MOVING INTO THE FUTURE WITH THE YOUTH (PaMawa ndi a Chinyamata)

This USAID/Malawi (RFI) is seeking information and comments from qualified Malawian and international organizations to provide technical assistance in support of the USAID Malawi’s activity titled: MOVING INTO THE FUTURE WITH THE YOUTH (PaMawa ndi a Chinyamata). The attached draft program description presents the current draft objectives and key elements of the activity. USAID/Malawi may significantly revise this proposed new activity and planned solicitation resulting from the comments received and further internal discussions. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a Request for Applications (RFA). 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 solicitation or ultimately award of a grant or cooperative 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. If a funding opportunity is released in form of an RFA, it may be synopsized in, but not limited to, grants.gov and local Malawian newspapers and websites. It is the potential responder’s responsibility to monitor the above forums for the release of any further information. It should be noted that responding to this RFI will not give any advantage to any organization in any subsequent procurement. USAID/Malawi will not provide answers to any question submitted in response to this request. By issuing the draft for comment USAID/Malawi aims to consult with the broad community of actors involved with Climate Change and Family Planning/ Reproductive Health. Your comments are requested to help refine the program description to ensure maximum development impact, sound coordination with existing activities, and alignment with the Government of Malawi’s top priorities. Please ensure your comments are concise and specific to information included within the draft program description. While there are no limits on the length of submissions accepted, we value concise, issue-specific responses with reference to page and section numbers in the draft program description. Areas of particular interest include: 1. Programmatic integration through co-location, coordination and collaboration is a major priority of the USAID/Malawi CDCS (see http://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1860/Malawi%20CDCS%202013-2018%20-%20Public%20version.pdf). Is the rationale for PaMawa’s focus on integration and associated implementation requirements sufficiently clear? 2. Is the rationale for integrating adaptation and family planning activities within a single implementing mechanism sufficiently elaborated and conceptually sound? 3. As a key Mission pilot activity, PaMawa has a strong learning agenda. Are the key learning questions of interest to USAID and other stakeholders sufficiently defined? Does it seem feasible to answer the identified research interests within the defined time frame and mainly through the activity’s internal M&E systems? 4. The RFI intentionally focuses much more on results, or the what, than on specific approaches for achieving those results, the how. Do the intended results seem realistic within a four-year time frame? Does the required integration of national-scale and site-based approaches seem feasible and conceptually sound? 5. The activity focuses mainly on youth. Is this population sufficiently defined? Is the concept of wrapping-around the ASPIRE activity sufficiently elaborated and conceptually sound? 6. Because PaMawa focuses on two different sectors, it will require diverse, proven expertise and a management structure that ensures the integration of this expertise throughout implementation. Should USAID define the type of consortium/partnership that is required to implement this activity, or is it clear? Please send your comments and questions to Rajab Banda at rabanda@usaid.gov with a copy to Adel Yamak at ayamak@usaid.gov no later than the closing date shown above.