USAID Responses to Questions - Oceans Plastics- RFA no. 72051723RFA00006 .pdf

RFA no. 72051723RFA00006 -Amendment 001 ‘Oceans Plastics - Solid Waste Management’ program

ATTACHMENT I

USAID Responses to Questions received

1. QUESTION: “If it is necessary to use the existing sanitary landfills or is there an option to place the transfer plants in another place. What type of waste would be treated if you have a classification by percentages, and how much plastic and tire recovery industry is there in the Dominican Republic to treat these products?”

USAID Response: The Oceans Plastics- SWM activity aims to support the implementation of the SWM Law 225-20, which states the establishment of 8 Regional sanitary landfills and feeding municipal transfer stations. Any proposed change would need to be validated and supported by the Ministry of Environment for compliance and alignment with the National SW Plan.

2. QUESTION: “The Project is designed to treat solid waste from the provinces Dajabón, Monte Cristi, Puerto Plata and Espaillat, how can I obtain the distances for transporting the waste to have the strategic points for the location of the equipment to make the project more profitable for the population?”

USAID Response: USAID cannot provide this specific information. In order to gain understanding of the vision and Government's Plan for Solid Waste Management, we recommend watching the DOSostenible recent press conference and visit their webpage for insights on Operational Plans.

3. QUESTION: “How much waste is there? It is important to treat this information per day in order to be able to offer a product that has an efficiency of about 20 years.”

USAID Response: Volume in tons for each province is provided in Section IV. Geographic and population targeting, pages 13-17.

4. QUESTION: “Given the fact that there is limited space for the Technical Proposal (20 pages), is there any limit to the length of the Attachments?”

USAID Response: The annexes must only include the requested information for each specific annex.

5. QUESTION: “Can we include all the supporting documents in the Attachments that are referred to in the Technical Proposal such as CV’s of the Key Personnel, maps, institutional experience and capacity, etc.?”

USAID Response: See Section D.5 for the structure of the technical application.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JW1mCIqSDQ8

6. QUESTION: “Are Teaming Agreements and Letters of Commitment for the Key Personnel required?”

USAID Response: See Section D.5 for the structure of the technical application.

7. QUESTION: “Are there limits as to what salaries and benefits can be paid to ex-pats that might be with the possible CoP or DCoP?”

USAID Response: Applicants are free to reference, as one example, the Senior Executive Service rates of the 2023 Executive & Senior Level Employee Pay Tables published by the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

8. QUESTION: “To assure long-term sustainability of this initiative, is it enough to obtain letters of intent from potential donors / funders or would they have to be more specific in their offers?”

USAID Response: Applicants may include any information they deem relevant in their applications in accordance with the instructions in Section D.

9. QUESTION: “This is something that fits into our overall strategy with our anaerobic digesters that we develop, build and operate. We are in the process of negotiating BioLNG contracts into the Puerto Rico and the Greater Caribbean to supply from Continental U. S. What would be the process for us to be able to be advancing our anaerobic digester to fit with the regions overall long term planning?”

USAID Response: Applicants may include any information they deem relevant in their applications in accordance with the instructions in Section D.

10. QUESTION: “RFA Reference: D.3, D.5; Page Number: 48, 50; Relevant RFA Language: “Use standard 8 ½” x 11”, single sided…” (D.3) “The application must be in English, single space on standard A4 or letter and in standard font and size.” (D.5). Could USAID confirm that applicants should use A4 letter size paper?”

USAID Response: See amendment 001 to the RFA.

11. QUESTION: “RFA Reference: D.5; Page Number: 50; Relevant RFA Language: “The application must provide evidence that demonstrates a sound understanding of problems to be addressed, guiding principles of the Solid Waste Management (SWM) Activity...” The RFA states that the “application must provide evidence that demonstrates a sound understanding of problems to be addressed, guiding principles of the Solid Waste Management (SWM) Activity, and opportunities to facilitate achievement of results.” There are no guiding principles listed in the RFA. Could USAID revise the instructions to remove reference to guiding principles for the activity?”

USAID Response: No.

https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/2023/executive-senior-level

12. QUESTION: “Would USAID allow applicants to include a one-page acronym list to follow the table of contents and not included within the 20-page limit?”

USAID Response: Yes. See amendment 001 to the RFA.

13. QUESTION: “On pages 47-48, part 3. General Content and Form of Application, point 5, the RFA requests that a Letter of Commitment (LOC) for each subawardee is provided. Would USAID allow these letters to be submitted in an annex, that does not count towards the 20-page limit?”

USAID Response: See amendment 001 to the RFA.

14. QUESTION: “Would USAID consider allowing an annex for partner Letters of Support?”

USAID Response: See amendment 001 to the RFA.

15. QUESTION: “On page 57, section 6. Business (Cost) Application Format, part h. History of

Performance, the instructions state the applicants must provide information regarding recent history of performance, not to exceed 5 years. Could USAID please clarify, does this include projects which ended within the last 5 years?”

USAID Response: Yes

16. QUESTION: “On page 59, section E: Application Review Information, part 2. Review and

Selection Process, the RFA states, “Applicants’ proposed cost sharing will be considered in the review process, as opposed to being an eligibility criterion.” Since cost sharing is not required under this opportunity, could USAID please clarify what “considered” means in this case?”

USAID Response: See amendment 001 to the RFA.

17. QUESTION: “On pages 11 and 12, Section IV: Geographic and Population Targeting, paragraph 1 states, “This Activity will be implemented in the Northern Coast of the Dominican Republic, in the provinces of Dajabon, Monte Cristi, Puerto Plata, and Espaillat (Figure 2). The provinces of

Dajabon, Monte Cristi, and Puerto Plata are considered priority provinces, meaning the objectives 1, 2 and 3 will be implemented as described in Table 1.” However, the third paragraph on page 12 states, “If feasible, Objectives 1 and 2 can also be implemented in

Espaillat and Puerto Plata to support Municipal SWM and community-based solutions…”. The accompanying Table is blank for Puerto Plata, Objective 1. Could USAID please clarify its objective requirements for Puerto Plata?”

USAID Response: See amendment 001 to the RFA.

18. QUESTION: “On page 19, Section VI: Adaptive Management: Refine and Implement (paragraph

1), the RFA states, “The USAID/DR Mission will work closely with the Award Recipient during the post-award co-creation model known as Refine and Implement (R&I)…”. Could USAID please clarify the anticipated duration of time for the R&I period?”

USAID Response: The duration will be determined with the successful applicant.

19. QUESTION: “On page 36, VI: Adaptive Management: Evaluation (paragraph 1), the RFA states, “There will be a mid-term performance evaluation…”. Should the costs for this evaluation be budgeted in the applicant’s budget, or will the costs for this evaluation be covered by USAID from different funds?”

USAID Response: An evaluation will be completed separately by USAID; such costs should not be included in your business (cost) application.

20. QUESTION: “On page 47, part 3. General Content and Form of Application, the RFA reads, “The application must be submitted in three separate parts: the Summary, the Technical Application, and the Cost Application.” Further on page 50, part 5. Technical Application Format, Summary

Information is included as part of the Technical Application. Could USAID please confirm that the Summary Information should be included in the Technical Application?”

USAID Response: Yes.

21. QUESTION: “For applicants to clearly show project staffing and organizational structure, would

USAID kindly consider adding a one-page organizational chart as an annex to the technical application that would not count towards the 20-page limit?”

USAID Response: See amendment 001 to the RFA.

22. QUESTION: “On page 51, part 5. Technical Application Format, the RFA read, “The application must clearly describe the organizational structure for implementation, including reasonableness of proposed timeline for activities and implementation...”. Could USAID clarify if a timeline for the life of project is required?”

USAID Response: No.

23. QUESTION: “On page 48, the sections of the technical application include the Key Personnel and Activity Management Plan but then later reference the Activity Management and Staffing

Plan on page 51. These appear to be the same sections but with slightly different titles. Can

USAID clarify which title should be used for this section in applicant’s proposals?”

USAID Response: See amendment 001 to the RFA.

24. QUESTION: “If the applicant has prior experience with USAID, are they still required to provide their written policies (Travel and compensation)?”

USAID Response: Yes.

25. QUESTION: “Could USAID please confirm that applicants are allowed to use their own budget template that aligns with the cost instructions in section D?”

USAID Response: See Section D.6.

End of Attachment I Amendment 001

RFA no. 72053223RFA00006