Amendment 0001 -Questions and Answers 1131PL24RDM51042.pdf

Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended, by one of the following methods:

(a) By completing items 8 and 15, and returning or (c) By separate letter or electronic communication which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment you desire to change an offer already submitted, such change may be made by letter or electronic communication, provided each letter or electronic communication makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

E. IMPORTANT: Contractor is not is required to sign this document and return copies to the issuing office.

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT 1. CONTRACT ID CODE

2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NUMBER 3. EFFECTIVE DATE 4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQUISITION NUMBER 5. PROJECT NUMBER (If applicable)

7. ADMINISTERED BY (If other than Item 6) CODE

STANDARD FORM 30 (REV. 11/2016)

Prescribed by GSA FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

FACILITY CODE

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NUMBER

9B. DATED (SEE ITEM 11)

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NUMBER

10B. DATED (SEE ITEM 13)

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers is extended. is not extended.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA (If required) copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted;

13. THIS ITEM APPLIES ONLY TO MODIFICATIONS OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS.

IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NUMBER AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

CHECK ONE A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE CONTRACT ORDER

NUMBER IN ITEM 10A.

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES (such as changes in paying office, appropriation data, etc.) SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER (Specify type of modification and authority)

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect.

15C. DATE SIGNED

15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER (Type or print)

16C. DATE SIGNED

16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (Type or print)

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION (Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

PAGE OF PAGES

6. ISSUED BY CODE

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR (Number, street, county, State and ZIP Code) (X)

CODE

15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR

(Signature of person authorized to sign)

16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

(Signature of Contracting Officer)

Previous edition unusable

1131PL24RDM51042A0001

1131PL

TYRONE W. JOHNSON

The purpose of this amendment is to provide responses to questions received in reference to this combined synopsis/ solicitation number: 1131PL24RDM51042. Also, This solicitation closing date has been extended to close on Thursday, January 4, 2024 at 1pm Arlington, Virginia Time. Please see continuation pages attached.

All other terms and conditions remain unchanged.

1131PL

United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) Office of Acquisition Management 1101Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1100 Arlington, Virginia 22209 (USA)

United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) Office of Acquisition Management 1101Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1100 Arlington, Virginia 22209 (USA)

1131PL24RDM51042

1 4

12/18/2023

11/30/2023

Solicitation Number: 1131PL24RDM51042 Title: Regional Latin America and the Caribbean – Definitional Mission for Digital Infrastructure Sector

CONTINUATION FROM SF 30 BOX 14:

Questions and Answers (BOLD)

Question 1: Award is limited to U.S. firms or U.S. individuals. Contractor and U.S.

subcontractor employees used shall be either U.S. citizens or non-U.S. citizens lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States. Contractor use of subcontractors is limited to less than fifty percent of the proposed price. International transportation and insurance must have their nationality, source and origin in the United States. Local lodging, food, and transportation in the host country are not subject to this restriction.

Question 1: Given the nature of the services sought and the need for international expertise can USTDA confirm that a U.S. firm prime contractor may utilize a certain percentage of the fifty percent allowed for subcontracting on non-U.S. based subcontractors providing technical support? If so, can USTDA provide such percentage to offerors?

Answer 1: The Contractor for the Definitional Mission is only assessing the project proposals (not conducting the actual studies) and local expertise (unless they are a U.S.

citizen) may not be used by the Contractor for this stage. The Contractor (and U.S.

subcontractor, if used) shall use their technical expertise to assess the information provided by the proposed grantees and draft the Definitional Mission report and Terms of Reference for recommended projects. Relevant information about the markets can be gleaned from reliable Internet sources as well as from the proposed project sponsors. The Contractor can hire local interpretation services while in- country.

Question 2: The actual number of deliverables/reports against this contract is dependent on the success of the Definitional Mission and availability of projects. Therefore, not all deliverables may be required or be possible and the figures provided for the Project Reports are not-to-exceed ceiling figures and not actual figures. The Contractor shall only invoice for work/deliverables actually completed. Any unexpended funds will be de-obligated from the contract at close-out. The Contractor will not be paid for reports that are not approved or completed.

Question 2: Considering the requirement for detailed information in the final report, which may necessitate significant access to foreign market research in local languages, are offerors expected to propose substantial travel budgets for field research to gather this data? Furthermore, in this context, should offerors anticipate that the research on foreign competition and the impact on U.S. labor markets will predominantly rely on U.S. government sources?

Answer 2: The Contractor should budget for travel to up to six countries, for a duration of up to five days each. It is possible that one or more of these trips could be shortened to allow for a longer stay in a larger market (i.e. Brazil). This will be decided upon based between the COR and the Contractor, based on the number of leads in the different markets during the course of the Definitional Mission. The Contractor is expected to gather information from reliable sources on the Internet as well as gathering information from the proposed project sponsors, financing entities/development banks, industry associations, Title: Regional Latin America and the Caribbean – Definitional Mission for Digital Infrastructure Sector and U.S. companies. Some of these meetings may be held in-country, however extensive field research in-country is not required under this Definitional Mission. In-country visits will not likely be more than 1 week, except in the case of a larger market (i.e. Brazil), which could warrant a longer visit (i.e. 10 days). The majority of meetings in-country will be with potential project sponsors and perhaps industry associations. On occasion, it may make sense to meet with local representatives of development banks and/or U.S. companies – if time allows, but those meetings are often conducted virtually and/or in the U.S.

Question 3: Given that reports are based on unit pricing and a final report may not be issued based reasons beyond the control of the contractor, can USTDA confirm that the contractor will be provided partial compensation in the event that a report is requested but then not completed at the direction of USTDA?

Answer 3: The Contractor shall review and provide initial project assessments (“Project Assessments”) for up to twenty (20) proposals for feasibility studies, technical assistance, or pilot projects in the Latin America and Caribbean (“LAC”) digital sector as directed by the COR. Project Assessments are expected to be up to fifteen (15) pages in length. If the COR deems that a project meets the criteria for further development, then the Contractor shall develop full project reports (“Project Reports”) for up to ten (10) of the Project Assessments for USTDA funding consideration. The Final report is the aggregation of the fully developed Project Reports. It is highly unlikely that USTDA would halt a Project Report, as the rationale for the Project Assessments are to determine whether or not the project warrants a full Project Report.

Question 4: - The full project reports shall analyze:

• Technical and commercial project viability;

• Potential for project financing and implementation;

• U.S. industry competitiveness, U.S. export potential, and sources of U.S. supply;

• Foreign competition;

• Project implementation risks and potential mitigants;

• U.S. labor impact;

• Environmental and social impact, climate resilience screening, and development impact of the project; and

• In coordination with the grantees and USTDA, develop full terms of reference and budgets for each of the ten (10) recommended activities.

Question 4: Could the highlighted bullets (expected in the final report) pose challenges without significant access to foreign market research in local languages, and are offerors expected to submit extensive travel budgets to enable staff to conduct field research in order to obtain data on this?

Answer 4: The highlighted bullets should not pose a challenge. The Contractor should use their extensive knowledge of the digital sector in addition to Internet research and discussion with industry associations, proposed project sponsors, U.S. companies and development banks to determine who the foreign competitors are to U.S. companies. The Contractor will then provide a list of the main foreign competitors (company and

Title: Regional Latin America and the Caribbean – Definitional Mission for Digital Infrastructure Sector respective country) in the Project Reports. The Contractor will also make a determination as to whether the proposed project could have a negative impact on U.S. labor (i.e. could U.S. jobs be transferred outside of the U.S. as a result of the project?). The Contractor would also need to ask the project sponsor detailed questions about whether there would be any environmental or social impacts as a result of the project (going through protected areas, displacing citizens, etc..). These issues would not necessitate additional time in-country. Offerors should budget for six trips, with a duration up to five days each.

Question 5: In relation to the above, should offerors assume that the foreign competition and US labor impact market research would be heavily influenced by US Government sources?

Answer 5: The Contractor’s outreach could include government sources, industry associations, U.S. companies and reliable Internet sources.

Question 6: Executive Summary: Although this section will not be evaluated, if included, it should allow technical reviewers to quickly understand the critical elements of the proposal including the most salient features of the RFP respondents’ technical vision and approach, the key personnel, and capabilities to accomplish the desired results. This section shall be limited to 1 page. Any additional pages will not be reviewed.

Question 6: The requirement to include resumes for proposed personnel lacks specific guidance regarding which personnel should be included and which are considered key. Could you please clarify which personnel positions offerors are expected to propose and provide resumes for?

Answer 6: The Offeror should provide resumes for key personnel, which includes anyone that will be providing technical analysis of the proposed projects, drafting the reports (including budgets and Terms of Reference), and traveling as part of the Definitional Mission.

Question 7: - USTDA attachment 5 calls for 541690.

Question 7: Will USTDA considering also adding 541611 - Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services to allow for additional vendors to be considered and provide USTDA with greater competition (or something along those lines)?

Answer 7: No. According to FAR 19.102(b)(1) Unless required to do otherwise by paragraph (b)(2)(ii)(B) of this section, contracting officers shall assign one NAICS code and corresponding size standard to all solicitations, contracts, and task and delivery orders.

Question 8: Our aim is to deliver a high-quality outcome that aligns with USTDA's vision, and, in order to achieve that, we would like to request a deadline extension of a week, up to December 28th.

Answer 8: US Trade and Development Agency will extend the deadline date to Thursday, January 4, 2024, at 1pm Arlington, Virginia Time.

All Else Remain Unchanged.

PDF - 1 Questions for USTDA on Digital Infrastructure DM