REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) FOR “Development of Radio Content to Advance Youth Agri-preneurship” RFP-KCDMS-FY2020-029 USAID Feed the Future Kenya Crops and Dairy Market Systems Activity Issuance Date: May 8, 2020 Closing Date for Questions: May 15, 2020 Closing Date for Submission: May 22, 2020, (exact time e.g. 17h00 (Nairobi Time, GMT +3) Subject: The Kenya Crops and Dairy Market System (KCDMS) Activity Request for Proposal no. RFP-KCDMS-FY20-29 entitled “Development of Radio Content to Advance Youth Agri-preneurship” The USAID-funded Kenya Crops and Dairy Market System Activity (herein and after: KCDMS) invites qualified media service providers to carry out the development of media and radio content aimed at advancing youth entrepreneurship in agribusiness as per the detailed Statement of Work, and in accordance with the RFP provisions provided herein. Interested service providers legally registered in Kenya can submit their offers on or before May 22, 2020 at 17h00, Nairobi time, to the following email address: [email protected] Subject Line: “RFP-KCDMS-FY20-29 – PROPOSAL – [OFFEROR ORGANIZATION NAME]” Any proposal received after the exact time specified in the Closing Date for Submission above shall be considered as late and shall not be evaluated. Interested service providers shall submit its best offers in accordance with the Proposal Instructions (Appendix A) and the Statement of Work (Appendix B); their offers shall contain the following: 1. Cover Letter signed by a person authorized to sign on behalf of the offeror; 2. Technical Proposal describing an approach for completing the deliverables in the statement of work, listing current and previous relevant services/projects; 3. Three Performance References for similar work; 4. Cost Proposal/Budget submitted in a template provided as Appendix C, along with a narrative that explains the rationale behind the budgeted amounts. All questions related to this RFP must be sent prior to the Closing Date for Questions shown above to the following email address: [email protected]; the subject line should read: “RFP-KCDMS-FY20- 29 – Question – [OFFEROR NAME].” No questions will be answered over the phone or in person. Pursuant to the standard procedures, all inquires and questions will be compiled into one list, answered, and emailed to all offerors. While submitting their offers, interested service providers should consider all information provided herein. Please carefully follow all instructions located in the solicitation package concerning the content, format, and submission of your quote in order to qualify for the evaluation. This RFP shall not be construed as a contract or commitment of any kind, and in no way obligates KCDMS to award a contract nor does it commit to pay any cost incurred in the preparation and submission of a proposal. No gifts of any kind and any value shall be exchanged between bidders and the KCDMS personnel. Discovery of the same will be grounds for disqualification of the offeror from participation in any KCDMS’s procurements and may result in disciplinary actions against the KCDMS personnel involved in such discovered transactions. KCDMS provides equal opportunity to all service providers and does not discriminate based on gender, ethnicity or religion. APPENDICES A. Proposal Instructions B. Statement of Work C. Budget Template D. Selection Criteria and Scoring APPENDIX A: Proposal Instructions 1.0. Program Background The Kenya Crops and Dairy Market System (KCDMS) is a five-year (Oct 2017– Sept 2022) Activity of the USAID funded Feed the Future initiative implemented by RTI International. KCDMS works to facilitate improved productivity and development of competitive, resilient, and sustainable dairy and horticulture market systems in selected counties in the Eastern and Western regions of Kenya. The Activity is capitalizing on the facilitation of private sector market-driven partnerships and investments that promise the development of high-value value chains through higher productivity, quality improvements, and greater supply chain efficiency. KCDMS actively works to support young women and men to engage in profitable agricultural value chains. The KCDMS recognizes that youth engagement in agriculture can be limited, thus seeks to support their participation through a variety of activities, which includes supporting messages that promote youth's meaningful involvement in agriculture. KCDMS is seeking qualified media service providers with interest in undertaking this technical assignment as under the Scope of Work attached, to apply as per the requirements below: 2.0. General Requirements All bidders must have prior experience in developing media and radio content packages in Kenya and should demonstrate experience in designing and developing content related to agriculture and youth engagement in agri-business. Successful bidders will participate in a negotiation with KCDMS to undertake the assignment, with agreed deliverables and budget. 3.0. Required Documents 3.1. Cover Letter: The cover letter will include project title, name of organization/company, contact details – the name of a contact person, physical address, phone number, and email address. It should be signed by a person authorized to sign on behalf of the bidder. The cover letter must include a validity clause of the proposal, which should be at least 30 days from the closing date of this RFP. 3.2. Technical Proposal: The technical proposal will address all issues related to the assignment activities and approach to producing the deliverables outlined in the Scope of Work attached. The bidder should provide a detailed description of the media package, the development process, and dissemination plan. 3.3. Performance References: Bidders should submit 3 (three) performance references for similar work conducted in the past five years. The references will be evaluated and scored during the bid evaluation. 3.4. Cost Proposal/Budget: Bidders should submit a detailed budget in excel format (template provided), accompanied by a narrative that explains the basis of the estimate for each line item. If content development is a standard product offered by the bidder, the bidder must provide evidence of the standard pricing for such a product, and evidence of previous contracts to provide the service at that price. 4.0. Proposal Review & Selection Criteria The KCDMS Bid Review Committee will evaluate all proposals according to the Evaluation Criteria provided in Appendix D, that include the following major parts: Technical Approach: Bidders should describe their approach/methodology for undertaking this assignment. The approach should also include a detailed work plan with specific timelines, activities, and deliverables. Organizational Capacity: Bidders must provide CVs for technical staff or consultants as an annex to the proposal. Past Performance and Experience: Bidders can show both previous and relevant experience in managing and delivering similar processes and products. Accordingly, they should provide three performance references relevant to this work. Budget: All bidders should include a detailed itemized budget in excel as per the activities proposed using the budget template. Bidders should submit written requests for the excel budget template to [email protected] Successful bidders will be invited to negotiate with KCDMS the terms and conditions of the assignment; to agree upon deliverables and timeline, as well as the final budget. Proposals with accompanying documentation will not be returned to unsuccessful bidders. KCDMS shall not use the proposed creative concepts and ideas from unselected proposals in any form, under any circumstance, without prior written permission by corresponding bidder. The selected bidder will be required to sign the following Certifications prior to Award: Certification Regarding Responsibility Matters - APR 2010. (FAR Reference 52.209-5), Prohibition on Assistance to Drug Traffickers. (22 CFR Part 140), Certification Regarding Terrorist Financing. (Implementation of Executive Order 13224), Anti-Kickback Procedures – OCT 2010. (FAR Reference 52.203-7), and, Certification and Disclosure Regarding Payments to influence Certain Federal Transactions - SEP 2007 (FAR Reference 52.203-11). KCDMS may provide copies of the Certifications upon request to all interested parties; please contact: [email protected] to obtain a copy of the certifications. 5.0. Eligibility Eligible bidders include any legally registered organization that has experience in the areas laid out in the attached Scope of Work. Bidders must demonstrate an in-depth understanding of and practical experience working in radio content development, agriculture, and preferably tailoring messages for youth. The bidder must also demonstrate a thorough understanding of agribusiness, market linkages, media development, radio programming, and youth-targeted communication strategies. 6.0. Duration of Assignment The expected period of the contract is six (6) months from the date of contract signing. The contractor is expected to complete all deliverables outlined in the Scope of Work herein, within this timeline. Nevertheless, in view of the present situation with the COVID-19 pandemic, and potential disruption of the project implementation, KCDMS, and the contractor may, by mutual written agreement, extend the contract duration for an additional period, at any time prior to the expiration of the initial term, if deemed necessary. Nevertheless, the contractor