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ATTACHMENT B
Pre-Bid Conference Questions & Answers
| Question No. 1: |
| Can you talk about the relationship with Jordanian Government? and how did you succeed? |
| Answer No. 1: |
| Jordanian Government is an incredibly valuable partner in our program, we work very closely. The border with Jordan is very tightly controlled. We work very closely through USAID and through the Embassy to ensure that our assistance has access into Syria. It is a complex process but one that we have been very successful with over the last two years. The success has been a lot like trial and error. Understanding processes, understanding Jordanian concerns about Syria, their national security interest that is at play, open lines of communications with the Jordanian Government has facilitated our ability to access and cross the border. |
| Question No. 2: |
| Is the Russian Military engagement impacting USAID's program in Syria? |
| Answer No. 2: |
| At this point, we have not had any impacts of the Russian bombing campaigns in Syria, Russian military intervention in Syria directly on our projects. It is something we're watching very closely. Most of the Russian activities have been in Northern Syria with very limited in southern Syria. |
| Question No. 3: |
| Will there be any activities in the Kurdish areas in the north? |
| Answer No. 3: |
| The primary focus of this particular contract is Southern Syria, Daraa, Kenatra and Reef Damascus. There is similar work being done by my colleagues at the embassies and consulates in Turkey that are working much more closely within western and eastern Turkey and dealing with issues concerning the Kurds and the Kurdish influenced areas. This contract does not necessarily look to be implemented in those areas. |
| Question No. 4: |
| Do we have access to classified information? |
| Answer No. 4: |
| In terms of undertaking research and analyses, access to information about specific individuals, the contractor will not have access to secret or top secret databases. Contractors will have some limited information on the vetting of individuals engaged in the project. These individuals will be run through the Partner Vetting System at USAID and this aspect will be required before project gets underway. |
| Question No. 5: |
| Is there a template for the essential services and infrastructure related to local governance approach that can eventually be rolled into a more permanent solution once the war ends? A big mistake in Iraq were the attempts to do local governance, once that is established, it is hard to translate them back to a more formal structured like ministries. |
| Answer No. 5: |
| There is not currently a template for rolling up localized activities into a provincial or centralized structure. There is a significant uncertainty on the ground as to what form this will take should the conflict end during the life of the contract, should be something that we need to address after award. |
| Question No. 6: |
| Can you please explain the vetting process for local partners and local consultants in Syria? |
| Answer No. 6: |
| There are new rules and regulations on vetting in the federal register volume 123 dated June 26, 2015 that has series of questions and answers on USAID's broader vetting policy and this will be applied to Syria. The process that was undertaken under the previous award, has been for the contractor or awardee to identify partners, recipients of equipments or recipients of financial or technical assistance, these names are then entered into the partner vetting system, it is reviewed by USAID and then submitted through various federal government screens and data basis and the response returns whether the person is eligible or not. If eligible the person can take part in the activity otherwise we need to identify a replacement. That's the very basis process on vetting. |
| Question No. 7: |
| What are the mechanisms for conducting projects? Grants? GUC? Direct implementation with the councils and direct communities? |
| Answer No. 7: |
| We are open to various types of mechanisms and approaches to working with local councils or other organization depending on the context, the type of activity. Grants under contracts are authorized under this contract. Our experience in the past, we have explored doing subgrants and we have explored doing subcontracts directly to organizations in Syria. There is openness to the approach and what is most effective both in terms of obtaining impact and controlling cost. |
| Question No. 8: |
| Expand on how USAID have been using strategically subgrants and subcontracts in the past programs to help us achieve the objectives of the program? |
| Answer No. 8: |
| The structure that we have used during the past two years has largely been either subgrants or grants under contract where the prime contractor procures equipment on behalf of the communities and transfers equipment to communities as in-kind contribution to the program, this will be part of the CLIN 2 line item. |
Then implementation of the activity in Syria, labor, locally available materials is then financed through grants to the local councils through the Grants line item.
Concurrent to the implementation is the focus on building governance including technical assistance to local councils (and/or other identified Syrian partners) which includes assessments and material support as part of the CLIN 3 line item.
The implementation of technical assistance inside Syria may also include activities financed through grants.
| Question No. 9: |
| Can you tell us about the sensitivities that USAID might have in getting its name around and connected with various projects? |
| Answer No. 9: |
| The sensitivities are mixed, under the past awards, we have had branding and marking waivers in place, this is not to say that we haven't marked and branded certain things in the past, it depends on the community and the security situation. We've had some partners that are more aggressive than we are in terms of wanting to mark or indicate that it came from USAID. We've been cautions to date, we try to use creative methods in making sure that people know where the assistance is coming from such as labeling invoices and grants with USAID's logos on them, we've done some meetings where the partners made sure to announce that the assistance is coming from USAID. We've gotten videos back from some of the projects and partners thanking USAID for their assistance. The message gets out and people have a pretty clear understanding based on the type of assistance and where it is coming from. |
| Question No. 10: |
| Similarly, are there concerns related to collecting information needed for community profiles on local actors related to USAID-funded program? |
| Answer No. 10: |
| We haven't seen a lot of issues in terms of sensitivities within communities. The partners that we use have developed relationships with the communities. People know who they are and who they represent. They are able to find the information we need, develop the understanding of communities without significant problems. |
| Question No. 11: |
| Do you look at this program as a continuation of the past activities that USAID has in country and are we looking at similar size? |
| Answer No. 11: |
| It is a continuation of some activities that we found to be successful and an expansion particularly on the Governance side. Also looking at the third aspect under the RFP under the essential services line, lively hood and economic activity, this hasn't been done under previous awards and looking to expand these activities within Southern Syria. |
| Question No. 12: |
| Does USAID anticipate concentrating work in the new areas or also in the areas where the work has been taking place already? |
| Answer No. 12: |
| We do expect work to continue in areas where we have been working. The bulk of the work will take place in these areas depending on the situation on the ground but we want the ability to move in the new areas if and when they become in the opposition influence. |
| Question No. 13: |
| If new areas open up, does it depend on research and analyses? Part of vetting, they go through a lot of databases however is anybody looking through open source. |
| Answer No. 13: |
| On the access to opposition areas and the role of research. This is going to be a collaborative process with USAID. We work very closely with colleagues at state department in the embassy. We're monitoring the situation very closely when new areas become potentially available. we would also look at our contracting partner to have Research base to have access to people and partners in the area, feeding information saying hey we may have a potential area here. This is going to be very collaborative. On vetting, I don't necessarily look at the research as vetting however I would say building profiles with the people we work with, potential people that we may work with will be very valuable and useful. |
| Question No. 14: |
| I understood from your previous remarks that there might be additional two or three regions that may be added to this. |
| Answer No. 14: |
| It completely depends on the context and what happen in the conflict. Currently, we are concentrating on Daraa, Quneitra and Reef Damascus. Focus is on the South. We do coordinate closely with our colleagues in Turkey, they have their own program. It is possible within the scope of the contract and during the life of the contract that some activities may take place in North Syria, these will be on an ad hoc basis based on specific requests or opportunities. |
| Question No. 15: |
| What is the government estimated cost for this effort over 3 years? |
| Answer No. 15: |
| Because of the contract type and in accordance with ADS 302.3.5.7, we are unable to provide the total dollar amount for this activity however we provided the term (Level of Effort) estimate in the RFP. The Business Forecast estimate for this activity was between $25 and $50 Million. |
| Question No. 16: |
| Please expand on equipment type purchased in the past effort, from what source and how transferred into inside Syria? Are the equipment bought locally? |
| Answer No. 16: |
| Since the majority of the projects were centered around water and electricity so the equipment purchased for that included generators, water pumps, as well as transformers range 100 to 400 kva. Over the course of the two prior programs in the South , they procured mobile mills for grinding wheat, done plastic water tanks, not terribly expensive. Going to the process of getting them into Syria. This is coordinated very closely with the government of Jordan as well as Syrian partners. We are able to move equipment into warehouses in Jordan, then transported by partners into Syria. Several partners have warehouses within Syria, then they distribute the equipment from these sub-warehouses. |
It was a combination for the large equipment. Some were procured in Jordan and some have been imported from other locations commercially.
| Question No. 17: |
| What kind of solar projects have been completed? |
| Answer No. 17: |
| We have experiences with a couple of different scales of solar projects, we've done some smaller projects involving water pumps, powering the water pumps, solar, diesel hyper generators or solar power pumps themselves. We have done some larger activities such as power plant to a hospital that has over 138 photovoltaic panels, 200 batteries covering 386 squared meters. |
| Question No. 18: |
| What is the legal status of our people who go in and out of Syria? What if not Syrian Citizens? |
| Answer No. 18: |
| Under the Essential Services South cooperative agreement and the Syria Essential Services contract, the individuals who have supported USAID's work inside Syria have a Syrian passport or a Syrian ID. In some instances, the passport and/or ID is expired because it's virtually impossible to cross into Regime held territory to renew identification paperwork. The challenge of expired paperwork is widely known and understood by the international community, UN Agencies, and neighboring countries who monitor the borders. USAID works closely with the respective border countries to advocate and coordinate for the safe passage of Syrian individuals who are critical to the delivery of USG assistance. SSAP is successful in managing the lines of communication necessary to facilitate the cross-border travel of our Syrian partners. |
| Question No. 19: |
| How does USAID anticipate working with Syrian nationals given the requirement of no contractor personnel in Syria? |
| Answer No. 19: |
| There is couple of different aspect to this. One is some of the Syrians we work with have access to Jordan and are able to work in Jordan, the other side is leveraging our partnerships with Syrian Organizations. Some of them are based in Jordan and some in Syria. |
| Question No. 20: |
| Are both Jordanian and Syrian nationals considered CCNs? |
| Question No. 21: |
| Please clarity a requirement for subcontracting plan in the technical proposal. |
| Answer No. 21: |
| In the technical proposal, the offeror needs to provide us with a list of the subcontractors that they envision working with under this contract. This information will be evaluated as per Section M. |
| Question No. 22: |
| What is the numerical weight of each evaluation factor. |
| Answer No. 22: |
| The ratings are adjectival, no numerical points is assigned for this procurement. |
| Question No. 23: |
| Is there a target for small business under this procurement? |
| Answer No. 23: |
| No, there is no target. |
| Question No. 24: |
| When budgeting, what should be under CLINs and what should be under Grants? |
| Answer No. 24: |
| Equipment, cost and transports will come directly out of the CLIN line item where as the labor, implementation, locally resource materials, the relationship with local counselor or other implementing partners will be part of the grants under contract or sub-grant. |
| Question No. 25: |
| The 27,270 person day that is mentioned in the RFP for professional efforts? Explain was professional means. |
| Answer No. 25: |
| The 27,270 person days includes key personnel, all engineers, all technical people. It does not include administrative people. |
| Question No. 26: |
| Would USAID provide a plug figure for the grants under contract (for bidding purposes) |
| Answer No. 26: |
| Unfortunately no but we rely on subgrants quite heavily. |
| Question No. 27: |
| Would USAID be willing to apportion risk or otherwise reconsider the waiver of liability clause. |
| Answer No. 27: |
| Prior to award, USAID is amendable to that. |
| Question No. 28: |
| Given that research and analysis can be done on a fixed price basis, does the LOE for those products count towards the LOE limit? |
| Answer No. 28: |
| Yes, all LOE used even through fixed price subcontracts will be count towards the LOE limit. |
| Question No. 29: |
| Period for relevant experience for relevant projects, can you specify the period within which the projects should have been performed? |
| Answer No. 29: |
| Offerors must provide us with relevant experience for relevant projects for the past three years. |
| Question No. 30: |
| Research and analyses part, is it going to be implemented in Jordan or in Washington, DC. If it is going to be performed in Jordan, will USAID provide a working place for the contractor? |
| Answer No. 30: |
| Research and analysis can take place in multiple places, it could take place in Washington, DC if you have analyst or specialist who are looking at it, it could take place in Jordan where the team is located. It requires networking in Syria to obtain the initial information. USAID will not provide a space, it is the contractor's responsibility |
| Question No. 31: |
| A lot of organization provide governance training in Syria whether through U.S. Government (state department) or through other funders. How can you make sure that there is no overlap of governance training? |
| Answer No. 31: |
| The U.S. Government has limited governance activities taking place in the geographic area that's the focus of this contract. In terms of de-confliction within the U.S. Government, at this point there is too little to be done. In terms of other donors, we do know of other activities funded by the UK, we encourage our contractors and awardees to develop relationships with those programs and we also maintain close relationships with the UK and others to coordinate it at the donor level. |
| Question No. 32: |
| Isn't there a baseline from the previous award that you have done that would be provided on the research size that can characterize how large how robust that is? |
| Answer No. 32: |
| We do have significant baseline information on different communities. The community assessment component that is part of this contract carries over from our previous activities in the south. We do expect that information to be transferred over to the recipient of this contract. So you would have the base of the community profiles, individuals in those communities that we work with as well as any research and analyses that's been done will be shared with the recipient of the contract. |
| Contracting Officer’s comment: |
| The results and comments regarding leveling the plain field for those organizations that have already worked for us in Syria, and that have an idea of how much LOE it took to engage subcontracts or subgrants. We are going to give you what we think this estimate is and was, not that this is what we think it will be in the future for this contract but to give you a range for to contemplate as you put your approach and develop the budget. |
| Answer No. 33: |
| Under the previous and current awards, a range of 35% - 40% of the total amount was allocated to grants under contracts and subgrants. |
| Question No. 34: |
| How long do you obtain commitment from Key personnel? 210 days is long, are you considering making it shorter? |
| Answer No. 34: |
| The plan is to get this contract awarded hopefully by April/May 2016. |
| Question No. 35: |
| In terms of data base that is referred to throughout the RFP, to what extent do you see the current database the framework for accommodating all that information as a strength to the current program, to what extent you see it as a weakness, do you want meaningful innovation there or are we working with a framework that is more or less successful. |
| Answer No. 35: |
| I would say that we are looking to expand and improve current and past data collection efforts to have more integrated approach, to have flexible approach, something that will be easily accessed, it has a depth of information, and multiple ways of looking at information, given the context we are working in, the fluid situation, the different actors and partners that we have. We need lots of different lenses on activities that are being done; I would say expansion, innovation and creativity in the database. |