1. law, govt and politics
2. legal issues
3. human rights

RFP No. TAF-WEP-OCT-2014-041
RFP No. TAF-WEP-OCT-2014-041
The Asia Foundation Afghanistan
Program Office: Women Empowerment Program
Funding Opportunity Title:
Announcement Type: Request For Proposal
Funding Opportunity Number:
Deadline for Applications: October, 30 2014 (2:30 p.m., Kabul time)
CONTACT INFORMATION
For further queries regarding the project please contact ameed.sahel@asiafoundation.org. For
administrative queries contact mark.dsouza@asiafoundation.org and
sayed.najeeb@asiafoundation.org. No personal visits or telephone calls shall be entertained.
THE PROCUREMENT UNIT
The Asia Foundation
House # 861, Street # 1
Shirpour, District-10, (Sub Street of Shirpour Project)
Kabul, Afghanistan.
The Foundation will not be responsible for proposals left at the main gate, reception, guard
offices, or handed over to any TAF employee other than the procurement unit staff.
CHECKLIST OF DOCUMENTS INCLUDED IN PROPOSAL
Documents / Content to be included in the RFP
Yes
No
Technical proposal
CVs of key staff and core personnel
Summary table of similar projects
Letters of recommendation
Implementation plan
Risk assessment plan
Budget and budget narrative
M&E strategy/manual distinct from M&E
Plan in body of technical
Gender equity policy
Copies of last two years of annual audit
reports
Bidder’s declaration
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Please explain if “No” has been checked.
RFP No. TAF-WEP-OCT-2014-041
Contents
I.
BACKGROUND SUMMARY............................................................................................................. 2
II.
STATEMENT OF WORK ................................................................................................................... 5
III. EXPECTED DELIVERABLES: .......................................................................................................... 9
IV. MONITORING AND EVALUATION .............................................................................................. 10
V.
MULTIPLIER EFFECT AND SUSTAINABILITY .......................................................................... 11
VI. GENDER ............................................................................................................................................ 11
VII. BENEFICIARY: ................................................................................................................................. 12
VIII. BUDGET GUIDELINES: .................................................................................................................. 12
IX. INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMISSION OF PROPOSAL: ................................................................. 12
X.
TIME FRAME .................................................................................................................................... 15
XI. EVALUATION CRITERIA ............................................................................................................... 15
XII. TYPE OF AWARD INSTRUMENT ................................................................................................. 16
XIII. OTHER TERMS AND CONDITIONS .............................................................................................. 16
I.
BACKGROUND SUMMARY
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RFP No. TAF-WEP-OCT-2014-041
The Asia Foundation is a non-profit, non-governmental organization committed to the
development of a peaceful, prosperous, just, and open Asia-Pacific region. Drawing on 60 years
of experience, the Foundation supports Asian initiatives to improve governance, law, and civil
society; women's empowerment; economic reform and development; sustainable development and
the environment; and international relations. With a network of 19 offices throughout Asia, an
office in Washington, D.C., and its headquarters in San Francisco, the Foundation addresses these
issues on both a country and regional level. In Afghanistan, the Foundation supports five primary
themes: Governance, Women's Empowerment, Education, Islam and Development, and the
Annual Survey of the Afghan People.
Project Goals:
The project goal is to contribute to a sustained reduction in VAW and sustainable protection of
women’s personal security by strengthening formal and informal justice sectors and raising public
awareness of women’s rights within an Islamic framework. The project approach, which has been
successfully utilized by the Foundation in Afghanistan and other Muslim majority countries, will
increase religious institutions’ knowledge and acceptance of the principles of women’s rights
within an Islamic framework and build their capacity to be effective advocates for women’s rights
in their local communities and provinces. The project’s approach is based on the recognition that
religious institutions and leaders have the potential to be key agents of support for the protection
of women’s rights and, therefore, human rights. Areas which will be covered by this project in
alignment with the outcomes above include: 1) directing women affected by violence to
appropriate and relevant community-based or formal justice institutions to provide proper
treatment and quality services, and building the capacity of government to deliver those services;
2) through awareness and knowledge transfer, such as trainings on EVAW law and women’s
rights, the prevention dimension of VAW will be addressed so men understand women’s rights
and women are able to articulate their rights in Islam and laws of Afghanistan; and 3) providing
awareness for men and women to increase their knowledge on women’s rights and institutions that
they can approach when faced with VAW.
The project will also foster linkages between local religious and community leaders and groups,
men and women, parliamentarians, researchers and women’s rights activists, to encourage their
support for women’s rights and the EVAW law. The Foundation’s experience and past work
enables it to apply different, appropriate approaches to handle and work with different types of
stakeholders. Regarding the formal justice sector, the Foundation remains sensitive of their needs,
specifically their general lack of awareness regarding the rights of women within an Islamic
framework, as well as the EVAW law, and lack of institutional capacity. Therefore, the project
logic follows that in order to achieve sustainable protection of women, the Foundation and its
partners will work with informal and formal justice entities and the public to build their capacity,
awareness, and motivation regarding the protection of women from violence, the EVAW law,
service provisions and the proper resolution of VAW cases.
The objective of the project is to contribute to a sustained reduction in violence against women
(VAW) and the sustainable protection of women’s personal security by strengthening the formal
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RFP No. TAF-WEP-OCT-2014-041
and informal justice sectors and raising public awareness of women’s rights within an Islamic
framework. This project seeks to:
•
•
•
Increase access to justice for women
Decrease violence against women
Increase public awareness on women’s rights
Outcomes of the Project:
Outcome 1: Improved access to quality services in target areas by women affected by violence
Outcome 2: Increased VAW cases resolved with positive outcomes for women through informal
and formal justice processes, in accordance with women’s rights under Islam and the EVAW Law
Outcome 3: Increased community awareness and engagement - among men and women - in
strengthening women's access to justice, prevention of VAW, and women's participation in public
life.
Note: This RFP only covers the specific activities listed below above under Outcomes 1, 2 and 3.
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RFP No. TAF-WEP-OCT-2014-041
Methodology and Approach:
The project approach, which has been successfully utilized by the Foundation in Afghanistan and
other Muslim majority countries, will increase religious institutions’ knowledge and acceptance of
the principles of women’s rights within an Islamic framework and build their capacity to be
effective advocates for women’s rights in their local communities and provinces. The project’s
approach is based on the recognition that religious institutions and leaders have the potential to be
key agents of support for the protection of women’s rights and human rights.
Areas which will be covered by this project, in alignment with the outcomes above, include: 1)
directing women affected by violence to appropriate and relevant community-based or formal
institutions to access proper treatment and quality services, and building the capacity of
government to deliver those services; 2) through awareness and knowledge transfer, such as
trainings on EVAW law and women’s rights, the prevention dimension of VAW will be addressed
so that men understand women’s rights and women are able to articulate their rights under Islam
and the laws of Afghanistan; and 3) providing awareness for men and women to increase their
knowledge on women’s rights and institutions that they can approach when faced with VAW.
The Asia Foundation is a non-profit, non-governmental organization committed to the
development of a peaceful, prosperous, just, and open Asia-Pacific region. The Foundation
supports programs in Asia that help improve governance, women's empowerment and women’s
rights, Education, and Islam and Development. Drawing on more than 60 years of experience in
Asia, the Foundation collaborates with private and public partners to support leadership and
institutional development, exchanges, and policy research. With a network of 19 offices
throughout Asia, an office in Washington, D.C., and its headquarters in San Francisco, the
Foundation addresses these issues on both a country and regional level
II.
STATEMENT OF WORK
The Purpose of this RFP is to seek national institutions with experience in working with religious
scholars, governmental institutions, women’s rights activists, civil society, and community leaders
in order to implement the following activities:
Outcome 1: Improved access to quality services in target areas by women affected by
violence
Activity 1.1: Deliver technical assistance to MoWA’s Women’s Protection Centers Directorate.
Implementing partner will hire one management expert for one year in each province of its
responsibility to provide EVAW Law trainings, existing policies trainings, paralegal trainings, and
case/file management trainings to DOWA’s Women Protection Centers and any other topics
determined after needs assessment of Women Protection Centers and EVAW Committees in the
provinces. In addition to providing training, the expert will mentor staff in applying training. This
management expert will build capacity of mentioned organizations. Possible areas requiring
expert’s attention may include but are not limited to: case management training, file management,
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RFP No. TAF-WEP-OCT-2014-041
training on Women’s Rights in Islam, etc,, all areas to be identified and developed by the
implementing partners.
Outcome 2: Increased VAW cases resolved with positive outcomes for women through
informal and formal justice processes, in accordance with women’s rights under Islam and
the EVAW Law.
Activity 2.1: Training of Trainers (ToT) for religious leaders on 18 booklets of Women’s Rights
in Islam.
The implementing partner’s personnel will travel to the provinces to select 48 male religious
leaders or Community Dialogue Group (CDG) facilitators/trainers (8 in each province who will
then establish their CDGs (Community Dialogue Groups) in their respective areas. They will also
select 12 mobile trainers (these mobile trainers will provide lectures on women rights issue to
students in schools and Madrassas) in six targeted provinces (two in each province) and train them
on EVAW law and women’s rights in Islam topics which will be provided by the Foundation.
(Please provide criteria under which you will select these religious leaders/imams in target
provinces). Under this activity and after selection of the male CDG facilitators, the following ToT
trainings are required for the selected CDG facilitators and mobile trainers of activity 3.4:
•
•
•
Hiring two master trainers in each province on EVAW Law and Women’s Rights in Islam
in the capital of each province.
Training on 18 booklets of women’s rights in Islam, tolerance, and corruption for 8 CDG
facilitators and two mobile trainers in each province. These booklets will be covered in 10
individual one-day trainings, one per month.
One two-day training on EVAW law for the 8 CDG facilitators and two mobile trainers in
each province. Curriculum will be provided by the Foundation.
Activity 2.2: Train male CDGs members on women’s rights, the EVAW Law, tolerance and anticorruption.
The partner will train 8 male CDGs (each CDG consist of 15 members) in each province on
women’s rights in Islam 18 booklets and EVAW Law. It is important that individuals (men CDG
members) are influential members of the community and religious leaders who have influence in
decision-making. The trainings must be distributed once per month for one year, totaling 10
trainings.
•
•
Trainings for 8 male CDGs on 18 booklets of women’s rights in Islam in each province.
These booklets will be covered in ten individual one-day trainings.
One training on EVAW Law in each province for 8 male CDGs. This is a two day training.
Activity 2.3: Establish Family Resolution Centers (FRCs)
The implementing partner will establish two Family Resolution Centers (FRCs) per province
totaling 12 FRCs in six target provinces. Each FRC will include six members comprised of
traditional and religious leaders, school teachers, representatives from DoWAs, Ulama Council
members, family court judges, and those influential male and female leaders that are members of
Shuras/Jirga’s. FRCs will meet on a regular as well as ad hoc basis based on the cases received.
The FRCs will provide advice and counseling for those women who are victims of violence, those
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RFP No. TAF-WEP-OCT-2014-041
that directly seek the FRCs or are referred by CDGs or other individuals, and formal and informal
institutions. The proposed FRCs are expected to resolve an average of two cases per month. The
partners will provide trainings on women’s rights, tolerance, anti-corruption, conflict resolution,
case reporting and registration skills and techniques. The members will be supported through small
monthly stipends for their transportation and communication within the FRCs and with other
stakeholders. These FRCs will work for one year.
•
•
•
Training on 18 booklets of women rights in Islam for FRC members in each province.
These booklets will be trained in 10 individual one-day trainings. These trainings will occur
once per month.
One training on conflict resolution and case registration in each province. This is one threeday training for FRC members in each province for six total trainings.
One two-day training on EVAW Law in each province for FRC members.
Activity 2.4: Conduct Training of Trainers for formal justice sector actors such as prosecutors,
judges, and police.
Implementing Partner will select two trainers/facilitators in each of the targeted province who will
receive Trainings of Trainers (ToT) on the EVAW law and women’s rights from master trainers
of the partner organization. These trained trainers will conduct trainings for formal justice sector’s
employees in Activity 2.5 and 2.6; the ToT trainings are as below:
•
•
Nine individual days of training on 18 booklets of women’s rights in Islam in each province
(two booklets per day). These trainings should occur once per month.
One two-day training on EVAW law in each province.
Activity 2.5: Train police, prosecutors, and judges on EVAW Law, women’s rights within Islam,
and tolerance.
Implementing partner will train approximately 20 participants per province from the formal justice
sector including prosecutors, judges, and Family Response Units (FRUs) of police department on
18 booklets of women’s rights and EVAW law.
Trainings on 18 booklets of women’s rights in Islam in each province for 20 participants
from the formal justice sector group. These booklets should be trained in 12 separate oneday trainings.
One two-day training on EVAW law in each province for 20 participants of formal justice sector
group. This will be conducted for two consecutive days.
•
Activity 2.6: Train prosecutors, judges, and FRUs on VAW case resolution.
Implementing partner will train approximately 20 participants (who participated in 2.5 activity’
training) per province from the formal justice sector including prosecutors, judges, and Family
Response Units (FRUs) for three days on VAW case resolution focusing on identifying ‘actors’ or
stakeholders related to VAW cases, how cases will be referred among stakeholders including
governmental entities, identifying lawyers if needed for victims, identifying victim’s advocates, if
available, etc., all with the goal of expediting VAW cases and securing a greater number of
prosecutions of these cases.
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RFP No. TAF-WEP-OCT-2014-041
•
Training on basic and advanced conflict resolution and case management in each province
for 20 formal justice sector employees group. This will be conducted for three consecutive
days.
Activity 2.8: Provide training to Special VAW Unit in Attorney Office.
Implementing partner will build capacity of the Attorney Offices Special EVAW Units in the field
of management to improve functioning of this unit. Partner will hire one management expert for
one year in each province to work with this unit after conducting a comprehensive need assessment
survey of these units. Possible areas requiring expert’s attention may include but are not limited to: case
management training, file management, training on Women’s Rights in Islam, etc, all areas to be identified
and developed by the implementing partners.
Activity 2.9: Conduct Training of Trainers for female CDG facilitators on women’s rights within
Islam, and EVAW Law.
Personnel of implementing partner will travel to provinces to select 48 female CDG
facilitators/trainers (8) in each province. These selected trainers will be trained on 18 booklets of
women’s rights in Islam and EVAW law.
•
•
Trainings on 18 booklets of women’s rights in Islam in each province for 8 CDG facilitators
in each province. These booklets will be covered in 10 separate one-day ToT trainings.
One two-day training on EVAW Law in each province for 8 CDG facilitators.
Activity 2.10: Establish women CDGs to promote women’s rights within Islam and the EVAW
Law.
The partner will train 8 female CDGs (each CDG consist of 15 members) in each province on
women’s rights in Islam 18 booklets and EVAW Law. It is important that Individuals (women
CDG members) should be influential member of community, religious leaders who have influence
in decision-making. The trainings must be distributed in a way to happen one each month for CDG
members in one year.
•
•
Trainings for 8 female CDGs on 18 booklets of women’s rights in Islam in each province.
These booklets will be covered in 10 separate one-day trainings, one per month.
One two-day training on EVAW Law in each province for 8 female CDGs.
Activity 2.11: Train female instructors and university students of law on compatibility of EVAW
Law with Shar’iah.
Key female instructors – 20 participants per province which makes a total 120 instructors and
university students in six provinces who will receive trainings on the EVAW law and women’s
rights within an Islamic framework. This will promote sustainability as they pass on the curriculum
at the institutions where they teach. In partnership with the MoHE, the implementing partner’s
master trainers will train instructors and university students who can then pass along key messages
about women’s rights in Islam and other issues such as tolerance and anti-corruption to their
students and peers. Trainers will provide materials to the teachers, as appropriate, to be taken by
students to their homes, so they may find their way to the members of the family who cannot access
this information through other means.
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RFP No. TAF-WEP-OCT-2014-041
•
18 individual one-day trainings regarding booklets based on student schedules to be
determined.
Outcome 3: Increased community awareness and engagement--among men and women--in
strengthening women's access to justice, prevention of VAW, and women's participation in public
life.
Activity 3.1: Train Khateebs on women’s rights within Islam and the EVAW Law.
In order to create an enabling environment of support for women to access their rights, the general
public needs to understand the importance and moral obligation incumbent upon each Muslim to
support women’s access to their rights in Islam. The Friday sermon is a key vehicle to convey to
the public each Muslim’s moral obligation to end violence and support women’s rights. Twenty
Khateebs from each province will be trained by the master trainers to give informative sermons.
The Khateebs will receive training on the concepts of the booklets and meet quarterly to discuss
sermons, schedules, and hear from motivational speakers on the topics. A total number of
120Khateebs (20khateebs x 6 provinces) will be trained in the 6 target provinces. This group of 20
Khateebs per province will receive a two-day EVAW law training as well. After receiving trainings
these speakers would deliver speeches on the 18 topics.
•
•
Training on 18 booklets of women’s rights in Islam in each province for 20 Khateebs.
Trainings should cover one booklet in each of 18 individual trainings.
One two-day training on EVAW law in each province for 20 Khateebs.
Activity 3.2: Provide trainings on women’s rights and the EVAW Law in boys’ and girls’ schools
and madrasas.
A group of local mobile Trainers (two per province), who will be recruited and trained under
activity 2.1 from the religious scholars and leaders in the community. The trainers shall have the
necessary religious knowledge and credibility in the community. In coordination with the MoE,
the mobile trainers will introduce the 18 topics through morning assemblies in at least four schools
and will train 60 teachers (15 teacher per school x 4 school in one province = 60 teachers) of each
targeted province on the 18 booklets using the phased approach (various schools/madrasas, male
and female). The total number of teachers, male and female, who will be trained on EVAW law
and women’s rights booklets, is 360in total (60teachers per province x 6 provinces). Trainers will
provide materials to the teachers, as appropriate, to be taken by students to their homes.
•
•
•
III.
18 individual days of training on 18 booklets of women’s rights in Islam for school teachers
from boys and girls schools in each province, one booklet per training.
One two-day training on EVAW law for 60 school teachers in each province from four
boys and girls schools.
Hiring 12 mobile trainers (two per province, one male and one female) for one year to
travel to four schools and Madrassas (boys and girls) in each province and introduce 18
booklets of women’s rights in the morning assemblies.
EXPECTED DELIVERABLES:
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RFP No. TAF-WEP-OCT-2014-041
1. Hire one management expert for one year in each province to build the capacity of the DOWAs
– Women’s Protection Center employees
2. Hire two master trainers (one male, one female) per province to train CDG facilitators on
women’s rights and EVAW Law
3. Hire and train 8 male CDGs facilitators per province on women’s rights and EVAW Law
4. Establish 8 male CDGs in each province and train them on women’s rights and EVAW law
over a period of one year
5. Establish two operational family resolution committees per province for a period of one year
6. Train 20 employees of the formal justice sector including prosecutors, judges, and Family
Response Units (FRUs) in each province on women’s rights and EVAW law
7. Train 20 employees of the formal justice sector including prosecutors, judges, and Family
Response Units (FRUs) in each province on case management
8. Build the capacity of the EVAW Special Unit in Attorney General’s Office in each province
through hiring a management expert for a period of one year
9. Hire and train 8 female facilitators per province on women’s rights and EVAW Law for CDGs
10. Establish 8 female CDGs per province and train them on women’s rights for a period of one
year
11. Train 40 school teachers and university students per province on women’s rights and EVAW
Law
12. Train 20 Khateebs per province on women’s rights and EVAW Law
13. Hire two mobile trainers per province to travel to four schools (two boys’ schools and two
girls’ schools) and train 60 teachers (30 male, 30 female) in each province
14. All activities explained under scope of work shall be implemented in best quality.
IV.
MONITORING AND EVALUATION
The Asia Foundation is committed to employing a robust Monitoring and Evaluation system in
order to support quality monitoring and evaluation and effective and efficient program
management by the Foundation and its Implementing Partners. While a standardized system, the
Foundation’s M&E system is designed around each individual project in order to capture and
assess associated outcomes. Furthermore, this system ensures that all interventions are
appropriate, relevant, and well-coordinated. Foundation monitoring introduces real-time best
practices that inform the design of ongoing activities.
While the Foundation does not require implementing partners to themselves implement our own
monitoring and evaluation system, proposals must include a detailed M&E plan which should
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RFP No. TAF-WEP-OCT-2014-041
include output- and outcome-based indicators, baseline and target for each indicator,
disaggregation if applicable, monitoring and evaluation tools, data source/s, and frequency of
monitoring and evaluation.
Implementing partners must comply with the following requirements in order to be considered
eligible for the proposed proposal:
•
•
•
•
•
Provide log frame or results framework
Detailed PMP
Short description of M&E system
Beneficiary feedback mechanisms
Description of lessons learned sharing practices
V.
MULTIPLIER EFFECT AND SUSTAINABILITY
Sustainability is a primary concern of the Foundation and should be carefully considered in the
design of all program objectives and activities. The Foundation ensures that its approach is
sustainable by investing heavily in the capacity of local partners and institutions and by creating
and nurturing a network of CSOs.
Proposals should clearly delineate how elements of their program will have a multiplier effect and
be sustainable beyond the life of the grant. A good multiplier effect may include plans to build
lasting networks for direct and indirect beneficiaries, follow-on training and mentoring, and
Continued use of project deliverables. A strong sustainability plan may include capacity-building
results or garnering other donor support after funding ceases.
VI.
GENDER
The Asia Foundation considers gender equality to be a critical cross-cutting theme and is
committed to incorporating strategies to protect and promote the rights of women and girls into all
aspects of organizational programming. Recognizing that discrimination can take a multitude of
forms, The Asia Foundation is committed to dismantling barriers that reinforce the marginalization
of women and girls.
The Asia Foundation’s approach to programming is consistent with the relevant provisions of the
Constitution of Afghanistan (2004) and relevant national laws such as the law on the Elimination
of Violence Against Women (2009), in promoting gender equality, gender justice and women’s
rights. Further, the integration of gender considerations into all aspects of programming reinforces
The Asia Foundation’s commitment to upholding the three pillars of development as outlined in
the National Action Plan for the Women of Afghanistan (NAPWA), which include 1) Security; 2)
Governance, Rule of Law, and Human Rights; and 3) Economic and Social Development.
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RFP No. TAF-WEP-OCT-2014-041
The Asia Foundation therefore requires all implementing partners and sub-grantees to identify and
integrate gender considerations into all aspects of project development, planning and
implementation. Implementing partners and sub-grantees are also required to establish systems to
evaluate the measurable impact of project interventions against gender-sensitive indicators to
ensure that project activities comply with The Asia Foundation’s commitment to protecting and
promoting the rights of women and girls and preventing discrimination.
VII. BENEFICIARY:
Programs teams must include targeted beneficiaries of this grant and activities.
VIII. BUDGET GUIDELINES:
Please refer to attached budget template in designing budget.
Size of grants
Any grant awarded under this program must fall between the following minimum and maximum
amounts:
•
Minimum amount for activities per province : USD = 130,000.00 and Maximum
USD =140,000.00
•
Minimum amount for management cost per province: USD =15,000.00 and
Maximum USD = 20,000.00
Please do not mix activity cost with management cost in your budget. Use the Foundation format
for budget.
The financial/cost of partners will be evaluated according to the below criteria laid down in this
document.
IX.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMISSION OF PROPOSAL:
Rules of this call for proposals:
These guidelines set out the rules for the submission, selection and implementation of actions
financed under the program.
Eligibility of applicants: Who may apply?
In order to be eligible for a grant, applicants must be:
•
•
•
Organizations registered with the government of Afghanistan.
Organizations working with civil society.
National organization with proven experience operating and managing similar projects
for international organizations or the government of Afghanistan.
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RFP No. TAF-WEP-OCT-2014-041
•
•
•
•
Have strong networking team and strategy to reach project beneficiaries in all targeted
areas.
Have strong management team.
Have good relationships with related governmental institutions and policy makers.
Be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action (not acting as
intermediary).
Applicants are excluded from participation in calls for proposals or the award of grants if, at the
time of the call for proposals, they:
•
•
•
Are subject to a conflict of interest.
Are guilty of misrepresentation in supplying the information required by the
contracting authority as a condition of participation in the call for proposals or fail to
supply this information.
Have attempted to obtain confidential information or influence the evaluation
committee or the contracting authority during the evaluation process of current or
previous calls for proposals.
It is important to mention in your proposal technical details regarding scope of operation.
Number of proposals and grants per applicant:
Applicants may submit only one proposal for this particular action.
How to apply and procedures to follow:
A separate cover letter including the name, address, and telephone number of the applicant
organization, and signed by the person or persons authorized to represent the agency should
accompany the proposal submission.
Financial Proposal and Technical Proposal Envelopes MUST BE COMPLETELY SEPARATE
and each must be clearly marked on the outside as either “TECHNICAL PROPOSAL” or
“FINANCIAL PROPOSAL” when submitted.
Applications must be in English and accompanied by the following documents:
1. Technical proposal (not to exceed 20 pages). Please use 12-point times new roman font,
single-spaced, with appropriate margins;
2. CVs of key staff and core personnel. Please limit individual CVs to three pages;
3. A summary table explaining when, where, and how the applicant has implemented similar
projects;
4. Letters of recommendation from previous projects from donors and international
organizations;
5. Detailed implementation plan showing major activities and how they will be implemented over
12 months. Please include start up activities. A narrative will not be accepted
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RFP No. TAF-WEP-OCT-2014-041
6. Risk assessment plan
7. Detailed Budget along with budget narrative. Please use the budget format provided. Do not
use your own format
8. M&E strategy (preferably M&E manual)
9. Gender equity policy
10. Copies of the agency’s annual audit reports (Last two years, or if new organization written
explanation)
11. Bidder’s Declaration: Potential bidders must disclose any relationships e.g. friends, family,
business etc. with Foundation staff
Applicants are to submit:
Four (4) hard copies of the technical proposal in a sealed envelope and one (1) original hard copy
of the Financial Proposal in sealed envelope marked in the upper left-hand corner with the name
and address of the Applicant and the RFP title.
All interested applicants bidding for a project through this RFP are required to mention their
DUNS # (in bold) on first page of the proposal.
The supporting documents requested must be supplied in the form of originals or photocopies.
Where such documents are in a language other than English, a faithful translation into English
must be attached and will be used to evaluate the proposal. All proposals should be signed only
by an authorized representative of the applicant. The deadline for the receipt of applications is
October, 30 2014 at 2:30 PM, Kabul.
All proposals should be directed to the attention of:
THE PROCUREMENT UNIT
The Asia Foundation
House # 861, Street # 1
Shirpour, District-10, (Sub Street of Shirpour Project)
Kabul, Afghanistan.
The Foundation will not be responsible for proposals left at the main gate, reception, guard offices,
or handed over to any TAF employee other than the procurement unit staff.
For further queries regarding the project please contact ameed.sahel@asiafoundation.org For
administrative queries contact mark.dsouza@asiafound.org and sayed.najeeb@asiafound.org. No
personal visits or telephone calls shall be entertained.
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RFP No. TAF-WEP-OCT-2014-041
• TIME FRAME
Announcement of RFP
Pre-Bid Conference (October, 19, 2014 at 10:00 AM)
Responses to pre-bid questions published
Last date for submission of Proposal
Evaluation of proposals and identification of agency
Agreement with selected agency
October 16, 2014
October 19, 2014
October 23, 2014
October 30, 2014
If you would like to attend the pre bid meeting, send your contact to the procurement one day
before the meeting.
NB: Those attending pre-bid conference will not be admitted after 10:00 AM.
Late bids/proposals will not be accepted under any circumstances.
Any Proposal received by TAF after the deadline for submission of proposals shall be declared
late, rejected, and returned unopened to the proposer. Any correction or resubmission done by the
Proposer will not extend the submittal due date. Once submitted, proposals cannot be altered
without the prior written consent of the TAF-AG proposal review committee.
All short-listed bidders will be informed following the selection process their status with regard to
selection and shortlisting.
•
EVALUATION CRITERIA
How proposals will be evaluated and selected:
All Applications/proposals will be examined and evaluated by a committee constituted by the
contracting authority comprising of members from the program team, PMO (Program
Management Office) and Grants, who will evaluate proposals from both a technical and financial
standpoint. Applications/proposals submitted by applicants will be assessed according to the
following criteria:
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RFP No. TAF-WEP-OCT-2014-041
• TYPE OF AWARD INSTRUMENT
Area
Technical
Approach
Monitoring and
Evaluation
Organizational
Capacity
Personnel/ Key
Staff
Interview
Cost/Budget
Comments
Score
Clarity and appropriateness of scope in the proposed technical approach with 25
demonstrated understanding of project goals and component tasks. Simple
and clear approach to project implementation and delivery of services.
Project serves beneficiaries and engages relevant stakeholders.
Detailed and logical PMP showing defined performance indicators etc.
10
Institutional profile, background, expertise, clientage, experience with
similar projects, and operational and financial capacity. The Foundation
reserves the right to visit organizations for due diligence purposes.
Relevant experience and technical knowledge of team leader and proposed
staff, including CVs and professional references.
Top candidates will be given the opportunity to provide additional
information through interviews at the Foundation. An overall assessment of
strengths and weaknesses and institutional suitability will be made at this
time.
Reasonableness and appropriateness of cost. Clear budget alignment
between level of effort, technical approach, and deliverables.
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10
15
25
TAF-AG will issue a Service Agreement to the selected agency, which will be as per TAF‘s
internal policies and will be governed by TAF’s Rules, Regulations and Guidelines. Payments to
the NGO will be made as per the payment schedule, which will be negotiable and finalized while
signing the agreement.
• OTHER TERMS AND CONDITIONS
TAF project-specific Marking and Branding regulations may apply to all deliverables produced
from this assignment. TAF-AG is not bound to select any of the agencies submitting proposals. As
quality is the principal selection criterion, TAF-AG also does not bind itself in any way to select
the agency offering
The lowest price. The cost for preparing a proposal and of negotiating an award including visits to
the TAF-AG office, if any is not reimbursable as a direct cost of the assignment. Both for-profit
and not –forProfit agencies may apply for this RFP, interested not-for-profit agencies should provide a copy
of their registration certificate as a not-for-profit agency.
Important Note:
TAF Afghanistan encourages proposals from both new implementing partners (IP’s) and those
with existing projects, but partners currently implementing two projects with the Foundation will
be considered only if their current project completion date precedes the starting date specified in
the current RFP.
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RFP No. TAF-WEP-OCT-2014-041
Finally, this RFP does not obligate the Foundation to award a contract nor does it commit TAF to
pay any cost incurred in the preparation and submission of a proposal. Award of a Contract under
this RFP is subject to availability of funds and other internal Foundation approvals.
ANNEXES:
1- Proposal Budget format
2- CV template
3- Office map – direction
For the annexes please check the same RFP on ACBAR (More Downloads)
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