American Embassy Moscow, PSC USAID, APO AE 09721

X -- MISCELLANEOUS SERVICES. PROVIDE SUPPORT SERVICES FOR STRENGTHENING PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN RUSSIAN AND AMERICAN ORGANIZATIONS SOL RFP 118-00-005 DUE 032800 POC Orion Yeandel, Contracting Officer WEB: http://www.info.usaid.gov/procurement_bus_opp/procurement/announce/cbd, http://www.info.usaid.gov. E-MAIL: http://www.info.usaid.gov, oyeandel@usaid.gov. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in Russia solicits expressions of interest from Sources who would like to receive a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the legal partnerships activity. The major purpose of this activity is to further assist Russia in the development of an independent and fair judiciary, expanding the work accomplished by USAID-supported efforts since 1993, by strengthening or forging partnerships between Russian and American counterpart organizations. The work performed under the contract would support USAID's strategic objective 2.2, "Legal systems that better support democratic processes and human rights." One of the key components of this objective is to strengthen the judicial system, because domestic and foreign investment in Russia, as well as the climate for the protection of human rights, will flourish only when a more predictable, transparent, independent and better-financed and trained judicial system is established. The major emphases under this particular contract will be to: 1. Strengthen judicial administration by working with, and providing assistance to, the Judicial Department of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation; 2. Work with the newly created Academy of Justice in the area of judicial education; and 3. Work in the areas of judicial ethics, selection, and discipline. A key component of all work done pursuant to this contract will be to strengthen or forge partnerships between Russian and American counterpart organizations in the fields of judicial administration and training. Such partnerships can best be strengthened or formed through the efforts of an entity which has as its core objective the strengthening of judicial functions or relations. We expect that these partnerships will continue beyond the expiration of this contract. Work under the contract would have to be compatible with the U.S. Government's Regional Initiative (RI) program of concentrated engagement in selected Russian regions. Work must be undertaken with awareness that numerous other foreign and international donors are active in legal reform efforts in the Russian Federation. Work under this contract will not concentrate on training in substantive law, whether American or Russian. Rather, the focus will be on institutional development of two new Russian government bodies, the Judicial Department of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, and the Russian Academy of Justice, as an administrative organ and a judicial education establishment, respectively, and on developing partnerships with these entities. Assistance to the Academy of Justice will benefit the Russian courts of general jurisdiction and the Russian commercial (arbitrazh) court system, as the Russian Federation Supreme Court and the Supreme Commercial (Arbitrazh) Court are co-founders of the Academy of Justice. In the course of helping with the development of the Judicial Department and the Academy of Justice, the contractor will contribute to developing partnership relationships between these Russian organizations and counterpart American organizations. For example, the U.S. federal and possibly state judicial agencies, professional membership organizations and judicial training establishments are potential partners with Russian entities. In addition to sound court administration and good training for judges, it is key to the continued development of the Russian judiciary that it have the capability to work with its members on issues of judicial ethics. Accordingly, the contractor will also work with the relevant Russian judicial officials in the area of judicial ethics. Since work will stress institutional development and the strengthening of judicial ethics, it will not provide instruction of Russian judges or judicial administrators in substantive law. In any of the seminars or other training, the participation of American or other foreign experts should be very limited. The Russian participants should be given the opportunity to take the lead in organizing and presenting the materials. Institutional strengthening and partnership development are high priorities for USAID under this contract. Contractors will be expected to work to promote Russian "buy-in" and ownership from the start of the program. Contractors may also be expected to deal with situations in which there appears to be less political will to move forward. An understanding of the domestic Russian situation, as well as its legal system, by the contractor and its representatives will be necessary for the successful implementation of this project. Contractors must be more flexible, more knowledgeable of the details of Russian law and its judicial system, and more creative than ever before. Flexibility requires that there be several alternatives for working to advance the assistance agenda. Decisions may have to be made as to when it is best to put assistance in one area on hold and shift the focus to another. For example, as the contractor works, it may become apparent that more resources should be allocated to one area than the other as between judicial administration and judicial training. This situation could arise if the receptivity proved to be greater by one of the Russian institutions to the contractor's efforts. Resolving these important questions will require close cooperation with USAID. The mechanism for realizing the work described herein will be a two-year contract, with an option to extend the work for an additional year. Funds are currently NOT available. The amount of money expected to be available for this contract is approximately $4 million over three years. Thus, work performed under this Contract must be sharply focused in order to try to achieve important, lasting results that will help the Russian judiciary continue to improve even after USAID funding in this sector ceases. "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 (Word 97 format). This CBD notice can be viewed and downloaded using the Agency Web Site. The RFP, once issued, can be downloaded from the Agency web site. The Worldwide Web address is http://www.info.usaid.gov. Select Business and Procurement Opportunities from the home page, then "USAID Procurements." On the following screen, select "Download Available USAID Solicitations." 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." Interested firms may request a copy of the RFP by sending an e-mail, citing RFP No. 118-00-005, to Orion Yeandel, oyeandel@usaid.gov. Telephonic requests will not be honored. Requests for the RFP that are received one week or less before the RFP closing date will be filled subject to the availability of copies. The Internet Address is http://www.info.usaid.gov/procurement_bus_opp/procurement/solicitation/ Receipt of this RFP through INTERNET must be confirmed by written (fax or mail) notification to the contact person noted above. It is the responsibility of the recipient of the RFP to ensure that it has been received from INTERNET in its entirety. USAID bears no responsibility for data errors resulting from transmission or conversion processes. Posted 03/10/00 (W-SN433236). (0070)

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