2015-06-28_ESP_RFQ.pdf

U.S. Agency for International Development Great Massoud Road Kabul Afghanistan

Tel: (202) 216-6288 http://www.usaid.gov/afghanistan

Solicitation Number: SOL-306-15-000076

Date Issued: June 30, 2015

Questions Due: July 24, 2015

RFQ Due: August 7, 2015

Subject: Request for Architect-Engineer Qualifications (SF 330)

USAID/Afghanistan’s Engineering Support Program (ESP)

Dear Potential Offerors:

USAID/Afghanistan requests qualifications from professional Architect-Engineer (A&E) firms eligible to provide design, construction supervision, quality assurance and related services to be performed or approved by registered or licensed A&E professionals, either as individual organizations, partnerships, joint ventures, or other legal entities permitted by law to practice architecture or engineering.

This acquisition for A&E services is being procured in accordance with the Brooks Act as implemented through Subpart 36.6 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation and Subpart 736.6 of the USAID Acquisition

Regulations (AIDAR). The contract resulting from this solicitation will be a Time and Materials (T&M) type, with a period of performance of three (3) years with two (2) one-year options for a total period not to exceed five (5) years. USAID anticipates that the maximum estimated cost of the resultant contract will be $125,000,000. Specific A&E services will be ordered in writing through issuance of Time and

Materials or Firm-Fixed Price Job Orders (JO) chargeable to the contract. Job orders are billable to only obligated funds in the contract.

This solicitation is comprised of the following:

Cover Letter

SF-330

Attachment 1 - Description of Architect & Engineer Services

Attachment 2 - Instructions to Offers

Attachment 3 - Selection Process

Attachment 4 – Registration and Tax Exemptions in Afghanistan

Attachment 5 – Afghan First Policy

Attachment 6 – Mission Order on Vetting

Attachment 7 – Partner Information Form

The contract will be administered in accordance with applicable provisions and clauses from the FAR and AIDAR. Prime Offerors under this RFQ must be registered under the North American Industry

Classification System (NAICS) code 541330–Engineering Services. In addition, Offerors must be eligible in accordance with the authorized geographic code for this procurement which is 937 (the

United States, the recipient country, and developing countries other than advanced developing countries, but excluding any country that is a prohibited source).

Questions regarding this request must be submitted via e-mail to the Contracting Officer (CO) through Mr. Sam Nagwere, Contracts Specialist, at snaqwere@state.gov, indicating "USAID ESP Questions", no later than the deadline for questions specified in this Cover Letter. Unless otherwise notified by an amendment to this, USAID will not answer questions after the deadline or by phone. Offerors must not submit questions to any other USAID staff, including the technical office. Answers to all questions received by the deadline indicated in this cover letter will be communicated through an Amendment to this solicitation that will be posted on www.fbo.gov.

Submission of qualifications in response to this solicitation must be in accordance to Attachment 2 - Instructions to Offerors of this Request for Qualifications.

This request for qualifications in no way obligates USAID to award a contract, nor does it commit USAID to pay any cost incurred in the preparation and submission of a proposal. USAID reserves the right to reject any and all offers received. Final award of any resultant contract cannot be made until funds have been fully appropriated, allocated, and committed through USAID's internal procedures.

USA I D bears no responsibility for data errors resulting from transmission or conversion processes.

Offerors are encouraged but not required to sign up as an interested vendor to receive notifications as all amendments to this solicitation will be issued and posted on www.fbo.gov.

Contracting Officer

Page 2 of23

[SF 330]

ATTACHMENT 1

DESCRIPTION OF DESIGN/ENGINEERING SERVICES

ENGINEERING SUPPORT PROGRAM (ESP)

I. INTRODUCTION

USAID’s Engineering Support Program (ESP) will ensure the integrity of USAID-supported infrastructure projects in Afghanistan. While progress has been made in the infrastructure sector, Afghanistan’s infrastructure has not fully recovered from the devastation caused by years of war. The task of securing gains made over the last fourteen years still requires support from the donor community. Between 2002 and 2015, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) invested heavily in large infrastructure projects. USAID is completing many of these infrastructure projects; however, several major infrastructure projects and numerous minor construction activities, with total estimated costs of more than a billion dollars, still need to be completed. This project continues the support of USAID’s Engineering, Quality Assurance, and Logistical Support (EQUALS) and Architectural and Engineering Support Program (AESP) by providing the Mission with the engineering support and technical expertise to successfully implement its remaining infrastructure and construction activities.

II. BACKGROUND

Although much progress has been made, Afghanistan’s infrastructure has not fully recovered from the devastation caused by the ravages of war, lack of regular maintenance and scant investment in physical infrastructure. The task of stabilizing and rebuilding Afghanistan is immense and requires the support of the donor community.

Activities performed under this Contract will complement and reinforce the activities and engineering expertise of USAID. USAID’s infrastructure programs are in the following sectors:

1. Transportation (roads, rail and airports). These services include the design of transportation systems, primary and secondary roads and bridges. The primary focus has been roads;

however, additional activities may include airports and rail.

2. Vertical Structures (structural assessment, and design of schools, clinics, government centers and other buildings, including temporary spaces). These services include the structural assessment and design of education, health, judicial, general government facilities, agriculture, industrial parks and other structures.

3. Energy (generation, transmission, distribution and regulation). These services include the design of multiple power networks from generation to distribution, and regulation, small scale systems, renewable energy systems and hybrid systems.

4. Water and Sanitation (urban and rural water supply systems, sanitation facilities, hygiene behavior change, and irrigation). These activities include the planning, assessment, design and training for water resource management, urban and rural water systems, drainage basins and irrigation systems, dams and storage reservoirs, flood control programs, domestic and industrial water supply, and the exploration and development of groundwater resources.

The Contractor must provide a wide range of technical and logistical support, across the above four sectors, with a focus on design, construction supervision, quality assurance, and other Architect- Engineer (A&E) services to help ensure that the construction projects of USAID and GNU meet prescribed standards and contract specifications. USAID’s ESP also contributes to Tier 5 of USAID’s Multi-Tier Monitoring strategy supporting compliance with required Mission and Agency policies which are the following:

Tier 1: USG direct observation

Tier 2: Implementing partner reporting

Tier 3: Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and other donors

Tier 4: Civil society, local organizations and beneficiaries

Tier 5: Independent monitoring contractors

III. SCOPE OF WORK

This Contract must provide USAID with independent engineering support, construction supervision, and quality assurance for ongoing and planned construction, design and operations, and maintenance projects for all areas of USAID supported infrastructure.

Engineering support, construction supervision and quality assurance monitoring is necessary to ensure that infrastructure facilities are built to pre-determined engineering and safety standards and according to the terms of USAID’s contract with the partner implementing the infrastructure project. The services provided benefit a range of USAID/Afghanistan’s offices that rely on infrastructure to accomplish their development objectives including Agriculture, Health, Democracy and Governance, and Education.

These services provided are for support of both “off-budget” (direct USAID implemented construction) as well as “on-budget” (Government of Afghanistan construction funded by USAID) activities. Both on and off budget requests and services must be approved by USAID.

This contract complements and reinforces the activities and general engineering expertise of USAID’s staff with specialized engineering services such as: electrical, mechanical, structural, architectural, civil, and construction management. The Contractor must provide a full range of long-term and quick response professional architectural and engineering services, quality assurance services, and other logistical and technical support across all sectors (transport, vertical structures, energy, and water, and sanitation) for USAID/Afghanistan’s infrastructure programs. This also includes direct interaction with USAID’s Afghan partners, such as Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS), conducting construction through USAID’s on-budget funded programs.

IV. DETAILED WORK REQUIREMENTS

This contract uses a Job Order system to respond to assigned activities which optimize response time, home office reach back, and in providing deliverables. As a support activity, the Contractor’s objective will not be to directly construct infrastructure, but to support USAID and Afghanistan’s Government of National Unity (GNU) in ensuring infrastructure integrity. As this is a follow-on activity, the Contractor must conduct a handover of activities from an existing Contractor. The Contractor must, when directed by the Contracting Officer through issuance of a JO, provide services which include, but are not limited to:

Planning: The Contractor must provide high quality engineering and technical assistance and recommendations in the planning of new activities requested, which includes conceptualization, analysis, and approval documentation.

Example Services:

a. Master planning for multi-phase projects

b. Assess capability gaps and infrastructure needs that must be addressed prior to the start of future projects

c. Carry out pre-design site assessments

d. Provide cost estimates

e. Develop conceptual engineering designs

f. Conduct an assessment of alternatives or value engineering

g. Draft operations, maintenance, and financing plans collaboratively with stakeholders

Design: The Contractor must prepare and review detailed engineering designs, plans, and cost estimates for assigned programs and activities. The Contractor must ensure that designs and plans comply with appropriate national and international standards and reflect Agency and international best practices.

Example Services:

a. Develop engineering and seismic requirements

b. Provide drawings and specifications

c. Develop construction schedule

d. Review Technical Designs

e. Develop Environmental Mitigation and Monitoring Plan

f. Estimate Construction Costs

g. Assess alternative design components

Construction Supervision: The Contractor must provide project management oversight support for construction contracts/agreements.

Example Services:

a. Provide expert technical oversight, advice, and support to personnel engaged in infrastructure design, implementation, and/or program modifications

b. Perform administrative functions including, but not limited to, prepare reports, estimate expenditures, review and provide recommendations on payment vouchers, assist in response to audits, assess claims, and perform other related activities

c. Provide administrative, technical, and personnel support to augment host country implementing departments’ capacity to effectively achieve project objectives for on-budget activities

Quality Assurance Services: Quality Assurance (QA) is defined as the functions and associated actions performed by the Government to ensure that contract requirements are performed in accordance with specified standards, and that an appropriate level of Contractor quality control activities is in place and operational. The Contractor must monitor and evaluate the construction projects implemented by other contractors, grantees and partners through certified engineers and professionals according to international performance standards.

Example Services:

a. Review material and equipment submittals for compliance with approved quality standards

b. Review and analysis of material field tests and reports

c. Monitor the delivery of goods, their installation, and other services through field inspections, review contractor reports, and meet project personnel and implementer representatives to ensure contract standards are satisfied

d. Measure and monitor cost, schedule and performance

e. Evaluate completed projects or project components and document findings for the improvement of future projects or project components

f. Monitor existing work by others in any of the construction stages

g. Monitor implementation status of operations, maintenance, and financing plan

Mentoring/Capacity Building Services: The Contractor must implement a technical mentoring/capacity building component that provides opportunity for technical development of local staff.

Example Services:

a. On-the-job training to align Afghan staff with international best practices including innovative technologies

b. Develop manuals and guides, such as training manuals, construction guides, and equipment guides

c. Employee mentoring program for Afghan ESP staff

d. Local university engagement program

e. Female internship program

V. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

The Contactor must submit the following deliverables or outputs to the COR.

1) Sector reports For construction work, additional deliverables may be submitted to the COR and the respective USAID Team leaders for specific sectors: transportation, vertical structures, energy, and water and sanitation. Detailed deliverables and delivery dates will be specified in individual job/work orders. As needed or determined by the COR, the following reports must be provided by the Contractor:

a) Monthly Inspection Reports: the Contractor must submit monthly reports describing the results of the regular inspections. The reports must describe the implementing partner’s activities during the period, the Contractor’s findings with regard to the implementing partner’s compliance with contract specifications and schedule, deviations from the contract, if any and the recommend actions, and status of corrective actions taken to address deviations identified in previous reporting periods. Materials, test results and the progress of work.

b) Substantial completion Inspection Reports: the Contractor must submit a report describing results of the substantial Completion Inspection and Punch List of items requiring corrective actions no later than five days after the inspection.

c) Punch List Verification Inspection Report: No later than five days after the inspection, the Contractor must submit a report describing the status of corrective actions with regard to the Punch List items and modify the Punch List as necessary.

d) Final Inspection Report: No later than five days after the final inspection, the Contractor must submit a report to confirm completion of all Punch List activities.

e) Final Warranty Inspection Report: Not later than five days after the final warranty inspection, the Contractor must submit a report to confirm completion of all corrective actions on deficiencies identified during the warranty period. The warranty period must cover a full year from the time of completion.

f) Other reports as needed.

2) Quarterly/Annual Reports

a) Progress Reports: The Contractor must submit quarterly progress reports, and a combined quarterly/annual progress report, no more than 15 days after the end of the reporting period. These reports must summarize progress of the major activities during the period of performance indicating any problems encountered that could have an adverse effect on budget, scheduling, quality of work and/or safety, and propose remedial actions as appropriate. The Contractor must promptly notify the Contractor Officer (CO) and the COR of any problems, delays, or adverse conditions, which materially impair the contractor's ability to meet the requirements of the contract.

b) Financial Reports: The Contractor must submit to the COR, CO, and OFM brief Quarterly Expenditure Reports which must contain a summary page which shows spending by category for the quarter, cumulative spending to date, available funding for the remainder of the activity and any variances from planned expenditures. If there are significant accrued expenditures for the quarter being reported upon which for some reason have not yet been billed to the contract, the Contractor must include a brief note to that effect, with the specific amount involved, thus enabling the COR to accurately track the expenditure rate. These reports must be submitted two weeks before the end of the quarter.

3) Work Plan The Contractor must submit a Work Plan with an organizational chart to the COR which must be reviewed and approved by USAID no later than 60 days after contract award. The Work Plan must include the following: approach, staffing, mobilization, life support, logistics, cost control, QA (internal), and reporting chain. The work plan must be established based upon the U.S.

Government’s fiscal calendar.

4) Weekly Meetings The Contractor must hold weekly meetings with the COR to discuss reports and resolve problems as required. The quarterly report must include the minutes of the weekly meetings and action taken on issues raised in the previous meeting.

5) Monitoring and Evaluation Plan The Contractor must submit a M&E Plan within 60 days of the contract award for approval by the COR. The M&E Plan must include the start date of each activity and the expected completion date. Milestones must be established on an activity basis. The M&E Plan will provide a tool for management to track the performance of the contractor. The M&E Plan design must allow results to be tracked by Program Element. For example, if an indicator tracks quality assurance inspections, these must be able to be disaggregated by the corresponding Health, Education or other Program Element.

6) Security Plan Security for the Contractor’s personnel and offices is the responsibility of the Contractor. The Contractor must assess the security situation in Afghanistan; particularly in the provinces targeted by the program, and institute appropriate security measures. The Contractor is responsible for establishing a security plan allowing completion of contract objectives in a conflict environment. During contract performance if security factors are expected to disrupt implementation or to cause delay in attaining established targets, it is the Contractor’s responsibility to immediately notify the COR.

The Contractor must develop a security plan within 60 days of contract award for review by the COR. The plan must include: adequate requirements for protecting all Contractor personnel in the field and USAID staff, when applicable, requirements at the base of operations, contingency planning in case of emergency evacuation, and chain of command for communication and reporting instructions. The Contractor’s security policies must be provided along with the security plan.

VI. KEY PERSONNEL REQUIREMENTS

The following are the requirements for Key Personnel. The years of experience requirement for each key personnel may be concurrent.

A. Chief of Party (COP)

The Contractor must designate a COP as the primary point of contact whom USAID may contact for procedural and substantive matters. The COP bears primary responsibility for all technical aspects of contract performance as well as management related requirements of the contract.

The COP must have:

Strong writing and oral presentation skills

Knowledgeable about the overall technical, administrative, and logistical functions

Responsibility for the effective, efficient, and timely implementation of all activities undertaken by the Contractor

At least a bachelor’s degree in engineering, business, or related degree

15 years’ experience in design, construction, and quality assurance of infrastructure projects

At least 10 years’ experience working in developing countries

At least 10 years’ experience in senior positions of project management

b) Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP)

The Contractor must designate a DCOP whom serves as the acting point of contact when the COP is on leave. The DCOP must coordinate and support the COP in management of all technical aspects of contract performance as well as management related requirements of the contract.

The DCOP must have:

At least a bachelor’s degree in engineering, business, or related degree

10 years’ experience in design, construction, and quality assurance of infrastructure projects

At least 8 years’ experience working in developing countries.

At least 8 years’ experience in senior positions of project management.

c) Finance/Contract Administrator

The Contractor must designate a Finance/Contract Administrator responsible for the management and administration of the contract on areas such as procurement/subcontracting, personnel, reporting, and financial administration.

The Finance/Contract Administrator must have:

Strong administrative skills to manage contracts, budgets

Ability to accurately report on the multiple Job Orders of the contract.

At least a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field.

10 years’ experience in managing complex contracts, projects, or budgets of relevant scope and scale.

B. Other Personnel Requirements

Technical Specialists (Long-term and Short-term): The Contractor must provide technical specialists in the following technical areas as needed in Job Orders:

Architect

Civil Engineer

Construction Manager

Electrical Engineer

Environmental Engineer

Mechanical Engineer

Structural Engineer

Transportation Engineer

The Contractor must be able to respond to a wide range of needs, demonstrate flexibility, and have sufficient staff to carry out simultaneous activities in numerous geographic locations. Whenever feasible and to the greatest extent possible, the Contractor must utilize a minimum ratio of 80% local Afghan Engineers to 20% expatriate engineers. The Contractor is also encouraged to use

Afghan public and private institutions, local NGOs, local CSOs, and other Afghan entities whenever feasible in the implementation of Job Orders.

Minimum qualifications: Engineers must have at a minimum:

BS degree or equivalent from an accredited college or university in the appropriate branch of engineering, candidates with advanced degrees preferred.

The Contractor, in collaboration with the COR, will determine the specific requirements and qualifications of the specialists needed for specific Job Orders. All technical specialists must have:

Specific experience and qualifications that is directly relevant to the Job Order on which they work.

VII. PROJECT MANAGEMENT/JOB ORDERS

A. Ordering:

A&E services will be requested in writing through issuance of Job Orders (JO).

The Government request for JO proposals will delineate (1) general scope of work; (2) location of work; (3) character and extent of services; (4) specific technical requirements as contained in the basic contract; and (5) time period(s) within which the work must be performed.

The Contractor must prepare an estimate of their time and cost(s) by the specified response time in order to perform the work chargeable to the base contract and submit their proposal in writing to the CO within the time specified in each request for proposal letter.

Each JO will: a) be sequentially numbered, b) contain the agreed to Scope of Work, services to be performed, specific deliverables and deliverables schedule, and c) negotiated budget amount and subcontract consent, if required, for performing the work.

The JO will be a letter or other written communication signed by the Contracting Officer. The Contracting Officer has sole authority to issue JOs and provide authorization to proceed.

In addition to a description of how work will be carried out, the Job Order proposal must include benchmarks, subcontractors (if known), a detailed not-to-exceed budget, and the following, as applicable:

Specific performance or quality standards

Environmental review conclusions and recommended actions

O&M issues and recommended actions

Implementation Plan and Schedule of Deliverables

The USAID Contracting Officer may issue unilateral Job Orders based on the information received in an assessment or implementation plan with ceiling costs when deemed necessary to effect a rapid intervention. If the Contractor finds that it cannot proceed with a subcontract or purchase of goods/services as described in the approved Job Order for reasons beyond its control, the Contractor must seek and obtain written approval by the CO with technical concurrence from the COR. USAID will not be liable for any costs incurred by the Contractor in excess of that contained in the JO.

B. Errors and Negligent Performance:

If Job Order deliverables are found to be unsatisfactory or unacceptable, the Contractor must redo the work at no additional cost to the JO. The Contractor must correct or revise any errors, omissions, or deficiencies in designs, drawings, specifications, estimates, and other services without additional compensation.

The Contractor is liable in accordance with applicable laws for all damage caused by the Contractor or its consultants, negligent performance of any of the services furnished under the contract, or failure to comply with any applicable legal or contractual obligations. Design errors or omissions or other failures that constitute negligent performance or breach of a contractual obligation, resulting in damages or extra cost to the Government will be evaluated for potential Contractor financial liability.

If the Government determines the Contractor is liable for any such deficiency, the CO will notify the Contractor.

C. Acceptance:

Tentative acceptance of work delivered in any installment will be the basis for estimating partial payments for completed work but must not be construed as final acceptance. Work tentatively accepted but proven by subsequent inspection to be not acceptable must be corrected by the Contractor in accordance with FAR 52.246-4, Inspection of Services - Fixed-Price for Fixed Price Job Orders or in accordance to FAR 52.246-6, Inspection of Services – Time and Material and Labor-Hour for Time and Materials Job Orders. Final acceptance of the work will not be made until all work under the Job Order has been delivered and found to be acceptable.

VIII. GEOGRAPHIC FOCUS

The Contractor must maintain a presence in Kabul, Afghanistan with a limited number of International Personnel to support an office space accessible to facilitate meetings with US Embassy and GNU personnel. Field operations may be throughout Afghanistan to best serve specific needs of Job Orders and the Contractor must have the ability to establish field offices depending on the work requirements. To support collaboration with USAID, the Contractor must have meeting facilities within one mile of the USAID compound.

IX. GENDER CONSIDERATIONS

Women can play a meaningful role in infrastructure development at all levels in Afghanistan. The Contractor must ensure that activities are responsive to gender considerations and seek to ensure that the assistance provided and the results achieved are beneficial to both women and men. In the Quarterly and Annual Progress Reports, the Contractor must also include Gender indicators to measure progress and outcome/impact in all activities.

USAID’s Gender Analysis from the Technical Assistance for Roads Project (January 2013), Afghanistan Industrial Parks Development Program (January 2012) and Power, Transmission, Expansion and Connectivity Project (January 2012), provide illustrative recommendations for incorporating gender equity, including, setting up a mentoring program, preferential awards to Afghan women-owned business, and establishing a women’s advisory committee for regular consultation with future projects. Gender Equality and Female Empowerment Policy link:

http://www.usaid.gov/documents/1870/fact-sheet-gender-equality-female-empowerment-policy

Statistics suggest that there are at least 5,000 women with engineering degrees in Afghanistan, yet only a negligible number of female civil engineers appear to be actively working in their professional capacity. The lack of women employed in the engineering sector is problematic in many of USAID partner ministries. Many Afghan government ministries do have Gender Units; however, they have difficulty mainstreaming gender throughout their institutions.

Making a conscientious accommodation to meet cultural requirements within engineering firms, on-the-job training for women, female internships, and supporting female engineering professional societies can substantially empower women’s full participation in the design, management, and operations of ESP activities. Building on USAID’s experience from the engineering internship program targeting female engineering students implemented under USAID’s Afghanistan Engineering Support Program (AESP), the Contractor is encouraged to contract with female owned businesses and must implement a new engineering internship program. This engineering internship program must include both classroom-based and on-the-job educational opportunities.

The Contractor must recruit qualified female engineers from local universities and develop a robust internal internship program to develop their engineering skills. Throughout the project, the Contractor must recruit qualified women for consultant, leadership and management positions. The Contractor must consider other USAID programs, such as PROMOTE, in which to coordinate female outreach and development activities.

X. RELEASE OF INFORMATION

The Contractor must not, unless authorized in writing by the Contracting Officer, release or provide any information or interpretation concerning data prepared under this contract to prospective construction contractors, manufacturers, or suppliers for their use in bidding or submitting quotations. The Contractor must be aware of and take such precautionary measures as necessary to maintain the confidential nature of all work prepared under this contract. Any quantity surveys and cost estimates prepared by the firm under this contract for use either by the Government or the firm must be considered privileged information and must not be divulged to any third party.

XI. CONFLICT OF INTEREST

The Contractor, its representatives, its subcontractors, or employees performing work under the subject contract must not subsequently provide services of a professional nature to any Contractor, subcontractor, or consultant responsible for any phase of construction of any project developed http://www.usaid.gov/documents/1870/fact-sheet-gender-equality-female-empowerment-policy under the subject contract, participate in construction, or design-build construction contract. In addition, no firm, its subcontractors, or individual performing work under the subject contract must, unless authorized in writing by the Contracting Officer, release or provide any information or interpretations concerning data prepared under this contract to prospective construction Contractors, manufacturers, or suppliers for their use in bidding or submitting quotations.

XII. SITE VISITS, INSPECTIONS AND INVESTIGATIONS

The firm may need to visit and inspect/investigate the site of the project as necessary and required during the preparation and accomplishment of the work under each Job Order. Prior to any site visit, the firm must notify the COR of the visit date. All travel, costs, and expenses incurred by the firm or their representative(s) including consultants for such site visits, inspections, and investigations must be outlined in the proposal and included in the price of each JO as expenses.

XIII. CONFERENCES AND MEETINGS

The Contractor must attend and participate in all project conferences pertinent to the services as defined by the particular Scope of Work under each Job Order. Periodic meetings may be held whenever requested by the Government, or the Contractor, for discussion of questions and problems relating to the services required under each Job Order.

At the option of the CO, the Contractor may be required to attend and participate in other conferences in addition to those included in each JO. Labor and travel costs for such meetings/conferences will be negotiated and included by modification to the JO.

XIV. QUALITY CONTROL

Professional level skills and management practices are required in the performance of each job order under this contract. Accordingly, the firm must establish an effective quality control program to assure that the Job Order end products meet professional standards and complies with the various requirements.

[END OF ATTACHMENT 1]

ATTACHMENT 2

INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERS

1. General Contract Information

(a) Applicable contracting procedures. The services USAID is procuring under this solicitation require performance or approval by a registered or licensed architect or engineer to a substantial or dominant extent. Therefore the contracting procedures USAID is using for this acquisition are in accordance with FAR 36.601-3(c).

(b) Small Business Participation. USAID encourages the participation to the maximum extent possible of small business, small disadvantaged business, and women-owned business concerns in this activity as prime contractors or subcontractors. In this respect, it is anticipated that the prime Contractor must make every reasonable effort to identify and make maximum practicable use of such concerns.

(c) Type of Contract. USAID anticipates awarding a Time and Materials contract resulting from this solicitation. Work under the contract will be ordered through issuance of Job Orders which may be Time and Materials or Firm Fixed Price.

(d) Eligibility. USAID will only accept Offerors that are eligible to receive awards in accordance under geographic code 937 per USAID ADS Chapter 310.

(e) Protests. As defined in section FAR Part 31.101, protests that are filed directly with the Agency and copies of any protests that are filed with the Government Accountability Office (GAO), must be served to the Contracting Officer (addressed as follows) by obtaining written and dated acknowledgment of receipt from:

Gregory Wang USAID/Afghanistan Office of Acquisition and Assistance US Embassy Afghanistan Great Massoud Road, Kabul, Afghanistan

Copies of any protests must also be faxed to Mr. William Buckhold at 202-712-3058.

(f) Vetting. In accordance with USAID/Afghanistan Mission Order 201-05 vetting is conducted by USAID in connection with its review and approval of proposed USAID Awards and sub-awards for any proposed non-U.S. recipient of Award of a USAID contract, subcontract, or an instrument acting as the same in excess of $25,000 at any tier, including key individuals of the entities who are not U.S. citizens.

2. General Instructions to Offerors

The selection of firms for contract under this RFQ will be based on qualifications. Offers submitted must therefore only include the information requested in this RFQ. The Contracting Officer (CO) will enter into additional technical, business/price discussions after the selection of most highly qualified firms is completed in accordance with FAR 36.606.

(a) Adherence to RFQ Instructions. If an Offeror does not follow the instructions set forth herein, the Offeror's proposal may be eliminated from further consideration or the proposal may be down-graded and not receive credit under the applicable evaluation criteria.

(b) Accurate and Complete Information. Offerors must provide full, accurate and complete information as required by this RFQ. The penalty for making false statements to the Government is prescribed in 18 U.S.C. 1001.

(c) Proposal Preparation Costs. The U.S. Government will not pay proposal preparation costs.

3. Qualifications Submission Instructions

(a) Only Electronic submission is allowed.

(b) Submission of proposals by email is subject to the following understanding:

The USAID email gateway accepts messages whose total size with attachments does not exceed 8MB (NO Zipped or Compressed files).

An email proposal must be submitted to snagwere@state.gov and gwang@usaid.gov with the subject line of the email containing the solicitation number SOL-306-15-000076 ESP.

Acceptable native file formats are Microsoft Office Suite applications (.doc, .xls) or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf).

Time of receipt of the email is the USAID email gateway time-stamped e-mail message header.

Respondents are encouraged to request an e-mail return receipt.

(c) Proposal Due Date. Proposals must be submitted by the Due Date indicated on the Cover Letter of this RFQ.

(d) Late Proposals. Late proposals will be subject to restrictions set forth in FAR 52.215-1.

If a proposal is received late or is not eligible for consideration in accordance with the FAR, then the Government may reject that offer without evaluation. For timeliness under this RFQ, the Government will use Kabul Time.

4. Instructions for Preparation of the Technical Proposal

(SF-330 and Other Submission Requirements)

(a) In accordance with FAR 36.702(b), Offerors must fully complete the Standard Form (SF) 330 and comply with the Other Submission Requirements per the instructions in item (d). The SF 330 required for this solicitation, version “Rev. 3/2013,” is available from the Government Printing Office or the following website: http://www.gsa.gov/portal/forms/download/116486.

(b) In the SF 330, Part II, block #4, Offerors must include a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) for itself and each major subcontractor of the Offeror’s Proposed Team. In accordance with FAR 52.204-6 (JUL 2013), an Offeror may obtain a DUNS number via the Internet at http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform or, if located within the U.S., by calling Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) at 1-866-705-5711. If located outside the U.S., Offeror’s must contact the local D&B office. An Offeror must indicate that it is an Offeror for a U.S. government contract when contacting the local D&B office.

mailto:snagwere@state.gov mailto:gwang@usaid.gov http://www.gsa.gov/portal/forms/download/116486 http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform

(c) The RFQ must be written in English and must not reference pricing data to ensure the technical evaluation is made strictly based on technical merit.

(d) Other Submission Requirements: Page limitations for the SF-330 and Other Submission Requirements are defined below. Pages submitted beyond these limitations will not be evaluated:

Content Page Limitation Form

1 Proposed Team No page limitation SF-330 Section C

2 Professional Qualifications 9 pages SF-330 Section E plus additional narratives

3 Organizational Chart of Proposed Team 1 page No Specification

3 Organizational Narrative 2 pages SF-330 Section H or Letter Format

4 Specialized Experience and Technical Competence

5 pages SF-330 Section F

5 Past Performance Form 5 pages SF-330 Section H or Letter Format

6 Team Qualification Narrative 5 pages SF-330 Section H or Letter Format

7 Key Personnel Narrative 6 pages (2 pages for each)

SF-330 Section H or Letter Format

7 Key Personnel Letter of Intent 3 pages (1 page for each)

SF-330 Section H or Letter Format

7 Key Personnel References 3 page (1 page for each)

SF-330 Section H or Letter Format

8 Technical Specialists (TS) Narrative 8 pages (1 page for each)

SF-330 Section H or Letter Format

9 Evidence of Responsibility 2 pages SF-330 Section H or Letter Format

10 Capacity to Accomplish the Work 2 pages SF-330 Section H or Letter Format

11 Management Plan 4 pages SF-330 Section H or Letter Format

(e) The Offeror must organize and submit the SF-330 in the following order with the Other Submission Requirements:

1. Proposed Team - (SF-330 – Part I Contract-Specific Qualifications, Section C. Proposed Team)

The Offeror must identify its proposed team including major subcontractors. A major subcontractor is defined as a subcontractor that will perform critical aspects of the architectural and engineering work, or at least 20% of the estimated A&E-specific over the life of the Contract.

By submission of the SF-330 for the prime or any subcontractors, the Offeror is certifying for these entities that the annual representations and certifications in the SAM website accessed through www.sam.gov are accurate and have been entered or updated within the last 12 months, are current, accurate, complete, and applicable to this solicitation (including the business size standard applicable to the NAICS code referenced for this solicitation), as of the date of this offer and are incorporated in this offer by reference (see FAR 4.1201).

2. Professional Qualifications - (SF-330 – Part I Contract-Specific Qualifications, Sections E&

Section G; SF-330 Part II – General Qualifications, and COP & Technical Specialists Narrative)

The Offeror must provide all relevant information for the proposed Key and technical personnel.

The proposed Key Personnel and technical specialists must meet the minimum requirements in the attachment 1, Description of Design/Engineering Services.

http://www.sam.gov/

In addition to completing Sections E&G of SF-330, the Offeror must provide Narratives for each Key Personnel and technical specialist describing how they are appropriate for this effort and how they maximize the probability of successful performance. Provide the Narratives along with written and signed letters of intent from the Key Personnel and technical specialists and A&E firm’s Authorized Representative indicating key personnel and technical specialists’:

i. Availability to serve in the stated position, in terms of number of days after award.

ii. Intention to serve for a specified duration.

In addition, three (3) references (including name, title, telephone number, and e-mail) must be provided for the Key Personnel and must be included as an Annex.

The Offeror must list all employees by discipline by completing Part II of SF 330 for each firm that will be part of the team proposed in Part I Section C.

3. Organizational Chart - (SF-330 - Part I Contract-Specific Qualifications - Section D.

Organizational Chart of Proposed Team, and Organization Chart Narrative)

The Offeror must complete Section D of SF-330 and demonstrate how the structure of the proposed team aligns with the technical and administrative requirements of the Description of Design/Engineering Services (Attachment 1) section of the solicitation. The Organizational Chart must also include a narrative explaining the organization and relationships.

4. Specialized Experience and Technical Competence - (SF-330 – Part I Contract- Specific

Qualifications - Section F. Example Projects Which Best Illustrate Proposed Team’s Qualifications for This Contract, and Team Narrative)

The Offeror must demonstrate the specialized experience of the team and the capacity to meet the requirements of the Description of Design/Engineering Services section of the solicitation.

The Offeror must provide all relevant information for five (5) projects in Section F to demonstrate capability in at least the four (4) technical areas in Section IV, Attachment 1. The Offeror must complete one section F for each project they list.

5. Past Performance - (SF-330 – Part I Contract-Specific Qualifications – Section H. Additional

Information)

The Offeror must supplement the information provided for “Specialized Experience and Technical Competence” by also providing information for each of the five (5) projects listed in Section F.

Provide for each of the contracts listed above a list of contact names, job titles, mailing addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and a description of the performance to include:

- Scope of work or complexity/diversity of tasks,

- Primary location(s) of work,

- Term of performance,

- Skills/expertise required,

- Dollar value, and

- Contract type, i.e., fixed-price, cost reimbursement, etc.

USAID recommends that you alert the contacts that their names have been submitted and that they are authorized to provide performance information concerning the listed contracts.

This past performance information must also include:

(a) If extraordinary problems impacted any of the referenced contracts, provide a short explanation and the corrective action taken.

(b) Describe any quality awards or certifications that indicate exceptional capacity to provide the service or product described in the Description of Design/Engineering Services. This information is not included in the page limitation.

(c) Performance in Using Small Business (SB) Concerns (as defined in FAR 19.001).

1. This section is not applicable to offers from small business concerns.

2. As part of the evaluation of performance of this solicitation, USAID will evaluate the extent that Offerors used and promoted the use of small business concerns under current and prior contracts. The evaluation will assess the extent small business concerns participated in these contracts relative to the size/value of the contracts, the complexity and variety of the work small business concerns performed, and compliance with your SB subcontracting plan or other similar small business incentive programs set out in your contract(s).

3. In order for USAID to fully and fairly evaluate performance in this area, all Offerors who are not small business concerns must do the following:

a. Provide a narrative summary of your organization's use of small business concerns over the past three years in an annex to the technical proposal. Describe how you actually use small businesses—as subcontractors, as joint venture partners, through other teaming arrangements, etc. Explain the nature of the work small businesses performed—substantive technical professional services, administrative support, logistics support, etc. Describe the extent of your compliance with your SB subcontracting plan(s) or other similar SB incentive programs set out in your contract(s) and explain any mitigating circumstances if goals were not achieved.

b. To supplement the narrative summary in (A), provide a list of the recent (within the last three (3) years) contracts for which you submitted subcontract reports to eSRS (FAR 52.219-9(d)(10) and a copy of any similarly recent subcontracting reports if they were not submitted to eSRS.

c. Provide the names and addresses of three SB concerns for us to contact for their assessment of your performance in using SB concerns. Provide a brief summary of the type of work each SB concern provided to your organization, and the name of a contact person, his/her title, phone number, and e-mail address for each.

6. Team Qualification Narrative – (SF-330 – Part I Contract-Specific Qualifications – Section H.

Additional Information)

In addition to the SF-330, the Offeror must also provide a Team Narrative that elaborates/supplements the qualifications provided in Section F. The Offeror must describe the following:

The specialized experience of the team and the capacity to perform the work in attachment 1.

Experience with assembling and mobilizing technical assistance teams.

Experience with working in a developing countries.

Experience completing work with established time constraints.

For each of the four (4) technical areas listed in Background section, the Offeror must provide a description of the portion of work that can be performed internally and the portion that needs to be outsourced.

Systems for procuring materials and equipment.

The ability to accomplish at least three (3) $500,000 A&E projects simultaneously.

The extent to which they have used local firms in developing countries on past projects. In addition, describe the organizational approach to secure local firm participation in design projects.

7. Key Personnel Narrative, Letter of Intent, and References - (SF-330 – Part I Contract-Specific

Qualifications – Section H. Additional Information)

In addition to the SF-330 resume requested in the SF-330 – Part I – Section E, Offerors must provide a two-page narrative for each personnel describing the Key Personnel’s abilities and qualifications for managing this project, a letter of intent from the prospective Key Personnel, and a minimum of 3 professional references from clients receiving related work from the candidates.

8. Technical Specialists (TS) Narrative - (SF-330 – Part I Contract-Specific Qualifications – Section

H. Additional Information)

Offerers must submit a one page narrative for each of the following TS that may be utilized in the performance of this contract in a work order.

Architect

Civil Engineer

Construction Manager

Electrical Engineer

Environmental Engineer

Mechanical Engineer

Structural Engineer

Transportation Engineer

9. Evidence of Responsibility - (SF-330 – Part I Contract-Specific Qualifications – Section H.

Additional Information)

The Offeror must submit sufficient evidence of responsibility for the CO to make an affirmative determination of responsibility pursuant to the requirements of FAR Subsection 9.104-1. If the Offeror fails to submit sufficient evidence for the contracting officer to make an affirmative determination of responsibility, then the CO may make a determination of non-responsibility and be precluded from awarding a contract to that Offeror. However, in the case of a small business Offeror, the CO will comply with FAR 19.6. Accordingly, prime Offerors must address each element of responsibility with supporting data. To be determined responsible, a prospective Contractor must:

(a) Have adequate financial resources to…