Amendment 0001 - Changes to RFP and Answers to Questions.pdf.pdf

Date RFP Issued: March 18, 2022 Closing Date: May 16, 2022 (Revised) Closing Time: 17:00 (UTC + 3:00) Date Amendment No. 0001 Issued: April 13, 2022

Ref.: Request for Proposal (RFP)/Solicitation No. 72066322R00008 - Feed the Future Ethiopia Food and Agriculture System Transformation

Subject: Amendment 0001, Changes to the original RFP and Answers to Questions

Dear Prospective Offerors:

The United States Government (“USG”) represented by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID/Ethiopia) hereby amends the above-referenced RFP. The main purpose of Amendment 0001 is to make necessary changes to the Solicitation and provide answers to the questions submitted in response to the subject RFP. The changes specified immediately below include: (1) Changed Sections of the original RFP; and (2) Questions and Answers.

The RFP is amended as set forth below in Attachment No. 1. Questions and answers are included in Attachment No. 2.

In addition, the due date for submission of proposals is extended until May 16, 2022.

Thank you for your interest in this USAID initiative. We look forward to your organization's continued participation.

Sincerely, /S/

Alula Abera Contracting Officer

U.S. Agency for International Development Entoto Street Tel.: 251-111-306002 USA Address:

P.O.Box 1014 Fax: 251-111-242438 2030 Addis Ababa Place Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Website: http://ethiopia.usaid.gov/ Washington, DC 20521-2030 http://ethiopia.usaid.gov/

RFP/Solicitation No. 72066322R00008 Amendment No. 0001

Attachment No. 1 - Changes to the RFP

The Solicitation is hereby amended as set forth below:

1. RFP Cover letter, as amended (page 1): The proposal submission due date is extended from “May 2, 2022” to “May 16, 2022”.

2. SECTION B - SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICES/COSTS, B.4(b) (page 8):

DELETE and REPLACE with the following in lieu thereof:

The following itemized budget sets forth the estimates for individual line items of cost: No amounts in excess of the amounts specified for the individual line item shall be billed without a formal modification.

3. SECTION B - SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICES/COSTS, B.7 (page 10): ADD the following.

(i) Any unpaid fee resulting from the Contractor not achieving a certain result beyond its manageable control can be reallocated among other or new deliverables in the work plan for the current or upcoming year.

4. SECTION C - DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS/STATEMENT OF WORK (page 26): INSERT the following after Sub-Section C.8:

C.8.a Geographic Data Asset by Location The Activity Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Plan must consider indicator disaggregation by geographic location. When geographically disaggregated indicators are included, the MEL Plan must indicate the level of geographic detail at which the indicator data will be collected. Additionally, geographic indicator data must be collected and submitted in accordance with the geographic data collection and submissions standards outlined in Section F.7.15 below.

C.8.b Activity Location Data The Contractor must collect and submit Activity Location Data according to the following requirements and the geographic data collection and submission standards outlined in Section F below:

i. Location of Implementation The location(s) where the activity is implemented must be collected at the Populated Place (i.e., city or town latitude/longitude); Exact Site Location (e.g., Farmers’ Training Center (FTC) latitude/longitude); or Exact Line or Area Feature (e.g., an area of land or a Demonstration Site (DS)level.

ii. Location of Intended Beneficiaries The location of the activity’s intended beneficiaries must be collected at the Country Level (**Only if nationwide**), Region Level (**at a minimum if not

1|Page nationwide**), OR at a more granular level defined by the design team, e.g., Exact Site Location such as FTC or DS.

C.8.c Submission of Other Data Assets The submission of any other data assets created or obtained in performance of this award is required pursuant to Section H.15.

5. SECTION F - DELIVERIES OR PERFORMANCE, F.7.8 (page 38), 1st sentence:

DELETE and REPLACE with the following in lieu thereof:

If Grants Under Contract is proposed and approved, the Contractor must submit a draft grants manual for review within 90 days after the signature of the Contract.

6. SECTION F - DELIVERIES OR PERFORMANCE, F.6 (page 33): DELETE and Replace Row #7, and ADD Rows #14-16 into the “Table of Contract Deliverables”.

# Key Deliverables Frequency Reference Description/Timetable

7. Submission of Other Data Assets

On-going C.8.c F.7.15 H.15

Within thirty (30) calendar days after the Dataset is first used to produce an Intellectual Work or is of sufficient quality to produce an Intellectual Work.

14. Environmental Mitigation and Monitoring Plan

(EMMP)

Annually H.11.(b)(2) Th (EMMP shall describe how the Contractor will, in specific terms, address the potential adverse environmental impacts that apply to proposed activity interventions within the scope of the award. The EMMP will include a CRMP.

The EMMP Plan shall include monitoring the implementation of the conditions and their effectiveness. The completed EMMP shall be integrated into the initial work plan and into subsequent Annual Work Plans, making any necessary adjustments to activity implementation in order to minimize adverse impacts to the environment.

Subsequent years: first draft due annually August 16th, final version due September 15th.

15. Climate Risk Management Plan

(CRMP)

Annually H.11.(b)(2)

16. Activity Location data Quarterly C.8.b F.7.14

Location of Implementation and Location of Intended Beneficiaries

7. SECTION F - DELIVERIES OR PERFORMANCE, F.7 (page 39): INSERT the following after Sub-Section F.7.13:

F.7.14 Activity Location Data

Activity Location Data must be submitted to an Agency approved reporting tool or in a digital format according to the standards and procedures provided by USAID twice

2|Page annually as part of the 2nd Quarterly Performance Report and the Annual Report and according to the requirements in Section C.8.b and the standards outlined in Section F.7.15 below.

Activity Location Data must exclude personally identifiable information. If the Activity Location Data collected by the Recipient requires protection from unauthorized access to mitigate data risk, the Recipient must notify USAID before submitting the Activity Location Data to USAID and implement mitigation techniques to protect the data from unauthorized access in consultation with USAID.

F.7.15 Submission of Other Data Assets

Pursuant to Section H.15, unless otherwise directed by the Contracting Officer (CO) or the Contracting Officer Representative (COR), the Contractor must submit the Dataset and supporting documentation within thirty (30) calendar days after the Dataset is first used to produce an Intellectual Work or is of sufficient quality to produce an Intellectual Work. Within thirty (30) calendar days after award completion, the Contractor must submit to the DDL any Datasets and supporting documentation that have not previously been submitted to the DDL, along with an index of all Datasets and Intellectual Work created or obtained under the award. The Contractor must also provide to the COR an itemized list of any and all DDL submissions.

When data is acquired through data use or ownership agreements with the host-country government or other entity, the Contractor will use best efforts to ensure that the ownership agreement makes it permissible for the data to be submitted to, and used by, USAID and other U.S. Embassy agencies.

Geographic Data Asset Submission Standards In addition to collecting and submitting Activity Location Data and geographically disaggregated performance indicators (when included in the MEL Plan), all other geographic data assets must also be submitted to the Development Data Library and according to the requirements. For additional guidance, see ADS 579saa Geographic Data Collection and Submission Standards:

a. Geographic Data Files

i. Both primary and derived Geographic Data Files must be submitted.

ii. Geographic Data Files must be submitted in Shapefile (.shp), GeoTIFF (.tif), CSV (.csv), or GeoJSON (.geojson) file formats.

iii. In addition to fulfilling the submission requirements noted above, Geographic Data Files that are stored in other file formats that may be useful to end users can be voluntarily submitted in those file formats. For example, Geographic Data Files stored in a File Geodatabase (.gdb) or as a Web Map Service (WMS) can also be submitted.

iv. Geographic Data Files that are stored in Shapefile (.shp) or GeoTIFF (.tif) formats will include metadata that follows ISO 19115 using the ISO 19139 XML implementation schema.

3|Page https://www.usaid.gov/ads/policy/500/579saa https://www.usaid.gov/ads/policy/500/579saa

v. Geographic Data Files that are stored in a CSV or GeoJSON format and contain latitude/longitude coordinates will include supplementary information regarding the:

1) Method used to create the latitude/longitude coordinates;

2) Spatial reference used to generate the latitude/longitude coordinates; and

3) Geographical precision of the latitude/longitude coordinates using the

International Aid Transparency Initiative standards.1 For example, a latitude/longitude coordinate may represent an exact location, the center of a populated place, or the center of a subnational administrative unit.2 This information must be included in addition to the actual CSV dataset.

vi. Geographic Data Files that are stored in Shapefile (.shp), GeoTIFF (.tif), or GeoJSON (.geojson), JSON (.json) file formats will use the Geographic Coordinate System World Geodetic System 1984 (GCS WGS 1984) spatial reference. If the use of a different spatial reference was required for an analysis, the spatial reference that was used must be indicated elsewhere in the metadata.

b. Geographic Data Processing and Analysis Files

i. Geographic Data Processing and Analysis Files that are written in programming languages will include a description of the language they are written in (e.g., a Python file would be .py, a Javascript file would be .js, etc.), the intended purpose of the file, use limitations, and execution instructions.

ii. Geographic Data Processing and Analysis Files will include descriptive comments and relative pathnames to enable efficient and effective use by an end user.

iii. Geographic Data Processing and Analysis Files are stored in an online repository, such as GitHub, these files can also be submitted as a clone of the repository.

c. Geographic Data Visualization Files

i. Geographic Data Visualization Files created using desktop GIS software will be submitted in Esri Map Document (.mxd) or QGIS Project (.qgs) file formats.

ii. Geographic data visualization products that are finalized in separate desktop software or stored in a different file format can also be submitted if they may be of use to an end user. For example, when a data visualization product is stored as a Map Package or is finalized in Adobe Illustrator, the Map Package (.mpk), or Adobe Illustrator (.ai) file can be additionally submitted.

iii. Geographic Data Visualization Files written in a programming language and used to generate web-based data visualization products will include an indication of the programming language (for example, a Python file would be .py, a Javascript file would be .js, etc.)

2 See the definition of “Described” under the Open Data in section I. Definitions of OMB M-13-13:

https://project-open-data.cio.gov/policy-memo/#i-definitions

1 For example, see the International Aid Transparency Initiative Geographical Precision coding system:

http://iatistandard.org/201/codelists/GeographicalPrecision/

4|Page https://project-open-data.cio.gov/policy-memo/#i-definitions http://iatistandard.org/201/codelists/GeographicalPrecision/

iv. Geographic Data Visualization Files will reference relative pathnames to the source of all Geographic Data Files that are displayed in the data visualization product.

v. When products created with the Geographic Data Visualization Files are included in documents that are submitted to the USAID Development Experience Clearinghouse (DEC), such as a report that includes a map created with a Geographic Data Visualization File, the URL that links to the location of the document in the DEC must be provided.

8. SECTION H - SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS, H.5 (page 48), 1st Paragraph: DELETE and REPLACE with the following in lieu thereof:

“The Contractor's subcontracting plan dated [TBD] is hereby incorporated as a material part of this contract.”

9. SECTION H - SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS, H.19 (2)(b) Limitations (page 57): DELETE in its entirety and REPLACE with the following in lieu thereof:

(1) Salary ranges for ALL the professional positions in this Contract will be established based on the market value and the duties and responsibilities of the position. The established range must be realistic and reasonable for the responsibilities of each position and must not be based on the salary history or the qualifications of the candidate selected.

The salary ranges must be certified by the Contractor and submitted to the Contracting Officer within 90 days after award. Upon establishment of the salary ranges of the professional positions, an appropriate candidate must be selected based on the Contractor’s established policy and practices and the qualifications sought for that position. In addition, the salary ranges may not exceed the Contractor's established pay scale for equivalent classifications of employees.The Contractor must avoid “rank in person” salaries, which are in excess of the value and the responsibilities of the position.

Creation of new Administrative nonprofessional positions does not require USAID input.

(2) Per USAID Automated Directives System (ADS) Chapter 302 USAID Direct Contracting, and as prescribed in 731.205-6(b) or 731.371(b), as applicable, there is a ceiling on the reimbursable base salary plus oversees recruitment incentive paid to personnel under the contract.

(3) As prescribed in 722.170(b), all Cooperating Country Nationals (CCNs) and Third Country Nationals (TCNs) salaries must not exceed the Local compensation Plan (LCP).

Approval of the budget of the contract does not absolve the Contractor’s duty to request and receive Mission Director’s approval prior to hiring CCN and TCN personnel whose salaries are above the LCP.

10. SECTION H - SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS, H.19(2)(e) Annual Salary Increases (page 58): DELETE the paragraph in its entirety and REPLACE with the following in lieu thereof:

5|Page https://www.acquisition.gov/aidar/part-731-contract-cost-principles-and-procedures#Section_731_205_6_T48_501524211 https://www.acquisition.gov/aidar/part-731-contract-cost-principles-and-procedures#Section_731_371_T48_501524312 https://www.acquisition.gov/aidar/part-722-application-labor-laws-government-acquisition#Section_722_170_T48_501417116

Annual salary increases, including merit or promotional increases, can be made in accordance with the Contractor’s policies and practices, applicable cost principles and the following restrictions:

(1) Over the performance period, the maximum salary may not exceed (i) The maximum end of the salary range certified by the Contractor unless the candidate is promoted and takes on higher responsibilities; or (ii) The Contractor Salary Threshold contained in ADS 302 USAID Direct Contracting, whichever is less., and

(2) Annual salary increases of any kind exceeding these limitations may be granted only with the advance written approval of the Contracting Officer.

11. SECTION H - SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS, H.19(f) (page 58):

DELETE and REPLACE with the following in lieu thereof:

For Short-Term Technical Assistance (Consultants), the Contractor must submit a Pay Scale to the Contracting Officer within 90 days after award, which will include the level of expertise (e.g., Junior, Mid-Level, Senior), along with the responsibilities and the qualifications sought for each level. Consultant compensation must be within the pay scale specified and must not, without approval of the contracting officer, exceed the maximum daily salary rate as described in ADS 302.

12. SECTION H - SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS, H.20(b) (page 59):

DELETE and REPLACE with the following in lieu thereof:

In accordance with ADS 302 and ADS 303, the total value of an individual grant to a U.S.

NGO must not exceed the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT), as defined in FAR

2.101. This limitation to the SAT does not apply to grant awards to non-U.S. NGOs.

13. SECTION H - SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS, H.20(n) (page 60):

DELETE and REPLACE with the following in lieu thereof:

The Contractor will act as custodian for USAID and will preserve all records with respect to its grant-making (including with respect to the deliberations of all Review Panels) and grant administration. USAID and the Comptroller General must have full access to all documents, papers and other records relating to the Grants under Contracts program.

14. SECTION H - SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS, H.20(v) (page 61), 1st sentence: DELETE and REPLACE with the following in lieu thereof:

No cash GuCs will be provided to government entities.

15. SECTION L - INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS,

AND NOTICES TO OFFERORS, L.12.II.3 (page 125), 1st paragraph (Personnel), last sentence: DELETE and REPLACE with the following in lieu thereof:

6|Page https://www.acquisition.gov/far/part-2 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/part-2

USAID Form 1420-17, Contractor Employee Biographical Data Sheet, biographical information is required for all individuals to be sent outside the United States in the performance of the contract.

16. SECTION L - INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS,

AND NOTICES TO OFFERORS, L.12.II.7, page 128, 1st paragraph, last sentence:

DELETE and REPLACE with the following in lieu thereof:

In addition, USAID Form 1420-17, Contractor Employee Biographical Data Sheet, biographical information is required for individuals identified for key personnel positions.

EXCEPT AS SPECIFICALLY AMENDED HEREIN, ALL TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF

RFP/SOLICITATION NO. 72066322R00008 REMAIN UNCHANGED AND IN FULL FORCE

AND EFFECT.

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Attachment No. 2 - Questions and Answers

I. GENERAL

1. I am interested in applying for the contract opportunity for the Feed the Future Ethiopia Food and Agriculture System Transformation (FAST) program. Please let me know what application to complete and what I need to do.

USAID|Ethiopia Response: Please follow the instructions, conditions, and notices provided in Section L (pages 109-133) of the RFP.

2. Are PIOs eligible to apply?

USAID|Ethiopia Response: Yes. Please see the Cover Page (page 1), paragraph 3, of the

RFP.

3. Is there a limit to the number of proposals an organization may submit or be a partner on?

USAID|Ethiopia Response: We read two separate questions here.

We will not accept multiple proposals from the same organization acting as a Prime Offeror. We expect each organization to submit its best offer.

However, the Government will not object to an organization submitting a proposal as a Prime Offeror and the same organization being listed as a Subcontractor under a different Prime Offeror’s proposal.

4. Does USAID have a preference of an exchange rate that offerors use, or would a weighted foreign exchange rate suffice? Is there a particular USD-Ethiopia Birr exchange rate that USAID would prefer offerors use in their budgets?

USAID|Ethiopia Response: USAID has no preference of an exchange rate that Offerors use.

5. Can USAID provide the anticipated start date of the contract?

USAID|Ethiopia Response: USAID anticipates December 1, 2022 as the start date of the resultant contract.

6. Should Offeror’s budget for VAT or will USAID be providing a protocol for refunds or exemptions?

USAID|Ethiopia Response: USAID will provide a VAT protocol for refunds and exemptions.

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II. COVER LETTER

7. Page 1, Cover Letter, Closing Date for Submission of Proposals, states: “May 2, 2022, 17:00 (UTC +3:00).” During this period, the Orthodox Easter holiday schedule of Good Friday, April 22nd and Easter Sunday on April 24 th will occur, which will affect local support and inputs during a critical time in the proposal development process of a complex proposed program.

Question: The offer respectfully requests an extension of the submission deadline by two

(2) weeks.

USAID|Ethiopia Response: Please see the change of the submission deadline under Attachment 1.1 above.

III. SECTION B - SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICES/COSTS

8. Sub-Section B.4, page 8: Contract Budget and Line-Item Schedule, states “no amounts in excess of the amounts specified for each activity shall be billed against the Contract.”

● Would USAID please confirm that the “activities” referenced refers to the total costs proposed for the Line-Items included in the table immediately below, specifically Direct Costs, Grants Under Contracts, Indirect Costs, Total Estimated Cost, Fixed Fee, and Total Estimated Cost Plus Fixed Fee?

USAID|Ethiopia Response: Please see the change in the Solicitation language under Attachment 1.2 above.

9. Sub-Section B.4(b), page 8: Can USAID consider removing the requirement in which no amounts in excess of the amounts specified for each activity shall be billed against the contract? In accordance with FAR 16.306 Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee Contracts, under CPFF completion contracts, costs are an estimate and contractors are required to complete the work within the total estimated amount, not each budget line item.

USAID|Ethiopia Response:

(i) The Direct Costs elements like Personnel, Fringe Benefits, Allowances, etc., are not listed in the table to to maintain maximum flexibility in CONTRACT BUDGET AND LINE-ITEM SCHEDULE structure.

(ii) The budget estimate regarding the Grants under Contracts shall be proposed by the Offeror and approved by USAID as indicated in Sub-Section H.20 (page 59).

(iii) The budget estimate for Indirect Costs shall be based on the Negotiated Indirect Cost Agreement (NICRA).

(iv) Regarding Fixed Fee, “The Offeror must submit a draft Fee Distribution Schedule associated with technical and management results proposed in the draft MEL Plan. Once the final WP and MEL Plan are approved, the Contractor must submit a final Fee Distribution Schedule. The final Fee Distribution Schedule, and any subsequent changes, must be approved by the CO, and shall be incorporated as an

9|Page attachment to the contract award.”, as indicated in Sub-Section L.12.II.2.D (page 125).

Therefore, no amounts in excess of the amounts specified for the above major line items shall be billed against the contract without the consent of USAID and the execution of formal modifications instituting the changes in the budget structure.

10. Sub-Section B.4(b), page 8: Can USAID please include a plug figure anticipated for grants under contract?

USAID|Ethiopia Response: Sub-Section H.20, page 59, states “If proposed and approved, the Contractor is required to develop and execute a grants program on behalf of USAID/Ethiopia in accordance with the requirements for grants under contracts as provided in ADS 302 and ADS 303.” Therefore, the figures for GUCs are anticipated to be proposed by Offerors.

11. Sub-Section B.5, page 9: Indirect Costs, states “Indirect costs shall not be allowed for organizations that do not have a NICRA.” However, Page 127, Section L, Instructions to Offerors Instructions, Conditions, and Notices to Offerors, Sub-Section L.12, Instructions for the Preparation of the Cost Proposal, II.5, Indirect Costs, provides instructions for organizations without a NICRA to submit an offer without a NICRA. Further, Section L.12.XI Exemptions for Small Business Offerors Only states that small business offerors do not require a NICRA.

● Would USAID please clarify if organizations without a NICRA are eligible for consideration under this RFP?

USAID|Ethiopia Response: As stated in Sub-Section B.5, Indirect Costs to be included in the Offeror’s cost proposal require the establishment of a negotiated provisional or final indirect cost rate agreement (NICRA) on which the proposed indirect costs are based. In the absence of a negotiated provisional or final indirect cost rate agreement, organizations without a NICRA may submit an offer without a NICRA .

12. Sub-Section B.7, page 10: Payment of Fee, bullet (c), states “the final Fee Distribution Schedule, and any subsequent changes, must be approved by the Contracting Officer, and shall be incorporated as an attachment to the contract award.” Page 125, Section L, Instructions to Offerors Instructions, Conditions, and Notices to Offerors, Sub-Section L.12, Instructions for the Preparation of the Cost Proposal, II.2 Budget Line Item Headings, D, Fixed Fee, states “once the final WP and MEL Plan are approved, the Contractor must submit a final Fee Distribution Schedule. The final Fee Distribution Schedule, and any subsequent changes, must be approved by the CO, and shall be incorporated as an attachment to the contract award.”

● Would USAID please confirm that offerors are not required to submit a Fee

Distribution Schedule as part of their offer? Rather, that offerors should propose a fixed fee amount which will be converted into a Fee Distribution Schedule post-award?

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● Would USAID please confirm that the Fee Distribution Schedule will be resubmitted annually to align with the Work Plan and Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Plan?

USAID|Ethiopia Response:

● Offerors should propose a fixed fee amount which will be converted into a Fee Distribution Schedule (see Sub-Section L.12.II.2.D, page 125).

● The Fee Distribution Schedule will be resubmitted annually to align with the Work Plan and MEL Plan.

13. Sub-Section B.7, page 10: Payment of Fee, bullet (h) states, “When a Fee Bearing Milestone is not completed or achieved, the portion of the total fixed fee allocated to the Milestone in the Fee Distribution Plan will not be paid.” To ensure the fee under this contract remains fixed and is only adjusted as a result of changes in the work to be performed, we request the following sentence be added to Section B: “Any unpaid fee resulting from the Contractor not achieving a certain result beyond its manageable control can be reallocated among other or new deliverables in the work plan for the current or upcoming year.”

USAID|Ethiopia Response: It has been noticed that the section referenced in the question is found under bullet (g). Also, bullet (h) states, “When a Fee Bearing Milestone/Result is not completed on time or requires more cost/effort to complete than projected in the Work Plan and/or MEL Plan, the portion of the total fixed fee allocated to the Milestone/Result in the Fee Distribution Schedule may be subject to adjustment of the fee by the Contracting Officer.”

In order to address the situation beyond the manageable control of the Contractor, the additional sentence indicated in the question has been added as bullet (i) under Sub-Section B.7 as indicated in Attachment 1.3 above.

IV. SECTION C - DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS/STATEMENT OF WORK

14. Sub-Section C.6, page 20: Can USAID please confirm if it is expected for offerors to specify targets in the proposal for the 8 indicators that are listed in the Indicator section (C.6)?

USAID|Ethiopia Response: The … section states that the technical proposal must demonstrate, “through systems change pathways, how proposed interventions will lead to measurable results, systemic change, and sustainable impacts that explicitly align with the Activity theory of change”. Therefore, offerors should include targets for key indicators (including those listed in Section C.6) in the technical proposal in order to indicate the intended scale of the proposed approach. All targets for performance indicators will be finalized in the MEL Plan, which will be approved after the award is made.

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15. Sub-Section C.7.1, page 21: Target Beneficiaries and Location states that “The FAST activity will seek to catalyze impact across the Feed the Future Ethiopia Zone of Influence (ZOI), composed of 132 woredas, as shown in the map below.” Can USAID confirm that offerors may propose a phasing in approach to reaching the woredas in the ZOI, taking into account the situation on the ground in each location?

USAID|Ethiopia Response: Yes.

16. Sub-Section C.9, page 26: states, “The use of competitive, performance-based grants is permitted to support the FAST objectives.” As dictated by ADS 302.3.4.13, the contractor must apply the same requirements as USAID in ADS 303. ADS 303 encourages competition to the maximum extent possible but allows for grants to be noncompetitively awarded if there is a strong programmatic rationale to restrict eligibility that outweighs the benefits of a competitive process. Will USAID modify the language in Section C.9 to align with ADS 303?

USAID|Ethiopia Response: ADS 302.3.4.13 states, “Grants under Contracts (GUCs) are a USAID-specific mechanism that authorizes contractors to provide assistance to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on behalf of the Agency.” Of course, “ … the requirements that apply to USAID-executed grants in ADS 303, Grants and Cooperative Agreements to Non-Governmental Organizations (including the prohibition on construction activities under grants) and the applicable standard provisions in ADS 303 are also applied to grants that a USAID contractor executes,...” The execution of noncompetitive grants based on programmatic rationale will be handled on a case by case basis as set forth in ADS 303.

V. SECTION F: DELIVERIES OR PERFORMANCE

17. Sub-Section F.3, page 31: states “The Contractor shall perform the services described in Section C in Ethiopia (663).” Could USAID kindly clarify the meaning of 663?

USAID|Ethiopia Response: As indicated in the bracket following the country name, ‘663’ stands for USAID country code for Ethiopia.

18. Sub-Section F.5, page 32: Authorized Work Week, states “a six-day work week when travel per diem is paid may be authorized on a case-by-case basis with the prior written approval of the designated COR.”

● Would USAID please confirm that this statement only applies to full-time employee personnel, and not consultants contracted under the Contract?

USAID|Ethiopia Response: Yes.

19. Per Sub-Section F.6, Deliverables and Schedule, item #1 (page 32), the Activity and Monitoring Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Plan is required to be submitted in draft form 60 calendar days after the effective date of the contract. This timing does not leave time for sufficient baseline data collection to occur. Could USAID confirm that offers may complete baseline data collection after the draft MEL Plan is submitted?

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USAID|Ethiopia Response: Yes. If a baseline is required to adequately assess progress, then the Contractor should describe it in the draft MEL Plan submitted for USAID approval. If certain targets depend on baseline data, the Contractor can include preliminary targets for those indicators in the draft MEL Plan.

20. Section F.6, page 32 (and Section F.7.8, page 38) requires the grants manual to be submitted before the annual work plan. Given the activities identified in the work plan and our overall implementation approach will feed into the development of the grants manual, will USAID consider requiring the draft grants manual to be due 90 days after award?

USAID|Ethiopia Response: Yes.

VI. SECTION H - SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS

21. Sub-Section H.5, Subcontracting Plan, Individual Subcontract Report (ISR) and the Summary Subcontract Report (page 48) references “the Contractor’s Grants under Contract (GuC)/subcontracting plan” and then discusses the electronic submission of SF-295 and SF-295 reports, which are relevant only to subcontracts. Can USAID please confirm that, in accordance with regulation, only subcontracts will be required to be electronically reported in eSRS, and remove reference to the Grants under Contract Plan in H.5?

USAID|Ethiopia Response: Yes; USAID confirms the Electronic Subcontracting Reporting System (eSRS) requirement applies to subcontracts to small business entities only as defined in FAR 19.7, and the reference to the Grants under Contracts Plan in Section H.5 has been removed as indicated in Attachment 1.8 above.

22. Sub-Section H.7, page 48: Nonexpendable Property Purchases and Information Technology Resources, states “[TBD], at the time of the award.”

● Would USAID please clarify what this clause is intended to include at the time of the award? For example, will it include a list of pre-approved nonexpendable property purchases and information technology resources included in the proposal?

● If so, would USAID please clarify what the approval requirements, if any, will be for additional nonexpendable property purchases and information technology resources not included in the proposal during the life of the Contract?

USAID|Ethiopia Response:

● Yes, this clause is intended to include a list of pre-approved nonexpendable property purchases and information technology resources identified in the Offeror’s proposal for the performance of the contract.

● The Mission will coordinate with the USAID|Chief Information Officer (USAID M/CIO) in providing approval for nonexpendable property purchases related to information technology resources not included in the proposal.

23. Sub-Section H.8, page 49: Limitation on Acquisition of Information Technology (Deviation Nos. M/OAA-DEV-FAR-20-3c and M/OAA-DEV-AIDAR-20-2c), states “the

13|Page term “information technology” does not include any equipment that is acquired by a Contractor incidental to a contract that does not require use of the equipment.”

● Would USAID please clarify what “incidental to a contract” means in this context?

USAID|Ethiopia Response: According to FAR 39.204(a)(2), Incidental contract items.

ICT acquired by a contractor incidental to a contract that does not require use of the equipment listed under (a) (1)-(3) of Sub-Section H.8, i.e., for in-house use by the contractor to perform the contract.

24. Sub-Section H.11, Environmental Compliance, (b) Initial Environmental Examination and (d) Climate Risk Screening (pages 50-51) outline that an Environmental Mitigation and Monitoring Plan and Climate Risk Management Plan are required deliverables.

Could USAID please amend the Table of Contract Deliverables (Section F.6, Deliverables and Schedule, pages 32-33) to include the EMMP and Climate Risk Management Plan and their due dates?

USAID|Ethiopia Response: The “Table of Contract Deliverables” in Section F.6 has been amended to include the Environmental Mitigation and Monitoring Plan, and Climate Risk Management Plan as indicated under Attachment 1.6 above.

25. Section H.19(2)(b)(ii) requires offerors to adhere to a Local Employee Compensation Plan. We respectfully request that the above-mentioned salary restriction be removed from the RFP as it appears to be inconsistent with AIDAR 752.7007 Personnel Compensation, incorporated in the contract under Section H.10 that 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. The salary restriction above may preclude contractors from following their established policies, procedures, and practices, as required by AIDAR 752.700.

USAID|Ethiopia Response: Please see the change made in the Solicitation language under Attachment 1.9 above.

26. Section H.11(d) states “One annual increase salary increase not more than 5% percent may be granted after the employee’s completion of each twelve-month period of satisfactory services under the contract.” We respectfully request that the above-mentioned salary restriction be removed from the RFP as it appears to be inconsistent with AIDAR 752.7007 Personnel Compensation, incorporated in the contract under Section H.10 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. The salary restriction above may preclude contractors from following their established policies, procedures, and practices, as required by AIDAR 752.700.

USAID|Ethiopia Response: The section referenced in the question is found in Sub-Section H.19(2)(e), page 58, and states “One annual salary increase, including merit or promotional increases, in accordance with the Contractor’s policies and procedures may be granted after the employee’s completion of each twelve month period

14|Page of satisfactory services under the Contract. Annual salary increases of any kind exceeding this limitation or exceeding the USAID Contractor Salary Threshold (CST) for US Direct hires and/or Mission Local Compensation Plan (LCP) for TCN/CCNs may be granted only with the advance written approval of the Contracting Officer.”

In the Solicitation language indicated above, there is no mention of “not more than 5% percent”. Also, the language states, “the increases may be granted in accordance with the Contractor’s policies and Procedures.”

Please see the change made in the Solicitation language under Attachment 1.10 above.

27. Sub-Section H.19, page 56: Personnel Approvals, (1)(a) states that “Direct compensation of the Contractor’s personnel will be in accordance with the Contractor’s established policies, procedures and practices, and the cost principles applicable to this contract.” Section H.19, (2)(e) (page 58) states that “One annual salary increase…may be granted after the employee’s completion of each twelve-month period of satisfactory services under the Contract.” Could USAID please confirm that companies may follow their own audited and approved policies for staff annual increases, even if these provide for an increase before twelve months of service under the Contract (e.g., to allow for an annual increase in line with the company’s annual performance review cycle, which may take place before twelve months of service)?

USAID|Ethiopia Response: Please see the change made in the Solicitation language under Attachment 1.9 above.

28. Section H.19, Personnel Approvals, (2)(b)(1) (page 57) states “If, during contract performance, the Contractor proposes salary or wages for any individual (s) that exceeds 5% percent of the individual’s current salary or wage or the highest rate of annual salary or wage received during any full year of the immediately preceding three (3) years, the cognizant Contracting Officer’s approval is required.”

● The current Contractor Employee Biographical Data Sheet, form AID 1420-17, no longer includes salary history information and states in Section 16 “Provide the basis for the salary proposed in Block 6 with supporting rationale for the market value of the position.” In addition, in a USAID document titled USAID Partner Questions on Updated Biodata Form dated 10/15/19, question 1 states “How will USAID reconcile existing contract language limiting salary increases based on past salary history with the new 1420 standards that exclude salary history?” and USAID’s response in part was “If Contracting Officers (COs) have been incorporating contract specific language limiting salary increases and regarding how salary and rate approvals will be made, then those COs will need to modify that language to be consistent with the updated USAID Form 1420-17, Contractor Employee Biographical Data Sheet.” Will USAID consider removing the aforementioned sentence from Section H.19 (2)(b)(1)?

● In October 2019, USAID revised USAID Form 1420-17, Contractor Employee Biographical Data Sheet, to remove the salary history requirement. Consistent with this change, organizational policy has been changed to no longer request salary

15|Page history information from personnel – rather, salary determination is made considering reviews of experience, education, and market value to determine fair and reasonable salaries.

● As organizational policy does not allow requests for salary history information, and consistent with USAID’s guidance in October 2019 and AIDAR 752.7007, Personnel Compensation, states that “direct compensation of the Contractor’s personnel will be in accordance with the Contractor’s established policies, procedures, and practices, and the cost principles applicable to this contract,” would USAID please consider removing this requirement, as the only way to know if a proposed salary exceeds 5% of a current salary or the highest rate of annual salary received in the preceding three years would be to request salary history information?

USAID|Ethiopia Response: Please see the change made in the Solicitation language under Attachment 1.9.

Per a USAID document titled USAID Partner Questions on Updated Biodata Form dated 10/15/19, please note that:

(i) AIDAR clause 752.7001 contains the contractor’s agreement to provide USAID Form 1420-17, Contractor Employee Biographical Data Sheet, and when the form should be submitted. The content and requirements of this clause are not affected by the change to the form.

(ii) Per AIDAR clause 752.7007, CO approval is required for the reimbursement of an employee’s base annual plus recruitment incentive, if any, when it exceeds the USAID Contractor Salary Threshold. This requirement has not changed.

(iii) Contractors may determine the market value of the position, and advise the CO what it is based on. It is the CO’s responsibility to establish a fair and reasonable price for contractor personnel salaries, including questions regarding the rationale on how the proposed salary determination was made.

(iv) Contractors may use pertinent information, policy and data to support a determination of market value for a labor category salary. CO are responsible for determining that all contract costs and fair and reasonable.

(v) USAID Form 1420-17, Contractor Employee Biographical Data Sheet, is effective as of October 9, 2019. Current actions are to proceed with the applicable form and use the revised form on all actions from October 9, 2019 forward.

(vi) The requirements regarding employment and compensation for third country nationals and cooperating country nationals at ADAIR 722.170 have not been changed.

29. Section H.19, Personnel Approvals, (2)(b)(1)(ii) Professional and Technical Personnel (page 57) states, “Initial salaries of non-key personnel must be within the salary range (based on market value determination) for each position and must be within the following thresholds (whichever is applicable): Mission Local Compensation Plan (LCP) of the U.S. Embassy Addis Ababa, for third country nationals (TCNs) and cooperating country nationals (CCNs).”

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● Could USAID confirm that Offerors may use their own market-based determination for salaries as based on their own compensation plan and local market data, rather than the Mission LCP?

USAID|Ethiopia Response: Please see the change made in the Solicitation language under Attachment 1.9 above.

30. Sub-Section H.19, page 57: Personnel Approvals, Part (2) Additional Requirements for Personnel Compensation, (b) Limitations, states “The salary ranges of the compensation plan must be certified by the Contractor and submitted to the Contracting Officer for approval.”

● Would USAID please clarify if the compensation plan must be submitted as part of the offer, or if this can be developed and submitted for CO approval post-award?

USAID|Ethiopia Response: Please see the change made in the Solicitation language under Attachment 1.9 above.

31. Sub-Section H.19, page 57: Personnel Approvals, Part (2) Additional Requirements for Personnel Compensation, (b) Limitations, (ii) Professional and Technical Personnel (non-Key), refers to the “Mission Local Compensation Plan (LCP) of the US Embassy Addis Ababa,” and the requirement to adhere to its given thresholds.

● Would USAID please make the most recent Mission LCP available to offerors, to ensure compliance with the terms of the RFP as an Attachment in Section J?

USAID|Ethiopia Response: The Mission Local Compensation Plan is an internal document which cannot be provided as-is. However, provided below is a range of salaries for various categories of locally employed staff. These salary ranges are subject to the annual adjustments.

Category of Employees Salary Range

Driver/Attendants/runners $2,625 - $9,117

Reproduction Clerk/Junior Clerk $6,820 - $12,268

Junior Assistant $8,412 - $21,829

Senior Assistant $14,033 - $25,253

Accountant/Officer Manager $18,740 - $41,263

Professional/Senior Professional $27,642 - $61,428

32. Sub-Section H.19, page 58: Personnel Approvals, Part (2) Additional Requirements for Personnel Compensation, (f) Consultants, states “No compensation for consultants will be reimbursed unless their use under the Contract has advance written approval of the Contracting Officer Representative (COR); and if such provision has been made or

17|Page approval given, compensation shall not exceed: 1) the highest rate of annual compensation received by the consultant during any full year of the immediately preceding three years; or 2) the maximum daily salary rate as described in AAPD 0603, whichever is less.”

● Would USAID please consider removing these special requirements for Consultants in their entirety, as Consultants are a procurement action and therefore price reasonability is determined through market competition, and accordingly salary history is both irrelevant and inconsistent with USAID’s October 2019 guidance surrounding salary history?

USAID|Ethiopia Response: Please see the change made in the Solicitation language under Attachment 1.11 above.

33. Sub-Section H.20(b) has an outdated ceiling on the grants to U.S. grantees. In USAID’s update to ADS 302.3.4.13 on July 22, 2021, the value of a grant to a U.S. organization was increased to the simplified acquisition threshold. Will USAID modify the language in Section H.6 to incorporate this regulatory update?

USAID|Ethiopia Response: Please see the change made in the Solicitation language under Attachment 1.12 above.

34. Sub-Section H.20(n), page 60: We respectfully request that USAID remove the sentence “Copies of all reports received from grantees will be promptly forwarded to the COR,” given that there is no requirement for the TOCOR to receive grantee reports in the GUC authorizing language for ADS 302. We also respectfully request that USAID remove from Section H.20(n) the sentence “At the conclusion of the Contract, the Contractor must consult with the Contracting Officer for direction as to which records must be transferred to USAID.” While USAID retains the rights to visitation and inspection for three years after the grant completion date, all records under this contract are considered property of the contractor and must be retained in accordance with the contractor’s records retention policies that originate from audit requirements.

USAID|Ethiopia Response: Please see the change made in the Solicitation language under Attachment 1.13 above.

35. Sub-Section H.20,Page 60: Grants Under Contract, (r) states that “Grants may not include construction, infrastructure, renovation, or rehabilitation projects.” This seems restrictive when considering that storage facilities are important elements of a market system and may be useful to have the option to support via grants. Would USAID include the possibility of a GUC for such items with specific approval from the Contracting Officer?

USAID|Ethiopia Response: Currently, USAID|Ethiopia does not anticipate FAST to engage in construction, infrastructure, renovation, or rehabilitation projects.

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36. Section H.20, Grants Under Contract, (v) (page 61): Please kindly revise the language to state “No cash GUCs will be provided to government entities.” This will allow for solely in-kind grants to government entities as referenced in Section H.20(a) and as allowed per

ADS 302.3.4.13?

USAID|Ethiopia Response: Please see the change made in the Solicitation language under Attachment 1.14 above.

37. Section H.20, Grants Under Contract, (v) (page 61) references ADS 220.3.3.2.d.3.b when discussing the eligibility of non-governmental parastatals to receive grant funding.

ADS 220 was revised in January 2021. Can USAID update the reference to 220.3.3.2.d.3.b in Section H.20(v) as we are unable to locate that section of ADS 220?

USAID|Ethiopia Response: The correct reference is ADS 202.3.2.I.1)b.

VII. SECTION I - CONTRACT CLAUSES

38. Clauses FAR 52.215-10, 11, 12, 13 seem to imply that CCPD is required from the prime and subcontractors (if triggered). Can USAID confirm that Certified Cost and Pricing Data is not required as this is competitive proposal?

USAID|Ethiopia Response: Yes.

VIII. SECTION J - LIST OF DOCUMENTS, EXHIBITS AND OTHER

ATTACHMENTS

39. Section J.1, List of Attachments (page 91) provides two different J.1 attachments for Past Performance. Could USAID confirm that use of either template is acceptable?

USAID|Ethiopia Response: Offerors are expected to use both complementary forms provided in Attachment J.1 for past performance information.

40. Section J.1; page 91: Section J also includes a second Attachment J.1, which is a short form Contractor Performance Report. Are offerors to include that form with their submission?

USAID|Ethiopia Response: Yes.

IX. SECTION J - LIST OF DOCUMENTS, EXHIBITS AND OTHER

ATTACHMENTS & SECTION L - INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS

INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS, AND NOTICES TO OFFERORS

41. Section J and L.11.2.vii; page 91 and 121-122: For the list of recent, relevant contracts, should offerors use the Past Performance Matrix included as Attachment J.1?

USAID|Ethiopia Response: Yes.

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X. SECTION K - REPRESENTATIONS, CERTIFICATIONS AND OTHER

STATEMENTS OF OFFERORS

42. Sub-Section K.7, page 96: FAR 52.237-8 Restriction on Severance Payments to Foreign Nationals is included as a required representation. However, Page 70, Section I Contract Clauses, Sub-Section I.1, FAR 52.252-2 Clauses Incorporated by Reference incorporates FAR 52.237-9…