72011519R00002_Questions_and_Answers.pdf

Solicitation No. 72011519R00002 Amendment 1

Questions & Answers

Administrative

Q: On page 62, under Section L.6, USAID states that cover pages are subject to the page limitation. Given that Section L.5 on page 62 states that “[p]roposals must be signed by an official who is authorized to bind the entire organization,” would USAID please consider removing the cover page from the page limitation?

Q: On page 62, under L.6: Instructions for the Preparation of the Technical Volume, USAID states that “[c]over pages, dividers, Table of Content (if provided) and the items enumerated under Section l.7 Technical Volume Contents are subject to the page limit.” Would USAID please confirm that since page limits are set for each section, contractors may provide a cover page, table of contents, and dividers for clarity and ease of reading outside of this page limit?

Q: L.6 Instructions for Preparation of the Technical Volume and L.7 Technical Volume Contents, Page 62 bottom paragraph, and page 63, Cover pages, dividers, Table of Content (if provided) and the items enumerated under Section L.7. L.7 Technical Volume Contents include technical sections along with page limits for each. Can USAID please confirm the cover page, table of contents, acronym list & dividers are not counted in the page limits?

Q: Section L.6, p. 62 states, “Cover pages, dividers, Table of Content (if provided) and the items enumerated under Section L.7 Technical Volume Contents are subject to the page limit;”

however, the page limits given under L.7 are: Technical rationale (maximum 7 pages), Management structure and staffing (maximum 5 pages), and Draft first year work plan (maximum 3 pages) with no mention of cover pages, dividers, or a Table of Content. Would USAID consider allowing these items outside the page limits above?

Q: Page 62 indicates that cover pages, dividers, and tables of contents are included in the page limit, but these items are not listed under the technical volume contents. Could USAID clarify which page limit these items are subject to?

Q: Would USAID consider excluding cover pages, dividers, acronyms table, and tables of contents from the page limit?

Q: Section L.7, page 63 states that “the technical proposal includes the following sections:

• Technical rationale (maximum 7 pages)

• Management structure and staffing (maximum 5 pages)

• Draft first year work plan (maximum 3 pages) Please confirm that the Offeror may submit the proposal’s volume cover page and a proposal table of contents and that they are not included in any of these page limits.

USAID’s Response: The cover page, dividers, and table of contents have been removed from the page limit in the amended RFP.

Q: Would USAID please clarify if the three-page limit for key personnel CVs includes letters of commitment and references, or whether offerors can submit these as additional pages?

Q: Section L.7, page 65 states “Key Personnel Resumes, Letters of Commitment, and Reference (3 pages per position).” Please confirm that the 3 pages refers only to the resume, and that the letter of commitment and references can be included as separate, 1-page documents for each key personnel.

USAID’s Response: The three-page limit includes all items: resumes, letters of commitment, and references. An illustrative breakdown of how this may look would be 1.5 pages for the resume, .5 page for references, and 1 page for the letter of commitment.

Q: To adequately address USAID’s request on page 63, in Section L.7 Management and Structure and Staffing Plan, “a. Composition and organizational structure of the proposed team and a description of each team member’s role, technical expertise, and estimated amount of time to be devoted to the activity,” would USAID consider moving this requirement outside of the page limitation and including this information as an annex?

Q: Section L.7, p. 63-64. Instructions for the management structure and staffing plan includes “description of each long/short-term key or nonkey team member‘s role, technical expertise, and estimated amount of time to be devoted to the activity. This should include any proposed institutional partners (sub-awardees or other arrangements) along with their expertise, roles, and responsibilities.” A staffing table of this kind is likely to take up several pages; may offerors include this as an annex along with the organizational diagram?

USAID’s Response:

The RFP has been amended to limit this section to only managerial and technical team members. Offerors must keep their descriptions brief and must keep to the page limit requirements stated in the RFP.

Q: On page 64, Section L.7, the draft first year work plan requests that offerors include “4.

The anticipated level of effort required from Project technical staff and financial resources required for subawards to complete the tasks” and “5. An indication of the timing and mount for use of Project Funds.” Given that instructions in Section L.5 require that the technical proposal not make reference to pricing data, would USAID consider removing these requirements?

Q: L.5 General Instructions to Offerors & L.7 Technical Volume Contents. Pages 62 & 64.

(L.5) Technical and Cost Volumes: Offerors must ensure that technical and cost volumes be kept separate from each other. Technical Proposals must not make reference to pricing data in order that the technical evaluation may be made strictly on the basis of technical merit.

(L.7) Draft First Year Work Plan The work plan, at a minimum, will include:

5. An indication of the timing and amount for use of Project Funds.

Can USAID kindly confirm no cost information should be mentioned in the technical volume per the instructions?

Q:. Section L.7., page 64. Instructions for the draft first year work plan include “financial resources required” and “timing and amount for use of Project Funds.” This seems to conflict with instructions in L.5 (p. 62) that “technical proposals must not make reference to pricing data in order that the technical evaluation may be made strictly on the basis of technical merit.” Can USAID please clarify the work plan instructions?

Q: Would USAID consider removing requirements #4 and #5 from the work plan and allow Offerors to instead address technical staff LOE, financial resources for subawards, and timing and amount of projects funds per activity in the budget narrative?

USAID’s Response: USAID removed the requirement for financial data in the revised RFP.

Q: On page 76, under section M.6. DETERMINATION OF THE COMPETITIVE RANGE AND CONTRACT AWARD, the solicitation states “As part of the technical selection process, if a competitive range is established, firms in the competitive range may be invited to make a presentation through video conference of their team’s qualifications and their technical proposal.” Will USAID please confirm Offerors may select the members of their team who will participate in the video conference?

USAID’s Response: USAID did not intend to include the language stating that presentations will be made through a video conference. This was an error, and the revised RFP removes this statement.

Q: Page 72 of the RFP, at the end of #7 under Evidence of Responsibility Determination, states:

“Please note that this information is only required upon a specific request from the Contracting Officer or his representative.” Please clarify if this if this means the Evidence of Responsibility document in its entirety or just the information requested under #7.

USAID’s Response: Information requested in item #7 is only required upon specific request.

A 3-page evidence of responsibility determination addressing items #1-6 is required as part of the cost proposal.

Q: Is the Evidence of Responsibility and the Policies and Procedures also required from the major subcontractors for submission or only from the prime offeror?

USAID’s Response: Evidence of responsibility is required only for the Prime Offeror.

Q: Is USAID able to provide documentation to the selected contractor and its subcontractors and grantees to verify exemption of taxes for the program and for any posted expatriate staff members on the program?

USAID’s Response: USAID cannot provide this documentation at this time.

Q: Are there any Mission-specific blanket waivers in effect which will apply to an award resulting from this solicitation?

USAID’s Response: There are no blanket waivers that will impact this award.

Q: For any contracts/agreements not available in CPARS/PPIRS, can offerors use the standard USAID short form for PPRs?

USAID’s Response: As described in the Contractor Past Performance Section:

“For all contracts listed above that are not in CPARS/PPIRS, provide a list of contact names, job titles, mailing addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, explanation of relevance to the proposed acquisition and a description of the performance to include:

Scope of work or complexity/diversity of tasks;

Primary location(s) of work;

Period of performance;

Skills/expertise required;

Dollar value; and Contract type, i.e., fixed-price, cost reimbursement, etc.”

Q: Is there a MB limit (per email) for the electronic submission?

Q:.Section L.5, pages 61-62 states that, “USAID’s preference is that each technical and cost volume be submitted as a single email attachment, e.g. that the various parts of technical volume are combined into a single document and the various part of the cost volume are combined into a single document before sending.” Please specify if there is a file size limit for the purposes of submission.

USAID’s Response: There is no MB limit for submission.

Q: USAID’s stated preference is that each technical and each cost volume be submitted as a single email attachment; however, as noted in the RFP it may be the case that certain files cannot be combined. In that case, is there a limit on the number of attachments (per email) for the electronic submission?

USAID’s Response: There is no limit to the number of attachments per email, only a request to have as few as practicable.

Q: Would USAID please provide all the Quarterly and Annual reports for the current Time to Read Program?

USAID’s Response: All current quarterly and annual reports are available through the

Development Experience Clearinghouse (www.dec.usaid.gov).

Q: Would USAID please provide links to reports on education activities referenced on page 8 of Annex 10.

USAID’s Response:

USAID/Kyrgyz Republic Country Development Cooperation Strategy:

https://www.usaid.gov/kyrgyz-republic/cdcs U.S. Government Strategy on International Basic Education 2019-2023:

https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1865/USG-Education-Strategy_FY2019- 2023_Final_Web.pdf USAID Education Policy:

https://www.usaid.gov/education/policy US Government Read Act:

https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/623 Kyrgyz Republic National Education Strategy:

https://www.globalpartnership.org/download/file/fid/44406 Government of Kyrgyz Republic National Development Strategy:

https://www.un-page.org/files/public/kyrgyz_national_sustainable_development_strategy.pdf

Q: Section J.2, page 48, SF LLL – Disclosure of Lobbying Activities, Section J.2 lists “Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (SF LLL)”. However, the form SF LLL is not listed in Section L. Can USAID kindly confirm that the form is required and, if so, confirm who it is required from (i.e. the offeror, major subcontractors, etc.) and where it should be placed in the offeror’s submission?

USAID’s Response: Offerors do not need to complete the Disclosure of Lobbying Activities, and this attachment has been removed from the RFP.

Q: L.6 Instructions for Preparation of the Technical Volume (para 2), Page 62, Applicants must use 12 Point Times New Roman Font size, single spaced, with 1-inch margins on both right and left, 10 characters per inch with each page numbered consecutively, and submitted in MS Word or PDF format. Can USAID kindly confirm that Times New Roman 12 Point font is the required font and that 10 Characters per inch does not apply for the proposal solicitation?

Can USAID kindly confirm if the offeror can use a different and lower font size for tables, charts & graphics as long as the text is legible?

Q: Section L.6, p. 62. Would USAID permit offerors to use smaller than 12 pt font in charts, tables, text boxes and illustrations?

Q: Could USAID kindly confirm that tables, charts, text boxes, and graphs may be in size 10 font?

https://www.usaid.gov/kyrgyz-republic/cdcs https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1865/USG-Education-Strategy_FY2019-2023_Final_Web.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1865/USG-Education-Strategy_FY2019-2023_Final_Web.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/education/policy https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/623 https://www.globalpartnership.org/download/file/fid/44406 https://www.un-page.org/files/public/kyrgyz_national_sustainable_development_strategy.pdf

USAID’s Response: USAID confirms that 12-point Times New Roman font is the required font. Different fonts for tables, charts, and graphics are acceptable but should be used sparingly. If USAID determines that the tables, text boxes, ext. are being used for the purpose of avoiding the font size requirement, it may reject the proposal as not being in accordance with the RFP.

Q: L.5 General Instructions to Offerors. Page 61. Electronic responses: Offerors will submit their proposals via email to AlmatyAASolicitations@usaid.gov by the stated closing date and time specified in the Cover Letter. The proposal must be accompanied by a cover letter typed on official organizational letterhead and signed by a person with signatory authority to commit the organization. All attachments must be in MS Word, PDF, or MS Excel readable format.

OFFERORS MUST NOT SUBMIT COMPRESSED (ZIP/RAR/SEA) FILES. Can USAID advise if there are size limitations for email attachments?

USAID’s Response: There are no size limits for email attachments.

Q: Section L.6, p. 62. There is no mention of a List of Acronyms or a List of Exhibits. Would USAID consider including them outside the page limits listed?

USAID’s Response: USAID does not require or request a list of acronyms or exhibits.

Q: Attachment J.10, pg. 4, Objective 1/ “IR1.2: Develop and refine curricula, including standards, assessment, hard and soft skills, and literacy:” If USAID wants IBE-KR to engage with the MOES on the primary school curricula and/or in-service/pre-service curricula, would USAID consider an extension to allow bidders to adequately address this significant and new requirement that was not part of the RFI?

Q: Given the recent US holiday (President’s Day) and two upcoming major holidays in the Kyrgyz Republic (Defender of the Fatherland Day and International Women's Day), would USAID kindly consider extending the proposal deadline by three weeks?

Q: Considering the Presidents’ Day holiday and the shorter length of the month of February, would USAID consider providing an extension for proposal submission from the current closing date of March 15, 2019?

USAID’s Response: USAID cannot extend the deadline for submission of proposals.

Q: Section L.8, p. 70. Upon close-out, will the Time to Read Activity pass along any equipment to IBE-KR?

USAID’s Response: For budgeting, Offerors should anticipate that no non-expendable property that has been purchased by Time to Read will be passed on.

Q: Section H.9.e page 30 states “The Contracting Officer will provide written approval to the Contractor through modification to the contract expressly specifying the information technology equipment, software, or services approved for purchase by the COR and the Agency CIO. The Contracting Officer will include the applicable clauses and special contract requirements in the modification.” Please confirm that these approvals for all IT will flow down to subcontractors upon award.

USAID’s Response: USAID confirms that approval for IT requirements will flow down to subcontractors upon award.

Q: Section H.22, page 37 and L.7 page 63 implies that there is a grants under contract component to this program. Section H.22, Environmental Compliance, last paragraph, it states the following:

“The activities and grants planned under this program include education, technical assistance, and training programs except to the extent such programs include activities directly affecting the environment (such as construction of facilities, etc.); analyses, studies, academic or research workshops and meetings; and document and information transfers.”

Section L.7, Technical Volume Contents, Management Structure and Staffing Plan, it says the following: “The Offeror must include a description of proposed management and administrative structure, policies and practices for overall implementation of the program including personnel, financial and logistical support; realistic strategies for cost-containment; and a realistic plan for monitoring the technical and financial activities and the reporting of sub-recipients and grantees.”

However, there is no guidance in Section H as to the parameters of grants under contract.

Does USAID/Kyrgyz Republic intend for Offerors to implement/manage a grants under contract program?

USAID’s Response: There is no intention to implement grants under contract for this contract.

The RFP has be revised to reflect this.

Q: Section L.6, page 62 does not mention an Acronym List. Please confirm that an Acronym List may be included at the beginning of the Technical Volume, and not included in any page limit.

USAID’s Response: USAID does not require an acronym list but requests that acronyms are spelled out on first reference.

Q: Section L.3 (B), page 67 requires that the offeror provide “a list of contracts over the past 3 years for which you submitted subcontractor reporting to SRS (FAR 52.219-9(d)(10)) and a copy of up to 10 similarly recent subcontracting reports if they were not submitted in eSRS.” Please confirm that the offeror does not need to submit reports for subcontractors if those subcontractors are included in our SRS.

USAID’s Response: USAID confirms that this is correct.

Q: Section L.8, page 71 states that “vendors must maintain their SAM records annually and SAM contains a link to the Online Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA)…Confirmation of CCR and ORCA registration is necessary not later than prior to any Award.” On July 31, 2012, the United States government replaced the CCR with the System for Award Management (SAM). At that time, contractors with active CCR records automatically received a SAM Registration. And ORCA was folded into the government’s System for Award Management (SAM) Registration database in 2012. Therefore, could USAID please confirm that registration in SAM and a completed Section K will suffice?

USAID’s Response: USAID confirms that SAM registration and completed Section K will suffice, and this is reflected in the revised RFP.

Q: In Section L.8, page 72, USAID indicates that letters of commitment from subcontractors are to be placed in the Subcontractor Information section of the Cost Volume. However, if offerors choose to enlist the support of various local organizations or resource partners to reinforce their approach, can USAID confirm that Offerors may submit letters of support as a separate attachment to the technical proposal?

USAID’s Response: Letters of support from local organizations/resource partners will not be considered as part of the technical proposal. Offerors must only submit the information requested in Section L of the RFP.

Q: Section L.8, page 72, under “2. Subcontractor Information,” states “the Offeror must address each of the elements in FAR 44.202-2 in order for proposed subcontractor(s) to be considered by the Contracting Officer for consent of subcontractor(s) to be granted with the award.” On page 73, it states under the heading “Information to Support Consent to Subcontractors (if applicable)” that “the Offeror must address each of the elements in FAR 44.202-2 in order for proposed subcontractors to be considered by the Contracting Officer for consent of subcontractors to be granted with the initial Award.” Please confirm under which section USAID would prefer offerors include the Information to Support Consent to Subcontractors.

USAID’s Response: The section on “Information to Support Consent to Subcontractors (if applicable) was redundant and has been removed from the revised RFP.

Cost/Budget

Q: Section B.5 of the RFP states that “the fixed fee payable under this contract will be tied to the completion of the reports and deliverables specified in Section F.5 of this contract and in accordance with the final approved Fee Schedule.” While Section F.5 includes a comprehensive list of reports and deliverables, Section F.6 of the RFP includes a Fixed Fee Payment Schedule that states the deliverables per year. Would USAID please confirm that the payment of fee will be in accordance with the deliverables included in F.6?

Q: Section B.5, page 5. Please confirm that the Fixed Fee is tied to completion of reports and deliverables.

Q: Section L.5, page 61 states that, the Offeror must submit “the proposed delivery dates and Fee schedule as specified in Section F of this RFP.” Please specify which volume (Technical or Cost), and in which section should the offeror include the Fixed Fee Payment Schedule (F.6, page 18) and please specify if there is a page limit.

USAID’s Response: USAID confirms that the payment of the fee will be done in accordance with F.6, and this is reflected in the revised RFP. The revised RFP also requires that the Fee schedule be submitted as part of the cost volume.

Q: Page 69 of the RFP, Consultants appears under a different category however, there is none in the budget template provided. Could the applicant modify the template and add a Consultants category?

Q: In the Budget template under C. Travel, Transportation, and Per Diem; the following cost items related to Posted employees: Assignment to Post/Repatriation Travel, Shipment of Household Effects (HHE) (Ocean Shipment), Shipment of Unaccompanied Baggage (UAB) (Air Freight), Shipment of Privately-Owned Vehicle (POV) (Ocean Shipment), Storage of HHE; are usually classified in the Allowances category. Could the applicant reclassify those costs items as Allowances?

Q: In the budget template, under C. Travel, Transportation, and Per Diem, Consumables Shipment is classified as a cost item. Could the applicant reclassify this in ODC?

Q: In the budget template, in the detailed Prime costs tab, Equipment and Supplies are under the same category. Could the applicant split this category into two (2) separate categories as in the summary budget sheet?

Q: In the budget template, Training is a separate category but not on the summary level. Should the applicant add the category at the summary level? How would it roll-up otherwise?

Q: In the budget template, under Other Direct costs, there is a cost item described as “Office Supplies”. Could the applicant re-classify this cost under the “Supplies” category?

Q: J.4 Budget Template, Can offerors use their own established budget templates, provided they keep the same overall sequence of cost categories provided in Attachment J.4?

Q: J.4 Budget Template, Budget template provided is missing the budget detail tab. Can USAID please provide an updated budget template?

Q: Attachment J.4. Are offerers permitted to add additional tabs or rows to the budget template?

Q: Attachment J.4. The RFP indicates that offerors should leave formulas shown, but the structure of the template will not show how these costs are derived (e.g. units and unit costs). Is this the intention or are offerors permitted to add further detail?

Q: The budget template provided by USAID does not fully comply with the requirements in Section L. Can Offerors use their own budget template if it satisfies the requirements of section L of the RFP?

Q: Section L.8, page 69 mentions consultants as a category but this does not appear in the detailed budget tab of Attachment J.4. Could USAID clarify what category of the budget should be used to include consultant costs?

Q:. Attachment J.4 only includes a detailed budget template for subcontractors. Please confirm whether subcontractors should also include a summary tab.

Q: Attachment J.4, the Summary tab includes a line for supplies but the detailed budget tab does not include a supplies category. Does a supplies category need to be added to the detailed budget tab? If so, what type of costs should be included in this category?

Q: Attachment J.4, the Summary tab has a total direct costs line followed by a subtotal line. Can USAID please clarify the difference between these two lines? Should the subtotal line come after the indirect costs line instead?

Q: Attachment J.4, the Summary tab uses Arial font whereas the other tabs use Garamond font.

Can USAID please clarify which font applicants should use?

Q: Attachment J.4, the Detailed budget tab does not include columns for units or unit costs showing budget calculations. Please confirm offerors may add these columns to provide more detailed information for the cost proposal. Please confirm applicants may modify the template as needed.

Q: Attachment J.4, the Detailed budget tab includes a training category (category E) but this category does not appear in the summary tab. Can USAID please clarify where training costs should be included in the summary tab?

Q: Attachment J.4, the Detailed budget categories do not match those provided in section L.8.

Please clarify which cost categories offerors should follow.

Q: Attachment J.4, the Detailed budget tab includes a line for “Total LCD” (excel line 51) in the Equipment section of the budget. Can USAID please clarify what this cost includes?

Q: Attachment J.4, the Personnel List tab includes a column for commentary. What information does USAID want to see included in this column?

USAID’s Response: The budget template provided in Section J was provided as an attachment to this RFP in error. It has been removed from the revised RFP. Offerors are not required to use a specific budget template. They must, however, respond to instructions in Section L.8 with regards to submission of the cost volume.

Q: L.8 INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE PREPARATION OF THE COST VOLUME, page 68, Salary and Wages, middle of first para. The Offeror must submit a fully completed and signed AID 1420-17 Form, entitled USAID Contractor Employee Biographical Data Sheet (AID Form 1420-17) for each proposed Cooperating Country National (CCN) and Third Country National (TCN) staff member whose salary will be charged as a direct cost to the Contract. Biographical Data Sheets are required for all long-term, short-term expatriate personnel and all long-term cooperating country personnel being proposed (see Attachment 1). Can USAID kindly confirm that biodata forms are required for named personnel only.

USAID’s Response: Biodata forms are required for only key personnel. The RFP has been revised to reflect this.

Q: Attachment J. 7 Local Compensation Plan (LCP). Since the LCP provided is in USD, does that imply that the offeror should negotiate and pay staff in USD?

If so, is there a set conversion rate USAID expects offerors to use?

USAID’s Response: Per AIDAR 722.170 local staff should be paid in local currency. Offerors must, however, provide the budget in USD. There is no set conversion rate.

Q: Attachment J.5 Branding & Implementation Plan. Pages 4, 5 & 7. Branding Plan Template requires budget allocation be included. However, L.7 instructions state price factors are not to be part of the Technical Volume. Can USAID please confirm price/budget information is not to be included in the Technical volume and should be included in the Cost volume?

Q: Attachment J.6 Marking Plan. Page. 5. Marking Plan Template Table 3 Marking Costs requires activity budget. However, L.7 Instructions state price factors are not to be part of the Technical Volume. Can USAID please confirm price/budget information is not to be included in the Technical volume and should be included in the Cost volume?

USAID’s Response: USAID confirms that budgeted and costs for branding and marking must not be included in the technical volume, and the Branding and Marking Plan Revised to Reflect this..

Q: Could USAID kindly confirm that Offerors may submit CVs for non-key personnel?

USAID’s Response: Offerors must submit resumes for key personnel only.

Q: Page 63 states that an organizational diagram for the program should be included as an annex.

Could USAID confirm that the diagram will not be counted in the 5-page limit of Management Plan?

Q: Section L.7, page 63 states “composition and organizational structure of the proposed team (including an organizational diagram for the program as an annex)” should be included but does not include direction as to in which attachment the diagram should be placed. Please confirm that the organizational diagram can be placed in a separate attachment as part of the Technical Volume.

USAID’s Response: USAID confirms that the diagram is an annex not included in the 5-page limit, and this has been reflected in the revised RFP.

Q: In section L under Salary and Wages (page 68), USAID states that “long-term and short-term personnel should be broken down by person in years, months, days or hours” but then also states “unit costs for each proposed position, key or not, must be expressed in an amount per work day.” Could USAID clarify whether Offerors are required to provide daily rates in the detailed budget or can offerors provide rates in in months or hours as described above?

USAID’s Response: The language has been clarified in the revised RFP to have rates provided as daily rates.

Q: Are subcontractors who are not considered “major subcontractors” (25%) required to submit detailed budgets?

USAID’s Response: They are not required; however, a subcontractor without a detailed budget would not be an approved subcontract under FAR subpart 44.2.

Q: AIDAR 752.7002, page 41 includes the provision that R&R reimbursed under the contract should not exceed that authorized for USAID direct hire employees. Can USAID share the current Service Recognition Package in place for Kyrgyzstan?

USAID’s Response: Allowance for USAID direct hire staff follow State Department’s Office of Allowances and can be found at the Office of Allowances website (https://aoprals.state.gov/)

Technical

Q: It is noted that in Attachment J.10, Statement of Objectives, page 5 mentions that “a list of materials developed [under previous USAID education activities] is attached to this RFP.” We have not found this list anywhere in the RFP or attachments shared on www.fbo.gov; would USAID please share the list?

http://www.fbo.gov/

Q: Would USAID please provide the list of learning materials reference on page 5 of Annex 10?

Q: We kindly request that USAID release the following: all core textbooks for literacy, numeracy, and math.

Q: Attachment J.10, Page 5, Programmatic Approaches, Section “Learning Materials”. This first paragraph includes the following sentence “A list of materials developed is attached to this RFP”. Please note that no attachment listing the developed materials was included in the Solicitation. Can USAID kindly provide the “Learning Materials” developed, along with the actual books and combined list of all?

Q: Page 5 of the SOO references an attachment detailing the training materials developed under the current program. Could USAID kindly provide this attachment?

USAID’s Response:

The list of materials has been attached to the amended RFP.

Q: Of the 75 percent of the schools the project will work with, what number will have worked with USAID’s previous interventions?

Q: Attachment J.10, p. 3. Can USAID provide the list of schools that were selected for the Time to Read Activity and for the IE UNICEF grant? Does USAID envision that schools in the Time to Read Activity will also be targeted by IBE-KR?

USAID’s Response: Final choice of schools will be negotiated with The Ministry of Education and Science (MOES), and Offerors are not requested to provide a list of schools in which they intend to work. USAID expects that the majority of schools will have taken part in either the USAID QRP or TTR activities, but there is no requirement regarding the number that have worked with USAID's previous interventions and USAID is not targeting these schools.

Q: Under 1R1.2 Performance standards. Develop and refine curricula, including standards, assessment, hard and soft skills, and literacy: What is meant by hard and soft skills? Also, why is numeracy not included in this list?

Q: Attachment J.10, p. 4. Can USAID clarify what is meant by “hard and soft skills” under IR 1.2? Does USAID envision standards and assessment on soft skills?

USAID’s Response: According to the USAID “Workforce Connections” report (2015), Soft skills refer to a broad set of skills, competencies, behaviors, attitudes, and personal qualities that enable people to effectively navigate their environment, work well with others, perform well, and achieve their goals. These skills are broadly applicable and complement other (hard) skills such as technical, vocational and academic skills.

In general, soft skills are more difficult to quantify, as such USAID envisions more emphasis on assessing academic skills. The items listed are not exhaustive and can include numeracy based on planned interventions.

Q: L.7 Technical Volume Contents, Pages 64, Draft First Year Work Plan. Can USAID kindly provide a Draft First Year Work Plan template to include all of the requested elements in the

RFP?

USAID’s Response: There is no template for the workplan. Offerors must design their own workplan that will meet the stated requirements.

Q: Section F.5.8., page 17, states "Sampling for the EGRA should use matching or randomized control testing" and then "Midline and endline reading assessments are administered in a representative sample of intervention and nonintervention group". Could USAID please elaborate on expectations for evaluating the reading component of the intervention? Is it USAID’s intent to have a randomized evaluation?

USAID’s Response: USAID’s intent is to have a randomized evaluation with development and implementation of the tool done with USAID’s input.

Q: Section L.7., page 64, includes the minimum requirements for the PSW and it does not mention performance standards. Could USAID please clarify if it is required to include performance standards in the PSW, or is it sufficient to only include them in the QASP?

USAID’s Response: The RFP must identify performance targets as stated in Section L.7. The performance standards in the QASP may include some of these targets in the surveillance plan matrix.

Q: Section L.7, p. 64-65. Certain requirements under the performance work statement (such as proposed performance targets for each objective and IR) seem to duplicate requirements in the draft activity monitoring, evaluation and learning plan and the QASP. May offerors remove these items from the PWS as long as all requirements are covered between the PWS and the draft AMELP and QASP?

USAID’s Response: As the PWS is included in the final contract, all performance targets should be reflected in the document.

Q: Section L.7, pg. 65, states, “Indicators should… support reporting on USAID’s Intermediate Results and Sub-Intermediate Results as described in the Country Development and Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) and quantified in the Performance Monitoring Plan.” Would USAID kindly share their Performance Monitoring Plan or at least the relevant indicators for IBE-KR?

USAID’s Response:

The reference to the Performance Monitoring Plan has been removed in the RFP. Offerors can reference required indicators for the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Plan (MEL Plan) in Section F.5.2.

Offerors should develop a MEL plan and include indicators relevant to the proposed approach and should take into account priorities set forth in the USAID/Kyrgyz Republic CDCS.

Typical standard indicators for an activity such as IBE-KR include:

Percent of learners who demonstrate reading fluency and comprehension of grade level text at the end of grade 2 with USG assistance Percent of learners who demonstrate reading fluency and comprehension of grade level text at the end of primary school (or grade 6, whichever comes sooner) with USG assistance Number of primary or secondary textbooks and other teaching and learning materials (TLM) provided with USG assistance Number of education administrators and officials who complete professional development activities with USG assistance Number of learners in primary schools or equivalent non-school based settings reached with USG education assistance Number of learners reached in reading programs at the primary level with USG assistance

Number of primary school educators who complete professional development activities on implementing evidence-based reading instruction with USG assistance

Q: Attachment J.9. presents a Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan Matrix. May offerors add additional narrative or columns to the tables (e.g. to elaborate on methods of surveillance) or are we restricted to filling out yellow-highlighted areas?

USAID’s Response: Offerors should not add additional columns (though additional rows would be acceptable). Please note that the QASP is not evaluated per Section M of the RFP.

54. Attachment J.10, p. 1: Given that “changes in the GOKR policies and programs, uncertainty surrounding emergent education priorities, and fine-tuning of USAID development interests mean that the contractor must be able to rapidly incorporate changes in the United States Government (USG) and GOKR education programming priorities and policies,” may offerors list illustrative activities in the PWS rather than required interventions in order to remain flexible to changing priorities?

USAID’s Response: Offerors must propose specific performance targets in the PWS.

Offerors’ technical rationale may spell out approaches that can be flexibly and adaptable to changing circumstances/needs to illustrate this point.

Q: Attachment J.10, pg. 4, Objective 1/ “IR1.2: Develop and refine curricula, including standards, assessment, hard and soft skills, and literacy:”

a) Would USAID please specify to which curricula this applies: IBE-KR only, grades 1-4, primary school in-service, and/or primary school pre-service education?

b) Would USAID please specify whether this is for reading or numeracy/math or both?

c) Would USAID please specify whether this extends to addressing the “overloaded curricula”?

USAID’s Response: a) Curricula should be applicable to IBE-KR planned interventions.

b) This is for both reading and numeracy

c) Curricula should be applicable to IBE-KR planned interventions and might include addressing issues such as overloaded curricula depending upon the proposed approach.

Q: Attachment J.10, p. 5. Can USAID please clarify the contractor’s responsibilities in improving MOES HR planning and management as well as cost efficiency?

USAID’s Response: Offerors are asked to propose an approach to provide technical assistance to the MOES in this area.

Q: Attachment J.10, pg. 5, Objective 3/IR. 3.2: “Support system optimization and greater cost efficiency in delivering a quality education,” could USAID be more specific about what it means by “system optimization,” particularly as it differs from IR 3.1: “Build the capacity of the MOES at all levels in the areas of primary education policy, HR planning and management, and monitoring and evaluation”?

USAID’s Response: Both IRs are interrelated, however IR 3.2 speaks more to the efficient use of funding to deliver education programming and high quality curricula. By system optimization, USAID means that the education system will be more effective as a service delivery of quality education in the education system.

Q: Attachment J.10, p. 7 refers to an endline EGRA for the USAID Time to Read Activity. Can USAID share when this endline will be conducted (month and year) as well as any information on the sampling strategy and sample size?

USAID’s Response: The TTR endline EGRA is expected in the spring of 2020. It will be similar in strategy and scope to the midline, which will be developed with USAID’s input.

Q: The SOO states that “an initial development and pilot of an early grade numeracy and math assessment is envisioned, with further scale-up in the latter years of the activity.” Does USAID expect that the implementer will use the EGMA assessment tool?

USAID’s Response: Yes, USAID expects the EGMA tool will be utilized.

Q: IR 1.2 reads “Develop and refine curricula, including standards, assessment, hard and soft skills, and literacy.” Does USAID expect the implementer to revise established benchmarks and existing national curricula and standards, or would the implementer focus on efforts to operationalize established curricula and standards in day-to-day classroom activities?

USAID’s Response: It is up to the offeror to provide an approach that may include the development and refinement of curricula.

Q: Could USAID kindly elaborate on activities envisioned under IR3.3: Improve preparatory programs in reading and math for primary school teachers and education leaders?

USAID’s Response: Offerors should propose in their Performance Work Statement and Technical Rationale the interventions that they believe will lead to the stated results.

Q: USAID mentions that the “number of schools in the [numeracy and math] pilot and scale up of this portion of the contract will be proposed by the contractor.” Could USAID provide additional guidance on the number of schools and/or selection process for this pilot?

USAID’s Response: Offerors should propose the number of schools in its Performance Work Statement. USAID has no additional guidance or requirements for the pilot.

Q: Is USAID able to provide data on the number of primary schools in the Kyrgyz Republic and their breakdown by region and language?

USAID’s Response: USAID is not able to provide this information.

Q: What percentage of rural versus urban schools are desired in school selection?

USAID’s Response: USAID has no desired percentage of rural vs. urban schools. The selection of schools will be done in coordination with the Ministry of Education and Science.

Q: Would USAID consider removing the requirement of outputs and outcomes in work plan since Offerors will address them in the AMELP?

USAID’s Response: USAID expects to have outcomes and outputs from the MEL Plan included as part of the work plan.

Q: Section C.2, SOO page 1 states “the end result will be improved instructional quality for early grade students; improved formal and non-formal learning environments, and a strengthened education system. Interventions will target both school- and community-level education institutions, and will include activities that improve reading, numeracy, and math.” Please clarify if the 300, 000 target student population from the 75% of public schools includes students from community-level education institutions, and USAID’s definition of “community-level education institutions.”

USAID’s Response: The population will be from the targeted 75% of primary schools.

Community-level education institutions may include, but are not limited to, community libraries.

Q: Section C.4, SOO page 4 references the “NSBA report CEATM 2017” in footnote 3. Can USAID please provide an English-language version of this report to offerors?

USAID’s Response: USAID does not have an English version of this assessment. Please see testing.kg.

Q: Section C.5, SOO page 6 states, “the final list of schools and languages of instruction will be coordinated and approved by USAID and the MOES.” Could USAID clarify at this stage whether bidders should plan and budget to report EGRA results for reading in Tajik and Uzbek, in addition to reporting EGRA results in Kyrgyz and Russian?

USAID’s Response: USAID cannot clarify at this stage in what languages the report will be provided in. That decision will be made in coordination with the Ministry of Education and Science during implementation.

Q: Section C.5, SOO page 7 states, “an initial development and pilot of an early grade numeracy and math assessment is envisioned, with further scale-up in the latter years of the activity.”

Could USAID please clarify the envisioned purpose and use of the early grade numeracy and math assessment? Are they formative assessments for teachers’ use in the classroom and/or large-scale assessments to inform policy and government decision-making? Lastly, should bidders incorporate a pilot, baseline, and/or endline numeracy and math assessment in their proposals?

USAID’s Response: The purpose is to monitor progress and change in early grade numeracy and math among students. These are neither formative assessments for teachers’ use in the classroom nor large-scale assessments to inform policy and government decision-making.

Offerors should incorporate a pilot, baseline, and/or endline numeracy and math assessment in their proposals.

Q: Section C.5, S00 page 7 states that “USAID’s Time to Read (TTR) Activity’s endline EGRA will serve as the baseline EGRA for IBE-KR” and the two projects are expected to overlap.

Given that there will be differences in the two projects’ intervention schools, will TTR modify its endline EGRA sample to include schools for IBE-KR reporting.

USAID’s Response: No, the EGRA is nationally represented and will not need to be modified for IBE-KR schools.

Q: Section F.5.2, page 14 states “for geographic disaggregation, all indicators associated with a discrete project site must be disaggregated by the decimal GPS coordinate associated with that site. All indicators associated with an area-wide activity must be disaggregated by province and district name.” District-level disaggregation with statistical significance requires large sample sizes. If district-level disaggregation reports sensitive values and there are few respondents in a given district, anonymity can be compromised.

a) Can USAID confirm whether all indicators with an area-wide activity must be disaggregated by province and district name?

b) Similarly, can USAID confirm whether Bishkek and Osh City should be treated as provinces for the above purpose?

c) Can USAID confirm which level of geographic results, if any, should be reported for F-indicators ES1-1 and ES1-2?

USAID’s Response: a) Within the MEL Plan, site-level disaggregation and district-level disaggregation for area-wide activities will mainly be appropriate for output type indicators, such as counting sites or individuals, if any are used.

b) Yes, they can be treated as provinces.

c) Final disaggregation will be done with USAID input.

Q: Section F.5.8, page 17 states, “sampling for the EGRA should use matching or randomized control testing.” Could USAID clarify whether bidders are expected to incorporate a random control testing approach to randomly select the schools that will receive the IBE-KR intervention

– and thus selection of intervention schools will be randomized and may not be coordinated and approved by USAID and the MOES – or, rather, if a matching sampling design is envisioned for the EGRA evaluation?

USAID’s Response: The selection of schools may be done with a methodology chosen by the offeror (random or not), and then agreed upon by the Ministry of Education and USAID later.

As for EGRA sampling, offerors should use matching or randomized control testing among IBE_KR schools and non-intervention schools.

Q: Section F.5.8, page 17 states “EGRA results must be appropriately disaggregated by grade, gender, language, and school type at a minimum.” Would USAID define “school type” for which EGRA results must be disaggregated?

USAID’s Response: Urban versus rural.

(End of Q and A)