USAID seeking Proposals for Intelligent Forecasting: A Competition to Model Future Contraceptive Use

Deadline: 08-Sep-20

The USAID Office of Population and Reproductive Health (PRH) team has issued a call for proposals for the Intelligent Forecasting: A Competition to Model Future Contraceptive Use.

The Intelligent Forecasting Competition is an opportunity for USAID to test how intelligent forecasting methods may improve the accuracy of contraceptive consumption forecasts at the service delivery level; and to identify and fund an organization to pilot intelligent forecasting methods at the service delivery level of the public sector health system in Côte d’Ivoire.

Through this competition USAID seeks to:

• Understand the strengths and limitations of intelligent forecasting methods to predict contraceptive consumption at the service delivery level.
• Determine whether intelligent forecasting methods increase accuracy over traditional order calculations and for predicting contraceptive consumption at the service delivery level in public sector health systems; and, if so, determine how intelligent forecasting methods can improve the contraceptive supply chain within Côte d’Ivoire.
• Support stakeholders in Côte d’Ivoire to pilot intelligent forecasting methods for contraceptives at the service delivery level in the national health system.
• If the intelligent methods do improve forecasting and can be successfully implemented in the field, build a body of evidence to encourage the uptake of intelligent forecasting methods into supply chain decision support systems at the service delivery level in other countries.

Competition Goals

The overall goal of this competition is to help partner countries meet the family planning needs of their people by improving contraceptive availability at the service delivery level through the use of intelligent forecasting methods. Intelligent forecasting is the use of statistical methods, advanced analytics, or artificial intelligence (AI) to power decision-making and enhance prediction accuracy over time.

Prize Information

• Forecasting Prize
  • One award for best performing model: 20,000 USD prize;
  • One award for second-best performing model: 5,000 USD prize.
• Field Implementation Grant
  • One award of approximately 100,000-200,000 USD for the most compelling Field Implementation Grant concept note.
  • Travel expenses for up to two individuals to support the Field Implementation Grant negotiation process or kick-off.

Eligibility Criteria

• Competitor Type: Individuals- USAID encourages entries from new competing parties that include women, LMIC residents, and innovators from outside the development sector.
• Competitor Type: Organizations – Includes participants from U.S. and non-U.S. based private sector, not-for-profit, faith-based, foundations, industrial, academic, civic groups, and regional organizations. USAID encourages entries from new competing parties that include women, LMIC residents, and innovators from outside the development sector.
• Submission Language – The official language of the competition is English and all questions, EOIs, and concept notes must be submitted in English. Competitors may use translation services, such as Google Translate, to submit in English.
• Eligible to Receive USAID funds – USAID will conduct a responsibility determination prior to award, to ensure that the award to the individual or organization meets applicable U.S. laws and policies, including but not limited to regulations administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of Treasury.
• Topical – EOIs must center on employing intelligent forecasting methods for family planning supply chains.
• Completeness – Incomplete entries will not be accepted.
• On Time – Late entries will not be accepted.
• Currency – All references to a currency should be in United States Dollars (USD)
• Local Right to Operate – Competitors must be a registered entity somewhere in the world, and have, or be in the process of obtaining, the legal right to implement the project in Côte d’Ivoire. Competitors should demonstrate they are based in, have a presence in, or will have a partner(s) in Côte d’Ivoire.
• Relevant Past Performance – Competitors must have previous experience working on global health projects related to supply chain or health products. Competitors must also have experience working in sub-Saharan Africa.

Ineligible Competitors 

Public sector entities, government entities, and political parties, groupings, or institutions, or their subsidiaries or affiliates are not eligible for the Forecasting Prize or Field Implementation Grant.

• USAID employees, USAID personal service contractors, Catalyst and its consortia members’ employees, and their family members are not eligible for the prize or Field Implementation Grant.
• Entities or organizations that participated in the development of this Intelligent Forecasting BAA Addendum, including supplying information, data, or expert review.
• Entities or organizations that had or have access to the Côte d’Ivoire country logistics data, via the Côte d’Ivoire eLMIS system or other systems.
• Individuals are not eligible for the Field Implementation Grant, but may compete for the Forecasting Prize.