Unlock Millions: Fund Girls' Education Initiatives in Pakistan

Request for Information (RFI) To: Local Pakistani Organizations Subject: Improving Girls’ Education Activity (IGEA) Reference Number : 72039121RFI00003 - IGEA Activity Release Date : March 2, 2021 Response Due Date: March 16, 2021, 16:30 (Pakistan Standard Time (PST) I. Request for Information This Request for Information (RFI) is a preliminary call for expressions of interest to provide services for the “Improving Girls’ Education Activity”. USAID/Pakistan’s Improving Girls’ Education Activity (IGEA) is a 4 million four-year (2021-2025) pilot activity designed to improve girls’ education management in selected districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, including the Merged Areas, through a private sector model of successful school management. The overarching objective of IGEA is to address systemic issues in education service delivery by introducing a viable Public Private Partnership (PPP) model in the province.

The activity will work with the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (GoKP) to develop and pilot a PPP model to improve the quality of education in public sector schools in the province. Interventions under this activity will provide technical assistance to the GoKP and will facilitate development of a system to engage credible private sector organizations in management of public sector schools in the province. Building on existing PPP initiatives in the education sector in Punjab and Sindh, the activity will work with the GoKP to develop a customized model for outsourcing the management of public schools in remote areas of KP including the Merged Areas (MAs). The activity will mainly focus on girls’ education and women’s adult literacy.

The program will be piloted in one or two districts to be selected in consultation with the GoKP. The program will leverage existing government school infrastructure and private sector technical expertise and experience to improve quality education for girls in one of the most underserved areas of the country. In addition, USAID seeks input regarding our proposed approach listed in Attachment A. The place of performance for this activity is Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province and Merged Areas.

USAID/Pakistan intends to issue one Award for the provision of these services. The period of performance under this award will be four years with an estimated award ceiling between $3-$4 million. The selected awardee is required to be legally registered to operate in Pakistan and will obtain the necessary No Objection Certificate from the concerned host government agencies. Also, the organization/s will be subject to partner vetting requirements.

As per the USAID/Pakistan’s Vetting Mission Order, key individuals of the offeror and that of any proposed sub-awardees will be required to comply with the vetting requirement. Interested local Pakistani organizations wishing to participate should submit an expression of interest (5-10 pages) which addresses their capacity and capability for performing this activity. USAID relies on the recency and relevancy of past performance information when determining awards to recipients. Recency is defined as the awards recipient has performance as either a prime or subrecipient within the last 3-5 years.

Relevancy is defined as awards the recipient has received for projects with a similar scope and magnitude as this requirement. Please include three examples of past performance history meeting these criteria. HOW TO SUBMIT A RESPONSE Interested parties wishing to participate should submit their capabilities statements electronically to pkcontract@usaid.gov with a copy to Mr. Saadi Akhtar at sakhtar@usaid.gov.

Responses to this RFI will be accepted through as stated above in response due date. You will only receive an electronic confirmation acknowledging receipt of your response but will not receive individualized feedback or suggestions. Responses may contribute to upcoming activity design(s). However, this RFI will not be construed as a commitment by the U.S.

Government to issue any solicitation, award any grant, or pay for any information submitted as a result of this request. Responders are responsible for adequately marking proprietary or restricted information contained in their response. No basis for claims against the U.S. Government shall arise as a result of a response to this Request for Information or from the U.S.

Government’s use of such information. Specific questions about this RFI should be directed only to the email addresses identified above. This office will not respond to any telephone or other inquiries regarding this notice. The submitted information must not exceed 10 pages.

The submitted response should include: Reference Number: IGEA Name / Email Affiliation/ Organization Address ● Short narrative, including capabilities, strengths, and expected contributions; ● Comments on IGEA objectives; ● Questions/clarifications regarding our proposed strategy listed in Attachment A; and ● Experience - Past Performance references (3). Please attach any documents that support your comments to the below questions. Please note USAID is not seeking technical or cost proposals at this time. Do not submit any proposal/application at this time in response to this RFI.

Only the information as requested above or in Attachment A will be considered. Issuance of this notice does not constitute an award commitment to international or local Pakistani organizations on part of the U.S. Government, nor does it commit the Government to pay for any costs incurred in the preparation of comments. Questions regarding this notice can be directed to Mr.

Muhammad Ali Bilal, Administrative Agreement Officer, at mbilal@usaid.gov with a copy to Saadi Akhtar, at sakhtar@usaid.gov and Aaqib Hameed, at aahameed@usaid.gov. Issued By: USAID/Pakistan’s Office of Acquisition and Assistance Attachment - A 1. BACKGROUND The former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) region of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Province of Pakistan, now called the Merged Areas (MAs), has one of the lowest women literacy rates across the country and globally. The literacy rate in the MAs is 33.3%, with a total male literacy rate of 49.7%, while only 12.7% of women are literate.

Women education is constrained by a number of systemic, logistical, and cultural challenges. Decades of neglect, lack of investment in educational infrastructure, and the absence of an effective governance system has limited educational opportunities, resulting in low access to schools and low quality of education. Other key factors include limited or absence of formal arrangements or government's commitment to support innovative management and operational education services delivery output for improving particularly girls’ education of the marginalized and conflict affected regions. Multidimensional poverty in the NMDs is at 74%, almost double the Pakistani national average.

Moreover, extant religious and conservative tribal culture and extreme poverty have particularly disadvantaged women, depriving them of their right to education. Only one-fifth of girls’ students enrolled in public schools in the seven districts of the MAs, continue their education beyond grade 5. Overall, 73 percent of students (69 percent of boys, and 79 percent of girls) leave school during their early years of education and do not transition to middle school (grades 5 through 8), according to an official report of government educational institutions in the region. There also remains a wide disparity of transition rate at the Pakistani national and regional level in KP and the MAs.

Of the total enrolled girls in the MAs, only 53 percent of girls’ transition from primary to lower secondary as compared to 83 percent in KP and 84 percent in the country. The MAs also experience a much higher dropout rate at 73 percent compared to 44 percent for other areas of KP 33 percent nationally. 2. OBJECTIVES The objective of the Improving Girls’ Education Activity (IGEA) is to improve girls’ education systems in selected districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province including the merged areas by introducing a private sector suite of successful education programs.

Sub Objective 1 The sub objective 1 is to help facilitate the GoKP’s development of a system to outsource the management of public schools (a model similar to Punjab and Sindh) in the KP province including the Merged Areas. Sub Objective 2 The sub objective 2 is to outsource public sector schools in one or two districts of KP, on pilot basis to experienced private sector entities. 3. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION USAID/Pakistan’s Improving Girls’ Education Activity (IGEA) is expected to be a $3-$4 million four-year pilot activity designed to improve girls’ education systems in selected districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province including the merged areas by introducing a private sector suite of successful education programs.

Interventions under this activity will help facilitate the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (GoKP’s) development of a system to outsource the management of public schools (a model similar to Punjab and Sindh) in remote areas of KP including the Merged Areas (MAs). The activity will mainly focus on girls’ education and women’s adult literacy. Building on existing public private partnership initiatives in the education sector in Punjab and Sindh, this activity will work with the GoKP to develop a customized model for KP and the former FATA region. The program will be piloted in one/two of the MAs/other districts of KP to be selected in consultation with the GoKP.

The program will leverage existing government school infrastructure and private sector technical expertise and experience of offering quality education for girls in one of the most underserved areas of the country. The private sector may bring in additional resources from other donors/philanthropists at a later stage. 4. QUESTIONS USAID/Pakistan is interested in gathering information on the following: Identification of local Pakistani organizations with a capability to successfully implement IGEA.

Identification of challenges, constraints, and limitations in Merged Areas in particular and KP province in general. Identification of organizational best practices for these activities in different regions/parts of Pakistan. Identification of similar activities being implemented by local organizations.