Issue Date: August 31, 2018, Friday, Philippine Standard Time Deadline for Question: September 10, 2018, Monday, Philippine Standard Time Closing Date: October 15, 2018, Monday, Philippine Standard Time Closing Time: 3:00PM Philippine Standard Time Subject: Notice of Funding Opportunity Request for Application (RFA) 72049218RFA00011 Program Title: Regulatory Reform Support Program for National Development (RESPOND) Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 98.001 Dear Prospective Applicants: The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is seeking applications from eligible Philippine Organizations to implement the program entitled “Regulatory Reform Support Program for National Development (RESPOND),” as fully described in this Request for Applications (RFA). Eligibility for this award is restricted to local organizations; see Section C of this RFA for eligibility requirements. Eligible organizations interested in submitting an application are encouraged to read each section of this RFA. USAID requires applicants to register with the System for Award Management (SAM). The registration process may take many weeks to complete; therefore, applicants are encouraged to begin the process early. Please see Section C.1 for the required information. Subject to the availability of funds, award(s) will be made to the responsible Applicant(s) whose application best meets the objectives of this funding opportunity and the selection criteria contained herein. USAID intends to award at least one (1) Cooperative Agreement pursuant to this RFA. USAID reserves the right to fund any or none of the applications submitted. Eligible organizations may submit only one (1) application in response to this RFA. Please be aware that this RFA is non-traditional and contains three merit review phases: Phase 1: Applicants will submit an Initial Application, which will include a limited page concept paper. Based on USAID's evaluation of the Initial Applications, only the top applicants will be invited to participate in Phase 2. Phase 2: Selected applicants from Phase 1 will be invited to participate in oral presentations of their proposed technical approach in Manila, Philippines. RFA 72049218RFA00011 RESPOND Activity Page 1 of 42 Phase 3: One applicant whose application best meets the objectives of this funding opportunity based on the selection criteria contained herein will be selected to co-develop with USAID/Philippines a program description. USAID will review the final program description and accompanying cost application and grade it as acceptable or not acceptable. 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". Eligible organizations interested in submitting an application are encouraged to read this funding opportunity thoroughly to understand the type of program sought, application submission requirements and evaluation process. To be eligible for award, the Applicant must provide all information required in this RFA and meet eligibility standards in Section C of this RFA. This funding opportunity is posted on www.grants.gov, and may be amended. Potential applicants should regularly check the website to ensure they have the latest information pertaining to this RFA. Applicants will need to have available or download Adobe Acrobat to their computers in order to view and save the Adobe forms properly. It is the responsibility of the Applicant to ensure that the RFA has been received from the internet in its entirety, and USAID bears no responsibility for data errors resulting from the transmission or conversion process. If you have difficulty registering on www.grants.gov or accessing the RFA, please contact the Grants.Gov Helpdesk at 1-800- 518-4726 or via email at [email protected]. Please send any questions to point/s of contact identified in Section D. The closing date for questions is shown above. Responses to questions received on or before the deadline will be furnished to all potential applicants through an amendment to this RFA posted to Grants.gov. Applicants are encouraged to check Grants.Gov website periodically to check for any amendment to the RFA. Issuance of this RFA does not constitute an award commitment on the part of USAID nor does it commit USAID to pay for any cost incurred in the preparation or submission of comments/suggestions or an application. Applications are submitted at the risk of the Applicant. All preparation and submission costs are at the Applicant's expense. Thank you for your interest in the programs of USAID/Philippines. Sincerely, Nathan Hilgendorf Agreement Officer RFA 72049218RFA00011 RESPOND Activity Page 2 of 42 TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION A: PROGRAM DESCRIPTION ............................................................................................................................................................. 4 SECTION B: FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION .......................................................................................................................................... 20 SECTION C: ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION ...................................................................................................................................................... 22 SECTION D: APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION ............................................................................................................ 24 SECTION E: APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION ................................................................................................................................ 29 SECTION F: FEDERAL AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION ................................................................................................... 33 SECTION G: FEDERAL AWARDING AGENCY CONTACT(S) ..................................................................................................................... 41 SECTION H: OTHER INFORMATION ................................................................................................................................................................ 42 RFA 72049218RFA00011 RESPOND Activity Page 3 of 42 SECTION A: PROGRAM DESCRIPTION A.1 GENERAL DESCRIPTION USAID/Philippines is seeking grant applications from eligible local organizations for an activity aimed at supporting government reform initiatives that improve competitiveness, boost trade and investment, and promote inclusive economic growth. This plan is a five-year cooperative agreement entitled, “Regulatory Reform Support Program for National Development” (RESPOND) which seeks improvements in regulatory quality that will lead to enhanced competitiveness, which in turn, contributes to higher levels of investment and trade. A.2 AUTHORIZING LEGISLATION The authorizing legislation for this anticipated cooperative agreement is the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended, and the award will be subject to 2 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 700 and 2 CFR 200 – Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards. The Standard Provisions for Non-U.S. Non-Governmental Recipients will apply. For purposes of this RFA, the words “activity”, “program”, or “project” are used interchangeably to refer to RESPOND. A.3 PURPOSE This activity is an integral part of the USAID/Philippines project “Economic Growth, Democracy and Governance with Equity (EGDGE)” which seeks to assist the Philippines to “strengthen their ability to become more self-reliant, improve democratic practices, and become a stable, middle-income country by 2040”. Specifically, it supports the EGDGE Project’s goal of making economic development more inclusive through better domestic resource mobilization and public financial management and improving the enabling environment for greater trade and investment. More broadly, this activity contributes to the USAID/Philippines’ Country Development and Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) 2012-2018’s goal of a “more stable, prosperous, well-governed nation”. Specifically, this project supports Development Objective (DO) 1, Broad-Based and Inclusive Growth Accelerated and Sustained, and Intermediate Result (IR) 1.1, Economic Competitiveness Enhanced. This project is expected to extend beyond the current CDCS and will be developed in line with USAID’s strategy. This activity supports the U.S. government’s Indo-Pacific strategy which aims to promote “a free and open Indo-Pacific in which independent nations with diverse cultures and different aspirations can prosper side-by-side in freedom and in peace.” DELIVER supports USAID’s overall focus on self-reliance, and the Indo-Pacific Strategy in particular, by assisting to incentivize reforms, strengthen in-country capacity, remove barriers to private investment, and mobilize domestic resources, in support of open trade and investment environments, transparency, and improved 1 infrastructure. 1 The activity also supports the Infrastructure Transaction and Assistance Network (ITAN), a whole-of-government U.S. effort to support productive infrastructure investment in partner countries through technical assistance in project evaluation and assessment, development financing, and access to RFA 72049218RFA00011 RESPOND Activity Page 4 of 42 This activity is informed by a number of analytical studies and broad-based multi-stakeholder consultations that will support the new CDCS. USAID’s recent Jobs Diagnostics, for example, identified the binding