Request for Proposals: Peacebuilding in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Taking Stock of Challenges, Opportunities, and Implications for USIP

Request for Proposals

United States Institute of Peace

Peacebuilding in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Taking Stock of Challenges, Opportunities, and Implications for USIP

Location: Varies/International

Release Date: July 1, 2024

Proposals Due Date: 5pm Eastern Standard Time on July 29, 2024

Submission Requirements

Any proposal that does not contain all items listed below may be considered nonresponsive. For more detail on the selection process, including corresponding evaluation criteria, please see Section V below. To be considered under this RFP, please submit the following:

1. Technical Narrative Proposal


2. Prior Experience


3. Overall Approach and Methodology


4. Bibliography


5. Key Personnel, Staffing, and Specific Expertise


6. Curriculum Vitae (CV)


7. Cost Proposal


8. Financial Management Assessment Form


9. Certification Page

Introduction and Background

The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) is a national, nonpartisan, independent institute, founded by Congress and dedicated to the proposition that a world without violent conflict is possible, practical, and essential for the United States and global security. In conflict zones abroad, the Institute works with local partners to prevent, mitigate, and resolve violent conflict. For more information, please visit http://www.usip.org.

The mission of the Learning, Evaluation and Research (LER) team is to make USIP a more evidence-based, learning and impactful organization. LER is the Institute’s hub for standards on project design, monitoring and evaluation (M&E), data management, learning, and research. The team works to enhance and strengthen the systems and practices for capturing, sharing, and leveraging data across USIP to enable learning and improve decision making at the project, program, and organizational levels.  

LER provides direct technical assistance at the programmatic and project levels to strengthen research, design, M&E, and learning. At the organizational level, LER manages the Institute’s data management systems and tools for tracking progress and learning to inform strategic-level decision-making. LER also commissions research projects which contribute to advancing the peacebuilding field through investigating emerging questions. These activities help ensure that USIP is producing and leveraging stronger evidence and that staff are able to learn from that evidence and apply it to their work. This solicitation supports USIP’s mission by advancing evidence-based research, policy, and programming. 

Purpose of the RFP

The purpose of this RFP is to identify a researcher, researchers, or an entity to investigate the nexus of artificial intelligence and peacebuilding programming and practices.  Technology continues to advance more rapidly than norms and institutions can adapt to and address. Certainly, artificial intelligence (AI) has come to capture the imagination and reality of many actors across virtually all sectors, including health, education, national security, and defense, simultaneously necessitating the need to pause and reflect on these advancements while moving just as quickly to capitalize on the rapidly evolving nature of this tool.

AI has had an impact on peacebuilding with positive and negative implications. As the full potential of AI continues to be realized, it is essential to identify and better understand the current and longer-term effects on a core tenet of peacebuilding, namely that of “doing no harm". Additionally, it is equally important to understand how, if at all, peacebuilders use and leverage technology and AI.

Scope of Work

Background

 AI is of relevance to several peacebuilding themes such as trust building, social cohesion, climate adaptation, and gender and youth inclusion—to name but a few. It raises many questions, namely:

• How does AI affect the theories of change developed in peacebuilding programming?


• Is there a risk level that is acceptable at the nexus of AI and peacebuilding?  What are the potential benefits of such risk level?


• What are the ethical dilemmas of using AI in peacebuilding programming? How can they be navigated?


• What case studies illustrate peacebuilders’ successes, challenges, and adaptability in integrating the use of technology and AI?


• What unintended consequences of technology and AI, both positive and negative, are peacebuilding practitioners identifying?

This RFP solicits proposals that address these questions and welcomes others from offerors that are deemed to be pressing and relevant. The intended outcomes of the resulting research are to identify current and emerging challenges for peacebuilding, and to map—as much as the advancement of AI allows—the state of the technology with practical implications for practitioners and policy-makers.

Project Goals and Objectives

USIP solicits proposals which address, but are not limited to, the following two components. Proposals may:

• Map the leading organizations (institutes, think tanks, university units/centers, NGOs, and multilateral agencies) that are actively advancing knowledge on the emerging relationship between AI and peacebuilding programming and practices. The mapping should enable USIP to have clarity on the following questions:
  
  
  
  1. How should USIP conceptualize the relationship between AI and peacebuilding?
  
  
  2. How are peacebuilding organizations and experts approaching the AI/peacebuilding nexus regarding research, thought leadership, programming, and practice?
  
  
  3. What are the current knowledge and programming gaps in the AI/peacebuilding nexus? What are the likely trends in how peacebuilders will engage with AI longer-term? Where will they likely cluster and what challenges will they face? What aspects might be overlooked?
  
  
  
  


• Focus on 2-3 Theories of Change (ToCs) that are central to USIP’s programming and understand how advances in AI may impact these ToCs in terms of bringing new opportunities and challenges. Also, how should relevant USIP programming embrace AI and its potential impacts, and how can potential challenges be mitigated or navigated?


• Specific questions include:
  
  
  
  1. In an era of widespread misinformation, are there ways that AI can be used to combat propaganda and fake news?
  
  
  2. How can AI aid in building a sense of trust and empathy between different/antagonistic groups?
  
  
  
  


• What incentives and guardrails have worked in other fields to promote the beneficial use of AI?

Expected Contract Type

Firm fixed price.

 Scope

The contractor will examine the challenges, opportunities and implications of AI for the peacebuilding field.  

If Institutional Review Board review (IRB or ethics review) is required for the proposed research project, the contractor must provide a certificate of Human Subjects Research training. This training is available free of charge through USIP and requires 4-5 hours to complete.

The contractor will deliver the following: 

1. An inception report, in consultation with USIP, outlining the final research questions, research methodology, methods, and the analytical methods that will be employed.   


2.  Institutional Review Board (if required).


3. A data collection report describing the data collection activities, and any divergence from the plan outlined in the inception report. 


4. A full first draft of the research report of the findings (not to exceed 30 pages, excluding annexes and an executive summary). 


5. Final research report of the findings (not to exceed 30 pages, excluding annexes and an executive summary). 


6. A presentation/workshop of the research findings to relevant USIP staff.  

Level of Effort

Estimations for the level of effort required for each deliverable are as follows:

1. Inception report: 6-10 person days


2.  Institutional Review Board (if required): 1-2 days


3.  Data collection report: 5-8 person days


4.  First draft of the research report: 10-15 person days


5. Final research report: 10-12 person days


6. Presentation/workshop of research findings: 1-2 person days

Tentative Timeline

A tentative timeline for the completion of deliverables is provided below. USIP will work with the selected proposer to finalize deliverables and deliverable due dates upon selection.

Submission Requirements

Any proposal that does not contain all items listed below may be considered nonresponsive. For more detail on the selection process, including corresponding evaluation criteria, please see Section V below. To be considered under this RFP, please submit the following:

Technical Narrative Proposal

The technical narrative proposal should be no more than 10 pages and include the following sections:

Prior Experience

Describe at least two research projects of similar scope and complexity the candidate has worked on previously. These projects should demonstrate the candidate’s experience with conducting research on technology and AI in the context of peacebuilding. If these research projects were published, please include them in the CV as described below.  

Please include whether the candidate and/or essential personnel have received funding from USIP in the past and if so, include a short description of the project, the name of the USIP main point of contact, and the grant or contract number, as applicable. 

Overall Approach and Methodology

Based on the information provided in this RFP, describe the proposed approach to the research, timeline for the research, data collection, data analysis, research methodology, and development of conclusions. An Institutional Review Board (IRB) review and approval may be required prior to primary data collection and should be factored in the timeline. As noted above, the final research methodology will be developed in consultation with USIP. 

Bibliography

Please include a bibliography of seminal, relevant, and timely literature that speaks to the AI-Peacebuilding nexus. The bibliography will not count towards the technical narrative proposal page limit.

Key Personnel, Staffing, and Specific Expertise

Describe the key personnel, their role, their level of knowledge, and how their experience is related and beneficial. Describe the overall staffing plan for the project. Please note that staff may be non-US citizens and do not require a security clearance.  

Curriculum Vitae (CV)

For each of the key personnel, please provide a CV of no more than three pages. CVs will not count towards technical narrative proposal page limit.

Cost Proposal

The cost proposal shall include a detailed budget and a budget narrative. Budget must be in US dollars and in a spreadsheet format (e.g., Excel). Please note that USIP allows nonprofit organizations to include up to 15% indirect cost recovery on total direct costs for contracts.

 Financial Management Assessment Form

Organizations must complete the Financial Management Assessment Form unless they have received Federal grants, contracts or cooperative agreements in the past two years and can provide their audited financial statement from their most recent fiscal year.

Certification Page

Complete and sign the Certification Page below and submit with the proposal.

1. Selection Process


2. Schedule

USIP may adjust dates in or cancel this RFP at any time prior to contract award.

Evaluation Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated based on the criteria below. For more detail on each submission requirement, see Section IV of this RFP. The USIP Selection Committee will review all proposals received on time using the evaluation criteria established below based on the best value offered to USIP. The Selection Committee reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, in whole or in part, to award multiple contracts, and/or to enter into negotiations with any party, in the best interests of the Institute.

General Instructions and Terms

1. Complete proposals must be submitted by email to Stombe@usip.org by 5pm Eastern Standard Time on July 29, 2024.


2. The Institute is not liable for any costs incurred by offerors prior to issuance of an executed contract with the Institute.


3. Submissions must be typed and submitted electronically and must include all submission requirements outlined in the Submission of Requirements section of this RFP. No changes or corrections to a response will be allowed after the deadline.


4. All submissions should be in English and US dollars.


5. Any questions concerning this RFP should be directed to Sandra Tombe at Stombe@usip.org . Pertinent responses will be made available to all offerors by email. No inquiries will be accepted after specified time and date.


6. Any proposal not addressing all RFP requirements may be considered non-responsive. Late proposals may be rejected as non-responsive.


7. This RFP is not an offer to enter into an agreement with any party, but rather a request to receive proposals from offerors (organizations or persons) interested in providing the services outlined herein. Such proposals shall be considered and treated by USIP as offers to enter into a contract.


8. USIP shall not be obligated for the payment of any sums whatsoever to any recipient of this RFP until and unless a written contract between the parties is executed.


9. Unless stated otherwise within this RFP, the selected Contractor shall be responsible for providing all equipment and/or supplies required to perform the services.


10. The selected Contractor shall not discriminate against any person in accordance with Federal, state, or local law.


11. The submission of any materials to USIP in response to this RFP will constitute (i) a representation that the Offeror owns or has unrestricted license to use and license such materials and all intellectual property expressed therein; and (ii) the grant of a non-exclusive license to USIP to use such materials and intellectual property for any purpose, including specifically the evaluation, negotiation, and documentation of a contract with any party.


12. Offeror will commit to adhering to the attached USIP Terms & Conditions, else risk removal from consideration. Exceptions to these terms must be clearly outlined in an annex to the Technical Narrative Proposal. Please reach out to Stombe@usip.org to request a copy of USIP Terms and Conditions if they are not attached to the solicitation.

Certification Page
(Please submit with the proposal)