BPA 72061220R00009 - Amendement 1.pdf

72061220R00009

X

5. PROJECT NO.

CODE

7. ADMINISTERED BY

2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION Number 01 mmM

CODE

6. ISSUED BY

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR

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

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NO.

9B. DATED

PAGE OF PAGES

1 9

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NO.

10B. DATED

1. CONTRACT ID CODE

FACILITY CODE CODE

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:

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 _____1_____ copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on 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

Contractor

16C. DATE SIGNED

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION

16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER

16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER

15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR

STANDARD FORM 30 STANDARD FORM 30

(Type or print) (Type or print)

(Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

(No., street, county, State and ZIP Code)

(If other than Item 6)

(Specify type of modification and authority)

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

(If required)

(If applicable)

(SEE ITEM 11)

(SEE ITEM 13)

(X)

(X)

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

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

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

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

See Block 16C REQ-612-20-000105

Office of Acquisition and Assistance USAID/Malawi NICO House P O Box 30455, Lilongwe 3, Malawi Tel: +265 1 772 455 Fax: +265 1 773 181

FAA of 1961 as amended; E.O 11223; FAR 43.103(a)

The purpose of this amendment:

- To extend the bid submission date to July 30, 2021

- To provide answers to questions that were received from interested parties.

Please see attached the Word document for the list of questions and answers.

[See Continuation Page]

Dion Glisan Contracting Officer

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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Question # 1

Is it possible to be a prime on one bid and be a nonexclusive sub on another under the one component?

Or alternatively, if an organization were willing to make the e-procurement platform freely available to all awardees under the procurement component or all USAID implementing partners in Malawi, is this something USAID would be interested in? If so, can you advise on the application process?

I can provide some background on the platform if required (I wasn’t sure if it was appropriate to include it here) or provide a virtual tour, however, in short:

• All suppliers on the platform are prequalified to the highest compliance requirements.

• Buyers on the platform are forced to go through a business process that forces adherence to best procurement practice and compliance.

• The platform has numerous fraud prevention measures that are exclusive to our organization.

USAID RESPONSE:

Organizations that choose to lead in the following components should not apply to lead in the

“remaining” components to avoid potential conflict of interest.:

• Pre-Award Assessments of Non-U.S. Organizations and Host Government;

• 2. Cost Incurred Audits and Reviews;

• 3. Attestation Engagements;

• 4. Financial Audits or Reviews; and

• 5. Control Environment Reviews and Assessments

The remaining components are:

• 6. Developing Policies and Procedures;

• 7. Technical Assistance;

• 8. Serving as Fiscal Agent;

• 9. Serving as Procurement Agent; and

• 10. Validity Checks.

There needs to be a separation/segregation of duties so that an organization doing an assessment or review is not also testing or approving a process.

Question # 2

On page 11 (under the Scope Objective), it states, “Organizations providing services to an IP under Components 6, 7, 8 and 9, will not be selected to provide services to that IP under

Components 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.” Can you please clarify if these restrictions apply so that the contractor will not be selected to provide services to the same IP or in general and regardless of performing on different IPs, where there would not be any conflict.

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Organizations that choose to lead in the following components: 1. Pre-Award Assessments of

Non-U.S. Organizations and Host Government; 2. Cost Incurred Audits and Reviews;

3. Attestation Engagements; 4. Financial Audits or Reviews; and 5. Control Environment

Reviews and Assessments - should not apply to lead in the remaining following components to avoid potential conflict of interest.

The remaining components are: 6. Developing Policies and Procedures; 7. Technical Assistance;

8. Serving as Fiscal Agent; 9. Serving as Procurement Agent; and 10. Validity Checks.

Also, please see Question #1 for the same answer stated a little bit differently.

Question # 3

Please explain and list if there will be any differences in the scope of work for Component 2

(Cost Incurred Audits and Reviews) and Component 4 (Financial Audits or Reviews). In case there are no significant differences, is it still required to provide a separate technical approach for each component 2 and 4, or just one technical approach for both components would be sufficient.

Separate technical proposals are required for Component 2 (Cost Incurred Audits and Reviews and Component 4 (Financial Audits or reviews because they are different:

1. Component 2 (Cost incurred Audit and Reviews) looks at very specific transactions to determine whether the costs incurred are allowable, reasonable, and allocable to the contract in accordance with contract terms, cost accounting standards, and government laws or regulation. This could be simply one transaction area e.g Salaries and benefits and this type of audit helps assess the accuracy of an organization's annual costs. This also helps the Mission recover overpaid costs. The end result is that any opinion given will be specific to that line of transaction.

2. Component 4 (Financial Audits and Reviews) – this is a financial audit with objective examination and evaluation of the financial statements of an IP to make sure that the financial records are a fair and accurate representation of the transactions they claim to represent. In the Financial Audit, the auditors will look at the entire ledger and not a specific accounting transaction. Additionally, it has to be performed in accordance with

ADS 591.3.2 and US Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS). A financial review is an examination of an organization's financial records that reports on the plausibility of its financial statements, providing limited assurance. As a result, a financial review provides limited assurance, while an audit provides a reasonable amount of assurance.

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Question # 4

There are references to 2 CFR 200 in the solicitation, specifically in section B. Our understanding is that 2 CFR 200 only applies to assistance awards. This is an acquisition; could

USAID please address this.

Please disregard the reference across the RFP to 2 CFR 200 as it does not apply.

Question # 5

We understand any firm (local and US-based) is eligible to submit a proposal in response to this

RFP. Please advise in case there are any specific requirements for US-based firms.

There are no specific requirements for US based firms that are not listed in OFAC (the Office of

Foreign Assets Control) of the US Department of the Treasury administers and enforces economic and sanctions based on the US foreign policy and national security goals.

Question # 6

B.2 Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) Ceiling and Terms (page 7). The BPA indicates an overall ceiling amount not to exceed $1.3 million. Is this the target budget amount for each provider over the five years?

This is the estimated ceiling of the BPA which means the combined value of all orders placed over the 5 years.

Question # 7

B.4 Cost/Price Information (page 7)

The BPA states that the hourly/daily rate of the contractor shall not exceed those outlined in the rate schedule below, however the table provided is blank. Will the rates be provided by

USAID? Or does the company need to provide their established rates in the proposal?

The blank table is for organizations to fill-in. The rates will not be provided by USAID. Please propose your rates in the budget proposal submission.

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Question # 8

B.5 Budget and Budget Narratives (Page 8)

The BPA states that the detailed budget must contain the stipulated budget categories and information for salaries and fringe. If the company is set up as a group of consultants with billing based on daily rates is the recommendation to still include a salaried amount or can the submission be based on daily rates alone?

The submission should be based on daily rates.

Question # 9

B.5 Budget and Budget Narratives (Page 8)

The document says that the Offeror must propose service delivery costs that it believes are realistic and reasonable for the services described in each component. Then the following detail is requested:

Travel and Transportation – Provide details to explain the purpose of the trips, the number of trips, the origin and destination, the number of individuals traveling, and the duration of the trips.

As the work will be based on Calls under Funded Orders, how would you like this to be presented – should there be a scale of rates linked to work in Lilongwe and the estimated costs per district, or can you provide and estimated number of trips that USAID estimates for the proposals?

The offeror will have to include as many details as it can including but not limited to:

number of days on each assignment, number of people to be involved, daily rate for staff and, in addition, any overhead cost that it will anticipate to recover.

The budget line requirements provide for what at a minimum needs to be clearly identified in the budget under B.5 as follows:

• Salaries and Allowances

• Fringe Benefits

• Travel and Transportation

• Procurement or Rental of Goods (Equipment & Supplies), Services, and Real Property

• Subawards (if any)

Question # 10

B.5 Budget and Budget Narratives subsection Summary Budget (Page 9)

The BPA states that there is a Summary Budget Template in Section H, Annex 1. This did not seem to be included in the application. Can this be provided?

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The Summary Budget Template:

LEVEL OF

STAFF

CHARGE PER

HOUR

ESTIMATED # OF

HOURS

TOTAL COST

MWK

TOTAL COST

IN $

Assistant Manager

Manager

Associate Director

Partner

Admin Cost

Transport

Lodging

M & IE

Out of Town

Utilities

Total

Question # 11

Section C – Under Objectives (Page 11)

The BPA states that organizations providing services to an IP under Components 6,7,8 and 9, will not be selected to provide services to that IP under Components 1,2,3,4 and 5.

Can you confirm if this means that the cluster of services cannot be provided for the same organization by the same Offeror, or if an Offeror can only apply to provide for one set of services?

OFM confirms that the cluster of services cannot be provided for the same organization by the same offeror to avoid potential conflict of interest. Please also see the answers to Questions #1

And #2 for a different way to phrase the answer.

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Question # 12

Section C – Under Objectives – Component 4 (Page 13)

Component 4 covers Financial Audits or Reviews. Can we apply to do Reviews, but not

Audits? For example, we are not certified auditors so cannot provide auditing services.

However, we can provide Financial Review assistance in order to prepare the IP for the audit.

Yes, you can.

Question # 13

Is there an incumbent? If there is an incumbent, what is the previous contract number and Total

Contract Value of the previous contract?

There is no incumbent, this is a new requirement.

Question # 14

Page 1 and Page 7 - The BPA Cover Letter states that the BPA will not exceed $11.3M over a period of 5 years and page 7 states $1.3M. Which number is the correct one?

The correct number is $1.3M as stated in Section b.2 (page 7 of the solicitation). Apologies for the typo.

Question # 15 - OAA Question

Page 1 - The BPA mentions the geographic code to be 937. Can the firm partner with local CPA firms, or other countries outside of Africa? Please advise.

2 CFR 228 defines geographic code 937 as the United States, the cooperating/recipient country

(in this case Malawi), and developing countries other than advanced developing countries, and excluding prohibited sources. So depending on the firm partner’s organization, if it is eligible under 937, they can partner with a local partner that is not excluded. The organizations in the relationship must be eligible according to the geographic code definition.

Question # 16

Page 24 - Does the BPA manager have to be based in the same time zone as Malawi?

No, this is not required as long as the BPA manager can be easily reached and contacted.

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Question # 17

What percentage of the work is expected to be outside of the capital?

Not more than 40% of the work is planned/estimated to be outside Lilongwe.

Question # 18

Page 51, section (8) (d) - For how many days should proposals in response to this solicitation be valid?

The validity of proposals is 120 calendar days.

Question # 19

L.4 Proposal Instructions

Can USAID please confirm if there is a preferred font/size for the body and for tables?

The technical proposal must be written 12-point Times New Roman font including tables, charts, etc.

Question # 20

L.6 Technical Proposals

Can the government please provide a PPR template per the Past Performance Narrative section?

The past performance information must be consistent with the requirements stated in Section L.6

Technical proposals; narrative on past performance (p.56)

The following template can be used.

PAST PERFORMANCE TEMPLATE

# CLIENT/ORGANISATION DESCRIPTION

OF WORK

DONE

CONTRACT

VALUE

YEAR

WORK

DONE

CONTACT

PERSON

POSITION

OF

CONTACT

EMAIL

DETAILS

PHONE

NUMBER

Question # 21

L.7 COST / PRICE PROPOSALS

Proposed Contract Pricing Table by Year and Service Component. Can USAID please confirm if the ceiling for all components budget should add up to $11.3M?

USAID RESPONSE

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As stated in the Section B.2 the combined value of all orders placed is not expected to exceed

$1.3M over the 5-year period. Apologies for typo on the cover page.

Question # 22

Proposed Contract Pricing Table by Year and Service Component. Can USAID provide parameters for activities such as number of tasks and days required to ensure pricing is comparable by offeror?

USAID RESPONSE

The offeror is required to estimate the number of tasks and days per component.

[END OF AMENDMENT 01]