72016921R00001 Amendment 01 CO signed.pdf

Request for Proposals (RFP) No.: 72016921R00001 Amendment # 01 Issue Date: 05/14/2021 Closing Date: 06/10/2021, 5:00 PM Belgrade time

Subject: RFP No. 72016921R00001 Amendment # 01 Media Innovation Activity (MIA) Activity (the “Activity”)

Dear Prospective Offerors:

The purpose of this amendment is to:

1. Provide answers to the questions, in Annex 1 of this Amendment;

2. Revise Proposal due date from May 31, 2021, to June 10, 2021;

3. Revise B.4 BUDGET, by replacing sentence “*The amount of up to $2,300,000 is exclusively reserved for GUC” with “*The amount of up to 20% of proposed total estimated cost is exclusively reserved for GUCs.”;

4. Revise F.4 REPORTS AND DELIVERABLES OR OUTPUTS, 9. Close-Out and Disposition Plan, by removing requirements for illustrative Property Disposition Plan for the grantees.

5. Revise SECTION H - SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS, H.6 GRANTS UNDER CONTRACT, by replacing bullet point # 9 with the following: “All grants must be completed three (3) months prior to the end of the contract.”

6. Revise H.6 GRANTS UNDER CONTRACT, by deleting bullet point # 10 - “Local capacity development of government, private sector actors, and implementers is a deliberate and critical component of project activities. In particular, the Contractor must provide tailored technical assistance, capacity development, and enabling support to actors to closely collaborate, adapt and achieve project objectives.”

7. Revise SECTION H, by adding at the end of the section following:

“H.38 OPTIONAL ANNUAL ACTIVITY AUDITS PERFORMED BY SIDA, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) may partner with USAID to provide funding for the final contract. As such, additional activity level annual financial audits funded by Sida may be required.”

8. Revise L.5 SUBMISSION/DELIVERY INSTRUCTIONS, (d) Preparation of e-mails containing Offeror Proposals, by deleting Each e-mail must be 4MB or less in size, and replacing it with “Each e-mail must be 10MB or less in size”;

9. Revise L.6 INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE PREPARATION OF THE TECHNICAL PROPOSAL; L.6.1 The Technical Proposal must include the following information, delete 6) Content, and replace it with following: “6) Content: Factor 1 - Performance Work Statement, Factor 2 - Management Approach, Factor 3 - Past Performance.”;

10. In L.6.1(c) FACTOR 3: PAST PERFORMANCE, rename Annex 8 Past Performance information, into Annex 7 Past Performance information;

11. Revise L.7 INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE PREPARATION OF THE COST/BUSINESS PROPOSAL, General, by replacing sentence “The estimated range for this contract is up to $14,000,000, inclusive of award fee and $2,300,000 Grants Under Contract amount, for the period of performance”, with “The estimated range for this contract is up to $14,000,000, inclusive of award fee and up to 20% of proposed total estimated cost for Grants Under Contract amount, for the period of performance”

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12. In L.7, General, revise the first paragraph by replacing sentence “The estimated range for this contract is up to $14,000,000, inclusive of award fee and $2,300,000 Grants Under Contract amount, for the period of performance” with “The estimated range for this contract is up to $14,000,000, inclusive of award fee and up to 20% of proposed total estimated cost for Grants Under Contract amount, for the period of performance.”;

13. In L.7, General, delete the entire paragraph “In order to assist USAID in performing a cost realism analysis, the Offeror must also prepare a separate budget that provides a breakdown per component, including a section for cross cutting management of the contract. The offeror must identify the estimated cost for each component, the assumptions behind that estimated cost, and an explanation of the link between the approach and the cost. Offerors must insert high level figures, not a breakdown of the figures, but the total figures must add up to the proposed total estimated costs, exclusive of the proposed award fee pool.”;

14. In L.7, EXEMPTIONS FOR SMALL BUSINESS OFFERORS ONLY, delete the entire sentence “Offeror may propose modifications to this illustrative Fee Schedule above. The Fee Schedule above may be modified based upon mutual agreement of the parties and included at award”;

15. Revise M.3 EVALUATION OF ALL FACTORS – TECHNICAL, M.3.1(a) FACTOR 1: Performance Work Statement (PWS), by replacing the entire text with the following:

“The USAID will evaluate to the extent of which the proposed PWS demonstrates a sound and effective way to meet the expected results and achieve Activity’s Indicators of Success, as outlined in the Statement of Objectives.

Proposed PWS must be supported by evidence, either by lessons learned or examples of practical solutions to address Activity objectives.

The USAID will evaluate to the extent of which the Offeror incorporates the Implementation Principles described in Section C (SOO) throughout the PWS - including adaptive learning, risk management, the ability to identify opportunities and adapt to changes in the operating environment; and the extent to which the PWS includes and presents a realistic and feasible plan to launch Activity operations in a timely manner and leave a sustainable impact, while meeting the SOO requirements.

USAID will evaluate to the extent of which the Applicant proposes an efficient incentive program for delivering successful firm-level support, including transaction advisory services; Beneficiaries’ market, share, and income growth; application and access to high-end technological solutions; and other measurable and verifiable Applicant’s interventions proposed under its PWS. Proposed incentive programs can include Applicant’s success fee, transaction advisors’ success fee, third party firm-level investment incentives, or other proposed ways to increase the value of USAID provided catalytic funding and TA.

Proposed PWS must be supported by Applicant’s proposed staff experience and skills and must be supported by evidence (either by lessons learned or examples of practical solutions to address Activity objectives). This must include the extent to which the Offeror incorporates the Implementation Principles described in Section C throughout the technical approach - including adaptive learning and ability to adapt to changes in the operating environment; and the extent to which the Project Work Statement includes and presents a realistic and feasible plan to launch Activity operations in a timely manner, while meeting SOO requirements.”;

16. Revise M.3 EVALUATION OF ALL FACTORS – TECHNICAL, M.3.1(b) FACTOR 2: Management Approach, by replacing the entire text with the following:

“The USAID will evaluate to the extent of which the Offeror proposes a feasible organizational structure and staffing plan with a good mix of qualified key personnel and experts that are likely to support successful achievement of the SOO’s purpose. This criterion includes evaluation of proposed key personnel skills and experiences (please see RFP Section Key Staff and Staffing Plan). The Offeror must demonstrate its capacity to address four objectives of the Activity, including but not limited to proposed Activity staff experience and skills, and its organizational capacity (including capacity of its sub-implementing partners, if any, or proposed consortia if applicable) in providing required technical assistance to stakeholders that fall within SECTION C (SOO) definition of Activity Beneficiaries. Required technical assistance includes: digital and media development including freedom of expression, adherence to professional media/journalism standards, access to information;

technological development with focus on high-end tech solutions for media; SME/media business development and access to finance; firm-level transactional advisory support, investment readiness support, venture capital

Media Innovation Activity 72016921R00001- Page 2 of 4 financing and the growth of startup firms. USAID will evaluate Applicant’s organizational capacity and proposed experience taking in account its PSW technical approach - the extent to which its organizational capacity and proposed staff experience and skills match the proposed Technical Approach.

The USAID will evaluate to the extent of which the Offeror demonstrates how its Management Approach will facilitate efficient implementation of the proposed interventions and accomplishment of the SOO’s purpose, as well as describe sound strategies and/or approaches for rapid start up, cost containment, risk mitigation and opportunity identification strategies.

The Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) is a separate document as part of the annexes and will be evaluated on the extent to which it will provide surveillance methods that will improve outputs, identify challenges and result in positive corrective action while satisfying the PWS requirements, as well as the extent to which it demonstrates the offeror’s internal monitoring system can ensure execution of the expected results in timely and quality products and services.”;

17. In Attachment J-1 - STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES (SOO), revise the Objective 2: Leverage USAID funds with third party funds (commercial or development assistance partners) to incentivize firm-level investments, or secure better access to loans for Beneficiaries, delete the first paragraph and replace it with following: “Using up to 20% of total estimated cost for grants, and using grants as seed and catalytic capital, identify and deploy tools and resources (e.g. transaction advisory services, blended capital, pay-for-results models such as performance-based contracts/grants) to incentivize and attract firm-level third-party financial or high-tech investment support for Beneficiaries or mitigate investment and financial risks related to Beneficiaries' business.”;

In Objective 3: Improve Beneficiary access to finance and investment readiness, delete the last sentence: “The amount of finance to be mobilized will be specified in the Award Fee Plan.”;

18. In Attachment J-2 Budget template, delete unit cost and number of units from the summary budget sheet; as well as construction line items from the summary and prime detailed budget sheet; and add unit cost and number of units for each year in the detailed prime budget sheet;

19. In Attachment J-10 CURRENT SERBIA LCP SALARY TABLE, revise the first sentence by replacing “monthly salary range” with “annual salary range”.

Only electronic proposals will be accepted. Proposals must be sent to dhasani@usaid.gov and bbulatovic@usaid.gov. Detailed requirements for Offerors’ proposals are outlined in Section L of this solicitation. Proposals must be signed by an official who is authorized to bind the organization and are to be submitted to USAID no later than the closing date and time stated above.

Any questions regarding this solicitation must be submitted in writing via email to Dukagjin Hasani at dhasani@usaid.gov and Branislav Bulatovic at bbulatovic@usaid.gov by the date and time specified above.

This solicitation, amendments to this solicitation, and announcement of contract award will be made available through the government point of entry at https://beta.sam.gov/content/home. It is the Offeror’s responsibility to check this site periodically for official updates to this solicitation. Issuance of this solicitation and the submission of a proposal do not constitute a commitment on the part of the U.S. Government nor USAID to make an award; neither does it constitute an obligation for any costs incurred in the preparation and submission of a proposal.

Thank you for your interest in working with USAID/Serbia.

Sincerely, Patricia Siaso Regional Contracting Officer

USAID/ROAA

Media Innovation Activity 72016921R00001- Page 3 of 4 https://beta.sam.gov/content/home

Annexes:

Annex 1 - Questions and Answers (Q&A) Annex 2 - Attachment J-1 - STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES (SOO) Annex 3 - Attachment J-2 Budget template Annex 4 - Attachment J-10 CURRENT SERBIA LCP SALARY TABLE

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