U.S. Agency for International Development, M/OP/B/HNE, Room 1509, SA- 14, Washington, D.C. 20523-1424

L -- RECONSTRUCTION AND EXPANDED ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY SOL OP/B/HNE-97-002 DUE 061697 POC Contact Point: Ben C. Vogler, Phone: (703)875-1161 or Fax: (703) 875-1519; Agreement Officer: James A. Jeckell, Phone: (703) 875- 1017. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) contemplates issuing a Request for Applications (RFA) for a five year Cooperative Agreement for professional/technical services in support of the restoration of economic and social viability in approximately thirty (30) clusters of rural communities throughout Lebanon. A cluster is defined as a geographic/social/economic entity. While assistance should not be limited to displaced communities only, focusing on rural areas will allow displaced people to be resettled in the communities they fled because of war or lack of economic opportunity, and will ensure that those resettled have access to basic infrastructure and opportunities to lead productive lives. Major program objectives for this program include 1) Infrastructure development and rehabilitation that accelerates, extends, complements or substitutes for government efforts. This could include renovation of potable water, wastewater and irrigation systems, schools, health clinics, farm access roads, and other critical infrastructure. 2) Agricultural and microenterprise income generation, particularly in agribusiness, rural industry, local trade or other productive activities. 3) Environmental activities that educate the population of the community clusters, as well as specific interventions that improve the local environment, e.g. reforestation, sanitary drainage, landfills, erosion control. 4) Civic participation activities whose purpose is to engender a sense of community, reduce confessional tensions, and involve community populations in their own governance. In delivering the support described above, USAID encourages applicants to strengthen local partners and increase their commitment and capacity to sustain program benefits. USAID will support microenterprise and small income-generating activities in rural areas that have the highest poverty indices or have suffered from war-related displacement. The clusters of communities will be chosen on the basis of need, participation of inhabitants, including both men and women, and participation of indigenous NGOs and local government. USAID will NOT support activities that involve 1) the production, processing or marketing of citrus, palm oil or sugar for export where there may be potential injury to U.S. exporters of similar products, 2) involve the production of agricultural commodities for export when the commodities would directly compete with exports of similar U.S. agricultural commodities to third countries and have a significant impact on U.S. exporters, 3) assist directly in the establishment of facilities designed for the manufacture for export to the U.S. or third countries in direct competition with U.S. exports of textiles, footwear, or leather goods, or to procure feasibility studies, pre-feasibility studies, or project profiles for such facilities. All responsible sources may submit applications which shall be considered by the Agency. All proposed grant programs must be consistent with Government of Lebanon and must be consistent with the Government of Lebanon and USAID/Lebanon development policies and priorities, be no more than 5 years in duration, and, demonstrate reasonable prospects for institutional sustainability of proposed benefits after completion of the assistance instrument. Other program requirements will be provided in the final RFA. USAID may make one or more awards from this RFA to the responsible applicant(s) whose applications(s) conforming to this RFA offers the greatest value to the Government. The RFA and instructions may be obtained at the internet website "http://www.info.usaid.gov". ONLY if you are unable to obtain it by the internet should you contact USAID at fax: (703) 875-1519. The preferred method of distribution of USAID procurement information is via the Internet or by request of an application on a 3.5" floppy disk (WordPerfect 5.1/5.2 format). This CBD notice can be viewed and downloaded using the Agency Web Site. The RFA, once issued, can be downloaded from the Agency web site. The Worldwide Web address is http://www.info.usaid.gov. Select Business and Procurement Opportunities from the home page, then "USAID Procurement." On the following screen, select "Downloaded via Anonymous File Transfer Protocol (FTP). The FTP address is FTP.INFO.USAID.GOV. Logon using the user identification of "anonymous" and the password is your e-mail address. Look under the following directory for the RFA: pub/OP/RFA/HNECLUST2/hneclust2.rfa. Receipt of this RFA through INTERNET must be confirmed by written notification to the contact person noted above. It is the responsibility of the recipient of this application document to ensure that it has been received from INTERNET in its entirety and USAID bears no responsibility for data errors resulting from transmission or conversion processes. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted. USAID anticipates the issuance of the RFA on or about 6/9/1997. (0139)

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