SOL-OAA-15-000037.PDF

1. THIS CONTRACT IS A RATED ORDER RATING PAGE OF PAGES

UNDER DPAS (15 CFR 700)

2. CONTRACT NUMBER 3. SOLICITATION NUMBER 4. TYPE OF SOLICITATION 5. DATE ISSUED 6. REQUISITION/PURCHASE NUMBER

SEALED BID (IFB)

NEGOTIATED (RFP)

7. ISSUED BY CODE 8. ADDRESS OFFER TO (If other than Item 7)

NOTE: In sealed bid solicitations "offer" and "offeror" mean "bid" and "bidder".

9. Sealed offers in original and _____________________________ copies for furnishing the supplies or services in the Schedule will be received at the place specified in Item 8, or if handcarried, in the depository located in until local time _______________________ (Hour) (Date)

CAUTION - LATE Submissions, Modifications, and Withdrawals: See Section L, Provision No. 52.214-7 or 52.215-1. All Offers are subject to all terms and conditions contained in this solicitation.

A. NAME B. TELEPHONE (NO COLLECT CALLS) C. E-MAIL ADDRESS

AREA CODE NUMBER EXT.

(X) SEC. DESCRIPTION PAGE(S) (X) SEC. DESCRIPTION PAGE(S)

PART I - THE SCHEDULE PART II - CONTRACT CLAUSES

A SOLICITATION/CONTRACT FORM I CONTRACT CLAUSES

B SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICES/COSTS PART III - LIST OF DOCUMENTS, EXHIBITS AND OTHER ATTACH.

C DESCRIPTION/SPECS./WORK STATEMENT J LIST OF ATTACHMENTS

D PACKAGING AND MARKING PART IV - REPRESENTATIONS AND INSTRUCTIONS

E INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

F DELIVERIES OR PERFORMANCE

G CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA L INSTR., CONDS., AND NOTICES TO OFFERORS

H SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS M EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD

K REPRESENTATIONS, CERTIFICATIONS AND OTHER

STATEMENTS OF OFFERORS

NOTE: Item 12 does not apply if the solicitation includes the provisions at 52.214-16, Minimum Bid Acceptance Period.

12. In compliance with the above, the undersigned agrees, if this offer is accepted by the offeror will furnish any or all items upon which prices are offered at the price , set opposite each item, delivered at the designated point(s), within the time specified in the schedule.

13. DISCOUNT FOR PROMPT PAYMENT 10 CALENDAR DAYS (%) 20 CALENDAR DAYS (%) 30 CALENDAR DAYS (%) CALENDAR DAYS (%) (See Section I, Clause No. 52-232-8)

14. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF AMENDMENTS AMENDMENT NO. DATE AMENDMENT NO. DATE

(The offeror acknowledges receipt of amendments to the SOLICITATION for offerors and related documents numbered and dated:

CODE FACILITY 16. NAME AND TITLE OF PERSON AUTHORIZED TO SIGN OFFER 15A. NAME AND

ADDRESS

OF OFFEROR

(Type or print)

15B. TELEPHONE NUMBER 17. SIGNATURE 18. OFFER DATE

AREA CODE NUMBER EXT. 15C. CHECK IF REMITTANCE ADDRESS IS DIFFERENT FROM

ABOVE - ENTER SUCH ADDRESS IN SCHEDULE

19. ACCEPTED AS TO ITEMS NUMBERED 20. AMOUNT 21. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION

22. AUTHORITY FOR USING OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION: 23. SUBMIT INVOICES TO ADDRESS SHOWN IN ITEM (4 copies unless otherwise specified)

10 U.S.C. 2304(a) ( ) 41 U.S.C. 253(c) ( )

24. ADMINISTERED BY (If other than Item 7) 25. PAYMENT WILL BE MADE BY CODE CODE

26. NAME OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (Type or print) 27. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 28. AWARD DATE

IMPORTANT - Award will be made on this Form, or on Standard Form 26, or by other authorized official written notice.

(Signature of Contracting Officer)

(REV. 9-97)

10. FOR INFORMATION CALL:

11. TABLE OF CONTENTS

STANDARD FORM 33

SOLICITATION, OFFER AND AWARD

SOLICITATION

OFFER (Must be fully completed by offeror)

AWARD (To be completed by Government)

N/A 3 80

SOL-OAA-15-000037 X

02/23/2015

U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

OFFICE OF ACQUISITION AND ASSISTANCE

M/OAA/RM/MHCA SA-44

301 4th Street, SW.

WASHINGTON, DC 20547

See Section L See Section L 12:00 PM EST 03/02/2015

Alicia Henderson alhenderson@usaid.gov

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Alicia Henderson Contracting Officer

PART I - THE SCHEDULE

SECTION B - SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICE/COSTS

B.1 PURPOSE

The purpose of this contract is to provide services that fall within the Scope of Work (SOW) specified in Section C for the MERC/CDR Technical and Administrative Support Program.

B.2 CONTRACT TYPE AND SERVICES

The Government anticipates awarding a one (1) base year firm fixed price contract with four (4) one-year option periods. For the consideration set forth in this contract, the contractor shall provide the deliverables or outputs described in Section C and comply will all requirements.

B.3 MAXIMUM CONTRACT PRICE

The estimated cost for the performance of the work required hereunder, is [___]. The contractor will not be paid in any sum in excess of the ceiling price.

B.4 CONTRACT LINE ITEM NUMBERS

(a) For CLIN 0001, Peer-review Support to USAID component as described in Section C.3(a), the estimated cost for the performance of the work required, is $_______________.

(b) For CLIN 0002, Technical Support of USAID in Monitoring of Grants component as described in Section C.3(b), the estimated cost for the performance of work required, is

(c) For CLIN 0003, Technical and Administrative Support the Overall Program component as described in Section C.3(c), the estimated cost for the performance of the work required, is

(d) For CLIN 0004, Public Information About the Programs component as described in Section

C.3(d), the estimated cost for the performance of the work required, is $_______________.

B.5 INDIRECT COSTS

Pending establishment of revised provisional or final indirect costs, allowable indirect costs must be reimbursed on the basis of the following negotiated provisional or predetermined rates and the appropriate bases.

(TO BE INSERTED AT AWARD)

Description Rate Base Type Period

1/ 1/ 1/

2/ 2/ 2/

3/ 3/ 3/

1/Base of Application Type of Rate:

Period:

2/Base of Application Type of Rate:

Period:

3/Base of Application Type of Rate:

Period:

Note 1: Contractors are allowed to recover applicable indirect costs (i.e., overhead, G&A, etc.) on other direct costs (ODCs), if it is part of the contractor's usual accounting procedures, consistent with FAR Part 31, and Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA).

Note 2: While Subcontractor indirect cost rates are not incorporated above, subcontractor indirect rates as indicated in Note 1 above may be included in proposals, and are subject to approval of the CO in accordance with FAR 52.244-2. CO’s must grant separate subcontract approvals for subcontractors not listed above in accordance with FAR part 52.244-2 and 44.202-2.

[END SECTION B]

SECTION C - DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS/STATEMENT OFWORK

C.1 BACKGROUND

The purpose of the MERC/CDR Technical and Administrative Support Program is to provide technical and administrative support for two international collaborative research programs, the Middle East Regional Cooperation (MERC) Program, and the U.S.-Israel Cooperative Development Research (CDR) Program. Both MERC and CDR fund collaborative research grants to address development problems while helping to strengthen international scientific capacity.

The MERC Program is a USAID-managed, peer-reviewed, competitive research grants program specifically focused on promoting technical cooperation between Arab and Israeli scientists, students and communities on topics relevant to development in the Middle East. MERC presently funds about 35 ongoing joint Arab-Israeli projects involving scientists and institutions in Israel, Jordan, Egypt, West Bank/Gaza, Morocco, Tunisia, Lebanon, and the U.S. Inclusion of U.S. participants in MERC projects is discouraged and is not permitted unless the U.S. scientists are providing expertise that is both essential to a specific project and unavailable in the Middle East. Projects must demonstrate significant levels of direct Arab-Israeli cooperation, technical merit, and relevance to Middle East development. New grants are also selected each year. Projects may be up to five years in duration, and the maximum grant size is presently $1,000,000.

The U.S.-Israel Cooperative Development Research (CDR) Program is a USAID-managed, peer-reviewed competitive research grants program with a worldwide development mandate. The program supports collaborative applied research involving scientists from Israel and sometimes the U.S. working with counterparts in developing countries. Grants are selected based upon technical merit, relevance to the needs of the developing countries, and their potential to build technical capacity in developing countries. Project budgets are required to emphasize training, equipment, and other capacity-building measures in the developing country partners on the grant. CDR has been closed to new applications and is expected to represent only a small portion of the support work.

Both CDR and MERC are open-topic to encourage new, developmentally relevant ideas across all sectors and the participation of new partners. Research topics and sectors change from year to year, however, the bulk of the grants fall within agriculture, water resources, environment, or health. Projects often involve non-traditional partners, which is especially important for MERC in the context of expanding and promoting the Middle East Peace Process. Both MERC and CDR utilize a model in which the funding agency, USAID, manages an external peer-review process, directly interprets the results and makes the final modifications and selection of individual research projects. This model is widely used by other research-funding agencies throughout the U.S. Government as well as by many private foundations. After selection by USAID, individual project grants are awarded through a dedicated office in the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv established for that purpose. The Tel Aviv office also provides financial management and non-technical oversight services, while referring all technical and programmatic matters back to USAID. Although neither CDR nor MERC is designed to fund the participation of U.S. institutions in development, both programs receive extremely valuable input from the U.S. research community at essentially no cost through the peer-review panels.

Since their inception, CDR and MERC have always utilized local external support contractors to assist USAID in recruiting and hosting technical peer-review panels, oversight of grant projects and other technical and administrative support functions associated with proposal review and program management.

The contractor does not manage the CDR or MERC Programs, make funding decisions, set program policies or standards, negotiate or award project grants or have any involvement in financial management or fiscal oversight of the project grants.

C.2 OBJECTIVE

The overall goal of the MERC/CDR Technical and Administrative Support Program is to facilitate USAID’s external peer review process while assisting in both the processing of large volumes of research proposals and oversight of ongoing activities. The following are the main objectives of the MERC/CDR support program:

a. For the U.S. scientific community to provide voluntary advice and assistance to the MERC and CDR Programs through substantive peer-review panels’ evaluation of research proposals, individually and collectively. The products of the peer-review advice are to be used by USAID to assist the Agency in determining which proposals to select for award and what additional technical, administrative, regulatory and/or budgetary provisos to place on the projects before awards are made.

b. To assist USAID in its monitoring of technical progress of grants funded under the MERC and CDR Programs by summarizing the grantees' scientific reports of progress and providing information in response to inquiries from USAID. This should facilitate USAID’s oversight of a large number of project grants and improve the ability of USAID and its grants office in U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv to take timely action as necessary.

c. To provide the required technical and administrative support for the above and associated activities, including the capacity to provide technical feedback on possible overlap of new submissions with previous projects, assessing the applicant investigators' responses to technical provisos and the maintenance of program files and databases on individual projects and on potential technical expert reviewers. This should enable the programs to run efficiently and better meet their goals of solving development problems, building research capacity in developing countries, and achieving Arab-Israeli cooperation.

C.3 REQUESTED SERVICES AND DELIVERABLES

The Contractor will provide the services and deliverables specified below.

a. Peer-review Support to USAID

The contractor shall:

a.1 Recruit volunteer experts to serve on USAID-sponsored peer-review panels organized by subject matter to evaluate grant proposals.

The contractor shall recruit peer-review panelists among scientists and engineers of professional standing based upon each panelist’s depth of technical knowledge pertaining to subject matter in a specific proposal or proposals. Panelists must also have the ability and willingness to attend the peer-review panel meeting without compensation. No panel member shall be an employee of USAID or the contractor. The contractor shall recruit at least four panelists for each proposal, and designate one panelist to serve as the lead reviewer for the proposal. If a proposal contains multiple technical facets or issues requiring different types of expertise, the contractor shall recruit multiple panelists so that each of the significant technical facets or issues of the proposal is covered by at least one panelist.

The contractor shall to the maximum extent possible recruit panelists who are able and willing to commute on their own and attend the peer-review panel meeting in Washington, DC without per diem or other compensation. If it is not possible to fully cover each proposal in the manner prescribed above, a limited number of panelists may be included via teleconferencing; the number of teleconferencing panelists shall not exceed one per proposal or three per panel meeting unless approved by USAID. In rare cases, it may be necessary to pay a panelist’s travel and lodging expenses, and any such cases will require the prior approval of USAID. The contractor shall question each prospective panelist about possible conflict of interest with the proposals and the authors of the proposals assigned to the panelist.

The contractor must use reasonable and prudent judgment to exclude potential panelists with conflicts of interest. USAID reserves the right to approve or exclude any panelist and will have final approval over the division of proposals into panels.

USAID will supply the contractor with a database of past peer-review panelists. However, the contractor is not limited to reviewers in the current database and is encouraged to obtain a mixture of experienced panelists familiar with the CDR and MERC Programs and new panelists. This should ensure a diversity of expert reviewer opinions and provide for a high-quality review. The contractor shall update this database with new panelists as they participate. The contractor is required to maintain this database, share it with USAID upon request, and is encouraged to enhance the capabilities of the database. The contractor shall also nominate, subject to USAID’s approval, a member of the panel to serve as the panel chair and lead the discussion during the panel meeting. The chair should, if possible, be an experienced person who has participated in previous panels.

a.2 Collect and send the proposals, USAID-approved forms and instructions to the panelists.

At least 21 days prior to any peer-review panel meeting, the contractor shall send the full set of proposals for the meeting to each panelist. The proposals must be accompanied by copies of panelist instructions, review forms, other support material and the program guidelines and instructions that had been sent to the authors of the proposals. USAID will supply the originals of each of these items. The contractor must also provide directions to the panel site and instructions on how the panelists can contact the contractor if they have any questions. The contractor shall make the above materials available to the panelists via email attachments or a secure website. Panelists must also be offered the option to receive hard copies of these materials, which the contractor shall send upon request. The contractor must make additional copies of these materials as needed. The contractor shall also provide logistical support and coordination for the above activities, maintaining liaison throughout the process with USAID, with the panelists, and with the investigators and institutions submitting the proposals.

a.3 Provide suitable accessible facilities in Washington, DC for the panel meetings and monitor these meetings.

For each panel meeting, the contractor shall provide suitable, accessible facilities in Washington, DC capable of accommodating up to 30 people around a central table and teleconferencing ability to include panelists who are unable to travel to the meeting. Each panel meeting typically lasts for one full business day. For each panel meeting, the contractor shall provide customary amenities, including a small breakfast and a more substantial lunch, as well as access to coffee, beverages and snacks throughout the meeting. The panel site must be accessible by automobile, including the availability of parking, and preferably accessible to public transit as well. If free parking cannot be obtained at the panel site, the contractor must also budget for the parking costs of the panelists.

There are typically three to five peer-review panels each year covering a total of 15 to 25 proposals, with all panels scheduled to occur within a single two-week window. USAID will work with the contractor to try to select panel dates that accommodate the schedules of USAID and the contractor, as well as to consider the availability of the contractor’s panel facilities and the date(s) that proposals are due. USAID will have the final say in determining the panel dates and will give the contractor at least 90 days notice of any upcoming panel. Occasionally there are a small number of proposals that do not fit within any reasonable panel grouping and must therefore be peer-reviewed outside the panel meetings. In such cases, the contractor shall set up a conference call meeting among the reviewers, USAID and the contractor to review the “outlier” proposal using the same format established for the panel meetings.

This typically occurs zero to two times each year.

In keeping with established practices governing scientific peer review, the contractor must not divulge the identities of the peer-review panelists, the results of the peer review or any details of the deliberations to the applicants or to anyone else not directly involved in the review process. The contractor must take reasonable precautions to ensure that the peer-review panelists do not divulge information about the review or applications.

a.4 Document the peer-review panels' deliberations, proposed conditional requirements (provisos) and recommendations.

The contractor shall attend each panel meeting in order to document the peer-review panel’s deliberations, votes, scores, proposed provisos and recommendations; assist with counting the votes; and provide general support (for example, to make additional copies of an individual review if a panelist does not provide sufficient copies for all attendees). The contractor must provide at least two of their staff scientists or persons with comparable skills to attend each panel meeting to take complete and comprehensive notes of the event. USAID will attend each panel meeting in order to provide the panel with initial verbal instructions on the programs, selection criteria, voting procedures, review format, etc., as well as to answer any questions that the panelists might ask about the policies of the funding programs. USAID will also observe the panel’s deliberations, proposed provisos and recommendations, assist with recording the scores, and observe the panel for possible irregularities that might interfere with merging the results of the panel with other panels. Neither USAID nor the contractor will vote in the panel or participate in the substantive discussion; after USAID provides the initial verbal instructions and answers any initial questions that might arise, the meeting will be led by the panel chair.

Following each panel meeting, the contractor shall collect all the individual reviews prepared by the panelists before the meeting, as well as a brief summary prepared during the meeting by the lead reviewer for each proposal. For each proposal reviewed, the contractor shall produce a technical summary describing the panel discussion and clearly delineating the factors that led to the panel’s recommendations. USAID will provide the contractor with a template and previous examples of technical summaries to serve as a guide. For each proposal, the contractor shall attach typed versions of all the individual reviews of the proposal to the technical summary to create a “review package” for the proposal. The contractor shall then send this review package as an electronic file in whatever text software is used by USAID as the Agency standard (presently MS-Word) to the MERC/CDR Program Manager at USAID within 45 days after the date of the panel meeting or by the date requested by the USAID Program Manager if later than 45 days. For proposals approved conditionally or recommended for resubmission by the peer-review panels, the contractor’s draft “review package” shall also contain a list of the panel’s specific conditional provisos drafted in a manner so that each specific requirement should be clear to the applicant. Although these summaries are to be sent to USAID for editing, they must be prepared according to program standards in a style and format suitable for subsequent release to proposal authors without significant alteration. The edited summaries and individual reviewers' comments would be released as part of a larger USAID Decision Package under USAID letterhead and signature, and thus would be subject to MERC or CDR Program standards.

b. Technical Support for USAID in Monitoring of Grants

The contractor shall:

b.1 Summarize scientific progress reports submitted by grantees.

For each semi-annual progress report and each final progress report received by the MERC or CDR Program, the contractor shall note any deficiencies or outstanding technical issues. The contractor shall prepare a tracking document describing the status, deficiencies and other outstanding issues, and notable accomplishments of each project, as well as including the brief list of specific objectives taken from the approved proposal from which the project was funded. The number of grantee progress reports is expected to be approximately 80-100 per year, with each requiring approximately two to three hours work. Within 30 days after notification by USAID, the contractor shall also submit to USAID an annual synopsis report in MS-Word of technical achievements and development implications reported by active and completed grants over the past year. This annual synopsis report must also include an MS-Excel spreadsheet documenting and totaling the joint Arab-Israeli events/activities and training reported during the past year. The contractor’s tracking document with information from the individual project reports should aid in this task.

b.2 Notify USAID of any clear deficiencies, irregularities or requests by grantees contained in these reports and suggest actions to USAID based upon these reports.

The contractor’s project status tracking document shall also report any requests for USAID actions contained in the grantee’s technical progress report; any lack of required information or substantive deviations by the grantee from the required MERC/CDR format for progress reports; and any other clear deficiencies or irregularities noticed by the contractor as well as any other issues the contractor determines should be brought to USAID’s attention. The contractor shall update this tracking document within 30 days of the receipt of each grantee’s progress report, and submit it to USAID electronically as an MS-Word email attachment or MS-Excel file on a monthly basis in a format that identifies and allows rapid assessment of key issues. The contactor shall also separately notify USAID about any issues that require more timely action.

b.3 Respond to related inquiries from USAID.

From time to time, USAID may also ask the contractor to follow up on a technical or performance issue arising from one or several of the project grants and provide additional information to USAID. Such requests are expected to be infrequent and are expected to number from five to ten per year.

c. Technical and Administrative Support for the Overall Program.

The contractor shall:

c.1 Maintain an electronic program database.

The contractor shall maintain a program database to track proposals, active grants, and pro-bono expert technical reviewers accessible by area of expertise. This database must remain compatible with the computer systems of USAID. As part of this task, the contractor shall maintain a database of pre-proposals received by the programs and provide the appropriate administrative tracking of the pre-proposal and full proposal review processes. Approximately 50-120 pre-proposal applications are expected to be received per annual cycle. USAID will supply the contractor with a copy of its database (in SQL) of previous applications, pre- and full proposals undergoing review and ongoing projects. The contractor shall update this database as new submissions arrive, and as the status of project grants and proposals under review change. The contactor shall also maintain the database to make it fully capable of accepting search queries (for example, producing a list of all principal and co-investigators in a given country along with the titles of their projects and their addresses and contact information) as well as also fully maintaining the database’s other present abilities. The contactor shall maintain this database in a format compatible with USAID’s Agency Standard database applications. The contractor is encouraged to present its ideas on further upgrading the database providing that none of the current capabilities of the database are lost or compromised. The contractor shall share the database with USAID upon request throughout the course of the contract. At the end of the contract, this updated database and the database on panelists shall belong to USAID.

c.2 Maintain project files.

The contractor shall create electronic files and duplicate paper files for each pre-proposal as each one arrives; one file for USAID and one for the contractor. Each file and each copy of the pre-proposal must be labeled with a proposal number using the convention established by the MERC and CDR Programs.

The contractor shall also maintain electronic and hardcopy back-up files on pre-existing projects and proposals under review, as such files are supplied by USAID. The contractor shall update the electronic and hardcopy files with review results and material from the applicant investigators as they arrive and as the status of proposals under review and project grants change. This will typically include 20 to 25 visits per year to USAID to ensure compatibility and completeness of both sets of files. The contractor shall ensure that electronic files are backed up weekly and are web-accessible by USAID’s MERC/CDR staff. At the end of the contract, all electronic and hardcopy files shall belong to USAID.

c.3 Provide technical and administrative support for the MERC selection committee.

For each annual review cycle, the contractor shall provide a packet containing a copy of all the pre-proposals received to each member of the joint USAID/Department of State internal “MERC Committee” that reviews MERC pre-proposals and determines which submissions will be invited as full proposals. The contractor shall send the pre-proposals, score sheets, other support material and a cover letter signed by USAID, within three days of USAID’s approval of the cover letter and support material.

There are typically 8 to 10 members of the committee, three of whom are stationed in the Middle East;

the remaining committee members are in Washington, DC. The contractor shall make this packet of materials available to the committee members via email attachments or a secure website. Committee members must also be offered the option to receive hard copies of this packet, which the contractor shall send upon request by express courier. If requested by USAID, the contractor shall also send the USAID Field Missions in each Arab country covered by MERC those pre-proposals pertaining to that country, along with a similar cover letter and support material, within three days of USAID’s approval of the letter and material for the Missions.

The same MERC Committee makes the final determination of which projects would be selected, meeting after the peer-review panels’ recommendations have been documented. The contractor shall send copies of all the full proposals along with the USAID-approved peer-review panel “review packages” and support material to each committee member and each USAID Field Mission, electronically and in hardcopy if requested, within three days of USAID’s approval of this material.

USAID may also require the contractor to provide technical information for the MERC Committee.

Usually this would entail researching possible overlap, potential synergy or duplication between previously funded projects and new pre-proposal applications. The MERC/CDR database and project reports would assist the contractor in this task. Typical annual workload for this research is five to ten days.

Subject to the approval of USAID, the contractor shall provide facilities within one half mile of USAID headquarters for each meeting of the MERC Committee, and attend the meeting in order to document the committee’s deliberations, proposed provisos and decisions, and record the scores. The contractor shall bring a laptop computer and projector to the meeting in order to enter the scores into a spreadsheet application and rank-order the pre-proposals (or proposals) by score near the end of the meeting. The contractor must provide at least two of its staff scientists or persons with comparable skills to attend each MERC Committee meeting to take complete and comprehensive notes of the event. The contractor shall not vote in the committee meeting. The contractor shall not participate in the substantive discussion, unless called upon to present specific information requested by USAID or the committee.

There are expected to be two committee meetings per year: one 2-4 day meeting to screen pre-proposals for subsequent invitation as full proposals, and a one-day meeting to select full proposals for award following the series of external peer-review panels.

Within 21 days after the contractor attends a MERC Committee meeting reviewing pre-proposals, the contractor shall provide USAID with a draft list of invitation conditions for those pre-proposals approved by the committee for invitation as full proposals (typically 15 to 25 invitations per year).

Within 30 days after the contractor attends a MERC Committee meeting that reviews full proposals, the contractor shall for each full proposal provide USAID with a draft “Decision Sheet” containing the review package that had gone to the committee and a “Basis for Decision” outlining the committee’s reasons for its decision. For those full proposals approved with provisos, the contractor shall also edit the list of provisos from the peer-review to include those modifications made by the MERC Committee as part of the Decision Sheet. USAID will provide templates, edit the contractor’s draft, and approve the final version of each Decision Sheet (of which there are typically 15 to 25 per year).

c.4 Assess the applicants’ responses and follow up with the applicants as required by USAID.

The contractor shall maintain the capacity to provide technical information to USAID on proposals and investigators' responses to technical provisos. The majority of successful pre-proposals and full proposals are expected to emerge from the external peer-review panels and/or the USAID/committee assessment with technical and/or regulatory provisos. The applicant investigators must satisfy these provisos in order for their proposals to receive consideration for funding. The contractor shall provide USAID with an initial assessment of the applicants’ compliance with each of these provisos. USAID may require the contractor to contact the applicants to explain what further actions are needed to achieve compliance, and advise USAID as to whether the applicants’ subsequent response appears to have met the provisos. The contractor shall forward to USAID all modified proposals and other response material received from the applicants. USAID will make the final determination on funding and the acceptability of applicant responses to provisos. There are expected to be 15 to 25 pre-proposals invited to the next stage and 6 to 14 provisionally approved full proposals each year.

c.5 Send USAID-approved correspondences and track program correspondences.

All official correspondence on behalf of the MERC and CDR Programs, including the results of the pre-proposal and full proposal reviews, will be issued under USAID letterhead and signature. The contractor shall not have the authority to make commitments on behalf of the programs or the Agency and must not do so. The contractor must also not divulge the results of any review process prior to the written notification of the applicants issued under USAID letterhead and signature. Even after the results are released, the contractor must not divulge the identities of the participants or any details of the deliberations to the applicants or to anyone else not directly involved in the review process. However, the contractor shall email the correspondences approved and signed by USAID to the applicants, their co-investigator partners on the applications, and appropriate USAID Missions and U.S. Embassies as requested by the USAID Program Manager. Additional hardcopy mailings may occasionally be required if requested by an applicant or by USAID, and would be sent by the contractor by express mail courier for full proposal invitations or full proposal decision letters with review packages, and by ordinary mail for pre-proposal decline letters. There are typically 60 to 100 single page pre-proposal decline letters,15 to 25 full proposal invitations, and 8 to 15 full proposal decision letters with review packages, each of which is sent to an applicant principal investigator and copies sent to1 to 5 co-investigators per application, primarily in the Middle East.

d. Public Information About the Programs

The contractor shall create a web site and post brief descriptions of the MERC and CDR Programs, as well as program announcements and guidelines. USAID may also periodically contribute material to the website. Website activation and all posted materials pertaining to MERC or CDR must have prior approval of USAID and adhere to USAID’s Branding and Marking Guidance. The contractor shall also answer routine questions about the programs from applicants and potential applicants. Typical annual workload for posting materials and answering such inquiries is 10 to 20 days per year. The contractor shall maintain a contact telephone number, fax number and a dedicated email address that can be posted on the website and distributed on program correspondences and announcements.

All rights assigned or reserved to USAID in Section C.3 will be exercised on behalf of USAID by the MERC/CDR Program Manager (aka “Contracting Officer’s Representative”).

C.4 KEY PERSONNEL

The contractor shall provide personnel with the specified expertise, experience, and availability for the purposes of this contract.

a. Chief of Party

The contractor is required to specify a Chief of Party who will have overall contractor responsibility for the fulfillment of tasks under this contract. The Chief of Party will provide central management and oversight of all tasks. S/he will meet and consult regularly with the USAID Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR).

The Chief of Party shall have a minimum of a master’s degree and five (5) years’ experience implementing technical support programs similar to the activities described in Section C of this RFP.

The Chief of Party must have a thorough understanding of complex scientific peer-review panels. This includes the importance of recruiting reviewers of appropriate professional standing representing diverse but applicable scientific backgrounds covering each major technical facet of each proposal.

The Chief of Party is Key Personnel (refer to Section F.8)

b. Primary Technical Program Officer

The contractor is required to specify a Primary Technical Program Officer who will be primarily responsible for the technical summaries and recruitment of the peer-review panelists, as specified under Section C.3. The Primary Technical Program Officer may be the same person as the Chief of Party.

The Primary Technical Program Officer shall have a minimum of a Ph.D. or its equivalent in a physical or biological science or engineering field relevant to the applied research areas cited in Section C.1 plus at least three years’ experience implementing technical support or research programs. The Primary Technical Program Officer must have a thorough understanding of the research process and complex scientific peer-review panels, as well as direct experience assembling peer-review panels to review research grant applications. This includes the ability to understand research proposals and scientific progress reports covering a wide range of technical sectors applicable to international development.

This also includes the skills required to identify appropriate reviewers representing diverse but applicable backgrounds covering each major technical facet of each proposal.

The Primary Technical Program Officer is Key Personnel (refer to Section F.8)

C.5 PERFORMANCE MONITORING PLAN

The contractor’s performance shall be evaluated based on the completion of specific tasks as outlined in the contract.

[END OF SECTION C]

SECTION D - PACKAGING AND MARKING

D.1 AIDAR 752.7009 MARKING (January 1993)

(a) It is USAID policy that USAID-financed commodities and shipping containers, and project construction sites and other project locations be suitably marked with the USAID emblem. Shipping containers are also to be marked with the last five digits of the USAID financing document number. As a general rule, marking is not required for raw materials shipped in bulk (such as coal, grain, etc.), or for semi-finished products which are not packaged.

(b) Specific guidance on marking requirements must be obtained prior to procurement of commodities to be shipped, and as early as possible for project construction sites and other project locations. This guidance will be provided through the cognizant technical office indicated on the cover page of this contract, or by the Mission Director in the Cooperating Country to which commodities are being shipped, or in which the project site is located.

(c) Authority to waive marking requirements is vested with the Regional Assistant

Administrators, and with Mission Directors.

(d) A copy of any specific marking instructions or waivers from marking requirements is to be sent to the Contracting Officer; the original must be retained by the Contractor.

D.2 BRANDING STRATEGY, IMPLEMENTATION PLAN AND MARKING PLAN

Branding and Marking Implementation Plan

USAID's framework legislation, the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended, section 641, requires that all programs under the Foreign Assistance Act be identified appropriately overseas as "American Aid." Further, since 9/11, America's foreign assistance programs have been more fully integrated into the United States' National Security Strategy. This elevation to the so-called "third-D" (development being added to diplomacy and defense) increased the need for U.S. foreign assistance activities to be more fully identified in the host country as being provided "from the American People." USAID has been identified as "America's good-news story" and has been tasked to make our efforts more visible and better known in the countries where we work.

On January 2, 2015, USAID issued a revised agency policy, ADS 320, which provides agency procedures for the branding and marking of USAID-financed assistance (generally, contracting). Section

320.3.2 provides detailed information related to acquisition. The entire ADS 320 chapter is available on the Internet at http://auslnxapvweb01.usaid.gov/ADS/300/320.pdf for download.

D.2.1 BRANDING STRATEGY

Branding Strategy for the MERC/CDR Technical and Administrative http://auslnxapvweb01.usaid.gov/ADS/300/320.pdf

Support Project From Requesting Office (ME/MEA)

• Program or Project Name: MERC/CDR Technical and Administrative Support Project

• How the materials and communications will be positioned: All official communications including letters and guidelines will be on USAID letterhead and approved by USAID as noted in Section C. The contractor will not be producing anything else to release to the public, except for a website which will be branded in accordance with the USAID Graphics Standards Manual located at http://www.usaid.gov/branding/acquisition.html.

• Desired level of visibility: MERC/CDR Technical and Administrative Support Project has a desired high level of visibility within USAID since the purpose of the project is to provide technical and administrative support for two international collaborative research programs, the U.S.-Israel Cooperative Development Research (CDR) Program and the Middle East Regional Cooperation (MERC) Program.

• Any other organizations to be acknowledged: Project documents will not use the contractor’s logo, but will acknowledge that the document was prepared for USAID’s Bureau for Middle East (ME) by the MERC/CDR Technical and Administrative Support Project, ________________________(Prime Contractor).

D.2.2 BRANDING POLICY

a) In accordance with ADS 320 “Branding and Marking”, this contract incorporates USAID’s policy directives and required procedures on branding and marking of USAID-funded programs, projects, activities, public communications, and commodities with the USAID identity.

Markings under this contract must comply with the USAID “Graphic Standards Manual" available at www.usaid.gov/branding or any successor branding policy.

b) The Contractor must develop a Branding Implementation Plan (BIP) and Marking Plan (MP) for the contract to describe how program deliverables must be branded. The BIP must implement USAID branding strategy, as shown below, for the MERC/CDR Technical and Administrative Support Project:

Program Name: MERC/CDR Technical and Administrative Support Project

Branding Strategy: The branding must incorporate the message that the assistance is “From the American People and by USAID”

Level of visibility: USAID identity must be prominently displayed in commodities of equipment; infrastructure projects; printed, audio. Visual or electronic public communications; studies, reports, publications, websites, and promotional and informational products; and events.

http://www.usaid.gov/branding/acquisition.html

Organization to be acknowledged: The branding must acknowledge other organizations deemed as partners of an event or deliverable.

The Marking Plan must enumerate all of public communications, commodities, infrastructure projects, program materials, events, deliverables, and other items that must be marked with the USAID identity or brand.

The Marking Plan must include requests for exceptions to marking requirements for programmatic reasons, to be approved by the Contracting Officer. Waivers, as defined by ADS 320, must be necessary for compelling political, safety or security concerns, or if the marking will have an adverse effect in the host country. Marking and attribution for physical structures must need to be visible as soon as work commences. Contract deliverables to be marked with the USAID identity must follow design guidance for color, type, and layout in the Graphic Standards Manual, available at www.usaid.gov/branding , and all successor branding policies (if any).

[END OF SECTION D]

http://www.usaid.gov/branding

SECTION E - INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

E.1 NOTICE LISTING CONTRACT CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

The following contract clauses pertinent to this section are hereby incorporated by reference (by Citation Number, Title, and Date) in accordance with the clause at FAR 52.252-2 CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE" in Section I of this contract

FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION (48 CFR Chapter 1)

NUMBER TITLE DATE

52.246-5 Inspection of Services – Fixed-Price AUG 1996

E.2 INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE/RESPONSIBLE OFFICIAL

USAID inspection and acceptance of services, reports and other required deliverables or outputs must be subject to the performance standards set forth in Sections C and F. Inspection and acceptance must take place at:

United States Agency for International Development Bureau for the Middle East, RRB

1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW Washington, DC 20523 or at any other location where the services are performed and reports and deliverables or outputs are produced or submitted. Inspection of all deliverables required hereunder must be made by the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), designed in Section G, who has been delegated authority to inspect and accept all services, reports and other required deliverables. Acceptance of services, reports and other deliverables by the COR must form the basis for payment to the Contactor.

[END OF SECTION E]

SECTION F - DELIVERIES OR PERFORMANCE

F.1 NOTICE LISTING CONTRACT CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

The following contract clauses pertinent to this section are hereby incorporated by reference (by Citation Number, Title, and Date) in accordance with the clause at FAR 52.252-2 “CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE" in Section I of this contract.

NUMBER TITLE DATE

52.242-15 STOP WORK ORDER AUG 1989

52.247-34 FOB DESTINATION NOV 1991

F.2 PERFORMANCE PERIOD

The period of performance for this contract is one (1) base year and four (4) one year options from the time of award. The period of performance is as follows:

Base Period: One (1) year from the Effective Date of Award Option Year 1: One year immediately following the Base Period Option Year 2: One year immediately following Option Year 1 Option Year 3: One year immediately following Option Year 2 Option Year 4: One year immediately following Option Year 3

F.3 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

The place of performance under this contract is the United States. The bulk of the work will occur at the contractor’s facility, which must be located within a 10-mile radius from USAID’s headquarters in the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, DC. There will be frequent exchange of materials between the contractor and USAID as well as approximately 20 to 30 visits per year by the contractor to USAID, as described in Section C.3.

F.4 PERFORMANCE STANDARDS

Evaluation of the Contractor’s performance, based on the successful completion of the activities described in Section C and the deliverables described in Section F, will be conducted by the COR and must form the basis of the Contractor’s permanent performance record with regard to this contract as required in FAR Part 42.15 and AIDAR 742.15

The Contractor’s performance will be evaluated annually and at contract completion, utilizing at a minimum, the following factors:

(i) Quality and Timeliness: Achievement of key performance indicators specified and agreed to with USAID as part of the Performance Monitoring Plan (PMP)

(ii) Cost control: Including accuracy of budgets, control within budgets and timely financial reporting.

(iii) Business relations: Addressing the professional behavior and overall business-like concern for the interests of the customer, customer satisfaction, timely award and management of subcontracts, cooperative attitude in remedying problems, and timely completion of all administrative requirements.

(iv) Management of key personnel: including appropriateness of personnel for the job and prompt and satisfactory changes in personnel when problems with clients are identified.

F.5 LEVEL OF EFFORT

(a) For Contract Line Item 0001, “Peer-review Support to USAID,” as described in Section C.3a, the Contractor shall deliver approximately 160 person-days of direct labor for the Base Period and 160 person- days of direct labor for each of the four Option Periods specified in the clause, Period of Performance, above. Once the deliverables required for CLIN 0001 are provided and accepted by USAID, CLIN 0001 is completed.

(b) For Contract Line Item 0002, “Technical Support for USAID in Monitoring of Grants,” as described in Sections C.3b, the Contractor shall deliver approximately 90 person-days of direct labor for the Base Period and 90 person-days of direct labor for each of the four Option Periods specified in the clause, Period of Performance, above. Once the deliverables required for CLIN 0002 are provided and accepted by USAID, CLIN 0002 is completed.

(c) For Contract Line Item 0003, “Technical and Administrative Support for the Overall Program,” as described in Section C.3c, the Contractor shall deliver approximately 220 person-days of direct labor for the Base Period and 220 person-days of direct labor for each of the four Option Periods specified in the clause, Period of Performance, above. Once the deliverables required for CLIN 0003 are provided and accepted by USAID, CLIN 0003 is completed.

(d) For Contract Line Item 0004, “Public Information about the Programs,” as described in Section C.3d, the Contractor shall deliver approximately 30 person-days of direct labor for the Base Period and 30 person-days of direct labor for each of the four Option Periods…