Question and Answer matrix.pdf

Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) Number: 72038820RFA00001 Amendment 1 Program Title: Multipurpose Disaster Shelter Support (MPDS) Activity

Attachment: Question and Answer matrix

Sl. Reference Question Answer

1 NOFO Page 13 What capacity (for both humans and livestock) does USAID envision the school-cum-

MPDS and community shelter-cum-MPDS having, respectively? For example, how many teaching classrooms and how many floors are you expecting each school to be?

Schools should be designed to serve the demand in their respective catchment area, per PEDP4 guidelines. Minimum size per the guidelines is four classrooms, and two-story.

Community centers will need to be based on population served but are expected to be 1500 - 1800 sf at minimum and could be one or two stories.

Livestock areas are typically in an open ground floor under elevated structures and are based on space available.

2 NOFO Page 20 The NOFO states that “The Recipient must develop a Monitoring, Evaluation, and

Learning (MEL) Plan that permits the timely and efficient measurement of progress towards output indicators”. As such, can USAID confirm that the MEL Plan is expected to be developed by the recipient after award?

Per page 43/44, a Draft MEL Plan will be developed and submitted as part of

Phase 3 and 4 of the Application processes. Per page 65, the Final MEL

Plan will be submitted to the AOR within 60 days of signing the award.

3 NOFO Page 20 Can USAID clarify who is expected to collect the monitoring data related to the indicators noted on page 20? Will there be third party monitoring or MEL partner for this project?

The Recipient will be expected to collect monitoring data related to the indicators.

4 NOFO Page 15 While we understand that the sites/locations of the shelters will be decided in partnership with USAID, relevant regional and local authorities, the School Management Committees, USAID, and other development partners. Can USAID provide a general indication of the number of shelters expected to be constructed through this contract?

For planning purposes, USAID has projected 25 multi-purpose disaster shelters. However, additional communities could benefit from other resilient community infrastructure.

5 NOFO Page 15 Can USAID provide a general indication of how the shelters will be divided between the two regions (Cox’s Bazar and Bandarban)?

For planning purposes, USAID projected

20 shelters in Bandarban and five in

Cox’s Bazar. The expectation is that shelters in Bandarban will primarily be

(Multi-Purpose Disaster Support Shelter)

MPDS community centers, and in Cox’s

Bazar will primarily be (Multi-Purpose

Cyclone Shelter) MPCS schools.

6 NOFO Page 15 When is the Cox’s Bazar District Development Plan expected to be released and how will this Plan be disseminated to the public?

A timeline for the DDP is yet to be confirmed but is expected by the end of

2020.

7 NOFO Page 32 Can USAID please confirm that, as per Section C.5, Applicants should not provide the names or CVs of any Personnel in Phases 1 and 2 (including Key Personnel)? In Section

C.5 it is stated that “Key Personnel names and CV’s are not to be included in Phase 1 or

Phase 2 but will be part of co-development in the Collaborative Workshop phase.”

Confirmed.

8 NOFO Page 33 Can USAID confirm that cost applications do not need to be included in their submission on May 30th for Phase 1 and will be developed during Phase 3?

Confirmed.

9 NOFO Page 34 When does USAID intend to make the award/complete Phase 4? Refer to Page 25, Section B.2

10 NOFO Page 35 In Section D.4, the NOFO mentions that graphs and charts may be presented in different typefaces and font sizes than the rest of the application. Can tables also be presented in different typefaces and font sizes?

No.

11 NOFO Page 39 As per Section 5 on Annexes, can maps and other graphics also be included as an Annex and therefore not count towards the 12-page limit?

Yes.

12 NOFO Page 40 With regard to the Oral Presentation, can USAID provide any information about how many people from the Applicant organization can attend? Will there be any requirements regarding who must attend (e.g. the Applicant’s COP candidate)?

Refer to Page 40, Section (b), second paragraph: Detailed information will be made available in the notification.

13 NOFO Page 45 The NOFO states “A Crisis and/or Emergency Response Fund is for unanticipated and unplanned activities that have not been included in the workplans but may be determined necessary to pivot to meet MPDS activity objectives. The amount of $1 million is a plug figure and must be used for budgeting purposes.” Is this amount of $1 million included in the $13 million budget mentioned on page 26? Or is it in addition to the $13 million budget?

This amount of $1 million is included in the $13 million budget mentioned on page 26.

14 Attachment 5

Reps and Certs

Do major subcontractors need to complete the Certifications, Assurances, Representations, and Other Statements of the Recipient form (Attachment 5) as well, or just the prime organization?

Major subcontractors are also required to complete the Certifications, Assurances, Representations, and Other Statements of the Recipient form (Attachment 5).

15 NOFO Page 23 Could USAID provide more clarity on the expected distinctions and coordination expected between the MPDS Activity and the Esho Shikhi Activity, which will also work on DRR in schools in the same districts?

Esho Shikhi is expected to work throughout Cox’s Bazar and Bandarban.

Therefore, the two activities will need to coordinate in order to ensure there is no duplication of efforts. Since Esho Shikhi does not include construction, there may be the potential to coordinate and leverage interventions under both activities to achieve the stated objectives.

16 NOFO Page 14 Given COVID 19 outbreaks globally and with cases in Bangladesh, does USAID expect

Objective 3 to integrate COVID 19 considerations into DRR activities?

Yes, best practices and lessons learned from the COVID-19 response could be integrated into Objective 3 DRR activities.

17 NOFO Page 26 Out of the 13 million USD budget, can USAID indicate what percentage is expected to be dedicated to objectives 1 and 2, as this will help in determining the appropriate personnel and approach to meet the desired results?

Based on initial estimates, approximately

80% of the total budget is expected to be dedicated to Objective 1 and 2.

18 NOFO Page 43 Section 1. Technical; Application Instruction provides a list of documents that will be furnished as part of the final technical application including Draft Security Plan. However, NOFO Page 49 Section 2. Cost/Business Application Instruction, subsection h. Security

Costs states that security plan and budget for security costs should be included as part of its application. Can USAID please confirm in which application should offerors include their security plan, in their technical application or cost application?

Technical Application should include the security plan.

19 NOFO Page 43 Section 1. Technical; Application Instruction provides a list of documents that will be furnished as part of the final technical application including Draft Branding Strategy and

Marking Plan. However, NOFO Page 50 Section 2. Cost/Business Application Instruction, subsection l. Branding Strategy & Marking Plan states that recipient is asked to provide a

Branding Strategy & Marking Plan. Can USAID please confirm in which application should offerors include their Branding Strategy & Marking Plan, in their technical application or cost application?

Technical Application should include

Branding Strategy & Marking Plan

20 If the lead partner has NGO Bureau permission to work only in one district; say “Cox’s

Bazar” but the Sub-partner has NGOB permission to work in another district; say

“Bandarban”, can we form consortium and is it acceptable to USAID?

Yes.

21 Is there any reservation particularly on this call to bring any private sector/agencies as a consortium partner?

No.

22 NOFO Page 12 Section A.5. The NOFO states that ‘at least twenty communities will benefit from this activity’. How is community defined for purposes of this Activity- a village, mahalla/ para (section of a village)? This answer will have implications in targeting and planning for interventions.

For the purpose of this Activity, a community is defined as a village in

Cox’s Bazar, and as a para in Bandarban.

Note that multiple villages or paras might benefit from the same shelter depending on population density.

23 How many new shelters will be constructed and how many existing shelters will be renovated? How will these be identified/determined? How will these be distributed in two districts?

Please refer to Sl No. 4 and 5 responses.

Shelter renovations are not included in this Activity. However, improvements to facilitate access to existing shelters in target communities may be considered, as mentioned in the illustrative activities under Objective 1 on page 13.

24 How many shelters will be designed for schools and how many for community centers as dual function?

Please refer to Sl No. 5.

25 There are a number of existing multipurpose cyclone shelters in Cox’s Bazar district which requires up-gradation, would it be considered for renovation under this project?

Renovation of existing shelters is not included in this Activity.

26 Since the project duration is for 4 years, is there any specific time period to complete the construction of the shelters or it could be continued until the end of the project?

The project timeline will need to consider warranty monitoring after completion of construction, which is typically one year. So, construction activities should not be planned for Year

4.

27 Whether we can access the Draft CDCS? The CDCS is not yet available for public access.

28 Is there any threshold of land area requirement for construction of a new shelter? What would be the capacity of a new shelter?

Please refer to Sl No. 1.

29 Who and how many from the applicant can participate in the oral presentation in Merit

Review Phase 2?

Refer to Page 40, Section (b), second paragraph: Detailed information will be made available in the notification.

30 Is there any page limit for Program Description in Merit Review Phase 3 This issue will be determined during the collaborative workshop described in

Section D.2, Page 34 of the NOFO.

31 Is there any further reference or clarification for Crisis and/or Emergency Response Fund? Necessary information is available under

Section A.11, Page 24, and 25 of the

NOFO. Further discussion will take place during Phase 2, Oral presentation, and Phase 3 Collaborative Workshop as described in the NOFO.

32 A list of potential schools will be provided by the Ministry of Primary and Mass

Education." Please advise when/at which phase this list will be provided.

The list of potential schools is expected to be provided within 90 days of award.

33 Refers to the CARE and SC implemented Multi-purpose Cyclone Shelter Refurbishment and Repair (R&R) activity. Please advise which sites/communities are included in the

CARE and SC implemented program.

The full list of sites/communities included in the R&R Activities is not available. However, the following

Upazilas are included:

Cox's Bazar District: Ramu, Pekua, Kutubdia, Maheshkhali, Chakaria and

Sadar

Bandarban District: Lama, Alikadam and

Naikhongchori

34 Would it be possible to use the developed infrastructures by other NGOs to run development activities for the community such as operation of non-formal schools, pre-schools, multipurpose community learning centers etc.?"

No, the expectation is that the activity will focus on new shelters or resilient community infrastructure.