U.S. Agency for International Development, M/OP/B/HNE, Room 1509, SA- 14, Washington, D.C. 20523-1424

R -- IMPROVING EDUCATION QUALITY II SOL OP/B/HNE-96-009 DUE 063096 POC Contact: Ben Vogler, Phone (703) 875-1161, Fax: (703) 875-1519; Contracting Officer: James A. Jeckell (703) 875-1017. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) contemplates issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a five year contract for professional services supporting education research and the development of education research capacities in USAID-assisted countries. The services are to improve the ability of education leaders in each country to: 1) identify options for improving learning capacity at each stage of the life cycle, from early childhood through continuing education by adults, 2) set learning goals and objectives and assess the effectiveness of strategies for supporting learning, both in the classroom and in other contexts, 3) establish a sustainable process of research supporting continuing processes of improvement of practice, and 4) create opportunities for dialogue and partnerships among researchers, educators, community leaders and other stakeholders seeking to improve educational quality at local, regional, national, and international levels. The emphasis throughout will be on improving learning outcomes. The primary results to be produced under this contract are: 1) increased learning in schools through improved teacher training, media and materials design, instructional practice and education program management, 2) increased learning by individuals and groups using information systems, media and self-instructional technologies to support learning outside the schools, 3) improved public policy on education through increased consensus on learning goals and objectives and application of research- validated measurement tools and systems for monitoring education results and outcomes, 4) improved technical understanding of education and learning through active networking and exchange among local, regional, national, and international education researchers and others concerned with improving education quality, and 5) institutional and organizational capacities to make effective use of education research on a continuing basis to improve education outcomes in developing country contexts. The specific results and capacities to be accomplished will depend on the specific problem focus, research and design priorities identified through participatory planning with researchers and education leaders in each assisted country, with each activity being developed as a separate stand-alone task order issued under the contract. The contractor will work in up to 20 countries over the five-year period, with activities of significant scale, complexity and duration in up to 10 countries (up to 5 simultaneously) and activities of shorter duration (up to two years) and/or narrowly focused on specific research issues in up to 10 additional countries (up to 5 simultaneously). All participating countries will be networked through a variety of exchange mechanisms, both with other participating IEQ countries and with the larger research community in other countries, including the United States, working on related aspects. A specific responsibility of the contractor will be to design and implement a cost-effective strategy for effecting this networking and exchange. In accordance with FAR 52.219-9, separate small business and small disadvantaged business subcontracting plans must be submitted unless the offeror is a small business or small disadvantaged business. All other selection criteria being found equal, the participation of such additional small business and/or small disadvantaged business subcontracting may become a determining factor for selection of the full-and-open award. All responsible sources may submit a proposal which shall be considered by the Agency. Interested offerors may request a copy of RFP OP/B/HNE-96-009 by submitting a written request to Ben Vogler at fax no. 703-875-1519 or at the address listed at the end of this notice. Walk-in and telephone requests will not be honored. To help identify potential subcontractors, a list of all organizations requesting a copy of the solicitation will be sent with the solicitation document. Organizations are encouraged to indicate whether they are small business or small disadvantaged business entities when requesting the solicitation and may indicate that they do not wish to be included on the list. By providing the list, USAID does not endorse the organizations listed as being capable of carrying out the activity, nor does USAID verify the claimed status of the organizations. Necessarily, the list will contain the names of only those organizations known prior to the issuance of the solicitation document. This CBD notice and the RFP text can be viewed and downloaded via the notice and the Agency Internet Gopher and downloaded via Anonymous File Transfer Protocol (FTP). The Gopher address is GOPHER.INFO.USAID.GOV. Select USAID Procurement and Business Opportunities from the GOPHER menu. The FTP address is FTP.INFO.USAID.GOV. Look under the following directory: pub/RFP/HNE6009/hne6009.rfp. USAID anticipates the issuance of the solicitation electronically and in hard copy on or about 6/30/1996. U.S. Agency for International Development, M/OP/B/HNE, Room 1509, SA-14, Washington, D.C. 20523-1424. (0152)

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0043 19960603\R-0002.SOL)