RFP for SPC-AID Project.docx

7200AA22R00050

April 27, 2022 Comment by Prince Boateng: @lchang@usaid.gov I think we are close to being done. We just want to make sure that we have conacted some of the vendors on the list of potential offoeres. Can you start Finalizing the document and adding attachments for final review and posting? thank you _Assigned to Lisa Chang_

SUBJECT: Request for a Proposal (RFP)

REFERENCE: Statistical Process Control Applied to Food Aid Manufacturing, SPCAID

Dear Vendor:

The United States Government, represented by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is contemplating the negotiation and award for statistical process control (SPC) applied to food assistance manufacturing services. Therefore, USAID is seeking a proposal from you in response to the statement of work.

The resulting Contract will provide statistical process control (SPC) tool development services in support of ongoing humanitarian missions. Therefore, please review the attachment and submit a proposal no later than 1000 Eastern Time (ET) on, May 18, 2022, to Prince Boateng, via email Pboateng@usaid.gov and Lisa Chang via email lchang@usaid.gov.

Your proposal must contain the information requested in this solicitation as well as the following

Confirmation of System for Award (“SAM”) Registration

If there are any questions or concerns, please address them to Lisa Chang via email lchang@usaid.gov, by 1100 ET Monday, May 4, 2022. This letter request for proposal in no way obligate USAID to the award of a contract, nor does it commit USAID to pay any costs incurred in the preparation and submission of a quotation.

Respectfully, /s/

Office of Acquisition & Assistance

SECTION B – SERVICES/SUPPLIES

B.1 Type of Contract

This is a time & material hybrid type award, with fixed price and labor hour line items, and travel and materials contract. Travel is reimbursed at cost. The contract is between USAID and (TBD) for statistical process control (SPC) and process capability (PC) consulting services consideration as set forth in this solicitation, (TBD) will provide the services as described in the Statement of Work.

B.2 AWARDED PRICE

The ceiling price for this award and not-to-exceed price is $[to be completed at time of award]. The Government hereby obligates the amount of $(TBD).

The Contractor is responsible for managing available funds. This contract includes a ceiling price that the contractor exceeds at its own risk.

Subject to the availability of funds, this contract will be incrementally funded.

B.5 CONTRACT LINE ITEMS and PRICE SCHEDULE

a. The Contract Line Items (CLINS) for this contract are as follows: Comment by Prince Boateng: @ruperez@usaid.gov and @keryan@usaid.gov I put this in here to see if you can edit with some more specific. I am hoping you can come up with how many people you would anticipate working on this or hours. for the Travel clin 2 and Material clin 3 can you provide an estimated cost?

Ruffo if I am being too specific maybe you can share the Tuft university contract and that could help in developing this section of the solicitation.

TOTAL

CLIN 1: Direct Labor

Labor - (Key personnel and staff : Up to 3 positions)

CLIN 3: Equipment, Materials, Supplies, and Reporting

CLIN 4: Training and Meetings

TOTAL

To be included at time of award.

Labor-categories may be different on a contractor’s GSA contract. The Contractor must propose the labor category that most closely resembles the ones listed in the Statement of Work (SOW).

B.6 TRAVEL

Travel, if authorized, shall be reimbursed at cost and shall be conducted in accordance with Federal Travel Regulations and the Cost Principles outlined in FAR Part 31.205-46. All travel must be approved in advance by the designated Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR). The COR will be granted authority to approve travel in the COR Designation Letter

B.7 LABOR RATE CHANGES

At any time and throughout the life of the contract, at the request of either the Contractor or the Government, the Contractor may propose additional labor categories, rates and descriptions in addition to the contract labor categories. These additional labor categories, rates, and descriptions will be negotiated on a case-by-case basis and may only be approved by the Contracting Officer. This change will not increase the Total Price of the contract established in B.4.

END OF SECTION B

SECTION C – STATEMENT OF WORK

C.1 Purpose

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) hereby invites you to propose statistical process control (SPC) and process capability (PC) consulting services.. The consultancy shall include, but not limited to, the development of tools and standard operating procedures (SOPs) for key performance indicators (KPIs) in the manufacturing of at least three types of food products. The resulting tools and SOPs should support humanitarian food suppliers in establishing their own unique process capability systems. This statement of work seeks to outline the service contract terms to produce the necessary SPC tools, templates, instructions, and training materials to enable food aid manufacturers to identify and assess their process capability indices (PCIs) through the gathering and analyses of production data or outputs to produce process capability indicators (i.e., Cp and Cpk), as preventively and real-time as possible.

The authorized source, origin and nationality for this procurement is USAID geographic code 935.

This is a solicitation for commercial services prepared in accordance with United States Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) subpart 12.6 and 13 as supplemented with additional information and requirements in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are requested and a separate written solicitation will not be issued.

The Contractor is reminded that U.S. Executive Orders and U.S. law prohibits transactions with, and the provision of resources and support to, individuals and organizations associated with terrorism. It is the legal responsibility of the contractor/recipient to ensure compliance with these Executive Orders and laws. This provision must be included in all subcontracts/sub-awards issued under this contract/agreement.

This procurement is unrestricted. The North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code is 541990, Commodity Inspection Services.

C.2 Statement of Work

1. Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance Program:

The purpose of this solicitation is to obtain services for statistical process control (SPC) tool development for key performance indicators (KPIs) to support humanitarian food suppliers in establishing and proactively using their own unique process capability systems.

The United States Agency for International Development’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance provides food as part of humanitarian interventions and programs. As part of food assistance programming, BHA procures both bulk and pre-packaged food aid commodities for use in its Title II food aid and International Disaster Assistance (IDA) programs. Pre-packaged commodities are shipped, transported, stored, and ultimately delivered to beneficiaries either directly through implementing partners such as WFP and UNICEF or through Private Voluntary Organizations (PVOs), as well as national governments. Ensuring packaging integrity, food safety and quality is paramount in delivering these lifesaving food products in a timely manner. Given the long, harsh, and unpredictable nature of the humanitarian food supply chain, the most cost-effective approach in ensuring integrity, safety and quality of food is one based on preventive systems. Proactive and systematic approaches to food safety and quality emphasizing in-process and preventive controls have been generally embraced and adopted throughout the world because they help to focus attention on the most critical areas to prevent food safety and quality issues, rather than reacting to them. An effective preventive control during the manufacturing of food is the establishment and use of Statistical Process Controls, generally known as SPCs. A successful application of SPC during the manufacturing of food not only helps to ensure regulatory and specification compliance, but also minimizes the risk of producing products that would not withstand the challenges of the humanitarian food supply chain, such as long shipping timelines as well as extreme transportation, storage, and distribution conditions. As a result, BHA has prioritized work on engaging and supporting food commodity suppliers to develop and implement in-process controls and process capability monitoring systems.

The contractor shall have the capability to develop customizable SPC tools for up to three commodities, and one supplier per commodity, to be selected in coordination with USAID. Services shall include SPC tool development, including, but not limited to, standard operating procedures (SOPs), production data collecting templates, instructions, and training materials to enable food aid manufacturers to identify and assess their key performance indicators (KPIs) and process capability indices (PCIs) through the gathering and analyses of production data or outputs to produce process capability indicators (i.e., Cp and Cpk), as preventively and real-time as possible.

SCP: https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/scp1.pdf HEB: https://docs.wfp.org/api/documents/WFP-0000111103/download/

C.3 Specifications

C.3-1 Schedule of Services

1. Locations - The USAID supplier facilities are located in the United States, Nigeria, and Oman. The contractor should be able to provide services to other locations worldwide if requested by USAID. (Specifics and contact points will be provided).

3. Types of Commodities – For this particular service, USAID intends to focus on processed packaged pallatizable food products with specifications as provided in the USAID Commodities specification documents. Three commodities are considered for this work: 1) A high energy biscuit (HEB) typically packaged in 100g-packs as distribution unit and 100 units per cartons as secondary packaging; 2) Ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTF), a lipid-based nutritional supplementary food product, typically packaged in 100g sachets and into cartons of 150 sachets; and 3) Super Cereal Plus (SCP), a fortified flour blend typically packaged into 2.5 kg bags and into cartons of ten bags.

4. The contractor shall provide a timeline for the proposed service delivery. USAID is seeking firms experienced in global food quality, food production, and statistical process control systems development, appropriately licensed and having the requisite knowledge, experience, and staffing to perform the required tool development

C.3-2 Requirements for consultants

2. Consultant(s) are required to provide proper expertise in the subject matter, resources , supervisory staff, tools, equipment, logistics and personnel to adequately deliver the tools..

The consultant must provide the following under this contract:

a. A single point of contact for each location, including phone number and e-mail address for immediate access to matters as set forth by the contract.

b. Documentation in report form for all supplier data collected..

c. Final reports to include (digital photos and other technical formats):

1) Customizable SPC Electronic Sheets per commodity, per supplier

2) Training materials and instructions

3) Baseline SPC Data for selected KPIs, per commodity, per supplier

4) Electronic production data templates and tools

5) Instructions for adaptation and customization of electronic templates and tool

6) Declaration of non-proprietary material

III. REPORTS

All reports and data shall be submitted to the Contracting Officer's Technical Representative listed in the contract. All reports, supporting documentation and photos shall be submitted electronically by the agreed-upon contract end date.

IV. Deliverables

1. Identification of three commodities in partnership with USAID (i.e., lipid-based nutritional ready-to-eat supplementary foods, fortified corn-soy blends and high energy biscuits).

2. Identify three suppliers, in partnership with USAID, producing the three commodities chosen above to work with on creating the SPC prototype tools and templates.

3. Compile key performance indicators (KPIs) to use in the development of corresponding statistical process control tools, and, jointly with USAID

4. Development of statistical process control tools, templates, and SPC Training materials to be used by commodity suppliers.

5. Testing of prototype tools, SOPs and SPC templates with actual commodity production; data to be used in the final report.

6. Submission of a draft final report, including the tools developed and testing data, by an agreed-upon date.

7. Submission of the final report and tools by the contract end date.

END OF SECTION C

SECTION D – Marking and Branding

D.1 Branding

N/A

END OF SECTION D

SECTION E – INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

E.1 Inspection

Inspection and acceptance of tendered items by USAID will be performed in accordance with clause 52.246-4 -- Inspection of Services -- Fixed-Price. Unless otherwise designated by the contracting officer, the contracting officer’s representative as designated in Section G is the authorized Government representative to accept supplies and/or services rendered by the contractor under this contract.

Inspection and either acceptance, rejection or conditional acceptance will be performed at the discretion of the COR. The contractor must obtain COR acceptance of all contract deliverables before contract payment will be made by USAID.

END OF SECTION E

SECTION F – DELIVERIES OR PERFORMANCE

F.1 Period of Performance

This contract is expected to commence on/about 15 May 2022, or as agreed between the parties. The contract shall be effective through 30 September 2022. Up to (4) 6 months option periods may be declared by the government.

F.2 Deliverables

The deliverables are as stated in Section C

F.3 Place of Performance

The place of performance is as stated in section C of this contract.

END OF SECTION F

SECTION G – CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA

G.1 Contracting Officer (CO)

The Cognizant Contracting Officer and Contract Administration Office for this order are the following:

Prince Boateng Office of Acquisition and Assistance

M/OAA/T

1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20523 pboateng@usaid.gov

The Contracting Officer is the only person authorized to make or approve any changes in the requirements of this order and notwithstanding any provisions contained elsewhere in this order, the said authority remains solely in the Contracting Officer. In the event the Contractor makes any changes at the direction of any person other than the Contracting Officer, the change shall be considered to have been made without authority and no adjustment shall be made in the contract terms and conditions, including price.

G.2 Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR)

The contractor will take technical direction from the contracting officer’s representative to be identified after award of contract

As used herein, “technical directions” are directions provided to clarify, define, or give specific direction within the specifications. Under no circumstances, may “technical directions” change the price/cost or fee, quantity, quality, scope, delivery schedule, nature of deliverables, or other terms and conditions of this purchase order. Only the Contracting Officer may initiate these types of changes. In the event the Contractor believes “technical direction” makes changes in any of the above-mentioned areas, the Contract shall promptly notify the Contracting Officer of the situation.

G.3 Accounting and Appropriation Data

(TBD)

G.4 Invoices

The contractor shall submit one (1) original of each invoice on an SF-1034 Public Voucher for Purchases and Services Other Than Personal to the Office of Chief Financial Officer to the following email address: EI@usaid.gov. In addition, the contractor shall submit one (1) copy of the voucher and the invoice to the CO and the COR.

The SF‐1034 shall be signed, and it shall be submitted along with the invoice and any other documentation in Adobe .PDF format. The invoice must reference the award number of the contract.

END OF SECTION G

SECTION H – SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS

H.1 Prohibition on USAID contractors, subcontractors, grantees and sub grantees from trafficking in persons, procuring commercial sex acts, or using forced labor.

Paragraph (g) of section 106 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003 (section 106 is codified at 22 U.S.C. 7104) provides that:

“Any grant, contract, or cooperative agreement provided or entered into by a Federal department or agency under which funds are being provided to a private entity, in whole or in part, shall include a condition that authorizes the department or agency to terminate the grant, contract, or cooperative agreement, without penalty, if the grantee or any sub grantee, or the contractor or any subcontractor (i) engages in severe forms of trafficking in persons or has procured a commercial sex act during the period of time that the grant, contract, or cooperative agreement is in effect, or (ii) uses forced labor in the performance of the grant, contract, or cooperative agreement.”

H.2 Executive Order on Terrorism Financing

The Contractor is reminded that U.S. Executive Orders and U.S. law prohibits transactions with, and the provision of resources and support to, individuals and organizations associated with terrorism. It is the legal responsibility of the Contractor to ensure compliance with these Executive Order and laws. This provision must be included in all subcontracts/subawards issued under this contract.

H.3 AIDAR 752.225.70 Source and Nationality Requirements (February 2012)

Except as may be specifically approved by the Contracting Officer, the Contractor must procure all commodities (e.g., equipment, materials, vehicles, supplies) and services (including commodity transportation services) in accordance with the requirements at 22 CFR Part 228 “Rules on Procurement of Commodities and Services Financed by USAID Federal Program Funds.” The authorized source for procurement is Geographic Code 937 unless otherwise specified in the schedule of this contract. Guidance on eligibility of specific goods or services may be obtained from the Contracting Officer.

Ineligible goods and services. The Contractor must not procure any of the following goods or services under this contract:

1. Military equipment

2. Surveillance equipment

3. Commodities and services for support of police and other law enforcement activities

4. Abortion equipment and services

5. Luxury goods and gambling equipment, or

6. Weather modification equipment.

Restricted goods. The Contractor must obtain prior written approval of the Contracting Officer or comply with required procedures under an applicable waiver as provided by the Contracting Officer when procuring any of the following goods or services:

1. Agricultural commodities,

2. Motor vehicles,

3. Pharmaceuticals and contraceptive items

4. Pesticides,

5. Fertilizer,

6. Used equipment, or

7. U.S. government-owned excess property.

If USAID determines that the Contractor has procured any of these specific restricted goods under this contract without the prior written authorization of the Contracting Officer or fails to comply with required procedures under an applicable waiver as provided by the Contracting Officer, and has received payment for such purposes, the Contracting Officer may require the contractor to refund the entire amount of the purchase.

H.4 Prohibition of Assistance to Drug Traffickers

USAID reserves the right to terminate this Contract, to demand a refund or take other appropriate measures if the Contractor is found to have been convicted of a narcotics offense or to have been engaged in drug trafficking as defined in 22 CFR Part 140.

H.5 Prohibition Against Discrimination (Oct 2011)

FAR Part 27 and the clauses prescribed in that part prohibit contractors performing in or recruiting from the U.S. from engaging in certain discriminatory practices. USAID is committed to achieving and maintaining a diverse and representative workforce and a workplace free of discrimination. Based on law, Executive Order, and Agency policy, USAID prohibits discrimination in its own workplace on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, disability, age, veteran's status, sexual orientation, genetic information, marital status, parental status, political affiliation, and any other conduct that does not adversely affect the performance of the employee. USAID does not tolerate any type of harassment, either sexual or nonsexual, of any employee or applicant for employment. Contractors are required to comply with the nondiscrimination requirements of the FAR and in addition, the Agency strongly encourages all its contractors (at all tiers) to develop and enforce comprehensive nondiscrimination policies for their workplaces that include protection on these expanded bases.

END OF SECTION H

SECTION I – CONTRACT CLAUSES

I.1 A.I.D. Acquisition Regulation (48 CFR Chapter 7) Clauses

I.2 FAR 52.252-2 Clauses Incorporated By Reference (Feb 1998)

This contract incorporates one or more clauses by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. Also, the full text of a clause may be accessed electronically at this/these address (es):

https: //www.acquisition.gov/far/index.html

I.3 52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders—Commercial Items (Jul 2014)

(a) The Contractor shall comply with the following Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clauses, which are incorporated in this contract by reference, to implement provisions of law or Executive orders applicable to acquisitions of commercial items:

(1) 52.222-50, Combating Trafficking in Persons (Feb 2009) (22 U.S.C. 7104(g)).

___Alternate I (Aug 2007) of 52.222-50 (22 U.S.C. 7104(g)).

(2) 52.233-3, Protest After Award (AUG 1996) (31 U.S.C. 3553).

(3) 52.233-4, Applicable Law for Breach of Contract Claim (OCT 2004)"(Public Laws 108-77 and 108-78 (19 U.S.C. 3805 note)).

(b) The Contractor shall comply with the FAR clauses in this paragraph (b) that the Contracting Officer has indicated as being incorporated in this contract by reference to implement provisions of law or Executive orders applicable to acquisitions of commercial items:

[Contracting Officer check as appropriate.] X (1) 52.203-6, Restrictions on Subcontractor Sales to the Government (Sept 2006), with Alternate I (Oct 1995) (41 U.S.C. 4704 and 10 U.S.C. 2402).

__ (2) 52.203-13, Contractor Code of Business Ethics and Conduct (Apr 2010) (41 U.S.C. 3509)).

__ (3) 52.203-15, Whistleblower Protections under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (June 2010) (Section 1553 of Pub. L. 111-5). (Applies to contracts funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.)

__ (4) 52.204-10, Reporting Executive Compensation and First-Tier Subcontract Awards (Jul 2013) (Pub. L. 109-282) (31 U.S.C. 6101 note).

__ (5) [Reserved].

__ (6) 52.204-14, Service Contract Reporting Requirements (Jan 2014) (Pub. L. 111-117, section 743 of Div. C).

__ (7) 52.204-15, Service Contract Reporting Requirements for Indefinite-Delivery Contracts (Jan 2014) (Pub. L. 111-117, section 743 of Div. C).

X (8) 52.209-6, Protecting the Government’s Interest When Subcontracting with Contractors Debarred, Suspended, or Proposed for Debarment. (Aug 2013) (31 U.S.C. 6101 note).

__ (9) 52.209-9, Updates of Publicly Available Information Regarding Responsibility Matters (Jul 2013) (41 U.S.C. 2313).

__ (10) 52.209-10, Prohibition on Contracting with Inverted Domestic Corporations (May 2012) (section 738 of Division C of Pub. L. 112-74, section 740 of Division C of Pub. L. 111-117, section 743 of Division D of Pub. L. 111-8, and section 745 of Division D of Pub. L. 110-161).

__ (11) 52.219-3, Notice of HUBZone Set-Aside or Sole-Source Award (Nov 2011) (15 U.S.C. 657a).

__ (12) 52.219-4, Notice of Price Evaluation Preference for HUBZone Small Business Concerns (JAN 2011) (if the offeror elects to waive the preference, it shall so indicate in its offer) (15 U.S.C. 657a).

__ (13) [Reserved] __ (14)(i) 52.219-6, Notice of Total Small Business Set-Aside (Nov 2011) (15 U.S.C. 644).

__ (ii) Alternate I (Nov 2011).

__ (iii) Alternate II (Nov 2011).

__ (15)(i) 52.219-7, Notice of Partial Small Business Set-Aside (June 2003) (15 U.S.C. 644).

__ (ii) Alternate I (Oct 1995) of 52.219-7.

__ (iii) Alternate II (Mar 2004) of 52.219-7.

__ (16) 52.219-8, Utilization of Small Business Concerns (May 2014) (15 U.S.C. 637(d)(2) and (3)).

__ (17)(i) 52.219-9, Small Business Subcontracting Plan (Jul 2013) (15 U.S.C. 637(d)(4)).

__ (ii) Alternate I (Oct 2001) of 52.219-9.

__ (iii) Alternate II (Oct 2001) of 52.219-9.

__ (iv) Alternate III (Jul 2010) of 52.219-9.

__ (18) 52.219-13, Notice of Set-Aside of Orders (Nov 2011)(15 U.S.C. 644(r)).

__ (19) 52.219-14, Limitations on Subcontracting (Nov 2011) (15 U.S.C. 637(a)(14)).

__ (20) 52.219-16, Liquidated Damages—Subcon-tracting Plan (Jan 1999) (15 U.S.C. 637(d)(4)(F)(i)).

__ (21)(i) 52.219-23, Notice of Price Evaluation Adjustment for Small Disadvantaged Business Concerns (OCT 2008) (10 U.S.C. 2323) (if the offeror elects to waive the adjustment, it shall so indicate in its offer).

__ (ii) Alternate I (June 2003) of 52.219-23.

__ (22) 52.219-25, Small Disadvantaged Business Participation Program—Disadvantaged Status and Reporting (Jul 2013) (Pub. L. 103-355, section 7102, and 10 U.S.C. 2323).

__ (23) 52.219-26, Small Disadvantaged Business Participation Program— Incentive Subcontracting (Oct 2000) (Pub. L. 103-355, section 7102, and 10 U.S.C. 2323).

__ (24) 52.219-27, Notice of Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Set-Aside (Nov 2011) (15 U.S.C. 657 f).

__ (25) 52.219-28, Post Award Small Business Program Rerepresentation (Jul 2013) (15 U.S.C. 632(a)(2)).

__ (26) 52.219-29, Notice of Set-Aside for Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB) Concerns (Jul 2013) (15 U.S.C. 637(m)).

__ (27) 52.219-30, Notice of Set-Aside for Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Concerns Eligible Under the WOSB Program (Jul 2013) (15 U.S.C. 637(m)).

__ (28) 52.222-3, Convict Labor (June 2003) (E.O. 11755).

X (29) 52.222-19, Child Labor—Cooperation with Authorities and Remedies (Jan 2014) (E.O. 13126).

X (30) 52.222-21, Prohibition of Segregated Facilities (Feb 1999).

X (31) 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity (Mar 2007) (E.O. 11246).

__ (32) 52.222-35, Equal Opportunity for Veterans (Jul 2014)(38 U.S.C. 4212).

__ (33) 52.222-36, Equal Opportunity for Workers with Disabilities (Jul 2014) (29 U.S.C. 793).

__ (34) 52.222-37, Employment Reports on Veterans (JUL 2014) (38 U.S.C. 4212).

__ (35) 52.222-40, Notification of Employee Rights Under the National Labor Relations Act (Dec 2010) (E.O. 13496).

__ (36) 52.222-54, Employment Eligibility Verification (AUG 2013). (Executive Order 12989). (Not applicable to the acquisition of commercially available off-the-shelf items or certain other types of commercial items as prescribed in 22.1803.)

__ (37)(i) 52.223-9, Estimate of Percentage of Recovered Material Content for EPA–Designated Items (May 2008) (42 U.S.C. 6962(c)(3)(A)(ii)). (Not applicable to the acquisition of commercially available off-the-shelf items.)

__ (ii) Alternate I (May 2008) of 52.223-9 (42 U.S.C. 6962(i)(2)(C)). (Not applicable to the acquisition of commercially available off-the-shelf items.)

__ (38)(i) 52.223-13, Acquisition of EPEAT®-Registered Imaging Equipment (JUN 2014) (E.O. 13423 and 13514).

__ (ii) Alternate I (Jun 2014) of 52.223-13.

__ (39)(i) 52.223-14, Acquisition of EPEAT®-Registered Televisions (E.O. 13423 and 13514).

__ (ii) Alternate I (Jun 2014) of 52.223-14.

__ (40) 52.223-15, Energy Efficiency in Energy-Consuming Products (DEC 2007) (42 U.S.C. 8259b).

__ (41)(i) 52.223-16, Acquisition of EPEAT®-Registered Personal Computer Products (JUN 2014) (E.O. 13423 and 13514).

__ (ii) Alternate I (Jun 2014) of 52.223-16.

X (42) 52.223-18, Encouraging Contractor Policies to Ban Text Messaging While Driving (AUG 2011) (E.O. 13513).

__ (43) 52.225-1, Buy American—Supplies (May 2014) (41 U.S.C. chapter 83).

__ (44)(i) 52.225-3, Buy American—Free Trade Agreements—Israeli Trade Act (May 2014) (41 U.S.C. chapter 83, 19 U.S.C. 3301 note, 19 U.S.C. 2112 note, 19 U.S.C. 3805 note, 19 U.S.C. 4001 note, Pub. L. 103-182, 108-77, 108-78, 108-286, 108-302, 109-53, 109-169, 109-283, 110-138, 112-41, 112-42, and 112-43.

__ (ii) Alternate I (May 2014) of 52.225-3.

__ (iii) Alternate II (May 2014) of 52.225-3.

__ (iv) Alternate III (May 2014) of 52.225-3.

__ (45) 52.225-5, Trade Agreements (NOV 2013) (19 U.S.C. 2501, et seq., 19 U.S.C. 3301 note).

X (46) 52.225-13, Restrictions on Certain Foreign Purchases (June 2008) (E.O.’s, proclamations, and statutes administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Department of the Treasury).

__ (47) 52.225-26, Contractors Performing Private Security Functions Outside the United States (Jul 2013) (Section 862, as amended, of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008; 10 U.S.C. 2302 Note).

__ (48) 52.226-4, Notice of Disaster or Emergency Area Set-Aside (Nov 2007) (42 U.S.C. 5150).

__ (49) 52.226-5, Restrictions on Subcontracting Outside Disaster or Emergency Area (Nov 2007) (42 U.S.C. 5150).

__ (50) 52.232-29, Terms for Financing of Purchases of Commercial Items (Feb 2002) (41 U.S.C. 4505, 10 U.S.C. 2307(f)).

__ (51) 52.232-30, Installment Payments for Commercial Items (Oct 1995) (41 U.S.C. 4505, 10 U.S.C. 2307(f)).

X (52) 52.232-33, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer—System for Award Management (Jul 2013) (31 U.S.C. 3332).

__ (53) 52.232-34, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer—Other than System for Award Management (Jul 2013) (31 U.S.C. 3332).

__ (54) 52.232-36, Payment by Third Party (May 2014) (31 U.S.C. 3332).

__ (55) 52.239-1, Privacy or Security Safeguards (Aug 1996) (5 U.S.C. 552a).

__ (56)(i) 52.247-64, Preference for Privately Owned U.S.-Flag Commercial Vessels (Feb 2006) (46 U.S.C. Appx. 1241(b) and 10 U.S.C. 2631).

__ (ii) Alternate I (Apr 2003) of 52.247-64.

(c) The Contractor shall comply with the FAR clauses in this paragraph (c), applicable to commercial services, that the Contracting Officer has indicated as being incorporated in this contract by reference to implement provisions of law or Executive orders applicable to acquisitions of commercial items:

[Contracting Officer check as appropriate.] __ (1) 52.222-41, Service Contract Labor Standards (May 2014) (41 U.S.C. chapter 67).

__ (2) 52.222-42, Statement of Equivalent Rates for Federal Hires (May 2014) (29 U.S.C. 206 and 41 U.S.C. chapter 67).

__ (3) 52.222-43, Fair Labor Standards Act and Service Contract Labor Standards-Price Adjustment (Multiple Year and Option Contracts) (May 2014) (29 U.S.C. 206 and 41 U.S.C. chapter 67).

__ (4) 52.222-44, Fair Labor Standards Act and Service Contract Labor Standards—Price Adjustment (May 2014) (29 U.S.C. 206 and 41 U.S.C. chapter 67).

__ (5) 52.222-51, Exemption from Application of the Service Contract Labor Standards to Contracts for Maintenance, Calibration, or Repair of Certain Equipment—Requirements (May 2014) (41 U.S.C. chapter 67).

__ (6) 52.222-53, Exemption from Application of the Service Contract Labor Standards to Contracts for Certain Services—Requirements (May 2014) (41 U.S.C. chapter 67).

__ (7) 52.222-17, Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers (May 2014) (E.O.13495).

__ (8) 52.226-6, Promoting Excess Food Donation to Nonprofit Organizations (May 2014) (42 U.S.C. 1792).

__ (9) 52.237-11, Accepting and Dispensing of $1 Coin (Sept 2008) (31 U.S.C. 5112(p)(1)).

(d) Comptroller General Examination of Record. The Contractor shall comply with the provisions of this paragraph (d) if this contract was awarded using other than sealed bid, is in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold, and does not contain the clause at 52.215-2, Audit and Records—Negotiation.

(1) The Comptroller General of the United States, or an authorized representative of the Comptroller General, shall have access to and right to examine any of the Contractor’s directly pertinent records involving transactions related to this contract.

(2) The Contractor shall make available at its offices at all reasonable times the records, materials, and other evidence for examination, audit, or reproduction, until 3 years after final payment under this contract or for any shorter period specified in FAR Subpart 4.7, Contractor Records Retention, of the other clauses of this contract. If this contract is completely or partially terminated, the records relating to the work terminated shall be made available for 3 years after any resulting final termination settlement. Records relating to appeals under the disputes clause or to litigation or the settlement of claims arising under or relating to this contract shall be made available until such appeals, litigation, or claims are finally resolved.

(3) As used in this clause, records include books, documents, accounting procedures and practices, and other data, regardless of type and regardless of form. This does not require the Contractor to create or maintain any record that the Contractor does not maintain in the ordinary course of business or pursuant to a provision of law.

(e)(1) Notwithstanding the requirements of the clauses in paragraphs (a), (b), (c), and (d) of this clause, the Contractor is not required to flow down any FAR clause, other than those in this paragraph (e)(1) in a subcontract for commercial items. Unless otherwise indicated below, the extent of the flow down shall be as required by the clause—

(i) 52.203-13, Contractor Code of Business Ethics and Conduct (Apr 2010) (41 U.S.C. 3509).

(ii) 52.219-8, Utilization of Small Business Concerns (May 2014) (15 U.S.C. 637(d)(2) and (3)), in all subcontracts that offer further subcontracting opportunities. If the subcontract (except subcontracts to small business concerns) exceeds $650,000 ($1.5 million for construction of any public facility), the subcontractor must include 52.219-8 in lower tier subcontracts that offer subcontracting opportunities.

(iii) 52.222-17, Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers (May 2014) (E.O. 13495). Flow down required in accordance with paragraph (l) of FAR clause 52.222-17.

(iv) 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity (Mar 2007) (E.O. 11246).

(v) 52.222-35, Equal Opportunity for Veterans (Jul 2014) (38 U.S.C. 4212).

(vi) 52.222-36, Equal Opportunity for Workers with Disabilities (Jul 2014) (29 U.S.C. 793).

(vii) 52.222-37, Employment Reports on Veterans (Jul 2014) (38 U.S.C. 4212)

(viii) 52.222-40, Notification of Employee Rights Under the National Labor Relations Act (Dec 2010) (E.O. 13496). Flow down required in accordance with paragraph (f) of FAR clause 52.222-40.

(ix) 52.222-41, Service Contract Labor Standards (May 2014) (41 U.S.C. chapter 67).

(x) 52.222-50, Combating Trafficking in Persons (Feb 2009) (22 U.S.C. 7104(g)).

___Alternate I (Aug 2007) of 52.222-50 (22 U.S.C. 7104(g)).

(xi) 52.222-51, Exemption from Application of the Service Contract Labor Standards to Contracts for Maintenance, Calibration, or Repair of Certain Equipment-Requirements (May 2014) (41 U.S.C. chapter 67).

(xii) 52.222-53, Exemption from Application of the Service Contract Labor Standards to Contracts for Certain Services-Requirements (May 2014) (41 U.S.C. chapter 67).

(xiii) 52.222-54, Employment Eligibility Verification (AUG 2013).

(xiv) 52.225-26, Contractors Performing Private Security Functions Outside the United States (Jul 2013) (Section 862, as amended, of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008; 10 U.S.C. 2302 Note).

(xv) 52.226-6, Promoting Excess Food Donation to Nonprofit Organizations (May 2014) (42 U.S.C. 1792). Flow down required in accordance with paragraph (e) of FAR clause 52.226-6.

(xvi) 52.247-64, Preference for Privately Owned U.S.-Flag Commercial Vessels (Feb 2006) (46 U.S.C. Appx. 1241(b) and 10 U.S.C. 2631). Flow down required in accordance with paragraph (d) of FAR clause 52.247-64.

(2) While not required, the contractor may include in its subcontracts for commercial items a minimal number of additional clauses necessary to satisfy its contractual obligations.

(End of clause)

END OF SECTION I

Section J – Attachments

J.1 – PERFORMANCE RATING FORM

END OF SECTION J

SECTION K – REPRESENTATIONS, CERTIFICATIONS, AND OTHER STATEMENTS

K.1 Representations and Certifications

The contractor’s “Representations and Certifications” in System for Award Management (Sam.Gov) are hereby incorporated by reference. Please see FAR 52.204-7, System for Award Management.

END OF SECTION K

SECTION L – INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS, AND NOTICES TO OFFERORS FOR PREPARATION OF THE TECHNICAL SUBMISSION

L.1 Notice Listing Solicitation Provisions Incorporated By Reference

The technical volume of the proposal shall present the offeror’s understanding of the scope of the contract and its overall approach to providing the required services. The proposal must be complete and in sufficient detail to demonstrate both an understanding of and an ability to comply with the requirements of the solicitation. The overall quality of the proposal will be considered representative of the Offeror’s services. Offerors shall observe the following in preparing and submitting technical proposals:

i. General statements that the Offeror can or will comply with the requirements that standard procedures or well-known techniques will be used, or that paraphrase the statement of work in whole or in part will not constitute compliance with the solicitation requirements. The proposal will be assessed and assigned ratings accordingly.

ii. At a minimum, the information requested in these instructions must be submitted. Failure to provide the required information will adversely impact proposal evaluation. The proposal must be concise, logical, neat, orderly, comprehensive, and contain no superfluous material. Elaborate brochures, artwork, and presentation aids beyond those sufficient to present a complete and comprehensive proposal are neither necessary nor desired.

Offeror shall submit a technical proposal for statistical process control (SPC) and process capability (PC) consulting services. as described in this solicitation.

Technical proposals shall follow the outline format and include the content requirements set forth below. Each section shall be separately divided by a blank page or tab. In addition, all proposal pages and paragraphs shall be numbered.

This solicitation incorporates one or more solicitation provisions by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. The offeror is cautioned that the listed provisions may include blocks that must be completed by the offeror and submitted with its quotation or offer. In lieu of submitting the full text of those provisions, the offeror may identify the provision by paragraph identifier and provide the appropriate information with its quotation or offer. Also, the full text of a solicitation provision may be accessed electronically at this/these address(es):

L.2 Submission of Proposals:

Late proposals will not be considered except in accordance with FAR guidelines.

All vendors must submit their technical and price proposals (separate technical and price proposals) on company letter head that contains the company's full name, address, telephone numbers, email addresses, and point of contact. The proposal must also list the company’s Tax Identification Number (TIN), Data Universal Numbering System (DUN), and Small Business Filing Status, if applicable.

Part I – Cover Letter

Part II – Technical Proposal -Technical Approach -Management Plan -Corporate Capacity and Experience

- Key Personnel

Vendors must include an itemized quote that is in accordance format below:

Rate Schedule Consulting services and document Preparation, Management and Administrative Rate (Labor hour price)

Part IV – Past performance Past performance references must be submitted using the Form under Attachment J.2 – Performance Rating Form from the contractor references directly to the contracting officer via email (Pboateng@usaid.gov and by closing of this solicitation – The contractor shall also submit past performance information with its proposal in accordance with the following:

1. List in an annex to the technical submission up to Three (3) of the most recent and relevant contracts for efforts similar to the work in this request for quotation. The most relevant indicators of performance are contracts of similar scope of work and how recently they were performed (within the last three years).

2. For each of these contracts, list the relevant information contained in the Contractor Performance Report – Short Form.

NOTE: USAID recommends that offerors alert the contacts that their names have been submitted and that they are authorized to provide performance information concerning the listed contracts if and when requested by USAID.

3. If extraordinary problems impacted any of the referenced contracts, provide a short explanation and the corrective action taken as required by FAR 15.305(a) (2).

NOTE: In cases where an Offeror lacks relevant past performance history, or in which information on past performance is not available, the Offeror will receive a “neutral” score for past performance.

In preparing your proposal and responding to the above price and technical evaluation factors, Offerors shall submit all proposals electronically written (in English only) no longer than 120 pages. Electronic copies only. Please provide a point of contact for all clarifications and negotiations, including phone and email information. Pricing information shall be included on a single, separate page within the proposal Part V -Other Required Documents**

END OF SECTION L

SECTION M – EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD Comment by Prince Boateng: @keryan@usaid.gov and @ruperez@usaid.gov Please review this section and let me know if it make sense to you

EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD

BEST VALUE TRADE OFF

BASIS FOR CONTRACT AWARD: This acquisition will utilize Best Value Tradeoff source selection procedures in accordance with FAR 15.101-2, as supplemented. This is a competitive Tradeoff best value source selection in which technical acceptability is considered the most important factor. By submission of its offer, the Offeror accepts all solicitation requirements, including terms and conditions, representations and certifications, and technical requirements. Failure to meet a requirement may result in an offer being determined technically unacceptable. Offerors must clearly identify any exception to the solicitation and conditions and provide complete accompanying rationale. The Government intends to select ONE contractor for award of this effort. For the purpose of award, the government shall evaluate offers based on the evaluation factors described below:

FACTOR 1 Technical FACTOR 2 Price FACTOR 3 Past Performance

M.1 EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS

a) This section is intended to explain the rational and precise criteria by which proposals submitted in response to this solicitation will be evaluated. All proposals shall be evaluated solely against the evaluation criteria set forth in the RFP.

b) Proposals which meet all applicable requirements of the solicitation will be evaluated in accordance with the specific factors and subfactors (see Section M.3 below) in order to determine which proposals will be considered in the competitive range, if applicable, and selected as a source by the Government.

c) The source selection process will utilize the Best Value Continuum (FAR 15.101) for the evaluation of offers and the selection of offerors to receive awards. The best value continuum is a process that permits tradeoffs among cost or price and non-cost factors and allows the Government to accept other than the lowest priced proposal.

d) The Government reserves their right to reject any or all proposals if such action is deemed in the Government’s best interest. The Government may waive information and minor irregularities in proposals received.

M.2 BASIS FOR AWARD

a) Best value. The Government intends to award a contract or contracts resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror(s) whose proposal(s) represents the best value after evaluation in accordance with the factors and subfactors in the solicitation. For overall evaluation purposes, all technical factors when combined are considered significantly more important than cost/price factors though cost is a key factor in making a best value decision. “Best value” is defined as the offer that results in the most advantageous solution for the Government, in consideration of technical, cost and other factors.

b) Relative Importance of Evaluation Factors. Each Technical evaluation factor is more important than price, and together the technical evaluation factors are significantly more important than the price. The Technical evaluation factors when combined are more important than past performance. If technical scores are determined to be nearly equal by the Contracting Officer, cost will become the determining factor. Therefore, after the final evaluation of proposals, the contracting officer will make the award to the Offeror whose proposal offers the best value to the Government considering both technical and cost factors. c

c) Evaluation of Price. The evaluation of price will be in accordance with provision 452.216-72 Evaluation

d) Discussions. The Government intends to evaluate proposals and award contracts after discussions with offerors within the competitive range.

e) Multiple Awards. The Government reserves the right to make multiple awards if, after considering the additional administrative costs, it is in the Government’s best interest to do so. (See provision 52.215-1.)

M.3 EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD

FACTOR 1: Technical Technical evaluation of proposals will be based on the extent and appropriateness of the proposed approaches and feasibility of achieving the strategic objectives, in accordance with the evaluation criteria.