TAP Question and Answers.pdf

U.S. Agency for International Development 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20523 www.usaid.gov

Subject: Transparency, Accountability, and Performance (TAP) Project

RE: Questions and Answers to Solicitation No. M/OAA/GRO/ALPS032210

Dear Prospective Applicant:

Question/Answer Responses to Solicitation

Section B:

1. Q. Ref. B.7.0.2 – B.7.07: The solicitation requires pricing for Special Forums, Special forums/ Web Based, Courses, Course Updates, and Course Redesigns.

Unit of pricing is one special forum, course, course update, etc. While the number of attendees is helpful in developing pricing it is still unclear as to how many “course hours” are anticipated for each course. Can you change the unit of measure from I course to I course hour? One Special Forum may be developed for 25 participants with course instruction developed/designed for 4 hours, or 3 days. Using course hours as a unit of measure, 8 hours for a one-day course, will be more instructive.

A. Please price three typical types of “forums.” For each type of forum, base the estimate on providing meeting space for 30 people in Washington DC, all equipment (laptop, projector etc.), participant materials and am/pm refreshments.

(1) Half day facilitated After-Action review.

(2) One day seminar with one group plenary, three panels.

(3) Introduction to Managing for Results Course: Four day, eight hours a day (including breaks) from two Senior Training specialists. Also see Questions 5, 40 and 41.

2. Q. Ref. B.7.06 and 7.07: What is the difference in the level of effort required for a Course Redesign versus a Course Update? Is there a percentage of re-work that has to be done, for example more than 50%,that changes it form a course update to a course redesign?

A. For Course Redesign and Course Update please charge an hourly rate.

Course update is minor changes to page numbers, dates, minor edits to content to reflect changes in Agency policy, etc. Course redesign is

Sol. # M-OAA-GRO-ALPS-032210

Q&A on Draft Solicitation

TAP

moderate to major changes to content and presentation. In either case, unit prices will now reflect an hourly rate.

3. Q. Ref B.7.0.1. In defining “contractor’s (fully burdened), fixed hourly rates”, does fully burdened include all of the following: fringe benefits; overhead; G&A;

and, fee? If not all, which rates are included and where do rates not included in the fully burdened rates and where will they appear in the budget presentation?

A. Fully Burdened Rates should include an employee’s salary and any associated benefits.

4. Q. Section B.7 PRICE SCHEDULE. For pricing purposes: Please expand on your definition of the following: Special forum; Special forum / web based;

Course; and IT training These forums can vary in length from a half day to 5 day. When pricing these forums how do we gauge the length & content development in order to provide fair pricing on items 0001 – 0011 on p-age 6 & 7 of the RFP

A. Please refer to question 1.

5. Q. On page 7 of the RFP, please define CLIN numbers 004 - 0008: Strat Planning Course; Log Frameworks Course; Per mgmt course; Eval course; Gen.

per course

A. The courses identified in CLINs 004 – 008 shall be deleted from the draft RFP and insert CLIN 004 Course.

6. Q. Are we to see the Labor Category CLINS as Ceilings or Fixed Daily Rates?

References conflict in Section B

A. In accordance with section B.7.0.1, Labor Category CLINS shall represent the contractor’s loaded (fully burdened) fixed hourly rates. This shall also represent the contractor’s maximum possible task order proposal price for each labor category.

7. Q. Should we base the number of personnel chosen on the hours? i.e. would 4160 hours constitute two submitted Summaries and Letters of Commitment as it is twice the yearly 2080 hours?

A. By setting the maximum hours at 4160 for the categories of Analysts, Trainers and Technical Advisors, the Agency is acknowledging that the LOE for these labor categories might exceed 2080, or 1 FTE in the course of any given year. For the purpose of responding to the RFP, please only submit one representative resume.

8. Q. Is the cost proposal expected to be as presented for the CLINs, or is a CPFF-style build-up of indirect rates also expected? If you are expecting a build-up, would this be limited to major subcontractors, as defined in the RFP, or all subcontractors

A. No, there will be no cost proposal. In accordance with the solicitation, Section L, instructions to offerors, please complete/fill in Section B which will be used for price evaluation.

9. Q. Are 1420 forms required for any personnel? If so, please clarify which proposed personnel

A. Form 1420 is not required for any personnel proposed under this RFP. A two page resume with a signed acknowledgement letter shall be submitted for candidates proposed in each labor category.

10. Q. CLIN 0043 is used twice, once for a Code Writer and once for a Web Developer

A. The Code Writer Labor Category has been deleted.

11. Q. Page 10, B.7.0.1 Labor Rates: Please confirm that "contractor's loaded (fully burdened), fixed hourly rates" should include fee, in addition to allowable indirect cost rates

A. Yes, contractor’s loaded (fully burdened), fixed hourly rates shall include fee and allowable indirect cost rates.

12. Q. The CLINs included in the Price Schedule are pre-determined for the purpose of the IDIQC cost proposal and for ease of comparison. If a bidder cost structure establishes indirect costs (G&A) to be charged to budget categories such as travel and ODCs, would the offeror be allowed to include such indirect cost in task order cost proposals given that no CLIN exists under the IDIQC?

Could you please provide some guidance how indirect costs (G&A) normally charged on travel and ODCs should be treated and reflected in the cost proposal for this IDIQC?

A. No, the CLINs included in the Price Schedule are not for the purpose of the cost proposal. The CLINs are the highest fixed prices that IDIQ contract holders can propose when competing for task orders. In answer to the indirect cost question, such as G&A, for travel and ODC, contractors will not be allowed to bill G&A for travel and ODCs on this contract or resultant task orders.

13. Q. The draft RFP calls for code writers. Given the wide diversity of specialties in the field and in order to make sure the right expertise is offered, what specific code programs will USAID need for TAP?

A. This category has been deleted.

14. Q. On pages 7-20 of the RFP you enumerate numerous labor categories but have not provided definitions for these labor categories. We assume we may then provide our own definitions including levels of education and experience as well as technical experience that apply to each of these categories and levels (junior, mid, senior) even though they may not match other bidders?

A. Definitions are provided for each labor category listed started in Section C 3.0 Requirements through Section 3.3.5 Administrative Support

15. Q. What will be the minimum order guarantee following award? See p 3 B.5.1?

A. The minimum order guarantee is $100,000

16. Q. On p. 5 it indicates that the firm fixed price for each course does not include labor costs. So can we assume that the loe budgeted for any number of categories can be allocated for the special forums as part of task order budget proposals?

A. The Government interprets this question as – how do contractors propose labor for courses and forums if the courses and forums do not include labor costs? If this is the correct interpretation of the question, the answer is that the labor category used to design, develop, and present the course and/or forum is proposed separately in the appropriate labor CLIN(s).

17. Q. On p. 6. “B.7.0.9 International Travel” it indicates that “other authorized travel costs such as Medex are allowable costs – What about Defense Base Act Insurance (DBA) which is required under USAID contracts for overseas work

A. Please refer to Section H.7 Insurance and Services on page 53.

18. Q. On p. 6 “B.7.10.11 Other Direct Costs” Since this is mainly a commercially proceed contract we do not see the need to apply an negotiated indirect rate but instead a program management fee to ODC’s – Please confirm that you are open to such commercially acceptable loading of ODC’s

A. Market research has shown that commercial loading of ODC’s is just one accepted practice. USAID will not be using commercial loading of a program management fee or a negotiated indirect rate to ODCs. Other

Direct Costs, $10,000, is for items/supplies not covered by the contract CLINS, e.g. shipping or a unexpected commodity (see example below).

Course materials, forum materials, etc… these CLINS will have a loaded rate to include any program management fee. Labor CLINS are also loaded.

An example of an ODC – during a training class, a projector bulb dies. The government office does not have one available and the Government credit card holder is not on duty. With permission from the Task Order Contracting Officer Technical Representative, the contractor purchases a projector bulb to complete the training session. This exact cost of the bulb is billed under the ODC CLIN on the Task Order. The trainer who delayed the class and purchased the bulb has a loaded rate. Applying fees and overhead to the bulb purchase when overhead is already incorporated in the labor rate used during the purchase, potentially duplicates fees.

ODCs will be actual costs without fees and without overhead or other indirect costs.

19. Q. Section B.7.1 Contract Line Item Numbers (CLINs) contains a list of labor categories beginning on page 7. Section 3.3 Personnel/Technical Skills Required defines the labor categories beginning on page 29. In certain areas— for example, Communication and Information Management Support in 3.3.4— labor categories in Section 3.3 are missing or do not align with Section B.7.1.

Should we assume that the larger list of labor categories in B.7.1 is correct?

A. These labor categories have been renamed in the final solicitation. The government has also re-aligned Section B.7.1 CLINs to make it consistent with Section 3.3.

20. Q. Section B does not appear to contain clauses about negotiated indirect cost rate agreements (NICRAs). On page 20, the Contract Totals table does not contain a line for taking indirect costs such as general and administrative expenses (G&A) on travel and other direct costs (ODCs). Could USAID kindly modify its Contract Totals form to include the ability to recover G&A on travel and ODCs?

A. As stated in Q.18 above, there will be no G&A on travel and ODCs.

21. Q. Please advise on how USAID would like offerors to account for Cooperating Country Nationals (CCNs) and Third Country Nationals (TCNs) for Time and Materials contracts, if everyone is at a Fixed Hourly Rate (FHRs). We assume that most LOE will be expatriate, but if some of it is local or TCN, then USAID will be paying too much for that labor if they pay FHRs that are based on expatriate salaries. Given that salary rates can vary widely across countries, is it acceptable for offerors to propose multipliers for CCNs/TCNs which would recognize the considerable salary differences to be found among local employees in different developing country labor markets. This would make the RFP consistent with USAID’s own AAPD 02-12 policies on IQC pricing.

A. In the final solicitation in section B a line item for FSN has been added with a rate of TBD.

22. Q. Section B B.7.0 Contract Price Items - The description of Special Forums, Courses, and IT Training state that labor costs are not included in the firm fixed price per CLIN. Will travel and shipping costs also be excluded from the fixed price since they will vary significantly by event location?

A. Travel and shipping costs are separate CLINs that will be billed according to actual costs incurred.

23. Q. Section B Proposals - Table L-1 Proposal Outline: The instruction for Volume IV references Model Contract (Section B.3.1.) This appears to be an incorrect reference. What cost or price information is required

A. We have re-worded the final solicitation. There is no cost information required. There is only the need for the contractors to (1) sign the solicitation cover sheet and any amendments (if applicable); (2) fill in the blanks in Section B with the fixed prices for each CLIN; (3) provide the contractor’s SOW, an elaboration on the Government’s SOO; (4) fill in Section K; and (5) Key Personnel resumes, after omitting names, and labor category qualifications that will be included in Section J. These five (5) items will be considered and will be part of the official file.

24. Q. Section B.7.1. lists the labor categories for which offerors are to propose Fixed Hourly Rates. Please advise on what basis USAID expects offerors to develop the Fixed Hourly Rates. For other Time & Materials type contracts, USAID typically accepts fixed daily and/or hourly rates "loaded" only with the following:

- Salary cost or consulting fee of the individual providing the services;

- Payroll costs (fringe benefits, FICA, etc.);

- Indirect costs applicable to labor; and

- Profit or fee, if any.

Travel, transportation, and allowances (danger pay allowance, post differential, housing, education, etc.) are budgeted as direct costs, and not be included in the fixed rate.

Please advise if offerors are approved to build Fixed Hourly Rates using the above parameters.

A. This is correct. Please do not include travel and other direct costs in the fixed rate. This fixed rate includes salary, payroll costs, indirect costs applicable to labor, and profit or fee. Please note that some of the allowances examples used above in the question may be unnecessary and thus unallowable given the nature of the work.

25. Q. Can we substitute years for experience in the labor categories positions and the two key personnel positions for education?

A. No, you can not substitute years of experience for any labor category.

26. Q. On page 5 of the RFP, Section B.7, loaded firm fixed prices are requested for Forums and Courses, however the details of these Forums and Courses does not included the development of the actual training, instead it only suggests the price should include handouts, evaluation, forum materials and marketing, with labor excluded. However, under Section B.7.1 the training is listed as “Prepare/Conduct xx forum” or “Prepare/Conduct xx course”. How can other costs of preparing/conducting the forum/course be recouped? Such as conference room rental, coffee breaks, equipment rental (LCD projector, Screens, Flip chart stands, etc.), and other materials such as name tags, folders, pens, paper, etc

A. Pens, name tags, folders, papers, etc will be included in the CLIN price for Prepare/Conduct forum or course; please keep in mind – items such as name tags, coffee breaks, and pens are not requirements of this contract but can be items the contractor includes which the Government will use to assist in its Best Value determination.

In the contractor’s proposal, in the contractor’s SOW, the contractor will explain to the government what will be included for materials under the appropriate section of the SOW. As stated in Section L, the Government requires the Contractor to submit a Statement of Work (SOW) in response to the Government’s Statement of Objectives. This Statement of Work is used as part of the evaluation criteria, as stated in Section M.

As stated in Section L, the SOW should not be a re-statement of the Government’s SOO, but a detailed description on the who, what, and how (and if applicable where and when) the Contractor will respond to Task Order RFPs. As stated in Section L, this detailed description should cover hiring, management, risks, etc but also the very detail of how courses/forums/training will be executed, including coffee breaks if the contractor would like to propose refreshments as part of training.

27. Q. On page 5 of the RFP, Section B.7, loaded firm fixed prices are requested for Special Forums states that “herein, shall be based on conducting formal workshops for approximately 25 participants or informal “brown bags” for 5-25 participants.” The costs associated with developing a workshop, which could run anywhere from ½ day to 5 days, and developing a “brown bag” for 1-2 hours are not comparable. Please provide more details for these two very distinct events and how they should be cost.

A. See Q 1 which clarifies the part of your question regarding hours. But in clarification to the part of your question regarding pricing, although, B.7, describes Forums in one paragraph, there are separate and distinct CLINs for Forums.

28. Q. On page 5 of the RFP, Section B.7, loaded firm fixed prices are requested for Special Forums/Web-based states that “herein, shall be based on developing and on-line modules and ‘pod casts’”. However the unit price does not include costs associated with purchase of software applications and related equipment.

Please explain where costs for software related to online courses and pod casts should be shown.

A. Purchase of software and related equipment will be reflected in the Task Order proposal as some IDIQ holders may have this software in house and will be able to submit a lower TO proposal price. Those that do not, may need to delineate and explain the need to include the price in the ODC when submitting a TO proposal. TO proposals shall also state how of existing Government systems will be able to link to contractor provided web-based forums.

29. Q. On page 6-9, Section B.7.1 there are no line items listed for G&A indirect fee on ODCs or subcontractor administration fee on subcontractor costs, as allowed under Negotiated Indirect Cost Rates Agreement. Also missing is the line item for fixed fee. However, on page 112 Section L.10 Volume 4-Price it clearly states that the offeror shall submit only the pages of the solicitation with the contract line item blanks complete. As such how should the offeror show indirect costs on ODCs and fixed fee?

A. The Negotiated Indirect Cost Rates Agreement covers USAID Cost Contracts. This is a Fixed, Time and Materials contract subject to Fixed Price and Time and Material clauses and provisions, not a Cost Plus Fixed Fee contract. Please refer to Q12 above regarding indirect costs, ODCs, and fixed fee.

30. Q. On page 9, Section B.7.1 the budget lists for base year “Senior Information Architect, Mid-Level Architect, Information Architect Associate”, but for Option Year 1, on page 11 it lists “Senior Information Management Advisor, Mid-Level Information Management Advisor, and Information Management Advisor.” Is the Information Architect the same as Information Management Advisor?

A. These labor categories have been renamed in the final solicitation.

31. Q. On page 3 section B.4 it states “This is a multiple-award Indefinite quantity (IDIQ) Contract for Transparency, Accountability, and Performance (TAP) with an overall ceiling price of $80,000,000. Could the Government please comment on what happens if the plug figures and recommended level of effort for burdened hourly rates in Section B.7.1 put the total budget over the $80,000,000?

A. The Government has determined that the effort should fall within budget constraints, and the Government anticipates one or more offerors will be at or below estimates. If all the proposals come in higher than estimates, the Government will make an assessment per FAR – amend the solicitation to increase the ceiling if funding is possible, amend the solicitation to decrease the requirements, or cancel the solicitation (again). The ceiling has been amended to $60,000,000.00.

32. Q. USAID requests “loaded, firm price” for forums, special web-based forums, courses, course updates, course redesigns and IT Training, as described in the Contract Line Item Section. It is explicit and clear that the loaded, fixed prices will not include labor. We find that pricing the non-labor elements of these events is likely to vary, depending on the topics, content and level of depth and complexity of the materials to be presented, as well as the duration of the events, etc. Is USAID assuming that all these events will have the same volume of handout materials, and require the same level of marketing and advertising, etc.?

Would USAID please elaborate and further clarify on this matter

A. Please see Question 1.

Section C:

33. Q. Ref. C.3.0.1: Will space be provided to perform task order support on the USAID site? Will contractor’s be provided with access to USAID technology and be provided USAID email capability?

A. For task orders based in Washington, D.C., no space will be provided for contractors. For task orders based in the Mission, the Mission will provide space for temporary basis per task order. No, contractors will not be provided with access to USAID technology and email capability.

34. Q. In Section 3.0 (Requirements) descriptions are provided for the most categories of staffing requirements. However, no description is given for the Training Specialists (3.3.3.1), the Technical Analysts/Advisors (3.3.3.2), the Writer/Editors and Document Designers (3.3.4.1), the Web Developers (3.3.4.3) and the Code Writers (3.3.4.4). Will USAID provide descriptions of these requirements?

A. Some of these labor categories have been revised and/or removed from the final solicitation with updated descriptions incorporated.

35. Q. Ref. 3.3.0.1 In this section, it is noted that: “Contractor personnel listed in the contractor’s proposal shall be incorporated in Section J of the resulting contract. Any substitutions, except for key personnel, shall require approval from the Contracting Officer Technical Representative.” We anticipate that given the potential range of subjects, languages, geography, etc., that there will need to be a high degree of flexibility in responding to task orders. This language suggests that the Government may see the staffing of task teams for this requirement in a less flexible way. Please clarify.

A. Other than key personnel, please list only – minimum qualifications that the offeror will provide per each CLIN. Although, in Section M, the Government describes the minimum qualifications desired, in accordance with Best Value, the contractor may submit more than the minimum requirements, e.g. 15 years experience rather than 10 years experience, a PhD rather than a Master’s. In accordance with Section M, the Government will make a subjective evaluation of the value of these additional qualifications. The successful offerors’ proposed qualifications for each labor category will be placed into Section J. Flexibility at the TO level will be provided in languages, geography, etc.

36. Q. Ref 3.1.3 & 3.2 Will the Government provide a percentage of forums and trainings to be provided at USAID-W and overseas for the purposes of costing?

A. The Government estimates that in the course of twelve months, four trainings will be delivered in Washington and four courses delivered overseas. The government estimates 12 Washington-based facilitated After-Action Reviews and 12 day-long Washington-based seminars. (See Question 1)

37. Q. Ref 3.2.1.4 This paragraph states that the majority of course material will be prepared in English, but in some instances there may be a requirement to prepare courses in Arabic, French, Portuguese and Spanish. There is no pricing provision or line item for translation services. Please advise how to proceed

A. All course material shall be prepared in English. Final solicitation removed all instances of other languages.

38. Q. Section 3.3.0.1 states: "Any substitutions, except for key personnel, shall require approval from the Contracting Officer Technical Representative (COTR)."

Does that mean that the contractors are not allowed to include in the task orders, personnel other than those proposed in the illustrative list compiled in the proposal?

A. Please see Question 35.

39. Q. Section 3.0.4.1 Please further define reporting requirements. Are representative samples of any of the reports available for review prior to submission of pricing?

A. This question does not refer to contractual reporting requirements— Section 3.0.4.1 covers performance reporting requirements at the Agency level—i.e., the annual report produced by MPBP. Here is a link to the FY 2008 Annual Performance Report:

http://www.usaid.gov/policy/budget/apr08/

40. Q. Will representative course materials be made available to review prior to submission to review for size, scope, & level of effort?

A. The course material is based on policies pertaining to program planning as contained in the 200 Series of the Agency’s Automated Directive System. The four relevant chapters are: ADS 200-Introduction to Programming Policy, ADS 201-Planning, ADS 202-Achieving, and ADS 203 Assessing and Learning. These chapters can be found at:

ADS 200 http://www.usaid.gov/policy/ads/200/200.pdf

ADS 201 http://www.usaid.gov/policy/ads/200/201.pdf

ADS 202 http://www.usaid.gov/policy/ads/200/202.pdf

ADS 203 http://www.usaid.gov/policy/ads/200/203.pdf

41. Q. Can USAID estimate how much training may be in classroom and how much by distance learning?

A. We estimate that there will be 8 classroom deliveries per year. See response to 36. At this point, it is not possible to estimate the level of instruction through distance learning.

42. Q. Does USAID have a distance learning system to host training programs, or does the contractor need to provide such a system?

A. USAID does have a distance learning system, but at present there are limitations on the Agency’s capacity to host distance learning courses.

Depending upon Agency need and Task Order requirements, the IDIQ award holders may be requested to use Blackboard, or other similar software to host the distance learning programs.

43. Q. Page 28, paragraph 3.2.3.2 states USAID maintains a number of websites and portals. In order to be able to provide the best level of effort estimate, could

USAID provide more information regarding the technical components, parameters and desired characteristics of the proposed performance/KM/distance learning portals?

A. WESBITE: For the purposes of responding to the solicitation and estimating the level of effort for an html-based website on the USAID server, the technical requirements would be to (1) to review a website with 10 existing views (2) provide re-designs of 10 html-coded pages (3) execute 10 new html-coded pages that comply with USAID’s web development guidelines (See http:www.usaid.gov.info_technology/xweb/.)

PORTAL: There are several USAID portals. But at present there are limitations on the Agency’s capacity to host portals. Depending upon Agency need and Task Order requirements, the IDIQ award holders may be requested to use Droople, or other content management systems to host web portals.

44. Q. Will the contractor be expected to host the IDIQ portals or must they be hosted by USAID servers (or their hosting providers)?

A. This is a possibility under the Communications and Information Management component. If this is something the government requires under a Task Order then it can be billed under the labor categories at an hourly rate.

45. Q. Page 26, item 3.2.1.7 states that at times the contractor will be required to provide course content in other languages than English. Will the professional translation costs of course content be allowed as an ODC expense under specific task orders?

A. See comments on Q37.

46. Q. Page 30, 3.3.3 “Implementation Support” explains that there is a need for junior staff under each heading when there are no CLINs for junior staff under “Implementation Support/Sectoral experts” in pages10/11, 13/14, 16 and 19.

Please clarify

A: The solicitation has been revised. Each of the three components of TAP, Analytic Support, Implementation Support, and Communications and Information Management, will be supported by a junior level program associate. Please see revised CLINs, labor categories and Section M requirements. For Trainers and Technical Advisors, there is an anticipated need for senior and mid-level staff with support from junior-level program associates.

47. Q.P. 24 The RFP states under “Analysis of Performance Results: The contractor shall analyze the Foreign Assistance Coordination and Tracking System, the FACTS Info System, the Performance Plans and Reports prepared by the Agency’s operating units, and third party data sources to monitor the higher level or program impact.” Please provide any background documents on FACTs and its current performance in these areas

A. Information on the Foreign Assistance Coordination and Tracking System, the FACTS Info System and Performance Plans and Reports can be found at:

www.foreignassistance.net

48. Q. Per 3.2.3 on p. 28 and other areas of the SOW – where does USAID stand on its development of its Open Government Plan? Per the directive issued by the White House on December 8, 2009. Can we obtain a copy of the draft of USAID’s Open Government Plan? This would seem to be central to understanding where USAID’s thinking is on transparency among other areas that are central to the SOW and providing a full response.

A. Here is the link to USAID’s Open Government Plan that was published on April 7, 2010.

http://www.usaid.gov/open/USAIDOpenGovernmentPlan2010-04-07.pdf

49. Q. P. 25 of the RFP discusses “Special Forums” Can we assume for pricing purposes that we will provide no food or beverages for any of these forums and that they will instead be bring your own “brown bag” to the event. Also is it possible to be more precise about how many participants on average may attend since 5-25 is a large variance.

A. See questions 1 and 6.

50. Q. Section C 3.2.1.4 - Contractors may be required to provide instruction in any of five languages listed. How will fixed hourly labor rates be adjusted to include the additional skill of instruction in a foreign language? Will instruction be required in any other languages

A. See Question 37.

51. Q. Clause 3.3.3.3 on page 30 of the RFTOP requires that “Proposed Sectoral experts should demonstrate background and experience in their respective sectors and in strategic planning and performance management.” The responsibilities of the sectoral experts is to analyze performance information to improve decision-making, conduct sector-specific trainings and provide technical assistance for efforts the support the .. (sector). In our experience, sector experts are not both experts is their particular sector and experts in performance management albeit they can conduct strategic planning and monitoring as it relates to the sector of expertise. Would it be sufficient if the proposed sectoral experts demonstrate background and experience in their respective sectors and capacity for strategic planning and performance management.

A. Sectoral Experts have been renamed to Technical Advisors in the final solicitation. Please propose Technical Advisors who meet the background and experience criteria as stated in the RFP. For TAP, the Government is looking for people with experience in leading strategic planning and performance management processes in their area of sectoral expertise.

52. Q. On page 26 section 3.2.1.4 it states “Although the contractor shall be required to prepare and deliver the course material in English, at time, the contractor shall be required to provide content in Arabic, French, Portuguese and Spanish and conduct training for native speakers in these languages.” However, the budget does not have a line item for translation of documents, an interpreter and production of these documents. Where should these costs be incorporated into the budget?

A. Please see question 37.

53. Q. On page 30, section 3.3.3 it states “There are three categories of personnel required for this section of the contract: Trainers, Technical Analysts/Advisors, and Sectoral Experts. Within each heading, there is an anticipated need for Senior, Mid-level and junior staff.” However, in Section B.7.1 page 6 , there is no line item in the budget for junior staffers in the Sectoral Experts section. Please clarify

A. The categories have been revised in the final version of this solicitation.

Technical Analyst/Advisors and Sectoral Experts are now called Technical Advisors. There are multiple categories of Technical Advisors. Please see the response to Question 34. Please see the response to Question 46 for clarification about junior level personnel.

54. Q. On page 30 section 3.3.3.1 Training and 3.3.3.2 Technical Analysts/Advisor there is no descriptions. Could the Government please provide job descriptions for these positions?

A. Please see question 34.

55. Q. On page 32, section 3.3.4.2 describes the “Information Architects”, however in Section B.7.1 page 6 there is no mention of “Information Architects” in the budget line items. Please clarify.

A. On page 9 CLIN 0043, this is the first mention of Information Architect.

56. Q. On page 32 section 3.3.4.1 Writers/Editors and Document Designers,

3.3.4.3 Web Developers, 3.3.4.4 Code Writers there is no descriptions. Could the Government please provide job descriptions for these positions?

A. Please see question 34.

Section E:

57. Q. On p. 35 E. 1 Period of Performance you indicate one year for the base period and four single option years. Why not provide a longer base period? One year is such a short period for planning and development as well as utilization of the TAP contract. We recommend a longer base period of 2-3 years with one or two option years.

A. At this time, we cannot address a longer base period.

58. Q. On p. 35-36 Section E.2 Fair Opportunity Exceptions- Since this RFP has been announced in draft as a small business set aside should there not be set aside tasks orders that utilize the authority of Congressional Budget Act of 2002 that is one of USAID’s own Procurement policy directives. Allowing for set aside task orders on a non-competitive basis to any of the holders would be in keeping with this authority.

A. USAID’s procurement directive was written to allow for set-asides when the base contract was awarded with full and open competition. This procurement will be awarded with full and open competition after exclusion of sources, i.e. a small business set-aside. In this regard, another set aside is not necessary during the Task Order competition. Furthermore, the FAR 16.505(b)(1), Fair Opportunity, prohibits any TO solicitation method “that would not result in fair consideration being given to all awardees prior to placing each order.” The TAP contract will be using the FAR guidance for TO awards.

Section F:

59. Q. The IDIQ is for a period of performance of one (1) base year and four (4) one year options. In section F.2 Period of Performance (page 35) it is stated that there are two constraints for Task Orders: 1) they cannot go beyond 3 years after the ordering period; and 2) a period of performance cannot go more than five (5) years into the future. Is it correct to assume that once Task Orders have been awarded, they will continue to be implemented, even if USAID were to decide not to exercise the option years, at any given point

A. Yes, any Task Order that has been awarded before the expiration of the IDIQ will still continue until the expiration of that specific Task Order.

Section H:

60. Q. According to Section H.11, “THE CONTRACTOR SHALL BE INELIGIBLE

TO FURNISH, AS A PRIME OR SUBCONTRACTOR OR OTHERWISE, THE

IMPLEMENTATION SERVICES FOR ANY ACTIVITIES FOR WHICH IT

PROVIDES SUBSTANTIAL DESIGN SERVICES EXCEPT FOR SUCH

SERVICES THAT MAY BE FURNISHED UNDER THIS CONTRACT……….”

And later it states: “When a task order includes a work requirement that will preclude the contractor from furnishing implementation services, a clause stating the preclusion will be included in the task order.” For clarification, does this mean that any design services under this contract will NOT disqualify the service provider from carrying out implementation of such designs? If so, does the task order language actually apply to any task orders that will be issued under this

IDIQ?

A. The Government interprets this question as – can contractors both design and implement? In regards to training, yes, it is expected. In regards to designing a USAID development project as a technical advisor to USAID and then submitting a proposal to implement the project, then the answer is no, please refer to the Organizational Conflict of Interest clauses in Section H.

61. Q. Page 51. The mailing address for the USAID Clearinghouse appears out of date. Please confirm the correct address?

A. The address listed in the draft RFP for the “Submission Requirements for Development Experience Documents (JAN 2004)” is in accordance with AAPD 04-06 Submission of Development Experience Documents.

62. Q. Section H.7. Insurance and Services: Please confirm that USAID will allow contractors to charge DBA costs as an ODC line item.

A. Contractors will be able to charge DBA costs under the line item for International Travel.

Section I:

63. Q. We assume the dates referenced under Section I.3 will be adjusted in the final draft.

A. Yes, the dates listed in I.3 will be adjusted in the final draft of the RFP.

64. Q. We assume that the exact page numbers referenced under Section I.8 should be furnished by the offeror. (“Except for data contained on pages ________, it is agreed that as a condition of award of this contract, and notwithstanding the conditions of any notice appearing thereon, the Government shall have unlimited rights (as defined in the "Rights in Data--General" clause contained in this contract) in and to the technical data contained in the proposal dated upon which this contract is based.”)

A. Yes, the offeror shall furnish the page numbers of this solicitation, if the offeror determines items, such as training materials and reports generated while invoicing billable labor hours, are proposed differently than “unlimited” rights. Although please note, that the Government will consider any proposal that takes ownership of any data as “significant deficiencies.” The Government is paying for both the materials and the labor to develop any materials or other data. In this regard, the Government shall have unlimited rights under this contract for any data developed as a result of the materials and/or labor billed to any task order.

65. Q. Significant changes have been made to Sections I.5 through I.11. Have old Sections I.3 through I.12 been intentionally omitted, or are they referenced on the ARNET site?

A. Sections I.3 through I.12 are from RFP M/OAA/GRO/ALPS-09-0175 and sections I.5 through I.11 are from the current draft RFP M-OAA-GRO-ALPS- 032210. As stated on the cover page of the draft RFP, solicitation M-OAA- GRO-ALPS-032210 “Corrects and replaces the cancelled solicitation, M/OAA/GRO/ALPS-09-0175.”

66. Q. Page 55. Part II Contract Clauses Section I.1 Notice of Hybrid Contract specifically states that when applicable the symbols “$” and “@” will appear next to the contract clauses and provisions to indicate that the item only applies to FIXED PRICE LINE ITEMS or T&M/LABOR HOUR LINE ITEMS. However, it appears that the symbols have not been included in section I.2. NOTICE

LISTING CONTRACT CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE.

A. This has been deleted.

67. Q. Page 66 I.11 Includes Clause 52.247-67 that is applicable to freight charges that were paid under a cost-reimbursement contract. However, this draft solicitation indicates that the Government will issue task orders that are Fixed Price and/or T&M/Labor Hour. It seems that the requirement in this particular clause would not apply to the resulting task order. Could you please clarify

A. This clause has been deleted.

68. Q. Page 59, I.3 52.216-18 ORDERING paragraph (a) says orders under this contract may be issued from September 30, 2006 through September 29, 2011.

Please confirm the dates

A. Please refer to question 63.

69. Q. In terms of FAR clauses you cite a FAR 52.252-2 Clauses incorporated by reference on p 34 and FAR 52.246-4 Inspection of Services Fixed Price and Far 52.246-6 Inspection of Services Time and Material Labor Hour. Since this is mainly a contract priced on commercial items and commercial time and material hourly rates should not FAR 12 in its entirety be included as well as FAR Subpart 16.6, “Time and Materials, Labor Hour and Letter Contracts” should be included in its entirety. Also we recommend deleting Far 52-216-7 allowable cost ad Payment if there is no requirement to load Other Directs Costs per a negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement. Please confirm our understanding

A. This statement is correct. These clauses are in the final RFP.

70. Q. On p. 67 of the RFP cites AIDAR 752.7007 Personnel Compensation and further that an Employees base salary and overseas recruitment incentive if any, which exceed the USAID Contractor Salary Threshold State in ADS Chapter 302 must be approved by the Contracting Officer. We believe that the base salaries should be determined by us for senior executive level staff and not by a cap imposed by USAID as suggested under ADIDAR 302.3.6.10. This will severely limit the ability of the contractor to recruit and retain the most talented staff. We suggest deleting this clause in its entirety

A. This clause has been deleted.

Section K:

71. Q. Section K: Please verify that if a company has submitted an OCRA in the past twelve months the contractor may select that “Paragraph D applies” on page 74 and therefore does not need to fill-out Section K

A. If a contractor has updated information in OCRA within the last 12 months, then section K does not have to be completed.

Section L:

72. Q. Ref.L.6.B Volume II: Page limitation for Resumes & CV’s, 26 pages.

There are 34 labor categories/ positions, so will the resumes & CV’s be limited to less than one page per position?

A. Clarification about revised page limitations for resumes is provided in the response to Question 106.

73. Q. The page limits for resumes and CVs is set at 26, with an estimated 2 pages per candidate. Clearly, this will not permit the submission of CVs for all 47 required staff members. Can USAID provide guidance on which positions require CVs at the proposal stage and which may be TBD: to be designated after the contract is awarded

A. See Question 106.

74. Q. Regarding the Personnel – Factor 1 requirements, in general but specifically in the case of information technology specialists and web designers (page 120) would USAID consider other certifications and /or years of practical experience in lieu of a college or an advanced degree? Often these specialists get their training in specific tools of the trade (hardware and software) and not via college or advanced degrees (the “Bill Gates factor”)

A. These labor categories have been changed in the final solicitation.

Please refer to the revised educational requirements in Section M, Personnel-Factor 1.

75. Q. The Instructions to Offerors indicates that resumes are to be compiled according to the instructions in L.3.2 (page 110). However, we note that there is no section L.3.2 and that section L.3 is unrelated to staffing or resume issues.

Can USAID provide more specific guidance on the requirements for resumes

A. See question 72.

76. Q. Section L.4 ( c), Period for acceptance of offers (pg 94): since offerors are to hold prices for 30 days, is it the intent of USAID to have awards completed within 30 days of receipt of proposals

A. This is the standard language in the clause which cannot be changed without an Addendum. Directly after the clause, in the Addendum, it states prices must be valid for 120 days. Additionally, the cover page, Block 12, states offerors shall make their prices valid for 120 days.

77. Q. Section L.5, A, Determination of Competitive Range (pg 98): Since a competitive range will be utilized for this proposal, will a short list be published by USAID, once the range is determined

A. All offerors not included in the Competitive Range will be notified by

USAID.

78. Q. Ref L.8, Factor 1-Personnel Resumes are required for all labor categories and will be compiled in order of labor category. If an individual is proposed for more than one category, should their resume be compiled in multiple sites

A. Specify each individual position for consideration using only one resume.

79. Q. Ref L.8, Factor 2- Technical Approach The RFP states: “The offeror shall submit a Statement of Work (SOW) that expands the Government provided SOO. The proposed SOW shall give suggested staffing requirements under each requirement.” Does the Government want to see a staffing plan for the requirement, or a plan with specific individuals proposed

A. Other than Key personnel, specific individuals will not be anticipated during the base contract award. It is during TO selection that resumes, without actual individual names, will be desired. A staffing plan as well as other management details are required.

80. Q. SF 33 specifies we submit an original and three copies, which is not consistent with Table L-1 on pages 100 – 102 of the RFP. Which instructions prevail

A. Please follow the instructions on Table L-1. SF 33 has been changed.

81. Q. Are the Factors listed under Volume II correct as provided in Table L.6.B.

or should they be relabeled as Factors 1, 2 and 2 per Section L.8

A. The table has been updated to reflect Section L.8.

82. Q. Should we assume that the column 1 reference to Volume 1 under Volume 3 is a typo?

A. Yes

83. Q. Although Section L.6.B specifies that each volume should stand alone, Section L.9 specifically requires applicable SOO paragraph numbers on past performance summary sheets and allows the inclusion of awards and certifications also mentioned in Volume II. Should we assume that the L.9 language takes precedence

A. Yes. To clarify, each volume will be evaluated without referencing other volumes. The SOO paragraphs numbers on the past performance sheets allows the past performance volume to be evaluated separate from the technical volume.

84. Q. Should we assume that in Section L.6.B. the reference to the Model Contract in the last line of the table for Volume III should refer to B.7.1 rather than B.3.1

A. Yes, in the final solicitation has been corrected.

85. Q. In Section L.7, the draft states that “The contractor shall provide the following attachments to the Model Contract, Key Personnel. The contractor shall provide a listing of key personnel under this contract, and the sanitized resumes of critical staff.”

A. The reference to critical staff has been deleted as critical staff is the same as key personnel.

86. Q. Are Key Personnel and Critical Staff the same?

A. Yes, Critical Staff and Key Personnel are the same. In the final solicitation all references to Critical staff has been replaced with Key Personnel.

87. Q. What is meant by sanitized resumes?

A. Sanitized resumes are resumes without an individual’s name listed. This solicitation will be evaluating qualifications that represent the best value, not individual names. Once offeror has been selected, key personnel resumes will include names.

88. Q. If the Executive Summary is limited to 2 pages in Vol. I, should the duplicate in Vol. II also be limited to 2 pages rather than the 4 pages listed in the table on page 102?

A. Yes, the Executive Summary that is required in Vol II should also be 2 pages. This has been corrected in the final solicitation.

89. Q. The requirement that Volume III contain references to paragraph numbers in the Technical SOO implies that all paragraphs in Volume II should be numbered. Is this correct?

A. As stated in Question 83, the SOO paragraphs numbers on the past performance sheets allows the past performance volume (Volume III) to be evaluated separate from the technical volume (Volume II). In this regard, Volume III uses the paragraph numbers from Section C of the solicitation.

However, please note, that Volume II paragraphs should also be numbered, especially the Contractor’s SOW. The Contractor’s SOW shall follow the same numbering as the Government’s SOO, but will add additional paragraph numbers as the SOW further describes the management approach (e.g. staffing, development approach, implementation, etc) for the appropriate and applicable SOO paragraphs.

90. Q. Is the 26-page page limit for the personnel section in Volume II supposed to include or exclude resumes? If the former, should the Key Personnel resumes included in Vol. I be included again in Vol. II?

A. The page limit is for the resumes of the Key Personnel and all Senior Staff. No resumes are required in Volume I. Please refer to Question 35

91. Q. What is meant by organizational structure change history in Volume III?

A. This has been deleted.

92. Q. Are the teaming agreements referenced in Volume II actually supposed to be personnel letters of commitment and/or acknowledgement?

A. These agreements are not for personnel letters of commitment (individuals that an offeror is potentially hiring for this effort). Teaming agreements referenced refer to subcontractor agreements and joint partnership agreements, (i.e. corporate to corporate agreements, partnerships that an offeror has entered in order to meet the needs of the contract.) An example of a joint venture agreement is as follows:, a company, Company XC, may decide that it may be qualified to compete except a certain category or more. Company XC enters into a teaming agreement with Company BG to fix this gap and submit a joint proposal. In order to reduce Government contract and performance risks, the solicitation requires a teaming agreement between Companies XC and BG to ensure that a legal agreement exists.

93. Q. Since the Personnel evaluation factor is ranked the highest, how can we include all the CV’s or bios of all the proposed staff/experts without exceeding this page limit, or are the CV’s supposed to be included as an annex?

A. Only 2 page resumes are required for Key Personnel and all Senior Level Staff. CV’s and bios will not be required at this time. Any references to CV’s and bios will be deleted.

94. Q. What does “General” refer to in the list of Vol. II sections?

A…