Amendment 1 of Solicitation-72036721Q00003.pdf

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:

(a) By completing items 8 and 15, and returning or (c) By separate letter or electronic communication which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY 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 letter or electronic communication, provided each letter or electronic communication makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

E. IMPORTANT: Contractor is not is required to sign this document and return copies to the issuing office.

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT 1. CONTRACT ID CODE

2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NUMBER 3. EFFECTIVE DATE 4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQUISITION NUMBER 5. PROJECT NUMBER (If applicable)

7. ADMINISTERED BY (If other than Item 6) CODE

STANDARD FORM 30 (REV. 11/2016)

Prescribed by GSA FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

FACILITY CODE

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NUMBER

9B. DATED (SEE ITEM 11)

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NUMBER

10B. DATED (SEE ITEM 13)

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers is extended. is not extended.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA (If required) copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted;

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

IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NUMBER AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

CHECK ONE A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE CONTRACT ORDER

NUMBER IN ITEM 10A.

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES (such as changes in paying office, appropriation data, etc.) SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

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

D. OTHER (Specify type of modification and authority)

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.

15C. DATE SIGNED

15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER (Type or print)

16C. DATE SIGNED

16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (Type or print)

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION (Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

PAGE OF PAGES

6. ISSUED BY CODE

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR (Number, street, county, State and ZIP Code) (X)

CODE

15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR

(Signature of person authorized to sign)

16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

(Signature of Contracting Officer)

Previous edition unusable

72036721Q00003 Amendment No. 01

AMENEDMENT NO. 01 TO SOLICITATION NO. 72036721Q00003

PART 1: AMENDMENT TO THE SOLICITAITON SECTIONS:

1. On Cover Page, the closing date of the solicitation is extended to 05:00 PM Monday, September 20, 2021 Nepal time.

2. Section D. SOURCE AND NATIONALITY REQUIREMENTS FOR PROCUREMENT OF COMMODITIES AND SERVICES FINANCED BY USAID is DELETED in its entirety and REPLACED with the following:

“D. SPECIAL PROVISIONS

D.1 SOURCE AND NATIONALITY REQUIREMENTS FOR PROCUREMENT OF

COMMODITIES AND SERVICES FINANCED BY USAID:

As authorized under Section 7077 of Public Law 112-74, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012 (P.L. 112-74), “Local Competition Authority,” USAID/Nepal limits this competition to local entities.

Local entity means an individual, a corporation, a nonprofit organization, or another body of persons that:

1) Is legally organized under the laws of Nepal.

2) Has as its principal place of business or operations in Nepal; and

3) Either is:

a. Majority owned by individuals who are citizens or lawful permanent residents of Nepal;

or

b. Managed by a governing body the majority of whom are citizens or lawful permanent residents of Nepal.

"Majority owned" and "managed by" include, without limitation, beneficiary interests and the power, either directly or indirectly, whether exercised or exerciser, to control the election, appointment, or tenure of the organization's managers or a majority of the organization's governing body by any means. Additionally, at least 50 percent of the cost of contract performance incurred for personnel must be expended for employees of the prime/local entity.

D.2 LIMITATION ON SUBCONTRACTING TO NON-LOCAL ENTITIES (JULY

2014)

(a) Applicability. This provision applies to:

(i) Contracts that have been awarded to those local entities under the authority of and as defined in Section 7077 of Public Law 112-74, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012 (P.L. 112-74), as amended by Section 7028 of Public Law 113-76, the

Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014, also known as "Local Competition Authority"; and

(ii) Contracts awarded to local entities (as defined in Section 7077 of Public Law 112-

74) under the authority at AIDAR 706.302-70 Impairment of foreign aid programs.

(b) By submission of an offer and execution of a contract, the Offeror/Contractor agrees that in performance of the contract for—

(1) Services (except construction), at least fifty (50) percent of the cost of contract performance incurred for personnel must be expended for employees of the prime/local entity.

(2) Supplies (other than procurement from a non-manufacturer of such supplies), the prime/ local entity concern must perform work for at least 50 percent of the cost of manufacturing the supplies, not including the cost of materials.

(3) General construction, the prime/ local entity concern will perform at least 15 percent of the cost of the contract, not including the cost of materials, with its own employees.

(4) Construction by special trade contractors, the concern will perform at least 25 percent of the cost of the contract, not including the cost of materials, with its own employees.

(c) By submission of an offer and execution of a contract, the Offeror/Contractor represents that it is an individual, a corporation, a nonprofit organization, or another body of persons that:

(1) Is legally organized under the laws of;

(2) Has as its principal place of business or operations in;

(3) Is majority owned by individuals who are citizens or lawful permanent residents of; and

(4) Is managed by a governing body the majority of who are citizens or lawful permanent residents of the country in which this contract will be primarily performed.

(d) For purposes of this clause, “majority owned” and “managed by” include, without limitation, beneficiary interests and the power, either directly or indirectly, whether exercised or exercisable, to control the election, appointment, or tenure of the organization's managers or a majority of the organization's governing body by any means.

[END SECTION D]

3. Section B. “Instructions to Quoter” is revised to ADD the following language:

“The composition of the “Section 2.7 Evaluation Team” of the Statement of Work may be modified so that Quoters propose the most suitable team to best meet the requirements of this

RFQ.”

PART II RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS FROM THE PROSPECTIVE QUOTERS

1. Is there an incumbent contractor for this assignment?

USAID Response: No, there is not an incumbent for this requirement.

2. The RFQ says "In order to be an eligible service provider, the interested firm/organization may be a national or local level firm/organization that has not received more than $5 million from USAID in the past five years as a prime awardee." Can organizations registered in the USA apply in collaboration with local organizations?

USAID Response: Organization registered outside of Nepal can collaborate with local entities as a subcontractor. In such case, at least fifty (50) percent of the cost of contract performance incurred for personnel must be expended for employees of the prime/local entity. Please refer to section D.2 of the solicitation.

3. Please provide bidding documents to enable us prepare a responsive bid

USAID Response: There is not a separate bidding document. The quoter must submit a quote in response to this solicitation.

4. Is experience in evaluating disaster risk management projects required or will the contractor be only required to have evaluation experience in general

USAID Response: A team leader with evaluation experience in any thematic areas is satisfactory. However, as stated in the RFP, s/he must have extensive experience working on or implementing disaster risk reduction and management activities both at policy level and operations at local levels. If it is challenging to identify a single person with these two skill sets, the quoter may propose more positions (i.e., team lead and deputy team lead) to meet the requirement. You may also depend on subcontractors, if desired, for this experience.

In summary, USAID is open to proposed teams that meet the requirements outlined in the SOW that also contain consideration to the balance of costs associated with the technical approach.

5. In regard to the evaluation team required for this particular opportunity - An assessment of the ToR suggests that a Team Leader comprising combined knowledge and experience of both evaluation and Disaster Risk Management (DRM) is required. However, our team thinks that an expert in conducting evaluation (as a Team Leader – with a minimal days of input) and a Deputy Team Leader with an extensive contextual experience in implementing DRM activities and team management would be more effective for conducting this mid-term evaluation. In addition, it is a bit challenging to find the relevant person who has combined experience in conducting evaluation, implementing DRM related activities and who has contextual knowledge of DRM in Nepal. Considering that our team was wondering if a separate position for a Deputy Team Leader can be created while dividing the number of days between a Team Leader and a Deputy Team Leader.

Taking the above mentioned observation into consideration, could you please clarify if a separate position for a Deputy Team Leader can be created (while sharing the number of days between a Team Leader and a Deputy Team Leader)?

USAID Response: See question 4 above.

6. Are the data analyst, IT officer, RA and GESI expert positions mandatory or can the contractor suggests different positions? Similarly, are the private sector expert and field researcher positions required or can the contractor be given flexibility to choose its staff to implement the midterm assessment?

USAID Response: Given the current context of COVID-19, USAID/Nepal seeks approaches and interactions that are safe, inclusive and accessible to marginalized and vulnerable communities.

The evaluation team is expected to be prepared to use virtual methods for data collection if in-person interactions are not feasible. This determination will be made in consultation with the USAID/Nepal team. The contractor is expected to comply with all the COVID-19 guidance issued by the Government of Nepal and the local authorities when conducting in-person interviews or field observations at the project sites or at the central level. The IT position was created to provide technical support to connect informants with the interviewer for virtual interactions as needed. The evaluation must include the GESI component, collect/analyze information from GESI perspective and provide recommendations. Private sector expertise among the team is required. For field researchers, contractors can assign their staff if they have the required experience and qualification.

Each individual team member’s range of skills and experience as directly required for the purpose of the evaluation must be provided.

With that said, should the quoter seek to propose alternatives, it may do so, though it must be adequately substantiated in the quote.

7. What is the minimum number of Focus Group Discussions (FGD) and Key Informant Interviews (KII) for this assignment? What regions of Nepal are targeted by the Project?

USAID Response: The evaluation will be more qualitative than quantitative, hence the number of Focus Group Discussion (FGD) and Key Informant Interviews (KII) will be defined with the objective of getting a representative sample from a broad spectrum of stakeholders. Additionally, the Contractor is expected to engage with relevant federal Government of Nepal entities and development partners.

As described in the solicitation, the Tayar Nepal activity partners with eight urban/semi-urban municipalities: Bhimeshwor, Birendranagar, Dullu, Godawari, Lamkichuha, Neelakantha, Rajapur municipalities, as well as Tulsipur SubMetropolitan City. Please see the following map:

8. Are these eight urban/semi-urban municipalities (Bhimeshwor, Birendranagar, Dullu, Godawari, Lamkichuha, Neelakantha, Rajapur Municipalities, Tulsipur Sub-Metropolitan City) only the study area for quantitative data collection?

USAID Response: Yes.

9. Are the secondary program-related data provided to the successful organization or are to be collected by the bidder itself?

USAID Response: The Contractor will provide the activity documents including the MEL plan, theory of change, periodic reports, baseline data, actual results, assessment reports etc. related to the activity. Any other secondary data or information relevant to this evaluation and generated by sources other than the Contractor will be the responsibility of the Evaluation team. The quoter should be able to collect the federal and local policies/guidelines including the Disaster Risk and Management Act (DRRM) Act.

1. Extend the closing date of the solicitation to 05:00 PM Monday, September 20, 2021 Nepal time;

2. Provide responses to the questions from prospective quoters; and

3. Revise the RFQ.

Details are provided in following pages.

Office of Acquisition and Assistance (OAA) GPO Box 295 U.S. Embassy, Maharajgunj

KATHMANDU, NEPAL