MCC DCO OSP RFQ No. 95332422Q0071 - Q and A - Amendment 0001.pdf

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NSN 7540-01-152-8070

Previous edition unusable

The RFQ Quote Submission deadline is hereby extended to August 1, 2022 at 12:00 pm ET. See Question 18 below.

07/22/2022

Regina E. Maxwell Contracting Officer

95332422Q00710001

Summary of Changes

Header Information

Close Date is changed from 28-JUL-22 19:29:37 to 01-AUG-22 19:29:37.

MCC DCO OSP RFP: No. 95332422Q0071

Amendment No. 0001

Questions and Answers

1. Question: Although RFQ Section C indicates Task 4, section H2 mentions a Task 5. Would MCC please confirm that there is no Task 5 in the scope of work?

A1: This is confirmation that there is no Task 5, please disregard this reference in Section H.2. and all other references to Task 5 in all other sections of the RFQ document. There are four tasks.

2. To support Task 3 activities, is the Contractor expected to attend each meeting in-person?

A2: No, the Contractor should assume that half of the meetings will be conducted virtually and half in-person.

As the Contractor will take meeting notes, it is expected that one person from the Contractor firm participate in each of these meetings.

3. Page 13, Section C.4 states the Contractor is "expected to include approximately 30-50 meetings for each eligible country receiving this support." However, the Task Three description that follows on page 13 prescribes 15-25 meetings for only countries 1, 4, and 6 through all base and option years. Are Contractors expected to assume 30-50 meetings for each of the 9 eligible countries mentioned on page 12, or to follow the illustrative annual meeting totals for countries 1, 4, and 6 as presented on page 13?

A3: The Contractor is expected to support 30-50 meetings each for Countries 1, 4, and 6. The statement in section C.3 notes that over the entire contract period, with base and all option periods, it is anticipated that the Contractor will support work in up to six countries total, with concurrent country support as shown in section C.3 across the base and option periods. Not all countries will receive the same packet of support across all tasks. Section C.4 describes which tasks are applicable to which countries.

4. Page 13, Section C.4 states "approximately a third of these meetings is expected to entail follow-up discussions with the same prospective collaborator(s) to mature partnership scoping and structuring." For budgeting purposes, should Contractors assume one round of follow up discussions for one-third of total meetings or more in addition to the annual illustrative meeting descriptions presented on page 13?

A4: Contractors should assume that of 30-50 meetings per eligible country receiving Task Three support, there will be 20-33 distinct organizations with whom meetings occur. Follow-up meetings will occur with a subset of these same organizations. For budgeting purposes, Contractors should assume that all follow-up meetings occur with five distinct organizations.

5. Per Task 4, how many attendees should Contractors assume will participate in each convening?

A5: For one-day workshops, Contractors should assume 10-20 organizations, each with approximately two representatives. Travel to the country for emcee support is only anticipated for live, in-country workshops.

For the two or three-hour sessions also referenced in Section C.4, these may entail highly interactive, small group discussions of five to ten organizations on particular topics, or they may entail broader information provision and Q&A with a large set of stakeholders, depending upon the country need.

6. Page 17, Section F.2 states "Generally, the Contractor shall perform services at their home offices, except for convenings that may occur in Washington, DC at the MCC headquarters or in partner countries." Should the Contactor assume all virtual convenings with MCC and local partners are to be held at MCC Washington, DC headquarters? If so, will MCC provide the venue to hold the virtual convenings?

A6: Virtual convenings will be hosted online by the Contractor. If a hybrid or live convening would advantageously occur in Washington, DC, MCC will provide the space at its headquarters. For hybrid or live convenings in the focus countries as described in Figure One: Estimated Work Flow, the Contractor will consult with the country team on venue but will handle all logistics as described in Section C.4, page 14 and F.5, page 19.

7. Page 20, Section F.6 states "MCC is assuming that the Contractor will be required to have one person travel to each eligible focus country to assist the in-country employee or consultant with emceeing in-country convenings." However, page 14, Section C.4 Figure 1 Estimated Task Flow outlines all in-country convenings will take place in 3 countries (countries 1,4,6). Can the MCC please clarify this discrepancy?

Should the Contactor budget one trip to each of the 9 eligible countries, or six trips to the three specified countries?

A7: The contract, inclusive of base and option periods and encompassing all tasks, will work in up to six countries, as specified in Section C.4. Not all countries will receive the same support. As specified in Section C.4 Figure One: Estimated Task Flow on page 14, Contractors should anticipate one in-country convening in Country 1 in the Base Year, one in-country convening in Country 1 in Option Year 1, an in-country convening in each of Countries Four and Six in Option Year Two, and again in Option Year Three. The total estimate for in-country convenings is six in three countries total inclusive of the base and option periods. As stated in section F.6, Zambia should be used as a destination for budgeting purposes.

8. Page 20, Section F.6 states "The Contractor will establish and maintain a comprehensive reference index of all relevant documents reviewed, produced, and/or edited by the Contractor." Can the MCC please confirm what software platforms are acceptable or preferred to house the reference index?

A8: Per FAR 4.805 MCC has provided this record retention guidance to potential offerors regarding the retention and storage of all relevant contractual documents, there is not set or preferred software platform to store this information. It is at the contractors discretion regarding how important relevant documents are stored per the instructions found under Section F.6.

9. Page 73, Section L 9.7 states past project matrices much be included in the technical quotation and are subject to page limits in Section L.8." Can the MCC please confirm if the matrices should be included in the main body of the technical quotation and subject to the 15-page limit? If so, is there a page limit per past project matrix?

A9: Yes, the matrices requested in Section L.9.7. should be included in the technical quotation and are subject to the 15 page limit stated in Section L.8. since Section L.9.7. clearly states that:

"The three (or more) matrices must be included within Volume I - Technical Quotation and are subject to the page limits referenced in Section L.8. Offerors shall not include additional past performance matrices in the appendix to Volume I - Technical Quotation. If an offeror does not have three relevant references, they should state so within the past performance Technical Quotation. Per Section M, lack of relevant performance history will have no negative or positive valuated significance."

Please note that the matrices requested under Section L.9.7. differ from the Past Performance Questionnaire document requested under Attachment J of the RFQ.

10. Page 72, Section L 9.6 states "Quotations shall include CVs for each proposed team member." Will MCC please confirm that CVs are only required for key personnel and is only required to provide labor category descriptions and ceiling rates for non-key personnel as described in Section B.4 and Section L 10.5?

A10: Per the instructions found under Section L.8.1. it states that CVs should be provided in the Technical Quotation appendix:

"L.8.1. Volume 1 Technical Quotation is limited to Fifteen (15) pages.

Pages beyond this number will not be read or evaluated. NOTE: Cover pages, executive summaries/cover letters, and tables of content do not count toward the page limit.

Résumés, CVs, letters of commitment (if applicable), and Contractor Performance Assessment Reports (CPARs) may be included in an appendix to the Technical Quotation without a page limit (although, MCC requests that each individual CV or resume does not exceed four (4) pages) . Any other information included in the appendix will not be evaluated and MCC reserves the right to eliminate a vendor from consideration for award if additional information is included. Appendices to the Technical Quotation shall be submitted as a separate electronic file."

As specified in Section H.2 "All proposed staff should provide CVs demonstrating how their qualifications suit the needs of the requested services. Resumes for all team members, including Key and Non-Key Personnel, must be approved in advance by MCC." Section H.2 also states that "For Contractors without presence in all MCC program eligible countries, a description of methods used and track record for securing and managing quality of in-country consultants should be described."

11. Will MCC please provide the maximum file size per email submission that MCC's server can accept?

A11: MCC's Outlook supports sending/ receiving files at a maximum of 35 MB/ 36 MB, respectively.

** The maximum represent the entirety of the email message. A typical message size will be 30-40% larger than the included attachments.

12. Page 70, Section L.5.1 states that quotations "...shall be prepared as two (2) electronic volumes." In Section L.8.1, however, it states that "Resumes, CVs, letters of commitment, and Contractor Performance Assessment Reports (CPARS) may be included in an appendix to the Quotation". Would MCC please confirm that should offerors choose to include resumes, CVs, letters of commitment, and CPARS, that these should be included in an annex with the technical volume and not as appendix in third volume.

A12: This is confirmation that, as stated in Section L.8.1.:

"…Résumés, CVs, letters of commitment (if applicable), and Contractor Performance Assessment Reports (CPARs) may be included in an appendix to the Technical Quotation without a page limit (although, MCC requests that each individual CV or resume does not exceed four (4) pages) . Any other information included in the appendix will not be evaluated and MCC reserves the right to eliminate a vendor from consideration for award if additional information is included. Appendices to the Technical Quotation shall be submitted as a separate electronic file."

Although the instructions note that the appendices shall be submitted as a SEPARATE electronic file the Technical Quotation and corresponding appendices, though separate files, should be submitted in a single email pursuant to the instructions from Section L.5.1.

Please note as well the instruction on page 34 in Section H.2: "All proposed staff should provide CVs demonstrating how their qualifications suit the needs of the requested services. Resumes for all team members, including Key and Non-Key Personnel, must be approved in advance by MCC."

13. Could MCC confirm that the technical volume and the annexes may be submitted in a single email?

A13: Yes, please refer to the answer to question No. 12 above.

14. Page 70, Section L.6.5 specifies font requirements for material other than body text. Could MCC please confirm that offerors are permitted to use Times New Roman 10-point font for tables and text boxes as well as graphics included in the technical submission?

A14: As stated under Section L.6.5. Times New Roman font, 10-point for spreadsheets and any font size for graphics as long as they are legible.

15. Page 70, Per Section L.6.6, would MCC please confirm whether each volume must be submitted in PDF and Microsoft Word format?

A15: The Contractor may submit the Technical Volume in PDF, Microsoft, or both according to preference.

Price tables in the Cost Volume must be submitted in Excel format.

16. Page 18, F.3 states "Tasks Four and Five deliverables will be submitted in English…", however, only four tasks are listed in the preceding schedule. A fifth task is also mentioned in Section H.2 under the responsibilities for the Communications Specialist. Could MCC confirm whether there is a fifth task that has been omitted from this schedule? If there is a fifth task, could MCC provide further details regarding what is expected under this?

A16: Please disregard all references to Task 5 in all sections of the RFQ document. There are four tasks.

17. In reviewing the solicitation, there were a few hyperlinks that did not work. Could MCC share each of the documents linked in the solicitation as separate attachments or could MCC update the hyperlinks throughout the solicitation to ensure they link to the intended documents?

A17: The following are the full links:

1. Page 9, linked text "Compact and Threshold Program development":

https://www.mcc.gov/resources/doc/guidance-compact-development-guidance

2. Page 9, linked text "an approach": https://www.mcc.gov/our-impact/constraints-analysis

3. Page 9, linked text "economic rate of return": https://www.mcc.gov/our-impact/err https://www.mcc.gov/resources/doc/guidance-compact-development-guidance https://www.mcc.gov/our-impact/constraints-analysis https://www.mcc.gov/our-impact/err

4. Page 10, linked text "website": https://www.mcc.gov/resources/story/story-cdg-chapter-4-guidelines-for-public-consultations-and-stakeholder

5. Page 15, linked text "Guidelines for Public Consultations and Stakeholder Engagement":

https://www.mcc.gov/resources/story/story-cdg-chapter-4-guidelines-for-public-consultations-and-stakeholder

18. Would MCC consider granting a 1-week extension for offerors to review the documents that are not currently linked in the original solicitation, given their relevance to the technical scope of work?

A18: MCC agrees to extend the offer due date, please remove the language under Section L.3. and replace it with:

"L.3. Quotation Due Date

L.3.1. All quotations must be provided in electronic format. The quotation due date is Monday, August 1, 2022 no later than 12:00 pm Eastern Time to kapakasay@mcc.gov and maxwellre@mcc.gov."

The Background and Scope sections provide sufficient information for Contractors to prepare bids. In addition, of the five links for further reference that were broken, the information was also covered in the working link:

https://www.mcc.gov/resources/doc/guidance-compact-development-guidance and/or was accessible through a key word search of MCC.gov.

19. The objective or the task is 'to assist MCC and its Core Team or MCA partners to more systematically identify and build relationships with prospective partners aligned with the country program objectives during Compact and Threshold Program development' but material in section C suggests a more limited role. For example under Task 3: 'The Contractor will not facilitate the 1:1 meetings or undertake them on behalf of MCC.' As these seem to be contradictory, could OSP please clarify to what extent the contractor may assist not only the set-up, but the meetings themselves, in order to support the MCA team to access the benefits of multi-stakeholder partnership?

A19: Taken together, the tasks assist MCC and MCAs in more systematically identifying and building relationships with prospective partners. As described in Section F.5, "The Contractor will secure contact information for the right interlocutors, fix meeting times, prepare briefs and agendas for MCC or MCA meeting participants following research into the organization, prepare presentations or one-pagers to share with prospective partners as needed, take and organize meeting notes, and track engagement and progress across a portfolio of conversations." The Contractor supports the MCC or MCA team in undertaking such meetings and directly building relationships rather than the Contractor being an intermediary.

20. In the same way, after the completion of the multi-stakeholder convenings outlined in Task 4, is the contractor expected to assist MCC/MCA further facilitate and broker potential partnerships with participants of these events to eventual finalization of a partnership agreement? For example, are there any other follow-up activities beyond the immediate, short-term 'generate out-briefs outlining actual participants, key session takeaways, next steps and any learnings or recommended modifications based on how the convening transpired'?

A20: Following convenings, there may be one-to-one meetings under Task 3 that the Contractor supports.

The Contractor is not expected to develop agreements, though MCC or the MCA/Core Team may come to partnership agreements through prospective partner engagement that is supported by the Contractor through Tasks One-Four. In such cases, MCC's Office of Strategic Partnerships will play an active role, rather than adding to Contractor tasks beyond those described in the solicitation.

https://www.mcc.gov/resources/story/story-cdg-chapter-4-guidelines-for-public-consultations-and-stakeholder https://www.mcc.gov/resources/story/story-cdg-chapter-4-guidelines-for-public-consultations-and-stakeholder https://www.mcc.gov/resources/story/story-cdg-chapter-4-guidelines-for-public-consultations-and-stakeholder https://www.mcc.gov/resources/story/story-cdg-chapter-4-guidelines-for-public-consultations-and-stakeholder mailto:kapakasay@mcc.gov mailto:maxwellre@mcc.gov https://www.mcc.gov/resources/doc/guidance-compact-development-guidance

21. Is there any scope in addition to meet the objectives by building the capacity of MCAs to be able to be more effective at developing/managing partnerships including, for example, through training and coaching?

A21: No, this will not be a task for the Contractor.

22. Several references are made to a Task 5, for example 'The proposed team must be able to mobilize in-country assistance for each of the selected, eligible countries in order to deliver each of the Tasks Two through Five.' Yet Task 5 is not listed under section C.4. TASKS or otherwise defined. Please can you explain this?

A22: Please disregard all references to Task 5 in all sections of the RFQ document. There are four tasks.

23. As the APS and PPS mechanisms are presented as part of the methodology as vehicles to identify and broker partnerships for MCC/MCA. Do you anticipate the contractor to work with these in accomplishing the outlined tasks? If so, in what capacity?

A23: No, the Contractor is not expected to provide APS and PPS support, except insofar as the Contractor's work helps MCA/Core Team and MCC teams undertake a form of market research, in which case OSP would coach the Contractor on how a market research lens might impact the Contractor's approach in a particular instance. The Contractor will not be expected to learn the APS or PPS processes.

24. What level of support will the contractor be expected to provide in comparison to the initial 1:1 meetings to deliver the following: 'Approximately a third of these meetings (which) is expected to entail follow-up discussions with the same prospective collaborator(s) to mature partnership scoping and structuring'?

A24: Approximately the same level of support will be required for follow-up meetings as for initial meetings, save the work of identifying initial contacts and obtaining initial contact information. Having captured and organized notes from the initial meeting, the Contractor will debrief with MCC and/or relevant MCA/Core Teams to plan for the subsequent meeting. The Contractor will "fix meeting times, prepare briefs and agendas for MCC or MCA/Core Team meeting participants following research into the organization, prepare presentations or one-pagers to share with prospective partners as needed, take and organize meeting notes, and track engagement and progress across a portfolio of conversations." Such roles are expected to be relevant whether the conversation is introductory or follow-up.

25. There is a reference to 'key personnel identified below [that] are considered to be essential to work performance' but the list of position this refers to is then described as 'illustrative' but also 'anticipated to have a level of effort of less than full-time'. To what extent can we propose what we believe to be a better mix of roles and blend of full and part time personnel?

A25: The team composition provided in Section H.2 is illustrative. Contractors are invited to propose a team composition that efficiently provides the services described and meets the team-level and functional role qualifications described in Section H.2. Whomever plays the project management role must be considered Key Personnel, even if the Contractor uses a different title for this role than Project Manager. The Contractor may propose additional Key Personnel. In addition, as stated on page 34, MCC will provide technical concurrence for all personnel—both key and non-key—based upon CVs provided by the Contractor. Furthermore, Contractors must propose a staffing structure that includes an in-country resource for prospective partner identification and engagement (Tasks Two-Four), whether accomplished through staff or sub-contractors, in each of the up to six focus countries. Since these countries are yet to be determined, Contractors are instructed on page 34 to describe the "methods used and track record for securing and managing quality of in-country consultants."

26. The tasks are specified in terms of number of organisations per country, number of meetings supported etc but there is a very wide range in terms of country's engaged in any one year e.g. in the Base year 'new Prospective Partner map for two to three program eligible countries' and in Option Year One 'a new Prospective Partner Map for up to two new program eligible countries'. Can we propose a range of costs depending on the actual number of countries involved?

A26: Contractors should estimate costs based on their proposed methodology and team structure to accomplish each of the tasks. Contractors should estimate LOE and other direct costs to perform the tasks, which themselves instruct the Contractor to recognize that the total volume of countries or volume within a given task may vary as described. The resulting contract from this action will be Time and Materials.

27. Under Section B.4 - MCC requests offerors to provide all proposed labor categories and fully-burdened hourly rates. However, offerors do not know which countries they will support over the life of the contract.

Labor structures vary widely across countries and regions, thus making it difficult to price labor costs for local staff. Can MCC clarify how offerors should price given this uncertainty? For example, offerors could bid a 'maximum' rate that can be discounted later for each country, or offerors could bid a wide range of potential rates (and assuming a distribution across different income categories).

A27: The Contractor should price according to the methodology and team structure they propose and their experience in labor costs in MCC program eligible countries as illustrated in Section C.3. Price is a consideration that will be evaluated. The contract will be constructed as Time and Materials.

28. Under Section C.3. - MCC notes which countries were made eligible recently (Zambia and Belize) and others where development of compacts or threshold programs are underway. Does MCC anticipate the offeror to work with any of these listed countries, or will all anticipated work be with newly eligible countries selected in 2022 and after?

A28: MCC anticipates that the countries will include a combination of recently eligible countries and countries to be selected on a rolling basis each December over the contract period, inclusive of the base year and option years, with the majority being newly selected countries. To ensure that Contractors use the same assumptions for budgeting purposes, Zambia is an illustrative country as specified in Section F.6.

Amendment No. 0001 Questions and Answers