SOL-664-17-000001-01.pdf

(x)

SOL-664-17-000001

x x copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted ; or (c) By separate letter or telegram which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT

THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment you desire to change an offer already submitted , such change may be made by telegram or letter, provided each telegram or letter makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

x

60435

USAID/MERP

60435 Frankfurt am Main, Germany Giessener Str 30 U.S. Consulate General Frankfurt USAID Middle East Regional Platform

01/09/2017000001

13. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO MODIFICATION OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS. IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA (If required) is not extended.is extended, Items 8 and 15, and returning

Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended , by one of the following methods: (a) By completing

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

FACILITY CODE CODE

10B. DATED (SEE ITEM 13)

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NO.

9B. DATED (SEE ITEM 11)

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NO.

CODE

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR (No., street, county, State and ZIP Code)

7. ADMINISTERED BY (If other than Item 6)CODE 6. ISSUED BY

PAGE OF PAGES

4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NO.3. EFFECTIVE DATE2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NO. 5. PROJECT NO. (If applicable)

1. CONTRACT ID CODE

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

01/09/2017

CHECK ONE A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE CONTRACT

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES (such as changes in paying office, C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER (Specify type of modification and authority) appropriation date, etc.) SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

E. IMPORTANT: Contractor is not, is required to sign this document and return __________________ copies to the issuing office.

ORDER NO. IN ITEM 10A.

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION (Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

The purposes of this Modification are to:

1. Provide answers to the questions submitted;

2. Extend the due date for proposals submission;

3. Make concomitant changes to the RFP text.

[Continued on Page 2]

16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (Type or print)15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER (Type or print)

15C. DATE SIGNED 16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR 16C. DATE SIGNED

(Signature of person authorized to sign) (Signature of Contracting Officer)

Doanh Van

STANDARD FORM 30 (REV. 10-83)

Prescribed by GSA

FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

NSN 7540-01-152-8070

Previous edition unusable

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9 A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect .

RFP SOL-664-17-000001-01

BRCP II

Accordingly, the following changes are made:

1. Throughout the text of the RFP – delete “February 27, 2017, 10:00 am Frankfurt Time” as the deadline for the submission of proposals and insert “March 9, 2017, 17:00 pm Frankfurt

Time” in lieu thereof;

2. Section B.2 – delete the text in its entirety and insert the following in lieu thereof:

This is a Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee (CPFF) Term contract. For the consideration set forth below, the

Contractor must provide the Level of Effort specified in Section F in accordance with the performance standards specified in Section F.

3. Section C.3, Objective 2, page 13 – delete the following sentence: “Some form of pay-at-risk in the scorecards particularly of educational administration may also be important.”

4. Section C.3, Objective 1, page 12 – add the following immediately before the job target table the following:

“There is some flexibility in the annual job outputs, subject to USAID concurrence, as long as the base period output equals or exceeds 38,300 FTE jobs and the output targets for the option years remain the same, such that the total output of five years equals or exceeds 70,000 FTE jobs.”

5. Section F.6.1 Plans, 1. Annual Work Plans, paragraph 2, pg. 23 – delete the words

“delineated by fiscal quarters” and insert “detailed by month” in lieu thereof;

6. Section J – add Attachment J.10 Tunisia Local Compensation Guide;

7. Section L.8(a), page 61 – delete the words “Implementation Plan” and insert “Draft Year 1

Work Plan and Mobilization Plan” in lieu thereof;

8. Section L.8(a)3 Management Approach, page 63 – delete

“The Offeror must provide a full staffing and management plan that describes the proposed approach to managing the project and that directly addresses how the technical experience, operational assets, capacity, and structural framework of the Offeror are sufficient to effectively achieve project goals.”

and insert the following in lieu thereof:

“The Offeror must provide a full staffing and management plan that describes the proposed approach to managing the project and that directly addresses how the technical and management experience, capacity, and staffing of the Offeror are sufficient to effectively achieve project goals.”

9. Section L.8(a), page 61 – delete “75” as the page limit for Annexes and insert “85” in lieu thereof;

10. Section L.8(a), page 61 – add the following to the list of Annexes: “Annex I – Labor Category

Qualifications”;

11. Section L.8(a), page 61 – revise the description of the Annex B as follows:

“Annex B – Organizational Chart, with lines of reporting clearly identified.

Statement of qualifications of the Long Term Staff, excluding the Key Personnel (not to exceed 5 pages)”

12. Section L.7(b), page 60 – delete “4.5MB” as the size limit per email and insert “10MB” in lieu thereof;

13. Section L.9(b)(vi)(A), page 65 – delete the following paragraph:

“Salaries and wages for long-term staff must be based on the requirements of the positions proposed and NOT on the proposed individuals' salary histories. A daily rate for each proposed position, the

Level of Effort proposed for the position and then the corresponding total salary per year must be provided in the LOE Table of the budget. Direct salaries and wages for long-term and short-term expatriate staff as well as home office support staff must not exceed Contractor Salary Threshold

(CST). Salaries for long-term and short term TCN and CCN staff must be in compliance with AIDAR

722-170.”

And insert the following in lieu thereof:

“Salaries and wages for long-term staff will be in accordance with the Contractor’s established policies, procedures, and practices, and the cost principles applicable to this contract and must be based on the requirements of the positions proposed and not solely on the proposed individuals’ salary histories. A daily rate for each proposed position, the Level of Effort proposed for the position and then the corresponding total salary per year must be provided in the LOE Table of the budget. Direct salaries and wages for long-term and short-term expatriate staff as well as home office support staff must not exceed Contractor Salary Threshold (CST). Salaries for long-term and short term TCN and CCN staff must be in compliance with AIDAR 722-170.”

Section B:

Question 1: Per RFP Section B.2, this is a cost-plus-fixed-fee (CPFF) term-type contract. Section B.2 also states that “the Contractor must provide the deliverables or outputs described in Sections C and F in accordance with the performance standards specified in Section F.” Providing deliverables and outputs is characteristic of a CPFF completion-type contract, whereas a CPFF term-type contract

“obligates the contractor to devote a specified level of effort for a stated time period,” as stated in FAR

16.306(d)(2). Also, Section B.5 states that “payment of fixed fee will be made upon receipt of a proper invoice and shall directly correspond to the percentage of allowable costs being paid” whereas in a

CPFF term-type contract, fixed fee is “payable at the expiration of the agreed-upon period, upon contractor’s statement that the level of effort specified in the contract has been expended in performing the contract work.” Could USAID confirm the contract type as CPFF term and consider amending the language in the RFP accordingly?

USAID Answer: USAID confirms that this is CPFF Term contract. The language in B.2 is revised as follows:

“the Contractor must provide the Level of Effort specified in Section F in accordance with the performance standards specified in Section F.”

The fee payment mechanism in B.5 is compliant with the FAR as it specifies that fee would be paid monthly based on the LOE expended and work accepted by the COR. However, USAID will consider alternative methods of the fixed fee payment, if proposed by offerors.

Section C:

Question 2: Section C.3, page 12. In the expected results section, on page 12 it is stated that the 70,000 job target is for jobs created. Section F on page 29 also states that the 70,000 job target is for jobs created. However, in the following table also on page 12 detailed the job targets indicates that 70,000 target includes both jobs created and jobs matched. Can USAID clarify if the 70,000 job target is for jobs created and matched or only for jobs created.

USAID Answer: The table in Section C.3 following Expected Results provides that jobs created equals the sum of jobs created and jobs matched. Therefore, a job matched is equal to a job created and vice versa.

Question 3: What level of effort do you envision for analysis of related public policies for the Tunisian government – i.e. regulatory policies, domestic resource mobilization, trade, etc.?

USAID Answer: USAID provides the maximum available LOE to achieve the job creation objective. It is up to the offerors to propose the allocation of LOE among the specific objectives.

The first paragraph under C.3 indicates clearly that the overriding objective of this solicitation is job creation, and that objectives two (2), three (3) and four (4) are to be pursued only to the extent they relate to job creation.

Question 4: Do you envision an associated task to provide the recommendations and assist the Tunisian government specifically? We are attempting to distinguish between how much of the work will be done with private-sector firms, as opposed to solely with the Tunisian Government.

USAID Answer: This program is not a policy reform or enabling environment program. Therefore, any policy reform efforts should fit squarely into assisting in the job creation objective.

Question 5: Is it implied that there will be analysis of domestic resource mobilization (tax policy, revenue management, etc.), as well as the provision of recommendations and policies?

USAID Answer: The program is not a tax reform, domestic resource mobilization program. It is a job creation program, and tax policy or reform is only important to the extent it assists in job creation.

Question 6: RFP page 14 lists “Report ‘Financing facilitated for assisted firms’” and “Report on the barriers to finance encountered during the program as a sub-chapter in the Periodic Assessment of

Business Enabling Environment” as Objective 2 expected results for the base and option period. These expected results appear to be more closely aligned with Objectives 1 and 3, respectively. Are offerors free to address these results in their approaches to Objectives 1 and 3?

USAID Answer: Yes.

Question 7: RFP page 13 says, “Some form of pay-at-risk in the scorecards particularly of educational administration may also be important.” Can USAID please clarify which scorecards are being referenced here?

USAID Answer: The sentence “Some form … important” has been deleted.

Question 8: The table on RFP page 12 states that the full-time equivalent job creation targets are the

“sum of jobs created and jobs matched.” Does USAID intend for the job creation target to be a sum of these two figures?

USAID Answer: Yes. Please also see response to Question 2.

Section F:

Question 9: Section F.4, page 21. The contractor agrees to provide 60,459 days of Level of Effort for the Base Period. Does this figure include key personnel LOE (e.g. COP)?

USAID Answer: Yes, it includes all labor.

Question 10: Section F.4.1, page 21. How will categories which are not enumerated be treated (e.g., translator, driver)?

USAID Answer: The table in Section F.4.1 is illustrative. The offerors are to propose labor categories and Ceiling Daily Rates to be included in the resultant contract. Please See Sections L.8 and L.9.

Question 11: Section F.7, page 29. The international development experience requirements and experience managing projects of similar scale and complexity tend to eliminate local candidates for the

COP position. In the case of a qualified local candidate, would USAID be willing to relax the international development experience requirement and managing projects of similar scale and complexity requirement given that a DCOP with the original international development experience and the original experience managing projects of similar scale and complexity be fielded with the COP?

USAID Answer: The minimum requirements for the Chief of Party are sufficiently broad to attract qualified local and international candidates. The minimum requirements for the COP remain as stated.

Question 12: Would USAID consider allowing the offeror to propose annual job creation targets in the

M&E plan, with the proviso that the total job target for base years and option years would remain

38,300 and 31,700, respectively?

USAID Answer: There is some flexibility in the annual job outputs, subject to USAID concurrence, as long as the base period output equals 38,300 FTE jobs and the output targets for the option years remain the same, such that the total output of five years equals 70,000 FTE jobs.

Please see Amendment - added to section C, objective one, immediately above the job target table the following:

“... potential to endure beyond three years. There is some flexibility in the annual job outputs, subject to

USAID concurrence, as long as the base period output equals or exceeds 38,300 FTE jobs and the output targets for the option years remain the same, such that the total output of five years equals or exceeds 70,000 FTE jobs.”

Question 13: For consistency purposes among offerors, would USAID provide further details regarding the labor category levels I, II, and III listed under section F.4.1? It is unclear whether Level 1 is to be the most senior or most junior.

USAID Answer: Level I is the most senior.

Question 14: Would USAID allow offerors to propose additional labor categories to those listed under section F.4.1?

USAID Answer: The table in Section F.4.1 is illustrative. The offerors are to propose labor categories and Ceiling Daily Rates to be included in the resultant contract. Please See Sections L.8 and L.9.

Section L:

Question 15: Can we submit the budget in MS Excel and the full set of the cost proposal in PDF?

In addition to a Microsoft Word file of the technical proposal, may offerors send the technical proposal in a PDF?

USAID Answer: Yes, the budget is to be submitted in MS Excel. Yes, pdf files are acceptable.

Question 16: Can USAID provide the Mission Local Compensation Guide for Tunisia?

USAID Answer: The Local Compensation Guide for Tunisia is attached.

Question 17: Section L.8 (a), page 61 of RFP states that the Offeror must provide Draft Activity

Monitoring and Evaluation Plan (including logic model and indicators) in Annex E and Draft Year One

Work Plan (including Mobilization Plan) in Annex F. According to Section L.8 (1.b-Technical approach), page 62 and Section M.3 (1-Technical Approach) Draft AMEP and Draft Year One Work

Plan are integral parts of Technical Approach. Please confirm that the instruction for the preparation of the Draft AMEP and Draft Year One Work Plan listed in Section L.8 (1.b-Technical approach) should read as instruction for the preparation of Annex E and Annex F respectively.

USAID Answer: Yes, that is correct.

Question 18: Section L.8 (a), page 61 of RFP states “The Technical Proposal must clearly indicate and delineate the proposed activities, indicators and results to be completed for each year during the three (3) year base period and the two (2) year option period to allow the evaluation of both the base and the option proposals. This delineation must be clear in the Technical Approach, Implementation

Plan, Activity Monitoring and Evaluation Plan, and any other relevant portion of the proposal.” Could

USAID please confirm that the referenced “Implementation Plan” should read “Draft Year 1 Work

Plan”?

USAID Answer: Yes. In this section, the term “Implementation Plan” is referring to the “Draft Year 1

Work Plan and Mobilization Plan”.

L.8 Instructions for the preparation of the technical proposal, section (a) paragraph three is amended as follows:

The Technical Proposal must clearly indicate and delineate the proposed activities, indicators and results to be completed for each year during the three (3) year base period and the two (2) year option period to allow the evaluation of both the base and the option proposals. This delineation must be clear in the Technical Approach, Draft Year 1 Work Plan and Mobilization Plan, Activity Monitoring and

Evaluation Plan, and any other relevant portion of the proposal.

Question 19: Section L.8 (1.b-Technical approach), page 62 of RFP states that Draft Year 1 Work Plan and Mobilization Plan: Draft Year 1 Work Plan must show proposed year one activities detailed by month and will serve as the first Annual Work Plan when finalized after the award and must comply with the requirements of F.6.1. Under Section F 6.1, page 23 the work plan to be developed by the selected Contractor must be accompanied by a financial plan linked to the activities proposed in the work plan. Please confirm that the Offerors should include the referenced financial plan in the Annex F of the Technical Proposal.

USAID Answer: No, the financial plan should not be submitted in the Technical Proposal. It is to be submitted with the final draft that is due 30 days after the effective date of the resultant contract. This financial plan should be reconciled with the final negotiated budget.

Question 20: Section L.8 (1.b-Technical approach), page 62 of RFP states “Draft Year 1 Work Plan must show proposed year one activities detailed by month and will serve as the first Annual Work Plan when finalized after the award and must comply with the requirements of F.6.1”. Under Section F 6.1, page 23 the selected Contractor must submit a work plan for Year One, delineated by fiscal quarters.

Could USAID please clarify under which criterion the activities should be delineated/detailed (by months of by fiscal quarters)?

USAID Answer: The Draft Year 1 Work Plan and the Mobilization Plan activities should be detailed by month.

Section F.6.1 PLANS, 1. Annual Work Plans, paragraph 2, pg. 23 is amended as follows:

The Contractor must submit a work plan for Year One, detailed by month, to the COR for review and approval. This may be a revised and refined version of the draft work plan submitted with the proposal.

Question 21: Section L.8 3, page 62, the following is stated: “The Offeror must provide a full staffing and management plan that describes the proposed approach to managing the project and that directly addresses how the technical experience, operational assets , capacity, and structural framework of the

Offeror are sufficient to effectively achieve project goals.” Can USAID explain what is meant by

“operational assets” and “structural framework”?

USAID Answer: The language in L.8.3 is revised as follows:

“The Offeror must provide a full staffing and management plan that describes the proposed approach to managing the project and that directly addresses how the technical and management experience, capacity, and staffing of the Offeror are sufficient to effectively achieve project goals.”

Question 22: Section L.8 3, Page 63. The RFP states: “Offerors must provide the minimum required qualifications for each of the proposed labor category. The description of qualifications is exempt from the page limit.” Can USAID please clarify if those descriptions may be placed in an annex? Will that annex not count against the annex limit of 75 pages?

USAID Answer: Annex I with labor category qualifications will count against the annexes page limit.

However, the page limit for annexes in increased to 85 pages.

Question 23: RFP Sections L.8.3 on page 63 and L.9.b.vi(A) on page 65 require offerors to submit minimum required qualifications for each of the proposed labor categories. Would USAID confirm that offerors should present these labor category minimum qualifications in the technical and the cost volumes? If in the technical, in which annex should these be presented?

USAID Answer: The labor category qualifications are to be submitted as part of the technical proposal.

Do not include proposed CDR. The list of annexes is revised to add Annex I - Labor Category

Qualifications.

Question 24: Please confirm that the cover page, executive summary, table of contents, and dividers, which do not count toward the 25-page technical proposal limit, are also excluded from the 75-page attachment/annex/appendix limit.

USAID Answer: Correct, the pages excluded from the technical proposal page limit are excluded from the annexes page limit, as well.

Question 25: Section L.8 4. Page 63. The RFP states: “Describe any quality awards or certifications that indicate exceptional capacity to provide the service or product described in the statement of work.

This information is not included in the page limitation.” Does this mean that any information provided in this regard will not count towards the proposal annex limit of 75 pages or the technical proposal limit of 25 pages?

USAID Answer: Correct. Please also note that the page limit for annexes has been increased to 85 pages. However, the offerors are discouraged from submitting excessive and lengthy information.

Question 26: Section L.8 4. Page 63-64. For the Past Performance requirements stated in this section, can we assume that these requirements apply to annex D and that the critical past performance information should be summarized in the technical proposal (similar to the approach used for Key

Personnel)?

USAID Answer: Correct.

Question 27: Does USAID require cost narrative from Subcontractors along with their detailed budget?

USAID Answer: Yes, the major subcontractors must provide budget narrative with the detailed budget.

Question 28: RFP Section L.8.4(d)(3)(B) on page 64 requests copies of subcontracting reports that have not been submitted to eSRS in the past three years. Our hardcopy subcontracting reports for the past three years total more than 800 pages and comprise more than 40 MB. Given that there is a 75-page limit on the annexes and offerors’ subcontract reporting varies vastly, would USAID 1) accept a http://l.9.b.vi/ list of 10 relevant eSRS reports and a copy of five SF-294 forms that are not duplicated on the eSRS and, 2) exempt eSRS reports from the 75-page limit?

USAID Answer: 10 relevant eSRS reports and a copy of five SF-294 forms that are not duplicated on the eSRS are acceptable. Please also note that the page limit for annexes has been increased to 85 pages.

Question 29: RFP Section L.8(a) on page 61 does not explicitly exempt an acronym list from the technical proposal’s 25-page limit. Would USAID allow offerors to include an acronym list exempt from the page limitation?

USAID Answer: Yes, acronym list is excluded from the page limit.

Question 30: RFP Section L.8.4(a) states that offerors must fill in Section A of Attachment J.8 Past

Performance Questionnaire. Could USAID advise whether offerors should send the forms with Section

A completed directly to the contact and request that they complete Section B and submit them directly to USAID by the deadline as the attachment suggests, or should offerors submit the forms with Section

A completed to USAID with our proposal submission for USAID to forward along to the reference contacts?

USAID Answer: Offerors should fill in Section A and submit the form to USAID with the proposal.

Question 31: Would USAID allow offerors to elaborate a sustainability strategy in an additional optional annex to the technical proposal within the 75-page limit on Annex materials?

USAID Answer: No, the sustainability must be addressed as part of the Technical Approach.

Question 32: Could USAID please provide a range for a government estimate? If not, would USAID please suggest a plug for a grant/subcontract fund?

Would USAID clarify whether the award amount USAID cited in the FY17 Q1 forecast review question-and-answer call (December 13, 2016) of $59 million is a ceiling, an estimated center of a range, or whether USAID now has a different estimate for the total BRCP II cost (and if so, what)? One way or the other, please provide a target award ceiling to allow comparable review across

Offerors regarding cost realism and reasonableness?

USAID Answer: Per ADS 302, USAID will not provide the anticipated award ceiling. The estimated required LOE is provided in Section F. Please also review the updated information in the Agency

Business Forecast. USAID does not have a plug number for grants/subcontract fund.

Question 33: RFP Section L.9.b.vi(A) on page 65 states that “salaries and wages for long-term staff must be based on the requirements of the positions proposed and NOT on the proposed individuals’ salary histories.” This restriction may preclude offerors from complying with AIDAR 752.7007, referenced in RFP Sections I.3 and L.9, which states that “Direct compensation of the Contractor’s personnel will be in accordance with the Contractor’s established policies, procedures, and practices, and the cost principles applicable to this contract.” We respectfully request that USAID consider amending the RFP language to allow offerors to establish salaries and wages in accordance with their http://l.9.b.vi/ established policies, procedures, and practice, which will consider an individual’s salary history in addition to requirements of the position and qualifications.

USAID Answer: The purpose for this language is not to restrict the basis of determining the fair and reasonable salary, but allow the contractors flexibility when the proposed individuals’ salary history would not support a rate commensurate with the requirements of the position. To avoid confusion, the language in L.9.bvi(A) is revised as follows:

“salaries and wages for long-term staff will be in accordance with the Contractor’s established policies, procedures, and practices, and the cost principles applicable to this contract and must be based on the requirements of the positions proposed and not solely on the proposed individuals’ salary histories.”

Question 34: RFP Section L.8.a.1(A) states that the work plan must comply with Section F.6.1 requirements. Could USAID please confirm that only after award would an offeror’s work plan be revised to comply with F.6.1? If there is an expectation that the Draft Work Plan Annex to the proposal conform with F.6.1, could USAID confirm that offerors should not include an “estimated budget organized by component” and “financial plan linked to the activities” in the technical proposal?

USAID Answer: The financial plan/estimated budget should not be submitted with the draft work plan as part of the proposal. It will be submitted with the finalized work plan after the award. However, the the draft work plan should be close to the final to extent possible and should not require major revision after the award.

Question 35: We request USAID to confirm that the work is covered under a partnership agreement between the US and required countries specified in Section C. We request USAID to confirm that non-resident employees of the Offeror who will be performing work under the contract with USAID should be exempt from personal income tax in the countries specified in Section C to the extent that the work performed is financed by the US Government. We request USAID to confirm the Offeror should be able to claim an exemption from VAT to the extent that the services to be performed in countries specified in Section C are financed by the US Government, and requested by the applicable

Government.

USAID Answer: There are three parts to Question 33: (1) There is a bilateral framework between the

USG and the Government of Tunisia dated 1957. Please note that the BRCP II activity must be implemented only in Tunisia, and not in other countries in the region; (2) USAID cannot confirm that non-resident employees of the Offeror will be exempted from personal income tax in Tunisia. USAID considers the treatment of paying personal income taxes a private matter between the individual and his/her employer. All individuals who will perform under the activity must comply with local labor laws and any laws that govern personal income taxes. Furthermore, personal income taxes is an unallowable expense in accordance with current USG regulations; and (3) While the offeror may seek exemption from VAT, USAID cannot confirm that the offeror will be successful in claiming an exemption from VAT. The acceptance of VAT exemption requests has been uneven by the Government of Tunisia, therefore, the offeror should utilize every legally available avenue (i.e. an NGO exemption under national law) to prevent foreign assistance funds (program funds) to be used for VAT or taxation payments. USAID will be amenable to providing a letter to assist with the VAT exemption request.

Question 36: We request USAID to release the Non-expendable property list, if applicable.

USAID Answer: The requested information is not available at this time.

Question 37: Please let us know where the form Disclosure of Lobbying Activity (SF-LLL) should be included in the proposal (the form is provided in the attached J.2).

USAID Answer: Please provide the completed form with the Section K certifications.

Question 38: Section L.7 (b) states, “the offeror must submit the proposal via e-mail with up to 4.5 MB limit per email…”. Will USAID consider increasing the size per e-mail from 4.5 MB to 10 MB to ensure that both the cost and technical volumes can be submitted as a single e-mail attachment?

USAID Answer: USAID requested that technical and cost proposals be submitted separately. Please refer to the cover letter of the solicitation and Section L.7. The size per email limit is hereby increased to 10MB per email.

Question 39: L.8 Instructions for the preparation of the Technical Proposal a) General Annex B (page

61) states, "Organizational Chart, with lines of reporting clearly identified. Statement of Qualifications of the long term staff (not to exceed 5 pages)." Please clarify if Key Personnel qualifications should be included in the Statement of Qualifications or whether Annex A - Resumes and References for Key

Personnel suffices for this purpose.

USAID Answer: Key Personnel qualifications should not include statements of qualifications in Annex

A or in Annex B.

L.8. page 61, description of Annex B is amended as follows: “... Long Term Staff, excluding key personnel ….”

Question 40: The RFP does not mention Letters of Commitment for Key Personnel. Would USAID like letters of commitment as part of the submission and, if so, should these be included in Annex A of the submission or elsewhere?

USAID Answer: No. Letters of commitment are not requested.

Question 41: Would USAID provide offerors with the TND-USD exchange rate to be used in development of the cost submission?

USAID Answer: Organizations should follow their internal policies to establish exchange rate equivalents. All proposed costs must be expressed in US Dollars.

Question 42: Would USAID confirm that the Policies and Procedures requirement listed in section L.9, subsection I.d, on page 67 is not mandatory for current USAID contract holders? Our policy and procedures manuals are voluminous.

USAID Answer: Correct, offerors who currently hold USAID contracts do not need to submit policies and procedures. USAID reserves the right to request the policies and procedures should there be a need.

Question 43: Section L.8.4, Past Performance (page 63): Given the number of past relevant workforce-related programs that have been funded through assistance instruments, will USAID consider broadening the requirement to include past performance under assistance instruments?

USAID Answer: Please see Section L.8(a)(4) Past Performance that states “Projects implemented under assistance mechanisms may be considered if they are relevant and recent.”

Question 44: Would USAID kindly reconcile the discrepancies between the instructions for the technical and cost proposals respectively regarding the CDRs, specifically

--Section F.4, Level of Effort, and F.4.1, Unburdened Ceiling Daily Rates (page 21), lists labor categories and indicates that personnel for each labor category cannot exceed established CDRs. (There is no mention of whether these CDRs apply to LTTA, STTA, or both.)

--Section L.8.3 (page 63) correspondingly requires offerors to provide, in a technical proposal annex, minimum required qualifications for each proposed labor category in a technical proposal annex.

--However, in Section L.9.b (page 65), the RFP states that Offerors must provide a table identifying proposed CDRs for short-term consultants (both local and expat) in the cost proposal.

--The same clause on page 65 requires offerors to provide, as part of the cost proposal, required qualifications for each such STTA labor category.

USAID Answer: The CDR applies to both LTTA and STTA. The Labor Categories in Section F.4 are illustrative and the offerors are required to provide Labor Categories and minimum qualifications only in Technical Proposals. The CDR must be provided in the Cost Proposal with supporting information to justify the rates.

Question 45: The initial environmental examination (IEE) attached to the RFP indicates that the value of the “Private Sector Employment Project” is $107 million. It also states that “the procurement of the

PFM project has slipped.”

a. Could USAID clarify whether the government estimate for BRCP II is $107 million or if the IEE is intended to cover both BRCP II and a new Public Financial Management (PFM) program?

b. If the IEE covers both, could USAID clarify the government estimates for each program?

c. If the new PFM program is still anticipated, was USAID’s inclusion of the illustrative activity in bullet 9 on RFP page 15 erroneous? Or could USAID clarify how BRCP II’s work in tax and customs reform should relate to or complement the scope of the new PFM program?

USAID Answer:

a. The PIEE covers all Tunisia economic growth programming, not just the Business Reform and

Competitiveness Activity being solicited.

b. USAID will not provide any financial information other than an estimate of total level of effort, as stated in Section F. Please see also response to Question 31.

c. The ninth bullet point under objective three’s illustrative activities reads “Working with the requisite ministries on the reform of and issues related to revenue collection and expenditure management illustrated by but not limited to tax rationalization, customs system reform, identification and removal of non-tariff barriers as appropriate, systems support for financial management in government operations, etc. an illustrative result could be “establishing a simplified business tax schedule and payment regime”. As with other activities under objective three, all activities in support of objective three are to be undertaken only to the extent that they facilitate, enable or otherwise service the job creation objective. USAID expects relevant information learned by BRCP-II in the course of creating jobs to be communicated to the other programs, stakeholders and implementing partners.

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