Subject: Request for Applications USAID-Washington- RFA-OAA-11-000001Issuance Date: October 16, 2010Deadline for Questions: October 25, 2010, 2:00 pm EST Closing Date: November 17, 2010, 11:00 am EST, Washington DC

Title: Global Labor Program: Promoting International Labor Standards, Improving Workers’ Access to Justice and Supporting Independent, Democratic Labor Unions and NGOs

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is seeking applications from eligible institutions as described in Section III of this RFA, for a program titled “Global Labor Program” through the award of a Leader with Associates Cooperative Agreement (also referred to herein as “Leader Award”). A description of the program is provided in Section I of this RFA

The authority for the RFA is found in the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended. Pursuant to 22 CFR 226.81, it is USAID policy not to include profit of any nature under assistance instruments. However, all other reasonable, allocable, and allowable expenses, both direct and indirect, which are related to the agreement program and are in accordance with applicable cost standards (22 CFR 226, OMB Circular A-122 for non-profit organization, OMB Circular A-21 for universities, and the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 31 for for-profit organizations), may be paid under the award.

USAID reserves the right to fund any or none of the applications submitted. Funding details are provided in Section II of the RFA.

For the purposes of this program, this RFA is being issued and consists of this cover letter and the following:

1. Section I Program Description; 2. Section II Award Information; 3. Section III Eligibility Information; 4. Section IV Application and Submission Instructions; 5. Section V Selection Criteria; 6. Section VI Award and Administration Information; 7. Section VII Other Information - References; 8. Annexes A – H

To be eligible for award, the applicant must provide all required information in its application. Applicants must submit the full application package pursuant to the requirements set forth in Section IV of this RFA. Applicants must propose a cost share in an amount not less than 10% -- in cash or in kind – of the total program budget as part of their application (refer to Section IV of the RFA).

For the purposes of this RFA, the term "Grant" is synonymous with "Cooperative Agreement"; "Grantee" is synonymous with "Recipient"; and "Grant Officer" is synonymous with "Agreement Officer".

If you decide to submit an application, it must be received by the closing date and time indicated at the top of this RFA cover letter at the place designated for receipt in the RFA Section IV Application and Submission Instructions. Hard copies of the Technical Application and the Cost Application and any modifications thereof must bear the name and address of the applicant and RFA # RFA-OAA-11-000001.

Issuance of this RFA does not constitute an award commitment on the part of USAID, nor does it commit USAID to pay for costs incurred in the preparation and submission of an application. Further, USAID reserves the right to reject any or all applications received. In addition, final award of any Leader Award cannot be made until funds have been fully appropriated, allocated, and committed through internal USAID procedures. While it is anticipated that these procedures will be successfully completed, potential applicants are hereby notified of these requirements and conditions for award. Applications are submitted at the risk of the applicants, and all preparation and submission costs are at applicants’ own expense.

Thank you for your interest in USAID Programs.

Sincerely,

Mark WaltherAgreement OfficerM/OAA/DCHA/DOFDA

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

SECTION I – PROGRAM DESCRIPTION…………….……………………………… 1

SECTION II – AWARD INFORMATION…………………………………………….. 23

SECTION III – ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION………………………………………. 25

SECTION IV – APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS…………… 26

SECTION V – SELECTION CRITERIA ………….………………………………… 51

SECTION VI – AWARD AND ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION…………… 56

SECTION VII – OTHER INFORMATION – REFERENCES ……………………… 57

ANNEXESA: REPRESENTATIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS ……………..……….......... B: MANDATORY STANDARD PROVISIONS ………………………………… C: REQUIRED AS APPLICABLE STANDARD PROVISIONS………………. D: SURVEY ON ENSURING EQUAL OPPORTUNITY FOR APPLICANTS… E: PERFORMANCE REPORT – SHORT FORM……………………………….. F. DIRECTIONS TO MOBILE SCANNING FACILITY………………………..G. REQUIRED COUNTRIES AND COUNTRY-SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS………H. GLOBAL LABOR SECTOR ANALYTICAL INITIATIVE DOCUMENTS……………..

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SECTION I – PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Global Labor Program: Promoting International Labor Standards, Improving Workers’ Access to Justice

and Supporting Independent, Democratic Labor Unions and NGOs

A. PROGRAM BACKGROUND

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has a strong tradition of supporting international labor sector programs designed to foster democratic development and broad-based economic growth around the world. These programs include funding for democratic and independent trade unions and worker organizations, labor rights organizations, employer organizations, and labor-related government institutions, including labor ministries and departments, dispute resolution boards, tribunals and labor/industrial courts. Since 1997, USAID’s global labor rights and union strengthening program has been managed by the Office of Democracy and Governance (DG), in the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance (DCHA), whose role is to provide technical and intellectual leadership for USAID and its development practitioners, as well as implementing mechanisms, such as grants and cooperative agreements, to support democratic development around the world.

The goal of USAID’s Global Labor Union and NGO Strengthening Program (2002-2010) and its predecessors has been to assist the Agency to: strengthen the observance of internationally recognized core labor standards by advocating their adoption into law and regulation and promoting effective enforcement once adopted; support the development and strengthening of free and independent labor unions and other labor related organizations in their efforts to support and enhance democratization, equitable economic development and a democratic political culture through supporting effective citizen participation; develop and strengthen national and local union leadership and programmatic capacity, with particular emphasis on providing leadership opportunities for women and youth; and improve and enhance the institutional and financial capacity of labor unions and labor civil society organizations and help them develop means of financial support, both internal and external, that will result in the reduction and eventual elimination of the need for donor funding.

This new LWA for a “Global Labor Program: Promoting International Labor Standards, Improving Workers’ Access to Justice and Supporting Independent, Democratic Labor Unions and NGOs” (hereafter, “Global Labor Program”) will continue the important work of promoting international labor standards and strengthening democratic labor unions and NGOs, with an increased focus on the following areas: the promotion of labor justice and the rule of law in the labor sector, gender considerations, continuing improvements in the monitoring and evaluation of program results, and the integration of program objectives with USAID’s regional and country-specific development goals. The principle aim of the new program is to increase the capacity of independent, democratic labor movements worldwide to promote core labor standards, effectively represent their members and improve working conditions and workers’ livelihoods. The new program will also be expected to explicitly address other cross-sectoral development goals including the development of democratic institutions, broad-based economic growth, and healthy and productive workforces and communities.

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1. Previous Global Labor Program

The purpose of USAID’s previous global labor program was to “support transitions to and the consolidation of participatory democratic processes worldwide through a labor organization-strengthening program and other labor related activities” that addressed the following ten objectives:

1. Promote the adoption and effective enforcement of core labor standards2. Establishment of legal frameworks to protect and promote civil society3. Increased citizen participation in policy processes, implementation and oversight of public

institutions4. Increased institutional and financial viability of labor unions and labor NGOs5. Enhanced free flow of information6. Strengthened democratic culture and gender equity7. Support to anti-sweatshop activities8. Promote broad-based, equitable economic growth9. Human capacity built through education and training10. Improve health through workplace and peer-to-peer health education and prevention.

Leader Award program activities were implemented on the basis of annual workplans in approximately ten to twenty-five countries per year. In addition, several USAID Missions provided funding for country programs through buy-ins and associate awards (denoted by an * below). Activities were implemented during the 2002-2010 program in the following countries:

Africa Asia Latin America East EuropeBotswana Bangladesh* Argentina Bulgaria*Ethiopia India Bolivia GeorgiaKenya Indonesia Brazil Kosovo*Lesotho Malaysia Colombia Macedonia*Mozambique Philippines Dominican Republic Montenegro*Nigeria Sri Lanka Ecuador Serbia*Rwanda Thailand El Salvador UkraineSouth Africa GuatemalaSwaziland HondurasTanzania MexicoZimbabwe* Nicaragua

ParaguayPeruUruguay

2. Historical Data by Geographic Region

This request for application will replace the expiring LWA encumbered by the last Leader Award. From the start of the award in February 2002 through its end-date in December 2010, funds going to the Leader Award came primarily from Washington-based offices within USAID and State Department, whereas funds going towards Associate Awards came primarily from USAID field missions. From 2002-2010, USAID/Washington funding to the Leader Award totaled about $76 million and supported several Washington-based Global Programs as well as programs in the Africa, Asia Europe & Eurasia, and Latin American regions. In addition to these funds, State/DRL provided $1.8 million in 2002 for anti-sweatshop programming through a buy-in to the Leader Award. Mission Associate Awards ($4.6m) and

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Social Partners & Civil Society

Government

Political Economy Context

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buy-ins ($5.9m) to the Leader Award during the same period totaled about $11 million, with the following regional break-down: Africa $1.6 million; Europe & Eurasia $7.4 million; and Asia/Near East $2.1 million. Annual funding provided through this award averaged $12-15 million in the first few years of the award agreement (of which $9 million was funding through the Leader Award and the remainder was funding through Associate Awards and buy-ins), and $7.5 million in the final years (all of which was funding through the Leader Award).

3. Findings of the Global Labor Sector Analytic Initiative (GLASAI)

This request for applications (RFA) for a new Global Labor Program is in part informed by the Global Labor Sector Analytic Initiative (GLASAI), a new and innovative effort to establish the technical foundation and development practitioner tools necessary to demonstrate where and under what conditions investments in the labor sector can produce clear and measurable development results. Initiated in mid-2007, the GLASAI establishes a cross-sectoral and cross-disciplinary framework for understanding the labor sector and its contributions to U.S. foreign assistance goals.

The central premise of the conceptual framework presented in this work is that a well-functioning labor sector promotes key development objectives, and requires:

An established legal foundation that promotes the rule of law and respect for human rights, including labor rights;

Labor sector organizations, especially the “social partners”, i.e. the trade unions that bargain collectively on wages and working conditions at the firm or industry level and advocate for workers’ interests in social and political arenas , and employers’ associations that do the same for business and the private sector. Labor sector organizations also include many types of non-governmental and civil society organizations that provide services and engage in advocacy efforts in the labor sector.

A competitive and well-regulated labor market that allows for the smooth allocation of appropriately educated and skilled labor in response to both private and public sector needs in agriculture, industry, and service sectors of an economy; and

Support from government institutions for a progressively improving set of labor laws and policies, their implementation and continuous improvement, and effective systems of adjudication and dispute avoidance and resolution.

Analysis conducted under this assessment suggests that:

the labor sector can be a highly relevant arena for foreign assistance programming and can provide a practical framework for understanding labor issues in an international development context;

a strong and sustainable labor sector can be important especially for the protection of key human rights and the promotion of freedom of association and core democratic principles; and

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labor sector programming is most effective when strategic goals are country-specific and programs integrate relevant activities in the labor sector in new and innovative ways that respond to emerging global issues.

Such integrated activities might span a country’s legal institutions (legal code, judicial system, arbitration mechanisms, and courts), government bodies (e.g. the Ministry of Labor and specialized labor courts), non-governmental organizations (labor unions and NGOs, employers’ associations), and labor markets (both labor supply factors such as workforce training, health and safety, as well as demand factors such as employment-intensive private sector development and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs). While this solicitation is focused specifically on promoting international labor standards, improving workers’ access to justice and supporting independent, democratic labor unions and NGOs, USAID seeks applications which reflect and build upon the findings and recommendations emerging from this work, while proposing innovative approaches targeted toward producing clear and measurable results. Applicants should consult the documents on the GLASAI website www.glasai.com in preparing Applications (see Annex H).

B. PROGRAM OBJECTIVES

1. Development Context

This Request for Applications seeks Applications for a five-year Global Labor Program, which will take place in challenging times both for the promotion of democracy and the contribution of labor movements to democratic transitions, as well as for the furtherance of international labor standards1 and the attainment of “decent work2.” The latest “Freedom in the World”3 series reports that “For the fourth consecutive year, global declines in freedom outweighed gains in 2009… This represents the longest continuous period of decline for global freedom in the nearly 40-year history of the report.” Similarly, the most recent annual Human Rights Report (February 2010) produced by the US Department of State reported significant challenges in 2009 in the protection of human and labor rights worldwide. The Report shows that while progress has been made in a few countries, in many parts of the world abuses and tremendous challenges for workers striving to have their rights in the workplace respected continue; furthermore, women, migrants, and low-wage workers in the informal sector are especially vulnerable to exploitation and dangerous working conditions. Finally, significant economic challenges threaten the development gains achieved over the past several decades, particularly regarding labor standards and labor rights. As a result of the global financial crisis, many countries, developed and developing alike, are seeing poverty levels increase, livelihood opportunities for their citizens diminish, and the social protection systems that might help citizens survive varying levels of economic downturn falter. Especially of concern is the continuing employment crisis which is expected to outlast the financial crisis by several years,4

1 The four internationally-recognized “core labor standards” or CLS, established by the International Labor Organization are: (i) freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining, (ii) elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labor, (iii) effective abolition of child labor, and (iv) elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation. 2 The International Labor Organization defines “decent work” as “the aspirations of people in their working lives. It involves opportunities for work that is productive and delivers a fair income, security in the workplace and social protection for families, better prospects for personal development and social integration, freedom for people to express their concerns, organize and participate in the decisions that affect their lives, and equality of opportunity and treatment for all women and men. 3 “Freedom in the World 2010: Erosion of Freedom Intensifies” in Freedom in the World survey, Freedom House, 2010. http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=505, Arch Puddington4 “Recovering from the Crisis, a Global Jobs Pact,” International Labor Organization, Geneva, 2009; see also the ILO’s Global Job Crisis Observatory website at http://www.ilo.org/pls/apex/f?p=jobcrisis:1:2862403383736995 and the International Trade Union Confederation’s Global Financial Crisis Union Watch website at: http://www.ituc-

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threatening not only the availability of jobs but potentially also recent progress made toward global achievement of core international labor standards, especially the freedom of association.

Despite these challenges, USAID remains committed to promoting and strengthening effective democracies and helping them move along a continuum toward democratic consolidation through support to key strategic interventions in the areas of governance, competitive processes and consensus-building, civil society, and the rule of law. As demonstrated through previous USAID experience and recent analysis of the role of the labor sector in achieving U.S. foreign assistance goals, labor sector organizations comprise a significant element of civil society in many countries and can be key to promoting effective democracies and sustainable development for several reasons.

The full, effective participation of vibrant, democratic labor unions and other labor related nongovernmental organizations5 (labor NGOs) can be vital to democratic civil societies as independent labor unions are invariably broad based, bringing otherwise disenfranchised citizens into the political and development process. Labor unions and other organizations working on behalf of worker interests have historically given voice to disenfranchised and other vulnerable groups, the very ones often excluded from the political system by other institutions. Women, in particular, have benefitted from having a representative voice speaking on their behalf. Issues of pay discrimination, sexual harassment, and maternity leave are frequently road blocks that keep women from bettering their own financial outlook or from providing resources to their children. Given extreme disparities in wealth and power in many developing countries, independent and democratic worker organizations especially can be critical vehicles for promoting interest-based competition in public policy arenas as well as ensuring that the voices of the working poor and marginalized groups are heard. When women and youth especially are taken into account in decisions in the workplace and in the national arena, they gain greater control over their livelihoods and those of their families and communities.

In many low-income countries, the legal enabling environment and the public institutions responsible for guaranteeing and enforcing the rights of workers to form unions are poorly developed and inadequately resourced. Rule of law issues such as rights advocacy and improvements in access to justice are thus critical to ensuring the basic freedoms and rights necessary for workers to organize and maintain their own independent and representative organizations.6 Promoting the rule of law in the labor sector is thus both a development goal in itself and a means of providing broader support for the rule of law. Independent labor unions and NGOs especially have essential roles regarding the promotion of these core labor standards, labor rights and access to justice in the labor sector, given their focus on educating workers, advocating for changes in laws and practices consistent with the fundamental principals of labor rights, representing their members’ interests in both individual and collective bargaining and dispute resolution; and promoting improvements in democracy, governance, and economic policy that serve the interests of their members, workers in general, and, the public at large.

csi.org/financialcrisis5 “Labor related nongovernmental organizations” refers to worker organizations and civil society organizations which are concerned with specific worker interests consistent with the internationally recognized core labor standards, but which are not labor unions.6 Importantly, internationally sanctioned standards exist which provide guidelines and benchmarks for defining and guaranteeing the basic rights in the labor sector – the “core labor standards” or CLS, established by the International Labor Organization (see footnote 1 above).

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2. Program Definition

a. Introduction

In support of a labor sector approach to meeting the challenges described above, USAID seeks innovative applications for a Global Labor Program which can demonstrate clear, measurable and meaningful medium-term results and progress toward long-term impact in promoting international labor standards, improving workers’ access to justice and supporting independent, democratic labor unions and NGOs7. In particular, this program seeks to increase the capacity of indigenous democratic labor movements to organize independent unions and NGOs and support those already organized, in order to promote workers’ representation in policy processes, improve access to justice, advance the effective worldwide application of core international labor standards, particularly freedom of association and collective bargaining, and improve the welfare and livelihood opportunities of workers and their families and communities. Applications are sought which recognize and incorporate into programming specific ways in which strong and democratic labor unions and NGOs can contribute to other key development goals including broad-based economic growth, internationally competitive industries especially in the garment and light-manufacturing sectors, and healthy and productive workforces and communities, and which incorporate the opportunities that working with democratic labor unions and NGOs allow for closer proximity to the working poor, broader coverage of vulnerable populations, and more comprehensive and equitable program outreach.

The program scope of this award is global and supports the development of approaches and methodologies that can be applied to labor sector programming in a number of different contexts. Leader Award-funded programs will be carried out at the global, regional and country-level to support of the objectives and results of this RFA. Additional Global, Regional and Country Programs are possible through the associate award function of this Cooperative Agreement.

Applicants are encouraged to form a consortium (i.e. a lead organization with proposed sub-recipients, or any proposed partnership arrangements such as a joint venture) of non-governmental organizations which have demonstrated both a shared commitment to the program purpose as well as a capacity to implement innovative and successful activities that advance the strengthening of indigenous labor unions and NGOs, and support their contributions to rule of law, democratic development, and broad-based economic growth. If applying as a consortium, the application should clearly identify the lead organization as well as include an explanation of how the consortium will be managed and how work assignments will be coordinated. USAID encourages applicants to partner with regional or international organizations, as well as with indigenous organizations with regional or country-specific expertise. In this regard, USAID is trying to reach as many capable organizations as is possible and is looking for applications which contain realistic and well thought out arrangements for working with a variety of pertinent organizations.

b. Objectives

7 Labor unions and trade unions are organizations whose members are workers seeking to further their workplace interests. Unions may further be distinguished between those that are free and independent, with leaders democratically elected by their membership, and those that are established and run by and for the government or private companies. The program defined herein seeks to build the capacity of the former – i.e. independent and democratic unions.

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Workers’ rights and livelihoods protected and international labor standards promoted through:

(1) support to vibrant, independent and democratic labor unions and NGOs that promote labor rights, labor justice, and workers’ participation and representation of their interests in local and national arenas, and

(2) promotion of the rule of law in the labor sector and access to justice for workers, especially women, youth, people with disabilities and other vulnerable populations.

c. Expected Results and Illustrative Activities

The following general results are expected for all programs conducted under the Leader Award or Associate Awards.

Country-specific results, based upon findings of strategic analyses and in keeping with the general results given below, are specified in Annex G for required Country Programs supported by the Leader Award (see Program Approaches). Applications shall include specific results based upon these general results for each of the other Global, Regional and Country Programs proposed for the Leader Award,

Illustrative activities for each results have been minimized as USAID is seeking partners with innovative approaches to achieving the objectives and results of this award.

Objective 1: Workers’ rights protected and international labor standards promoted through support to vibrant, independent and democratic labor unions and NGOs that promote labor rights, labor justice, and workers’ participation and representation of their interests in local and national arenas. (Expected Results 1-4)

Result 1: Workers are able to form sustainable, democratically-organized and independent unions at will, without repression or intimidation from government and / or employers.

Illustrative activities Provide technical expertise and support to organizers and workers through training on

democratic organizing, coalition-building, worker rights under the country’s domestic laws, etc.

Provide direct support to organizing campaigns through provision of appropriate stipends, advocacy campaign assistance, etc.

Focus national and international attention on organizing efforts hampered by intimidation of workers and organizers.

Result 2: Democratic labor unions and NGOs are sustainably and effectively strengthened. Specifically:

Result 2a: Local, workplace-based unions (identified by name in Application and in annual workplans and PMPs) achieve improved organizational capacity (in the areas of strategic planning, financial management and accountability systems, effective use of information technology, etc), are sustainable and democratically organized with elected leadership, constitutions, and effective mechanisms for responding to members, and are able to effectively bargain with employers for better working conditions and wages. Illustrative activities

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Provide unions with technical expertise and support on building sustainable membership bases through training on worker rights, collective bargaining, democratic organizing, advocacy, policy analysis, coalition-building, etc.

Provide unions with training on organizational capacities such as strategic planning, financial management and accountability, public relations, issue management, outreach, service provision, revenue generation, accountable fundraising, self-regulation (establishing union constitutions and by-laws), etc.

Result 2b: National and sector-based union federations (identified by name in Application and in annual workplans and PMPs) achieve improved organizational capacity (in the areas of strategic planning, financial management and accountability systems, effective use of information technology, etc), are sustainable and democratically organized with elected leadership, constitutions, and effective mechanisms for responding to members, and are able to advocate effectively for workers’ interests at sectoral and national levels.

Illustrative activities Provide federations with technical expertise and support on advocacy, policy analysis,

coalition-building, sustainable membership bases, etc. Assist with adoption of media outreach and information technology to promote goals.

Result 2c: National union federations, local unions, advocacy organizations and labor rights NGOs are networked within countries and regions in order to exchange information and increase impact and reach of activities.

Illustrative activities: Assist labor unions and NGOs to work together within-country to share information,

analyze problems, formulate solutions, and undertake joint efforts. Assist networks to advocate for labor rights, monitor and report abuses, and provide

support for victims. (At the country level) Support local and national networks of NGOs focused on labor

justice activities, providing them with support for advocacy and lobbying. (At the regional level) Strengthen the core capacity of and provide financial support to

regional non-governmental organizations to serve as regional sources of information, expertise and support for labor sector organizations throughout their regions.

Result 3: Democratic labor unions and / or sector-specific and national federations engage in formal collective bargaining efforts with public and private sector employers and employer / industry associations.

Illustrative activities Provide unions with technical expertise and support through training on collective

bargaining. Monitor and document efforts to achieve formal agreements.

Result 4: Democratic labor unions and / or sector-specific and national federations promote understanding of and engage in the use of social dialogue and tripartite mechanisms for worker participation in the policy processes of public institutions. Unions and federations promote public debate and legislative and policy advocacy on labor-related issues at the national and community levels.

Illustrative activities

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Provide formal legal advocacy training and support to enable organizations to participate in legislative proceedings and policy processes.

Provide expert advice on relevant tripartite structures for given country contexts.

Objective 2: Workers’ rights protected and international labor standards promoted through support to the rule of law in the labor sector and access to justice for workers, especially women, youth, people with disabilities and other vulnerable populations. Workers are able to promote international labor standards and support the enforcement of domestic labor laws and regulations through identifying, documenting and seeking adjudication for rights and legal violations. This will be demonstrated by an increased capacity of democratically organized labor unions and labor NGOs to support the enforcement of domestic labor laws and regulations and increase the access of workers to both the formal justice system and other ADR mechanisms. (Expected Result 5)

Result 5: Labor justice and rule of law - International core labor rights and standards, especially freedom of association and collective bargaining, are domesticated and codified in formal law and regulations which government agencies effectively promote, monitor and enforce. Rights and standards are promoted through: the activity and oversight of independent and democratic labor unions and NGOs; the development and strengthening of effective institutions for individual and collective access to justice for labor-related grievances and disputes; and improvement in workers’ access to legal assistance and advice.

Illustrative activities Provide access to legal services (including legal aid, legal services organizations, public

defenders). Promote legal literacy programs – to make information and responsibilities known. Assist with development of Alternative Dispute Resolution systems and workplace-

based mechanisms to promote conciliation and mediation of workers’ grievances. Expand access to state and non-state dispute-resolution fora, including labor courts. Conduct training on worker and union oversight of judicial and legal policy and

processes.

d. Additional Objectives

In addition to the primary objective given above, USAID may require up to two additional objectives from the list below for each program funded under Leader and Associate Awards. For the Leader Award, additional objectives are given in some required Country Programs, and Applicants may propose additional objectives for optional Country Programs, regional and Global Programs. For Associate Awards, additional objectives may be specified by USAID. All additional objectives shall be accorded equal importance to the primary objective for purposes of monitoring and evaluating program performance.

Political Processes. Supporting Free and Fair, Legitimate / Credible Elections and Political Processes:  promoting worker’s awareness and voter turnout in general elections through information, education and public debate, especially among women, youth, people with disabilities and other disenfranchised groups; participating in the observation, monitoring and external oversight of elections and other political processes; communicating with, contacting, and interacting with political parties toward gaining their endorsement of workers’ interests.

Governance. Supporting representative and responsive National and Local Governance: supporting the interaction of democratically elected trade union and NGO leaders with national and local government officials in representative and participative processes (especially

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tripartite processes) designed to effectively reveal and respond to workers’ preference for government services and policy positions. Supporting the effective representation of workers’ interests in attaining “decent work” in national legislative and policy processes, and in local policy implementation.

Anti-Corruption. Promoting and supporting Anti-corruption Efforts both vis-à-vis government and within the trade union movement: supporting advocacy and oversight, complaint mechanisms and whistleblower protections, corruption surveys, access to information and FOIA, open budget processes, education campaigns, and leadership accountability measures.

Organizing the Informal Sector. Given that the protections offered by labor laws often apply only to workers engaged in formal sector employment who are protected by formal democratic trade unions, objectives in this area might range from developing laws and enforcement regimes that extend labor rights and standards to a broader segment of the working population at one end to organizing vulnerable groups (such as home-workers and street vendors) to improve their access to information and increase their bargaining power vis-à-vis contractors and government, on the other.

Economic Growth. Given that the promotion of labor rights also has a functional utility for economic development and that a number of studies have shown a correlation between economic growth and respect for CLS,8 objectives in this area might range from advocacy for inclusion of CLS in equitable and broad-based growth policies to labor rights and economic literacy training for workers so that they can understand and negotiate changes brought by economic growth reforms.

International Trade and Labor Standards. The United States provides trade capacity-building assistance to help other countries more fully participate in the global trading system. Trade capacity-building programs help develop the organizational structures that allow countries to engage in a rules-based trading system. This type of support is a key part of the U.S. government’s commitment toward an open trading system that creates opportunities for all. To help workers participate in the gains from trade and protect their rights in trade-related sectors, activities in this area are targeted toward key import and export industries. Objectives include: promoting worker rights and labor standards, elimination of child labor exploitation and gender bias, and workforce skills development.

Migration and Trafficking in Persons. Migrant workers often face different vulnerabilities than those working in their own countries; they are often not protected by a state’s own labor laws, either because they are excluded by law or because employers find ways to escape legal compliance, and they lack the support and welfare networks provided by families and communities back home. Similarly, persons who are “trafficked” also face vulnerabilities requiring special focus and attention. The Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (reauthorized 2005) (TVPA) aims to combat trafficking in persons, especially in the sex trade, slavery and involuntary servitude. It directs the U.S. State Department, through its Office

8 For example, an OECD study found a positive correlation between exports and employment growth on the one hand, and respect of CLS on the other (OECD 1996). An ILO study found a positive, though weak, correlation between association and bargaining rights and foreign direct investment inflows (Kucera 2001). A survey of literature found a strong connection between economic growth and improvement of labor standards, postulating that CLS may stimulate economic transformations by acting as "enabling regulations" (Dølvik and Tørres 2002).

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to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (G/TIP), to produce annual reports on trafficking that rates countries in three tiers according to whether they meet “minimum standards” regarding their anti-trafficking commitments, with potential negative consequences (termination of non-humanitarian aid, loss of US support for IMF and World Bank loans, etc.) for Tier 3 countries, which are those not making significant efforts to comply with the standards. The USG has committed substantial resources to combat trafficking. In support of this goal, regional and Country Programs may include objectives in this area.

Industrial Relations. Objectives in this area might involve issues such as the stabilization of industrial and labor relations for improved governance and investment climates, through successful negotiation and dispute resolution practices in support of broad-based economic growth and workers’ welfare.

      Extractive Industries.  Corruption and mismanagement of extractive resources can deny citizens the benefit of their country's resource wealth. Achieving greater transparency and accountability in the management of revenues from extractive resources can help workers and their communities to hold governments accountable for how funds are spent while decreasing public distrust and the likelihood of unrest or violence. Objectives in this area include: promoting workers' awareness of the need for and benefits of greater transparency and accountability in the extractive industries; building the capacity of labor unions and NGOs to advocate for such and hold employers and governments accountable to the EITI criteria, where applicable.

Competitiveness and Productivity: Recognizing that promoting core labor standards can serve as a means of improving competitiveness both in individual enterprises and national economies, objectives in this area might promote a “high road” approach to development which seeks firm-level gains through improvements in employee relations and incentives, in contrast to the low-road approach, which seeks gains by pushing costs lower in part by violating basic rights, for example by using forced or child labor or preventing unionization.

Social Services and Protection for Vulnerable Populations. Labor-related issues are often of paramount importance to people with disabilities and other persons in vulnerable populations because obtaining income and evading discrimination may be a matter of survival. “Vulnerable populations” include persons in profoundly unstable social and economic circumstances, including war and famine. They may also include persons in more stable societies, such as women, youth, people with disabilities and minority groups of various types. Objectives in this area might involve the participation of workers and their unions in providing the foundation for promoting cooperation, development and survival for vulnerable populations; in protecting and advancing the rights of women, youth, people with disabilities and minorities, and advocating for policies which integrate these groups more effectively into the labor force. HIV/AIDS and other health-related objectives may be of special interest here.

Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equity. Promoting democracy through labor unions should, by its nature, include the promotion of women’s place in the workforce. The low salaries in many developing countries make it requisite for women to obtain jobs, only to risk substandard treatment by superiors. Many are forced to accept lower pay for the same work as their male counterparts, others are routinely subjected to sexual harassment with no means of recourse, and pregnant women can find themselves forced to work despite health hazards that

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endanger their lives and those of their children. Objectives in this area involve explicit focus on women’s issues in advocacy efforts and encouraging their ascendance into leadership roles, awareness of their rights regarding sexual harassment and pay, and support groups for women with a common employer or in a particular industry.

3. Link to Foreign Assistance Strategic Framework

The goal of USG foreign assistance is to help to build and sustain democratic, well-governed states that respond to the needs of their people, reduce widespread poverty, and conduct themselves responsibly in the international system. The Foreign Assistance Strategic Framework specifies objectives and subject areas to be addressed in pursuit of this goal. Relevant subject areas and elements of the Framework are as follows:

Program Objective: Governing Justly and Democratically (GJD)Program Areas: Rule of Law and Human Rights

Civil SocietyProgram Elements: Constitutions, Laws and Legal Systems

Justice SystemHuman Rights (specifically, Labor Rights)Civic Participation

Program Sub-Element: Democratic Trade Unions

The specified subject areas are defined within the Framework. A complete set of Framework definitions can be found at: http://www.state.gov/f/c24132.htm.

4. Foreign Assistance Performance Indicators

The Office of the Director of Foreign Assistance has developed standard performance indicators to measure both what is being accomplished with U.S. Foreign Assistance funds and the collective impact of foreign and host-government efforts to advance country development.  For the purposes of this Leader Award, the Recipient will be responsible to report on indicators at the element level, as appropriate. Proposed Standard F indicators shall be included as part of Applicant’s PMP; final Standard F indicators for the program will be agreed upon jointly by USAID and the Recipient. A complete set of standard performance indicators can be found at: http://www.state.gov/f/indicators/index.htm.

C. PROGRAM APPROACHES

The purpose of this LWA is to provide global technical leadership and regional- and country- level assistance to achieve the objectives of this award, i.e. supporting vibrant, independent and democratic labor unions and NGOs, promoting international labor standards and the rule of law in the labor sector, and improving access to justice for workers. The LWA will develop and utilize, to the maximum extent feasible, the capacity and expertise of local and regional institutions, organizations, and democratic labor unions and NGOs in a sustainable manner, while implementing programs of technical assistance, training, and related services. Project efforts are to be directed to strengthening the core capacities of local, national and regional labor unions and NGOs so that they can pursue systemic change for improved adherence to international labor standards and the rule of law.

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To increase the depth and impact of the five-year Leader Award, Country Programs will initially be limited geographically to a maximum of eleven Country Programs, including seven required countries and two to four optional countries. Additional Country and Regional Programs are possible through the associate award function of this LWA, and would be defined by separate program descriptions (see below for further details).

1. General Strategic Approaches

The Program shall incorporate the following strategic approaches in achieving the objectives and results of this award:

1) Integrated programming for highest impact; drawing from best practices and lessons learned

To maximize country- level impact, the Recipient shall coordinate and network labor union and NGO strengthening activities with other labor sector interventions, donor-supported or otherwise, that are seeking to support development goals in the labor sector. The proposed methodology and activities shall also explicitly build upon best practices and lessons learned, inside the specified country, region, or globally. Best practices and lessons learned may be drawn from the Applicant’s own experience, academic and professional literature, and/or the experience of other organizations. The application shall demonstrate how best practices and lessons learned will be applied in the proposed approach and methodology. (See The Labor Sector and U.S. Foreign Assistance Goals: Technical Paper, and the Labor Sector Program Handbook, Annex H).

2) Gender integration

The proposed approach and methodology shall address gender issues in a substantive and integrated manner, describing specific and effective approaches for addressing gender constraints and capitalizing on opportunities. The application shall consider the proposed activities’ impact on men and women. Applicants shall provide a rationale if gender is not an issue for the proposed activity. For more guidance on gender analysis and integration, please see the following references:

ADS 201.3.9.3 “Gender Considerations” (http://www.usaid.gov/policy/ads/200/201.pdf)

ADS 201.3.11.6 “Project/Activity Planning Step 2: Conduct Project-level Analysis as Needed” (http://www.usaid.gov/policy/ads/200/201.pdf)

3) Partnering with local organizations, other key stakeholders and leaders of influence

To maximize sustainable impact, the grantee will be expected to work closely in partnership with national, sectoral and local trade unions in a given country, as well as labor rights NGOs and advocacy groups who support workers’ efforts to organize democratic unions. It is also important for implementing partners to engage other key stakeholders within society who enjoy legitimacy within their communities and have the ability to facilitate a public discourse on labor rights. This requires reaching beyond traditional labor sector beneficiaries to engage a wide range of actors, e.g. religious and faith-based organizations, cultural associations, disabled persons organizations, women’s empowerment and youth movements. Many of these organizations have grass-roots constituencies and can help guide public discourse, making critical connections between labor rights, independent and democratic labor movements, and local cultural and religious traditions.

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4) USAID’s new approach to high-impact development (see http://www.usaid.gov/unga/ppd.html)

Applicants are encouraged in their applications to respond to the key points of USAID’s new approach to high-impact development, making clear how strategic and programmatic approaches will help to accomplish these goals: Building sustainable capacity in the countries where we serve; especially, building more local

capacity so that American assistance strengthens the local actors and institutions that are ultimately responsible for transforming their countries.

Strengthening performance monitoring and Impact Evaluation capabilities to easily identify what works, what doesn’t and why, and using this information to inform best practices.

Managing resources effectively, making difficult trade-offs, and re-deploying resources toward programs that are demonstrating meaningful results.

Bringing game-changing innovations to scale by deepening capacity and engaging thought leaders from throughout the world.

2. The Leader Award The Leader Award shall consist of four components:

a. Global Technical Program b. Regional and Sub-regional Programsc. Country Programsd. Impact Evaluation

Funding for Global Technical Activities, Regional and Country-Based Programs, and Impact Evaluation is estimated to total $37,500,000 (estimated $7.5 million annually) over the five year period of performance of the Cooperative Agreement. This figure is an estimate only and USAID cannot guarantee any utilization of this line item. All activities conducted under the Leader Award shall achieve specific results, set out in Application, in support of the objectives of this Award, i.e. supporting vibrant, independent and democratic labor unions and NGOs, promoting international labor standards and the rule of law in the labor sector, and improving access to justice for workers.

a. Global Technical Program

The Global Technical Program will include technical leadership, training, outreach and global networking activities aimed at enhancing both the Recipients’ and their local partners’ capacity to achieve the objectives of this Award. Applicants should propose a coherent, five-year technical program which will build expert knowledge about emerging global, regional and country-specific development and labor issues, and bring this knowledge to the design and implementation of Country Program activities. USAID is especially interested in supporting effective and innovative methodologies for developing state of the art information and analysis on trends, lessons learned, and best practices in the labor sector.

The following list includes activities to be supported by the Global Technical Program.

Conduct new research, produce and update technical documents: Research shall be conducted to identify gaps, challenges and successes in order to advance knowledge and improve program approaches in labor rights, labor justice, and democratic labor union and NGO strengthening. The Recipient will produce and disseminate information, knowledge and analysis through toolkits, reports, workshops, and/or conferences to exchange information and benefit both stakeholders and development practitioners. All products and publications are to be shared with USAID. Research and analysis shall target any of the

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objectives of this Award and/or their cross-sector application to U.S. Foreign Assistance goals (see The Labor Sector and U.S. Foreign Assistance Goals: Technical Paper). At least one new research product, clearly linked to and supportive of program objectives and implementation, shall be produced annually, and will be published in hard copy, online and/or other electronic formats. Presentations, workshops, or conferences for USAID and the broader development community will accompany each updated publication and new product. The Applicant shall provide an outline of their technical research agenda in their application for this RFA; specific technical products to be produced shall be identified in each subsequent year’s Work Plan.

Develop training modules for training beneficiaries: The Recipient shall develop curricula, modules, toolkits, etc. in user friendly formats (handbook, CD, online, etc.) for purposes of training beneficiaries in the objectives of this Award. Materials and trainings will address beginner, intermediate and advanced levels of expertise within labor unions and NGOs and/or related support organizations. Copies of materials produced each quarter will be sent to USAID along with quarterly reports. In their Application for this RFA, Applicants shall describe a strategy for targeting appropriate training and materials to learners at different skill and education levels, and present an outline of their training agenda. Specific training modules and other products to be produced shall be identified in each year’s Work Plan.

International Conferences and Global Program coordination: Three times during the life of the award (within the first six months, at program mid-point, and within the last six months), the Recipient shall bring all field representatives to Washington DC (or an accessible location in one of the regions targeted in this Award) for two purposes:

A three to four-day Practioners’ Workshop for the Recipient’s field staff to review, as relevant to the life cycle of the Global Program, issues such as strategic analysis, program design, implementation and reporting; and for the mid-term and final workshops, to present and discuss lessons learned and best practices. USAID (and possibly other USG) personnel will attend these workshops, and one half day per workshop shall be reserved for USAID (and possibly other USG) presentations.

An International Labor Programming Conference, highlighting important global trends, programmatic responses and emerging or established best practices. This conference shall solicit proposals and presentations from a wide variety of labor sector organizations, and shall produce a published report.

b. Regional Programs

Strengthening local indigenous labor unions and NGOs, and advancing international labor standards and rule of law globally often requires the strengthening of regional organizations to serve as international advocates and reliable sources of technical expertise. USAID seeks innovative applications to provide core capacity-building support to strategically-selected regional organizations in the regions specified below, to enable these organizations to advocate more effectively and provide ongoing support and expertise to organizations in the countries where USAID supports labor sector activities, in order to enhance the likelihood of sustainability of program results. Regional and sub-regional programs shall also link labor sector organizations strengthened in the Recipient’s country activities (funded either through USAID programs or other donors) together for leadership training and interaction with regional organizations (e.g. ITUC, World Bank, etc), towards the goal of achieving the objectives of this award.

Through regional approaches and in support of the objectives outlined in Section I, Program Description, funding provided for the Leader award is intended to support coherent five-year Regional Programs, as

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described above, in each of the following four geographic areas. Proposals for special Sub-regional programs within two of these Regional Programs are also sought, as indicated below:

1. Eastern Europe 2. Asia3. Africa

- Southern Africa sub-regional program: USAID solicits a special proposal within the Africa Regional Program for a Southern Africa sub-regional program. This program shall set specific objectives and results which link together labor sector organizations in the sub-region for targeted support.

4. Latin America - Central America sub-regional program: given close proximity and shared issues (e.g. the

CAFTA-DR), USAID solicits a special proposal within the Latin America Regional Program for a Central America sub-regional program. This program shall set objectives and results specifically for this sub-region which link together the labor sector organizations strengthened in the Recipient’s country activities supported (whether by USAID or other donors) in relevant Country Programs.

Illustrative activities for regional and sub-regional programs include the following: Provide regional organizations with technical expertise and support on advocacy, policy

analysis, coalition-building, etc. Strengthen regional organizations’ capacities in strategic planning, financial management

and accountability, public relations, issue management, outreach, service provision, revenue generation, accountable fundraising, self-regulation, etc.

Support regional organizations’ efforts to assist labor unions and NGOs to work together across countries to share information, analyze problems, formulate solutions, and undertake joint efforts.

Assist regional organizations with adoption of media outreach and information technology to promote regional goals.

Support labor unions and CSOs within a given region to come together to share information, analyze problems, formulate solutions, and undertake joint reform efforts.

Assist regional networks to advocate for labor rights, monitor and report abuses, and provide support for victims.

c. Country Programs

As stated above and in keeping with the findings of the Global Labor Sector Analytical Initiative, USAID’s new approach to high-impact development seeks to “build sustainable capacity in the countries where we serve; especially, building more local capacity so that American assistance strengthens the local actors and institutions that are ultimately responsible for transforming their countries.” Accordingly, well-designed and effectively-implemented Country Programs that use state-of-the-art monitoring and evaluation practices to produce significant, sustainable results for local actors and institutions are a key component of USAID’s new global labor program. In particular, USAID seeks Applications which state viable and country-specific theories of change (i.e. what changes are sought? What needs to happen to produce such change? How will proposed activities bring about the change?), and present innovative and sustainability-focused approaches and activities that can deepen program impact and results in the countries identified in this solicitation. Funding provided for the Leader award shall support nine to eleven Country Programs, including seven required countries and two to four optional countries to be chosen by Applicants from the list below.

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Required countries Optional countries1. Ukraine 1. El Salvador2. Georgia 2. Nicaragua3. Bangladesh 3. Guatemala4. Cambodia 4. Democratic Republic of the Congo5. Honduras 5. Sri Lanka6. Mexico 6. Ecuador7. South Africa 7. Brazil

8. Dominican Republic9. Liberia10. Tanzania11. Mozambique

For the seven required Country Programs, Applications shall include Country Program proposals which respond to the specific objectives and results set out in Annex G. For the two to four optional countries chosen by the Applicant from the list above, Applications shall include Country Program proposals which respond to the general objectives and results of this award, set out in Section I, Program Description.

Country Programs shall incorporate multiple, integrated components which contribute to well-defined strategic goals within the objective areas above, and shall avoid ad-hoc, one-off activities not clearly linked to the Country Program’s results. Activities within these components might include:

training workers on labor rights and labor law; promoting democratic organizing efforts through training union organizers and activists and providing

support to organizing campaigns; supporting labor rights campaigns and policy advocacy efforts to ensure an effective enabling

environment for the labor sector which protects workers and enables their organization of and participation in independent unions of their choosing;

providing legal advocacy and assistance to workers, either individually or through their unions, to assist them in accessing the justice system or in accessing international labor rights instruments, etc.

USAID will weight most highly those applications that propose coherent program components linking together such activities to achieve higher level strategic goals.

d. Impact Evaluation

USAID is recommitting itself as a learning organization, with a renewed emphasis on evaluations as a key tool to learn about what works (and does not) in development. Funding provided for the Leader award shall hence support rigorous Impact Evaluation that conforms to the latest social-scientific standards for determining attribution. Applicants are encouraged to review the research and findings of the Office of Democracy and Governance’s

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EDGE Initiative at: http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/democracy_and_governance/technical_areas/dg_office/evaluation.html

Experimental designs, in which units are randomly assigned to treatment and control groups, are the gold standard for rigorous M&E, and they are increasingly being used to evaluate the impact of democracy programs. The successful Applicant is expected to incorporate experimental or quasi-experimental Impact Evaluations of three to four Country Programs over the life of the Leader Award. USAID recognizes that randomization may not be feasible for all activities or all Country Programs. USAID also recognizes that multiple Impact Evaluations may be necessary to capture different aspects of any single Country Program. The Applicant may propose a single Impact Evaluation of a substantial portion of each of the 3-4 Country Programs selected or propose multiple Impact Evaluations per selected Country Program, with a strategy for selecting which one or two will ultimately be implemented.

Applicants shall specify the countries in which Impact Evaluation shall be done, and the methodology and evaluation design to be used. In particular, the application shall: describe the specific method used to select treatment and control units according to criteria that make a rigorous

analysis of impact possible. discuss data collection tools with details about the measurement instruments and sampling methods including a

strategy for gathering baseline data in both treatment and control groups, as well as for gathering outcome data at the midpoint and in the final year of implementation in both groups.

discuss methods to overcome challenges to the integrity of the Impact Evaluation such as spillover effects, attrition, and non-compliance.

The successful Applicant will need to track the amount of assistance provided to each unit in the treatment group, in order to assess the amount of impact for a given level of investment. In addition, all data sets (cleaned raw data) collected or used by the implementing and/or M&E subcontractor will be submitted to USAID in electronic files within six months of completion of data collection. Data sets must also record geographic information.

Rigorous Impact Evaluations require more resources and emphasis than traditional M&E activities. The program shall devote substantial resources to M&E, which shall include appropriately qualified experts to oversee and conduct the Impact Evaluations. Applicants may propose one of two approaches for this component of the Leader Award, in either case the successful applicant shall work closely with USAID specialists to design and conduct Impact Evaluations:

- to support a full-time statistician/specialist on the Applicant’s staff with expertise in Impact Evaluation, who would carry out research design, initial selection of treatment and control units, data collection, and analysis (Data collection may be subcontracted where relevant). Data collection on outcomes shall come from outsides sources, e.g. a contracting survey firm, collection of official government statistics in the host country, etc.

- to hire an independent subcontractor to focus solely on this aspect of the project, and to support a statistician/specialist on the Applicant’s staff with expertise in Impact Evaluation, who would oversee research design, initial selection of treatment and control units, data collection, and analysis.

(Qualifications for an evaluation statistician/specialist are described in the key personnel section of this RFA).

Independence of the Impact Evaluation is necessary to ensure objectivity in the evaluation process. Measures shall be taken to protect the independence of monitoring and evaluation efforts. The Applicant shall be expected to cooperate with the sub-contractor or statistician/specialist to design programs suitable to rigorous Impact Evaluation. More time than is typically required may be needed to finalize program design and gather sound baseline data in the countries selected for Impact Evaluations. The successful Applicant shall accommodate

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changes to the proposal necessary for a rigorous Impact Evaluation if requested to do so by USAID, including possible adjustments to Country Program design such as target selection, and shall work closely with the USAID AOTR and USAID Monitoring and Evaluation Specialists to refine and finalize the research design and develop mutually agreed upon program indicators in a timely manner.

3. Associate Awards

An Associate Award is a separate assistance agreement funded by a USAID Mission or office and awarded to the Leader Award Recipient to support a distinct local or regional activity that fits within the scope of the broad worldwide program description in the Leader Agreement.

Associate awards may be awarded by USAID Missions and USAID/Washington offices in order to implement bilateral or Regional Programs. Associate awards will usually focus on technical development assistance, but could possibly also be awarded for technical leadership activities. Associate awards must support one or more of the program objectives listed above in Part I, as agreed to by the AOTR. A total of $37.5 million is estimated for Associate Awards over the life of this agreement.

D. REPORTS

In addition to any reports that may be requested via technical directions under program activities described above, the Recipient shall submit the following reports to the AOTR, and when requested, to the Agreement Officer:

Plans and Reports Due Date Authorities / Approvals

1. Work Plans and Performance Monitoring Plans(includes Results Frameworks and list of principal partners)

1st year: due with applicationSubsequent years: due two months before start of program year

AOTR approves

2. Quarterly Activity Reports Due three months from start of award; and every three months thereafter

3. Semi-Annual Performance Reports Due six months from start of award; and every six months thereafter

4. Quarterly Financial Reports Due three months from start of award; and every three months thereafter

5. Final Report Due 90 days after end of award AOTR approves

1. Work Plans and Performance Monitoring Plans

In addition to the first year Work Plan and Performance Monitoring Plan required in the application, the Recipient shall submit, two months before the beginning of each subsequent Agreement Year, an annual Work Plan and Performance Monitoring Plan (PMP) (these can be combined into one document). Applicants should choose a format for Work Plans and PMPs that most efficiently meets all of the following criteria:

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organized consistently with the LWA Program Description (i.e. a specific Plan/PMP is required for each of the Global, Regional, and Country Programs),

demonstrates continuity between years for each program, so that progress over time on key indicators can be tracked,

measures program performance through indicators at three levels (these should refer to relevant program result frameworks):1. impacts at objective level 2. outcomes at the result level 3. outputs and intermediate outcomes at the benchmark and activity level

proposes benchmarks which demonstrate progress toward the specific results for this Award, and activities to be completed under the Leader Award in order to achieve each benchmark,

specifies how data shall be collected and analyzed for each of the benchmarks, result and impact indicators,

includes baseline data and any data collected to date.

Work Plans and PMPs shall link to the Impact Evaluation in the activities and indicators proposed for measurement and analysis, and shall be expected to include a section with specific and detailed information on the status of the implementation of the Impact Evaluation: activities conducted, activities planned, and data gathered. This section shall note any issues arising related to implementation of the Impact Evaluations.

Foreign Assistance Performance Indicators. For the purposes of this Leader Award, the Recipient will be responsible to report on indicators at the FAF element level, as appropriate, in quarterly and semi-annual reports. Standard F indicators shall be included as part of Applicant’s PMP. A complete set of standard performance indicators can be found at: http://www.state.gov/f/indicators/index.htm. Final FAP Indicators for the program will be chosen jointly by USAID and the Recipient, and might include such indicators as the following:

Number of Labor Unions and NGOs using USG assistance to improve internal organizational capacity Number of Labor Unions and NGOs advocacy campaigns supported by USG Number of Labor Unions and NGOs supported by USG to promote international core labor standards Number of policies that have been influenced by Labor Unions and NGOs Number of USG assisted Labor Unions and NGOs that engage in advocacy and watchdog functions

2. Quarterly Activity Reports

The Recipient shall submit one copy of the quarterly activity report to the AOTR of the Leader Award and relevant USAID Missions on a quarterly basis. The reports shall be submitted to the AOTR in hard-copy and by email. Quarterly progress reports shall contain the following information and be not longer than 1-2 pages for each Global, Regional and Country Program: 

a. Global / regional / country (as relevant) context and situation update. Brief summary of any key political and economic events that quarter relevant to program activities; note made of any revisions in the Work Plan and PMP which are necessary as a result.

b. A list of activities undertaken under the Leader Award (Mission-funded Associate Awards shall be reported separately), with implementation issues noted. Activity descriptions shall be brief and shall mention any sub-grantees or sub-contractors engaged for the activity. (Full activity descriptions can be included in an annex).

c. Problems encountered, reasons why established goals were not met or activities not completed, as appropriate, and how challenges or problems shall be overcome during the next reporting period.

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d. A list and timeline of upcoming activities for the next quarter, with deviations from the original Work Plan noted.

e. A list of all local organizations supported and sub-grantees and sub-contractors engaged in the period under review.

3. Semi-Annual Performance Reports

The Recipient shall submit one copy of the semi-annual performance report to the AOTR of the Leader Award and relevant USAID Missions on a semi-annual basis. The reports shall be submitted to the AOTR in hard-copy and by email. Semi-annual performance reports shall contain the same information as the quarterly report (which it replaces twice a year); while quarterly reports focus on activity information, semi-annual reports focus on performance management information. In addition to the information contained in the quarterly activity report, the semi-annual performance report shall contain the following: 

a. Data on all benchmarks and indicators established in the Work Plan and PMP for the Leader award. (Whereas in the quarterly activity report the activity information is given in list form, in the semi-annual report activity information shall be included with benchmarks and results they contribute to, as established in the Work Plan and Performance Monitoring Plan).

b. Short narratives with information on progress made toward key results and objectives should be included where relevant.

c. Lessons learned, best practices, success stories, comments and other findings.

4. Quarterly Financial Reports

Financial Reports shall be in keeping with 22 CFR 226.52. The Recipient shall submit quarterly financial reports to the AOTR and Agreement Officer. In accordance with 22 CFR 226.52, the SF 269 and SF 272 shall be the reports that are required for submission on a quarterly basis. The Recipient shall submit these forms in the following manner:

a. The SF 272 and 272a (if necessary) must be submitted via electronic format to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (http://www.dpm.psc.gov) within 45 calendar days following the end of each quarter. A copy of this form shall also be submitted at the same time to the Agreement Officer’s Technical Representative.

b. The SF 269 or 269a or SF 425 (as appropriate) must be submitted to the AOTR.

c. In accordance with 22 CFR 226.70-72, the original and two copies of all final financial reports shall be submitted to M/FM/CMP-LOC Unit.

5. Final Report

The Recipient shall submit the original report in hard-copy and email to the AOTR, and one copy to the Agreement Officer, and one copy to USAID Development Experience Clearinghouse (see part E below). The final report shall be submitted no later than 90 calendar days after the expiration of the award. The final performance report shall contain the following information:

a. An executive summary of the major accomplishments and results achieved

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b. An overall description of the activities, accomplishments and results achieved, including aggregate results for all of the activities under the leader and associate awards

c. A final report on expenditures per the delineation of the program objectives and results

d. Final data, compared to baseline data, for all indicators included in the Performance Monitoring Plan for leader and associate award activities

e. A summary of problems and obstacles encountered during implementation of the program, and how those obstacles were addressed and overcome, if appropriate

f. An assessment of performance in accomplishing the program’s overall objectives

g. Lessons learned, best practices, comments and other findings from each of the leader award programs, along with recommendations for future programming under each of the program objectives.

6. Internal Evaluation

Applicants shall submit a detailed Internal Evaluation Plan for the five year program, demonstrating how, with reference to the PMP and reports outlined above, program progress and performance shall be gauged, mid-term corrections made, and a methodology for collecting and framework for organizing best practices and lessons learned. The application shall highlight the analytical approaches, policy orientation, and methodologies for achieving sustainable solutions, articulating an understanding of best practices and lessons learned to date in this sector.

E. MANAGEMENT REVIEW AND EXTERNAL EVALUATIONS

Leader Award Work Plans and Progress / Performance Reports will form the basis for bi-annual joint management reviews by USAID and program staff to review program directions, achievement of the prior year objectives and results, and major management and implementation issues. The results of the review will generate recommendations for any changes or improvements as appropriate. Annually, input will be solicited from Washington, DC and field offices by the AOTR to facilitate this process.

Additionally, USAID will conduct a mid-term independent evaluation of the program, to review program performance and overall progress, assess the continuing appropriateness of the program design, and identify any factors impeding effective implementation of the LWA, and a final independent evaluation to assess overall program results and impact. Both evaluations will be draw from data from internal reports and findings of the Impact Evaluations.

F. AUTHORIZING LEGISLATION

The authority for the RFA is found in the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended.

G. PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

Prospective applicants must be able to meet the eligibility requirements described in Section III in order to participate in this Request for Application (RFA).

H. AWARD ADMINISTRATION

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For U.S. nongovernmental organizations, the 22 CFR 226, OMB Circulars, and the Standard Provisions for U.S., Nongovernmental Recipients will be applicable. For non-U.S. organizations, the Standard Provisions for Non-U.S., Nongovernmental Recipients will apply. USAID prefers that instead of attaching complete copies of 22 CFR 226 and the OMB Circulars to the RFA, they can be downloaded from the USAID Public Website at: http://www.usaid.gov/business/regulations/

I. AUTHORIZED GEOGRAPHIC CODE The authorized geographic code for procurement of goods and services under this award is 000 (U.S.). However, local procurement is authorized within the parameters specified in 22 CFR 228.40, “Local Procurement”.

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SECTION II – AWARD INFORMATION

This Request for Applications (RFA) is being issued with the intention of awarding a Leader with Associate Awards covering a specified worldwide activity as described in the Program Description in Section I of this RFA.

A. NUMBER AND TYPE OF AWARD CONTEMPLATED

USAID intends to make one (1) Leader Award with Associate Awards. The Leader award will be a Cooperative Agreement type, which will extend over a period of five (5) years. The Leader Award will be made pursuant to this RFA to the applicant(s) whose application(s) conforming to this RFA offers the greatest value to the U.S. Government. USAID reserves the right to fund any or none of the applications submitted.

The Government may make an award on the basis of initial applications received, without discussions or negotiations. Therefore, each initial application should contain the applicant's best terms from a cost and technical standpoint. As part of its evaluation process, however, USAID may elect to discuss technical, cost or other pre-award issues with one or more applicants.

A written award mailed or otherwise furnished to the successful applicant(s) within the time for acceptance specified either in the application(s) or in this RFA (whichever is later) shall result in a binding Agreement (Leader Award) without further action by either party. Before the application's specified expiration time, if any, the Government may accept an application, whether or not there are negotiations after its receipt, unless a written notice of withdrawal is received before award. Negotiations or discussions conducted after receipt of an application do not constitute a rejection or counteroffer by the Government.

B. ESTIMATE OF FUNDS AVAILABLE

USAID anticipates providing approximately $7,500,000 in the first year, and a total of $37,500,000 over five years for the Leader Award for DCHA/DG “Core” program activities, subject to availability of funds. Also, subject to the availability of funds, USAID missions and offices as well as other Departments of the United States Government (USG) may contribute up to a total of $37,500,000 in additional Associate Awards over the five year period.

The total ceiling for the Leader and Associate Awards together shall not exceed $75,000,000. The anticipated total for Associate Awards is an estimate and there is no guarantee regarding the magnitude of Associate Awards in dollar or number of awards. Leader Awards and Associate Awards are separately obligated instruments.

C. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The period of performance of the Leader Award anticipated herein is five (5) years from the date of award.

Associate Awards shall be awarded during the period of performance of the Leader Award. The period of performance of Associate Awards shall not exceed five (5) years in it entirety.

D. SUBSTANTIAL INVOLVEMENT

A Cooperative Agreement implies a level of “substantial involvement” by USAID through the Cognizant Technical Officer (CTO). The intended purpose of the CTO involvement during the award is to assist the recipient in achieving the supported objectives of the agreement. The substantial involvement elements for this award are listed below:

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Approval of annual Work Plans and Performance Monitoring Plans, including Internal Evaluation and Impact Evaluation proposals and plans; any significant changes to such plans will require AOTR approval;

Approval of all key personnel (M&E Specialist, and Program Directors for Country Programs in Ukraine, Cambodia, Mexico and South Africa);

Approval of sub-recipients and proposed sub-grants, if any. Recipient shall be responsible for consultation and collaboration with USAID/Washington and USAID

Missions throughout the life of the award, especially in planning activities and reporting results.

International Travel Approval

Since approval of international travel under grants is required by the applicable federal cost principles and the USAID standard provision entitled “International Air Travel and Transportation,” such approval under the cooperative agreements does not actually constitute “substantial involvement.” However, applicants are advised that, unless international travel is “identified” (as defined in said standard provision) in the application or the annual work-plans, such approval is required.

Note: In accordance with this standard provision, the Agreement Officer hereby provides prior written approval for international travel provided that concurrence with the international travel is obtained by the Recipient in writing from the AOTR, prior to the assignment abroad in accordance with the terms of this agreement. This approval is subject to the availability of funds and should not be construed as an authorization to either increase the total estimated amount or exceed the total obligated amount. The Recipient shall retain a copy of each travel concurrence provided by the AOTR for audit purposes.

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SECTION III – ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

A. APPLICANTS

Qualified applicants may be U.S. private voluntary organizations (U.S. PVOs) and/or U.S. or non-U.S. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs), private, non-profit organizations (or for-profit companies willing to forego profits), including universities, research organizations, professional associations, and relevant special interest associations. Faith-based and community organizations are also eligible for award. In support of the Agency’s interest in fostering a larger assistance base and expanding the number and sustainability of development partners, USAID encourages applications from potential new partners.

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SECTION IV – APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

A. SUBMISSION – GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

1. POINT OF CONTACT

Jim Reid, Agreement SpecialistUSAIDM/OAA/DCHA, Room 7.09.123Ronald Reagan Building International Trade Center1300 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W.Washington, D.C. 20523

Any questions concerning this RFA must be submitted in writing to Jim Reid, via internet at jreid@usaid.gov by 2:00pm EST on October 25, 2010. Oral explanations or instructions given before award will not be binding. Any information given to a prospective applicant concerning this RFA will be furnished promptly to all other prospective applicants as an amendment of this RFA, if that information is necessary in submitting applications or if the lack of it would be prejudicial to any other prospective applicants.

2. APPLICATION CLOSING DATE

Applications must be received in hard copy by no later than 11:00 AM EST Washington D.C., November 17, 2010 (as noted on the RFA Cover Letter) at:

(By U.S. Mail)US Agency for International DevelopmentAttn: Jim Reid, M/OAA/DCHA/Room 7.09.123Ronald Reagan Building International Trade Center1300 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W.Washington, D.C. 20523

(By Courier or Hand Delivery)ATTN: USAIDRonald Reagan Building International Trade CenterWashington, DC, 20523Please use the phone at the visitor's desk (14th street lobby) to contact:Jim Reid at Ext. 2-4163

The federal grant process is now web-enabled. Beginning November 1, 2005, the preferred method of distribution of USAID RFA’s and submission/receipt of applications is electronically via Grants.gov, which provides a single source for Federal government-wide competitive grant opportunities. This RFA and any future amendments can be downloaded from http://www.grants.gov.  In order to use this method, an applicant must first register on-line with Grants.gov.  If you have difficulty registering or accessing the RFA, please contact the Grants.gov Helpdesk at 1-800-518-4726 or via e-mail at support@usaid.gov for technical assistance. Applicants may upload applications to www.grants.gov ; however, hard copy submissions are still required as stated above.  It is the responsibility of the recipient of the application document to ensure that it has been received from Grants.gov in its entirety. USAID bears no responsibility for data errors resulting from transmission or conversion processes.

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3. DELIVERIES TO LOADING DOCKS (FOR USAID/WASHINGTON ONLY)

a. All offerors delivering proposals through carriers other than the LISPS, UPS, or FedEx, including individual hand delivery, must complete a Freight Delivery Request Form (See Annex F) and provide it to the agreement specialist 72 hours in advance of delivery via facsimile. The facsimile number is 202-216-3052. The Agreement Officer or his/her designee will forward the form to Bureau of Management, Office of Administrative Services, Consolidation, Property and Services Division (M/AS/CPD), Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center (ITC) Loading Dock Manager. The telephone number for ITC is (202) 789-4388. Once an RRB loading dock representative accepts the delivery, this will be considered the actual time of USAID’s acceptance for compliance with ADS 303.3.6.7, Late or Incomplete Submissions.

b. USAID delivery hours are from 9:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M., Monday through Friday. Deliveries to be made before 9:00 A.M. and after 3:00 P.M. must receive prior approval from M/AS/CPD.

c. Advance notice of 72 hours must be given for all deliveries to the RRB. The freight company must fill out the Freight Delivery Request Form, then the customer must sign it and forward it to M/AS/CPD. GSA controls deliveries to the RRB and will not accept unscheduled deliveries. Deliveries through the ground-level doors, on either the 13th street, the 13 ½ street, or the 14th street, are strictly prohibited and will be turned away.

d. All vendors must report to the Mobile Scanning Facility, 12th & C Streets, SW, Washington, DC, for security scanning prior to reporting to the RRB. When the scanning is complete, the vendor has 30 minutes to report to the RRB. Directions relative to the new FPS Scanning Facility are included in the Annex

e. The Loading Dock entrance is located at the 14th Street, South entrance to the RRB. The security guard will check for a valid state driver’s license or commercial driver’s license (CDL), vehicle registration card, and Bill of Lading/Manifest, and will inspect the vehicle for security purposes.

f. Vendors making repeat daily deliveries (such as United Parcel Services (UPS), Federal Express (FedEx), and U.S. Postal Services) must submit an annual roster with the required information to M/AS/CPD for the primary and alternate driver. Any changes to this roster must be immediately reported to M/AS/CPD.

g. Preferred truck size is 55 feet from bumper to bumper. If a larger truck is needed, the maximum trailer size is 45 feet, and the cab has to be parked in another bay. Arrangements must be made in advance with M/AS/CPD to ensure that a bay will be available to park the cab during off-loading.

h. Vendors and/or clients must mark at least two sides of all deliveries, see information below. The following information must appear on the package/packing slip:

AGENCY: US AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTNAME: JIM REIDADDRESS: 1300 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, NW

RRB 7.09-123WASHINGTON, DC 20523-7100

PHONE NUMBER: (202) 712-4163

i. The driver is responsible for ensuring that all goods and materials are scanned through the loading dock x-ray machine. The driver must provide hand trucks, pallet jacks, or any other equipment needed to unload the delivery.

j. After the goods have been inspected and approved by the GSA Dock Guards, the USAID Designated Receiving Agent will deliver them to the customer for USAID.

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k. If the offeror elects to hand-deliver the proposal, USAID advises the offeror that should security requirements at the RRB result in the proposal not reaching the designated office or being accepted by the Agreement Officer or his/her representative by the closing time for proposal submission, the proposal may be determined to be “late” in accordance with ADS 303.3.6.7, Late or Incomplete Submissions. Building security has the discretion to decide whether or not to allow the hand carrier into the building. Offerors must use the 14 th Street door between U.S. Customs and USAID. Once past security and in USAID’s lobby, please contact the Agreement Specialist in Section IV.A.1. Only packages/boxes hand-carried (suggest having the box unsealed and open to expedite clearance) may be delivered through this entrance. No handcarts, dollies, etc. are allowed in the RRB lobby. USAID advises that the offeror provide a freight delivery form 72 hours in advance in case security does not allow the hand carrier through and routes them to the loading dock.

4. INSTRUCTIONS FOR PREPARATION & SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS

a. Applications must be submitted no later than the date, time and location indicated in this RFA and its Cover Letter. Applications that are submitted late, incomplete or are non-responsive will not be considered. Applicants should therefore take account of the expected delivery time required by the application transmission method they choose, and are responsible for ensuring that their applications are received at USAID submission location not later than the due date and time specified in this RFA. Please note that both the electronic and hard copies must be received at USAID designated location not later than the closing date of this RFA.

Applicants should retain for their records one copy of the application and all enclosures which accompany their application.

b. Hard copy of applications shall be submitted in two parts: (a) technical and (b) cost or business application. Technical applications shall be submitted in an original and two copies. Cost applications in an original and one copy. In addition to hard copies, technical and cost/business applications must be submitted on 3-1/2" diskettes or CDs in Microsoft Word 2000. Graphics/tables/spreadsheets must be formatted in MS Word 2000 or Excel 2000.

c. Applicants are expected to review, understand, and comply with all aspects of this RFA. Failure to do so will be at the applicant's risk. d. Each applicant shall furnish the information required by this RFA. The applicant shall sign the application and print or type its name on the Cover Page of the technical and cost applications. Erasures or other changes must be initialed by the person signing the application. Applications signed by an agent shall be accompanied by evidence of that agent's authority, unless that evidence has been previously furnished to the issuing office. e. Applicants who include data that they do not want disclosed to the public for any purpose or used by the U.S. Government except for evaluation purposes, should: (i) Mark the title page with the following legend: "This application includes data that shall not be disclosed outside the U.S. Government and shall not be duplicated, used, or disclosed - in whole or in part - for any purpose other than to evaluate this application. If, however, a grant is awarded to this applicant as a result of - or in connection with - the submission of this data, the U.S. Government shall have the right to duplicate, use, or disclose the data to the extent provided in the resulting grant. This restriction does not limit the U.S. Government's right to use information contained in this data if it is obtained from another source without restriction. The data subject to this restriction are contained in sheets ___; and (ii) Mark each sheet of data it wishes to restrict with the following legend: "Use or disclosure of data contained on this sheet is subject to the restriction on the title page of this application."

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f. Mar king of Applications: Applicants shall submit the application in sealed envelopes clearly marked on the outside with the applicant’s name, address, and contact information, and the following:

TECHNICAL APPLICATION – or – COST APPLICATIONRFA No. No. RFA-OAA-11-000001

Global Labor ProgramFor the USAID Office of Democracy and Governance

g. Applications must be submitted in English and in U.S. dollars.

h. Application Expiration Date: Applications submitted in response to this RFA must be valid through at least December 31, 2010.

B. TECHNICAL APPLICATION

Applications shall respond directly to the terms, conditions, specifications and provisions of this RFA (including all portions of the program description). Applications that do not meet the requirements of this RFA will not be considered for award. All applications are expected to demonstrate capacity to address the full scope of the program objectives as stated in the RFA and listed in Section I, Program Description. In order to offer the skills necessary to pursue the program objectives in a variety of countries and carry out effective monitoring and evaluation, organizations are encouraged to form a consortium (i.e. a lead organization with proposed sub-recipients, or any proposed partnership arrangements such as a joint venture), as a means of demonstrating capacity to implement and evaluate programs with any/all of the objectives. The application shall clearly identify the lead organization in the consortium/joint venture, as well as include an explanation of how it will be managed and how work assignments will be coordinated with consortium/joint venture partners. USAID encourages applicants to partner with regional or international organizations, as well as with indigenous organizations with regional or country-specific expertise. USAID seeks applications which contain realistic and well thought out arrangements for working with a variety of pertinent partner organizations which bring complementary expertise to the program.

USAID will alert the Cooperative Agreement recipient to legislative prohibitions or policy directives for certain countries that may restrict working with certain governments or providing any direct assistance to them. In light of the fluid political environment in many countries, the Cooperative Agreement recipient shall maintain flexibility in program implementation and be sensitive to shifts in USAID’s programming priorities.

1. Technical Application Format:

USAID requests that applications be kept as concise as possible.  Detailed information shall be presented only when required by specific RFA instructions.  The written Technical Application is limited to 60 pages total and shall be written in English. Offerors shall use only 8.5 inch by 11 inch paper, single-spaced pages and number each page consecutively. No smaller than 12-point font may be used, and margins must be 1 inch or greater. Information submitted over 60 pages will not be evaluated.

Not included in this page limitation are the following: Table of Contents Dividers Annex attachments which contain biographical information (i.e., resumes and other documentation

provided by the Offeror) for proposed key candidates Performance Monitoring Plan, First Year Work Plan, Internal Program Evaluation Plan and Impact

Evaluation proposal

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Description of Consortium Partners and contingent Joint Venture Agreement (if applicable) Past Performance Report Short-Form of previous contracts, grants and cooperative agreements Charts, such as Management Structure Organizational Chart(s)

The following chart presents page limits for each major section and criterion of the technical application, and recommended maximum number of pages for each sub-criterion.

Page Limit

Recommended Page Maximum for Sub-criterion

Parts to be included as an Annex to the

Technical ApplicationCover Page 1Executive Summary 3Technical Ability Technical Understanding 40 General

102

Global Technical Program 3 Regional Programs 5 Country Programs (required) 30 21 (3 pg each) Country Programs (optional) 9Management 5M&E Summary 2 Performance Monitor Plan 20 Annex Work Plan 20 Annex Internal Evaluation Plan 2 Annex Impact Evaluation Plan 20 AnnexInstitutional Capacity 5Personnel / Partners Overview 3 Staffing Plan 5 Annex Personnel & Skills Matrix 1 Annex Consortium Partners 1 pg each partner Annex Key Personnel Resumes 2 pg each resume AnnexPast Performance 1 Contractor Performance Report Short-Forms

Annex

Total 60

All criterion information from appendices should be summarized in the technical application.

Technical applications shall be specific, complete and presented concisely. The applications shall demonstrate the applicant's capabilities and expertise with respect to achieving the goals of this program. The applications shall take into account the technical evaluation criteria found in Section V.

The Technical Proposal shall be submitted in a three-ring binder, and include the information set forth below:

a. Cover Page (1 page maximum)

The cover page shall include the name of the organization(s). If there are any proposed sub-grantees, please list each sub-grantee separately. Please identify a contact for the prime applicant(s), including the individual’s name (both typed and his/her signature), title or position within the organization, address, e-mail, and telephone and fax numbers.

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b. Executive Summary (3 pages maximum)

Briefly describe how the applicant(s) proposes to meet the program objectives, carry out the program approaches, and achieve the expected results.  Briefly describe the technical and managerial resources of the applicant’s organization and describe how the overall program will be managed.

c. Technical Ability (47 pages maximum)

This section must address the program description and objectives in Section I and is composed of parts included and not included in the page limit. Sections not included in the page limit shall be referenced in the body of the text and listed as an annex. Each section is required:

(i) Technical Understanding (40 pages maximum)

The application shall provide evidence of advanced knowledge and understanding in the areas of promoting international labor standards, improving workers’ access to justice and supporting independent, democratic labor unions and NGOs, as well as the role of these issues in cross-sectoral development goals including democracy, governance and economic growth. The application must clearly demonstrate advanced technical understanding of labor sector programming in the following areas, and must make clear how the proposed program will achieve the objectives and results given in Section I, Program Description. In particular, the following areas shall all be addressed:

(a) General: This section shall establish the applicant’s perspective on labor sector issues and current global trends, as they apply to and affect the regions and countries specified in this RFA. Proposed approaches and methodologies shall address the four areas described in Section I.C., Program integrated programming, gender integration, partnering with local organizations, and achieving the goals of USAID’s new approach to high-impact development (see http://www.usaid.gov/unga/ppd.html), especially the following: Building sustainable capacity in the countries where we serve; especially, building more local capacity

so that American assistance strengthens the local actors and institutions that are ultimately responsible for transforming their countries.

Bringing game-changing innovations to scale by deepening capacity and engaging thought leaders from throughout the world.

(b) Global Technical Program: This section shall describe the Applicant’s proposal for a Global Technical Program, as detailed in Section I, Program Description, particularly: technical leadership, training, outreach and global networking, conducting research and analysis for evidence-based programming approaches, developing quality, state-of-the-art training materials for the training of program beneficiaries, carrying out successful, high quality international conferences and program coordination workshops. In their Application for this RFA, The Applicant shall:

provide an outline of their technical research agenda with illustrative research and information products to be produced,

describe a strategy for targeting appropriate training and materials to learners at different skill and education levels, and present an outline of their training agenda,

propose a plan and tentative agendas for the three Practioners’ Workshops and International Labor Sector Programming Conferences.

Specific technical products, training modules, etc. shall be identified in each subsequent year’s Work Plan.

(c) Regional Programs: Applicants shall provide brief proposals for four regional programs and two sub-regional programs, as described in Section I, Program Description. Proposals shall focus on linking country partners with relevant regional partners and institutions to assist with policy dialogue, networking and

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capacity-building, and shall describe state-of-the-art and evidence-based technical interventions and approaches which will contribute to supporting the objectives and results of this RFA. Applicants shall propose relevant region-specific objectives and results frameworks in this section for each of the four regional programs solicited by USAID in this RFA (Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe), as well as the two sub-regional programs (Central America and Southern Africa)

(d) Country Programs: In general, Country Program proposals shall put forth state-of-the-art and evidence-based technical interventions and approaches that support the objectives and results described in this RFA, as given in Section I, Program Description, and specifically as given in Annex G. In addition, proposals shall incorporate integrated approaches, address how proposed approaches and activities will contribute to strengthening developing country partners and institutions and building effective and sustainable local capacity, and shall incorporate gender analysis and gender issues in a substantive and integrated manner, (see General section above), and shall not exceed the recommended 30 pages

Required countries. For the seven countries to be included in the Leader Award (Ukraine, Georgia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Honduras, Mexico and South Africa), Applicants shall respond to the Program Description provided above in Section I with Country Program proposals that describe strategies and approaches for achieving the country-specific objectives and results given in Annex G. Each country proposal shall include a detailed results-framework which builds on the frameworks provided in the relevant Country Labor Sector Assessments (see Section I, Program Description). In cases where Assessment data or findings are dated, applicants are invited to propose modifications to the results frameworks that capture important changes in country context.

Optional countries. For the remaining optional countries (El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Sri Lanka, DRC, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Brazil, Liberia, Mozambique, Tanzania) applicants are expected to select two to four of these countries to be included in the Leader Award, and respond to the general objectives and results in Section I, Program Description, with short country program proposals, including results frameworks, included in their application.

As one of the key objectives of this award is to support and build the capacity of labor unions and NGOs, applications shall specify by name in the sections above the principal labor unions and NGOs that global, regional and country programs will work with during the course of the five-year award, recognizing that adjustments may be necessary as country contexts change over time. (This shall not be an aggregate list or tally of all organizations; rather the principal organizations to be targeted for support and networking shall be given in each global, regional and country program proposal).

(ii) Management (5 pages maximum)

USAID encourages applicants to be a consortium/joint venture, especially involving indigenous/local/regional organizations, each bringing a particular set of experiences and expertise that would strengthen the activities undertaken within this RFA. In addition, USAID anticipates that for an LWA with a substantial leader award for regional and country programming, a significant field presence will be required for the implementation of this award, necessitating some level of Washington-field management and coordination. USAID will rate most favorable those applications which propose management arrangements minimizing expenditures on Washington office oversight while maximizing expenditures on country-level activities with beneficiaries. Finally, applicants are encouraged to respond to USAID’s new approach to high-impact development (see http://www.usaid.gov/unga/ppd.html), especially, strengthening performance monitoring and impact evaluation capabilities to easily identify what works, what doesn’t and why, and using this information to inform best practices; and managing resources effectively, making difficult trade-offs, and re-deploying resources toward programs that are demonstrating meaningful results.

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The application shall present:

(a) A management plan for the program that describes: how the applicant will be organized and managed to minimize non-programmatic or administrative

oversight and delays and to use the complementary capabilities of team members (s) most effectively;

how internal and external coordination of team members and staff will be carried out, establishing lines of authority, financial management and decision-making and management skills to ensure success in achieving results;

how the applicant will manage a complex set of activities in multiple countries and regions of the world; and

how team members will work with local partners, other USAID programs, and other implementing organizations to achieve results.

(b) Effective and efficient management and administrative arrangements for overall implementation of the program including organizational structure, logistical support, personnel management, procurement arrangements for goods and services, functions and responsibilities of key personnel.

(c) Realistic strategies or approaches for knowledge management, cost-containment and coordination with non-USAID supported organizations, with foreign governments, and their development partners.

(iii) Monitoring and Evaluation (2 pages maximum)

The Applicant shall provide a two-page Monitoring and Evaluation Summary, describing methodologies and approaches for monitoring and evaluating progress toward achieving the objectives of this Award. The summary should also give highlights of the Monitoring and Evaluation Plan, which should be included as an appendix to the technical application in accordance with the instructions below. This summary shall not exceed two pages and shall be included in the Application page limit.

The Applicant’s Monitoring and Evaluation Plan shall be included in the appendix attachments to the technical application, not exceed the recommended 62 pages, and address the following:

(a) Performance Monitoring Plans. The Applicant shall include in its technical application a Performance Monitoring Plan (PMP) for each global, regional and country program proposal (Ukraine, Georgia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Honduras, Mexico, South Africa, and 2-4 optional countries) that correspond to the Applicant’s global, regional and country-specific program proposals. The PMPs for country programs shall directly relate to the results frameworks presented in the Applicant’s country proposals. The PMPs shall use indicators that measure each program’s progress against the country-specific 5-year program goals. Indicators that tally inputs or tasks completed or which focus primarily on program outputs are not desirable; rather, indicators shall be designed to track how various and changing activities over the five-year program will produce the outcomes that lead to achievement of the specified country objectives. All indicators shall include information on data collection and analysis methodology (data sources, indicator definition, frequency of data collection, baselines where available, and targets).  

As part of the regional and country PMPs, and per Section I, Program Description, , applications shall specify by name the principal labor unions and NGOs that global, regional and country programs will target for capacity-building, and shall detail the process through which organizations targeted for such efforts will be pre-assessed to determine needs at the start of the award, and evaluated at the end of the award to determine the results of capacity-building efforts over the life of the award.

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The Applicant shall also submit a summary PMP that corresponds to the overall LWA 5-year agreement goals and objectives. This PMP shall include the data information that is required of the country, regional and global- specific PMPs but shall focus on higher level program goals and aggregate the most important results achieved across country, regional, and global programs.

(b) Work Plan. The application shall include an annual Work Plan for the first year of the award. The Work Plan shall contain activities for each of the global, regional and country programs, and shall be linked clearly to the relevant program-specific PMP (the annual Work Plan and PMP may be combined in one document). The Work Plan shall present benchmarks to be achieved to demonstrate progress toward the specific results described in the program proposal results framework and PMP, and activities to be completed under the Leader Award in order to achieve each benchmark. See Section I, Program Description for further details.

(c) Internal Evaluation Plan. A detailed internal evaluation plan for the five year program shall also be submitted, demonstrating how program progress and performance will be gauged, mid-term corrections made, and a methodology for collecting and framework for organizing best practices and lessons learned, based on data from PMPs, impact evaluations and field reporting. The application shall highlight the analytical approaches, policy orientation, and methodologies to be used in conducting internal evaluations, articulating an understanding of best practices and lessons learned to date in this sector.

(d) Impact Evaluation Proposal. The impact evaluation proposal is expected to incorporate experimental or quasi-experimental impact evaluations of 3-4 country programs. The Applicant may propose a single impact evaluation of a substantial portion of each of the 3-4 country programs selected or propose multiple impact evaluations per selected country program, with a strategy for selecting which one or two will ultimately be implemented. The impact evaluation proposal included in the application shall discuss the specific method used to select treatment and control units according to criteria that make a rigorous analysis of impact possible. It shall also discuss data collection tools with details about the measurement instruments and sampling methods. The impact evaluation proposal shall include a strategy for gathering baseline data in both treatment and control groups, as well as for gathering outcome data at the midpoint and in the final year of implementation in both groups. Finally, the impact evaluation proposal shall discuss methods to overcome challenges to the integrity of the impact evaluation such as spillover effects, attrition, and non-compliance. Expectations of the successful Applicant’s impact evaluation proposal are detailed further in Section I, Program Description.

Where the impact evaluation proposal suggests evaluation of one or more of the specific country program proposals, the requirements of the impact evaluation shall be incorporated to the extent possible into the proposed PMP.

Applicants are strongly urged to submit proposals that incorporate impact evaluation as specified above, in order to maximize points attainable under the Impact Evaluation section of the evaluation criteria for this RFA. Applications that do not include a proposal for impact evaluations should submit an explanation regarding why plans for impact evaluation were not included in the proposal, and should put forward an alternative rigorous and independent evaluation plan. In either case, requirements apply for the hiring of an independent subcontractor or statistician/specialist on the Applicant’s staff with expertise in rigorous, evidence-based evaluation methodologies to oversee research design, data collection, and analysis by the subcontractor.

d. Institutional Capacity (Maximum 5 pages)

The application shall address the Leader and its partner organization’s capacity in each objective area in Section I, Program Description. This section shall:

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(i) Establish the Applicant’s ability and experience in effectively managing and implementing technical projects in the field and conducting the technical leadership activities specified in Section I;

(ii) Demonstrate the efficiency of the Applicant’s organizational management structure and performance management systems, as they relate to the execution of the types of program activities described in this RFA.

(iii) Establish the Applicant’s sustainable ties and networks within the U.S. and international community, demonstrated ability to build and maintain relationships with host country counterparts, and to transfer information, technologies and skills, demonstrated ability to collaborate successfully with other organizations, specifically local/indigenous regional organizations or institutions in the related geographic and thematic areas

e. Personnel/Consortium Partners (Maximum 3 pages)

The applicant shall provide a three-page summary of their personnel plan and consortium arrangements in their application. In addition, the applicant must provide the following in an annex to the application:

(i) A staffing plan including support staff, a percentage of their time that is estimated to be devoted to this program, with underlying rationale, including an organizational chart demonstrating lines of authority and staff responsibility accompanied by position descriptions for each position. Applicants may propose and explain the configuration of key staff positions in addition to or in substitution to those described herein. The staffing plan shall not exceed 5 pages and shall be included in the page limit.

(ii) A matrix of all personnel and relevant skills they bring to the performance of this program. This shall be submitted as an annex to this proposal. It will not count toward the page limit.

(iii) Resumes shall be provided for the following positions: Global/Technical Director, Regional/Country Program Directors, Monitoring and Evaluations Specialist. All shall have complementary skills and knowledge and have extensive relevant work experience with broad international / geographical coverage. Key personnel shall work full time on the program. The qualifications for each position are described below:

Technical / Global Program Director: The Director shall have at least a law degree or a master’s degree in social sciences or a relevant field, public policy, and/or a concentration in development management. S/he is expected to have the leadership qualities, depth and breadth of technical expertise and experience, and written and oral communication and interpersonal skills to fulfill the diverse technical and managerial requirements of the program description. S/he shall have at least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in project management, and a solid understanding of and experience in labor sector programming. The Director shall be responsible for general technical oversight, as well as management oversight of global and regional programs.

Program Directors (PD) for Regional/Country Programs:   PD’s shall have at least an undergraduate degree and preferably a law degree or a master’s degree in a related field and demonstrated experience in grant management and administration. PD’s are expected to have international experience, leadership qualities, depth and breadth of management expertise and experience, professional reputation, interpersonal skills and written and oral presentation skills to fulfill the diverse managerial requirements of the program. S/he shall have substantial experience interacting with USG/donor personnel, particularly technical and contract office personnel. At least 3-5 years of progressively responsible experience in project management for development programs is desirable.

Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Specialist: The M&E Specialist shall be responsible for developing the impact evaluation design as well as the performance management plan for the project, including

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performance monitoring criteria. The M&E Specialist required qualifications are:

A master’s degree from an accredited university in statistics, quantitative methods or mathematics or a Social Science Ph.D. (preferably a Political Scientist) with a major or minor in research methodology;

Familiarity with social science research methods; Familiarity in working with local research organizations in USAID countries and familiarity with

reliable sources of social and economic statistics; A minimum of five years of experience developing and applying valid and reliable indicators of

complex political, social and/or economic change; Experience designing and executing prospective experimental or quasi-experimental impact

evaluations; Experience in monitoring and evaluation of donor-funded labor sector projects is desirable.

(iv) Description of Consortium/Joint Venture Partners (if applicable) shall be included in the appendix attachments to the technical application, not exceed 1 page per consortium partner, and address the following:

Information will include the Consortium Member’s Point of Contact information, a website, a description of the organization, regional expertise, a list of the program sub-elements, key issues and cross-sector activities it could implement, and its past related experience. Applicants shall include signed consortium agreements with each proposed member.

f. Past Performance (Maximum 1 page)

The applicant shall provide a one-page summary of past performance references in their application. In an annex, the applicant must provide Contractors Performance Report-Short Form for past performance references for itself and any consortium member(s) anticipated to perform at least 20% of the program activities. Organizations lacking relevant past performance history shall be given a “neutral” past performance rating that neither rewards nor penalizes those applicants. The past performance information on the Contractors Performance Report-Short Form must be submitted in accordance with the following:

(i) For the applicant and any consortium member(s) anticipated performing at least 20% of the program activities list up to five (5) past or current awards within the past five years for efforts similar to this requirement. To ensure uniformity of information for conducting the reference checks, the applicant/team member shall complete Part 1 (Blocks 1 through 9) of the Contractors Performance Report-Short Form (see Annex E) for contracts and/or subcontracts. The name, telephone number, and email address for all awards are required. It is recommended that the applicant/team member alert the contacts that their names have been submitted and that they are authorized to provide past performance information when requested. The list shall be attached as an annex to the technical proposal. (ii) If the applicant/ consortium member encountered problems on any of the referenced contracts, they may provide a short explanation and the corrective action taken. Space is provided in Block 6 of the Short Form for this. Applicant/team member shall not provide general information on their performance. (iii) Applicant/ consortium member may describe any quality awards or certifications that indicate exceptional capacity to provide the service or product described in the statement of work. This information is not included in the page limitation. (iv) USAID may use past performance information obtained from other than the sources identified by the applicant/team member. USAID shall determine the relevance of similar past performance information. Past performance information will be used for both the responsibility determination and best value decision.

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C. COST/BUSINESS APPLICATION FORMAT

The Cost/Business Application must be completely separate from the applicant's Technical Application. 

If the applicant has established a consortium or another legal relationship among its partners, the Cost/Business application must include a copy of the legal relationship between the parties.  The application should include a full description of the relationship between the applicants including identification of the prime applicant serving as point of contact for Agreement administration, identity of the applicant which will have accounting responsibility, how Agreement effort will be allocated and the express agreement of the principals thereto to be held jointly and severally liable for the acts or omissions of the other. 

The following sections describe the documentation that applicants must submit to USAID. There is no page limit for the Cost Application. However, unnecessarily elaborate brochures or other presentations beyond those sufficient to present a complete and effective application in response to this RFA are not desired and may be construed as an indication of the prospective recipient's lack of cost consciousness. Elaborate art work, expensive paper and bindings, and expensive visual and other presentation aids are neither necessary nor wanted. The Cost Application shall include the following:

1. Detailed Budget Breakdown: [The Applicant shall propose a budget for the Leader Award for a total amount of $37,500,000]

The applicant shall provide a detailed budget for each year (and a five-year total) of the program. Explanatory budget notes must also be provided. The detailed budget breakdowns shall follow the major budget line items set forth below, as applicable. The application shall include a subtotal for each budget line item. Each page shall indicate the applicable year.

Any dollar value within the ranges may be utilized, but the budget total must be proposed in the amount of $37,500,000. Budget Line Item:                                                                                                       

A. Labor               B. Fringe Benefits:           C. Travel and Per Diem                                                            D. Other Direct Costs                                                            E. G&AF. OverheadTOTAL

Applicants are encouraged to be as concise as possible, but still provide the necessary detail to address the following:

the breakdown of all costs associated with the program according to costs of, if applicable, headquarters, regional and/or country offices;

the breakdown of all costs according to each partner organization, sub-contract or sub/grantee involved in the program;

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the costs associated with external, expatriate technical assistance and those associated with local in-country technical assistance;

the breakdown of all costs anticipated to be funded with non-federal funds.

the procurement plan for commodities, if applicable.

2. A current Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA):  If applicable, the applicant should support any proposed indirect cost rate with a letter from its cognizant U.S. Government agency approving its indirect cost rates or a current Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA) with its cognizant U.S. Government agency.

 3. Applicants who do not currently have a NICRA from their cognizant agency shall also submit the following:

a. Copies of the applicant's financial reports for the previous three-year period, which have been audited by a certified public accountant or other auditor satisfactory to USAID;

b. Projected budget, cash flow and organizational charts; and

c. a copy of the organization’s accounting manual.

4. A copy of your Certificate of Compliance: - If your organization's systems have been certified by the USAID/Washington's Office of Acquisition and Assistance (M/OAA, formerly known as M/OP), submit a copy of the certification. Further information may be found at http://www.usaid.gov/policy/ads/300/30359s1.pdf.

5. Submit All Other Required Certifications and Representations.

a. SF-424: The cost/business application must be submitted using the SF-424 series, which includes:

• SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance• SF-424A, Budget Information - Nonconstruction Programs, and• SF-424B, Assurances - Nonconstruction Programs

These Standard Forms can be found under Section VII. A link to these forms can also be found at: http://www.grants.gov/agencies/approved_standard_forms.jsp. The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number is 98.001. b. Pre-Award Certifications, Assurances and Other Statements of the Recipient:

In addition to the certifications that are included in the SF 424, organizations must provide the following certifications, assurances and other statements. Complete copies of these Certifications, Assurances, and Other Statements may be found in Annex A through Annex D to this RFA.

i. A signed copy of the mandatory reference, Assurance of Compliance with Laws and Regulations Governing Nondiscrimination in Federally Assisted Programs (This certification applies to Non-U.S. organizations also if any part of the program will be undertaken in the United States);

ii. A signed copy of the certification and disclosure forms for “Restrictions on Lobbying” (see 22CFR 227);

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iii. A signed copy of the “Prohibition on Assistance to Drug Traffickers” for covered assistance in covered countries, as detailed in ADS 206.3.10; iv. A signed copy of the Certification Regarding Terrorist Funding required by the Internal Mandatory Reference AAPD 04-14;

v. When applicable, a signed copy of “Key Individual Certification Narcotics Offenses and Drug Trafficking” (see ADS 206);

vi. When applicable, a signed copy of “Participant Certification narcotics offenses and Drug Trafficking” (See ADS 206)

vii. Survey on Ensuring Equal Opportunity for Applicants; and

viii. All applicants must provide a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Number.

6. Evidence of Responsibility: Applicants should submit any additional evidence of responsibility deemed necessary for the Agreement Officer to make a determination of responsibility. The information submitted should substantiate that the Applicant: a. Has adequate financial resources or the ability to obtain such resources as required during the performance of the award. b. Has the ability to comply with the award conditions, taking into account all existing and currently prospective commitments of the applicant, nongovernmental and governmental. c. Has a satisfactory record of performance. Past relevant unsatisfactory performance is ordinarily sufficient to justify a finding of non-responsibility, unless there is clear evidence of subsequent satisfactory performance. d. Has a satisfactory record of integrity and business ethics; and e. Is otherwise qualified and eligible to receive a grant under applicable laws and regulations (e.g., EEO).

7. New Recipients: Applicants that have never received a grant, cooperative agreement or contract from the U.S. Government are required to submit a copy of their accounting manual and procurement/management handbook relating to personnel and travel policies.

8. Acknowledgement of Amendments to the RFA: Applicants shall acknowledge receipt of any amendment to this RFA by signing and returning the amendment at the time of submission of the application.

9. Cost Share/Matching

The applicant shall propose a cost share in an amount not less than 10% -- in cash or in kind – of the total program budget for the Leader Award. The total program budget is defined as total cost of the program, including Federal and Non-Federal sources. For example, if a total program cost is $41,700,000, and USAID contributes $37,500,000 and the applicant contributes $4,200,000, than the applicant has contributed 10% of the total program.

Prospective applicants shall demonstrate means to achieve greater cost effectiveness in their applications through alternate sources of funding and/or continue the activities after the USAID assistance has ended. Cost sharing will be an important element in the Cost Application which will be viewed in relation to the soundness

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of proposed business management and cost effectiveness of the program activities. Guidance on cost sharing or matching can be found in 22 CFR 226.23. Cost sharing must be verifiable from the recipient’s records, and can be audited. Such funds may be contributed from the recipient; other multilateral, bilateral, and foundation donors; host governments; and local organizations, communities and private businesses that contribute financially and in-kind to implementation of activities at the country level.

Applicants are advised that, by definition, cost-sharing/matching funds exclude federal funds under another award (except when statutory authority to the contrary exists). In-kind contributions that are not federally funded qualify as cost-sharing/matching, subject to the requirements of 22 CFR 226.23.

The cooperative agreement will include a requirement for the applicants proposed cost-sharing/matching, and failure to satisfy such cost-sharing/matching requirement will be handled in accordance with the standard provision entitled “Cost-Sharing (Matching).”

10. Marking under Assistance Instructions

Only the apparently successful applicant(s) will be required to submit a Branding Strategy and Marking Plan this RFA. However, since the costs of implementing the Branding Strategy and Marking Plan must be included in the proposed budget, all applicants shall consider what their proposed Branding Strategy and Marking Plan would be, and to incorporate these costs into the budget accordingly.

D. SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS

In responding to this RFA, applicants should bear in mind the following special considerations:

1. GENDER EQUALITY

In accordance with USAID policies, activities will address gender issues as appropriate, and promote gender equality as a goal of program activities. The Recipient should address gender concerns in a fundamental way. USAID encourages all applicants to provide additional or alternative recommendations on how to address gender equality in this program.

2. IMPLEMENTATION OF E.O. 13224 --EXECUTIVE ORDER ON TERRORIST FINANCING (MARCH 2002)

The Recipient is reminded that U.S. Executive Orders and U.S. law prohibits transactions with, and the provision of resources and support to, individuals and organizations associated with terrorism. It is the legal responsibility of the contractor/recipient to ensure compliance with these Executive Orders and laws. This provision must be included in all subcontracts/subawards issued under this contract/agreement.

3. USAID DISABILITY POLICY - ASSISTANCE (DECEMBER 2004):

(a) The objectives of the USAID Disability Policy are (1) to enhance the attainment of United States foreign assistance program goals by promoting the participation and equalization of opportunities of individuals with disabilities in USAID policy, country and sector strategies, activity designs and implementation; (2) to increase awareness of issues of people with disabilities both within USAID programs and in host countries; (3) to engage other U.S. government agencies, host country counterparts, governments, implementing organizations and other

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donors in fostering a climate of nondiscrimination against people with disabilities; and (4) to support international advocacy for people with disabilities. The full text of the policy paper can be found at the following website: http://www.usaid.gov/about/disability/DISABPOL.FIN.html.

(b) USAID therefore requires that the recipient not discriminate against people with disabilities in the implementation of USAID funded programs and that it make every effort to comply with the objectives of the USAID Disability Policy in performing the program under this grant or cooperative agreement. To that end and to the extent it can accomplish this goal within the scope of the program objectives, the recipient should demonstrate a comprehensive and consistent approach for including men, women and children with disabilities.

4. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND COMPLIANCE

All projects funded by USAID must conform to U.S. environmental regulations (22 CFR 216) requiring evaluation to ensure that any environmental impacts resulting from the project implementation are mitigated. Through development of the Initial Environmental Examination (IEE), 22 CFR 216 or “Reg. 216” ensures that environmental (i.e., natural resource or public health) impacts of USAID-funded activities are identified and mitigation measures proposed at the design stage prior to the irreversible obligation of USAID funds. Subsequently, over the Life of the Activity (LOA), these environmental mitigation measures are be a standard component of program management.

5. MARKING UNDER ASSISTANCE INSTRUMENTS

A. BRANDING STRATEGY - ASSISTANCE (December 2005)

(a) Definitions

Branding Strategy means a strategy that is submitted at the specific request of a USAID Agreement Officer by an Apparently Successful Applicant after evaluation of an application for USAID funding, describing how the program, project, or activity is named and positioned, and how it is promoted and communicated to beneficiaries and host country citizens. It identifies all donors and explains how they will be acknowledged.

Apparently Successful Applicant(s) means the applicant(s) for USAID funding recommended for an award after evaluation, but who has not yet been awarded a grant, cooperative agreement or other assistance award by the Agreement Officer. The Agreement Officer will request that the Apparently Successful Applicants submit a Branding Strategy and Marking Plan. Apparently Successful Applicant status confers no right and constitutes no USAID commitment to an award.

USAID Identity (Identity) means the official marking for the Agency, comprised of the USAID logo and new brandmark, which clearly communicates that our assistance is from the American people. The USAID Identity is available on the USAID website and is provided without royalty, license, or other fee to recipients of USAID-funded grants or cooperative agreements or other assistance awards or subawards.

(b) Submission.The Apparently Successful Applicant, upon request of the Agreement Officer, will submit and negotiate a Branding Strategy. The Branding Strategy will be included in and made a part of the resulting grant or cooperative agreement. The Branding Strategy will be negotiated within the time that the Agreement Officer specifies. Failure to submit and negotiate a Branding Strategy will make the applicant ineligible for award of a grant or cooperative agreement. The Apparently Successful Applicant must include all estimated costs associated with branding and marking USAID programs, such as plaques, stickers, banners, press events and

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materials, and the like.

(c) Submission Requirements

At a minimum, the Apparently Successful Applicant’s Branding Strategy will address the following:

(1) Positioning

What is the intended name of this program, project, or activity?

Guidelines: USAID prefers to have the USAID Identity included as part of the program or project name, such as a "title sponsor," if possible and appropriate. It is acceptable to "co-brand" the title with USAID’s and the Apparently Successful Applicant’s identities. For example: "The USAID and [Apparently Successful Applicant] Health Center."

If it would be inappropriate or is not possible to "brand" the project this way, such as when rehabilitating a structure that already exists or if there are multiple donors, please explain and indicate how you intend to showcase USAID's involvement in publicizing the program or project. For example: School #123, rehabilitated by USAID and [Apparently Successful Applicant]/ [other donors]. Note: the Agency prefers "made possible by (or with) the generous support of the American People" next to the USAID Identity in acknowledging our contribution, instead of the phrase "funded by." USAID prefers local language translations.

Will a program logo be developed and used consistently to identify this program? If yes, please attach a copy of the proposed program logo.

Note: USAID prefers to fund projects that do NOT have a separate logo or identity that competes with the USAID Identity.

(2) Program Communications and Publicity

Who are the primary and secondary audiences for this project or program?

Guidelines: Please include direct beneficiaries and any special target segments or influencers. For Example: Primary audience: schoolgirls age 8-12, Secondary audience: teachers and parents–specifically mothers.What communications or program materials will be used to explain or market the program to beneficiaries?

Guidelines: These include training materials, posters, pamphlets, Public Service Announcements, billboards, websites, and so forth.

What is the main program message(s)?

Guidelines: For example: "Be tested for HIV-AIDS" or "Have your child inoculated." Please indicate if you also plan to incorporate USAID’s primary message – this aid is "from the American people" – into the narrative of program materials. This is optional; however, marking with the USAID Identity is required.

Will the recipient announce and promote publicly this program or project to host country citizens? If yes, what press and promotional activities are planned?

Guidelines: These may include media releases, press conferences, public events, and so forth.Note: incorporating the message, “USAID from the American People”, and the USAID Identity is required.

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Please provide any additional ideas about how to increase awareness that the American people support this project or program.

Guidelines: One of our goals is to ensure that both beneficiaries and host-country citizens know that the aid the Agency is providing is "from the American people." Please provide any initial ideas on how to further this goal.

(3) Acknowledgements

Will there be any direct involvement from a host-country government ministry? If yes, please indicate which one or ones. Will the recipient acknowledge the ministry as an additional co-sponsor?

Note: it is perfectly acceptable and often encouraged for USAID to "co-brand" programs with government ministries.Please indicate if there are any other groups whose logo or identity the recipient will use on program materials and related communications.

Guidelines: Please indicate if they are also a donor or why they will be visibly acknowledged, and if they will receive the same prominence as USAID.

(d) Award Criteria. The Agreement Officer will review the Branding Strategy for adequacy, ensuring that it contains the required information on naming and positioning the USAID-funded program, project, or activity, and promoting and communicating it to cooperating country beneficiaries and citizens. The Agreement Officer also will evaluate this information to ensure that it is consistent with the stated objectives of the award; with the Apparently Successful Applicant’s cost data submissions; with the Apparently Successful Applicant’s project, activity, or program performance plan; and with the regulatory requirements set out in 22 CFR 226.91. The Agreement Officer may obtain advice and from technical experts while performing the evaluation.

B. MARKING PLAN – ASSISTANCE (December 2005)

(a)Definitions

Marking Plan means a plan that the Apparently Successful Applicant submits at the specific request of a USAID Agreement Officer after evaluation of an application for USAID funding, detailing the public communications, commodities, and program materials and other items that will visibly bear the USAID Identity. Recipients may request approval of Presumptive Exceptions to marking requirements in the Marking Plan.

Apparently Successful Applicant(s) means the applicant(s) for USAID funding recommended for an award after evaluation, but who has not yet been awarded a grant, cooperative agreement or other assistance award by the Agreement Officer. The Agreement Officer will request that Apparently Successful Applicants submit a Branding Strategy and Marking Plan. Apparently Successful Applicant status confers no right and constitutes no USAID commitment to an award, which the AgreementOfficer must still obligate.

USAID Identity (Identity) means the official marking for the Agency, comprised of the USAID logo and new brandmark, which clearly communicates that our assistance is from the American people. The USAID Identity is available on the USAID website and USAID provides it without royalty, license, or other fee to recipients of USAIDfunded grants, cooperative agreements, or other assistance awards or subawards.

A Presumptive Exception exempts the applicant from the general marking requirements for a particular USAID-funded public communication, commodity, program material or other deliverable, or a category of USAID-funded

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public communications, commodities, program materials or other deliverables that would otherwise be required to visibly bear the USAID Identity. The Presumptive Exceptions are: Presumptive Exception (i). USAID marking requirements may not apply if they wouldcompromise the intrinsic independence or neutrality of a program or materials where independence or neutrality is an inherent aspect of the program and materials, such as election monitoring or ballots, and voter information literature; political party support or public policy advocacy or reform; independent media, such as television and radio broadcasts, newspaper articles and editorials; and public service announcements or public opinion polls and surveys (22 C.F.R. 226.91(h)(1)).

Presumptive Exception (ii). USAID marking requirements may not apply if they would diminish the credibility of audits, reports, analyses, studies, or policy recommendations whose data or findings must be seen as independent (22 C.F.R. 226.91(h)(2)).

Presumptive Exception (iii). USAID marking requirements may not apply if they would undercut host-country government “ownership” of constitutions, laws, regulations, policies, studies, assessments, reports, publications, surveys or audits, public service announcements, or other communications better positioned as “by” or “from” a cooperating country ministry or government official (22 C.F.R. 226.91(h)(3)).

Presumptive Exception (iv). USAID marking requirements may not apply if they would impair the functionality of an item, such as sterilized equipment or spare parts (22 C.F.R. 226.91(h)(4)).

Presumptive Exception (v). USAID marking requirements may not apply if they would incur substantial costs or be impractical, such as items too small or otherwise unsuited for individual marking, such as food in bulk (22 C.F.R. 226.91(h)(5)).

Presumptive Exception (vi). USAID marking requirements may not apply if they would local cultural or social norms, or be considered inappropriate on such items as condoms, toilets, bed pans, or similar commodities (22 C.F.R. 226.91(h)(6)).

Presumptive Exception (vii). USAID marking requirements may not apply if they would conflict with international law (22 C.F.R. 226.91(h)(7)).

(b) Submission. The Apparently Successful Applicant, upon the request of the Agreement Officer, will submit and negotiate a Marking Plan that addresses the details of the public communications, commodities, program materials that will visibly bear the USAID Identity. The marking plan will be customized for the particular program, project, or activity under the resultant grant or cooperative agreement. The plan will be included in and made a part of the resulting grant or cooperative agreement. USAID and the Apparently Successful Applicant will negotiate the Marking Plan within the time specified by the Agreement Officer. Failure to submit and negotiate a Marking Plan will make the applicant ineligible for award of a grant or cooperative agreement. The applicant must include an estimate of all costs associated with branding and marking USAID programs, such as plaques, labels, banners, press events, promotional materials, and so forth in the budget portion of its application. These costs are subject to revision and negotiation with the Agreement Officer upon submission of the Marking Plan and will be incorporated into the Total Estimated Amount of the grant, cooperative agreement or other assistance instrument.

(c) Submission Requirements.

The Marking Plan will include the following:(1) A description of the public communications, commodities, and program materials that the recipient will be produced as a part of the grant or cooperative agreement and which will visibly bear the USAID Identity. These include:

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(i) program, project, or activity sites funded by USAID, including visible infrastructure projects or other programs, projects, or activities that are physical in nature;

(ii) technical assistance, studies, reports, papers, publications, audio-visual productions, public service announcements, Web sites/Internet activities and other promotional, informational, media, or communications products funded by USAID;

(iii) events financed by USAID, such as training courses, conferences, seminars, exhibitions, fairs, workshops, press conferences, and other public activities; and (iv) all commodities financed by USAID, including commodities or equipment provided under humanitarian assistance or disaster relief programs, and all other equipment, supplies and other materials funded by USAID, and their export packaging.

(2) A table specifying:

(i) the program deliverables that the recipient will mark with the USAID Identity,

(ii) the type of marking and what materials the applicant will be used to mark the program deliverables with the USAID Identity, and

(iii) when in the performance period the applicant will mark the program deliverables, and where the applicant will place the marking.

(3) A table specifying:

(i) what program deliverables will not be marked with the USAID Identity, and (ii) the rationale for not marking these program deliverables.

(d) Presumptive Exceptions.

(1) The Apparently Successful Applicant may request a Presumptive Exception as part of the overall Marking Plan submission. To request a Presumptive Exception, the Apparently Successful Applicant must identify which Presumptive Exception applies, and state why, in light of the Apparently Successful Applicant’s technical proposal and in the context of the program description or program statement in the USAID Request For Application or Annual Program Statement, marking requirements should not be required.

(2) Specific guidelines for addressing each Presumptive Exception are:

(i) For Presumptive Exception (i), identify the USAID Strategic Objective, Interim Result, or program goal furthered by an appearance of neutrality, or state why the program, project, activity, commodity, or communication is ‘intrinsically neutral.’ Identify, by category or deliverable item, examples of program materials funded under the award for which you are seeking exception 1.

(ii) For Presumptive Exception (ii), state what data, studies, or other deliverables will be produced under the USAID funded award, and explain why the data, studies, or deliverables must be seen as credible.

(iii) For Presumptive Exception (iii), identify the item or media product produced under the USAID funded award, and explain why each item or product, or category of item and product, is better positioned as an item or product produced by the cooperating country government.

(iv) For Presumptive Exception (iv), identify the item or commodity to be marked, or categories of items or commodities, and explain how marking would impair the item’s or commodity’s functionality.

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(v) For Presumptive Exception (v), explain why marking would not be cost-beneficial or practical.

(vi) For Presumptive Exception (vi), identify the relevant cultural or social norm, and explain why marking would violate that norm or otherwise be inappropriate.

(vii) For Presumptive Exception (vii), identify the applicable international law violated by marking.

(3) The Agreement Officer will review the request for adequacy and reasonableness.

In consultation with the Cognizant Technical Officer and other agency personnel as necessary, the Agreement Officer will approve or disapprove the requested Presumptive Exception. Approved exceptions will be made part of the approved Marking Plan, and will apply for the term of the award, unless provided otherwise.

(e) Award Criteria: The Agreement Officer will review the Marking Plan for adequacy and reasonableness, ensuring that it contains sufficient detail and information concerning public communications, commodities, and program materials that will visibly bear the USAID Identity. The Agreement Officer will evaluate the plan to ensure that it is consistent with the stated objectives of the award; with the applicant’s cost data submissions; with the applicant’s actual project, activity, or program performance plan; and with the regulatory requirements of 22 C.F.R.226.91. The Agreement Officer will approve or disapprove any requested Presumptive Exceptions (see paragraph (d)) on the basis of adequacy and reasonableness. The Agreement Officer may obtain advice and recommendations from technical experts while performing the evaluation.

C. MARKING UNDER USAID-FUNDED ASSISTANCE INSTRUMENTS (December 2005)

(a) Definitions

Commodities mean any material, article, supply, goods or equipment, excluding recipient offices, vehicles, and non-deliverable items for recipient’s internal use, in administration of the USAID funded grant, cooperative agreement, or other agreement or subagreement.

Principal Officer means the most senior officer in a USAID Operating Unit in the field, e.g., USAID Mission Director or USAID Representative. For global programs managed from Washington but executed across many countries, such as disaster relief and assistance to internally displaced persons, humanitarian emergencies or immediate post conflict and political crisis response, the Cognizant Principal Officer may be an Office Director, for example, the Directors of USAID/W/Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance and Office of Transition Initiatives. For non-presence countries, the Cognizant Principal Officer is the Senior USAID officer in a regional USAID Operating Unit responsible for the non-presence country, or in the absence of such a responsible operating unit, the Principal U.S Diplomatic Officer in the non-presence country exercising delegated authority from USAID.

Programs mean an organized set of activities and allocation of resources directed toward a common purpose, objective, or goal undertaken or proposed by an organization to carry out the responsibilities assigned to it.

Projects include all the marginal costs of inputs (including the proposed investment) technically required to produce a discrete marketable output or a desired result (for example, services from a fully functional water/sewage treatment facility).

Public communications are documents and messages intended for distribution to audiences external to the recipient’s organization. They include, but are not limited to, correspondence, publications, studies, reports, audio visual productions, and other informational products; applications, forms, press and promotional

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materials used in connection with USAID funded programs, projects or activities, including signage and plaques; Web sites/Internet activities; and events such as training courses, conferences, seminars, press conferences and so forth.

Subrecipient means any person or government (including cooperating country government) department, agency, establishment, or for profit or nonprofit organization that receives a USAID subaward, as defined in 22 C.F.R. 226.2.

Technical Assistance means the provision of funds, goods, services, or other foreign assistance, such as loan guarantees or food for work, to developing countries and other USAID recipients, and through such recipients to subrecipients, in direct support of a development objective – as opposed to the internal management of the foreign assistance program.

USAID Identity (Identity) means the official marking for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), comprised of the USAID logo or seal and new brandmark, with the tagline that clearly communicates that our assistance is “from the American people.” The USAID Identity is available on the USAID website at www.usaid.gov/branding and USAID provides it without royalty, license, or other fee to recipients of USAID-funded grants, or cooperative agreements, or other assistance awards.

(b) Marking of Program Deliverables

(1) All recipients must mark appropriately all overseas programs, projects, activities, public communications, and commodities partially or fully funded by a USAID grant or cooperative agreement or other assistance award or subaward with the USAID Identity, of a size and prominence equivalent to or greater than the recipient’s, other donor’s, or any other third party’s identity or logo.

(2) The Recipient will mark all program, project, or activity sites funded by USAID, including visible infrastructure projects (for example, roads, bridges, buildings) or other programs, projects, or activities that are physical in nature (for example, agriculture, forestry, water management) with the USAID Identity. The Recipient should erect temporary signs or plaques early in the construction or implementation phase. When construction or implementation is complete, the Recipient must install a permanent, durable sign, plaque or other marking.

(3) The Recipient will mark technical assistance, studies, reports, papers, publications, audio-visual productions, public service announcements, Web sites/Internet activities and other promotional, informational, media, or communications products funded by USAID with the USAID Identity.

(4) The Recipient will appropriately mark events financed by USAID, such as training courses, conferences, seminars, exhibitions, fairs, workshops, press conferences and other public activities, with the USAID Identity. Unless directly prohibited and as appropriate to the surroundings, recipients should display additional materials, such as signs and banners, with the USAID Identity. In circumstances in which the USAID Identity cannot be displayed visually, the recipient is encouraged otherwise to acknowledge USAID and the American people’s support.

(5) The Recipient will mark all commodities financed by USAID, including commodities or equipment provided under humanitarian assistance or disaster relief programs, and all other equipment, supplies, and other materials funded by USAID, and their export packaging with the USAID Identity.

(6) The Agreement Officer may require the USAID Identity to be larger and more prominent if it is the majority donor, or to require that a cooperating country government’s identity be larger and more prominent if circumstances warrant, and as appropriate depending on the audience, program goals, and materials produced.

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(7) The Agreement Officer may require marking with the USAID Identity in the event that the recipient does not choose to mark with its own identity or logo.

(8) The Agreement Officer may require a pre-production review of USAID-funded public communications and program materials for compliance with the approved Marking Plan.

(9) Subrecipients. To ensure that the marking requirements “flow down'' to subrecipients of subawards, recipients of USAID funded grants and cooperative agreements or other assistance awards will include the USAID-approved marking provision in any USAID funded subaward, as follows: “As a condition of receipt of this subaward, marking with the USAID Identity of a size and prominence equivalent to or greater than the recipient’s, subrecipient’s, other donor’s or third party’s is required. In the event the recipient chooses not to require marking with its own identity or logo by the subrecipient, USAID may, at its discretion, require marking by the subrecipient with the USAID Identity.”

(10) Any ‘public communications’, as defined in 22 C.F.R. 226.2, funded by USAID, in which the content has not been approved by USAID, must contain the following disclaimer: “This study/report/audio/visual/other information/media product (specify) is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of [insert recipient name] and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.”

(11) The recipient will provide the Cognizant Technical Officer (CTO) or other USAID personnel designated in the grant or cooperative agreement with two copies of all program and communications materials produced under the award. In addition, the recipient will submit one electronic or one hard copy of all final documents to USAID’s Development Experience Clearinghouse.

(c) Implementation of marking requirements.

(1) When the grant or cooperative agreement contains an approved Marking Plan, the recipient will implement the requirements of this provision following the approved Marking Plan.

(2) When the grant or cooperative agreement does not contain an approved Marking Plan, the recipient will propose and submit a plan for implementing the requirements of this provision within N/A after the effective date of this provision. The plan will include:

(i) A description of the program deliverables specified in paragraph (b) of this provision that the recipient will produce as a part of the grant or cooperative agreement and which will visibly bear the USAID Identity.

(ii) the type of marking and what materials the applicant uses to mark the program deliverables with the USAID Identity,

(iii) when in the performance period the applicant will mark the program deliverables, and where the applicant will place the marking,

(3) The recipient may request program deliverables not be marked with the USAID Identity by identifying the program deliverables and providing a rationale for not marking these program deliverables. Program deliverables may be exempted from USAID marking requirements when:

(i) USAID marking requirements would compromise the intrinsic independence or neutrality of a program or materials where independence or neutrality is an inherent aspect of the program and materials;

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(ii) USAID marking requirements would diminish the credibility of audits, reports, analyses, studies, or policy recommendations whose data or findings must be seen as independent;

(iii) USAID marking requirements would undercut host-country government “ownership” of constitutions, laws, regulations, policies, studies, assessments, reports, publications, surveys or audits, public service announcements, or other communications better positioned as “by” or “from” a cooperating country ministry or government official;

(iv) USAID marking requirements would impair the functionality of an item;

(v) USAID marking requirements would incur substantial costs or be impractical;

(vi) USAID marking requirements would offend local cultural or social norms, or be considered inappropriate;

(vii) USAID marking requirements would conflict with international law.

(4) The proposed plan for implementing the requirements of this provision, including any proposed exemptions, will be negotiated within the time specified by the Agreement Officer after receipt of the proposed plan. Failure to negotiate an approved plan with the time specified by the Agreement Officer may be considered as noncompliance with the requirements is provision.

(d) Waivers.

(1) The recipient may request a waiver of the Marking Plan or of the marking requirements of this provision, in whole or in part, for each program, project, activity, public communication or commodity, or, in exceptional circumstances, for a region or country, when USAID required marking would pose compelling political, safety, or security concerns, or when marking would have an adverse impact in the cooperating country. The recipient will submit the request through the Cognizant Technical Officer. The Principal Officer is responsible for approvals or disapprovals of waiver requests.

(2) The request will describe the compelling political, safety, security concerns, or adverse impact that require a waiver, detail the circumstances and rationale for the waiver, detail the specific requirements to be waived, the specific portion of the Marking Plan to be waived, or specific marking to be waived, and include a description of how program materials will be marked (if at all) if the USAID Identity is removed. The request should also provide a rationale for any use of recipient’s own identity/logo or that of a third party on materials that will be subject to the waiver.

(3) Approved waivers are not limited in duration but are subject to Principal Officer review at any time, due to changed circumstances.

(4) Approved waivers “flow down” to recipients of subawards unless specified otherwise. The waiver may also include the removal of USAID markings already affixed, if circumstances warrant.

(5) Determinations regarding waiver requests are subject to appeal to the Principal Officer’s Cognizant Assistant Administrator. The recipient may appeal by submitting a written request to reconsider the Principal Officer’s waiver determination to the Cognizant Assistant Administrator.

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(e) Non-retroactivity. The requirements of this provision do apply to any materials, events, or commodities produced prior to January 2, 2006. The requirements of this provision do not apply to program, project, or activity sites funded by USAID, including visible infrastructure projects (For example, roads, bridges, buildings) or other programs, projects, or activities that are physical in nature (for example, agriculture, forestry, water management) where the construction and implementation of these are complete prior to January 2, 2006 and the period of the grant does not extend past January 2, 2006.

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SECTION V – SELECTION CRITERIA

A. REVIEW AND SELECTION PROCESS

The applications will be evaluated in accordance with the evaluation criteria set forth below. These criteria serve to: (1) identify the significant areas that applicants should address in their applications, and (2) set a standard against which all applications will be evaluated.

Awards will be made to the responsible applicant(s) whose application offer the best value to the U.S. Government, considering the requirements of this RFA and the technical and cost evaluation criteria contained herein.

The Government intends to evaluate applications and award an agreement without discussions with applicants.  However, the Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if later determined necessary by the Agreement Officer.  Therefore, the initial application should contain the applicant’s best terms from a cost and technical standpoint.

B. TECHNICAL EVALUATION CRITERIA

The criteria listed below are presented by major category, so that applicants will know which areas require emphasis in the preparation of information. The applicants should note that these criteria serve as the standard against which all technical information will be evaluated, and serve to identify the significant matters which applicants should address.

There is a total 100 possible points that may be scored in the evaluation of the application. The point distribution is summarized in the following table; further details can be found below.

PointsTechnical Ability 65 Technical Understanding 32 General

6 Global Technical Program Regional Programs Country Programs (mandatory) 21 Country Programs (optional) 5 Management 10 M&E Summary 23 Performance Monitor Plan

13 Work Plan Internal Evaluation Plan Impact Evaluation Plan 10Institutional Capacity 10Personnel / Partners Overview 15Past Performance 10Total 100

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A. TECHNICAL APPLICATION ( Total of 100 possible points)

1. Technical Ability (Maximum of 65 possible points)

Technical Ability is divided into three sections, Technical Understanding, Management, and Monitoring and Evaluation. Each area is described below.

a. Technical Understanding (Maximum 32 points)

The evaluation panel will evaluate the applicant’s technical understanding of the objectives based on demonstrated understanding of USAID, the overall program description and its objectives, and the ability to synthesize and apply lessons learned from similar programs or projects.

Each of the following programs are equally weighted for a total of 6 points

General: Demonstrated expert knowledge of labor sector issues and current global trends, especially in relation to the regions and countries specified in this RFA. Demonstrated technical understanding of and ability to plan for and achieve measurable results in the four areas given in Section I.C. Program Approaches: integrated programming, gender integration, partnering with local organizations, and achieving the goals of USAID’s new approach to high-impact development. With respect to gender integration, demonstrated capacity for addressing gender issues in a substantive and integrated manner, with specific and effective approaches for addressing gender constraints and capitalizing on opportunities. Clear articulation of how strategic and programmatic approaches accomplish USAID’s high-impact development goals. Demonstrated ability to carry out innovative approaches to building and deepening sustainable capacity.

Global Technical Program: Demonstrated technical understanding of and ability to conduct the types of global technical program tasks requested above, particularly: conducting research and analysis for evidence-based programming design and implementation, especially for country programs; integrating gender issues in program approaches and methodologies; developing quality, state-of-the-art training materials for the training of program beneficiaries in country and regional programs; and carrying out successful, high quality international conferences and program coordination workshops.

Regional programs: Advanced understanding of regional context, sustainable local capacity, and clear articulation of how proposed state-of-the-art and evidence-based technical interventions will achieve regional objectives and results given in Section I. Program Description, while integrating gender issues, strengthening developing regional partners and institutions, and building effective and sustainable local capacity, for each of the four regional programs (Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe) and two sub-regional programs (Central America and Southern Africa) solicited by USAID in this RFA;

The following programs are separately weighted for a total of 26 points:

Country programs: Advanced understanding of country context, and clear articulation of a plausible theory of change and how proposed state-of-the-art and evidence-based technical interventions and approaches will achieve the objectives and results of this RFA given in Section B. Program Objectives. Proposals shall demonstrate understanding of and experience with: gender analysis and integration of gender issues in programming, strengthening developing country partners and institutions, building effective and sustainable local capacity, working through cooperative partnerships, and networking for greater impact the development community engaged in promoting international labor standards, improving workers’ access to justice and supporting independent, democratic labor unions and NGOs. Country-specific results frameworks submitted with country proposals shall be considered in the evaluation of the country program.

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- For the seven countries to be funded by the Leader Award (Ukraine, Georgia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Honduras, Mexico and South Africa) specific program descriptions are given in Annex 1, and country proposals and results frameworks will be evaluated in accordance with both the general guidelines above and these program descriptions (maximum 21 possible points for the seven country proposals).

- For the two to four optional countries proposed by Applicants to be funded by the Leader Award, country proposals will be evaluated in accordance with the general guidelines above (maximum 5 possible points total for two-four country proposals).

b. Management (Maximum 10 points)

The application will be evaluated on how well it demonstrates clarity, efficiency and effectiveness in the following areas (each of these sub-criteria is equally weighted for a total of 10 points):

Management structure, including clearly defined functions and management and decision making authorities for the The Technical / Global Program Director, M&E Specialist and Country Program Directors (for mandatory countries), including their roles and responsibilities, using the complementary capabilities of the team member(s) most effectively.

Management and administrative arrangements for overall implementation of the program including organizational structure, logistical support, personnel management, procurement arrangements for goods and services, functions and responsibilities of key personnel

Arrangements for managing a complex set of activities in multiple countries and regions of the world, coordinating with USAID Bureaus, Regional Offices, Missions, Cooperating Agencies, and working with in-country partners including local unions and NGOs, other USAID programs and other implementing organizations, to maximize program results.

Feasibility of strategies or approaches for knowledge management, technical oversight, cost-containment and coordination with non-USAID supported organizations, with foreign governments, and their development partners.

c.   Monitoring and Evaluation (Maximum 23 points)

The Applicant’s Performance Monitoring Plan (PMP), Work Plan, Internal Evaluation Plan and Impact Evaluation Proposal will be evaluated based upon the following criteria (each of the sub-criteria – Performance Monitoring Plan, Work Plan, and Internal Evaluation Plan – is equally weighted for a total of 13 points, and 10 points are allocated for the sub-criterion – Impact Evaluation Plan.)

Performance Monitoring Plan: For all proposed global, regional and country programs as well as the macro-level LWA agreement goals and objectives, the extent to which PMP indicators reliably, validly and feasibly measure project progress and impact against clear program objectives and results over the five-year period of award; and the extent to which the PMPs outline a rigorous plan for data collection and analysis at program start-up and throughout the 5-year duration, and meet the criteria for PMPs given in the Program Description;

Work Plan: For all proposed programs and the macro-level LWA agreement goals and objectives, the extent to which the Work Plan meets the criteria for Work Plans given in the Program Description, presents benchmarks which reliably, validly and feasibly contribute to specific results described in the program

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proposal results framework and PMP, and viable and innovative activities which will effectively and efficiently achieve the given benchmarks;

Internal Evaluation Plan: The extent to which the internal evaluation plan presents a process for building on data collected in the PMPs to gauge program progress and performance and make necessary mid-term corrections, and describes a sound methodology for collecting and framework for organizing best practices and lessons learned based on data from PMPs, impact evaluations and field reporting;

Impact Evaluation Proposal: For those countries where impact evaluations are proposed, the use of baselines, treatment and control groups, and clear criteria for the collection and analysis of data on treatment and control groups; and the manner in which the proposed method for selecting treatment and control localities, as well as the collection and analysis of data, is based on a statistically-valid model; and the extent to which the impact evaluation proposal provides for a rigorous analysis of impact based upon experimental or quasi-experimental evaluation design, and the extent to which the impact evaluation proposal incorporates measures to protect the independence of monitoring and evaluation efforts.

2. Institutional Capacity (Maximum of 10 possible points)

The application must demonstrate the applicant’s overseas experience and capacity for designing and implementing similar programs, including the following areas (each of these sub-criteria is equally weighted for a total of 10 points):

Demonstrated ability and experience in effectively managing and implementing complex technical projects in the field and conducting the type of technical leadership activities specified in Section I, Program Description.

Clear and cost-effective organizational structures and relationships, and demonstrated capacity to gather and analyze data on project activities and outputs, and especially program outcomes and impacts.

Demonstrated experience in sustaining ties and networks within the U.S. and international community; building and maintaining relationships with host country counterparts and transferring information, technologies and skills to them.

3. Personnel and Consortium/Joint Venture Partners (Maximum of 15 possible points)

Within this category, sub-criteria are listed in descending order of importance.

Demonstrated experience and quality of proposed management and personnel. Demonstrated professional capability and appropriate academic credentials for the areas of expertise,

components and specialized tasks/elements specified in Section I, Program Description. Overall credentials and developing country experience will be considered.

Evidence of availability of personnel and proposed experts.

Demonstrated capacity and breadth of expertise of consortium/joint venture partners (if applicable).

4. Past Performance (Maximum 10 possible points)

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As required by Section IV of this RFA, applicant is required to provide past performance references for both itself and each of its proposed major consortium partners. The past performance evaluation will focus on the applicant’s record of conforming to contract /agreement requirements and to standards of good workmanship, record of forecasting and controlling costs, adherence to contract /agreement schedules, including administrative aspects of performance, history of reasonable and cooperative behavior and commitment to customer satisfaction, the business-like concern for the interest of the customer, and the competency of personnel who worked on the contract/agreement.

[Note: The Technical Evaluation Committee may give more weight to past performance information that is considered more relevant and/or more current. In cases where an applicant lacks relevant past performance history or in which information on past performance is not available, the applicant will not be evaluated favorably or unfavorably on past performance. The neutral rating provided to these applicants is at the Agreement Officer's discretion based on the past performance ratings for all other applicants. Prior to assigning a "neutral" past performance rating, the Agreement Officer may take into account a broad range of information related to an applicant’s past performance.]

USAID reserves the right to obtain past performance information from other sources including those not named in this application.

C. COST EVALUATION

The Cost Application has not been assigned a weight. After review of Technical Applications, theCost Applications of the applicants under consideration for award will be evaluated for general reasonableness, allowability, allocability and cost realism.

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SECTION VI – AWARD AND ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

A. AUTHORITY TO OBLIGATE THE GOVERNMENT

The Agreement Officer is the only individual who may legally commit the Government to the expenditure of public funds. No costs chargeable to the proposed Agreement may be incurred before receipt of either a fully executed Agreement or a specific, written authorization from the Agreement Officer.

B. SUBMISSION OF DEVELOPMENT EXPERIENCE DOCUMENTATION (Per ADS 540.3.2.3 through 540.3.2.11) (1) USAID recipients must submit one electronic and/or one hard copy of development experience documentation (electronic copies are preferred) to the Development Experience Clearinghouse at the following address.

Online (preferred): http://www.dec.org/submit.cfm/

DEC Direct Mailing Address: DEXS Document Submissions     8403 Colesville Road, Suite 210     Silver Spring, MD  20910-6368

  Contact Information: Telephone: +1 301-562-0641     Fax Number: 301-588-7787     E-mail: docsubmit@dec.cdie.org

(2) In addition, the contractor must submit one electronic and/or one hard copy of development experience documentation (electronic copies are preferred) to the DCHA/DG AOTR.

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SECTION VII – OTHER INFORMATION - REFERENCES

USAID reserves the right to fund any or none of the applications submitted in response to this RFA.

Applicable Regulations & References

- Mandatory Standard Provisions for U.S., Nongovernmental Recipients http://www.usaid.gov/pubs/ads/300/303maa.pdf

- Mandatory Standard Provisions for Non-U.S. Nongovernmental Recipients: http://www.usaid.gov/policy/ads/300/303mab.pdf

- 22 CFR 226 http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_02/22cfr226_02.html

- OMB Circular A-122 http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars/a122/a122.html

- OMB Circular A-110 http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars/a110/a110.html

- ADS Series 300 Acquisition and Assistance http://www.usaid.gov/pubs/ads/

- SF-424 Downloads http://www.grants.gov/agencies/aapproved_standard_forms.jsp

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ANNEX A:CERTIFICATIONS, ASSURANCES AND OTHER STATEMENTS OF THE

RECIPIENT (MAY 2006)U.S. Agency for International Development

_______________________________________________

NOTE: [1] When these Certifications, Assurances, and Other Statements of Recipient are used for cooperative agreements, the term "Grant" means "Cooperative Agreement". [2] The recipient must obtain from each identified sub-grantee and (sub) contractor, and submit with its application/proposal, the Certification Regarding Debarment, Suspension, Ineligibility and Voluntary Exclusion -- Lower Tier Transactions, set forth in Attachment A hereto. The recipient should reproduce additional copies as necessary.

PART I

CERTIFICATIONS AND ASSURANCES

1. ASSURANCE OF COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS AND REGULATIONS GOVERNING NON-DISCRIMINATION IN FEDERALLY ASSISTED PROGRAMS

(a) The recipient hereby assures that no person in the United States shall, on the bases set forth below, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination under, any program or activity receiving financial assistance from USAID, and that with respect to the grant for which application is being made, it will comply with the requirements of:

(1) Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of'1964 (Pub. L. 88-352, 42 U.S.C. 2000-d) , which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin, in programs and activities receiving Federal financial assistance;

(2) Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of handicap in programs and activities receiving Federal financial assistance;

(3) The Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended (Pub. L. 95-478), which prohibits discrimination based on age in the delivery of services and benefits supported with Federal funds;

(4) Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681, et seq.), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs and activities receiving Federal financial assistance (whether or not the programs or activities are offered or sponsored by an educational institution); and

(5) USAID regulations implementing the above nondiscrimination laws set forth in Chapter II of Title 22 of the Code of Federal Regulations. (b) If the recipient is an institution of higher education, the Assurances given herein extend to admission practices and to all other practices relating to the treatment of students or clients of the institution, or relating to the opportunity to participate in the provision of services or other benefits to such individuals, and shall be applicable to the entire institution unless the recipient establishes to the satisfaction of the USAID Administrator that the institution's practices in designated parts or programs of the institution will in no way affect its practices in the program of the institution for which financial assistance is sought, or the beneficiaries of, or participants in, such programs.

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(c) This assurance is given in consideration of and for the purpose of obtaining any and all Federal grants, loans, contracts, property, discounts, or other Federal financial assistance extended after the date hereof to the recipient by the Agency, including installment payments after such date on account of applications for Federal financial assistance which was approved before such date. The recipient recognizes and agrees that such Federal £financial assistance will be extended in reliance on the representations and agreements made in this Assurance, and that the United States shall have the right to seek judicial enforcement of this Assurance. This Assurance is binding on the recipient, its successors, transferees, and assignees, and the person or persons whose signatures appear below are authorized to sign this Assurance on behalf of the recipient.

2. CERTIFICATION REGARDING LOBBYING

The undersigned certifies, to the best of his or her knowledge and belief, that:

(1) No Federal appropriated funds have been paid or will be paid, by or on behalf of the undersigned, to any person for influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a Member of Congress in connection with the awarding of any Federal contract, the making of any Federal grant, the making of any Federal loan, the entering into of any cooperative agreement, and the extension, continuation, renewal, amendment or modification of any Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement.

(2) If any funds other than Federal appropriated funds have been paid or will be paid to any person for influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a Member of Congress in connection with this Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement, the undersigned shall complete and submit Standard Form-LLL, "Disclosure of Lobbying Activities," in accordance with its instructions.

(3) The undersigned shall require that the language of this certification be included in the award documents for all sub awards at all tiers (including subcontracts, sub-grants, and contracts under grants, loans, and cooperative agreements) and that all sub-recipients shall certify and disclose accordingly. This certification is a material representation of fact upon which reliance was placed when this transaction was made or entered into. Submission of this certification is a prerequisite for making or entering into this transaction imposed by section 1352, title 31, United States Code. Any person who fails to file the required certification shall be subject to a civil penalty of not less than $10,000 and not more than $100,000 for each such failure.

Statement for Loan Guarantees and Loan Insurance

The undersigned states, to the best of his or her knowledge and belief, that: If any funds have been paid or will be paid to any person for influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a Member of Congress in connection with this commitment providing for the United States to insure or guarantee a loan, the undersigned shall complete and submit Standard Form-LLL, "Disclosure Form to Report

Lobbying," in accordance with its instructions. Submission of this statement is a prerequisite for making or entering into this transaction imposed by section 1352, title 31, U.S. Code. Any person who fails to file the required statement shall be subject to a civil penalty of not less than $10,000 and not more than $100,000 for each such failure.

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3. CERTIFICATION REGARDING TERRORIST FINANCING IMPLEMENTING EXECUTIVE ORDER 13224

By signing and submitting this application, the prospective recipient provides the certification set out below:

1. The Recipient, to the best of its current knowledge, did not provide, within the previous ten years, and will take all reasonable steps to ensure that it does not and will not knowingly provide, material support or resources to any individual or entity that commits, attempts to commit, advocates, facilitates, or participates in terrorist acts, or has committed, attempted to commit, facilitated, or participated in terrorist acts, as that term is defined in paragraph 3.

2. The following steps may enable the Recipient to comply with its obligations under paragraph 1:

a. Before providing any material support or resources to an individual or entity, the Recipient will verify that the individual or entity does not (i) appear on the master list of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons, which list is maintained by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and is available online at OFAC’s website: http://www.treas.gov/offices/eotffc/ofac/sdn/t11sdn.pdf, or (ii) is not included in any supplementary information concerning prohibited individuals or entities that may be provided by USAID to the Recipient.

b. Before providing any material support or resources to an individual or entity, the Recipient also will verify that the individual or entity has not been designated by the United Nations Security (UNSC) sanctions committee established under UNSC Resolution 1267 (1999) (the “1267 Committee”) [individuals and entities linked to the Taliban, Usama bin Laden, or the Al Qaida Organization]. To determine whether there has been a published designation of an individual or entity by the 1267 Committee, the Recipient should refer to the consolidated list available online at the Committee’s website: http://www.un.org/Docs/sc/committees/1267/1267ListEng.htm.

c. Before providing any material support or resources to an individual or entity, the Recipient will consider all information about that individual or entity of which it is aware and all public information that is reasonably available to it or of which it should be aware.

d. The Recipient also will implement reasonable monitoring and oversight procedures to safeguard against assistance being diverted to support terrorist activity.

3. For purposes of this Certification-

a. “Material support and resources” means currency or monetary instruments or financial securities, financial services, lodging, training, expert advice or assistance, safehouses, false documentation or identification, communications equipment, facilities, weapons, lethal substances, explosives, personnel, transportation, and other physical assets, except medicine or religious materials.”

b. “Terrorist act” means-

(i) an act prohibited pursuant to one of the 12 United Nations Conventions and Protocols related to terrorism (see UN terrorism conventions Internet site: http://untreaty.un.org/English/Terrorism.asp); or

(ii) an act of premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents; or

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(iii) any other act intended to cause death or serious bodily injury to a civilian, or to any other person not taking an active part in hostilities in a situation of armed conflict, when the purpose of such act, by its nature or context, is to intimidate a population, or to compel a government or an international organization to do or to abstain from doing any act.

c. “Entity” means a partnership, association, corporation, or other organization, group or subgroup.

d. References in this Certification to the provision of material support and resources shall not be deemed to include the furnishing of USAID funds or USAID-financed commodities to the ultimate beneficiaries of USAID assistance, such as recipients of food, medical care, micro-enterprise loans, shelter, etc., unless the Recipient has reason to believe that one or more of these beneficiaries commits, attempts to commit, advocates, facilitates, or participates in terrorist acts, or has committed, attempted to commit, facilitated or participated in terrorist acts.

e. The Recipient’s obligations under paragraph 1 are not applicable to the procurement of goods and/or services by the Recipient that are acquired in the ordinary course of business through contract or purchase, e.g., utilities, rents, office supplies, gasoline, etc., unless the Recipient has reason to believe that a vendor or supplier of such goods and services commits, attempts to commit, advocates, facilitates, or participates in terrorist acts, or has committed, attempted to commit, facilitated or participated in terrorist acts.

This Certification is an express term and condition of any agreement issued as a result of this application, and any violation of it shall be grounds for unilateral termination of the agreement by USAID prior to the end of its term.

4. PROHIBITION ON ASSISTANCE TO DRIG TRAFFICKERS FOR COVERED COUNTRIES AND INDIVIDUALS. (ADS 206) USAID reserves the right to terminate this [Agreement/Contract], to demand a refund or take other appropriate measures if the [Grantee/ Contractor] is found to have been convicted of a narcotics offense or to have been engaged in drug trafficking as defined in 22 CFR Part 140. The undersigned shall review USAID ADS 206 to determine if any certification are required for Key Individuals or Covered Participants. If there are COVERED PARTICIPANTS: USAID reserves the right to terminate assistance to, or take or take other appropriate measures with respect to, any participant approved by USAID who is found to have been convicted of a narcotics offense or to have been engaged in drug trafficking as defined in 22 CFR Part 140. Signature __________________________________________Date_______________Name______________________________________________Organization________________________________________

KEY INDIVIDUAL CERTIFICATION NARCOTICS OFFENSES AND DRUG TRAFFICKING I hereby certify that within the last ten years: 1. I have not been convicted of a violation of, or a conspiracy to violate, any law or regulation of the United States or any other country concerning narcotic or psychotropic drugs or other controlled substances. 2. I am not and have not been an illicit trafficker in any such drug or controlled substance.

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3. I am not and have not been a knowing assistor, abettor, conspirator, or colluder with others in the illicit trafficking in any such drug or substance. Signature: ________________________ Date: _____________________________ Name: _____________________________ Title/Position: ____________________________ Organization: ______________________________ Address: ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Date of Birth: ______________________________ NOTICE: 1. You are required to sign this Certification under the provisions of 22 CFR Part 140, Prohibition on Assistance to Drug Traffickers. These regulations were issued by the Department of State and require that certain key individuals of organizations must sign this Certification. 2. If you make a false Certification you are subject to U.S. criminal prosecution under 18 U.S.C. 1001. PARTICIPANT CERTIFICATION NARCOTICS OFFENSES AND DRUG TRAFFICKING 1. I hereby certify that within the last ten years: a. I have not been convicted of a violation of, or a conspiracy to violate, any law or regulation of the United States or any other country concerning narcotic or psychotropic drugs or other controlled substances. b. I am not and have not been an illicit trafficker in any such drug or controlled substance. c. I am not or have not been a knowing assistor, abettor, conspirator, or colluder with others in the illicit trafficking in any such drug or substance. 2. I understand that USAID may terminate my training if it is determined that I engaged in the above conduct during the last ten years or during my USAID training. Signature: ___________________________________ Name: ______________________________________ Date: ______________________________________ Address: ___________________________________

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___________________________________ Date of Birth: _____________________________ NOTICE: 1. You are required to sign this Certification under the provisions of 22 CFR Part 140,Prohibition on Assistance to Drug Traffickers. These regulations were issued by the Department of State and require that certain participants must sign this Certification. 2. If you make a false Certification you are subject to U.S. criminal prosecution under 18 U.S.C. 1001.

5. CERTIFICATION OF RECIPIENT

By signing below the recipient provides certifications and assurances for (1) the Assurance of Compliance with Laws and Regulations Governing Non-Discrimination in Federally Assisted Programs, (2) the Certification Regarding Lobbying, (3) the Prohibition on Assistance to Drug Traffickers for Covered

Countries and Individuals (ADS 206) and (4) the Certification Regarding Terrorist Financing Implementing Executive Order 13224 above): As applicable:

RFA/APS No.: ______________________________________________ Application: ______________________________________________ Date of Application: ______________________________________________

Name of Recipient: ______________________________________________

Typed Name and Title: ______________________________________________

Signature: ______________________________________________

Date: ______________________________________________

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PART II

OTHER STATEMENTS OF RECIPIENT

1. AUTHORIZED INDIVIDUALS

The recipient represents that the following persons are authorized to negotiate on its behalf with the Government and to bind the recipient in connection with this application or grant: Name Title Telephone Number Facsimile Number

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

2. TAXPAYER IDENTIFICATION NUMBER (TIN)

If the recipient is a U.S. organization, or a foreign organization which has income effectively connected with the conduct of activities in the U.S. or has an office or a place of business or a fiscal paying agent in the U.S., please indicate the applicant's/grantee's TIN:

TIN: ___________________________________________________________

3. CONTRACTOR IDENTIFICATION NUMBER -DATA UNIVERSAL NUMBERING SYSTEM (DUNS) NUMBER

(a) In the space provided at the end of this provision, the recipient should supply the Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number applicable to that name and address. Recipients should take care to report the number that identifies the recipient's name and address exactly as stated in the proposal.

(b) The DUNS is a 9-digit number assigned by Dun and Bradstreet Information Services. If the recipient does not have a DUNS number, the recipient should call Dun and Bradstreet directly at 1- 800-333-0505. A DUNS number will be provided immediately by telephone at no charge to the recipient. The recipient should be prepared to provide the following information:

(1) Recipient's name. (2) Recipient's address. (3) Recipient's telephone number.(4) Line of business. (5) Chief executive officer/key manager.(6) Date the organization was started. (7) Number of people employed by the recipient.(8) Company affiliation.

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(c) Recipients located outside the United States may obtain the location and phone number of the local Dun and Bradstreet Information Services office from the Internet Horne Page at http://www.dbisna.com/dbis/customer/custlist.htm. If an offeror is unable to locate a local service center, it may send an e-mail to Dun and Bradstreet at globalinfo@dbisma.com.

The DUNS system is distinct from the Federal Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) system.

DUNS: ____________________________________________________________________

4. LETTER OF CREDIT (LOC) NUMBER

If the recipient has an existing Letter of Credit (LOC) with USAID, please indicate the LOC number.

LOC: ____________________________________________________________________

5. TYPE OF ORGANIZATION

The recipient, by checking the applicable box, represents that -

(a) If the recipient is a U.S. entity, it operates as [ ] a corporation incorporated under the laws of the State of _____________________________________________, [ ] an individual [ ] a partnership, [ ] a non-governmental nonprofit organization, [ ] a state or local governmental organization, [ ] a private college or university, [ ] a public college or university, [ ] an international organization, or [ ] a joint venture; or

(b) If the recipient is a U.S. entity, it [ ] is, [ ] is not a Gray Amendment entity, as defined below.

(c) If the recipient is a Gray Amendment Entity, it is [ ] a business concerns (as defined in 48 CFR 19.001) owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals (as defined in 48 CFR 726.101), [ ] an institution designated by the Secretary of Education, pursuant to 34 CFR 608.2, as a historically black college or university (HBCU) , [ ] a college or university having a student body in which more than 40% of the students are Hispanic American, or [ ] a private voluntary organization which is controlled by individuals who are socially and economically disadvantaged (as defined in 48 CFR 726.101).

(d) If the recipient is a non-U.S. entity, it operates as [ ] a corporation organized under the laws of ________________________________________________________ (country), [ ] an individual, [ ] a partnership, [ ] a nongovernmental nonprofit organization, [ ] a nongovernmental educational institution, [ ] a governmental organization, [ ] an international organization, or [ ] a joint venture.

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6. ESTIMATED COSTS OF COMMUNICATIONS PRODUCTS

The following are the estimate(s) of the cost of each separate communications product (i.e., any printed material [other than non-color photocopy material], photographic services, or video production services) which is anticipated under the grant. Each estimate must include all the costs associated with preparation and execution of the product. Use a continuation page as necessary.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

7. PROCUREMENT INFORMATION

(a) Applicability. This applies to the procurement of goods and services planned by the recipient (i.e., contracts, purchase orders, etc.) from a supplier of goods or services for the direct use or benefit of the recipient in conducting the program supported by the grant, and not to assistance provided by the recipient (i.e., a sub-grant or sub-agreement) to a sub-grantee or sub-recipient in support of the sub-grantee's or sub recipient's program. Provision by the recipient of the requested information does not, in and of itself, constitute USAID approval.

(b) Amount of Procurement. Please indicate the total estimated dollar amount of goods and services which the recipient plans to purchase under the grant: $______________

(c) Nonexpendable Property. If the recipient plans to purchase nonexpendable equipment, which would require the approval of the Agreement Officer, please indicate below (using a continuation page, as necessary) the types, quantities of each, and estimated unit costs. Non-expendable equipment for which the Agreement Officer's approval to purchase is required is any article of nonexpendable tangible personal property charged directly to the grant. having a useful life of more than one year and an acquisition cost of $5,000 or more per unit.

Type/Description (Generic) Quantity Estimated Unit Cost

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

(d) Source, Origin, and Component of Goods. If the recipient plans to purchase any goods/commodities which are not of U.S. source and/or U.S. origin, and/or does not contain at least 50% component entry which are not at least 50% U.S. source and origin, please indicate below (using a continuation page, as necessary) the types and quantities of each, estimated unit costs of each, and probable source and/or origin, to include the probable source and/or origin of the components if less than 50% U.S. components will be contained in the commodity. "Source"

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means the country from which a commodity is shipped to the cooperating country or the cooperating country itself if the commodity is located therein at the time of purchase. However, where a commodity is shipped from a free port or bonded warehouse in the form in which received therein, "source" means the country from which the commodity was shipped to the free port or bonded warehouse. Any commodity whose source is a non-Free World country is ineligible for USAID financing. The "origin" of a commodity is the country or area in which a commodity is mined, grown, or produced. A commodity is produced when, through manufacturing, processing, or substantial and major assembling of components, a commercially recognized new commodity results, which is substantially different in basic characteristics or in purpose or utility from its components. Merely packaging various items together for a particular procurement or relabeling items does not constitute production of a commodity. Any commodity whose origin is a non-Free World country is ineligible for USAID financing. "Components" are the goods which go directly into the production of a produced commodity. Any component from a non-Free World country makes the commodity ineligible for USAID financing.

Type/Description Estimated Probable Source of Probable Origin of (Generic) Quantity Unit Cost Goods Components Goods Components

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

(e) Restricted Goods. If the recipient plans to purchase any restricted goods, please indicate below (using a continuation page, as necessary) the types and quantities of each, estimated unit costs of each, intended use, and probable source and/or origin. Restricted goods are Agricultural Commodities, Motor Vehicles, Pharmaceuticals, Pesticides, Rubber Compounding Chemicals and Plasticizers, Used Equipment, U.S. Government-Owned Excess Property, and Fertilizer.

Type/Description Estimated Probable Probable (Generic) Quantity Unit Cost Intended Use Source Origin

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

(f) Supplier Nationality. If the recipient plans to purchase any goods or services from suppliers of goods and services whose nationality is not in the U.S., please indicate below (using a continuation page, as necessary) the types and quantities of each good or service, estimated costs of each, probable nationality of each non-U.S. supplier

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of each good or service, and the rationale for purchasing from a non-U.S. supplier. Any supplier whose nationality is a non-Free World country is ineligible for USAID financing.

Type/Description Estimated Probable Supplier Nationality Rationale (Generic) Quantity Unit Cost (Non-U.S. Only) for Non-U.S.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

(g) Proposed Disposition. If the recipient plans to purchase any nonexpendable equipment with a unit acquisition cost of $5,000 or more, please indicate below (using a continuation page, as necessary) the proposed disposition of each such item. Generally, the recipient may either retain the property for other uses and make compensation to USAID (computed by applying the percentage of federal participation in the cost of the original program to the current fair market value of the property), or sell the property and reimburse USAID an amount computed by applying to the sales proceeds the percentage of federal participation in the cost of the original program (except that the recipient may deduct from the federal share $500 or 10% of the proceeds, whichever is greater, for selling and handling expenses), or donate the property to a host country institution, or otherwise dispose of the property as instructed by USAID.

Type/Description (Generic) Quantity Estimated Unit Cost Proposed Disposition

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

END OF CERTIFICATIONS, ASSURANCES AND OTHER STATEMENTS OF RECIPIENT

Name and Title: ____________________________ Name of Organization: _______________________

Date: _____________________________________

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ANNEX B

MANDATORY STANDARD PROVISIONS FOR U.S., NONGOVERNMENTAL RECIPIENTS

PLEASE REFER TO FOLLOWING WEBSITE:

http://www.usaid.gov/policy/ads/300/303maa.pdf

MANDATORY STANDARD PROVISIONS FOR Non-U.S., NONGOVERNMENTAL RECIPIENTS

PLEASE REFER TO FOLLOWING WEBSITE:

http://www.usaid.gov/policy/ads/300/303mab.pdf

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ANNEX C

REQUIRED AS APPLICABLE STANDARD PROVISIONS FOR U.S., NONGOVERNMENTAL RECIPIENTS

PLEASE REFER TO FOLLOWING WEBSITE:

http://www.usaid.gov/policy/ads/300/303maa.pdf

REQUIRED AS APPLICABLE STANDARD PROVISIONS FOR Non-U.S., NONGOVERNMENTAL RECIPIENTS

PLEASE REFER TO FOLLOWING WEBSITE:

http://www.usaid.gov/policy/ads/300/303mab.pdf

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ANNEX D

SURVEY ON ENSURING EQUAL OPPORTUNITY FOR APPLICANTS

Applicability: All RFA’s must include the attached Survey on Ensuring Equal Opportunity for Applicants as an attachment to the RFA package. Applicants under unsolicited applications are also to be provided the survey. (While inclusion of the survey by Agreement Officers in RFA packages is required, the applicant’s completion of the survey is voluntary, and must not be a requirement of the RFA. The absence of a completed survey in an application may not be a basis upon which the application is determined incomplete or non-responsive. Applicants who volunteer to complete and submit the survey under a competitive or non-competitive action are instructed within the text of the survey to submit it as part of the application process.)

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ANNEX E - PAST PERFORMANCE INFORMATION.

PERFORMANCE REPORT - SHORT FORM

PART I: Award Information (to be completed by Prime)1. Name of Awarding Entity:2. Award Number:3. Award Type:4. Award Value (TEC): (if subagreement, subagreement value)5. Problems: (if problems encountered on this award, explain corrective action taken)

6. Contacts: (Name, Telephone Number and E-mail address)6a. Agreement Officer:6b. Technical Officer (CTO):6c. Other:7. Recipient:8. Title/Brief Description of Product/Service Provided:9. Information Provided in Response to RFP No. :PART II: Performance Assessment (to be completed by Agency)1. Quality of product or service, including consistency in meeting goals and targets, and cooperation

and effectiveness of the Prime in fixing problems. Comment:

2. Cost control, including forecasting costs as well as accuracy in financial reporting. Comment:

3. Timeliness of performance, including adherence to contract schedules and other time-sensitive project conditions, and effectiveness of home and field office management to make prompt decisions and ensure efficient operation of tasks. Comment:

4. Customer satisfaction, including satisfactory business relationship to clients, initiation and management of several complex activities simultaneously, coordination among subcontractors and developing country partners, prompt and satisfactory correction of problems, and cooperative attitude in fixing problems. Comment:

5. Effectiveness of key personnel including: effectiveness and appropriateness of personnel for the job; and prompt and satisfactory changes in personnel when problems with clients where identified. Comment:

[Note: The actual dollar amount of subagreement, if any, (awarded to the Prime) must be listed in Block 4 instead of the Total Estimated Cost (TEC) of the overall contract. In addition, a Prime may submit attachments to this past performance table if the spaces provided are inadequate; the evaluation factor(s) must be listed on any attachments.]

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ANNEX F- DIRECTIONS TO MOBILE SCANNING FACILITY

DIRECTIONS TO NEW FPS MOBILE SCANNINGFACILITY 12TH AND C STREETS, SW

FROM POINTS SOUTH: Take I-95 to 395. Follow 395 (approximately 8 miles) until you cross the 14th Street Bridge into town. Take a right on C Street. Cross 12th Street and drive directly into mobile scanning facility.

FROM POINTS WEST: Take I-66 across the Roosevelt Bridge. Once across the bridge, follow signs for Constitution Avenue. Stay on and follow Constitution Avenue for approximately 10 blocks. Turn right on 14th

Street. Cross Independence Avenue and take a left on C Street. Cross 12th Street and drive directly into mobile scanning facility.

FROM POINTS NORTH: Take 270 East to the Beltway (495 South). The sign will say 495 South/Richmond. Stay on 495 South for approximately 3-5 miles. Take the George Washington parkway (only goes one way). Follow the Parkway for approximately 12 miles and take the exit marked Roosevelt Bridge. This road turns into Constitution Avenue. Turn right on 14th Street. Cross Independence Avenue and take a left on C Street. Cross 12th Street and drive directly into mobile scanning facility.

FROM POINTS EAST: Follow 50 West to New York Avenue. Continue on New York Avenue until you come to 7th Street. Make a left on 7th Street and continue to Independence Avenue. Take a right on Independence and continue for three blocks to 12th Street. Take a left on 12th

Street. Mobile scanning facility will be on your left at the corner of C Street.

DIRECTIONS FROM NEW FPS MOBILE SCANNING TO RONALD REAGAN BUILDING

Exit mobile scanning on C Street. Take C Street to 14th Street and make a right. Cross Constitution Avenue. The Reagan Building loading dock will be on your right hand side in

the middle of the block.

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FREIGHT DELIVERY REQUEST FORM

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Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center

FREIGHT DELIVERY REQUEST FORM

TO: RRBITC Loading Dock ManagerFederal Protective Service

FROM: CUSTOMS: EPA: GSA: TCMA: USAID: WW Center OTHER:_____--------------------------(Circle One) --------------------------------RFA/P #: M/OAA/DCHA/DOFDA-08-001OFFEROR: ____________________

FREIGHT DELIVERY COMPANY INFORMATIONName of Freight Company making delivery Phone # Date of arrival

Freight Co. Contact Person Fax # Estimated Time of arrival

Driver's Name Driver's Lic # & State Date of Birth

Alternate Driver Driver's Lic # & State Date of Birth

Vehicle Description (i.e., tractor trailer, etc) Type Make Tag #

Length Model State

Description of material being delivered

AGENCY/ TENANT REQUESTING DELIVERYAgency/ Tenant Contact Person

USAID, Jim Reid

Phone #(202) 712-4163Fax #(202) 216-3134

Signature

Deliveries to the B-2 loading dock require 96 hours notice.All deliveries are subject to an off-site security inspection by the Federal Protective Service

B-2 Loading DockPh. # (202) 789-4388Fax # (202) 789-5342

THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS INFORMATION COVERED BY THE PRIVACY ACT

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ANNEX G: REQUIRED COUNTRIES AND COUNTRY-SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS

USAID solicits Applications for Country Programs in the following seven required countries. Applicants can also propose country programs in two to four of the following optional countries, for a total of nine to eleven Country Programs to be supported by this award:

Required countries: Ukraine, Georgia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Honduras, Mexico and South Africa. For these countries, full objectives and expected results for the country are given below. These are based upon labor sector assessments carried out between October 2007 and February 2010. Where information is dated in the program descriptions and results below, Applicants are encouraged to provide updated analysis, and to suggest revised results where relevant. Applicants shall respond to country-specific objectives and results with short (two-three page) Country Program proposals, including full results frameworks, included in their application (general guidance for and examples of results frameworks for the labor sector can be found in the Program Handbook on the GLASAI website, www.glasai.com). Applicants can choose to address all results given in the country program description, or propose concentrating resources on a sub-set of these results. Further application instructions are given in Section IV.

Optional countries: El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sri Lanka, Ecuador, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Liberia, Mozambique, Tanzania. For these countries, Applicants shall respond to the general objectives and results in Section I, Program Description, with short (two-three page) Country Program proposals, including full results frameworks, included in their application (general guidance for and examples of results frameworks for the labor sector can be found in the Program Handbook on the GLASAI website, www.glasai.com). Further application instructions are given in Section IV.

1) Ukraine

Background: After a decade of wrenching adjustments in the wake of the fall of the Soviet Union and independence, followed by nearly a decade of sustained growth, Ukraine faces several economic and political challenges. First, Ukraine must wrestle with the consequences of an economic growth trajectory that has not been broadly based, resulting in a limited middle class and workers who are increasingly vulnerable in light of the global economic crisis. Second, it must contend with the effects of severe de-population of its labor force and on the ability to generate resources to support a rapidly aging generation of pensioners. Third, having committed itself to external economic orientation through the launching in February 2008 of negotiations with the European Union (EU) of an Association Agreement and accession in May 2008 to the World Trade Organization (WTO), Ukraine must establish economic, political, and education and training systems that will enable Ukrainians to take advantage of new trade and investment opportunities and cope with competition from regional and global trade and investors. Finally, as Ukrainians become increasingly disenchanted with national political stalemates and regional political/economic feuds, the country must find a way to make the political process more responsive to the needs of a broader cross-section of the population.

Though a relatively large proportion (over 40 percent according to most estimates) of workers are unionized in Ukraine, this number is misleadingly large for two primary reasons. First, unionization in Ukraine occurs passively. Newly-hired workers at several of the major long-established employers are automatically made members of the large, Soviet-era successor, Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine (FPU). Membership in this union extends to people in management positions, as well as to students and pensioners. The Confederation of Free Trade Unions (KVPU) is the much smaller, newer, and more independent trade union. Across both, union membership in Ukraine is concentrated in only a few industries, primarily state employees, including teachers, and heavy industry, primarily mining, steel, and

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related fields. Thus, there are huge gaps in union density as the retail, private- and foreign-owned industry, small business, and other less formal sectors have extremely low proportions of unionized workers. There are very few formal, or informal, means for these non-unionized workers to have their concerns addressed by the government. In addition, the relationships between unions and political parties are also key to understanding why labor-related issues do not get sufficient attention from policy makers.

Ukraine’s development challenges also need to be understood at the sub-national level. One region – the Autonomous Republic of Crimea (ARC) – is of particular consideration, for both economic and geopolitical reasons. Already an autonomous republic within Russia under the Soviet Union, the latter ceded Crimea to Ukraine in the 1950s. Crimea’s labor market is – in some ways – quite similar to that of the rest of the country. However, because its economy is dependent on two seasonal activities, agriculture and tourism, average incomes in Crimea do not exceed national averages. Economic diversification into higher value-added activities within agriculture and services sectors, or into industry, would help to ensure access to more stable livelihoods for Crimeans.

USAID seeks proposals for a Country Program which can significantly contribute to achieving USAID’s democracy and governance objectives in Ukraine. Recent analysis shows that many labor-related policies, whether concerned with crafting a new labor law, improving the skill match between workers and employers, ensuring a climate where the freedoms necessary for workers to organize exist, or increasing protections for workers, are closely related to broader goals of democracy and governance. In particular, labor sector programming might improve the rule of law and human rights. Good governance can be furthered by better enforcement of labor codes and through deliberative bodies that are more responsive to labor constituencies. Labor programming might also offer immediate and direct benefits to the development of a more vibrant and engaged civil society.

Objective: Workers’ Rights Protected and International Labor Standards promoted through: (1) support for vibrant, independent and democratic labor unions and NGOs that promote labor rights, labor justice, and the representation of workers’ interests and their participation in local and national arenas, and (2) support to the rule of law in the labor sector and access to justice for workers, especially women, youth, people with disabilities and other vulnerable populations.

Expected results:

Result 1: Workers are able to form democratically-organized and independent unions1.1 Capacity and level of engagement of unions to reach and organize non-unionized groups

(e.g. SME, agriculture, tourism) increased.

Result 2: Democratic labor unions and NGOs operate more effectivelyResult 2a: National and sector-based union federations strengthenedResult 2b: Local, workplace-based unions strengthened

2.1 Union leadership and member understanding of labor code, other legislation, treaties and conventions that guide worker protection improved

2.2 Two-way communications between union officials and membership improved (so unions better represent member priorities)

2.3 Smaller unions and federations more financially stableResult 2c: Labor unions and NGOs are networked within countries and regions

2.4 Dialogue, integration on political positions and coordinated utilization of media among unions, CSOs and other labor sector organizations increased (though improved political advocacy skills)

Result 3: Effective collective bargaining

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3.1 Local unions’ and sector federations’ capacity to engage in formal collective bargaining efforts with public and private sector employers and employers / industry associations strengthened.

Result 4: Social dialogue and tripartite mechanisms4.1 Participation of unions and civil society in labor-related law-making increased (through

advocacy to revitalize the tripartite council), including pension reform

Result 5: Labor justice and rule of law5.1 Capacity of labor unions and NGOs to provide or arrange legal advice and representation

for workers increased5.2 Capacity of labor unions and NGOs to monitor compliance to labor code and judiciary

rulings improved

See the following publication for further detail: Fick, Barbara J., Olga Kupets, Denise Lamaute, Lincoln A. Mitchell, Lynn Salinger, and Asta Zinbo. 2009. The Role of Labor-Related Issues in the Foreign Assistance Framework: Ukraine Labor Assessment. Burlington, VT: Associates in Rural Development, January.

2) Georgia

Background: Following a difficult period after the fall of the Soviet Union, Georgia enjoyed several years of rapid economic growth after the 2003 Rose Revolution. Georgia is considered one of the fastest reforming economies according to the World Bank’s Doing Business scores and in 2004-2007, Georgia's rank on the ease of doing business jumped from 137 to 18; in 2010 Georgia ranked 11. Post Rose Revolution reforms have attempted to reduce State interference in all sectors, pursuing a neo-liberal approach to encourage investment and growth. Under the 2006 Labor Code individual agreements between employer and employee prevail, and protections from discriminatory hiring and firing, safety and health regulations, or unemployment benefits are eliminated. Analysts assert that ruling party and executive branch attempts to consolidate power in order to strengthen the state and carry out an ambitious reform agenda came at the expense of civic participation; and that there is an overall lack of public trust and confidence in state institutions, insufficient government engagement in public dialogue and consultation, and a gap between the center and the periphery in the country.

Georgia currently faces a number of economic and political challenges. First, Georgia confronts an increasing level of poverty and unemployment, with workers who are increasingly vulnerable in light of the global economic crisis and lack of social safety nets. Second, the external security threat posed by the “territorial integrity” question of the territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia is a pressing concern which has overshadowed many other issues, with the related problem of dealing with roughly 250,000 internally displaced people. Third, as Georgians become increasingly frustrated with national political leaders, exhibited in spring 2009 protests, yet without a viable opposition, the country must find a way to make the political process more responsive to the needs of a broader cross-section of the population. A particular challenge is a weak and marginalized civil society with a low level of public understanding of and trust in civic organizations, especially trade unions. Finally, having committed itself to external economic orientation, and joining the European Neighborhood Program and the EU's generalized system of preferences (GSP), Georgia must meet certain standards and establish economic, political, and education and training systems that will enable Georgians to take advantage of new trade and investment opportunities and cope with competition from regional and global trade and investors.

The largest organized labor group in Georgia is the Georgian Trade Union Confederation (GTUC) which consists of 25 union organizations (2 regional/ 23 sectoral) with total membership of about 250,000

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workers. It transformed itself from a Soviet era union after undergoing leadership changes in 2005, becoming independent and taking steps toward internal reform, increased transparency and democratic governance. However, it faces a number of obstacles, including addressing a Soviet era mentality regarding role of trade unions; government policy toward labor relations; large gaps in union density; and generally low understanding of civic participation and how joining with others can help individuals to achieve rights and solve problems. There are very few means, formal or informal, for non-unionized workers to have their concerns addressed by the government.

USAID seeks propiosals for a Country Program which can contribute to achieving USAID’s democracy and governance objectives in Georgia. Recent analysis shows that many labor-related policies, whether they are concerned with crafting a new labor code, improving the skills match between workers and employers, ensuring a climate where the freedoms necessary for workers to organize exist, or increasing protections for workers, are closely related to broader goals of democracy and governance. In particular, labor sector programming might contribute to improved public participation in civic activities through increased capacity of trade unions to educate members and advocate for reforms, as well as increasing public trust through providing a viable voice to workers. In addition, more effective and responsive democratic governance and improved judicial independence and capacity can be complemented through the efforts of trade unions and NGOs to improve labor-related legislation and government services. In addition, labor programming can contribute to economic growth objectives for improved economic competitiveness and welfare, through increased labor organization understanding of government reforms and linkages to efforts to improve vocational training and assist vulnerable populations.

Over the long term, the ultimate goal is for workers’ rights to be protected and for international labor standards promoted through support for vibrant, independent and democratic labor unions and NGOs that promote labor rights, labor justice, and the representation of workers’ interests and their participation in local and national arenas.

Objective: Independent and democratic trade union capacity to increase civic participation on labor issues strengthened

Expected results:

Result 1: Workers are able to form democratically-organized and independent unions1.1 Public perception of the utility of trade unions in providing voice to promote worker

rights is improved 1.2 Capacity and level of engagement of unions to reach and organize non-unionized groups

increased (to broaden their base). Result 2: Democratic labor unions operate more effectively

Result 2a: National and sector-based union federations strengthenedResult 2b: Local, workplace-based unions strengthened2.1 Organizational capability to manage internal structures and recruit new members

improved2.2 Two-way communications between union officials and membership improved (so unions

better represent member priorities)2.3 Capacity of trade unions to organize and respond to members’ needs is improved

Result 2c: Labor unions and NGOs are networked within countries and regions 2.4 Union leadership and member understanding of rights and capacity to advocate policy

positions on labor matters, build coalitions and effectively reach out through the media is strengthened

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Result 3: Effective collective bargaining 3.1 Local unions’ and sector federations’ capacity to engage in formal collective bargaining

efforts with public and private sector employers strengthened.

Result 4: Social dialogue and tripartite mechanisms4.1 Ability of trade unions to effectively engage with employers and government to promote

worker rights is increased

Result 5: Labor justice and rule of law5.1 Workers’ and general population have a better understanding of workers’ rights and

advocate more effectively for legislative change 5.2 Unions, workers, and civil society participation in labor-related law-making increased(i.e.

towards labor legislation amended and implemented to conform to Core Labor Standards)

Additional Objective: Labor unions and NGOs advocate and pressure for improved labor market policies, including appropriate social protections, and well-targeted workforce training.

Expected results:

Result 6: Economic literacy of union leadership and membership increased6.1 Trade union members have increased understanding of market economics, globalization,

and government reforms, trade and investment policy6.2 Trade union members have improved understanding of health and social protection

systems

Result 7: Capacity of unions (and NGOs) to provide relevant workforce preparation training and re-training (to meet market needs) improved

7.1 Unions facilitate more effective links between workers and employment and job training services and opportunities

See the following publication for further detail: Fick, Barbara, Denise Lamaute, Tsiuri Antadze, and Asta Zinbo. 2009. The Role of Labor-Related Issues in the Foreign Assistance Framework: Georgia Labor Assessment. Burlington, VT: Associates in Rural Development, December. 3) Bangladesh

Background: With its trade ties to the U.S., enormous demographic pressures, moderate Muslim views, and presence in the mixed neighborhood of South Asia, Bangladesh’s stability and prosperity are important to U.S. foreign policy interests. U.S. foreign assistance is helping Bangladesh build its democratic institutions, reduce poverty through broad-based economic growth, and improve its human capital. Labor plays a prominent role in the country’s political and economic direction and is identified as one of the key policy areas in Bangladesh’s Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS). Bangladesh has struggled over the years to comply with a number of international labor rights standards and norms, most notably in the areas of freedom of association and child labor. It has also suffered from a weak industrial relations machinery and poor enforcement of its labor laws. Accordingly, Bangladesh’s industrial sectors have been affected over the years by worker unrest and industrial instability. The lack of a well-functioning labor sector in Bangladesh and its inability to secure the labor rights of its citizens has important ramifications, not only for the intrinsic development objective of protecting workers rights and well-being, but also for achieving Bangladesh’s overall development objectives more generally.

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The advancement of labor in Bangladesh has been historically affected by competing interests. Within this context, the labor movement has been somewhat successful in advancing specific labor issues. Labor’s efforts to resist privatization of state-owned industries, for example, have been especially important for creating present day institutions to facilitate collective bargaining, and the enactment of legislation to protect workers’ rights. Trade union federations in India and South Asia have historically been led by philanthropists and non-rank-and-file leaders. Over the decades, the number of trade union federations grew, and they were actively involved with the independence struggle in the late 1960s, developing links with other activists groups such as the student movement. During this time, the trade union centers also became more explicitly aligned with specific political parties, resulting in more trade union fragmentation and greater politicization of trade unions. While not all unions explicitly claim to be affiliated with a political party, there are examples of trade union federations that are explicitly (and generally accepted to be) largely independent. These include the Bangladesh Independent Garment Workers Federation (BIGUF); the United Garment Workers Federation; and the National Garment Workers Federation. Overall, experts assert that the labor union movement in Bangladesh is relatively weak. One reason for its weakness has been the closure of state-owned enterprises over recent years and it is still actively campaigning against privatization. The other reason is the capture of the union movement by the political parties. Another key constraint is the weak systems of social protections in the informal labor sector. The vast informal sector has encompassed a pool of unskilled labor that helps keep the costs of labor down, but which perpetuates the low level of workforce development. With the rise of Bangladesh’s export industries and the involvement of new international and domestic advocates, though, labor has found new and important drivers for change. Bangladesh’s highly active and large civil society, and their transnational counterparts, has been able to approach labor from different angles (women’s rights, poverty reduction, etc.) in a way that recasts the role of labor in Bangladesh’s political and economic life. Markets (i.e., buyers, consumers) and foreign entities (i.e., donors, governments, ILO) are also introducing new incentives and influencing the power dynamics between major domestic actors. At the same time, there are limits to the influence of these actors.

USAID seeks Applications for a Country Program which can significantly contribute to achieving USAID’s democracy and governance objectives in Bangladesh. Recent analysis has demonstrated several possible points of leverage: the evolution of new forms of labor governance referred to as “networked governance,” including new forms of non-state regulatory mechanisms, such as labor unions and NGOs, employers associations, MNCs, and Multistakeholder Initiatives, as well as new arrangements of government ministries that fill gaps left by the Ministry of Labor; 2) labor justice and alternative dispute resolution; 3) targeting specific populations within Bangladesh’s workforce, such as women, youth, people with disabilities and migrant worker populations.

Objective: Workers’ Rights Protected and International Labor Standards promoted through: (1) support for vibrant, independent and democratic labor unions and NGOs that promote labor rights, labor justice, and the representation of workers’ interests and their participation in local and national arenas, and (2) support to the rule of law in the labor sector and access to justice for workers, especially women, youth, people with disabilities and other vulnerable populations.

Expected results:

Result 1: Workers are able to form democratically-organized and independent unions1.1 Improved representation and protection of workers in export processing zones and in select

sectors (the informal sector especially), especially women, youth, people with disabilities and other vulnerable populations

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Result 2: Democratic labor unions and NGOs operate more effectivelyResult 2a: National and sector-based union federations strengthenedResult 2b: Local, workplace-based unions strengthened

2.1 Number of women and youth in union and federation leadership positions increased2.2 Unions and federations elect officials on democratic principles 2.3 Contact of federation leadership with plant-level unions and workers increased

Result 2c: Labor unions and NGOs are effectively networked within countries and regions

Result 3: Effective collective bargaining3.1 Local unions’ and sector federations’ capacity to engage in formal collective bargaining

efforts with public and private sector employers and employers / industry associations strengthened.

Result 4: Social dialogue and tripartite mechanisms4.1 Labor sector organizations and export-oriented (international) employers find common

ground on legal reform (with better social compliance to complement investment attractiveness)

Result 5: Labor justice and rule of law - International core labor rights are codified in formal law/regulations which government agencies enforce; workers’ rights and standards are promoted.

5.1 Compilation and publication of data on government compliance and oversight (including but not limited to ministry inspections, enforcement and efficiency of court proceedings) by unions, federations and NGOs increased

5.2 Labor sector organizations develop legal reform advocacy positions independent of political party affiliation

5.3 Effective ADR mechanisms to resolve labor disputes and grievances created and / or improved.

See the following publication for further detail: Kolben, Kevin and Borany Penh. 2008. The Role of Labor-Related Issues in the Foreign Assistance Framework: Bangladesh Labor Assessment. Burlington, VT: Associates in Rural Development, September.

4) Cambodia

Background: Although Cambodia experienced steady growth between 1999 and the recent global economic downturn, the economy is fragile and undiversified. The government is hampered by weak institutions, a lack of transparency, and an entrenched system of patronage. Parliamentary elections in the summer of 2008 were freer than any previously held in Cambodia, but power remains concentrated in the executive branch, and opposition parties are disorganized and divided. Each year, 250,000 youth enter the workforce, but the economy does not create enough new jobs to employ them all.

The USG’s engagement on labor-related issues in Cambodia was grounded in the country’s return to stability in the mid-1990s after two decades of civil war. The signing of a Bilateral Textile Agreement between the United States and the Royal Government of Cambodia in 1999 stands out, not only as a important moment in USG assistance to Cambodia, but also as an innovative approach to support for the country’s labor enabling environment. Cambodia’s record on compliance fed into semi-annual deliberations between the USG and Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) regarding adjustments of the quota for Cambodian garments exports into the U.S. market. Though the original impetus to this labor program – Cambodia’s Bilateral Textile Agreement with the U.S. – has since faded away with the

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elimination of the multilateral textile and garment quota system, well-targeted support to the country’s nascent independent labor unions, regular reporting on labor conditions, regular mechanisms to feed back factory monitoring information to buyers, regular hearings to resolve factory disputes, and regular meetings in stakeholder forums have contributed to the institutionalization in Cambodia of best labor practices.

Cambodia’s labor sector is active, although with such high activity levels, lack of transparency of these organizations is sometimes a challenge. Most worker organizations are unions with rights protected under the Labor Law, though those that represent civil servants, teachers, and informal sector workers are not. Trade unions, federations, confederations, and one alliance of confederations represent workers’ interests to individual employers and employer organizations. Strikes play a central role in Cambodian labor relations, and are notable in comparison to the small number of collective bargaining agreements that exist in Cambodia. A few labor rights non-governmental organizations watch over the sector, providing analysis, advocacy, and training.

Numerous opportunities exist in Cambodia for implementing labor programs to achieve key development objectives. Particularly in the area of rule of law, USAID seeks to promote transparency in labor unions and NGOs, many of which suffer from significant issues such as weak accounting procedures, internal decision making, and communications with members. Recent analysis has shown that workers need to know what to expect from their unions and how to hold their leaders accountable, leaders need to understand how to communicate with and solicit input from workers, and especially how to dissuade workers from taking illegal or unwise actions (e.g., illegal strikes, pushing for unrealistic wage increases, etc.). USAID also seeks applications that will promote substantive rights by enhancing the capacity of trade unions to advocate for positive change in governmental practices; improving trade unions’ provision of services to members, thereby generating more independent revenue for them, and strengthening their independence; helping civil service unions to advocate against corruption; promoting legal reforms to bring Cambodia into compliance regarding the rights of public sector workers to organize; promoting peaceful dialogue between unions and political candidates on substantive matters; supporting women’s leadership in trade unions and on broader social issues involving their rights (e.g., fighting domestic abuse, addressing maternal health, etc.); encourage building of capacity of local government and civil society stakeholders to protect labor rights and monitor labor standards, drawing from the efforts of private and international institutions.

Objective:  Workers’ Rights Protected and International Labor Standards promoted through: (1) support for vibrant, independent and democratic labor unions and NGOs that promote labor rights, labor justice, and the representation of workers’ interests and their participation in local and national arenas, and (2) support to the rule of law in the labor sector and access to justice for workers, especially women, youth, people with disabilities and other vulnerable populations.

Expected results:

  Result 1:  Workers are able to form democratically-organized and independent unions1.1     Labor sector organizations (unions, CSOs) more active in pre-organization, organization

and protection of workers in expanding industries (mining, agro-industry, coastal tourism, non-garment manufacturing)

  Result 2:  Democratic labor unions and NGOs operate more effectivelyResult 2a:  National and sector-based union federations strengthenedResult 2b:  Local, workplace-based unions strengthened

2.1     Increased number of women in labor sector organization leadership to better reflect their proportion in the workforce

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2.2     Economic literacy of union leadership and membership increasedResult 2c:  Labor unions and NGOs are effectively networked within countries and regions

2.3     Informal sector organizations strengthened to represent member interests better

   Result 3:  Effective collective bargaining 3.1    Local unions’ and sector federations’ capacity to engage in formal collective bargaining

efforts with public and private sector employers and employers / industry associations strengthened.

   Result 4:  Social dialogue and tripartite mechanisms4.1    Labor sector organizations are better prepared for G-PSF and other meetings with state

institutions

   Result 5:  Labor justice and rule of law 5.1    Mechanisms for resolving individual disputes in the workplace identified and implemented5.2    Rule of Law principles and best practices utilized by Ministry of Labor and Vocational

Training (MOLVT), unions, federations, informal sector associations and CSOs5.3    Pubic sector worker association strategies to fight corruption supported 5.4    Advocacy to improve labor protections of public servants and unrepresented informal sector

implemented5.5    Knowledge and experience on overall progress on rule of law reform shared and

coordinated with state institutions and development partners in Cambodia

Additional Objective:  Workforce skills and opportunities improved to help workers secure formal employment and higher wages, increase industry productivity and reduce household poverty.

See the following publication for further detail:  Lerner, Michael, Lynn Salinger, and Jeffrey Wheeler. 2008. The Role of Labor-Related Issues in the Foreign Assistance Framework: Cambodia Labor Assessment. Burlington, VT: Associates in Rural Development, January.

5) Honduras

Background: Honduras is one of six countries to participate in the U.S.-Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement, a lower middle-income and predominantly rural country, the second poorest of the CAFTA-DR countries, one whose export-oriented economy (maquilas, agriculture, fisheries) is largely concentrated along the northern coast, and a country that now generates one-fourth of its GDP through labor exports and the remittances returned by those migrants. Despite adequate laws and institutional structures, democratic governance is still problematic, as evidenced by the recent political crisis that polarized the nation.

Democratic governance is also problematic for several historical and institutional reasons. First, political parties are plagued by numerous problematic practices that center around patronage networks focused on re-election, rather than governing. Second, the need to secure financial resources to mount modern election campaigns has exacerbated the power of such traditional networks. Third, the clientelistic, patronage-based politics has reinforced the power of Congress. Fourth, interest organizations – whether representing employers, labor or civic causes – tend to debilitating internal and external divisions that seek to protect their points of access to political power, rather than build local or national coalitions in support of political, social, or economic agendas. Finally, political parties compete, rather than collaborate, with these interest organizations, a fact which sets the stage for confrontations with the state. Democratic governance was further challenged when the Honduran congress and military acted outside

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the constitution and removed former President Zelaya without affording due process as provided under the Honduran constitution.

Honduras has a relatively strong union movement, despite problems with enforcement of the Labor Code and the inadequacies of judicial relief for labor law violations. In their broadest configuration, union confederations include a wide cross-section of Hondurans (women’s groups, ethnic groups, neighborhood groups (patronatos), peasants, and others). This helps to increase their numbers and thus their overall strength, which is a beneficial but also makes it more difficult to arrive at consensus on political positions. Nevertheless, Honduras provides an interesting example of labor unions that seek alliances with, and thus presumably advocate for benefits on behalf of, a broader cross-section of Honduran society. Honduras also has a vibrant civil society and the highest incidence of citizen organizational membership in the Central American region, according to the 2008 Latinobarómetro. Given the crisis of the traditional parties and the weakness of the state, civil society organizations take on a number of important roles – they are a way of making ones’ demands known, an alternative form of providing basic services, and potentially a means of developing more effective citizen input into the policy-making process. In the labor sector, two kinds of organizations are important – labor unions and the civil society organizations that specialize, often but not always in cooperation with the unions, in helping workers navigate the system for understanding and accessing their rights.

USAID seeks Applications for a Country Program which can significantly contribute to achieving USAID’s labor sector, democracy and governance objectives in Honduras. Recent analysis has illuminated numerous opportunities that exist in Honduras for achieving key development objectives through labor sector programming, especially in the areas of Civil Society and Rule of Law (ROL), two of USAID’s core governance areas. USAID/Honduras has a long history of supporting the development of ROL in Honduras, and more recently, supporting civil society in its promotion of goals in the justice sector, recognizing that ROL involves more than the efficient and effective resolution of individual cases – it also requires that those who believe their rights to have been violated have access to effective review and that through this process public and private parties are given incentives for future compliance with the legal framework. The Honduran administrative and judicial conflict resolution system in the labor jurisdiction (as well as in others) remains weak in these areas. Because labor rights are potentially of interest to a large portion of the population, far greater than the number who currently attempt to access them, reducing the gap between what the law promises and what actually is delivered would be a major step in enhancing the rule of law in Honduras. In supporting the role that labor unions and NGOs can play in promoting workers’ access to justice, Applicants shall make clear how activities with unions and NGOs will coordinate and work together with other civil society organizations and networks to contribute to the rule of law and promote greater access to justice.

Applicants shall also address how labor union and NGO activities will be linked to recent achievements (e.g. improved case management, modernized inspectorate services) by the CAFTA-DR regional labor programs to strengthen government institutions, in order to promote effective demand by labor unions and NGOs for good governance and improved service delivery. Currently, there is much debate about the role of teachers unions as the delivery of public education continues to be undermined by work stoppages, politicization, poor quality of teacher services and supervision, and deteriorating educational infrastructure. Objective: Workers’ Rights Protected and International Labor Standards promoted through: (1) support for vibrant, independent and democratic labor unions and NGOs that promote labor rights, labor justice, and the representation of workers’ interests and their participation in local and national arenas, and (2) support to the rule of law in the labor sector and access to justice for workers, especially women, youth, people with disabilities and other vulnerable populations.

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Expected results:

Result 1: Workers are able to form democratically-organized and independent unions1.1 Improved representation and protection of workers, especially in agricultural areas and

export processing zones

Result 2: Democratic labor unions and NGOs operate more effectivelyResult 2a: National and sector-based union federations strengthenedResult 2b: Local, workplace-based unions strengthenedResult 2c: Labor unions and NGOs are networked within countries and regions

2.1 Common ground and consensus on select issues by labor unions and NGOs developed (especially confederations made up of unions and their federations, labor and human rights related CSOs and indigenous groups)

2.2 Bloque Popular and other umbrella organizations supported to improve coordination in advocacy

Result 3: Effective collective bargaining 3.1 Local unions’ and sector federations’ capacity to engage in formal collective bargaining

efforts with public and private sector employers and employers / industry associations strengthened.

Result 4: Social dialogue and tripartite mechanisms4.1 Labor sector organizations find common ground and implement effective advocacy to adopt

recommendations of the “White Paper.”4.2 Labor sector organizations, especially in the education and medical fields, find common

ground and implement effective, evidence-based advocacy to contribute productively to government’s decentralization reforms.

Result 5: Labor justice and rule of law5.1 Labor unions and NGOs develop mechanisms to regulate enterprises and protect workers in

the event of sudden factory shutdowns5.2 New, more effective dispute resolution mechanisms developed and piloted5.3 Labor union’s and NGO’s cooperative interactions with labor inspectors, and monitoring

and reporting of labor inspector access to workplaces and delivery of high quality and transparent inspectorate services improved.

5.4 Effective demand by labor unions and NGOs for good governance and improved service delivery from government ministries and courts increased

Additional Objective: Workforce skills and opportunities improved to help workers secure formal employment and higher wages, increase industry productivity and reduce household poverty.

Expected results:

Result 6: Worker economic literacy and knowledge about productivity, competitiveness and international markets increased

Result 7: Access and opportunity for skills training to meet market needs promoted

See the following publication for further detail: Cornell, Angela B., Linn Ann Hammergren, Jorgé Ponce Turcios, and Lynn Salinger. 2008. The Role of Labor-Related Issues in the Foreign Assistance Framework: Honduras Labor Assessment. Burlington, VT: Associates in Rural Development, September.

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6)   Mexico

Background:  In the last three decades, Mexico has undergone a dual transition to a more market-oriented, globally integrated economy and a more pluralist, democratic political system. This transition has been accompanied by dramatic shifts in Mexico’s labor market, which has become increasingly heterogeneous and informal. Despite these broad changes, however, Mexico’s labor sector is characterized by a striking degree of institutional continuity.. Mexico’s system of labor relations is founded on two key documents which have undergone very few changes since their creation: the 1917 Mexican Constitution (Article 123) and the 1931 Federal Labor Law (LFT). Both documents grant generous rights and privileges to workers and unions and also empower the state to intervene in labor affairs. Freedom of association is challenged by a provision of the LFT that allows for the incorporation of “exclusion clauses” into collective contracts that require every worker who is hired to join the existing union and every worker who is dismissed (or resigns) from the union to be fired by the employer. Though Mexico has ratified 70 International Labor Organization (ILO) Conventions (but only six out of eight Core Conventions) and is a signatory to the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC), which was negotiated as a side agreement to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Mexican Congress has not been able to pass a labor law reform, which is a necessary but insufficient condition for a significant improvement in labor rights in Mexico.

Mexico’s trade unions can be divided into four categories: (1) official unions and confederations, historically affiliated with the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), that continue to dominate tripartite institutions, collaborate with the government and/or employers, and exercise veto power over labor law reform despite a dramatic decline in membership; (2) independent unions that are more autonomous from the state and potentially offer more genuine representation to their workers; (3) company unions promoted by the employers but independent from the state; and (4) protection unions that exist on paper but serve no representative function because their primary purpose is to protect the employer from worker demands. Despite the growing influence of independent unions since the 1980s, Mexico’s labor movement is currently facing several challenges. First, a shrinking share of the workforce is unionized or employed by an establishment that engages in collective bargaining. Second, the majority of unions that do exist are either severely discredited as corrupt and self-serving or have no presence at all in the workplace. This lack of legitimacy has contributed to public support for anti-union initiatives by the government. Third, and related to the second issue, union leaders have not prepared a next generation of leadership and continue to wield power despite being increasingly distant from working-aged union rank and file. 

Labor-rights civil society organizations (CSOs) are newer actors, reflecting the recent opening of political space for pluralist, issue-based groups. They emerged in the early 1990s, largely in response to the NAFTA negotiations, and have remained committed to advocating for maquiladora workers, pushing for multinational codes of conduct, exposing the issues raised by outsourcing and subcontracting, and promoting the formation of new, more democratic unions. They face numerous obstacles, however, to scaling up their programs and having a broader impact on labor relations.

USAID seeks Applications for a Country Program which can significantly contribute to achieving USAID’s labor sector, democracy and governance objectives in Mexico.  The challenges facing Mexico’s labor sector are highly relevant to two of the USG’s top priorities in the country: rule of law and competitiveness. Although transformative change in Mexico’s labor sector will require labor law reform and dramatic improvements in enforcement, three types of strategic interventions hold promise to generate multiplier effects in favor of rule of law and competitiveness. The first type focuses on increased monitoring of labor administration and labor justice by unions and/or civil society organizations to support freedom of association. The second type targets union governance and strategy, particularly among independent unions, to enhance union democracy and capacity, promote grass-roots organizing and solidarity with labor-rights CSOs, and encourage “negotiated flexibility” between unions and business organizations to tackle the antiquated features of Mexico’s protective labor regulations without

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leaving workers and unions even more vulnerable to exploitation. The third type seeks to ensure that labor sector organizations have a voice in labor-related policymaking, particularly regarding labor law reform and labor market policies.

Objective: Workers’ Rights Protected and International Labor Standards promoted through: (1) support for vibrant, independent and democratic labor unions and NGOs that promote labor rights, labor justice, and the representation of workers’ interests and their participation in local and national arenas, and (2) support to the rule of law in the labor sector and access to justice for workers, especially women, youth, people with disabilities and other vulnerable populations.

Expected results:

  Result 1:  Workers are able to form democratically-organized and independent unions1.1     Independent unions support organizing efforts of other workers

  Result 2:  Democratic labor unions and NGOs operate more effectivelyResult 2a:  National and sector-based union federations strengthened

2.a.1    Unions adopt statutory reforms and leadership training to promote internal democracy

Result 2b:  Local, workplace-based unions strengthenedResult 2c:  Labor unions and NGOs are networked within countries and regions

2.c.1    Unions and CSOs develop stronger alliances, strengthen capacity to provide legal aid to workers, and promote linkages between labor, human, community, and gender rights

   Result 3:  Effective collective bargaining 3.1    Local unions’ and sector federations’ capacity to engage in formal collective bargaining

efforts with public and private sector employers and employers / industry associations strengthened.

   Result 4:  Social dialogue and tripartite mechanisms4.1 Unions and CSOs lobby federal and state governments to make information about unions and

collective contracts available and accessible to public 4.2 Unions and business associations search for common ground on “negotiated flexibility”4.3 Unions and business associations develop innovative approaches to increasing productivity

and innovation4.4 Independent unions and CSOs gain more access to policy debates regarding labor market

policies

   Result 5:  Labor justice and rule of law5.1    Unions and CSOs effectively advocate for labor law reform to eliminate corporatist

mechanisms of control, increase FOA, outlaw protection contracts, and reform labor justice system

5.2    Unions and CSOs launch campaign to support Supreme Court rulings on secret ballots in recuentos and unconstitutionality of exclusion clauses

5.1 Unions and/or CSOs engage in effective monitoring and evaluation of disputes related to FOA (e.g., denial of union registration, dismissal of workers trying to form a union) and how they are resolved by labor authorities

5.4    Knowledge of labor rights increased among workers.

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See the following publication for further detail :  Burgess, Katrina, and Graciela Bensusan. 2008. The Role of Labor-Related Issues in the Foreign Assistance Framework: Mexico Labor Assessment. Burlington, VT: Associates in Rural Development, February. 7) South Africa

Background: The Republic of South Africa, with its ethnic and cultural diversity, its strong commitments to democratic functioning, and its current and emerging role in regional and global contexts, is a critical partner for the United States in southern Africa. The challenges of poverty and inequality persist in South Africa, 15 years after the attainment of democracy. U.S. foreign assistance to South Africa currently focuses on several issues related to the goal of reducing the vast disparity of resources, education, and economic opportunity. The labor sector is implicated at all levels of this work. In part, this is because programming in any of these areas must negotiate intense national debate related to unemployment, labor market policy, and access to justice for vulnerable workers. In addition, labor organizations play an extremely important role in national debate, influencing public opinion as well as policy through multiple channels.

South Africa’s trade union movement has sought to defend and protect the rights of its members in themultiple ways, including: representing labor in bargaining councils and other non-statutory bargaining fora; epresenting labor in workplace consultations with employers in matters such as workplace restructuring and training; representing labor in high-level fora such as NEDLAC; advising government on proposed legislation and policies that affect workers; educating workers about their rights and disseminate industry-related information to workers; representing workers in disciplinary hearings; litigating on behalf of members in the Labor Court and higher courts; and conducting and commissioning research on challenges faced by workers and the union movement. Despite its many successes and achievements, though, the South African labor movement faces a number of challenges. One is that trade unions have been unable to cope with changes in the nature and organization of work, such as firm restructuring resulting in massive retrenchments and the greater use of temporary and casual labor and outsourcing. In addition, trade unions’ have sometimes failed to adapt to the changing demographics of the workforce and to effectively organize women, young workers, atypical workers, service sector workers, and migrant workers that together comprise a substantial proportion of the workforce.

Over the years, civil society organizations have played an important role in addressing issues that directly and indirectly affect workers, the poor, and the marginalized in South Africa, including unemployment, access to social security, labor migration, service delivery, and access to socio-economic rights. They have done so through research, dissemination of valuable information, awareness raising campaigns, participation in public debates, and submissions on existing and proposed legislation and policies. Civil society organizations have thus played a critical part in filling the gaps through their work among workers that have been neglected by trade unions, which include child workers, sex workers, and migrant workers. Despite its contribution to protecting the rights of vulnerable workers, civil society has been marginalized in NEDLAC, where it is only represented in one

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chamber. To some extent, this deficiency has been corrected through collaboration with the trade union movement.

USAID seeks Applications for a Country Program which can significantly contribute to achieving USAID’s labor sector, democracy and governance objectives in South Africa. In particular: 1) There is a need to build trade union capacity to organize and represent vulnerable and atypical workers, and less organized sectors such as domestic services, private security and agriculture; 2) In order to ensure that social dialogue processes such as NEDLAC yield outcomes that benefit all tiers of society, trade unions should be assisted in building internal competence and relationships to outside technical experts, so that they are adequately represented in high-level negotiations involving key policy issues, especially economics; 3) Support is required to expand and strengthen institutions providing swift, inexpensive, and accessible resolution of labor disputes, particularly to vulnerable workers, as well as institutions monitoring and enforcing minimum labor standards; 4) Sustained tripartite collaboration will be necessary in order to create a broad-based and relevant skills development process that is responsive both to the aspirations of young workers and the needs of the labor market.

Objective: Workers’ Rights Protected and International Labor Standards promoted through: (1) support for vibrant, independent and democratic labor unions and NGOs that promote labor rights, labor justice, and the representation of workers’ interests and their participation in local and national arenas, and (2) support to the rule of law in the labor sector and access to justice for workers, especially women, youth, people with disabilities and other vulnerable populations.

Expected results:

Result 1: Workers are able to form democratically-organized and independent unions1.1 Trade unions identify and dedicate resources (including human resources) to the goal of organizing vulnerable and atypical workers.

Result 2: Democratic labor unions and NGOs operate more effectivelyResult 2a: National and sector-based union federations strengthened

2.a.1 Trade unions expand or develop institutions dedicated to research and policy, shop floor leadership, and training of organizers and negotiators, with a particular focus on investing in women unionists.2.b.2. Unions commit resources to addressing unemployment, and the framing of minimum standards for unorganized workers.

Result 2b: Local, workplace-based unions strengthenedResult 2c: Labor unions and NGOs are networked within countries and regions

2.c.1 Unions and CSOs develop stronger alliances, strengthen capacity to provide legal aid to workers, and promote linkages between labor, human, community, and gender rights

Result 3: Effective collective bargaining 3.1 Local Unions use collective bargaining spaces, as well as political voice, to seek employer buy-in for skills development. They look beyond narrow sectoral interests to try to broad-base skills development through engagement with Chambers of Commerce.

Result 4: Social dialogue and tripartite mechanisms

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4.1.1 Worker organizations use mechanisms such as the National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC) to push for language explicitly extending minimum standards, protections against unfair dismissals and access to dispute resolution mechanisms to migrant workers, sex workers

4.1.2 Trade unions push for inclusion of NGOs and CBOs representing vulnerable workers in tripartite mechanisms designed to address gaps in legislation.

Result 5: Labor justice and rule of law5.1 Trade unions cooperate with local labor inspectors to develop strategy for rapid detection of, and response to, violations of basic employment rights of organized and unorganized workers.5.2 Worker organizations collaborate with legal services NGOs to improve access to dispute resolution mechanisms/ representation at the Labour Court level for unorganized workers, potentially through development of paralegals.

See the following publication for further detail: Sukthankar, Ashwini, and Evance Kalula. 2008. The Role of Labor-Related Issues in the Foreign Assistance Framework: South Africa Labor Assessment. Burlington, VT: Associates in Rural Development, March.

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ANNEX H: GLOBAL LABOR SECTOR ANALYTICAL INITIATIVE DOCUMENTSWWW.GLASAI.COM

Wheeler, Jeffrey and Lynn Salinger. 2008. The Labor Sector and U.S. Foreign Assistance Goals: Technical Paper. Burlington, VT: Associates in Rural Development, June.

Wheeler, Jeffrey and Lynn Salinger. 2009. Labor Sector Strategic Assessment Guide. Burlington, VT: Associates in Rural Development. Final Draft, December.

Salinger, Lynn, and Jeff Saussier. 2009. Labor Sector Program Handbook. Burlington, VT: Associates in Rural Development, June.

Cornell, Angela B., Linn Ann Hammergren, Jorgé Ponce Turcios, and Lynn Salinger. 2008. The Labor Sector and U.S. Foreign Assistance Goals: Honduras Labor Sector Assessment. Burlington, VT: Associates in Rural Development, September.

Fick, Barbara J., Olga Kupets, Denise Lamaute, Lincoln A. Mitchell, Lynn Salinger, and Asta Zinbo. 2009. The Labor Sector and U.S. Foreign Assistance Goals: Ukraine Labor Sector Assessment. Burlington, VT: Associates in Rural Development, January.

Kolben, Kevin and Borany Penh. 2008. The Labor Sector and U.S. Foreign Assistance Goals: Bangladesh Labor Sector Assessment Draft. Burlington, VT: Associates in Rural Development, September.

Lerner, Michael, Lynn Salinger, and Jeffrey Wheeler. 2008. The Labor Sector and U.S. Foreign Assistance Goals: Cambodia Labor Sector Assessment Burlington, VT: Associates in Rural Development, January.

Fick, Barbara, Denise Lamaute, Tsiuri Antadze, and Asta Zinbo. 2009. The Labor Sector and U.S. Foreign Assistance Goals: Georgia Labor Sector Assessment Burlington, VT: Associates in Rural Development, December.

Burgess, Katrina, and Graciela Bensusan. 2008. The Labor Sector and U.S. Foreign Assistance Goals: Mexico Labor Sector Assessment. Draft. Burlington, VT: Associates in Rural Development, February.

Sukthankar, Ashwini, and Evance Kalula. 2008. The Labor Sector and U.S. Foreign Assistance Goals: South Africa Labor Sector Assessment. Draft. Burlington, VT: Associates in Rural Development, March.

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