Amendment_02_to_LSA-_Qs As_final_04222015.pdf

ATTACHMENT (2)

AMENDMENT (2) TO SOLICITATION SOL-669-15-000017 LSA

Part A. Specific changes to SOL-669-15-000017 Liberia Strategic Analysis (LSA) are summarized as follows:

1. Changes to Section B

In Section “B.5. INDIRECT COSTS”

Deleted the last sentence which states “All costs for organizations without a NICRA shall be budgeted and billed as direct costs”

2. Changes to Section C

In Section “C.4.1 Project Components / Description”, under “Component 1.2:

Collaborating, Learning and Adapting”

Deleted the fourth bullet point “ Organizing and facilitating up to 6 knowledge sharing workshops with Liberian communities of practice using cutting-edge presentation and learning technologies and platforms.” Replaced this with “Organizing and facilitating up to 6 knowledge sharing workshops per year with Liberian communities of practice using cutting-edge presentation and learning technologies and platforms, as required and demanded by the Mission.”

In Section “C.4.1 Project Components / Description”, under “Component 2.2:

Analysis and Reports”, subheading “Expected Program Results” the statement which reads “Section J contains a list of topics and questions the Contractor may be asked to address through this analytic agenda.” is hereby deleted in its entirety

In Section “C.6 KEY PERSONNEL AND STAFFING”, under “Key Personnel”, insert the following paragraph after the last sentence “All key personnel must have fluent (Level IV) English language proficiency.” “USAID encourages an advanced degree for all key personnel. We also encourage qualified Liberian candidates.

Recognizing the reality of a lack of opportunities for master’s degrees, we would consider relevant bachelor’s degrees combined with five (5) additional years of progressively responsible relevant professional experience. A successful candidate with a bachelor’s degree should have five (5) years of progressive professional experience (in addition to the stated requirements) to make up for the lack of an advanced degree.”

3. Changes to Section F

In Section “F.4. REPORTS AND DELIVERABLES”

Deleted the subheading “A. Monthly Briefing” and replaced with “A. Bi-weekly Briefings”.

4. Changes to Section H

After Section “H.34. USAID IMPLEMENTING PARTNER NOTICES (IPN)

PORTAL FOR ACQUISITION (JUL 2014)” the following Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI) clause has been incorporated:

I. Clause for solicitations and contracts covering a definite quantity:

Organizational Conflicts of Interest: PRECLUSION FROM FURNISHING CERTAIN

SERVICES AND RESTRICTION ON USE OF INFORMATION.

(a) This contract calls for the Contractor to furnish important services in support of the evaluation of [specify activity or contractor].

In accordance with the principles of FAR Subpart 9.5 and USAID policy, THE

CONTRACTOR SHALL BE INELIGIBLE TO FURNISH, AS A PRIME OR

SUBCONTRACTOR OR OTHERWISE, IMPLEMENTATION SERVICES UNDER

ANY CONTRACT OR TASK ORDER THAT RESULTS IN RESPONSE TO

FINDINGS, PROPOSALS, OR RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE EVALUATION

REPORT WITHIN 18 MONTHS OF USAID ACCEPTING THE REPORT, unless the Head of the Contracting Activity, in consultation with USAID's Competition Advocate, authorizes a waiver (in accordance FAR 9.503) determining that preclusion of the Contractor from the implementation work would not be in the Government's interest. (b) In addition, BY ACCEPTING THIS CONTRACT, THE CONTRACTOR AGREES

THAT IT WILL NOT USE OR MAKE AVAILABLE ANY INFORMATION

OBTAINED ABOUT ANOTHER ORGANIZATION UNDER THE CONTRACT IN

THE PREPARATION OF PROPOSALS OR OTHER DOCUMENTS IN RESPONSE

TO ANY SOLICITATION FOR A CONTRACT OR TASK ORDER.

(b) If the contractor gains access to proprietary information of other company (ies) in performing this evaluation, the contractor must agree with the other company (ies) to protect their information from unauthorized use or disclosure for as long as it remains proprietary, and must refrain from using the information for any purpose other than that for which it was furnished. THE CONTRACTOR MUST PROVIDE A PROPERLY

EXECUTED COPY OF ALL SUCH AGREEMENTS TO THE CONTRACTING

OFFICER.

5. Changes to Section I

After Section “I.11. 752.219-70 USAID MENTOR- PROTÉGÉ PROGRAM

(JUL 2007)” the following Acquisition and Assistance Procurement Directive (AAPD 15-01) clauses have been incorporated:

52.203-98 PROHIBITION ON CONTRACTING WITH ENTITIES THAT

REQUIRE CERTAIN INTERNAL CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENTS

REPRESENTATION (DEVIATION 2015-02)- (APR 2015)

(a) In accordance with section 743 of Division E, Title VII, of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Resolution Appropriations Act, 2015 (Pub. L. 113-235), Government agencies are not permitted to use funds appropriated (or otherwise made available) under that or any other Act for contracts with an entity that requires employees or subcontractors of such entity seeking to report fraud, waste, or abuse to sign internal confidentiality agreements or statements prohibiting or otherwise restricting such employees or subcontractors from lawfully reporting such waste, fraud, or abuse to a designated investigative or law enforcement representative of a Federal department or agency authorized to receive such information.

(b) The prohibition in paragraph (a) of this provision does not contravene requirements applicable to Standard Form 312, Form 4414, or any other form issued by a Federal department or agency governing the nondisclosure of classified information.

(c) Representation. By submission of its offer, the Offeror represents that it does not require employees or subcontractors of such entity seeking to report fraud, waste, or abuse to sign internal confidentiality agreements or statements prohibiting or otherwise restricting such employees or subcontractors from lawfully reporting such waste, fraud, or abuse to a designated investigative or law enforcement representative of a Federal department or agency authorized to receive such information.

(End of clause)

52.203-99 PROHIBITION ON CONTRACTING WITH ENTITIES THAT

REQUIRE CERTAIN INTERNAL CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENTS

(DEVIATION 2015-02) - (APR 2015)

(a) The Contractor shall not require employees or subcontractors seeking to report fraud, waste, or abuse to sign or comply with internal confidentiality agreements or statements prohibiting or otherwise restricting such employees or subcontractors from lawfully reporting such waste, fraud, or abuse to a designated investigative or law enforcement representative of a Federal department or agency authorized to receive such information.

(b) The contractor shall notify employees that the prohibitions and restrictions of any internal confidentiality agreements covered by this clause are no longer in effect.

(c) The prohibition in paragraph (a) of this clause does not contravene requirements applicable to Standard Form 312, Form 4414, or any other form issued by a Federal department or agency governing the nondisclosure of classified information.

(d)(1) In accordance with section 7 43 of Division E, Title VI I, of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Resolution Appropriations Act, 2015 (Pub. L. 113-235), use of funds appropriated (or otherwise made available) under that or any other Act may be prohibited, if the Government determines that the Contractor is not in compliance with the provisions of this clause.

(2) The Government may seek any available remedies in the event the contractor fails to comply with the provisions of this clause.

(End of clause)

6. Changes to Section J

The following attachments have been incorporated under section J:

1) Local compensation plan tables

2) Mission Order on Project Design

3) Branding and Marking template

The following signed Mission Orders have been posted as attachments to the amended solicitation:

1. Mission Order- Performance Monitoring- #MO203-3A

2. Mission Order- Evaluation- #MO203-3B

7. Changes to Section L

In Section L.6 “SUBMISSION/DELIVERY INSTRUCTIONS”, Deleted the highlighted word within the sentence “The Offeror must submit the proposal via internet email with up to 3 attachments (2MB limit) per email compatible with MS WORD, MS Excel or PDF (Portable Document File) format in a Microsoft Windows XP environment.”

Replace this with “The Offeror must submit the proposal via internet email. Attachments per email must be less than 15MB compatible with MS WORD, MS Excel or PDF (Portable Document File) format in a Microsoft Windows environment.”

In Section L.7 “INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE PREPARATION OF THE TECHNICAL PROPOSAL”, under subheading “III. Technical Proposal (maximum 30 pages – not including annexes)”

Deleted “Annex G: Brief explanation of the selected method Electronic Payments” in its entirety and adjusted the sequence of the annexes accordingly.

In Section “L.8 COST/BUSINESS PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS” under section II, Part 2 subheading “Proposed Costs/Prices”

Deleted the wordings “as synopsized under Attachment J”

In Section “L.10 Instructions for the Preparation of the Branding Implementation Plan and the Marking Plan”

The Branding and Marking Template has been added to Section J of the amended solicitation.

8. Changes to Section M

In Section “M.3 EVALUATION CRITERIA” under subsection “M.3.3 – TECHNICAL EVALUATION CRITERIA”, insert the last bullet point under M.3.3 Institutional Capability “• Implementation: The Offeror shall describe that organization’s experience, accomplishments and expertise in successfully implementing the methodological approaches/activities under the relevant Component.”

PART B. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

1. Would USAID please clarify Section H21, relating to conflict of interest, as it would relate to a sub-contractor? Specifically, would a sub-contractor working for a prime contractor be subject to these same provisions?

USAID Response: Yes, the sub-contractor working for a prime contractor will be subject to the same provisions.

2. Given the Project Design focus of this contract under Component 1.1, please advise how many Project Designs and associated Project Appraisal Documents (PADs) remain to be developed under the 2013-2017 CDCS?

USAID Response: All PADs under the 2013-2017 CDCS should be developed and cleared at the point that LSA comes on board. However, the LSA contractor will be expected to ensure that these are “living documents” and are updated when required. The LSA contractor will also participate in project design under the next

CDCS.

3. Under Component 1.2 on p. 13, the RFP lists “organizing and facilitating up to 6 knowledge-sharing workshops with Liberian communities of practice.” Can the Mission please clarify if this means 6 over the life of the activity (total), or 6 per year?

USAID Response: USAID/Liberia expects that the Contractor will design, organize and deliver approximately six knowledge sharing workshops per year, as required by the Mission.

4. Under Component 1.3, are the 10 Liberian students or young professionals who participate annually in the Internship program expected to live in Monrovia? If not, how should the contractor budget for their participation?

USAID Response: The contractor will design the internship program, including a budget per relevant Liberian labor laws. USAID envisions that these interns will be Monrovia-based as they should be receiving supervision and mentorship from the LSA contractor, but if there is a case for the interns to work outside of Monrovia, USAID would be open to that suggestion.

5. Under Component 2.3, how many Impact Evaluations does the Mission expect the contractor to design and for work planning purposes, in which years of the activity?

USAID Response: Impact evaluation design will be completed on an "as needed" basis, and per evaluability assessments. The Mission expects 2-3 designs during the five-year implementation of LSA.

6. Under Component 2.4, the RFP states that the contractor will assist USAID/Liberia in

“reviewing and revising the Mission wide Performance Management Plan (PMP) and individual activity M&E plans,” or AMEPs.

a. Approximately how many AMEPs will the contractor be responsible for reviewing and thus, under the same component, updating?

USAID Response: On average, LMEP has reviewed and commented on 14 new and updated Activity M&E plans per year. The Mission is open to suggestions for how to best ensure that these documents are best utilized as “living documents” for the Mission and implementing partners.

b. Approximately how many AMEP Performance Indicator Reference Sheets?

USAID Response: On average, Mission activities have about 30 indicators, including custom and standard “F” indicators. However, this varies wildly depending on the scope of the activity and whether the activity is funded through earmarks. The Mission would aims for less quantity, but higher quality, indicators.

7. RFP p. 27 Section F.4 includes the section header “A. Monthly Briefing,” while the text states that “The Contractor will brief the COR bi-weekly.” The table on p. 30, Item A.

also refers to a “Monthly Briefing.” Please clarify the frequency of these briefings?

USAID Response: USAID/Liberia requests for bi-weekly briefings. The solicitation has been amended accordingly.

8. RFP p. 27 also notes that Quarterly Reports must address “Budget execution, clearly showing actual vs. planned expenditures, and a forecast of the expenditures for the remainder of the project.” Because this is not a Firm Fixed Price contract, and because all LSA annual work plans will not have been submitted and approved when these Quarterly Reports are submitted, please remove this requirement.

USAID Response: In view of what is supposed to be reflected in the quarterly report as stipulated under F.4, B, USAID does not finds it necessary to remove the requirement for the submission of quarterly report.

9. RFP p. 40 states that the Geographic Code is 937, while p. 43 states that it is 935.

Please clarify which is correct ?

USAID Response: As specified in the solicitation under section H.10, page 43, the applicable Geographic code is 935.

10. Under Key Personnel and staffing, all three positions require a relevant advanced degree.

Liberian master’s degree programs have only become widely accessible relatively recently and since August, these programs have shut down, leaving many candidates with only partially completed degrees (Pages 19-20).

a. Due to the lack of Liberian nationals with completed master’s degrees, would USAID accept Liberian candidates who hold relevant bachelor’s degrees combined with additional years of relevant professional experience?

USAID Response: USAID encourages an advanced degree for all key personnel. We also encourage qualified Liberian candidates. Recognizing the reality of a lack of opportunities for master’s degrees, we would consider relevant bachelor’s degrees combined with five (5) additional years of progressively responsible relevant professional experience. A successful candidate with a bachelor’s degree should have five (5) years of progressive professional experience (in addition to the stated requirements) to make up for the lack of an advanced degree.

11. Under Component 1.2: Collaborating, Learning and Adapting. Page 13 references the delivery of “outreach products” through systems strengthening and HICD workshops.

Can the Mission please provide more detail on the nature of these outreach products?

Are they specific products that LSA must develop?

USAID Response:

The Mission does not have specific products in mind. However, it is critical that the Contractor, in delivering System Strengthening, HICD and knowledge workshops, takes into consideration the nature of the complex problems of the Liberian development context. Where required, outreach products are meant to be tailored to the specific needs of the particular stakeholder group. For example, when reaching out to Government of Liberia counterparts on sensitive issues such lack of capacity; poor or lack of public financial accountability or the lack of “political will” to implement public sector reform initiatives to enhance governance and speed up development for the benefit of all Liberians, it may be important to create innovative outreach products that will help facilitate difficult communication around chronic behavior and/or ethical problems as they relate to the Mission’s work in the Liberian development ecosystem. The Mission seeks technical proposals that will advance innovative suggestions for outreach products, or knowledge translation materials designed to target a wide variety of stakeholder audiences.

12. On page 22, USAID/Liberia requires the Deputy Chief of Party to have “substantial evaluation (both performance and impact evaluation) design experience”. Section C of the RFP (p.17-18) includes (30) performance evaluations, but mentions that IE designs aren’t yet for certain.

a. Considering the uncertainty, would USAID accept an alternate staffing structure of a high-quality M&E DCOP supplemented by short-term impact evaluation design experts?

USAID Response: USAID would consider an alternative staffing structure, but the M&E DCOP should have sufficient knowledge of IEs to be able to undertake evaluability assessments and where appropriate, effectively recruit and manage teams to design high quality impact evaluations.

13. Can the Mission please clarify its position on Offerors initiating exclusive teaming agreements with local organizations in Liberia for the purposes of this proposal? Given the limited pool of local partners in Liberia, it seems that initiating exclusive partnerships with local partners at the proposal stage will detract from the overall quality of proposals put forward by offerors.

USAID Response: USAID agrees and per the cover letter of the RFP, “discourages the use of exclusive agreements with international or regional/local organizations as this limits USAID’s ability to receive the best services.”

14. RFP pages 23 and 84 (in the Mission Order dated 2011) reference “the Mission’s CLA

Agenda” and “CLA agendas.”

a. Is there currently a CLA agenda, and if so, can it be shared with offerors?

USAID Response: Please see Part VIII, USAID/Liberia CDCS 2013-2017; pp 77-82 ( Collaborating, Learning and Adapting (CLA) Plan. The public version of the CDCS can be found at:

https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1870/liberia-cdcs.pdf.

b. Does the CLA agenda, or any other document, specify existing Communities of

Practice to be addressed in this proposal? If not, will the offeror be required to identify and develop communities of practice over the life of this activity?

USAID Response: Yes, the offeror will be required to work with the Mission CLA Coordinator, the DO technical teams, the Program Office, as necessary, to identify and develop communities of practice over the life of the activity.

15. RFP page 108 states that technical proposals “shall be divided into sections corresponding to and following the order of the evaluation criteria” in the RFP. Pages 112 -113 and 124 (Evaluation Criteria) state that the Offeror shall submit past performance information that will be evaluated on seven sub-criteria of equal weight.

a. Given the instructions on page 108 and the fact that many past performance examples satisfy multiple of the evaluation sub-criteria, please clarify how you envision the Past Performance Section being structured in a way that avoids redundancy?

USAID Response: Past Performance evaluation is distinct from the RFP requirement at page 108 on technical proposals. Please structure Past Performance section in a manner to facilitate evaluation as stipulated in pages 112-113 and 124 of the RFP.

16. Will the Mission please provide its Local Compensation Plan to guide offerors in proposing appropriate rates for local personnel?

USAID Response: The USAID/Liberia mission will provide offerors with the Local Compensation Plan table for purposes of rates guidance. The Local Compensation Plan will not be provided.

17. Section H.12 states that a six-day workweek shall be authorized only on a case-by-case basis with prior approval from the CO. Will the Mission please consider authorizing a six-day workweek for all personnel providing short-term technical assistance on TDY?

USAID Response: USAID authorizes a six day work week for Short Term technical assistance.

https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1870/liberia-cdcs.pdf

18. Both B.2 and L.3 imply this is a CPFF Term (or level of effort) contract, yet B.8 implies that payment of fee and hence the contract is a CPFF Completion basis? Could USAID please clarify which type of contract it is?

USAID Response: This is a Cost Plus Fixed Fee term (level of effort) contract

19. The RFP mentions 30 performance evaluations to be carried out over the life the contract. Given the lack of specificity on the exact locations and types of activities to be evaluated, will the Mission consider providing a plug figure for evaluation activities?

USAID Response: The Mission has estimated 30 performance evaluations over the life of the contract. These evaluations have tremendous variation in cost, so we will not provide a plug figure. For more specificity on the exact locations and type of activities to be evaluated, review USAID/Liberia’s portfolio.

20. The solicitation makes reference to past performance forms on Section L.7, page 107 and a past performance matrix on Section L.7, page 108. Could USAID/Liberia kindly clarify the preferred method of presentation for past performance? Page 108 makes reference to past performance both as Section D. of the proposal and as Annex C. Should past performance information appear in both areas of the proposal?

USAID Response: Past performance should be presented using the past performance matrix and should appear as Annex C.

21. Electronic payments explanation is referenced both in the technical volume (Section L.7, page 108) and the cost volume (Section L.9, page 119). Does it need to appear in both?

USAID Response: Annex G is hereby deleted from section L.7 of RFP.

22. Are major subcontractor PPRs be included in the 5 submitted projects? Or may each major subcontractor also submit five PPRs in addition to the prime PPRs? (See Section L.7, page 113[ESL8] )

USAID Response: Each major Sub-contractor should submit 5 PPRs in addition to the Prime’s PPRs.

23. Section H.2 (page 38) of the RFP mentions that compensation for TCNs and CCNs may not exceed the prevailing compensation paid to personnel performing comparable work in the cooperating country as determined by the USAID Mission. Can USAID/Liberia share its local compensation plan for CCNs and TCNs[ESL9] ?

USAID Response: USAID/Liberia will provide the Local Compensation Plan tables for reference

24. Section H.3 (page 40) states that the authorized geographic code is 937, while section

L.8 (d) (page 115) states that goods and services provided by the offerors are subject to geographic code 935. Can USAID/Liberia kindly clarify what the correct geographic code is?

USAID Response: The authorized Geographic code for this RFP is 935

25. For cost evaluation purposes, can USAID/Liberia provide a fixed conversion rate

(Liberian dollars to US dollars) to be used by all offerors in the preparation of their cost proposals[ESL11] ?

USAID Response: Since the conversion rate is likely to fluctuate, offerors should use what is applicable at the time of proposal preparation and indicate what rate has been applied.

26. In the cover letter of the RFP it states that “attachments per email must be less than

15MB” and on page 106 section L.6 it states that “the offeror must submit the proposal via internet email with up to 3 attachments (2MB limit) per email.” Can you please confirm that the 3 attachments, combined, must total 15 MB or less?

USAID Response: 15 MB is the maximum limit possible per email submission.

27. Page 13, Section C.4.1, Component 2.1 states “up to 6 knowledge sharing workshops…”.

Can you please clarify if this is 6 per year or 6 total over the 5 year term of the project[ESL13] ?

USAD Response: USAID/Liberia expects that the Contractor will design, organize and deliver approximately six knowledge sharing workshops per year, as required and demanded by the Mission.

28. On page 15, Section C.4.1, Component 2.1 notes that the Mission will request the

Liberian Strategic Analysis (LSA) Contractor to assist its staff. Can you please clarify if the Mission has a particular procedure in mind for such a process, such as is used under Liberian Monitoring and Evaluation Project (LMEP), and if so can it be shared?

USAID Response: USAID/Liberia asks that the offerer suggest appropriate processes and procedures for the contractor to best assist and engage Mission staff on monitoring, evaluation, and learning.

29. On page 17, under Section C.4.1, Component 2.2, the RFP states that “Section J contains a list of topics and questions the Contractor may be asked to address through this analytic agenda.” Section J, however, contains three Mission Orders (MOs) and no such list. Can you please provide the cited list of topics and questions?

The statement on the list of topics has been deleted in its entirety from the RFP

USAID Response: See CLIN 002, Component 2.1, page 15 under examples of the services. The “list of topics” has been watered down into these illustrative examples.

Please disregard the reference to Section J regarding list of topics.

30. Two of the three MOs contained in Section J have not been signed by the (Acting)

Mission Director. We have the following related questions:

a. Can you please confirm that the two unsigned MOs are in effect?

USAID Response: These have since been signed are effective from March 17, 2015

b. Can you please confirm that the MO on Portfolio Reviews is also in effect?

USAID Response: Confirmed.

c. Is there a current MO on Project Design in which Project Design Teams are discussed? If so, can it be provided?

USAID Response: Yes, we have added this Mission Order. See section J

31. On pages 107-108, section L.7 indicates several items that are excluded from the

Technical Proposal page limit. Can you please confirm that offerors may also include an acronym list that would not count against the 30 page limit?

USAID Response: Yes, offerors can include a list of acronyms which will not be counted in page the limitations.

32. On page 110, in section 3) Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Plan (M.3.1.3) it states that “the offeror shall submit a draft M&E Plan (Annex A) that tracks improvements in M&E systems and performance, enhanced organizational collaboration…” We have the following related questions:

a. Could you please clarify if the “enhanced organizational collaboration” is intended to be construed as within the mission, between the mission and its partners, or in a different way?

USAID Response: Enhanced organizational collaboration” referenced in this solicitation is intended for organizational collaboration to be enhanced within mission development objective teams, around cross-cutting issues, and between mission and its IPs; GOL partners; and donor partners.

b. If “enhanced organizational collaboration” is referring to something other than within the mission or between the mission and its partners, could you please provide additional information as to what is intended so that offerors are able to best respond to the request?

USAID Response: USAID/Liberia expects that offerers will use their expertise to suggest how to best emphasize and improve collaboration across the stakeholders discussed above.

33. Would it be possible to share the current Mission Performance Management Plan (PMP), to ensure that all offerors have access to the same information?

USAID Response: The PMP has not yet been completed.

34. Page 114 in Section II states: “II. Part 2 - Proposed Costs/Prices (1) The Offeror must submit a summary budget for the five (5) years of performance. The summary budget must reflect summary cost information for each of the major budget categories for each of the contract years separately as synopsized under Attachment J and then offer the program total for the entire contract, item for item in the last column of the spreadsheet.”

35. However, there does not appear to be a budget attachment included in Section J. Could you please provide the cited synopsis of budget categories?

USAID Response Question 34 & 35: The reference to Section J was an error and has been removed. The budget items are summarized in section L.8 of the RFP.

36. Page 6 Section B.5 in the RFP states: “All costs for organizations without a NICRA shall be budgeted and billed as direct costs.”

37. However, page 117 Section L.8 provides instructions for submission of information in support of proposed indirect cost rates in the absence of a NICRA (financial statements and computations).

38. Given that many US Small Businesses may not have NICRAs, but do have adequate accounting systems, with thousands of lines of indirect costs. Attempting to bill these costs direct would require onerous additional accounting procedures for these businesses, and would seem unnecessary when proper documentation is provided.

We therefore respectfully request the cited sentence in Section B.5 be deleted.

USAID Response Questions 36, 37, & 38: Offerors should follow instructions on information submission provided under section L.8. The statement at page 6, Section B.5 of the RFP has been deleted in its entirety.

39. In order to ensure compliance with AIDAR requirements that contractor CCN staff salaries and benefits should not exceed those paid by the USAID Mission to CCN direct hires, could you please provide a copy of the Local Employee Compensation Plan?

USAID Response: See answer to question # 23.

40. Page 13 of Section C.4.1 the RFP states: “… the Contractor will be required to develop and manage a paid internship program in which up to ten (10) Liberian students or young professionals annually will have the opportunity to “learn by doing” through participation in the full range of LSA activities.” Can you please confirm if the Contractor will be responsible for paying the interns, or only for developing and managing the internship program?

USAID Response: The Contractor will be responsible for determining the appropriate compensation plans for the interns, in accordance with Liberian labor laws and to best attract a cadre of promising Liberian M&E and learning professionals.

41. On page 22 Section C.6 Key Personnel/Staffing it states that the Collaboration, Learning and Adapting/Training Advisor/Knowledge Management Advisor must have advanced degree and at minimum of five years professional work experience. Given that the specific nature of the skills required for this position, would USAID allow additional years of relevant work experience to count in lieu of an advanced degree?

USAID Response: See answer to question 10.

42. Are there any conflict of interest restrictions that would prevent the winner from also holding another contract issued by the Mission? If so, is it possible to establish a firewall that addresses any potential conflict of interest issues?

USAID Response: Per section C.5, "Because the Contractor will serve as “in-house” technical support to the Mission with exposure to the Mission’s decision making processes, it will not be eligible to compete on solicited activities that emerge from the Mission’s strategic planning processes and collaborations with the Government of Liberia during the period of performance of the contract."

43. On page 16, there is reference to producing detailed and accurate data on the capacity of Liberian organizations, institutions, and systems. Could the Mission narrow the list by ruling in or ruling out groups of organizations or systems?

USAID Response: The Mission will determine what data is needed on capacity based on project design and implementation needs. This is merely an illustrative expected result but will be clarified throughout the life of the project. It is anticipated that offerers will be prepared to assist the Mission with many demand-driven requests such as this in line with Mission strategy.

44. Does the Mission expect to provide “in-house” office space for any contractor staff?

USAID Response: No, we do not anticipate that any LSA staff will be housed in the Mission. We do anticipate many face-to-face interactions and functions with the successful offerer, both at the USAID Mission and at the LSA project office space.

45. Does the Mission expect to provide “in-house” office space for interns?

USAID Response: See question above. We anticipate that interns will be housed at LSA office space or with other relevant stakeholders. Interns, like LSA staff, should expect to have regular face-to-face interaction with Mission staff.

46. The RFP Cover Page states that for proposal submission “attachments per email must be less than 15MB.” However, section L .6 on page 106 states that “the offeror must submit the proposal via internet email with up to 3 attachments (2MB limit) per email.” Can USAID please clarify the maximum size for proposal submission emails? If USAID intended a 2MB file size limit, would USAID increase the email size limitation to at least 5MB to allow for fewer submission emails given that an email size limitation of 2MB would require splitting the proposal into a large number of emails.

USAID Response: Please see answer to question # 26

47. Can USAID provide the number of new projects that it expects will be planned during the life of LSA with the assistance of the contractor under Component 1.1, RFP pages 12-13?

USAID Response: The number of project designed/ PADs completed will be determined through the CDCS process, which will begin in 2017.

48. Will USAID allow an acronym list to be exempted from the 30-page limit for the technical proposal?

USAID Response: Yes. USAID will allow an acronym list to be exempted from the 30 page limit for the technical proposal

49. RFP Section L.7, page 112, states that key personnel resumes are “maximum 3 pages/person.” This section also states that the offeror shall submit references with contact information for all proposed key personnel.” Can USAID please confirm that the list of references is exempted from the 3-page limit for CVs[ESL16] ?

USAID Response: USAID confirms that the list of references is exempted from the 3 page limit for CVs.

50. RFP Section L.7, page 112, states that “The Offeror shall include a subcontracting plan, if any, and a table showing the planned level of effort or number of person months for each position.”’

a. Given that the subcontracting plan may include cost information, would USAID consider moving the subcontracting plan from the technical proposal to the cost proposal?

USAID Response: The subcontracting plan should form part of the technical proposal.

b. Can USAID confirm that a Level of Effort table would be excluded from the 30-page limit for the technical proposal?

USAID Response: The Level of Effort table should form part of the 30 page limit for the technical proposal.

51. On page 112, Section L requires a section “C. Institutional Capability” that contains four sections: 1) Management Plan; 2) Work Plan; 3) Partner Organizations; and 4) Implementation. On page 123-124, section M under “M.3.3 Institutional Capability lists the following scoring criteria: Management Plan, Work Plan, and Partner Organizations.

“Implementation” appears to have been excluded from the scoring. Can USAID confirm that Implementation per Section L is scored and that it was inadvertently omitted from Section M?

USAID Response: USAID confirms that Implementation will be scored under Institutional Capability and will therefore be inserted at Section M 3.3 of the RFP.

52. RFP Section B.6 Ceiling Indirect Costs indicates that the offeror should propose indirect cost rate ceilings, but Section L.8 Cost/Business Proposal Instructions does not mention ceiling indirect rates. Does USAID want offerors to propose ceiling indirect rates, and if so, where in the Cost Proposal should these rates be proposed?

USAID Response: Yes, USAID expects offerors to propose ceiling indirect rates and these should be incorporated and explained in their budget notes.

53. RFP Section C Component 2.2. Analysis and Reports, page 17, does not provide any guidance on the number of analyses the contractor may be required to perform. Offerors might make very different assumptions about the number and scope of these activities, making comparability of these budgets more difficult for USAID. Would USAID consider providing an annual budget plug figure for the Analysis and Reports component to aid comparison of Offerors’ budgets?

USAID Response: Note that these are illustrative and suggestive for budget planning purposes. Whereas, the Contractor will work with USAID to plan these studies and reports; drawing on surveys data and other information collected under this Contract, as well as from a wide range of information drawn from other sources, as indicator in Component 2.2 in this RFP. In the meantime, USAID proposes that offerors plan for approximately 36 studies and analytical reports as needed over the life of the activity.

54. RFP Section L.8, page 114, states that “The summary budget must reflect summary cost information for each of the major budget categories for each of the contract years separately as synopsized under Attachment J.” However, there was no budget template attachment in RFP Section J. Will USAID please provide this budget template?

USAID Response: The reference to Section J was an error and has been removed.

The budget items are summarized in section L.8 of the RFP.

55. RFP Section B.4, page 5, indicates a budget summary by CLIN. However, Section L.8, page 114, does not reference a CLIN-based budget and instead instructs that "the summary budget must reflect summary cost information for each of the major budget categories for each of the contract years separately as synopsized under Attachment J and then offer the program total for the entire contract, item for item in the last column of the spreadsheet. Can USAID clarify if it would like a summary budget by CLIN? If yes, can USAID clarify whether offerors should provide a detailed budgeted organized by CLIN as well.

USAID Response: Offerors should provide a summary budget by CLIN as provided for under section B.4. Offerors should also provide a detailed budget and budget narrative organized by specific breakdown of Contract Line Items.

56. RFP Section L.8 Part 4 - Policies and Procedures, page 117, states that “The Contracting

Officer may require submission of a copy of the Offeror’s personnel policies, especially regarding salary and wage scales, fringe benefit, merit increases, promotions, leave, differentials, travel and per diem regulations, etc., as they shall relate to this activity.”

Can USAD clarify whether it is requesting that offerors submit their policies and procedures? If so, would USAID exempt organizations that have previous USAID contracting experience from submitting their policies and procedures?

USAID Response: USAID will request personnel policies as and when necessary.

57. Is this a follow-on requirement? If so, could you please provide the incumbent contract number for this opportunity? If not, is this a new requirement?

USAID Response: This is a new requirement.

Part A. Specific changes to SOL-669-15-000017 Liberia Strategic Analysis (LSA) are summarized as follows: