Request for Applications (RFA) for Campaign Finance Monitoring Project in Ekiti & Osun, Nigeria RFA-18-019 at International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES)

Application Preparation Instructions

4.1. Applicant’s Understanding of the RFA
In responding to this RFA, the applicant accepts full responsibility to understand the RFA in its entirety, and in detail, including making any inquiries to IFES as necessary to gain such understanding. IFES reserves the right to disqualify any applicant who demonstrates less than such understanding. Further, IFES reserves the right to determine, at its sole discretion, whether the applicant has demonstrated such understanding. Such disqualification and/or cancellation shall be at no fault, cost, or liability whatsoever to IFES.

4.2. Good Faith Statement
All information provided by IFES in this RFA is offered in good faith. Individual items are subject to change
at any time. IFES makes no certification that any item is without error. IFES is not responsible or liable for
any use of the information or for any claims asserted there from.

4.3. Communication
Verbal communication shall not be effective unless formally confirmed in writing by the IFES officials
identified in Section 4.5 of this RFA. In no case shall verbal communication govern over written
communication.

Applicant Inquiries
Inquiries, questions, and requests for clarification related to this RFA should be submitted in writing, no later than the date identified in Section 2.1, and be submitted only to the representative(s) listed below.

Elisa Velasco
Sr. Contracts and Grants Administrator
evelasco@ifes.org

IFES Nigeria; RFA-18-019

Please reference “RFQ-18-019 Campaign Finance Monitoring in Nigeria” in all communications via email.

4.4. Application Instructions
All applications should include the following in order for their application to be considered:

4.4.1. Technical Narrative

• The Technical Narrative must include a written proposal in English to include an Executive Summary of no more than one (1) page; Problem Statement; description of Project Activities to be undertaken, to include methodology/approach and proposed implementation schedule; description of Organizational Capacity to implement the proposed activities, including a
• management plan; statement on Financial Capacity describing the CSO’s internal financial and procurement controls/systems. Up to 10 pages total, submitted in PDF format.
• The evaluation criteria can be found in Article 4.6. The Technical Narrative should be responsive to each element of the evaluation criteria.
• A template for the Technical Narrative can be found in Attachment A.

4.4.2. Cost Application – Budget & Budget Narrative

• The Budget should reflect costs associated with the technical activities and deliverables. All applicants must use the budget template provided in Attachment B and submit it in Excel format as
• part of their application. The Budget should be presented in local currency Naira (NGN). Unit costs are required and, in the case of discrepancies between unit costs and total costs, the unit cost will be taken as the reference basis in the evaluation.
• If the applicant has never received a negotiated indirect cost rate, the applicant may elect to charge a de minimis indirect rate of 10% of modified total direct costs as per 2 CFR 200.414(f). If
• the prospective applicant chooses to charge the de minimis rate, the applicant must follow the requirements in 2 CFR 200.414(f).
• The applicant must agree to keep these costs valid for a minimum of 90 calendar days.
• The Cost Application should include a Budget Narrative that describes each cost element of the
• Budget. The Budget Narrative may be submitted in Excel, Word, or PDF format.
• Funds of up to 15 million Naira are available for this project. Budgets exceeding this amount will not be considered.

4.4.3. Project Monitoring & Evaluation Plan

• The Project Monitoring & Evaluation Plan will track and assess the results of the interventions for the life of the project. Applicants should identify a project goal, specific objective(s), expected
• outputs and results, and indicators to track these results. The method of collecting data should also be explained in the Plan.
• The Project Monitoring & Evaluation Plan may be submitted in Excel, Word, or PDF format.

4.4.4. Timeline

• Applicants must submit a detailed timeline in their proposal showing the time required to implement the services requested. The project is expected to begin April 1, 2018, and conclude by October 31,
• 2018. Monitoring and reporting should occur April 1 – July 31, 2018 for Ekiti State and July 1 – October 31, 2018 for Osun State.

4.4.5. A brief outline of the applicant’s organization and experience, including:

• Full legal name and address of the organization;
• Full legal name of organization’s Director and / or Chief Executive Officer;
• Applicant’s background, its relationship and work experience with the government if any, and other stakeholders;
• Evidence of successful completion of a project of a similar nature and complexity, and if applicable, an overview of projects supported by other international organizations;
• Evidence that the organization has available personnel required for the program;
• References: If applicable, contact information for three references from donor funded projects similar in scope and a brief description of their implementation (including location and year).

4.5. Application Submission
Applicants must send final applications in electronic copy via e-mail, on or prior to the RFA closing date
and time identified in Section 2.1 to Elisa Velasco at evelasco@ifes.org.

4.6. Criteria for Selection
The evaluation of each response to this RFA will be based on its demonstrated competence, compliance,
format, and organization. The purpose of this RFA is to identify those organizations that have the interest,
capability, and financial strength to implement the project as described in Article 2 of this RFA.

Evaluation Criteria & Grading:
Criteria

• Technical Narrative (completeness, feasibility) 25%
• Project Monitoring Methodology and Plan 25%
• Cost Proposal 25%
• Past Performance and Organizational Capacity 25%
• Evaluation Criteria Grading:
• Highly Exceeds Expectations 5 Points
• Slightly Exceeds Expectations 4 Points
• Meets Expectations 3 Points
• Meets most but not All Expectations 2 Points
• Does Not Meet Expectations 1 Point

4.7. Selection and Notification
Applicants determined by IFES that possess the capacity to compete for this project will be selected to move into the negotiation phase of this process. Written notification will be sent to these applicants via e-mail. Those applicants not selected for the negotiation phase will also be notified.

5. Additional Terms & Conditions
5.1. Specific Requirements:

• Applications are limited to registered, local Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), Non-Governmental
• Organizations (NGOs), Community Based Organizations (CBOs), and Faith-Based Organizations or other
• similar not-for-profit institutions in Nigeria.
• Locally registered implementing chapters of international or regional (network) organizations are eligible
• if they meet the following minimum criteria:
• The majority of Board members are based in the local country.
• The organization is largely financially independent of its international mother body.
• Individuals and the following organizations are not eligible to access funding:
• Governmental and semi-governmental institutions
• International organisations
• Political parties
• Organizations running on a for-profit basis

5.2. Pre-Award and Subrecipient Monitoring

• As part of its due diligence, IFES conducts pre-award surveys on all potential grantees to assess capacity and inform the appropriate grant mechanism. In addition, applicants expected to expend
• $750,000 or more in U.S. government funded awards during their fiscal year must have an audit
• conducted in accordance with 2 CFR Part 200, Subpart F—Audit Requirements. If Applicable, applicants must ensure that funds are included in the grant budget for an audit.
• IFES will issue the appropriate grant mechanism depending on the nature of the work, the capacity of the grantee, the duration of the grant, and the overall value of the grant.
• IFES will provide continuous mentorship, training and oversight to ensure grant management
• practices are in line with anti-corruption principles as well as to build capacity of local grantees to fully manage and implement their programs in adherence to donor regulations and with a view
• towards sustainability.
• In accordance with US Government regulations, subrecipients will be required to obtain a DUNS number for awards over $25,000 USD. IFES shall provide instructions prior to award on how to obtain
• a number.

5.3. Non-Disclosure Agreement
IFES reserves the right to require any applicant to enter into a non-disclosure agreement.

5.4. Intellectual Property
Applicants should not use any intellectual property of IFES including, but not limited to, all logos, registered trademarks, or trade names of IFES, at any time, without the prior written approval of IFES, as
appropriate.

5.5. Applications
All accepted applications shall become the property of IFES and will not be returned.

5.6. Governing Law
This RFA and the applicants’ applications shall be governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, USA.

5.7. Partial Awarding IFES reserves the right to accept all or part of the application when awarding the grant.

5.8. No Liability

• Issuance of this RFA does not constitute a commitment on the part of IFES to make an award nor does it commit IFES to pay for costs incurred in the preparation and submission of any application in response
• to this RFA. Further, IFES reserves the right to reject any or all applications received or stop solicitation
• process at any time, without assigning any reason or liability. IFES shall not be liable to any applicant, person, or entity for any losses, expenses, costs, claims, or
• damages of any kind:
• Arising out of, by reason of, or attributable to, the applicant responding to this RFA; or
• As a result of the use of any information, error, or omission contained in this RFA document or provided during the RFA process.

5.9. Coverage & Participation
Issuance of this RFA does not constitute a commitment on the part of IFES to make an award nor does it commit IFES to pay for costs incurred in the preparation and submission of any application in response
to this RFA. Further, IFES reserves the right to reject any or all applications received.

5.10. Zero Tolerance for Fraud
IFES has zero tolerance for fraud. Fraud is any act or omission that intentionally misleads, or attempts to mislead, to obtain a benefit or to avoid an obligation. If you have concerns about potential fraud in any
way related to IFES projects, contracts, or activities, please contact IFES’ Compliance Hotline at compliance@ifes.org or at +1 202-350-6791.

5.11. Entire RFA
This RFA, any addenda to it, and any attached schedules, constitute the entire RFA.

5.12. Attachments
Attachment A: Technical Narrative Template
Attachment B: Budget Template
Attachment C: Budget Narrative Template
End of RFA

Attachment A: Technical Narrative Template

Technical Narrative
Applicant’s Contact Details

Applicant Organization Name
Postal address:
Physical address:
Telephone number:
(landline and mobile)
Contact person for this application:
(Name and Title)
Contact person’s tel. & email:
Website of the Organisation:
Legal registration status

1. Technical Approach
Provide a description of the project context/problem and proposed action, including all the information
requested below, referring to the overall goal and specific objective(s), outputs and results. Identify and
describe in detail each activity to be undertaken to produce results, justifying the choice of activities. Explain
the specific results expected, stating how the activities will improve the situation of the target groups and
final beneficiaries.

• Goal/Objectives
• Methodology/Approach
• Proposed Activities
• Expected Outputs and Results
• Assumptions, risks, and contingencies

2. Indicative Implementation Timeline
The duration of the action will be 7 months. Applicants should not give a specific start-up date for the
implementation of the action but simply refer to ‘month 1’, ‘month 2’, etc.
The action plan will be drawn up using the following format:
Year 1
Activity Month 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Implementing Body
Preparation
Activity 1
(title)

Applicant and/or
affiliated entity

Execution
Activity 1
(title)

Applicant and/or
affiliated entity

Preparation
Activity 2
(title)

Applicant and/or
affiliated entity

Etc.

3. Organizational Capacity
Organisational structure
Management plan: Team proposed for the implementation of the action (by function: there is no
need to include the names of individuals)
Statement on financial management capacity

4. Applicant’s Experience
This information will be used to assess whether you have sufficient and stable experience of managing actions
in the same sector and of a comparable scale to the one for which a grant is being requested.
For similar actions
Please provide a detailed description of actions in the same sector and of a comparable scale to the one for which a grant is being requested managed by your organisation in the past three years.
Name of the Applicant:
Project title: Sector:
Location of
the action

Cost of the
action (local
currency)

Role in the action:

Coordinator, co-
applicant, affiliated

entity

Donors to the
action (name)

Amount
contributed
(by donor)

Dates (from
dd/mm/yyyy to
dd/mm/yyyy)

... ... ... ... ... ...
Objectives and results of the action

Download full RFA details

Application Budget