SF-30-Questions-Answers-72036724R00005 Amendment No. 2.pdf

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

1. CONTRACT ID CODE PAGE OF PAGES

1 8

2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NUMBER

3. EFFECTIVE

DATE

4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ.

NO.

5. PROJECT NO. (If applicable)

See Block

16C

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

Office of Acquisition and Assistance (OAA)

USAID/Nepal

U.S. Embassy, Maharajgunj

Kathmandu, Nepal

Same as Block 6

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR (No., street, county, State and ZIP Code) (X) 9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NO.

72036724R00005

9B. DATED (SEE ITEM 11)

May 31, 2024

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER

NO.

10B. DATED (SEE ITEM 13)

CODE

FACILITY

CODE

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.

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 _____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 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 your 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.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA (If required)

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

IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. 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 NO. IN ITEM 10A.

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES (such as changes in paying office, appropriation date, 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)

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

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

The Purpose of this Amendment No.02 is to:

1. Provide answers to questions received in response to Request for Proposal (RFP) No. 72036724R00005, USAID

Nepal Health Surveys;

2. Revise RFP. All changes made to the revised RFP are highlighted in yellow; and

3. Provide Pre-proposal conference presentation and attendees list.

All other terms and conditions of the RFP remain unchanged.

(End of Amendment 02 of RFP 72036724R00005) 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 (Type or print) 16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (Type or print)

/s/ Maria Televantos

15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR

15C. DATE

SIGNED

16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 16C. DATE SIGNED

June 14, 2024

(Signature of Contracting Officer) (Signature of Contracting Officer)

Previous edition unusable

STANDARD FORM 30 (REV. 11/2016)

Prescribed by GSA FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

Questions on (RFP) No: 72036724R00005 USAID Nepal Health Surveys

COVER PAGE:

1. The RFP in the cover page indicated the Closing Date/Time for Receipt of Proposals is June 30, 2024, 5:00 p.m. However, in page 88 and 89, it is mentioned that the evaluation and selection process will include two (2) phases and Offeror is required to submit an institutional capability, as part of the Phase 1 submission. Following USAID’s evaluation of the Phase 1 proposal submission, based on the Evaluation Factor USAID will send an Advisory Notice to participate in Phase Two. In phase 2 Offerors will be required to submit a written technical proposal. Please clarify whether the deadline of June 30 is for phase 1 i.e. Institutional capability submission only or is it for phase 2 i.e. technical and cost proposal as well?

USAID Response: The current closing date on the cover page of June 30, 2024 is the deadline for the Phase 1 submission (i.e. Institutional Capacity and Evidence of Eligibility only). USAID will provide a due date of submission of Phase 2 by the Advisory Notice after it completes the Phase 1

Evaluation.

2. Please confirm whether the currently posted closing date for receipt of proposal [June 30, 2024] is only applicable for the submission of documents concerning the Phase 1 evaluation- i.e.

institutional capacity and evidence of eligibility and another date will be posted for the submission of technical and cost proposal?

USAID Response: Confirmed. The current date on the cover page of June 30, 2024 is the deadline for Phase 1 submission. USAID will provide a due date of submission of Phase 2 by the Advisory

Notice after Phase 1 Evaluation.

3. The cover page in the RFP mentioned that USAID/Nepal contemplates awarding a

Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP) type contract for a 4 Years period. However, in page 29, it is written as “The estimated period of performance for this Contract is five years”. Please clarify if the period of performance of this contract is four years or five years?

USAID Response: The period of performance of this contract is four years. Section F.1 of the RFP is revised accordingly.

SECTION B:

4. The RFP mentioned that procurement is limited to Nepali entities and must not exceed a total price of USD 5 million. Please let us know if this amount is inclusive of VAT?

USAID Response: The total price must not exceed $5 million, inclusive of VAT. USAID requests offerors to submit price proposals in Phase 2 that separate the VAT amount, and L.12 of the RFP are revised to separate the VAT Amount.

SECTION C:

5. In reference to the arrangements stated in section C.5.1, what are the key requirements of the

DHA-9 that the contractor must meet? Or is there any document that we can refer to?

USAID Response: The steps of implementation of the 2025 NHFS and 2026 NDHS as laid out in

Section C.4 are the DHS-9 requirements that the contractor must meet. The offerors should follow the instructions provided in Section L.10 INSTRUCTIONS FOR PREPARATION OF PHASE 1

SUBMISSION and if invited to Phase 2, Section L.11 INSTRUCTIONS FOR PREPARATION OF PHASE 2

TECHNICAL PROPOSAL. If invited to participate in the Phase 2 proposal, one important requirement is an “approach to coordinating with USAID and DHS-9 Global." We suggest offerors visit https://dhsprogram.com/ for more information about the global DHS program.

6. As per the RFP, we expect USAID to provide the final sample size which will not change significantly from the previous round. Given the importance of the sample size for the preparation of the cost proposal, can USAID set a maximum threshold for possible increase in sample size for both the surveys in reference to the previous round?

USAID Response: Refer to Sections C.4.1-1: Survey design and finalization of SOW [NHFS] and

C.4.2-1: Survey design and finalization of SOW [NDHS]. The sample size will be similar to the 2021

NHFS and 2022 NDHS. There could be a 5–10% increase in the sample size for both surveys.

7. RFP states that if the survey is co-funded by other donors or organizations, ensure that their data needs are met. Considering this, if the co-funding from other donors or organizations is agreed upon, will the amount of co-funding be within the budgetary ceiling that USAID has set for this activity or can the additional budget could be mutually agreed upon by the contractor and the concerned donor based on the added scope of the work?

USAID Response: If the surveys are co-funded by other donors or organizations, the amount of co-funding will still be within the budgetary ceiling that USAID has set for this activity.

https://dhsprogram.com/

SECTION J:

8. In the “attachment J.3-Request for categorical exclusion (003).pdf”, it is written - Original Funding

Amount: USD 4.5 million. However, in the cover page of the RFP the price mentioned is as 5 million, while Part I ScheduleB.3 mentions that the total fixed price for the performance of work required hereunder is $TBD. Please clarify which one is correct?

USAID Response: Offerors are expected to determine the price necessary to implement this effort as described in Section C, and they should not see $5 million or $4.5 million as guidance for the price of this effort. However, there is a statutory limitation of USD 5 million since USAID is using

ADS 302.3.4.5(f) and Section 7028 of the FY 2014 Appropriations Act to limit this procurement to

Nepali entities, thus this contract must not exceed a total price of USD 5 million.

SECTION L:

9. If local or district NGOs are eligible or not for this stated EoI notice.

USAID Response: All Organizations that meet the eligibility requirement in accordance with

Section L.5 are eligible to apply for this solicitation.

10. Managing medium- to large-scale health and population-based surveys in Nepal is one of the areas to demonstrate the capacity of the offeror. In reference to this, is there any reference survey or sample size to which USAID considers as the medium scale survey.

USAID Response: For the purpose of this evaluation factor, a provincial/regional level representative survey is considered as a medium scale survey. A nationally representative survey is considered a large-scale survey. For a household survey, a sample size between 2,000 and 5,000 is considered a medium-sized survey, and that above 5,000 is considered a large-scale survey. For a health facility-based survey, a sample size of 200–500 is considered medium-scale, and one above 500 is considered large-scale.

11. As part of phase 1 submission – for the evidence of eligibility – does the offeror need to just provide the administrative documents and confirm the institution's eligibility in writing or does the offeror also need to provide additional supplemental files/documentation in support of the requirements of the eligibility?

USAID Response: For evidence of eligibility, the offeror must submit all required documents to prove that they are eligible as a local organization for this solicitation in accordance with Section

L.5.

12. When does USAID expect to provide the advisory notice to proceed to the Phase 2? After the issue advisory notice to proceed for Phase 2, will the submission deadline for both the technical and cost proposals be 30 days after the advisory notice?

USAID Response: USAID estimates approximately 30-45 days from Phase 1 submission for the issuance of advisory notification. The successful Phase 1 Offerors will be given at least 30 days from the issuance of Advisory Notice to submit Phase 2 proposal.

13. Can we submit a proposal for a specific area or does it have to be for the whole country?

USAID Response: No, Offerors cannot elect to submit proposals for one specific. USAID is only awarding one contract for performance of the entire SOW in Section C, thus Offerors are required to submit proposals to conduct the entire Statement of Work (SOW). If your expertise is only for one component or geographic area, then you may consider partnering with another organization to submit a proposal together.

14. Should we apply for both surveys or can we apply for just one?

USAID Response: Offerors cannot elect to submit proposals to conduct only one survey. Offerors are required to submit proposals that respond to the entire SOW in Section C. If your organization is only interested in working on one survey, then you could consider submitting a proposal as part of a partnership with other organizations.

15. Should we submit a separate proposal or single for both surveys?

USAID Response: USAID is only awarding one contract for performance of the entire SOW in

Section C. Offerors are required to submit to proposals that respond to the entire SOW. The proposals cannot be separated by individual surveys. If your organization is only interested in working on one survey, then you could consider submitting a proposal as part of a partnership with other organizations.

16. Do you have a specific budgeting template?

USAID Response: No, USAID does not have a specific budgeting template, but Offerors are welcome to use their own and may consider using the payment schedule and the deliverables schedules as guides. Offerors must refer to Section L.12(b) Part 2 which states that Offerors must provide the proposed price by CLIN with Value Added Tax (VAT) separated for each CLIN in the

Price Proposal using the format shown in Section B.4..

17. Can we submit a proposal with the joint venture with an international organization as a sub-contractor?

USAID Response: Offerors may partner with an international organization as a subcontractor with the following caveats: prime offerors must adhere to all the laws and regulations of the

Government of Nepal and the special contract requirement in Section H.23 “Limitation on

Subcontracting to Non-local Entities”. Please also note that as per the RFP, offerors cannot subcontract with the DHS-9 Contractors. Please note however that if offerors elect to form a formal joint venture (i.e.a separate legal entity), the joint venture must meet the “local entity” requirements as per Section L.5 of the RFP.

18. Can we submit a proposal by collaborating with other organizations?

USAID Response: Yes, Offerors can partner with other organizations. Please see answers to the relevant questions regarding partnering with other organizations.

19. What do we mean by Nepali entities? Are government, non-profit and private organizations eligible?

USAID Response: Please review the definition of Nepali entity in Section L.5. Any organization that meets the eligibility requirements in Section L.5 may submit a proposal. Please note that government entities are not eligible.

20. What are the approval processes required from NHRC and different Government entities to execute this?

USAID Response: USAID Nepal will seek approval from the Ministry of Finance for the implementation of the USAID Nepal Health Surveys activity. USAID Nepal will provide an

"Implementation Letter" (IL) acknowledged by the Ministry of Finance to the contractor, which will allow the contractor to implement the two surveys in Nepal. The contractor needs to obtain ethical approval of both survey protocols from the Nepal Health Research Council (NHRC), and the cost associated with this approval process needs to be included in the proposed price.

21. Do we need to take approval from provinces as well?

USAID Response: A separate approval from the provinces for the activity implementation will not be required since USAID Nepal will seek approval from the Ministry of Finance for the implementation of the USAID Nepal Health Surveys activity. USAID Nepal will provide an

"Implementation Letter" (IL) acknowledged by the Ministry of Finance to the contractor, which will allow the contractor to implement the two surveys in Nepal.

22. Since the contractor needs to work with Nepal Health Research council (NHRC) during execution of the surveys; should we incorporate the 3% NHRC charges in the budget?

USAID Response: All required costs should be incorporated into the price proposal.

23. Would you please provide details on what kind of procurements that the offeror has to manage and will there be support for it? How many offers could be given for this assignment?

USAID Response: USAID is only awarding one contract for performance of the entire SOW in

Section C. The procurements required for the implementation of the two surveys under the

USAID Nepal Health Surveys include, but are not limited to: GPS dongles; HemoCue supplies for anemia testing; anthropometry supplies (height boards and weighing scales); blood pressure measuring equipment; tablets for computer assisted personal interviews (CAPI); laptops for data processing; softwares, anti-virus, and training support items. Sections C.4.1-1 and C.4.2-1 of the

RFP are revised accordingly.

SECTION M:

24. Will the evaluation score of the first phase aggregated to the final evaluation? If yes, can USAID share the weightage of evaluation of institutional capability [Phase 1] and technical proposal

[Phase 1]?

USAID Response: Yes, the rating from the phase 1 evaluation will be aggregated in the final evaluation. Section M.3 provides the relative importance of each of the evaluation factors. The

Institutional Capacity evaluation factor from Phase 1 is the second most important factor; the

Implementation Strategy (Phase 2) is the most important factor, and the Management and

Staffing Plan (Phase 2) is the least important factor. All three factors will be used to determine the apparently successful offeror.

GENERAL QUESTION:

25. Will there be any limitation or restriction to local organizations to apply or receive award under other USAID activities because of being the implementor of this activity and vice versa?

USAID Response: There is not any limitation or restriction to any eligible organization to apply or receive awards under USAID funding opportunities.

26. Can the offeror include the applicable fee for ethical approval in the cost proposal? Or, is there a practice of exempting such ethical approval fees for USAID funded studies as a part of the

Assistance Agreement between the Government of Nepal (GoN) and USAID/Nepal?

USAID Response: All necessary costs to successfully implement the Statement of Work should be included in the price proposed.

27. What is the USAID/Nepal’s experience in its latest projects on obtaining the necessary tax exemptions and reimbursements? What are the specific circumstances in which USAID considers local taxes as allowable costs?

USAID Response: Since this is a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) contract, allowability of these costs is not necessarily relevant. Depending on the type of organization, USAID will assist with obtaining VAT exemptions or it will directly seek reimbursements. Offerors should propose their fixed price inclusive of all necessary operational costs, including VAT.

28. When can we expect USAID responses to the questions submitted via email as per the instruction in the RFP?

USAID Response: USAID will publish an amendment as soon as possible.

29. How many offerors could get the opportunity from this assignment?

USAID Response: Only one offeror will be selected to implement the SOW in Section C.

30. How many offerors will be selected from this solicitation?

USAID Response: Only one offeror will be selected from this solicitation.

[END OF QUESTIONS]