Environment and Governance Experts-USIP عودة إلى الفرص

Request for Proposals

United States Institute of Peace

Environment and Governance Experts/Research Team
Tunis, Tabarka, Siliana, Ben Guerdane, and Sfax
(Open for International and National applicants)

• Release Date: August 24, 2023
• RFP Due Date: 23:00 Tunis Time on September 18, 2023
• Refer Questions to: Submit Response to:

I. Introduction  

The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) is a national, nonpartisan, independent institute, founded by Congress and dedicated to the proposition that a world without violent conflict is possible, practical, and essential for U.S. and global security. In conflict zones abroad, the Institute works with local partners to prevent, mitigate, and resolve violent conflict. For more information, please visit http://www.usip.org.

In Tunisia, USIP works with the government, civil society, and other relevant actors to address pressing challenges threatening the country’s stability, prosperity, and peace. This includes work on security sector reform, community dialogue and conflict resolution, education and training, civil society development, and responsive governance.

USIP has recently launched a new project with support from U. S. Agency for International Development (USAID) on local environmental governance. The project seeks to foster collaboration between local communities, government, and other relevant stakeholders to solve priority local environmental issues in four locales across Tunisia: Tabarka, Siliana, Ben Guerdane and Sfax. USIP is seeking expert services to conduct assessment missions in the four locales.

This project contributes to USIP’s mission to prevent, mitigate, and resolve conflicts around the world by engaging directly in conflict zones and linking analysis, training, and field programming in partnership with those working for sustainable peace. By supporting state and non-state actors to collaborate and address emerging climate and environment issues in different regions, USIP will draw in knowledge and best practices that can pave the way for other countries from the MENA region to rethink climate adaptation and environment preservation.

II. Purpose of the RFP 

USIP seeks a contractor/s (individual consultancy or research team) or organization to conduct in depth environmental assessments in the four locales mentioned above. The assessment will further explore the priority local environmental issues USIP has identified as the following: waste management in Sfax, water scarcity and pollution in Siliana, waste management in Tabarka, and water scarcity in Ben Guerdane.

The assessments shall include mapping relevant stakeholders; existing and previous efforts to address the issue, government policies and strategies relevant to the issue including a study of the potential structural barriers and reform opportunities. These four assessments shall be followed by a nationwide stakeholder mapping of similar environmental governance initiatives across the country.

III. Technical Requirements  

Offerors should have at least ten (10) years of professional experience in the fields of environment, climate change, good governance, public policy, or other related fields. Experience and demonstrated knowledge of the World Bank’s environmental and social framework or other similar environmental risk management standards is strongly preferred. Experience and demonstrated knowledge in the relevant science and engineering surrounding the issues of waste management and water management is strongly preferred. Prior peacebuilding and conflict analysis expertise is desirable.

This RFP will likely require a team of at least two individuals with a mix of skills in both social or political science and environmental science and/or engineering. It is preferred that the two lead researchers manage two separate but well-coordinated teams to conduct field work in two locations, per each team, in parallel. This offer is open for research teams and consultants based in Tunisia. International organizations can apply as long as the lead consultants and the research team are primarily based in country.. Proficiency in Arabic and English are required. French is preferred.

IV. Background and Scope of Work 

The results of these assessments will shape the immediate programmatic lines of effort. The results shall provide USIP and its partners with up-to-date data to inform project implementation and equip governmental and civil society organizations with the necessary knowledge to analyze and understand the rooted causes of the priority environmental issues and open avenues of joint reflection and constructive problem-solving to address them.

Therefore, it is essential that the data collected is accurate and reliable. The contractor shall provide USIP with accurate data and evidence-based assessments on the pressing environmental issues that USIP have already identified in consultation with civil society and local government. The assessments will further explore the following: the environmental issue of waste management in the Governorate of Sfax, water scarcity and pollution in the Governorate of Siliana, waste management in Tabarka village -Jendouba Governorate, and water scarcity in the Libyan-Tunisian border city of Ben Guerdane.

The environmental issue assessment activity in the project’s four sites shall include:

1. Local stakeholder mappings: Comprehensive overview of all relevant local actors and their positions, interests, previous actions, relational power dynamics, and an assessment of their organizational and institutional capacities.
2. Technical environmental issue reports: Including data collection and analysis (primary and secondary) on the impact of the environmental issue to support evidence-based decision-making.
3. Process review: Stock-taking exercise of all previous or existing efforts (conducted by the government, international organizations, or local actors) to address the environmental issue(s) at the local level, including best practices, lessons learned, persisting challenges, and any other relevant experience. Contractor will deliver recommendations based on lessons from the process review.
4. Structural issue analyses: In-depth analysis of potential structural barriers to addressing the environmental issue, including policy, financial, bureaucratic, technical, or administrative barriers.

Based on the information collected from the four assessments in each locale, the contractor will conduct a national-level stakeholder mapping of relevant actors, initiatives, policies, and strategies relevant to the identified local environmental issues in the four locales. This is intended to identify synergies across the country, including at the national level, and to ensure local solutions align with national strategies to the extent it is possible and relevant.

To achieve these deliverables, the contractor shall be responsible for preparing systematic mapping methodology, drafting policy document reviews, identifying, and conducting data collection, and developing final reports to inform the USIP Tunisia program and local partners. The contractor will also lead on turning these reports into presentations for different external audiences such as USAID and Tunisian State actors.

USIP will work closely with the contractor throughout the assessment process.

Tentative Timeline

A tentative timeline for the completion of deliverables is provided below. USIP will work with the selected offeror to finalize deliverables and due dates upon selection.

Level of Effort

This is a part time contract. The total number of working days should be between 60 and 100, depending on the composition of the research team.

Expected Type of Contract: Fixed Firm Price

V. Selection Process

A. Schedule

USIP may adjust dates in the schedule or cancel this RFP at any time prior to contract award.

B. Evaluation Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated based on the criteria below. For more detail on each submission requirement, see Section IV of this RFP. The USIP Selection Committee will review all proposals received on time using the evaluation criteria established below based on the best value offered to USIP. The Selection Committee reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, in whole or in part, to award multiple contracts, and/or to enter negotiations with any party, in the best interests of the Institute.

For more details, please consult the full version of the RFP here :

USIP RFP Environment and Governance Experts-Research Team (V2)