SOL-121-17-000007_Amendment_02_Q&A.pdf

5. PROJECT NO.

CODE

7. ADMINISTERED BY

2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NO.

CODE

6. ISSUED BY

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR

4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NO. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NO.

9B. DATED

PAGE OF PAGES

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NO.

10B. DATED

1. CONTRACT ID CODE

FACILITY CODE CODE

Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended, by one of the following methods:

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers

E. IMPORTANT:

is extended,

(a) By completing Items 8 and 15, and returning __________ copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment of each copy of the offer submitted; or (c) By separate letter or telegram which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR AC- KNOWLEDGMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY is not extended.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA

(REV. 10-83)

is required to sign this document and return ___________ copies to the issuing office. is not, A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE CONTRACT ORDER NO. IN ITEM 10A.

15C. DATE SIGNED

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment you desire to change an offer already submitted, such change may be made by telegram or letter, provided each telegram or letter makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER

BY /S/

Contractor

16C. DATE SIGNED

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION

16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect.

15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER 16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER

15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR

STANDARD FORM 30 STANDARD FORM 30

(Type or print) (Type or print)

(Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

(No., street, county, State and ZIP Code)

(If other than Item 6)

(Specify type of modification and authority)

(such as changes in paying office, appropriation date, etc.)

(If required)

(If applicable)

(SEE ITEM 11)

(SEE ITEM 13)

(X)

(X)

13. THIS ITEM APPLIES ONLY TO MODIFICATIONS OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS,

IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

(Signature of person authorized to sign) (Signature of Contracting Officer)

1 15

02 See Block 16 C

USAID/Ukraine/Regional Contract Office Department of State 5850 Kyiv Place Washington D.C. 20521-5850

USAID/Ukraine/Regional Contract Office Department of State 5850 Kyiv Place Washington D.C. 20521-5850

TO ALL OFFERORS x

SOL-121-17-000007

3/13/2017

X x one

The purpose of this Amendment No. 02 is to:

(1) provide answers to the questions submitted by potential Offerors regarding Request for Proposal (RFP) No. SOL-121-17-000007, Competitive Economy Program (CEP),

(2) revise the RFP to reflect answers to the received questions,

(3) provide information from the Pre-proposal conference conducted on March 27, 2017.

Michael Capobianco Contracting Officer

4/19/2017

RFP SOL-121-17-000007

Amendment No. 02

The Questions and Answers for the subject RFP are provided below:

General Questions

Q1. Please clarify whether [U.S.] small and medium sized private sector firms are competitive for this initiative.

ANSWER: This procurement will be conducted through a full and open competition process under which any type of organization is eligible to compete. The procedures are set forth in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 15.

Q2. Can […] a Ukrainian non-governmental and non-profit organization (VAT payer) take part in CEP as the main supporter or as a partner?

ANSWER: Please see the answer to Q1. The proposal can be submitted by the partnership.

However, the Contract will be signed with one organization only (prime contractor). Other partners will be considered as subcontractors. The role of each subcontractor must be clearly stated.

Q3. Would USAID please provide an estimated budget range for this program?

ANSWER: In accordance with ADS 302.3.5.7, COs may not include estimated price ranges in solicitations for a cost-reimbursement term (LOE) contract.

Q4. Start Date: Can USAID provide additional information as to the anticipated start date for the Competitive Economy Program project?

ANSWER: It is expected that the award will be signed within the first quarter of FY 2018.

Q5. Proposal Validity: Can USAID provide additional information regarding the length of validity of offeror’s proposal submissions?

ANSWER: Offeror’s proposals must be valid for 120 days.

Q6. Subcontractors: Can USAID confirm that deliverable-based contracted subcontractors will not count against total LOE?

ANSWER: Yes, provided that the subcontract is not also a fixed price LOE subcontract.

Q7. Would USAID please provide a cost range for this contract?

ANSWER: Please see the answer to Q3.

Q8. Can USAID kindly provide the current local compensation plan for Ukraine?

ANSWER: The ranges for the grades of the current local compensation plan for Ukraine are provided in the tables below (in U.S. Dollars).

UKRAINE

Grade

Salary Range of the First Step of each Grade (per year)

Salary Range of the Last Step of each Grade (per year)

FSN-12 50,250 65,320

FSN-11 40,043 52,053

FSN-10 28,811 37,461

FSN-9 25,396 33,016

FSN-8 19,494 25,344

FSN-7 17,028 22,128

FSN-6 13,774 17,914

FSN-5 12,354 16,064

FSN-4 10,158 13,208

FSN-3 9,251 12,021

FSN-2 7,959 10,349

FSN-1 6,565 8,535

Q9. Given the widely-observed religious holidays between now and April 25, would USAID consider granting a one-week extension to the proposal deadline in order to give sufficient time to prepare the most competitive proposal possible?

ANSWER: The deadline for submission of the proposals is extended to 16:00 Kyiv local time on May 15, 2017.

Section B

Q10. Page 9 B.7, Section B.7 (page 9): The RFP Section B.7 indicates that in the final contract will include the indirect rate information for the Contractor as well as all the proposed major subcontractors. We would like to respectfully request that the indirect cost rate information of the proposed major subcontractors not be included in the final contract, because in our view a company’s indirect rates represent proprietary and sensitive financial information, the disclosure of which could result in competitive harm and, consistent with the Trade Secrets Act, should therefore be protected from such disclosure to third parties, including to competitors.

ANSWER: This has been corrected.

Section C

Q11. Page 13 C.4.a (Component 1), On page 13, regarding the Municipal Competitiveness Index, the Contractor is required to “develop the index and methodology during the first 90 days”. Could USAID clarify whether only the first 3 subsequent bullets (select indictors, combine into index, develop methodology) represent work that must be completed within 90 days, and that the first actual survey will be conducted after the 90 day deadline?

ANSWER: Yes.

Q12. Page 13 C.4.1 (Component 1), The paragraph that starts " The Contractor must develop the index ...." includes the statement that the contractor must 'Provide technical assistance to help municipalities improve their standing by adopting best practice and implementing additional reforms'. Does USAID anticipate that this TA will be provided on a selective (rolling) basis to individual municipalities or through more global assistance activities targeted on municipalities or groups of municipalities in general? If the former, will the targeting process be driven by USAID and the GOU or by CEP based on need and interest?

ANSWER: USAID anticipates that the TA will be provided through a combination of selective and more general ("global") activities, depending on opportunities and an assessment of both potential impact and cost-effectiveness at the time. CEP will periodically review priorities with USAID and GOU counterparts and develop specific (e.g., annual or semi-annual proposals for targeting to be approved by USAID and the GOU)

Q13. Page 14 C.4.a (Component 1), Under "Expected results" the RFP makes reference to adopting best practice with (and without) the assistance of the Contractor. Since 'best practice' in many environments differs from that applicable to others, and in some instances may not be clearly defined by the donor and academic communities, would USAID consider using 'best practicable' as the metric?

ANSWER: USAID pursues compliance with best practices. However, we may consider using "best practicable" during implementation, on a case-by-case basis, when feasible.

Q14. Page 17 C.4.c Component 3, Component 3: One of the metrics of success is “An export promotion organization is officially established and staffed.” Since EPO already exists, does it refer to an organization other than MOEDT’s EPO, or to a more mature operational state for

EPO?

ANSWER: Correct. The EPO is already established. Offerors should be encouraged to come up with an indicator based on the status quo.

Q15. Pages 17 and 25, C.4.c & C.7 Component 3, In C.4.c, Component 3 (middle of page 17), the RFP says "the Contractor must also finance up to $2,000,000 in export promotion marketing expenses incurred in the GOU's export promotion program". Please confirm that these funds will be channeled through the CEP Program’s GUC mechanism, outlined in Section C.7 (page 25).

Assuming that the answer to the above question is ‘yes’ and the $2,000,000 for Component 3 is through the GUC mechanism:

a. Please confirm that these grants should be made to private business associations or other private agencies collaborating with / supported by the GOU (in trade fair exhibitions, B2B events, etc.), and not to a GOU agency itself.

b. Please confirm that these funds are in addition to the $19,550,000 listed as “Grants Under Contract” in Section B.4 (page 8) (which is stipulated as applying to Components 1, 2, and 5 in Section C.4 and in L.7, Part 2, Grants Under Contract (page 109).

ANSWER: No, these funds shall not be channeled through the CEP Program’s GUC mechanism, outlined in Section C.7 (page 25). The GUCs are detailed in L.7.

Please note that these amounts have been changed: from $2,000,000 to $1,500,000 and from $19,550,000 to $12,500,000.

Q16. In Section C.4.c. Component 3: An export promotion capability the RFP states that "the Contractor must allocate no more than $145,000 to facilitate development by the GOU" and that "the Contractor must also finance up to $2,000,000 in export promotion marketing expenses."

Could USAID clarify if these amounts should be allocated in the form of Grants Under Contract, within the $19,500,000 total, or as Commodities, additional to the $19,500,000 in GUCs, under Other Direct Costs?

ANSWER: No, these funds should not be allocated through the GUC program.

$19,550,000 to $12,000,000.

Q17. In Section C.7 Management of Grants Under Contract the RFP states that "grants must be implemented primarily as in-kind grants." Can USAID please confirm whether the grants should be primarily in-kind or primarily monetary grants?

ANSWER: The provision about in-kind grants was removed.

Q18. On page 25, Section C.7 states: “Grants (including matching grants) must be implemented primarily as in-kind grants.” Given the existing pool of experienced organizations in Ukraine that can manage the full grants cycle without relying on implementers’ procurement resources, we request the removal of this language specifying primarily in-kind grants. This will allow the implementer maximum flexibility to select the most appropriate grant type for the technical objectives to be completed.

ANSWER: Please see the answer to Q17.

Q19. Technical: On Page 12 of the RFP, under Guiding Principles it states “The Contractor may need to shift emphasis between and within components over time…” and on Page 20 under Component 5 it states “This component will not be implemented initially, but USAID anticipates that throughout the lifetime of this contract, the conditions are such that implementation may proceed”. Can USAID provide some weighting guidance on the 5 components or what percentage it envisions for each component?

ANSWER: The approximate weighting is as follows: Component 1 ~ 15%, Component 2 ~ 36%, Component 3 ~ 11%, Component 4&5 ~ 38%.

Q20. Component 3: On page 17 of the RFP, Section C.4.c. Component 3: An export promotion capability states “The Contractor must also finance up to $2,000,000 in export promotion marketing expenses incurred in the GOU’s export promotion program.” Can USAID please provide more explanation of what is meant by “finance”?

ANSWER: Provide direct funding to GOU and private sector, including (on a cost-shared basis with private beneficiaries) trade fair participation, exporter and buyer missions, B2B events or connections, market research, exporter conferences and awards, etc.

$19,550,000 to $12,000,000.

Q21. The contractors must work closely with donors such as the World Bank to help Ukraine improve the World Bank’s Doing Business indicators. Page 13.

1. Is there a list of donors, and what specific requirement or indicators are we supposed to help improve for those donors?

2. Is there a list of local NGO’s that are preferred by USAID, or are we supposed to derive our own list of NGO with the solicitation?

ANSWER: CEP is expected to help improve DB indicators that are relevant to the program scope and objectives. 1. There is a portal under MEDT listing all technical assistance projects.

http://openaid.gov.ua/. 2. There is no list of local NGOs preferred by USAID.

Q22. The Contractor must utilize a GUC mechanism (or small subcontracts) to target private sector firms prioritized by their potential to directly or indirectly move the industry forward, and must also provide direct assistance to support implementation of follow up actions. Page 15.

1. Under the GUC mechanism, does the contractor have use Ukrainian small subcontracts firms or can they be foreign small subcontractors or is this statement referring to the SME Ukrainian businesses that the solicitation is meant to help?

2. There are numerous components within the solicitation that the contractor has to implement, and requirements to meet stakeholders periodically to report on progress.

However, I do not see any form of tracking metrics that would give clear measures towards implement the contractor’s action plan. With that understanding, USAID does have specific metric requirements for the various components and it is the discretion of the contractor to provide?

ANSWER: 1. Under Component 2 GUC program, the contractor shall target Ukrainian private sector firms in the industries to be selected. 2. The Work Plan and Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Plan requirements have been added.

http://openaid.gov.ua/

Q23. Under C.4.b. Component 2, the RFP talks in terms of “industries”. However, a technology and innovation based approach to trade and competitiveness could emphasize a regional ecosystem as much as a specific industry. Such systems can be quantitatively and qualitatively evaluated. Would selecting and developing regional ecosystems that grow start-ups and SMEs be a reasonable approach under this component?

ANSWER: USAID would not like to shift the focus from industries/sectors. However, once industries are selected, developing an understanding of the "ecosystem" relating to that industry may be important, and the activity might then work to fix problems in that ecosystem as well as taking advantage of synergies and opportunities in that ecosystem to further the growth of the industry.

Q24. Will USAID please consider sharing recent reports and deliverables from the Trade Policy Project (ones that are not included already on DEC) with the offerors as a smooth transition from TPP to CEP is referenced in the RFP?

ANSWER: The latest reports of the Trade Policy Project will be posted on DEC shortly.

Q25. Will USAID please provide information about USAID's Development Credit Authority’s position on the Ukrainian environment’s viability for loan guarantees?

ANSWER: USAID does not plan to launch any new DCA loan guarantees over the next few years. At the same time CEP will be expected to coordinate with the existing DCA loan guarantees programs as appropriate.

Section F

Q26. The RFP cover page and Section F.5 (page 29) state the LOE level “is an estimate only.”

However, the language in Attachment J.7 states this is the amount of LOE to accomplish the scope of work in Section C. Can USAID please clarify whether 30,979 professional technical LOE is an estimate only?

ANSWER: USAID confirms that 30,979 LOE is an estimate only. Please note that the LOE estimate of 30,979 has been changed to 28,574.

Q27. On page 35, Section F.7 states “all these positions, except Grants Manager, will initially be filled by expatriate professionals.” However, the deputy chief of party qualifications state: “The Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP), Ukrainian, will assist the COP.” Please clarify whether the DCOP position is intended to be for a CCN, and if contractors are free to propose a mix of qualified expatriate/third-country national and CCN individuals for team leader positions.

ANSWER: The DCOP position is intended to be for a CCN. This has been corrected.

Q28. Section F.7.2 Other Essential Project Staff lists the team leader positions. Would USAID permit contractors to merge either the COP or the DCOP positions with one of the team leader positions listed under Section F.7.2?

ANSWER: No.

Q29. In Section F.7.1 Key Personnel the RFP states "because the Contract helps to develop policies, institutional capabilities and professional knowledge and skills that are largely new to Ukraine, USAID anticipates that all these positions, except Grants Manager, will initially be filled by expatriate professionals." However, under Deputy Chief of Party section, it states that the DCOP should be a Ukrainian profession. Could USAID please clarify: whether the DCOP should be an expatriate or Ukrainian national, and also whether the other management positions indicated as initially expatriate positions instead could be filled instead by qualified Ukrainians?

ANSWER: Please see the answer to Q27. The DCOP position is intended to be for a CCN. This has been corrected.

Q30. Personnel Qualifications: To ensure the best service through experienced technical leadership, will USAID consider additional years of experience equivalent to an advanced degree for Key and Non-key positions? If so, please clarify what is acceptable.

Q31. Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP): Page 35 states that USAID anticipates that all the key personnel positions, except Grants Manager, will initially be filled by expatriate professionals.

However, pages 36 and 108 reference the DCOP position as one to be filled by a Ukrainian professional. Please clarify if the DCOP position should be filled by an expatriate professional or a Ukrainian professional.

ANSWER: Please see the answers to Q27 and Q29. The DCOP position is intended to be for a CCN. This has been corrected.

Q32. Personnel: Page 37 references a Finance Manager and page 108 references a Finance and Administration Director. Please clarify if this is the same position or two separate positions. If the same position, what is the correct title for this position?

ANSWER: This is the same position. The correct title is Finance and Administration Director.

This has been corrected.

Q33. Professional Technical Level of Effort: On page 29 of the RFP, Section F.5 Professional Technical Level of Effort states, “In order to understand the magnitude of USAID’s requirement, the Government estimates 30,979 professional technical staff person days level of effort (this is an estimate only).” In attachment J.7- Level of Effort (LOE) a) states, “The Contractor must provide 30,979 person-days level of effort of professional technical employee, consultant, and subcontractor labor for the contract period of performance specified in Section F.2 of the RFP.)” Can USAID confirm if the 30,979 days is an estimate or final contract LOE total and are offerors allowed to propose an alternate LOE total?

ANSWER: Please see the answer to Q26. Please note that the LOE estimate of 30,979 has been changed to 28,574.

Q34. Professional Technical Level of Effort: Can USAID please confirm that because this contract is LOE based, the offeror should not count holidays and PTO as working days and these days should thus not be counted toward the total person-days level of effort for professional technical employee, consultant, and subcontractor labor for the base and option periods?

ANSWER: Confirmed.

Q35. Pages 35-36 F.7.1, The introduction to Section F.7.1. states that both the COP and the DCOP positions “will initially be filled by expatriate professionals”, yet the detailed DCOP job description on page 36 refers to a “Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP), Ukrainian”. Please clarify whether the DCOP should be an expatriate or a Ukrainian national.

ANSWER: Please see the answers to Q27, Q29 and Q31. The DCOP position is intended to be for a CCN. This has been corrected.

Section H

Q36. On page 50, Section H.8(e) Consultants states: “Unless the consultant is an employee of the contractor, they are considered subcontractors.” We respectfully ask USAID to consider the following revision: “Unless the consultant is engaged as labor and hence considered contractor personnel an employee of the organization, they are considered a subcontractor subject to the applicable clauses and requirements.”

It is our understanding that a consultant by definition cannot be an employee; FAR 31.205- 33

(a) defines “Professional and consultant services,” […] as “those services rendered by persons who are members of a particular profession or possess a special skill and who are not officers or employees of the contractor.” Because consultants provide personal services, they are considered contractor personnel and their billable costs are governed by the contract clauses and regulations related to personnel (RFP Sections H.7 and H.8). When an individual is engaged as a legally constituted organization, including sole proprietorship, they are considered a subcontractor and subject to the appropriate contractual requirements.

ANSWER: No, the language remains the same.

Q37. On page 50, Section H.8(e) states that an annual salary increase for U.S. expatriates shall total not more than three percent. This limitation of three percent seems to conflict with AIDAR 752.7007, incorporated in H.7 of the contract, which states: “Direct compensation of the

Contractor’s personnel will be in accordance with the Contractor’s established policies, procedures, and practices.” Would USAID consider changing the percentage to “TBD,” and incorporating a rate that is consistent with the contractor’s established policies, procedures, and practices upon award?

ANSWER: Annual salary increases in this RFP are limited for all personnel to no more than three percent without prior written Contracting Officer’s approval. It is not that they are totally denied. It is that you have to get a prior written Contract Officer’s approval before you grant any salary raises.

Q38. On page 50, Section H.8(f) includes references to the work week for employees. Can USAID please clarify if a six-day work week is pre-approved for short-term technical assistance?

ANSWER: No, this is not pre-approved.

Q39. We have recently been informed that effective September 30, 2016, ADS Chapter 548 is being archived and will no longer apply. As such, we respectfully request that clause H.14 be removed in its entirety.

ANSWER: The chapter is still active and we therefore cannot remove the section.

Q40. Per Section H.24 (page 58), can USAID please confirm that the contractor may give solely in-kind grants to government entities, as per the Grants Under Contract authorizing language referenced in this clause?

ANSWER: Grants under Contract to non-governmental organizations are authorized under this contract. The Contractor shall award such grants only to non-U.S., or U.S., non-governmental organizations.

Q41. In Section H.24 (page 58), we request that USAID remove the threshold on fixed obligation grants of $100,000 as currently, per ADS 303, there is no ceiling on fixed amount awards.

ANSWER: The ceiling on fixed amount awards has been removed.

Q42. Can USAID please confirm that the grants manual is due in accordance with the dates contained in section F.6 (draft within 30 days of effective date of contract, final within 60 days of effective date of contract) and not in accordance with the 45 days given in section H.24?

ANSWER: The correct timing is reflected in section F.6. Section H.24 has been corrected.

Q43. Section H.29 discusses partner vetting. However, Section H.29(b)(2) has not been completed to indicate when vetting will take place. At which state will the Contract Officer request completion of Partner Information Forms for the vetting process?

ANSWER: The contracting officer notifies the Offeror when to submit the USAID Partner Information Form. For this solicitation, USAID will vet at the pre-award stage.

Q44. Leave and Holidays: Section H.9 AIDAR 752.7031 Leave and Holidays (OCT 1989) A.

Vacation Leave and B. Sick Leave provides guidance that offerors cannot propose more than 26 vacation days per annum and 13 sick days per annum. Can USAID confirm that it is ok for an offeror to provide PTO as pool of days/hours that includes both vacation and sick leave that an employee may use at his/her discretion if it is contractor’s company policy and the total of PTO days does not exceed 39 days per annum?

ANSWER: Yes.

Q45. Foreign Taxes: Can USAID provide additional clarification as to if Ukraine is VAT exempt?

ANSWER: Ukraine is VAT exempt.

Q46. Work Week: Will USAID allow for a six-day work week for short term technical assistance on the Competitive Economy Program project?

ANSWER: Please see the answer to Q38.

Section I

Q47. Page 69 I.1, In Section I of the RFP, USAID included FAR clause 52.203-16 “Preventing Personal Conflicts of Interest”. Please clarify what Component or part of the CEP program or CEP personnel positions USAID would consider as involving inherent governmental functions closely related to acquisition functions, as covered by this clause. Further please also confirm that USAID will be willing to limit the applicability of the clause 52.203-16 only to those portions of the contract that are for the performance of services identified as services of acquisition functions closely associated with inherent governmental functions.

ANSWER: That clause has been excluded.

Section L

Q48. Section L.5 (page 105) states “All attachments must be in MS Word, Adobe PDF, or MS Excel readable format.” However, Section L.6 (page 106) states that “Technical proposals shall be written in English on A4-size, 216mm by 297mm paper and typed using 12-point font size (can be 10-point font in charts and graphs) with each page numbered consecutively, and submitted in Microsoft Word.” Would USAID allow offers to submit proposals in Adobe PDF?

ANSWER: Yes. Corrected in the RFP.

Q49. From Section L.5, paragraph 1 (page 105): Should the cover letter referenced in this paragraph be submitted in a document separate from the technical proposal?

ANSWER: Yes, see Section L.6 (“Required order”).

Q50. From Section L.5, paragraph 1 and Section L.6: Is the cover letter referenced under Section L.5 different from the cover letter referenced in Section L.6?

ANSWER: No, it is the same.

Q51. May the offeror include a list of acronyms and abbreviations that does not count against the page limit?

ANSWER: An acronym list is allowed to be submitted in a document separate from the technical proposal. The acronym list is limited to two pages and will not count against the page limit. Please refer to the revised section L.6 (“Required order”).

Q52. Please confirm that offerors can add/remove items from the RFP Summary detail template based on their technical approach?

ANSWER: The technical proposal should be structured in strict compliance with Section L.6 (“Required order”).

Q53. In Section L.6 the RFP says "Technical proposals shall be ... submitted in Microsoft Word." Can USAID please consider allowing the technical proposal to be submitted in PDF, or at least to permit the full technical proposal with all annexes to be submitted in PDF with just the main technical section also provided in Word?

ANSWER: Corrected. Please see the answer to Q48.

Q54. Can we include in the annex CVs or a personnel matrix for non-Key, non-Essential Personnel? Otherwise where should other personnel besides key and essential personnel be presented, or should no other personnel be presented (other than in the staffing plan of the management section)?

ANSWER: This is up to the offeror, but it counts towards the page limitation.

Q55. In Section L.6 the RFP says "Summary Table of Professional Technical Levels of Effort...state and explain the total number of possible workdays per year." The table in Attachment J.7 only shows the total workdays for 5 years). Can we add additional columns to show LOE per year?

Q56. May we include a work plan as an annex that does not count toward the page limit?

ANSWER: Yes, please include a Work Plan as an annex to the Technical Proposal. The Offeror shall present a work plan in chart format with timelines and benchmarks for the achievement of team mobilization and key tasks in each component. The plan should be detailed by month for the first year with quarterly details for the following years (counts against the 50 page limit for Technical Proposal). Please refer to the revised section L.6 (“Required order”).

Q57. May we include a monitoring and evaluation plan as an annex that does not count toward the page limit? (Monitoring and evaluation seems to be mentioned in Section M of the RFP but not in Section L.)

ANSWER: Yes, please include a Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Plan as an annex to the Technical Proposal. The MEL Plan counts against the 50 page limit for Technical Proposal. Please refer to the revised section L.6 (“Required order”).

Q58. From Section L.7, Part 4 (page 111): Can USAID confirm Past Performance information should be part of the technical proposal volume?

ANSWER: Past Performance information should be submitted as part of the cost proposal.

Q59. Cover Letter: Page 105 states that the proposal should be accompanied by a cover letter, but page 107 states that a cover letter or executive summary should be included. Please clarify if USAID will accept a cover letter (per page 105) and a two-page executive summary (per page 107).

ANSWER: Correction has been made. “Cover Letter (limited to two pages and does not count against page limit)”, spelled out in L.6, and also referred to in L.5.

Q60. CVs for other Essential (page 107): Please confirm that USAID only required CVs of essential non-key personnel, not all non-key personnel.

ANSWER: Please see the answer to Q54.

Q61. Key Personnel Letters of Commitment: Page 107 states that key personnel letters of commitment should be included in the technical proposal, along with the key personnel CVs and references. Page 113 (h) Part 8 states that key personnel letters of commitment should be included in the cost proposal along with the biographical data sheets for all key personnel.

Please clarify if key personnel letters of commitments should only be included in the technical proposal, only in the cost proposal, or in both.

ANSWER: This has been corrected. Letters of Commitment for Key Personnel should be included in the technical proposal.

Q62. Font Size: Will USAID accept 8-point font size for text boxes?

ANSWER: No, 10-point font size can be used in charts, graphs and text boxes.

Q63. Submission File Format: Page 105 states that all attachments must be in MS Word, Adobe PDF, or MS Excel readable format, but page 106 mentions that the Technical Proposal should be submitted in Microsoft Word. Please confirm that USAID will accept the final Technical Proposal in Adobe PDF format.

ANSWER: Please see the answer to Q48.

Q64. Technical Proposal: Page 106 states that technical proposals are limited to 50 pages and that any pages beyond this limit will NOT be given to evaluators and will not be evaluated.

However, pages 106-107 provides a list of all the technical proposal inputs/sections (in the required order) with ‘Technical Proposal’ listed as the third bullet. Please confirm that the 50-page limitation only applies to this third bullet (Technical Proposal) under ‘Required Order’, and that evaluators will be given the other inputs/sections listed in this section (e.g., cover page, cover letter, executive summary, table of contents, summary table of professional technical level of effort, key personnel inputs (including CV, letters of commitment and references), and CVs for other essential project staff.

ANSWER: Please see the revised Section L.6 (“Required order”).

Q65. Past Performance: Please confirm that the required past performance information listed on pages 111 – 112 should be provided in the cost proposal and not the technical proposal.

ANSWER: Please see the answer to Q58.

Q66. May an acronyms list be included without counting against the page limit?

ANSWER: Please see the answer to Q51.

Q67. Section L.7 (b) Part 2 – states “(i) The Offeror must provide a complete budget, including the budgets for each subcontractor, by cost element utilizing the provided budget template in Attachment J.4.” Given that subcontractor’s detailed cost information is proprietary and extremely sensitive for most organizations, is it anticipated that subcontractors will send their detailed cost information under separate cover directly to the Government?

ANSWER: Cost estimates for the proposed subcontractors must be included in the Prime Offeror’s cost proposal and submitted as part of the Prime Offeror’s proposal.

Q68. Section L.7 (b) Part 2 – (iii), requires activity to maintain one office in Kyiv—are the costs to lease and operate the office directly reimbursable to the contract?

ANSWER: The costs to lease and operate the project office in Kyiv, Ukraine are directly reimbursable to the contract.

Q69. Section L.7 (b) Part 2 – (iii), requires offeror to propose an amount for “Grants Under Contract”—can fee be proposed on this portion of costs?

ANSWER: The costs of the GUCs can be included in fee calculations.

Section M

Q70. Section M.2 under part A. Technical Approach (page 114) states that bidders will be evaluated on “how rigorous and feasible the plan is for monitoring and evaluating the activity to measure progress in achieving expected results for the program.” A monitoring and evaluation (M&E) plan is not expressly referenced under Section L. Where should bidders address this evaluation criteria? Would it be possible to include the M&E plan as an annex?

ANSWER: Please see the revised Section L.6 (“Required order”).

Q71. The evaluation criteria has a reference to a monitoring and evaluation plan, however there is no direct requirement for a monitoring and evaluation plan in the instructions to offerors. Can USAID clarify this requirement?

ANSWER: Please see the answer to Q70.

Attachment J.7

Q72. Attachment J.7, Please clarify whether consultants who are engaged as firm-fixed-price subcontractors will be counted toward the LOE ceiling of the contract (specified in Attachment J.7).

ANSWER: Depending of the type of the deliverable. If the deliverable is LOE, then the LOE of this consultant should be counted toward the LOE ceiling.

[End of Amendment No. 02 to RFP SOL-121-17-000007]