RFA - Capacity Development of CBOs on Source Separation

REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS (RFA) UNDER THE USAID LEBANON DAWERR ACTIVITY

RFA No: 21-RFA-1

RFA Name: Capacity Development of CBOs on Source Separation

Issuance Date: September 28, 2021

Informative Q&A Session: October 5, 2021- 3:00 p.m. Beirut Time

Closing Date for Submission of Applications: October 19, 2021- 5:00 p.m. Beirut Time

Submissions to: grants@dawerr.org 

Section 1 – Background

On June 30, 2020, USAID/Lebanon awarded ECODIT the Diverting Waste by Encouraging Reuse and Recycling (DAWERR) Activity, a five-year project that will establish sustainable and replicable integrated solid waste diversion and valorization solutions in rural areas of Lebanon, leading to improved social and economic well-being for Lebanon’s population. The Activity aligns with USAID/Lebanon’s desire to introduce financially sustainable solutions that increase the reuse, recycling, and monetization of solid waste to reduce the amount of solid waste that goes into landfills. The Activity has the following three objectives:

1. Build the capacity and commitment of municipalities to provide improved solid waste management (SWM) services either directly or indirectly;
2. Empower communities to sort at the source and participate actively in various stages of the recycling value chains (RVCs); and
3. Develop successful business models that create green economic opportunities and generate net incomes along the value chains.

The Activity’s period of performance is August 1, 2020, to July 31, 2025.

DAWERR is implemented by ECODIT LLC and its local subcontractors including Berytech, Compost Baladi, ECODIT Liban, and ELARD. 

Section 2 - Purpose, Objectives, and Expected Results

The purpose of this Request for Applications (RFA) is to solicit grant applications for funding available through the USAID DAWERR Activity. ECODIT is seeking applications from qualified Lebanese entities (see Section 3) to identify one or more Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) in the areas of interventions (more below) and develop their capacities to 1) Implement awareness and behavior change campaigns (BCC); and 2) Monitor and report on sorting at source by the community, thus ensuring that sorting-at-source targets are met over the life of the Activity and beyond. The targeted CBOs are expected to become champions of sorting at the source in their respective communities.

These grants will be disbursed as part of the Activity’s second objective (as per Section 1 above), and must contribute to the following DAWERR results:

• 75% of target population in areas of intervention are sorting recyclables and organic waste at the source
• A minimum of six (6) CBOs are developed/enabled along the solid waste value chains
• One awareness campaign is organized in each targeted area
• A minimum of six (6) local actors are engaged in community, regional and national programs.

2.1 Methodology and Team

Applicants are encouraged to propose creative and innovative approaches to the identification and capacity development process. They will be able to use a variety of adult learning techniques to reach expected results.  

Grantees will be given access to the results of a baseline rapid knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) survey currently being conducted by DAWERR in each of the target municipalities and aimed at gaining a deeper understanding of the communities that affect solid waste generation and management practices and outcomes. It will reveal current behaviors and what drives them (e.g., reducing, reusing, and recycling; separating at source; willingness to pay for improved services). The grantees will be able use those findings to refine their approach and deliver customized and adapted high-quality services.

Applicants will need to designate qualified team members throughout the grant period to lead on the activities. Their resumes should be submitted and approved by the DAWERR team and their levels of effort proportional to their involvement and in line with the submitted budget.  

2.2 Timeline and Deliverables

• Grantees are expected to kick-off activities during the month of October 2021, and no later than ten days following grant agreements signature
• Activities should be implemented over the period of four months at the latest
• A bi-weekly progress report should be submitted, as well as a final narrative report containing the following sections (this is not an exhaustive list):
  • CBO Identification Methodology
  • Capacity Development Methodology and Techniques
  • Implementation – Activities and Results
  • Recommendations
  • Annexes, including individual training agendas (if applicable), activity reports, attendance sheets, photos, etc.

2.3 Locations

Applicants will focus their activities on one or more of the following municipalities:

1. Chanay/Majdel Baana (those two municipalities have been grouped for the sake of the Activity)
2. Batloun
3. Baskinta
4. Qaraoun
5. Rachaya El Wadi
6. Jezzine

Section 3 - Eligibility

This RFA is open to a variety of Lebanese local entities, which may include commercial companies, and NGOs, noting that grants will need to be budgeted and implemented on a non-profit basis.  Applications from individual citizens or non-eligible organizations (see list below) will not be reviewed.

Applications must meet the following eligibility criteria:

• Contain expected outcomes and results consistent with and linked to the project objectives
• Provide evidence that the Applicant is recognized by the Government of the country in which it operates along with a completed formal registration form/certificate, if required
• Applicant does not have active exclusion in the System for Award Management (SAM) (www.sam.gov) and does not appear on the Specifically Designated Nationals (SDN) and Blocked Person List maintained by the U.S. Treasury for the Office of Foreign Assets Control, sometimes referred to as the “OFAC List”, and are not listed in the United Nations Security designation list.

In addition, the Applicant must comply with the project eligibility and selection criteria, in accordance with the prime contract and ADS 303 requirements and approved by USAID COR during each competition cycle.

The following types of organizations are not eligible for funding:

• Public International Organizations
• Organizations with active exclusions in the System for Award Management (SAM) – refer to www.sam.gov
• Any municipal/city, provincial and national government
• Organizations that advocate, promote or espouse anti-democratic policies or illegal activities
• Political parties or institutions
• Organizations that intend to use the grant for religious objectives
• Organizations that are on the list of parties excluded from federal procurement and non-procurement programs or the United Nations Security Sanctions Committee
• Any entity whose name or individual executives appears on any exclusions lists maintained by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) or UN’s master list of prohibited individuals or entities
• Organizations that refuse to sign the required certifications

Section 4 – Application Process, Grant Ceiling and Evaluation Criteria

Interested applicants will go through a three-step application process as follows:

1. Prospective applicants prepare a concept note not exceeding five (5) pages and submit their concept note using the form provided in Appendix A. DAWERR will form a Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) comprised of three members. The TEC will evaluate all applications that meet the eligibility requirements based on the set of criteria listed in Exhibit 1 below and short-list up to three (3) qualified applicants to move to Step 2. DAWERR will inform applicants who were not shortlisted by email.

Exhibit 1. Evaluation Criteria

Evaluation Criteria

Description

Value (Points)

1. Approach

The Applicant suggests creative and innovative approaches to the identification and capacity development process to achieve the following results:

(1) 75% of target population in areas of intervention are sorting recyclables and organic waste at the source (2) A minimum of six (6) CBOs are developed/enabled along the solid waste value chains (3) One awareness campaign is organized in each targeted area (4) A minimum of six (6) local actors are engaged in community, regional and national programs.   

25

2. Commitment 

The Applicant demonstrates enthusiasm and commitment to the objectives of the RFA by detailing how implementing their proposed approach can bring added value to their business or satisfy their mandate as an organization (in the case of non-profit organizations).

25

3. Team 

The Applicant dedicates a qualified team with integrated, and innovative solid waste management experience to assess local conditions and needs, identify waste problems, and know which innovative solutions to choose to solve identified waste problems. The team should also have essential success qualities such as effective communication, complementary skills, good leadership, mutual respect, and can-do attitude. 

25

4. Experience 

The Applicant demonstrates that they are currently or were recently (within past two years) engaged as an organization in a similar capacity building project with successful results.

25

Total

100

2. Shortlisted applicants prepare a 15-minute presentation on their proposed approach and models to achieving the objectives outlined in Section 2 above, as well as their relevant experience, and make their presentation in one virtual meeting to the Solid Waste Management Committees (SWMCs) formed under DAWERR in each of the six target areas. For each target area, three representatives of the SWMC will evaluate the short-listed applicants based on how adapted their approach and experience are to the local context and select, jointly with the DAWERR team, one of the short-listed applicants to implement their proposed approach in their target area. DAWERR will provide the three representatives with a scoring sheet that includes set criteria. 

3. Using the grant application form contained in Appendix B, the applicants (up to three) selected at the end of Step 2 submit grant applications tailored to the specific needs and requirements of the municipalities in which they were selected to work. DAWERR will negotiate and then make recommendations for making grants under contract awards to selected entities and seek USAID COR’s concurrence for awarding such grants.

The total value of each grant award may not exceed $5,000 per municipality (or per two municipalities for the case of Chanay-Majdel Baana). ECODIT will administer and manage all grants awarded, including disbursement of funds to grantees.

Section 5 - Grant Award and Administration

Pursuant to 2 CFR 700.13, it is USAID policy not to award profit under assistance instruments. However, all reasonable, allocable, and allowable direct expenses, which are related to the grant activity and are in accordance with applicable cost standards (2 CFR 200 for non-profit organizations and educational institutions, and the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 31 for for-profit organizations), may be paid under the grant.

Any resultant award will be subject to the terms and conditions of the Prime Contract for the USAID DAWERR Activity, Standard Provisions for Non-U.S. Non-Governmental Recipients.

Prior to project startup and during implementation, the Activity will provide grantees with information and technical support on how to administer grant funds, reporting and communications. Regular project monitoring and evaluation visits by USAID DAWERR staff to the grantees will commence shortly after the award.

Grant Award and Administration

Award Type

A variety of grant-making mechanisms may be utilized (standard grants, simplified grants, and fixed amount awards), with a preference for fixed amount awards. The type of grant mechanism and payment will be based on the nature of the proposed activities and the grantee’s financial management capacity, as determined by ECODIT.

Grantee Expenses

The grantee shall not procure any of the following goods or services without the prior written approval of the USAID Contracting Officer, which shall be requested through the USAID DAWERR Activity : agricultural commodities; motor vehicles; pharmaceuticals and contraceptive items; pesticides; fertilizer; used equipment or U.S. government-owned excess property; military equipment; surveillance equipment; police and law enforcement equipment; abortion equipment; luxury goods; gambling equipment; and weather modification equipment.

Cost Share, if applicable:

Cost share or “matching” refers to the resources a grantee contributes to the total cost of the agreement. Cost share can include cash and in-kind contributions, such as donated employee time, supplies, equipment, land, etc. Cost share requirements will be determined on grant-by-grant basis.

Monitoring and Evaluation

The Project will use a variety of mechanisms to monitor grantees' performance, including evaluating end-of-activity results, conducting site visits of activities underway, and reviewing periodic progress reports submitted by the grantees. Grantees will be required to report data to feed into the Project’s Monitoring and Evaluation Plan. The grant agreement will detail the type and frequency of reports required.

Environmental Compliance

The Project will evaluate the potential environmental impacts of all proposed grant activities prior to award. All grants will be screened to determine whether the activities fall within the definition of a categorical exclusion as set forth in 22 CFR 216.2 (c) (2), or may present a (a) moderate or (b) high risk to the environment.

For any activity that may affect the environment, the Project will work with the grantee to ensure that required environmental compliance documentation is completed and submitted to USAID. Furthermore, additional monitoring and reporting may be necessary to ensure compliance with environmental mitigation plans.

Appendices
A. Concept Note Template
B. Grant Application Template