Amendment_01_RFP_SOL-167-16-000021_TEAM.pdf

Request for Proposals (RFP) No.: SOL-167-16-000021 Issue Date: August 16, 2016 Questions Due Date: August 29, 2016 at 5pm, Kosovo local time Second round of questions Due Date: September 13, 2016 at 5pm, Kosovo local time Answers to the questions Due Date: September 16, 2016 at 5pm, Kosovo local time Proposals Submission Due Date: October 3, 2016 at 3pm, Kosovo local time

SUBJECT: Request for Proposal (RFP) #SOL-167-16-000021 for Transparent, Effective and

Accountable Municipalities (TEAM) activity in Kosovo

Dear Prospective Offeror:

The United States Government, represented by the U.S Agency for International Development (USAID), through the Regional Contracting Office in Kosovo, is seeking proposals from qualified organizations to implement Transparent, Effective and Accountable Municipalities (TEAM) activity in Kosovo, as described in this solicitation.

This procurement will be conducted under full and open competition, pursuant to Part 15 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) (48 CFR Chapter 1). All types of organizations are eligible to compete;

USAID encourages the participation to the maximum extent possible of local Kosovar organizations, small business concerns, veteran owned small business, service-disabled veteran small business, HUB zone small business, small disadvantaged business, and women-owned small business concerns and small business concerns in this activity as the prime contractor or as subcontractors. USAID discourages the use of exclusive agreements as this limits USAID’s and Kosovo’s ability to receive the best services.

If your organization decides to submit a proposal in response to this solicitation, it must be submitted in accordance with Section L of this RFP. USAID/Kosovo anticipates awarding one cost plus award-fee type contract as a result of this solicitation covering an estimated period of five (5) years from the date of contract award.

USAID reserves the right to amend or rescind this solicitation at any time. If substantive questions are received which affect the response to the solicitation, or if changes are made to the closing date and time, as well as other aspects of the RFP, this solicitation will be amended and amendments to this solicitation will be issued and posted on the Federal Business Opportunities (FBO). In order to be informed of changes that may affect proposal preparations, Offerors are encouraged to check this website (http://www.fbo.gov) periodically. Interested offerors can register and use the Interested Vendor List (IVL) accessible through this solicitation on the FBO web page, so that firms can contact one another for consideration of teaming arrangements in response to this solicitation. It is the responsibility of the prospective Offerors of this solicitation to ensure that the solicitation has been received from the internet in its entirety. USAID bears no responsibility for data errors resulting from transmission or conversion processes.

Questions and Proposals must be submitted only electronically via e-mail on or before the due dates stipulated above, to Dukagjin Hasani at: dhasani@usaid.gov and Ethan Takahashi at:

etakahashi@usaid.gov and must conform to all requirements outlined in the solicitation. USAID reserves the right to award the contract subject to availability of funds. This solicitation in no way obligates mailto:dhasani@usaid.gov mailto:etakahashi@usaid.gov

SOL-167-16-000021

Transparent, Effective and Accountable Municipalities (TEAM) activity in Kosovo

Contents

PART I – SCHEDULE

SECTION B – SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICE/COSTS

B.1 PURPOSE STATEMENT

B.2 CONTRACT TYPE

B.3 ESTIMATED COST, AWARD-FEE, AND OBLIGATED AMOUNT

B.4 INDIRECT COST

B.5 ADVANCE UNDERSTANDINGS ON CEILING INDIRECT COST RATES AND FINAL

REIMBURSEMENT FOR INDIRECT COSTS

B.6 COST REIMBURSABLE

B.7 PAYMENT OF AWARD FEE

SECTION C – STATEMENT OF WORK

SECTION D – PACKAGING AND MARKING

D.1 AIDAR 752.7009 MARKING (JAN 1993)

D.2 BRANDING

D.3 BRANDING AND MARKING POLICY

SECTION E – INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

E.1 NOTICE LISTING CONTRACT CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

E.2 INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

SECTION F – DELIVERIES AND PERFORMANCE

F.1 NOTICE LISSTING CONTRACT CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

F.2 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

F.3 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

F.4 PERFORMANCE STANDARDS

F.5 KEY PERSONNEL

F.6 REPORTS AND DELIVERABLES OR OUTPUTS

F.7 DISTRIBUTION OF PROJECT MATERIALS, PARTICIPATION PARTNER MEETINGS

AND PUBLIC EVENTS

F.8 SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS FOR DEVELOPMENT EXPERIENCE DOCUMENTS

(Sept 2013)

SECTION G – CONTRATC ADMINISTRATION DATA

G.1 ADMINISTRATIVE CONTRACTING OFFICE

G.2 CONTRACTING OFFICER'S AUTHORITY

G.3 CONTRACTING OFFICER'S REPRESENTATIVE (COR)

G.4 TECHNICAL DIRECTIONS/RELATIONSHIP WITH USAID

G.5 PAYMENT AND INVOICES

G.6 ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATED DATA

SECTION H – SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS

H.1 FOREIGN GOVERNMENT DELEGATIONS TO INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES

H.2 AIDAR 752.7027 PERSONNEL (DEC 1990)

H.3 AIDAR 752.225-70 SOURCE AND NATIONALITY REQUIREMENTS (FEB 2012)

H.4 INSURANCE AND SERVICES

H.5 AIDAR 752.228-70 MEDICAL EVACUATION (MEDEVAC) SERVICES (JULY 2007)

H.6 AUTHORIZED GEOGRAPHIC CODE

H.7 LOGISTIC SUPPORT

H.8 EXECUTIVE ORDER ON TERRORISM FINANCING

H.9 PROHIBITION AND ASSISTANCE TO DRUG TRAFFICKING

H.10 GRANTS UNDER USAID CONTRACT

H.11 752.7007 PERSONNEL COMPENSATION (JUL 2007)

H.12 ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR PERSONNEL COMPENSATION

H.13 LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS

H.14 CONFIDENTIALITY AND OWNERSHIP OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

H.15 CONSENT TO SUBCONTRACTS

H.16 INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL APPROVAL

H.17 GOVERNMENT FURNISHED FACILITIES OR PROPERTY

H.18 ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE AND REQUIREMENTS

H.19 GENDER CONSIDERATION

H.20 USAID IMPLEMENTATION OF SECTION 508 OF THE REHABILITATION ACT OF 1973

AND FEDERAL ACQUISITION CIRCULAR (FAC) 97-27 "ELECTRONIC AND INFORMATION

TECHNOLOGY ACCESSIBILITY

H.21 ADS 302.3.5.9 NONDISCRIMINATION (JUNE 2012)

H.22 USAID DISABILITY POLICY - ACQUISITION (DECEMBER 2004)

H.23 ADS 302.3.5.17 LIMITATION ON SUBCONTRACTING TO NON-LOCAL ENTITIES

(JULY 2014)

H.24 ADS 302.3.5.21 USAID IMPLEMENTING PARTNER NOTICES (IPN) PORTAL FOR

ACQUISITION (JULY 2014)

H.25 ADS 302.3.5.19 USAID-FINANCED THIRD-PARTY WEB SITES (AUG 2013)

H.26 ADS 302.3.5.22 SUBMISSION OF DATASTS TO DEVELOMENT DATA LIBRARY (OCT

2014) 46

H.27 ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS SYSTEM

H.28 ADS 302.3.5.5 REPORTING OF FOREIGN TAXES (JULY 2007)

PART II CONTRACT CLAUSES

SECTION I – CONTRACT CLAUSES

I.1 NOTICE LISTING CONTRACT CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

I.2 FAR 52.204-1, APPROVAL OF CONTRACT (DEC 1989)

I.3 FAR 52.247-67, SUBMISSION OF TRANSPORTATION DOCUMENTS FOR AUDIT (FEB

2006) 53

I.4 AIDAR 752.7032, INTERNATIONAL TRAVELAPPROVAL AND NOTIFICATION

REQUIREMENTS (APR 2014)

I.5 FAR 52.252-2, CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE (FEB 1998)

PART III LIST OF DOCUMENTS, EXHIBITS, AND OTHER ATTACHMENTS

SECTION J – LIST OF ATTACHMENTS

PART IV REPRESENTATIONS AND INSTRUCTIONS

SECTION K - REPRESENTATIONS, CERTIFICATIONS AND OTHER STATEMENTS OF

OFFERORS

K.1 NOTICE LISTING SOLICITATION PROVISIONS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

K.2 FAR 52.204-3, TAXPAYER IDENTIFICATION (OCT 1998)

K.3 FAR 52.204-8, ANNUAL REPRESENTATIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS (FEB 2016)

K.4 FAR 52.209-5, CERTIFICATION REGARDING RESPONSIBILITY MATTERS (OCT 2015)

K.5 FAR 52.209-7, INFORMATION REGARDING RESPONSIBILITY MATTERS (JUL 2013) . 61

K.6 FAR 52.209-11 REPRESENTATION BY CORPORATION REGARDING DELINQUENT

TAX LIABILITY OR A FELONY CONVICTION UNDER ANY FEDRAL LAW (FEB 2016)

K.7 FAR 52.219-1, SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAM REPRESENTATIONS (OCT 2014)

K.8 FAR 52.222-22, PREVIOUS CONTRACTS AND COMPLIANCE REPORTS (FEB 1999)

K.9 FAR 52.222-25, AFFIRMATIVE ACTION COMPLIANCE (APR 1984)

K.10 FAR 52.230-1, COST ACCOUNTING STANDARDS NOTICES AND CERTIFICATION

(OCT 2015)

K.11 FAR 52.230-7, PROPOSAL DISCLOSURE--COST ACCOUNTING PRACTICE CHANGES

(APR 2005)

SECTION L – INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS

L.1 FAR 52.252-1 SOLICITATION PROVISIONS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE (FEB

1998) 71

L.2 FAR 52.216-1 TYPE OF CONTRACT (APR 1984)

L.3 FAR 52.233-2 SERVICE OF PROTEST (SEP 2006)

L.4 GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS

L.5 SUBMISSION/DELIVERY INSTRUCTIONS

L.6 INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE PREPARATION OF THE TECHNICAL PROPOSAL

L.7 INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE PREPARATION OF THE COST PROPOSAL

SECTION M – EVALUATION CRITERIA

M.1 GENERAL INFORMATION

M.2 TECHNICAL EVALUATION CRITERIA

M.3 EVALUATION OF PAST PERFORMANCE

M.4 COST PROPOSAL EVALUATION

M.5 DETERMINATION OF COMPETITIVE RANGE

M.6 SOURCE SELECTION

PART I – SCHEDULE

SECTION B – SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICE/COSTS

B.1 PURPOSE STATEMENT

The purpose of the Transparent, Effective and Accountable Municipalities (TEAM) project is to address corruption at the municipal level by increasing the transparency and effectiveness of municipal procurement systems in Kosovo.

B.2 CONTRACT TYPE

This is a Cost Plus Award Fee (CPAF) type Contract for an estimated duration of five (5) years. For the consideration set forth below, the Contractor shall provide the deliverables or outputs described in Sections C, and F, and comply with all contract requirements.

B.3 ESTIMATED COST, AWARD-FEE, AND OBLIGATED AMOUNT

a) Total Estimated Cost

The estimated cost for the performance of the work required hereunder in section C and F exclusive of Award Fee, is $___TBD__.

i. The maximum award fee is $______ TBD ________

ii. The total estimated cost plus award fee, if any, is $_____ TBD ________

b) Obligated amount

1) Within the estimated Cost-Plus-Award-Fee (if any) specified in paragraph a) above, the amount currently obligated and available for reimbursement of allowable costs incurred by the Contractor (and payment of Award-Fee, if any) for performance hereunder is $__TBD__.

The Contractor must not exceed the aforesaid obligated amount.

2) Funds obligated hereunder are anticipated to be sufficient through [TBD].

B.4 INDIRECT COST

Pending establishment of revised provisional or final indirect cost rates, allowable indirect costs shall be reimbursed on the basis of the following negotiated provisional or predetermined rates and the appropriate bases:

Description Rate Base Type Period

% 1/ 1/ 1/ % 2/ 2/ 2/ % 3/ 3/ 3/

1/Base of Application:

Type of Rate:

Period:

2/Base of Application:

Type of Rate:

Period:

3/Base of Application:

Type of Rate:

Period:

B.5 ADVANCE UNDERSTANDINGS ON CEILING INDIRECT COST RATES AND FINAL

REIMBURSEMENT FOR INDIRECT COSTS

(a) Reimbursement for indirect costs shall be at the lower of the negotiated final (or predetermined) rates or the following ceiling rates:

Description Rate Base Period

% 1/ 1/ % 2/ 2/ % 3/ 3/

1/ Base of Application:

Period:

2/ Base of Application:

Period:

3/ Base of Application Period

(b) The Government will not be obligated to pay any additional amount should the final indirect cost rates exceed the negotiated ceiling rates. If the final indirect cost rates are less than the negotiated ceiling rates, the negotiated rates will be reduced to conform to the lower rates.

(c) This understanding shall not change any monetary ceiling, obligation, or specific cost allowance or disallowance. Any changes in classifying or allocating indirect costs require the prior written approval of the Contracting Officer.

B.6 COST REIMBURSABLE

The U.S. dollar costs allowable will be limited to reasonable, allocable, and necessary costs determined in accordance with FAR § 52.216-7, “Allowable Cost and Payment,” FAR § 52.216-8, “Limitation of Cost,” and FAR § 52.232-22, “Limitation of Funds,” if applicable, and AIDAR 752.7003, “Documentation for Payment.”

B.7 PAYMENT OF AWARD FEE

The Contractor may earn and be paid all or a portion of an award fee for performance under this contract.

The Government's purpose in granting an award fee is to encourage and reward superior contract performance.

The maximum award fee shall be made available to the Contractor in ten (10) increments every six months, coinciding with the ten (10) evaluation periods expected under the contract as specified below:

Period of Performance

Period*

(Start/End date) Percentage of Award Fee Available

Amount of Award Fee Available

First six months /2016 - /2017 TBD TBD Second /2017 - /2017 TBD TBD Third /2017- /2018 TBD TBD Fourth /2018 - /2018 TBD TBD Fifth /2018 - /2019 TBD TBD Sixth /2019 - /2019 TBD TBD Seventh /2019 - /2020 TBD TBD Eighth /2020 - /2020 TBD TBD Ninth /2020 - /2021 TBD TBD Tenth /2021 - /2021 TBD TBD Maximum Award Fee Available

100%

TBD

* Period will be completed upon contract award.

The determination of the award fee, if any, earned by the Contractor shall be in accordance with the Award Fee Evaluation Plan. Payment of award fee, if any, shall be made every six (6) months. Unearned award fee cannot rollover from one award fee increment to the next award fee increment.

Payment of any award fee earned by the Contractor shall not be subject to the withholding provisions of the clause of this contract entitled "Allowable Cost and Payment" (FAR 52.216-7) clause.

[END OF SECTION B]

SECTION C – STATEMENT OF WORK

STATEMENT OF WORK

TRANSPARENT, EFFECTIVE AND ACCOUNTABLE MUNICIPALITIES PROJECT

(TEAM)

List of Acronyms

AG Auditor General AKM Association of Kosovo Municipalities CDCS Country Development Cooperation Strategy CoP Chief of Party CSO Civil Society Organization DG Democracy and Governance EC European Commission EU European Union G2G Government-to-Government GIZ Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GOK Government of Kosovo IT Information Technology IAU Municipal Internal Audit Unit KIPA Kosovo Institute for Public Administration LoE Level of Effort M&E Monitoring and Evaluation MLGA Ministry of Local Government Administration MOF Ministry of Finance PMP Performance Monitoring Plan PPRC Public Procurement Regulatory Commission PRP Property Rights Program SOW Statement of Work UNDP United Nations Development Program USAID United States Agency for International Development USG United States Government

I. STATEMENT OF WORK

a) Summary

The Transparent, Effective and Accountable Municipalities (TEAM) activity will address corruption at the municipal level by increasing the transparency and effectiveness of municipal procurement systems.

The Contractor must focus on the following three program components:

1. Develop, refine and roll out models for transparent and accountable municipalities;

2. Engage the central level in addressing municipal corruption within the procurement process; and

3. Enable civil society to track and expose corruption.

Up to 25 percent of the total budget must be used for a Support Fund to support a select number of focus municipalities and local organizations such as CSOs and think tanks. The Support Fund is described in greater detail in Section b.5 below. The Contractor must select five focus municipalities using a methodology based on the selection criteria in Section b.1.

Some TEAM activities, under Component One, will be only implemented in the focus municipalities, such as use of in-kind support, extensive and on-the-job training and other technical assistance. Some of these trainings (e.g. basic or fundamental use of the e-procurement system,ethics, etc) must also be made available to all 38 municipalities. These TEAM components are discussed in detail below.

b) Program Approach

1. Selection of the focus/partner municipalities

The Contractor must identify, and receive USAID approval, for at least five reform-minded municipalities through a selection process within the first 45 days after contract award. As a first step, the Contractor must inform all municipalities of the objectives and activities of the TEAM program and offer them an opportunity to show interest in becoming the program’s focus/partner municipality.

If the number of the interested municipalities is more than five, the Contractor must conduct a selection process to identify five for the first round (possible rounds described in more detail below). Participation in TEAM should be selective, based upon specified criteria. These must include, but not be limited to:

• Review of data and indices on municipal performance (e.g. Mosaic Report, DEMOS reporting, and Auditor General Reports);

• Degree of transparency (measured by the Kosovo Democratic Institute and other reports);

• The number of Auditor General (AG) findings they have, the extent to which they attempt to address AG findings;

• Engage an active citizenry, and

• Other criteria that the Contractor may propose.

USAID must approve the selection criteria and the list of the selected/focus municipalities. The Contractor should remain engaged with the same five municipalities and should work extensively to champion anti-corruption reforms by providing the full range of the activities foreseen under Component One as well as with the support of the activities under Components Two and Three. In addition to the traditional training, the Contractor’s support should rely much more on coaching and on-the-job training in these five municipalities.

In the latter years of this project, if success can be declared in the initial focus municipalities, the Contractor must phase into additional municipalities as the original ones “graduate”. The initial focus municipalities where new procurement processes and practices are put in place may likely serve as models which the Contractor and other donors can replicate and scale up, and which other municipalities can emulate.

Municipalities may be considered to have “graduated” from the program and become models for new municipalities when they have met a schedule of achievements to include but not be limited to:

• Successful use of e-procurement program by procurement officers;

• Achievement of efficient and secure document transmission;

• Procurement processes faster and easier;

• Decrease in human interference in procurement processes;

• Increase in bidders reporting real-time access to municipal government bid information;

• Diversity of type/size of businesses obtaining public contracts with municipalities;

• Other indicator measure that the Contractor may propose.

The Contractor must enter into memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with focus municipalities that outline the responsibilities of both the Contractor and the partner. These MoU’s could also allow for exiting a relationship with a municipality if there is a breach.

2. Conduct a Procurement Training Needs Gap Analysis

Within 30 days after the five focus municipalities are selected, the Contractor must conduct a Training Needs Gap Analysis and provide the report to USAID. The Training Gap Analysis must be conducted in the five focus municipalities and 2 - 5 additional, potential scale up, municipalities which may be utilized if a focus municipality no longer is willing to participate or if a focus municipality graduates and USAID elects to move into another municipality. The analysis must identify the training needs remaining for municipal-level procurement officials, including but not limited to the area of e-procurement, ethics, and knowledge of legal regulations related to procurement. The Training Gap Analysis will be used as a “representative” sample of needs across all 38 municipalities for provision of basic e-procurement and ethics trainings, in combination with secondary data to produce a more accurate picture of the needs of municipalities writ large.

The contractor must assess the needs of other select officials at the national level involved with municipal procurement, such as within the Auditor General, Ministry of Finance and the Public Procurement Regulatory Commission. As part of this Analysis, the Contractor should conduct an inventory of other related activities implemented by other partners. This Analysis will help inform development of the project Work Plan to address the identified training needs of the target officials. The Contractor should cooperate with the relevant parts of the GOK and other partners, such as the Ministry of Public Services, the Kosovo Institute for Public Administration (KIPA), Kosovo Procurement Agency, the Association of Kosovo Municipalities (AKM) and the Public Procurement Regulatory Commission, to assure that procurement training becomes more sustainable. An increase in the sustainability of training will be an important consideration for all aspects of this contract as the need for training is constant and ongoing (for example, a new round of training may be needed for select municipal staff after the 2017 elections).

3. Coaching in addition to training

Although the Contactor for TEAM will provide basic training to the focus municipalities and to the other 33 municipalities on e-procurement and ethics, as indicated under the Component One below, it will rely much more on coaching and on-the-job training for the focus municipalities (Component One) and the select government bodies at the central level (Component Two). The Contractor must balance between formal/basic training, for all municipalities, on one hand, and individualized, on-the-job coaching and mentoring for the focus municipalities, on the other. TEAM non-focus municipalities may be able to benefit from attending selected training events (described in more detail below - under Component One), by conducting site visits to focus municipalities when coaching takes place, by obtaining and using any training templates or other program-generated documents to use in their municipality and so forth.

4. The TEAM organizational structure and staffing patterns will closely reflect the project components

Depending on the various training versus coaching models and other considerations, staffing patterns may vary widely. In general, the Contractor must have an office structure informed by the project components as well as the GUCs.

The Contractor should be diligent and resourceful in adapting tactics to meet unexpected circumstances and in taking advantage of policy or other breakthroughs, if and when they occur. The need to remain flexible in the implementation of the program may result in changes to the Work Plan and staffing.

The Contractor must have a robust collaborating, learning, and adapting approach which actively incorporates Adaptive Management Principles such as:

• translating new learning and shifts in context into iterative course correction in strategy and implementation to achieve components (through, improved review processes and other ways to solicit and use input from stakeholders beyond USAID and Implementing Partners);

• managing performance to reward candid knowledge sharing, leadership of/participation in collaborative learning efforts;

• remembering the difference between targets and results;

• putting in place incentives for collaborating, learning, and adapting;

• planning for generating, capturing, sharing, and applying knowledge;

• making sure that findings are shared widely, and processes emphasize analyzing and applying them for a more effective program.

The Contractor must establish a central office in Pristina.

5. Support Fund

Up to 25 percent of the total budget of the award will go towards a Support Fund that will support implementation of the three TEAM Components. The Support Fund will be used to support the five focus municipalities and local organizations such as NGOs and think tanks. The Support Fund will have the following three sub-components:

1. Procure in-kind support for the five focus municipal administrations to identify and address problems that lead to vulnerability of the Local Government to corruption. The aim of the in-kind support is to complement the technical assistance provided under the first component. The support will allow for approximately five procurements per year1 of at least $30,000 each, and will require a municipal match of at least 20 percent of the in-kind support value;

1Taking into consideration program start-up and close-out, the first and last year Support Grants may be compressed into a shorter time, so grants will make up a bell-curve.

2. Support creation of a Contractor Past Performance Records, with the approximate cost of $350,000 (described in more detail under Component 2); and

3. Provide sub-contracts or grants to CSO’s to improve and reinforce watchdog efforts over anti-corruption, by monitoring municipal procurements and exposing corrupt municipal practices, including creation or support to CSO’s managed platform for sharing and exchanging information, ideas in virtual communities and networks, as they pertain to corrupt municipal practices.

c) Project Components

Component One - Develop, refine and roll out models for transparent and accountable municipalities.

The objective of this component is to work extensively in the five selected focus municipalities to champion anti-corruption reforms, particularly in the area of procurement. In addition to providing coaching and on-the-job training to five focus municipalities, train all municipal procurement managers on 1. The Procurement Cycle, 2. Municipal Internal Audit Units (IAUs) and 3. Municipal Assembly Audit Committees. In the five focus municipalities, in addition to the three above mentioned trainings, the Contractor will increase transparency of municipal procurement, increase capacity of the municipal finance departments in budgeting, support municipalities in preparation and/or implementation of the Municipal Integrity Plans and transfer Municipal best practices in procurement processes. The training will be extended to all businesses on how to use e-procurement and business ethics.. The Contractor will work with select municipal departments and the Municipal Assembly Audit Committees to ensure that more transparent systems are in place in order to mitigate fraud, waste and abuse in the municipal budgeting and procurement process. The support will include Municipal Department of Finance;

Procurement Department; Municipal Internal Audit Units (IAUs) and the Human Resources Department.

In addition to the extensive technical assistance (traditional trainings, coaching and on the job training), the five focus municipalities will also have available some support funds that will complement the technical support. In addition, the Contractor must:

• Increase capacity of the municipal Procurement Managers on the Procurement Cycle - Based on the

Training Needs Gap Analysis, the Contractor will work with relevant GOK and other Kosovo partners in training municipal procurement managers on: project planning, project design and documentation, planning solicitations, tendering, evaluating bids, contract award, accounting and auditing, construction and contract management, and all other parts of the procurement cycle so that the anti-corruption safeguard mechanisms within the procurement processes are put in place. In addition to this training that will be available for all municipalities, focus municipalities will receive more intensive training and “on-the-job” coaching. These will be delivered as the systems and processes that prevent corruption within procurement (including e-information, e-sourcing, and e-tendering) are being set up.

• Train all municipal (and other Kosovo Budgetary Units if needed) procurement officials on the use of E-Procurement - Based on the Gap Analysis for the focus municipalities, the Contractor may need to provide training so that more municipal officials have a greater understanding of e-procurement. If needed, training will be expanded to officials of other Kosovo Budgetary Units, at the central level, as well. The Contractor will use Training Manuals prepared by World Bank project for conducting the trainings and may replicate them and other primary or secondary training material for wide distribution if necessary to provide requisite training to meet the program objectives. In addition to the basic training subjects, the Contractor will provide in more depth and “on-the-job” training for the five focus municipalities. To the extent possible and in close coordination with the Public

Procurement Regulatory Commission (agency responsible for implementation of e-procurement in Kosovo), the Contractor will institutionalize e-procurement training within the relevant parts of the GOK responsible for providing such training to other governmental actors (see Section b.2).

• Increase the capacity of municipalities to counter corruption through enforcing ethics and eliminating conflicts of interest that would introduce the concept of corruption and nepotism and how to reduce or eliminate it within the recruitment process through increased awareness of laws and guidelines as well as the costs of corruption. The intervention will be informed by the baseline on training and implemented in only focus municipalities.

Component Two- Engage the Central Level in Addressing Municipal Corruption within the procurement process.

The Contractor will work with select entities within the GOK that are relevant to addressing corruption at the municipal level. Select staff within the Auditor General’s office whose counterparts are staff at the municipal level (such as: Regularity Audit of Local Governments Division and the Department of Value for Money in Procurement within the Performance Audit Division), as well as the Central Harmonization Unit in the Ministry of Finance which coordinates with municipal IAUs deal with municipal corruption.

Support to these GOK institutions will help strengthen their ties to the IAUs and enable both to better understand procurement processes and detect and address the weaknesses in procurement. Increasing the capacity of the IAUs may also help them become less susceptible to pressure from municipal executives.

IAUs with improved capacity should be able to produce better audits that provide the prosecutor with more actionable information so that corruption can be better prosecuted. The Contractor will increase the capacity of the Public Procurement Regulatory Commission, especially IT team, to ensure proper operation of the E-Procurement System and develop training guidelines to be used, by other USG in Kosovo programs working in ROL sector, for training prosecutors and judges to understand procurement process. In addition, the Contractor will create a Contractor Past Performance Records, similar to the USG’s “Past Performance Information Retrieval System” (PPIRS), so that municipalities and other Kosovo Budgetary Units are able to determine how contractors performed in past procurements. The Contractor should first explore the possibility that this system is inserted/included into the existing e-procurement system (existing software funded by the World Bank and located at the PPRC).

Component Three - Enable Civil Society to Track and Expose Corruption

TEAM’s Civil Society component is focused on monitoring corruption at the municipal level. The Contractor will provide sub-contracts or grants to national-level CSOs which will monitor all 38 municipalities, with an emphasis placed on the five focus municipalities, in areas such as procurement and recruitment while ensuring greater citizen engagement, especially in rural areas. It is expected that the national-level CSOs train local-level CSOs as well on how to monitor and expose municipal-level malfeasance. CSOs will use publically available information and analyze it to create scorecards, highlight corruption, and generally shed more light on municipal governance and procurement processes. The Contractor must encourage CSOs to also use media as a vehicle to expose corruption to the public. In addition, contractor should enable CSOs to track and widely publicize indictments, convictions and paroles of municipal officials and other persons and businesses linked to corrupt municipal practices.

Different results are anticipated between the focus municipalities and the others; media exposure will help reveal this. This spotlighting of anti-corruption should create pressure on poorly performing municipalities and the political parties to which their leadership belong, thereby creating more disincentives for corrupt behavior.

II. CROSS CUTTING PRINCIPLES

The Contractor must develop all activities with the following key principles in mind:

• Local Solutions - Whenever possible, Kosovar organizations such as NGOs, consulting firms, think tanks and the like will be engaged by the Contractor to implement its activities.

• Sub-contracts to local organizations - Whenever possible, the Contractor will make use of sub-contracts to local organizations rather than grants, as the prior instills more discipline and better promotes sustainable organizations.

• Grants under Contract (GUCS) -TEAM activities that cannot be implemented as sub-contracts will be implemented via grants-under-contract.

• Training - Training must be in compliance with Kosovar law. Training must be designed so that it is as sustainable as possible by the end of TEAM’s period of performance. “As sustainable as possible” means that training is or is close to being able to be delivered on a continuous basis by local institutions even after TEAM ends, because there will always be a need to train staff after elections, attrition, etc. It may be possible to work with KIPA, Kosovo’s Society of Certified Accountants and Auditors of Kosovo, PPRC, AKM to increase the sustainability of training. Working with KIPA will likely be necessary, as it is the only legal outlet for certified training. The Contractor will need to be flexible depending on what other donors do, and USAID and the Contractor may need to adjust the annual work plan in order to target our assistance in a manner that increases the sustainability of training. The kind and amount of training needed will depend largely on the findings of the Training Needs Gap Analysis described above.

• Government Systems - The Contractor will make use of Kosovo’s governance systems.

Activities must be in line with Kosovo’s Anti-Corruption Strategy as well as with its National Strategy for Public Procurement Reform and all other relevant GOK policies and strategies.

• Coordination with other donors - Kosovo has many bi- and multilateral organizations implementing activities in a geographically small country with a population of only about 1.8 million. Future programming of all these organizations is not definite; many in fact are currently drafting new strategies. Therefore, the Contractor must be prepared to adjust the work plan on an annual basis based on the needs of the USAID and on what other donors are doing.

• TEAM will re-consider its engagement with any of the focus municipalities where the mayor or senior staff are under indictment, if they are direct participants in the program. If TEAM already started working in a municipality and the mayor or any other senior municipal staff is subsequently indicted, TEAM will inform USAID and seek USAID agreement to stop or adjust activities in that municipality and pivot to work in an alternative municipality.

• Evaluation and Audit: TEAM is designed as a five-year program. A mid-term evaluation will be conducted by an independent contractor at or near the end of the second year to determine the effectiveness of the program and to provide recommendations on mid-term adjustments.

Project Sustainability

All TEAM activities should be conducted in close cooperation and partnership with local counterparts to ensure their full ownership and transition, future sustainability and growth of targeted sectors. The assistance shall whenever possible be designed to favor long-term solutions that could be performed by or later taken over by existing Kosovo institutions and organizations.

A serious obstacle for ensuring sustainability of the TEAM activities that are implemented with Kosovo institutions is the high turnover of staff members in those institutions. This turnover is a result of elections and changeover of administrations, and is also due to the low salary of many government positions which does not attract highly skilled personnel. Lack of the political will for fighting corruption on the part of the TEAM stakeholders could also negatively affect successful implementation of the activity and challenge the sustainability of the results achieved. Therefore, to be able to mitigate these obstacles, the Contractor should apply a multi-pronged approach.

The Contractor should aim in investing more in developing and instituting within the municipal finance and procurement management bodies, mechanisms, systems and processes of control (checks and balances) that contribute to fighting corruption that are longer standing and not affected by staff turnover.

Secondly, training should be designed so that it is as sustainable as possible by the end of the contract’s period of performance. Trainings should be prepared and delivered in the close partnership with the Kosovo institutions, such as Kosovo Procurement Agency (KPA), that bear legal responsibility for training and professional development of Kosovo’s procurement officers and that will be able to train staff on a continuous basis. In addition, the Contractor should involve national CSOs, who have built significant anti-corruption knowledge in the past years, to augment the training. The established training mechanisms should remain, as a legacy of the program, with KPA and the participating CSOs to allow a sustainable delivery of trainings to newly appointed staff upon completion of the program.

It is important to note that all activities included in the contract will directly support implementation of the existing Government Strategies including but not limited to the GOK’s Declaration of Medium-Term Policy Priorities (2014-2016), approved in April 2013, and the GOK’s Anti-Corruption Strategy, approved by the Assembly in February 2013. The building of activities under this project on the existing Kosovo Government Strategies supports the local ownership and sustainability.

Gender Considerations

Kosovo women have traditionally been in a disadvantageous position in comparison to the men in all spheres of society. Women are particularly affected by corruption due to the fact that they earn lower incomes and have less control over personal resources than men, and ongoing anti-female biases in public spaces. Though corruption affects women of all strata of society, women in poverty are the hardest hit, thus limiting their ability to access public goods and services. Women’s perceived or real inability to pay bribes can exclude them from securing even a basic standard of living or result in requests for other forms of payments such as through sexual extortion or exploitation. Additionally, poor women are highly vulnerable to extortion and abuse because they are more likely to be illiterate and unaware of their rights and entitlements.

In accordance with USAID’s Gender Policy, this activity will continuously monitor gender implications and/or opportunities, as well as collect sex-disaggregated data. It will be determined during the implementation phase whether women or particular women’s groups represent useful interests or alliances for program results. The TEAM activity will take a gender sensitive approach in all its interventions. The program will analyze how women and men are involved in, and affected by, the TEAM program and the general context of corruption. More concretely, the project will aim to:

• Include women in consultative and advisory processes, and in the collection of data, to ensure definitions of corruption – including gender dimensions of corruption and subsequent policies and programs – reflect the actual experiences of women.

• Ensure that information related to laws, mechanisms, and channels to address corruption is made public, easily accessible, and can be practically utilized by grassroots women.

• Involve women in public dialogue with local government so women can discuss and report corruption, thus ensuring that elected leaders understand local contexts and develop constituencies among grassroots groups.

• Include women’s perspectives, experiences, and successful strategies for fighting corruption in anti-corruption policies, intergovernmental processes, and global debates on accountability, transparency, and the prevention of corruption.

[END OF SECTION C]

SECTION D – PACKAGING AND MARKING

D.1 AIDAR 752.7009 MARKING (JAN 1993)

(a) It is USAID policy that USAID-financed commodities and shipping containers, and project construction sites and other project locations be suitably marked with the USAID emblem. Shipping containers are also to be marked with the last five digits of the USAID financing document number. As a general rule, marking is not required for raw materials shipped in bulk (such as coal, grain, etc.), or for semi-finished products which are not packaged.

(b) Specific guidance on marking requirements should be obtained prior to procurement of commodities to be shipped, and as early as possible for project construction sites and other project locations. This guidance will be provided through the cognizant technical office indicated on the cover page of this contract, or by the Mission Director in the Cooperating Country to which commodities are being shipped, or in which the project site is located.

(c) Authority to waive marking requirements is vested with the Regional Assistant Administrators, and with Mission Directors.

(d) A copy of any specific marking instructions or waivers from marking requirements is to be sent to the Contracting Officer; the original should be retained by the Contractor.

D.2 BRANDING

The Offeror shall comply with the requirements of the USAID branding policies available at:

www.usaid.gov/branding and appropriately mark all deliverables and public communications with the USAID brand.

Note: USAID receives “exclusive branding and marking” for the work conducted under all acquisition awards. This means that the foreign assistance delivered is clearly credited to the American people. It also means that competing logos or identities are excluded unless otherwise indicated in the award (Contract).

Program name: This Program will be named the “Transparent, Effective and Accountable Municipalities (TEAM)” Program in Kosovo. It is anticipated that the Final Report under this Award will be visibly branded as a USAID project utilizing the appropriate USAID/Kosovo templates

Desired level of visibility: All publications, public materials and documents, public communication, media releases, press conferences and public events should incorporate the USAID identity. Approval by the USAID Mission Development Outreach and Communication Officer to be obtained through COR should be received before using any materials which incorporate the USAID identity.

Limitations: USAID places limitations on the release of sensitive or confidential information in the materials produced in performing the contract. The contractor should consult through the COR with the Contracting Officer and the Regional Legal Advisor or Office of the General Counsel

The Marking Plan enumerates the public communications, commodities and program materials and other items that visibly bear or will be marked with the USAID identity (e.g., program sites, evaluations and reports, events, and commodities). It should include a table specifying the expected program deliverables to be produced under this Award and the whether they will be marked or not. The Marking Plan is where requests for exceptions to marking requirements can be made.

News releases/media alerts must be coordinated with COR. In general, all releases/alerts are issued by the U.S. Embassy on behalf of USAID, and USAID only submits these to the U.S. Embassy Public Affairs Office.

D.3 BRANDING AND MARKING POLICY

In accordance with provision D.2 above, and where applicable, the Contractor shall comply with the requirements of the policy directives and required procedures outlined in USAID Automated Directive System (ADS) 320.3.2 “Branding and Marking in USAID Direct Contracting” at http://www.usaid.gov/policy/ads/300/320.pdf; and USAID “Graphic Standards Manual” available at http://www.usaid.gov/branding/, or any successor branding policy.

[END OF SECTION D]

http://www.usaid.gov/policy/ads/300/320.pdf http://www.usaid.gov/branding/

SECTION E – INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

E.1 NOTICE LISTING CONTRACT CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

The following contract clauses pertinent to this section are hereby incorporated by reference (by Citation Number, Title, and Date) in accordance with the clause at FAR “52.232-2 CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE” in Section I of this contract. See the following address (https://www.acquisition.gov/far/) for electronic access to the full text of a FAR clause.

FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION (48 CFR Chapter 1)

NUMBER TITLE DATE

52.246-5 INSPECTION OF SERVICES COST-REIMBURSEMENT APR 1984

E.2 INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

USAID inspection and acceptance of services, reports and other required deliverables or outputs shall take place at the principal place of performance or at any other location where the services are performed and reports and deliverables or outputs are produced or submitted. The Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) listed in Section G has been delegated authority to inspect and accept all services, reports and required deliverables or outputs.

[END OF SECTION E]

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

SECTION F – DELIVERIES AND PERFORMANCE

F.1 NOTICE LISSTING CONTRACT CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

The following contract clauses pertinent to this section are hereby incorporated by reference (by Citation Number, Title, and Date) in accordance with the clause at FAR “52.232-2 CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE” in Section I of this contract. See the following address (https://www.acquisition.gov/far/) for electronic access to the full text of a FAR clause.

FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION (48 CFR Chapter 1)

NUMBER TITLE DATE

52.242-15 STOP WORK ORDER ALTERNATE I AUG 1989

F.2 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

The place of performance under this contract is Republic of Kosovo.

F.3 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The period of performance for this contract is five (5) years, from TBD to TBD.

F.4 PERFORMANCE STANDARDS

Evaluation of the contractor's performance must be conducted in accordance with the performance standards set forth in the contract, the Contractor's overall performance toward achievement of the objectives in Section C and provision of deliverables in Section F, and the Contractor's compliance with all other terms and conditions of the contract. Each evaluation will be conducted jointly by the COR and the CO, and must form the basis of the Contractor's permanent performance record with regard to this contract as required in FAR Part 42.15 and AIDAR 742.15.

The Contractor’s performance will be evaluated annually and at contract completion, utilizing at minimum, the following factors:

1) Technical (quality of product or service).

2) Cost control (not applicable for firm-fixed-price or fixed-price with economic price adjustment arrangements).

3) Schedule/timeliness.

4) Management or business relations.

5) Small business subcontracting (as applicable).

6) Other (as applicable) (e.g., late or nonpayment to subcontractors, trafficking violations, tax delinquency, failure to report in accordance with contract terms and conditions, defective cost or pricing data, terminations, suspension and debarments).

F.5 KEY PERSONNEL

(a) The contractor must furnish the following positions deemed key personnel for the performance of this contract.

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

No. Key Personnel Position 1 Chief of Party 2 Deputy Chief of Party [TBD – Leader of Component 1]* [TBD – Leader of Component 2]* [TBD –Leader of Component 3]

[* Leader of Component 1 and Component 2 may be proposed as separate Key Personnel positions or combined into one Key Personnel position]

(b) The key personnel identified above are considered essential to the work being performed under this contract. The contractor must remain responsible for providing such key personnel for full-time performance for the term of this contract unless otherwise agreed to by the contracting officer.

(c) The failure to provide the key personnel designated above may be considered nonperformance unless such failure is beyond the control, and through no fault or negligence, of the contractor.

(d) The contractor must immediately notify the contracting officer and the COR of any key personnel’s departure and the reasons therefore.

(e) The contractor must take steps to immediately rectify this situation and will propose a substitute candidate for each vacated position along with a budget impact statement in sufficient detail to permit evaluation of the impact on the program.

(f) The contractor must not replace any of the key personnel without the written consent of the contracting officer and the COR whether provided in advance or by ratification.

(g) USAID reserves the right to adjust the level of key personnel during the performance of this contract.

(h) Key personnel under this award may be replaced with written approval of Contracting Officer based on the responsibilities, qualifications and experience as stated below.

(Requirements and responsibilities for each Key positon will be incorporated up on contract award)

F.6 REPORTS AND DELIVERABLES OR OUTPUTS

In accordance with AIDAR clause 752.242-70, Periodic Progress Reports, the Contractor shall submit reports, deliverables or outputs as further described below to the COR. The cover page of all reports prepared by the Contractor, pursuant to AIDAR 752.242-70, shall include a descriptive title, the author's name(s), the activity name, the activity number, the contract number, the Contractor's name, the name of the USAID activity office and the COR, and the publication or issuance date of the report. The Contractor shall be responsible for delivery of draft reports, schedules, plans, and other documents that are described below. All written documents must be submitted in plain, grammatically correct English in electronic (soft) copy. Reports shall be prepared in a format consistent with USAID reporting requirements, to be mutually agreed upon by COR and the Contractor.

The contractor shall provide the following plans and reports:

a) WORK PLANS

Within 105 days following award, and utilizing findings from the Training Needs Gap Analysis Report, the contractor…