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

Request for Proposals (RFP) For Tropical Forest & Biodiversity Assessment in Rwanda

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

Request for Proposal Number CLAA-RW-RFP-2024-04

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.

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 assessment on the Tropical Forest & Biodiversity in Rwanda from local Rwandan Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) firms that demonstrate that they are technically qualified and possess the relevant experience in conducting assessments of national assets such as forests and critical areas of biodiversity.

PURPOSE

During the process of developing the Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS

2020-2024) and as required by Sections 118 and 119 of the Foreign Assistance Act (FAA), USAID/Rwanda prepared the 2019 Rwanda Tropical Forests and Biodiversity Analysis. Now five years later, a large portion of the analysis still applies to today’s environment, and therefore, the 2019 analysis is broadly still relevant and applicable. However, some isolated changes in the status and context of forests and biodiversity may have occurred that need to be researched and captured in order to fully inform the extent to which the design of a new CDCS for the years 2025-2030 can address conservation. The expectation is to have the update of the 2019 FAA 118/119 to reflect the current day status completed by February 14, 2025.

The United States Congress mandating an FAA 118/119 analysis of tropical forests and

biodiversity conservation (hereafter referred to as “the analysis”) validates the importance and

fundamental role that tropical forests and biodiversity play in sustainable development for all

countries, including Rwanda.

The current scope of work will use the FAA 118/119 analysis done in 2019 as a basis and will update the existing information while capturing the major changes to the status of tropical forests and biodiversity during the last five years, including changes to biophysical status, legal and policy contexts, and government and development partner programs. This analysis will conduct key stakeholder consultations, desk reviews and, if needed, specific site visits to ground-truth information. The focus of the work will be twofold: A) Identify the actions needed to conserve tropical forests and biodiversity and the extent to which the mission meets the actions necessary; and B) Develop recommendations that will guide the mission in integrating biodiversity and tropical forest conservation into the Missions programming under the new USAID/Rwanda 2025-2030 Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS).

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.

Additional technical information related to this assignment are available from Julien Ntezimana (jntezimana@engl.com). Please contact Julien by email and he will forward the documentation to you.

Instructions to Offerors

Offer Deadline, Submission Instructions, and Offering Procedures: Offers must be submitted no later than 5:00 pm Central Africa Time, November 7th 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 “Tropical Forest & Biodiversity Analysis”. 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.

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-2024-04.

Eligibility:Local MEL Rwandan companies that demonstrate that they are technically qualified, possess the relevant experience in conducting biodiversity assessments and analysis, 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.

Offer Contents:The offer will include the following information:

Offeror’s Technical Qualifications and Experience:

Interested Offerors shall submit the following:

• Technical qualifications and past experiences of the Offeror relevant to this assignment (not to exceed 3 pages).
• Offeror’s contact information (telephone number, e-mail address, and work address).
• Copies of all licenses and permits required under the Rwanda legislation for the performance of the work.
• Evidence and description of either/or at least two projects about conducting biodiversity assessments during the last five years.
• 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.
• 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 Offer Price should include 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.

Key Personnel and Qualifications:

• For this assignment the offeror should include the CVs of proposed personnel with the following qualifications and experience.
• Experience in conducting assessments, evaluations, or similar studies.
• Technical subject matter expertise in biodiversity and tropical forests in Rwanda.
• Qualitative research and analysis skills;
• Rwanda experience; and
• Kinyarwanda skills.

The contractor must provide information about evaluation team members, including their curricula vitae, and explain how they meet the requirements in the evaluation SOW. Per ADS 201.3.6.8, all team members must provide to USAID a signed statement attesting to a lack of conflict of interest or describing an existing conflict of interest relative to the project or activity being evaluated (i.e., a conflict of interest form).

Proposed key personnel are expected to be the people who execute the work of this contract. Any substitutes to the proposed key personnel must be vetted and approved by the USDAID AOR/COR before they begin work.

Selection Criteria and Corresponding Points:

Proposals will be evaluated using a 100-point system allocated as follows:

a) Technical proposal (40 points)

b) Experience of the firm and qualifications of proposed personnel (30 Points)

c) Financial Proposal (30 points)

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 October 28, 2024. 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 October 30, 2024.

Specifications:All the technical specifications of the assignment are provided in the scope of work (Annex A) attached to this request for proposals.

Time for Performance:The period of performance shall be three months starting from November 15, 2024, to February 15, 2025.

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.

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.

Offer Validity Period: Offers must remain valid for a period of 30 (thirty) calendar days from the date of Offer submission.

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, andprovides the best value. However, ME&A reserves the right to request clarifications prior to awarding a subcontract and to reject any or all Offers.

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