Request for SoW Comments - New Program for Non-Majority Communities - SOL-XXX-12-XXXXXX

This is a draft Statement of Work from the USAID Mission in Kosovo in anticipation of a Request for Proposals for a New Program for Non-Majority Communities. The draft Statement of Work is attached to provide you with more information on and to make comments, if any, on the upcoming New Program for Non-Majority Communities. The goal of the program is to increase interethnic cooperation-particularly between the Kosovo Albanian majority and Kosovo Serb non-majority population, which is vital to the security and stability of the Balkans. To foster this goal, it is necessary to create conditions that enable Kosovo Serbs (and other minorities) to preserve, protect, and develop their identities, including language, religious and cultural heritage; to be actively engaged in the work force; and to increase their interaction with Kosovar institutions at the local level. The concept of the New Program for Non-Majority Communities is to develop an integrated approach that is designed to foster non-majority communities' participation in Kosovo's institutions and society. Program activities will include grassroots community engagement; conflict mitigation and management; good governance and transparency, especially in the area of service delivery; business development and job creation, including youth employment; and non-majority language and cultural rights. The three objectives of the New Program for Non-Majority Communities are to: •1. 1. Create tangible and sustainable avenues for constructive partnerships between (a) non-majority and majority communities; and (b) the Government of Kosovo (GoK) and non-majority communities, to enable long-term interethnic interaction and ensure that the key needs of non-majority communities are met; •2. 2. Improve economic opportunities in target municipalities; and •3. 3. Increase the efficiency and capacity of target municipal administrations to respond to the needs of all their citizens. In achieving each of these objectives, the ability to sustain program interventions after the program has ended is a high priority. The attached Statement of Work is released for information purposes. Comments, if any, on the Statement of Work may be submitted as well. The USAID Mission in Kosovo will consider all of the comments submitted until August 15, 2012 COB Kosovo time and may revise the Statement of Work accordingly. Late comments will not be considered. Comments must be submitted to Ms. Jessica Faber, Regional Contracting Office/Kosovo, at [email protected] . This is not a formal Request for Proposals. The USAID Mission in Kosovo will inform the potential bidders of the Request for Proposals for the New Program for Non-Majority Communities through a Pre-Solicitation Notice that may be issued in the next couple of months. This notice does not constitute an obligation or endorsement by USAID to proceed with the New Program for Non-Majority Communities. Any planned undertakings pursuant to New Program for Non-Majority Communities are subject to internal approvals and availability of funds. Responses to this request for comment are not binding on the U.S. Government and do not obligate USAID to issue a Solicitation, nor does it commit USAID to pay any cost incurred in the preparation and submission of comments.