Technical Assistance (TA) Facility to strengthen Rwanda's Social Protection Sector: Exiting Poverty Rwanda Programme

Concepts

• foreign economic aid
• east kilbride
• overall poverty
• extreme poverty
• exiting poverty rwanda programme
• rwanda
• technical expertise
• rwandas social protection sector
• exiting poverty
• its social protection sector strategic plan

Location

East Kilbride

Description

The TA Facility will provide technical expertise and capacity building to the Government of Rwanda and support the effective implementation of its Social Protection Sector Strategic Plan (SP-SSP) and ultimately a strengthened national social protection system, as well as the delivery of FCDO's Exiting Poverty in Rwanda (EPR) programme which aims to eradicate extreme poverty and reduce overall poverty.

Total Quantity or Scope

This is a voluntary ex ante transparency (VEAT) notice. This notice is to indicate that the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) proposes to extend the contract with the named supplier for the Technical Assistance (TA) Facility to strengthen Rwanda's Social Protection Sector: Exiting Poverty Rwanda Programme in a manner that is necessary to support a responsible exit from the programme . This contract extension will increase the contractual value by £1.8m as set out in the original contract and a 15 month time extension. The Technical Assistance facility provides technical expertise and capacity building to the Government of Rwanda and support the effective implementation of its Social Protection Sector Strategic Plan (SP-SSP) and ultimately a strengthened national social protection system, as well as the delivery of FCDO's Exiting Poverty in Rwanda (EPR) programme which aims to eradicate extreme poverty and reduce overall poverty. This extension will enable continued delivery of the technical assistance facility which provides technical expertise and capacity building to the Government of Rwanda.

Award Detail

Renewal Options

The original contract included options to extend the right to extend the programme by up to 1.5 years with a maximum, potential 50% increase to budget of the initial contracted value. This modification will extend the contract by 15 months from 31 March 2026 to 30 June 2027. It will increase the financial limit by £1.8m. which is within the 50% increase of budget as initially tendered.

CPV Codes

• 75211200 - Foreign economic-aid-related services

Indicators

• Options are available.
• Award on basis of price and quality.

Legal Justification

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) intends to award a 15 month extension to the Technical Assistance (TA) Facility to strengthen Rwanda's Social Protection Sector: Exiting Poverty Rwanda Programme. This amendment is made under Regulation 72(1)(b) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, which permits modifications because additional services by the original contractor have become necessary where a change of contractor cannot be made for economic or technical reasons. FCDO considers that the extension can be awarded without prior publication of a notice under Part 2 of the Public using the procedure in regulation 99(3) (VEAT notice). The modification does not exceed 50% of the original contract value. The extension to 30 June 2027 is necessary to allow FCDO unlock £15m in additional donor funding that is crucial to enable a responsible exit from the programme in a way that minimises harm to its beneficiaries. The nature and scope of the contract remain unchanged. This amendment does not materially expand the contract scope. Cowter International will continue to deliver the same core services. Proceeding with a new procurement would introduce significant risks, including loss of the additional donor funding, the potential for duplication of costs already borne, reputational risk with host government and adverse development impact on the most vulnerable beneficiaries. Additionally, a change of supplier would be impractical due to technical knowledge of the supplier on the Rwanda Social Protection System, trust, and well established relationships with the host government. These attributes are not readily transferable. Before entering the proposed contract amendment, the Authority will observe the standstill period of 10 calendar days from the day after publication on the UK e-notification service required by the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 at regulation 99 before executing the amendment allowing all relevant parties adequate time to review and respond.

Other Information

This contract was awarded to CowaterSogema International Inc as per contract award notice (https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/notice/f822e7a8-824a-4bc6-a559-606a0c...) External ID: f822e7a8-824a-4bc6-a559-606a0ce62366 The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) intends to award a 15 month extension to the Technical Assistance (TA) Facility to strengthen Rwanda's Social Protection Sector: Exiting Poverty Rwanda Programme. This amendment is made under Regulation 72(1)(b) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, which permits modifications because additional services by the original contractor have become necessary where a change of contractor cannot be made for economic or technical reasons. FCDO considers that the extension can be awarded without prior publication of a notice under Part 2 of the Public using the procedure in regulation 99(3) (VEAT notice). The modification does not exceed 50% of the original contract value. The extension to 30 June 2027 is necessary to allow FCDO unlock £15m in additional donor funding that is crucial to enable a responsible exit from the programme in a way that minimises harm to its beneficiaries. The nature and scope of the contract remain unchanged. This amendment does not materially expand the contract scope. Cowter International will continue to deliver the same core services. Proceeding with a new procurement would introduce significant risks, including loss of the additional donor funding, the potential for duplication of costs already borne, reputational risk, adverse development impact on the most beneficial beneficiaries. Before entering the proposed contract amendment, the Authority will observe the standstill period of 10 calendar days from the day after publication on the UK e-notification service required by the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 at regulation 99 before executing the amendment allowing all relevant parties adequate time to review and respond.