AMENDMENT_95332422Q00930001_MCC RESPONSE TO QUESTIONS.pdf

MCC RESPONSE TO QUESTIONS RECEIVED

95332422Q0093

No. Solicitation Section Page Solicitation Language Reference Question MCC Response

1 Section B 5 B.3 Type of Contract

Please confirm if there a cost cap or baseline budget associated with this solicitation that bidders should consider when developing proposals

The overall price will be a "Not to Exceed" amount.

2 Section H 18 MCC 52.204-70 Security Requirements for

Contractor Personnel

Considering clause 52.204-70 – Security Requirements for

Contractor Personnel under section H, would the consultants employed by the contractor be required to access any of the following: MCC Headquarters, MCCNet, SBU, FGI etc.? If yes, will any or all of the consultants be required to meet the requirement listed in the abovementioned section?

An in-person meeting at MCC HQ or access to the aforementioned platforms will not be necessary. If you are working in Sierra Leone, it will likely be advantageous to meet with the Sierra Leone Compact Development Unit, whose office is in Freetown. Special security clearance for entry there is not necessary.

3 Section L 57 L.9. Technical Volume Instructions

Kindly clarify if subcontractors or independent consultants must be exclusive to one bid or are they permitted to join multiple bid teams

No, subcontractors and independent consultants may join multiple bid teams.

4 Section L 59 L.10.2.1. Criterion 1: Personnel Qualifications Please confirm if there is a preferred template for the Resumes and Letters of Commitment presented by the Offeror No preferred template is required.

5 Section L 59 L.10.2.1. Criterion 1: Personnel Qualifications

Please confirm that offerors should not submit the full CVs of the support staff and may instead submit succinct biographies that effectively demonstrate their capabilities to fulfill each non-key/ support personnel role

Full CVs of no-key personnel are not required. Offerors may submit succint biographies of non-key and support personnel.

6 Section L 59 L.10.2.1. Criterion 1: Personnel Qualifications Please confirm that commitment letters need to be presented only for the Key Experts excluding the support staff

Commitment letters need to be submitted for key subcontractor personnel only.

7 Section L 61 L.11. Past Performance Volume Instructions Please confirm that projects that are still under implementation are also valid Past and current projects are applicable.

8 Section L 62 L.12. Business Volume Instructions

Could MCC please clarify that Volume III (Business Volume) will be submitted solely in one Excel document, with separate labeled tabs for the cover page and all Section B tables

The cover page and support documentation shall be submitted in MS Word or searchable PDF. Section B shall be submitted in

MS Excel.

9 Section L 64 L.12.6 Quote Assumptions

Could MCC please confirm that the Estimated LOE Hours for each of the 7 labor categories as outlined in the table shall not be exceeded

To assist Offerors in the preparation of their proposals, the

Government presented bidding assumptions. Offeror’s are expected to make an independent assessment of the resources required to perform the tasks described in Section C. Offerors should use their own judgment based on their experience and approach to completion of this project to propose the price appropriate for the requirement.

10 Section L 64 L.12.6 Quote Assumptions Please clarify whether there are particular rate bands for the different labor categories No rate bands are present.

11 Section L 54 L.3. Offer Submission Due Date

We would be very grateful for your consideration of providing a short two-week extension to the bid submission deadline until

August 31, 2021. The additional proposal preparation time would allow bidders to follow up with client references to complete the questionnaire and submit them directly to MCC and to receive and reflect all clarifications into the bidders’ proposals. It would also benefit the quality of all proposals submitted.

The submission deadline has extended. See amendment.

Statement of Work:

Section 1

(Statement of Work)

1.8 Other Planned Studies

As related to the “Other Planned Studies" will there be any mechanisms in place to facilitate regular collaboration/ information exchange between this market assessment and the other three planned studies? This we believe will assist avoid redundancy/ duplication of efforts as well as facilitate knowledge sharing for enhanced final results

Yes, MCC will convene an inception/kickoff meeting with all consultant groups present. Subsequent consultant coordination meetings linked to deliverables will be held to share preliminary findings, preliminary recommendations, and a concluding meeting prior to final deliverable finalization.

13 Section B 5 B.4.2. Base Period Can MCC please confirm the amount that the Other Direct Costs should not exceed?

Although the Other Direct Costs (ODC) ceiling has been provided, Offerors may quote an alternate ODC ceiling. See

Amendment Section B.4.2.

14 Section L 53, 54 L.5. Offeror Expiration

On Page 53, MCC states that the cover letter shall state: “Quote validity for 90 days after submission” however, on page 54 (L.5), MCC states that “The Offeror shall agree to hold all elements of the quote in its offer firm for no less than 120 days.” Can MCC please clarify if the validity of the proposal should be for 90 days or 120 days?

Quotes shall be valid for 90 days after submission.

15 Section L 58 L.10.1.2. Executive Summary

L.10.1.2 states the executive summary shall include a table of contents that delineates all sections of the quote, a matrix that maps each of the factors/sub-factors to a specific section/page/paragraph within the Offeror's quote, and assumptions, conditions, or exceptions. However, Section L.9.1 states that the table of contents is not included in the page count. Can MCC clarify if the table of contents is counted against the page limitation and if it should be included as part of the executive summary?

The Table of contents is not counted against the page count.

The executive summary shall include a table of contents that delineates all sections of the quote, a matrix that maps each of the factors/sub-factors to a specific section/page/paragraph within the Offeror’s quote, and assumptions, conditions, or exceptions. The table of contents and matrix shall contain hyperlinks to the referenced sections of the quote.

16 Section L 56 L.8 Offer Formatting

Should offerors include acronym lists as part of the quote? Can

MCC confirm that the acronym list will not count against the page limitations outlined in Table B?

Offerors may include an acronym list as a separate addendum and will not count against the page count.

17 Section L 59 L.10.2.2 Criterion 2: Technical and Management

Approach

Section L. 10.2.2. states, “the quote shall detail… the SOW as analyzed by the Offeror. This section shall be formatted as presented in the SOW for ease of correlation. Each response to a paragraph will use similar paragraph numbering systems as the specification and shall be self-sustaining without reference to any other response or literature for support.

Section L.10.2.2 goes on to state, “Offerors shall not repeat the tasks outlined under the scope of work…” Can

MCC please clarify what information is required in relation to the SOW. Specifically, does MCC want offerors to detail our approach to achieving each task identified in Attachment J.1, Section 2 (pg. 10)?

Yes, Offerors sahll detail their approach, understanding, and conformance with the tasks identified in Attachment J.1 SOW.

18 Section L 60 L.10.2.3. Criterion 3: Corporate Capability and

Experience

The RFQ includes section L.10.2.3. Criterion 3: Corportate

Capability and Experiance, but does not list this subfactor as part of Table B under L.8.2. which includes the page limitations.

Can MCC confirm if Corporate Capability and Experience is it’s own sub-factor? Can MCC also provide a page limitation if this sub-factor should be included in the quote?

See Amendment.

MCC RESPONSE TO QUESTIONS RECEIVED

95332422Q0093

No. Solicitation Section Page Solicitation Language Reference Question MCC Response

19 Section L 62 L.12 Business Volume

MCC states, “Although the Other Direct Costs (ODC) ceiling has been provided, Offerors may quote an alternative ODC ceiling.”

However, no ceiling was provided. Can MCC clarify there is a ceiling for ODCs? If so, can MCC please confirm whether a breakdown of ODC cost components is needed as shown in the table on page 62 if the Offeror does adhere to the ODC ceiling that has been provided?

See Amendment.

20 Attachment J.1 Attachment J.1, pg. 11 Attachment J.1: Scope of Work

In the schedule of due dates (Section 4 of Attachment J.1), MCC has allotted 4 weeks to complete the report on existing value chains supporting infrastructure, and institutions. Given that

MCC is requesting a list of 10-15 crops—each of which requires a separate value chain report—would MCC consider an alternative deliverables schedule that proposes a revised breakdown of weeks 3-24?

Yes, open to revising breakdown as long as it does not create complications in the timely receipt of these deliverables for input into subsequent consultancies.