Request for Proposal: Independent Contractor at United States Institute of Peace in Washington, Washington DC

Job Description:

United States Institute of Peace

Independent Contractor:

Location of Work: Tripoli, Libya

Release Date: March 22nd 2024

RFP Due Date: April 22nd 2024

Refer Questions to:	Submit Response to:
Mohamed Fortia, mfortia@usip.org	Mohamed Fortia, mfortia@usip.org
	Do not use the Apply button on this page.
Pertinent responses will be made available to all offerors by e-mail. No inquiries will be accepted after specified time and date.	The response must be submitted by time and date listed above to be considered.

Q&A Release Date: 4th of April 2024

 

	Questions	Answers
1.	Who will be responsible for providing the content for the workshops?	The Contractor will be responsible for the development of the content for the training workshops. The content must then be submitted to USIP for final approval.
2.	Should an applicant apply as an independent contractor or through a local organization?	Applicants should apply for the position as independent contractors.
3.	Will there be a dialogue session held between the Basic and Advance workshops?	No, the participants will not be conducting a dialogue session between the two workshops.

Introduction and Background

The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) is a national, nonpartisan, independent institute, founded by Congress and dedicated to the proposition that a world without violent conflict is possible, practical, and essential for U.S. and global security. In conflict zones abroad, the Institute works with local partners to prevent, mitigate, and resolve violent conflict. For more information, please visit http://www.usip.org.

USIP works alongside local, national, and international partners to support Libyans promoting stability and reconciliation, demonstrating America’s commitment to peace. Since 2011, the Institute has engaged at the community and national levels to support reconciliation, strengthen the rule of law, and bridge social cleavages through dialogue.  Our current project, known as the strengthening Border Communities project (SBC), will focus on providing youth with the necessary skills in peacebuilding and mediation through a series of trainings.

Purpose of the RFP

USIP is seeking an independent contractor (the Contractor) to serve as a trainer for two Peacebuilding Workshops for youth in Libya. He/she will deliver a series of capacity building workshops in order to train youth participants in key peacebuilding skills, including mediation, negotiation, conflict analysis, critical thinking, and collaborative problem solving.

The Contractor will have a minimum of 5 years’ experience in facilitating and conducting workshops/trainings. The Contractor will also have work experience in the areas of peacebuilding, mediation, and conflict analysis. Desirably, the contractor will have experience working in or on Libya (or in an area that shares a similar socio/political context.)    

 

Background and Scope of Work

The contractor is expected to develop and deliver one (five-day) Basic Peacebuilding Workshop, one (five-day) Advanced Peacebuilding Workshop for participants of the USIP Libya program, as well as providing 6-9 remote mentoring sessions to the participants.

These trainings aim to enhance participants' knowledge and skills in relevant areas and empower them to foster dialogue and peace in their communities. The goal is to create a lasting impact by improving their capacity in negotiation, mediation, and post-dialogue activities.

The participants will be selected by USIP and consist of 15 youths from 3 locations in Libya. The youths will be divided into 3 groups, each group comprising a total of 5 participants.

The following sections outline the specific topics and objectives for each workshop or training:

Basic and Advanced Workshops

Deliverable 1: Development of Workshop Content: The Contractor will develop the content for the two training workshops and submit to USIP for final approval.

For the development of the workshop content, the Contractor is responsible for providing descriptions of the course content and pedagogical approach, including the module title, key learning objectives, and a description of the content being taught (why and what) in each module. These will also include the following:

• Associated teaching notes and materials.


• Exercises for course participants to illustrate key course concepts.


• Descriptions of the exercises (4-5 sentences) and exercise materials.


• Related materials to facilitate the effective delivery of the exercises.


• Reading materials for each module and for the exercises, as relevant.

Deliverable 2: Basic Peacebuilding Workshop: The contractor will deliver One (1) five-day training in basic negotiation, mediation, and peacebuilding skills for a total of 15 youths from Libya’s 3 target locations with at least 30% of the participants being female, who have demonstrated knowledge, skills, and experience in peacebuilding. During this workshop, the Contractor will guide the youth participants to come up with ideas on Engagement Activities to implement in their respective communities.

The Contractor will be responsible for debriefings after each day of the workshop with USIP to ensure that workshop objectives are being met, discuss group dynamics, provide observations, and answer questions related to the activity or program.

Deliverable 3: Pre Assessment for Basic Workshop: The contractor will be required to formulate and provide assessments for the youth participants, prior to the Basic workshop. These assessments will be used to determine the skills level of the youth participants and measure the change following the completion of the Advance Workshop.

Deliverable 4: Advanced Peacebuilding Workshop: The contractor with deliver One (1) five-day training in advanced negotiation, mediation, and peacebuilding skills for the same group of youths who will attend the prior Basic Workshop (Deliverable 1). During this workshop, the Contractor (through consultation with USIP staff) will guide the youth participants to finalize ideas on Engagement Activities to implement in their respective communities. USIP will have the final approval for the ideas selected and will base this approval on cost availability and feasibility.

The Contractor will be responsible for debriefings after each day of the workshop with USIP to ensure that workshop objectives are being met, discuss group dynamics, provide observations, and answer questions related to the activity or program.

Deliverable 5: Post Assessment for Advance Workshop: The contractor will be required to formulate and provide an assessment for the youth participants, post the workshop. This assessment along with the pre-assessment will be used to determine the skills level of the youth participants and measure the change following the completion of the workshops.

Mentoring Sessions

Deliverable 6: Remote mentoring sessions: The Contractor will provide 2-3 remote mentoring sessions for each of the three groups of participants (6-9 sessions in total). Each session will be approximately 2 hours in length. The aim of the sessions will be to support the participants during the design of post-dialogue initiatives (engagement activities). The sessions will take place during the time period between the Basic and Advanced Peacebuilding Workshops.

The Contractor will deliver what is equivalent to 6-9 remote mentoring sessions (1-2 sessions for each of the 3 groups of participants) with the approval of the project lead. Examples of the areas the sessions will cover are:

• Overview of what was learnt in the Basic workshop.


• Guidance on the development of the Engagement Activities.


• Addressing key challenges faced by the participants.


• Preparing the participants for the Advance workshop.

Deliverable 7: Follow-up remote mentoring sessions: Following the completion of the Advance training workshop, the Contractor will provide 4-6 remote mentoring sessions for each of the three groups of participants (12 – 18 sessions in total). Each session will be approximately 2 hours in length. The aim of the sessions will be to support the participants during the consultation and implementation of post-dialogue initiatives (engagement activities). The sessions will take place following the completion of the Advanced Peacebuilding Workshops.

Progress Reports

Deliverable 8: A weekly follow up meeting: A weekly follow up meeting with the USIP team and project lead after the completion of each workshop. The timings of these meetings may change depending on USIP schedule. USIP will confirm the timings with the contractor.

Deliverable 9: Summary report Basic Workshop: A detailed summary report upon the completion of the Basic Peacebuilding Workshop: The contractor will be required to provide a detailed summary report on the findings from the workshop. USIP shall provide guidance on the template and content needed in the report.

Deliverable 10: Summary report Advanced Workshop: A detailed summary report upon completion of the Advanced Peacebuilding Workshop. The contractor will be required to provide a detailed summary report on the findings from the workshop. USIP shall provide guidance on the template and content needed in the report.

The contractor will be responsible for the collection and organization of all information and data related to the training workshops. The Contractor will then consolidate the data collected into the detailed summary reports.

Deliverable 11: Summary Presentation to Local Organization: USIP will be seeking a local organization to implement the Engagement Activities that are developed during the Basic and Advance training workshops. The Contractor will be required to provide one summary presentation to the local organization on what the youth participants had learnt in the workshops and what ideas they had developed. This is to provide the local organization with a better overall understanding.

Tentative Timeline

A tentative timeline for the completion of deliverables is provided below. USIP will work with the selected proposer to finalize deliverables and deliverable due dates upon selection.

Deliverable	Estimated Due Date
Deliverable 1: Development of Workshop Content	May 10th 2024
Deliverable 2: Basic Peacebuilding Workshop	May 13th 2024
Deliverable 3: Pre Assessment for Basic Workshop	May 13th 2024
Deliverable 4: Advanced Peacebuilding Workshop	July 30th 2024
Deliverable 5: Post Assessment for Advance Workshop	July 30th 2024
Deliverable 6: Remote mentoring sessions	July 30th 2024
Deliverable 7: Follow-up remote mentoring sessions	August 30th 2024
Deliverable 8: Weekly follow up meetings	August 30th 2024
Deliverable 9: Summary report Basic Workshop	May 20th 2024
Deliverable 10: Summary report Advance Workshop	August 10th 2024
Deliverable 11: Summary Presentation to local organization	August 15th 2024

 Submission Requirements

Any proposal that does not contain all items listed below may be considered nonresponsive. For more detail on the selection process, including corresponding evaluation criteria, please see Section V below. To be considered under this RFP, please submit the following:

Cover Letter

To be considered, please submit a cover letter of no more than 2 pages with the following information:

• Summarize your interest in this opportunity, including your interest in Peacebuilding and Conflict Resolution.


• Briefly describe your previous experience with a project of similar scope and complexity.


• Outline your approach or methodology.


• The Workshops are scheduled to take place in Libya. This may change due to external factors and if so, the workshops will occur in Tunisia. The Contractor should indicate their ability to travel to Libya and Tunisia, and whether or not they will need a visa for either country. the Contractor shall be responsible for obtaining all necessary visas and travel documents for Libya and Tunisia.

 

Curriculum Vitae (CV)

Please provide a CV of no more than 3 pages. CVs will not count towards proposal page limit.

 

Methodology

Based on the information provided, describe the proposed approach to conduct the above deliverables. This should include the approach the Contractor will use in conducting, content creation workshop facilitation and mentoring sessions. The methodology should not be more than 4 pages in the length.

 

Experience & References

Please, describe and provide examples of previous projects your organization has worked on of similar scope and complexity. Provide a point of contact with telephone number and email address for each of the described projects. The contractor should also provide 2 examples of previous written reports.  

 Cost Proposal

The cost proposal shall include a detailed budget and a budget narrative. Budget must be in US dollars and in a spreadsheet format (e.g., Excel). The budget should specify your hourly or daily rate and any other costs related to the implementation of the above deliverables including visa costs if applicable.  

Certification Page

Complete and sign the Certification Page below and submit with the proposal

1. 
   Selection Process
   


2. Schedule

 

Date	Schedule
March 22nd 2024	RFP issued
March 28th 2024	Questions concerning RFP and project emailed to mfortia@usip.org no later than 9:00 Tunis time.
April 4th  2024	Answers to questions will be made available to all offerors.
April 15th  2024	Proposals are due no later than 9:00 Eastern Standard Time. Late submissions may not be accepted.
April 22nd  2024	Notification to selected offeror
May 13th  2024	Estimated project commencement date

USIP may adjust dates in the schedule or cancel this RFP at any time prior to contract award.

Evaluation Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated based on the criteria below. For more detail on each submission requirement, see Section IV of this RFP. The USIP Selection Committee will review all proposals received on time using the evaluation criteria established below based on the best value offered to USIP. The Selection Committee reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, in whole or in part, to award multiple contracts, and/or to enter into negotiations with any party, in the best interests of the Institute.

Evaluation Criteria	Weight
Cover Letter	10%
CV	10%
Methodology	30%
Experience & References	30%
Cost Proposal	20%

General Instructions and Terms

1. Complete proposals must be submitted by email to mfortia@usip.org, by 9:00 Tunis Time on April 22nd.


2. The Institute is not liable for any costs incurred by offerors prior to issuance of an executed contract with the Institute.


3. Submissions must be typed and submitted electronically and must include all submission requirements outlined in the Submission of Requirements section of this RFP. No changes or corrections to a response will be allowed after the deadline.


4. All submissions should be in English and US dollars.


5. Any questions concerning this RFP should be directed to Mohamed Fortia at mfortia@usip.org. Pertinent responses will be made available to all offerors by email. No inquiries will be accepted after specified time and date.


6. Any proposal not addressing all RFP requirements may be considered non-responsive. Late proposals may be rejected as non-responsive.


7. This RFP is not an offer to enter into an agreement with any party, but rather a request to receive proposals from offerors (organizations or persons) interested in providing the services outlined herein. Such proposals shall be considered and treated by USIP as offers to enter into a contract.


8. USIP shall not be obligated for the payment of any sums whatsoever to any recipient of this RFP until and unless a written contract between the parties is executed.


9. Unless stated otherwise within this RFP, the selected Contractor shall be responsible for providing all equipment and/or supplies required to perform the services.


10. The selected Contractor shall not discriminate against any person in accordance with Federal, state, or local law.


11. The submission of any materials to USIP in response to this RFP will constitute (i) a representation that the Offeror owns or has unrestricted license to use and license such materials and all intellectual property expressed therein; and (ii) the grant of a non-exclusive license to USIP to use such materials and intellectual property for any purpose, including specifically the evaluation, negotiation, and documentation of a contract with any party.


12. Offeror will commit to adhering to the attached USIP Terms & Conditions, else risk removal from consideration. Exceptions to these terms must be clearly outlined in an annex to the Technical Proposal.

 

Certification Page

A.      The Offeror certifies that: (1) Prices in the offer have been arrived at independently without consultation, communication, or agreement with any other competitor; (2) Prices in the offer have not been and will not be knowingly disclosed by the offeror, directly or indirectly, to any other competitor before bid opening or contract award unless otherwise required by law; and (3) No attempt has been made or will be made by the offeror to induce any other competitor to/not to submit an offer for the purpose of restricting competition. B.      Has the offeror received funding from USIP? Yes/NO If yes, provide the grant or contract number and the offeror’s main point of contact at USIP:___________________________________________________________________________________

On Behalf of Offeror:

Name of Organization or Independent Contractor

Signature of Authorized Official

Printed Name of Authorized Official

Title

Date

 

See job description

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