A. SF30- 7200AA22R00046 Q&A_Amendment 02.pdf

Issuance Date: Friday, May 20, 2022

Subject: Amendment No. 2 to 7200AA22R00046

The purpose of this amendment is to:

1) provide answers to the follow up questions received by the submission deadline, in accordance with section L.7(b) of the solicitation.

2) incorporate revisions into the Attachment J.5 Budget Template.

Revisions in the Amended Attachment J.5 are notated as follows (Note: deletions are not notated):

Highlighted = Inserted

Prospective applicants are strongly advised to read all questions and answers provided via this amendment and review the attached RFP in its entirety.

Sincerely, Rachel Baltes Contracting Officer

M/OAA/RFS

5. PROJECT NO.

CODE

7. ADMINISTERED BY

2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NO.

CODE

6. ISSUED BY

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR

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

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NO.

9B. DATED

PAGE OF PAGES

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NO.

10B. DATED

BPA NO. 1. CONTRACT ID CODE

FACILITY CODE CODE

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:

X The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers

E. IMPORTANT:

is extended,

(a) By completing Items 8 and 15, and returning _____1_____ copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted; or (c) By separate letter or telegram which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR AC- KNOWLEDGMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY

X is not extended.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA

(REV. 10-83)

is required to sign this document and return ___________ copies to the issuing office. is not, A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE CONTRACT ORDER NO. IN ITEM 10A.

15C. DATE SIGNED

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

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 telegram or letter, provided each telegram or letter makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

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

D. OTHER

BY

Contractor

16C. DATE SIGNED

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION

16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

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.

15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER 16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER

15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR

STANDARD FORM 30 STANDARD FORM 30

(Type or print) (Type or print)

(Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

(No., street, county, State and ZIP Code)

(If other than Item 6)

(Specify type of modification and authority)

(such as changes in paying office, appropriation date, etc.)

(If required)

(If applicable)

(SEE ITEM 11)

(SEE ITEM 13)

(X)

7200AA22R00046

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

IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

(Signature of person authorized to sign) (Signature of Contracting Officer)

2 6

02 See Block 16c

USAID

M/OAA/RFS

1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20523

All Prospective Offerors 4/26/2022

X

The purpose of this amendment is to:

1)Answer the follow up questions received by the deadline; and

2) Update Attachment J.5 –.Budget Template

Rachel Baltes Contracting Officer

RFP No. 7200AA22R00046 Amendment 01

Follow-up Questions and Answers

1. USAID’s answer #1 states, “Plug figures are not to be revised.” However, answer #93 says, “Offerors can allocate the given plug numbers across the eight-year period as they wish, and provide any assumptions in the budget narrative.” And, answer #98 says, “Total values are fixed.” Could USAID confirm that offerors must budget the total life of project plug figure amounts shown in Column K of the J.5 Budget Template Budget Summary sheet and Column AK of the Detail – Core sheet, but offerors may adjust the distribution of those total plug amounts across years?

USAID answer #1: Offerors may not adjust plug figures identified in Attachment J.5. If the figure in Attachment J.5 represents a total amount that has not been allocated across years, please allocate those figures and provide any assumptions in the budget narrative. However, if annual plug figures have been included in the budget template, please do not adjust those amounts.

2. USAID’s answer #24 states, “Please see response to Question 9 and revisions incorporated to section F.9 of the RFP.” However, there do not appear to be any revisions incorporated in Section F.9 in the amended RFP. Could USAID please provide the revised Section F.9?

USAID answer #2: Thank you for flagging this contradiction. Offerors may not modify the indicators for the fee schedule, as originally discussed in Question 9 from Amendment 01. No revisions were made to section F.9.

3. The amended RFP and answer #111 allow offerors to include a 2-page Executive Summary. However, an Introduction that describes the core management approach and provides a high-level vision of how to address the objectives and achieve the results is still required within the 20-page limit. Given that an Executive Summary typically provides an overview of the key elements of the proposal (including the core management approach and high-level vision), would USAID kindly remove the requirement for the Introduction in Section L.8.4.1?

USAID answer #3: The Executive Summary is optional and will not be scored. The requirement for the Introduction in Section L.8.4.1 will remain.

4. In the revised RFP (Sections B.4 and L.9, Part 2(1)(iii)) and the revised budget template, USAID has revised the summary budget template for Field Support to include four line items: Field Support Direct, Field Support Indirect, Field Support Fixed Fee, and GUCSs – Field. The plug for Field GUCs of $100M is clear, as is the clarification that the remaining $100M is inclusive of all other field support costs (i.e., direct costs, indirect costs [including associated indirect costs on Field GUCs], and fixed fee). While an Offeror may estimate Fixed Fee from the plug for non-GUC Field Activities, as well as the associated indirect costs on Field GUCs, it is not possible to estimate the break-out between direct and indirect costs for non-GUC Field Activities without additional information on each buy-in. As the buy-ins are TBD, could USAID please alter the summary budget template for Field Support to include the following line items?

Field Support Direct and Indirect (non-GUC) Field Support Indirect (GUC) Field Support Fixed Fee GUCs – Field

USAID answer #4: Attachment J.5 is revised to include these line items.

5. As mentioned in questions 7, 31, and 32 USAID is requesting a draft Branding and Marking Plan, which will be finalized by the successful offeror at the time of award. Could USAID please confirm that offerors should submit this draft Branding and Marking Plan as an Annex to the cost volume?

USAID answer #5: Confirmed. The Branding and Marking plan is a separate document and may be submitted as part of the cost proposal. Please refer to Section L.10 of the RFP for the instructions regarding the preparation and submission of the Branding and Marking plan.

6. Would USAID kindly allow the use of Arial Narrow 10pt font in figures, tables, and text boxes?

USAID answer #6: Arial Narrow 10pt font may be used for figures, tables, and text boxes.

7. Can USAID advise what info should be included in the budget template, “Detail -Core” tab, cells G5-G8?

USAID answer #7: No information is required. Those cells may be left blank.

8. Q&A #38 indicates that Cell F8 of the summary budget should contain the sum of the

Core and Field fees. Given that the field fees are included in the plug figure of TOTALs

– FIELD, it would make it difficult to estimate at this stage. As such, can USAID consider removing the need to fill out this cell?

USAID answer #8: The Summary Budget tab (Attachment J.5 Budget Tempate) is not requesting any information in Cell F8.

9. The budget template “Summary” tab breakdowns the field cost to (Direct, Indirect, Fixed Fee, and GUCs) with a total of $200M of TOTALs – FIELD. Given that this information is not known at this stage, can USAID confirm that there is no need to fill out the Field Support Direct, Field Support Indirect, and Field Support Fixed Fee lines at the proposal stage?

USAID answer #9: Please see answer to question #4.

10. Q&A #7 indicates that “All offerors are required to submit a BIP and MP with their proposal, …”, however the RFP doesn’t indicate whether the same should be submitted as an annex to the Technical proposal or as a separate document, could USAID please verify.

USAID answer #10: Please see answer to question # 5.

11. Reference Question 123: USAID responds to a question requesting that Technical

Proposals be required in searchable PDF format stating: “The PWS portion of the technical approach will need to be submitted in Microsoft Word.” Will the Government please confirm that the entire Technical Proposal can be submitted as a searchable PDF, accompanied by a Microsoft Word version of the PWS?

USAID answer #11: Confirmed.

12. Reference Question 76: USAID indicated that the contractor is permitted to include names of non-key personnel and the start-up team in the staffing plan. We would respectfully request that USAID not allow the naming of any non-key personnel or start-up team members. We applaud USAID’s commitment to creating a more equitable and inclusive procurement process that levels the field for new and unusual partner organizations.

USAID answer #12: USAID will not be reviewing and approving individuals identified for non-key personnel and start-up team positions in the staffing plan, whereas for key personnel the review will differ. Accordingly, names of key personnel are not being accepted at this time. However, the same restriction will not be applied to non-key personnel and start-up team staff.

13. Reference Questions 1/93: In response to Question 1 which asks if bidders may distribute grants and other plug figures flexibly across the period of performance, USAID responded: “Plug figures are not to be revised.” However, the answer to question 93 states that, “Offerors can allocate the given plug numbers across the eight year period as they wish…” Will the government please confirm that Offerors may distribute plug figures across the period of performance as aligned with their technical approach, so long as the total value of the plugs does not change from that which is provided?

USAID answer #13: Please see response to question #1.

14. Reference Question 35: The response to Question 35 states that: “Cell F8 should contain the sum of the Core and Field Fees.” However, Cell F8 of the Budget Summary tab says "Total Fee." Therefore, if offerors use this cell to display the sum of the Core and Field fees, the "Total Fee" text will be replaced. Is this the correct approach or would USAID prefer to use the cell next to F8 (G8) to display the total fee amount?

USAID answer #14: Please disregard the response to Question 35 on Amendment 01.

Cell F8 is not meant to be filled in with text or figures.

15. Reference Question 50: The answer to Question 50 states that: "Major subcontractors are those whose costs are 20% of the total estimated Core Activities cost of the proposed offer, not including GUCs."

Would USAID please clarify if indirect costs associated with GUCs should be excluded from the total Core Activities cost or just the GUCs plug figure ($15M)? Specifically, does USAID prefer formula #1 or #2 below:

1) Sub Cost / (Total estimated Core Activities cost - GUCs)

2) Sub Cost / (Total estimated Core Activities cost - GUCs - indirects on GUCs)

USAID answer #15: Major subcontractors are those whose costs are 20% of the total estimated Core Activities of the proposed offer, excluding Grants under Contract.

Core GUC costs are $15m.

16. Reference Questions 66/146: The answer to Question 66 indicates that bidders must submit their cost volume narrative in both Microsoft Word and PDF. However, the answer to Question 146 states, “depending on the required document to be included in the Cost Proposal, files may be submitted as Microsoft Word or PDF.” Will the Government please confirm what portions of the Cost Volume are required to be submitted in Microsoft Word?

USAID answer #16: It is not expected that offerors will submit a word and pdf of their cost volume. Offerors may use word and pdf formats to submit their cost proposal, depending on the information they are presenting. However, the Attachment J.5 Budget must be submitted as an excel file.