Description of Requirements

The United States government, represented by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Regional Development Mission Asia (RDMA) invites qualified companies/individuals to submit quotation of the services/items specified below. This is to support the operation of USAID/RDMA, Bangkok Thailand.

Proposal submission and questions regarding this Request for Proposal (RFP) shall be ONLY via email to BANGKOKUSAIDPROC@usaid.gov by the time/date specified above.

The award of a contract hereunder is subject to the availability of funds. Issuance of this RFP does not constitute an award or commitment on the part of the U.S. Government, nor does it commit the U.S. Government to pay for costs incurred in the preparation and submission of a quotation. Please be advised that all interested parties are required to be registered in Dun and Bradstreet and are subject to SAM registration before an award can be made. Information on obtaining the Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS), can be found at this website: http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform. Offerors are also required to register their business on the U.S. Government’s System for Award Management (SAM) at www.sam.gov. Information on this process for foreign vendors is available here. Prospective offerors are encouraged to register in SAM prior to the submittal of quotations.

I. Introduction

The U. S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in Bangkok, Thailand plans to offer one week of leadership training on/about July 12-16, 2021.   This training will consist of approximately 25 different participants from USAID missions located in countries in the Asia region and possibly beyond, including Locally-employed staff (LES) and Third Country National (TCN) and American staff with a supervisory role.  The training venue will be provided by USAID. 

II. Background

USAID is the lead U.S. Government agency that works to end extreme global poverty and enable resilient, democratic societies to realize their potential.  In the past few years, USAID has recruited and deployed additional staff, increasing its workforce dramatically and quickly.  The Regional Development Mission for Asia (RDMA) in Bangkok serves as a knowledge management platform that works closely with Washington headquarters to provide thought leadership for USAID programs throughout the region and manages the Asia Regional Training Center (ARTC).  ARTC is a dedicated training facility to deliver skills-building and specialized technical training to USAID staff.

USAID has a very diverse, global workforce with many employees having less than five years of USAID experience.  USAID is dedicated to strengthening its workforce by mentoring and empowering staff, and placing emphasis on the transfer of experience and knowledge.  It is our intent to build strong foundational leadership skills for our employees to successfully meet the challenges and demands of an ever-changing world. 

III. Services Required

1. Approach

Training must incorporate teaching methodologies that take into account different learning styles, cultural, and language barriers.  Given the wide range of educational background, years of experience, and a workforce that spans generations and locations, this training must consider field-tested scenarios and provide valuable take-home applications.

The training shall incorporate the following principles:

• Highly participatory, interactive and experiential for all participants
• Incorporates current and best practices in leadership development
• Takes into account/allows for adapting to USAID’s organizational culture
• Facilitates personalization/unique experiences for participants (as opposed to a generalized ‘one size fits all’), and
• Sets the stage for ongoing self-development, providing forward-looking opportunity for skills, behaviors and supportive systems to continue to improve well after the training is completed.

2. Core themes to cover in the training course include:

Leadership development: The training course should provide participants to develop leadership skills. The training should help the participants to identify their style of leadership and implement the techniques that are appropriate with their style. This training should consist of not less than one (1) week classroom work focused on learning to adapt to the change in a positive way. The training should help participants: 

• Understand the definition and the role of leadership
• Identify individual leadership assessment
• Discern the advantages, disadvantages, and appropriate to implement leadership strategy
• Effective Briefing Technique
• Leading change initiatives skill
• Foster respectful workplace
• Engage with others and their ideas in the leadership process
• Utilize effective listening and powerful question techniques
• Evaluate the effectiveness of individual performance and provide feedback
• Knowing how to act as a role model for others.
• Understanding how to identify strengths/weaknesses of others. 

3. Deliverables

1. The contractor will deliver the leadership development course in the classroom style that covers one week, 40 hours, for up to 25 participants.  Any purchase and delivery of books and other printed training material to Thailand are the responsibility of the contractor, and must be included in the cost proposal.  USAID/ARTC will provide the training venue, and access to laptops and projector(s) for presentations.
2. Pre-program discussions with Mission personnel to tailor course material to meet the specific and diverse needs of the organization 
3. A training evaluation survey completed by course participants, with summarized metrics, will be provided to the ARTC Training Coordinator within three weeks of completion of the training. This information will be used as feedback for similar future events that we may wish to undertake.

IV. Proposal Instructions

1. Technical Proposal

The offeror shall include in the technical portion of the quotation:

• A brief summary of the topic and learning objective (maximum one page)
• A draft agenda for the course (maximum one page)
• Demonstrated past experience delivering (within the past three years) similar training to an overseas US Government audience (culturally and generationally diverse) with three references (names and email addresses) (maximum two pages)
• Resume of proposed instructor that describes expertise conducting soft skill training (maximum two pages)

2. Price Proposal

Total fixed price quotation  – be sure to consider all costs associated with the delivery of these training courses, including but not limited to, preparation of course materials, preparation of course surveys, delivery of courses, airfare, lodging accommodations, meals and incidentals, local transportation, and transport of training materials by express courier.  Do not include the cost of the training venue and cost for access to laptops and projector(s) for presentations in your quotation.  Also separate the costs between training course curriculum and delivery and travel related costs.

V.  Selection Criteria

The USAID Contracting Officer will select the successful contractor using a Best Value approach, both technical and price factors included.  The Contracting Officer, at the Government’s discretion, may enter into negotiations with one or more offerors to discuss improvements in the proposal and cost deduction. Upon successful negotiation with the vendor, a purchase order will be issued, and a lump sum payment made upon acceptance of all deliverables and within 30 days of receipt of invoice.