SOL-176-11-000002-03.pdf

SOL-176-11-0000002-03

1. Section F.8. Key Personnel: add paragraph (c ): proposals as follows:

(c) The Key Personnel for this IQC is the IQC Manager.

2. Attachment J.8

SOL‐176‐11‐000002

The USAID Macroeconomic Foundations for Growth IQC

Additional Questions and Answers

1. Also, regarding Section B.6 (page 7) and Section B.9 (page 9) of the RFP, could USAID please indicate what “sector” refers to in the definition of major subcontractors?

Answer: Sector refers to the major areas where the technical assistance will be provided.

2. Section C.5 of the RFP (page 22) lists the IQC Project Manager as the one key personnel position for the IQC; however, no key personnel positions are listed in Section F.8 of the RFP (page 32). Could USAID please confirm the key personnel positions for this IQC?

Answer: The key personnel for the IQC is the IQC Manager. Section F.8 of the RFP will be amended accordingly.

3. Section H.21 of the RFP (page 45) prohibits the use of U.S. Government personnel or facilities except as specifically authorized in the Contract or authorized in advance, in writing, by the CO. Would USAID please consider a blanket authorization for certain types of uses of U.S. Government facilities or personnel, for example, to allow participation in U.S.

Government‐sponsored training, observational study tours that include U.S. Government facilities, or the use of U.S.

Government officials whose salaries are not borne by the project?

Answer: No

4. Regarding Section H.22 of the RFP (page 45), if data is collected from other entities for work under a cost reimbursable Task

Order or is included in a deliverable, should the Offeror budget to purchase such data to be able to transfer ownership to USAID? Would this be considered a commodity or an operating expense?

Answer: If relevant, it will be addressed at the task order level.

5. Regarding Section J, Attachment J.3 of the RFP (pages 86‐89), could USAID please clarify in what part of the cost/business proposal Offerors should include a completed SF LLL?

Answer: Please see Section L.8, (c) part 3.

Also, is it required of all proposed subcontractors?

Answer: Yes

6. Regarding Section J, Attachment J.5 of the RFP (pages 95‐97), to ensure that all Offerors present the same information in the cost evaluation matrix, could USAID please provide more guidance on the labor distribution that Offerors should use to apply indirect costs to Line Item A, the average Ceiling Daily Rate? Specifically, could USAID please indicate:

a) A percentage ratio for long‐term and short‐term labor; and

b) A percentage ratio for employee and consultant labor.

Answer: This is left to the discretion of the offeror but please provide an explanation of how indirect rates were applied.

7. Please confirm that items such as cover pages and a transmittal letter will not count against the page limit for the technical proposal.

SOL-176-11-0000002-03

8. Section L.7 (b) of the RFP (page 72) states that “Offerors shall use only 8.5 inch by 11 inch paper”. To facilitate field‐based production, would USAID accept proposals on A4 paper?

Answer: No

9. Section L.7(2)(a) of the RFP (page 72) states that Offerors should “submit final past performance reports or interim past performance reports if final reports are not available in the Government past performance databases such as Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) database.” Please confirm that contractors whose performance reports are available in the NIH Contractor Performance System do not need to submit client‐completed performance reports.

Answer: If performance reports are unavailable please complete the Contractor Performance Report Short Form in Attachment J.6

10. Section L.8 (h) of the RFP (page 78) indicates that a commitment letter from the IQC Manager should be included in the cost/business proposal. Section L.7 (b) (4) (ii) of the RFP (page 74) indicates that a signed acknowledgement letter of commitment from the primary point of contact, i.e., IQC Manager, should be included in the technical proposal. Could USAID please confirm that the commitment letter from the IQC Manager should be included in the technical proposal only?

11. Please confirm that the signed letter of commitment from the primary point of contact, i.e., IQC Manager, (required in

Section L.7 (b) (4) (ii) of the RFP (page 74)) may be submitted as an annex to the technical proposal.

12. Regarding Section M.3 of the RFP (pages 79‐81), could USAID please provide information on how it will score the four categories of technical evaluation criteria (i.e., management plan, past performance information, technical understanding, and IQC Project Manager), in terms of percentages or points out of 100?

Answer: Please see Section M.3 Technical Evaluation Criteria.

[End of Amendment #03]