Request for Proposal: Independent Contractor: Policy Specialist

Position description

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.

USIP’s Center for Thematic Excellence (CTE) is the hub for thematic programs whose work cuts across the Institute’s regional centers. Housed within CTE, the Learning, Evaluation and Research (LER) team aims to make USIP a more evidence-based, learning and impactful organization. LER is the Institute’s hub for standards on project design, monitoring and evaluation (M&E), learning, and research. The team works to enhance and strengthen the systems and practices for capturing, sharing, and leveraging knowledge across USIP to enable learning and improve decision making at the project, program, and organizational levels.

Purpose of the RFP

USIP is seeking an independent contractor to help its Learning, Evaluation, and Research (LER) Team disseminate the findings and recommendations from the recently completed project, Peacemaking in a Turbulent World as a policy specialist. The key audience/s for the findings and recommendations are senior policymakers and practitioners in the conflict management and peacemaking field. The policy specialist will help refine and package the current project findings to make them relevant and practical for policy planners and implementors in the U.S. government, the United Nations (UN), other international organizations, and nongovernmental organizations (NGO). The work will include identifying the most relevant audiences, designing a dissemination/engagement strategy, and working with the LER team to implement the strategy. The policy specialist will have a Master’s level degree and 8-10 years of demonstrated experience in conflict management and peacebuilding, with direct
relevant experience in at least one of the following: the U.S. government, a multilateral agency, or international non-governmental organization (NGO).

Background and Scope of Work

As part of the Peacemaking in a Turbulent World (PTW) project, USIP convened an expert panel of eminent scholars and researchers to explore lessons learned in the management of conflicts in prior periods of global turbulence – principally, during the post-Cold War era (roughly the 1990s) – and their implications for today. The panel met three times over a four-month period from 2023 to 2024, informed by background papers that provided a review of recent research and findings. The first session examined trends, drivers, and dynamics of current conflicts and how they differ from conflicts in the past. The second session investigated the capacity of states, international organizations, and NGOs to engage in peacemaking and challenges to traditional approaches such as peacekeeping, mediation and negotiation. The third session considered ethical and operational dilemmas facing today’s peacemakers and drew lessons learned from experience. The sessions produced three
discussion papers and one overall report with policy recommendations.

The next phase of the project is to engage strategically and effectively with relevant policymakers and practitioners to promote the uptake of the recommendations among governmental and nongovernmental strategic planners and other key decision-makers at the policy level. To facilitate a process of dissemination and engagement, USIP is soliciting proposals for a contractor to work with USIP staff to:
* Provide a report that identifies the most relevant audiences;
* Produce a report that packages current findings to make them relevant and practical for policy planners and implementors in the U.S. government, the United Nations, other international organizations, and NGOs;
* Produce a report outlining a dissemination/engagement strategy for LER to further the reach of the findings and recommendations; and
* Coordinate with the LER team to implement the strategy through events and briefing papers.

The consultant is expected to provide services for 3 months.

Tentative Timeline

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

Deliverable

Estimated Due Date (2024)

Produce one report identifying relevant audiences

September 2024

Produce one report that refines findings and recommendations for key audiences

September 2024

Produce one report outlining a Dissemination/Engagement Strategy

September 2024

Work with the LER team to implement the strategy by participating and coordinating 5 events and briefing papers

October – November 2024

Expected Type of Contract: Firm-fixed price.

Submission Requirements

Any proposal that does not contain all items listed below may be considered nonresponsive. For more detail on the selection process, including corresponding evaluation criteria, please see Section V below. To be considered under this RFP, please submit the following:

1. Technical Requirements To be considered, please submit a cover letter of no more than 3 pages (1-2 is preferred) with the following information:
2. Motivations Summarize your motivations for applying, with focus on your interest in evidence-informed policy in the field of conflict management and peacemaking.
3. Previous Experience Based on the information provided in this RFP, describe your knowledge and experience of engaging with senior policy planners and other relevant decision-makers. Describe at least two projects of similar scope and complexity the offeror has worked on previously. Provide a point of contact with telephone number and email address for each of the described projects.
4. Curriculum Vitae (CV) Please provide a CV of no more than 3 pages. CVs will not count towards technical narrative proposal page limit.
5. Cost Proposal Provide a detailed budget specifying hourly or daily rate and any other costs and a budget narrative. Budget must be in US dollars. Detailed budgets should be in spreadsheet format. A template may be found here.
6. Certification Page Complete and sign the Certification Page below and submit with the proposal.
7. Exceptions to Contract Terms (optional) Any exceptions to the attached USIP Terms & Conditions must be clearly outlined in an annex to the submitted proposal. The annex will not count toward the technical proposal page limit.

Application instructions

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