RFP 72066822R00006 Amendment 1 .pdf

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

1. CONTRACT ID CODE PAGE OF PAGES

1 5

2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NO.

3. EFFECTIVE DATE

4/13/2022

4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NO 5. PROJECT NO. (If applicable)

6. ISSUED BY CODE 7. ADMINISTERED BY (IF OTHER THAN ITEM 6) CODE

USAID/South Sudan 4420 Juba Place Washington DC 20521-4420

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR (No., Street, County, State, and Zip Code)

☐ 9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NO.

72066822R00006

9B. DATED (SEE ITEM 11)

April 13, 2022

☐ 10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NO.

CODE: FACILITY CODE: 10B. DATED (SEE ITEM 11)

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

X The above numbered, solicitation is amended as set forth in item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers ☐ is extended X is not extended.

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 Items 8 and 15, and returning 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 ACKNOWLEDGMENT 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 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.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA ( If Required)

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

IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NUMBER AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14

CHECK ONE

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

CONTRACT ORDER NUMBER IN ITEM 10A.

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES ( such as changes in paying office, appropriation date, etc.) SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43,103 (b).

C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER (Specify type of modification and authority)

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

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

The purpose of this amendment is to (1) revise the RFP and (2) provide answers to questions,as set forth more fully in the attached pages.

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

See Continuation Pages.

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

Alexis McGinness, Contracting Officer 15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR 15C. DATE SIGNED 16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 16C. DATE SIGNED

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

Previous Edition Unusable STANDARD FORM 30 (REV. 11/2016) Prescribed by GSA FAR (48 CFR) 53.24

72066822R00006 Amendment No. 1

BLOCK 14, Continued:

1. Please note the following revisions to RFP No. 72066822R00006:

A. In SECTION F.5:

i. Under LIST OF REPORTS/DELIVERABLES table:

1. In Line 7 Work Plans, DELETE “Initial Work Plan is due within 45 days of the award effective date” and REPLACE with “Initial Work Plan (Inception Phase) is due within 45 days of the award effective date. The Year One Work Plan is due no later than 180 days after the award effective date.”

2. In Line 8 Strategic Communications Plan, DELETE “Due no later than 90 days after the award effective date.” and REPLACE with “Due no later than 180 days after the award effective date.”

ii. In Section F.5.8 Work Plans, under “Due Date” DELETE in its entirety and REPLACE with “Building from the Mobilization Plan, the Contractor must submit the Initial Work Plan (Inception Phase) within 45 days following the award effective date and shall cover the period through the first 200 days of the award. The Contractor must submit the Year One Work Plan within 180 days following the award effective date and this plan must cover the period from the 180 days through the end of the fiscal year.

Annual Work Plans are due August 1 of each subsequent year.”

iii. In Section F.5.9 Strategic Communications Plan, under “Due Date” DELETE in its entirety and REPLACE with “The Contractor must submit the Strategic Communications Plan within 180 days following the effective award date.”

2. Questions received by the deadline indicated in the solicitation are answered in the table below.

No Question Response

1. We are hoping to find out if there is (was) an incumbent contractor performing these services, or if this is a brand new contract.

If there is an incumbent, could you please provide the current / previous contract number?

The previous biodiversity activity “Conservation of Biodiversity Across the Boma-Bandingilo Landscape in South Sudan,” was implemented by Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).

2. In Section C.3.3.A, USAID notes that “the previous biodiversity activity (October 2018 - September 2021) experienced many challenges and USAID/South Sudan is conducting an assessment to provide additional insights to

This assessment will be conducted after the award of this contact.

Other relevant information regarding this activity may be located in the DEC.

inform this activity’s approach” (page 14). Could USAID please provide additional information about this assessment to inform proposal development and design?

3. Section C.10 indicates that all grants issued under the contract must only be made to local non-state organizations' ' (page 23), but the regulations allow contractors to execute solely in-kind grants to government entities. Would USAID please confirm that solely in-kind grants to government entities will be allowed under this contract, pursuant to ADS 302.3.4.13?

Neither in-kind grants nor any other funding to any level of the Government of South Sudan are permitted without prior written approval of the Contracting Officer (CO). See Section H.3(c) of the

RFP.

4. In Section F.5, Reports and Deliverables, the List of Reports/Deliverables states that the “Initial Work Plan [Deliverable 7] is due within 45 days of the award” (page 31). However, Section F.5.8 states that the “Contractor must submit the Initial Work Plan within 140 days following the award” (page 35). Section F.5 also states that the draft “of the Initial AMEL [Activity Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning] Plan” … is “due within 140 days after the award” (page 29). Could USAID please confirm that the Initial Work Plan is due within 140 days of the award so that the contractor may best align its objectives with the AMEL Plan?

Please see Section 1.A above regarding an amendment to the deadline for the Initial Work Plan (Inception Phase) and Year One Work Plan.

5. In Section F.5, Reports and Deliverables, the List of Reports/Deliverables states that the “Strategic Communications Plan [Deliverable 8]” … is due “no later than 90 days after the award” (page 30).

However, Section F.5.9 states that the “Contractor must submit the Strategic Communications Plan within 140 days following the effective award date” (page 35). Could USAID please clarify the due date for the Strategic Communications Plan?

The Strategic Communication Plan will be due 180 days following the effective award date. See Amendment Section 1.A.

6. Section H.10(d) limits the contractor to administering 3% annual salary increases to long term project staff (page 55). This salary restriction appears inconsistent with AIDAR 752.7007, Personnel Compensation, which Section H.10(a) of the RFP incorporates into the contract (page 55). AIDAR 752.7007 stipulates that personnel compensation “be in accordance with the

The limit on annual salary increases in Section H.10(d) will not be removed at this time. This clause does not preclude contractors from following established policies, procedures, and practices. It requires contractors to seek CO approval contractor’s established policies, procedures, and practices,” with reimbursement subject only to the USAID Contractor Salary Threshold. We respectfully request that USAID remove the salary restriction in Section H.10(d) because it may preclude contractors from following their established policies, procedures, and practices.

for annual increases of more than 3%.

7. Section H.24 states that an “Initial Environmental Evaluation (IEE) has been prepared and will be approved for this contract” (page 61). Could USAID kindly share the IEE?

The Mission is in the final stages of finalizing the IEE.

8. Section L.6 states that for past performance, if there are “activities for which a CPARS [Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System] report is not available, [the] Offeror must … forward the Past Performance Reference Form for itself and any proposed major partners/subcontractors to the identified contact person of the referenced organization (the referee). The referee must submit the completed questionnaire directly to USAID/South Sudan by the past performance due date specified on the Cover Page, as directed on the Past Performance Reference Form” (page 106). Would USAID consider removing the requirement for referees to submit the questionnaire for major partners/subcontractors that may not have reports in CPARS?

USAID declines to remove this requirement.

9. Section L.8.3 states that “USAID intends to make nine (9) project vehicles available to the Contractor” (page 114). Could USAID please confirm that all these vehicles are functional and expected to survive the lifetime of the project so that offerors can appropriately budget for maintenance and other costs?

Yes, the nine (9) vehicles are operational except one that requires a minor repair.

10. [The potential Offeror] is negotiating the management mandate with the Government of South Sudan regarding Boma and Badingilo National Parks, can we submit the application without the mandate finalized and with the full knowledge that the project will not be executed until a mandate is in place?

Offerors are not required to have a management mandate in place in order to submit a proposal.

11. Is fixed fee included in the stated Contract Amount $10,160,000 or should we charge the fixed fee on top of the $10,160,000 to be a total of $11,176,000

The proposed fixed fee must be included within the total proposed price, which may not exceed $10,160,000.

12. Is Past Performance Information limited to only awards that are Contracts implemented or it includes other USG and non-USG projects funded through other instruments issued as either Cooperative Agreements and Grants?

Past Performance Information is not limited by award type; see Sections L.6 and M.2 regarding the type of information to be provided and the evaluation thereof.

13. Key personnel to be hired and In-country within 45 days

(i) What is the minimum number of Key Personnel (threshold)?

(ii) Is there a limitation on recruitment of International staff?

There is no minimum or maximum number of key personnel for this activity; proposed key personnel and their qualifications should reflect the Offeror’s management and staffing plans to successfully implement the contract.

While there are no limitations or requirements related to recruitment of international staff, please see Section C.9, which states: “When qualified personnel are available, the Contractor should utilize local personnel with appropriate experience and expertise.”

14. One annual salary increase of not more than 3% percent may be granted after the employee’s completion of each 12-month period of satisfactory services under the Contract - are annual increases on other Budget Cost categories allowable, and if yes, what is the threshold (at what maximum percentage)?

Offerors should account for reasonable inflation across all direct cost categories in their cost proposals as they deem appropriate. There is no maximum threshold; any budgeted inflation should be based on historical data and market conditions in order to arrive at a realistic estimate of costs to successfully implement the activity during the period of performance.

[END OF RFP 72066822R00006 AMENDMENT 1]