Attachment_E_-_Q A.pdf

Questions on SOL-182-16-000002

Q: Please confirm the proposal due date.

A: The proposal deadline has been extended and now is: July 28, 2016 at 12 pm Albania local time.

We have also allowed for another round of questions to be submitted. The second round of questions are due no later than June 27, 2016 at 5pm local Albania time and must be submitted to the email addresses in the original solicitation.

Q: How many periods for the award fee are in this solicitation?

A: There will be a total 6 periods for the whole period of performance.

Q: On page 90 B1, the number of quality assessments in the example shows we must submit 10 quality assessments per six month period the receive 100% of the award fee. Ten assessments per six-months times 5 or 6 periods (assuming that the last six months to a year will no longer focus on assessments but TA and grants) means 50-60 assessments for the project. Is this 10 assessments per period just illustrative or indicative of what is desirable and should be targeted?

A: There should be 10 quality assessments accepted by USAID in six months to get 100% of Award Fee for this portion. The numbers in the table are targets to be achieved. Note that the full firm fixed price will be paid--- it is only the Award Fee that would be influenced if targets were not met as that Award Fee is meant to incentivize performance.

Q: The template specifies daily rates. Should this be used for fringe, travel, subcontracts, indirect costs, etc, also?

A: The template is not mandatory, but just a suggestion, because you are going to submit a cost proposal for the Fixed Price portion only.

Q: In the budget template, what is the difference between the line item Other and Indirect Costs? How deep you want that budget to be? For indirect costs, is just one lump sum expected in the budget template that will include costs for audit, utilities, rent, bank fees, equipment (laptops, mobile phones) etc? Should the costs be broken down in the budget notes or just named?

A: You should propose the top line categories; you don’t have to go as further detailed as that. You don’t have to justify the sub-elements but the main element, we are just asking you to put a narrative together justifying why this is that, but again, its fixed price, so we are more concerned with the bottom line price.

We want you to put this narrative together because we are asking you to think through each portion of what you’re putting of your pricing proposal to try to help, and we want to make sure that we are awarding a fair and reasonable price, and remember is not just a fair and reasonable price for us, it is a fair and reasonable price for you.

Q: Please explain what IDIQ means under that portion of the contract and how it works in terms of advances or reimbursements.

A: As a result of the assessments the Contractor will propose interventions. These will be proposed as firm fixed price interventions. These additional orders do not have any bearing on CLIN 1 or 2 and are paid for separately. Each accepted order will be signed by the Contracting Officer and budgeted under CLIN 3, the IDIQ.

Q: In case the proposal / the offer for this RFP comes not only from one single organization/entity, but by two or more organizations, is there a requirement for a preliminary cooperation agreement among the partners? Would the Past Performance (form) be needed for each partner or only for one of them? Would there be a need for any additional CV for such a Bidder, which consists of several entities/organizations?

Would you have any preferences as to how the partners operate? Would it have to be a consortium with all partners signing the contract, or would one of the organizations (the leading organization) represent all the potential partners?

Attachment E

A: One organization can submit the proposal as the Prime, and the other can be the Subcontractor. Or, both organizations can form a consortium which should be legally registered in Albania. USAID doesn’t have any preference on how the organizations operate. Only one signature shall be on the contract form for the Contractor, either the Prime/leading organization or the representative of consortium. The Past Performance should include records for all organizations in the consortium. Curricula Vitae/Resumes are required for all proposed Key Personnel.

Q: Is there a standard proposal form suggested by USAID or it is sufficient if we follow the suggestions of section L.7?

A: There is no standard proposal form. The technical proposal should be within the page limitation, and should address the three components that are in the RFP.

Q: Should annex 1 (Draft first year work plan) be submitted with the application or after the grant being awarded?

A: Annex 1 must be submitted along with proposal.

Q: Is it allowed to sign a document with an electronic firm?

A: A scanned copy of the signed document is permitted. Electronic signatures are also accepted.

Q: We think the proposed contract is ambitious but a complicated one, because it poses a high financial risk for local organizations, which should have liquidity to perform such type of award.

A: The type of instrument depends on the principal relationship between USG and the implementer. In this case, USG is buying services from the contractor. We understand the financing issue and are open to different financing arrangements. For example, we are willing to pay up to 20% of the CLIN 1 fixed price for the first year work plan. USAID is also looking into authorizing advances. That decision and information will be released along with the second round of Q&A.

Q: While you list the evaluation criteria, there are no scores associated with each of them.

A: No, there are no points assigned. We will use adjectival rating system. The evaluation criteria for technical proposal are listed per the order of importance. The evaluation of cost proposal depends on the proposal of CLIN1 only. The two evaluations are held and kept separately. Only the Source Selection Authority, the Contracting Officer, takes in consideration both of them to decide the best value.

Q: The amount of Award Fee is not defined in the RFP.

A: USAID wants the offerors to propose and decide how to be financially incentivized, since the offerors are in the best position to tell us how much this service would cost and what it would take to properly incentivize the offeror.

Q: Is USAID going to award under this RFP only one contract or it will be split in three contracts?

A: USAID will award only one award as result of this solicitation which will incorporate all three CLINs.

Q: Is there any limits in the amount budgeted for grants under this contract?

A: Yes, Grants Under Contract budget shall not exceed $800,000. GUCs should make sense, should be targeted, and should follow principles laid out in the RFP.

Q: Is there any ceiling on the Fixed Price portion?

A: No, there is no limit. You shall propose the budget for this CLIN. Offerors are reminded to keep in mind the magnitude of what is being requested. The price to accomplish the requirements of CLIN 1 needs to be reasonable.

Q: Are matching funds required for this contract?

A: No, matching funds are not required for this contract.

Q: Should civil society groups, networks, associations, which will receive grants or technical assistance, be registered?

A: We have not specified it at this time. This will to be defined on case by case basis.

Q: Is there any limit on the number of assessment?

A: No, there is no limit on the number of assessment being done, but 50 % of the award fee is geared towards the number of assessment being accepted by USAID during the fee period.

Q: Are there such type of awards in the region?

A: USAID has done this type of awards throughout the world.

Q: Should Past Performance only refer to capacity building?

A: Please submit past performance of any projects similar to the scope of this project. Even if you don’t have a lot or any experience it doesn’t preclude you.

Q: How much is the fee for getting a DUNS and registering in SAM?

A: The registration is free of charge. Please don’t pay any fees at all. We encourage you to register as soon as possible. Once you’re registered, you can use that registration for any US Government contract, not just for USAID. We will attach a quick guide to the amendment of the Solicitation.

To obtain A DUNS please go to: http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform/pages/CCRSearch.jsp.

To obtain NCAGE please go to: https://eportal.nspa.nato.int/AC135Public/scage/CageList.aspx.

Once you have your DUNS and NCAGE you need to register in SAM, at www.sam.gov.

Q: What is the start date and the length of this project?

A: The start date is the date the award will be signed, by both the Contractor and the Contracting Officer.

When we sign the award, the award is active, and we expect you to mobilize immediately after that. The length of this project is 42 months.

Q: If no advances will be provided, do we need to find money for grants?

A: No. For grants you can use advances. You submit the grant, and we pay you an advance. You pay the grantee. USAID is open to other financing methods and will consider advances for other CLINs. The information about this will be provided in the next round of Q&As.

Q: How is the billing process?

A: Standards forms such as SF-1034, mentioned in the solicitation, are in place.

Q: Are there needed specific years of experience for the staff?

A: Specific requirements for Key Personnel are listed in the solicitation.

Q: What is the proper number of staff to be engaged in the process?

A: This is up to the Contractor, and based on the management structure of the organization. The Director should be dedicated 100% of the time to the project. Staff can be outsourced or be subcontracted.

Q: Should Monitoring and Evaluation plan be submitted along with the proposal?

A: No, the plan will be finalized 70 days after the award. However, you need to include it in the cost proposal.

Q: Are there any possibilities for contract financing?

http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform/pages/CCRSearch.jsp https://eportal.nspa.nato.int/AC135Public/scage/CageList.aspx http://www.sam.gov/

A: Please see the above answers. We will provide further information in the next round of Q&As.

Q: We are a Non-Profit Organization (NPO) interested to submit a proposal under this solicitation. Our main concern is that according to the Albanian law on NPO we might not be allowed to have a contract and stay registered as an NGO, so we would have to re-register as a business, and furthermore, there are tax implications to having a contract, so that it would make us an organization liable for tax under Albanian law.

A: USAID has reviewed this concern and their reading of the law is that it does not create a blanket restriction from engaging in this type of contract. Even that this will be a contract it still is a part of U.S.

Government assistance program in Albania, and as such is exempt from taxes.

The Albanian law requires that NPO charters include a prohibition of the distribution of profits; the law also requires that NPOs follow their charter, and therefore they need to ensure that the charter does not prevent them from participating in this type of solicitation.

The law specifies that non-profit organizations must use any income/profits realized to accomplish the purposes specified in the charter/establishment act, and not distributed as a financial or material benefit to the persons who are subject to the charter/establishment act.

Please note that this is not an official legal opinion from USAID. You must check with your legal counsel as individual situations of each organization may vary and USAID cannot provide legal advice to the NGOs.