UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

BUREAU FOR AFRICA (USAID/AFR)

BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT
FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

I. OVERVIEW

A. Introduction

This Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) seeks opportunities to co-create, co-design, co-invest,
and collaborate in the research, development, piloting, testing, and scaling of innovative,
practical and cost-effective interventions that address development challenges in Sub-Saharan
Africa (SSA). The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) invites
interested parties to participate with USAID to identify innovative thinking, best practices and
promising programs that will create more strategic, focused, results-oriented, cost-effective and
practical options that will further the US Government’s goal of improving the impact of its
policies and programs on Africa’s poor. USAID, through the Bureau for Africa (USAID/AFR),
aims to develop and test innovative, sustainable and cost-effective solutions that will accelerate
progress towards eliminating extreme poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa. This BAA specifically
seeks to incorporate new ideas that will directly and positively influence USAID’s programs and
policies, including, but not limited to, support for SSA institutions to deliver services and
manage programs that contribute to sustainable development.

B. Federal Agency Name

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), administered through the
Bureau for Africa.

C. Opportunity Title

The USAID BAA for Sustainable Development in Sub-Saharan Africa.

D. Opportunity Number

BAA-AFR-SD-2018

E. Announcement Type

This BAA serves to inform the public of the opportunity for possible funding from USAID for
innovative applied research to address development challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa. This BAA
is not a request to receive information from interested parties.

USAID will issue periodic addenda to this BAA seeking sustainable solutions, scalability
opportunities, feasibility studies and other research and development initiatives addressing

Page | 1
 specific development challenges in SSA. The terms of this BAA apply to each Addendum. Each
individual Addendum may have specific instructions, requirements for evaluation criteria, and
administrative information, such as the requirements for expressions of interest, concept papers,
and response deadlines.

Any opportunities for funding and partnering will be issued separately as Addenda to this
BAA.

F. Authority

This BAA is issued under Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Part 35.016(c). This is not a
FAR Part 15 procurement.

G. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number

98.001 USAID Foreign Assistance Programs for Overseas

II. COLLABORATION

The intent of the BAA is to allow co-creation and co-design to the maximum extent possible to
create high quality, effective partnerships with great efficiency in time and resources. The types
of collaboration include:

1. Co-creation. Co-creation occurs after an Expression of Interest (EOI) is approved, but

before the concept is developed. The potential partner(s), the Government, represented by
the Activity Manager, and potentially others work together to write and/or revise the
Concept Paper(s), and jointly present to USAID’s Africa Bureau Sustainable
Development Review Board for consideration.

2. Co-design/development. Co-design/development occurs after the Africa Bureau

Sustainable Development Review Board has reviewed the Concept Paper(s), recommends
the project for further development, and the Contracting Officer or Agreement Officer
has determined the proposer(s) to be an Apparently Successful Partner. At this point, the
Contracting Officer or Agreement Officer may determine the general nature of the award
type or the specific award type, depending on the nature of the project, to facilitate
project design. During co-design, the Apparently Successful Partner and the Activity
Manager will design the technical approach, general resource requirements, and
management control of the project under the guidance of the Contracting
Officer/Agreement Officer.

3. Co-invest. Co-invest refers to the Government’s strategic aim that the partnerships
resulting from the individual BAA awards represent opportunities to achieve mutual or
complementary development goals of the partner, USAID, and potentially other resource
partners, and therefore embrace shared responsibility, shared risk, and shared resourcing.
Shared resourcing may be accomplished through funding by both parties, either through
cash resources or the exchange of other resources, both tangible and intangible, such as

Page | 2
 in-kind contributions, expertise, intellectual property, brand value, high-value
coordination, and access to key people, places, and information. Co-investing does not
require equally shared resourcing (such as 1:1 leverage), but rather resource contributions
that are appropriate to the specific project’s objectives, considering the comparative
advantages brought by the participation of each party and the award type.

III. SPECIFIC RIGHTS RESERVED FOR THE GOVERNMENT UNDER THIS BAA

The Government reserves specific rights, in addition to rights described elsewhere in this
document or by law or regulation, including:

1. The right to award multiple awards, a single award, or no awards. If an award is made,
funding is subject to availability. Some award types may not include any funding.

2. The right to make awards without discussions, or to conduct discussions and/or

negotiations, whichever is determined to be in the Government’s interest.

3. The right to accept proposals in their entirety or to select only portions of proposals for
award or co-investment.

4. The right to select for award an instrument type that is appropriate to the specific
development context, partner relationship, and proposal selected for award. Instrument
types include but are not limited to contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, Global
Development Alliance agreements, Development Innovation Agreements, Inter-Agency
Agreements, Government to Government Agreements, Donor to Donor Agreements, and
Memorandums of Understanding. In addition, the Government may craft a new
instrument type to meet the needs of a specific relationship.

5. The right to co-create projects with one or more potential partners under this BAA, when
it is in the best interest of the Government.

6. The right to request any additional, necessary documentation upon initial review. Such
additional information may include, but is not limited to, a further detailed proposal,
budget, and representations and certifications.

7. The right to fund or co-invest in proposals in phases, with options for continued work at
the end of one or more of the phases.

8. The right to award instruments that do not commit or exchange monetary resources.

9. The right to remove proposers from award consideration should the parties fail to reach
agreement on award terms, conditions, and/or cost/price within a reasonable time; the
proposer fails to timely provide requested additional information; or the Government
believes it is in its best interest.

Page | 3
IV. PROBLEM AND CHALLENGE STATEMENTS

With a vision of eliminating extreme poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), USAID seeks to
incorporate new ideas that will directly and positively influence its programs and policies,
including, but not limited to, support for SSA institutions to deliver services and manage
programs that contribute to sustainable development.

The limited budgets of most development agencies and Sub-Saharan African governments
highlight the need to maximize the effectiveness of every dollar invested in a country and in a
region’s development. Host country governments, development agencies, foundations, civil
society organizations, and private companies partnering together can play an important role in
identifying and implementing sustainable approaches to reducing extreme poverty.

A. Problem Statement

While progress in eliminating extreme poverty has been made in the recent past, the World Bank
reports that there are more people living in extreme poverty in SSA (388.7 million in 2012), than
anywhere else in the world.1

Despite falling fertility rates, SSA’s demographic future is still characterized by rapid population
growth. In fact, the United Nations projects that the population of SSA will reach two billion by
2050--more than double the area’s 2010 population of 837 million. In addition to SSA’s rapid
population growth, SSA’s most important demographic trend is rapid urbanization. According to
the World Bank, over 57 percent of SSA’s population is projected to live in urban areas by 2050.
The combination of rapid population growth and rapid urbanization have important implications
for economic growth, health, education, trade, the environment, agriculture, resilience, water,
climate change, biodiversity, governance, and issues of gender.

USAID’s Africa Bureau Office of Sustainable Development (USAID/AFR/SD), in support of the

Agency’s goal of ending extreme poverty, focuses on the following issues that are persistent
challenges to Africa’s development and ending extreme poverty:

Economic Growth
The most effective way to reduce extreme poverty is to accelerate inclusive growth. Over the
past 20 years, economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa has measured 5.2 percent per year.
Although this recent growth rate has been positive, there are signs that it will be facing new
headwinds in the future. Over the past five years, growth in SSA has slightly declined from 4.8
percent in 2006-2010 to 4.2 percent in 2011-2014. A 2015 International Monetary Fund (IMF)
report, Macroeconomic Developments and Prospects for Low Income Countries, says: "The
external economic environment facing Low Income Developing Countries (LIDCs) has
weakened over the past eighteen months, with slowing global growth, sharp declines in
commodity prices, and tighter external funding conditions.” According to the report, economic
growth for all LIDCs, many of which are located in SSA, will fall from 5.9 percent in 2014 to

1
The World Bank Poverty Overview. October 7, 2015.

Page | 4
4.8 percent in 2015. Navigating through this declining global demand for exports and declining
commodity prices will be critical and challenging.

Health
Efforts to address disease and improve public health target the symptoms of and pathways out of
poverty and are essential to peace and security, economic growth and development. Despite
significant progress over the past decade in reducing mortality and improving quality of life,
SSA has the highest rates of maternal and child deaths of any region, with nearly three million
children under five years of age and over 200,000 mothers dying each year.2,3 In 2014 there were
an estimated 1.4 million new HIV infections in SSA, accounting for 66 percent of new HIV
infections worldwide.4 Many of these cases were co-infected with tuberculosis (TB); the World
Health Organization’s (WHO) Africa Region alone accounted for 74 percent of the estimated
number of new HIV-positive TB cases.5,6 Finally, malaria remains one of the major causes of
illness and death among children in SSA.

Education
The difficulty in obtaining a quality education in many SSA countries presents another challenge
to economic growth and reducing extreme poverty. UNESCO’s 2013 Education for All Global
Monitoring Report reveals that in SSA over 56 million people aged 15 to 24 have not completed
primary school. The Global Partnership for Education estimates that a one-year increase in the
average educational attainment of a country's population increases annual per capita gross
domestic product growth between two percent and 2.5 percent, and that global poverty could
decline by 12 percent if students in low-income countries acquired basic reading skills in
schools.

Trade
Increasing trade regionally and internationally is essential for stimulating sustainable economic
growth.7 However, trade costs in Africa are the highest in the world and contribute to weak intra-
African trade linkages. Poor infrastructure, high transport costs, and fragmented markets
contribute to limited intra-African trade. Reducing the time and cost required to transport goods
to market has the potential to increase Sub-Saharan African exports by over 50 percent beyond
current export growth and boost GDP by $20 billion annually.8 Implementation of the WTO
Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) is estimated to reduce the time and cost to trade worldwide
by anywhere from 12.5 percent to 17.5 percent, according to a new Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD) analysis, with the greatest benefits accrued to developing
countries.9

2
Levels and Trends in Child Mortality Report 2015. UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation. UNICEF. September 2015.
3
Trends in maternal mortality: 1990 to 2015: estimates by WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, World Bank Group and the United Nations Population
Division. World Health Organization, 2015.
4
UNAIDS Fact Sheet 2015.
5 WHO Global Tuberculosis Report 2015.
6
“Africa Region” is defined by the WHO as 47 African countries, including Algeria and South Sudan, but not including Somalia and Sudan.
7
Brückner, Markus and Daniel Lederman. (March 2012) “Trade Causes Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa."
8
International Trade Centre. (2012) “Africa’s Trade Potential: Export Opportunities in Growth Markets.”
9
OECD (June 2015) “Implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement: The Potential Impact on Trade Costs.”

Page | 5
Agriculture
There is a continuing need to accelerate economic growth by boosting agricultural productivity
and output in SSA. Supporting smallholder farms through investments in improved technologies,
rural financial services and better access to markets is vital. Equally important is the push to
boost agribusiness investments and improve land and water management by adopting modern
irrigation practices, preventing conflicts over water resources and implementing climate-smart
agriculture solutions.10

Resilience
Strengthening resilience is an essential component of development because it reduces disaster
risk, strengths natural resource management, mitigates conflict, improves health outcomes and
expands economic opportunities for vulnerable populations. Devastating, large-scale
humanitarian emergencies such as those that occurred in the Horn of Africa in 2011, and in the
Sahel in 2012, only highlight the urgent need to strengthen resilience through development
programming in the region.

Water
Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest proportion of people without adequate sanitation facilities
and the lowest levels of drinking water coverage in the world.11 The impact of this critical gap in
access has far-reaching effects: unclean water and lack of sanitation are the leading cause of
child mortality in SSA12 and more than half of the girls that drop out of primary school in SSA
do so because of the lack of separate toilets and access to safe water.13 There are also economic
benefits associated with increased access to clean water and sanitation, such as the reduction in
health care costs and increase in productivity.14

Climate Change
Africa is one of the most vulnerable continents regarding climate change. Its vulnerability is due
to Africa’s high exposure to the physical impacts of climate change – such as increasing
temperatures, changing rainfall patterns, increasing strengths of droughts and floods, as well as
rising sea levels and low adaptive capacity.15 Failure to adequately address climate change could
jeopardize decades of development gains in Africa. The World Bank states that the effects of
climate change have the power to push more than 100 million people, many living in SSA, back
into extreme poverty over the next fifteen years.16 For example, increasing prevalence of drought
can decimate a family's livestock and rising sea levels could displace coastal communities,
reversing decades of hard work and asset accumulation.

Biodiversity
The world is losing floral and faunal species at a rate that is 100 to 1,000 times faster than natural
extinction rates, and the extent and health of natural habitats continue to decline globally. The
10
World Bank Africa Overview, October 22, 2015.
11
Joint Monitoring Program for Water & Sanitation, 2014.
12
Liu L, Johnson HL, Cousens S, Perin J, Scott S, Lawn JE, Rudan I, Campbell H, Cibulskis R, Li M, Mathers C, Black RE; Child Health
Epidemiology Reference Group of WHO and UNICEF. Global, regional, and national causes of child mortality: an updated systematic analysis
for 2010 with time trends since 2000. Lancet. 2012 Jun 9; 379(9832):2151-61.
13
UNICEF and IRC. Water Sanitation and Hygiene Education for Schools: Roundtable Proceedings and Framework for Action.
14
Bartram, J., Lewis, K., Lenton, R., and Wright, A. (2005). Focusing on improved water and sanitation for health. Lancet 365, 810.
15
The Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 09-10 April 2008, Budapest, Hungary
16
Managing the Impacts of Climate Change on Poverty. The World Bank 8 November, 2015.

Page | 6
United Nation states that Africa holds about 40 percent of the world’s biodiversity, which is
threatened by climate change, habitat degradation and destruction/conversion, resource
extraction, wildlife poaching and trafficking, and other large-scale interventions on the landscape
as a whole. Millions of people in Africa who hold tourism-related jobs depend on natural
systems for their livelihoods, and the degradation of biodiversity will have long-term negative
impacts on poverty reduction. For example, the countries of Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, South
Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe each generated over $100 million in revenue annually
from nature-based tourism in 2000. In fact, Tanzania tourism contributed 30 percent of the total
GDP.17 Within the field of biodiversity conservation, an important goal is sustainable use and
promotion of resilient and biodiverse areas that help to maintain natural processes to create the
environmental goods and services – food, fiber, fodder, pollination, clean water, fertile soils, and
wood – which enable development.

Conflict, Peace-building and Governance

By 2030, almost half of the world’s poor are expected to live in countries affected by fragility,
conflict and violence, accompanied by the largest number of refugees and displaced persons
since World War II. Fragile states, several of which are in SSA, are often plagued by weak
institutions, corruption, and a breakdown in the social contract between the state and the
population. In countries where institutions are ineffective, the prospects for eradicating extreme
poverty are dim. A typical civil war reduces a country’s growth by more than two percent
annually, and tends to exacerbate extreme poverty across its many dimensions. A medium-sized
conflict can increase infant mortality by 10 percent, reduce overall life expectancy by one year,
raise undernourishment of children by more than three percent, and deprive nearly two percent of
the population of water access.18

Gender
Gender inequality and extreme poverty frequently occur in tandem. Countries with above-
average gender inequality, such as those in SSA, have higher extreme poverty rates than
countries that are more gender equal. In these gender-unequal situations, women often lack
access to household income and have less control over household resources. This contributes to
an environment where women are more vulnerable to extreme poverty. Furthermore, women in
SSA face greater burdens of unpaid work,19 have fewer assets and productive resources than
men,20 are exposed to gender-based violence (GBV),21 and are more likely to be forced into early
marriage22 — all factors that reduce their ability to participate fully in the economy and to reap
the benefits of growth.

B. Challenge Statement

To develop and test innovative, sustainable and cost-effective solutions that will accelerate
progress towards eliminating extreme poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa.

17
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005. Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Biodiversity Synthesis. World Resources Institute, Washington,
DC. p. 32.
18
White House Fact Sheet (Advancing Shared Values for a Better World), September 2015.
19
UN Statistics Division (2013). The World’s Women 2010: Trends and Statistics.
20
Deere, C.D.D. & Doss, C.R. (2006) The Gender Asset Gap: What do we know and why does it matter? Feminist Economics, 12, No. 1-2.
21
World Bank (2014). Voice and Agency: Empowering Women and Girls for Shared Prosperity.
22
UNICEF (2012). Progress for Children: A Report Card on Adolescents.

Page | 7
 All areas described in the Problem Statement above are amenable to such new solutions.
Specific Challenge Statements to address one or more sectors described in the Problem
Statement will be issued separately through Addenda to this BAA.

V. GENERAL CRITERIA FOR CONSIDERATION

1. Each individual BAA Addendum will specify the criteria for selection. Submissions will
be evaluated solely against the evaluation criteria set forth in the BAA and applicable
BAA Addendum. Submissions will not be evaluated against other submissions.

2. Decisions regarding USAID’s pursuit of a particular project, technology, or relationship

will be based on the available evidence, data, and resulting analysis. USAID seeks
solutions that can have a significant impact on development challenges in SSA and that
can achieve impact sustainably at scale.

3. The reputations of an organization, its past performance, the managerial and technical
ability of the person or team of people engaged in the endeavor are always significant
considerations in assessing the potential and the risks associated with each award.

4. Issuance of this BAA does not constitute an award commitment on the part of USAID,
nor does it commit USAID to pay for costs associated or incurred in the preparation and
submission of responses to any Addendum.

VI. AWARD STAGES

The amount of resources potentially available under this BAA will depend on the concepts
received and the availability of funds. Some award types may not include any funding. The
award process under this BAA has the following steps:

Stage 1: Expressions of Interest

Expressions of Interest (EOI) must indicate the research or development idea which will work
towards discovering potential solutions the Problem and Challenge Statement(s) by increasing
knowledge and understanding of potential solutions, exploiting scientific discoveries or
improvements in technology, materials, processes, methods, devices, or techniques, advancing
the state of the art, or using scientific and technical knowledge in the design, development,
testing, or evaluation of a potential new product or service (or of an improvement in an existing
product or service).

All potential partners may not move forward to Stage 2. Due to the large number of expected
EOI submissions, USAID is unable to provide detailed information of non-selection to those not
selected to advance to Stage 2.

Stage 2: Development of the Concept Paper

For EOIs which are deemed to have merit by USAID and pass criteria/eligibility stated within
the BAA and/or specific Addenda, USAID will issue an invitation to collaborate to the potential

Page | 8
partner(s). An invitation is sent to a potential partner to participate in a co-creation workshop,
conference, meeting, or the method designated by USAID to work together with all invitees to
further develop the idea presented in the expression of interest.

Working together, USAID and the potential partner(s) will collaborate on a Concept Paper(s). It
is during this phase of co-creation or co-design that the parties will begin to determine additional
partners and resources to complement the project. The Concept Paper, generally 5-10 pages in
length, will further detail and explain the project as initially provided in the Expression of
Interest.

Additional Partners/Resources. During the project co-creation and co-design, both the potential
partner and USAID will identify additional partners and resources, and whether additional
resources are necessary to implement the project.

All potential partners may not move forward to Stage 3.

Stage 3: Review by the Africa Bureau Sustainable Development Review Board

Concept Papers developed during Stage 2 will be reviewed by the Africa Bureau Sustainable
Development Review Board, comprised of experts from USAID and possibly outside parties.
The Africa Bureau Sustainable Development Review Board will review Concept Papers and
recommend which applicants should be considered Apparently Successful Partners. Using its
technical expertise, the Africa Bureau Sustainable Development Review Board will recommend
whether to move forward with the project including revisions/additions to the project, and
potential partners and resources.

All potential partners may not move forward to Stage 4.

Stage 4: Contracting/Agreement Officer Determination

The Contracting/Agreement Officer will review the Africa Bureau Sustainable Development
Review Board’s recommendations and consider other information, such as resource availability,
preliminary partner responsibility assessment, and Agency priorities, and will make a
determination that the respondent is an Apparently Successful Partner. The
Contracting/Agreement Officer may also determine or narrow down the anticipated instrument
type to facilitate project design.

Requests for Additional Information. USAID will work with partners identified by the Africa
Bureau Sustainable Development Review Board, and co-design the project and assist the partner
to provide additional information with respect to the proposer’s technical approach, capacity,
management and organization, past performance, and budget, as well as representations and
certifications, as needed.

Final Review and Negotiation. The USAID Contracting/Agreement Officer will engage in final
review, negotiation, and determination of instrument type, responsibility, cost reasonableness,
etc., and will craft an award instrument with the Apparently Successful Partner(s). If the
Apparently Successful Partner(s) and USAID cannot arrive at a mutually agreeable arrangement,
the Contracting/Agreement Officer will cancel the project at no cost to the Government.

Page | 9
 Award. Where USAID determines that the award of an instrument is appropriate, the USAID
Contracting/Agreement Officer will award the instrument.

VII. AWARD INFORMATION

If awards are made, the number of awards could vary and may not mirror the number of
expressions of interests or invitees to co-creation. The following will be applied in the event an
award is made:

1. USAID Goals. Awards under this BAA will be made to Apparently Successful Partners
on the basis of their ability to further USAID’s goal of improving the impact of its
policies and programs on Sub-Saharan Africa’s poor. USAID is seeking new applications
of science, innovations, and partnerships that provide the best value to the Government
and have the potential to substantially contribute to these goals.

2. Award Instrument. Proposals identified for negotiation may result in a contract, grant,
cooperative agreement, Global Development Alliance agreement, Development
Innovation Agreement, Inter-Agency Agreement, Government to Government
Agreement, Donor to Donor Agreement, Memorandum of Understanding or alternative
agreement type, depending upon the nature of the work proposed, the required degree of
Government involvement, and other factors. The Government Contracting/Agreement
Officer will determine the award instrument type and negotiate instrument terms and
conditions with selectees. USAID may select the award instruments it deems appropriate.

3. Eligibility Information. Public, private, for-profit, and nonprofit organizations, as well as

institutions of higher education, public international organizations, non-governmental
organizations, US and non-US governmental organizations, multilateral and international
donor organizations are eligible under this BAA. All organizations must be determined
to be responsible to perform or participate in the final award type.

4. Standard Clauses and Provisions of Award. The standard clauses or provisions for awards
are generally prescribed by law and regulation and will vary considerably by award type.
Information regarding clauses and provisions will be offered to the proposer when the
award type is identified.

5. Cost Sharing or Leveraging. Organizations are encouraged to consider providing

reasonable cost sharing, leverage, or other exchange of resource arrangements, and are
encouraged to suggest creative approaches to resourcing projects. Whether cost share
and/or leverage are required will be determined by the individual BAA Addendum, final
award type, and/or the mutual agreement of the parties. Nothing in this BAA precludes
reasonable cost sharing, leveraging, or other exchange of resource arrangements.

Page | 10
VIII. INFORMATION PROTECTION

USAID’s goal is to facilitate research and development that will lead to innovative, and
potentially commercially viable, solutions. Understanding the sensitive nature of submitters’
information, USAID will work with organizations to protect intellectual property.

EOIs should be free of any intellectual property that the submitter wishes to protect, as the EOIs
may be shared with USAID partners as part of the selection process. However, once submitters
have been invited to engage in further discussions, submitters will work with USAID to identify
proprietary information that requires protection.

Therefore, organizations making submissions under this BAA grant to USAID a royalty-free,
nonexclusive, and irrevocable right to use, disclose, reproduce, and prepare derivative works,
and to have or permit others to do so to any information contained in the expressions of interest
submitted under the BAA. If USAID engages with the organization regarding its submission,
the parties can negotiate further intellectual property protection for the organization’s intellectual
property.

Organizations must ensure that any submissions under this BAA are free of any third party
proprietary data rights that would impact the license granted to USAID herein.

[END]

Page | 11