ASPIRE_Amendment_01_Questions_and_Answers.pdf

Amendment 01: Questions and Answers

Request for Proposal (RFP) Number: 72067419R00015

USAID/Southern Africa’s Attain & Sustain 95-95-95, Prevent New Infections and Reach All Populations for Epidemic Control (ASPIRE) Activity

Question Response

1 Could USAID please share the list of facilities where ASPIRE will be implemented and confirm if the offeror will be responsible for MSF-supported facilities in Shiselweni?

For the list of PEPFAR supported sites in Hhohho and Shiselweni see new attachment J 23. No. the contractor is not expected to provide comprehensive services in the MSF supported facilities with the exception of providing VMMC in one MSF supported facility (Nhlangano)

2 Could USAID please clarify if offerors should provide preliminary target estimates for the whole project year, as we currently only have targets for half of the first year of the projected ASPIRE implementation period.

USAID is providing targets for the initial implementation period; from the beginning of the period of performance through September 30, 2020 (see new attachment J.25).

Offerors should provide illustrative targets for the remainder of the period of performance. Note also that USAID has changed the budget periods, fixed fee schedule periods, and reporting periods to align with the USG fiscal year.

3 Could USAID confirm who will be responsible for VMMC commodity procurement and warehouse storage?

VMMC surgical kits and related commodities will be procured through USG and/or GKoE procurement systems and will be warehoused in the GKoE Central Medical Stores.

However, after care 'hygiene packs' will be procured by the implementer of the ASPIRE activity. See H.5.

4 Can USAID please confirm that project mid-term and end line evaluations will be supported and funded externally to the project?

Any formal performance or impact evaluation would be supported and externally funded by USAID. For reference see the USAID Evaluation Policy:

https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1870/US AIDEvaluationPolicy.pdf

5 Can USAID confirm if the offeror will be expected to directly provide services in the community?

Offerors should propose approaches that they believe will most effectively and efficiently achieve the results and outcomes expected per the SOO.

6 Could USAID please clarify the timeline for PEPFAR Indicator Reporting. Under F.5 on page 23, the objectives table states indicator reporting is due “every 30th of the 6 month and contract year end”, however in

PEPFAR indicator reporting is quarterly and sections F.5 and F.4 have modified to reflect this.

other sections of the RFP and in general practice, this is reported quarterly.

7 As PPIs are required with submission of questions due on August 19th, would USAID confirm if offerors should resubmit PPIs with the full application due September 16th?

Offerors that have submitted Past Performance Information by August 19, 2019 as per RFP instructions are not required to re-submit this same information with the full proposal by September 16, 2019. However, any new past performance information received by the Offeror after August 19, 2019, may be submitted along with the proposal.

8 As mentioned on page 183 of the RFP, no other annexes are to be included in the Technical Application. Will USAID consider allowing offerors to include letters of support for proposed collaborations that will take place during the project period?

"Letters of support" for proposed collaborations are not required, but will not be counted against page limitations should an offeror choose to include them. Per L.9 of the RFP letters of commitment are required for all "subcontractors".

9 Would USAID allow the Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) to be submitted as a separate annex that does not count against the 10-page draft Activity Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Plan

(AMELP)?

No. As indicated in the RFP Offerors are required to submit the QASP as a sub-section of the AMELP. However, USAID will expand the page limit for this Annex to 15 pages.

10 Would USAID consider sharing the FSN scale for Eswatini?

USAID will not share the full Local Compensation Plan (LCP), but can provide the lower and upper levels for each grade. See new attachment J.26 for "Eswatini LCP Bands".

11 Can USAID confirm that Biodata forms from proposed key personnel and senior-level staff will suffice?

No. Biographical Data Sheets are required for all proposed Key Personnel, and all positions (long term or short term, expatriate or cooperating country national) with named incumbents. See RFP revisions under L.9. In addition, note that resumes are also required for Key Personnel as per Section L.8.

12 Section L.9 Cost Proposal Instructions Part 2 (4)(H) states that a small business subcontracting plan will be required for offerors included in the competitive range.

However L.8 5) Section 2

No. The subcontracting plan is required with the submission of the initial proposal. Section L.9 Cost Proposal Instructions Part 2 under subcontracts has been revised. Note also that the template Attachment J.11 has been revised.

Annex F states that a Subcontracting Plan must be submitted with reference to J.13 rather than J.11. Could USAID please confirm that a subcontracting plan is only required for offerors included in the competitive range.

13 Can a contractor or subcontractor that is a nonprofit therefore subject to the cost principles in 2 CFR 200 Subpart E, apply the 10% de minimis rate in accordance with 2 CFR 200.414(f) which would allow the contractor or subcontractor to consistently apply the rate to all Federal awards per the requirements of the regulation?

Contractors may apply the 10% de minimis rate in accordance with 2CFR200.414(f) so long as they meet all of the stated requirements. It is the responsibility of the prime contractor to determine the reasonableness of subcontractors' indirect cost rates.

14 Could USAID please confirm that the amounts in the proportional fee based on achievement (percentage of target) example in Section L.8 are illustrative?

No, the Fee Proportion Based on Achievement (Percentage of Target) is not illustrative.

15 Would USAID please confirm if the indicators and deliverables on the fixed fee schedule are fixed or illustrative?

No, the indicators and deliverables on the Fixed Fee Schedule are fixed (not illustrative).

16 Can USAID confirm that cancellation ceilings should be shared at the proposal stage?

Yes, per Section L.9 Offerors must provide cancellation ceilings with the initial cost proposal.

17 Can USAID please share if there are any file size limitations offerors should consider when preparing their proposal submissions?

All files must be under 10mb in size. If a single section of the proposal would be over 10mb, the Offeror may split the file into multiple sections, so long as each is under 10mb. See revision in L.7.

18 In the RFP the Mission has provided illustrative results (page 91) for each objective.

For Objective 1 (page 92) it

See new attachment J.24 2018 PEPFAR Strategic Direction Summary for information on PEPFAR approaches to community and facility programming.

provides an example of 95% of all pregnant women in Hhohho and Shiselweni are aware of their HIV status and in Objective 2 it provides that 80% of males aged 10-29 are circumcised in Hhohho and Shiselweni. For each of these interventions, this involves action at the community level and at non-PEPFAR supported facilities in addition to clients at PEPFAR supported facilities.

Can the Mission please expand on the role of ASPIRE and the role of PEPFAR IPs that are active in the community level supporting demand creation/linkage for these activities?

19 Collaboration with the IPs is understood to improve how to support them getting their clients into these services at the facilities but if there are gaps or poor performance (i.e poor demand creation) can ASPIRE step into those spheres with TA to guide on how to improve in those areas of performance? Is it expected that ASPIRE will provide TA in those areas to non-PEPFAR sites as well?

Offerors must propose technical approaches that will achieve the results and objectives outlined in the SOO.

20 Is there guidance from the Mission on how ASPIRE should support non-PEPFAR funded sites within Hhohho and Shiselweni in meeting objectives from Objective 1 and Objective 2 or can this open to design by the ASPIRE team?

ASPIRE is generally not required to work in non-PEPFAR supported sites, the only exception being the Nhlangano Health Center which must be included for VMMC support only.

21 Can USAID advise whether the cover page is exempted from

Yes, the Cover Page is exempted from the font size requirements.

the font size requirements?

22 Please confirm that USAID’s intent in the cost proposal instructions (L.9, Part 2, 4A on Labor) is to request Form AID 1420-17 for all named cooperating country personnel since this is an expansion of the requirement as reflected in Section I.1, AIDAR 752.7001 Biographical Data (under Notice Listing Contract Clauses Incorporated by Reference).

Yes, see USAID's response to Question 11.

23 In Attachment J.10 (Initial Environment Examination) on page 124 of the RFP, it looks like Section 3.2: Distribution of pharmaceutical and other supplies for treatment and prevention of TB missing. (It’s a summary bullet point at the top of page 126.) Please advise.

Yes. Attachment J.10 has been removed from the RPF document. See the new link for the Initial Environmental Examination in Section J.

24 On page 96, under 4. Technical Approach, 1. PEPFAR Minimum Requirements, the table mentions a Linkage Case Management Model (LCM) that is being delivered in high volume facilities in Eswatini.

Can USAID provide a list of the high-volume facilities in which the LCM is currently being implemented? Can USAID also provide a list of high-volume facilities that have yet to adopt LCM, along with target dates by which the LCM should be in place?

Linkage Case Management (LCM) is currently being implemented in all PEPFAR-supported sites in Hhohho and Shiselweni. In addition, the following sites enlisted additional expert clients to support the LCM initiative - Shiselweni (Hlathikhulu, Kamfishane, Matsanjeni); Hhohho (Mbabane, Piggs Peak, Mkhuzweni, Dvokolwako).

25 Under 4. Technical Approach,

1. PEPFAR Minimum Requirements, on page 96, the RFP indicates that a headquarters support visit to Sishelweni in December 2018

The Recommendations from the December 2018 TDY visit to Shiselweni were internal to PEPFAR/Eswatini and were focused on one IP (Laboratory Cooperative Agreement). See also edits to the SOO Section 2 for clarification on ASPIRE relationship to the PEPFAR Minimum Requirements and edits to the requirements themselves.

resulted in recommendations about how to strengthen the VL transport system. Could USAID please share these recommendations? Could USAID also provide details on what progress has been made to-date in implementing these recommendations?

26 Under 4. Technical Approach,

6. Rapid Startup, on page 99 the RFP underscores the importance of avoiding any gaps in services as existing activities come to an end.

Could USAID please specify what services are being performed and which are ending, along with associated end dates? Is there a work plan which could be shared?

No. USAID cannot specify the services and end dates of ongoing activities. Offeror's may use the Draft Year One Workplan to outline an approach to rapid startup.

27 Can USAID share the existing sources of data for the required PEPFAR indicators presented in Table 1 under 4. Technical Approach, 7. AMELP on page 100?

PEPFAR Eswatini supports the MOH health information system. The source of data for the PEFAR required indicators is the national health information system (including facility-level registers for each technical area).

28 Under L.8. Instructions to the Technical Proposal, in Section2, Annex E on page 180, the RFP indicates that the “Offeror must submit and organizational chart showing lines of reporting among long term team members.” Can USAID clarify what is meant by long term team members?

"Long term team members" are project staff, and are exclusive of consultants and Short Term Technical Assistance positions.

29 On page 180, under Section 2 Annex D: Key Personnel Letters of Commitment, the RFP notes that key personnel Letters of Commitment from Offerors “must indicate the dates that each key personnel

Yes, it will be acceptable to include the number of days after which the candidate will be available to start work after project award. See RFP revisions in section L.8.

candidate is available to start work full-time with the project.” Given that it will be difficult to determine a specific start date (as this will be dependent on the date of project award), can USAID confirm that it will be acceptable to include the number of days after which the candidate will be available to start work after project award?

30 In Section L.8(d) on page 179, it is specified that Annex B:

Draft Year One Workplan should be submitted as one spreadsheet, not to exceed 2 pages, exclusive of the 40-page limit. For offerors to propose a more detailed plan for the first 90 days of implementation, in addition to including activities for all consortium members, would USAID consider increasing this annex page limit to 6 pages?

Offerors may submit a Draft Year One Workplan not to exceed five pages. See revision to section L.8.

31 In Section L.8(d) on page 179, it is specified that “The staffing plan must demonstrate field presence at county level.”

Could USAID please confirm that it would be acceptable for the offeror to demonstrate presence at the regional level to align with Eswatini’s sub-national unit structure?

USAID's requirement is that the Offeror have a field presence at the "country" level. Offerors may choose to demonstrate presence at the regional level as part of their management approach. See edit in Section L.8.

32 To enable all offerors to propose approaches and activities more effectively and to set targets as requested in the RFP, we respectfully ask USAID to make the following information publicly available:

USAID will provide contract-level targets for FY20 (see new attachment J.25). USAID cannot share data that is not already publicly available. Offerors can find data in Panorama and the PEFPAR Strategic Direction Summary (SDS) (attachment J.24).

a. Aggregate baseline for key MER indicators along the HIV care cascade in Shiselweni, which is not available through Panorama Spotlight or other publicly available databases.

b. Extracted information/reports from DATIM showing performance against targets for all required PEPFAR indicators for all USAID-supported facilities. This information is not available through Panorama Spotlight or other publicly available databases.

33 Can USAID confirm that the 63 facilities listed in Attachment 2 of the original Request for Information (RFI), issued in October 2018, represents the current list of PEPFAR-supported facilities that ASPIRE will be expected to work? If not, could USAID provide a master facility list for all PEPFAR-supported sites in Hhohho and Shiselweni regions?

See the response to question #1.

34 Given the absence of references to key populations in Section J of the Request for Proposal, could USAID please confirm if they will engage a separate mechanism to support key populations in Eswatini?

USAID currently has a separate mechanism for key populations in Eswatini.

35 In Attachment J.1: Statement of Objective, Section I, 4.6, Rapid Start-Up on page 99 it states that “USAID/Eswatini anticipates a seamless handover of tools and materials, office equipment, and vehicles to the ASPIRE contractor.” To ensure that offerors provide

This information is not available at this time. For the purposes of the proposal assume that all such costs must be covered by the Contractor.

comparable total estimated costs to the government, would USAID supply bidders with a list of the tools and materials, office equipment, and vehicles that will be transferred to the ASPIRE contractor?

36 In Section H.11(d) on page 39, it states that annual salary increases (includes promotional increase) of not more than five

(5) percent may be granted. We respectfully request the entirety of H.11(d) 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 limitation on salary increases may preclude contractors from following their established policies, procedures, and practices, as required by AIDAR 752.7007.

H.11(d) is not inconsistent with AIDAR 752.7007 (H.10).

H.10 provides a general requirement, subject to the specific additional requirement in H.11. If a Contractor's established policy and practice provides for an annual salary increase of more than five (5) percent, such an increase may be granted only with the advance written approval of the Contracting Officer.

37 In Section L.9, Fixed Fee Schedule (page 188), the RFP states that USAID may withhold a negotiated percentage of fee if the contractor does not successfully achieve results or provide deliverables. Since the ASPIRE Activity is a Cost-Plus-Fixed- Fee type contract structured to allow USAID flexibility to

No. Per the RFP Cover Letter and B 2 the contract type is Performance-Based Cost Plus Fixed Fee. USAID will retain references to the Contractor being paid in proportion to the level of annual target achieved.

Yes, USAID has added language under Section B.8 to allow for revisions to the Fixed Fee Schedule based on the Annual Work Plan.

adapt implementation to achieve results, we respectfully request that USAID remove the references to the Contractor being paid in proportion to the level of annual target achieved.

We also request that the following be added to Section B.8: “The Fee Schedule may be modified based upon the annual work plan and changes in underlying assumptions.” As USAID uses annual work plans to manage a contractor’s progress toward completing a contract, adjusting the fee payment schedule with each annual work plan allows the contractor to readjust and reallocate effort and resources as needed to achieve the most results attainable within the total estimated cost.