Final-Q A-RFP-SOL-524-13-000005-CARS.pdf

-Continuation Sheets-

1) Modify Section L.7 INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE PREPARATION OF THE

TECHNICAL PROPOSALS.

Delete items (a) and (b) and replace with:

(a) Offerors must organize the Technical Proposal to follow the technical evaluation criteria listed in Section M as follows: Executive Summary (2 pages); Technical Approach (25 pages).

(b) The written Technical Proposal must not exceed 27 (twenty seven) pages, including 2 pages for the Executive Summary and must be written in English. (ANY PAGES OVER 27 PAGES WILL NOT BE EVALUATED). Offerors must use only 8.5 inch by 11 inch (210mm by 297mm) paper, single spaced pages with margins no less than one inch on each border. Number each page consecutively. Please use Times New Roman size 12 font for all text (not included in tables/charts/graphs).

Note: A page in the technical proposal than contains a table, chart, graph, etc., not otherwise excluded below, is subject to the 27-page limitation.

Not included in this page limitation are the following:

-Table of Contents -Dividers -Cover Page -Acronym list -Annexes

Required Annexes are limited to:

Management and Staffing Plan (5 pages) Implementation Plan (5 pages) Monitoring and Evaluation Plan (5 pages) Past Performance short form for prime and major subcontractors (5 pages for prime, 5 pages for each major subcontractor) CVs and Letters of Commitment for key personnel, Letters of commitment for additional personnel beyond those in key personnel positions will not be considered. CVs for each key personnel should be limited to 3 pages each.

2) Answers to Questions

Question No. 1

We are interested in bidding on this important program. However, we find the 30-day turn-around time to be insufficient, as USAID provided neither a pre-solicitation nor program details in the Forecast. We respectfully request the mission to extend the submission deadline by four weeks in the interest of strengthening the pool of proposals from which the mission will eventually choose. We also feel that this would ensure a more level playing field among the applicants. Kindly consider our request, and if at all possible, provide a response within a timeframe that would allow bidders to take advantage of the extension.

Answer No. 1 Through this Amendment we are extending the date to receive proposals from June 10, 2013 to June 24, 2013, 2:00 p.m. local time. The hard copy deadline is also being extended from June 28, 3013 to July 8, 2013 at 2:00 p.m.

Question No. 2

Does the lead agency (contractor) need to have NGO status in the country of project performance?

Answer No. 2 Having NGO status or legal registration in Nicaragua is not a requirement to submit proposals. Once the award is signed the contractor will need to comply with the requirements of the applicable local laws in order to work in Nicaragua.

Question No. 3

Is an NGO in Nicaragua allowed to submit a proposal as the lead agency (contractor) for this solicitation?

Answer No. 3 Yes.

Question No. 4

Can an Institution of Higher Education in the United States be the lead agency (contractor) for this solicitation?

Answer No. 4 Yes.

Question No. 5

Please confirm both electronic and hardy copy submissions are required.

Answer No. 5 Yes. Both electronic and hard copy submissions are required.

Question No. 6

Page 113 of the RFP states, “íf sub awardees/partners will be implementing significant portions … of the project activity, the proposal must include the prime’s evaluation of these proposed sub awardees/partners’ past performance.” Could USAID please clarify what documentation is required to fulfill this request? Please also confirm this is not included in the 25-page limit.

Answer No. 6 The Prime’s evaluation of the sub-awardees must be submitted using the past performance short forms included in the RFP. This is not included in the 27 page limit (revised) for the technical proposal and must be included as an annex.

Question No. 7 Page 110 of the RFP states that there is a 5-page limit for Past Performance short-forms. Is this in total for both the prime and major subcontractors, or is there a 5-page limit for the prime and each major sub-contractor?

Answer No. 7 There is a 5-page limit for the Prime and a 5-page limit for each major sub-contractor.

Question No. 8

Page 4 of the RFP defines major subcontractors as “those subcontractors whose proposed cost exceeds 20% of the total value.” However, page 115 of the RFP defines major subcontractors as those “whose proposed cost exceeds one (1) million US Dollars.” Please confirm which of these definitions applies to the solicitation.

Answer No. 8 Major subcontractors for the purposes of this solicitation are those whose proposed costs exceed 20% of the total value. Please ignore any other definition.

Question No. 9

Would USAID consider sharing the evaluation criteria point values for each of the major evaluation categories: Technical Approach, Management and Staffing Plan and Past Performance?

Answer No. 9 USAID will not use point values for each of the major evaluation categories. Only the adjectival rating system on page 124 of the solicitation will be used to evaluate the proposals.

Question No. 10

Page 111 of the RFP states that, “proposals shall also include an Implementation Plan as an annex (5 pages).” Please confirm that this is a required annex and not included in the 25-page limitation.

Answer No. 10 This is correct. The Implementation Plan is a required annex and it is no included in the

27-page limitation (revised).

Question No. 11

Could USAID please confirm the narrative font size? Section L.7 (b) on page 110 of the RFP states size 11 font, but all other narrative font size references (such as in Section L.5(e)(5) on page 109) state size 12 font.

Answer No. 11 The correct font size is 12 Times New Roman.

Question No. 12

Please clarify what is included in the Technical Proposal page limit of 25 pages. Do cover pages and acronym lists count towards the 25 page limit?

Answer No. 12 Section L.7 of the RFP has been modified as follows: (See Block 14 of SF 30)

1) INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE PREPARATION OF THE TECHNICAL

PROPOSALS.

Delete items (a) and (b) and replace with:

(c) Offerors must organize the Technical Proposal to follow the technical evaluation criteria listed in Section M as follows: Executive Summary (2 pages); Technical Approach (25 pages).

(d) The written Technical Proposal must not exceed 27 (twenty seven) pages, including 2 pages for the Executive Summary and must be written in English. (ANY PAGES OVER 27 PAGES WILL NOT BE EVALUATED). Offerors must use only 8.5 inch by 11 inch (210mm by 297mm) paper, single spaced pages with margins no less than one inch on each border. Number each page consecutively. Please use Times New Roman size 12 font for all text (not included in tables/charts/graphs).

Note: A page in the technical proposal than contains a table, chart, graph, etc., not otherwise excluded below, is subject to the 27-page limitation.

Not included in this page limitation are the following:

-Table of Contents -Dividers -Cover Page -Acronym list -Annexes

Required Annexes are limited to:

Management and Staffing Plan (5 pages) Implementation Plan (5 pages) Monitoring and Evaluation Plan (5 pages) Past Performance short form for prime and major subs (5 pages for prime, 5 pages for each major subcontractor) CVs and Letters of Commitment for key personnel, Letters of commitment for additional personnel beyond those in key personnel positions will not be considered. CVs for each key personnel should be limited to 3 pages each.

Question No. 13

Page 112 of the RFP, Section L.7 (c) 3a. states, “the subcontracting plan/approach should demonstrate reasonableness and efficient use of resources”. Please confirm that the small business subcontracting plan will be a part of the cost proposal and not the technical proposal. Should the standard sub-contracting annex forms be included with the technical proposal, or is the statement on page 112 simply a request that the subcontracting plan/approach be reflected in the presentation of the management plan?

Answer No. 13 Please disregard any references regarding the submission of the subcontracting plan, this is not a requirement in this solicitation.

Question No. 14

Does USAID expect the CARS program to contract directly with the EFS implementing organization in addition to collaboration?

Answer No. 14

As stated in the RFP, proposals should identify opportunities for concrete collaboration with other actors working in the region. The CARS Contractor is free to partner with any organization it sees fit.

Question No. 15

Requiring the “ability to fully and effectively communicate, both orally and in writing, in Spanish and English” will restrict the pool of local candidates,” in order to develop a staffing structure that best reflects USAID Forward and provides USAID the most cost-effective staffing structure, would USAID consider adjusting the key personnel language skills requirements to the following: “ability to fully and effectively communicate, both orally and in writing, in Spanish and English is preferred”?

Answer No. 15 USAID requires written English ability for the Administration and Finance specialist, but not oral ability. Other positions are critical to the project and require oral and written ability in English and Spanish. The language requirement is particularly important considering the prevalence of English-speakers in the RAAS. Key personnel traveling to these areas must be able to communicate in both languages.

Question No. 16

Please clarify which of the activities under Component 1 should be funded through the $1.65 set aside for sub-grants, as defined on page 32 of the RFP.

Answer No. 16 As stated on page 65 of the RFP, USAID expects that the core activities of Components 1 and 2 will be implemented through sub-grants.

Question No. 17

Page 22 of the RFP defines one of the Activities under Sub-Component 1.1 as follows:

“Develop/identify and provide students with new sets of reading materials per grade, in Spanish, Miskito and Creole.” As these languages are referenced differently throughout the RFP (such as Miskitu, Kriol, Creole English, and English) and others included for other activities (for example under the social mobilization component- Mayangna), please confirm in what languages materials should be developed.

Answer No. 17

Educational materials should be developed in Creole English (also written as Kriol), Miskitu and Spanish.

Question No. 18

Page 22 of the RFP defines one of the Activities under Sub-Component 1.1 as follows:

“Develop/identify and provide students with new sets of reading materials per grade, in Spanish, Miskito and Creole.” To which grade levels does this refer?

Answer No. 18 All early grade reading activities will focus on grades 1, 2 and 3.

Question No. 19

Please confirm that the Environmental Mitigation and Monitoring Plan will be submitted with the M&E Plan within 60 days of signing the award, and will not be a part of proposal submission.

Answer No. 19 The Environmental Mitigation Plan and Monitoring Plan will be submitted 60 days after the signing of the award; however a draft M&E Plan is required to be submitted as part of the proposal, as an annex as referred to on pag. 111 Technical Approach (f.)

Question No. 20

There are community schools that receive finds from the regional governments. May the contractor work with these schools?

Answer No. 20 Yes, the contractor may work with these schools.

Question No. 21

May USAID please share the materials referenced in the RFP and Annexes?

Answer No. 21 The materials referenced in the RFP listed in Section J can be found as follow:

-Reference Materials from Section C: Uploaded in the FedBizopps as attachments to the

RFP

-Reference Document from Section F: Uploaded in the FedBizopps as and attachement to the RFP

-Reference Documents for Sections J1 and J2: Included as annexes on the RFP.

-Other Reference Documents for Section J: A link was provided in the RFP.

Please let us know if you can’t access them.

Question No. 22

Page 111 (Section M) states that the proposal should include an Implementation Plan (5 pages) as an annex. However, this Implementation Plan is not included in the list on page 110 (Section L) limiting required annexes. Could USAID please confirm that a 5-page Implementation Plan should be included as an annex?

Answer No. 22 Yes. The 5 page Implementation Plan must be included as an annex.

Question No. 23

The Section A, SF33 seems to be missing from the RFP, can you please add?

Answer No. 23 Please find SF33 Attached.

Question No. 24

Please clarify the target number of children with improved reading skills under this contract. On Page 16, the RFP indicates the project will improve the reading skills of at least 12,500 children in the RAAS. On this same page, the RFP indicates that the project will reach 2,440 students grade 1-3 in private-schools; 5,000 children in grades 1-3 in public schools (through after-school programs); and 3,150 out of school youth age 7-14. The sum of 2,440 plus 5,000 plus 3,150 totals 10,590 not 12,500.

Answer No. 24 That is correct, the remaining 1,910 corresponds to age 5, third level pre-school students.

These students are also beneficiaries of the program. Given the challenges obtaining timely official education data in Nicaragua, all data should be verified by the CARS Contractor.

Question No. 25

On page 21, the RFP states, “Community-based educators should receive a stipend that must not be above the salary base paid to teachers in the local market.” Does USAID expect that stipends for community-based educators will be funded through the CARS project?

Answer No. 25 Yes. However stipends may include financial and/or in-kind contributions from this or other projects including leveraged funds from the private sector.

Question No. 26

For purposes of measuring progress against DO2, will the project be responsible for measuring the drop-out rate (disaggregated by sex and grade) in both public and private schools?

Answer No. 26 The project will collect dropout rates from secondary sources for students attending public schools and directly for those students attending the private schools supported by the CARS project.

Question No. 27

On page 21, the RFP states that the contractor “should propose a coaching system that will include visits at least once every two weeks initially and then reduce visits as possible.” The expected results for sub-component 1.1 on page 22, however, suggests the project should achieve “80% of educations participating in the program observed and provided feedback twice a week in Y1 and at least every three weeks in Y2 and later by coaches.” Please confirm that the result should be 80% of educations observed and provided feedback once every two weeks, and not twice a week.

Answer No. 27 This should read once every two weeks for Y1 and once a month in subsequent years.

Question No. 28

Sub-component 2.1. Please confirm that the expected result of increased pre-school enrollment is expected to be achieved by increasing demand (by improving the quality of existing programming and increasing parental appreciation for value of pre-school), and not by increasing the supply of pre-school programs.

Answer No. 28 It is not expected that the CARS project will create new pre-school programs, but will only work in existing pre-schools programs. Results should be achieved accordingly.

Question No. 29

On page 22, Sub-Component 1.1 Results, “Fifty new titles for readers per grade produced in Spanish, Miskitu and Creole.” This equates to the creation of 450 new titles. Given the focus on building on past success, and seeking the most cost-effective use of USAID funds, will USAID consider it acceptable to purchase or reprint existing reading materials (reviewed and leveled), in addition to creating new titles as necessary? And would USAID allow NGOs with publishing and editing expertise to retain exclusive copyright to any materials they develop through a sub-contract or sub-grant under this project?

Answer No. 29 Yes, the Contractor may purchase or reprint existing material and attribute this material to the 450 new titles, with USAID approval. USAID will retain all material developed under this activity.

Question No. 30

On page 29, the RFP states that the Contractor “should collaborate with the Education for Success Project to develop an integrated mass media campaign…” Can USAID provide greater clarification on the expected division of financing for the mass media campaign between the two projects?

Answer No. 30 Details such as the division of financing should be negotiated directly with the EFS project.

However, it is expected that the EFS and CARS projects will be operating in the same municipalities, therefore concerted effort should be made to conduct a joint media campaign in order to best utilize USG resources.

Question No. 31

On the bottom of page 29, the RFP states, “…the Contractor will also be called upon to provide some support to USAID/Nicaragua for the production or dissemination of other materials related to the broader DO2/PROGRES program.” Given that the specific communication products and desired quantities are not determined at this time, will USAID provide a plug budget figure for the amount of budget that should be reserved for the production, printing, and distribution of potential materials?

Answer No. 31 USAID will not provide a plug figure for this activity, but expects the CARS Contractor to creatively identify and propose innovative tools and products to convey progress toward achieving the results of the Program for Education and Security to a broad range of stakeholders.

Question No. 32

On page 32, the RFP states, “Of the $2.6 million for sub-grants, approximately $1.65 million is available for Goal One or Goal Three education activities and $1 million for explicit citizen security/CARSI activities.” Page 117 lists the value for sub-grants to be $2,600,000. However, $1.65 million and $1 million is $2.65 million. Please clarify if the amount of funds to be reserved for sub-grants is $2,600,000 or $2,650,000.

Answer No. 32 The amount reserved for sub-grants is $2.6 million. An additional $80,000 is set aside for funding the Community Action Plan to be developed in the five municipalities.

Question No. 33

Page 32, Section C, Sub-Component 3.2 Sub-grants, explains that sub-grants shall be awarded through a competitive process to local NGOs, and that USAID will approve the selection of all sub-grants. Can USAID confirm that no local NGOs should sign exclusive agreements at this proposal stage?

Answer No. 33 USAID is not requiring exclusive agreements with local NGOs at this point.

Question No. 34

Section C, Sub-Component 3.2 Sub-grants. Can USAID clarify whether the term “local NGOs”, which are those NGOs targeted for capacity building under Sub-Component 3.1 and which are eligible for sub-grants under Sub-Component 3.2, includes both NGOs based in RAAS as well as Nicaraguan NGOs which may be implementing programming in the RAAS but may be headquartered elsewhere in the country?

Answer No. 34 For the purposes of this RFP, a local NGO is considered a NGO with presence in the RAAS. The priority is to work directly with NGOs currently located in the RAAS. NGOs implementing programs in the RAAS, headquartered elsewhere in Nicaragua are also eligible for sub-grants, although are not the top priority.

Question No. 35

On page 36, the RFP indicates, “…no public school will be direct counterparts of the program…” However, on page 19, under Component 1, one of the expected results is that “children who are failing in public school” are a group to be reached with reading activities. Can you please confirm? What are the implications of this for the M&E activity? Will information on this group of students be available from public schools or only from secondary sources?

Answer No. 35 Children failing in public schools are expected to be reached via non-formal methods such as after school programs managed by the CARS project. It is usually the case that information on public school students is available at the community or municipal level. If this information is not available the CARS Contractor would need to collect the information via secondary sources.

Question No. 36

(Page 40, External Evaluations). Given that rigorous evaluation requires sufficient project eligible sites and control sites, can USAID provide greater clarify on the number of target communities (or other level of disaggregation) that will be required for sampling purposes, so that budgets can be developed in line with those quantities?

Answer No. 36 The external evaluation will not be completed by the CARS Contractor, but by a third party.

Question No. 37

The expected results indicated below for Components 4.1 and 4.2 reflect program impact, although Component 4 is understood to be a data gathering, processing and information sharing activity. Please clarify.

Component 4.1 Expected Results:

- Policy makers and other stakeholders use data/information to develop policies, plans and budgets

- Community members use data/information to develop plans and activities

Sub-Component 4.2 Expected Results:

- USAID and other stakeholders have a better understanding of how different actors and activities are transforming targeted municipalities in terms of reading and security

Answer No. 37 The external evaluation will not be completed by the CARS Contractor, but by a third party.

Question No. 38

Page 65, H.16 Grants under USAID Contracts, b) reads “The contract will provide small grants not to exceed $50,000 per year to finance the implementation of local community action plans developed in the five municipalities subject to this project.” Is the total potential amount of $200,000 ($50,000 x 4 years) included within the $2,600,000 (or $2,650,000) available for sub-grants or is it in addition to it?

Answer No. 38 It is expected that at a minimum $20,000 per year will be reserved for funding the local Community Action Plan. This amount is in addition to the $2,600,000.

Question No. 39

On page 110, Section L.7 Instructions for the Preparation of the Technical Proposal, (b) under the required Annexes is a Management and Staffing Plan but on page 111, Number 3 Management and Staffing Plan implies that this section should be included in the technical proposal. Can you please confirm where the Management and Staffing Plan should be located?

Answer No. 39 The Management and Staffing plan must be included as an annex (5 pages).

Question No. 40

On page 110, Section L.7 under Required Annexes it includes a Branding and Marking Plan. Can you please confirm that we should in fact include a draft Plan?

Answer No. 40 This requirement is hereby revised and USAID will not be requesting a Branding Strategy and Marking Plan at this time. Please see Block 14 of SF 30 for the updated Section L.7.

Question No. 41

Page 113, Section L.7.4 Past Performance asks to list up to 5 of the most recent and relevant contracts for efforts similar to the work in the subject proposal. Can recent and relevant cooperative agreements be included in this list?

Answer No. 41 USAID requests Past Performance references for the most recent and relevant contracts for efforts similar to the work in the RFP be submitted.

Question No. 42

Please confirm that the provision of subgrants and the plug figure of $2.6 million are optional and an applicant does not, in fact, have to provide subgrants as mentioned on page 117 (K) Grants Under Contracts

Answer No. 42 The provision of subgrants is a major component of the program. USAID/Nicaragua expects that a significant portion of the activities will be implemented by local NGOs through sub-grants.

Question No. 43

Please confirm that there is no option period as mentioned on page 115, Part 2 – Proposed Costs/Prices, first paragraph.

Answer No. 43 USAID/Nicaragua does not contemplate option periods in this solicitation. Disregard any mention of options in the solicitation.

Question No. 44

As most international organizations pay staff salaries in US dollars because of the value decrease of the Córdobas, will USAID provide a Mission waiver permitting compensation in US dollars to the contractor awarded the contract? Can USAID please confirm there already is a general waiver for all USAID-funded projects permitting compensation in US dollars?

Answer No. 44 USAID/Nicaragua will not be issuing a waiver permitting compensation in U.S. dollars for local employees. There is no current general waiver for USAID - funded projects in Nicaragua permitting compensation in US dollars.

Question No. 45

In Nicaragua, there are some private schools which employ teachers who receive their salary from MINED. Under CARS, will the contractor be able to train teachers who teach in private schools but who receive their salary from the MINED?

Answer No. 45 Yes, these teachers can be trained under the CARS project.

Question No. 46

On page 117 of the RFP, under the cost elements for the sample summary budget, it notes that Fringe Benefits are to be included in Indirect Costs. Would it be acceptable to include Fringe Benefits as part of “Direct Labor” (Salaries and Fringe Benefits)?

Answer No. 46 Yes. Fringe Benefits can be included as part of “Direct Labor”.

Question No. 47

SF 33 is referenced on pages 109 and 114 of the RFP but is not included in the RFP. Please provide

Answer No. 47 Please find SF33 attached.

Question No. 48

On page 32 of the RFP, it states that “One of the key principles underlying this project is that, to the extent possible, project results should be achieved through partnerships with local organizations. Therefore, approximately $2.6 million of the total CARS budget shall be dedicated to sub-grants to local NGOs to implement Component 1 Formal and Non-formal Reading activities and Component 2 Community Mobilization activities. Of the $2.6 million for sub-grants, approximately $1.65 million is available for Goal One or Goal Three education activities and $1 million for explicit citizen security/CARSI activities. Note, there is potential for overlap between Goal Three and CARSI activities, so either funding source could be used for activities that address, for example, school safety, education infrastructure, peace education or conflict mitigation.” Please confirm that the budget does not need to be broken out between CARSI funding and Basic Education funding.

Answer No. 48 The budget in the cost proposal does not need to be broken out between CARSI and Basic Education funding.

Question No. 49

Page 44 of the RFP states that as part of the Annual Work Plan and Budget, that “The Annual Budget shall be presented in a format that clearly identifies how funds are allocated by line items and funding elements (Basic Education vs. CARSI). Please confirm that tracking by funding source is not required?

Answer No. 49 Tracking by funding source is not required.

Question No. 50

What is the CFDA number for this program?

Answer No. 50 It is 98.001

Question No. 51

Page 109 states that electronic files shall not exceed the 10MB limit and shall not be zipped files.

Please confirm if the 10MB limit is per email or per attachment?

Answer No. 51 The 10MB limit applies to attachments.

Question No. 52

Is there a limit to the number of attachments (per email) for the electronic submission?

Answer No. 52 While there no limit in the number of attachments per e-mail, it is recommended not to overload the e-mails with too many attachments. Also it is recommended to list in the body of the e-mail the number and title of the attachments included. Please no zip files.

Question No. 53

Section H.16 of the RFP restricts individual grants to Nicaraguan non-governmental organization to no more than $300,000.00 per year. Would USAID consider revising this restriction to be consistent with the thresholds defined in ADS 303?

Answer No. 53 This ceiling on subgrants to local NGOs will not be revised. Offerors may propose individual grants to NGOs in an amount not to exceed $300,000 per year.

Question No. 54

USAID/Nicaragua mentions the need for the CARS contractor to coordinate closely with existing USAID projects (and other donor-funded initiatives) operating in the five target municipalities, to include several joint activities noted in the RFP. Would USAID consider providing details on what items (e.g. equipment, vehicles, office space or supplies) from existing projects will be made available to or shared with the CARS project?

Answer No. 54 USAID cannot provide details on any particular items to be shared between projects, as this will need to be negotiated between projects. However, USAID does require programmatic coordination per Sub-Component 2.1.

Question No. 55

Similarly, USAID states that the CARS contractor is expected to use existing materials developed through previous projects whenever possible, e.g. classroom observation guides, teacher training modules, and scripted lessons (p. 20). Would USAID please consider providing a list (or illustrative list) of available training materials for use by the CARS contractor?

Answer No. 55

List of USAID Project Developed Materials Available for CARS

Early Childhood Education

1) USAID/AIR/MINED/Save the Children: Facilitating the Transition to First Grade in Nicaragua.

How to prepare children for school and how to prepare schools for children

Early Grade Reading

1) The USAID Education Strategy Technical Notes Document found here:

http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PDACT681.pdf

2) The Gambia Early Reading in National Languages

3) USAID/Haiti/Ministere de l’Educacion Nationale et de la Formation Proffessionnelle: Total Student

Reader http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PDACT681.pdf

4) USAID/RTI/ANF/IDEUCA: Diplomado en Dirección de Procesos Integrales de Excelencia e

Innovación Educativa-Módulo 1

5) USAID/RTI/ANF/IDEUCA: Gestión del Plan Educativo de Centro-Módulo 2

6) USAID/RTI/ANF/IDEUCA: Gestión Curricular. El Plan Curricular de Centro-Módulo 2

7) USAID/RTI/ANF/IDEUCA: El Proceso de Enseñanza/Aprendizaje; Evaluación con Enfoque Socio-

Constructivista-Módulo 4

8) USAID/RTI/ANF/IDEUCA: Gestión Psicosocial y Comunitaria-Módulo 5

9) USAID/RTI/Fundación Zamora-Terán (FZT): Innovación Educativa-Módulo 1

10) USAID/RTI/Fundación Zamora-Terán (FZT): Desarrollando Capacidades en el Uso y Manejo de la

Computadora XO-Módulo 2

11) USAID/RTI/Fundación Zamora-Terán (FZT): Estrategias Educativas que Contribuyen al

Desarrollo de la Escuela de Excelencia-Módulo 3

12) USAID/RTI/Fundación Zamora-Terán (FZT): Construyendo Nuevas Rutas de Aprendizajes para el

Desarrollo de la Fluidez y Comprensión Lectora con la XO; Una Apuesta al Futuro para los tres primeros grados de primaria- Módulo 4

13) USAID/RTI/Fundación Zamora-Terán (FZT): Reforzamiento Educativo Permanente; Juntos por el

Exito Escolar de Niñas y Niños de Educación Primaria-Módulo 5

14) USAID/RTI/ANF/IDEUCA: Construcción de una Escuela de Excelencia, Calidad e Innovación-

Módulo 1

15) USAID/RTI/ANF/IDEUCA: Enfoque Comunicativo de Competencia de Lengua Primer Ciclo de

Primaria. Jueguemos con el maravilloso mundo de las palabras-Módulo 2

16) USAID/Centers for Excellence in Teacher Training: Los REcursos Tecnológicos de mi Capacitación.

Paquete Instruccional para la Capacitación Docente

17) ASER (asercentre.org)/Uwezo (uwezo.net)/Beekungo (omaes.org) all have examples of instruments and information about their programs. The do-it-yourself ASER kit (perhaps too simplified) is here:

http://www.asercentre.org/?p=50.

18) More about ASER around the world here: http://www.asercentre.org/Keywords/p/76.html.

Follow-up and Monitoring

1) USAID/RTI/AMCHAM Instrumento de Visitas de Monitoreo & Evaluación de las Escuelas del Proyecto Alianzas2

Question No. 56

On page 21, USAID states that “Early grade reading assessments (EGRA) will also be carried out in formal school settings to collect baseline, mid-line and end-line data through a third party

– not under this contract.” Then on page 22, an objective listed under subcomponent 1.1 reads “Reading levels of children participating in the Program assessed every two months.” Will the CARS contractor be responsible for conducting the bi-monthly assessments noted on page 22, or will the third party be providing them?

Answer No. 56 Yes, the CARS Contractor will be responsible to conduct bi-monthly assessments of student’s progress towards achieving standards in reading skills.

http://www.asercentre.org/?p=50 http://www.asercentre.org/Keywords/p/76.html

Question No. 57 In order for Offerors to propose accurate targets for reading materials produced under Component 1, could USAID please specify which specific grades are being referenced in the under Sub-component 1.1 Expected Result “ Fifty new titles for readers per grade produced in Spanish, Miskitu and Creole”?

Answer No. 57 Grades 1, 2 and 3.

Question No. 58

Per Section L.5, page 109, cost proposal text (excluding charts and graphics) must be 12 TNR.

Could USAID please specify whether a certain version of Word (such as Word 2010, referenced above) is necessary?

Answer No. 58 No specific version of Word is necessary as all are compatible with MS 2010.

Question No. 59

Per Section L.5, page 109, “Proposals must be single sided, page numbered and contain a table of contents”, while Section L.7 pg 110 says “The proposal must be single spaced.” (vs. single sided stated in L.5). Can USAID please clarify whether they expect responses to the RFP to be single spaced, single sided, or both?

Answer No. 59 Both, single sided and single spaced.

Question No. 60

We would like to respectfully request clarification on the preferred format of the Implementation Plan annex first referenced on page 111 of the RFP. Is USAID envisioning the plan in the form of a narrative, a chart, or both?

Answer No. 60 Both a chart and a narrative are expected.

Question No. 61

In the Past Performance Annex, first mentioned on page 110 of the RFP, does USAID envision only the referenced Short Past Performance Forms, or does it also expect a narrative addressing the Technical Approach evaluation criteria described on page 121, section M.2?

Answer No. 61 A short narrative addressing the technical evaluation criteria is expected.

Question No. 62 Consistent with the guidance in FAR 37.113-1 and considering that the anticipated contract will be performed entirely overseas, we respectfully request that USAID include FAR 52.237-9, Waiver of Limitation on Severance Payments to Foreign Nationals, to prevent conflict with applicable local employment laws.

Answer No. 62

Only if the Mission has a waiver in place, can this clause be used. USAID/Nicaragua does not have a waiver in place.

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