MECC_NOI_AID-660-TO-16-00002.pdf

Notice of Intent for Other than Full and Open Competition

Solicitation Number: 72062020R00024 Notice Type: Special Notice Agency: US Agency for International Development (USAID) Office: Overseas Missions Location: USAID/Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Subject: Notice of Intent

USAID/DROC intends to negotiate a non-competitive modification for Task Order No.

AID-660-TO-16-00002, which is a Task Order under Contract No.

AID-OAA-I-15-00022_IBTCI, Monitoring, Evaluation, Coordination Contract (MECC) with International Business & Technical Consultants Inc. (IBTCI), 8618 Westwood Center Dr., Vienna, VA 22182, USA. The contract was awarded to IBTCI based on full and open competition, on January 13, 2016 for a five-year period of performance.

In recent years, USAID revamped its ADS 201 Program Cycle Development Policy with a greater focus on sustainability, ownership, and knowledge transfer where learning from monitoring and evaluation is key. USAID/DRC has been applying these principles in its development work, through the Monitoring, Evaluation and Coordination Task Order (MECC) contract AI D-660-TO-16-00002. Over the past four and a half years, MECC has provided the Mission with performance management services to monitor, evaluate, and assess implementation of the Mission’s Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) as well as the Central Africa Regional Development Cooperation Strategy (RDCS). This extension is a bridge until the solicitation for a new competitively awarded contract is awarded. A competitive RFP will be released in approximately November 2020.

The USAID Contractor is central to supporting the completion of the Mission’s new CDCS, Results Framework, Associated Performance Management Plan (PMP), and third party activity monitoring. This contract is also the primary support option available to monitor Mission activities operating in non-permissive environments. The recent Ebola response efforts and allegations of sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment in the DRC have greatly amplified the need for third party monitoring of USAID activities. These bridge activities will continue until the new contract is in place.

The purpose of this non-competitive modification is to extend the period of performance and cost for the Monitoring, Evaluation, Coordination Contract (MECC), Task Order No.

AID-660-TO-16-00002. The time increase requested is for 10 months from January 12, 2021 to November 12, 2021. The current ceiling of $24,743,698 will also increase by an additional

$2,300,931.70 to $27,044,630.04 to fund the additional work requested. This increase in time and cost will allow the USAID Contractor to continue providing highly specialized and Mission critical support to 1.) finalize the ongoing accelerated new Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) development processes required by agency policy and 2.) ensure no break in necessary monitoring and evaluation services for the Mission portfolio primarily in non-permissive environments.

USAID/DRC intends to negotiate non-competitively with only one source (IBTCI) under the authority of USAID Acquisition Regulation (AIDAR) 706.302-70(b)(5), Impairment of foreign aid programs requiring the continued provision of highly specialized services, which states that this authority may be used for an award “for the continued provision of highly specialized services when award to another resource would result in substantial additional costs to the Government or would result in unacceptable delays.”

This notice of intent is not a request for proposals. However, the Government may consider all expressions of interest received within fifteen (15) calendar days after date of publication of this notice. A determination not to compete this proposed contract modification based upon responses to this notice, if any, is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information or responses received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. Therefore, any responses to this notice must demonstrate clear and convincing evidence that competition would be advantageous to USAID and would not hinder USAID/DRC’s objectives. Please direct any responses to this notice to Sarah R. Bueter, Contracting Officer, at sbueter@usaid.gov with a copy to Chong Hun Park at chpark@usaid.gov.