Attachment J.14_Questions and Answers for EDGE RFP 72061120R00003 - Amendment I.pdf

ATTACHMENT J.14 – EDGE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS - SOLICITATION

NUMBER 72061120R00003

GENERAL QUESTIONS

1. RFP Cover Letter it is noted that Proposals are Due February 27, 2020 at 12:00 Lusaka

Time. Please confirm that this time is 12:00 PM, i.e., noon, on February 27, 2020.

USAID Response: Yes, USAID confirms the EDGE proposals are due at 12:00 noon Lusaka time.

2. The RFP references three distinct solicitation numbers for this procurement:

72061120R00003 (on the cover page), 7206119R00003 (per Section L.4), and 72061119R00003

(per the headers within the RFP). Could USAID please clarify the solicitation number that offerors should reference for this procurement?

USAID Response: The solicitation number for the EDGE activity is 72061120R00003 and

Section L.4 and the headers of the RFP have been updated to reflect the correct solicitation number.

3. Would USAID/Zambia consider extending the proposal due date by a few weeks?

USAID Response: No, the proposal due date will remain unchanged.

SECTION B: SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICES/COSTS

1. Page 2, Clause B.3(b)b.1, Estimated Cost, Fixed Fee and Obligated Amount, establishes concurrence by the COR for budget line item variations of 10%. The budget included within the clause incorporates detailed line items by year for the award.

Question: In light of the prior concurrence established for budget variations, the offeror respectfully requests that the budget reflect major line items only (Compensation (Salary +

Fringe), Other Direct Costs, Indirect, Subcontractors) and only the total estimated budget for the full period of performance.

USAID Response: This section will remain unchanged.

2. We appreciate USAID’s use of a fee payment schedule for the cost-plus-fixed-fee completion-type contract. To ensure that the contractor is responsive to both USAID’s and beneficiaries’ changing needs during implementation, we request that USAID modify Section B.4 to add that “Pursuant to FAR 16.306(d), the fixed fee payable under this contract will be tied to the completion of the reports and deliverables specified in Section F.5 of this contract and in accordance with the approved Fee Schedule. The Fee Schedule may be modified based upon the annual work plan and changes in underlying assumptions.” As USAID uses annual work plans to manage a contractor’s progress toward completing a contract, adjusting the fee payment schedule with each annual work plan allows the contractor to readjust and reallocate effort and resources as needed to achieve the greatest results attainable within the total estimated cost.

USAID Response: The solicitation is updated in Section B.4 to reflect similar language.

3. Could USAID please clarify the difference between tabs 2 and 3 in excel with regards to Section B.4 (fixed fee)?

USAID Response: USAID is not clear on this question. Please review Section L.6.2(b).

4. Should offerors provide both the fixed fee template illustrated in Section B.4 and propose their own?

USAID Response: That is a consistent understanding with Section L.6.2(b).

SECTION C: DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS/PERFORMANCE BASED

WORK STATEMENT - J.1 STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES

1. Page 13, Clause F.5.2 List of Reports and Plans, Deliverable Number 4, and Attachment J1, Section C.5 Success, target Number 5. Both establish 80 percent of the targeted SMEs have

“independently accessed” finance after receiving USG assistance.

Question: Please clarified the meaning of “independently accessed” in relation to achieving the target.

USAID Response:

After receiving technical assistance from the project, targeted SMEs should be empowered with business skills and knowledge to be able to have their financial needs addressed without continued project support. Here we want to count those SMEs which after receiving project support can apply for and receive loans from the Financial Service Providers without being assisted by the project. This will be validated at the end of the project through a separate contract.

2. Attachment J1, Subsection C.16, Monitoring, Evaluation, And Reporting, states, Baselines will be established within three months of award.

Question: Please confirm that the baseline results will be received within the six-month period in which the VC selection must be determined to ensure that the values of the baseline would be representative of the VC MSEs (CA).

USAID Response: USAID does not understand what is meant by (CA), however, USAID confirms that the baseline will be established after the Value Chains selection and baseline results will be received within six months. This section has been updated to reflect that the VC which is part of the market analysis will be the first deliverable and will be completed within three months of the award.

3. Attachment J.1, under Section C.6, states that the Contractor will be expected to build upon past programs with specific focus on learning from USAID/Zambia’s Feed the Future

Production, Finance, and Improved Technology Plus (PROFIT+) Activity. Can USAID share the final report and the recent impact assessment for PROFIT+?

USAID Response: Yes. Mission will provide Profit+ evaluation report, an attachment has been provided in section J.13 of the solicitation.

4. Attachment J.1 – Statement of Objectives, Section C.3 Background states that “The targeted

SMEs are a mix of formal and informal businesses, including agro-dealers, processors and input dealers with turnover/revenue of at least 100,000 Kwacha and/or have at least five Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) employees, but not more than 100 (FTE) employees.”

Question: Would USAID please consider smaller SMEs with turnover/revenues of less than

100,000 Kwacha and/or with less than five Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) employees to be targeted by

EDGE in order the activity to reach more small and medium size companies and have larger impact?

USAID Response: These parameters for SMEs will not change as they were set with broad stakeholder input and consultation and are the focus of this USAID activity.

5. Attachment J.1 – Statement of Objectives, Section C.5 Success provides a target of “2,500 net increase in full-time equivalent jobs across the assisted SMEs.”

Question: Would USAID please provide a definition of “a full-time equivalent job?” For example, if growth of an agri-business allows the company to buy from more small holder suppliers, are these new supply relationships considered jobs?

USAID Response: One full-time equivalent job (FTE) equals 260 days (excluding weekends) or 12 months. Thus, a job that lasts 4 months should be counted as 1/3 FTE and a job that lasts for 130 days (excluding weekends) should be counted as 1/2 FTE. Number of hours worked per day or per week is not restricted as work hours may vary greatly. Suppliers for the SME are not to be counted towards SME job creation, but awardees are highly encouraged to track that spillover effect. This has been updated to reflect in Section F.5.2 of the RFP.

6. Attachment J.1 – Statement of Objectives, Section C.5 Success provides a target of “80% of targeted SMEs will independently access finance after receiving USG assistance.”

Question: There are multiple reasons why an SME that has received assistance may determine not to access finance that do not indicate failure on the part of the Activity. Would USAID please consider revising this indicator to reduce the percent of SMEs accessing credit?

USAID Response: No, this will not be revised. Financing for agricultural SMEs has been identified in multiple sources as the major impediment to growth. As such, success will be measured by financing, whether commercial, alternative or non-conventional, being provided to

SMEs.

7. Question: Would USAID also please consider replacing this indicator with the following:

1. Dollar amount and percent of increased agricultural financing, and,

2. Number of SMEs aware of available financial products and requirements for accessing them.

USAID Response: Financing for agricultural SMEs has been identified in multiple sources as the major impediment to growth. As such, success will be measured by financing being provided to SMEs. USAID encourages the offeror to propose other relevant indicators as indicated in the solicitation.

8. Attachment J.1 – Statement of Objectives, Section C.5 Success states that “USAID will contract, through a separate mechanism, for the collection of the baseline before the start of the project”. Moreover, page 2, Attachment J.1 Section C.3 Background states “The target SMEs and focus value chains will be determined through capacity assessment and market analysis respectively, both to be conducted by the Contractor within the first 6 months of the award.”

Question: As it will be crucial to collect baseline data after the selection of focus value chains and target SMEs, would USAID please clarify how USAID sees these two, separately contracted, activities being carried out in a timely manner?

USAID Response: USAID intended for the baseline to be established after the VC selection.

Corrections will be made to indicate that the VC analysis will be completed in the first three months, the baseline will follow and results for the baseline will be available within six months of the award.

9. Could USAID please confirm that the contractor is expected to provide a hybrid

PBWS and Technical Approach?

USAID Response: The contractor is expected to provide the PBWS (which is their technical approach). Therefore, these are not two separate documents.

10. In Attachment J.1, Section C.9 there is a diagram with sub-objectives for the two EDGE objectives. Could USAID please confirm that the diagram represents USAID’s envisaged results framework for EDGE and that these boxes should be the focus sub-objectives for the activity?

USAID Response: The diagram on Section C.9 of Attachment J.1 is for informational purposes and contractors are encouraged to develop their own results framework that aligns with USAID/Zambia’s country development and cooperation strategy (as amended December

2019) and the stated objectives of this activity.

11. Attachment J.1 – Statement of Objectives, Section C.10 Components of Illustrative

Activities states that “The Contractor is expected to demonstrate the use of innovative financing options, such as, but not limited to, impact investing, private sector forward funding and blended finance to succeed in this highly constrained lending environment.”

Question: Would USAID please confirm if the Zambia mission envisions any of the budget to be allocated to any type of a fund facility?

USAID Response: No, the activity is expected to attract private sector financing, not provide the financing itself.

12. Attachment J.1 – Statement of Objectives, Section C. 16 Monitoring, Evaluation, and

Reporting states that “The Contractor must produce an Activity Monitoring, Learning and Evaluation

Plan (AMELP). The AMELP must reflect the expected project main results in C.5 above and specific outcome indicators and targets by year. The AMELP must demonstrate how all outcomes will support robust and evidence-based results. The AMELP will also include: the development hypothesis and critical assumptions; baseline values and targets to show progress over time; a Performance Data Table summarizing the key performance monitoring information, and; Performance Indicator Reference

Sheets (PIRS) for each indicator that include detailed description of performance indicators to be tracked, source, method and schedule of data collection, known data limitations and planned actions to address the limitations. Baselines will be established within three months of award. Beyond including a

PIRS for each performance indicator, the plan should identify how data will be collected and stored and how data quality will be ensured.” RFP page 14 Sub-section F.5.2 List of Reports and Plans states that AMELP draft is due within 60 days of effective date of contract. The required annexes listed on page 102 do not include an AMELP.

Question: Would USAID please confirm that Offerors are not required to submit an AMELP during the proposal stage?

USAID Response: USAID confirms; the Offerors are not required to submit the AMELP during the proposal stage. Language in Section C.16 has been updated accordingly.

13. Given that significant current tax disincentive (including a 37% payroll tax) that exist in Zambia that dissuade the formalization of employment in small and medium enterprises (SMEs), it is unlikely an Implementing Partner will be able to identify the desired number of businesses that have five registered employees UNLESS producer cooperative membership is considered as employment. Unless USAID is including members of producer organizations or other kinds of formally registered group businesses (VSLA based group businesses for instance) as employees, then we strongly suggest dropping the employee threshold as a defining criteria for SME selection.

USAID Response: USAID supports and encourages the targeted SMEs to pay required taxes including the payroll tax. We therefore would not encourage processes for the SMEs to avoid paying taxes. The cooperative members should count towards the employee threshold only if they meet the Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) definition. The number of employee threshold will not be dropped. The requirement is to meet either the turnover/revenue of at least 100,000

Kwacha and/or have at least five Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) employees, but not more than 100

(FTE) employees, not necessarily both.

14. Please clarify under what conditions a group business might qualify as an SME?

USAID Response: In this activity SMEs are a mix of formal and informal businesses, including agro-dealers, processors and input dealers with turnover/revenue of at least 100,000 Kwacha and/or have at least five Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) employees, but not more than 100 (FTE) employees. If a group business meets any of these two factors, they qualify as an SME.

15. Please describe any pre-existing DCA guarantees that remain in place that could benefit this project. Given that the DCA has since transitioned over to the new United States International Development Finance Corporation as of September 2019, how soon do you anticipate USAID will have access to the new facility and can you provide any details on how the process will change?"

USAID Response: The new DFC is up and running, and USAID anticipates accessing the products for transactions as they are identified in the field.

USAID has two active loan portfolio credit guarantees, with over $30 million of room for additional lending between the two guarantees eligible to be placed under coverage. One Loan

Portfolio Guarantee (LPG ) is intended to support loans to businesses operating along the agriculture value chain, with larger agribusinesses. The other LPG is intended to support loans to businesses or individuals operating along the agriculture value chain, for any purpose.

16. Would USAID/Zambia consider allowing for an innovation fund to use grants to partially buy-down risk and attract investment to marginalized populations?

USAID Response: No, the activity is expected to attract private sector financing, not provide the financing itself. This activity has no GUC authority.

17. Will USAID please confirm that the Offeror must only include indicators and results in the technical approach and does not require a draft AMELP as an annex or part of the technical approach, as referred on page 8 of the Statement of Objectives?

USAID Response: USAID confirms, the Offeror must only include indicators and results in the technical approach and not a draft AMELP. Also see question above.

18. The Statement of Objectives states on page 2, “The targeted SMEs are a mix of formal and informal businesses, including agro-dealers, processors and input dealers with turnover/revenue of at least 100,000 Kwacha and/or have at least five Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) employees, but not more than 100 (FTE) employees”. Will USAID please confirm that the definition of SMEs includes commercial farmers and cooperatives?

USAID Response: SMEs may include commercial farmers and cooperatives as long as they meet one of the two selection criteria thresholds.

19. Zambia’s 2015 National Youth Policy defines youth as “a person aged between 15 and 35 years old”. Will USAID reconsider the definition of youth to align with Zambia’s National

Youth Policy definition for the purpose of this solicitation?

USAID Response: No; with this activity the definition of youth covers individuals aged 10 -

29 years of age.

20. In reference to Results 1 and 2 on page 3 of the Statement of Objectives, (e.g. 1. Profit of assisted SMEs increased by 15 percent from the baseline to midline, and from midline to endline and 2. Revenue for assisted SMEs increased by 20 percent from the baseline to midline, and from midline to endline), will USAID please confirm that the baseline is individually set for each

SME because they will be engaging with the Activity on a continuous basis?

USAID Response: USAID confirms, the baseline will be individually set for the selected SMEs.

21. Can USAID please confirm that the total anticipated increase for Result 1. Profit of assisted

SMEs increased by 15 percent from the baseline to midline, and from midline to endline will be

32.25 percent total from baseline to endline due to compounding?

USAID Response: USAID confirms, profit increase for an assisted SME will be 32.25 percent at the endline due to compounding.

22. Can USAID please confirm that the total anticipated increase for “Result 2. Revenue for assisted SMEs increased by 20 percent from the baseline to midline, and from midline to endline” is 44 percent total from baseline to endline due to compounding?

USAID Response: USAID confirms, revenue increase for an assisted SME will be 44 percent at the endline due to compounding.

23. Can USAID please confirm that Result 1. Profit of assisted SMEs increased by 15 percent from the baseline to midline, and from midline to endline refers to profit margin?

USAID Response: Profit in this activity refers to Net Profit: Gross profit (revenue minus cost of goods) minus operating expenses and all other expenses, such as taxes and interest paid on debt. Section F.5.2 has been updated to reflect this in the RFP.

SECTION D: PACKAGING AND MARKING

1. Page 8, Clause D.3, Branding Strategy, Implementation Plan and Marking Plan, confirms that the plan will not be scored and the plan from the Apparently Successful Offeror will be reviewed and approved.

Question: The offeror requests if USAID would consider requiring the submission of the plan only at the time of identification of the Apparently Successful Offeror, rather than requiring a plan that will not be reviewed nor evaluated in the Technical Proposal.

USAID Response: Offerors are required to submit the Branding Strategy, Implementation and Marking Plan as an annex and at the time of identification of the apparently successful

Offeror. Section D.3 of the RFP has been updated accordingly.

SECTION F: DELIVERIES OR PERFORMANCE

1. Page 14, Clause F.5.2, List of Reports and Plans, Item 11, includes a Semi-annual Portfolio

Review Presentations with no description of the requirements.

Question: What is expected for these presentations; who should be invited (USAID, GRZ staff, contractor staff, stakeholders?), the physical location where the presentations be held, and for how long is the presentation expected to be?

USAID Response: The processes and structures for portfolio review varies from time to time; the Mission will provide guidelines for each portfolio review as the time for review approaches. Generally, the Implementing Partner will be notified about the upcoming portfolio review and will receive guidance from the COR on what is required. Normally portfolio reviews will focus on the activity progress toward the set objectives, a discussion on activity indicators and what has been accomplished. Program management issues, which may affect the smooth implementation of the activity are also presented and discussed. This language has been added into the solicitation in Section F.5.2 (i).

2. Page 22, Section F.9 Key Personnel states that “All key personnel must be employed by the Prime

Contractor and fully attributed to this activity.”

Question: Would USAID please consider allowing one key personnel to be employed by a subcontractor given that subcontractors may have significant expertise in a technical area complementary to the expertise of the prime Offeror?

USAID Response: All key personnel must be employed by the prime contractor.

In reference to Section F.5.2 List of Reports and Plans on page 14 of the RFP, will USAID please consider modifying the due date of the Year One Draft Annual Work-Plan (AWP) from 30 days to 45 days?

USAID Response: USAID agrees; the due date for Year One Draft Work plan is due 45 days after the award and the final is due 90 days after the award. The solicitation has been updated to reflect this change.

SECTION H: SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS

1. Section H.3(b)(1) states that “salary ranges…must be the ‘market value’ for the position in the country of performance as well as based on the Contractor’s established personnel policy.”

The subclause further states that contractors are not held to the Local Compensation Plan

(LCP), included as Attachment J.9, only that the LCP should be used as a market analysis tool.

However, Sections H.3(b)(3) and L.6(d) note that third-country national and cooperating country national compensation rates “shall not exceed the thresholds in the U.S. Embassy

Zambia local compensation plan” and further state that “Contracting Officer’s Mr. Mohib

Ahmed and Ms. Elizabeth Chisala Page 2 approval is required for salaries exceeding the LCP threshold.” We kindly request that USAID confirm that the guidance under H.3(b)(1) supersedes that of H.3(b)(3) and L.6(d) and that contractors are not held to the LCP for any salaries but rather that the “LCP shall be used by the contractor as a market analysis only tool”

(H.3(b)(1)). We believe that doing so is more in line with AIDAR 752.7007 Personnel

Compensation, which stipulates that personnel compensation be in accordance with the contractor’s established policies, procedures, and practices, with reimbursement subject only to the USAID Contractor Salary Threshold.Page 30, Clause H.3 (b) (1), Additional Requirements for Personnel Compensation, Limitations, states “USAID’s Local Compensation Plan (LCP) can be used as market research and for establishing salary ranges appropriate for each position.

Later the same paragraph states that an individual’s salary must be “based on his or her certified salary history”.

Question: Recent policy issued by USAID Bureau removed the requirement for certified salary history and established the use of Contractor’s established personnel policy and of market value based on position requirements in salary determinations. Please remove the reference to certified salary history in this paragraph.

USAID Response: The solicitation has been amended to remove the reference to certified salary history, however, no salary can exceed the maximum rate of the highest senior FSN position as described in Section H.3.f.2 without approval from the Mission Director. The contractor may create its own LCP Scale based on market research and the U.S. Embassy LCP;

however, the maximum threshold (FSN 13/13) may not be exceeded without prior approval

(per position).

2. Page 31, Clause H.3 (b) (3), Additional Requirements for Personnel Compensation, Limitations, states “For this contract, labor cost for TCNs and CCNs shall not exceed the thresholds in the U.S. Embassy Zambia local employee compensation plan.”

Question: In order to implement the Statement of Objectives, specialists in market systems and finance sectors, especially with private sector experience, are required. The RFP incorporates salary limitations established by the LCP, which is not based on private sector technical skills such as these. We therefore respectfully suggest that the LCP threshold undermines the Contractor ability to hire appropriately skill staff and requests that the LCP as a limiting factor be removed from this RFP.

USAID Response: The LCP takes into account many different industries prior to it being established. Private sector is also incorporated as a market analysis tool for the establishment of the LCP. While specialized skills for specific market segments may exceed the LCP, it will require Mission Director approval. The IP will need to be able to demonstrate their independent Market analysis and why the ‘position’ is valued at said market value. Therefore, this section will remain unchanged.

3. Page 32, Clause H.3 (e) (1), Additional Requirements for Personnel Compensation, Annual

Salary Increases, states “U.S Staff (including expats: Annual salary increases (e.g. cost of living, merit, promotion increase, or any other type) of not more than 3% of the current labor pool may be granted after the employee's completion of each twelve-month period of satisfactory services under the Contract.”

Question: Will Mission consider applying this limitation only to full time expats assigned to the activity in the cooperating country, and enable the Contractor (and sub awardees) to follow their established personnel policies and procedures for headquarters staff based in the US who only are providing short term technical assistance to the activity?

USAID Response: This section will remain unchanged.

4. Page 33, Clause H.3 (f) (2), Additional Requirements for Personnel Compensation, Consultants, limits TCN/CCN consultant compensation to the highest senior FSN position authorized under the LCP.

Question: Since consultant rates must include the cost of doing business otherwise provided to employees by an employer, establishing a threshold that does not consider those additional costs is not a consistent comparison. The Offeror respectfully requests that this limitation be removed from the RFP.

USAID Response: USAID is uncertain on this question. The assumption is that the contractor will submit an unburdened rate for any consultant and then add their respective indirects accordingly. Therefore, if the unburdened rate (absent of cost of doing business) is above the LCP, it will require Mission Director approval. If the contractor submits a fully burdened rate (consistent with their internal policies), this section does not apply. This section will remain unchanged.

5. Page 43, Clause H.19, Environmental Compliance Requirements, second paragraph, refers to an Initial Environmental Examination (IIE) for the activity. An IEE specific to this solicitation does not appear to be available on USAID's online environmental compliance database.

Question: Please provide a link to, or provide a copy of, the approved Initial Environmental

Examination for the EDGE activity.

USAID Response: The attachment has been provided in Attachment J.12.

6. Page 30, Section H.3 Additional Requirements for Personnel Compensation (b) (1)

Limitations state that “That individual’s salary must be negotiated within the established range, based on his or her certified salary history and the conditions stated further in this paragraph.”

Question: Since following the revisions to the SF 1420 form contractors are not to be requesting a certified salary history of candidates, would USAID please consider revising the solicitation to determine salaries “based on his or her certified salary history” to "based on his or her experience and market rates” or similar language?

USAID Response: The solicitation has been amended to remove the reference requiring salaries based on certified salary history.

7. Page 32, Section H.3 Additional Requirements for Personnel Compensation (e) (1) Annual

Salary Increases states that “U.S Staff (including expats: Annual salary increases (e.g. cost of living, merit, promotion increase, or any other type) of not more than 3% of the current labor pool may be granted after the employee's completion of each twelve-month period of satisfactory services under the

Contract.”

Question: Would USAID please allow Offerors to align annual salary increase with

Contractor's relevant policies? Some contractors’ policy is to give more than a 3% increase, so decreasing it to 3% will contradict with their corporate policies which have been audited/approved and would therefore be in contradiction to the cost principles. If so, please amend the RFP accordingly.

USAID Response: This section will remain unchanged.

8. Page 32, Section H.3 Additional Requirements for Personnel Compensation (f) (2)

Consultants states, “TCN and CCN Consultants: Compensation must not exceed the maximum rate of the highest senior FSN position authorized under the Mission Local Compensation Plan.”

Question: Given USAID’s latest guidance on establishing salaries under the revised SF 1420, would USAID please consider removing this requirement in its entirety? TCN and CCN consultants are not comparable to local staff salary scales and are always based on market competition for their professional services.

USAID Response: See above response.

9. In Section H.14(a), USAID states, “This Contract may call for the Contractor to furnish important services in support of evaluation of Contractors or of specific activities. In accordance with the principles of FAR Subpart 9.5 and USAID policy, THE CONTRACTOR

SHALL BE INELIGIBLE TO FURNISH, AS A PRIME OR SUBCONTRACTOR OR

OTHERWISE, IMPLEMENTATION SERVICES UNDER ANY CONTRACT THAT RESULTS IN

RESPONSE TO FINDINGS, PROPOSALS, OR RECOMMENDATIONS IN AN EVALUATION

REPORT WRITTEN BY THE CONTRACTOR. THIS PRECLUSION WILL APPLY TO ANY

SUCH AWARDS MADE WITHIN 18 MONTHS OF USAID ACCEPTING THE REPORT,

unless the Head of the Contracting Activity, in consultation with USAID's Competition

Advocate, authorizes a waiver (in accordance FAR 9.503) determining that preclusion of the

Contractor from the implementation work would not be in the Government's interest.” In response to Section H.14(a), could USAID please confirm that the Contractor will not be conducting evaluation(s) of other Contractors or of specific activities under this Contract?

USAID Response: USAID confirms.

10. Attachment J.9 – Mission Local Compensation Plan 2019:

Question:

Would USAID please also provide FSN classification levels, since that information will be helpful in developing a salary scale for proposed staff as well as in understanding appropriate market rates?

USAID Response: The contractor may create its own classification levels based on market research.

11. Section H.3 Additional Requirements for Personnel Compensation on page 31 of the RFP states, “For this contract, labor cost for TCNs and CCNs shall not exceed the thresholds in the U.S. Embassy Zambia local employee compensation plan. Contracting Officer’s approval is required for salaries exceeding the LCP threshold”. Will USAID please reconsider the LCP threshold for short term consultants, as they typically have a higher rate than long term employees due to the lack of fringe for short term consultants?

USAID Response: See question above.

12. Will USAID please consider allowing Letters of Support from resource organizations and collaborating partners to be included in Section L.6.7 Letters of Commitment (Subcontractors) in addition to the letters of commitment from subcontractors?

USAID Response: No, as letters of support are not a stated evaluated factor, including such information would be unnecessary.

13. Page 33 of the RFP states, “No overtime or premium pay is authorized under this

Contract”. Will USAID please make an exception for non-exempt US-based employees to be in line with the Offeror’s personnel policies and U.S. labor law?

USAID Response: Any overtime or premium pay will require approval from the Contracting

Officer. The base assumption is that all work(s) can be performed within the normal duty hours of all staff.

SECTION I: CONTRACT CLAUSES

1. As USAID anticipates having adequate competition for this effort, would USAID kindly remove clause 52.215-10 in Section I.1 and the reference to requiring “certified cost or pricing data” in section 1.7?

USAID Response: USAID has removed clause FAR 52.215-10.

SECTION L: INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS, AND NOTICES TO OFFERORS

1. Page 102, Clause L.5, Instructions for the Preparation of Technical Proposal, defines the

Submission Format for the Technical Volume and does not include a Table of Contents nor an

Acronym list.

Question: May the Offeror include a Table of Contents and an Acronym list without either counting towards the page limit.

USAID Response: The table of contents and acronym list do not count towards the page limit.

2. Pages 102-103, Clause L.5.1, Cover Letter, establishes the information required on the cover letter, and allows up to 2 pages for this information.

Question: The Offeror respectfully requests that a one page “Cover Page” to the entire

Technical Volume provide this information, and that an Executive Summary of the additional page be allowed; neither of which would count against page limits.

USAID Response: The cover letter pages do not count towards the page limit, however, if the Offeror would like to include an executive summary it must meet the 1-2 page requirement, which also won't count against the page limit.

3. Page 103, Clause L.5.2(b), Factor 2, second bullet, requires “an organogram and accompanying brief description with projected positions (key and non-key) …”.

Question: The offeror respectfully requests USAID to allow the organigram to be included in

Annex b) rather than in the Factor 1: Technical Approach.

USAID Response: Section L.5.2(b) updated to allow Offerors to include an organogram as an

Annex.

4. Page 103, Clause L.5.2(b), Factor 2, second bullet, requires “an organogram and accompanying brief description with projected positions (key and non-key) …level of effort, and reporting relationships…”.

Question: The offeror respectfully requests USAID to allow the staffing level of effort chart to be included in Annex b) rather than in the Factor 1: Technical Approach.

USAID Response: The staffing level of effort chart may also be an annex.

5. Page 104, Clause L.5.2 (d) (a) (1) (i), Factor 4: Contractor’s Past Performance, states that the information provided on the Contractor Performance Assessment Report CPAR) in the

PPIRS that will be attached to the J.6 annex, should not be included in J. 6.

Question: Please confirm that when a CPAR is attached to J.6, that columns C and D (which information is available on the attached CPAR) do not need to be completed.

USAID Response: That is correct, please just denote “See PPIRS report.”

6. Section L.5.2(d) requests performance information including use of small business concerns, recent subcontracting reports not in eSRS (usually two pages per report), and small business references. As the requested information may result in up to 30 pages of content, we request that USAID allow offerors to include this information in Annex C, without page limits, rather than in the main technical proposal volume as the RFP seems to suggest (page 105).

USAID Response: There is no page limit for performance information requests. The

Contractor may include this information in Annex C.

7. Section L.6.3(d) states that “the Offeror and all (major and minor) of its subcontractors must provide SF LLL Disclosure of Lobbying Activities Attachment J.4 and complete the Certification

Regarding Trafficking in Persons Compliance Plan Attachment J.5.” Could USAID please provide

Attachments J.4 and J.5, as they were not provided with the original solicitation announcement?

USAID Response: The solicitation provides a link for the J.4 Attachment.

Attachment J.5 has been provided as an attachment.

8. Section L.6.4 requires offerors to submit a copy of its most current personnel policies.

Given that our personnel policies are 2.5 MB and more than 100 pages, may offerors with prior federal contracting experience be exempt from submitting personnel policies in the proposal?

USAID Response: This section has been updated to state “the CO reserves the right to request personnel policies and procedures from the Offeror, which must be provided.”

9. Page 109, Clause L.6.2 Proposed Costs/Prices, (d) Salaries and wages, third bullet, states

“Labor cost for TCNs and CCNs must not exceed the thresholds in the US Embassy’s local employee compensation plan (LCP). … In addition, the proposed salaries must be reflective of

“market value for each position and may not exceed Contractor’s policies and practice, including the Contractor’s established pay scale for equivalent classification of employees.”

Question: Will Mission consider relying on the most senior Grade/Step scale of the US

Embassy Zambia local compensation for CCNs since the overall LCP is a point of reference of the market research that will be performed by the Contractor and which will address the private sector and seniority in its determination of overall “market value” in areas not considered in the US Embassy qualifications.

USAID Response: Any salary requests above the highest LCP grade/step scale threshold will require approval from the Mission Director. The offeror may create their own scale within the limitations (min/max), however the CO does not have the authority to waive this requirement.

10. As a newly formed LLC, small business without a NICRA how do we comply with the requirement on page 116 of the RFP requiring Audited Financial Statements or Reviewed

Financial Statements. Please advise.

USAID Response: As specified on page 115 of the solicitation, in the case of a small business

Offeror, the Contracting Officer will comply with FAR 19.6 to determine if there is sufficient evidence of responsibility.

11. As referenced on page 100, how extensive of a compensation survey should the offeror conduct?

USAID Response: USAID does not understand the question.

12. Page 102, Section L. 4 – Proposal Submission Instructions states, “all attachments/electronic contents must be formatted to print on 8.5 by 11 inch or A4 size paper….” However, Attachment

J.6 – Past Performance Matrix seems to be a Legal-size document measured 8.5 by 14 inch.

Question: Would USAID please consider allowing Offerors to consolidate information together into columns (e.g. Activity Name, Customer Name, Dates, Award Type, Primary

Location, Transition/Crisis Y/N; PPIRS Y/N; CPR Reference Sheet Y/N could all go into one column) or find other presentation options in order to present the information on Letter-size paper (preferred); or

USAID Response: Offerors should not consolidate information into separate columns and adhere to the format listed on page 102, Section L.4, however, offerors may format the print/paper layout to be printed on legal size paper for Attachment J.6.

13. There is mention of the need to submit the draft Activity Monitoring, Evaluation and

Learning Plan (AMELP) within 60 days, but there is no mention of it within Section L or M of the RFP. Please confirm that this means that our approach to monitoring and evaluation does not need to be included in the Technical proposal.

USAID Response: USAID confirms; the Offerors are not required to submit the AMELP during the proposal stage.

14. Would USAID please confirm that Offerors should submit the narrative summary of their use of small business concerns over the past three years under Annex C: Past Performance

Information or another annex not included in the 25-page limit?

USAID Response: USAID confirms.

15. Will USAID please confirm that the following costs can be incorporated into the Summary

Budget tab labor categories (eg labor, ODCs, etc.) as is implied in section B.3(b)1 on page 2?

a. Branding and Marking Costs: ADS 320.3.6.3 states the costs of branding and marking are eligible for financing in contracts, if the costs are reasonable, allocable, and allowable in accordance with applicable cost principles. Such costs should be included in the total estimated cost or bid/offer price of the implementing partner.

b. Monitoring and Evaluation Costs: Per ADS 203.3.5, include costs of data collection, analysis, and reporting as a separate line item to ensure that adequate resources are available.

c. Environmental Compliance Costs: In accordance with 2 CFR 216 and ADS 201, the Offeror must include costs for environmental compliance of 2% to 5% of the total budget.

USAID Response: The main headers of B.3(b)(1) are to remain unchanged. However, the offeror may allocate these costs within the budget line items, as needed.