Sol Questions.doc

SOLICITATION SOL-504-10-000003-00

Guyana HIV/AIDS Management and Capacity Building

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS FOR SOLICITATION

1. Are local for profit consulting firms able to bid on this opportunity?

Yes, this solicitation is open to for-profit firms. This is far more than consulting, it is actually helping NGOs administratively, financially and technically manage their USAID awards. This builds capacity in local organizations to be able to provide full financial management and technical management of their current awards.

2. Can a US based for profit Firm Bid on this opportunity in partnership with a local for profit firm?

The Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition says the lead organization must be registered in Guyana. Yes a US company can bid, but they will need to show they have been operating in Guyana and are part of the local business community there. Registration under Guyanese law may require a year or two, so USAID is looking more favorably at already registered operations.

3. Is this opportunity restricted to a local NGO?

No, a “for profit” or “not for profit” NGO can prepare a proposal, as can a commercial firm that provides these services.

4.

We have reviewed the solicitation but we are unable to find the information on the standards for determining an organization as a local guyanese organization in the RFP.

Throughout the RFP and particularly in Sections L and M, there are various statements that will help USAID determine whether a company is a working, functioning company in Guyana. This will include certification by the government and the organization’s current relationships in the greater Guyana community.

5. Kindly confirm whether the thirty (30) pages assigned for the Technical Proposal is intended to absorb the response for all six (6) technical evaluation criteria, or the 30-page limit is intended for, evaluation criteria #1, the “Technical Approach to Achieve the Expected Results?”

The 30 page limitation is intended to absorb the response for all six technical evaluation criteria.

6. Please provide an insight into the timing of the fiscal cycle. While it is clear the specific date of the Award is yet “TBD,” there are operational concerns whether the current October 1st through September 30th fiscal-cycle would be changed to January 1st through December 31st.

USAID operates on the Oct 1 through Sep 30 fiscal cycle which means reports and other deliverables will be gauged on that cycle. This may be a point of negotiations should the winning proposal need some adjustments to that cycle.

7. With regard to the scope of work, request is hereby made for a review and elimination of item # 15 of task # 7. The reason being, based on the current operational practices, task # 7, item # 15, (Work with partner organizations to ensure that monthly budgets are prepared and submitted to the CPA firm for approval before incurring expenditures) would contravene the current practice, and its introduction would therefore create tremendous administrative delays, as required by task # 10 (The Contractor shall assure that funds are available as needed by partner organizations and that funds will not be subject to administrative delays.) The CPA firm being a separate entity operating under different systems and management, and in different location would not lend to the appropriate synergy in the administration of the award and a mechanism to respond to the emergency needs of the NGOs.

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8. I was wondering if the time proposals are to be submitted for the solicitation mentioned in the subject line of this e-mail is 11:59PM, and not AM on AUG 11 2010. Thank you for all of your assistance with these inquiries.

No, the timing is 11:59 AM on August 11