Rfa For Capacity-Building Iso (Baladi Cap)

UPDATE: THE SUBMISSION DATE FOR APPLICATIONS HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO AUGUST 3, 2015

Questions and responses from the bidders conference are provided in the attached PDF.

For those who have already downloaded the RFQ, two (2) amendments to the RFA has been issued, and can be reqeusted by email from [email protected]

To apply, please send a request by email to [email protected]

APPLICATION SUBMISSION DATE: 3 AUGUST 2015

QUESTIONS/CLARIFICATIONS DUE BY: 29 JUNE 2015

Background:

The BALADI CAP activity aims to build the capacity of a cadre of civil society organizations (CSOs) that will be eligible to receive and manage direct USAID funding in line with the USAID Forward initiative. Events in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region demonstrate the important role civil society plays in being a catalyst for change. BALADI CAP seeks to expand the breadth and depth of USAID partnerships with CSOs that have the potential to act as change agents in Lebanon’s complex and divided society. Towards this end, BALADI CAP was originally designed to encompass two main components:

Task 1: Capacity Assessment of USAID Selected CSOs
Task 2: Capacity-Building of Assessed USAID Selected CSOs

The BALADI Plus activity, which ended on September 30, 2014, was designed as one of a suite of complementary BALADI activities intended to strengthen the ability of local government municipalities to work more effectively with CSOs and the public.
In February 2014, a BALADI-wide assessment was undertaken of the suite of BALADI core activities at the request of the USAID/Lebanon Mission by the Performance Management Program for Lebanon (PMPL), implemented by Social Impact. The assessment specifically recommended that the Mission continue providing technical assistance to municipalities and unions of municipalities until the end of the BALADI core activity in September 2017, as strengthening the working relationships between civil society and local governments remains a priority.

Consequently, the proposed BALADI CAP award amendment is in line with these recommendations and is based on data-driven evidence that this focus area is in continued need of substantial assistance. The “Civic Engagement for Democratic Governance” (CEDG) component is a set of additional tasks and sub-tasks under USAID’s BALADI CAP award. The objective of the CEDG component is to enhance citizen-municipality cooperation in local policy and decision-making processes, improve service delivery resource allocation, and increase civic engagement and oversight of public institutions. As a part of a broader initiative, it seeks to create a more responsive, peaceful, democratic and pluralistic society in Lebanon.

The newly added CEDG component has two main elements, which aim to: 1) foster greater civic engagement in the conduct of municipal affairs, and 2) build municipal capacity to better respond to citizens’ needs.

Objectives and Key Principles:

Through this RFA, BALADI CAP seeks to select one capacity-building service provider or Intermediate Support Organization (hereinafter referred to as ISO) to design and deliver the CEDG component technical assistance to Lebanese municipalities/unions and CSOs, in order to improve their skills in organization development, financial management, IT, disaster management, advocacy and outreach/communication at the local level. It is anticipated that the CEDG component activities by the ISO would start direct implementation in October 2015 and end on or before September 2017.

In order to achieve the objectives outlined above, BALADI CAP expects the successful offeror to incorporate the following key elements into its proposed capacity-building program:

Tailored to varying capacity levels. Targeted municipalities/unions and CSOs range from small to large in size. It is thus important to customize capacity-building support to meet the specific needs of the selected municipalities and CSOs.

Technical assistance for municipalities is driven by municipality self-diagnosis and customized accordingly. Given the shortcomings of “one-size-fits-all” approaches, the capacity-building program should be driven by the findings from a municipality self-diagnosis through the use of the municipal capacity assessment tool described under Sub-Task 1.1, as well as from a more thorough needs assessment conducted by the offeror in collaboration with and under the close supervision of the BALADI CAP team. This will form the basis for creating tailored Institutional Action Plans for selected municipalities to guide the development of a customized capacity-building package that may use a combination of the following: (a) general standardized and specialized training workshops for varying capacity levels; (b) one-on-one coaching to plan for future action and analyze progress made; (c) one-on-one on-the-job training and mentoring by qualified trainers and experts; (d) communities of practice and networking events for knowledge exchange and peer learning; and (e) self-learning tools accessible online (manuals, training videos, etc.)

Accessible to municipalities and CSOs at various geographic locations. Municipalities/unions and CSOs requiring capacity-building assistance may be based anywhere in the country. Training and capacity-building support should thus be accessible to municipalities/unions and CSOs operating in various geographic locations rather than Beirut-centric.

High-quality training materials and trainers. Offerors must adhere to high-quality training standards, using first-rate training materials and employing the best-of-the-best among training professionals experienced in municipal capacity-building and best practices. Participatory and practical skills training methodologies should be used to enhance the learning experience, such as hands-on exercises, case studies, roundtable discussions, role-plays and homework assignments. Certificates of attendance should always be provided.

Promote institutionalization of new skills, specifically at the municipal level. The capacity-building program should maximize opportunities for training participants to apply and transfer newly acquired knowledge and skills within their municipalities. To that end, the program must incorporate follow-up coaching, mentoring, and/or on-the-job training customized to the specific needs of the participants.

Provide self-learning tools. The successful offeror will make user-friendly training materials and self-learning tools (such as training manuals, handouts, videos, power point presentations) available to municipalities and CSOs to encourage continued learning outside the workshop setting. Such tools will be easily accessible to all municipalities and CSOs, including those that are not collaborating with BALADI, on a special website to be designed, maintained and updated by the offeror. The use of social media networks (Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc.) is encouraged to share relevant materials, build an online learning community, and support coaching and mentoring.

Encourage peer-to-peer learning and networking. The capacity-building program should encourage municipalities and CSOs to learn from each other, and provide avenues and platforms for them to do so, such as through municipal exchanges, networking events, and informal communications via social media networks or other tools.