysis and Data Services (EADS), AidData, Polity IV/V, Afrobarometer, BTI, and others. Potential Offerors should note that only organizations in countries authorized under USAID Geographic Code 937 are eligible to receive an award; please see for additional details. A.3 Provisional RFP Calendar November 15, 2017 RFP issued November 20, 2017, 5:00 pm EST Deadline to submit any questions related to RFP November 27, 2017 November 29, 2017 December 6, 2017, 5:00 pm EST December 7-14, 2017 December 15, 2017 Answers to any questions related to RFP issued to all Offerors Please provide a written notification via to Abdul Jabbar Ghayoor at ghayoor-abduljabbar@norc.org of your intention to bid. Electronic copies (Word, Excel, Adobe PDF) of proposal to be submitted to Abdul Jabbar Ghayoor at ghayoor-abduljabbar@norc.org and Renee Hendley at hendley-renee@norc.org by 5:00 pm EST. The subject line should read "DRG-LER Tasking N069 RFP DRG Measurement". Review of proposals and clarifications/negotiation Subcontract execution

3 The work is to be accomplished before the current end date of NORC s contract with USAID (September 29, 2018). B. SUBMISSION & AWARD DETAILS (1) All proposals are due by 5:00 pm EST (Washington, DC local time) on December 6, Proposals shall be submitted by to ghayoor-abduljabbar@norc.org and hendleyrenee@norc.org. (2) Questions concerning this RFP must be submitted by to ghayoorabduljabbar@norc.org and hendley-renee@norc.org by 5:00 pm EST (Washington, DC local time) on November 20, (3) All questions and proposal submissions should include in the subject line: DRG-LER Tasking N069 RFP - DRG Measurement. (4) If an Offeror does not follow the instructions set forth herein, the Offeror s proposal may be eliminated from further consideration or the proposal may be down-graded and not receive full or partial credit under the applicable evaluation criteria. (5) Offerors must set forth full, accurate, and complete information as required by this RFP. Proposals submitted must be valid for a minimum of 60 days. (6) Proposals shall be submitted in the English language, not exceed twenty (20) pages in length (excluding CVs of proposed key personnel and example publications), and shall include the following components: (a) A description of the Offeror s capabilities and previous experience with similar assignments. Offerors must also include an example report they have previously prepared which is similar to the types of deliverables requested in the Statement of Work (SOW) and which demonstrates their ability to perform the requested work. (b) Point of contact information (name, affiliation, address, and telephone number) for three references on assignments the Offeror has completed providing services related to project objectives. Offerors must indicate if they are registered in the System of Award Management (SAM) and provide their DUNS number, if available. (c) A description of the Offeror s approach to carrying out the work, including outlines of its approach to and proposed structure and data sources for each deliverable, an illustrative timeline for preparing the deliverable, and a staffing plan to carry out the tasks described in the SOW below. (d) Proposed key personnel for carrying out the assignment, including biographic sketch that highlights key experience and capabilities and CVs. (e) Detailed budget for data analysis specified in the SOW. Offeror s budget, in U.S. Dollars, should provide sufficient detail to demonstrate reasonableness of costs as it relates to Offeror s proposed staffing plan to carry out the tasks listed in the SOW. Offerors will also submit detailed budget notes accompanying their detailed budget. Offerors are requested to submit the completed payment schedule table in Section E of the Statement of Work, indicating the price per deliverable and total prices for each deliverable type and all the work ; each price should be based on a supporting budget with sufficient detail as described in 6(e) above. Offeror s price proposals will

4 be evaluated for realism to determine the best value. When technical proposals approach equivalent strength ratings, total price, effectiveness, and efficiency will be considered in making the subcontract award. (7) NORC intends to make an award within 30 days of the RFP due date, with preliminary tasks to begin immediately upon award. NORC anticipates issuing a firm fixed price subcontract to the successful Offeror. NORC will issue fixed payment(s) based on submission and NORC acceptance of deliverables. Once an award is issued, it will include a fixed price payment schedule per deliverable as specified in the Statement of Work. A copy of the subcontract terms and conditions are available upon request. (8) Issuance of this solicitation does not in any way obligate NORC to award a contract, nor does it commit NORC to pay for costs incurred in the preparation and submission of a proposal. NORC reserves the right to cancel the RFP or modify the requirements upon notification to Offerors. Additionally, NORC reserves the right to reject any and all offers if such action is considered to be in the best interest of NORC and its client, USAID. C. EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD Any award to be made pursuant to this RFP will be based upon the proposal with appropriate consideration given to technical, operational/management, and cost factors on a best value basis. Evaluation of offers will be based upon the evaluator s responsiveness to the RFP and review of the evaluator s budget. NORC reserves the right to waive any minor or technical defects or irregularities in proposals received. The following elements will be the primary considerations in evaluating all submitted proposals (in order of importance): Quality of the proposed approach to the work and assessment of the Offeror s ability to deliver the required services as set out in this RFP; Qualifications and experience of the proposed key personnel; Offeror s capabilities and past experience in carrying out similar assignments; and Detailed budget and cost realism.

5 ANNEX 1 STATEMENT OF WORK A. BACKGROUND Through the DRG-LER contract, the Center of Excellence on Democracy, Human Rights and Governance (DRG Center) is seeking to engage an organization with a demonstrated history of providing statistical analyses of cross-national datasets that measure various dimensions of democracy. The expertise required of this organization includes: index construction; hypothesis testing using multivariate statistical models; statistical modeling based on social science theory; and deep familiarity with academic literature on democracy, human rights, and governance. In addition, the organization must present evidence of its ability to produce a variety of analytical products (such as explanatory videos, online trainings or data dashboards) that meet the needs of a practitioner audience. The organization will not be expected to produce original data, but rather will use publicly available datasets such as those provided by Varieties of Democracy (V- Dem), USAID Economic Analysis and Data Services (EADS), AidData, Polity IV/V, Afrobarometer, BTI, and others. The work is to be accomplished before the current DRG-LER contract end date (September 29, 2018). B. TASKS (1) Workplan and Deliverables Management Upon execution of the subcontract, NORC will organize an in-person kick-off meeting with USAID in Washington, DC to review the subcontract requirements and to provide input to the subcontractor for creating a workplan. This input will include the specification the initial deliverables to be produced and timeline for those deliverables. As this initial set of deliverables is produced, subsequent quarterly meetings (which will be held by conference call) will be held between USAID, NORC, and the subcontractor to review completed deliverables and to update the workplan to specify subsequent deliverables (see table below). Responsible Party NORC, USAID, Subcontractor Task Kick-off meeting Prepare workplan (Subcontractor) Approve workplan (NORC and USAID) Date December 2017 Subcontractor Prepare initial set of deliverables December March 2018 NORC, USAID, Subcontractor Review initial set of deliverables (NORC and USAID) Specify additional deliverables (NORC and USAID) March 2018 Update workplan (Subcontractor) Subcontractor Prepare subsequent deliverables April-June 2018 NORC, USAID, Review deliverables (NORC and USAID) June 2018 Subcontractor Specify final deliverables (NORC and USAID) Update workplan (Subcontractor) Subcontractor Prepare subsequent deliverables July-September 2018 (2) Deliverables to be Produced The Subcontractor may be required to produce the following deliverables, as determined by the work-planning process described under Task 1

6 (a) Up to five (5) papers analyzing publicly available datasets in order to address priority DRG sub-sector issues, possibly including aspects of anti-corruption, human rights, and closing space. Each working paper should be approximately 30 pages and should be accompanied by a presentation of the findings at USAID and a two-page brief, an infographic, or a video summary. (b) Up to four (4) DRG data portraits of priority countries for USAID DRG assistance, possibly including Tanzania, Colombia or Ukraine. Each country data portrait should be approximately 10 pages plus annexes. (c) Up to five (5) trend analyses - one for each USAID geographic region (Latin America/Caribbean, Europe and Eurasia, Middle East/North Africa, Africa, and Asia) that summarize regional trends in democratic change, highlight leading reformers, and flag countries at risk of backsliding. Each regional brief would be tailored to include USAID assisted countries only. Each regional brief should be approximately 10 pages plus annexes. In addition, prior to the completion of the subcontract, the Subcontractor will hold a workshop in Washington, DC on the findings of the trend analysis reports and on the ongoing use of these data sources by USAID regional bureau staff. (d) Up to four customized applications of publicly available quantitative data to DRG tools that can be used by DRG officers and contractors on an ongoing basis. This type of application would run a customizable analysis on publicly available data based on a particular theoretical and statistical model. Note that the development of these applications will require close coordination with DRG sub-sectoral technical experts who produce the written guidance for these kinds of assessments. [As an example for use for the purpose of preparing an offer, consider the model for sequencing rule of law reform presented in Mechkova, Luhrmann and Lindberg, 2017 ( PUBLIC-WDR17BPAccountabilitypaper.pdf). The rule of law application would have an easy-to-use interface or instructions for a contractor conducting a rule of law country assessment to run the Mechkova et al. model on the publicly available data for that country. The application s output would be data to inform the sequencing of rule of law reforms for that particular country, formatted in a way that is easy for a DRG practitioner to use.] C. EXPECTED TIMELINE See timeline under Task A. D. DELIVERABLES (1) Initial Workplan (December 2017) (2) Updated Workplans (March 2018, June 2018) (3) Sector Analysis Papers (up to five, dates to be determined) (4) Data Portraits (up to four, dates to be determined) (5) Trend Analysis Reports (up to five, dates to be determined)

7 (6) Customized Applications (up to four, dates to be determined) E. PAYMENT SCHEDULE Deliverable Unit Price Maximum Number Required Total Cost Initial Workplan [P1] 1 [T1 = P1 * 1] Updated Workplans [P2] 2 [T2 = P2 * 2] Sector Analysis Papers [P3] 5 [T3 = P3 * 5] Data Portraits [P4] 4 [T4 = P4 * 4] Trend Analysis Reports [P5] 5 [T5 = P5 * 5] Customized Applications [P6] 4 [T6 = P6 * 4] TOTAL [SUM T1:T6][