Amendment 1 INSPIRE.pdf

June 9, 2020

Solicitation no. 72016820R00005 INSPIRE – Human Rights activity

The purpose of this amendment is to:

1. Post questions and answers received in response to this solicitation

2. Publish notes from the pre-proposal conference

3. Update the RFP to include the following (changes highlighted):

B.4 Price Schedule

Item Total Estimate US$

Salaries and Wages

Fringe Benefits

Travel, Transportation and Per Diem

Equipment

Supplies

Contractual

Other Direct Costs

Total Direct Costs

Indirect Costs

GUCs

Total Fixed Fee

TOTAL ESTIMATED COST & FIXED FEE

C.4.2 Component 2: Strengthen the current model of the service centers for children with disabilities and their families, incorporating a to become sustainable

Task 1.

The contractor must work to strengthen the current model (see Annex 1) to move the seven existing service centers for families of children with disabilities to be locally financially sustainable. This model must be replicable by communities and/or governments in BiH to support various social services. This includes utilizing sources of sustainable support from the BiH government, private sector, and from local philanthropic donors while reducing international donor support to zero.

Technical Design: Using existing data the contractor must analyze the services being offered, the cost associated with them and the operation of the centers and create a detailed plan for sustainability. The key goal is to scale down USAID support for these centers to the point that they become self-sustained while, if possible, continuing to provide the same services.

The contractor is responsible for implementing this plan with the seven service centers. This must include significant technical assistance, capacity building, and the refinement and/or creation of operational and financial systems to support sustainability.

Grants Administration: The Contractor must award and manage grants to the existing seven centers on behalf of USAID/BiH. It is expected to award grants annually to the six NGOs managing the seven service centers in alignment with the goals stated under C.4.2. As the service centers take on more financial responsibility, the amount of the grants must decrease each year per the chart below:

C.6 Coordination with Localworks

USAID/Bosnia and Herzegovina (USAID/BiH) is currently implementing a $12 million Localworks Activity.

Localworks is a Congressionally mandated, Washington-based initiative that seeks to identify and support local actors and new ways of designing, resourcing, implementing, and evaluating development efforts.

The overall purpose of Localworks activities in BiH is to support locally led development, while helping

USAID develop new ways of cooperating with local communities. The ultimate goal of this program is to learn about how to make existing networks and connections between local development actors more sustainable, enhance already existing local resources, and strengthen the capacity of local development actors on the Journey to Self-Reliance (JTSR).

The Mission’s plan to program Localworks in the next five years is outlined in the following image and it involves several components. The INSPIRE – Human Rights activity will work towards the sustainability of local actors in areas described in the statement of work thus contributing to the overall purpose and the goal of the Localworks.

Sincerely, Patrick E. Robison Contracting Officer

Patrick Robison

Digitally signed by Patrick Robison Date: 2020.06.09 17:37:23 +02'00'

Solicitation #72016820R00005 INSPIRE – Human Rights Activity

Questions and Answers

1. Q: The RFP named several local civil society organizations in the RFP and included prescribed amounts for GUC that these organizations would be receiving. Could USAID clarify if the role of these named organizations is to be limited and strictly kept within the parameters outlined in the

RFP or can they assume a large, expanded role as appropriate? In other words, does USAID encourage or discourage named CSOs being given a larger role akin to that of a sub-contractors to the prime for example?

A: USAID Bosnia and Herzegovina envisions the contractor making these decisions, based on what they believe the appropriate role of the aforementioned CSOs should be. Maybe in some particular sectors laid out in this SoW, some CSOs may need to play a larger role than others. The discretion is on the contractor to decide on a case by case basis.

2. Q: Will you please explain what "fixed fee" stands for? Does it refer to a profit or does it include personnel and administrative costs, or both?

A: Fixed fee/profit is a negotiated fee that is fixed at the inception of the contract. In a cost plus fixed fee contract, the contractor is reimbursed for allowable costs up to the specified total cost and receives a negotiated fixed fee for its effort.

3. Q: The C.4.2 Component 2 (pg. 17, last paragraph) reads: The Contractor must award and manage grants to the existing seven centers on behalf of USAID/BiH. It is expected to award grants annually to the six NGOs managing the seven service centers in alignment with the goals stated under C.4.1. Will you please explain how the C.4.2. Component relates to the goals stated under C.4.1?

A: That is an error and is corrected in the amendment. It should read C.4.2.

Notes from the Pre-Proposal Conference

Reference: Solicitation #72016820R00005 INSPIRE – Human Rights Activity

On June 5, 2020, USAID/BiH conducted a pre-proposal conference via Google Hangout to discuss the procurement and the technical aspects of the referenced solicitation.

The following participants attended the conference: Aziz Djipa, Christy Fujio, Natalia Buniewicz, Emir Kacapor, Celestine Proctor, Daniel Bronkal, Elizabeth Issac, Emma Shattuck, Ljubomir Filipovic, Nermin Cocalic, Jasmin Besic, Darren Evans, and Adam McKay.

The Contracting Officer welcomed participants and asked for consent to record the session for note taking purposes. After providing consent, the Contracting Officer went through the agenda which was shared with the participants through a google invite to the meeting.

Opening remarks and highlights of the procurement aspects of the requirement were provided. The CO emphasized the importance of Offerors paying close attention to the requirements in C, following explicitly the instructions in L, and addressing the evaluation criteria in M. There were no questions on the procurement aspect of the solicitation.

The technical aspect included an overview of five components of the activity as listed in Section C of the solicitation. The CO stressed the importance of the stated focus on capacity building in C as well as the stated requirement to present a sustainable model for multiple components and bring reliance on international donors to zero. In addition, the Contracting Officer presented a localworks chart and explained the inter-relationship of INSPIRE with localworks initiatives. This chart will be included in the amendment to the solicitation. The solicitation will be also amended to update the budget template to isolate GUCs.

There were no questions on the technical aspect of the procurement either, however, the Contracting Officer provided an opportunity for interested offerors to submit any questions they may have by noon, Monday, June 08, 2020. All questions and answers will be published as part of the amendment to the solicitation.

Thank you for attending the pre-solicitation conference. We appreciate your interest in this procurement.

The Contracting Officer, Patrick E. Robison

Acquisition and Assistance Specialist, Sanela Pasanovic