Attachment_J.11_Instructions_For_The_Preparation_Of_The_Technical_Proposal_For_Award_With_Discussion.pdf

ATTACHMENT J.11 - INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE PREPARATION OF THE

TECHNICAL PROPOSAL FOR AWARD WITH DISCUSSIONS

SECTION L - INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS, AND NOTICES TO OFFERORS

L.1 NOTICE LISTING SOLICITATION PROVISIONS INCORPORATED BY

REFERENCE

The following contract clauses pertinent to this section are hereby incorporated by reference

(by Citation Number, Title, and Date) in accordance with the clause at FAR 52.252-2 CLAUSES

INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE” in Section I of this contract. Full text of the FAR clauses is available at https://www.acquisition.gov/far/ and full text of the AIDAR clauses is available at http://www.usaid.gov/ads/policy/300/aidar and http://www.usaid.gov/ads/policy/300/300.

FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION (48 CFR Chapter 1)

NUMBER TITLE DATE

52.204-6 UNIQUE ENTITY IDENTIFIER OCT 2016

52.204-16

COMMERCIAL AND GOVERNMENT ENTITY CODE

REPORTING

JUL-2016

52.204-18 COMMERCIAL AND GOVERNMENT ENTITY CODE MAINTENANCE JUL-2016

52.215-22

LIMITATIONS ON PASS-THROUGH CHARGES—

IDENTIFICATION OF SUBCONTRACTOR EFFORT

OCT-2009

52.216-1 TYPE OF CONTRACT APR-1984

52.219-24

SMALL DISADVANTAGED BUSINESS PARTICIPATION

PROGRAM—TARGETS

OCT 2000

52.222-24

PREAWARD ON-SITE EQUAL OPPORTUNITY COMPLIANCE

EVALUATION

FEB-1999

52.222-46 EVALUATION OF COMPENSATION FOR PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYEES FEB-1993

52.237-1 SITE VISIT APR-1984

52.215-1

INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS - COMPETITIVE ACQUISITION-

ALTERNATE I

JAN-2017

L.2 GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

(a) Single Award: The U. S. Government anticipates awarding one Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee, Completion-Type Contract under the unrestricted competition as a result of this Solicitation.

The Agency reserves the right to award more awards than the anticipated number of contracts stated above.

(b) RFP Instructions: If an Offeror does not follow the instructions set forth herein, the

Offeror's proposal may be eliminated from further consideration or the proposal may be down-graded and not receive full or partial credit under the applicable evaluation criteria. Proposals must respond directly to the terms, conditions, specifications and provisions of this RFP.

Proposals not conforming to this RFP will be determined as non-responsive, thereby eliminating them from further consideration.

http://www.usaid.gov/ads/policy/300/300

(c) Accurate and Complete Information: An Offeror must set forth full, accurate and complete information as required by this RFP. The penalty for making false statements to the

Government is prescribed in 18 U.S.C. 1001.

(d) Pre-award Survey: USAID reserves the right to perform a pre-award survey which may include, but is not limited to: (1) Offeror’s ability to perform the Contract duties under the program conditions; (2) a review of the Offeror’s’ financial condition, business and personnel procedures, etc.; and (3) site visits to the Offeror’s facilities.

(e) Offer Acceptability: The Government may determine an offer to be unacceptable if the offer does not comply with all of the terms and conditions of the RFP and prospective

Contract:

(1) Completion of Standard Form 33, Blocks 12 through 18;

(2) Submission of proposed costs/prices and indirect cost information as required by

Section B and L of this RFP;

(3) Completion of electronic annual representations and certifications at SAM accessed via https://www.acquisition.gov as well as any other "Representations, Certifications, and Other Statements of Offerors" in Section K; and

(4) Submission of information required by Section L or any other section of this

RFP. The submission of these items in accordance with these instructions will, if the

Government accepts the offer, contractually bind the Government and the successful

Offeror to the terms and conditions of the prospective Contract. Offerors will follow the instructions contained in this RFP and supply all information and signature/certifications, as required.

(f) Proposal Preparation Costs: The U.S. Government will not pay for any proposal preparation costs.

(g) Questions: All questions and requests for clarification must be addressed to the

Contracting Officer, and sent to the e-mail address provided on the cover letter, by the date and time as indicated on the same. Phone calls will not be accepted.

(h) Technically Unacceptable: All offers which are technically unacceptable will not receive a review of their proposed costs.

L.3 FAR 52.233-2 SERVICE OF PROTEST

(a) Protests, as defined in section 33.101 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, that are filed directly with an agency, and copies of any protests that are filed with the Government

Accountability Office (GAO), must be served on the Contracting Officer (addressed as follows) by obtaining written and dated acknowledgment of receipt from:

https://www.acquisition.gov/

Mr. Mohib Ahmed

Contracting Officer

Email: mohahmed@usaid.gov

Subdivision 694/Stand 100 Ibex Hill Road

PO Box 320373

Lusaka, Zambia – 10101

(b) The copy of any protest must be received in the office designated above within one day of filing a protest with the GAO. Protests must also be submitted to USAID’s Assistant

General Counsel, at the following address:

Mr. William Buckhold

Assistant General Counsel

US Agency for International Development

Office of General Counsel Email: wbuckhold@usaid.gov

L.4 SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

(a) Closing Date and Time: The inclusion of competitive range determination notification will be sent by the CO and provide the date and time for submission.

(b) The Offeror will submit the proposal electronically only.

(c) The information requested below must be clearly marked on the subject line with the following information:

(email # of #) RFP No.:7206118R00001, USAID Let’s Read, Zambia

Volume I – Technical and Volume II – Cost/Business Proposals must be kept in separate email submissions from one another. The Technical Volume must not make reference to pricing data in order that the technical evaluation may be made strictly on the basis of technical merit.

(d) Electronic Submission:

All submissions must be sent to the email address identified on the cover page.

Electronic submission must be:

o In Adobe Acrobat PDF for Volume I – Technical.

o In Adobe Acrobat PDF, Microsoft Excel and Word (2003 version or newer) for

Volume II – Cost/Business Proposal.

Microsoft Excel only applies to the budget and USAID requires a word version of the budget narrative. All calculations and formulas must be mailto:mohahmed@usaid.gov mailto:wbuckhold@usaid.gov visible and unlocked. Furthermore, there will be no password protected cells or spreadsheets.

While there is no page limit, the Offerors are encouraged to be as concise as possible, but still provide the necessary detail to address the solicitation requirement.

o Submissions per e-mail should not exceed 10MB in total file/data size. The

Offerors should design proposals that facilitate access to information and ease of review.

o All electronic files must be unzipped.

o The Contracting Officer reserves the right to request any submission material in

MS Word/Excel (software versions 2003 or newer), if applicable.

L.5 INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE PREPARATION OF VOLUME I – TECHNICAL

PROPOSAL

(a) Organization of Technical Proposal

(1) Technical proposals may not exceed 35 pages, excluding attachments and annexes, and must be on 8.5 by 11 inch or A4 size paper, single spaced, 12-point font with one-inch margins on all sides with (optional) clickable links from the table of contents to each section of the technical proposal.

(2) If proposals contain text boxes, they must also be in no less than 10-point font, as to not unduly interfere with readability.

(3) Cover letter, Cover page, Table of Contents, Acronym list, Executive Summary, and Annexes do not count against the 35-page limitation. Any page in the technical proposal that contains a table, chart, or graph, not otherwise excluded above, is subject to the page limitation.

(4) All information from annexes must be referenced in the technical proposal. All critical information from annexes clearly identified and summarized in the technical proposal will be evaluated as part of the basis of award.

(5) Additional documentation beyond the 35-page limit and the referenced annexes will not be read or evaluated by USAID.

(b) Content of Technical Proposal

(1) Information provided in the technical proposal will indicate a clear understanding of the work to be undertaken and the responsibilities of all parties involved. The technical proposal must be concise, comprehensive, and responsive to the instructions contained herein. Offerors must take into account the technical evaluation factors listed in Section M. It must clearly demonstrate how the proposed approach will meet the goals and all objectives of the activity, and fulfill the Offeror’s program implementation responsibilities.

(2) Throughout the proposal, Offerors must also describe how the following overarching considerations and guiding principles will be incorporated into the proposed services management as appropriate:

Cost effectiveness;

Quality;

Sustainability;

Results;

Ownership;

Flexibility;

Gender Integration; and, Environmental Compliance.

(3) Unnecessarily elaborate brochures or other presentations beyond those sufficient to present a complete and effective proposal in response to this RFP are not desired and may be construed as an indication of the Offeror’s lack of cost consciousness. Elaborate art work and expensive visual or other presentation aids are neither necessary nor wanted.

(c) Format and Presentation

Volume I – Submission Format and Presentation

(1) Cover Letter;

(2) Table of Contents;

(3) Acronym List;

(4) Executive summary;

(5) Performance Based Work Statement/Technical Approach;

(6) Key Personnel;

(7) Management Approach; and,

(8) Quality Assurance and Surveillance Plan

(9) Annexes:

References for two senior Key Personnel positions, if applicable;

Branding Strategy, Branding Implementation Plan, and Marking Plan;

Organizational Chart(s)/Organograms.

NOTE: Offerors will determine the type of information to be submitted as annexes to their technical proposal in response to the discussions letter provided by the CO. The list provided above is not all-inclusive. Annexes must not include new information that is not mentioned within the main submission of the technical proposal, rather must be supporting documentation.

L.5.1 Cover Letter (does not count against 35-page limit)

Include the offeror’s name submitting the proposal and the organization’s DUNS number. Major subcontractors (hereafter referred to as “subs”) must be clearly identified, along with their

DUNS numbers; major subs are defined as those subcontractors whose proposed costs exceed

20% of the Offeror’s proposed total cost or perform a key element of the RFP. Include a contact person for the proposal, including his/her name (both typed and signed), title or position with the organization, address, telephone, and email address. Also state whether the contact person is the person with authority to Contract for the Offeror, and if not, that person should also be clearly identified.

L.5.2 Table of Contents (does not count against 35-page limit)

The Technical Proposal will contain a Table of Contents with page numbers indicated.

L.5.3 Acronym List (does not count against 35-page limit)

The Technical Proposal will contain a list of all acronyms used in the proposal, along with their full meaning.

L.5.4 Executive Summary (not to exceed 2 pages, does not count against 35-page limit)

The executive summary describes the basic elements of the Offeror’s proposal. This section should include problem statement, goals and objectives and summarize the key elements of the

Offerors strategy, approach, methodologies, management, personnel and implementation plan.

L.5.5 Performance Based Work Statement/Technical Approach (PBWS)(counts against 35-page limit) [See Section M.2.2(a)]

The offeror must prepare an innovative, evidence based, and effective solutions Performance

Based Work Statement/Technical Approach (PBWS) that will demonstrate an understanding and articulate:

How the Offeror intends to achieve the objectives contained in Section C. The PBWS sub-headings must follow the same organization as in the SOO in Section C. The offeror may add further sub-headings after each identified objective, if needed. [Special note: offerors must include a completed table from Section C.8, Objective 1].

A clear and detailed statement of logic, assumptions, causal relationships, challenges, opportunities, and risks within the education sector in Zambia and how the offeror’s approach addresses them in order to reach the objectives.

Promotion of sustainability, gender and social inclusion.

The offeror will demonstrate a preview of the performance tracking “system” and/or dashboard.

L.5.6 Key Personnel (counts against 35-page limit) [See Section M.2.2(b)]

For each of the offeror’s proposed Key Personnel positions, the Offeror will submit the position titles, position description, roles and responsibilities, and minimum skill-sets as demonstrated in Section F.9.

The offeror should focus on the skills necessary to fulfill the envisioned role rather than the traditional mix of educational qualification and experience; however, the offeror reserves the right to propose their minimum requirements as deemed necessary to complement the offeror’s PBWS. The offeror may not propose more than five (5) Key Personnel positions in line with Agency policy. The offeror is to only include the names of the two identified senior Key Personnel positions. All other Key Personnel will be approved post-award and will not be evaluated during the solicitation phase.

If there is no change in the two identified senior Key Personnel, the offeror must provide a letter of commitment and availability to serve under the Key Personnel position, if awarded.

The letter must be signed and dated within two weeks of the revised proposal submission due date.

If there is a change from the two identified senior Key Personnel, the offeror must submit a current resume/CV (maximum 2 pages each). The contractor must prepare an analysis or matrix (maximum 2 pages) of how the proposed key personnel’s relevant skills-sets match or exceed the requirements (position description and roles and responsibilities as they relate to the PBWS) established by the offeror for the position. The Offeror must include a signed (1 page each) statement that addresses:

Why they are interested in being the leaders of this activity and why they are the “best for the position.”

L.5.7 Management Framework (counts against 35-page limit) [See Section M.2.2(c)]

The offeror must respond to the following two sub-factors:

(1) Organizational Structure and Staffing Plan [See Section M.2.2(c)(1)]

The offeror must demonstrate an organizational structure and staffing plan responsive to implement Section C of the RFP which also reflects the offeror’s PBWS that includes:

An organogram and accompanying brief description with projected positions

(key and non-key), level of effort, and reporting relationships that reflects the offeror’s PBWS. The offeror is to list positions only, (no names or other identifying information) outside the two identified senior Key Personnel are to be included within the organogram or staffing plan. Clearly articulate areas where overlap in positions occur (within the prime and prime/sub structure) and state why it may be necessary, while ensuring that there are no duplication of efforts/positions within the overall staffing plan.

Articulate the division of responsibilities between in-country project staff, consultants providing short/long-term technical assistance, and home office support (if the offeror is an international organization) that will lead to the achievement of the objectives outlined in Section C.

How the offeror will be engaging with the sub-contractors, MOGE, and USAID, delineating roles and responsibilities of each.

(2) Institutional Capacity [See Section M.2.2(c)(2)]

The offeror must include information related to the technical capacity and experience of all the partners included in the proposal, and must clearly demonstrate those partners’ ability to implement this activity. The institutional capacity section must clarify what the proposed partner organization’s institutional responsibilities are; and how those responsibilities complement and integrate, and not duplicate one another.

L.5.8 Quality Assurance and Surveillance Plan (counts against 35-page limit)

[See Section M.2.2(d)]

The Offeror must develop a Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) which must outline a surveillance schedule and clearly describes the surveillance methods to be used. The purpose of the QASP is for USAID to better understand the offerors internal monitoring system to ensure timely and quality products and services. Further, the QASP will identify what an acceptable quality level is for each deliverable. The QASP is distinct from the AMELP or COR oversight, rather it’s a demonstration of how the offeror will manage their performance and risk through the life of the contract. The plan must include roles and responsibilities for surveillance throughout the duration of the contract. The QASP must align with the PBWS and focus on the quality and timeliness of the output to be delivered and not just on the steps required or procedures used to provide the service. The plan must provide for prevention and ready detection of any challenges, and for timely and positive corrective action.

L.5.9 Contractor Past Performance Information (does not count against the 35 page limit) [See Section M.2.2(e)]

The Offeror is not to resubmit from the initial past performance submission. The Offeror may only clarify or respond to any past performance findings as documented within the discussions letter from the CO.

L.5.10 Annexes (does not count against the 35 page limit)

(a) Two identified senior Key Personnel References: Only if the personnel have changed, the offeror is to provide up to five (5) references with contact information

(email, phone numbers) for new individuals. USAID reserves the right to contact other professional references not included on the list provided by the Offeror.

(b) Branding Strategy, Branding Implementation Plan, and Marking Plan: The

BMIP must be submitted as an annex and as part of the Technical Proposal. Offerors must note that the BMIP is a separate item and will not be evaluated. However, the BMIP from the apparently successful Offeror will be reviewed and subject to approval prior to contract award.

The BMIP must specifically address the following:

a) How to incorporate the message, “This assistance is from the American People,” in communications and materials directed to beneficiaries, or provide an explanation if this message is not appropriate or possible.

b) How to publicize the program, project, or activity in the host-country and a description of the communications tools to be used. Such tools may include the following:

Activity Fact Sheets

Beneficiary testimonials

Field site visits

Info graphics

Media interviews

Press conferences

Press releases

Print and online Public Service Announcements

Professional photographs

Social media posts and online content

“Transforming Lives” Success stories

Videos, webcasts, e-invitations, or other emails sent to group lists, such as participants for a training session, blast emails, or other Internet activities.

c) The key milestones or opportunities anticipated to generate awareness that the program, project, or activity is from the American People, or an explanation if this is not appropriate or possible. Such milestones may be linked to specific points in time, such as the beginning or end of an activity, or an opportunity to showcase publications or other materials, research findings, or activity success. These include, but are not limited to, the following:

Announcing findings from the situational analysis

Communicating activity impact/overall results

Launching the activity

Highlighting success stories, Promoting final or interim reports

Publishing reports or studies, including the transformation and sustainability plans

Securing endorsements from ministry and/or local organizations

Spotlighting trends

Organizational Chart(s)/Organograms: The offeror is to provide necessary organograms or organizational charts to demonstrate its staffing patterns.