USAID/Ethiopia is offering this grant to provide an Ethiopia 101 Course for US Government Personnel

Activity Title: Ethiopia 101 Course

I.                   BACKGROUND: 

In the next six months, USAID/Ethiopia plans to offer an introductory “Ethiopia 101” course for incoming and recently arrived US government personnel working in a range of sectors. We envision that the course will be led by a team of leading Ethiopian and international specialists on Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa. This intensive overview (up to 40 hours of instruction) will provide participants with a foundational grounding in the historical, social and economic features of Ethiopia, and current political and developmental challenges and opportunities.  We envision a “safe space” where people can ask any questions or make comments without fear of judgement or attribution. While USAID is sponsoring the course, it will be open to other US agencies at the embassy as well. 

II.                 BASIC SCOPE OF SERVICES

USAID seeks a Contractor who can bring together a team of recognized specialists and researchers on Ethiopia with similar knowledge on the broader Horn of Africa. This group of experts is expected to include a mix of Ethiopian and non-Ethiopian voices who can offer a wide range of perspectives on Ethiopia’s complex historical, social, and political fabric. The Contractor will be responsible for preparing and delivering all presentations as well as facilitating all discussions. Observing COVID protocols, the format may be virtual and/or in-person. USAID/Ethiopia will provide the training space as well as any electronic/non-electronic media aids to facilitate this training. USAID/Ethiopia will provide snacks along with tea and coffee (1 morning service and 1 afternoon service) for in-person sessions. Meals will not be provided.

III.               QUESTIONS FOR CONSIDERATION

As we navigate the post-COVID learning environment, we would appreciate your input on the following questions. 

1. USAID has initially proposed the following themes. 

○       ​​Understanding Ethiopia’s development path.

○       Ethiopian culture and religion: understanding and avoid cultural pitfalls while serving in Ethiopia)

○       Debating Ethiopia’s Political Settlement: Ethno-Federalism vs Pan-Ethiopianism

○       Historical, current, and future economic trends as Ethiopia has moved from a Marxist to Capitalist economy. 

○       How Society has influenced politics and policies of the current and former government and vice versa

○       Human Rights

○       Great Power Competition (Ethiopia’s evolving relationship with Russia, China vis a vis the US and other regional players)

○       Conflict Dynamics

○       Youth & Gender

○       Ethiopia’s Future: Potential Scenarios

Do you agree with these topics? What would you remove, add, combine, or reframe? We welcome your suggestions for key issues to address under these and other proposed topics.

1. Understanding the busy and hectic embassy environment, what is the minimum amount of time needed to provide this training?
2. How would you organize the course? (One solid week of training, brown bag sessions, topics split over several weeks/months, etc)
3. How should students prepare in advance for the course?
4. Please describe your organization and its ability to support this kind of training, including an illustrative list of subject matter experts/presenters. 
5. What suggestions would you provide to make this training successful?
6. How could we make sure the widest possible audience has access to these resources? (i.e. filming sessions, shared reference materials, etc)

IV. SUBMISSION PROCESS

Comments must be submitted by email to the following email addresses: caddis@usaid.gov with a copy to Ms. Mariamawit Girma at mgirma@usaid.gov no later than 16:00 Addis Ababa time by the Response Due Date shown on the cover page of this RFI. The subject line of the email must read “720-663-22-RFI-00001”. USAID is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information, answer questions or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. 

V. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

All information provided will become the property of USAID and will not be returned. USAID reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for its purposes. Responses may be used by USAID without restriction or limitation. Proprietary information must not be submitted.

Finally, please provide brief information that describes your organization’s capability and interest in implementing activities to achieve the objectives of this RFI.

Sincerely,

/SS/

Admir Serifovic

Director, Office of Acquisition & Assistance

Supervisory Agreement Officer