Questions_RFP_No._7200AA18R00086_-_FSSC_II.pdf

Questions and Answers for Food Security Service Center II

RFP No. 7200AA18R00086

Amendment #1

1. We have developed several budget scenarios, including one that limits the budget essentially to the 5,000 STTA LOE days per year, the travel estimates as required, and the two Key Personnel positions. In these scenarios, we are unable to fit within the government ceiling for the program.

We have examined the previous solicitation for the Food Security Service Center, and note that there is a significant difference in the STTA LOE estimated, with 860 days per year for consultant and STTA labor included in that previous solicitation. Our understanding is that the nature of the program is very similar to the predecessor project. Would USAID reconsider the

LOE estimate per year or allow offerors to propose a staffing plan and level of effort that fits within the technical approach we propose?

USAID Answer: The LOE estimate per year is 5,000 days to include home office labor. Offerors may propose a staffing plan and level of effort they deem necessary to effectively carry out the program.

2. On p. 19, last paragraph the RFP refers to section C.3.2; however, this section does not exist. We believe the correct reference is section C.1. Also, please note that the technical areas noted in section C.1 are slightly different from those noted in section L.8.1 on p. 75. Can you please clarify which technical areas STTA are required to cover?

USAID Answer: On pg. 19, the RFP should refer to Section C.4.1, which can be found on page

10. Here, the Section provides detail on the technical areas STTA are required to cover. The RFP will be amended to clarify this.

3. On p. 35, in Section H.8, (e), the RFP states that the compensation of consultants will not exceed

(1) the highest rate of annual compensation received by the consultant during any full year of the immediately preceding three years or (2) the maximum daily salary rate as described above, whichever is less. Could USAID please clarify if it refers to maximum daily consultant rate as opposed to salary rate in item (2)?

USAID Answer: That section is referring back to H.8(a) and (d). No salary can exceed the limitations described in Section H.8 or exceed the escalation rate described in that section without approval from the Contracting Officer. In no case can the salary exceed the Contractor Salary

Threshold.

4. Section L.7, p. 74, states that “The cost proposal shall be submitted ONLY in the “.xls” format...”

Will USAID please confirm that the “.xlsx” format for the budget component of the cost proposal is acceptable?

USAID Answer: The “xlsx” format is acceptable. The RFP will be amended to allow for this change.

5. Section L.9.3, p. 79, states “The narrative must be submitted in Microsoft Word format.” Will

USAID please confirm that the offeror may submit 1) the budget in Excel, 2) the narrative in

Word, and 3) the entire cost proposal consolidated in a PDF?

USAID Answer: That is acceptable.

6. Section L.8, p. 75, mentions that 12-point Times New Roman Font Size should be used for the proposal. Will USAID consider allowing 10-point Times New Roman Font Size for tables, graphics, and figures?

USAID Answer: That is acceptable.

7. Section L.8, p. 75, mentions that the Cover Letter, Table of Contents and Attachments/Annexes are outside the 20-page limitation. Is the Acronym List also excluded from the 20-page limitation?

USAID Answer: Yes, the Acronym List may also be excluded from the 20-page limit. The RFP will be amended to allow for this change.

8. Section L.8.1, p. 75, states “submit a draft work plan for the first year of the project in line with the requirements and illustrative deliverables of Section C.” Will USAID confirm that the work plan may be in an Annex to the technical proposal and excluded from the 20-page limitation?

USAID Answer: Yes, the draft work plan may be in an Annex and excluded from the 20 page limit. The RFP will be amended to allow for this change.

9. Section L.8.1, p.75-76, states that CVs and Contractor Employee Biographical Data Sheets should be included for Preliminary STTA.

a. Should the CVs be included as a separate Annex to the technical proposal and are they excluded from the 20-page limitation for the technical proposal?

USAID Answer: The CVs may be included as a seperate Annex to the technical proposal and excluded from the 20 page limit, as per Section L.8.5.

b. Is the purpose of the preliminary STTA biodatas to validate the blended rates for each category or simply to show the quality of candidates we can offer? Will USAID please consider removing the requirement to provide biodata for preliminary STTA experts with the proposal, since the proposal is asking for blended rates?

USAID Answer: USAID will remove the requirement to provide biodata for preliminary STTA experts with the proposal.

c. If STTA biodatas are required, will USAID please confirm that all biodatas should be included in the cost proposal and not in the technical proposal?

USAID Answer: STTA biodata will not be required.

10. Section L.8.4, p. 77: Will USAID please confirm that 3 Past Performance References are to be included for the prime and 3 Past Performance References for each subcontractor that exceeds 20 percent of the total proposed cost?

USAID Answer: Yes, USAID confirms.

11. Section L.9.3, p. 80, states that the “Estimated Level of Effort (days): Per calendar year, estimated to be 5,000 LOE days. Total for the life of project estimated to be 25,000.” Will

USAID please confirm that the home office labor is included within the 25,000 LOE days?

USAID Answer: Yes, USAID confirms that home office labor is included in the 25,000 LOE days.

12. In Section L.9.3, p. 80, the descriptions of the “Expert” and “Mid-Level” seem to be the same.

Will USAID please clarify whether they are requesting two or three categories and blended rates and please define the categories?

USAID Answer: USAID is requesting three categories. The Mid-level category is distinguished from the Expert level by the line, “However, in lieu of the education requirement a Mid-level candidate may have a Bachelor’s degree and a minimum of 10 years of developing-country, role-relevant work experience.”

13. May we propose indirect rates other than those in our current-year NICRA, if justified and if allowed by USAID ADS 302.3.6.7, Guide for Indirect Costing?

USAID Answer: Other indirect rates may be included in the proposal if enough supporting documentation is provided to justify the proposed rate and indirect cost category. This is usually three consecutive years of financial statements. There is also no guarantee that the proposed rate will be accepted in the event of contract award.

14. Are Offerors expected to have 15 resumes for each specialty in its database at the time of submission?

USAID Answer: Offerers are expected to include 20 resumes in their proposal at the time of submission. Offerors are not expected to have a fully functional database at the time of submission.

15. Section 4.1 requests at least 15 expert consultants per subject matter, but then Section L.8.1 states that the offeror should provide documentation on twenty Preliminary Short-Term Technical

Experts who together cover the required skills, including CVs and biodata forms. Which direction should we follow?

USAID Answer: Section C.4.1 refers to the number of consultants per subject matter that the awardee will be required to maintain within their database throughout the life of the project.

Section L.8.1 refers to the number of preliminary STTA experts that the offeror must submit with their proposal.

16. What is the preferred length/format for resumes of subject matter/country experts?

USAID Answer: Per Section L.8.5, resumes should be no more than 2 pages each.

17. Are offerors expected to be able to change/update the MySQL code of the existing/new/upgraded

FSSC database?

USAID Answer: Yes, offerors are expected to be able to change/update the MySQL code should they determine changes and updates are needed in order to optimize the database.

18. Does USAID anticipate past FSSC I services demand to be roughly equivalent to future demand for FSSC II services?

USAID Answer: USAID can not anticipate demand at this time, however we estimate that LOE over the life of the contract will be up 25,000 days for the five year period.

19. Would USAID provide, on the DEC or via an attachment to the solicitation, any quarterly or annual reports, or any internal or external evaluations, of the original Food Security Service

Center?

USAID Answer: Quarterly and annual reports should already be available via the DEC.

20. Section B.4.b, page 5 indicates that offerors should budget for an estimated 5,000 LOE days of

STTA per year. Should offerors budget all non-full time LOE within the estimated 5,000 annual

LOE days of STTA?

USAID Answer: All LOE to be used throughout the life of project should be budgeted for, to include STTA and home office labor.

21. Section C.4.1, page 10 states: “The contractor will provide a staff of two persons to establish and operate the FSSC II who will be considered Key Personnel……” Are the two key personnel positions (COP and DCOP) the only long-term, full time positions that USAID envisions for

FSSC II?

USAID Answer: USAID defers to offerors to propose any additional long-term, full time positions that they deem required to effectively carry out the program.

22. Section F.6, page 23, Key Personnel. The Deputy Chief of Party – Operations description states that the candidate must have a Master’s and a “Minimum 7 years’ experience required in the management of one or combination of the following: food security or development programming” but also states that “’The Deputy Chief of Party – Operations shall have a strong management background in food security and nutrition programming. USAID will consider a tradeoff for candidates proposed without a master’s degree, but with at least 7 years of experience.”

a. Would USAID clarify if management in food security and nutrition programming is a requirement or if development programming may be substituted?

USAID Answer: Development programming may be substituted but management experience in food security programming is strongly preferred.

b. Would USAID clarify the correct number of years that should be provided for candidates without a Master’s degree?

USAID Answer: Candidates without a master’s degree should have at least 7 years of experience.

23. Section L.8, page 75, would USAID confirm that a cover page, as well as a cover letter, may be excluded from the page count for the Technical Proposal?

USAID Answer: Cover letter, table of contents, and attachments/annexes are not subject to the page limit. Cover page is not subject to the page limit.

24. Section L.8.1, page 75, requires the documentation, including CVs and Contractor Employee

Biographical Data Sheets for 20 Preliminary Short-Term Technical Experts, while Section L.8.5, page 77, requires the submission of a Short-term Technical Expert Subject Matter Matrix.

a. Would USAID confirm that the documentation for the 20 short-term technical experts should be submitted as part of this first annex?

USAID Answer: USAID confirms.

b. Would USAID confirm that the Short-Term Technical Expert Subject Matter Matrix should be limited to the 20 Preliminary Short-Term Technical Experts required in Section

L.8.1?

25. Section L.8.1, Factor 1, page 75 requires that offerors submit a work plan for the first year of the project. Would USAID consider allowing offerors to submit this first-year work plan as an annex excluded from the page count?

USAID Answer: Yes, the draft work plan may be in an Annex and excluded from the 20 page limit.

26. Section L.8.1, Factor 1, page 76 requires that offeror include CVs and Biographical Data Sheets for the 20 Preliminary Short-Term Technical Experts. Would USAID provide a page limit for these CVs and would USAID consider a page limit longer than two pages to best showcase consultant expertise?

USAID Answer: Per Section L.8.5, CVs are limited to 2 pages. This includes key personnel and preliminary STTA.

27. Section L.8.3., page 76, Factor 3 – Management Plan/Corporate Capability. The following language appears both under item 1, the Management Plan, and item 2, the corporate capabilities statement, that the offeror should “demonstrate their capabilities and experience in supporting identification, recruitment and logistical arrangements of short-term expertise for field support, and their experts’ timely delivery of high-quality deliverables and skills transfer.”

a. Would USAID confirm that such capabilities should only appear in the corporate capabilities statement and remove this language as a requirement for the Management

Plan?

USAID Answer: Corporate capabilities should display past experience in this area, while the management plan should detail how the offeror plans carry out these capabilities in the performance of the FSSC II.

28. Section L.9, Instructions for Preparation of the Cost Proposal, Page 79, requires that offerors provide pricing broken out by different cost elements, including “Consultants and Short-Term

Technical Assistance,” which requires the offeror to “propose a blended daily constant rate for each type of consultant and experience level in accordance with the estimated LOE” of 25,000 days. However, some Short-Term Technical Assistance positions may be provided by subcontractors who perform solely on an FFP basis and do not have daily rates. For those subcontractors, would USAID confirm that these positions may be proposed and priced on an

FFP basis provided that the offeror include sufficient information to determine price reasonableness?

USAID Answer: USAID confirms STTA proposed to be provided by subcontractors may be priced on a FFP basis provided that the offeror include sufficient information to determine price reasonableness.

29. Section L.8.1, Factor 1 – Technical Approach, Page 75, states that Biographical Data Sheets should be provided for all individuals proposed for the Short-Term Technical Assistance positions. Please confirm that this information is only required for individuals proposed on a cost reimbursable basis but is not required for subcontractors proposing on an FFP basis.

USAID Answer: No biographical data sheets will be required. RFP will be amended to clarify.

30. Section L.8.1, Factor 1 – Technical Approach, page 75 states that the offeror should submit a draft work plan for the first year of the project in line with the requirements and illustrative deliverables of Section C. Illustrative deliverables are not listed in Section C, but C.5 refers offerors to Section F.5. Would USAID confirm that offerors should outline a draft work plan in line with the deliverables included in Section F.5?

31. Section L.9(3), page 80.

a. Would USAID clarify the difference between the Expert and Mid-Level specialist consultant categories?

USAID Answer: The Mid-level category is distinguished from the Expert level by the line, “However, in lieu of the education requirement a Mid-level candidate may have a Bachelor’s degree and a minimum of 10 years of developing-country, role-relevant work experience.”

b. Would USAID allow for Expert Specialist with a Master’s and five years of experience?

USAID Answer: USAID would allow for this. RFP will be amended to clarify.

c. Would USAID allow offerors to propose junior-level short-term technical assistance?

USAID Answer: USAID would allow for this.