Regional Contracting Officer, USAID/Dakar, Senegal, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-2130

R -- SOT3 CONTRACT: IMPLEMENTING OF THE DECENTRALIZED HEALTH SERVICES FINANCING PROGRAM FOR USAID/SENEGAL STRATEGY 1999-2006 SOL 685-00-P-003 DUE 021500 POC Babacar Thioune, Aquisition Specialist, Tel: ((221) 823-1602; Fax: (221) 822-7816; E-mail: bthioune@usaid.gov; Contracting Officer: Leonel T. Pizarro, Regional Contracting Officer; E-mail: lpizarro@usaid.gov WEB: http://www.info.usaid.gov/procurement_bus_opp/procurement/announce/cbd, http://www.info.usaid.gov. E-MAIL: http://www.info.usaid.gov, bthioune@usaid.gov or lpizarro@usaid.gov. The United States Agency for International Development Mission to Senegal (USAID/Senegal) is seeking technical services of a Contractor to help the Mission and its extended team partners meet defined performance measures necessary to achieve its Strategic Objective#3 (SO3): Increased and Sustainable Use of Reproductive Health Services (Child Survival, Maternal Health, Family Planning, and STI/AIDS) in the Context of Decentralization in Targeted Areas. The proposed contract will focus on activities necessary for the achievement of SO3's Key Intermediate Results (KIR)3.3, Increased Financing of Health Services from Internal Sources. Activities financed under this contract will focus primarily at two levels i) local level service delivery and systems support in up to 29 "core" health districts; and ii) national level systems support (i.e. policy dialogue, monitoring and evaluation, research, information dissemination). The contract will provide technical support at the health district level to encourage local level financing and build up local level planning, implementing and monitoring capacities, with the goal of increasing ownership and sustainability of Reproductive Health (RH) services. A matching grant mechanism will be established to encourage local financing of RH activities. The technical services required shall include but not necessarily be limited to: short-and long-term technical assistance, provision of non-academic in-country workshps, conferences, seminars, trainings and possibly third -country seminars and/or observational study tours; development and management of a matching-grant mechanism; development and dissemination of information on decentralization and about the experience of those communities and organizations participating in matching-grant activities; data collection, analyses and reporting as part of a monitoring function ; and provision of necessary equipment to assure proper functioning of local level partner institutions. The Contractor shall provide these technical services for four contract components: Capacity Building component, Sustainable Integrated Services component, Increased Ownership components, Decentralization & Health legal and regulatory component. The proposed contract will be performance-based, in order to encourage innovation and efficiency, while at the same time provide flexibility and margin for trial and error since this strategy will be executed in an evolving political and administrative environment consequent to recent decentralization reforms. The Contractor shall operate in collaboration with other implementing partners providing reproductive health services at the local level. The proposed contract will be for a five-year period, for up to an estimate total of $10 million, including $5.0 million for a Contractor-managed matching grant fund. Background on Senegal and the USAID/Senegal program are found in the USAID Country Strategic Plan 1998-2006 and other key documents available at the following website: http:// www.dec.org/dakar. Other informationon USAID programs in Senegal over the past 36 years that may be of interest is available under "Senegal" in USAID's Development Experience System (DEXS) at: www.dec.org. USAID encourages the participation to the maximum extent possible of U.S . small businesses, U.S. small disadvantaged businesses, U.S. women-owned small businesses, and U.S. HUBZone small businesses in this activity as prime or subcontractors in accordance with Part 19 of the FAR. In this respect, it is anticipated that the prime Contractor will make every reasonable effort to identify and maximize practicable use of such concerns. To help identify potential subcontractors, a list of all organizations requesting a copy of the solicitation will be included with each solicitation issued. By providing the list, USAID does not endorse the listed organizations as being capable of carrying out the activity, nor does USAID verify the claim status of the organizations. Necessarily, the list will contain the names of only those organizations known prior to the issuance of the solicitation. Telephone requests for the RFP will not be honored. The issuance date of the RFP is expected to be on or about December 21, 1999. The RFP closing date will be February 15, 2000, at 16:00 local time. The publication of this notice or the issuance of a solicitation does not obligate the U.S. Government to award a contract. Posted 11/30/99 (W-SN404507). (0334)

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