RFP 525-P-10-005 Amendment 1 and Q A.pdf

Programa Regional para Centroamérica y México (E-CAM) Agencia de los Estados Unidos para el Desarrollo Internacional (USAID) Embajada de los Estados Unidos de América www.usaid.gov/sv

January 12, 2010

Subject: Request for Proposal (RFP) No. 525-P-10-005 Amendment No. 1 Program Name: Community Youth at Risk Program (CYAR)

This Amendment No. 1 to subject RFP is hereby issued to make the following changes:

1. Page 5, delete Section B.4 LINE ITEMS and substitute as follows:

“B.4 LINE ITEMS

The Total Estimated Cost of this contract is $xxxx (inclusive of base and option period.) The estimated costs for the base period is $xxxxx. The estimated costs for the option periods is $xxx.

The summary budget for the base period is as follows:

Direct Labor $__________ Other Direct Costs* $__________ Indirect Costs $__________ Grants Fund NTE (not to exceed) $ 350,000_ Fixed Fee $__________ Total Estimated Cost plus Fixed Fee $__________

* Other Direct Costs include: xxxx

NOTE: The Contractor will not be paid any sum in excess of the ceiling price. The only person authorized to commit or obligate additional funds is the Contracting Officer. Incurrence of costs in excess of the total amount obligated based on directions received from any individual other than the Contracting Officer and without prior Contracting Officer’s approval, shall not be reimbursed to the Contractor.

The summary budget for the option period is as follows:

Direct Labor $__________ Other Direct Costs* $__________ Indirect Costs $__________ Grants Fund NTE $ 200,000_ Fixed Fee $__________ Total Estimated Cost plus Fixed Fee $__________

RFP No. 525-P-10-005

The total estimated costs inclusive of Based and Option Period, if exercised, is as follows:

Direct Labor $__________ Other Direct Costs* $__________ Indirect Costs $__________ Grants Fund NTE $ 550,000_ Fixed Fee $__________ Total Estimated Cost plus Fixed Fee $__________

LIMITATION OF FUNDS

The ceiling price of this contract is $xxxx. In accordance with FAR clause 52.232-22, funds currently obligated under this contract are limited to $xxxxx. The contractor is not authorized to incur expenses in excess of $xxxx and shall notify the Contracting Officer in writing whenever it has reason to believe that the costs it expects to incur under this contract in the next 60 days, or when added to all costs previously incurred will exceed 75% of the total obligated amount.”

2. Page 7, delete Section B.8 FIXED FEE

3. Page 71, Section L.6 DELIVERY INSTRUCTIONS, delete paragraph (b) and substitute as follows:

“(b) Closing Date and Time. All proposals in response to this RFP shall be due at the e-mail address cyar@usaid.gov not later than the date stated in block 9 of the SF33 cover of this Solicitation.”

Same section L.6, delete paragraph (d) and substitute as follows:

“(d) Number of copies. An original of the Technical Proposal is required at: Regional Office of Acquisition and Assistance; Attn: Mr. David Brown, USAID/El Salvador, 3450 San Salvador Place, Washington, DC 20521-3450. An original of the Cost/Business Proposal is required at the address specified above.”

4. Page 75, Section L.7 INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE PREPARATION OF THE TECHNICAL PROPOSAL, under paragraph (c)(3) Past Performance, delete sentence: “The Applicant should use the following format to provide this information. Only these five activities will be evaluated.” And substitute as follows:

“The Applicant may use the following format or the Contractor Performance Report (Short Form) provided as Attachment 7 in the RFP to provide this information.”

5. Page 76, Section L.8 – INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE PREPARATION OF THE COST/BUSINESS PROPOSAL, under section (b)(1), delete “The offeror must submit a summary budget for the contract period as well as the option period. The summary budget must reflect summary cost information for each of the major budget categories for each of the contract years separately and then offer the program total for the entire contract, item for item in the last column of the spread sheet.

The offeror must also submit a detailed version of its summary budget for the contract period. The detailed budget must reflect every estimated cost item, broken out. The detailed budget must reflect these individual cost items for each of the contract years and then offer the program total for the entire contract, item for item in the last column of the spread sheet.”

RFP No. 525-P-10-005

And substitute as follows:

“The offeror must submit a summary budget for the base period as well as the option period. The summary budget must reflect summary cost information for each of the major budget categories for each of the contract years separately and then offer the program total for the entire contract, item for item in the last column of the spread sheet.

The offeror must also submit a detailed version of its summary budget for the base period and option period. The detailed budget must reflect every estimated cost item, broken out. The detailed budget must reflect these individual cost items for each of the contract years and then offer the program total for the entire contract, item for item in the last column of the spread sheet.”

6. Page 78, Section L.8 – – INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE PREPARATION OF THE COST/BUSINESS PROPOSAL, under (b)(2) delete paragraph (L) and substitute as follows:

“(L) Grants Under Contracts – The amount for Grants under Contracts for this program shall be $350,000 for the base period and $200,000 for the option period.”

7. Page 85, Section M.2, under Past Performance Information, delete sentence: “The Applicant should use the following format to provide this information. Only these five activities will be evaluated.”

And substitute as follows:

“The Applicant may use the following format or the Contractor Performance Report (Short Form) provided as Attachment 7 in the RFP to provide this information.”

8. Annex A to this RFP Amendment 1, includes a list of answers to several questions received by offerors to help in the preparation of proposals.

9. Annex B to this RFP Amendment 1, includes the Neighborhood Selection Process.

All other terms and conditions of the RFP remain without change and in full force.

Sincerely, David Brown Supervisory Regional Contracting Officer

Annex A Questions and Answers Annex B Neighborhood Selection Process

RFP 525-P-10-005

Annex A

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

1. Is this RFP 525-P-10-005 a follow-on requirement?

No; this is not a follow-on requirement. It is a new one.

2. On page 5, Section B.4 Line Items, lists the amount of $350,000 for grant funds for the option period. On page 78, (L) Grants Under Contracts states “The amount for Grants under Contracts for this program shall be $350,000 for the base period.” Can you please confirm that $350,000 should be set aside for grants for the base period? Can you please also clarify if an amount should be set aside for grants in the option period, and if so how much?

There is an error on Section B.4 Line Items; the amount of $350,000 is for grant funds for the base period and the amount of $200,000 is for grants funds for the option period. Therefore, Section B.4 and L.8(b)(2)(L) are amended to reflect these amounts.

3. In the cover letter, it states: “The Government anticipates an award of approximately $7.5-

$9.9 million contract inclusive of a three year base period and two year option period.” Can you please clarify if this estimate is $7.5M for the base 3-year period, and $9.9M for the total 5 year base plus option period, or if this is a total range of $7.5M-$9.9M to cover the entire 5 years?

The total range of $7.5-$9.9 million is for the base and option period (5 years).

4. On page 13, in Section C, the last sentence of the first paragraph says “Vanderbilt University will be the independent sub-contractor to implement the scientifically-based impact evaluation of the Merida Initiative.” Can you please confirm that this should read “contractor” and not “sub-contractor” and that offerors should not include funds for a sub-contract for Vanderbilt University in this proposal?

The Impact Evaluation for Merida is a contract between USAID/Washington and Vanderbilt University. This contract is not under the responsibility of the CYAR contractor. This is a new mechanism that USAID is using to measure the impact of their projects. The selected contractor for the CYAR Activity must provide any information required by Vanderbilt as the three organizations (USAID, Vanderbilt and CYAR contractor) will be working closely together.

5. In order to ensure compliance with AIDAR requirements that contractor CCN/TCN staff salaries and benefits should not exceed those paid by the USAID Mission to CCN/TCN direct hires, could you please provide a copy of the Local Employee Compensation Plan?

Pursuant to the most recent local compensation plan, dated July 19, 2009, the following represent the minimum and maximum annual basic compensation paid (in US Dollars) for different professional CCN levels:

Professional level Minimum annual basic rate Maximum annual basic rate Clerical staff $7,087 $19,516

Administrative staff $17,087 $37,062 Professional [low level] $32,969 $51,101

Professional [mid level] $40,146 $62,226

Professional [high level] $55,066 $85,354

6. On page 75 of the RFP, section L.7 (3), the request for past performance information specifies “the information will be limited the best five (5) similar activities or programs undertaken in the past five (5) years”. Can you confirm that this means 5 past performance reports each from the prime contractor and any major subcontractor(s)?

The offeror (including all partners of a joint venture) must provide performance information for itself and each major subcontractor (One whose proposed cost exceeds 1Million US Dollars). If sub awardees/partners will be implementing significant portions of the activity, application must include the prime’s evaluation of the proposed sub awardees/partners past performance.

The information the best five (5) similar activities in the past five (5) years applies to the prime contractor.

7. Please confirm whether the anticipated contract will be a completion type contract or term type contract. Sections B.2 and L.3 state that this will be a completion type contract.

However Section B.8 states that fee will be paid proportional to LOE delivered, and the instructions in Section L on page 76 asks for salaries expressed in work days, which both indicate that this is a term type contract. Please clarify.

The anticipated contract will be a Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF) completion type contract. Section B.8 is deleted from the RFP.

8. Section L.8 (b)(2)(L) on page 78 gives a plug figure of $350,000 for grants in the base period whereas B.4 (page 5) shows the grants amount to be in the option period. Please clarify whether grants should be budgeted in the base or option period.

There is an error on Section B.4 Line Items; the amount of $350,000 is for grant funds

9. Given the large volume of SF 294s for the past three years (over 300 pages), we ask that

USAID consider receiving these forms on CD-ROM as an annex to the technical volume.

Alternatively, we respectfully request the option of selecting ten relevant SF 294 forms for USAID’s review. Kindly advise on USAID’s preference.

Yes we consider receiving these forms on CD-ROM as an annex to the proposal.

Offerors may select relevant SF294 forms for USAID review.

10. Could USAID provide a breakdown of what percentage of the project’s resources should be devoted to each of the results?

We will not provide the percentage information.

11. Should the Technical Approach activities be designed and budgeted only for the results to be achieved in the initial three-year base period, or should they be inclusive of the option-period results as well?

They should be inclusive of the base and option period.

12. Section L.6 (d) indicates that the USAID would like a hard copy original of the technical and cost volume in addition to electronic submissions. Please confirm that the courtesy hard copy originals can be received after the Closing Date and Time.

The original of the Technical and Cost/Business proposal may be submitted after the closing date to: Regional Office of Acquisition and Assistance; Attn: Mr. David Brown, USAID/El Salvador, 3450 San Salvador Place, Washington, DC 20521-3450. However, electronic copy must be submitted by the established date and time to e-mail address cyar@usaid.gov.

13. Please confirm that USAID will accept the Contractor Performance Report (Short Form) provided as Attachment 7 in the RFP as record of the Contractors’ past performance, rather than the formatted table provided in Section L.3 (page 75) and Section M.2 (page 85). The Contractor Performance Reports provide the same information requested in the formatted table.

USAID will accept the Contractor Performance Report (Short Form) provided as

Attachment 7 in the RFP or the formatted table provided in Section L.7 (page 75) and Section M.2 (page 85). Therefore, Section L.7(3) and M.2 are amended to reflect this change.

14. Section B.4 on page 5 of the RFP does not list grants in the summary budget for the base period, but lists $350,000 in grants in the summary budget for the option period. In contrast, Section L.8 (L) on page 78 of the RFP states that “the amount for Grants under Contracts for this program shall be $350,000 for the base period.” Please clarify the total amount for Grants under Contract for the 3-year base period and also for the 2-year option period.

There is an error on Section B.4 Line Items; the amount of $350,000 is for grant funds

15. May offerors propose grant funding in addition to the amount designated by USAID under this contract?

No. Offeors must use the plug-figures as a maximum not to exceed amount.

16. As part of the impact evaluation methodology, has USAID/Panama already agreed with

Vanderbilt University which communities will be targeted and which will be control? If so, could this information please be provided to the offeror?

No, the final selection of communities will be made after the contractor has been selected through a community selection process that Vanderbilt has elaborated. Please note that the communities listed in the RFP are only illustrative. USAID/Panama and Vanderbilt will select the final list of communities based on the proposal of the selected contractor using the Vanderbilt selection process which is attached as Annex B.

17. Please clarify the anticipated budget amount for the 3-year base period and also the anticipated budget amount for the 2-year option period.

The total range of $7.5-$9.9 million is for the base and option period (5 years).

18. Would USAID allow subcontracts with local organizations for amounts greater than

$250,000?

USAID will consider the best-value technique which may include larger subcontracts to local institutions.

19. Given the timing of the release of the RFP, and the difficulties in contacting local partners and local staff throughout the holiday season, would USAID consider a 1 week extension to the submission deadline?

No. USAID is not considering extending the submission deadline.

20. FedBiz Ops lists a modification on December 28th and refers to a “Solicitation 2”. Please confirm a modification to the original solicitation, and provide details; or clarify that there has been no modification to the original solicitation.

No change was made to the original solicitation, at that time. It is an additional copy of the same document due to downloading problems reported by interested parties.

21. Page 12: Please clarify any limitations to working with Type III youth who are incarcerated.

There are no limitations to work with Type III youth. Nevertheless, the CYAR Activity will focus primarily on prevention of Types I and II youth that face risk factors or who engage in risky behavior but have not yet suffered negative consequences. Please refer to page 11 of the RFP, section C.3 under the Program Goal Summary where the three types of youth to be addressed are mentioned.

22. Are the estimated funds of $7.5-$9.9 million for the three-year base period only or are the estimated funds for the three-year base period and the two-year option period?

The total range of $7.5-$9.9 million is for the base and option period (5 years).

23. Is there a required file format for the electronic submission of the cost proposal? For example, do you wish to have the files in PDF or Excel or Word or is the format at the option of the offeror?

There is no required file format for the electronic submission. However, the preferred file format is MS excel.

24. Is there a required file format for the electronic submission of the technical proposal, i.e., pdf, word?

There is no required file format for the electronic submission. However, the preferred file format is MS word.

25. Can the USAID Mission in Panama accept electronic files in Microsoft Office 2007 format

(Excel 2007, Word 2007)? We have had problem at other missions with Office 2007 and we have had to send electronic files in Office 2003 format.

The official version of MS Office USAID is using is 2003; please use this format that is compatible with this version.

26. Section L.8 requires original signature on the SF33 which is submitted with the cost proposal. If the proposal is submitted electronically, how can we meet that requirement?

You may scan the document and send signature page in pdf or jpg format. The original may be submitted after the closing date.

27. Section L.8 requires a summary budget for the “contract” (base?) period and option period, but a detail budget only for the “contract” period. Does the Mission need a detail budget for both the base period and the option period or only for the base period?”

The summary budget as well as the detail budget is for the base period and option period. Therefore, Section L.8(b)(1) is amended to reflect this requirement.

28. Can USAID provide the FSN local salary ranges that can be used as reference points for budgeting local staff?

See question No. 5.

29. What are the negotiated ceiling rates for indirect costs as stated on page 6 of the RFP?

Ceiling indirect cost rates are negotiated and established in the resulting contract award.

30. On page 13 the RFP mentions coordination with Vanderbilt University for an Impact

Evaluation. Is the applicant expected to already be in contact with Vanderbilt prior to the award? They are implementing the Merida Initiative evaluation, is this evaluation strategy available to review so that we may design our strategy along the same lines?

The applicant is not expected to be in contact with Vanderbilt prior to the award.

USAID will present the evaluation strategy and methodology to the selected contractor.

31. On page 20 the RFP states that USAID Panama may implement small grants directly. In what instances will this be necessary?

USAID/Panama will implement small grants directly if and when additional USAID personnel become available for direct implementation of a small grants program with the Government of Panama.

32. Is the amount of $7.5-$9.9 million outlined in the cover letter intended to cover both the base period of performance and the option period?

The total range of $7.5-$9.9 million is for the base and option period (5 years).

33. Should the Monitoring & Evaluation Plan, Life of Activity Workplan and Quality Assurance

Surveillance plans include both the base period and the option period, or only the base period?

The plans should be developed for the base period only since the option period is subject to being exercised.

34. Will the technical work and results required in the first three year period be continued during the option period or will only the performance results listed for the option period be required during the option period?

All technical work and results will be modified when and if the option period is exercised.

35. Can USAID provide the local compensation plan for CCN staff to all applicants?

See question No. 5.

36. Is there a proposed start date for this project?

Thirty (30) days after contract award.

37. Should the budget follow the USG fiscal year format or is it up to the applicant to decide on the format?

Budget does not need to follow the USG’s fiscal year.

38. Are applicants expected to provide a Marking plan with the proposal?

As stated in Section D Packing and Marking (page 26), The Offeror shall submit as part of its proposal, a Branding and Marking Implementation Plan and budget, per USAID ADS 320.3.2.2 and 320.3.2.3 requirements, outlining events and materials, as well as enumerating the public communications, commodities, program materials, and other items that visibly bear or will be marked with the USAID Identity.

39. Section L.8(b)(2)(L) indicates that Grants Under Contracts should include $350,000 for the base period. The summary budget for the base period under Section B.4 of the RFP does not include a line for grants; the summary budget for the option period includes $350,000 for grants. Are we to assume $350,000 in both the base and option periods for a total of $700,000?

There is an error on Section B.4 Line Items; the amount of $350,000 is for grant funds

40. Section B.2 indicates that the awarded contract will be a CPFF Completion contract. Section

B.8 indicates that the fixed fee will be tied to the level of effort. FAR Clause 16.306 defines a completion contract as one where the scope of work states a definite goal or target and specifies an end product. A term contract describes the scope of work in general terms and obligates the contractor to devote a specified level of effort for a stated time period. Tying the fixed fee to the level of effort would seem to reduce any incentive to accomplish the work more efficiently. Please clarify.

The anticipated contract will be a Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF) completion type contract. Section B.8 is deleted from the RFP.

41. Please confirm that Microsoft Office 2003 is an acceptable format for the submission documents.

Yes, Microsoft Office 2003 is an acceptable format.

42. Page 7 of the RFP suggests that the Grants will be given in the Option period. Please clarify if the $350,000 amount for grants should be proposed in the Base period or in the Option Period.

There is an error on Section B.4 Line Items; the amount of $350,000 is for grant funds

43. Are the major subcontractors required to submit a Small Business Plan?

Major subcontractors (more than $1Million) should comply with the reporting requirement in FAR clause 52.219-9.

44. Are all proposed subcontractors required to submit detailed cost proposals?

Please follow instructions provided in section L.8 Instructions for the Preparation of the Cost/Business Proposal; paragraph (G) “ Subcontracts/Consultants - Information sufficient to determine the reasonableness of the cost of each specific subcontract and consultant expected to be hired must be included. Labor costs for US, CCN and TCN personnel must be broken down by category, including the level of effort per labor category for the offeror and all sub-contractors.”

Neighborhood Selection Process

IMPROVING DG ASSISTANCE THROUGH BETTER EVALUATION

THE MERIDA INITIATIVE

PanamaPanamaPanama

RFP 525-P-10-005

Amendment 1 Annex B

THE MERIDA INITIATIVE

Selection Process

Step 1: USAID/Panama Selects Municipalities

Municipality

Municipality

Municipality

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23

Selection Process

Step 2: Vanderbilt & USAID/Panama Gather Relevant Data at the Sub-Municipal Level

Communities

Municipality

Municipality

Municipality

Selection Process

Step 3: Vanderbilt & USAID/Panama Identify Neighborhoods that Meet Main Selection Criteria

- with input from GOP & NGOs

Communities

Municipality

Municipality

Municipality

NOTE: 15 Communities were pre-qualified by Vanderbilt and the Mission as potential treatment communities.

Selection Process

Step 4: Implementing Partner Identifies Neighborhoods that Meet Their Selection Criteria

Communities

Municipality

Municipality

Municipality

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23

NOTE: Out of the 15 pre-qualified Communities, the implementing partner disqualified three and thus identified 12 out of the 15 communities that met their conditions for them to work in. Thus, the Implementing partner certifies that it can work in any of these 12 communities.

T T T TC C C C

THE MERIDA INITIATIVE

Selection Process

Step 5: Vanderbilt Randomly Selects Neighborhoods

Communities

Municipality

Municipality

Municipality

NOTE: Out of the 12 communities that were pre-qualified by Vanderbilt, USAID/Panama, and then by the Implementing Partner, Vanderbilt will now randomly select the treatment and control communities.

Treatment communities are the ones in which the implementing partners will work.

Control communities will be areas where data collection will also take place, but where the intervention will not take place.

TDY Report

TDY Report

THE MERIDA INITIATIVE

Use of Multiple Mechanisms for Data Collection

Surveys

Hard Data

Accurate portrayal of pre and post implementation of conditions

In-depth Interviews

Focus Groups

Impact Evaluation Design

Pre‐Implementation Implementation Post‐Implementation

TDY Report

THE MERIDA INITIATIVE

Surveys

Hard Data

In-depth Interviews

Focus Groups

Surveys

Hard Data

Focus Groups

Surveys

Hard Data

Focus Groups

In-depth Interviews

In-depth Interviews

BASELINE MID-TERM FINAL

Impact Evaluation Design