J.4_Consolidated_Q&A.pdf

RFP # 72061518R00005 USAID/Kenya and East Africa Feed the Future Zone of Influence Survey Questions and Answers – Round 1

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS # 72061518R00005, AMENDMENT 1

FEED THE FUTURE ZONE OF INFLUENCE SURVEY

SOLICITATION QUESTIONS AND RESPONSES – ROUND 1

Dear Offerors, We thank you for submitting questions in response to the referenced Request for Proposals (RFP). We are providing our responses to the questions as follows. The responses to the questions are in blue font immediately following each question.

A revised RFP incorporating some of the changes resulting from responses to questions is posted along with this document. Changes will be highlighted for ease of reference.

Note that this is the first round of questions, and Offerors have a second opportunity to ask questions, and may ask follow up questions to those below as well.

Questions and Answers

1) Does the Combined Synopsis/Solicitation posted as solicitation number 72061518R00005 on FBO contain requirements similar to [an] existing contract or will this be a new requirement?

If possible, please provide the current contract number.

This will be a new requirement.

2) P. 9 – C.3.1 Indicators to be Reported: Will the Mission provide the offeror with the raw dataset from the Phase 1 Baseline ZOI Survey in Kenya for WEAI calculations? Or, will the offeror receive the re-calculated estimates for A-WEAI that can reported in the EL/BL ZOI Survey Report?

The offeror will receive the raw data set.

3) P. 14 – Section C.3.4 Survey Calendar: The RFP states that the Kenya EL/BL survey processes should take approximately 18 to 20 months. That same paragraph provides a time period of September 2018 to September 2019. Section F lists deliverables lasting 20 months.

a. Can USAID clarify the period of performance for this procurement? USAID would like the work completed as soon as possible, but the maximum period of performance is 20 months.

b. Under F.2 the performance period specified starts on October 1, 2018; however, elsewhere it is stated as September 2018. Can USAID confirm the anticipated start date? As soon as possible.

4) P. 22 – Section C.4.5 Fieldwork: Under ‘Data Transmission and Management’, it states that, “Data transmission shall be accompanied by a report describing the data being transmitted”. Could you please clarify what USAID expects the contents of the data transmission report would be?

Details of the report are not yet available and be shall be discussed with the contractor when award is made.

5) Section C.5 lists the Senior Researcher position among those recommended as central office staff

(Table 5), and lists the Survey Director in Table 6 as a recommended field-based staff position.

However, Section F.6, Key Personnel (pp. 33-35), lists the Deputy Chief of Party/Senior Researcher/Survey Director as a single position.

a. Can USAID confirm whether offerors may propose a Senior Researcher in addition to a Survey

Director, or are these roles required to be combined?

Offeror is free to combine or keep separate the positions, what is important is to ensure adequate oversight and checks of the survey and delivery of quality product.

b. If the Senior Researcher can be a separate position, do both the Senior Researcher and the Survey Director need to know Kiswahili? Is it preferred that both the positions be Kenyans?

Offeror is free to combine or keep separate the positions, what is important is to ensure adequate oversight and checks of the survey and delivery of quality product.

Yes, the person serving as the survey director should be fluent in Kiswahili.

c. If these roles are combined, can USAID confirm whether the role is recommended as central office or field-based staff?

Offeror is free to combine or keep separate the positions. Offeror may consider efficiency and quality in delivery of final product.

6) P. 32/35 – Section F.6 Key Personnel: Since data processing and data analysis are very distinct areas of expertise, can offerors propose two separate roles, Data Processing Manager and Data Analyst, to better allow for the specialized skills required for each of these roles?

Yes

7) P. 82, Section L9: The RFP states that “the technical proposal should be organized by the technical evaluation criteria listed in Section M.” However, p. 83 specifies a required outline for the technical proposal that is slightly different from the sections in Section M. Can USAID clarify whether offerors should follow this outline or match the evaluation criteria?

Please follow the headings in Section L.9. This has been reflected in the amended version of the solicitation.

8) P. 82, Section L9, item a: The RFP says that the 20-page limitation “includes all required documents for the technical proposal, except where specifically noted.”

a. Can USAID confirm whether the required Table of Contents is included in the 20-page limitation? The table of contents is not included in the page limitation.

b. Can USAID confirm whether the Acronym List is included in the 20-page limitation? The acronym list is not included in the page limitation.

9) P. 83, L9, item b includes a section 8 for the Past Performance as well as an Annex (9a) for Past

Performance Information. The detailed instructions on pp. 84-85 only refer to the Past Performance as one of the annexes.

a. Can USAID confirm that Past Performance information should only be included as an annex and is therefore excluded from the 20-page limit?

b. If this is not correct, can USAID clarify what information should be presented in the technical proposal and what should be included in the annex?

Please note that these are two different requirements. The technical proposal must provide detailed information on Past Experience, and the Annex must provide detailed information on Past Performance. Page 84 makes this distinction.

10) Under C.4.3 it’s mentioned that training manual templates are available. However, when following the link the templates are not there. Would it be possible to provide these templates so the contractor can gauge the level-of effort needed to update and finalize the manuals.

The training manual is still under development, and should be made available soon; however, please refer to the Gantt chart: timeline and deliverables, the list of indicators and the questionnaire to estimate level of effort.

11) Under C.4.4 it is mentioned that the listing team will be comprised of an experienced field supervisor, a lister, and a cartographer. In our experience, a larger team with at least 2 to 3 listers as well as the supervisor and cartographer will increase the quality of the listing as well as reduce the overall listing timeframe. In addition, listers often transition into enumerators and supervisors who have more experience with the survey. Is USAID open to the contractor suggestion different team compositions for the listing exercise?

The RFP provided the recommended composition. Offerors are free to propose the approach they feel will best address the requirements.

12) On pg. 87 it is mentioned that labor cost for TCNs and CCNs must not exceed the thresholds in the US Embassy’s local employee compensation plan (LCP).Can you make available a local compensation plan for TCNs and CCNs in Kenya?

The local compensation plan is considered sensitive but unclassified information, so while we cannot share it, we will provide you with the range of salaries in the latest Kenya LCP as follows:

Lowest FSN-3: KES 787,218 per year (base salary) Highest FSN-13: KES 12,809,600 per year (base salary)

13) Since it is unknown how many EAs the KNSB may have complete listing information on, should the contractor assume needing to complete a listing in every EA for budgeting purposes? Without this assumption, different proposals may have radically different budgets that do not reflect equivalent work.

KNBS Listing is dated; offerors are expected to undertake a fresh listing based on the Household Listing manual.

14) Can contractors assume that the overall budget for the proposal is within the range indicated on the USAID Q3 forecast ($4-10 million)?

Please do not assume this. We request that Offerors propose their best price for the work.

15) The RFP mentions availability of a CSPro data entry program for the core questionnaire. (See p. 17 of the RFP, which states: “A core CSPro data entry program that corresponds to the core ZOI survey questionnaire has been developed, tested, and made available for Contractor use, as has a core ZOI Survey codebook.9”) However, as of 28 June 2018, the CSPro data entry program is not yet available on the link provided (https://www.agrilinks.org/post/feed-future-zoi-survey-methods). Can USAID please clarify when this CSPro data entry template program will be available?

CSPro data entry program still under development but should be available before the award is made. USAID does not feel that this program is necessary when preparing proposals. CSPro will be used for data entry at the time of implementation, and therefore should not affect the content of proposals. The PBS questionnaire is available on the Agrilinks website, and this should be sufficient.

16) The RFP mentions availability of a template ZOI Survey codebook for the core questionnaire. (See p.

17 of the RFP, which states: “A core CSPro data entry program that corresponds to the core ZOI survey questionnaire has been developed, tested, and made available for Contractor use, as has a core ZOI Survey codebook.9”) However, as of 28 June 2018, the template ZOI Survey codebook is not yet available on the link provided (https://www.agrilinks.org/post/feed-future-zoi-survey-methods). Can USAID please clarify when this template codebook will be available?

ZOI Survey codebook is still under development but should be available before the award is made.

USAID does not feel that this document is necessary when preparing proposals. The codebook will be used along with the PBS questionnaire at the time of implementation, and therefore should not affect the content of proposals. The PBS questionnaire is available on the Agrilinks website, and this should be sufficient.

17) The RFP mentions availability of templates for field check tables (see p. 22: “Templates for field check tables are available here.11”), but, as of 28 June 2018, those are not yet available on the link provided (https://www.agrilinks.org/post/feed-future-zoi-survey-methods). Can USAID please clarify when these template field check tables will be available?

Templates for filed check tables are still under development but should be available before the award is made. USAID does not feel that the templates for the filed check tables are necessary when preparing proposals. The templates will be used along with the PBS questionnaire at the time of implementation, and therefore should not affect the content of proposals. The PBS questionnaire is available on the Agrilinks website, and this should be sufficient.

https://www.agrilinks.org/post/feed-future-zoi-survey-methods https://www.agrilinks.org/post/feed-future-zoi-survey-methods https://www.agrilinks.org/post/feed-future-zoi-survey-methods

18) The RFP states on p. 23 that, “The Contractor shall prepare the 2018 Kenya ZOI Survey Report following the Country Report template, the Guide to Feed the Future Statistics, and the Data Treatment and Analysis Plan for Kenya-specific indicators.12” However, none of these resources are yet available on the link provided, including the report template, the Guide to FTF Statistics, and the Data Treatment and Analysis Plan. Can USAID specify when these references will be made available?

These templates are still under development but should be available before the award is made.

USAID does not feel that these resources are necessary for proposal preparation, as they will be used during implementation of award.

19) P. 16 of the RFP mentions training material templates. These are not yet available on the Agrilinks website (https://www.agrilinks.org/post/feed-future-zoi-survey-methods), specifically the training manual(s) and quizzes (although the template training schedule and sign in sheet are available). Can USAID please clarify when the template training materials will be available?

These templates are still under development but should be available before the award is made.

USAID does not feel that these resources are necessary for proposal preparation, as they will be used during implementation of award.

20) The “take all” sampling approach (3rd stage of the multi-stage approach) on p. 13 mentions various sub-groups within the sample of n=6031 HHs, including all children < 6, all children < 3, all women 15-49, and “all producers of key commodities for application of improved practices and yield indicators”. Nothing is mentioned of men as respondents for WEAI (nor of women for WEAI). Can you please clarify the sub-groups of respondents to be interviewed within the sampled HHs?

Please refer to the Indicator handbook for additional information on this indicator, which is available on the Agrilinks website.

21) On p. 16 the RFP states: “The Contractor shall have all survey documentation [emphasis added], including the questionnaire, informed consent form, manuals, and training materials, translated into Kiswahili”. What is meant by “all survey documentation”? Please clarify if the manuals (e.g., HH listing, interviewer’s, supervisor’s manuals, etc.) and training materials must be translated into Kiswahili.

The questionnaire and informed consent form shall be translated to Kiswahili. Manuals and training materials may be translated to Kiswahili at the discretion of the Contractor. The Contractor must however ensure that all enumerators are trained in the languages they will use to administer the questionnaire.

22) Should we assume – for budgeting purposes – that KNBS has everything necessary for the household listing such that teams are not required to go into the field to complete/update the listing, or should we budget for conducting the household listing through fieldwork?

Listing manual.

23) The map presented under C.3.2 on p. 12 has a legend showing both solid green and hash marked green as being “HR1 and SA2 counties\phase 1 and phase 2”. Should this be only hash marked green?

The hash shows those that are only phase 1 and drop in phase 2.

24) 10. P. 14 of section C.3.4 states in the first paragraph that, “The pre-fieldwork tasks are estimated to take approximately 3 months, and the fieldwork should take approximately 2 months”. However, the Gantt Chart in Annex 1 shows the fieldwork (data collection) occurring between the 9th and 13th month. Because the number of field teams/cars is determined by the duration of the data collection, please confirm if we are to budget to complete the data collection in 2 months (approx. 8 weeks), 3 months (approx. 12 weeks), or longer?

The Gantt chart is illustrative. We have revised this statement to read “The pre-fieldwork tasks are estimated to take approximately 6 months, and the fieldwork should take approximately 2/3 months. Data cleaning, analysis, and reporting should take up the remaining 4/6 months planned.”

25) P. 14 of section C.3.4 states in the first paragraph that, “Data cleaning, analysis, and reporting should take up the remaining 4 months planned”. However the Gantt Chart in Annex 1 shows these tasks being done between months 14 and 19, and therefore spanning six months. Can we plan to complete the data cleaning, analysis, and reporting in six months, as per the Gantt Chart, which is more reasonable given the volume of indicators and analysis for both phase 1 endline and phase 2 baseline?

The Gantt chart is illustrative. See response to question 24 above.

26) The Final Report template(s) is not yet available on the Agrilinks website referenced in the RFP. Does

USAID/Kenya envision two separate reports: one for the phase 1 endline and one for the phase 2 baseline?

This is an endline/baseline. Only one report shall be required, Final report - endline/baseline. The template shall be provided prior to completion of the survey.

27) Section F.6 (Key Personnel), indicates that there are three key positions, but the position title for the DCOP/Senior researcher (central office position) is combined with the Survey Director (Field-based position). Is the Survey Director also a key position? Is it for the Survey Director that Kiswahili fluency is required?

Offeror is free to combine or keep separate the positions, what is important is to ensure adequate oversight and checks of the survey and delivery of quality product. See response to question 5.

Yes, the person serving as the survey director should be fluent in Kiswahili.

28) Under the description of the Data Processing Manager/Data Analyst (p. 35) the list of qualifications starts with the text “The DCOP/Senior Researcher will have the following minimum set of qualifications:” Should this read “The Data Processing Manager/Data Analyst will have the following minimum set of qualifications:”?

Yes, it should, and this has been corrected.

29) The survey will require research approval, following a complete AMREF protocol (C.4.1). Shortly after contract signing, will USAID be able to provide a letter of support? This is required as part of the research approval request.

USAID shall support the contractor to obtain any clearances needs to complete the survey.

30) The RFP states on p. 17: "The contractor shall obtain a household listing from KNBS. In the event

KNBS does not provide a current household listing, the Contractor shall send listing teams to each cluster to conduct the household listing and do community sensitization." However, on p. 12 the RFP states: "In the first stage, the Contractor shall select enumeration areas (EAs) from a sampling frame composed of all EAs in the counties in the list provided (see Section 3.2 and Annex 4) using probability proportional to size (PPS)". There is potentially a very different scope of work involved regarding listing. Can USAID please clarify your listing operations expectations?

Listing manual provided.

31) Stage 1 on selection of EAs mentions using a systematic PPS design. Will KNBS provide the EA measure of size or will the contractor recommend one for KNBS approval?

While the contractor will undertake a fresh household listing, the contractor is encouraged to liaise with KNBS on enumeration areas and follow their recommendation.

32) USAID/Kenya determined that the sample size for the 2018 Kenya endline/baseline ZOI Survey should be 6031 households selected from 241 EAs. Is 6031 the expected responding households for Phase 1 and Phase 2? Does the sample size consider the expected number of completed interviews on children under 6 years, children under 3 years, and women aged 15-45 years needed for statistical evaluation?

Please refer to Annex 2: Calculation of the Sample Size for the 2018 Kenya ZOI Endline/Baseline Survey on how the sample size was calculated.

33) P. 91, Item #7 states: “7) Part 7 – SF LLL Disclosure of Lobbying Activities - The Offeror and its major subcontractors must provide SF LLL Disclosure of Lobbying Activities. See Attachment J.3.”

Attachment J.3 is the Contractor Employee Biographical Data Sheet, and the solicitation does not contain the SF LLL Disclosure of Lobbying Activities form. Please advise if said form is to be completed, and attach if so.

The form must be filled, and may be downloaded at this address: https://www2.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/appforms/sflll.doc.

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