Clement J. Bucher, Contracting Officer, USAID/Haiti, 17 Boulevard Harry Truman, Port Au Prince, Haiti

R -- TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, MANAGERIAL AND TRAINING OVERSIGHT FOR THE ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSFORMATION (ASSET) 2000 PROJECT SOL RFP HAITI 521-96-004 POC Clement J. Bucher, Contracting Officer, Tel (509) 22-5500, Fax (509) 23-9603 Port Au Prince, Haiti. USAID/Haiti (hereinafter known as USAID) is seeking the services of a U.S. Firm/Institution to implement components of its agriculturally sustainable systems and environmental transformation 2000 program (hereinafter known as Asset 2000 or Project). (A) This project consolidates all USAID Agricultural and Environmental activities into a single operational entity, Asset 2000 (representing its target completion year). This action combines successful activities already underway with new initiatives, derived from lessons learned from more than 15 years of experience producing a menu of environmentally sound technologies and methodologies proven effective in Haiti's environmentally fragile agriculture system. Building upon these successes, Asset 2000 seeks to empower participating farmers both economically and politically, not only increasing their incomes by improved farming techniques and preserving their land through sound environmental practices but also strengthening local communities, groups and institutions, enabling them to take charge of the implementation and extension of these proven methodologies. Asset 2000 will serve USAID strategic objective by achieving four distinct program results that contribute to the overall strategic objective to ''improve Agricultural Productivity and Environmental Management''. Each program result will emerge from a group of activities called results packages. Result one will strengthen the national framework for environmentally sound development through support for the National Environmental Action Plan (NEAP), institution building in the Ministries of Agriculture and Environment, and support for a National Agriculture and Environmental Information System. Result two will increase the use of sustainable hillside agricultural practices to hillside farmers so as to increase their incomes through expanded tree crops, soil and water conservation, improved seeds and food crops production linked to reliable marketing systems. Result three will foster greater community participation in tree planting and protection of productive infrastructure through the empowerment of local civil society and governmental institutions with organizational, planning, technical, management and monitoring skills and resources. Result four will improve environmental quality in targeted urban locations and reduce land based pollution on marine and coastal resources through support of activities in urban liquid and solid waste management. (B) The objective of this contract is to provide TA, training and management support to Asset 2000 for results one, three, and four. Result two is already being implemented by other contractors and institutions that will contribute to the achievement of this result until Fiscal Year (FY) 1999. (C) The contractor will provide the following inputs: result 1.1: Support for the national environmental action plan through international core support, short-term consultants, support to GOH for the production of the final NEAP report and seminars, and administration of funds to implement priority activities identified in the NEAP. Result 1.2: Support to the Ministries of Agriculture and Environment through, long-term international core support, long-term local staff, short-term consultants, long-term training, short-term training, commodities (1 vehicle, office equipment, supplies, computers, seminars, training equipment), and support to GOH. Result 1.3: Establishment of a national, agriculture and environmental monitoring and information system through long-term local staff, contractor will also coordinate tracking of results contributing to overall achievement of the strategic objective. Result 3: Increased community participation in tree planting through long- term international core support, short-term consultants, workshops, commodities (vehicle, communication equipments, nurseries equipment and supplies, and administration of small national resource management funds and creation of a Community Forestry Corps. Result 4. Improved environmental quality in targeted urban locations through long-term international core support, long-term local staff, short-term consultants, training (local workshops and seminars), commodities (vehicle, waste treatment equipment, and other miscellaneous supplies), and administration of subcontracts and/or grants to support sustainable urban community initiatives. (D) Provision of a core office staff the contractor will establish a Project Office (PO) in Port-Au-Prince to provide technical assistance and all necessary administrative and management support to satisfy the contract requirements. The PO will serve as the Managing Entity for Asset 2000. The PO will be managed by a chief of party, who will be selected from the long-term technical staff to be provided by the contractor. An illustrative composition of the PO is as follows: (1) 14 person-years (py) long-term international staff-such as: Institutional Specialist (result 1.2); Community Development Specialist (result 3); New activity coordinator (result 1.1/4.0). (2) 100 to 145 PY long-term local staff (45 PY may be -PY in local non-governmental organizations); 1 senior administrator; 1 administrator; 2 bookkeepers; 1 secretary; 1 driver/messenger-result team members (especially 1.2, 1.3, And 4.0). This core staff will manage the following: (1) 140 person-months (pm) of short-term technical-assistance; (2) 24 PY of long-term training; (3) 300 person-weeks (pw) of short-term training; (4) 1.108 Million dols of conferences and workshops; (5) commodity procurement; (6) small natural resource management fund and-coordination with larger funds; (7) subcontracting or grant administration of-sustainable urban initiatives; (8) direct implementation or subcontracting to-implement priority NEAP activities. (D) Coordination of Asset activities: The contractor will work through expanded result package teams with the Food Security Information System (FSIS) contractor, plus contractor and CA partners, and other contributors to coordinate the tracking of results. The contractor may also provide technical direction for the coordination of complementary activities with other contractor and subcontractors engaged in the implementation of USAID funded Enhanced Food Security Program's productive infrastructure activities. USAID will manage by results: future funding of individual results will be affected by performance. (E) The preferred method of distribution of USAID Procurement Information is via the Internet or by request of a solicitation on a 3.5'' floppy disk (wordperfect 5.1/5.2 format). This CBD notice can be viewed and downloaded using the agency gopher. The RFP, once issued, can be downloaded from the agency gopher. The Gopher address is GOPHER.INFO.USAID.GOV. Select USAID Procurement and Business Opportunities from the Gopher menu. From there, choose the heading USAID Procurement and then download available USAID solicitations. The RFP can also be downloaded via anonymous File Transfer Protocol FTP. The FTP address is FTP.INFO.USAID.GOV. Logon on using the user identification of ''anonymous'' and the password is your e-mail address. Look under the following directory for the RFP: pub/OP/RFP/52196004/52196004.rfp. Receipt of this RFP through Internet must be confirmed by written notification to the contact person noted above. It is the responsibility of the recipient of this solicitation document to ensure that it has been received from Internet in its entirety and USAID bears no responsibility for data errors resulting from transmission or conversion processes. USAID encourages the participation to the maximum extent possible of U.S. entities that are small business concerns, small disadvantaged business concerns, uncluding women-owned concerns, historically Black colleges and universities, colleges and universities whose students body is more than 40 percent Hispanic American, private voluntary organizations controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals including women in accordance with Part 19 of the FAR and Part 726 of the AIDAR. It is anticipated that the prime contractor will make maximum practicable use of such entities; subcontracting plans should be included in proposals submitted. USAID/HAITI anticipates issuing the solicitation for this procurement on/or shortly after June 10, 1996. Copies may be obtained only by written request to the Contracting Officer, USAID/Haiti (fax 509-23-9603). Request should include complete mailing address, phone and fax numbers. (0157)

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