REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

USAID/Haiti Education and Resilience Activity

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)’s Mission in Haiti is in the process of
designing a new Education and Resilience Activity. This $14 million activity will address the
education needs of learners aged 5 to 18 years, focusing on the resilience focus zones. The target
population will include urban youth at-risk for gang recruitment. Given the critical nature of this
activity, USAID/Haiti is reaching out to all local stakeholders and interested parties, to obtain
comments/suggestions in order to incorporate new, innovative solutions on how to improve
equitable access to quality education, including ensuring the continuity of learning for all children
in Haiti, by reinforcing the resilience of the education at the learner, school, institution, and
institution levels. Please see Attachment 1 - Questions For Response. By issuing this Request for
Information (RFI), USAID/Haiti aims to consult with the broad community of private sector
actors, public institutions, development partners, non-governmental organizations, industry
associations, think tanks and academia, concerned with improving learning and resilience in Haiti.
Your comments will be used to develop a design document that is clear, maximizes development
impact, facilitates coordination with existing and planned USAID and other development partner
programs, as well as aligns with the Government of Haiti’s priorities.

DISCLAIMER

The information contained within the RFI is intended solely as a thought-piece; ideas may change
significantly during the activity’s design and approval process. In addition, this RFI is issued solely
for information and planning purposes. It does not constitute a Notice of Funding Opportunity
(NOFO)/Request for Applications (RFA), an Annual Program Statement, a Request for Proposal,
a Request for Quotation, an Invitation for Bids, a Solicitation, or an indication that USAID/Haiti
will make an award from this RFI. Responses to this RFI shall not be portrayed as applications
and will not be accepted by the U.S. Government (USG) to form a binding agreement. This RFI is
not to be construed as a commitment by the USG to issue any NOFO or ultimately award of an
agreement on the basis of this RFI, or to pay for any information submitted as a result of this
request. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI.
It is the respondent’s responsibility to monitor www.fbo.gov or www.grants.gov for the release of
any further subsequent procurement. Note that responding to this RFI will not give any advantage
to any firm or organization in any subsequent procurement and will not lead to an organizational
conflict of interest. Responses will strictly be held confidential.

INSTRUCTIONS

Responses (comments, suggestions, and enhancements) to this RFI must be in Microsoft Word or
PDF format and submitted by February 22, 2021 3:30 P.M. To expedite our review and also be
considerate of your time, please keep responses to no more than 4 pages in length, 12 pt font.
Responses may be submitted in English, Haitian Creole, or French. Please number each page
consecutively. While the limit on the length of submissions is 4 pages, we value concise, issue-
specific comments.
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 usaidhaitioaa@usaid.gov
Please send responses to this RFI via email to port-au-princeusaidoaa@usaid.gov and copy to Edel
Perez at eperez@usaid.gov and Sabrina Silva at ssilva@usaid.gov with the subject title “Request
for Information (RFI): USAID/Haiti Education and Resilience Activity”, no later than the
date/time stated above. You will only receive an electronic confirmation acknowledging receipt of
your response. No feedback or debrief will be provided on comments received. Phone calls or hard
copy responses will not be accepted.

Thank you for your assistance and interest in USAID/Haiti programming.

Sincerely,
Sheila Digitally signed by
Sheila Bumpass

Bumpass
for Edel Perez
Date: 2021.01.21
15:53:29 -05'00'

Agreement/Contracting Officer
USAID/Haiti

Attachment: Questions for Response

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Attachment 1: Questions for Response

BACKGROUND

Since 2018, Haiti has faced constant political unrest and economic uncertainty. School closures
have become a regular occurrence in Haiti due to these constant stressors and shocks. The effects
of such a generalized viral outbreak on the country’s already struggling education system will
be severe and long-lasting. With all schools having closed from March 20, 2020 until August
17, 2020, and with limited distance learning tools widely available, most learners missed classes
for five months. Extended absences from regular instruction now demands additional effort and
innovative approaches to reverse its impact on student learning. Likewise, the mental, physical
and emotional stress associated with being severed from school routines, (which can include
social isolation, hunger caused by a cessation of school feeding programs, increases in clinical
anxiety and depression, and exposure to abuse, violence, or exploitation), will cause Haitian
students trauma that could negatively affect the rest of their academic and professional careers.
Haitian teachers, families, caregivers, and communities will also suffer from the multiple, and
accumulating, stressors of worrying about their families’ health, livelihood, and safety in the
context of a crumbling national economy. After the peyi-lock, UNICEF and the MENFP
estimated that 30 percent of the student body will have great difficulty returning to school and
COVID-19 closures only added to that percentage. Since the return to learning, many
organizations have seen a significant decrease in student enrollment and noticed an upward trend
in early pregnancies. These consequences, at national scale, are likely to drive a contraction in
the country’s human resource base, an increase in the number of citizens living in extreme
poverty, and, potentially, rising levels of alienation and civil unrest.

In the country’s economy, there are 11.1 million people living on less than $1.90 per day and 59
percent, or approximately six million people, live below the national poverty line of $2.41 per day
(Coordination Nationale de la Sécurité Alimentaire 2017). Non-public schools represent 80% of
schools in Haiti and a greater part of the various education systems, while serving 70% of the total
student body. Parents have to pay tuition in addition to paying for uniforms, school supplies,
textbooks, and school lunches if possible while earning low wages. Economic hardship remains
the primary barrier for students to access quality education and to stay in school without
interruption. Before civil unrest began in July 2018, 1 million youth were at risk of dropping out
every year and 72 percent of at-risk youth in the 1st and 2nd cycles of primary education (1st through
6th grade), were between the ages of 10 and 15 (Analyse Sectorielle, 2019). The educational
experience for at-risk youth is an obstacle course that culminates in 50 percent of students dropping
out during the 1st cycle of primary education (1st through 4th grade).

THEORY OF CHANGE

IF:
● Building the capacity of diverse stakeholders to deliver and use distance learning
that is flexible and multi-modal and provides educational continuity, whether
schools are open or closed;
● Supporting schools, when they are able to open, in recruiting, retaining students
into safe environments that deliver high-quality face-to-face instruction;
● Building community assets and capacities to participate in and promote high-
quality learning opportunities that strengthen essential skills, and;
● Strengthening the technical and managerial capacity of both the Ministry of
National Education and Vocational Training (MENFP) and non-state education
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 system actors to plan, develop, deliver, and monitor both distance-based and face-
to-face instruction in foundational skills.

THEN:
Haitian learners, families, schools, and communities benefit from an education system that is
increasingly resilient, responsive, and adaptive in strengthening students’ foundational skills.
Resilience is a key cross-cutting theme across the theory of change.

LIST OF QUESTIONS:
● Given the budget and geographic focus, what are the most strategic outcomes to focus on
over a five-year period?
● How can a potential activity achieve outcomes for both children and out of school youth
ages 5 to 18?
● What existing evidence-based interventions or innovations already exist in Haiti that
achieve these stated outcomes?
● What experience does your organization have in achieving these outcomes?
● What are identified risk factors of a potential activity?
● What measurable results can still be achieved if the Ministry of Education (MoE) has not
the capacity to pursue collaboration on the potential resulting activity?

[END OF REQUEST FOR INFORMATION]

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