FOREST-PLUS RFP SOL-386-11-000003 Amendment 1.pdf

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

1. CONTRACT ID CODE

PAGE OF PAGES

1 13

2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NO.

3. EFFECTIVE DATE

November 16, 2011

4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NO.

5. PROJECT NO. (If applicable)

6. ISSUED BY CODE

7. ADMINISTERED BY (If other than Item 6)

CODE

Regional Office of Acquisition and Assistance, USAID/INDIA, American Embassy, Shantipath

Chanakya Puri, New Delhi 110021, India

See Section7

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR (NO., street,city,county,State,and ZIP Code)

9a. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NO.

SOL-386-11-000003

9b. DATED (SEE ITEM 11)

October 24, 2011

10a. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NO.

10b. DATED (SEE ITEM 13)

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

[X ] The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers

[X] is extended, [ ] is not extended to 1000 hours New Delhi time on December 22, 2011.

Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended, by one of the following methods: (a) By completing Items 8 and 15, and returning ___6___ copies of the amendment;(b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted; or(c) By separate letter or telegram which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers.

FAILURE OF YOUR ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF

OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment you desire to change an offer already submitted, such change may be made by telegram or letter, provided each telegram or letter makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA (If required)

13. THIS ITEM APPLIES ONLY TO MODIFICATIONS OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS,

IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE

CONTRACT ORDER NO. IN ITEM 10A.

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES (such as changes in paying office, appropriation date, etc.) SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b)

C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER (Specify type of modification and authority)

E. IMPORTANT: Contractor [ ] is not, [ ] is required to sign this document and return ___ copies to the issuing office.

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION (Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

The RFP is amended to

1)extend the closing date & time to NLT December 22, 2011 by 1000 Hrs New Delhi time;

2) extend the end date & time for sending email for registeration to attend pre-proposal conference. Firms/Offerors interested in attending this conference must register by 10 AM on November 17, 2011 (New Delhi Time).

Cont‟d..2/-

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect.

15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER (Type or print)

16A. NAME OF CONTRACTING OFFICER

BRADEN W. ENROTH

15B. NAME OF CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR

BY

(Signature of person authorized to sign)

15C.DATE SIGNED 16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Sd/-

BY

(Signature of Contracting Officer)

16C.DATE SIGNED

NSN 7540-01-152-8070 Standard Form 30 (revised 10/83)

Previous edition unusable Prescribed by GSA FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

2) Include Date/time and venue for the Pre-proposal conference :

Date/Time for Pre-proposal Conference : November 18, 2011 (10 AM through 12 Noon)

Venue: Maidens Hotel, 7 Sham Nath Marg, Delhi-110054 (Location of the hotel can be found at http://www.maidenshotel.com/contact.htm )

3)include the attached Questions and Answers. Specific amendments to the RFP are also incorporated in the Questions and Answers. As provided in Section 11 above, offerors are required to acknowledge the receipt of this amendment by using any one of the three methods listed.

http://www.maidenshotel.com/contact.htm

SOLICITATION # SOL-386-11-000003

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Question 1 : On page 18, the RFP states that an international conference will showcase

Component 1 results. On pages 20 and 34, the RFP refers to an international conference that will be a deliverable under Component 2. Would USAID please confirm whether the international conference is a requirement for Component 1 or Component 2, or whether two conferences are envisioned?

Answer: There are two international conferences, one each in each Component. Both conferences are to be held in India. Section F.3, CLIN 001, Componet 1, Task 3 is amended to add an additional international conference to showcase results of Component 1.

Question 2 : Regarding the international conference on Forestry, Climate Change and REDD +, would USAID clarify whether Forest Plus contract funds should be allocated to cover costs for local conference attendees or will local attendees be expected to be self-funded?

Answer: The Forest-PLUS contract funds can be used to cover costs (e.g., travel, per diem) for local conference speakers. For other local attendees, only food during the conference will be covered.

Question 3: On pages 19 and 33, the RFP refers to “funding a senior-level science advisor who would be seconded to the REDD+ Cell.” Would USAID kindly clarify whether this is envisioned as a full-time, long-term position on the Forest-PLUS project contractor team?

Answer: The referred deliverable, i.e. the last deliverable under Section C.3.b/Component

2//Task 1/Last Deliverable is amended to read as “Improved institutional capacity of the REDD+ cell of MOEF”. Consequently, Section F.3/CLIN 2/Task 1/Last Deliverable is also amended to read as “Improved institutional capacity of the REDD+ cell of MOEF”. Therefore, it is for the offeror to decise if they want to hire a senior-level science advisor to achieve the revised deliverable and related program objectives. In any case, the senior-level science advisor should not be a long-term position.

Question 4 : On page 19, the RFP states that a deliverable under Task 1 of Component 2 is

“minimum four platforms developed to disseminate information about forest resources.” On page

33 under Task 1 of Component 2, the RFP refers to “Five platforms developed to disseminate information about forest resources.” Would USAID please clarify the minimum number of platforms to be developed?

Answer: Sections F.3/ CLIN 002/ Component 2/ Task 1/ Bullet 4 of the RFP is amended to read as “minimum four platforms developed to disseminate information about forest resources.”

Question 5 : On page 90, Section L.7(5)1 asks offerors to list five recent and relevant contracts, noting that “the most relevant indicators of performance are contracts of similar size, type of work, scope of work, and complexity/diversity of tasks.” As the maximum of two pages allotted in the RFP to section of the proposal necessarily limits the amount of information provided, may offerors elaborate on this information by providing past performance reports (short forms) for these contracts as an annex?

Answer: The Section L.7 is amended in the RFP to replace the entire Section L.7(5) with the following :

“L.7(5) PAST PERFORMANCE

The Offerors (including all partners of a consortium) must provide past performance information for itself and each sub-contractor whose total estimated cost exceeds 10% of the total proposed offer in accordance with the following:

1. List in an annex to the technical proposal 5 of the most recent and relevant contracts for efforts similar to the work in the subject proposal. The most relevant indicators of performance are contracts of similar size, type of work, scope of work and complexity/diversity of tasks.

2. Provide for each of these contracts, a list of contact names, job titles, mailing address, phone numbers, e-mail address, and a description of performance to include:

o Scope of Work or complexity/diversity of tasks, o Primary location(s) of work, o Term of performance, o Skills/expertise required, o Dollar value, o Resources leveraged, if any; and o Contract type, i.e. fixed price, cost reimbursement, etc.

(USAID recommends that Offerors alert the contacts that their names have been submitted and that they are authorized to provide performance information concerning the listed contracts if and when USAID requests it.)

3. If extraordinary problems impacted any of the referenced contracts, provide a short explanation and the corrective action taken. (Required by FAR 15.305(a)(2))

4. Describe any quality awards or certifications that indicate exceptional capacity to provide the service or product described in the statement of work. This information is not included in the page limitation.

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

(1) This section „5‟ is not applicable to offers from small business concerns.

(2) USAID will evaluate the extent you 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. 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 with your summary a copy of the most recent SF 294 “Subcontracting Report for Individual Contracts" for at least three contracts per year over the past five years, against which you were required to report.

(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.”

Question 6 : On page 94, Section L.8 B (2) (c) under Subcontracts, the RFP states, “Indirect costs are not allowed for awards to indigenous organizations (see Implementing Partner Notice

IPN 08-006: http://www.usaid.gov/in/working_with_us/ipn.html).” Would USAID consider a deviation from Implementing Partner‟s Notice 08-006 on a case-by-case basis when each of the following conditions is met?

An indigenous organization can provide evidence that it has an accounting system capable of administering a Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee (CPFF) or Time and Materials (T&M) type subcontract

An indigenous organization has audited financial statements for at least the past two years and is committed to annual audits of its indirect cost rates in accordance with the cost principles of FAR Part 31

An indigenous organization has established indirect cost rates and the use of indirect cost rates is an integral part of their cost accounting standards http://www.usaid.gov/in/working_with_us/ipn.html)

The prime contractor has the appropriate subcontract management systems in place to ensure a CPFF or T&M subcontract with an indigenous organization is administered properly

We would appreciate USAID providing offerors the flexibility of entering into CPFF or T&M type subcontracts with indigenous organizations that have the financial and administrative capacity to administer these types of subcontracts. With strong prime contractor oversight and the requirement that indigenous organizations undergo annual audits, these mechanisms would help indigenous organizations acquire the financial and administrative experience to apply for

NICRAs.

Further, managing direct cost allocation subcontracts typically results in a higher financial and administrative burden for prime contractors and reduces overall cost control, because monthly costs vary significantly depending on the services that the subcontractor provides. Indirect cost rate ceilings (under CPFF subcontracts) and fixed multipliers (under T&M subcontracts) reduce the government‟s cost risk of potential indirect cost rate increases and allow the prime contractor to provide higher levels of cost control and financial and administrative oversight.

Answer: Only indigenous organization with already established NICRA with a US federal agency may budget indirect costs in accordance with their most recent approved NICRA. All other indigenous organizations, Prime or Sub, which do not have an approved NICRA shall budget all their costs as direct.

Question 7 : On page 97, Section L.9 references a pre-proposal conference to be held on

November 18, 2011. Would USAID elaborate on the pre-proposal conference agenda and whether the conference will have an impact on RFP requirements that offerors must address in offers prior to the November 30 deadline?

Answer: The RFP is amended to extend the closing date to December 22, 2011. There is no fixed agenda for the pre-proposal conference. The purpose of having the pre-proposal conference is to provide a technical and business overview of the RFP and to allow the participants to network with each other.

Question 8 : Would USAID allow contractors to request waivers for CCN salaries that exceed the Local Compensation Plan provided as Attachment 4 on page 105?

Answer: Yes. Nonetheless, USAID would prefer that offerors propose CCN with salaries within

India mission LCP. The exceptional cases shall be dealt with in accordance with AIDAR

722.170, which requires contractor to seek prior Mission Director approval.

Question 9 : The indicators and targets presented in are for a four-year program, while Forest-

PLUS is being offered as a five-year program. Please clarify if the fifth year is indeed missing or if we are to use the four-year format. Also, please clarify if the targets are cumulative through time.

Answer: The Forest-PLUS is a five year program. Section C.3.d is amended in the RFP to add in the table the following targets for FY16:

Indicator(s) FY 16

Target

1 Number of hectares under demonstration of improved forest management.

2 Quantity of Greenhouse Gas Emissions, measured in metric tons of CO2 equivalent, reduced or sequestered as a result of USG assistance (standard indicator).

3 Number of laws/policies /regulations/ agreements addressing climate change proposed, adopted or implemented as a result of USG assistance (standard indicator).

4 Number of REDD+ tools, technologies and methodologies developed, tested and/or adopted as a result of USG assistance.

5 Funding leveraged from public and private sources for climate change as a result of USG assistance (standard indicator).

6 Number of people receiving training in global climate change as a result of USG assistance (standard indicator).

- Number of men 280

- Number of women 120

7 Number of institutions with improved capacity to address climate change issues as a result of USG assistance (standard indicator).

The targets presented in Section C.3.d of the RFP are annual targets.

Question 10 : Exchange visits are covered under ADS 252 (Visa Compliance for Exchange

Visitors). Has India been granted a 522-5 waiver on the J-1 visa requirements? Are there any special requirements for study tours by Indian nationals, and if so, can the offeror utilize a subcontract with a specialized US concern to facilitate the ADS 252/3/522 policy directives?

Answer: There is no blanket waiver on J-1 visa requirements; however, on case to case basis the

Mission Director can approve such waivers for high level government delegations. In case of

Indian government officials (state as well as central government employees), clearance of their nominations from Government of India‟s Department of Economic Affairs is required. After this, USAID/India works with USAID‟s Bureau for Economic Growth, Agriculture and Trade

(EGAT) in Washington, DC to get the certificate of eligibility for J1 Visa, following ADS 252 guidance. The activities related to getting necessary clearances will be implemented by

USAID/India, and hence no need for the offeror/contactor to sub-contract this.

Question 11 : Section F.4 indicates that the EMMP is a required deliverable by Day 60. This would assume that the sites will have been chosen by then, since the development of the EMMP would be linked to the participatory processes of Component 2. Second, the EMMP is a natural

1 The area under demonstration of improved forest management is only indicative and would vary depending upon the terrain, forest type, and type of management tools to be demonstrated/piloted and the priorities of MOEF.

2 This would depend mainly upon the area under demonstration of improved forest management.

adjunct to the baseline survey, whose methodology is to be delivered by Day 90. Shall we assume that the initial EMMP will be framework document, to be amended as the program rolls out, as per RFP SectionH.20?

Answer: Yes, the EMMP will be a framework document, to be amended and adjusted as the program rolls out.

Question 12 : May we include the Performance in Using Small Business Concerns narrative and

SF-294s in an annex to the technical proposal that does not count against the page limit?

Answer: Yes

Question 13: Are offerors to include a draft Branding Implementation Plan and Marking Plan with submission of the proposal?

Answer: No.

Question 14: May we include an Acronyms list in the technical proposal that does not count against the page limit?

Answer: No

Question 15: Please clarify that offerors are to include CVs for key personnel only.

Answer : Offerors are required to provide CVs for proposed Key personnel as part of the technical proposal.

Question 16: Please clarify what paper size is acceptable for the proposal submission. Will

USAID accept either 8½ x 11” or A4 paper?

Answer: Both A4 & 8 ½ x11 will be accepted.

Question 17: Will USAID and the MOEF have completed a joint decision on mutual areas of scientific interest, including research gaps and geographic preferences, by the time of award, or is it intended that the offeror facilitate this process upon award?

Answer: MOEF and USAID have an understanding on mutual areas of scientific interest in the forestry sector, which is reflected in RFP/Attachment 1 – USAID sustainable landscape assessment for India http://www.usaid.gov/in/working_with_us/pdfs/att_1.pdf. The MOEF is currently working towards identifying areas for pilots and would soon provide its recommendations. However, there will be some flexibility in the final selection of areas during work plan development.

Question 18: Could USAID please provide insight into the selection criteria and MOEF priorities that designated Sunderbans as the first geographic area for deployment of Forest-PLUS.

Answer: Developing carbon estimation methods for mangroves has been identified as one of the priority activity by MOEF, and the Sunderbans being the largest stretch of mangrove forests in

India has been identified as one of the priority areas. The MOEF is currently working towards identifying other areas (covering different forest types) for pilots/deployment of Forest Plus and would soon provide its recommendations.

Question 19: Please verify that the Draft Mobilization Plan to be submitted as part of the

Management Plan does not count against the technical proposal page limitations.

Answer: Draft Mobilization Plan shall be part of the technical proposal and will be counted within the 50 page limit.

Question 20: Does the US Embassy follow a regular schedule for evaluating its New Delhi

Current Local Compensation Plan to keep pace with inflation? The local employee compensation plan provided is current as of January 2010. When will it next be updated?

Answer: The US mission in India follows a regular schedule for evaluating and updating their local staff compensation plan. The offeror shall use their own established pay plan for locally employed staff. The pay scales proposed by the offerors should be in accordance with the guidelines provided in AIDAR 722.170.

Question 21: USAID requests that the cost proposal include a subcontracting plan using SF-294.

The SF-294 is a form typically used to report back on subcontractor usage during implementation. Typically, a subcontracting plan is prepared using the Subcontracting Plan template provided on USAID‟s website. Please clarify.

Answer: The Section L.8.B (2)(c) paragraph titled “subcontract” is amended to delete the sentence “Provide the subcontracting plan using SF-294”.

Question 22: Please verify that fee is applicable to all prime costs, including indirect costs incurred by the prime, as well as all sub-award direct costs, but not sub-award profit and indirect costs.

Answer: The prime contractor is not expected to apply its fee on sub-contractors‟ indirect costs

& fee.

Question 23: Page 97 of the RFP paragraph i) under instructions to cost proposal states that offerors should include audited balance sheet and profit and loss statements or if not available, returns as submitted to the federal tax authorities. Can USAID confirm that a firm that holds a

NICRA, has to include this information?

Answer : The RFP is amended to delete Section L.8.B(2)(i) and mark it as RESERVED.

Question 24: Would USAID please verify that indigenous organizations may use indirect rates if they have a current NICRA?

Answer: Only indigenous organization with already established NICRA with a US federal agency may budget indirect costs in accordance with their most recent approved NICRA. All other indigenous organizations that do not have an approved NICRA shall budget all their costs as direct.

Question 25: Can USAID estimate the number of people who should be included in each of the program‟s pilot projects; and/or, the total dollar value of the program‟s pilot projects.

Answer: The offerors are expected to come up with innovative approaches for conducting the pilots, and accordingly plan/budget the human and financial resources required for conducting the innovative pilots.

Question 26: Several of the program‟s anticipated activities and deliverables relate to inventories and estimations of the carbon stock in India‟s forests. Under the REDD+ framework, another key issue is establishing baseline data to determine deforestation rates. Could USAID clarify if bidders should include this activity in their proposals?

Answer: Establishing baseline data for estimating deforestation rates is not part of the scope of this contract.

Question 27: Section L.7 instructs that developmental assistance provided by prime contractors to the local partner may not exceed $200,000 over the life of the 5-year contract (pg 90). Could

USAID clarify if the cap is to limit assistance to $200,000 per local partner over the life of the contract, or to limit assistance to $200,000 for all local partners over the life of the contract?

Answer: It is the total amount cap/limit of $200,000 that the offeror can budget towards capacity buiding of the local partners under Task 5 of Section C.3d.

Question 28: Section L.9.invites bidders to attend a pre-proposal conference to discuss the requirements of this solicitation on November 18, 2011 in New Delhi. Given the requirement for hard-copy delivery and the transit time this requires, could USAID consider changing the proposal deadline so that bidders have time to integrate new insights into their proposals before the deadline?

Answer: The Closing date/time of the RFP is extended to 10AM on December 22, 2011.

Question 29: On page 84 of the RFP, it states "Proposals may be sent by international air courier or delivered by hand." If Offerors submit proposals via international air courier, would USAID kindly allow proposals which are post-marked by the due date to be accepted as on-time submissions?

Answer : No. The Hard copies of the proposal must reach at the address provided in RFP Section

L.6.2 on or before the Closing time & date for the receipt of proposal stated in the RFP.

Question 30: In the Illustrative Budget Format given in Attachment 3 "Entitlement Travel" is given as a category under "Travel, Transportation and Per Diem." Could USAID clarify what type of travel falls under this category?

Anwer: It refers to the allowable and allocable “Allowances” associated with home leave travel

& R&R travel for the expat staff. All such travel expenses budgeted must be in accordance with offerors‟ policies and procedures

Question 31: In the Illustrative Budget Format given in Attachment 3 there appears to be two lines for fringe costs: "Fringe Benefits" and "Fringes if applicable". Similarly, there are two categories for Overhead: "Overhead" and "Material Overhead". Please clarify.

Anwer: The budget format provided in the the Attahment 3 is only for illustrative purpose.

Submit your NICRA using the categories listed on the NICRA.

Question 32: In the interest of having comparable cost proposals across bidders, could USAID please provide guidance on how the benefits not included in salaries listed on page 105 (such as the Bonus, Provident Fund, Superannuation Fund, Gratuity, and insurance benefits) are calculated and whether or not these should be included in bidder‟s cost proposals?

Anwer: The offeors may budget for allowable and allocable allowances as per their firm‟s written policies and procedure in this regard.

Question 33: Please confirm whether charts such as the table summarizing qualifications of proposed personnel and the Management Structure Organization Chart can be included in the

Technical Proposal as a non-counting page.

Answer: As listed under Section L.6.1, the above stated information can be presented in annexes not subject to page limitations.

Question 34: Page 87-88 of the RFP provides specific position descriptions of four Key

Personnel. Can the position descriptions of the personnel be adjusted across the four positions to complement the Offeror‟s management approach as long as the management team‟s skill set remains responsive to the RFP?

Answer : No

Question 35: Sections F.7 & H.24 and their compliance with FAR 19.702(b)(3) – Since the contract place of performance shall be India, is it still required to submit a subcontracting plan?

FAR 19.702(b)(3) states that subcontracting plans are not required for contracts or contract modifications that will be performed entirely outside of the United States and its outlying areas.

Please clarify.

Answer : Offerors are required to submit their subcontracting plans.

Question 36: Section H.6 “Authorized Geographic Code” is limited to 000 (expanded to include the Cooperating Country (India)). Is it possible to revise the geographic code to 935 taking into consideration size and complexity of the project?

Answer : No.

Question 37: USAID often requests SF-LLL from each contractor and subcontractor. The forms are not mentioned here; please confirm that they are not required for the proposal.

Answer : SF-LLL is mentioned in Part II, Section J of the RFP. Offerors can download the form from http://www.usaid.gov/forms/ and submit the completed forms as part of the Cost Proposal.

Question 38: Page 83 (L.6.1) lists acceptable annexes to the proposal. Are contractors limited to these annexes?

Answer : Yes

Question 39: Please confirm that all activities and deliverables per Component/Task are required and not suggested activities and deliverables.

Question 40: Page 90 (L.7 (5) 2.) requires five of the most recent and relevant contracts for similar efforts to the work in the subject proposal. Are 5 past performance reports required for each member in the consortium or are 5 required of the entire consortium?

Answer: Please refer to the question no. 5 above. In case of a consortium, the proposal must include past performance information for all partners of the consortium.

Question 41: Are the local organizations described on page 22 to be treated like subcontractors

(are they required to submit the same paperwork and supporting documents)?

Question 42: On page 95 of the RFP, the section on “Fixed Fee” reads: “FAR 15.404-4 provides for establishing the profit or fee portion of the Government pre-negotiation objective, and provides profit-analysis factors for analyzing profit or fee. Proposed fee with rationale supported by application of the profit-analysis factors. It is not expected that fee will be applied to other than direct costs for sub awards (i.e. not on profit or indirect costs).” Please confirm that we will be able to apply fee on all direct and indirect costs for subcontracts, while fee will only be applied to direct costs for sub awards.

Answer: The prime contractor is not expected to apply its fee on sub-contractors‟ indirect costs

& fee.

Question 43: Over the past 30 days, the Rupee has fluctuated in a range from 48.6 to 49.9. This is significantly different from the RFP-mandated rate of 45.9. Would USAID consider revising the exchange rate number, or setting a date for which the official exchange rate of that day could be used?

http://www.usaid.gov/forms/

Answer: The exchange rate provided in the RFP is for maintaining consistency among all

Offerors. The Section L.8.B(2)(c) of the RFP is amended to change the exchange rate listed under paragraph “subcontracts” to INR 49.00 = US$ 1.