Amendment 1_RFP 72048620R00014_USAID RDMA PC MEL Support Activity.pdf

5. PROJECT NO.

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2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NO.

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6. ISSUED BY

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4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NO. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NO.

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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:

X The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers

E. IMPORTANT:

is extended,

(a) By completing Items 8 and 15, and returning __________ copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment of 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 AC- KNOWLEDGMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY is not extended.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA

(REV. 10-83)

is required to sign this document and return ___________ copies to the issuing office. is not, 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.

15C. DATE SIGNED

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

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 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.

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

D. OTHER

BY /s/

Contractor x

16C. DATE SIGNED

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION

16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

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 16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER

15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR

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(If other than Item 6)

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(such as changes in paying office, appropriation date, etc.)

(If required)

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(X)

(X)

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

IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

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AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

(Signature of person authorized to sign) (Signature of Contracting Officer)

1 21

01 See Block 16 C

Regional Office of Acquisition and Assistance Regional Development Mission for Asia 63 Wireless Road, Pathumwan Athenee Tower 25th Floor Bangkok, Thailand 10330

To all Offerors RFP No. 72048620R00014

08/26/2020 x

The purpose of this Amendment is to respond to questions received from interested parties and make resulting changes throughout the Solicitation.

See specific changes in the following pages. All other terms and conditions in the original RFP remain the same.

Gregory S. Wang

09/15/2020

A. SPECIFIC CHANGES TO THE SOLICITATION

1. Section F.6.3.3 Award Types, delete (c) Non-Competitive Task Orders and replace with the following:

“(c) Non-Competitive Task Orders: For non-competitive task orders in excess of $2,000,000, the TOCO will require certified cost or pricing data in accordance with FAR 52.215-20.

Documentation will include but not limited to the agreement that the prime has obtained with the subcontractor showing the rate being paid to the subcontractor for that labor category which must not exceed the ceilings established in Section B. of the IDIQ contract unless a special authorization is obtained by the TOCO.”

2. Section F.8.1 Key Personnel, delete the sentence “Qualifications for this individual must be in accordance with that specified in Section B.” and replace it with the following:

“Qualifications for this individual must be in accordance with the responsibilities mentioned above.”

3. Incorporate the following Provision at the end of the Section L INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS, AND NOTICES TO OFFERORS OR RESPONDENTS:

“L8. Waivers under FAR Part 4.2101 Prohibition on Covered Telecommunications And

Video Surveillance Services and Equipment

(a) This solicitation and any resultant award(s) is subject to the requirements of section 889(a)(1)(B) of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 (Pub. L. 115–232) as implemented through FAR 52.204-24 and FAR 52.204-25 of this solicitation.

(b) Waivers.

(1) The submission of an offer where the Offeror makes a representation at paragraph (d)(2) of the provision at FAR 52.204–24 that it “does” use covered telecommunications equipment or services will mean the Offeror is seeking a waiver.

As part of the disclosure requirements under the provision FAR 52.204–24 submitted as part of the offer, the Offeror/Contractor must describe the circumstances (including in-country circumstances) where the Offeror/Contractor uses covered technology. This must include an identification of whether the covered technology is provided by communications service-providers, such as internet, cell phone, landline or others; the specific country where it is used;

and a description of the presence of any other covered technology, whether it be in any internal systems or elsewhere in the supply chain.

(2) USAID does not guarantee that waiver requests from such an offeror will be considered;

USAID may make an award to an offeror that does not require a waiver. Where agency needs do not permit time to obtain a waiver, USAID may move forward and make an award to an offeror that does not require a waiver. Per FAR 4.21, USAID will not make an award to an offeror(s) that does not receive the approved waiver.

(3) Where USAID decides to initiate the formal Agency waiver process:

(i) The CO will require the apparently successful offeror(s) to submit the information in paragraph (4) of this section. Alternately, offerors may provide the information with their initial proposal, at their discretion. Offerors must appropriately mark the appropriate portions of their submission as Proprietary Data where applicable.

(ii) For Indefinite Delivery contracts under (48 CFR) FAR subpart 16.5, waiver requests will be addressed prior to award of the basic contract.

(iii) In the event that the waiver is not approved, the Contracting Officer will notify the offeror.

(4) Additional submission requirements:

(i) A compelling justification for the additional time to implement the requirements under 889(a)(1)(B). The justification must:

a. State the amount of additional time requested to meet the requirements of the statute (No Agency waiver will be authorized to extend beyond August 13, 2022); and

b. Provide an explanation supporting the requested time period, to include the time required to implement the Phase out Plan described below.

(ii) A full and complete laydown of the presences of covered telecommunications or video surveillance equipment or services in the entity’s supply chain to include:

a. Complete technical design documentation of where, how, and what covered equipment or services are being used by the Offeror;

b. Technical architecture diagram of where the covered technologies are being used (for the system, equipment, service); and

c. Description of how the covered technologies are being used, how often the covered technology is used by the Offeror, and what data traverses the technology.

(iii) A Phase-Out Plan for eliminating the covered equipment or services from the Offeror’s systems, including the covered equipment or services identified in the laydown. The Plan must include:

a. Description of how the Offeror will eliminate all covered equipment or services by the date specified in (4)(i)(b) above;

b. When applicable, milestones and timeframes for providing updates to the COR on the Phase-Out Plan implementation;

c. Identification of other available options;

i. Replacement of covered equipment and systems, as applicable;

ii. Accessibility of the alternative equipment and systems, as applicable; and

iii. In the case of covered services, the proposed use and availability of other service provider(s) without the covered technologies in the supply chain.

(iv) Pending waiver requests/Approved waivers:

a. Pending - Solicitation Number/title/Issuing Office (Mission or USAID/W) of those offers where the CO has requested the information under this provision.

b. Approved Waivers - Award number/title/Issuing Office (Mission or USAID/W)

[End of Provision]”

4. Section M. 2.2 Contractor Past Performance Information, incorporate the following after paragraph (e) of the section:

“(f) Past performance will not be scored and will be evaluated on a “Satisfactory / Unsatisfactory / Neutral” basis.

The Offeror determined to have unsatisfactory past performance will be ineligible for award.

A “Neutral” score will be given to Offeror who have no record of relevant past performance, or who have a record of relevant past performance that is not extensive. An Offeror’s performance will not be evaluated favorably or unfavorably (Neutral rating) when:

• The Offeror lacks relevant performance history,

• Information on performance is not available, or

• The Offeror is a member of a class of Offeror where there is provision not to rate the class against a sub factor.”

5. Delete the attachment J.1: COST/PRICE EVALUATION MATRIX in its entirety and replace with the following:

- This area is intentionally left blank -

ATTACHMENT J.1: COST/PRICE EVALUATION MATRIX

The following sets forth the process to be utilized for evaluation of proposed cost/prices under this RFP. The figures in the below cost matrix must be used by all Offerors for evaluation purposes. The overall price resulting from the attached matrix from the Offeror’s proposal will be used for evaluation purposes.

The IDIQ Ceiling Matrix includes the proposed ceilings for the following cost categories:

1. The Offeror will complete the cost/price evaluation matrix by applying the proposed unburdened ceiling daily rates reflected in the below table for all labor categories. The Offeror will use the CDRs proposed below to complete Section B of the final Contract, including the escalation rate.

In order to assess the Offerors’ escalation of the proposed CDRs, the Offerors must apply its proposed escalation rate to arrive at the Year 5 CDRs.

2. For evaluation purposes, Offeror's proposed ceiling indirect cost allocated to these line items must be used.

3. The Offeror will apply a fixed fee percentage ceiling.

4. The plug figures are for evaluation purposes only. All plug figures i.e. Locally Hired Personnel

Labor ($50,000), Other Direct Costs ($40,000), and one Subcontract ($50,000) included in the cost matrix below represent totals for the entire period (Year 1 and Year 5).

For the labor set forth below, the cost will be determined by using the CDR and the prime Offeror’s methodology for recovery of paid absences (vacation, holiday, sick leave, and other paid absences).

The budget narrative must clearly and accurately demonstrate the method of recovery for workdays and paid absences for each labor category based on the number of associated work days in each labor category.

No. Labor Category Groupings Unburdened Ceiling Daily Rate

Level I Level II Level III

1 Program Cycle Specialist

2 Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) Specialist

3 Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA) Specialist

4 Technical Specialist

COST/PRICE EVALUATION MATRIX

A. Labor:

(1) CDR Labor

Category 1 (Level I) "50 person-days

* $________ (proposed CDR): $

Category 1 (Level II) "50 person-days

* $________ (proposed CDR): $

Category 1 (Level III) "50 person-days

* $________ (proposed CDR): $

Category 2 (Level I) "50 person-days

* $_______ (proposed CDR): $

Category 2 (Level II) "50 person-days

* $_______ (proposed CDR): $

Category 2 (Level III) "50 person-days

* $_______ (proposed CDR): $

Category 3 (Level I) "50 person-days

* $_______ (proposed CDR): $

Category 3 (Level II) "50 person-days

* $_______ (proposed CDR): $

Category 3 (Level III) "50 person-days

* $_______ (proposed CDR): $

Category 4 (Level I) "50 person-days"

* $_______ (proposed CDR) $

Category 4 (Level II) "50 person-days"

* $_______ (proposed CDR) $

Category 4 (Level III) "50 person-days"

* $_______ (proposed CDR) $

Total CDR Labor Costs $_________

(2) Other Personnel/Labor Other labor $50,000.00

Total Labor Costs $_________

B. Fringe Benefits on (1) CDR labor:

Fringe Benefits on CDR labor: $_________

C. Other Direct Costs:

Other Direct Costs $ 40,000.00

D. Subcontract:

Subcontract1 $ 50,000.00

E. Indirect Costs:

Indirects on A $_________ Indirects on B $_________ Indirects on C $_________ Indirects on D $_________

Total Direct Costs + Applicable Indirect Costs: $_________

Fixed Fee (Ceiling Percentage and Resulting Fixed Fee): ___% $_________

Total Estimated Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee: $_________

[END OF ATTACHMENT J.1]

1 The plug figure amount was estimated for one subcontractor.

6. In attachment J.6 INSTITUTIONAL AND TECHNICAL CAPABILITY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR OFFERORS, replace the Note with the following:

“A. USAID will consider responses up to 1,000 words per question. USAID will verify word counts with MS Office 365. Any words exceeding this limit will not be considered.

B. The case scenarios in relevant questions below are fictitious and are developed for the purpose of this solicitation only.

C. Responses should assume a Post-COVID operating environment where travel and in-person meetings and events may be held. Offerors may include in their responses efficiencies or effective approaches to implementation garnered as a result of operating in COVID-19.”

B. ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS RECEIVED FROM INTERESTED PARTIES UNDER

THE SOLICITATION

Questions Received from the Request for Proposals (RFP) No. 72048620R00014 USAID/RDMA Program Cycle Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Support Activity

1. Kindly confirm if the scope of the IDIQ includes working with the USAID/Central Asia Regional

Mission in Kazakhstan, USAID/Philippines Pacific Islands Office in Papua New Guinea, USAID/Regional Development Mission for Asia, Thailand and USAID/RDMA managed Asia Regional Training Centre, Bangkok?

USAID Response: The scope of the contract is Asia which includes the missions/operating units mentioned above, who could potentially issue task orders under this contract.

2. Can USAID please provide an estimate of the anticipated demand (in percent if possible) for the support services under this contract specific for the RDMA and other OUs supported within the region?

USAID Response: Historically, approximately one-third of the services are provided to

RDMA.

3. Given that the task orders will be implemented in several countries in Asia, does USAID envision giving contractors waivers for using covered technologies under NDAA Section 889?

USAID Response: Waivers to the requirements of Section 889 are organizational waivers (not country waivers). If a contractor represents that they use or will use covered technologies to implement this contract or any other contract, then a waiver to Section 889 requirements would need to be sought for that contractor in order to be eligible for award. Please see USAID’s partner FAQ and guidance on Section 889.

4. Does USAID have a list of prohibited service providers under NDAA Section 889 that contractors can use as guidance when procuring telecommunication services in Asia?

USAID Response: No. Organizations are responsible for assessing equipment and services they use to ensure they are compliant with the requirements of Section 889.

https://www.usaid.gov/work-usaid/resources-for-partners/section-889-partner-information

5. Can USAID confirm if RDMA anticipates training provided to the regional OU staff and/or partners would be conducted virtually?

USAID Response: Any training will be demand-driven and could be a combination of onsite and/or virtual activities depending on the specific requirements and the operating conditions under each Task Order.

6. Can USAID please confirm if the offeror must have a representational/project office based in

Thailand?

USAID Response: This is not required.

7. Does USAID anticipate any work on evaluability assessments or meta-evaluations under the

IDIQ?

USAID Response: This service may be requested by ordering missions/OUs as needed.

8. Would USAID please confirm the anticipated award date of the IDIQ contracts?

USAID Response: The anticipated award date of the IDIQ is early 2021.

9. Is there an Incumbent? Or is this New Work?

USAID Response: This is a new contract providing expanded MEL support throughout the program cycle. The Mission previously held an IDIQ contract for MEL support services with the contractor Social Impact, Inc.

10. Will travel expenses be addressed in individual Requests For Task Order Proposals?

USAID Response: Individual Task Orders would include any travel costs based on the work requirement.

11. Section B.7.1, Page 8: The RFP states “Unless otherwise authorized by USAID, the compensation for CCN and TCN labor must not exceed the prevailing compensation paid to personnel performing comparable work in the cooperating countries as determined by USAID and must be paid in the currency of the cooperating countries.” Can USAID provide the prevailing compensation paid to personnel in the 23 cooperating countries listed in the RFP on pages 12- 13 and/or provide the Local Compensation Plans for each of these countries?

USAID Response: The prevailing compensation for determining local labor (CCN or TCN) is highly dependent on the market factors in each country after considering sources such as salary surveys, private and public sector compensation, etc. The prevailing compensation in each country will need to be negotiated and determined with the ordering USAID office under each task order depending on the work, labor required, and location of the requirement.

12. Section B.7.1, Page 8: The RFP states “Unless otherwise authorized by USAID, the compensation for CCN and TCN labor must not exceed the prevailing compensation paid to personnel performing comparable work in the cooperating countries as determined by USAID and must be paid in the currency of the cooperating countries.” Would USAID please clarify how the contractor is expected to determine prevailing compensation paid within the new Biodata structure.

USAID Response: Prevailing compensation for labor in countries is determined by considering the responsibilities and requirements of a position and then dependent on the market factors in each country after considering sources such as salary surveys, private and public sector compensation, etc. After determining and classifying the responsibilities of a position and then determining an appropriate compensation range, contractors must use their human resources staffing to negotiate with CCN or TCN labor according to their policies and procedures.

13. B.9 Indirect Costs and Advanced Understanding on Ceilings (p. 10) - Can USAID please confirm whether indirect rate ceilings are applicable for small-business offerors?

USAID Response: Yes. All small-business offerors must propose indirect ceiling rates.

14. Would USAID please consider dropping the requirement to propose ceiling indirect rates. Small businesses tend to have indirect rates with considerable fluctuations year-to-year. Alternatively, would USAID consider basing the cost evaluation calculation using NICRA indirect rates rather than ceiling indirect rates.

USAID Response: All small-business offerors must propose indirect ceiling rates.

15. B.7.1 Labor Category Groupings (p. 7) - Can USAID please provide designation of the labor for each category and level (expatriate/TCN vs. local professional and short-term vs. long-term)?

USAID Response: Please refer to the notes below the Labor Category Groupings table which provides details for additional requirements for compensation under the ceiling daily rates.

16. The objective under Section C.3 is that the RDMA Program Cycle Monitoring, Evaluation, and

Learning Support contract is a demand driven contract. Page 109 of the RFP which has the technical evaluation criteria does not explicitly indicate that a company will be evaluated on the basis of being able to respond to a demand driven mechanism. How will USAID evaluate a company’s ability to respond to a demand driven mechanism? Is this embedded under either M.2.1 or M.2.2. Please clarify?

USAID Response: The evaluation factors for this contract are listed in Section M of the RFP.

17. On Page 14 of the RFP under Section C.3 there are 4 objectives stated. The technical section

(Attachment J.6) does not include responses to each of the 4 areas. How will a contractor’s ability to provide services under each of these four areas be evaluated?

USAID Response: By responding to the questionnaire provided in ATTACHMENT J.6, USAID will evaluate Offerors’ ability to perform the contract per the evaluation factors in Section M.

18. Section C.4.4 states that “The Contractor must appoint and maintain PSE, Organizational

Capacity Building, and Gender & Inclusive Development Specialists to provide relevant expertise to all support services under this IDIQ.” Can USAID please clarify if these positions should be named in the Technical Proposal?

USAID Response: USAID is not requesting the identification of specific personnel at this time.

19. Section C.4.2.b.iv, Page 16: The RFP states “Support data preparation/cleaning to prepare for data migration to the Mission’s and/or the Agency-wide Management Information System (MIS), such as the Development Information Solution (DIS). Please clarify if the mission will roll out the DIS this fiscal year or next fiscal year.

USAID Response: All Asia Missions are currently in the process of the DIS roll out. As of this amendment, RDMA is currently in the process of migrating its data to the DIS.

20. Section C.5, page 16: The RFP states: “USAID Missions/OUs in the Asia region received satisfactory assistance and/or support/services for M&E and/or CLA according to their needs” Would USAID please describe how this will be tracked.

USAID Response: USAID will monitor satisfaction of contractor services through conventional CPARs, satisfaction surveys, and feedback from Mission’s issuing Task Orders.

21. Section C.5, page 16: The RFP states: “The Contractor must work with the IDIQ’s COR to develop a set of indicators to measure the expected results in consultations with relevant Missions.” Would USAID please clarify if all selected IDIQ holders will be held to the same indicators for measuring expected results.

USAID Response: Yes. The IDIQ COR and the successful offerrors will work collaboratively to determine and develop standard indicators that will be applied for all IDIQ holders.

22. Section F.8.1, Page 37: The RFP states “Qualifications for this individual (the IDIQ Manager) must be in accordance with that specified in Section B.” Would USAID please advise to the text in Section B this statement refers to?

USAID Response: The text “Qualifications for this individual must be in accordance with that specified in Section B.” is amended to “Qualifications for this individual must be in accordance with the responsibilities mentioned above.”

23. With respect to page 37, section F.8 Key Personnel, how should the offeror provide information about their proposed IDIQ manager?

USAID Response: The IDIQ Manager will be proposed by the successful Offeror after contract award. This will include submission of the candidates resume/CV and narrative supporting how the candidate meets the requirements to successfully perform in this position.

24. Section F.9, Page 38: The RFP states that this “IDIQ Contract allows for buy-in/field support funding for Task Orders.” Would USAID please clarify if buy-in/field support funding could exceed the stated ceiling of $38M for this IDIQ contract or will all buy-in/field support funding stay within this stated ceiling?

USAID Response: All buy-in/field support funding will not exceed the stated ceiling of $38M of the IDIQ contract.

25. Section H.24.b.1, Page 61: The RFP states “at least fifty (50) percent of the cost of contract performance incurred for personnel must be expended for employees of the prime/local entity.”

Does the term “employees of the prime/local entity” include consultants and/or short-term employees?

USAID Response: By submission of an offer and execution of a contract, the Offeror/Contractor agrees that in performance of the contract, at least 50 percent of the cost of contract performance incurred for personnel must be expended for employees of the contractor or employees of other disadvantaged enterprises eligible under the terms of 706.302-71. For the purposes of this clause, an independent contractor hired by the contractor may be considered an employee of the contractor.

26. Please confirm that the FAR 52.219-14 - Limitation on Subcontracting applies at the IDIQ level and not at Task Order level per GAO decision. The GAO has held that the subcontracting limitation FAR clause “applies to the contract as a whole and does not require that each delivery order placed under the contract satisfy the requirements of the clause.” (Spectrum Security Servs., Inc., B-297320.2 (Dec. 29, 2005))

USAID Response: USAID agrees in principle that the limitations on subcontracting applies at the IDIQ level and the subcontracting limitations do not necessarily apply to all Task Orders so long as the overall requirement is met at the IDIQ level.

27. Section L.6.1.1, Page 102: The RFP instructs offerors to “provide responses to the questionnaire provided in the Attachment J.6.” and that “USAID will not evaluate information submitted above the word limitation instructions provided in Attachment J.6” (500 words). However, would USAID consider including a 2-page executive summary as part of the technical proposal requirement and evaluation so that the offeror may present its team and overall approach for this activity?

USAID Response: Executive summaries are not requested to be submitted with the technical proposal and will not be evaluated.

28. Section L.6.1.1, Page 102: The RFP instructs offerors to “provide responses to the questionnaire provided in the Attachment J.6.” and that “USAID will not evaluate information submitted above the word limitation instructions provided in Attachment J.6” (500 words). Would USAID consider including the requirement to submit a 3-page CV for the key personnel IDIQ manager in the technical proposal response and evaluation?

USAID Response: USAID will not be evaluating proposed personnel by offerors during the procurement process. The IDIQ Manager will be proposed by the successful Offeror after contract award. This will include submission of the candidates resume/CV and narrative supporting how the candidate meets the requirements to successfully perform in this position.

29. Section L.6.1.1, Page 102: The RFP instructs offerors to “provide responses to the questionnaire provided in the Attachment J.6.” and that “USAID will not evaluate information submitted above the word limitation instructions provided in Attachment J.6” (500 words). Will USAID accept responses that include graphics or tables and will texts in graphics and table be factored into the word count?

USAID Response: Figures, tables, graphics, and diagrams should not be included in responses and will not be evaluated.

30. On page 109, Section M.2: Technical Evaluation Criteria USAID provides evaluation criteria

M.2.1 and M.2.2 in descending order of importance. Will USAID provide the proportional weighting between these criteria? Will USAID also provide the weighting between the Technical and Cost criteria that will be used to establish the most competitive proposals?

USAID Response: No additional weighting is provided. “Institutional and Technical Capability Questionnaire” is being weighted higher than” Contractor Past Performance Information”.

However, note under “Contractor Past Performance Information” that “Performance information will be used for both the responsibility determination and best value decision”.

Please see Section M.5 Source Selection to understand how USAID considers both technical and cost factors.

31. When responding to Attachment J.6’s case scenario prompts, will figures or diagrams that serve as evidence of the offeror’s responsiveness to the RFP’s requested services count against the word count or should the offeror provide those in an Annex?

USAID Response: Figures, tables, graphics, and diagrams should not be included in responses and will not be evaluated.

32. Attachment J.6 provides five case scenario prompts to the offeror with a 500-word limit for each response. In order to showcase full responsiveness to Section C: Statement of Work, will USAID consider extending the word limit?

USAID Response: USAID has revised the word limit to 1,000 words per question.

33. Question #2 on the INSTITUTIONAL AND TECHNICAL CAPABILITY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR OFFERORS gives a specific country and government for a 3 day MEL exchange event. Will RDMA consider making it a generic government and cooperation agency?

USAID Response: There will be no changes in Question No. 2 under Attachment J.6.

34. Section L.7, Page 104: The RFP states that “Offerors may not propose a fixed fee percentage above the statutory limit (10%) set forth in FAR 15.404-4” and that “the proposed fixed fee percentage ceiling will be incorporated into the contract as the maximum fixed fee percentage allowed for all task orders.” However, 15.404-4(c)(4)(C) states, that “(C) For other cost-plus-fixed-fee contracts, the fee shall not exceed 10 percent of the contract’s estimated cost, excluding fee.” Can USAID clarify if the riskiness of firm fixed price task orders will be considered and flexibility per task order for fee percentage?

USAID Response: Per Section B.5 of the solicitation, Firm Fixed Price Task Orders are not subject to the fee ceiling. These fees will be negotiated at the task order level and level of risk may be a consideration.

35. On page 102, Contractor Past Performance Information (See Section M.2.2), the RFP states that the offerors are allowed to furnish descriptions of quality awards or certifications that indicate exceptional capability as an annex. Could USAID clarify if offerors are permitted to submit other annexes to present other types of relevant and qualifying information about our organization(s), and approach?

USAID Response: No. Offerors should provide information on the quality of their work within the past performance information template.

36. Section L.6.1.2, Page 102: The RFP requests “five (5) of the most recent and relevant contracts/agreements for efforts similar to the work in the subject proposal” for Past Performance

Information. Are these five contracts to be of the prime offeror only? Would USAID consider five from the prime offeror and five from each major subcontractor?

USAID Response: The past performance references should be for the prime offeror only.

Past performance is not requested for major subcontractors. The evaluation of past performance will be in accordance to the criteria described in Section M of the RFP.

37. Can USAID please provide the font, font size, page size, and margins to be used to complete

Attachment J.2?

USAID Response: There are no required font, font size, page size, or margin requirements for submissions of the technical proposal.

38. Section L.6.1.1, Page 102: The RFP instructs offerors to “provide responses to the questionnaire provided in the Attachment J.6.” and that “USAID will not evaluate information submitted above the word limitation instructions provided in Attachment J.6” (500 words). May the offeror include a table of contents and acronym list in the technical proposal submission?

USAID Response: Offerors may include a table of contents and an acronym list with their submission. Any table of contents or acronym list will not be included in the word limitation, and will not be evaluated.

39. Can USAID please confirm that the technical proposal can include a cover page, a cover letter, and an acronyms list not included in the page count?

USAID Response: The technical proposal may include a cover page with information that states the Offerors name and contact information and may include an acronym list. A cover letter or executive summary is not to be included and will not be evaluated.

40. Attachment J.1 – Cost/Price Evaluation Matrix. For evaluation purposes, can USAID please advise to which country of the 23 named offerors should use for proposing the daily rates for field-based labor required on pages 113-114.

USAID Response: The “US-based” and “Field-based” designations are erroneous and have been removed. Please note the revisions to Attachment J.1 in the preparation of cost proposal submissions.

41. Attachment J.1 – Cost/Price Evaluation Matrix. For evaluation purposes, can USAID please advise if offerors should assume the illustrative labor categories on pages 113-114 are to be filled by staff or consultants?

USAID Response: The completion for the labor section of the cost/price matrix is inputting Offeror’s proposed CDR for each category and level and calculating by the listed person days.

Offerors may make their own determination on staffing method.

42. Attachment J.1 – Cost/Price Evaluation Matrix. One pages 113-114, the RFP notes the phrase

“Paid Absence not in fringe benefits” under the CDR Labor categories for both US-based and Field-based categories. Would USAID please provide further explanation on the meaning of this text.

USAID Response: This language has been removed from the cost/price evaluation matrix.

Please note the amended cost/price evaluation matrix.

43. With respect to page 113, Attachment J.1 Cost Evaluation Matrix, please confirm that the references to US-based and Field-based labor are included in order to show how on- and off-site labor is burdened with indirect costs. Please clarify if the Offerors are free to propose labor under any employment type (i.e. independent contractor, employee, local hires, etc.) in the stated categories using the max CDRs.

USAID Response: References to “US-based” and “Field-based” have been removed from the Attachment J.1 Cost/Price Evaluation Matrix. Offerors should simply use the CDR they are proposing for the different levels for calculation in the matrix.

44. With respect to page 9, B.7.1 Unburdened Ceiling Daily Rates (CDRs), Level I requirements identify: “Up to 5 years relevant experience” even as the p. 112 Attachment J.1: COST/PRICE EVALUATION MATRIX only allows for US-based CDRs to appear at Level 1 (while the remainder Level II and III CDRs only allow for Field-based CDRs). Please confirm that the intention is to limit the involvement of US-based staff and consultant to only those who meet Level I requirements (and not allow for Level II and III candidates), as well as limit the involvement of Field-based CDRs to only those who meet Level II and III requirements (and not allow for Level I candidates)?

USAID Response: The reference to “US based” or “field based” have been removed from the matrix. Offerors should simply use the CDR they are proposing for the different levels for calculation in the matrix.

45. The size of the electronic submission of the proposal has been stated as 25 MB. Kindly clarify if this means technical and financial proposal put together must not exceed 25 MB? And does this limit include the annexes and attachments?

USAID Response: The limitation of 25MB was indicated in the RFP in order to ensure that the email can be received without any delay or errors due to attachment size exceeding USAID system limitations. If the technical or cost proposal exceeds 25 MB, the offerors must attach the documents in separate emails.

46. Can there be more than one Technical Specialist in the Core Team? The RFP mentions only one position for Technical Specialist.

USAID Response: Yes, there can be many staff supporting this contract depending on the nature of the Task Orders issued. Note, there is no “core team”. The labor categories describe the qualifications for each labor category grouping for the ceiling daily rates. Labor utilized on individual task orders will depend on the requirements of the TO.

47. As stated on page 21, paragraph 2 of the RFP – the Contractor must appoint and maintain PSE, Organizational Capacity Building, and Gender & Inclusive Development Specialists to provide relevant expertise to all support services under this IDIQ. Kindly clarify if we are required to identify these specialists in our proposal and attach CVs, 1420s, and letters of commitment.

USAID Response: Offerors are not requested to identify personnel for these roles in their proposal.

48. Can USAID please reconsider allowing the contractor to include a full time technical manager to administer the basic IDIQ? We believe that this is necessary to ensure a smooth implementation of the task orders in several countries.

USAID Response: No. The premise of the award of an umbrella IDIQ contract facilitates the ordering and award of specific work under pre-negotiated conditions with selected contractors through task orders. Work under this IDIQ contract is then performed at the task order level.

49. Page 37 states that qualifications for the IDIQ Manager must be in accordance with those specified in Section B. There seem to be no specific requirements listed for an IDIQ Manager.

Will USAID provide more specific guidelines for the IDIQ Manager?

USAID Response: Section B stated in Page 37 refers to the Ceiling Daily Rates Levels with the number of years of relevant experiences and relevant education on Page 9.

50. Page 37 states "qualifications for the [IDIQ manager] must be in accordance with that specified in Section B.” Does this mean the IDIQ manager can be at level 1, 2, or 3? Or are there other requirements?

USAID Response: The IDIQ Manager should be classified by the Offeror and proposed under an appropriate labor category grouping.

51. Page 21, Section C4.4 -- "The contractor must appoint and maintain PSE, Organizational

Capacity Building and Gender& Inclusive Development Specialists to provide relevant expertise to all support services under this IDIQ" Does this mean the contractor must maintain full time staff with these skills or can these skills be provided by STTA who will be called upon only during Task Orders?

USAID Response: The contractor must maintain points of contact or staffing for these specific expertise. This can be part-time or full-time staff, or contracted out depending on the organizational structure and needs of the contractor.

52. Page 21, Section C5. How will the development of indicators for the contract work with three awardees? Will each awardee develop and track their own set of indicators or will USAID bring the three awardees together to agree on a set of common indicators?

USAID Response: A set of indicators will be collaboratively developed among the awardees and USAID and will be applied for all awardees.

53. Page 44 H1. Authorized Geographic Code. 937 excludes advanced developing countries. Given the emphasis on sourcing expertise locally, would USAID consider including advanced developing countries?

USAID Response: Geographic code 937 allows for the use of local expertise of the ordering Mission. For example, a Task Order issued for work in Thailand (an advanced developing country) would allow for the sourcing of Thai labor.

54. Page 103, Section L7. Part 2 under “Labor Costs” states “The prime Offeror and each major subcontractor must propose ceiling indirect cost rates. Major subcontractor indirect rates will be reviewed, but not factored in the Cost/price Evaluation Matrix.” Please confirm where in the

Cost/Business Proposal major subcontractor ceiling indirect rates are to be disclosed. Do contractors need to include the table shown in Section B.9?

USAID Response: The indirect cost rates and ceiling indirect costs of the prime offeror and its major subcontractor should be provided as a part of Part 2 of the cost/business proposal.

55. Section B.7.1, page 9, states that the ceiling daily rate Level III requires a minimum of 15 years of relevant experience. This would only allow for a very limited pool of candidates to be eligible.

In our experience with similar contract mechanisms, candidates bringing 10 or 12 years of experience would qualify for responsibilities in the senior level labor category. Would USAID consider lowering the years of relevant experience for Level III to a minimum of 10, to allow for a broader range of candidates to be qualified?

USAID Response: No. The current level structure for the CDRs which aligns to the experience qualifications the Mission considers for levels of expertise.

56. Section F.6.3.3 c), page 34, states that the TOCO will require certified cost or pricing data in accordance with FAR 52.215-20 for non-Competitive Task Orders in excess of $750,000.

However, per FAR 15.403-4, the threshold for obtaining certified cost or pricing data is $2 million for prime contracts awarded on or after July 1, 2018. Would USAID please review the requirement and update, if necessary?

USAID Response: The amount in this section will be amended to read $2,000,000.

57. RFP says that up to 3 IDIQs will be issued but that total funding will be up to US$ 38 million. Will the awards be equal value i.e. about $12.5 million each? if not, how will the awards be broken up e.g. technical. MEL/CLA. events support?

USAID Response: This ceiling is not being subdivided among the number of awardees nor is it being multiplied by the number of awardees. Please refer to Section F.6 ORDERING PROCEDURES for more information.

58. Technical Proposal # of Copies: When it says 1 in MS Word and 1 in PDF, is that the same document, just in 2 different formats?

USAID Response: That is correct. Offerors are requested to submit the same document in two different formats.

59. Cost/Business Proposal # of Copies: When it says 1 in MS Word/Excel and 1 in PDF, does that mean we should submit the narrative in both Word and PDF and then the Attachment J.1 tables in Excel format?

USAID Response: The Offerors should submit technical proposals in both MS Word and PDF format and also submit cost applications in MS Word and/or MS Excel and PDF format.

60. How would USAID like offerors to factor in travel and other restrictions related to the COVID 19

Pandemic?

USAID Response: Responses should assume a Post-COVID operating environment where travel and in-person meetings and events may be held. Offerors may include in their responses efficiencies or effective approaches to implementation garnered as a result of operating in COVID-19, including virtual events.

61. RFP Attachment J.6, Question 2: Is the $50,000 budget inclusive of all contractor costs (level-of-effort, indirect costs, materials, travel, etc.) and logistics (venue, audio visual equipment, food and beverage, etc.)?

USAID Response: That is correct. The budget is inclusive of all contractor costs.

62. With respect to RFP page 5, section B.2: Contract Type and Services, will USAID consider issuing time and materials or cost-plus incentive fee type contracts under this IDIQ?

USAID Response: No. The Task Orders under this IDIQ will be either Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee (CPFF) (term or completion) or any Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP) type.

63. With respect to the Labor Category Groupings discussed in pages 7-9, how does USAID want the offeror to provide evidence that they have sufficient personnel, systems and capabilities to meet USAID’s needs for these labor categories?

USAID Response: Offerors are not being requested to provide evidence. Offerors should review the instructions for proposals in Section L of this solicitation and the Section M evaluation criteria.

64. On page 45, Section H.3: Consent to Subcontract, the RFP states, “in accordance with FAR clause 52.244-2, Subcontracts, the Contracting Officer consents to award of subcontracts as proposed in the Contractor’s proposal which resulted in the award of this Contract to the following firms for the products or services specified here…” Please confirm that this clause is not directed to the base IDIQ award but will be applied to task-orders.

USAID Response: The consent of subcontractors will be performed after award of this IDIQ contract. The issuing Mission of a task order may provide consent during the procurement of a task order or following the award of a task order.

65. With respect to page 103, Section L.7, Part 3 Labor Costs states: “In the case major subcontractors are included as part of the proposal submission, the offeror should include information of major subcontractors in the cost proposal. Major subcontractors are those whose proposed involvement is anticipated to exceed 20 percent of the costs in task orders and would require approval by the IDIQ CO in accordance with FAR part 52.244-2 and part 44.202-2. The prime Offeror and each major subcontractor must propose ceiling indirect cost rates. Only the prime Offeror's applicable ceiling indirect costs will be utilized for evaluation purposes in the Cost/Price Evaluation Matrix. Major subcontractor indirect rates will be reviewed, but not factored in the Cost/price Evaluation Matrix.” However, Part 8 of the same Section L.7 states: “No subcontractor consent will be provided with the award of this contract. All consent to subcontracts will be provided under task orders in accordance with FAR 44.202-2.” Please clarify the following:

Should the Offeror include consent requests for the subcontractors that the Offer estimates will be performing at least 20% of the work under the Task Orders for consent to be given at the IDIQ level from the IDIQ CO as stated in L.7 Part 3?

USAID Response: If the Offeror plans subcontract with organizations considered major subcontractors as described in the solicitation, they should include information of these subcontractors in the cost proposal per the instructions in Section L. Subcontract consent will not be provided during the procurement stage of this IDIQ contract.

66. With respect to page 107, Section L.7, Part 8 –Consent to Subcontract and Part 9 – Letters of

Commitment, kindly confirm that USAID will grant consent to subcontract at the task-order level, irrespective of whether the subcontractor was proposed in the IDIQ RFP response. Otherwise, does the offeror need to submit information for non-major subcontractors at this stage for USAID review?

USAID Response: Subcontract consent will be provided at the task order level. Information on non-major subcontractors does not need to be provided. However, if their planned level of participation is known, then this should be included in the cost proposal.

67. If the consent is not given at the IDIQ level and will be required at Task Order level, should the offerors still propose major subcontractors’ pricing at the IDIQ level, i.e. propose combined CDRs for Prime & major subcontractors and include major subcontractor indirect cost ceilings?

USAID Response: If there are planned major subcontractors, CDRs and indirect cost rate ceiling should be proposed. Please review the instructions in Section L of the solicitation.

68. Section L.7.8, Page 107: The RFP states that “no subcontractor consent will be provided with the award of this contract.” Would USAID please reconsider consent to subcontract at the IDIQ level in order to accelerate task orders?

USAID Response: Subcontract consent will be reviewed and provided after IDIQ contract award at the task order level for each particular requirement.

69. L.7 Labor Costs (p.103) - In section L.7 Labor Costs, USAID states, “In the case major subcontractors are included as part of the proposal submission, the offeror should include information of major subcontractors in the cost proposal. Major subcontractors are those whose proposed involvement is anticipated to exceed 20% of the costs in task orders and would require approval by the IDIQ CO in accordance with FAR part 52.244-2 and part 44.202-2.” Can USAID please confirm whether major subcontractors will receive CO approval at the IDIQ stage?

USAID Response: Subcontract consent will not be provided during the procurement stage of this IDIQ contract. Subcontract consent will be provided at the task order level.

70. Would USAID evaluate technical capability and past experience of all proposed subcontractors or only major subcontractors as identified by the offerors?

USAID Response: Please see the specific instructions in Section L for the submission instructions for the technical proposal and the evaluation criteria in Section M.

71. With respect to page 102, section L.6.1.2. Contractor Past Performance Information, please clarify if subcontractor past performance references may be included in the five submitted for USAID review. Do these subcontractors need to be named as major subcontractors?

USAID Response: Subcontractor past performance is not requested to be submitted. If organized legally as a joint venture, then past performance of both organizations should be submitted.

72. For the cost proposal, will USAID please confirm that only a letter of commitment and indirect rate ceilings are required from major subcontractors? The other cost proposal components do not specifically state they are required from major subcontractors.

USAID Response: This is correct.

73. RFP Section L.7-Part 2, Indirect Costs (Page: 104) Is a NICRA (or in lieu of one, either Audited Financial Statements or Reviewed Financial Statements) required for major subcontractors as well as the prime offeror?

USAID Response: Yes. The prime Offeror and each major subcontractor must propose ceiling indirect…