Amendment 1 USAID-BAA-SBAR-2021 Questions and Answers.pdf

U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

AMENDMENT NO. 1

AMENDMENT NO. 1 USAID-BAA-SBAR-2021 –USAID Small Business Applied Research (SBAR) Program - 2021

Issue Date: March 9, 2021

Ladies and Gentlemen:

The purpose of this Amendment No. 1 is to: Provide, under ATTACHMENT A of this Amendment, answers to questions received during the period of February 9, 2021 through February 23, 2021. This concludes the period of questions and answers. Further questions will not be addressed.

Except as clarified herein, all requirements of the subject Small Business Applied Research (SBAR) Program - 2021 remains unchanged.

Thank you for your interest in USAID programs.

Sincerely, Margaret Benavente Contracting Officer

USAID-BAA-SBAR-2021

ATTACHMENT A

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS DOCUMENT

Procurement

1. I am hoping to find out if there is an incumbent contractor currently performing these services, if similar services have been performed in the past, or if this is a new requirement.

No. There is not an incumbent contractor currently performing these services. This is a new requirement.

2. If this is a follow-on requirement, could you please provide the previous contract or task order number?

This is not a follow-on requirement.

3. Having looked into the original documents we understood that the offeror has to be an US based small business?

Yes. The offeror must be a U.S. small business.

4. [My Organization] is a 501c3 with networks in Sub-Saharan Africans. Are we qualified to bid for this opportunity?

Please review Section II of the solicitation, Eligibility, to review qualification requirements.

Further, as discussed in FAR Part 19 and SBA regulations, a qualifying U.S. small business must:

● Be organized for profit;

● Have a place of business in the U.S.;

● Operate primarily within the U.S. or make a significant contribution to the U.S.

economy through payment of taxes or use of American products, materials, or labor;

● Be independently owned and operated;

● Not be dominant in the field of operation in which it is bidding on government

Contracts;

● Be a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, or any other legal form; and;

● Meet the applicable SBA size standard for the assigned NAICS code.

Additional information regarding the qualifications for small business is located at:

https://www.sba.gov/contracting/getting-started-contractor/qualifying-small-business.

5. If qualified, we would be applying to work in four countries and I was wondering if the $3.5 million grant for the total budget and how many years the project can be planned for?

The budget range is up to $3.5 million and the implementation period is between three and five years. Please note that the resulting award will likely be issued in the form of an acquisition instrument and not an assistance instrument (i.e. grant or cooperative agreement).

6. I work for a small business that is exploring subcontracting opportunities with contractors to USAID. I would like to know whether there are any regulations prohibiting a subcontractor from pursuing a given bid with multiple different contractors. Is it possible to respond to an RFP as a subcontractor for more than one prime?

Yes, it is possible to respond to an RFP as a proposed subcontractor for more than one prime offeror.

7. We recognize that the call is targeted at small businesses in the US. However, two faculty members affiliated with our lab are working on a machine learning (ML) project that takes user preferences and needs and generates bicycle designs/models (with ML) that meet the needs of the bicycle users. We would be interested in collaborating with one of the small businesses to help them develop designs. Can we submit a concept paper to be included in the BAA?

https://www.sba.gov/contracting/getting-started-contractor/qualifying-small-business

You are free to team with a US small business under this solicitation and submit a joint concept paper. However, under FAR 52.219-14, Limitations on Subcontracting, the US small business must perform a minimum of 50% of the work.

8. Question: Given this background, please let us know if [University] can submit a concept note for the BAA process (even though we are not a small business)?

Please see the response to Question 7 above.

9. Are Concept Papers required to describe the action plan and pilot project as part of item 1 (“Briefly describe the applied research or development concept…”) or item 4 (“Address mission-specific evaluation criteria…)?

Yes, as outlined in VII. Required Preliminary Concept Paper Content, Preliminary Concept Papers must address the seven items listed in this section of the solicitation.

Please see XII. Addenda, f. Concept Paper Review Process, Factor 4: Bureau Specific Evaluation Criteria in this section. There is no DDI/ITR specific evaluation criteria.

10. Should bidders propose personnel for this program in the Concept Paper? If yes, in which section(s) of the Concept Paper should key personnel qualifications be stated?

This is a concept paper and not a full proposal. Use the seven pages allotted to address the requirements as outlined in VII. Required Preliminary Concept Paper Content.

Preliminary Concept Papers must address the seven items listed in this section of the solicitation.

11. Should the narrative budget summary provide line items for the elements of each cost category? For example, for the Personnel category, should applicants set forth each position and the cost calculation?

Please follow the instructions as outlined in item 6 of section VII. Required Preliminary Concept Paper Content. Additionally, be sure to refer to and use the sample budget table provided with the solicitation.

12. Does USAID have any limits or guidance on use and cost of subawards/subcontracts for this opportunity, including whether fixed amount awards will be allowed?

Please see the response to Questions 5 and 7 above.

13. Can large for-profit businesses or non-government organizations participate as subawardees/subcontractors?

Please see the response to Question 7 above.

14. Can subawardees/subcontractors that are not small businesses participate in the Webinar?

USAID is not hosting a webinar for SBAR at this time.

15. Are nonprofits and/or global organizations such as the UN eligible to participate in a proposal as consortium partners if the project is still led by a US-based small business?

Please see the response to Question 7 above.

16. May bidders include past experience and current capacity information about teaming partners for comparable work that is not a contract, grant or cooperative agreement? For example, if a teaming partner raises its own funding or expends its own funds and has implemented comparable, recent work, may bidders include that in past experience and current capacity?

Yes. However, work with the USG, if any, should be prioritized. See item 7 of section VII. Required Preliminary Concept Paper Content.

Technical

1. Does USAID have any specific quantitative targets for results under this program?

USAID does not have specific monitoring and evaluation indicators or targets at this time. As part of the co-creation or award start up phase of any eventual work awarded, a Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning (MERL) plan will be developed.

2. Can USAID provide guidance as to how much of the work should be research oriented vs. implementation?

We would like to see both of these components recognized in concept papers and are not specifying set percentages; however, the focus is on evidence-based implementation and sector learning.

3. For this activity is USAID only interested in access to and uptake of bicycles in rural areas, or can Concept Papers also consider peri-urban and/or urban bicycling?

USAID does not have specific geographic/population density requirements and would be interested in receiving a wide span of ideas.

4. The MIT D-Lab document (Access to Affordable Bicycles: Summary of the Findings from the Literature Review and Key Informant Interviews) sets forth Next steps (page 10). Can USAID provide the scope of work for the MIT D-Lab activity, including the elements/contents of the scoping study and deliverable(s), as well as expected timing of tasks?

USAID sees these activities as separate and distinct. While the initial literature review should be used as helpful context, the further research findings are not yet sharable and are not expected to be for several months.

5. The MIT D-Lab document indicates that there is some interaction with USAID Missions on the MIT D-Lab study. Which USAID Missions have been contacted and/or have shown interest in access to affordable bicycles and bicycle availability and uptake for mobility in sub-Saharan Africa?

The missions that were contacted for the research study include USAID/Ghana, USAID/Malawi, USAID/Rwanda, USAID/Uganda and USAID/Zambia. However, this solicitation is open to responsive concept notes from throughout sub-Saharan Africa.

6. The link to reference number 1 in the NOFO (Report from USAID to Congress on Access to Affordable Bicycles for Mobility) does not appear to provide the referenced report. Please provide a new link to the report.

The document linked to reference number 1, Senate Report 116-126, contains the report in question.

7. Is there an overall objective for this bicycles for mobility project?

USAID is focused on bringing bicycles for mobility to aid in overall development objectives (across any of the technical sectors of USAID including agriculture, health, education, governance, economic growth, etc.). The focus on the use of bicycles is not for leisure activities or the use of bicycles as stationary human-powered machines.

[END OF ATTACHMENT A: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS DOCUMENT]

[END OF AMENDMENT NO. 1 USAID-BAA-SBAR-2021]