Alliance wPrivate Sector - Questions and Answers - 19GT5026Q0076.pdf

RFQ 19GT5026Q0076 – GUATEMALA Services for alliance with private sector

– Questions and Answers

1. Existing Embassy survey data. Section V. states that the contractor shall build on existing, limited data from a recent Embassy immigration survey. Will that data be made available to the awarded contractor, and can any portion be shared with offerors during the quotation period to inform the proposed research design and pricing?

R. Yes, the Embassy will share with the awarded contractor the relevant results of its recent survey to support the requested baseline. This data will not be released during the quotation period.

Potential vendors must describe, in their proposal, their approach to obtaining the baseline information needed.

2. Scope of the baseline research. Section V. describes a targeted, right-sized inquiry rather than a standalone study. To help offerors price consistently, would the Government indicate an expected order of magnitude, for example an approximate sample size, number of focus groups, or geographic coverage, or is the methodology entirely at the offeror's discretion?

R. This is deliberately left to potential vendors' discretion so proposals can demonstrate research judgment appropriate to a "right-sized" inquiry. Potential vendors should propose and price a methodology they consider sufficient to meet the required objectives, and should specify this methodology clearly in their proposal. The Embassy expects a small-scale research effort that is representative of the target audience but does not necessarily require nationwide coverage.

3. Budget or ceiling, and pass-through costs. Has the Government established an estimated value or a not-to-exceed ceiling for this requirement? Is any portion of the price expected to cover partner incentives, media placement, event costs, or other pass-through expenditures?

R. An estimated value and ceiling will not be disclosed as part of this solicitation. Regarding pass-through costs: per Section 4.3, implementation and execution costs of this nature are not covered by the Embassy. Securing partners capable of funding and managing their own printing, distribution, and associated logistics is itself part of the core capability the Embassy is contracting for; this in-kind contribution is a required element of a qualifying partnership, not an optional add-on or a cost to be covered by the Embassy.

4. Subcontracting structure. Will the Government accept a quotation in which a United States prime contractor performs strategy, research design, analysis, measurement, and Embassy coordination, while Guatemalan subcontractors perform in-country partnership development, private-sector outreach, and local execution under the prime contractor's management and quality assurance?

R. Yes. The Government will accept proposals structured with a U.S. prime and a Guatemalan subcontractor, provided both the prime and subcontractor meet the applicable requirements — including eligibility, past performance, key personnel, Guatemala operating experience for a legally established firm, and physical office/local presence — and documentation of both entities' involvement in providing services is submitted. The prime retains overall contract responsibility and quality assurance.

5. Geographic priority. Section V.d prioritizes partners with a footprint in departments with high rates of illegal immigration to the U.S., and notes these can be discussed with the Embassy. Will the Government identify those priority departments before the quotation deadline, or should offerors propose them based on their own analysis?

R. This is a project seeking coverage across the whole country, though the Embassy recognizes that full nationwide reach may not be achieved. The SOW notes that priority departments "can be discussed with the Embassy," reflecting that the final geographic focus will be confirmed collaboratively during the Month 1–2 research and strategy phase. At the proposal stage, it is not necessary to submit a list of partners or their geographic coverage or interest, though it is helpful if potential vendors reference meaningful contacts or relationships from their portfolio relevant to this contract. This is something the awarded contractor will coordinate with the Embassy when preparing the strategy.

6.The solicitation refers to a stated budget, but we could not find one. Can you provide the expected budget or price range?

R. No budget or price range is being published for this requirement. See response to Question 3.

7. Can a U.S. prime satisfy the Guatemala experience and local presence requirements through a Guatemalan subcontractor or teaming partner?

R. As noted in response to Question 4, the Embassy will accept a team structure involving a U.S.

prime and a Guatemalan subcontractor. However, the Guatemala operating experience required under Section 9.1 must be held by the entity actually performing the alliance-building and negotiation function under this contract. That is, the company registered and operating as a public relations firm that will engage directly with Guatemalan private-sector partners must independently demonstrate the required three (3) years of experience operating in Guatemala, including crisis/reputational risk experience and prior experience working on themes related to illegal immigration, migration, or return/reintegration.

8. For the three required prior alliance examples, can the Embassy consider the combined experience of the prime, local partner, and proposed key personnel?

R. If the proposal is structured as a team, the three success cases must belong to whichever firm is proposed as the entity performing the alliance-building and negotiation function, consistent with the response to Question 7. Success cases cannot be established by aggregating separate, partial experiences across the prime, subcontractor, and key personnel, nor by crediting a key individual's personal experience from a prior employer toward a firm's past performance record. The only exception is where the bidder is proposing as an individual professional under Section 9.1(b) rather than as a firm; in that case, the individual's own documented success cases are the relevant standard.

9. Does the Embassy have any target ranges for awareness, app downloads, voluntary return use, or partner engagement that bidders should use in building the proposal?

R. No pre-set target ranges exist at this stage. The awarded contractor will first establish a working baseline, building on the existing Embassy survey data and its own targeted research, and will then propose measurable outcomes and indicators against each objective in Section 2 for Embassy validation during the Month 1–2 research and strategy phase.

10.Can the Embassy provide more information about the existing immigration survey, including its date, sample size, methodology, and geographic coverage?

R. Specific details about the poll conducted by the Embassy are not relevant to proposal preparation for this contract. The Embassy will share the relevant results with the awarded contractor.

11.Which departments or geographic areas in Guatemala should the campaign prioritize?

R. See response to Question 5.

12. Does the Embassy have existing relationships with business associations, companies, financial institutions, employers, or other organizations that the contractor may leverage?

R. This information is not relevant to proposal preparation at this stage. Any existing Embassy relationships that may support the contractor's work will be discussed directly with the awarded contractor as the partnership strategy is developed.

13.Are offerors required to identify the three business associations and at least ten company partners before submitting a proposal, or may they be identified after award?

R. No. Identifying and securing the three anchor associations and minimum ten companies is the job of the awarded contractor; potential vendors are only required, at the proposal stage, to submit a concept demonstration illustrating their approach to securing one illustrative alliance. The actual identification of the three anchor associations and minimum ten companies is a post-award deliverable due at the end of Month 2.

Potential vendors must instead demonstrate, in their proposal, that they have the capability to do this job by providing evidence against the applicable requirements (e.g., past performance, key personnel, research capability, etc.).

14. Are offerors required to identify the pilot partner before submitting a proposal, or may the pilot partner be identified after award?

R. The pilot partner is identified and secured as part of the Month 1–2 research and pilot validation work, and is not required at the proposal stage.

15. What documentation is required to demonstrate that a partner has committed to participate?

R. Signed partner agreements, shared with the Embassy upon execution, constitute the required documentation of a partner's commitment to participate, consistent with Section 6.

16.What level of due diligence or vetting is required for prospective partners, and will the Embassy provide the applicable process, checklist, or template?

R. Section 4.5 sets the substantive due diligence standard the contractor must document and attest to for every proposed partner (e.g., lawful revenue sources, no sanctions exposure, no human rights or corruption concerns). A specific checklist or template, if developed, will be provided at award;

vendors should propose their vetting methodology based on the criteria in Section 4.5.

17. If the Embassy rejects a partner that has passed the contractor's due diligence review, will the contractor be required to secure a replacement within the existing price and schedule?

R. Yes. This is a firm-fixed-price contract (Section 7), and the Embassy retains final authority to confirm or reject any proposed alliance (Section 4.5). The contractor is expected to build a sufficiently robust partner pipeline to still meet the minimum ten-company target within the agreed schedule and price, without additional Embassy funding.

18. Will the Embassy provide access to CBP Home App data or another approved tracking method to determine whether QR code scans result in app downloads?

R. The SOW requires the contractor to design a QR mechanism capable of tracking app download conversions and partner-level attribution (Section 4.4), but does not commit the Embassy to providing direct access to CBP Home App backend data.

19. Is the contractor responsible for strategy, messaging, design, creative files, tracking, coordination, and reporting, while participating companies are responsible for printing, distribution, placement, and related implementation costs?

R. Correct, at a general level. Per Sections 4.3 and 4.4, the contractor is responsible for strategy, messaging, creative materials, brand governance, tracking mechanisms, coordination, and reporting;

partner companies fund and manage printing, distribution, and placement logistics within their own spaces as an in-kind contribution. However, this summary is not exhaustive, and potential vendors remain responsible for carefully reviewing the full SOW to identify all applicable requirements and responsibilities, as this response does not replace or supersede the solicitation document.

20. Are all contract deliverables required to be submitted in both English and Spanish?

R. The SOW does not impose a blanket English/Spanish requirement for all deliverables. Given the target audience, campaign materials should be produced in Spanish, while management reports to the Embassy are generally expected in English. That said, the contractor should be prepared to work in either language as specifically requested by the Embassy for a given deliverable, to be confirmed with the PD Section at award.

21. Should offerors price CLIN 2 at 10 monthly units, even though the SOW references an approximately 8-month minimum active-alliance period?

R. Yes. Per Section 7 (Payment Terms), this is a firm-fixed-price contract structured as an initial Strategic Phase Payment (approximately 25–30% of total contract value, upon Embassy approval), followed by monthly payments (approximately 6% of total contract value each) from Month 3 through Month 12 — ten (10) monthly payments in total. Potential vendors should price against this full structure: establish their total contract value considering all the requirements they need to meet, then divide the remaining balance across the ten monthly payments as outlined in Section 7.

The approximately 8-month window indicated in Section 6 refers to implementation being staggered across the Months 3–12 period; it does not shorten the payment schedule itself.

22. May a U.S. based prime contractor use Guatemala-based employees, consultants, or subcontractors for local research, outreach, partner coordination, and implementation?

R. See response to Question 4.

23. Can the Embassy confirm whether an offeror that does not maintain its own permanent office, address, and telephone listing in Guatemala may satisfy the requirement in Section 3 through a Guatemala-based subcontractor that maintains an established local office and will perform the in-country portions of the contract, or must the prime contractor itself establish an office in Guatemala within 30 days of contract award?

R. See response to Question 4, 7 and 8.

24. Is there an estimated budget, funding range, ceiling, or Independent Government Cost Estimate for this requirement?

R. No budget or price range is being published for this requirement. No estimated value, funding range, or not-to-exceed ceiling is being disclosed.