Evaluate_SOL-641-13-000010-Amend_03.pdf

USAID/Ghana – Evaluate for Health

SOL-641-13-000010

Amendment No. 03

As a result of this Amendment, the specific changes to the solicitation are as follows:

1. RFP Cover letter: Closing Date, DELETE “August 29, 2013” and REPLACE with “September 09, 2013”.

2. Section B:

(2a): Section B.12- Labor Categories-Unburdened Ceiling daily Rates, paragraph (b), add the following Labor Categories under each implementation year (YEAR 1 through YEAR 5) of the contemplated 5 year program:

Labor Category Unburdened Ceiling Daily rates

Junior Mid Senior 1006. Environmental/Hygiene/ Sanitation Specialist $________ $_______ $_______ 1007. Documentation/Outreach/ Media Specialist $________ $_______ $_______

(2b): Under paragraph entitled “Definitions of Labor Categories”, add the following general requirements to the following functional labor categories:

1006. Environmental/ Hygiene/Sanitation Specialist: Provides advice and guidance and undertakes assessments of the physical, sanitation, hydro-geologic, and geophysical conditions that could impede sustainable development gains in the health sector.

1007. Documentation/Outreach/Media Specialist: Provides assistance in drafting, editing, creating, graphically designing, and reproducing creative documents that serve to promote the objectives reached as a result of foreign assistance in the health sector in Ghana. This labor category will also be expected to be involved in the creation and design of events and media campaigns as needed to promote awareness of U.S. foreign assistance in Ghana.

3. Section L

(3a): Section L.7 (2) – Case Study, 1st paragraph is DELETED in its entirety and REPLACED with the following in lieu thereof: (revisions shown in Yellow and underlined)

“2. Case Study The offeror must submit a Program Description describing the offeror’s approach to addressing the required tasks set forth in the Case Study (See Attachment J1) in an integrated manner. The Program Description must describe how the proposed approaches and methodologies are innovative, developmentally sound, and will successfully accomplish the case study elements stated, including the desired capacity building outcomes for USAID/Ghana and GOG staff. This must include the approach that the offeror will take to ensure sustainability and ownership by partner country institutions, including how key stakeholders will be involved in each deliverable.

The Program Description must include an M&E Plan, a Performance Framework, a brief description of sequencing with a clear timeline for measuring results, and expected targets and outputs. And the Program Description must include a dissemination plan for the study findings.

[Note: The Program Description is limited to 12 pages maximum. This is not included in the total page limit of 30 pages for the Technical Proposal].

This is a desktop exercise. Offerors shall not contact USAID/Ghana in connection with this RFP.”

4. Clarifications and Responses to follow up questions:

(4a): Under Amendment 2, DELETE USAID response to Questions 31, 33, and 42 and REPLACE with the following:

“Question 31: In reference to the labor chart found in Section B.12, should Offerors assume the ceiling rates proposed cover all staff/consultants and will cover all personnel despite their employment status: Expatriate, CCN and TCN? For example, under CLIN 1001 (senior) the unburdened rate proposed would cover an Expatriate, TCN and/or CCN? Similarly, this rate would make no differentiation if the person is located in the home office or in the field?

Response 31: Ceiling Daily Rates (CDR) apply to U.S., TCNs and CCNs. Salaries for locally-hired national and TCN personnel will be determined based on a number of factors including salary history, local compensation plan, and fair market price for similar positions in Ghana.

Question 33: Are Offerors required to follow the US, TCN, CCN, US-based and Field-based designations outlined in the Price Evaluation Matrix? E.g. the first line item under A.

Salaries and Wages on RFP page 78 of 118 is for “Category 1001 (senior); 260 person-days [Long-Term US (Home Office)]”. Can USAID confirm that Offerors may not replace that with, for example, Category 1001 (senior) 260 person-days [Long Term CCN (Field Office)]?

Response 33: Offerors may not change the categories and number of workdays indicated in the price evaluation matrix; Salaries for categories 1001 to 1005 must be based on offerors’ proposed ceiling daily rates.

In accordance with Appendix J.2, the figures that are bolded and in quotes are USAID plug figures and must be used by all offerors for evaluation purpose.

In the cost evaluation Matrix, labor categories, levels, and number of workdays are all either in bold or in quotes and cannot be changed. Changes must be limited to items which are neither on bold nor in quotes: A. Ceiling daily rates for each category and level specified in the cost evaluation matrix and totals based on the number of workdays specified, B. fringe benefits, and I. indirect costs and fixed fee.

Question 42: Will the Mission please clarify how full-time key personnel will be funded, given that some of their time may not be directly attributable to individual Task Orders?

Response 42: Full time key personnel will be funded under task order 1.”

The above clarifying final answers for questions 31, 33, and 42 supersede all other related responses in Amendment 2.

(4b): Below are USAID responses to additional questions received:

Question 1: The answer to Question 41 clarified the number of CVs requested for other personnel and the labor categories that they correspond to. Could you please also clarify if Offerors are able to determine what level (senior or midlevel) their illustrative CVs are, dependent on their technical approach?

Response 2: Offeror is requested to submit Senior Level CVs.

Question 2: Amendment 2 has clarified that additional pieces must be included in the Case Study

Program Description 10-page annex (including on page 4 of Amendment 2 where it specifies that the Program Description “must include an M&E Plan, a Performance Framework, a brief description of sequencing with a clear timeline for measuring results, and expected targets and outputs…And…must include a dissemination plan for the study findings,” as well as a GANTT Chart per the answer to question 24).

Given the amount of information that must be submitted in this annex, would USAID consider giving Offerors two (2) additional pages for the case study annex, taking it from ten (10) pages maximum to twelve (12) pages maximum?

Response 2: Twelve page (12) maximum is Confirmed

Question 3: The answer to Question #32 states: “Offerors are requested to budget salaries and related costs of key personnel.” However, there do not appear to be instructions regarding the submission of a budget related to key personnel. Could USAID please clarify the following?

a) Can you please confirm that any required budget for KP is separate from attachment J.2 Evaluation Matrix, which does not appear to reflect KP?

b) Can USAID please clarify how a budget for KP would be evaluated?

c) Does USAID want a budget showing only KP salaries, related fringe and allowances, and indirect costs and fee?

d) Does USAID want a budget reflecting any other in-country costs

(establishment of local office, support staff, or other items)?

e) If so, in order to ensure that all Offerors are providing budgets for the same requirements, could you please specify the items that should be included in the proposed budget?

Response 3:

(a) No budget other than the Cost Evaluation Matrix is required under this

RFP. Full time key personnel will be funded under task order 1.

(b) N/A See USAID response above

(c) N/A

(d) N/A

(e) N/A

Question 4: We are somewhat confused by the responses to questions 31 and 33 regarding the Ceiling Daily Rates, the Price Evaluation Matrix, and how this information would be incorporated into a resulting award.

Response 4: Please refer to USAID clarifying final answers for questions 31 and 33.

Question 5: USAID/Ghana’s response Question #42 say, “Offerors are requested to budget salaries and related costs of key personnel.” This response implies that these costs are to be included in a Task Order. As the only pricing requests outline in the original solicitation and Amendment 1 and 2 are for the Evaluation Matrix and the List of Ceiling Daily Rates, we wish to seek confirmation that these costs will be budgeted AFTER contract award when Task Orders are issued and not during this part of the procurement process since the pricing for a task order has not been requested.

Response 5: Please refer to USAID clarifying final answer to question 42.

[END OF AMENDMENT No. 03]