Questions_and_Answers__on_Place_Based_Strategy_question_22_and_27_update.docx

Questions on RFP SINLEC16R0012, INL Honduras Place-Based Strategy Baseline

1) Question I see there is an approach and some activities too around them. Please what assistance/service are you desiring from vendors?

Answer:

Generally, this requirement seeks to do a baseline assessment of three communities in San Pedro Sula, Honduras about their views on crime and police.

2)

Question

Can you please inform as to whether and when INL plans to release the MPP solicitation, and if so whether any association with it will create a conflict of interest in respect to the Place-Based Strategy program?

Answer:

These are independent solicitations and there will be no conflict of interest. The MPP solicitation is pending posting in the near future.

3)

Question:

Would the government please provide a 1-week extension to this procurement given the short turnaround time between the Q&A due date and the proposal due date?

Answer:

The proposals are due on Monday December 7th.

4)

Is the study considering 3 PBS (treatment) communities and 3 control communities in total, or is it expected that more than one community in each of the 3 geographical areas is to be included in the study (e.g., UMEP 7 has multiple neighborhoods and colonies)? In essence, can INL be more clear about what is considered a "community"?

Generally, this requirement seeks to do a baseline assessment of three communities in San Pedro Sula, Honduras about their views on crime and police.

5)

List of Items, Schedule of Requirements, Scope of Work, Terms of Reference, Bill of Materials required.

Answer:

Please see FBO posting for all relevant material

6)

Question:

Soft Copy of the Tender Document through email.

Please see FBO posting for all relevant material

7)

Names of countries that will be eligible to participate in this tender.

Answer:

All qualified bidders who are can be certified in the SAM.gov system and not on the Excluded Parties List system.

8) Question:

Information about the Tendering Procedure and Guidelines

Answer:

Procedures are in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulations for a Firm-Fixed Price Contract

9) Question:

Estimated Budget for this Purchase

Answer:

Estimate is not available for public disclosure.

10) Question:

Any Extension of Bidding Deadline?

Answer:

There are no extensions for the Bidding deadline.

11) Question:

Any Addendum or Pre Bid meeting Minutes?

Answer:

There are no additional addendums or Pre Bid meeting minutes.

12) Question:

Section 3, Instructions and Evaluation criteria, outlines required information for Volume 1 for General and Technical Evaluation, please confirm if there equally is required information for Volume 2, Pricing?

Volume 2 requires the totals tab to be in the format provided in the pricing matrix.

13)

Question

The Technical Evaluation, (Factor 3, Page 17), states, “all employees hired by the Contractor must be a U.S. citizen and obtain/maintain the appropriate Security clearance”, please clarify, does this requirement apply only to key personnel or to local consultants to provide short-term technical assistance as well?

Answer: This requirement will be updated to allow for the hiring of non-US citizens for any positions available

14) Question

The Technical Evaluation, (Page 18), states the, “Contractor shall be paid fully burdened, fixed hourly rate” referencing a Pricing Matrix as attached. However, the Pricing Matrix outlines unburdened rates (to include fringe, overhead and G&A). Please clarify which instruction the offeror is to follow.

Answer: The sentence “Contractor shall be paid fully burdened, fixed hourly rate” is a typo. Please adhere to the Pricing Matrix outlines for the totals sheet.

15) Question

Please confirm that DoS/INL wants the contractor “to derive treatment and help identify control communities”, (Page 5) in the baseline, as stated in the RFP’s Scope of Work.

Answer: After award the contractor will work with DOS/INL to identify specific communities.

16) Question

Please confirm a Table of Contents and Acronyms list is excluded from the 25 page count.

Answer: Confirmed, the table of contents and acronyms is excluded from the 25 page count.

17)

Please clarify which type and size font is required for the Technical Volume?

Answer: Times new Roman font size 11.

18)

Please confirm resumes for key personnel can be included in an Annex and are not included in the 25 page count.

Answer: Confirmed the key personnel can be included in an Annex and not included in the 25 page count.

19) Question

Please clarify; does DoS/INL require a timeline/schedule of deliverables and level of effort by person by task as Annexes?

Answer: The required timelines will be worked out post award and incorporated into the WorkPlan. It is not required to provide level of effort but is acceptable to include as an annex.

20)

Please define the categories of “violence” and “crime” INL/USAID seeks to reduce through the Place-Based Strategy.

Answer: The categories are to be defined by the proposer for the proposal. These will be refined in post-award.

21)

Please confirm the categories of “crime” and “violence” that should be included in the data provided in Set 1 (Quantitative Crime and Violence related Data), DoS/INL notes (Page 6, SOW) that data include, but are not limited to, data on homicide rates.

Answer: The categories are to be defined by the proposer for the proposal. These will be refined in post-award.

22)

Page 12, Section III, Instructions and Evaluation Criteria, Volume 1.1: Technical, Corporate Experience and Past Performance requires that the offeror “Provide up to five (5) client references for services performed by your firm that are similar in size, scope, and complexity to the work required by the this RFP.” On page 14, Section III, Instructions and Evaluation Criteria, Evaluations, Technical Evaluation Factor 2: Past Performance it states that “The offeror shall provide a minimum of two (2) and a maximum of three (3) Past Performance Contract Profiles that are directly relevant to the required effort and are of similar size (dollar value), scope (substantially similar services) and complexity (degree of difficulty).” Can INL confirm that the Offeror should be providing a minimum of two (2) and a maximum of five (5) Past Performance References?

Answer

Confirmed, provide a minimum of two and a maximum of five past performance references.

23)

Question

Page 16, Section III, Instructions and Evaluation Criteria, Evaluations, Technical Evaluation Factor 3: Work Plan/Staffing, (2) Personnel states that the offeror will be evaluated on its personnel “by determining the capacity of key personnel (Program Manager and SMEs)”. However, the only resume that has been requested is for the Program Manager. Can INL please confirm that the Program Manager is the only key position for which a resume is required?

Answer

Confirm that the Program Manager is the only key position for which a resume is required.

24)

Question

Page 19, Section III Instructions and Evaluation Criteria, Price Evaluation, Pricing, it states “For work performed, the Contractor shall be paid the fully burdened fixed hourly rates shown below. The fixed hourly rates shall include total employee compensation, all indirect and profit…**Price: Totals to be submitted per the attached pricing matrix.”

0. The pricing matrix includes a breakdown of Labor, Fringe, ODC, Overhead, G&A and Fee. Can INL please confirm whether offeror’s budgets must include fixed burdened hourly rates or must include base hourly rates with the breakdown of associated indirect (Fringe, Overhead, G&A) and Fee per the Pricing Matrix Sample?

0. Can offerors use daily rates instead of hourly rates?

Answer:

The sentence “Contractor shall be paid fully burdened, fixed hourly rate” is a typo. Please adhere to the Pricing Matrix outlines for the totals sheet. Include base hourly rates with breakdown of associated indirect as per the pricing matrix sample. Offerors shall use hourly rates.

25)

Question

Considering the complexity of the project, and the impending Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S., would INL consider extending the submission deadline to Thursday, December 10?

Answer:

The submission deadline will not be changed.

26) Question

Section 1.1 of the INL contract template and Section VII of the Submission and RFP Information document state that this is a firm-fixed price contract which would fall under FAR 16.202. The Pricing section of this same document contradicts this, by referencing fixed hourly rates and unit pricing, which is consistent with FAR 16.601. However, the Pricing Matrix is consistent with CPFF FAR 16.306, a CPFF contract.

Please confirm this is a CPFF contract invoiced and paid monthly. Alternatively, confirm the offeror can submit invoices monthly based on the pro-rated cost by year, i.e. January invoice will reflect 1/12 of the firm fixed price of 2016. If the latter, this would require an updated pricing matrix consistent with FFP contracts and deleting references to other cost elements consistent with the other contract types.

This is a CPFF contract paid monthly the inclusion of hourly rates is for illustrative purposes for the analysis of bids.

27) Question

In Section III, page 12 of the RFP, the Corporate Experience and Past Performance section requests the offeror “provide up to five (5) client references for services performed by your firm that are similar in size, scope, and complexity to the work required by this RFP…Within the five (5) client limitation, the offeror may also include one (1) reference supplied by each teammate and/or proposed subcontractor provided that the teammate/subcontractor is proposing to perform at least 25% of the total five year level of effort for this RFP.”

Further, on page 14, Technical Evaluation Factor 2: Past Performance, the RFP states “the offeror shall provide a minimum of two (2) and maximum of three (3) Past Performance Contract Profiles that are directly relevant to the required efforts and are of similar size (dollar value), scope (substantially similar services), and complexity (degree of difficulty). A minimum of one (1) of the past performance profiles shall be for services performed by the prime contractors.”

Please confirm the maximum allowable client references in the form of Past Performance Contract Profiles is three. Similarly, please confirm that the offeror shall provide a maximum of one client reference from a teammate/subcontractor within the allowable maximum of three, provided that the teammate/subcontractor is proposing to perform at least 25% of the total five year level of effort for this RFP?

The maximum allowable client references in the form of Past Performance Contract Profiles is five. The offeror can provide a maximum of one client reference from a teammate/subcontractor within the allowable maximum of three, provided that the teammate/subcontractor is proposing to perform at least 25% of the total five year level of effort for this RFP