Description
The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to: (a) provide a basic overview of the intended USAID/Georgia Economic Security Project, and (b) request comments and recommendations from stakeholders and other interested parties to identify ways we can work together to address Georgia's competitiveness challenges in a manner that supports sustainable, inclusive economic growth. The purpose of the anticipated project is to provide support to Georgia to make its economy more competitive, both domestically and internationally. Georgia is a small country located at the crossroads between Asia and Europe on a vital trading and transit route for goods and services. In addition, Georgia has recently signed free trade agreements with Turkey and China and, in 2014, entered into the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) with the European Union, greatly expanding Georgia's market access. As such, it is important for Georgia to equip its firms so that they can take advantage of Georgia's market access and location to exploit regional trade and transit opportunities, as well as compete with international competitors for Georgia's domestic market. Possible approaches that could be taken include (but are not limited to): (a) prioritizing value chains that demonstrate high potential in domestic and/or international markets; (b) assisting firms to identify and realize export opportunities by facilitating market linkages; (c) increasing firms' capacities to meet internationally recognized standards; (d) facilitating collaboration between Georgia's private sector and its technical and vocational training institutions to tailor curricula so that Georgia can tap a highly- and appropriately-skilled workforce; and (e) supporting policy reform and related implementation to attract investment in promising sectors. The anticipated project will likely use a combination of programmatic tools including (but not limited to): technical assistance, grants, financing, and monitoring/evaluation. The anticipated project will support USAID/Georgia's Strategic Development Objective 2- Inclusive and Sustainable Economic Growth (found at https://www.usaid.gov/georgia/cdcs). The project will build upon previous USAID achievements in private sector development and economic governance in Georgia. USAID seeks your input, comments, and recommendations on any or all of the following questions: • Which type of resource and technical partners/capabilities are best suited to promote competitiveness in Georgia? • Considering Georgia's economy and development challenges, what value chain approaches would enhance Georgia's economic competitiveness? Or is there another approach that would contribute more to inclusive and sustainable economic growth? • If a value chain approach is taken, what criteria should be considered to prioritize value chains and how many value chains could a project of this scale effectively support? • If a value chain approach is taken, to what extent should the value chain prioritization exercise take into consideration services like tourism and transport and logistics vs. sectors like agriculture and manufacturing? • What are the most effective ways that USAID can support Georgia to realize the benefits of EU association? • To what extent could USAID address environmental challenges like sustainable natural resource management and clean production while increasing Georgia's economic competitiveness? Are there environmentally-friendly sectors in which Georgia already has a comparative advantage that could be further developed by this project? • How important is it for USAID to focus on strategic outreach designed to communicate the benefits of trade liberalization and policy reform? How could this component be integrated with other project activities? • How could policy and regulatory reform feature as a priority for USAID? Should USAID focus on specific sectors or address economic governance more broadly? • How limiting of a factor is access to finance for Georgia's economic competitiveness? Does this issue affect the Georgian economy broadly or is it more sector-specific? Which types of financial products, tailored financing solutions and/or financing structures should be prioritized? • How could USAID facilitate collaboration between private sector and educational institutions (business training, technical, and vocational institutions, for example) to improve skills matching? And how could this component be integrated with other activities? • According to research, Georgia lags its competitors in innovation and business sophistication. How could addressing these particular challenges be integrated into USAID activities? • Should this project take a regional (i.e., sub-national/geographically-focused) approach as opposed to a national approach? Why or why not? • Do you see any opportunities in leveraging partnerships with private sector stakeholders in sectors that you think should be targeted by USAID? • How can long-term financial sustainability be built into activities developed by USAID? • Any other suggestions you may wish to offer that will improve USAID project design and implementation, are welcome. USAID also welcomes recommendations regarding the best means of maximizing impact from a programmatic prospective. This is not a Request for Proposals. Please do not submit proposals or statements of qualifications in response to this request. This announcement is a Request for Information (RFI), and is not to be construed as a commitment by USAID to issue a solicitation or ultimately to award a contract on the basis of this RFI or otherwise compensate an organization or individual for any information submitted as a result of this request. It should be noted that responding to this RFI will not give any advantage to an organization or individual if a subsequent solicitation is publicized. USAID will not provide answers to any questions submitted in response to this request. Thank you for your assistance and interest in USAID programs.