72061720Q00012-002 Notice to bidders.pdf

(x)

72061720Q00012 x x

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 electronic communication which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BE

RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY 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 letter or electronic communication, provided each letter or electronic communication makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

x

N/A

Not Applicable

720617

00000 USAID/Uganda

07/22/20200002

13. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO MODIFICATION OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS. IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA (If required) is not extended.is extended, Items 8 and 15, and returning

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: (a) By completing

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

FACILITY CODE CODE

10B. DATED (SEE ITEM 13)

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NO.

9B. DATED (SEE ITEM 11)

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NO.

CODE

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR (No., street, county, State and ZIP Code)

7. ADMINISTERED BY (If other than Item 6)CODE 6. ISSUED BY

PAGE OF PAGES

4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NO.3. EFFECTIVE DATE2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NO. 5. PROJECT NO. (If applicable)

1. CONTRACT ID CODE

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

07/01/2020

CHECK ONE A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE CONTRACT

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES (such as changes in paying office, C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER (Specify type of modification and authority) appropriation data, etc.) SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

E. IMPORTANT: Contractor is not is required to sign this document and return __________________ copies to the issuing office.

ORDER NO. IN ITEM 10A.

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION (Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

THE PURPOSE OF THIS AMENDMENT NUMBER TWO IS TO POST RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS RECIEVED AS WELL

POST A REVISED RFQ.

ALL OTHER RFQ TERMS AND CONDITIONS REMAIN THE SAME.

SEE CONTINUATION PAGES FOR DETAILS.

16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (Type or print)15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER (Type or print)

15C. DATE SIGNED 16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR 16C. DATE SIGNED

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

Admir Serifovic

STANDARD FORM 30 (REV. 11/2016)

Prescribed by GSA FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

Previous edition unusable

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9 A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect .

(Jesse Gutierrez signed for Mr. Serifovic)

Request for Quotations (RFQ) No.72061720Q00012 Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA)for Financial Support Services to Improve Program Accountability and Oversight Question and Answer

1. Are partnerships/subcontracting opportunities between local and international firms allowed under this solicitation?

USAID Response: Yes. While subcontracting is not envisaged, partnerships/subcontracting opportunities between local and international firms are allowed. Offerors should also take into consideration the special provision C.11.11: ADS 302.3.5.17 Limitation on Subcontracting to Non-Local Entities (May 2012).

2. Am wondering if its permissible for a Ugandan firm to partner with or subcontract with an international firm for some aspects of work on this BPA?

USAID Response: Yes. Also see response to Question 1.

3. Can USAID provide clarification on what it means that subcontracts are not envisaged (Section B.7(e))?

USAID Response: While direct engagement with local entities is proved to be more cost effective based on the current BPA for similar services, the individual scope of work at BPA Call level are of a small magnitude and have historically cost on average between $30,000 to $50,000. With the subcontracts, this would impact the BPA Holder’s competitiveness at BPA Call level.

As part of USAID/Uganda to self-reliance, local capacity has to be developed in order to ensure the need to end foreign aid. As a follow-on Activity, USAID/Uganda has determined capacity gaps and direct engagement with Contractors will ensure that the firms’ capacities are built as well as ensure that we retain Ugandans who are capable of carrying out various assessments. With this background subcontracts are not envisaged, however subcontracts are allowed.

4. Given that the Section B.7 (e) of the RFQ states that subcontracts are not envisaged, are subcontractors allowed?

USAID Response: Yes. See response to Question 1.

5. Given that the Section B.7 (e) of the RFQ states that subcontracts are not envisaged, how would inclusion of a subcontractor affect evaluation?

USAID Response: USAID will evaluate the proposal per Section E.7 of the RFQ and intends to award any resulting BPA(s) based on best value to the U.S. Government.

6. What are the evaluation implications if a Contractor has significant expertise in financial related matters such as reviews, assessments and audits with limited expertise in third party monitoring and capacity building (Section B.10(c))?

USAID Response: USAID will evaluate the proposal per Section E.7 of the RFQ for the BPA. Potential Offerors should not be dissuaded from submitting a proposal if they are able to meet the requirements of the RFQ.

7. Noting that a subcontractor should complete the "Representations, Certifications, and Other Statements of Offerors,” are there any other elements of the Cost Proposal that should be submitted for subcontractors?

USAID Response: See revisions through the RFQ that address requirements for subcontractors.

8. Under what scenarios would the “Policies and Procedures” be requested for submission?

USAID Response: When the Contracting Officer does not have sufficient to make a determination regarding responsibility then policies and procedures will be requested from the Offeror.

9. While we note that travel is assumed to be local, will international travel be allowed under the BPA call orders?

USAID Response: International Travel is an allowable cost. If required under the BPA Call Order. As mentioned in the RFQ, the Government assumes all travel is local since market research determined that local firms exist who can carry out the proposed assessment within the scope of work.

10. Attachment D3 says that the Engagement Junior Associate is a newly recruited university graduate, but there are 3 levels for this position on the Daily Rates Table. Given that the requirements for the 3 levels do not match this position, please confirm that there should not be any levels for the Engagement Junior Associate.

USAID Response: Attachment D.3 presents labor category levels and minimum qualifications. While the minimum qualification for an Engagement Junior Associate aligns with Level III, nothing precludes an offeror from proposing Engagement Junior Associates who meet Level II or III criteria. Therefore, other levels are possible for Engagement Junior Associates and it is not mandatory to have salaries for the higher level positions for the Engagement Junior Associates.

See changes in RFQ Section E.8 Part 2.

11. On page 14 of the RFP, USAID references the need for the contractor to have capacity for “electronic data collection in order to better ensure the transparency of data collection; to create the ability to collect new types of data (GIS, media, including photographs, video, and audio); and to increase the quality and efficiency of: (i) transferring collected data back to a central manager for data analysis; (ii) identifying data anomalies; and (iii) aggregating and sorting data from multiple partners and projects.” Can USAID verify that the collection and analysis of this data is for validation purposes only, and not for the purpose of supporting Implementing Partners with collection and reporting of data to USAID.

USAID Response: USAID confirms that Collection and analysis of this data is for validation purposes only as part of the Third-Party Monitoring exercise. It is not collecting data that will then be supporting the Implementing Partners’ collection and reporting of data to USAID.

12. Section E7.1 (6) states that offerors whose Phase I: Case Study is evaluated at least satisfactorily will be invited to participate in Phase II. Please clarify if only the cover page and response to the case study (attachment D1) are to be submitted by the closing date, 7 August 2020?

USAID Response: Yes, as mentioned in Section E.7.1.6 Phase 1: Case Study of the

RFQ.

13. Section E7.2.1 Phase 1 Case study: Page 56 paragraph 1 states that USAID intends to enter a 5 year Cooperative Agreement with ABC Associates to implement the Health Financing Activity. However, the note below the case study budget requires the offeror to assume that the activity is in year 2. There appears to be a contradiction. Please clarify at what stage the ABC Associates Health Financing Activity is at.

USAID Response: This has been revised to read …. “USAID entered a 5 year Cooperative Agreement with ABC Associates…” See RFQ for changes made.

14. Section E7.2.1 Phase 1 Case study: Page 60 instructs the offeror to use the business model, create a flowchart that diagrams the implementation process and identify the potential risks and controls in this activity using the template provided as attachment D1.

Attachment D1 makes no reference to or mention of the flow chart. Please clarify whether the flow chart is to be included as part of the response to the case study and in which section of the response it should be included.

USAID Response: Yes. Offerors must use the business model to create a flowchart of the business model. They must then use the flowchart to identify potential risks and controls and capacity development gaps, following the template in Attachment D1.

15. Attachment D1, Response to case study, Section 3: Is the offeror required to indicate the individual names of the proposed personnel?

USAID Response: No; the offeror is required to clearly describe the roles and responsibilities for the proposed personnel. Please see Attachment D.1 for full instructions.

16. Would you share the local compensation plan for USAID, or is it supposed to be publically available?

USAID Response: The Local Compensation plan has been attached to the RFQ as Attachment 6.

17. Section E7.1 Phase 1 Case study item (b): Indicates that Offerors must adhere to the page limitations stated in the template provided in attachment D1. Attachment D1 indicates the page limitations as follows:

Section 1: Executive summary – 2 pages Section 2: Risk register and capacity development plan (10 risks) – no page limit Section 3: Proposed staffing pattern – 2 pages

USAID Response: Section 2 requires a tabular form submission as per the template that could end up as portrait or landscape. The limitation in this Section 2 of the Case Study is 10 risks. It is up to the Offeror to provide up to 10 risks in a succinct way.

18. Would you please send us the Pre Bidders conference presentation after the meeting?

USAID Response: Yes the presentation was shared as part of Amendment One on Beta.sam.gov on 7/15/2020.

19. Given the issues coming up during this presentation and to synchronize with the solicitation document would you consider extending the questions submission time to 16th July (4:00pm)

USAID Response: The Questions deadline was extended to July 17, 2020 at 12Noon (Uganda time).

20. Does it mean we are only required to submit the case study (phase 1) response on 7th August and then submit phase 2 requirements after we are successful on phase 1.

USAID Response: Yes, See response to Question 12.

21. Is the case study going to be the same for all firms?

USAID Response: Yes

22. Can one submit a proposal even when SAM registration is not complete?

USAID Response: Yes, see RFQ Page 2. In the event that the submission deadline is due before registration is complete, Offerors should proceed with the submission of their quotations. USAID will not award a BPA to an Offeror unless the Offeror has complied with all applicable unique entity identifier and System for Award Management (SAM) requirements. The registration process may take many weeks to complete. Therefore, Offerors are encouraged to begin registration early in the process.

23. How will COVID-19 Pandemic impact the implementation of some assessments planned under this BPA?

USAID Response: Offerors will be expected to conduct assessments virtually, utilizing technologies that will facilitate the completion of the BPA Call Order.

24. I have a question about the Combined Synopsis/Solicitation posted under solicitation number 72061720Q00012. I am hoping to find out if there is an incumbent contractor currently performing these services, if similar services have been performed in the past, or if this is a new requirement. If this is a follow-on requirement, could you please provide the previous contract or task order number?

USAID Response: This is a follow-on requirement to an existing BPA. Visit the Business Forecast to see the incumbent BPA holders.

[END OF AMENDMENT TWO]