SOL_72049718R00006_Amendment__1.pdf

SOL. No. 72049718R00006 (USAID IGNITE) Amendment No. 1

PART 1 – SPECIFIC CHANGES TO SOL 72049718R00006

1. In Section F.6 Reports and Deliverables, delete the entire Reports and Plans table and replace with the following:

A. REPORTS AND PLANS

Deliverable Delivery Date 1 Mobilization & Quick Start Activity Plan Due within 30 days after contract award 2 Initial Annual Work Plan (covers period from date of award through December 31, 2019) Due 60 days after contract award

3 Strategic Communications Plan Due 75 days after contract award 4 Life of Project Work Plan Due 60 days after contract award 5 Annual Work Plan Due November 15, 2019, and subsequently on each November 15 until the end of the award.

6 Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Plan Due 75 days after contract award, and updated yearly in conjunction with the Annual Work Plan

7 Grants Manual Due 90 days after contract award 8 Weekly Progress Report Due each Monday during activity implementation 9 Quarterly Progress Report Due 30 days after end of reporting quarter 10 Annual Reports Due 30 days after reporting year 11 Quarterly Financial Report (Pipeline Analysis &

Accrual Reports) Due 15 days prior before the end of each quarter

12 Report on Non-Expendable Property Due October 30th each year 13 Demobilization & Closeout Plan Due 90 days prior to end date of contract 14 Draft of Final Report Due 45 days before end date of contract 15 Final Report Due 60 days after end of contract

B. DELIVERABLES AND OUTCOMES BY TASK

Deliverable Delivery Date TBD based on the offer accepted TBD based on the offer accepted

2. In Section F.6.2. Work Plans; delete the Due Date paragraph and replace with the following:

“Due Date: The Contractor must submit the Initial Work Plan as well as the Life-of-Project Work Plan within 60 days following the award. The first Work Plan will cover a period from the award of the contract up to the end of the calendar year in 2019 (December 31st).”

3. In Section F.6.3. Strategic Communications Plan; delete the Due Date paragraph and

“Due Date: The Contractor must submit the Strategic Communications Plan within 75 days following the award.”

4. F.6.4 Activity Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (AMEL) Plan; delete the first sentence of the Due Date paragraph and replace with the following:

“Due Date: The initial AMEL Plan must be submitted with the initial work plan, within 75 days of the beginning of the award.”

5. Insert as Section I.19, the following clause:

“FAR 52.237-9 Waiver of Limitation on Severance Payments to Foreign Nationals (May 2014)

(a) Pursuant to 10 U.S.C. 2324(e)(3)(A) or 41 U.S.C. 4304(b)(1), as applicable, the cost allowability limitations in FAR 31.205-6(g)(6) are waived.

(b) This clause may be incorporated into subcontracts issued under this contract, if approved by the Contracting Officer.”

6. In Section L.8.2 insert the following:

“A courtesy copy of the proposal should also be submitted to A & A Specialist, Sabrina Simanjuntak at email: ssimanjuntak@usaid.gov”

7. In Section L.9.1 Past Performance Matrix Cover Page; delete the entire paragraph and

“The cover page must include (a) Activity Title; (b) RFP Reference Number; (c) Name of Organization(s) submitting proposal;(d) DUNS number (e) Any Subcontractors or Partnerships, including specifying if more than 20% of the total proposed cost is anticipated to be performed by such other organization; and (f) Contact Person, Telephone Number, Email Address, and Address.”

8. In Section L.9.2 (a)2(c) under Past Performance Matrix – Contractor Performance Information, delete and replace with the following:

“(a) Description of the performance to include (not to exceed 150 words):

• Scope of work or complexity/diversity of tasks,

• Primary location(s) of work,

• Term of performance,

• Skills/expertise required,

• Dollar value, and

• Contract type, i.e., fixed-price, cost reimbursement, etc.”

http://farsite.hill.af.mil/reghtml/regs/far2afmcfars/fardfars/far/31.htm#P292_56781 mailto:ssimanjuntak@usaid.gov

9. In Section L.11.1 Instructions for Specific Sections of The Technical Proposal, under Cover Page section; delete the entire paragraph and replace with the following:

“The cover page must include (a) Activity Title; (b) RFP Reference Number; (c) Name of Organization(s) submitting proposal; (d) DUNS number (e) Any Subcontractors or Partnerships, including specifying if more than 20% of the total proposed cost is anticipated to be performed by such other organization; and (f) Contact Person, Telephone Number, Email Address, and Address.”

10. In Section L.12.2 Part 2 – Proposed Costs (d), insert the following:

“The Offeror must also complete and provide the following as a separate budget chart:

11. In Section L.12.2 Part 2 – Proposed Costs, under Budget Line Item Definitions and Illustration, Salary and Wages section; U.S. Embassy Local Compensation Plan table, on page 120, delete its entirety and replace with the following table:

“The U.S. Embassy Local Compensation Plan

Annual Salary (IDR) Max Minimum

Senior Technical IDR 733,844,834 IDR 346,962,617 Mid-Level Technical IDR 435,413,195 IDR 154,344,405 Junior Technical IDR 194,738,122 IDR 91,878,903

Administrative/Support IDR 124,205,195 IDR 44,546,480 ”

12. In Section L.12.2 under Other Direct Costs, insert the following:

“The Contractor should contemplate $0 additional cost for securing work space in ASEC headquarters for budgeting purposes.”

Total Amount Direct Costs Indirect Costs Subcontracts Grants Under Contract Total Costs Fixed Fee Total Estimated Cost (including Fixed Fee

13. In Section L.13 Instructions for the Preparation of the Branding Implementation and Marking Plan; delete the second sentence of the second paragraph, and replace with the following:

“The BIP and Marking Plan must be submitted as an annex to the Cost Proposal.”

14. In Section M.3.5 Past Performance (Factor 5) (a), delete the second sentence and replace with the following:

“USAID will utilize existing databases of contractor performance information and solicit additional information from the references provided in Section L.9.2. of this RFP and from other sources if and when the Contracting Officer finds the existing databases to be insufficient for evaluating an offeror's performance.”

15. In Section M.3.5 Past Performance (Factor 5) (d), delete the sentence and replace with the following:

“(d) The contractor performance information determined to be relevant will be evaluated in accordance with the elements below, which are of equal importance.”

PART 2 – ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS

1. Question: Section L.12, Instructions for the Preparation of the Cost Proposal (pp 118-119), requires the Offeror to submit a budget that includes details for the $9 million base LOE and the two $1.5 million tranche LOE options. We are further instructed to ensure that the cost proposal is consistent with the technical proposal in all respects. On Pages 117-118 in L.11.6.3, Level of Effort Chart, the Offeror must complete charts that include both the Base LOE of $9 million and the two LOE options. Section L.11.3 is silent on how the PWS should be written to be consistent with the Base LOE and two LOE options.

Please confirm that Offerors are to submit a Performance Work Statement (PWS) with activities and results consistent with a ceiling of $9 million for the Base LOE and then include additional activities and results for the two $1.5 tranches.

USAID Response: Yes, Offerors are recommended to provide within the PWS sections that specifically identify the activities and results that would be performed with the ceiling of $9 million for the Base LOE, and then include additional sections that identify the additional activities and results for each of the two $1.5 million tranches of LOE.

2. Question: Section L.12 states that in “preparing its budget, the Offeror must consider” ceilings of $9 million for Base LOE and $1.5 million each for the two LOE tranches. Please confirm that the ceiling for the Base LOE of $9 million and each of the two tranches of $1.5 million is for total costs (inclusive of LOE, grants, travel, ODCs, overheads, etc.)

USAID Response: This confirms that the ceiling for the Base LOE is $9 million and the ceiling for the two option tranches of LOE are each $1.5 million for total costs. When preparing the budget, Offerors should keep in mind that the optional LOE tranches will be exercised concurrently with the Base LOE (rather than extending the period of performance).

3. Question: Section F.6.1 on Page 22, states that the contractor must develop a Mobilization and Quick Start Up Plan within 30 days of contract award and submit it to the COR for written approval. Section F.6.1 on Page 22, also states that the contractor must conduct a baseline assessment of target areas to inform the Work Plan within 45 days of award. (We note that this item is not included in the table on page 21.) Section F.6.2 on Page 23 calls for the Initial Work Plan and Life-of-Project Work Plan to be submitted within 30 days of contract award, thus before the baseline assessment is complete. Section F.6.4 on Page 24 calls for the Activity Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (AMEL) Plan to be submitted with 45 days after contract award. These various documents build upon each other.

Will USAID consider moving the date of submission of the Initial Work Plan and Life-of-Project Work Plan to 60 days after the contract award (15 days after the submission of the baseline assessment); and the submission of the AMEL to 75 days after contract award (15 days after the Initial Work Plan)?

USAID Response: Please see Part 1, Item # 1 – 4 of the Part 1 above, reflecting revisions to the proposed submission dates for numerous deliverables.

4. Question: Section H.2 states that the geographic code for this project is 937 and that Singapore and Brunei are not considered cooperating countries. Section F.3 states that the place of performance of the project is Jakarta and all ASEAN which would include Singapore and Brunei. May the contractor hold regional events in Singapore and Brunei and thus contract with entities in those countries for the purposes of those events? May the offeror procure services from Singapore and Brunei that benefit all of ASEAN, without obtaining a waiver from the Contracting Officer?

USAID Response: The Contractor may hold regional events in Singapore and Brunei based on ASEAN Secretariat determination, and the potential contract with entities in those countries only to support those events. Other procurement services from Singapore and Brunei would still need a waiver from the Contracting Officer on a case by case basis.

5. Question: Section F.5 states that the Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP) will oversee all working level interactions with ASEAN Secretariat and sectoral body staff. Attachment 2 states that the three program managers will be the working-level liaison with the relevant ASEAN sectoral bodies, and that they will report to the Chief of Party (COP). May the offeror propose a different reporting structure other than all Essential Staff reporting to the COP?

USAID Response: Yes, the Offeror may propose a different reporting structure other than all Essential Staff reporting to the COP.

6. Question: Section L.10 on Page 111, Instructions for the Preparation of the Technical Proposal, is silent concerning what information USAID wants placed in Annexes other than the Branding Implementation Plan and the Marking Plan in the Technical Proposal Volume and Performance in Using Small Business Concerns in the Past Performance Matrix. Please clarify what other information, if any, USAID wants an Offeror to put in annexes to its proposal.

USAID Response: Unless otherwise explicitly stated in the instructions for the Technical Proposal as set forth in Sections L.10 - L.11, the Offeror should not include any additional annexes.

Please see Part 1, Item # 13 above, clarifying that the Branding and Implementation Plan (BIP) must be included as an annex to the Cost Proposal submission. For convenience, the BIP may identified as “Annex 1” of the Cost Proposal.

With regard to the Performance of Using Small Business Concerns in the Past Performance Matrix, if applicable please include as “Annex A- Small Business Concern Performance” to the Past Performance Matrix (see Section L.9.2).

7. Question: Section L.8.8, Format and Presentation on page 108 states that the Past Performance Matrix must be compatible with Excel while the cover page can be in Excel or PDF. On page 110, the Performance in Utilizing Small Business is silent as to format. Please confirm that this annex may be in PDF format.

USAID Response: The Past Performance Matrix must be compatible with Excel. The Performance in Utilizing Small Business annex may be in either Excel or PDF format.

8. Question: Will USAID consider removing the multi-year contract requirement? During implementation the prime contractor will have to establish a local field office and hire local (and expat) staff for long term, possibly for more than a year. A multi-year contract, which does not allow any cost amortized over the life of the contract should the contract be cancelled in accordance with FAR 52.217-2, may not be effective or efficient from a cost and management perspective for the type of activities required in this RFP. In our experience, under multiple-year type contracts the period of performance can be modified and shortened at any time due to insufficient funds, or the contractor, upon agreement with the USAID, can minimize the activities and stretch the budget in situations where there may be a period of uncertainty in funding obligations. A multiple-year type contract is a more flexible and mutually beneficial approach than a multi-year contract. Please reconsider.

USAID Response: After consideration, Section B.10 will not be changed.

9. Question: Will USAID please provide an IDR-USD exchange rate for budgeting purposes?

USAID Response: The exchange rate is IDR 13,500 per US$1 for budget evaluation purposes.

10. Question: Result 1.4 on page 5 of the RFP mentions “sectors identified as priorities.” Would USAID please clarify what these priority sectors are?

USAID Response: These priority sectors will be identified upon contract award and after consulting with ASEAN and relevant USG inter-agency stakeholders. They are subject to change based on further analysis and changing political priorities on both the part of the USG and ASEAN.

11. Question: Section K.1 of the RFP incorporates FAR 52.237-8 Restriction on Severance Payments to Foreign Nationals. We respectfully request that USAID include FAR 52.237-9, Waiver of Limitation on Severance Payments to Foreign Nationals, in the RFP so the eventual contractor can abide by Indonesian laws requiring payment of severance and can budget accordingly.

USAID Response: Please see Part 1, Item #5 above.

12. Question: Section L.8.2 Delivery Instructions states the email size limit is “10 MB limit per email” and Section L.12 Instructions for the Preparation of the Cost Proposal states Excel files should not exceed 2 MB. Would USAID allow Offerors to submit Excel files that are larger than 2 MB, if they do not exceed the 10 MB email threshold?

USAID Response: The Offeror may submit larger Excel files that are larger than 2 MB as long as the email size limit does not exceed 10 MB.

13. Question: Section L.9.2(a)2(c) states within the Past Performance Matrix that the description of performance should not exceed 100 words, and must include scope of work, primary location of work, term of performance, skills/expertise required, dollar value, and contract type. Would USAID permit offerors to list the primary location of work, term of performance, dollar value and contract type separately in the matrix, so that the 100-word limit is applied to only the scope of work and skills/expertise required?

USAID Response: After consideration, the 100-word limit is amended to “150-word limit”. See Part1, Item # 8 above.

14. Question: Section L.12.8, Part 8 – Policies and Procedures, states that the Offeror must submit policies and procedures, “especially regarding salary and wage scales, fringe benefits, merit increases, promotions, leave, differentials, travel and per diem regulations, procurement, etc.” Could USAID please confirm if the list provided is an all-inclusive and complete list of requirements for this section or is it merely an illustrative list?

USAID Response: The list of policies and procedures provided is an illustrative list. Please be sure to provide the information as detailed as possible in order for USAID to conduct its cost analysis.

[End of Amendment No. 1]