SOL-486-16-000007_-_Amendment_No._1.pdf

Solicitation No. SOL-486-16-000007

Amendment No. 01

A. SPECIFIC CHANGES TO THE SOLICITATION

1. SECTION B - SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICE/COSTS

1.1. In Section “B.5 FIXED FEE CEILING (Cost-Plus- Fixed-Fee Task Orders Only)”, paragraph (a), delete the following sentence “This fee ceiling is not applicable to Grants under Contracts (GUCs), if any, or other costs that have a separate fee ceiling established in the contract.”

2. SECTION L – INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS, AND NOTICES TO OFFERORS

OR RESPONDENTS

2.1. In Section “L.5 DELIVERY INSTRUCTIONS” delete the sentence “The proposal

(both Volumes I & II) must be submitted both in hard copy and on electronic media

(email and CD-ROM) using PDF for text submissions and MS Excel for spreadsheet submissions (must be accessible by MS Excel 2010).” And replace it with the following:

“The proposal (both Volumes I & II) must be submitted both in hard copy and on electronic media (email) using PDF for text submissions and MS Excel for spreadsheet submissions (must be accessible by MS Excel 2010).”

2.2. In Section “L.6.3.1 Technical Approach – TO No. 1” add the following at the end:

“NOTE 2: USAID discourages the use of exclusivity agreements in partnering arrangements.”

2.3. In Section “L.7 INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE PREPARATION OF THE

COST/BUSINESS PROPOSAL”, Part 2, second paragraph, delete the following sentence: “Offerors must provide a narrative justifying the rates for each cost category proposed with supporting information such as historical biodata forms used, Defense

Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) forward pricing agreements, other federal Contract rates, market research support, and payroll records.” and replace it with the following:

“Offerors must provide a narrative justifying the rates for each cost category proposed with supporting information as further specified under the following cost categories.”

2.4. In Section “L.7 INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE PREPARATION OF THE

COST/BUSINESS PROPOSAL”, Part 2, Paragraph “1. Direct Labor Salary and

Wages” add the following at the end of the first paragraph:

“Offerors must provide a narrative justifying the rates proposed with supporting information such as historical biodata forms used, Defense Contract Audit Agency

(DCAA) forward pricing agreements, other federal Contract rates, market research support, and payroll records.”

2.5. In Section “L.7 INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE PREPARATION OF THE

COST/BUSINESS PROPOSAL”, Part 2, Paragraph “8. Other Direct Costs” delete the paragraph starting with “Costs related to Conferences and Meetings” in its entirety and replace it with the following:

“Costs related to Conferences and Meetings: As specified under Objective 4 of TO No.

1, the contractor will provide logistics and technical support in the conduct of meetings and conferences for CWT USAID implementing partners. USAID estimates the minimum cost required for Objective 4 meetings and conferences is $100,000 per year

(exclusive of indirect costs) for each of the five years. Offerors may propose costs in excess of this minimum. If additional costs are proposed in excess of the above estimates, offerors should provide details of the basis for the amount proposed.”

3. ATTACHMENTS

3.1. In “ATTACHMENT 3”, Section “Performance in Using Small Business (SB)

Concerns” delete the last sentence and replace it with the following:

“This information cannot exceed two pages total for the Offeror and two pages for each major subcontractor, if applicable.”

3.2. In “ATTACHMENT 7” delete the local compensation table and replace it with the following:

“Countries/ (Local

Currency)

40 HRS/Week

Junior

Level/Laborer Clerical Level

Mid-Level/Sr.

Admin/Assistant

Senior

Level/Specialist

Min. Max. Min. Max. Min. Max. Min. Max.

Thailand (THB)(Bangkok)

(as 8/9/2015)

153,683

384,247

251,050

634,740

480,033

1,143,229

863,567

2,859,507

China I (RMB)

(Beijing, Shanghai, and

Guangzhou)

40,892

84,038

62,414

118,018

90,462 198,763

159,611 436,708

China II (RMB)

(Chengdu and Shenyang)

37,621

77,321

57,421

108,580

83,225 182,863

146,842 401,769

Cambodia (USD)

3,129

7,403

5,863

13,123

9,404 23,117

20,428 47,614

Laos (USD) (as of 7/4/2010)

4,135

7,880

5,649

10,747

7,649 14,445

12,794 25,144

Vietnam (USD)

3,434

7,471

5,714

10,539

9,023 23,127

18,522 49,928

Senior level (Technical/Sr. Support staff i.e. Accounting, Financial Annalist/ Procurement/IT) =

FSN 10-12

Mid-level (Technical assistant/Admin/Secretary/Accountant/HR/Procurement/IT) = FSN 7-9

Clerical level (Junior secretary/Receptionist/Supply clerk) = FSN 4-6

Laborer (Driver, Mail clerk, Janitor, Operator, etc.) = FSN 1-3”

B. ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS RECEIVED FROM INTERESTED PARTIES UNDER

THE SOLICITATION

1. Question: Section B.5 – Fixed Fee Ceiling on page 10 of the RFP states that the fee ceiling is not applicable to Grants under Contracts (GUCs). However, there is no mention of GUCs in Section L.7 – Instructions for the Preparation of the Cost/Business Proposal.

Please clarify if there is a grants component under Task Order 1.

Answer: There is no GUC component included in Task Order 1.

2. Question: Section B.5 – Fixed Fee Ceiling on page 10 of the RFP states that “the fee ceiling is not applicable to Grants under Contracts (GUCs), if any, or other costs that have a separate fee ceiling established in the contract.” Please clarify if Offerors are allowed to charge a fee on GUCs on future task orders under this IDIQ.

Answer: The referenced language was removed from the solicitation in this Amendment.

3. Question: Section B.7 – Labor on page 10 of the RFP states “unless otherwise authorized by USAID, the compensation for Foreign Service National (FSN)/Cooperating Country

National (CCN) and Third Country National (TCN) labor must not exceed the prevailing compensation paid to personnel performing comparable work in the cooperating country as determined by USAID and must be paid in the currency of the cooperating country. The

RFP only provides a Local Compensation Plan for Thailand. For Offerors to be responsive to this requirement, can USAID provide the current FSN scales for Cambodia, Laos, and

China?

Answer: Please see the revised solicitation with partially dated LCP information currently available.

4. Question: Section B.9 – Ceiling on Indirect Cost Rates on page 12 of the RFP states that

Offerors are required to propose ceilings for indirect rates. Please confirm if this is only required for the Prime contractor.

Answer: Confirmed.

5. Question: Section L.5 – Delivery Instructions on page 88 states that the proposal must be submitted both in hard copy and on electronic media. Would USAID consider extending the timeframe for receipt of hard copy submissions to 7 days following the electronic submission?

Answer: No.

6. Question: L.7 – Instructions for the Preparation of the Cost/Business Proposal on page 94 of the RFP states that “Offerors must provide a narrative justifying the rates for each cost category proposed with supporting information such as historical biodata forms used, Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) forward pricing agreements, other federal

Contract rates, market research support, and payroll records.” Please confirm that a detailed budget narrative covering each cost category mentioned above is sufficient to meet this requirement.

Answer: The quoted language was moved to “Direct Labor Salary and Wages”. The language under the general section of Part 2 is revised as follows: “Offerors must provide a narrative justifying the rates for each cost category proposed with supporting information as further specified under the following cost categories”.

7. Question: Section L.7 –Instructions for the Preparation of the Cost/Business proposal, Other Direct Costs on page 96 of the RFP states that the cost related to conferences and meetings is $100,000 per year (exclusive of indirect costs). Please clarify if this is a plug figure and whether Offerors can propose a different amount.

Answer: See Amendment.

8. Question: Section L.7 – Instructions for the Preparation of the Cost/Business Proposal on page 97 states that Offerors should include, as part of their proposal, their approach to achieving environmental compliance and management. Please clarify whether USAID expects the Offeror to include this information as part of its cost proposal or as a non-counting annex to the technical proposal.

Answer: Please provide the information as part of the cost proposal.

9. Question: Whereas the pre-solicitation listed Myanmar as a focal country for the first

Task Order, the RFTOP does not. Please confirm that this was either intended or an oversight.

Answer: The change was intended.

10. Question: Presuming that fronting or financing the significant up-front costs of project launch would prohibit some non-profits from priming this contract, would USAID consider structuring the contract to allow for up-front disbursements?

Answer: Advance payments are not authorized under this Contract.

11. Question: Since we understand that prime contractors handle ODC directly in most cases, will RDMA support cases in which contractors provide sub-awards for distinct activities to consortium partners that are in a strong position to implement the activity, presuming the partner demonstrates an ability to account for all costs and ensures they are allowable ones?

Answer: If the prime contractor proposes to contract services out to another organization through a subcontract, a consent to subcontract must be requested from the Contracting

Officer in accordance with FAR Subpart 44.2. The prime contractor is responsible for ensuring that all costs under the subcontract are allowable, allocable and reasonable. It is also the responsibility of the prime contractor to ensure the subcontract is awarded to a responsible organization. USAID does not have privity of contract or any contractual relationship with a subcontractor. USAID has no preference in terms of the types of allowable costs incurred by the prime as opposed to subcontractors.

12. Question: If an organization decides to prime on a bid for this contract, can that same organization be listed in consortia for other bids for this same contract?

Answer: Yes. A prime contractor may be a subcontractor on another proposal.

13. Question: Does this RFP cover direct work in South Asia (any SAWEN member states) or just work with SAWEN secretariat? The RFP is explicit, but we also note that the RFP was explicit with its geographic focus. Or is SA an ancillary, optional geographic focus only?

Answer: The IDIQ is open for all Asian countries but for TO1, the Activity’s geographic scope is defined as ASEAN countries with a focus on the Lower Mekong (Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia) and China.

14. Question: In Section L.6.3.2, p91, there is a statement that: ‘USAID strongly discourages the use of exclusivity agreements’. Does this pertain to Key Staffing and Personnel only, or to other arrangements associated with the preparation of a proposal?

Answer: USAID strongly discourages the use of exclusivity agreements for both key personnel and subcontracting arrangements. The solicitation is amended to highlight this.

15. Question: In Section C4 of Task Order 1, p109, there is a description of geographic focus for the Scope of Work: ‘..ASEAN countries with a focus on the Lower Mekong (Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia) and China.’

- Does this mean that activities in other ASEAN countries will also be permitted if relevant to the delivery of TO objectives?

Answer: Yes. The contractor will work closely with the TOCOR to determine countries to implement in Southeast Asian countries.

- Does this indicate that funding for the TO, and subsequent TOs, will not be applicable to Myanmar?

Answer: See answer above.

16. Question: In the description of TO Objective 2.3, p118, there are remarks about the

ASEAN Secretariat with respect to the support of ASEAN Member Countries for ASEAN-

WEN. Wherein the statement: ‘…lack of budget support from member nations for secretariat activities…’ becomes potentially confusing. Our understanding is that the

‘member nations’ are already supporting the ASEAN Secretariat on many activities. The question is what did the evaluation identify on lack of budget support – was it for the co-ordination unit, and joint activities by the member nations on wildlife enforcement co-operation?

Answer: The Mid-Term evaluation of the ARREST program (Attachment 9 of the solicitation) should provide further insight into the challenges faced by ASEAN Wildlife

Enforcement Network (WEN) including budget support and sustainability.

17. Question: Also on p118, there are references to the US ‘IR 1.1’ and its focus on improving regional institutional management of natural capital in partnership with ASEAN.

- What is ‘IR1.1’ – and does it refer to any relevant agreements does the US have with ASEAN, or via the ASEAN Secretariat, that will bolster the support and ‘mandate’ outlined by USAID for this RFP solicitation?

Answer: IR 1.1 refers to the USAID/RDMA’s Regional Development Cooperation

Strategy for Asia (RDCS). IR 1.1 is the Improved Management of Natural Capital to which this IDIQ may contribute. A full copy of RDCS document can be found at https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1861/RDMA%20RDCS%20Public%2

0Version%20Final%2012-2014.pdf

- Is this ‘IR1.1’ with the ASEAN Secretariat, the ASEAN member countries, or simply through ASEAN-WEN/ACB/ASEANAPOL as listed?

Answer: Please refer to the above answer.

- If these are the three ASEAN entities most significant to be brought together, presumably the ASEAN SOMTC would be similarly important?

Answer: Please refer to the above answer.

18. Question: In Task 3.2 on p120, there is mention about ‘species status’ monitoring, and

‘threats assessment’. Is this shorthand for species in trade, and thus threatened by trade?

Does it refer to the priority species already identified in the TO? We presume it does not mean conducting wild population surveys or inventories, but rather the monitoring of trade levels, source-to-market patterns, and the threats posed by trade in comparison to a baseline of wild population integrity for priority species subjected to wildlife trafficking. Please clarify.

Answer: This task aims to monitor the trends and status of key species, synthesize information and distribute to decision makers. It does not aim to conduct wild population surveys.

19. Question: In Section L7, p94, there is a Total Estimated Cost for TO1, which ranges from

USD21m to USD23m. Could you please clarify if there are any estimates of ‘weighting’ between Objectives 1, 2, 3 and 4 as stated in the task order – i.e. what proportion of the

USD21-23m would be allocated to each of the Objectives?

https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1861/RDMA%20RDCS%20Public%20Version%20Final%2012-2014.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1861/RDMA%20RDCS%20Public%20Version%20Final%2012-2014.pdf

Answer: No estimates are provided.

20. Question: RFP p. 87-88, Section L.5 (a) and (b): Would USAID accept electronic submissions by the established due date, with hard copies to be delivered within 7 days?

This would allow offerors additional time for shipping. The estimated time for shipping from the Washington, D.C., metro area to Bangkok is 5-8 calendar days.

21. Question: RFP p. 88, Section L.5: Offerors are instructed to submit the proposal in both hard copy and electronic media. Please confirm that submission via email will suffice for offerors’ electronic media requirement and submission of a CD-ROM is not required.

Answer: Confirmed. Email submission is sufficient, USAID is not requesting CD-ROM submissions. The solicitation is amended to reflect this.

22. Question: RFP p. 88, Section L.5: If submission of CD-ROMs are required, please confirm the number of copies offerors are to provide.

Answer: No CD-ROMs are requested.

23. Question: RFP p. 90, Section L.6.2: Please confirm that the technical proposal cover page is excluded from the 30-page limit.

Answer: Confirmed.

24. Question: RFP p. 93, Section L.6.3.5.D.3.a and Section L.6.3.5.D.3.c: Given the RFP instructions for offerors’ use of small business concerns, would USAID please consider removing the page limits for small business information so that offerors can fully address the requirements?

Answer: The page limitation is revised to two pages total for the Offeror and two pages for each major subcontractor.

25. Question: RFP p. 95, Section L.7, Part 2: “Offerors must provide a narrative justifying the rates for each cost category proposed with supporting information such as historical biodata forms used, Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) forward pricing agreements, other federal Contract rates, market research support, and payroll records.” Could USAID please confirm that “cost category” refers to types of costs such as Salaries and Wages; Travel, Transportation, and Per Diem; etc. and not to labor categories?

Answer: See answer to Question No. 6.

26. Question: We appreciate the inclusion of the Local Compensation Plan for Thailand.

Would USAID consider providing the Local Compensation Plans for China, Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia?

27. Question: Would USAID consider removing the requirement for hard copy submission of technical and cost proposals, and accept electronic submission only? (Page 89, Section

L.5.b)

28. Question: If hard copy submission remains a requirement, would USAID allow offerors to submit electronic copies by the due date and time specified in the cover letter of the solicitation and submit hard copies no later than seven (7) days after the closing date? The recently released USAID “Pacific Climate Ready” RFP allows for this staggered submission of electronic and hard copies, which will maximize the time offerors can spend developing their proposals, thereby ensuring the highest possible quality of offers for

USAID.

Answer: No changes are made to the submission requirements.

29. Question: How will USAID coordinate activities and objectives under this activity, and with the USAID/Vietnam Counter Wildlife Trafficking activity (SOL-440-16-000003)?

(Page 113, Annex 1; Section C4.3; Task 1.2)

Answer: USAID/RDMA and USAID/Vietnam have regular communications. In fact, all

USAID/RDMA activities are coordinated with relevant bilateral Missions.

30. Question: Can USAID please confirm that bidders should regard this estimate as a plug figure and that all bidders should budget $100,000 per year (exclusive of indirect costs) for meetings and conferences? (Page 96, Section L.7.8 Other Direct Costs – Costs related to

Conferences and Meetings)

Answer: See Amendment.

31. Question: Attachment 7 provides an LCP for Thailand. Since this is the regional project, can USAID kindly provide the LCP information for Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and China?

32. Question: Would USAID clarify the status of existing bilateral agreements on tax exemptions in countries of performance of Task Order 1 (Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and China)? This information would help offerors to prepare a budget in compliance with Clause I.7 52.229-8 TAXES - FOREIGN COST-REIMBURSEMENT

CONTRACTS”

Answer: Consistent with USAID’s position worldwide, it is our expectation that our assistance funding will not be taxed.

33. Question: Would USAID consider revising the clause I.14 to specify that the implementer shall obtain the approvals from TOCO (or TOCOR if delegated by TOCO), not the IDIQ

CO?

34. Question: Page 88 of the RFP notes that proposals should be submitted in hard copy and electronic media (email and CD-ROM). Would USAID confirm the number of CD ROM copies that offerors should submit?

Answer: No CD-ROMs are requested. The solicitation is amended to reflect this.

[END OF AMENDMENT NO. 01]