REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL: Graduate School Application Preparation

Background

Indonesia is committed to improving the quality and competitiveness of its workforce. One way is through the Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP), an institution under the Ministry of Finance, that has $6.6 billion in funding to provide scholarships for Indonesians to study at the world’s top universities either domestic or international and conduct research opportunities and return to Indonesia to improve Indonesia’s human resource capacity for Indonesia’s development.

USAID committed to supporting LPDP and its partner institutions through the USAID TEMAN LPDP program. The Technical Management Support to Indonesia Scholarship Provider (TEMAN LPDP) is a USAID five-year initiative implemented by the Indonesian International Education Foundation (IIEF) to assist Indonesian scholarship providers in managing the scholarship program, building partnerships with U.S. universities, developing pathway programs, and increasing outreach to improve Indonesian opportunities to study in the United States.

To support LPDP and its partner institutions, USAID TEMAN LPDP aims to increase the number of Indonesians studying in the United States — both for the substantive skills, and to further U.S-Indonesia understanding, through TEMAN LPDP’s direct work through social media, and our budding relationship directly with LPDP partner institutions such as Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education; Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology; Ministry of Religious Affairs (MORA), and other scholarship providers.

Objective

To increase the probability of potential candidates in Indonesia being selected as LPDP awardees and to increase the number of Indonesians studying in the U.S. through LPDP scholarships, USAID TEMAN LPDP opens opportunities for interested vendors to provide several services below:

• The Graduate School Application Preparation Program offers Indonesian university students and young professionals’ comprehensive guidance and preparation for applying to and succeeding at U.S. higher education institutions. The program specifically targets students who choose the United States for their graduate studies via LPDP scholarships.
• Connecting Indonesian Scholarship Providers, Indonesian LPDP awardees, and other scholarship awardees from Indonesia with potential U.S. universities to make them more familiar with the admission process at the U.S. universities.
• Critical Thinking Course to address a significant gap in Indonesia’s educational curriculum. This course targets the lack of coverage of critical thinking skills in the Indonesian academic curriculum. The Critical Thinking course enhances students’ analytical capabilities and substantially improves the quality of their applications to U.S. graduate schools.
• Personalized One–on–One Essay Advising Sessions. These sessions provide individual advising to help students with the principles of crafting compelling U.S. graduate school admission essays. Participants will receive guidance on principles for structuring their essay drafts and expressing their thinking and writing processes clearly and logically in their essay, to be effective with U.S. readers, while keeping to general advisory principles.

Scope of Work

The program is designed to support potential applicants and awardees of LPDP scholarships pursuing a master’s and PhD, spread across diverse geographic areas and time zones in Indonesia’s Western, Central, and Eastern parts.  Our selected vendor will conduct Graduate School Application Preparation, consisting of (1) Critical Thinking Workshop, (2) Sessions with U.S. HEIs, and (3) an Education Fair in Jakarta in summer 2025. All aim to increase the number of Indonesian students pursuing graduate degrees in the United States.

Expected Outcomes

1. Improved Knowledge of the U.S. Education System: Enhance Indonesian students’ understanding of the U.S. higher education system, including application procedures, academic culture, and institutional expectations
2. Increased Engagement with LPDP Scholarship: Raise awareness and engagement with the LPDP scholarship among Indonesian students and U.S. universities
3. Enhanced Critical Thinking Skills: Students show immediate improvement in their ability to analyze and evaluate arguments.
4. Enhanced Application Preparation and Student Readiness: Improve the preparedness of Indonesian students for U.S. graduate programs.
5. Effective Application Support: Increase the quality of application submissions from Indonesian students, resulting in higher quality applications to U.S. institutions.

Target Participants

The selected vendor has to target two different groups below:

1. Applicant with specific criteria:
   • Applicants who already receive scholarships from LPDP; Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education; Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology; Ministry of Religious Affairs (MORA); and other scholarship providers. with minimum English Score ITP 500/IELTS 5.0/iBT 45 or follows the regulation from each scholarship provider.
   • Applicants who are currently looking for Letters of Acceptance (LOAs) from US universities.
   • Applicants who already have conditional LOAs from US universities (if available).
2. Scholarship awardees from different scholarship programs including affirmative groups especially from LPDP scholarship. However, it has the flexibility to expand and encompass other scholarship recipients from various scholarship institutions in Indonesia.

Deliverables

Period of Performance

IIEF for the TEMAN LPDP Project will award the selected vendor under a Purchase Order (PO) service with a duration of 12 Months in 2025.

Location of Work

This activity will be managed  in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Timetable and Address for Submission

The due date for the proposal is January 21, 2025. The required document listed below must be emailed to ismiati.farahnasy@iief.or.id and cc to  temanlpdp@gmail.com.

Qualifications

USAID TEMAN LPDP will select a vendor with the desired qualifications including:

• Experience in running the English preparation in TOEFL iBT/IELTS.
• Experience in running academic writing, particularly with US universities.
• Experience in assisting, including admission and placement, for students who will study in the U.S.
• Experience in working with Affirmative areas.
• Extensive network with U.S. universities.
• Proven track record of implementing programs on behalf of USAID/Indonesia.

Required Documentation

The proposal consists of three parts:

• Section A: Technical Proposal
• Section B: Detailed cost for the activities
• Section B: Deliverable/Milestones and Target

Proposals must include the following components:

• CV of all personnel involved
• Cover letter outlining experience including response SOW deliverable
• Cost proposal with a complete team member who responsible for the project

Vendor Evaluation Criteria

IIEF Disclaimers

• The selected vendor must already possess the PKP/taxable status (Total price offered should include VAT).
• IIEF may perform a background check on any selected vendor.
• IIEF may cancel the solicitation and award.
• IIEF may reject any or all responses received.
• Issuance of the solicitation does not constitute an award commitment by IIEF.
• IIEF reserves the right to disqualify any offer based on the failure of vendor to follow solicitation instructions.
• IIEF reserves the right to issue awards based on the initial evaluation of offers without further discussion.
• IIEF may choose to award only part of the activities in the solicitation or issue multiple awards based on the solicitation activities.
• IIEF reserves the right to waive minor proposal deficiencies that can be corrected prior to award determination to promote competition.
• No vendor branding will be shown during the contract/public event.
• All intellectual property during the contract will be owned by IIEF.
• All payment terms must follow IIEF’s regulations.