Amendment_1_to_RFP_SOL-117-16-000003_HVA_Q A.pdf

June 21, 2016

Amendment Issuance Date: June 21, 2016

Closing Date and Time: July 11, 2016, 17:00 Kyiv Time

Subject: Amendment 01 to Request for Proposal (RFP) No. SOL-117-16-000003

Reference: High Value Agriculture Activity (HVA)

Dear Prospective Offerors:

The purpose of Amendment 01 is to:

1) provide answers to the questions submitted in response to the subject RFP; and

2) inform that proposals must be sent via e-mail attachments to Mike Rossman at mrossman@usaid.gov, Armen Yeghiazarian at ayeghiazarian@usaid.gov, and RFPKyiv@usaid.gov no later than 17:00 Kyiv time, July 11, 2016 and must conform to all requirements outlined in Section L.

Thank you for your interest in USAID projects.

Sincerely, /S/

Michael Capobianco

Contracting Officer

USAID Mission for Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova and Cyprus mailto:mrossman@usaid.gov mailto:ayeghiazarian@usaid.gov mailto:RFPKyiv@usaid.gov

Answers to the questions:

SOL-117-16-000003; High Value Agriculture Activity

1. Page 1, Cover Page, identifies the closing date of submission as “July 11, 2016 at 5pm, Kyiv local time.” However, Page 87, Section L.5, Submission/Delivery Instructions, paragraph 1, states “Offerors must submit their proposals via email to mccapobianco@usaid.gov and llomonosova@usaid.gov no later than 17:00 Kyiv time, July 12, 2016.

Question: The Offeror respectfully requests USAID confirm the closing date.

Answer: The closing date of submission is July 11, 2016 at 5pm, Kyiv local time. Offerors must submit their proposals via email to Mike Rossman at mrossman@usaid.gov, Armen Yeghiazarian at ayeghiazarian@usaid.gov, and RFPKyiv@usaid.gov no later than 17:00 Kyiv time, July11, 2016."

2. Page 8, Section C.7, Work Requirements and Illustrative Results, paragraph 4, states: “The Contractor shall identify specific interventions that promote youth engagement in targeted value chains that offer opportunities for youth productive employment and income generation.”

Question: The Offeror respectfully requests USAID/Moldova to provide a specific age range defining “youth” for the purposes of this RFP?

Answer: The Moldovan Local Law No. 79 "About youth" dated 11.02.1999 (revised 20/07/07), defines the youth as "young people from 16 to 30 years old".

3. Page 12, Section C.7.3 Strengthen capacities of member-based groups (producer groups, WUAs) and industry associations offering high-value services to their members, states:

“3. Ten Water Users Associations (WUAs) created and supported under the MCC Compact.”

Question: Donors have made significant investments in Moldova’s WUAs. The Offeror respectfully requests that USAID provide some indication of how significant its support to these WUAs will be under this solicitation?”

Answer: WUA support is an important component of the new activity, but not a primary focus of the new activity. USAID would recommend that the WUA support be in the range of 10-15% of the budget. WUA support should be limited to technical assistance and capacity building and not include structural or construction activities.

mailto:mccapobianco@usaid.gov mailto:llomonosova@usaid.gov mailto:mrossman@usaid.gov mailto:ayeghiazarian@usaid.gov mailto:RFPKyiv@usaid.gov

4. Page 23, Section F.4 “KEY PERSONNEL”, sub-section “Key Personnel Minimum Qualifications,” COP qualifications, states: “The COP shall have a relevant post-graduate degree (MBA, MS in economics, MPP) and must be fluent in English.”

Question: The Offeror respectfully requests that an additional two years of experience in in the agribusiness private sector be allowed in lieu of the master’s degree.

Answer: No, USAID does not consider substituting additional years of experience in lieu of the master’s degree.

5. Page 30, Section F.7, C. Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Plan, Mission PMP indicators to be included in the Ag Lead M&E Plan, Objective Level, Indicators 1 and 2, states: “Value of annual fixed capital private sector investment (FDI and domestic) in targeted sectors/value chains,” and, “Value of domestic and export sales in targeted sectors/value chains (export sales disaggregated by CIS, EU and other markets; women-owned and male-owned enterprises.”

Question: The Offeror respectfully requests that USAID clarify whether data for these indicators can be collected using secondary sources like government statistics or other data collection organizations, or is the contractor expected to collect this data?

Answer: The contractor should plan to use both secondary sources such as government statistics and data collection organization, and the contractor is expected to collect additional data. Government sources will typically not provide all information required by USAID such as women-owned enterprises.

6. Page 31, Section F.7, C. Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Plan, Mission PMP indicators to be included in the USAID High Value Agriculture Activity M&E Plan, Outcome Level, 5th Indictor Definition, states: “The proportion of women participating in ACED facilitated…”

Question: The Offeror respectfully requests that USAID confirm that this should reference the High Value Agriculture Activity and not ACED?

Answer: All references to the Ag Lead activity should now refer to the High Value Agriculture activity. The name was changed between the first solicitation and the second solicitation. The name was changed to more accurately reflect the focus of the activity. A few references to Ag Lead remain in the current solicitation.

7. Page 51, Section H.23, Title to Property, incorporates: AIDAR 752.245-70 Government

Property – USAID Reporting Requirements which includes a definition of Non- Expandable property as property “with an expected service life of two year or more; and which has a unit cost of more than $500.” Furthermore, under 2CFR200, the threshold for prior approval of equipment falls under the cost principle for equipment in Subpart D and the definition of Equipment in 200.33. The definitions apply to all awards per the table in

200.101 Applicability and are set for a non-profit at $5,000 per unit.

Question: Please confirm that the Non-Profit Cost Principles regarding the asset definitions of property will apply to a successful non-profit organization for reporting purposes. This definition is a unit cost of $5,000 and a shelf life of one year.

Answer: The AIDAR clause governs in this case. The threshold is $500.

8. Page 88, Section L.6, Instructions for Preparation of Technical Proposal, Identifies the sections allowed in the technical volume. No Annexes are addressed.

Question: The Offeror respectfully requests that an annex be allowed for relevant technical information supplementing the technical approach outside of the 25 page limitation.

Answer: No, though we are increasing the page limitation to 30.

9. Page 88, Section L.6, Instructions for the Preparation of the Technical Proposal, paragraph 1, states “Technical proposals shall be written in English and typed using 11 point font size (excluding tables and graphs) with each page numbered consecutively.”

Question: The Offeror respectfully requests that text boxes, along with tables and graphs, be excluded from the required 11 point font size, while remaining legible.

Answer: USAID confirms that that a smaller font size is allowed for diagrams, graphics, tables, and text boxes provided that no magnification is required to be legible and read.

10. Page 89, Section L.6, Instructions for the Preparation of the Technical Proposal, paragraph 2, excludes, the Cover letter, the Table of contents; and CVs of key personnel from the page limitation.

Question: The Offeror respectfully requests that a list of acronyms, divider pages, and the organizational chart also be excluded from the 25 page limitation in the technical proposal.

Answer: A list of acronyms may be provided and not count towards the page limitation.

Everything else mentioned in the question does count towards the limitation.

11. Page 89, Section L.6, Instructions for the Preparation of the Technical Proposal, paragraph 7, states “The Experience section shall include information which demonstrates experience performing similar projects.”

Question: The Offeror respectfully requests that USAID allow a list which demonstrates the specific award information (size, scale, duration, nature and complexity) as supplemental data to the experience narrative be allowed as an annex outside of the 25 page limitation for the technical proposal.

Answer: Offerors may provide this list, but it counts towards the page limitation, which is now 30.

12. Page 89, Section L.6, Instructions for the Preparation of the Technical Proposal, states:

“The Management Plan must also contain the offeror’s proposed Monitoring and Evaluation Plan conforming to Section F.7.B. (sic), which addresses the content and format of the final MEP submitted post award.

Question: The Offeror respectfully requests further information on the content and format expected for the Monitoring and Evaluation Plan which must be included in the Management Plan of the Technical Approach.

Answer: This is up to the offeror to put together what it believes is appropriate, provided that it complies with M&E plan requirements in Section F.

13. Page 90, Section L.7 Instructions for Preparation and Submission of the Cost/Business Proposal, Section (c) “Past Performance,” paragraph 1, requires: past performance information on all contracts above $20,000,000...

Question: May we respectfully request that USAID allow both assistance and acquisition performance reports as references for past performance?

Answer: Yes.

14. In Section L.5, on page 87, the deadline for submitting proposals is stated as "17:00 Kyiv time, July 12, 2016" whereas the closing date and time on the cover letter is "July 11, 2016 at 5pm, Kyiv local time." Could USAID clarify the date and time that proposals are due?

Answer: See the answer to Question 1 above.

15. In Section L.6, on page 89, instructions state that "the proposal shall have five main sections," but only 4 are subsequently listed in this section (and in section M): Technical Approach, Management Plan, Key Personnel, and Experience. Could USAID clarify what the 5th section of the proposal should be?

Answer: This is a typo and there is no fifth section. There are only four.

16. Given the space-intensive requirements for a full M&E plan in section F.7.C, including an activity-level log frame and detailed description of performance indicators (a table of which is likely to run several pages), would USAID consider either requiring offerors to include the M&E plan as a non-page-counting annex, or allow offerors to present a summary M&E plan with selected indicators as part of their proposal?

Answer: No, but the page limitation has been increased to 30.

17. Will USAID please confirm that the M&E Plan should conform to Section F.7.C, not Section F.7.B?

Answer: USAID Confirms that M&E Plan should conform to Section F.7.C

18. May offerors include a noncounting acronym list with their proposal?

Answer: USAID confirms that a list of acronyms will not count toward the page limit.

19. Would USAID kindly confirm whether the submission deadline is July 11, as noted on the cover letter, or July 12, as noted in section L.5?

Answer: See the answer to Question 1 above.

20. Would USAID please confirm that, in addition to the items listed at the top of page 89 of the RFP, a cover page, an acronyms list, and divider pages will not count against the 25-page limit?

Answer: An acronym list will not count towards the page limitation.

21. Could offerors submit a two-page executive summary in lieu of a two-page cover letter, exclusive of the 25-page limit?

Answer: USAID confirms that a cover letter or an executive summary will not count toward the page limit, but it is one or the other and it is limited to 2 pages.

22. Would USAID please confirm that A4-size paper is acceptable for submission of the technical proposal?

Answer: USAID confirms that A4-size paper is acceptable for submission of the technical proposal.

23. Section L.6 of the RFP on page 89 states that the technical proposal “shall have five main sections” and points forward to the list of evaluation factors in Section M.2 (page 93), yet both of these lists contain only four items: technical approach, management plan, key personnel, and experience. Could USAID confirm that the technical proposal should be organized into four main sections, or provide the topic, evaluation criteria, and relative weighting of the fifth section?

Answer: Yes, only four sections.

24. We respectfully request that USAID allow for the presentation of graphics such as organizational charts, management structure charts, and other graphics that illuminate the technical approach, either as unnumbered pages in the technical proposal or in an annex to the technical volume not counting against the 25-page limit.

Answer: No, they count towards the page limitation, though the limitation has been increased to 30.

25. RFP Section L.6 states that offerors’ Monitoring and Evaluation Plans should conform to Section F.7.B. However, it is Section F.7.C (pages 27-32) that discusses the Monitoring and Evaluation Plan, and this section appears to describe the requirements of the final project-level Monitoring and Evaluation Plan due 45 days following award. These requirements include a log frame, a description of the linkages between project outputs and expected results, mandatory and custom indicators and associated baselines and targets, a methodology for tracking return on investment, detailed plans for data analysis, review, and reporting, among other details. Could USAID clarify the expectations for the Monitoring and Evaluation Plan to be submitted in the proposal? Depending on the level of detail desired, would USAID allow offerors to present this information in an annex not counting toward the 25 page limit?

Answer: It is up to the offeror to determine what to include in the draft M&E plan, as long as it complies with the M&E requirements in Section F. The plan will count towards the page limitation, though the limitation has been increased to 30.

26. Would USAID like to receive reference contact information for key personnel, and if so, may we submit this information on a third page following each key personnel CV, exclusive of the technical proposal page limit?

Answer: Offerors may include these, but they count towards the page limitation.

27. Would USAID allow offerors to present two-page CVs for non-key personnel in an annex to the technical proposal?

Answer: Offerors may include these, but they count towards the page limitation.

28. Section L.7 of the RFP on Page 89 states that “RFP Budget Template” is in Attachment

5. We found a budget template in Attachment 9. Please confirm that the budget template in Attachment 9 is provided as a helpful example of the organization and level of detail that USAID is requesting in the budget, and that offerors (and their subcontractors) are free to submit detailed budgets that conform to their cost accounting standards. This may include addition of necessary cost line items or new cost categories.

Answer: RFP Budget Template in Attachment 9 is provided as a mandatory budget format.

29. Could USAID kindly confirm that offerors should complete the past performance information sheet found in Attachment 9 (whereas Section L.7.c indicates Attachment 4) and that these should be presented as part of the cost proposal, per the instructions in L.7.c?

Answer: RCO. USAID confirms that the past performance information sheet found in Attachment 8 should be presented as part of cost proposal.

30. Per Section L.7(h) (page 91), would USAID confirm that biodata sheets are required only for key personnel?

Answer: Key personnel only.

31. D.4: Per section D.4 on page 19, the RFP states that the Contractor shall submit a Branding Implementation Plan (BIP) and a Marking Plan (MP) in accordance with Section L.8 entitled “Instructions for Preparation of the Branding Implementation and Marking Plans”. However, in Section L.7, on page 91, the RFP states that “Offerors do not need to submit a branding and marking plan with their initial proposals”. Can USAID please clarify whether or not a Branding and Marking Plan is to be submitted for this proposal?

Answer: Branding and Marking Plan is not required for the initial proposal submission.

32. H.7: Per section H.7 of the RFP, the authorized geographic code is 110. Typically geographic code 110 is paired with 937. Would USAID consider authorizing both geocode 110 and 937?

Answer: The code is 110.

33. L.6: On page 89 under section L.6 of the RFP – is the executive summary considered to be a part of the 2 page cover letter limit, or is it a part of the 25 page limit for the technical proposal?

Answer: See answer to Question 21.

34. L.6: On 89 under section L.6 of the RFP – can an acronyms page be included as a page which does not count towards 25 page limit for the technical proposal?

Answer: Yes.

35. L.6: On 89 under section L.6, the RFP states that the technical proposal shall have five main sections, however only four evaluation factors are listed (Technical Approach, Management Plan, Key Personnel, and Experience). Is there a fifth evaluation factor to be addressed?

Answer: There are only four sections.

36. L.7: Can USAID confirm that it requests this budget information for all proposed subcontractors (both major and non-major)?

Answer: Both.

37. Is this a follow-on requirement? If so, could you please provide the incumbent contract number for this opportunity? If not, is this a new requirement?

Answer: USAID confirms that this is a new requirement.