FORMERLY

TO: Prospective Offerors

DATE: December 03, 2018

SUBJECT: RFP NO. UCCCT-001

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR procurement of services of developing a communications strategy, media plan, and providing mentorship services for the implementing partners of the Ukrainian Communities Countering Corruption Together Project (UCCCT)

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 Ukrainian Communities Countering Corruption Together Project (UCCCT). Global Communities is inviting qualified firms with experience in anti-corruption field 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 12:00 on December 16, 2018

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 12:00 December 12, 2018 to DOBRE Procurement via email at: dobreprocurement@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 dobreprocurement@globalcommunities.org of your intent to propose at the earliest practicable date, so that we may anticipate the number of proposals to be evaluated.

Global Communities | 8601 Georgia Avenue, Suite 300 | Silver Spring, MD 20910 USA T: (+1) 301.587.4700 | F: (+1) 301.587.7315 | E: mailbox@chfinternational.org | www.globalcommunities.org

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP)

RFP NUMBER:RFP No. UCCCT-001

ISSUE DATE:December 03, 2018

CLIENT: Global Communities

PROGRAM:Ukrainian Communities Countering Corruption Together Project (UCCCT).

Procurement of services of developing a communications strategy, media plan, and providing mentorship services for the implementing partners of the Ukrainian Communities Countering Corruption Together Project (UCCCT) that

helps reduce corruption at the community level, with a focus on enabling improved services in healthcare and education. The project builds citizen awareness of corruption risks and effective mechanisms they can use to make their local governments more transparent and increase the efficiency of public spending on education and health

service delivery.

ISSUED BY: Cooperative Housing Foundation, doing business as Global Communities8601 Georgia Avenue, Suite 300Silver Spring, MD 20910-3440

Attention: DOBRE Procurement UCCCT-001

PROPOSAL DUE DATE:12:00 December 16, 2018

QUESTIONS DEADLINE:12:00 December 12, 2018

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 – Application Form

Part 1: Instructions to OfferorsI. 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 12:00 December 16, 2018 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 5 attachments (2MB limit) per email compatible with MS

WORD, Excel, and Adobe Acrobat in a MS Windows environment to:

dobreprocurement@globalcommunities.org

2 The overall proposal shall consist of four (4) physically separated parts, as follows: (1) application form that describes the approach to communication campaign and mentorship and

addresses all the tasks included in the attached technical specifications (scope of work), explains the Bidder’s capacity to provide the requested services, and gives examples of similar services provided in the past, including their results and outcomes – maximum 6 pages;

(2) resumes of key personnel; (3) detailed budget in the provided format; (4) two references from former clients.

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 110. The list of USAID-approved developing countries can be obtained from this internet address:

https://www.usaid.gov/ads/policy/300/310maa

RFP No. UCCCT-001Part 1 – Page 1

B. The anticipated type of contract to be awarded under this solicitation is Fix Firm Price Contract. 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 100 pages in total. Pages in excess of 100 pages 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 6 pages

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

The Offeror shall provide more detailed proposal timeline by month activity plan shall. Please, use the table attached:

# Key Activity Person Responsible

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

RFP No. UCCCT-001Part 1 – Page 2

2. Personnel Qualifications and Availability – limit 2 pages + resumes

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.

3. Capabilities and Experience of Organization – limit 2 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 Ukraine.

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

c) Organizational systems and procedures are adequate related to: personnel policies and recruitment, travel policies; financial management; 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 Appendix 1 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 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.

RFP No. UCCCT-001Part 1 – Page 3

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 (not applicable) - 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 – Provide the number of trips, destination, purpose and cost by traveler. Estimated travel and transportation costs shall be in accordance with the mandatory Standard Provision of the subject Cooperative Agreement entitled “INTERNATIONAL AIR TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION” and in accordance with the Contractor’s cost principles. The proposal shall specify, for each traveler the itinerary, in terms of points of origin/destination, the estimated air fares, any transportation (e.g., excess baggage, shipment of household effects, shipment of unaccompanied baggage) costs.

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.asp?menu_id=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. Equipment, Materials and Supplies – Itemize and provide complete details, including unit prices and total costs.

9. Subcontracts – The contractor’s budget shall include a lump sum for each subcontract(s). Following the prime contactor’s detailed budget breakdown, detailed budget breakdowns for subcontractor(s) shall be presented.

10. Fixed Fee - The detailed budget breakdown must indicate the fixed fee in US dollars.

11. The offeror shall submit fully completed and signed Contractor Employee Biodata Sheets (Appendix 2) 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.

RFP No. UCCCT-001Part 1 – Page 4

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.

RFP No. UCCCT-001Part 1 – Page 5

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 (30 points) – Quality of program concept (justified and realistic approach, applicability to realities of amalgamated communities, relevant and logical content, innovative format)

B. Qualifications of Proposed Personnel (20 points) – Demonstrated expertise, experience, and availability of personnel to meet the requirements of the STATEMENT OF WORK.

C. Experience in providing similar services and Relevant Experience of the Organization (20 points) – Quality of product or service, including cost control, timeliness of performance, and meeting goals and targets, and customer satisfaction with performance.

RFP No. UCCCT-001Part 2 – Page 1

E. Cost Proposal (30 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.

RFP No. UCCCT-001Part 2 – Page 2

Part 3: Statement of Work

Project OverviewUkraine’s broad reform efforts since the 2014 Revolution of Dignity have progressed steadily in some areas, while struggling elsewhere. Decentralization reform has resulted in a slew of new local governments across the country, which are taking on new responsibilities and receiving funding from regional and central governments. Some devolution of authorities, such as those in education and healthcare reform, are moving slower. Anti-corruption efforts have faced challenges at the national level, and few local governments have experience applying strong, institutional anti-corruption mechanisms to ensure that new funds they oversee are transparently managed. Civil society at this local level has correspondingly little experience in monitoring local government processes and contributing to anti-corruption efforts in a constructive way. However, there are communities that have successfully designed and applied corruption prevention mechanisms at the grassroots level, demonstrating the example of government and civic cooperation. Global Communities’ work in Ukrainian communities and national public opinion research efforts both demonstrate that two primary areas of concern among citizens are education and healthcare. Non-transparent and non-competitive procurements by government for goods and services in these sectors impact citizen trust in how public funds are used, and a significant informal “shadow” economy in both sectors – including official bribes, “voluntary” contributions, or simple favoritism – impacts citizens’ lives and pocketbooks nearly every day. The project Ukrainian Communities Countering Corruption Together (UCCCT) aims to engage citizens in local governance, building civic and government understanding and capacity for anti-corruption efforts. The program goal is to reduce corruption at the community level, with a focus on enabling improved services in healthcare and education as the two key sectors of citizen concern in the incidence and prevalence of corruption, pursuing two objectives:• Objective 1: Build citizen awareness of corruption risks and effective mechanisms supporting local government transparency and integrity; and• Objective 2: Communities establish social accountability and oversight mechanisms to counter corruption in local government.Global Communities and the Odessa branch of the Committee of Voters of Ukraine (CVU) have partnered to implement this project in 20 communities over a two-year period to train and support civil society, media, and local governments to identify and adopt effective oversight mechanisms, and engage citizens to effectively use them. The project will combine training, coaching and awareness-raising for citizens and officials with opportunities for learning-by-doing, such as through advocacy campaigns conducted in coordination with government. UCCCT will develop online tools and a manual for monitoring activity and spending in the education and healthcare sectors, and support the initiation of institutional mechanisms for oversight such as supervisory boards and community integrity coalitions. Project Implementing PartnersThe Public Partnership “For Transparent Local Budgets!” administered by Odessa CVU, is a network of 19 civil society organizations and 20 media outlets across Ukraine dedicated to the ideals of fighting corruption, and bringing high levels of organizational, operational and expert capacity to that work. The Odessa Branch of the national CVU network acts as the secretariat of the Partnership, and will partner with Global Communities. Odessa CVU and the Partnership have worked with Global Communities since July 2017 on the development and implementation of corruption prevention mechanisms in communities. In the course of that work, they have proven effective in designing, coordinating, and implementing programming that achieve key anti-corruption goals. The Partnership has the proven ability to provide high quality training services to different audiences, implement effective advocacy campaigns, achieve sustainable results and successfully promote local-level reforms. In 2017, they assisted 23 DOBRE communities to design and adopt 53 corruption prevention tools, and has earned a positive reputation in and feedback from DOBRE communities. The Partnership has an extended network of trainers and experts in public budgeting, transparency of public funds, good governance, and corruption prevention, as well as a strong foundation for organization and coordination. CASE Ukraine, a consulting group which also developed a unique budget simulator for amalgamated communities, the Consolidated Community Budget Simulator, and has extensive experience in budget analysis and visualization tools for socio-economic processes that make complex ideas clear and digestible for the public. UCCCT will also leverage CASE Ukraine’s experience promoting online tools to reach community residents.

RFP No. UCCCT-001Part 3 – Page 1

Scope of Work

Global Communities seeks a well-qualified contractor to support the project communications by providing the following services:1. Develop an overall project communication strategy and media plan. As part of the program’s overall communication strategy, UCCCT will conduct ongoing activities that promote the actions and achievements of participating communities at the local, regional, and national levels. In addition to traditional communication through media or events, the program will establish a Facebook page to share information and results, and a unique social media hashtag. The program will develop and publicize a large number of anti-corruption materials, from the leaflets in the initial promotional campaign, community analytical reports on education or healthcare spending, and Citizen Budgets. The consortium will post and promote new tools and trainings to allow other local governments may also access them;2. Develop a communications strategy for community entry that promotes the project by communicating the benefits of corruption prevention and citizens oversight. The campaign will cover corruption risks and anti-corruption tools that have been successfully applied at the local level. It will present the benefits of these mechanisms to governments and communities, including examples of successful communities as ambassadors of change, while also formally launching the application process and materials. The campaign will ensure the inclusion of marginalized groups by developing messaging targeted for key demographics that underscores the need for an inclusive anti-corruption conversation in all materials. It will also include information about the online simulator that the program will design and offer to participating communities to incentivize engagement;3. Design a public awareness campaign and strategy for promoting key project tools and deliverables, such as “Real Cost of Services” – online tool for spending analysis in health and education, supervisory boards in schools and medical institutions, community integrity coalitions, policy of resolving conflict of interests, citizen engagement in planning and controlling spending in education and healthcare, investigations and reporting of corruption risks, and cooperation of local activists, media, and governments. The campaigns should be low-budget, realistic to be implemented in communities, including villages and small towns, and account for hard to reach audiences such as uninterested citizens and vulnerable populations;4. Provide mentorship support to project implementing partners in running the campaigns and disseminating project results. In addition to media outlets, all the program results and tools shall also be shared with the relevant ministries, including the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Regional Development, and Ministry of Finance, to promote their use in other local communities across the country, and applied in the daily work of these authorities. The mentorship should build the capacity of project implementing partners in local awareness campaigning and media relations to ensure that by the end of year 1 of the project, the partner is capable to lead project communications with minimal supervision. The implementing partners will have dedicated communications people on the team, as well as consultants working directly with communities and coordinating awareness campaigns and media relations. The duration of contract is one year with a possibility of extension. Expected Results and Deliverables1. Project communication strategy with action plan, media plan, key audiences, communication materials, communication channels and tools.2. Communications strategy and plan for community entry and project promotion in support of community recruitment process – project entry campaign. Implemented project entry campaign that results in high interest of communities in joining the project. Expected number of applying communities – 40.3. Promotion strategy for project tools. Assistance to project implementing partners in the application of the strategy.4. Consulting and supervision of project implementing partners’ efforts in daily project communications and dissemination of project results.

RFP No. UCCCT-001Part 3 – Page 2

Detailed Budget

Task #

Deliverable(s) Description Price

1. Project communication strategy developed

The contractor facilitates an all partner meeting to receive input to the strategy and learns about project logic, expected results, and key project deliverables;

The strategy addresses all aspects of the project, includes target audience analysis, action plan, communication materials, communication channels and tools, and media plan;

The strategy is subject to revision and approval by UCCCT staff. The contractor should be willing to incorporate proposed revisions.

2. Project entry campaign is designed, planned, and supervised.

Project entry campaign should support the strategy and identify key media outlets and campaign outputs;

Dissemination channels and dissemination plan developed;

Communication materials developed jointly with the project implementing partners;

Guidance and suggested revisions are provided to the project communications manager on communication materials and public events. Roles and responsibilities of all partners are coordinated and clearly communicated;

Adherence to campaign plan and project objectives is ensured by providing supervision of the project staff tasked with communication-related activities.

3. Promotion strategy for project tools developed

For each key project tool, communication materials are developed, channels of dissemination are identified, and public activities planned out; Guidance on implementing of the strategy is provided to the project partners; The partners are provided with oversight and mentorship during the campaign implementation.

4. Consulting and supervision of project partners is provided.

Mentorship plan that presents kinds of support participants should expect, as well as instructions how to request mentorship and/or contact mentors. All outgoing communications is cleared by the contractor; Improvement recommendations to materials and processes are provided on a regular basis via email, phone, and other channels if

RFP No. UCCCT-001Part 3 – Page 3

necessary; Guidelines for partners is developed; On a monthly basis, list of provided consultations including names of mentors, participants, and topic of consultations.

5. Project results dissemination plan is developed

Action plans to disseminate project results among media outlets, non-participating communities, and government stakeholders (both, local and national) are developed. Guidance for project partners on result dissemination action plans are developed and communicated making sure the partners have all necessary information and tools to implement the plans.

Signature:

(Seal)

Date:

RFP No. UCCCT-001Part 3 – Page 4