95332423Q0057_Questions and Answers.xlsx
XLSX spreadsheet 18 KB Posted
- Attached to
- Public Financial Management (PFM) Expertise to Support MCC-funded Land-based Revenue Projects
- Solicitation number
- 95332423Q0057
- Issued by
-
Millennium Challenge Corporation
About this file
This document contains questions and answers regarding a solicitation for public financial management consulting services. The solicitation seeks proposals for a Public Financial Management Expert to provide analysis and advice on public budget and expenditure management in Malawi and to support oversight of public financial management strengthening investments undertaken with MCC funding. Key details include that proposals are due by July 7, 2022 at 12:00 PM local time in Washington, DC; the solicitation requests one Public Financial Management Expert as key personnel but allows for the proposal of support staff; resumes and letters of commitment are limited to three pages; experience managing grants or contracts is considered equally relevant; the estimated level of effort for the Public Financial Management Expert is 640 hours per year; and the selected consultant will be precluded from bidding on future land-based reform work in Malawi procured by MCC or its partners.
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Other files
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| 95332423Q0057 00001.pdf | ||
| 95332423Q0057.pdf | ||
| J.1 PPQ.docx | DOCX document | |
| J.2 FORM SFLLL.pdf |
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Sheet1
| No. | Solicitation Section | Page | Solicitation Language Reference | Question | Answers |
| 1 | Cover Page | 1 | 8. Offer Due Date / Local Time | The proposal is due July 7 at 12:00 PM. Subsequently, Section L.3. says the proposal is due by 12 PM “Eastern time.” From the RFQ’s cover page, please confirm that 12:00 PM “local time” is for Washington, DC. | Amendment will be provided with the new proposal due date |
| 2 | Section C | 19 | C.I. Personnel Requirements and Qualifications | The RFQ describes the Key Personnel (KP) position as “Public Financial Management Expert.” Our questions: |
- Should this be the Malawi – Public Financial Management Expert or the Multi Country – Public Financial Management Expert, or something else?
- Or is it up to the Offeror to determine the KP position?
| - Relatedly, can our proposal highlight more than one KP? | As stated in the RFQ, MCC is seeking a Public Financial Management Expert who can successfully perform in multi-country contexts. The RFQ requests one Key Personnel position. | |||||
| 3 | Section L | 71 | L.8. Offer Formatting | In L.8.’s Table B Page Limitations, the Technical Volume includes sub-sections for A, B, D, E, and F, but no C. Is there a separate C sub-section? Or if the missing C is simply a typo, we can move up D to become C, E to become D, and F to become E. Please advise | Yes | |
| 4 | Section L | 72 | L.8. Offer Formatting | According to L.8.’s Table Page Limitations, there is no page limit for resumes and letters of commitment. However, instructions on page 74 say that resumes and letters of commitment are limited to three (3) pages. Questions regarding this issue: |
- Can you please confirm that there is no page limit for resumes and letters of commitment.
- If, however, there is a page limit for resumes and letters of commitment and if the Offeror is allowed to highlight more than one proposed Key Personnel (as requested in Question #2, above), may we correspondingly expand the page limit for resumes and letters of commitment?
| - If there is a page limit for resumes and letters of commitment, can this be three pages per resume and one page per letter of commitment? | Resumes and Letters of commitment are limited to 3 pages as stated on page 74 | |||||
| 5 | Section L | 72 | L.10.1.1. Transmittal and Cover Letter | Please confirm that the Transmittal and Cover Letter are the same letter. That is, please confirm that this is one letter and not two. | Correct Trasmittal and cover leters are the same and this is one letter | |
| 6 | Section L | 73 | L.10.1.1. Transmittal and Cover Letter | Instructions for the Transmittal and Cover Letter call for the inclusion of the Offeror’s DUNS number. Please confirm that this should be the Offeror’s UEI number. | Correct this should be UEI number | |
| 7 | Section L | 73 | L.10.1.1. Transmittal and Cover Letter | |||
| Point #13: Offeror Summary Table | Should the Offeror complete this table if the Offeror is not proposing any subcontractors? | No | ||||
| 8 | Section L | 74 | L.10.2.1. Criterion 1: Personnel Qualifications | According to the instructions, letters of commitment are required for all subcontractor staff. Are letters of commitment also required for the Offeror’s proposed Key Personnel as well as any proposed non-KP candidates? | No they are not | |
| 9 | Section L | 74 | L.10.2.1. Criterion 1: Personnel Qualifications | The following sentence from the RFQ emphasizes managing grant programs: “Offerors shall demonstrate the proposed key personnel in terms of their implementing or managing multi-million-dollar Grant Programs in developing countries, working with organizations such as USAID, the U.S. Department of State, other U.S.Government agencies, private foundations, or other donor agencies.” Please confirm that managing Contracts is equally relevant. | Yes, manageing grant fundig is equally important. | |
| 10 | Section L | 75 | L.10.2.2. Criterion 2: Technical and Management Approach | There is potential conflict in the RFQ’s instructions for the Technical and Management Approach. Notably, the instructions first say that the proposal must 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 … “ However, the instructions also state that “Offerors shall not repeat the tasks outlined under the scope of work … “ These specific instructions can be interpreted to be at odds. Can you please clarify? | There is no conflict. The instructions outline a requirement for the formatting and numbering convention of the SOW. The warning regarding repeating of tasks the SOW speaks to the content. | |
| 10 | Standard Form 1449 | NA | Block 10 (first page of solicitation document) checks set aside | The Solicitation/Contract/Order form in Box 10 checks off 100% set-aside but details on the set-aside are not noted, nor is 52.219-6, Notice of Total Small Business Set-Aside (Nov 2020) checked as applicable on pg. 42 of 82. Is this solicitation unrestricted or a set-aside for one of the groups in Box 10 on the form? | Unrestricted | |
| 11 | Section C.B | 16 | The City Council Land-Based Revenue Modernization Activity aims to expand coverage and collection of land-based revenues (property taxes) in up to four cities (Lilongwe, Blantyre, Mzuzu, and Zomba) | The scope of work suggests counterparts at the central and local (city) levels. Have the individuals and/or agencies involved been identified and their participation secured or is that something the consultant will need to navigate and establish? | Counterparts (departments and individuals) at the four city Councils of Malawi are identified and they have been and are currenlty actively participating. | |
| 12 | Section C.B | 16-17 | The City Council Land-Based Revenue Modernization Activity aims to expand coverage and collection of land-based revenues (property taxes) in up to four cities ((Lilongwe, Blantyre, Mzuzu, and Zomba) | Is there a designated government official who will serve as a liaison with the government? | Yes, there are designated officials at each of the four City Councils. MCA-Malawi serves as the the direct liasion with these officials and MCC representatives. | |
| 13 | Section C.G | 18 | The estimated level of effort for the Public Financial Management expert is 640 hours per year | Our organization operates under a research assistant model. Senior staff members provide methodological guidance, quality control of all reports, client interaction, and final review of work products. Most support work (formatting documents, desk research, coding for data analysis, etc.) would be done by more junior level staff under the guidance of senior staff. Would MCC be amenable to a larger team (4 staff members and two PFM specialists) with a different dispersion of hours? | The Offeror can present their model for providing he services required including support personnel. However, the RFQ requests one Public Financial Mangement Expert as Key Personnel. | |
| 14 | Section C.H | 19 | The Consultant will be precluded from bidding on any work and services (design, assessment, implementation, and supervision) to be procured by MCA-Malawi or any other local accountable entity or using funds advanced under a Compact in the relevant country. | Does participation in this contract preclude the expert(s) from bidding for future contracts in PFM in Malawi or Ethiopia? Page 19 seems to say yes, but we are not sure if that is just for land-based reform activity. | As stated in the RFQ, the Consultant will be precluded from bidding on any land project or activity work and services to be procured by MCA-Malawi or any other local accountable entity. The Consultant under this contract with MCC will not be able to provide the services described in this RFQ while also bidding on land-related PFM services to be procured by MCA-Malawi or any other local accountable entity | |
| 15 | Section C.I | 19 | MCC requires the following expert as key personnel to be included in proposals. Key personnel may also provide expertise or services described below for non-key personnel. MCC encourages the bidders to propose cost effective staffing patterns. | Can a team propose one public finance expert for Malawi and another for "multi-country"? | The RFQ requests a Public Financial Mangement Expert as Key Personnel to work across multiple conuntries. | |
| 16 | Multiple (B.4 &C.I) | 13/19/20 | Multiple areas surrounding key vs. non-key personnel | The proposal form lists a public finance management expert and a public finance management specialist (referenced in several places including on page 13). Is the specialist the “non-key personnel” reference on page 20 of the RFP? | The Offeror can present their model for providing he services required including support personnel. However, the RFQ requests one Public Financial Mangement Expert as Key Personnel. Management Expert'. | |
| 17 | General | NA | NA | Is it open only for US Registered firms or EU based firms can also apply? | ||
| Yes, This is open to any business entity registered with sam.gov to do business with the United States Government. | ||||||
| 18 | Section B: Supplies or Services and Prices/Costs | 4 & 5 | Item 0001 to 0004 | Solicitation request to provide following consultants |
1. 0001-Malawi - Public Financial Management Expert
2. 0002-Malawi - Public Financial Management Expert
3. 0003-Multi Country - Public Financial Management Expert
4. 0004-Multi Country - Public Financial Management Expert We are Dublin based firm and worked extensively in PFM sector in Malawi.
can you please clarify if we can provide the services only for Item 0001 and 0002 for Malawi or is it necessary to provide and quote for services for all four items?
| Also, can we propose the same Individual for multiple items? | Provide quote for what is neccasary to provide the best capabilties for the requirement. | |||||
| 19 | Section B: Supplies or Services and Prices/Costs | 5 | Item 0003 and 0004 : Multi Country - Public Financial Management Expert | Can you please let us know the tentative countries to be involved in future if available? This will give us to propose a suitable resource having relevant geographical experience. | Countries other than Malawi are not known at this time. | |
| 20 | Section F.2 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE | 26 | The Contractor shall perform services primarily at their own facilities, but may also be required to perform services at MCC headquarters, at the facilities of MCA Entities, or other location, per COR/PM technical direction | Nationality of the Proposed Resources |
Pg 19 Key Personnel has no mention of US nationality requirement, however Section F2: Place of Performance mentions " MCC headquarters, at the facilities of MCA Entities" and in conjunction with this requirement Section H, subsection B mentions that the Personnel who may be required to work at MCC HQ should be A U.S. citizen or have Permanent Resident Status.
| Can you please clarify on the Nationality of the Key Personnel we can propose for all the four positions? | Personnel do not need to be US citizens or US permanent residents | |
| 21 | Section C - Description/Specifications/Work Statement |
I.Personnel Requirements and Qualifications
| Key Personnel | 19 | Key Personnel |
| 22 | Section H - Special Contract Requirements | |
| B. PSC and Contract Employee Fitness and MCC Photo ID Badge Requirements | 35 & 36 | 1. The following are requirements for a PSC or contractor employee who works under this contract and requires access to any of the following: MCC Headquarters, MCCNet, Sensitive But Unclassified (SBU), Foreign Government Information (FGI) or any other designated sensitive information (such as classified national security information and Controlled Unclassified Information under 32 CFR Part 2002). |
a. Such an individual must be:
i. A U.S. citizen or have Permanent Resident Status in the U.S;
ii. Screened for fitness to work for or on behalf of MCC;
iii. Determined by MCC to be fit to work for or on behalf of MCC; and
iv. Determined eligible to be issued an MCC Photo Identification Badge.
b. In addition, if the individual is not a U.S. citizen for or in a position designated as moderate or high risk (i.e., a public trust position), the individual must have been residing, working and/or attending an educational institution in the U.S. for at least three, years
&"Calibri"&12&K008000 UNCLASSIFIED&1#_x000D_
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