Questions Answers - SOL-514-12-000001

SOL-514-12-000001

Access to Justice Activity (AJA)

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

1. USAID states on the cover page of the RFP, and in Section F.4 Period of Performance on page 34, that the anticipated duration of the program is four (4) years. However, Section L.11 Instructions for the Preparation of the Cost/Business Proposal, subsection (16) Potential Government Funding (page 87 in the RFP) refers to “…the five year contract term.” Would you please confirm that the period of performance for this project is four years?

Answer: The period of performance for this contract is four (4) years from the date of award of the contract. Please note that L.11 (16) has been amended to replace incorrect contract term language.

2. On page 20 of the RFP in Section C.4.1.1 –Promote greater access to justice at the community level by establishing and strengthening Justice Houses, it discusses Contractor support to the Justice Houses as follows:

“The Contractor must provide support in training, outreach, and equipment/furniture for 8 of the 17 Justice Houses to be established from 2012-2104….”

Could USAID please provide a plug figure for furniture and equipment that Offerors should use in budgeting for the 8 Justice Houses?

Answer: The plug figure is $125,000 per justice house. However, please see the answer to Question #48, below.

3. Further to the question immediately above, Footnote 18 on pages 20 and 21 of the RFP, states:

“When MJL completes its 2014-2018 planning cycle and articulates the number of Justice Houses to be established during this period, as well as its continued support for existing Justice Houses, USAID/Colombia, in coordination with the Contractor, will determine the nature of its support to the National Program of Justice Houses. For the purposes of its cost proposal, offerors should assume support for the establishment of three Justice Houses in the third and fourth years of the project and provision of a similar level of support for other activities relating to the Justice Houses as in the first and second years of the contract.”

Could you please provide additional information as to what is included in “support for the establishment of…?” Does this include construction costs and/or refurbishment? If so, could you please provide a plug figure for offerors to use for budgeting purposes?

Answer: “Support for the establishment of” includes provision of equipment, training, and outreach.

Please see answer to Question 2, above, for the plug figure.

4. Section L.9 Proposal Format and Content on page 76 of the RFP lists “Individual Letters of Commitment from Key Personnel” and “Letters of Commitment (Subcontractors)” as two items to be included in annexes to the Technical Proposal. However, Section L.11 Instructions for the Preparation of the Cost/Business Proposal L, (9) Letters of Commitment (Subcontractors) and (10) Biographical Data Sheets and Individual Letters of Commitment (pages 85-86 of the RFP) stipulate that Letters of Commitment from Subcontractors and Key Personnel should be included in the Cost/Business Proposal.

Can USAID please clarify if LOCs from Subcontractors and Key Personnel should be included with the Technical Proposal, Cost/Business Proposal, or both?

Answer: Please include the “Individual Letters of Commitment from Key Personnel” and “Letters of Commitment (Subcontractors)” as an annex/exhibit in the Technical Proposal. All Biographical Data Sheets (Key and Non-Key Personnel) and Individual Letters of Commitment from Non-Key Personnel must be included as part of the Cost/Business Proposal.

Please also include copies of the “Letters of Commitment (Subcontractors)” in the Cost/Business Proposal. Please note that L.9 (5) has been amended to include the “Letters of Commitment (Subcontractors)” in the list of items required as part of the Cost/Business Proposal.

5. Page 78 of the RFP, in General Instructions to Offerors, Section L.8(2) requires electronic submission in “Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, etc.) and/or WordPerfect in a MS Windows environment.” Given that a large part of the Cost Proposal includes scanned documents and/or certifications with signatures, many of which do not exist in an MS Word or Excel format (NICRAs, Representations and Certifications, Biodata forms, letters of commitment, etc.), would it be acceptable to submit the Cost Proposal in PDF, with the budget provided in MS Excel and the budget narrative in MS Word?

Answer: Yes, it is acceptable to submit the Cost Proposal in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format, however the budget must be provided in and unlocked version of MS Excel (showing formulas and cell properties) and the budget narrative must be submitted in MS Word.

6. On page 84 of the RFP, in the Instructions for Preparation of the Cost/Business Proposal , Section L.11

(6) Subcontracting Plan provides the USAID’s subcontracting goals for 2012 and 2013 as follows:

Small Business 26.5% Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business 3.0% Small Disadvantaged Businesses (includes Section 8(a)) 5.0% Woman-Owned Small Business 5.0% Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) Zone Small Business 3.0%

Can USAID please clarify if the goals specified above are required to be included in Offerors Small Business Subcontracting Plans?

Answer: The numbers listed above reflect the goals of the Agency, of which we always encourage all prospective offerors to meet or exceed them. Offerors are required to include your own goals in the Small Business Subcontracting Plan that you submit.

7. Further to the question above, if the listed goals are required, would USAID consider amending this requirement and allow offerors to propose the maximum US Small Business Subcontracting practical, balanced against the requirement for subcontracting with Local Organizations?

These goals seem to require that 42.5% of total subcontracting be set aside for all categories of US Small Business Concerns, through 5 different types of business organizations. Utilizing the above goals, for each $57,500 contracted through local organizations, we would need to contract an additional $42,500 to US Small Businesses, in order to meet the SB Subcontracting goals, as a percentage of total subcontracts.

Answer: Offerors are not required to meet the above listed goals, as mentioned in the answer to Question 6. USAID’s subcontracting goals for 2012 and 2013 were included so offerors would use them as a reference for putting together the proposal’s Subcontracting Plan.

8. On page 87 of the RFP, in the Instructions for Preparation of the Cost/Business Proposal, Section L. 11

(15) Access to Justice Grants Fund, it states: “The Contractor is required to submit an initial Grants

Management Guide as part of the proposal.” However, the Grants Management Guide is not included in the list of items to be included with the Cost Proposal found on page 76, Section L.9(5) Proposal Format and Content.

Can you please confirm that the Grants Management Guide should be included as an attachment to the Cost/Business Proposal?

Answer: Offerors are required to submit the Grants Management Guide as part of the Cost/Business Proposal. Please note that L.9 (5) has been amended to include the Grants Management Guide in the list of items required as part of the Cost/Business Proposal.

9. Would USAID please confirm that the grants plug figure annotated in Footnote 31 (indicates $50k/year grant for CISPA) is in addition to the $400,000 grants fund plug noted on page 15 of the RFP?

Answer: The plug figure of $50,000 mentioned in Footnote 31 is in addition to the $400,000 grants plug figure on page 15.

10. Could Contractors propose a grants fund that is larger than $100,000 per year or $400,000 over the life of the contract stated on page 15 of the RFP?

Answer: Contractors should not propose a grants fund that is larger than $100,000 per year or $400,000 for the life of the contract.

11. The cover letter of the RFP notes that it will be a 4 year contract, while other sections of the RFP mention that the duration is five years (Page 87 section 14 – Other Price and Cost Detail Instructions paragraphs one and two and 16- Potential Government Funding). Would USAID please clarify if the intended award for the above referenced RFP will be a four or five year completion type contract?

Answer: Please see answer to Question #1.

12. Page 29 says COP is required personnel and that offeror can propose up to 5 key personnel specified on page 30 as COP, DCOP, Justice House and ADR Component Coordinator, Gender Component Coordinator, Justice Reform Component Coordinator. However, on page 86 it states “The offeror shall propose which positions/individuals are considered key/essential in the work performed.” Could USAID please confirm that the 5 key personnel positions on page 30 are the required ones?

Answer: The 5 key personnel positions listed on page 30 are the required ones.

13. On page 20 of the RFP in the last paragraph, USAID indicates that the contractor must provide support for 8 justice houses during the period of 2012 to 2014. Footnote18 states “For purposes of its cost proposal, offerors should assume support for the establishment of three justice houses in the third and fourth years of the project…) Does the footnote mean 3 houses in each of the 3 and 4 years or a total of 14 over the life of the project?

Answer: The contractor must support a total of three justice houses for the third and fourth years of the project. However, please see the answer to Question #48, below.

14. Are the numbers of seconded personnel (page 16) left to the discretion of the contractor in the proposal or does USAID have a plug figure for the number?

Answer: The intent of this guidance is to transition certain members of AJA to the employment of the Government of Colombia. It is within the offeror’s discretion to determine the “who, how, where, and when” of this transition.

15. We have found that other bidders are requesting and issuing exclusivity letters for local professional personnel. Would USAID please reiterate your statement of non-exclusivity agreements?

Answer: As already stated in the RFP’s Cover Letter, offerors are reminded that “exclusivity agreements with local organizations and individuals are strongly discouraged by USAID.”

16. May Offerors submit their proposals in Adobe PDF format?

Answer: Please see answer to Question #5.

17. RFP p. 87, paragraph (15) states, “The Contractor is required to submit an initial Grants Management Guide as part of the proposal.” Should this be included as an item in the Cost/Business proposal?

Answer: Please see answer to Question #8.

18. May Offerors include the past performance information requested in Paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) on pages 79-80 of the RFP (extraordinary problems, quality awards or certifications, and performance using small business concerns) in Annex 1, Contractor Performance Information?

Answer: Yes.

19. Page 76 of the RFP indicates that “Letters of Commitment (Subcontractors)” are to be included as an annex to the Technical Proposal, but p. 85 of the RFP, paragraph (9) lists Letters of Commitment (Subcontractors) as a section of the Cost/Business Proposal. Should Letters of Commitment from Subcontractors be included as an annex to the Technical Proposal, or with the Cost/Business Proposal?

Answer: Please see answer to Question #4.

20. Sections C and L refer to “key personnel”. Section M (RFP Page 91, paragraph 3) refers to “Key Long-term personnel”. Please confirm that “Key long term personnel” is not a separate or unique Key Personnel category.

Answer: “Key long term personnel” is not a separate or unique Key Personnel category.

21. RFP Section L, paragraph (c) (p. 78) instructs Offerors that the Small Business Utilization plan is separate from the Small Business Subcontracting Plan that will be included in the Cost Proposal. RFP Section M, paragraph (c) (top of RFP p. 91) explains that the government will evaluate Small Business Subcontracting Plan and goals. Should this provision be included in the Cost Evaluation Factors, or are you referring here to the Small Business Utilization Plan?

Answer: We are referring to the Small Business Utilization approach that offerors should include as part of the Management Approach and Capability section of their Technical Proposal, which should include the identification of specific small businesses which will perform work under the contract, if known; the extent of commitment to use small business concerns; and the types and amount of work to be performed by small businesses.

*Please note that this information is separate from the required Subcontracting Plan, which includes the offerors Small Business Subcontracting plan/goals, to be made part of the contract at Section J. Your Subcontracting Plan must be included as part of your Cost/Business Proposal.

22. Please clarify whether the Table of Contents and/or Title Pages are included in the 60-page limit. RFP p.

75, Section L.9.(3) iii. states, “Title pages and tables of contents are included from the page counts…” but RFP p. 75, Section L.9.(4) states “The Sixty (60) Page Limitation stated above for the Technical Proposal is inclusive of … Table of Contents; Title Pages ….”

Answer: The Table of Contents and Title Pages are included in the 40-page limit, per Amendment #1 to the RFP posted on FBO.

23. In C.4.2.2, the RFP requires the Contractor to “join with DOJ in establishing Victims’ Assistance Centers in three locations and otherwise creating this function within the local Attorney General’s Offices.” (p.

24) What type of Victims’ Assistance Center is expected: Center for Victims of Sexual Offenses, Center for Victims of Intra-family Violence, Center for Mistreated and Sexually Abused Minors, or Center for Victims of Crime?

Answer: The Victims’ Assistance Centers mentioned in the RFP can be any of the above. For more information, see http://www.cavcolombia.com/.

24. Page 8 of the RFP states that the Access to Justice Activity is a four-year activity, however p. 87 of the RFP, Section L.11(14), mentions a five-year proposed cost. Please confirm that Offerors should budget for a four-year program.

25. May Offerors add a fourth component for management activities to the detailed budget?

Answer: No.

26. Section B.1 of the RFP (p. 6) states “The purpose of this contract is to increase access to renewable energy sources and energy efficient practices in Colombia….” Please clarify the purpose of this contract.

Answer: Please refer to Amendment #1 to the RFP posted on FBO.

27. What is the estimated start date of the Colombia Access to Justice Activity?

Answer: Beginning of 4th quarter/FY 2012.

28. Please explain why the issue of gender in the regions is limited to criminal justice (see, for example, Section C.4.2, p. 24), given that a large part of the problems faced by women in these areas are also related to civil, agrarian, and family matters.

Answer: Other USAID/Colombia rule of law programming, see reference to Access to Justice II on page 16, will address areas outside of criminal justice.

29. Does the focus on regions with significant Afro-Colombian and indigenous populations (RFP p. 15) include work in areas outside of CSDI zones?

Answer: The focus on regions with significant Afro-Colombian and indigenous populations will not include work in areas outside of CSDI regions.

http://www.cavcolombia.com/

30. Page 16 of the RFA indicates “ … Part of this strategy must include seconding personnel to the GOC… throughout the life of the activity and working with GOC to increase budget allocations for these positions with the goal of full “Colombianization” by year four”. What budget implications for the program does it have? Is the project to contemplate salaries of said personnel? If so are specific level?

Answer: Please see the answer to Question 14, above. The determination of the precise nature of the seconding is within the discretion of the offeror.

31. There is no mention of assistance to the Public Defense. Will they be receiving direct assistance from the mission to continue its strengthening as well as justice reform efforts dealing with the PD or should the program contemplate assisting the PDO amongst its efforts to continue with Colombian Justice Reform as well as to support the provision of said services in consolidation areas taking advantage of the creation of the “Unidad Administrativa de Defensa o Seguridad Jurídica?

Answer: USAID/Colombia contemplates assistance to the Public Defender’s Office through direct support. See reference to Access to Justice II on page 16.

32. It is our understanding that MSD completed an impact study of Justice Houses. Said study was not amongst attachments of the RFA. Would it be possible to obtain a copy of it?

Answer: The study was included in the modification to the solicitation, posted on www.fbo.gov on March 28, 2012, as Attachment 13.

33. Do we have to have our country side project offices in the same offices were other projects are located or can they be housed at other local civil society organizations?

Answer: Regional offices should be located with other USAID projects. If not possible for legitimate reasons, USAID will be amenable to having a discussion about other options.

34. The Colombian Government is disseminating information on policies on justice and consolidation coordination. Is this an already adopted public policy that the operator is to assist in applying in accordance with the specific needs of each and all regions or is the operator to assist in its development only for the regions indicated in the RFP?

Answer: The operator must apply already-developed public policies focusing on justice in the CSDI regions and assist in the development of national policies on justice which will have applicability in the CSDI regions.

35. There is a reference to US$100.000 in grants funds in the RFP, is USAID contemplating other means of support for local NGOs and CSOs that may need assistance throughout the life of the program?

Answer: The $100,000 in grants fund is independent of the implicit or explicit need to work with NGOs and CSOs as highlighted within the statement of work.

36. Please describe the scope of the required Grants Management Guide. Please specify whether the Guide should be included as an annex to the Technical Proposal or to the Cost Proposal.

Answer: Please see answer to Question #8.

37. Please identify the cities where the regional offices of the Human Rights Project III will be located.

http://www.fbo.gov/

Answer: Within CSDI regions, Human Rights Project III offices will be located in Caucasia, Antioquia;

Chaparral, Tolima; San Jacinto, Bolivar; Tumaco, Nariño; and Villavicencio, Meta.

38. Please provide additional information about the grants that USAID makes directly to local organizations aimed at facilitating justice reform, as well as those focusing on gender issues in the CSDIs (both ongoing grants and those currently in the planning process).

Answer: Currently, USAID/Colombia does not have any direct grants with local organizations facilitating justice reform or focusing on gender issues in the CSDI regions. Given the procurement sensitive nature of assistance planning, we cannot provide further information about future grants in these areas.

39. Could USAID provide offerors with additional information on the status and plans of the U.S.-Colombia Human Rights Law Partnership?

Answer: The implementing partner for the U.S. –Colombia Law School Partnership, Higher Education for Development (HED), conducted a two-week field visit in Colombia in February 2012 to assess capacities, strengths, and weaknesses of law schools in the regions of Colombia, as well as to explore windows of opportunity for the program. Based on the assessment recommendations, HED is drafting the RFA for U.S. law schools partners to work in Antioquia, the Caribbean Coast, and Valle del Cauca.

Implementation will start in June 2012 and end in December 2015.

40. Could USAID provide offerors with additional information regarding the justice sector policies currently being promoted or planned by the USAID Public Policy Program?

Answer: There is currently no work on justice sector policies by the USAID Public Policy Program, but it is likely that work on justice sector policies will intersect with ongoing work on policy related to consolidation.

41. Could USAID provide offerors with additional information regarding the support for access to justice-related activities, particularly those for the National Justice House Program, as well as individual Justice Houses, that CELI contractors are currently providing or planning to provide? Will this support be on-going throughout the duration of the AJA contract and, therefore, need to be coordinated, or will this assistance be only temporary until the AJA contract is launched?

Answer: CELI contractors will provide no support for justice-related activities in locations where the Access to Justice Project is currently working and where AJA will work.

42. Could USAID provide offerors with additional information regarding the 20 communities where the Civil Society Strengthening Project will be operating?

Answer: The Conflict Victims’ Program is still in design, and its geographic focus has not yet been determined.

43. The cover page of the RFP states that AJA will be a four-year CPFF contract, but there are other references in the RFP to a five-year contract. We assume USAID intends to award a four-year contract.

Please confirm or clarify.

44. Page 81, item (g) states that offerors must submit a detailed budget broken down by component. Would it be acceptable for offerors to break out just the component costs for the following line items: Training, Equipment, Grants and Seminars, Workshops and Conferences?

Answer: No, offerors must provide a budget broken down by component using as reference the technical components prescribed in Section C.

45. Please confirm that submitting the Technical Proposal as a PDF file and the Cost Proposal as a PDF file with the budget in Excel is acceptable.

Answer: Technical Proposal must be submitted Microsoft Office Word (.doc). Offerors are also allowed to submit a second copy of the Technical Proposal in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf). It is acceptable to submit the supporting documentation of the Cost Proposal in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format. The budget must be provided in and unlocked MS Excel (.xls) and the budget narrative in MS Word. Please see answer to Question #5.

46. Please clarify whether letters of commitment from proposed personnel and subcontractors should be included in the Technical Proposal or in the Cost Proposal.

Answer: “Letters of Commitment (Subcontractors)” and “Individual Letters of Commitment from Key Personnel” are to be included in the Technical Proposal as an annex/exhibit and will NOT be subject to the forty (40) page limitation. “Individual Letters of Commitment” for other non-key personnel are to be included in the Cost Proposal.

47. Section C.3 (page 14) indicates that the staffing of regional offices shall follow the guidance in Section C.3.2. However, Section C.3.2 does not contain such guidance. Please clarify.

Answer: The reference should have been to guidance in Section C.3.1.

48. Please confirm that offerors should budget for the furnishing and equipping of a total of eight new Justice Houses during the contract period.

Answer: Offerors should budget for activities related to the establishment of 11 new justice houses, per the text on page 20 of the RFP and Footnote 18.

49. Please confirm that offerors should budget for the implementation of trainings for equity conciliators in a total of 16 municipalities, including ten during the first two years of the contract, and an additional six during the last two years (page 21).

Answer: That is correct.

50. Please specify whether the Security Plan (per Amendment 1) should be an annex to the Technical Proposal or to the Cost Proposal.

Answer: The Security Plan must be included in the Cost Proposal.

51. Will USAID provide offerors with a copy of the Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) approved for the AJA (page 52)? Alternatively, will it be acceptable for the successful offeror to submit the Approach to Achieving Environmental Compliance and Management upon contract award?

Answer: The IEE is an internal USAID document and cannot be shared with offerors. Offerors must submit their Approach to Achieving Environmental Compliance and Management as part of their Cost Proposal.

52. Given the new limit of 40 pages for the Technical Proposal, we assume that offerors can present the following items as annexes to the Technical Proposal: a) management organizational chart; b) monitoring and evaluation approach; c) rapid start-up timeline. Please confirm.

Answer: No. The following items are the only annexes/exhibits that are to be included in the Technical Proposal and will NOT be subject to the forty (40) page limitation:

Contractor Performance Information (Including Small Business Information);

Key Personnel Résumés;

Glossary of Acronyms and Abbreviations;

Letters of Commitment (Subcontractors);

Letters of Support from local organizations; and, Individual Letters of Commitment from Key Personnel.

*Please note that all other items will be counted towards the forty (40) page limitation.

53. The RFP cover letter, section C.1 (page 8), and section F.4 (page 34) list the term of performance as four years. Section L.11(16) (page 87) mentions a five-year term. Would USAID please clarify whether the term of performance is four or five years?

Answer: Please see answer to Question 1.

54. Would USAID please confirm that the project will be expected to provide support in training, outreach and equipment/furniture to 8 Justice Houses over the life of the project (page 20)? Footnote 18 on pages 20 and 21 suggest a higher number of Justice Houses.

Answer: Please see the answer provided to Question 48.

55. Would USAID please provide a plug figure for the procurement costs for establishment of the new Justice Houses during implementation?

Answer: Please see the answer provided to Question 2.

56. Footnote 26 on page 24 the RFP stipulates that the contractor must provide grants to women’s NGOs as part of efforts to promote awareness of the legal framework related to gender issues. Would USAID please provide a plug figure for these grants?”

Answer: The plug figure is $260,000.

57. Would USAID kindly clarify whether the annual $100k grants plug mentioned on page 15 include the grants to women’s NGOs mentioned in section C.4.2.3 (page 24)?

Answer: Please see the answer provided to Question 35.

58. Is the $50,000 annual grant for CISPA, under section C.4.3.2 (pages 27-28) included or separate from the grant figure of $100,000 per/year for NGOs, discussed under the Access to Justice Grants Fund in section C.3.1 (page 14)?

Answer: Please see the answer provided to Question 35.

59. Would USAID confirm that, per section C.4.3.2 (pages 27-28), the RFP provides the flexibility to provide technical assistance to law schools in the form of grants, subcontracts, or technical assistance?

Answer: That is correct.

60. Section H.2, Source, Origin, and Nationality (page 42) lists the authorized geographic code as 000.

However, section H.8 (page 45) lists the code as 937. Would USAID please change the geographic code listed in section H.2 to 937?

Answer: H.2 has been amended to show new Source and Nationality Requirements clause.

61. Would USAID consider deleting AIDAR 752.225-71 (Local Procurement) from page 58 in Section I, Contract Clauses?

Answer: AIDAR Clause 752.225-71 (Local Procurement) and all other clauses will be updated at contract award stage of this solicitation process.

62. Per section H.25 on page 50 of the RFP, would USAID please confirm that the Contracting Officer will receive specific approval from the Head of Contracting Activity (Mission Director), for GUC authority under this contract when it is awarded?

Answer: This is a USAID internal approval process that will be pursued after the contract is awarded.

Once HCA provides approval, the selected contractor will be notified of such approval.

63. Would USAID please confirm that, per ADS 303.3.24 and ADS 303.3.25, a deviation is not required to use a Simplified or a Fixed Obligation Grant?

Answer: A deviation is no longer required for the use of Simplified Grant or Fixed Obligation Grant Formats.

64. Section L.8(2) on page 74 instructs offerors to submit proposal documents that are compatible with Microsoft Office “(Word, Excel, etc.)” Will USAID accept documents in PDF format?

Answer: Please see answer to Question 45.

65. May we include relevant annexes other than those listed on page 76 of the RFP?

Answer: No.

66. Section L.11 (2)g (page 81 states), “The Offeror must submit a detailed budget, per component.” Would USAID please confirm that this refers to the technical components prescribed in section C?

Answer: Yes, this refers to the technical components prescribed in section C.

67. Section L.11(9) on page 85 of the RFP indicates that letters of commitment from subcontractors should be included in the cost/business proposal. However, these letters are not included in the list on page 76.

Would USAID please confirm that these letters are to be included in both the cost/business and the technical volumes?

Answer: Please see answer to Question 4.

68. Would USAID kindly clarify whether it will accept an executive summary of an illustrative grants manual for the proposed approach?

Answer: Offerors are required to submit an initial Grants Management Guide as part of the Cost/Business Proposal.

69. RFP Amendment 1 adds the following language to section C.3.1: “The contractor must state its planned budget for each regional office and detail policies and procedures that it will implement to facilitate and ensure the quick approval and execution of activities in the regions so that bureaucratic delays inherent in centralized organizations are minimized.” Would USAID please confirm that any budget or cost-related information provided in response to this guidance should be placed in the cost volume?

Answer: Any budget or cost-related information provided in response to this guidance should be placed in the cost volume.

70. Amendment 1 to RFP#SOL-514-12-000001 on Page 2, beginning “On Part 1…Regional Offices Policies and Procedures…” asks of each contractor a planned budget for each regional office and detail policies and procedures that it will implement… This request generates several questions:

a. The word “contractor” rather than offeror implies that the budget and policies and procedures are required of the ultimate awardee and not the offeror. Are these requirements for the offeror or the awardee?

Answer: Yes, these requirements are for the offerors.

b. If requirements are for the offeror, where are the policies and procedures to appear in the proposal?

There is no reference to them in section L. 11 INSTRUCTIONS …OF THE COST…PROPOSAL and there is no reference to them in the evaluation factors.

Answer: Offerors should discuss policies and procedures in its technical proposal. Reference to policies and procedures is implicit in subfactor 2, section L, p. 77 (Management approach and capability) as it mentions the need to discuss role of the field offices.

c. If the requirements are for the offeror, please describe the relationship of the proposed “planned budget for each regional office” to the component budgets.

Answer: The budget for each component should contain the budgets for the activities of each regional office.

d. If the requirements are for the offeror, please provide more detail about the planned budget for each regional office. Does USAID want a budget for the structure of the office or a budget for the structure of the office and office activities? The offices will conduct activities across more than one component, so budgeting for office activities and for components will be quite complicated.

Answer: The budget for each component should include both the structure of the office and office activities.