Inter-American Foundation, 901 N. Stuart Street, 10th Floor, Arlington, VA 22203-1821

B -- GRANT RESULTS REPORTING SERVICES SOL IAF-98-R0006 DUE 092298 POC Martin J. Langaigne, Procurement Assistant, 703-841-7467 or Angel Perez, Contracting Officer, 703-841-3869 The Inter-American Foundation (IAF), an independent agency of the United States Government, was created in 1969 as an experimental U.S. foreign assistance program. The Foundation works in Latin America and the Caribbean to promote equitable, participatory, and sustainable self-development by awarding grants directly to local organizations throughout the region. It also enters into partnerships with public and private sector entities to increase support and mobilize local, national, and international resources for grassroots development. From its funding experiences, the Foundation extracts lessons learned and best practices to share with other donors and development practitioners throughout the hemisphere. The Foundation tracks the results of its grant awards through the use of a conceptual framework titled the Grassroots Development Framework (GDF) with an accompanying set of 45 indicators. The Foundation is seeking bidders with the following areas of expertise: 1) Experience in the monitoring and/or evaluation of development projects in Latin America and the Caribbean at the grassroots level involving community based organizations, civic groups, non-governmental organizations, local government authorities, and private businesses; 2) Ability to convey the rationale and methods for results data collection to a broad range of grantees with varying levels of formal education and access to information throughout Latin America and the Caribbean; 3) Knowledge and experience in data collection methods, such as interviews, focus groups, surveys as well as knowledge of database entries and use; 4) A track record of using, modifying, or designing simple instruments for data collection and registry for use by grantee organizations and by contractor staff; 5) Ability to provide advice and counsel to grantee organizations on the collection of baseline data on project objectives and on results data collection methods as needed; 6) Language capability in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Haitian Creole. Grant Results Reporting-The Contractor will perform tasks under the guidance of staff members in the Foundation's Research and Evaluation Unit (R&E) in the Office of Learning and Dissemination (L&D), who may serve as the Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR). The objective of these tasks is to obtain data and information on grant results (outcomes) that are complete, accurate, and verifiable. This information is the basis for analyzing and understanding the performance of Foundation supported grants in all Latin American and Caribbean countries where the Foundation operates, using the Foundation's Grassroots Development Framework (GDF) and the Foundation's set of 45 performance indicators. The Foundation has grant programs in the following countries: Argentina; Bolivia; Brazil; Colombia; Dominican Republic; Ecuador; El Salvador; Guatemala; Haiti; Mexico; Panama; Paraguay; Peru; and Venezuela. The number of active grants varies considerably, ranging from five to forty, however, the average number is usually between 12 and 15 active grants. The following tasks must be performed in each country with active grants. 1. The Contractor shall develop a schedule and work plan, to provide a detailed orientation on the Foundation's system for the collection of results information to all new and current Foundation Grantees and submit this plan within four weeks after the contract has been awarded. The Contractor shall visit each current grantee to carry out this orientation within the first three months of this contract and shall visit each new grantee as soon as possible after a grant is obligated by the Foundation (in a period not to exceed six weeks after grant obligation). New Grantees-During the orientation visit, in the case of new grantees, the Contractor will: a) explain the objectives, content, and operations of the Grassroots Development Framework and results data collection system; b) review the Program Activity and Results Report of the Grant Agreement with the grantee; c) assist grantees in identifying information needed to report on the results indicators of the grant agreement; d) verify the accuracy and completeness of existing start-up data (grant goals and objectives in measurable terms and point of departure/baseline data), suggesting changes or additions, if necessary; and completing any missing information, particularly with regard to the prevailing circumstances at the beginning of the grant; e.) advise the grantee in the development of a plan for collecting and registering results data as specified, as well as appropriate means of collecting the data. The Contractor shall prepare and send two copies of a narrative report on the orientation visit to the Foundation and one copy to the grantee within three weeks of the visit. The report shall contain the name of the person who made the visit, the dates of the visit, the persons interviewed in the grantee organization as well as others in the community, any additions or modifications to the point of departure/baseline data, a copy of the grantee plan for collecting and registering progress and results data, and observations or recommendations to the grantee by the Contractor with regard to collecting and registering results information. Current Grants-In the case of the current portfolio, the orientation visit shall focus on a) meeting the grantee, reviewing how results were collected and documented in the past, and agreeing on a visit schedule for the year; b) acquiring an understanding of the status of grant implementation and the results achieved to date; c) reviewing the completeness of prior data and recommending a plan for correcting deficiencies. The Contractor will prepare and send two copies of a narrative report on the orientation visit to the L&D COTR and one copy to the grantee within three weeks of the visit. The report must contain the name of the person who made the visit, the dates of the visit, the persons interviewed in the grantee organization as well as others, observations on the grantee's understanding of the Foundation's results system as well as ability and/or experience to date in providing basic information on results, and any observations or recommendations to the grantee by the Contractor to begin or improve the quality of results information collection. 2. The Contractor shall visit each grantee two times per year (usually at six month intervals after the orientation visit) following the receipt by the Foundation of the Program Activity and Results Report prepared by the grantee approximately every six months. The Contractor should submit a schedule of visits for review and approval by the COTR since the number of visits per year for grantees may vary. The report will be forwarded to the Contractor by the COTR designated by the Foundation. The purpose of the visits are to verify and document grant results. Each visit will adhere to the following specific steps: a) Review the grantee's proposal and the grant agreement, including Program Activity and Results report, to identify the GDF indicators of grant results and any learningtopic content agreed upon between the grantee and the Foundation. b) Visit each grantee for one or two days, two times per year (usually at six month intervals) to verify the results information in the Program Activity and Results Report in Appendix D of the Grant Agreement to review the data for clarity, completeness and accuracy. The Contractor shall independently verify a representative sample of the data using documents, interviews, observations, or other data collection methods. The Contractor shall identify missing or incorrect data, if any, attempt to collect missing data, and assist the grantee to develop a plan to solve any data collection problems. c.) Register the results data in the Foundation's database. Results data must be annotated in the text boxes with a narrative justification for the responses provided including the choices of points on the scales. The contractor will remit the data to the Foundation within three weeks of the visit via diskette or e-mail. The contractor shall be provided training by L&D with regard to the correct use of the program developed by the Foundation for data entry. The data submission must be accompanied with a narrative report that details: the dates of the visit and the persons interviewed; the data verified and the data sources utilized; unforeseen results; any modifications to the Program Activity and Results Report submitted by the grantee specifying missing or incorrect results data as modified; and, any plans made and agreed to by the grantee to improve or correct data collection and reporting for the next Program Activity and Results Report. Contract personnel who perform the field visits are charged with the task of personally inputting the results data in the database shortly after the field visit. To ensure accuracy and completeness, this function must not be delegated to clerical staff. Data input must adhere to guidelines provided by the Foundation through manuals, formats, and other guidance from the Office of L & D. If, upon review, the COTR requests modifications to the grant data submission, these modifications should be made and the modified version returned to the COTR within two weeks of receipt of the request. d) Quality control on the field visits, data reporting, and data entry of results information must be provided by the Contractor. 3. The Contractor shall make a final visit no later than 45 days after grant termination to collect final results data. This visit shall follow steps a) through d) above and produce the final entry in the database for the grant, as well as the final narrative report. In lieu of advice on improving data collection, the report should note whether project goals and objectives were met, not accomplished, or exceeded with a brief summary of the reasons. The review of the accomplishment of goals and objectives should be made with reference to the point of departure/ baseline information recorded at grant start-up. The final data entry and narrative report are due to the COTR, with a copy to the grantee, within three weeks after the visit. 4. The Contractor will use existing and any new guidance issued by the Foundation on the operations of the Grassroots Development Framework, the data collection methods, and the timing and content of results collection field visits and for meeting with L&D staff in country as needed to receive new guidance or instructions or to report on results data collection operations. Management and Relations with the Foundation-The Contractor shall provide the Foundation with a monthly schedule of anticipated visits to grantees including the orientation visit, twice yearly visits (approximately every six months) during grant implementation, and the final visit. As changes occur, the schedule shall be modified and submitted together with monthly reports. In addition, monthly reports must be sent to the Foundation, in conjunction with requests for contract disbursements, which detail work performed during the preceding month as well as work planned for the next month in accordance with the terms of the contract. Posted 09/09/98 (D-SN247723). (0252)

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