SERA_RFP_Amendment_1.pdf

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION / MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

1. CONTRACT ID CODE PAGE OF PAGES

2 2

674-11-23

3. EFFECTIVE DATE 4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NO

5. PROJECT NO.

(If applicable)

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

3. Section H.6(d): Add the following sentence to the end of the section: a 6-day workweek is authorized for short-term expatriate and non-CCN technical experts in the field.”

4. Section I: Insert the following clause:

“I.8 52.202-9 UPDATES OF PUBLICLY AVAILABLE INFORMATION REGARDING RESPONSIBILITY MATTERS—

ALTERNATE I (JAN 2011)

(a)(1) The Contractor shall update the information in the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS) on a semi-annual basis, throughout the life of the contract, by posting the required information in the Central Contractor Registration database at http://www.ccr.gov.

(a)(2) At the first semi-annual update on or after April 15, 2011, the Contractor shall post again any required information that the Contractor posted prior to April 15, 2011.

(b)(1) The Contractor will receive notification when the Government posts new information to the Contractor’s record.

(2) The Contractor will have an opportunity to post comments regarding information that has been posted by the Government. The comments will be retained as long as the associated information is retained, i.e., for a total period of 6 years. Contractor comments will remain a part of the record unless the Contractor revises them.

(3)(i) Public requests for system information posted prior to April 15, 2011, will be handled under Freedom of Information Act procedures, including, where appropriate, procedures promulgated under E.O. 12600.

(ii) As required by section 3010 of Public Law 111-212, all information posted in FAPIIS on or after April 15, 2011, except past performance reviews, will be publicly available.”

5. Attachment 3, Page J-8: Delete the words “agricultural development” to correct a typographical error.

6. Section L.5(iii)(b): DELETE closing time of “4:00 pm” and replace with “5:00 pm.” Pretoria time.

7. Section M, Page M-3: Delete “M.5 CORPORATE CAPABLITIES AND EXPERIENCE FACTOR (15 Points)” and replace it with “M.5 CORPORATE CAPABLITIES AND EXPERIENCE FACTOR (10 Points).”

8. Section M.3(a), first sentence: Delete “regional.”

9. Questions and answers are provided in Attachment 1 to this Modification.

Attachment 1 to Amendment No. 01

RFP 674-11-23

ATTACHMENT 1 – QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

General

Question 1: Please specify the Office within USAID/Southern Africa requiring this program.

Answer 1: The requiring office is the Economic Growth Team for USAID/Zimbabwe.

Question 2: Does USAID anticipate that a Mission Director waiver will be provided in order to work with local government agencies (such as ZIMSTAT) per ADS 302.3.4.8?

Answer 2: USAID does not expect the winning offeror to provide USAID funds to local government agencies, including ZIMSTAT. USAID will not be deviating from ADS 302.3.4.8.

Question 3: Does the Mission intend to continue with this procurement if the MDC, one of whose members is the Minister of Finance, separates from the Unity Government?

Answer 3: USAID anticipates that this procurement will move forward notwithstanding the uncertain political situation in Zimbabwe. However, given the uncertain situation in Zimbabwe, there is no guarantee that the procurement will be completed or that the contract will not be terminated early.

Question 4: Is there was an incumbent contractor for this requirement?

Answer 4: This is a new program and there is no incumbent.

Section B

Question 5: Would USAID provide its total ceiling estimate for this contract or an anticipated value range (Section B.3)?

Answer 5: Offerors’ budgets should be based on the LOE guidance in the RFP and their technical approach. Under ADS 302.3.5.7 “The Contracting Officer (CO) must not include the Government cost estimate in a competitive solicitation…COs may not include estimated price ranges in solicitations for a cost-reimbursement term (LOE) contract.” Since the contract contemplated by the RFP is a level of effort contract, no ceiling estimate or range will be provided.

Section C

Question 6: Please clarify whether graduate bursaries and other medium-term regional trainings programs should cover full cost of participants training, including (in accordance with ADS 253) such items as

Application Fees Tuition & Fees Books & Supplies Room & Board Living Allowance Airfare Visa Costs Medical Insurance HAC Insurance

Answer 6: Yes.

Question 7: Section C.4(b)(1)(C) is not clear whether 20 or 30 bursaries are intended. It first states "up to 10 individuals....each year for the first two years" and later "thirty bursaries are intended." Please clarify.

Answer 7: There are 20 bursaries offered for 20 students – "up to 10 individuals....each year for the first two years". The reference to 30 bursaries for Masters Degrees is being deleted through this amendment to the RFP.

Question 8: Please confirm that $500,000 annually (total of $2 million) applies to Section B only (Develop Physical, IT and Statistical Infrastructure) and does not include short-term technical assistance.

Answer 8: As specified in Section C.4(b)(2), a total of $500,000 annually ($2 million LOP) applies to all activities associated with ZIMSTAT, both technical assistance and hardware/software, etc., as described in Sections A and B. Those interventions listed in Sections A and B are only illustrative. Offerors are asked to develop proposals which respond to ZIMSTAT’s priority needs.

Question 9: The second paragraph in this section states that “the contractor shall not undertake direct policy analysis or research…” in working with ZEPARU. The third paragraph states that the Resident Advisor “will provide technical assistance to the Unit, as requested, in support of the institution’s development and implementation of the research agenda (to be conducted both in-house and outsourced).”

These two instructions appear to be inconsistent. From our experience, the instruction to “provide technical assistance to the unit” for “in-house” research will require, in practice, direct involvement in policy analysis or research in collaboration with the ZEPARU staff.

Could USAID modify the first instruction cited above to allow flexibility for implementing the second instruction?

Answer 9: This language was modified in the final RFP at the request of the ZEPARU Board. The resident advisor cannot be seen as undertaking policy research him/herself, but is to provide technical assistance to ZEPARU as requested, as staff or outsourced institutions/ individuals undertake research activities. In no case should the resident advisor be seen to be developing and implementing research activities on his/her own. That individual is there to provide technical and management support to the Director and staff of ZEPARU to fulfill their organizational mandate. The guidance in Section C.4(b)(1)(A) remains in effect.

Question 10: Section C.4(b)(1)(A) third paragraph - “The contractor will provide a long-term resident advisor to ZEPARU, for a period of two years.” Please confirm that the resident advisor position described on page C-6 should be budgeted for only two years of the program.

Answer 10: Offerors should budget for the Long Term Advisor for two years only. As suggested, Offerors and ZEPARU may want to provide supplementary short-term technical assistance in years 3 and 4 in order to accomplish the results required by the contract contemplated by the solicitation.

Question 11: Section C.4(b)(1)(C) last paragraph states “A series of short-courses will be provided to selected individuals, to be designed and held within Zimbabwe, as well as provision of bursaries and travel/per diem for selected individuals to travel to regional short courses.” Could the Mission please provide either a plug figure for these trainings, or provide information on expected number of training days, number of participants, number of participants travelling to attend, etc. that they would like to contractor to price? This would greatly assist in ensuring consistency in contractor’s pricing.

Answer 11: USAID believes that sufficient information is provided in Section C to allow each offeror to determine the appropriate cost of the training required. See RFP, Section L.11(b)(4).

Question 12: Section C.4(b)(1)(C), states “up to 25 individuals will be sponsored to attend relevant economics short courses regionally.” Given that that the geographic code specified for this procurement is 000, please confirm that contractors are authorized to fund the regional training activities specified in this Section.

Answer 12: Contractors are authorized to fund the regional training activities specified. Relevant exceptions or waivers exist to resolve any complications resulting from the 000 Geographic Code.

Question 13: In Section C.4(b)(1)(C), the RFP states “up to 25 individuals will be sponsored to attend relevant economics short courses regionally" and "up to 8 individuals will be sponsored to attend Africa regional courses of longer duration, up to 30 days". Can USAID please clarify if these requirements are on a per year basis or for the life of the project?

Answer 13: These figures, “up to 25 individuals will be sponsored to attend relevant economics short courses regionally" and "up to 8 individuals will be sponsored to attend Africa regional courses of longer duration, up to 30 days", are on an annual basis.

Question 14: Pursuant to Section C.4(b)(1)(C), ten individuals will be provided graduate bursaries each year for the first two years. The Master’s program lasts for three years. Does USAID anticipate the master’s candidates to self-fund the final year of the program? Does USAID anticipate providing funding for these programs should the student take longer than three years?

Answer 14: Since the Master’s program lasts for three years (the academic year begins in January in Southern Africa) and the SERA program has a duration of four years, the first year’s candidates will end at the end of year three of the SERA program and the second year’s candidates will end just following the end of year four of SERA. The final year’s costs for the second group of candidates will have been invoiced and paid in January 2015. USAID does not foresee providing funding if candidates (particularly those starting in Year 2) take longer than three years to complete their studies.

Question 15: Section C.4(b)(2) states “No more than $500,000 annually will be allocated for direct support to ZIMSTAT pending available resources.” Separate from this program, USAID/Zimbabwe is considering further support to ZIMSTAT for the undertaking of the Poverty, Income and Expenditure Survey (PIEDS).

Could USAID please confirm how much the contractor should budget for costs associated with assisting ZIMSTAT in its hardware, software, data migration, survey and other non-LOE and non-training related costs?

Answer 15: Interventions listed in Section C.4(b)(2) for ZIMSTAT are only illustrative. Offerors are asked to develop proposals which respond to ZIMSTAT’s priority needs, subject to the information provided in Section C and the proposal instructions provided in Section L.11(b)(4). Offerors are expected to use this information and their own knowledge of the context and needs of ZIMSTAT to develop realistic estimates for their cost proposals.

Question 16: Section C.5 states “All costs directly associated with producing the reports and plans specified in subsections C.5(a), C.6(b), C.5(e), C.5(f), C.5(g) and C.5(h) will be billed to CLIN 0001.”

Would USAID clarify what is meant by C.6(b)?

Answer 16: This is a typographical error and should have read C.5(b) and is being revised through this amendment to the RFP.

Question 17: In Section C.5.a when the RFP reads “…the contractor will … develop a performance monitoring plan, and monitoring and evaluation system to measure progress towards programmatic and organizational objectives” (paragraph 1 of C.5.a Monitoring and Evaluation Plan on page C-13), is the USAID Mission specifically referring to a monitoring and evaluation software system? Or instead, is this simply referring to the M&E framework and processes that the contractor will use to measure results and objectives?

Answer 17: This language is simply referring to an M&E framework.

Section F

Question 18: Please specify the anticipated program start date.

Answer 18: It is anticipated this program will start October 1, 2011.

Question 19: Pursuant to Section F.5(b), please clarify whether labor days/hours of instructors for various workshops and seminars are included in the CLIN2 days of professional labor (suggested at 1,924), or should be budgeted separately.

Answer 19: Unless labor hours of instructors for workshops and seminars are provided by long-term contractor staff or through short-term consulting arrangements where payment is based on the level of effort, the labor for instructors is not included in the required level of effort for CLIN2.

Question 20: Please clarify whether the level of effort stated in Section F.5 is the minimum of maximum number of days allowed.

Answer 20: The level of effort specified in Section F.5 is the level of effort required to complete CLINs 0001 and 0002.

Question 21: Section F5(a) indicates that CLIN 0001 is completed when the COP has completed 1040 days of LOE. Please clarify how the Mission is taking into consideration that some companies bill less than 260 days per year for long-term expats based on their company’s structure.

Answer 21: The LOE estimates are based on a 260 day year. All offerors should calculate LOE based on 260 day per year. If this is no possible in the main budget, a separate LOE spreadsheet based on 260 days per year shall be included in the cost proposal and will be used to determine compliance with the Level of Effort requirements in Section F.5.

Section H

Question 22: Section H.6(b)(1) states that “Reimbursable salaries and wages for TCNs and CCNs for employees shall not exceed, without specific approval by the Contracting Officer the prevailing grade under the U.S. Government’s Local Employee Compensation Plan (LECP) for CCNs of equivalent qualifications employed by the USAID/Zimbabwe. Would USAID please provide the most recent local compensation plan?

Answer 22: USAID will provide the most recent local compensation plan upon request.

Question 23: Section H.6 (d) “states that the work week for the Contractor’s overseas employees shall not be less than 40 hours…” Please confirm that a 6-day workweek is authorized for short-term expatriate and non-CCN technical experts in the field.”

Answer 23: Yes, a 6-day workweek is authorized for short-term expatriate and non-CCN technical experts in the field. A clause specifying this is being added to the RFP through this amendment.

Section I

Question 24: Under Section I-7, for purposes of clarification on the cost proposal, could USAID kindly provide further details on the tax and duty from which the Contractor or any subcontractor under this contract is exempt under the laws of Zimbabwe?

Answer 24: As indicated in Section I.7, USAID contractors should be exempt from all taxes and duties imposed by the Government of Zimbabwe. For the purposes of the cost proposal, offerors should not include any taxes or duties in their estimates.

Section J

Question 25: Attachment 3, Page J-8 states “The USAID/Zimbabwe Strategic Economic Research and Analysis (SERA) Program is an agricultural development program…” Question: Is this reference to agriculture correct?

Answer 25: That is a typographical error and Attachment 3 is being revised through this amendment to the RFP to delete the words “agricultural development”.

Section L

Question 26: Section L-5 (iii)(b) states “All proposals in response to this RFP shall be due.. not later than 4:00 p.m. Pretoria Time on the date indicated on the cover pager to this RFP. The cover page states proposals are due 5:00 p.m. Pretoria time. Please clarify the time and date when proposals are due.

Answer 26: Proposals are due at 5:00 pm Pretoria Time

Question 27: Would USAID kindly confirm that hard copy submissions are required in addition to email submission? Additionally, would USAID confirm that the address listed on p. L-4, the USAID Mission in Harare, is the address where hard copy submissions should be delivered?

Answer 27: There are 3 options for submission of proposals as per section L.5. If an offeror chooses to submit electronically they are also required to submit hard copies. However submission will be considered complete when the electronic copy is submitted. Offerors should attempt to have the hard copies delivered as close to one week from closing as possible. The addresses listed in section L.5 of the RFP are correct.

Question 28: Would USAID provide a phone number to call so that offerors may call the USAID Mission should an issue arise during submission?

Answer 28: For issues with physical delivery contact Ruby Tawonezvi +263-4-252401 x 223; for issues with electronic submission contact Paul Vacik +27-12-452-2177.

Question 29: Section L.6 (b) states that “Items such as cover pages, dividers and the table of contents and RFP-authorized charts and graphs and charts are not included in the 20-page limitation.”

a. Could USAID confirm that non-RFP-authorized charts are not subject to the 20-page limitation?

b. Could USAID also confirm that the List of Abbreviations or Acronyms page does not count against the 20 page limit?

c. Would USAID kindly clarify what is meant by, “Offerors should begin each of the sections on a new page, as each section is subject to its own page limit?” Would USAID clarify the page limitations for each of the sections of the Technical Proposal or may offerors omit this text?

d. Do the Table of Contents and the Executive Summary count against the 20-page limitation?

Answer 29:

a. Any charts or graphs correctly included in the Annex do not count against the page limit.

b. The List of Abbreviations does not count against the page limit.

c. Offerors should disregard the reference to page limits for each section.

d. The Table of Contents and the Executive Summary do not count against the 20-page limitation;

however the executive summary should be brief.

Question 30: Would USAID allow smaller than 12 point font for charts, graphics and text boxes?

Answer 30: Yes, as long as the use of charts, graphics and text boxes is not abused for the purpose of evading the page limits. This determination shall be in the sole discretion of the Contracting Officer.

Question 31: Section L-7 (a) states the technical approach should explicitly include “Methodology and detailed implementation plan to develop and reform economic policy and programming.” Does USAID envision the “detailed implementation plan” to be in narrative form, or in a chart form not to be counted against the page limitation?

Answer 31: We envision the implementation plan to be in narrative form, and it will count against the page limitation.

Question 32: L.8 (a) requests an Organizational Chart for Subcontractors to be included in the Annex.

Under L.9 (b), USAID requests another Organizational Chart and Staffing Plan. Question: Would USAID prefer that these charts be included in the Annex or as part of the Technical Proposal? If in the Technical Proposal, would USAID kindly allow for them to be outside of the 20 page limit?

Answer 32: Any organization chart and any detailed lists of staff should be included in the Annex. Any organizational chart included in the narrative section of the technical proposal will count toward the page limit.

Question 33: L.8 (B) “Resumes and Letters of Commitment for any non-key personnel specifically identified in the proposal, any organizations chart and any detailed lists of staff may be included in the Annex.” Question: Is there a limit to the number of resumes that the offeror may provide? Also, would a non-key personnel list showing qualifications relative to the Scope of Work suffice?

Answer 33: There is no limit to the number of resumes offerors may provide. Resumes for non-key personnel are optional, so offerors may submit them in any format they determine to be appropriate, including some type of list of qualifications.

Question 34: Would USAID kindly provide a definition for a major subcontractor?

Answer 34: Major subcontracts are those subcontracts whose value is more than 10% of the total costs proposed by the prime contractor or are critical to the offeror’s technical proposal. PLEASE NOTE THAT

THOSE SECTIONS THAT DO NOT REFER TO “MAJOR” SUBCONTRACTS, INCLUDING, BUT NOT

LIMITED TO, SECTION L.11(b)(3) and L.11(i).

Question 35: L.10 applies to "major subcontractors," Does USAID want 15 past performance sheets in total or 15 from the prime and each major sub?

Answer 35: Please read Section L.10.1 which specifies the same requirements for the prime and each major subcontractor.

Question 36: Section L.10 1 states that “The Offeror’s ten (10) most relevant contracts, orders and programs shall be summarized. In addition, the Offeror shall provide information sheets for the five contracts or orders with a value over $10 million that have been completed most recently, assuming that such contract or order was not already listed.” How many information sheets need to be provided pursuant to Section L.10.1?

a. Could USAID please clarify that USAID wants 10 relevant contracts, orders and programs summarized and that these contracts, orders and programs can be either completed or in process of being completed?

b. USAID wants information sheets for an additional 5 completed contracts with a value of over $10 million. Can we use contracts currently in the process of implementation?

Answer 36: Section L.10.1 requires offerors to provide information sheets for their 10 most relevant contracts or orders, assuming that the offeror has ten relevant contracts or orders. In addition, offerors are required to provide five additional information sheets for its five most recently completed contracts or orders over $10 million in value, though if an offeror does not have five completed contracts or orders over $10 million, then it will provide less information sheets for this requirement. In addition, an offeror can provide less than five information sheets for this requirement, if some of its most recently completed contracts or orders over $10 million were included in the list of relevant contracts. In summary, an offeror might provide 15 information sheets, but could provide less if it does not have that many contracts or orders that meet the criteria (relevant or recently completed over $10 million in value) or if the same contracts or orders are both among the “most relevant” and completed and over $10 million.

a. USAID confirms that Offeror’s ten (10) most relevant contracts, orders and programs shall be summarized (as well as providing information sheets for these) and that these may be programs that are completed or in process.

b. These five information sheets should be for completed actions only.

Question 37: May offerors provide the one hundred SF 294 forms on a CD to accompany the original hard copy of the technical proposal?

Answer 37: A CD would be helpful, but a hard copy is still required.

Question 38: Section L.11 first paragraph referring to the Cost Proposal states “all pages must be sequentially numbered.” In the following sentence it states, “Offerors do not have to sequentially number pages in the cost proposal.” Could USAID please clarify? We respectfully request that Offerors not be required to sequentially number the Cost proposal.

Answer 38: Sequential numbering should be used to the maximum extent practical and the use of a logical numbering system will make it easier to analyze costs and make an appropriate cost analysis. Offerors are responsible for the clarity of the cost proposals.

Question 39: Section L.11 (b)(4) bullet point 1 states “$500,000 in support will be provided to ZIMSTAT annually, with an estimated $100,000 per year in grants under contract.” Please confirm that the $500,000 in annual support to be budgeted by the Offerors is inclusive of the $100,000 per year in grants.

Answer 39: Yes, the $500,000 is inclusive of the $100,000. USAID is not suggesting a small grants program under this activity, but rather, would like to provide the option of grants under contract. USAID foresees times when an organization tenders for research work for ZEPARU, but because of organizational issues (a certain type of research institute or educational institution), is unable to enter into a contractual relationship with ZEPARU or USAID. The option of providing grants under contract is meant to alleviate this barrier. However, for budgeting purposes, Offerors should use the $100,000 for grants, and $400,000 for contracts.

Question 40: L.11 Part (b) 4, bullet point 3 states that “training costs shall be included along with the ZIMSTAT and research subcontract costs under the category entitled “Training, Research and Assistance.”

Would USAID like for offerors to estimate a plug figure for training costs based on the information provided in Section C or should offerors draw on or reserve a part of the $480,000 for research as referenced in bullet point 2 of this section?

Answer 40: Offerors should determine training costs based on the information in the RFP, its own knowledge of the context and needs and its unique technical approach.

Question 41: L.11 Section (b)(7) states that Employee Biographical Datasheets should be submitted for each position other than those TBD. Does USAID want Employee Biographical Datasheets for all STTA mentioned in the proposal or only for long-term and key positions?

Answer 41: Biographical Datasheets should be submitted for STTA specifically identified in the proposal.

Question 42: There are two plug figures given for grants on page L-13: $100,000 per year for ZIMSTAT and $120,000 per year for research. Can USAID please clarify three points:

a. Does the $100,000 per year in grant funding go directly to ZIMSTAT or to organizations identified by ZIMSTAT that will assist in their activities?

b. Is the $120,000 for research to be utilized to pay for research identified by ZEPARU as indicated on page C-9 in section C.4(b)(1)(A)?

c. Can USAID confirm that there is no independent grants program outside of the funding funneled through ZIMSTAT and ZEPARU? Can the contractor propose an additional set of funding to be used for other activities as identified by the project?

Answer 42:

a. No funding will go directly to or flow through ZIMSTAT. Any funding used to support

ZIMSTAT will be used by the winning Offeror to issue contracts and grants to providers of services and goods, consistent with the objectives of the activity, the terms of the Contract and technical direction from USAID.

b. Yes, both the grant and contract funds identified for outsourced research will be for those activities identified and prioritized by ZEPARU, consistent with the terms of the Contract and technical direction from USAID.

c. There is no independent grant program. The option of grants under contract, is only that—an option, which should be exercised when funding for outsourced research must flow to the service provider (researcher/institution) through a grant. Funds are not funneled through ZEPARU or ZIMSTAT. Rather, grant and contract funds are to be used to fund the procurement of goods and services in support of activity objectives and must be consistent with the terms of the Contract and technical direction from USAID.

Offerors may propose innovative approaches and uses of funds in order to achieve activity objectives as opportunities arise during contract performance, but for the purposes of the proposal, the technical and cost proposals should be based on the assumptions regarding the use of grants specified in the RFP.

Question 43: Section L.11 7.(c). Please confirm whether the contractor and all proposed subcontractors must complete and submit SFLLL certifications in addition to Section K.

Answer 43: If required by provision 52.203-11, Certification and Disclosure Regarding Payments to Influence Certain Federal Transactions, the Standard Form LLL (Disclosure of Lobbying Activities) will be required by the contractor and subcontractors.

Question 44: Should offerors budget the full tuition for PhD bursaries, even though the five candidates will likely not complete the degree program during four-year the SERA period of performance (regardless of if they enroll on a part-time or full-time basis)?

Answer 44: Yes. The Offeror should make a decision as to whether full-time or part-time is the best approach to achieving the program objectives and budget accordingly.

Question 45: On page L-19, the instructions for Part 9 of the costs proposal, requires a “a separate list of all known subcontractors, sub awardees, as well as resource partners" which "is a separate requirement in addition to the Past Performance contact information required in Section L.10.1". Can USAID please confirm that this list is to include only subcontractors, sub awardees, and resource partners that are part of the Zimbabwe SERA proposal?

Answer 45: Yes, this list is to include only required information related to the Zimbabwe SERA proposal.

Section M

Question 46: Section M.2 states that Corporate Capabilities and Experience will be evaluated on a basis of 10 points. Page M-3 Part M.5 however states Corporate Capabilities and Experience will have a weight of 15 points. Could USAID please clarify how technical proposal evaluation factors will be weighted?

Answer 46: Corporate Capabilities and Experience is weighed 10 points and this amendment to the RFP revises Section M.3 accordingly.

Question 47: The evaluation criteria for Overall Technical Approach under section M.3(a), mentions "regional results and targets." Please confirm results and targets are Zimbabwe-specific.

Answer 47: Results and targets are Zimbabwe-specific and this amendment to the RFP revises Section M.3(a) accordingly.

Question 48: The last bullet point for Section M.4(b) reads “Effectiveness of plan to maximize sustainability.” Please confirm that this evaluation factor is to be rated under “Staffing & Personnel Capabilities and Experience” rather than under “Management Plan” or perhaps under the “Overall Technical Approach.”

Answer 48: No, this bullet relates to the effectiveness of the staffing plan in maximizing sustainability – or maximizing the use of local personnel to perform the contract contemplated by the RFP.