RFP: Testing the Theory: How and Why Data Sharing Leads to Trust-building in Water Cooperation and Diplomacy [Deadline: July 14, 2023]

Jun 24, 2023 | United States Institute for Peace
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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 the United States 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. The Learning, Evaluation and Research (LER) team is part of the Center for Thematic Excellence at USIP. LER aims to make USIP a more evidence-based, learning, and impactful organization. LER is the Institute’s hub for standards on project design, monitoring and evaluation (M&E), learning, and research. The team works to enhance and strengthen the systems and practices for capturing, sharing, and leveraging knowledge across USIP to enable learning and improve decision making at the project, program, and organizational levels. As the peacebuilding field increasingly reckons with how climate and environmental changes are impacting peace and conflict dynamics, LER has identified several ‘theory to practice’ gaps which require further study so that USIP and other peacebuilding organizations can be more effective. This initiative aligns with LER’s focus on developing monitoring & evaluation and learning (MEL) strategies across the Institute, including the pursuit of actionable solutions in climate-related and environmental peacebuilding. Data sharing is often one of the initial strategies promoted in transboundary water cooperation and water diplomacy, especially in situations with low trust, as a potential way to improve the relationship and begin to build trust.[1] Peacebuilding practitioners, technical experts, and water diplomats would gain from a more rigorous understanding of the underlying, usually unarticulated theories of change and assumptions behind how data sharing (and other information sharing mechanisms like joint monitoring) contributes to trust-building in water diplomacy. Unpacking and testing this theory of change and underlying assumptions has wider implications, as water-related data is typically a matter of national security. Between conflict parties, when trust is low and tensions are high, such as in the areas where USIP works, testing these theories of change is even more essential for prospective transboundary water cooperation or water diplomacy to have an impact on peace and conflict dynamics. USIP is seeking proposals from a research institution, for-profit consulting firm, individuals, or a group of individuals to investigate, test underlying assumptions, and delimit the theories of change regarding the role of data sharing leading to trust-building in transboundary water cooperation and water diplomacy. In other words, USIP is seeking proposals which assess the validity or credibility for how (or under what conditions) and why (understanding the underlying causes of how) data and information sharing can be an impactful mechanism for trust-building in transboundary water cooperation and water diplomacy. LER will leverage results of this research across USIP to enable learning and improve decision making at the project, program, and organizational levels. For instance, in the areas where USIP is working in peace and conflict situations that involve water or similar forms of environmental cooperation and diplomacy, this research can improve USIP’s ability to ensure data and information sharing has the right conditions to build trust—such as any combination of enabling factors or lack of hindering factors.   Scope of Work Project Goals and Objectives: The goal of this research project is distilled, tested, and substantiated theory of change for how (or under what conditions) and why (understanding the underlying causes of how) data and information sharing can be an impactful mechanism for trust-building in transboundary water cooperation and water diplomacy. Please note that USIP is aware of many, verified case studies and existing frameworks which include data sharing as a mechanism for trust building. Secondary research, such as mapping and analyzing existing literature, may be included as part of the proposed methodology, however as part of testing the underlying theories and their underlying assumptions, primary research with key stakeholders is necessary. Proposals must emphasize primary research methodology(ies). The research methodology can either be qualitative or mixed methods. Expected Contract Type: Time and materials.   Scope

The final scope of work will be determined collaboratively between USIP and the selected offeror during the contracting process, based on the proposed methodology(ies) of the proposal selected. Key deliverables and responsibilities are below.

  • Develop an inception report (4-6 pages) that includes the (1) final research question(s) to be answered through this project and rationale for how the research question(s) will investigate, test, and delimit the theories of change on the role of data sharing leading to trust-building (2) detailed, final the research methodology(ies) and (3), workplan and timeline for conducting the research. The inception report will be finalized collaborative with and agreed upon by USIP. (Annexes or appendices will not count toward page limit.)
  • Conduct one or more convening events with practitioners and water diplomacy experts either for data collection, validation, and/or dissemination of the research. (The convening event may be virtual or in-person.) For each convening, the contractor will provide a notes an a written brief of the convening.
  • Provide the raw data of any interviews, focus groups, or other data collection processes.
  • Develop a draft report or other written materials of no more than 30 pages in total. The outline will be determined collaborative with and agreed upon by USIP. USIP will provide feedback on the draft report for the contractor to answer or incorporate in the final report. (Annexes or appendices will not count toward page limit.)
  • Final report or other written materials of no more than 30 pages in total incorporating USIP’s feedback on the draft report. (Annexes or appendices will not count toward page limit.)

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:

  1. Technical Narrative Proposal (5-7 pages) The technical narrative proposal should be no more than 7 pages and include the following sections:
  2. Prior Experience Describe at least two projects of similar scope and complexity the offeror has worked on previously. Provide a point of contact with telephone number and email address for each of the described projects to serve as references.  Also, include whether the offeror and/or essential personnel have received funding from USIP in the past and if so, include a short description of the project, the name of the USIP main point of contact, and the grant or contract number, as applicable.
  3. Overall Approach and Methodology Based on the information provided above, describe how you will accomplish this research. Be specific about what processes and methods will be used to answer the key question described in this RFP including: what secondary research will be used, the proposed approach for primary research, data collection plan, analysis methodology, and how conclusions will be validated. An Institutional Review Board (IRB) review and approval may be required prior to primary data collection and should be factored in the work plan. Include in the approach and methodology when convening event(s) will be organized and how it will meet the research purpose—i.e., whether the event or multiple events will be used to advance the data collection, validation, or dissemination purposes of this research. As noted above, the final research methodology and convening event(s) will be developed in consultation with USIP.
  4. Key Personnel, Staffing, and Specific Expertise Offerors should detail their organizational and thematic capabilities to undertake and fulfill the roles and responsibilities for this research. Describe the key personnel, what their role will be for this project, and how their experience is related and beneficial. Please note that staff may be non-US citizens and do not require a security clearance.
  5. Curriculum Vitae (CV) (1-3 pages) For each of the key personnel, please provide a CV of no more than three pages. CVs will not count towards technical narrative proposal page limit
  6. Cost Proposal The cost proposal shall include a detailed budget and a budget narrative. Please organize the budget according to the timeline for research deliverables (e.g., do not merely list the total days and daily rate of key personnel, but specify in the cost proposal how many days will be devoted to each proposed deliverable). Whether the event(s) are virtual or in-person, include the location, venue, potential travel, and other logistics in the cost proposal. Budget must be in US dollars and in a spreadsheet format (e.g., Excel). Please note that USIP allows nonprofit organizations to include up to 15% indirect cost recovery on total direct costs for contracts.
  7. Financial Management Assessment Form Organizations must complete the Financial Management Assessment Form unless they have received Federal grants, contracts or cooperative agreements in the past two years and can provide their audited financial statement from their most recent fiscal year. Please reach out to Jill Baggerman (kbaggerman@usip.org) to request a copy of the Financial Management Assessment Form if it is not attached to the solicitation
  8. Certification Page Complete and sign the Certification Page below and submit with the proposal.

Proposal Submission Requirements:

Any proposal that does not contain all items listed in the Submission Requirements section below may be considered nonresponsive. For more detail including corresponding evaluation criteria, please see “Evaluation Criteria and Submission Requirements” section below.

  1. Technical Narrative Proposal (5-7 pages)
  2. CVs (1-3 pages)
  3. Cost Proposal
  4. Financial Management Assessment Form (if offeror is an organization)
  5. Certification Page

Submit Proposals and Refer Questions to: Jill Baggerman: kbaggerman@usip.org

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.

Selection Process

Schedule

  • June 22, 2023: RFP issued
  • June 28, 2023: Questions concerning RFP and project emailed to kbaggerman@usip.org no later than 5 PM Eastern Standard Time.
  • June 30, 2023: Answers to questions will be made available to all offerors.
  • July 14, 2023: Proposals are due no later than 5 PM Eastern Standard Time. Late submissions may not be accepted.
  • July 21, 2023: Estimated notification to selected offeror
  • August 2, 2023: 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.

General Instructions and Terms

  1. Complete proposals must be submitted by email to Jill Baggerman (kbaggerman@usip.org) by 5 PM EST on July 7, 2023.
  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 Jill Baggerman (kbaggerman@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 Narrative Proposal. Please reach out to Jill Baggerman (kbaggerman@usip.org) to request a copy of USIP Terms and Conditions if they are not attached to the solicitation.