• September 20, 2021

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL: Technical Assistance on Government Stakeholder Engagement on Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE), Women’s Empowerment Collectives (WECs) and Gender Integration (GI) in Uganda

Subaward under Nathan’s grant, Increasing Salience and Strategic Engagement for WEE, WECs, & GI (Gates Foundation)

1. Background
Nathan Associates was awarded a grant to assist civil society organizations and advocacy coalitions in specific countries, regional fora, and international organizations in allocating and prioritizing gender considerations in budget and policy initiatives to further economic equity. This project, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will support the development and promotion of data- driven policy solutions with the ultimate aim to create greater investment in proven policies and strategies to expand women’s economic empowerment (WEE) and women’s empowerment collectives (WECs). Through this grant, Nathan will identify strategic entry points to advance WEE, WECs, and gender integration with influential stakeholders. At the national level, Nathan will work in close collaboration with other Gates Foundation grant recipients and other key actors to coordinate stakeholder mapping efforts in Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda. Nathan will develop and apply a methodology, aligned with strategic priorities, to identify engagement opportunities to advance WEE and WECs across the four countries.

2. Objective
The purpose of this subaward is to seek technical assistance to advance local information gathering about the important stakeholders, policy priorities, and socio-political dynamics that influence the government at the national and state level in Uganda. This information will feed into broader strategic engagement plan on advancing funding and programming for WEE, WECs, and GI within the country.

3. Scope
Using a feminist political economy lens throughout, this subaward will work closely with the Nathan team to:

  • Identify relevant stakeholders within the national and local governments, particularly champions or challengers outside the Ministry of Gender, Labour, and Social Protection
  • Identify salient messaging and suggestions on how to build rapport with stakeholders to advance WEE and WECs objectives, including outlining the current fora for civil society organizations and government (national or local) to engage and whether those are effective
  • Identify and examine on the effectiveness of the gender-responsive budgeting tools currently in use, such as the certificate of gender and equity responsiveness
  • Organize and attend consultations with stakeholders
  • Assess relevant analysis and work that has been previously completed, including government initiatives or programs
    • Focusing mostly on analysis on why women are or are not benefiting from the initiatives and propose design changes or adjustments to increase effectiveness
  • Information about the government’s use and maintenance of sex- disaggregated data and data-driven targets for
  • Identify approaches to WEE, WECs, and GI within the government that are particularly of interest. This may include previous attempts with gender- responsive budgeting, government programs and initiatives, high-level policies, etc.
  • Outlines of how the budget process operates and who are influential stakeholders in the decision-making
  • Consider how the government is engaging women in COVID-19 response and identify areas of opportunity for further integration

4. Fixed Amount Award (FAA) and Deliverables

Nathan intends to award a Fixed Amount Award (FAA) for Phase 1 (3-month period beginning October 2021) in the amount of US$50,000-US$75,000 (estimated). Subaward payments shall be made based on the completion and approval of defined milestones with specified values. Milestones will include: (1) a description of the product, task, deliverable, or goal to be accomplished; (2) a description of how the recipient will document the completion of the product, task, deliverable, or goal; and (3) the amount that Nathan will pay the subgrantee for the deliverable.
Milestones will be negotiated between Nathan and the subgrantee prior to award and should encompass the following tasks and deliverables:

  • Initial list of stakeholders and influencers related to WEE and WECs at both the national and sub-national levels with a particular focus outside of the Ministry of Gender, Labour, and Social Protection
  • Draft stakeholder engagement roadmap, including details on areas of opportunity for advocacy; current prioritization of government policy issues; government budget analysis; identification of particularly effective messaging for the government on WEE and WECs
  • Final stakeholder engagement roadmap
  • Electronic bi-weekly progress reports, including meeting schedules; meetings notes; analysis summaries; among other relevant information

5. Eligibility

To be found eligible to bid on this proposal, the organization must meet the following criteria:

  • The organization must be not-for-profit and registered in Uganda
  • The organization has demonstrated experience in the implementation of women’s economic empowerment programming and gender analysis
  • The organization has demonstrated experience in related advocacy with the Government of Uganda, local government, and/or an extensive network that includes relevant leaders and advocacy groups, including at the national and sub-national levels
  • The organization has been in existence for more than a year
  • The organization has minimum absorptive capacity and demonstrates the potential to acquire sufficient capacity to manage programs in a sustainable manner
  • The organization must be able to show proof of having a functional financial system with sufficient accounting and financial policies and procedures to properly track and report on expenditure of funds
  • The organization must be proficient in relevant local languages and be fluent In English (both written and speaking)
  • Conflict of Interest: The awardee’s other relationships, associations, activities, and interests should not create a conflict of interest that could prevent full impartiality in implementation of the subaward activities

All criteria must be met to be considered eligible.

6. Structure
The proposal shall be prepared in two separate parts: the Technical Proposal shall address technical aspects only, while the Cost Proposal shall present the costs.
The two parts shall be submitted separately and will be evaluated separately. Proposals will be evaluated by a Nathan team of experts; first based on qualifications in the technical area and soundness of approach, and secondly on cost effectiveness.

Nathan intends to award a Fixed Amount Award (FAA) for Phase 1 with an estimated start date of October 18, 2021 for a period of three (3) months. The total estimated value of this RFP is between US$50,000-US$75,000 for the stakeholder mapping and insights analysis, subject to availability of funds. Offerors are encouraged to outline cost-effective approaches, which will achieve project objectives.

As the recipient of this solicitation document, you are responsible for ensuring that you have received it in its entirety. Nathan Associates bears no responsibility for data errors resulting from transmission or conversion processes. Further, please be aware that amendments to solicitations are occasionally issued.

7. Request for Clarifications
Request for Clarifications on the RFP and application requirements are due by September 27, 2021 at 5:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time. Clarification requests need to be submitted by email to Tess Perselay () with carbon copy to Kanika Sahai ().

8. Submission Instructions
Proposals are due in electronic copy only, in MS Word, MS Excel and/or PDF formats by October 6, 2021 at 5:00 PM EDT. If tables or charts can only be shown in MS Excel format, they may be included separately provided they are labeled appropriately. Technical and cost proposals must be submitted as separate electronic files. All offers and deliverables must be submitted in English.
The Technical Proposal (Microsoft Word or PDF format) shall include the following information:

  • Background information of the application (not included in page limit), including:
    • Date
    • Contact information of applicant organization (organization name, mailing address, permanent address, phone, email, organization contact person (signatory for organization))
    • Year established
    • Type of organization (for profit, not for profit)
    • Legal status (choose one: private or public shareholding company; Nongovernmental organization (NGO), professional organization, research institution; University or higher education institute; Business or trade association; Other (clarify)
    • Fiscal year end (for accounting purposes)
    • Conflict of Interest Statement: “The Offeror certifies, to the best of its knowledge and belief as of the date of submission, that its other relationships, associations, activities, and interests do not create a conflict of interest that could prevent full impartiality in implementation of the subaward activities. The Offeror certifies that it will disclose any such conflicts discovered at any time prior to the completion of this subaward.”
    • Signature by authorized signatory
  • Certificate of registration or incorporation in Uganda (not included in page limit)
  • Proposed technical approach, including:
    • Demonstration of understanding of the issues facing women’s economic empowerment and women’s empowerment collectives at the national and state levels
    • Proposed project activities, implementation plan, and work schedule to accomplish the objective
  • Proposed management approach, including status reporting during implementation and quality control
  • Demonstrated experience and past performance, specifically no fewer than 2 (two) and no more than 5 (five) completed or current projects or initiatives where the Offeror has delivered similar services.

The page limit for the Technical Proposal is 10 pages utilizing 12-point font. Graphics and tables may use 10-point font.

The Cost Proposal shall include the following information:

  • A detailed budget (Microsoft Excel format) with proposed deliverable- based payments
  • A completed budget narrative with supporting cost data (Microsoft Word or PDF format). Supporting information must be provided in sufficient detail to allow for a complete analysis of each cost element or line item. Nathan reserves the right to request additional cost information if the review committee has concerns of the reasonableness, realism, or completeness of an Applicant’s proposed cost.

Technical and cost proposals need to be submitted separately by email to Tess Perselay (), and carbon copied to Shamarukh Mohiuddin (), Ann Katsiak (), and Kanika Sahai ().

NOTE: Offerors are responsible for ensuring timely delivery of proposals. Be advised that emails receive an automatic time-stamp upon arrival to Nathan Associates’ e-mail exchange; this timestamp will determine the time of receipt. Offerors are reminded that e-mail is not instantaneous, in some cases delays of several hours occur from transmission to receipt.

9. Evaluation
The following table includes the components for both technical and cost evaluations. The total points for a perfect scoring have been included. The evaluation panel will use these weights for evaluating technical proposals. Offerors’ proposals need to cover all items listed in the table below, preferably in the same order presented.

Technical Proposal Evaluation

Criterion Maximum Points Score
Technical Approach – proposed activities are clearly defined and technically relevant for the purposes of the Increasing Salience and Strategic Engagement for WEE, WECs, & GI grant activity  

 

40

Management Approach – proposed activities can be implemented on a realistic and sustainable basis with clear objectives and expected results.  

 

30

Experience and Past Performance – Sufficient institutional capability is available to implement the proposed activity  

30

Total Points 100

 

Cost Proposal Evaluation

Cost proposals will not be rated on a point system, but will instead be evaluated for:

  1. Realism – Do the prices and quantities budgeted accurately reflect the proposed technical approach?
  2. Reasonableness – Are the prices budgeted reasonable compared to market rates and other Offerors’ rates?
  3. Completeness – Has the Offeror taken into consideration all costs necessary to perform the work? Are there gaps/deficiencies in the pricing?
  4. Overall cost control/cost savings evidenced in the proposal (avoidance of excessive salaries and other costs in excess of reasonable requirements)

Nathan Associates intends to make contract award to the responsible Offeror whose proposal represents the best value. “Best value” is defined as the offer that results in the most advantageous solution for the client, in consideration of technical, cost, and other factors. For evaluation purposes, technical factors are considered significantly more important than cost factors. Although technical evaluation criteria are significantly more important than cost, the closer the technical evaluation scores of the various proposals are to one another, the more important cost considerations will become. Therefore, the evaluation of costs proposed may become a determining factor in making the award as technical scores converge. The Offeror proposing the best overall value will be selected. Any lack of cost realism, reasonableness, incompleteness, or imbalance in price may be considered in the determination of best value.

10. Estimated Award Timeline

Activity Indicative Timeline
Request for proposals issued September 20, 2021
Deadline to submit proposals October 6, 2021, 5:00 PM EDT
Estimated Award date (after evaluation and reference checks) October 15, 2021
Estimated start date October 18, 2021

11. Contact
For questions regarding the subaward objectives and tasks, please contact Tess Perselay ().

For questions regarding the subaward application process, please contact Kanika Sahai () with carbon copy to Tess Perselay ().

12. Disclaimer
This RFP in no way obligates Nathan Associates to award a contract nor does it commit Nathan Associates to pay for any costs incurred in the preparation and submission of a proposal in response hereto. Furthermore, Nathan Associates reserves the right to reject any and all offers, if such action is considered to be in the best interest of the project.

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