ME&A – USAID/Rwanda Collaboration, Learning, and Adapting Activity (CLAA)

Request for Proposals (RFP) For External Midline Evaluation of Tunoze Gusoma Activity 

Request for Proposal Name: Collaboration, Learning, and Adapting (CLA) Activity. 

Request for Proposal Number CLAA-RW-RFP-2024-01 

USAID/Rwanda Collaboration, Learning, and Adapting (CLA) Activity is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Contract No. 72062320D00005/72069622F00001. CLA is a Task Order under USAID Kenya and East Africa Evaluation, Assessments, and Analyses (EAA) IDIQ. USAID Terms and Conditions of Kenya and East Africa EAA IDIQ and the CLA Task Order are applicable to the anticipated subcontract. Excerpts from the IDIQ and the Task Order are included in Annex B. 

The objective of the CLA Activity is to improve USAID/Rwanda’s performance monitoring, evaluation, collaboration, learning, and adapting processes to ensure the Mission effectively utilizes data in all decision-making processes. The services provided under this Activity will enable USAID/Rwanda to better deliver the sustainable development outcomes articulated in its new Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) 2020–2025 and enhance the United States (U.S.) Rwanda partnership. CLA is implemented by ME&A, Inc. (ME&A), a small businesswoman-owned international development firm based in the Washington, D.C., area, providing innovative solutions for economic development and social progress in more than 80 countries. 

CLA is soliciting Offers to conduct an External Midline Evaluation of the Tunoze Gusoma Activity from local Rwandan Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) firms that demonstrate that they are technically qualified, possess the relevant experience in conducting evaluations, especially for education activities in Rwanda, have a good record of performance and meet all the request for proposal requirements. 

The MEL firm described here will collect data to answer the evaluation questions, make conclusions based on the findings, and identify opportunities and challenges. 

Tunose Gusoma Activity

Tunoze Gusoma is a five-year cooperative agreement implemented by FHI360, Save the Children International and Florida State University that focuses on ensuring the education system enables all pre-primary and lower primary school and classroom environments to be of high quality, inclusive and focused on teaching and learning of foundational literacy skills. The activity’s approach puts the government of Rwanda (GOR) in the lead implementer role, supporting the GOR to ensure that children meet Kinyarwanda literacy benchmarks at increasingly higher rates by bridging resource and performance gaps, addressing known education system weaknesses and transforming classrooms to reflect research-based instruction and assessment. 

Purpose

The purpose of this external midline evaluation of Tunoze Gusoma is to provide additional insight to USAID Rwanda regarding the effectiveness of the activity’s interventions. First, it will provide crucial midline data on progress in early literacy rates through primary data collection with a nationally-representative sample, which should be timed to take place in the final term of the 2023-24 school year (e.g. around May 2024). Second, it will use that new data alongside existing data sources to identify the distinguishing characteristics of lower- and higher-performing schools, including the relationship to activity interventions. Third, it will consider responsiveness to participant feedback generally and specifically with reference to teacher participation in continuing professional development (CPD). Finally, it will determine the extent to which the activity has met its objectives of nationwide implementation and improving systems in a sustainable way. Offerors are invited to submit their proposals in accordance with the Instructions to Offerors provided below.

Issuance of this RFP does not in any way obligate ME&A to award a subcontract or a purchase order, nor does it commit ME&A to pay for costs incurred in the preparation and submission of the Offer.

Instructions to Offerors 

Offer Deadline, Submission Instructions, and Offering Procedures:  Offers must be submitted no later than 2:00 pm Central Africa Time, January 9th 2024. Each Offeror must submit an electronic copy to the ME&A email address clarwanda@engl.com, and place in the subject line of the email the name of the Offering company and the words “External midline evaluation of Tunoze Gusoma Activity”. Proposals received after the closing time will be rejected. 

Offers shall include the Offer Price and the information indicated in Clauses 3 and 5 of this section. Each Offeror may submit only one Offer. Offerors submitting more than one Offer will be disqualified, and their Offers will be rejected. 

1. Signature of Offers:  The Offer shall be signed by the Offer’s authorized representative. The first page of the Offer shall indicate the Request for Proposal number CLAA-RW-RFP-2024-01.

2. Eligibility: Local MEL Rwandan companies that demonstrate that they are technically qualified, possess the relevant experience in conducting evaluations, especially for Education activities , have a good record of performance, meet all the request for proposal requirements, and are not included in the USAID list of companies that are debarred, suspended, or proposed for debarment are eligible for submitting Bids in response to this RFP.
3. Offer Contents: The offer will include the following information:

a. Offeror’s Technical Qualifications and Experience: Interested Offerors shall submit the following:

1. Technical qualifications and past experiences of the Offeror relevant to this assignment (not to exceed 3 pages).
2. Offeror’s contact information (telephone number, e-mail address, and work address).
3. Copies of all licenses and permits required under the Rwanda legislation for the performance of the work.
4. Evidence and description of either/or at least two projects about conducting evaluations especially for education during the last five years.
5. Contacts (telephone number, E-mail address, and address) of at least three previous clients to provide references related to the quality of services and goods delivered by the Offeror.

b. Firm Fixed Offer Price: The Offeror Firm Fixed Price must be expressed in Rwandan Francs (RWF). Offerors must ensure that all elements of the Offer Price are accurate and reasonable. The CLAA Project is USAID-funded, and as such is exempt from VAT.

All firms must submit only one Offer Price. Offerors to submit more than one Offer Price will be rejected.

The Offer Price shall be the cost proposal to be submitted in a separate email from the technical proposal.

c. Key Personnel and Qualifications: This assignment requires the following Key Personnel:

Senior Evaluation/Education  Expert and Senior Evaluation Specialist. The Offerors should include the CVs of key personnel with the following qualifications and experience.

The Senior Evaluation/Education  Expert will serve as the team lead and be a National expert and should possess the following qualifications and experience:

• Sector expert in Education;
• Required experience in EGRA and preferred experience in IDELA;
• Expertise in education focused projects and knowledge of education in Rwanda
• Kigali based.
• S/he will have at least 8 years of experience, a minimum of 5 of which should be working in a Rwanda context in the field of education .
• S/he will have demonstrated experience in designing, conducting, and managing evaluations and/or managing education
• S/he must have demonstrated experience in undertaking both quantitative and qualitative research.
• The candidate will have strong analytical and report-writing skills.
• S/he must have experience leading large-scale studies.
• Sound knowledge and understanding of USAID programming approaches and methodologies will be an added advantage. 

The Senior Evaluation Specialist will possess the following qualifications and experience:

• The Evaluation Specialist will be a national expert,
• Evaluation expert who is a quantitative expert;
• Expertise in STATA or R sector experience in Education.
• 8-10 years evaluation experience;
• A postgraduate degree in evaluation, statistics, economics, or related field.
• S/he will have at least 10 years of experience, 8 of which should be working in a developing country context.
• The candidate will have strong analytical and report-writing skills.
• S/he must have experience leading large-scale studies.
• Sound knowledge and understanding of USAID programming approaches and methodologies will be an added advantage.

Other non-key personnel positions to complete this assignment will be identified in the proposal.  

4. Selection Criteria and Corresponding Points: Proposals will be evaluated using a 100-point system allocated as follows:
   1. Technical proposal (30 points)
   2. Qualifications of key personnel performing the assignment (20 Points)
   3. Experience of the firm/team (20 points)
   4. Financial Proposal (30 points)
5. Additional information required:

A description of the understanding of Education programming and evaluations is a requirement.

Based on the selection criteria above, 3 firms will be shortlisted for ‘’Interviews’’ and 1 of them will be contracted after ‘’Compiling Selection and Interview scores as well as due diligence’’.

6. Questions/Clarifications: All additional questions and/or requests for clarifications regarding this procurement must be made via email and submitted to ME&A at clarwanda@engl.com before December 18, 2023. No phone calls, oral questions, or requests for meetings will be accepted in response to this request for proposals. Responses to questions will be provided by December 20^th 2023.
7. Specifications: All the minimum technical specifications of the requested products and services are provided in the Midline Evaluation of USAID Tunose Gusoma Activity SOW Annex A of this request for proposals.
8. Time for Performance: The period of performance shall be six months starting from January 29 2024, to July 31, 2024.
9. Contract Type: ME&A will issue a Firm Fixed Price subcontract to the successful Offeror. The subcontract format will follow USAID requirements and will include USAID mandatory contract clauses.
10. Payment Schedule: The Offer price will be paid as follows:

Payment(s) for invoices will be made to the Subcontractor within five (5) business days of ME&A receipt of payment from the Client for Subcontractor’s services accepted by the Client. 

CLAA reserves the right to refuse acceptance of the work if the quality or specifications of implemented work does not correspond to the requirements of the Subcontract.

11. Offer Validity Period: Offers must remain valid for a period of 30 (thirty) calendar days from the date of Offer submission.
12. Evaluation and Award: It is anticipated that one award will be made to the Offer who demonstrates that it is technically qualified, possesses the relevant experience, has a good record of performance, meets all requests for proposal requirements, and provides the best value. However, ME&A reserves the right to request clarifications prior to awarding a subcontract and to reject any or all Offers.
13. Unique Entity ID: There is a mandatory requirement for your organization to provide a Unique Entity ID to ME&A. (https://sam.gov/content/home). Without a Unique Entity ID number, ME&A cannot deem an Offer "responsible" to conduct business with, and therefore, ME&A will not enter into a subcontract/purchase order or monetary agreement with any organization that does not meet this requirement. The determination of a Successful Offer resulting from this request for proposal is contingent upon the winner providing a Unique Entity ID number to ME&A. Offers who fail to provide a Unique Entity ID number will not receive an award and ME&A will select an alternate Offer.

All U.S. and foreign organizations that receive first-tier subcontracts/ purchase orders with a value of $25,000 and above are required to obtain a Unique Entity ID number prior to the signing of the agreement. Organizations are exempt from this requirement if the gross income received from all sources in the previous tax year was under $300,000. ME&A requires that Offers sign the self-certification statement if the Offer claims an exemption for this reason.

Information on how to register an international entity in SAM.gov and obtain a Unique Entity ID number is provided in the following link:

https://sam.gov/content/entity-registration